Friends of Bennett Cemetery

Cox Family

gbethel — Sat, 01 May 2010 16:36:11 +0000

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Friends of Bennett Cemetery BOD Meeting

gbethel — Sat, 01 May 2010 16:15:39 +0000

2010 BOD Meeting - Donation Check

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Gay Bethel, Secretary accepts $100 Check from Lavaca County Historical Commission

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 14:56:41 +0000

Harvey Matusek of Sweet Home presented the check to the Secretary, Gay Bethel, of Dallas Texas.

The Lavaca County Historical Commission presented a $100 grant to The Friends of Bennett Cemetery, Inc. at the corporation’s annual meeting at Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Sweet Home on March 29. The grant, presented by Harvey Matusek, member of the commission, was awarded for teh purpose of continuing a plan for long-term restoration of the cemetery.

Bennett Cemetery is the final resting place for many of Lavac County’s earliest citizens, including legendary Texas cattlemen and cowboys, soldiers of the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Civil War, and World War I and II, as well as some of the earliest Czech and German immigrants to the area. It has been designated an Official Historic Texas Cemetery.

The Friends of bennett Cemetery is a Texas nonprofit corporation dedicated to saving and preserving the historic graveyard. the group solicits and is entirely dependent upon donations, which are tax deductible. Donations can be sent to:

Friends of Bennett Cemetery, Inc
c/o Bobbie Brune, Treasurer,
P.O. Box 195,
Palacios, Texas 77465

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Ezekiel Pickens Noble and Sarah Margaret (Calhoun) Noble

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 15:40:27 +0000

Ezekiel Pickens Noble was born in Abbeville, South Carolina on December 2, 1817, and he was the son of the Governor of the state, Patrick Calhoun Noble, and his wife, Elizabeth Bonneau Pickens. Ezekiel lived on the family plantation near what is now Willington, South Carolina, and studied law at South Carolina College and Princeton University. Ezekiel married his third cousin, Sarah Margaret Calhoun.

Sarah Margaret was born in Abbeville on February 18, 1821. She was the daughter of William Calhoun and Catherine Jenner DeGraffenreid and the niece of John C. Calhoun — Vice president of the United States.

Ezekiel and Sarah Margaret Noble were members of the old Willington Presbyterian Church in the Abbeville District, South Carolina. But before the Civil War, they left Abbeville, SC and purchased a plantation near Tallahatchia, Mississippi.

After living in luxury all their lives, Ezekiel and Sarah Noble lost all their wealth in the Civil War. Two of Ezekiel’s brothers had settled in Hallettsville, Texas, and in about 1866, Ezekiel and Sarah Noble moved with their eleven children into a one room log cabin in nearby Hope, Texas. However, Ezekiel Noble’s family finally settled in Sweet Home, Texas which is even closer to Hallettsville. Ezekiel Noble and his wife, Sarah, are buried in the Bennett Cemetery in tiny, Sweet Home, Texas near the towns of Hope, Hallettsville, and Victoria in south-east, Texas.

Map Location: 53 (J/21)

Below is a list of the children of Ezekiel Pickens Noble and his wife, Sarah Margaret Calhoun.

Martha B. Noble b. June 10, 1840
Elizabeth B. Noble b. August 4, 1841
Patrick Noble b. November 20, 1842
Catherine J. Noble b. Sept. 19, 1844
William C. Noble b. October 7, 1846
Lucretia Noble b. December 26, 1847
Eugenia F. Noble b. Nov. 28, 1849
Ezekiel P. Noble b. May 24, 1851
Armsted Burt Noble b. Mar. 9, 1853
Mary Watt Noble b. Feb. 9, 1858
George A. Noble b. Aug. 8, 1863

Map Location: 53 (J/21)

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The joy of genealogy and family history

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 22:47:07 +0000

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Decoration Day

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 20:32:38 +0000

By Melinda Berry, President

What exactly is Decoration Day? Though I had heard the term occasionally during my growing-up years, I had never given it much thought. As I have grown older, it is a term I hear much less frequently, but a casual mention of it recently has led me to do a little investigating. Let me share with you what I found. Perhaps you’ll find it as interesting as I did.

First of all, Decoration Day is the former name of what is now known as Memorial Day. Stories vary, but most seem to indicate that it began during the Civil War. Because most of the battles of the war were fought in the South, most of the fallen soldiers from both sides were buried in the South. Organized women’s groups may have started the tradition of tending and decorating the graves, but soon several communities were spontaneously establishing days to honor the war dead. Though Waterloo, NY has laid claim to beginning the tradition, it is not a claim that goes unchallenged!

Memorial Day was officially proclaimed by General John Logan on May 5, 1868, but it took until after World War I for the day to be acknowledged by all of the states – especially those in the South. Now Memorial Day is celebrated on the last Monday in May to honor all Americans who have died fighting in any war, and Decoration Day as a national holiday exists no more.

There is however, another aspect of Decoration Day which is found mainly in the South. Many communities set aside a day, usually in the late spring or early summer, to come together to tend their cemeteries and honor their dead. All of the graves, not just those of fallen veterans, are included. At these gatherings family members even return “home” from far-off places to help clean, restore, and decorate the cemetery. It is a day of family reunions, celebrations, and remembrances of their heritage. Picnic lunches are eaten, laughter is shared, and the community draws closer together in their past.

