Bethany Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Bethany Cemetery, out in Collin County. Now, picture this. Somewhere between Russell Creek and Spring Creek, tucked into land that was rich enough to make a cattleman weep with gratitude, a community took root.

The year was 1852, and the people who planted it had come a long way. A group of families from Kentucky had heard word, from relatives who had already made that hard, hard journey, that the land down in Texas was something to behold. So they came.

Among those families were R.W. Carpenter, born in 1832, and his wife Elizabeth, known to everyone as Lizzie, whose maiden name was Mathews. They were the kind of people a community gets built around.

After the Civil War, another Kentuckian arrived, William Nelson Bush, born in 1833, and he settled a couple of miles to the east of the others. For a while, these settlers practiced their faith wherever they could find the space. A proper church building was still a ways off.

But July of 1877 is when things started to come together. That month, William Nelson Bush bought four acres of land, set aside for a sanctuary and a cemetery. Then in September, he sold that land to R.W.

Carpenter and E.F. Elkin, who were elders of the community's Christian church. The community chose the name Bethany for the church, and that name, the marker tells us, became the genesis of the community's name itself.

Now, Lizzie and R.W. Carpenter were people of considerable heart. They raised seven sons.

And beyond that, they opened their home to three orphans: Matthew, Alvin, and Richard Clark. Three boys who needed a place, and they had one. But here is where the story gets heavy, and it deserves to be told that way.

The very first person laid to rest in Bethany Cemetery was Walter Clark, the infant son of Matthew. Walter died in January of 1877, before the land had even been purchased for the cemetery, before any of the plans were fully set. He was the first.

The second was the Carpenters' only daughter, Mary Katie, born in 1877, gone in 1878. Several of the children buried at Bethany have headstones that feature a sleeping lamb. Mary Katie's is among them.

You don't need much imagination to understand what that image meant to the families who chose it. When you add up the family ties in that cemetery, the numbers tell you something about how a community holds together even in grief. Twenty-two Carpenter family members are buried there.

Nine Clarks. Eleven from the Mathews family. That extended family group alone accounts for 42 of the more than 125 marked burials.

The rest of the graves belong to the other families of the community. There is also a section of African American burials, with four marked graves. Bethany Cemetery is, the marker says plainly, the last reminder of this early community.

The church is gone. The town, such as it was, is gone. But those more than 125 marked graves remain, out there between Russell and Spring Creeks, on the rich grazing land that once drew a handful of Kentucky families so far from home.

Though their lives were difficult, they left a rich history. That is what the marker says. And out here on the road, that is worth stopping for.

What the marker says

Nestled between Russell and Spring Creeks, the community of Bethany emerged when a group of families from Kentucky settled on the rich grazing land in 1852. They had heard about the prosperity of the area from relatives who had already made the arduous journey to Texas. Among these families were R.W. (1832-1898) and his wife Elizabeth "Lizzie" (Mathews) Carpenter. After the Civil War, another Kentuckian, William Nelson Bush (1833-1907), settled a couple of miles to the east. The settlers practiced their faith in various locations until a church building could be built. In July 1877, Bush bought four acres of land for the sanctuary and cemetery and sold it in September to R.W. Carpenter and E.F. Elkin, who were elders of the community's Christian church. The community selected the name "Bethany" for the church, which was the genesis of the community's name. In addition to raising seven sons, Lizzie and R.W. Carpenter also welcomed three orphans into their home: Matthew, Alvin and Richard Clark. Matthew's infant son, Walter Clark, died in January 1877 and is the first to be interred at Bethany Cemetery. The next was the Carpenters" only daughter, Mary Katie (1877-1878). The headstones of several of the children, including Mary Katie's, feature a sleeping lamb. In total, there are 22 Carpenter, nine Clark and 11 Mathews family members buried at Bethany Cemetery. This extended family group accounts for 42 of the more than 125 marked burials. The other graves represent the rest of the community's families. The cemetery features a section of African American burials with only four marked graves. Bethany Cemetery is the last reminder of this early community. Though their lives were difficult, these settlers left a rich history. (HTC 2002)