Paris Cemetery

09/05/2026

Let’s get started!!!

🎃🍂 We’re planning a fun Trick-or-Treat Walk around the cemetery! After the walk, we’ll gather for some storytelling and learn fascinating facts and stories about some of the people who are buried here. 📖

It’s a fun way to celebrate Halloween while learning a little bit about our local history! 🧡

We’re also starting a walking club where we can meet up, get some exercise, and enjoy the cooler weather. It will be a great way to get some extra steps in while spending time together! 🚶‍♀️🍂

Also, a flower arrangement class to kick off the fall season 🍁🍂🌻

Please comment if you have some interest!! ✨

09/04/2026

Share Memories of Elizabeth & Support the Witt Family

09/02/2026

Share Memories of Betty & Support the Owen Family

08/30/2026

John James Ireland’s (1825-1877) distinctive stone in section B is a truncated bare tree trunk, standing on a rock wall. The tree represents a life cut short by death. The tree and the base on which it stands are festooned with ivy. Since ivy is eternally green, it is associated with immortality, and clinging to the tree, it is a symbol of attachment, and undying affection. The rock wall might represent strength, holding up the life, even though it has been cut short.
In this lot are buried several of Mr. Ireland’s family. His daughter Mary Glenn Ireland (1861-1939) is there and her husband, James K. Davis (1856-1895). Mr. Davis’s obituary describes him as a popular and respected businessman. He was the son of G.W. Davis who operated the Davis Funeral home on the corner of 5th and Pleasant St from 1913 until 1972. The Davis family also sold and manufactured furniture for over 50 years at 5th and Main Street. It was a combination of industries reminiscent of the Hinton family arrangement.
The Davis Funeral Home was located in a building at 5th and Pleasant Streets, built as a Presbyterian church in 1846. That building served several Presbyterian congregations until it was sold to the Davis family and served as the Funeral Home. That building still stands, and looks very modern in spite of its 180 years.
Mary Ireland Davis’ son, Ireland Davis, was a part of the Davis and Company Funeral Directors in Paris, from 1917 until his death in 1972. He is buried in Section L with his wife, MecLona Davis, and many Davis family members. Ireland Davis lived at 148 Duncan Avenue, listed there in the census from 1920 until 1950. The house still stands.


The Paris Cemetery is non-profit, all gifts go to the upkeep of the cemetery, and are tax deductible. Donate at the Cemetery, Stock Yards Bank, or use Venmo httpsi//venmo.com/pariscemetery.

08/20/2026

George S. (Stephens) Varden (1860-1942) is buried in the Paris Cemetery in section K. He and his wife, Kate Forman Varden (1857-1952) share their stone in a Stephens lot in that section. George Varden was a well-known druggist in Paris, and his store at 504 Main St. still stands with his name above the store, and the date 1891. He and his brother Jo were in business together for many years; an ad in the Citizen Advertiser in March 1891 advertises “G.S. Varden & Co., Druggists. Main Street.”
His father, George Varden (1830-1917) and his mother, Martha Stephens Varden (1830-1893) are also buried in Section K. George Sr. was born in Norfolk, England and became a naturalized citizen in 1852. His obituary details his conversion to the Baptist faith and his journey to the United States to attend Georgetown College, in Kentucky. His obituary describes George Sr. as one of the State’s most noted educators and authors, and at one time a prominent clergyman in the Baptist denomination. He taught at the Edgar Military Institute in Paris, and also Bourbon College, and was commissioner of the Garth Fund in Bourbon County. He was also a Trustee of Georgetown College for twenty years.
George S. Varden led a quieter life, but took care of business at his drugstore and raised five children. His son Jo, was the father of Mary Forman Varden, who married Blanton Collier. Jo Varden is buried with family members in Section T of the Paris Cemetery, near the Chapel.
George lived at 1003 High St, even though there were spacious rooms above the store. Maybe those rooms were used for storage. The house no longer stands.

The Paris Cemetery is non-profit, all gifts are tax deductible. Come by the Cemetery, or Stock Yards Bank to make a donation.

08/11/2026

James M. Hughes (1825-1905) was born in Nicholas County. He is buried in section R, along with his second wife, Rebecca Roseberry (Bayless) and her Bayless children, and their daughter Jessie, and Jessie’s husband, Bruce Miller.
James Hughes was a veteran of the Mexican War, and after the war he became Circuit Court Clerk of Nicholas County in 1854 and served until 1858. He moved to Bourbon County in 1859 and entered into the dry goods business. In 1866 he was elected Clerk of Bourbon County and served as Clerk for twenty years. His obituary says at the time of his death he was President of the Citizens’ Bank in Paris, and President of the Paris Cemetery Company.
He and his wife Rebecca lived in her large house on High St. They sold that house in 1901 to the Paris Christian Church where the church is located today.
Bruce Miller, married to Jessie Hughes, daughter of James and Rebecca, was editor of The Bourbon News and then the Kentuckian-Citizen in 1899. He was editor of the Kentuckian-Citizen for almost 20 years, and is featured in the Newseum at the Citizen at 123 W. 8th St. Sadly, Jessie Hughes Miller died suddenly in 1908 after 11 years of marriage. Her obituary says she was buried in her wedding dress, and her attendants at her wedding were all present at her funeral.
Rebecca Roseberry Hughes outlived her first two husbands, her son, her son in law, and her daughter. At the time of her death in 1914, she lived with her granddaughter who lived in Paris.


The Paris Cemetery is non-profit, all income and gifts are used to maintain the cemetery.

07/31/2026

Share Memories of Pamela & Support the McCarty Family

07/31/2026

Share Memories of Dorothy & Support the Anderson Family

07/27/2026

Edward Francis Simms was born in Bourbon County, KY in 1870 and died in 1938. He was buried in Section R in the cemetery, along with his brother, his parents, his aunt, his grandparents, and several children in the Simms family who died young
His father, William E. Simms, served in the Confederate and U.S. Congress, and was a colonel in the Confederate Army under General Humphrey Marshall.
Mr. Simms graduated from Yale University in 1891, went to the University of Virginia Law School, and was admitted to the bar in 1894. He married Lillie Weir Blair in 1904. They had no children, but they raised her daughter Elizabeth.
Simms found astonishing success as a wildcatter in Texas during the Spindletop oil boom in the early 1900’s. He used his fortune from the oilfield to pursue breeding Thoroughbred racehorses. He owned 2,700 acres of land in Bourbon County and developed Xalapa Farm there. Among his horses was Prince Palatine, imported from France, an ancestor of the dam of Secretariat. In 1939 Mr. Simms’ body was moved to the Glenwood Cemetery in Houston in Harris County, Texas. His stone is still in place in the Paris Cemetery, so we claim him as our own.

a Grave

The Paris Cemetery is non-profit, all donations go to maintenance and upkeep of the cemetery. You can come to the cemetery, or mail a gift, or donate at Stock Yards Bank in Paris.

07/26/2026