A Surprise Visit from the Ancestors.

We do indeed honor our ancestors when we search for them, 

and it seems, they return the favor. ... 

When one makes the effort to learn about the lives of ancestors, 

they will often meet you halfway.  

~ Megan Smolenyak, In Search of Our Ancestors

A month ago I walked on a former homestead-turned-park and thought,  "I bet my family visited here." It made sense. I have ancestors who were early settlers in this county. Mankins Crossing (a good place to cross the San Gabriel River) was named for one family. Some of them settled near Jonah and others in Hutto.* A little research disclosed one, perhaps, distant relative buried in a cemetery only a few miles away from the park (2 miles as the crow flies, 4 miles on current roads).

I first discovered the existence of this cemetery (that is not on the maps and not noted by a helpful highway sign) by searching last names through a database. There is only one Mankin(s) recorded in this cemetery. Nettie R. Williams Mankins died in a major flood along the San Gabriel watershed in 1913. Dry Berry Creek is nearby. It flooded and killed Nettie and others (including her sister, Bettie, and Bettie's two children), who had taken shelter in their mother's home.** 

Deciding it was worth a look, DH and I drove along the highway, emergency lights flashing. I saw the graveyard, well back from the highway, as we passed it. We circled around and headed down one of two parallel dirt roads. We knew it had to be one of them. As it turns out, we guessed well.

We wandered the well-maintained cemetery from interesting stone to odd decoration/marker.  We recognized names, Sudduth, Bishop, and Williams (This place was full of Williams' graves). And I read each of the "Williams" stones as I saw them. I have Williams family too - way back.

One Williams had been a Confederate soldier and died at 18 years of age around the end of the war. One grave was marked with a Texas Historical marker. I brushed the dried grass away to read the marker and headstone a little better. The marker included a reference to the occupant's uncle,  Capt. Johnnie Williams, Texas Ranger (purported to be my ancestor as well). It was starting to get weird.***

I took a few photos and we had just decided to come back another day when DH saw "Grumbles," drawing my attention to the interesting name. Nettie's grave was nearby - "Grumbles" was her sister, Elizabeth - "Bettie."

I took a few more photos as we started to leave the cemetery. I felt so strange and kept thinking, "Are there ghosts here? Will I capture some if I just keep looking - keep taking photos?"

Only after I came home to write about our evening and look again at my family tree did I realize there were indeed ghosts. The family had somehow called me there. The majority of the photos I happened to take were of family graves. Two great, great, great uncles and my great, great, great grandparents (and assorted distant cousins) rest there, in Berry Creek Cemetery. 

Down this road and around the corner...

We never found the sign announcing the name of this cemetery, but there is this warning.

The grave we were seeking is marked by the stone seen just over DH's right shoulder. But we didn't find it right away.

Wow...King Columbus and Medora M Thwing Williams. I took this photo for the names. I discovered later these are Nettie's parents. He was my great grandmother Sally Mankin Flinn's first cousin. But on the Williams side, not the Mankin(s) side as far as I can tell.

William Crawford Williams (Really? William Williams? I suppose he went by "W. C." I find no family connection, but who knows?

Grave decoration distracted me.

My great great great uncle ****

The grave we didn't know we were looking for - my 3x great grandparents. James Bruton Williams and Sarah Coffey Williams moved to Williamson County in 1848.

Another "Williams" - can find no detail more than spouse.

Marking for rows?

The stone we sought. And, it turns out, she was a distant cousin on the Williams side of my family. It makes this whole thing even stranger. I cannot find the Mankin(s) connection.

Bettie and her children, Rosco and Mildred. The tragedy for the family is too great to imagine.

I'm always on the look-out for an interesting name or inscription. No relation.

William Mason Williams, 3x great uncle (another William Williams - he is listed as "Mason Williams" in my genealogy files.)

I saw this crypt looking thing stands outside the fence.

It is actually a pump.

The address surprised us, but perhaps it shouldn't have.

NOTES:

*My 2x great grandfather was the first doctor in Hutto, Texas. My 2x great grandmother was a midwife. They moved to the community from Tennessee just as the county was organizing.

** In researching the flood I only found references to the 1913 San Gabriel flood. Nettie and Bettie were along Dry Berry Creek, a tributary of the North Fork of the San Gabriel River. Frequent floods along the San Gabriel led to the creation of Lake Georgetown in 1979.

***Connections started getting confused. More research is required. 

**** According to my research - Williams , D. M. served in Waul's Texas Legion, Company H.
Waul's Legion completed its organization at Brenham, Texas, during the summer of 1862. It contained a cavalry battalion and an infantry regiment. However, the legion did not serve as one command. The cavalry battalion contained six companies, later increased to seven. It served in the Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana, skirmished in Mississippi, then fought with Forrest in Western Tennessee and Kentucky. The unit returned to Mississippi, saw action in Hood's operations in Northern Georgia, and ended the war in Alabama. In October, 1863, it had 450 men present, but few surrendered with the Department of Alabama, Mississippi, and East Louisiana. The field officers were Lieutenant Colonel L. Willis; and Majors H. S. Parker, John R. Smith, and Benjamin F. Weeks. The infantry regiment contained twelve companies and served in the Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana. It fought in the Vicksburg Campaign and was captured on July 4, 1863. Here the unit reported 47 killed, 190 wounded, and 8 missing of the 381 engaged. After being exchanged and reorganized in Texas, it was stationed at Galveston attached to the Trans-Mississippi Department. In December, 1864, the regiment had 14 officers and 204 men, and in April, 1865, totalled 315 effectives. During May it disbanded. The field officers were Colonels Barnard Timmons and Thomas N. Waul; Lieutenant Colonels O. Steele and James Wrigley; and Majors E. S. Bollong, Allen Cameron, and Otto Nathusius. [Sorry. I'm putting this here so I don't have to hunt it down again. I had some trouble finding this.]

Final Note:

I have come back to read and edit this post a number of times since I wrote it. One can look at the situation a few ways. I have two that keep rolling around in my thoughts. These folks really could have been calling. But I also could have run across the  words "Berry Creek" in earlier research into the family and that forgotten experience was working its way forward, compelling me to find the place and visit.

James B. and Sarah C. Williams were already listed in my electronic genealogy files, but there is no notation of burial place for him and she is shown only as having died in Georgetown. Neither of the uncles has a burial place noted.

Still, I wonder. And I will be reviewing records to see if there was some deeply buried memory.