DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Antioch Cemetery and the Old Antioch Church of Christ, out in Lamar County. Now, some places take generations to mean something. This one started meaning something almost from the moment Texas did.
The church and cemetery out here date back to the first years of Texas statehood — established, the record says, somewhere between 1846 and 1848. That's about as close to the ground floor of the whole enterprise as you can get. And the people who put it here?
They didn't arrive with much fanfare. They arrived from Alabama. Mrs.
Rebecca Stone Biard made the journey with four children in tow: three sons — Andrew Jackson, John Gaines, and William Washington — and a daughter, Minerva B. Stephenson. In 1846, they put down roots and started what became known as the Biardstown community.
That name tells you something about the kind of presence this family carried. The church itself — the First Church of Christ in Lamar County — was founded by Elder Thomas Barrett of Titus County. But the Biard family was, as the marker puts it, instrumental in the organization.
And when it came time for a building, it was William W. Biard who stepped forward. He gave his first home for use as a church.
Now, this was not some grand hall. It was a twenty-by-twenty log cabin, seats made of split logs, and what the old-timers called a stick-and-dirt chimney. You can picture the thing — low-ceilinged, smoky, full of people who'd crossed a long road to be there.
All three Biard brothers went on to become noted landowners. But William Washington Biard — he gave twice. The first time, he gave the cabin.
The second time, he gave the land for the cemetery, at his mother's death in 1848. And hers was the first grave. Think on that a moment.
The woman who helped found the place became the first to be laid to rest in it. In the years that followed, a last church building was erected — proper and permanent. And both that building and the original log cabin before it served double duty as community schools in the early years.
One structure doing the work of two institutions. That's frontier economy for you. The church disbanded around 1920, the membership having dwindled down past the point of keeping it going.
But the cemetery never stopped. Burials continued right on through. As of 1969, roughly three hundred graves are there — original members, and many descendants of the Biard family among them.
Three hundred graves. From one woman who came up from Alabama with her children and a plan, to three centuries' worth of names in the ground. That's not just a church history.
That's a community writing itself into the earth, one burial at a time.
What the marker says
This church and cemetery, dating back to the first years of Texas statehood, were established between 1846 and 1848. The church, First Church of Christ in Lamar County, was founded by Elder Thomas Barrett of Titus County. Instrumental in the organization was the pioneer family of Mrs. Rebecca Stone Biard and her three sons (whose first names were Andrew Jackson, John Gaines, and William Washington) and her daughter (Minerva B. Stephenson). They came to Texas from Alabama and started Biardstown community in 1846. All three brothers became noted landowners. William W. Biard gave his first home, a 20'x20' log cabin, for use as a church. It had seats made of split logs and an old-fashioned "stick and dirt" chimney. At his mother's death in 1848, he also gave land for the cemetery, in which hers was the first grave. Some years later, the last church building was erected. In early years, both it and the first log church housed community schools. Although the church disbanded about 1920 due to declining membership, burials in the cemetery are continued today. As of 1969, graves number about 300, including those of the original members and many descendants of the Biard family. (1969)