Hancock Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. You're rolling through Erath County now, and out here the land holds memory in ways a highway sign never could. There's a cemetery not far off, and its story goes back further than most folks realize.

It was once called North Bolton Cemetery, but that name didn't stick. Names rarely do, out here, unless a family earns it. The earliest marked grave on the site belongs to Asa L.

Anderson, born in 1875 and gone by 1876. One year. That's a hard thing to sit with, and we won't rush past it.

The land at that time belonged to the James and Louisa Franks family, and it was under their ownership that little Asa was laid to rest. The Franks sold the land to T. W.

Bolton in 1879, and the Caudle family purchased it in 1883. Hands passing land, names coming and going, and all the while that quiet patch of ground kept its vigil. Then, in about 1887, Benjamin T. and Elizabeth Hancock came to this area.

Elizabeth's maiden name was Ruyle. The Hancocks were settlers, and they put down roots deep enough that the cemetery eventually took their name. Most of those interred on the site are related to the Hancocks, and many of that family helped found the nearby communities of Alexander and Purves.

About fifty graves in all. The last marked burial belongs to Charles Martin Knorzer, born in 1852 and gone in 1943. Think about that span of years, from Asa Anderson in 1876 to Charles Knorzer in 1943, and what that ground witnessed in between.

The marker calls it a chronicle of the pioneers of Erath County, and that is exactly right. Hancock Cemetery doesn't just hold the dead. It holds the story of how this corner of Texas came to be.

What the marker says

The earliest marked grave on this site, once known as "North Bolton Cemetery," is that of Asa L. Anderson (1875-1876), who was buried here during the ownership of the James and Louisa Franks family. The Franks sold the land to T. W. Bolton in 1879, and the Caudle family purchased it in 1883. The Hancock name comes from the family of Benjamin T. and Elizabeth (Ruyle) Hancock, settlers who came to this area in about 1887. Most of those interred on this site are related to the Hancocks, many of whom helped found the nearby communities of Alexander and Purves. The cemetery contains about fifty graves. The last marked grave was that of Charles Martin Knorzer (1852-1943). The burial ground is a chronicle of the pioneers of Erath County. (2000)