There is no Decoration Day designated in Sweet Home or for the Bennett Cemetery. We have been fortunate that through your donations we have been able to keep the cemetery well tended year round, and we don’t have to spend a back-breaking day cleaning our ancestors’ graves anymore. Having done it several times before FOBC was established, I can testify to the sheer enormity of doing even one family plot! Perhaps I can share a few suggestions with you as I contemplate Decoration Day and what it still means to us.

Hold a family reunion whenever and wherever it’s possible. The younger generations need to hear the old stories and traditions of your family. Help them feel connected to their ancestors and their heritage.
make a trip to the cemeteries in which your ancestors lie. At Bennett Cemetery, you won’t be clearing weeds, but perhaps you will find that your ancestors’ monuments need cleaning and repairing. And then decorate! A few flowers surely add a lot to the appearance of the cemetery, and if you come in the spring, enjoy the beautiful wildflowers in Lavaca County.
Consider joining us at the board meeting we are holding on March 29th. Ask questions, make suggestions, and give us feedback. Most of all just come and meet us, if you haven’t, and share your stories. This is as close to Decoration Day as we have, and I can testify to the fact that it’s fun to get together with the decendants of the other families represented in the cemetery.
And last, but not least, make a donation to help us keep Bennett Cemetery alive. Every year we’ve made more progress in its restoration, thanks to the donations we receive, but each year we also face unique challenges in meeting our financial needs. This year appears to be no exception. I guarantee it will be appreciated! Help us keep up the tradition of Decoration Day all year at Bennett Cemetery.

Send donations to:

The Friends of Bennett Cemetery
c/o Bobbie Brune, Treasurer
P.O. Box 195
Palacios, TX 77465

Editor’s note: if you have family history or an article or idea that you would like to share , we would love to hear from you! Just make a comment below and we will receive it!

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2008 Board Meeting

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:54:12 +0000

The Board of Directors of The Friends of Bennett Cemetery, Inc. will meet March 29, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. in the social hall of Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Sweet Home. Board members, Paul Noble and Gay Bethel, are up for reelection to the board and have volunteered to succeed themselves in those positions. Nominations are open for these places, and if anyone would like to serve or nominate anyone else to serve, please contact our secretary, Gay Bethel, so that we eill have a written record of it.

The Board will aslo vote on a new budget, review the status of projects which were planned at the last meeting, and set new goals for the coming year. All interested parties are welcome to attend the meeting.

Please join if you can.

Map to Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Sweet Home

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Monument Repair Project

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:45:01 +0000

Thanks to the generosity of the Lavaca County Historical Commission last year, we were able to continue our program of repairing monuments. We had selected the possible candidates and met with Mr. Joe Solansky of Capitol Monument to discuss them. Repair of all of them was too expensive so we selected five that would fit into our budget. They were a Bennett monument, three Dyer monuments, and one for McCord, Jno.

Mr. Solansky had a shake-up in his company and in the confusion all nine monuments that we had discussed were repaired. Because our dudget would not stretch enough to pay for all nine in 2007, we reached an agreement with Capitol Monument to pay the balance in 2008. As a result the following monumnets were also repaired – Rathke, Harrison, Tate, and Morgan. Needless to say, we will not be selecting new ones for this year. In fact future repairs will be almost impossible unless family members pitch in. That is the only way that we can continue the program. We ask that you give a much as you can or as much as you think our efforts are worth.

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New Name Discovered

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:37:24 +0000

Brenda Lincke-Fisseler, who has been such a help to us over the years, has again contributed information about people of whom we were unaware are interred in Bennett Cemetery. They are John M. Tissue and his wife Annie who lived in Yoakum. John was born in Duncan Bridge, Missouri on October 19, 1863 and died in Yoakum onApril 24, 1942. He was a painter and paper hanger. His wife, Annie Tissue, was born June 8, 1860 and died in Yoakum on August 17, 1949. We have no idea of the exact location of their graves, but we are very glad to know they are there and will, in due course, add their names to our Memorial Monument.

Thanks for your help, Brenda.

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The Dyer Family

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 15:57:47 +0000

By Coincidence, at the time the author had begun work on this newsletter, an email arrived with information on the Dyers who are buried in Bennett Cemetery. Rr. William R. Martin provided the following information:

John P. Dyer was born 21 March 1826 in Tennessee. He married Lucy L. Dyer there in about 1851. Lucy was born in Hawkins, Tennessee on January 22, 1830. The couple moved to Lavaca County about 1857 where John farmed until his death. The Dyer children, Johnie “Erie” and Bonnie G. (Geniva) who are buried there were grandchildren of John and Lucy and the children of Alfred and Nolia Springfield Dyer. The piece of a marker with the name, _manda, is no doubt part of that belonging to their daughter, Amanda, born about 1864 and died between 1870 and 1880.

Isn’t it great to have a better idea of who these people were? By chance, three of the five monuments that had been selected for repair were those belonging to the Dyer family.

Thanks, Bill!

If any of you would like to share information about your family in Bennett Cemetery, please contact us!

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