Banding Together to Preserve Cherokee County Cemeteries
By Deborah Burkett, Chairman Cherokee County Historical Commission
Serendipity is defined as an occurrence and development of events by chance--in a happy or beneficial way. That's a perfect description of what's been going on in Cherokee County in terms of local cemeteries. Over the last year, individuals, city council members, church groups, genealogy and history organizations have realized they share a common goal, the care and preservation of local cemeteries. Sensing the need to pool resources and share expertizes the Cherokee County Historical Commission (CCHC) and the Cherokee County Genealogical Society enthusiastically agreed to coordinate all efforts.
Gravestone cleaning workshops and historical marker dedications by the CCHC have provided an entrée into every corner of the county. What we've discovered is all burial sites have similar needs, whether it's a large city cemetery or a small family plot. Future efforts will focus on documenting and mapping the location of all graves including the unmarked ones. In addition, attention will be paid to repairing damaged grave stones. Some damage naturally occurs over time but when you add storms and straight line winds you have a big problem. This kind of disturbance can wreak havoc to grave stones in a matter of minutes while also toppling century old trees. The resulting task is so overwhelming the need for unified efforts throughout the county becomes paramount.
In the midst of all this activity, Genealogical Society President Gordon Bennett and aided by David Henderson of Alto are updating county cemetery books published about 45 years ago by Helen Crawford and Ogreta Huttash. They've also developed a list of "lost and neglected" cemeteries. Genealogy society member Kaye Slover, manages their TXGenWebsite and the cemeteries are online. The Cherokee County Historical Commission (CCHC) provides historical context for all cemeteries and is designated by the state as the agency to submit historical marker applications to the Texas Historical Commission in Austin. Webinar workshops detailing how to apply for these markers are chaired by Elizabeth McCutcheon and aided by Joe Daniel. These meetings held in the CCHC office are open to all.
Other projects throughout the county are: landscaping cemetery grounds, recording church and family histories, organizing cemetery associations and presenting workshops on how to apply for a 501 C3 tax exempt status. Dr. Perky Beisel of Stephen F. Austin University has generously helped with these efforts. County leaders, but not limited to, are: Sam Floria, Mike Murray, Angela Raiborn and other members of the Rusk City Council. They've purchased computer software for mapping cemeteries which is housed in the Rusk library and directed by Amy Derrington. Jacksonville City officials Dick Stone and Moe Raissi are also closely monitoring their city cemeteries.
Others who have work tirelessly are Rusk historian Marie Whitehead, Mary Marsh founding member of the genealogy society, Richard Hackney CCHC member and president of the newly formed Texas African American Historical Cemetery Preservation Society, George Martin of the New Hope Community Cemetery in Alto and two CCHC members David Adams of Blackjack (exploring lost and neglected cemeteries) and John Ross of Jacksonville (researching customs/practices of maintaining historic cemeteries).
Join us. Experience the joy and satisfaction as you work with like-minded people to preserve the resting places of our ancestors.
