Today we visited one of the oldest cemeteries in Tarrant County, Oakwood. It's very large, set on a hill overlooking the Trinity River on the opposite side from the city of Fort Worth. 
One of my main genealogy goals during my visit here was to find my great grandmother, Margaret Elizabeth (Loving) Pollard's grave. Growing up, Nana often mentioned her twin sisters, Emily and Francis, who died before she (Nana) was born, her sister, Mamie, who died when she was 20, and her mother, Margaret, who died when Nana was only 6 or 7 years old. Later I found that there was also another sister, Lillian, who had died at the age of 6 months, Margaret's first child. So, Margaret lost 4 children, and she, herself, died young, in her early 40's. Such sadness. It's hard to even imagine.
"Emily, Fannie, born Feb 10, 1884, died June 21, 1884, children of G.J. and M.E. Pollard." Born on the same day, died on the same day, at the age of 4 months. Sweet babies.
I stood there for a few quiet moments and looked at the empty ground around the stone. I will never know for sure, but I would like to think that I was standing close to my great grandmother, Margaret's, grave. 
One of my main genealogy goals during my visit here was to find my great grandmother, Margaret Elizabeth (Loving) Pollard's grave. Growing up, Nana often mentioned her twin sisters, Emily and Francis, who died before she (Nana) was born, her sister, Mamie, who died when she was 20, and her mother, Margaret, who died when Nana was only 6 or 7 years old. Later I found that there was also another sister, Lillian, who had died at the age of 6 months, Margaret's first child. So, Margaret lost 4 children, and she, herself, died young, in her early 40's. Such sadness. It's hard to even imagine.I was unable to find Margaret's name in any cemetery records that are available, but records show that three of her children are buried here at Oakwood. A Fort Worth newspaper article published in the 1920's told the story of some of the early pioneers of Fort Worth and said that Margaret, too, was buried at Oakwood. In the back of my mind I thought that when I found the children's graves, I would find a broken stone that I would know was Margaret. Alas, it was not to be. The twins died in 1884 and share a stone. Mamie's stone, if she ever had one, is missing, and there is no broken stone nearby that I could say might be Margaret's. Instead, the oldest stone, the twins' stone, is standing there alone in a wide open space. It's nearly illegible and covered with moss. It reads,
"Emily, Fannie, born Feb 10, 1884, died June 21, 1884, children of G.J. and M.E. Pollard." Born on the same day, died on the same day, at the age of 4 months. Sweet babies.
I stood there for a few quiet moments and looked at the empty ground around the stone. I will never know for sure, but I would like to think that I was standing close to my great grandmother, Margaret's, grave. 
5 comments:
We walked back and forth, row by row, block by block, reading the hundreds of names...and suddenly, there it was: "Emily, Fannie...," on weather-worn stone, the engraved letters slowly eroding, the moss further intruding. Forgotten passages floated up from the dark: "Naked came I into this world, naked shall I depart...the rain falls on the good and the evil...there is nothing new under the sun...blessed are the poor in spirit, for they shall inherit the earth." It's a good life.
It so sad!! Little babies. Do you know how they died or why they did...so young? And was dying on the same day unusual? It seems so to me. I can't imagine the heartbreak. Makes my heart hurt to think about it. I think I am going to go squeeze Wyatt and kiss him all over. Jilly too when she wakes up.
It is neat that the headstone is still there though. It amazes me that it would still be there after so much time. I would imagine that as you stand looking at it you would feel connected to those that you know you would be close too, had you been alive at the same time.
Ames, thanks for your insightful comment. Glenn and I talked about them dying on the same day and thought that it was so unusual. Glenn said it was if they had one soul. When you read some of the studies done on twins separated at birth you run into some very uncanny "coincidences" that are really not coincidental at all. I liked Glenn's take on it. I don't know the cause of death, but in 1884 without the advances of modern medicine that we take for granted, it's probable that they were premature and didn't have the birth weight or development to survive.
Very sad. Amazingly so, to think that after all these years we are too, mourning the loss of two children who must've meant so much to my great, great, grandmother. They were lost but not forgotton. Thank you for remembering them and thus honoring them once again.
Thanks, Janelle. Yes, it's amazing that we are feeling the loss so strongly after all these years. It makes me love that great grandmother I never knew.
Post a Comment