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Williams Buck Cemetery,
Williamson County,
Texas - brief
photo by Lynda
Duncan Miles
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From Seward Junction take TS 183 north to the
junction with CR 207. Turn left or west on CR 207 and
drive 2.7 miles to the junction with CR 202. Turn left
on CR 202 and the cemetery will be on the left. This is
cattle country. Open and CLOSE all gates to the cemetery
proper
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Marker Text
Legend surrounds the first years of this burial ground.
Local oral history relates that among the earliest
graves are those of a slave called Willie Osborne and an
unknown Native American. Members of the Stephens family,
ambushed by Indians in 1854, are said to have been
buried here in their wagon. The oldest marked grave is
that of infant Polly Williams, interred in 1854 on land
owned by W. W. Williams. A cemetery association was
organized in 1960s. Many honored veterans of Confederate
and U. S. Armed Forces are interred here. Fifteen graves
were moved from the Bullion Cemetery in the 1970s when
Lake Georgetown was formed. More than 240 graves were
counted in 1997. (1998)
Historical Narrative by Researched and written
by Travis and Charlene Hanson Jordan
Hidden away in the cedars and oaks of western
Williamson County on a limestone outcropping, an old
cemetery shelters about 240 marked and unmarked graves.
Mowed and trimmed and surrounded by a chain-link fence,
the cemetery is an ongoing burying ground 5.5 miles from
the intersection of Highway 183 and County Road 207 on
CR 200.
Although the earliest burials were probably that of
Willie Osborne, a black slave belonging to the Williams
family and an Indian man who had the misfortune to win
at a gambling game, the earliest marked grave is that of
Polly Williams (1854), the infant child of Louis and
Polly Axley Williams. The latest is that of Tim Edward
Whitehead who was born on May 22, 1944, and died on May
16, 1997. A historic burial thought by some to be at
Williams Buck is that of the Stephen family ambushed by
Indians in 1854. Instead of coffins, they were buried in
the bed of their wagon after the wagon wheels and tongue
had been removed. Brymer Stephen, his wife Emily Cowan,
their son Johnny (12) and two daughters (ages 8 and 10)
were found by Mr. Mather and Mr. Bullion near the
Connell place on Bear Creek Road.
Near Liberty Hill on W.W.(Billy) Williams’ land, the
graveyard was established as the Williams Cemetery when
the child Polly was buried in a small above the ground
crypt formed of flat white stones fitted together like a
box. W.W. purchased the land from John F. Weber on May
3, 1851, and it passed to his daughter, Susanna who was
married to Civil War veteran J. N. Brown(5). Susanna
Brown’s daughters and W.W. Williams’ granddaughters,
Almyra and Delia, married sons of Abner Buck, Grover and
Crutchfield. Almyra and Grover Buck are buried at
Williams Buck.
Because the adjacent land had been sold to the Buck
family and the Williams, Brown and Buck families were
connected, the 3.08 acre Brown Williams community burial
ground(8) took on the name of Buck as an identifier. Ira
Whitehead, Clyde Duncan and Jack Copeland led the
cemetery association formed in 1963. On April 24, 1966,
Maggie Mather, Ozelle Mather, Lela Whitehead, Jack
Copeland and Ira and Nita Whitehead organized the Buck
Cemetery Association to make improvements to the
cemetery and its access road and to install a chain-link
fence to keep cattle out. Among others who worked were
the Charlie Vickers, Sam Jacksons, and Anthony Inmans.
When the Cemetery Association was formally incorporated
on October 2, 1986, the graveyard was called Williams
Buck to commemorate the history of the
hallowed ground. Incorporators were William Buck,
Georgetown, Texas; and Cecil Williams and Lola Vickers
King , with Mrs. King of Route 2, Box 10K, Liberty Hill,
Texas, as the initial registered agent. A list of more
than 200 names and addresses was attached to the charter
in the President’s Notebook. Nadine Higginbotham of
Austin, a member of the Whitehead family, is President.
In the early days, the rocks were grubbed out of the
soil and piled on the property boundaries. Willie
Osborne is supposed to have placed the stones around the
cemetery. He, like other slaves, is thought to be buried
within the stone walls, but outside the chain-link
fence. These graves are still marked with limestone, but
their names have long since
disappeared. The names chiseled on the white limestone
reflect the Anglo-American background of the settlement.
Because many of the families have lived there half a
dozen generations, most of the people buried in the
cemetery are related through marriage and kinship. The
dates on the stones show that their arrival was
contemporary with the surrounding communities( and
reflect major events, such as the Civil War and the
World Wars.
