DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker records about Andrews Chapel Cemetery, out in Lavaca County. Now settle in, because this piece of ground holds more history than it might first let on. The cemetery goes by the name Andrews Chapel, and it was named for a settler by the name of A.G.
Andrews. By 1866, Andrews had donated land out here — land set aside for a burial ground and a Baptist church both. That's the kind of generosity that tends to outlast a man by a good long while.
But here's the thing that ought to stop you in your tracks: the oldest marked grave in this cemetery dates to 1860. That means people were being laid to rest on this ground before Andrews even made his donation official. The land remembered the dead before it had a proper name.
That first marked grave belongs to Alfred Morrow, a veteran of the Mexican War, and the earth here has been keeping his story ever since. Now Alfred Morrow is remarkable enough, but then there's Joseph Lawrence. Joseph Lawrence had walked through two of the most consequential fights in Texas history — the Battle of Plum Creek and the Battle of San Jacinto.
Two battles. One man. And when Lawrence died in 1897, he was believed to be the oldest surviving veteran of the Texas Revolution.
Think on that. The last living thread connecting a young republic to the world of the living, and he came to rest right here, in Lavaca County, in a cemetery named for a settler who just wanted to give his neighbors somewhere to belong. Today, an association maintains the burial ground.
They hold annual homecomings — folks gathering to reunite, to remember, to keep the link to this place alive. Some ground just refuses to be forgotten, and Andrews Chapel Cemetery is exactly that kind of ground.
What the marker says
Associated with the Hackberry community, the Andrews Chapel Cemetery was named for settler A.G. Andrews, who by 1866 had donated land for a burial ground and Baptist church. The oldest marked grave dates to 1860 and the burial of Mexican War veteran Alfred Morrow. Other burials include that of Joseph Lawrence, a veteran of the Battles of Plum Creek and San Jacinto. At the time of his death in 1897, Lawrence was believed to be the oldest surviving veteran of the Texas Revolution. Today, and association maintains the burial ground, holding annual homecomings to reunite and to preserve this link to the area's history. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2004