TX Old Lebanon Cemetery, Hill County, Texas

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On Saturday, May 29, 2021, I visited Old Lebanon Cemetery off FM 1304 in a very rural area of Hill County, Texas. It is south of Whitney, Texas about halfway to Waco. It is west of the nearest town, Aquila, Hill County, Texas. FindAGrave says it is in Lebanon, Texas but that town/community no longer exists. The occasion was a Memorial Day Weekend trip to Lake Whitney in Hill County, Texas and the cemetery was about a 15-20 minute drive from the lodge I was staying at. There was a lotta rain in the forecast that day and it had rained a lot there the day before and earlier in the week. The forecast was wrong and I had a very pleasant, if humid and sometimes soggy, visit. It didn't rain any that day. My first picture shows that I arrived at 10:00am CST.
 
Here's a pretty good illustration of the earlier rainfall in the week. That's just a little roadside ditch on FM 1304 at the turnoff onto a caliche road going to the cemetery.

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After you go through the gate, the road veers to the right and you come to a decorative gate. There are graves to the right of the decorative gate out of the picture and a 3-sided,covered metal shed to the left.


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Another Great Looking Cemetary. Thanks for taking us along.
 
There are a little over 300 burials at Old Lebanon Cemetery. From FindAGrave, Ancestry and fold3, I was able to determine that 8 Confederate veterans are buried in Old Lebanon Cemetery and that 7 had/have military stones and one has a civilian stone. I went with my usual list of names of the veterans, their regiment and type of gravestone. I also had grave marker flags and a full weekend stone cleaning kit. I had Wet & Forget and D/2 this time. With rain in the forecast all weekend, I wasn't sure how much stone cleaning I would be able to do but I went prepared anyway. The military stones and civilian stone and pictures thereof in FindAGrave didn't look horribly bad so I didn't have it in my notes that any particular stone(s) needed cleaning. I usually make note of the ones that look to absolutely need cleaning. 3 upright Confederate gravestones got some degree of scraping, scrubbing and spraying and the civilian stone got sprayed. As you can probably tell from the pics, I had the place to myself. The ground was a little squishy in some places, but not around the veterans' gravesites.

https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/4785/old-lebanon-cemetery
 
Pvt. James D. Andrews, Co. D, 14th Alabama Infantry. 19 fold3 pages under "J.D. Andrews". He enlisted on July 26,1861 for the war. A Regimental Return for September 1861 had him listed as a Corporal but reduced to rank of Private. Then there's a gap in his records through February 1862. He is listed as present on all Company Muster Rolls from March 1862 - October 1864. The CMRs end there in his records. According to NPS, the 14th Alabama Infantry saw significant action in the Eastern Theater.

https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-battle-units-detail.htm?battleUnitCode=CAL0014RI

He was hospitalized in General Hospital Camp Winder, Richmond, VA on June 27,1862 and in Chimborazo General Hospital No. 4, Richmond, VA, on July 18,1863, both for hand wounds. He filed a Pension Application in August 1913, approved September 1913. He said he was discharged on April 9, 1865. He signed the application by making his mark "X". A Headstone Application was submitted in January 1832 by "Mark Andrews", which says he died on February 26,1916. There is no DOB/DOD on his gravestone or FindAGrave memorial. I scraped, scrubbed and rinsed his gravestone. Scrubbing didn't get much off. That stone sits out in the open. Most of the stains were deep. I sprayed it with D/2 real good after I took pictures. There are no other "Andrews" buried in Old Lebanon Cemetery.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/46798007/james-d.-andrews


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Pvt. John F. Herod, Co. K, 12th Texas Cavalry. Found a Texas Muster Card in Ancestry. He enlisted on October 12,1861 in the Co. for Hill County, Pr. No. 3, 28th Brigade, Texas Militia. The Muster Card says he was a 3rd Corporal. 3 pages in fold3. He enlisted in the 12th TX CAV on May 17,1863 for 3 years. He was present on the 9/1-12/31/63 Company Muster Roll and that's the only one in his records. His Widow filed a Pension Application on 4/2/1917 that was approved on 4/10/1917. His son J.L. Herod filed a Headstone Application in August 1931.

He had 3 brothers who also served in the Confederate Army. One is buried in Hogan Cemetery, Groesbeck, Limestone County, Texas and one is buried in Cobb Cemetery in Groesbeck. I have cleaned and photographed both of their Confederate gravestones and posted threads about both cemeteries here in CWT. I have also been in contact on Facebook with one of their descendants who lives in Limestone County. Small world.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/82104062/john-franklin-herod


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Pvt. James G. Marlar, Co. D, 28th Texas Infantry. Couldn't find much about his Confederate service. Only 2 fold3 pages...an Index Card and an undated Roll of Prisoners Of War surrendered at New Orleans by Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith on May 26, 1865. Couldn't find a Pension Application in Ancestry. He was in the NPS database.

https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search...oldierId=DC6FD9B5-DC7A-DF11-BF36-B8AC6F5D926A

No information about the 28th Texas Infantry's service in NPS. I suspect it was a late war regiment and Pvt. Marlar was a late war enlistee. He was already 34 when the war started. Most of these old Texas country cemeteries have pipes next to veterans' gravestones for placement of flags on Memorial Day and Veterans Day. It makes me feel good to plant grave marker flags at gravesites of men whose military service has apparently been forgotten. I think his civilian gravestone got a little Wet & Forget spraying before I left too. There are 14 "Marlar"s buried in Old Lebanon Cemetery.