The inscriptions show that about 10% of those buried at
Williams Buck fought for their country. Of the
approximately twenty veterans known to be buried in the
cemetery, six who fought in the Civil War or were in the
Home Guard were Moses Thomas Whitehead (1825-1905), R.B.
Bullen (1818-1888), T.J. Duncan (1822-1895), Terry’s
Ranger Gary D. Stephen (1843-1921), J.N. Brown
(1843-1894) (Brown’s wife’s obituary states that he left
immediately after their wedding to take up service with
the Confederate Army) and Major John Bullion
(1829-1902). World War I veterans include Robert Frank
Whitehead (1892-1960), W. A. Bowman (1892-1964), and
Benjamin Kirk (1898-1979).
World War II was possibly the largest single catalyst
for change in both demographics and economics. Camp
(Fort) Hood less than thirty miles away provided work
and an unaccustomed prosperity in terms of cash money.
Proliferation of cars eased transportation and roads
were built making possible commuting to jobs and
schools. The jobs in town brought not only cash flow but
opportunity. Postwar, the strongest magnets for the
young in a wave of urbanization were the cities of
Austin and San Antonio and Waco and Temple. Many of the
young left, but others arrived, in marriage or in
retirement, evidenced by the names on the stones and on
the cemetery association’s list. Although many members
live elsewhere, they come back and they remember,
especially during the annual October meetings.
The dates on the stones show only life span and when old
people, infants, young men and women died. The reasons
why are found in obituaries, oral histories and
genealogies and vital statistics.
Some died in old age (19 were over 80) and others died
from exposure to extremes in weather and to diseases.
People also died following accidents, such as W.W.
Williams who drowned in the Gabriel(2); from
complications in child birth and from being stillborn.
Membranous croup (pneumonia) was a major cause of death
during the time of the Civil War(11) and cholera and
typhoid were caused by the use of impure surface water.
Water wells in the early days were difficult to dig
because of the limestone. Compared with present day
wells of 680720 feet in depth, most early wells were
shallow with the deepest no more than 150 to 250 feet.
The graves were dug by the families. During the Civil
War when men were away at war or in the Home Guard,
graves were dug by boys and old men. Funeral homes did
not yet exist and the dead were usually laid on a
cooling board on the back porch where the bodies were
washed, dressed and prepared for burial. The early
coffins were usually covered in black muslin, outside
and inside, and the black fabric also lined the hole in
the ground, but the pillow was white muslin.
The coffins in the early days were hand made of ripped
lumber. The wood was usually elm or post oak grown on
nearby Bear Creek and the North San Gabriel were the
river bottom trees grew bigger. Because of the stony
ground, cemeteries in western Williamson County had to
be located where graves could be dug, usually in caliche
deposits. A foot deep cut around the grave perimeter was
also lined with black muslin up until the 1920s. It is
thought to be a tradition brought from Europe. After the
service, the coffins would then be lowered into the
grave with lariats.
When the North Fork of the San Gabriel River was dammed
to form Lake Georgetown in the mid1970s, the graves from
several communities including part of Andice, Oatmeal,
Florence and Smithwick, were dug up and moved to other
cemeteries to save them from being inundated. The Army
Corps of Engineers published a Cemetery Relocation
Report describing the effort of the Army Corps of
Engineers to relocate the graves according to the wishes
of current family members. Some graves were reburied at
Rocky Hollow and the Presbyterian Cemetery in
Georgetown. Fifteen Bullion graves from the Bullion
Cemetery at Bullion Mountain (Lake Georgetown, Russell
Park, Jim Hogg Community) were moved to Williams Buck
because relatives were already buried there. Bullion
Mountain was an old settlement on the upper north San
Gabriel River, seven or eight miles east of Rock House
whereas Williams Buck was about two miles from it.
Although some of the graves were not marked, all them
were platted, numbered and transferred to the new
cemeteries. The unmarked graves were examined to see if
any item might identify the long dead. Many artifacts,
such as jewelry, hair barrettes and personal pocket
knives with initials were found, indexed and inspected
by the families and marked on a map.
The significance of the Williams Buck cemetery is
several fold. It is a social center for the living,
significant to many of the families in the community. It
chronicles social change, but more important, it is a
tangible monument to the past. A history written on
stone which documents the past for the families, for the
community and for the state.
Researched and written by Travis and Charlene Hanson
Jordan who give appreciation and credit to Irene Varan
(Williamson County Historical Commission Chair) for
assistance and support. Elgin, TX
view
Williams Buck Cemetery pdf
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