Ladonia Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Ladonia Cemetery in Fannin County. Now settle in, because even a graveyard has a story worth hearing. This particular one sits as the principal burial ground for the Ladonia community, and it is not a simple, single place.

It has always been divided, two sections lying side by side, each with its own history and its own keeping. On one side, the Presbyterian Cemetery. On the other, the I.O.O.F.

Cemetery, maintained by the local Odd Fellows Lodge. Two communities of the living, tending two communities of the gone. The oldest recorded grave in the Presbyterian section belongs to Joe Shelby, infant daughter of J.

E. and S. T. Shelby, who died in 1866.

A child, barely arrived. And right there beside the named and the known, you find something that stops you cold. They call it the Stranger's Tomb.

It marks the grave of an unknown traveler who died in October of 1867. No name. No home.

Just a grave and a marker, because someone in Ladonia decided a stranger deserved to be remembered, even without a name to put to the remembering. Also in that Presbyterian section rests William Lovelace Foster, born 1830, died 1869. Civil War veteran.

And at the time of his death, he was the pastor of Ladonia's first Baptist church. A man who had survived a war and was still in the middle of his work when he was laid to rest. Over in the Odd Fellows section, the earliest recorded grave belongs to Mrs.

P. T. Hockaday, known as Marie, born 1838, died 1881.

That section was originally cared for by the local Odd Fellows Lodge, and they kept that responsibility for decades, right up until about 1902. That year, the two sections, the Presbyterian and the I.O.O.F., were brought together under merged management. Two halves, one ground.

The Ladonia Cemetery holds veterans of the Civil War, World War I, and World War II. It holds early settlers of the area, Fannin County officials, and many generations of Ladonia citizens. A stranger with no name.

An infant with no long life. A pastor who made it through the war. All of them there together, out in Fannin County, under the same Texas sky.

Some places don't need to be loud to carry weight.

What the marker says

The principal burial ground for members of the Ladonia community, this graveyard has historically been divided into two sections: The I.O.O.F. (Odd Fellows) Cemetery and the Presbyterian Cemetery. The oldest recorded grave, that of Joe Shelby (d. 1866), infant daughter of J. E. and S. T. Shelby, is located in the Presbyterian Cemetery section. Also in that section is the "Stranger's Tomb," marking the grave of an unknown traveler who died in October 1867. Another early burial is that of William Lovelace Foster (1830-1869), Civil War veteran and pastor of Ladonia's first Baptist church at the time of his death. The I.O.O.F. section of the cemetery was originally maintained by the local Odd Fellows Lodge. The earliest recorded grave there is that of Mrs. P. T. (Marie) Hockaday (1838-1881). The Lodge continued to care for its section of the cemetery until about 1902, when management of the two sections of the graveyard were merged. Those interred in the Ladonia Cemetery include veterans of the Civil War, World War I, and World War II, as well as early settlers of the area, Fannin County officials, and many generations of Ladonia citizens.