TX Bath Cemetery - Bath, Walker County 6/7/2025

[bdtex]

On Saturday 6/7/2025, I made a daytrip to Waco for a late birthday celebration with my son and grandson. On the way, I stopped at Bath Cemetery in Walker County on the southwest outskirts of Huntsville,Texas and northwest of New Waverly, Texas. It's on Possum Walk Rd. about 9 miles west of IH45 at New Waverly. Not sure how long Bath Cemetery has been on my visit list. It's about a 1 hour, 20 minutes drive from my house and not far off the beaten path. I got there at 6:12a.m. Sunrise was 6:26am. The picture above was taken at 7:04a.m.

 

[bdtex]

There are 455 memorials on the FindAGrave page of Bath Cemetery and 3 Confederate veterans are buried there. Two of Confederate veterans buried there have military gravestones, the other has a civilian gravestone. I had my usual veterans list, cleaning supplies, landscaping implements including a weedeater, and grave marker flags. I had a good cellphone signal there that was helpful finding the civilian gravestone. The cemetery appeared to be mostly well maintained and has room for future interments.

Bath Community Cemetery in Bath, Texas - Find a Grave Cemetery

Find 455 memorial records at the Bath Community Cemetery cemetery in Bath, Texas. Add a memorial, flowers or photo.

www.findagrave.com

 

[bdtex]

The historical marker at Bath Cemetery:

 

[bdtex]

There's another historical marker at Bath Cemetery. In front of the cemetery is Union Hill Church, founded in 1872. There's also a nice writeup at the Texas State Historical Association about what once was the community of Bath and the origin of "Possum Walk".

History of Bath, Texas: From Possum Walk to a Vanished Community

Explore the history of Bath, Texas, originally known as Possum Walk, including its establishment, community growth, and eventual decline. Learn about the Union Hill Baptist Church and the remnants of this once-thriving community.

www.tshaonline.org

 

[bdtex]

Pvt. James H. Bell, Co. B, 1st Texas Heavy Artillery. 7 pages in fold3. He enlisted at age 40 in Galveston on October 19,1861 and was "Present" on the November/December 1861 Company Muster Roll. 6 month gap in the records. The July/August 1862 CMR says "Discharged July 1/62 being over age and term of enlistment having expired." He served as a Teamster May 22,1862 until discharged. Only postwar Census records I found was 1870. He was a married farmer with 8 kids in Milam County. He died in 1897. His wife died in 1911. His wife and 3 kids are buried there also. The family has a big plot. Not sure what kind of stone the border is.

James H Bell (1821-1897) - Find a Grave Memorial

Company B, 1st Texas Heavy Artillery. Confederate States of America.

www.findagrave.com

The picture of his gravestone on his FindAGrave memorial is from 2009. It looked bad then. It was solid black when I found it.

 

[bdtex]

I immediately scrubbed Pvt. Bell's gravestone twice with a brush and water. This was the best that did:

 

[bdtex]

After I found the other 2 gravestones and cleaned on them a little, I went back to Pvt. Bell's gravestone and hosed it good with Wet & Forget.

 

[bdtex]

A Headstone Application for Pvt. Bell was submitted by "Mrs. Jesse J. Brooks" on February 6, 1939. Not sure of her relation to him, if any. The cemetery was/is aka Union Hill Cemetery.

 

[bdtex]

Pvt. Elijah F. Cotton, Co. A, 6th Alabama Cavalry. 6 pages in fold3. There's no enlistment date in those records. A Receipt Roll says he was issued clothing on October 6, 1864. He was paroled on June 11,1865 in Montgomery. His written Parole is in his records. Hard to know from those scant records what action he may have seen. From NPS:

"6th Regiment, Alabama Cavalry
Overview:
6th Cavalry Regiment was organized at Pine Level, Alabama, during the spring of 1863. It contained men from Montgomery, Coffee, Tallapoosa, Pike, Barbour, Macon, Henry, and Coosa counties. The unit was brigaded under General Clanton, served for a time in Florida, then in August became part of the garrison at Montgomery. Later it was attached to Armstrong's command and saw action in various conflicts during the Atlanta Campaign. In August, 1864, the regiment returned to Clanton's Brigade and fought at Bluff Springs, Florida, and in southern Alabama. With less than 200 men it was included in the surrender of the Department of Alabama, Mississippi, and East Louisiana..."

In postwar Census records he was a married farmer with kids. The family moved to Texas sometime between 1870 and 1880. In the 1900 Census he was a married farmer with 4 kids in Walker County. He died in 1902. His wife died in 1905. His wife and 2 kids are buried there also. There are 17 "Cotton"s buried there. Two of his brothers were Confederate veterans.

Elijah Franklin Cotton (1843-1902) - Find a Grave...

