Moffat Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Moffat Cemetery, out in Bell County. Now settle in, because even a quiet piece of ground has a story worth hearing. This one starts, as so many do, with the dead, and with the living who made sure they weren't forgotten.

The burial ground began as a family and Masonic cemetery, and many graves are out there, possibly older than anything marked. But the oldest marked grave belongs to Mary Marshall, who died in 1861. That's where the record starts, at least the record you can read in stone.

Eight years after Marshall's death, in 1869, a man named J.A. Grimes sold his farm to Mary E. Dean.

Now here's the detail that tells you something about how people thought back then. When Grimes drew up that sale, he carved out two acres from the deal entirely, set aside for a graveyard. Not negotiable.

Not included. Just, those two acres belong to the dead. That kind of foresight, you don't see it spelled out often, but there it is.

Time moved forward, as it does. In 1893, Dean herself deeded additional property for the cemetery over to the Leon Masonic Lodge No. 193, AF&AM. The ground kept growing.

R.J. and Hattie Goode conveyed even more land to the lodge in 1916. And then on July 23, 1921, the Masonic Lodge turned the whole property over to the Moffat Cemetery Association, which went right on acquiring additional land for the burial ground. The association eventually incorporated in 1976.

So you've got this ground that passed from a farmer to a buyer, from a deed exception to a Masonic lodge, from a lodge to an association, from an informal promise to a legal incorporation. Layer by layer, generation by generation, the place held. Among those resting there is pioneer Isaac Thomas Bean, born in 1821 and died in 1899, who came to Texas in 1823 with his family.

Just stop and sit with that for a second. 1823. That is early. The names of prominent families and military veterans are recorded on the numerous markers throughout the grounds, vertical stones and stone cairns both.

Each one a chapter. Each one a name someone made sure wouldn't be swallowed by time. That's what Moffat Cemetery is, really.

Not just a burial ground. A place where people kept saying, no, this matters, this ground matters, these names matter, and then put it in writing.

What the marker says

This burial ground began as a family and Masonic cemetery. Although many, possibly older, graves exist, the oldest marked grave is that of Mary Marshall (d. 1861). In 1869, eight years after Marshall's death, J.A. Grimes sold his farm to Mary E. Dean. The parcel of land excluded two acres set aside for a graveyard. In 1893, Dean deeded additional property for the cemetery to the Leon Masonic Lodge No. 193, AF&AM. R.J. and Hattie Goode conveyed additional land to the lodge in 1916. On July 23, 1921, the Masonic Lodge deeded the property to the Moffat Cemetery Association, which later acquired additional land for the burial ground. The association incorporated in 1976. The cemetery is the final resting place for numerous area settlers, including pioneer Isaac Thomas Bean (1821-1899), who came to Texas in 1823 with his family. The names of prominent families and military veterans are found on the numerous markers, which include vertical stones and stone cairns. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2003