https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/46846504/james-g.-marlar



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Pvt. J.W. Woodruff, Co. C, 9th Georgia Infantry. 19 fold3 pages. He enlisted on March 4, 1862 for the war. A List of regimental casualties dated July 23, 1862 says he was wounded on July 1, 1862 "in the seven-days battles before Richmond, Va.". He was listed as "Present" on the Jan./Feb. 1863 Company Muster Roll. He was captured at Gettysburg on July 2nd, 1863 and sent to Fort Delaware, Del. as a POW. All other Company Muster Rolls in his records list him as "Absent. Prisoner of war. Captured at Gettysburg." He was paroled in February 1865 and sent to Virginia for exchange in March 1865. A Headstone Application was submitted by his youngest son in February 1932. His wife is also buried in Old Lebanon Cemetery. They had 6 children. 2 of their children are buried in other cemeteries in Hill County and the other 4 are buried in cemeteries in counties closeby. His gravestone is under a cedar tree. I got what I could off of it with a plastic scraper and scrub with a brush and water. It needed and got a good D/2 spraying after the pictures.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/36606519/josiah-w.-woodruff


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Corp. Peyton G. Parker, Co. B, 40th Mississippi Infantry. 18 fold3 pages. "Payton G. Parker" in fold3. Enlisted and entered service as 4th Corporal on April 19, 1862. Company Muster Rolls in his records run from 4/19/1862 - 2/28/1865. He's "Absent. Sick." on 3 of them, "Present" on 5 of them and "Absent without leave" on 2 of them. The March/April 1864 CMR say he was "Absent without leave 54 days." and that he was busted down to Private on 2/15/1864. He was captured at Vicksburg on 7/4/63 and paroled on 7/7/63. His Parole is in his records. He was captured again in North Carolina on 4/26/65. He submitted a Pension Application in January 1907, approved March 1907. Records in Ancestry say he was Sheriff and Tax Collector of Limestone County, Texas from 1870-1873. Pretty good concise writeup in FindAGrave. He was married twice had had a lotta kids. I couldn't find a Headstone Application.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/5723714/peyton-graves-parker



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Pvt. Thomas B. Martin III, Co. E, Baylor's Regiment, Texas Cavalry (2nd Regiment, Arizona Brigade). Thomas B. "Martain" in NPS database and fold3. 2 fold3 pages...an Index Card and 1 Company Muster Roll. He enlisted on October 21,1862 for 3 years or the war. Listed as "Present" on the 10/16 - 12/31/62 CMR. No other records found. Couldn't find a Pension Application either. I kinda like the special order gravestone. His wife is next to him with a similar gravestone.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/188813528/thomas-b.-martin


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Pvt. John F. McKay, Co. B, 39th Mississippi Infantry. Let me start by saying that he had a common name and there's some confusion in the written records which I just can't square. 9 fold3 pages. He enlisted on March 16,1862 for 3 years. Listed "Present" on Company Muster Rolls from March 1862 - April 1863. Captured at Port Hudson on July 9, 1863. He's on an undated List of Prisoners of War from Port Hudson released upon parole in July 1863. He's listed as "Absent. Not reported since paroled at Port Hudson." on the Nov 1863 - February 1864 CMRs. The Jan./Feb. 1864 CMR says "Killed July 2, 1864. Absent without leave from Set. 15,1863 till May 20, 1864." The NPS description of the action seen by the 39th MS Inf. matches those Muster Records. It was at Port Hudson and was at Kennesaw Mountain on in June/July 1864. A Headstone Application was submitted by his grandson, Luther McKay in 1966. It has 2 dates of death on it. I dunno.

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Sgt. John W. Lowrey, Co. C, 11th Alabama Cavalry. Last name is "Lowery" in fold3 and NPS. 4 fold3 pages...an Index Card and 3 Company Muster Rolls. He enlisted at Gadsden,AL on September 15,1862 for the war. Appointed from Private to 1st Sergeant on April 25,1863. "Present" on the 2/28 - 4/30/63 CMR. That CMR also says "Sent to Hospital June 9, 1863." It's like someone went back and added notes to it later. On the 4/30 - 6/30/1864 CMR he is "Absent. On detached service from Nov. 15th with Capt. Ingram till 15 April, 1864 and left with sick at Hagood Store, 3rd June, 1864." Nothing else in his Muster Records. He filed a Pension Application in July 1899, approved October 1899. In it he said he served from October 1862 to May 1865 and his occupation "was a dentist but unable to work for 3 years". His Widow filed a Pension Application in December 1919, approved April 1920. His Confederate flatstone says "Surg" but I couldn't find a Headstone Application or any documentation of him being a surgeon. Maybe it was supposed to say "Sgt".

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/46837123/john-washington-lowrey


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A few more pictures I took at Old Lebanon Cemetery. I am in the area often enough and the cemetery is close enough that I can get back by there sometime and spray a coupla stones or something. Great visit. Thanks for looking.

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Again, very well-done and good personal histories. Just curious if you have ever experimented with Jomax, mixed per directions with bleach and water. On houses it just fades away mildew, green stuff on north walls, or whatever while you watch.
 
Again, very well-done and good personal histories. Just curious if you have ever experimented with Jomax, mixed per directions with bleach and water. On houses it just fades away mildew, green stuff on north walls, or whatever while you watch.
Bleach damages gravestones. I only use approved products...D/2 and Wet & Forget.
 
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