Blind Lemon Jefferson s grave in a small cemetery off Highway 14 north of
Wortham is a well-kept spot along the back fence honored with a metal state historic marker.
Often called the
Wortham Negro Cemetery is a mystery, as is most of his biography.
Jefferson was born blind in a sharecropper s cabin on Sept. 24, 1893, near
Coutchman, a settlement that no longer exists, west of Wortham. At a young age he began playing guitar and singing for coins on street corners and juke joints around
Mexia.
Deep Ellum neighborhood with the then-24-year-old
Huddie Leadbelly Ledbetter. Jefferson s favorite corner was at Elm Street and Central Avenue (now Central Expressway).