McCracken cemetery is actually in Gonzales County at the old town site of Albuquerque. Jack Helm's was a Captain with the Texas State Police and has served as a private with Company G in the Texas Calvary during the Confederate War. Some history books list his last name as "Helm" but his grave marker list his name as "Helms". After being forced to resign as a "regulator" with the State Police, he became Sheriff of DeWitt County Texas in 1870. Helm's was quite famous during the Sutton-Taylor feud. The notorious outlaw, John Wesley Hardin, had taken the Taylor side while Helm's was on the Sutton side. Hardin and Jim Taylor found Helm's at a blacksmith's shop in Albuquerque (near present day Union Valley) Texas on May 17, 1873 while Helms was working on a cotton-worm destroying machine that Helms had invented. Some historians believe the incident took place the third week in July 1873. A gun fight erupted and Helm's was shot in the head by mulitple hand gun rounds and a shotgun blast to the chest. Hardin was wielding a double barrel shotgun which is now on display at the Buckhorn Saloon and Museum in San Antonio Texas. Helm's died with numerous 00 buck pellets to the chest and several pistol rounds to the head from Jim Taylor. According to author Karon Mac Smith, in her book "On the Watershed of Ecleto and the Clear Fork of Sandies" Bea McCracken was 10 years old when Jack Helm was buried. Bea recalled that they buried him really shallow in case his wife wanted him buried somewhere else. In 1922 while digging a grave for Felder Patterson, they unearthed several bones. They called for an old timer in the area to view the burial site. That person identified the burial site as the grave site belonging to Jack Helms. They placed all of the bones back in the hole and marked Jack Helms site with a red rock which was later replaced with a concrete marker.

According to Becky Byrns, John J Helms was married twice. His first wife was Manerva C McCown. They married 18 Feb 1857 in Fannin County, Texas. He and Manerva (1840 - abt 1862) had two children. The 1860 US Census has them living in Hopkins County, Texas with a 2 yr old son - - George W. On the 1870 Census George and a 9 yr old sister , Mattie are still living in Hoplins County but with a Charles & Matilda Adams (unsure if they are relations or former neighbors). John has remarried in 1869 and is now in DeWitt County with wife #2 Margaret Crawford.

Helm's was inducted into the Sheriff's Association of Texas Memorial on Panel 3, Column B, Line 8 in 1994.