Matagorda Cemetery: Another Marker for History

Matagorda Cemetery, Matagorda listed on the National Register of Historic Places

Matagorda Cemetery — founded in 1830 and one of Texas’ oldest — has been placed on the prestigious National Register of Historic Places.

Local historical group officials expect two other Matagorda County sites will soon share the notable recognition — the Hensley-Guzman House, built in 1905, and the World War II-era Bay City U.S.O. Building, today’s Bay City Service Center. The 7.2-acre cemetery, at the northeast edge of Matagorda, was first used soon after the town was founded in 1829.The cemetery, which received a Texas Historical Marker in 1970, shows the town’s remarkable, with grave stone inscriptions telling about frontier hardships.

The marker’s text said those buried include: victims of 1862 yellow fever epidemic; soldiers of the Texas Revolution, the War of 1812, and the Civil War; also Karankawa Indian victims. Early Texas leaders buried at the cemetery include Texas Secretary of Navy, Samuel Rhoads Fisher — a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence — Texas’ first Lt. Governor, Albert Clinton Horton, and George Morse Collinsworth, who commanded the Texans at the capture of Goliad in 1835.

The National Register of Historic Places is a service of the National Parks System. Visit their website

Read full article from the Bay City Tribune

Is there a Jasper County Clerk in your Ancestry?

Jasper County Needs Photos of Past County Clerks

Jasper County needs photos of former County Clerks to hang in County Clerk's office.

Photos needed: Hannibal Good (1856-1870), W.H. Truett (1871-1874), A.J. Rigsby (1881-1894), A.L. Mays (1909-1916) and N.B. Hart (1939-1948.)

Efforts to place framed photographs of past Jasper County Clerks in the Jasper County Courthouse clerk's office are underway, according to current County Clerk Debbie Newman.

Newman said that if anyone has a photograph of those individuals that they are willing to share, the picture can be scanned and returned to the owner. Pictures can be mailed to Jasper County Clerk, P.O. Box 2070 or 121 N. Austin, Room 103, Jasper, TX 75951 or call (409)384-2632 for instructions.

Read full article from the Jasper Newsboy

Genealogy Conference at Angelina College, Lufkin

Finding Your Roots in East Texas...

The tenth annual Genealogy Conference starts this weekend at Angelina College. Hundreds of people will attend a variety of workshops to learn the latest techniques for tracing their family tree.
There are many ways to research your roots, including county records, a genealogy center or public library. Research can take weeks, months or years depending on how far back in time you want to go.
The two-day event kicks off Friday morning with seminars on going digital and using maps in genealogy. The conference will be held in the Community Services building.

Read full article from KTRE Lufkin-Nacogdoches

St. Mary's Church School San Antonio - Seventh Grade Boys 1931

At Texas Old Photos

St. Mary's Church School, San Antonio - Seventh Grade Boys 1931

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In the photo: Paul Moore, Francis Martinez, Allen Butler, Pat O'Hagan, Thomas Hanley, John Nigro, John Dailey, Alfred Hudson, John Paul Warnken, John Kleeman, James Carter, Clarence Hummel, Alan Sturrock, Edward Little, Joseph V. Cummings, Andrew Cadena, Dexter Hanley, J. P. Ruth, Horace Boykin, Eugene Epps.

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Williamson Creek Cemetery, South Austin

153-year-old cemetery is rejuvenated

Young Latter-day Saints volunteers pitch in to restore Williamson Creek Cemetery, a historic African-American graveyard in South Austin.

350 youth volunteers of 20 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints congregations from Austin and San Antonio revitalized the 153-year-old African American cemetery on Little Texas Lane, near Stassney Lane and Interstate 35

About 260 slaves are buried at the cemetery. The first was James P. Eagle, who died in 1863, said Tony Jones, president of the cemetery association. Jones is a descendant of Alfred Overton, a slave freed by the Emancipation Proclamation who died in 1913.

The other 540 people buried there are slave descendants, one of whom was buried last year.

Read full story from the Austin American-Statesman

Texas Ranger James Elijah Keese Honored in Bandera

Remembering an Early Texas Ranger: James Elijah Keese 1832-1896

Although his body has been buried for nine decades, the memory of James Elijah Keese was resurrected last week. More than 200 descendants and friends gathered for a dedication ceremony honoring his duties as a Texas Ranger.

Born in 1832 in Lawrenceburg, Tenn., Keese was one of six children to Thomas Jefferson and Eleanor Campbell Keese. The family found its way to the Republic of Texas in 1842.

Keese joined the Texas Rangers in 1851, at the age of 18. He was stationed at Fort Merrill in Nueces County. In 1864, he and two brothers, Oliver H.P. and Thomas Harrison, joined the 2nd Frontier District of Brown County as Confederate soldiers. Their company's duties entailed protecting the settlements from Indians and Union forces.

With his wife, Eleanor Lavina Lewis, Keese moved to Bandera County in December of 1871. Together, they raised 10 children - some of whom remained in the county
to raise their own families.

Read full article from the Bandera Bulletin