Beck's Chapel Cemetery

Duane's take

The official marker for Beck's Chapel Cemetery in Henderson County tells it this way, and I'm just the one passing it along. Now, out in Henderson County, there is a place where the crepe myrtles grow in clusters and a big magnolia tree stands watch, and if you slow down long enough to look, you'll find yourself at Beck's Chapel Cemetery. A quiet piece of ground.

But the ground remembers a lot. The cemetery was established near Beck's Chapel and Beck's Chapel School, deeded from Stonewall Riddlesperger in 1901. And right from the start, the people buried here were the kind who built things, farmed things, taught things, and held communities together with not much more than hard work and stubbornness.

The first recorded burial belongs to Nancy Jane Ward, born in 1848, gone by 1900. She was the first wife of a pioneer named James Ward, who went by John Henry, born in 1847 and, remarkable as it sounds, still alive in 1941. Many of John Henry's descendants are buried here too.

This ground kept the family together long after he was gone. Now, Beck's Chapel itself takes its name from the Beck family, and the Becks were firmly planted in this part of Henderson County going back to the 1850s. William H.

Beck was one of those 1850s pioneers, and his first son, Robert Lee Beck, born in 1867, grew into a man his father's legacy could be proud of. Robert and his wife, Josephine, born in 1865, are both buried here. Robert died in 1925, Josephine in 1935.

Robert Lee Beck was a farmer, as the Becks had always been, and he and the family supported Beck's Chapel for the benefit of the community. Education mattered to them too. A frame schoolhouse stood on the property all the way until 1946.

And Robert didn't just care about the school in an honorary sense. He served as a school trustee and then went on to serve as justice of the peace, five terms, between 1909 and 1924. Five terms.

That is a man the community kept reaching for. The Anding family is here too. Bud David Anding, who went by Buddie, born in 1887, was himself a school trustee and school board member.

His wife Lillie, born in 1883, was a Mills before she was an Anding. Buddie died in 1946, Lillie in 1956, and they rest here along with family. It's worth noting that Josephine Beck was an Anding before she married Robert, so these families were woven together in ways that run deeper than just neighboring plots.

Beyond the pioneering families and the civic leaders, this cemetery holds veteran burials and Woodmen of the World burials and markers. People who served in different ways, remembered here together. For a long time the cemetery was simply cared for the way a lot of rural cemeteries are, by people who loved it and showed up.

Then, in 1997, the Beck's Chapel Cemetery Association formed to take on that work in a more organized way. So here it sits, among the crepe myrtles and that great magnolia, a reminder of the pioneer families of Henderson County. Farmers and justices of the peace, school trustees and schoolhouse builders, husbands and wives, parents and children.

All of them citizens dedicated, as the marker puts it, to their families and their community. The ground remembers. You just have to stop and listen.

What the marker says

As the final resting place for many of the area's nineteenth century pioneers, the Beck's Chapel Cemetery was established near Beck's Chapel and Beck's Chapel School, deeded from Stonewall Riddlesperger in 1901. The first recorded burial in the cemetery is that of Nancy Jane (Sherwood) Ward (1848-1900), the first wife of pioneer James "John Henry" Ward (1847-1941). Many of John Henry's descendants are also buried here. The first son of 1850s pioneer William H. Beck, Robert Lee Beck (1867-1925), and his wife, Josephine (Anding) Beck (1865-1935), are buried here. Robert Beck and the Beck family were farmers in the area and supported the Beck's Chapel for the community as well as education. A frame schoolhouse existed on the property until 1946. Robert went on to serve as justice of the peace for five terms between 1909 and 1924 and was involved in education as a school trustee. Another pioneer family buried here is the Anding family. Bud David "Buddie" Anding (1887-1946), a school trustee and school board member, and his wife, Lillie (Mills) Anding (1883-1956), are buried here along with family. In addition to pioneer families and civic leaders, there are also veteran burials and woodmen of the world burials and markers. The Beck's Chapel Cemetery Association formed in 1997 to care for the Cemetery. Situated among the crepe myrtle trees and a large magnolia tree, this historic cemetery is a reminder of the pioneer families of Henderson County and their descendants, citizens dedicated to their families and community. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2016