Dripping Life Learning with the Cemetery Walkers
Ever spend much time in a cemetery?
For many of us, especially historians, the local cemetery holds the story of the community, its founders and those who nurtured and contributed to the growth of a settlement into a village and from a village into a town. It also is a ledger of losses that touched one or many of the population.
Mall walkers often go to cemeteries for their daily walks when the weather cools. Others simply enjoy the peaceful moments or the natural beauty only such places offer.
When you walk through a grave yard, if you stop to read the tombstones, you’ll find the final resting places of heroes from the various wars, mothers who lost their lives giving birth and their babies lying beside them.
In times of war, there are the military graves, men and women who sacrificed their lives for the freedoms promised by our democracy, and in pandemics, like the so-called “Spanish Flu” of 1917-1918, you’ll sometimes find tombstones of entire families, all dying within days or weeks of each other. (Sadly, the same will be true for the current pandemic.)
Since the 1970s, one of my friends has used vacations and long holiday weekends to visit cemeteries around the country, photographing the monuments, markers and grave sites of scientists, inventors, candy makers, cardinals and bishops, movie stars, athletes and others who have contributed to our society.
Through his research, he knows Fred Astaire was buried in silk pajamas and velvet slippers. He can also tell you John Wayne’s grave was unmarked for 20 years because his family feared fans would disturb it. He knows which symphonic score was buried with Leonard Bernstein, who has been cremated and whether their ashes were buried, scattered or given to family members.
His collection contains more than 100 very large binders, filled to the brim with clippings, funeral, folders, photographs, letters, funeral fans and more. Funeral directors across the nation have contributed to the collection.
“My hobby evolved because I have worked in a mortuary, beginning in my early teens…until I was 18 and old enough to go to mortuary school, where I earned an associate degree in mortuary science, served a one-year apprenticeship and qualified to work as a licensed funeral director and embalmer in the State of Texas.”
Does his hobby sound ghoulish?
Not if you’re a curious historian and are recognized as an expert for casket types, what funeral home made the arrangements for personalities like Howard Hughes -- the eccentric entrepreneur, what casket was chosen and where he is buried, as an example.
But back to walking through a cemetery to learn about your community.
A stroll through nearby Wallace Mountain Cemetery can teach us a great deal about Dripping Springs and the surrounding area.
It’s the final resting place for Rev. Thomas Sanford Ballard, Jr., (born September 25, 1862, in Hopkins County, Texas, and died December 1, 1891, age 29, which is young even for that time. We learn he was a Methodist Circuit Minister from 1890 to 1891 in the Dripping Springs - Driftwood area. He was married in Lockhart to Harriet McCarley in 1886. His wife died in 1905. She was 42. Her grave is unmarked in McNeil Cemetery, Caldwell County. (We know this, thanks to findagrave.com)
Several members of the Bigelow family rest here. From the Laredo Times obituary Collection, reference 09-28-2002:Laredo Times Obituary Collection 9/28/2002:
“Robert Myron Bigelow Jr., 68, passed away Sept. 18, 2002 at his residence.
He was born Feb. 26, 1934 in Laredo, Texas to Robert Myron and Dove Brack Bigelow.
Robert was a coach and school administrator for the Webb County Independent School District before his retirement.
He was also active in the Hebbronville Little League.
Surviving Mr. Bigelow are his mother Dove Brack Bigelow of Leon Springs; a sister Dr. Elizabeth of Dallas, Texas; and two brothers and sisters-in-law, Fred D. and Nannette of Leon Springs, Neal and Sherry of Kerrville.
The Berry family is here, too. So are the Brooks. There’s Texas Telefus “Young Texas” Brooks, who died in 1905 at age 25. He married Vana Haywood Walker in 1903, two short years before he died. Vana lived to 1918 and died that year at age 36.
Elizabeth Helen Brunson Branch (Born Sep. 29, 1831, married 1851 - Died Nov. 19, 1885), age 54, is one of the older residents of Wallace Mountain Cemetery. Her husband, Rev. Elihu K. Branch is described in the following obituary from Cheneyville, Louisiana:
“Our town has again been overwhelmed with gloom in the death of our dearly beloved brother, Rev. E. K. Branch. who came into our midst only a few months past, and remained just long enough for all to learn to love him. He died at his residence Wednesday, Aug. 23, 1893, surrounded by devoted friends and all those who loved him.
“He has, for the past 24 years, been a most faithful servant of the Lord and also served as a Confederate soldier in the late Civil War. He was a Mason for many years, and was always true and faithful to his calling. True, indeed, was he “A soldier of the cross, a follower of the lamb. He was pastor of Beaulah Baptist Church.”
Another grave belongs to Andrew Lawson Davis, Sr., born 1824 in Perry County, Mississippi and died in Hays County, August 8, 1888, age 63-64. Mr. Lawson fought in Company B, Border’s Texas Cavalry, for the Confederacy. He was a merchant and land developer, partnering with W.T. Chapman and donating land for the Wallace Mountain Cemetery.
Mary Thurman Ellis ((Born Dec. 10, 1873 - Died January 24, 1917), age 43. She was originally buried in the Thurman Bend Cemetery but was moved to Wallace Mountain when the Mansfield Dam was built and the waters of Lake Travis covered the cemetery.
Clarence Ray Gilpin, (Born August 31 1887 - Died October 24, 1887) He was the infant son of J.T. and Louissa A. Womack Gilpin. Louissa’s marker is nearby. Born February 15, 1865 - Died October 1, 1888, she was only 23. One wonders -- did she die as a result of her child’s birth or was it the emotional weight she carried as she grieved the loss of her baby.
This is but the tip of the ice burg. There’s so much more to learn and see, so let me encourage you -- take a walk when the autumn breezes aren’t to chill, and learn about Dripping Springs at one of our cemeteries. Take down names. Look them up on findagrave.com, and you’re so inclined, take pictures, too. It’s a wonderful way to spend an afternoon.