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Editor's Note. --- Following
is the twentieth of a series of articles by Mrs. Foster, a resident
of Dallas for many years, concerning interesting people and events
here a quarter of a century ago.
___________
"The
mossy marbles rest
On the lips that
he has prest
In
their bloom,
And the names
he loved to hear
Have been carved
for many a year
On
the tomb."
What
a beautiful name is Greenwood, and now the trees are green, the
first faint early green of spring, the crocus and the daffodils
are blooming, the lilac perfumes the air and the birds are singing
in Greenwood cemetery.
Here lie many of the builders of
the city.
When it was apparent that few,
if any, more graves could be placed in the old Masonic cemetery
on Akard street, a corporation was formed in 1895, called the
Greenwood cemetery Association of Dallas, and in 1896, it was
incorporated.
The twelve directors for the first
year were W. C. Padgitt, A. B. Taber, A. D. Aldridge, J. M. McCormick,
S. W. S. Duncan, Philip Lindsley, B. O. Weller, C. F. Carter,
S. M. Leftwich, W. Illingsworth, M. L. Crawford and Henry C.
Coke.
Now, thirty years later, many of
them sleep in Greenwood.
Philip Lindsley was made president,
M. L. Crawford, vice president; Henry C. Coke, secretary and
R. C. Ayres, treasurer. A ladies' auxiliary was formed, with
Mrs. S. J. Adams president, Mrs. T. B. Mitchell, first vice president;
Mrs. Blanche Babcock, second vice president; Mrs. John Lane Henry,
treasurer and Mrs. B. O. Weller, secretary.
The charter, filed in the department
of state, June 6, 1896, is signed by Allison Mayfield, secretary
of state.
For some years before the cemetery
was incorporated, it was known as Trinity cemetery, and was owned
privately by W. H. Gaston and W. H. Thomas. On April 27,
1896, Philip Lindsley called attention in the newspapers to the
need of fences and greater care of the cemetery, and this call
was answered by a meeting of leading citizens, among whom, in
addition to officers listed, were Edward Gray, A. S. Lathrop,
C. H. Edwards, Dr. J. M. Pace, George H. Plowman, John F. Worley,
W. E. Best, Simon Philp, M. Pointer, H. C. Stevenson, T. W. Scollard,
S. D. Thruston, and many others.
Philip Lindsley outlined a plan,
which was unanimously accepted, concerning shares in a stock
company. C. C. Slaughter subscribed for the greatest number
of shares, M. L. Crawford and H. C. Coke coming next.
* *
*
Improvements Started.
At once, improvements were made
in the cemetery, and these have continued until today; it is
a beautiful place. Many graves had been neglected, and
over fifty had lost the identity of those there buried.
The Daughters of the Confederacy
and the Woman's Relief Corps of the G. A. R. have lots, where
lie their dead, and other organizations are represented.
The first interment was that of
Mrs. Susan Work, a sister-in-law of Judge T. A. Work, in 1875.
An early grave is that of Virginia
Whittemore Green, wife of Mayor Charles J. Green, a resident
of Dallas from 1875. Mrs. Green died in 1877, and Major
Green in 1909. Beside them, sleep Dr. and Mrs. Lawrence
Ashton.
* *
*
Pioneers Sleep There.
Wandering through Greenwood, we
read the names of Huey and Philp, who, with their families, are
partners in death as in life. Here lie W. H. Thomas, F.
C. Callier, C. C. Slaughter, R. Rawlins, W. L. Cabell, W. H.
Flippen, Alfred Davis, Thomas Field, William Belsterling, S.
J. Adams, the Hearnes, the Garlingtons, the Fendricks, the Herefords,
the Simkinses, with members of their families.
We read upon the stones, the names
of Terry, Nash, Moss, Aldridge, Ross, Cole, Coke, Cockrell and
Scollard.
Here lies Hedwig Schoellkopf, and
we find names of early residents of the French colony and the
Swiss colony, Raphael Santerre, John and Leontine Priot, the
Bolls, the Nussbaumers. We find the graves of Virginia
Lee Wilson Wozencraft, who died at 28, and of A. P. Wozencraft,
aged 59.
We see the names Knepfly, Hunt,
Hughes, Knight, and here lie the Aldehoffs and the Camps, the
Geo. W. Owens, the Coles, John and Polly, born in 1794 and 1795.
Benjamin Long, the first mayor
of Dallas after military dictatorship, lies here, as do a long
list of other mayors, including John H. Traylor, laid to rest,
but a few days since.
The Sydney Smiths sleep in Greenwood,
and there are six of the Harry brothers together, while J. M.
Harry and Hugh Harry are not far away.
* *
*
Pioneers in List.
Dr. S. M. Welsh and Elizabeth,
his wife, and Judge and Mrs. John Lane Henry are here. Ellender
Clower, wife of D. M. Clower, and the Ardreys, the Downs, the
Kellers, the Finleys, the Flateaus, Dr. R. W. Allen, Dr. S. D.
Thruston, Dr. Leake, Dr. Pace, Dr. A. A. Johnson, W. W. Manning,
S. M. Burgher and W. G. Sterrett.
On the Hanway monument are those beautiful
words Mark Twain found in Australia, and placed on the stone
of his daughter, Susy:
"Warm summer sun
shine kindly here;
Warm Southern wind,
blow softly here;
Green sod above, lie
light, lie light ----
Good night, dear heart,
good night, good night."
* *
*
Historian Buried There.
The graves of the most distinguished
historian of Texas, John Henry Brown, his wife, Mary Frances
Mitchel, and his two sons are in Greenwood. John Henry Brown
came to Dallas in 1871, but had been identified with the state
from 1824, and lived in Texas over half a century. Brown
county was named for his father. He represented Bell and
Lampasas counties in the Secession convention, January 28 to
March 25, 1861, and in the Constitutional convention of 1876.
He represented the districts of Collin and Dallas counties.
He served as mayor of Dallas in 1885, following a term
as alderman.
His history of Texas is everywhere
regarded as final authority.
* *
*
Gunner Monument.
Near the McKinney avenue gate of
Greenwood, is the monument to Rudolph Gunner, 1833-1911, and
Augusta, his wife, 1850-1923. The history of Rudolph Gunner was
full of romance and tragedy. Of an ancient Austrian family,
General Gunner was Maximilian's chief of staff, and came with
him to Mexico. He had seen active service as an officer
with Franz Joseph, emperor of Austria, in Hungary and in Italy.
He escorted Empress Carlotta from
Mexico to the court of Napoleon third, where she made an unsuccessful
attempt to secure French money and soldiers to assist her husband
in carrying out his dream of empire. Leaving Carlotta in
France, he returned to Mexico to share the fate of his commander,
but at Vera Cruz, he was informed of the execution of Maximilian,
and shortly after, he came to Texas.
* *
*
Perpetual Care Planned.
You would scarcely think of fashions
in connection with a cemetery, but there are fashions there as
elsewhere. The ornate monument in beautiful, the private
vault is a luxury, but the time comes when families die out,
when there is left no one to care for the deserted graves. The
smaller headstones lose their erectness, the names are obliterated,
the flowers droop and die. Some years ago, there was organized
a movement toward simple markers and a level lawn which is easily
cared for.
Shrubbery is massed, and flower
beds made where they can receive attention and a beautiful garden
effect is achieved. The endowment of a cemetery makes it
possible for it to be always cared for, and always beautiful.
This, it is hoped, will be the
fate of Greenwood.
- April
5, 1925, Dallas Times Herald, Sec. II, p. 4, col. 3-7.
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