A gravestone carving from 1862

Yes, it probably is pretty valuable . . . to a metal scrapper. A statue of the Ukrainian poet Shevchenko was recently stolen in Toronto--the bronze weighing two tons was sawed off at the ankles. CBC radio reported that the head was discovered at a foundry nearby--it is assumed that the remainder of the statue had already been melted down. Quite an extraordinary effort by the thieves.

A brief article at the Toronto Sun

I suspect that whoever is stealing the fence to which you refer simply lacks the resources to haul it all away at once. The thieves there in Tejas probably lake either the chutzpah or the resources to haul it all away at once--so they grab enough to fit in the trunk or the back of a pick-up, and get the hell out of Dodge.

This has nothing to do with the thread. I just thought I would throw it in for interests sake.

The stone marks the grave of one of the policemen killed by Ned Kelly, probably our most famouse bushranger.

I love the inscription.

Ned Kelly. Is he the guy with the cast iron suit?

spot on DD.




I guess to really appreciate the photo I posted you need to know all the attached history.

shewolf.

Call the local Odd Fellows @ (512) 459-0864

Ask them to say who is buried in your cemetary.

There is also a very large Odd Fellows cemetary at Georgetown. They may have information about our mystery.

All local calls

So Ms. Wolfenden's report was incorrect. That nicely resolves the Mary Murphy puzzle. Someone should contact Ms. Wolfenden to let her know of the error and the correct data.

The symbol on the stones appears to contain the three linked chain of the Odd Fellows. On the down side, the photo enhancement might not be correct though it looks pretty solid to me. The Odd Fellows were active in the area from 1837 onward, and they sometimes mixed Odd Fellow and Masonic symbols. You have at least one with a legible name and date carved into the stone below the organizational symbol. If that stone is near the end of the second rank, or in the third rank, it may have been one of the last in the set. Since one in the set is marked with with name and dates, so might the others have been when they were new and freshly carved. If these markers originally contained the occupant's names/dates, then we no longer have to wonder why expensive stones were set on anonymous or pauper graves, and that is one of the central problems with these markers. Are you certain that the names/dates of the subject grave markers haven't worn away?

There is enough variation in the stones photographed to strongly suggest that there was a relatively long time between the first and last burials. I think the first may have been the one pictured closest to the front of your car in the photos you've posted. There are three ranks of stones, with six graves in the first rank, five in the second (seems to be a gap there, which may also at one time have had a marker), and the last grave in the third rank is clearly from 1929. Since that 1929 marker is inside the curb containing the earlier markers, we have to suspect some sort of connection with the organization whose plot this was. The last marker in rank two is a different sort of stone from the others, and there appears to be a very small stone close to the 1929 marker.

Please contact the historian for the local Odd Fellows and see if they have evidence to either make this an Odd Fellows plot, or eliminate them as the organization responsible for these graves. You may want to inquire if the two names we have from the plot were Odd Fellows in life. There may be descendents of the 1929 gentleman still living in the area who could shed light on why their Grandad/Great Grandad was buried in this particular location.

Setanta and shewolf -

Walter Hinteler gave us the answer to the "fence" issue on p10 of this thread. In the article is =

((An April 12, 1901, headline in the Austin Daily Tribune reads, "Flowers Stolen From Graves," above the report "that for some time past the worst kind of vandalism has been committed in broad daylight at the city cemetery. Floral designs and other decorations have been stolen from a number of graves." In "Vandalism Told to City Council," in the Oct. 1, 1937, issue of the Austin American, a man complains to council members about a monument to his father being "marred by 'boys chunking rocks at it and chipping it.'" The more things change ... - just last year, some antique fencing was stolen from the oldest sections of the cemetery. (The thief was caught and jailed, and most of the fencing was recovered.) ))

I was just suggesting a motive for the theft, Danon . . .

Setanta,

There is a newspaper report that some yahoo was arrested for stealing and selling portions of the cemetery ornamental fence to a local antiques dealer. The dealer became suspicious and notified the police, who made the arrest. Seized fencing was returned to Oakwood cemetery.

The fence in question, is not the fence I have pictured.

The fence that was stolen, found, then returned is on the other side of the yard now tied down with metal rings and thick bike chains.

This one loses small, almost hand size pieces.
Essentially, what it looks like to me is that people are breaking off pieces of the decoration for their own personal use. There are no large sections missing at all.
In fact, a great example of the size of pieces that go missing is in my picture.

As for the phone call, I did call the organization right after you posted the number Danon the other day.. I was told that the typography union might know more about Oakwood as they were a big contributor to alot of the pauper graves, and had done some smaller more elaborate settings for their own Union Members.
Alot of times, family members of the Union got a nice headstone , but the members of the union were placed on a different, more expensive plot. Sometimes so far away that most would not know they were related


But he did not know how to find anyone left of that union ( it ended in early 1920's ) so .. off to google I have been.

Thank you, shewolf -

That response is reasonable considering the time lapse involved. They may not have records. Or, they may not actually feel like looking for the record.

Thanks anyway.

The fence business interests me. I've designed several solid and ornate iron fences and gates in my day...

Im thinking that might be the reason.

Im not media, Im not drumming up funds for the cemetery, nor am I a political figure. Im just some person who is curious about a group of stones that look older then they should , and that have no markings that are familiar to me.

Why would they waste their time on that?

( insert a big disappointed sigh here)

If you enjoy gothic style fence designs.. you should absolutely see this cemetery.

Or, I can just post more pictures.

Love those photos...
would enjoy them if/when you have time, but don't want to sidetrack the thread.

re A gravestone carving from 1862
Quite frankly it looks like the star of David Israeli symbol but it is also the sign of witchcraft or black magic known as a hex

Re: re A gravestone carving from 1862


If you go back and read the thread you will find these theories have been discussed.

It does not look like a star of David nor a witches hex. Is there a historical society in the town? Most towns have one. They could answer the question and solve the mystery!

Wow.

I got a email with this link for an explination -

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/utarl/00070/arl-00070.html


There was little to no explination, just a simple " thank you for your interest" line, and a link.

Well, that's kind of neat. A mystery solved. It'd be nice to see the actual union logo as confirmation, though I accept that it is so. It's a printers' union for heaven's sake…there should be letterhead …

I followed your link a few ways and found this, in part:





I can't post a direct link, as sessions ?'time out.'

I'd like to know why members were blacklisted (simply non payment of dues?)… and if any of the markers in the gravesite were for people named in that ca.1873-1897 volume. If the person you spoke to was right… and that section of the graveyard fits the 1850 - 1890 range…

Or maybe it's just that the blacklist refers to individuals/companies who didn't pay a fair wage etc…though the wording suggests it was the actual members themselves.

I've also a passing interest in the story behind union items in the cornerstone of the Austin Labor temple (what items?) Why were they removed in 1959? Quite likely a story dull as mud, but now that I can't possibly know…I want to.

If I were anywhere near the University of Texas at Arlington Library I might be inclined to drop by, though it would take resolve to slog through 15 boxes of archival/manuscript material … Ok, no, as I type this I admit I wouldn't.

Very nice thread. Love the photos.