Derr's Chapel   Derr's Chapel was located about two miles west of Italy on Derr's Chapel Road. Take the present FM Road 1134 northwest from Italy and turn left on Carolyn which becomes Derr's Chapel Road. The Derr's Chapel Church was on the north side of the road with the school across the road near a creek at the headwaters of Hog Creek. Many settlers in the community had land on the Harrison or Michell surveys. The Williams, Mitchells and McCulloughs lived north of the area. According to a 1901 Surveyor's Map, the old Dallas - Waco road left Milford, passed through Derr's Chapel along Bell Branch, across Chambers Creek to Five Points and on the Waxahachie. One man who had lived in the area all his life recalled seeing visible tracks in the creek bed when he was a child. Phillip Keiser/Kizer Derr, was born in Tennessee July 18, 1825, son of James Derr and Sally Kizer, who were of German descent. His grandfather, Johann Friedrich Derr, migrated from Darmstadt, Germany to Pennsylvania in 1771. In the early 1800s, James Derr and his brother, Daniel, migrated to Sumner County and were in Giles County, Tenn. by 1830. Phillip married Mary B. McCanless in 1849 in Cornersville, Tenn. and moved to Ellis County in the early 1870s. Their youngest son, born in 1874, was the only one of seven children born in Texas. Of the other siblings: Sarah H. m/1 William P. Orr and m/2 W. M. Basinger; James Sam m. Mary Elmina Cantrell; Mary Ann m. Phillip H. Basinger; Nannie E. M. William M. Basinger; Bennie E. M. Elias Cantral. Mattie and Charlie are believed to be unmarried. Phillip Derr, a farmer and well-respected citizen of the community, was of the Methodist faith and donated the land for the church. The date of its establishment is not certain, but according to one lady who attended services there, it did not close until the mid 1940s. She also told us that there was a small cemetery just up the hill to the north of the church and school, known as the Williams Family Cemetery. No sign of it is visible today. The school was directly across the road from the original Derr house. Because of frequent flooding from the creek, it was later moved farther up the road to a spot on the southeast corner of Derr's Chapel and Dale Acres Roads. The name had been changed from Derr's Chapel to McCullough School before 1897/98, when trustees of the latter school were P. S. Derr, T. M. Hitt and G. J. Carreker. The teacher at that time was M. G. Taylor. Phillip Derr was struck and killed by lightening on Sept. 2, 1905 in Derr's Chapel. His wife died May 23, 1909 in Italy and both are buried in the Italy Cemetery. Nannie Derr Bassinger was deceased before 1901, when her mother's will was written, so her only living child, Mary B. (who married W. Z. Mauldin) was named in the will. Alfred Mauldin, father of W. Z., had first settled before 1880 in the community of Sandtown between Italy and Avalon. In 1902, W. Z. Mauldin bought forty acres in the Derr's Chapel area. He had two brothers, George Washington and Napoleon Bonaparte, who lived in Ellis County, although G. W. Mauldin later moved away. W. Z. and Mary Mauldin raised a large family. He died in 1949 and some of his descendants.still live in this area. Among other Derr's Chapel families residing in the immediate Italy area are the Basingers, Cantrells, Andersons, Shirleys, and Browns. For information on Derr's Chapel, contact David Mauldin. References: 1901 Ellis County Map Ellis County School Records Correspondence with Susan Hensley Interviews with Helen Baker and Sue Herrin   Copyright © 2002-2016, Ellis County TXGenWeb. All Rights Reserved. This page was last modified: Thursday, 01-Jul-2021 13:17:03 MDT