OLDEST Known Burial in I.O.O.F. Cemetery - Caddo Mills, TX
N 33° 03.681 W 096° 14.946
14S E 756840 N 3661452
A 2001 Texas Historical Marker in Caddo Mills's I.O.O.F. Cemetery notes that the 1893 -- actually 1883 -- burial of Nancy Gary is the oldest known burial in the cemetery.
Waymark Code: WMWTPN
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 10/12/2017
Views: 0
Mrs. Gary is buried alongside her husband, A.A. Gary, and her headstone has the family name, "Gary", on the plinth, and an open book -- a Bible or the Book of Life -- at the top. Below, and a bit weathered, is "Sacred to the Memory of" with a rose underneath, and this inscription:
Nancy C.
Wife of
A.A. Gary
Born
Dec. 25, 1839,
Died
Jan. 27, 1883.
---
Life is but a winter's day, a journey to the tomb,
But the Christian shall enjoy health and bounty
soon above.
--
The historical marker is off by ten years on the burial, but it is fine otherwise, and provides some background:
The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (I.O.O.F.) is a fraternal service organization with chapters in communities around the world. Caddo Mills Lodge No. 416, I.O.O.F., was organized for members in nearby Caddo Mills, a railroad stop on the Missouri, Kansas and Texas railroad.
Burials already existed on this property in 1902, when J.S. Stidham, C.J. Howard and R.B. McAdams, trustees of Caddo Mills Lodge No. 416, purchased 4.55 acres of land for use as a cemetery. The oldest known burial is that of Nancy Gary, who died in 1893. Additional purchases over the years enlarged the graveyard, which now contains more than 2,000 burials. In 1925, the lodge turned over the care of the cemetery to the Caddo Mills Cemetery Association, although the I.O.O.F. name was retained. Their first memorial and homecoming service took place in 1937. In 1979, the Dugan-Clark Cemetery, located across Highway 6, became part of the I.O.O.F. Cemetery.
Serving the communities of Caddo Mills and Josephine and the surrounding area, this burial ground is a chronicle of the history of the people who settled and worked here. Tombstones denote the service of military veterans from the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam. The I.O.O.F. Cemetery also continues as a reminder of the contributions of Caddo Mills Lodge No. 416, which merged with a neighboring lodge in 1925.
FIRST - Classification Variable: Person or Group
Date of FIRST: 01/30/1883
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