FIRST Grave in Payne Springs Cemetery - Payne Springs, TX
N 32° 16.752 W 096° 04.256
14S E 775876 N 3575151
A complementary headstone at the final resting place of Elendor Loper Reynolds, in historic Payne Springs Cemetery, notes that hers was the first grave in the cemetery, back in 1880.
Waymark Code: WMZCRC
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 10/20/2018
Views: 0
Mrs. Reynolds's original marble headstone is broken, and it looks like it has been on its back for a long time, subject to time and the rough weather we have in Texas. It is virtually illegible, save for a few bits of letters near the center. The replacement is of red granite, and it reads:
Elendor Loper Reynolds
November 4, 1812
November 14, 1880
Daughter of Joseph and Sarah Ann Loper
Wife of Matthew Reynolds
1805-1855
This was the first grave in
Payne Springs Cemetery
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A 1984 Texas Historical Marker for the cemetery and adjacent church mentions that Mrs. Reynolds and her daughter, right next to her with a similar replacement marker, were the first and second burials in the cemetery:
For over a century, this church and cemetery have served the community of Payne Springs, originally known as Mallard Prairie. By 1880 the church already had a large membership and met in a log structure. The church building served as a gathering place for elections and political rallies. Summer revivals were held under a brush arbor on the church grounds. The revivals often lasted two weeks and were social as well as religious events.
Local tradition indicates the cemetery was started when a child from a family traveling west was buried by a small cedar tree in the churchyard. The first marked grave was that of a mother and daughter who were buried on the other side of the cedar. Elenor Reynolds (1812-1880) and her daughter, Mary Ann Davis (1829-1880), died within a day of each other.
The Mallard Prairie School once stood near the church and cemetery. It later moved across the road, and the growth of the cemetery took in land where the school and early church buildings stood. The burial ground now contains over 1,000 graves. An annual July 4th workday evolved into a fund raising event for the cemetery's upkeep.
FIRST - Classification Variable: Person or Group
Date of FIRST: 11/14/1880
More Information - Web URL: [Web Link]
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