DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker at Gooseneck Cemetery tells it, and I'm gonna do my best to do it justice. Now, there's a bend in the Brazos River out in Young County — one of those long, looping curves the river makes when it seems to change its mind about where it's goin'. That bend gave its name to a community, and the community gave its name to a cemetery, and that cemetery has been holdin' stories ever since shortly after the Civil War.
This is one of those places where the ground itself does the talkin', if you know how to listen. The land for this burial ground was donated by a Kentucky native named George Washington Fore, born in 1823, died in 1903, and his son John Silas Fore, born in 1851, died in 1931. John would go on to become a cattleman and a sheriff out in Wichita County — so you could say the Fore family had roots, and boots, in more than one part of Texas.
The ground they gave up for this cemetery had history layered beneath it already — the property was earlier part of the Brazos River Indian Preserve. The Fores didn't stop at the cemetery, either. They also conveyed land for a community school and a church.
The school ran all the way until 1947, when it merged with the Graham District. The church started out as Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church and later became Bunger Baptist Church. Now.
The earliest marked graves in Gooseneck Cemetery belong to F. M. McLaren and Anna Davidson, both of whom died in 1876.
George Washington Fore himself, the man who donated the very ground, is buried there too. But the grave that'll stop you cold — the one that makes you read the marker twice — belongs to a man named James James. Born 1764.
Died 1878. A native of Virginia. A veteran of the War of 1812.
And according to this marker, James James was one hundred and fourteen years old at the time of his death. One hundred and fourteen. He was already a grown man when the Constitution was being written.
He picked up a rifle for the War of 1812 and then just kept on going — through decades this country can barely reckon with — until he was laid to rest in a bend of the Brazos River in Young County, Texas. Today, many descendants of Gooseneck's early settlers still come out to maintain this cemetery. They're keepin' faith with people who came before them, which is about as Texan a thing as you can do.
Out here, where the river bends, the dead have a way of stickin' around.
What the marker says
Named for a bend in the Brazos River, this cemetery first served pioneers of the Gooseneck community. Land for the burial ground was donated by Kentucky native George Washington Fore (1823-1903) and his son, John Silas Fore (1851-1931), who became a cattleman and sheriff in Wichita County. The property was earlier part of the Brazos River Indian Preserve. The Fore's also conveyed land for a community school and church. The school remained in operation until 1947, when it merged with the Graham District. The church, originally known as Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church, later became Bunger Baptist Church. Burials in Gooseneck Cemetery date from shortly after the Civil War. The earliest marked graves are those of F. M. McLaren and Anna Davidson who died in 1876. Others interred here include the site's donor, George Washington Fore, and James James (1764-1878). A native of Virginia and a veteran of the War of 1812, James was 114 years old at the time of his death. Today Gooseneck Cemetery is an important reminder of a pioneer community. Many descendants of its early settlers continue to maintain the site as a tribute to the area's rich heritage.