Jefferson Texas Oakwood Cemetery

 “In one of the stars I shall be living.”

 

Jefferson Texas Oakwood Cemetery

 White Bronze Monument 

Although not white, and not made of bronze, these memorials are usually very detailed, always different, and found in very good to excellent condition.   

White bronze monuments were most popular during the 1880s to 1900, a time when many people considered granite and marble stones to be too expensive.  Zinc, which is the element that makes up 99% of a white bronze monument, offered a less expensive alternative.

Jefferson Texas Oakwood Cemetery

 “Mourn not my death, but celebrate my life.”

A cloth draped over a column (or an urn) represents the pall – the covering for a coffin in a funeral procession. This is where the expressions "pallbearers" and "cast a pall over…" come from.  Represents loss of a family member; the draped column symbolizes mourning of that family member.  The draped or broken column also represents the "break" made by the deceased between the living and the dead, i.e., the transition between this world and your heavenly home.

When you see dove depicted on headstones in historic cemeteries, they represent innocence, peace, and/ or the Holy Spirit. 

A book found on a cemetery tombstone can represent many different things, including the book of life, often represented as the Bible.  A book on a gravestone may also depict learning, a scholar, a prayer, memory, or someone who worked as a writer, bookseller, or publisher. Books and scrolls can also represent the Evangelists. 

Angels are believed to be the guardians of mankind and can intercede for assistance from Heaven. 

Hands holding an open book (usually a representation of the Bible) symbolize the embodiment of faith. The rose can symbolise the one we have loved and lost and a deep longing. It is the quintessential emblem of earthly love. The Virgin Mary has been nicknamed “Rose”, bringing together both earthly and heavenly grace as well as piercing sorrow.

Angel with Anchor.  An anchor is an early Christian symbol of hope and at rest.

A lamb on a headstone often indicates the grave of an infant due to their innocence. as a symbol, lambs represent innocence and sacrifice. The lamb may also be a reference to a passage in the Bible (John 1:29) where John the Baptist calls Jesus, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” 

Diamond Bessie Moore - Jefferson Texas Oakwood Cemetery

“A love, true and constant.”

Diamond Bessie Moore her real name was Annie Stone,  who was reputed to have been a famous prostitute, arrived in Jefferson Texas by steamboat in January 1877 with her partner, Abraham Rothschild. Soon after their landing, the attractive, petite woman, who wore lavish dresses and diamond jewelry came to be nicknamed “Diamond Bessie”.  Bessie and Abe were last seen walking together across the foot bridge over Big Cypress Bayou, bound for an afternoon picnic, but shortly thereafter, Abe was seen returning alone. A few days later, Bessie’s body was discovered tragically murdered in the woods along the nearby bayou, with all of her jewelry missing. Abe Rothschild was  charged with the crime and his trial became one of the most notorious and widely followed court battles of that time period. Rothschild was eventually, although suspiciously, found not guilty. 

 

Grigsby Monument Jefferson Texas

Be still. 

Close your eyes. 

Breathe. 

Listen for my footfall in your heart. 

I am not gone but merely walk within you”

George Marshall Dallas Grigsby 1852–1906
BIRTH 26 MAY 1852 • Boone County, Kentucky, USA
DEATH 30 JUN 1906 • Jefferson, Marion, Texas, USA

Mattie Lee Rowland 1864–1904
BIRTH DECEMBER 1864 • Macon County, Alabama, USA
DEATH 14 NOVEMBER 1904 • Multnomah County, Oregon, USA

 

Oakwood Cemetery Jefferson Texas

The next few days I will be posting pictures and stories about my visit to Oakwood Cemetery in Jefferson Texas.  

Oakwood cemetery opened around 1846. Earlier one of Jefferson's Founders, Alan Urquhart, had donated a cemetery site that was unusable for burials. Mr. Urquhart then donated this present site which was much larger and contained more natural beauty than the previous site.

Oakwood Cemetery is culturally and historically unique in that it contains above ground burial sites similar to those found in South Louisiana, while also containing elaborately ornamental monuments that would have been found in the original thirteen colonies. There are many locally famous and infamous people buried at Historic Oakwood Cemetery including Diamond Bessie, John Vines, Outlaws Jesse Robinson & Bill Rose, Kate Woods, Jessie Allen Wise and Captain Joseph H. Platt.

John Vines served in the Civil War for the Confederacy as a Farrier. After the war he was the Sheriff of Marion County and was famous for bringing back Diamond Bessie's accused murderer, Abe Rothschild, back from Ohio to stand trial.

If you find a grave without a stone or inscription and consist of just two short poles linked by a chain, you have found the final resting place of Jesse Robinson and Bill Rose. Longtime outlaws and a real pain the neck to the people of Jefferson, they killed each other in a gunfight. Legend has it that the townsfolk buried them together in a single grave, chained together for eternity.

Kate Woods, a German immigrant who arrived in Jefferson in 1877, purchased and ran the Excelsior Hotel.

Also buried here is Captain Joseph H. Pratt, who served in the Confederacy. During the Civil War he led the 10th Texas Field Battery during the Civil War. Other Confederate soldiers are buried here too, along with soldiers from the United States of America who served and died in the Jefferson area during reconstruction.

When visiting Historic Oakwood Cemetery, or any other cemetery, please keep in mind that this is the final resting place for real people. Buried in these cemeteries are Fathers and Mothers, Sons and Daughters and Wives and Husbands. Always keep in mind that others may be paying respects to their loved ones, so keep your voices low. Please never walk or stand on anyone's grave and never sit or lean on someone's memorial. Also keep in mind that some of these gravestones are very old and are very fragile.

Leave all items - toys, coins, bottles of alcohol, stones on the grave or headstone. These mementos have significance.

For thousands of years, many people memorialized their loved ones by burying them and placing stones on top of their graves. Known as cairns, these stones were stacked on top of the graves to mark the burial site and to protect them from animals.

Today, leaving a stone, pebbles, painted stones on a grave is a way of continuing this tradition of commemorating loved ones. The number of stones placed on top of a headstone equates to the number of visitors.

It is a Jewish custom to place a stone or pebble on a headstone order to keep the soul of the deceased where it belongs.

A coin left on a headstone lets the deceased soldier's family know that somebody stopped by to pay their respects. If you leave a penny, it means you visited. A nickel means that you and the deceased soldier trained at boot camp together. If you served with the soldier, you leave a dime. A quarter is very significant because it means that you were there when that soldier was killed.

Please be respectful.