Company A, 6th Alabama Cavalry Regiment. Confederate States of America.

www.findagrave.com

The picture of his Confederate gravestone on his FindAGrave memorial is from 2009. It was pretty clean then. Not so much when I found it.

 

[bdtex]

Pvt. Cotton's gravestone after a scrub with a brush and water.

 

[bdtex]

Pvt. Cotton's gravestone after a good spray with Wet & Forget. It blushed immediately. It's been 3 weeks since my visit. It might be looking way better already.

 

[Paul Yancey]

As always, great work. I'm sure these veterans are in heaven smiling down upon you.

 

[bdtex]

A Headstone Application for Pvt. Cotton was submitted by one of his sons on May 26,1966. The Department of Defense person who processed it put October 6,1864 as his date of enlistment but I think that's only because that's the earliest date on his surviving records.

 

[bdtex]

Pvt. Thomas H. Palmer, Co. I, 13th Texas Volunteers. 13 pages in fold3... several duplicates. He enrolled for duty in Huntsville,TX on October 12,1861 and mustered-in at Velasco on October 20,1861 at age 18. His horse was valued at $160. He was present on Company Muster Rolls through February 1863. From NPS:

"13th Regiment, Texas Volunteers
Overview:13th Infantry Regiment was organized during the fall of 1861 and included Bates' Texas Infantry Battalion. The unit contained artillery, cavalry, and infantry companies and was reorganized several times. Attached to the Trans-Mississippi Department, it served in Texas guarding the coast between Galveston and Matagorda. In April, 1864, the regiment contained 18 officers and 334 men, and in April, 1865, there were 392 present for duty. It was included in the surrender in June."

More information from the Texas State Historical Association:

The Thirteenth Texas Infantry: History and Engagements

Explore the history of the Thirteenth Texas Infantry, its formation, key battles, and challenges faced during the Civil War. Learn about its commanders and significant events.

www.tshaonline.org

In the 1880 Census, he was a married farmer with 5 kids in Walker County. According to Census records, his wife was named Amelia and was 4 years younger than him. He died in 1894. Could find no record of when his wife died or where she is buried. Supposedly, 2 of his children are buried there also but there are no markers.

Thomas Henry Palmer (1844-1894) - Find a Grave...

son of Anthony Claiborne Palmer & Martha Almira Dougharty married Amelia Graham Harper Feb 15,1866 in Walker Co Texas. They were married by R.L. Heflin, M.G. Their marriage is recorded in Walker County, TX Marriage Book Third, Certificate 701. Amelia Graham Harper was born in Union County...

www.findagrave.com

The picture of his gravestone on FindAGrave was helpful finding it.

 

[bdtex]

Pvt. Palmer's civilian gravestone is made from some type of coarse stone and had some small verticle cracks on the sides. Best not to put hands on that kind of stone imo. I sprayed it with Wet & Forget.

 

[bdtex]

A few more pictures. The elapsed time on the pictures from my morning visit to Bath Cemetery is 1.5 hours. I did a little weedeating that morning too. The second picture is some bricks by 2 different makers I found in the Bell family plot. They are the same as I have found in a historic cemetery in Pasadena where I volunteer. They were made sometime between 1901 and 1930.

 

[bdtex]

Notice I said "morning visit" above. I passed East Sandy Cemetery about 4-5 miles before Bath Cemetery on Possum Walk Rd. I visited it in 2021 and had forgotten exactly where it was. While in Waco visiting my son and grandson, I decided to stop by both cemeteries on the way home. Posted about my return visit to East Sandy Cemetery in that thread:

TX - East Sandy Cemetery, New Waverly, Walker County, and County Line Cemetery, San Jacinto County 3/20/2021 | Civil War Cemeteries: Where Valor Proudly Sleeps

This is the first edition of Cemetery Saturday or Sunday that comes to you from Walker County, Texas, at least of the edition anyway. Partial credit for this edition goes to member and friend @J. D. Stevens for alerting me to the existence, name, location and some Civil War history of this...

civilwartalk.com

Bath Cemetery was the first stop on the way home. I wanted to spray all 3 gravestones again. Bath Cemetery is definitely on my return visit list. It's not too far off the beaten path and those gravestones will need some more love.

 

[bdtex]

@J. D. Stevens Are you familiar with Bath Cemetery. It's just up the road from East Sandy.

 

[J. D. Stevens]

@J. D. Stevens Are you familiar with Bath Cemetery. It's just up the road from East Sandy.

Not familiar with Bath Cemetery. The reason I knew about East Sandy is my Mom and sister attended the small Baptist church next door. Mom is buried there in close proximity to several CSA vets.

 

[bdtex]

Not familiar with Bath Cemetery. The reason I knew about East Sandy is my Mom and sister attended the small Baptist church next door. Mom is buried there in close proximity to several CSA vets.

It's about 4-5 miles up Possum Walk Rd. from East Sandy towards Huntsville.