EARLIEST Marked Grave in New York Cemetery - New York, TX
N 32° 09.911 W 095° 40.013
15S E 248511 N 3561862
A 1999 Texas Historical Marker at the front of New York Cemetery notes that the earliest marked grave in the cemetery belongs to Enoch Tunnell, who was buried here in 1879.
Waymark Code: WMZZTY
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 01/29/2019
Views: 0
This beautiful headstone obviously was not placed at the time of Mr. Tunnell's passing, and it looks more like something placed maybe in the 1920s or a bit later. It is made of pink and gray marble, with the family name, "Tunnell" in relief on the reverse. Flourishes are in the upper corners on the front, and below the compass and square of the Freemasons is this inscription:
Enoch Tunnell
Born Jan. 20, 1816
Died Dec. 9, 1879
At rest
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The historical marker provides some background:
The New York Cemetery, established in the 1870s near the local Methodist church, grew from a tiny burial ground through the generous land donations of area settlers. The earliest marked grave is that of Enoch Tunnell (1816-1879). Twelve more graves appeared by the end of 1883, including those of many infants and young children.
Mrs. Martha Dismuke gave an acre of land to the Methodist church for a public graveyard in 1883. She was the mother of Rissa Dismuke Hall, the third wife of Dr. Thomas Hunt Hall, a physician and circuit-riding Methodist minister. Their nine children were cared for by Martha Dismuke after Rissa Hall died in 1891.
The Rev. James Carr Walker, who established the first New York community store and the Methodist church, sold parcels of his extensive landholdings to newly settled farmers. He and his wife, Mary Fain Walker, had ten children. Mary Walker gave half an acre for the public cemetery in 1884 following James Walker's death. Nancy E. Walker, a daughter of James and Mary Walker, and her husband John Harrison Reynolds are reported to have given an additional half acre of land to the cemetery. Horace Clinton Hall, a son of Dr. Thomas and Rissa Hall who owned the New York store for several years, and his wife Viola Beckham Hall gave more land to the growing cemetery.
Dennis W. and Clara (Tindel) Sholars and Seaborn Calvin and Laura (Garrett) Tindel gave the southern portion of the cemetery in 1939. One of the first graves in that section was that of Clara and Calvin's father, Seaborn F. Tindel, in 1941. By the end of the 20th century, the cemetery included more than 600 graves and continued to serve as a chronicle of the New York community.
FIRST - Classification Variable: Person or Group
Date of FIRST: 12/12/1879
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