FIRST Recorded Burial in Fairview Cemetery - Hagansport, TX
N 33° 19.776 W 095° 18.462
15S E 285206 N 3690204
A 1995 Texas Historical Marker at Fairview Cemetery indicates that the first recorded burial here was that of Wilson B. Westerman, back in 1881.
Waymark Code: WMYW53
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 07/31/2018
Views: 0
Mr. Westerman's marble headstone is on its back on the ground, and besides being broken and obscuring the day of his birth, it is in very good shape in terms of legibility (which won't last long as the elements do their work on it). At the top is a rose, and it reads:
Wilson B.
Westerman
Nov ??, 1851.
Died
Dec. 3, 1881.
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As a husband devoted
As a father affectionate
As a friend ever kind and true
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The historical marker provides some background:
Kentucky native and cattleman Julian N. Kimberlin (1848-1932) donated five acres of land here in 1880 to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, for Grange hall, church, school, and burial purposes. The first recorded burial was that of Wilson B. Westerman in 1881.
Although a local Grange chapter evidently never was organized, a building was erected by 1885 that served as a school and sanctuary for the Fairview community. By the time the church building was destroyed by a storm in 1913 the Fairview Methodist Church was no longer active. The community erected a new building several miles south of the cemetery near the community of Oak Dale. The new structure, known as Oak Dale Church, housed Fairview School and served as a non-denominational church building.
In 1928-29 Fairview citizens erected a new chapel adjacent to the cemetery. The building became the site for religious and funeral services and special events for a number of denominations in the area.
The perpetual care Fairview Cemetery presently contains more than 300 burials. Among the people interred here are many of the pioneer settlers of the area and their descendants and Civil War veteran C.C. Choate.
FIRST - Classification Variable: Person or Group
Date of FIRST: 12/06/1881
More Information - Web URL: [Web Link]
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