Stories of early citizens come to life during unique cemetery tour

By MONETTE TAYLOR | South Central Texas Edition

Spectacular grave markers are located throughout the La Grange City Cemetery, the site of upcoming tours. Each tour lasts about an hour, and some are set in the 'pre-twilight' hours for those who don't want to go in the dark. -- Staff photo by Taylor

Oct. 28, 2004 - Come rain or shine, on Nov. 7 and 13, history buffs from all over the South Central Texas area and beyond will gather at the fifth annual tour of the old La Grange City Cemetery. The tour's focus is to hear stories of early citizens who made a difference in the area.

While some may associate cemeteries and gravestones with Halloween and scary nights, the area Pilot Club and youth Anchor members, along with the staff of the Fayette Heritage Museum have come together to offer the public a glimpse back into the lives of those chosen to be included on the tour ... a touch of real history.

Kathy Carter, director of the Fayette County Library and Heritage Museum, said the guided tour through the cemetery has grown in numbers each year, and other groups have taken some of the ideas to provide the same venue in their respective town.

The museum personnel do all of the research on the grave sites chosen for the tour, using information available in the library and museum, along with online sources, said Carter. Each year, the volume of information has continued to expand ... largely because of the Internet, she noted.

This year, about 21 high school students will take on the persona of the 10 deceased people chosen for the tour, each dressed in a costume of the era. "Upperclassmen" have first choice at the parts, Carter explained, and each "actor" will have a script of around 500 to 600 words to either memorize or read. Most of them know the parts by heart, after several "run-throughs" before the actual tours.

Some other interesting sites at the cemetery include the grave of Joseph G. King, who died on July 30, 1840. This grave is located in the oldest part of the La Grange City Cemetery.

Originally, the cemetery was privately owned. According to information from the museum, the title was conveyed to the city of La Grange on July 3, 1854, after the town incorporated.

In 1867, information states there was a "Yellow Fever Scourge" epidemic that left more than 200 dead ... almost one-fifth of the population of the town. According to the records, many deaths went unreported and bodies were piled within the cemetery fence. Some ended up in mass burials of six or seven bodies to a grave.

After several years of "disrepair," high grass and weeds, history relates that in 1873, 14 ladies met and organized the Ladies Cemetery Association, the first such organization chartered in Texas. With funds raised by the group, the wooden fence was replaced by an iron fence in 1883. The group was active until the 1970s when the City of La Grange took charge of the up-keep at the cemetery.

This year, the students took the cleaning of the tombstones upon themselves, and to Carter, their interest in the project and tour is the most important part of the undertaking. The people buried in the cemetery "... make La Grange what it is," stated Carter. She noted that the yearly tour has helped the youth of the area, as well as older citizens, to "gain a big respect for the cemetery."

The area was first settled by Anglo, German and Czech citizens, and most of them were of the Catholic or Lutheran faiths and believed in proper burial rites for their members.

The 10, former citizens chosen for this year's tour include Elizabeth Agee McAshan (1790-1872); Harriet Harrington Jarmon (1848-1916); Frederick Gustave Heinrich Lessin (1863-1897); and Alexander Ramsay Gates (1818-1863); Cornelia Snell Binkley (1838-1869); Mathilde Homuth Rethke (1854-1902); John and Nellie Bradshaw Killough (no dates); Thomas Clark Gregoy (1838-1897); and Jessie Cook Williams (1873-1895). Each has a special story to tell, either in first-person or as a close friend might have told the story. The oldest grave visited, this year, will be dated 1863.

The tours will last about an hour, with a total of eight tours, each of the two evenings, with the "twilight" tours starting at 5:45 p.m. to aid those who may not feel comfortable walking in the dark with only lanterns and torches.

About the clubs assisting with the tours: Pilot International clubs were chartered in 1921 to offer community assistance and grants and scholarships to those pursuing an education in research, medicine and therapy for brain disorders and disabilities. The youth programs, Anchor Clubs, were started in 1952, and around 10,000 youth around the United States, the Bahamas, Japan and Argentina participate to help provide services to their communities.

For ticket information for the tours call Fayette Heritage Museum at 979-968-6418.