Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1903-08-05
[From the Charlotte Observer. |


Over in the Northwest part o
South Carolina, near the line which
separates Anderson and Picken
counties and about five miles from
Pendleton, there is an old graveyard
or burying ground. 1t comprise
about fourteen acres of land, all o
which is thickly wooded. There ar,
five marble monuments, one of which
is of considerable size. The inscrip
tion on one of the monuments il
illegible. Those on the other fou
are as follows:
"1n Memory of Samuel Maverick,
Born in the City of Charleston,
Dec. 30, 1772,
Died April 80, 1852,
Aged 70 years and mo-"
"To the memory Of Elizabeth Nav
erick, the youngest child OF Genera
Robt. Anderson,
"Wife to Samuel Maverick and mother
of Samuel Augustus, Ann Caroline, Rob
ert A., Mary Elizabeth and Lydia Ann
who departed this lifo 9th of Sept.
1918, aged 35 years, mo-"
Sacred to the memory of our father,
Joseph Turpin Weyman, Died May
20, 1884, aged 80 years.
SIN Memory of
Ahroham Raatora oo,, nf
VIM. & Lydia Ann Vanwyck. died June
8, 1852"
The graveyard is situated near the
home of Col. d. X. Norris, President
of the Cateechee cotton mill.
Inquiry of those who live in the
neighborhood elected the following
facts: Samuel Augustus Maverick,
the eldest son of Mrs. Elizabeth
(Andersom Maverick, went to Texas
and was the first man to make cattle
raising business on the grassy
plains. He had great success of
this business and when others went
into it he insisted that they should
brand their cattle in order to distin-
guish them from his, which were
unbranded. Because Of this all un-
branded steers were known as
"Mavericks." Even to this day un-
branded steers are known as "Mav-
ericks," although it has been long
time since there was anybody to lay
claim to them as the original cattle
man did. Maverick now means a
steer that escaped branding and that
is subject of Identification and
claim by one who can establish own
ership. Lydia Ann, the third daugh-
ter of Elizabeth (Anderson) Maver-
ick and the elder Samuel Maverick,
married William VanWyck. One
of the sons of this couple was Abra-
ham Restore, who died and is buried
in this old graveyard. Two others
were Robert and Augustus, one of
whom has been Judge and the
other Mayor of New York City.
They were evidently named after
their uncles, Robert and Augustus
Maverick.
The people whose deaths are re-
corded on these tombstones were
neighbors of John @. Calhoun,
whose plantation was not more than
five miles away.
This fourteen-acre graveyard
seems to belong to nobody in par
ticular. Two or three years ago an
agent of the State Of South Carolina
took steps to have it taken up by the
State as abandoned land, and it is
said to have been advertised in Co.
lumbia, but the proceedings were
afterwards stopped. Some people
think that the VanW ycks in New
York were instrumental in stopping
the sale.
The ground is used for burials
still, but now mostly by negroes.
There has been no objection made
to this and it seems to be understood
that it is a free burying ground for
any who wish to use it, white or
black. The fourteen acres make
ample room for both races and thore
is no encroachinp on the older yravea