The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1903-02-15

MIA IeEo V'eeAii ihlhht OF u. A. Jones.
n,,' sacred 6sa., to the memory of s. Il. Skin.
Alberta Foster, died 1857"
Perkins, died August q, 1s4e.S" ana d. d
ms mortal must put on immortality.
Ii,,. memory Of Leonard s Perkins, aged 20,
Died October 22, 1858"
nv sarah NJ. Perkins, wife OF Rev. j. w.
rays, died at Oxford, n e., September "a.
1870. Eunice, daughter Of A. S. and n
rns, m died November 49, 1859. They
u, n. Dupree. 1851"
On what is. perhaps the largest shaft in
ne grounds is the following: Sacred to
the memory Of Captain d c. Farmer.
called from labor TO reward August :,
Noble, generous and brave, with heart
and mind exultant,
Sweet with all of manhood's graces, tender,
benevolent and Just.
/ His word inylolate aud sincere; he lived as
pure a man as
/ Blessed the earth since time began. And
at the Masters call
| With serene and Christian dignity his
faithful heart stood still
And melted away to the light OF heaven.
Husband bar l and father, devoted and true
/ Whose dearest bliss was in being yours.
me babes SO wondrously loving and be-
| loved. look above
The wreck Of earthly home and happiness
The final reunion when love shall be re.
newed,
Blended and nc. grief obscures the light Of
( Gods eternal day.
Mason, Holland lodge No. /, A. II. and
Who wears the square upon his breast does
Sight OF God attest and In the face Of man
! That all his actions will compare with the
Divine, the unerring square, that square
over the River company Fifth Texas regi-
ment Hoods brigade.
on flames eternal camping ground
Their silent tents are spread,
Aud glory guards With solemn round
The bivouac Of the dead"
Near the entrance Of the cemetery is n
shattered shaft bearing the following:
Henry Renchley died February "a 1861
age AZ years. Erected by the Houston
and Texas Central Railway company as
! faithful officer
"Entcr rest eternal, the kindest husband
and most indulgent father the trucst friend
and the most generous man"
= = \
The Oldest cemetery owned by the city
is said to be the one In the outskirts OF
the Fourth ward, Just Off San Felipe
|
mons, as It Is unfenced and stock Craze at
will among the graves. II Is free-for-all
and is much used by the colored people. 1t
is located on the banks of the bayou and
after freshetS II Is not uncommon to find
the remnants Of a coffin washed from a
grave. Frequently bones are found pro-
truding from the ground An undertaken
states that the ground has been buried
over a half a dozen times and that In sink
Ing new graves old collins are encountered.
/ condemned 81
ycnrs ago and an effort was made to en-
force the order. 1t was during the ad.
minlstrotion Of Mayor Browne and Chief
Of Police Alex Erickson. \ test that
called into play siX-shooters resulted
Friends desired TO inter body in a
certain lot, In which some Of the deceased +
Elroy, who was then city health officer,
refused 10 Issue the necessary permit The
persons who desired the burial employed a
man to go and dig the grave and in order
to furnish him protection armed them
selves and went along as guards.
chief Of Police Erickson dispatched an
officer to head OF operations. When the
latter arrived the grave-digger was busy
90 work and had the hole a foot deep. The
officer pulled his gun and covering the
graYe-digger, commanded him TO cease the
work The guards thereupon, as the story
Is now related, likewise covered the grave
digger and ordered him to go ahead. The
grave-dgCer was In pretty predicament,
ana fell on his knees in the half-dug grave
ana DrEGeQ tle1n TO spare MS ire A truce
was struck and the opposing parties de-
| cided to adjourn to the city and settle the
matter by arbitration. The corpse Was IN
the interim buried and 1t Is stated that
the grounds have ever since been open for
the use of all.
There has been wanton Dissertation Of
this sleeping place Of the dead. A sexton
has not been employed there in years and
evidence OF the vile work Of ghouls is
disccrnible on every hand.
Built upon the side of sloping ravine,
which was doubtless chosen years ago as
, one of the beauty spots Of the cemetery
Is a large vault, mauseoleum. 1t Is now
gray ruin, mossgrown and moldy, Ihe
doors have been carried away ana a rev
rough boards now serve as thS oHty oaiIi'F
+ Entering, a shocking spectacle greets he
curious. Bits of collins are scattered over
tbe floor, pow lered wood filters the corners
where insects have turned to Hust ne
boxes that once Sheathed the caskets tnaI
held the remains placed here aiter He
ftful fever had run Its course:
There is nov remaining In this ola yauil
, Int one body, that cf an Infant fOut
years ago there were three bodies mere a
!. period OF two years elapsed between inc
disappearance Of the first ana second OF
these veritablc munmies. No one know
where the bodies went, no investigation
was ever made. There is notaing TO pre-
vent the carrying away Of the lhlru, ho,,
The box which contains the last poas
I'm this tomb Is without it's cover, the Wnlle
coffln lies exposed. Some person mas Ie
moved the screws that fastened the coHlu
IA and the simple raising OF the cap re-
veoIs The dried and withered BODY OF
cbild Of probably years, placed mere ann
tears and sobs Of anguish years anu yeS ~,
ago. Ghous have searched IT'S Soulh q to .,
yeluables and tomorrow or the gay az
the body itself may be borhe a""s
serve one of a dozen purposes; -,
IL is such vandalism rs TINS thaI ma,
prompted the call for a condemnation o.
The ancient burial ground.
\
There Is an old cemetery In the b1rs
ward NJ the rear Of the Houston inhrmarJ
that has long since been discarded as
burial ground. It was there that the ye,,
Low faver Victims Of 1867 were buried WI
NOV and scraper by the YANKEE soiuaSI
Who were encamped In that section ln III,
remains OF a number OF war noIses ~
also buried there and the Odd heiloMs NV. AZ,
aifSo 0t there in which many OF their brotheri
~ ciden DAYS were laid TO rest, out nav
since been removed by that 9rder. 49,, {,
Another aged and unusued cen lsIsiy - n
srrronndine the site OF the Cleyelauu Noi'l
Sress on the banks of Buffalo bayou, ~
attempt was made TO remove nulroes 90 ~
bodies from the grounds rev yeatS s,.tfc,
mt controversy resulted ana lHe
was dropped - ,,rtns is trespassinl