OCTOBER 2013
SUNRAYS | 59
ONLINE:
SCTXCA.ORG
and helps him repair and reset damaged
gravestones. Finally, all the restored
gravestones are photographed.
Gravestones that appear blank from
weathering are rubbed with various
tools to bring out the lettering. Photo-
graphs are then further enhanced on the
computer for clarity before being posted
online.
Restoring these cemeteries has become
John’s hobby and his work. He tries to
talk anyone into joining him. Depending
on health and time constraints, helpers
have moved in and out of the band, but
two friends, Lee Forster and Glen Smi-
ley, join John regularly and embark on
the current project with a trunk full of
tools―rakes, shovels, weed-whackers,
chain saws and blowers.
A local Boy Scout troop has also helped
John clean these cemeteries. After troop
leaders contacted Wayne, he got in touch
with John. Together, Wayne and John
were able to find cemeteries for the
scouts to work, earning requirements
to receive their Eagle Scout Badges. The
boys were not allowed to use power tools,
so their parents and troop leaders came
along to help and do the cutting, while
they did the rest of the clearing with
John and other helpers.
SPECIAL DISCOVERIES
One famous gravestone John saw in the
Odd Fellows Cemetery in Georgetown is
that of Nannie Elizabeth Houston-Mor-
row, the eldest daughter of SamHouston.
Also at the Odd Fellows Cemetery, John
discovered a Civil War veteran’s grave
without a marker. After notifying the
Veterans Administration, that organiza-
tion provided a gravestone for the soldier.
The installation at the cemetery involved
15 members of The Sons of Confeder-
ate Veterans who turned out in period
uniforms, along with their wives who
wore dresses like those worn during the
Civil War. The placement of the soldier’s
headstone was accorded the honor of a
military funeral, complete with a gun
salute using period rifles.
John learned of the Hargis Family Cem-
etery between Taylor and Coupland,
Texas, but was told by an earlier visitor
it was so overgrown as to be “impen-
etrable.” Well, there is no such thing to
an Army veteran. John was able to make
his way into the cemetery and find the
gravestones, take photographs and post
them to the Web. Hargis Cemetery is set
to be fully cleaned and cleared this fall.
STAYING PHYSICALLY &
MENTALLY FIT
A side effect of this hobby had given
the men a physical fitness and flexibil-
ity level that most have to work hard at
the gym to get. John, at 82, is flexible
and strong―how about that for a pay-
off! His constant bending and leaning to
move heavy weights, plus getting just the
right angle for maximum legibility for a
photograph, has made him very limber.
I asked John if working around graves
was depressing. After some thought he
answered, “No, but I do notice that most
of the gravestones are of people younger
than I. It’s not depressing, just an ob-
servation.”
John and his many volunteers have
accomplished much, and have shared
invaluable information and photos for
other genealogists all over the country.
He has visited every cemetery in Wil-
liamson County, taken 126,129 photos,
and posted 61,967 memorials to the Find
A Grave website.
John, Lee and Glen clean and maintain
abandoned cemeteries in Williamson
County, which has more than enough to
keep them busy; however, John has also
been busy photographing gravestones in
bordering counties, such as Milam, Lee,
Bell and Burnet. The work goes on―but
it would go faster and better with more
volunteers and a riding mower with a
trailer to transport it! Anyone up for
keeping fit?
FUN FACT
The largest cemetery John
has photographed is Taylor
City Cemetery in Taylor, Tex-
as, with over 12,000 graves.
PHOTO BY EDNA HEARD
