DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Pearl Cemetery in Coryell County. Now settle in, because even the name of this place has a story with a twist built right into it. Originally, the community served by this cemetery was named for Swayback Mountain — which, you have to admit, has a certain rough-hewn charm to it.
But somewhere in the shuffle of paperwork, a clerical error in 1854 turned Swayback into Wayback. Not Swayback. Wayback.
Just like that, a mountain lost its community and a community got a name that sounded like something your granddad would say when he couldn't remember exactly when a thing happened. Then in 1890, the name changed again — this time to Pearl, named for the young cousin of postmaster P. Davenport.
So the place went from a mountain, to a mistake, to a young girl's name. That's three identities before the century turned. In the early 1890s, Pearl residents who passed on were often carried to the nearby Hope, Bee House, and King Cemeteries, because Pearl didn't yet have a burying ground of its own.
The earliest known burial in what would become the Pearl community was Lottie May Manning, interred in the Methodist churchyard in the spring of 1893. And then comes the moment that gave this particular piece of ground its purpose. In June of 1896, a fourteen-year-old girl named Lillian Keeton was laid to rest.
She was the first known burial in Pearl Cemetery itself. Her relatives, J.H. and Emily Keeton, gave the land on which she was buried. And rather than let that ground close around just one family's grief, they did something that speaks well of them.
They set aside five acres as private burial plots and deeded four-point-one acres of that land to the school district for public burials. Out of loss, they made a place for the whole community. The cemetery grew, and the stories it holds are considerable.
Several burials mark the influenza epidemic of 1918 — and among them is Dr. H.W. Lingswallow, who contracted the disease while treating his stricken patients.
He went to his patients knowing full well what was going around, and the epidemic took him too. Three Civil War veterans are interred here, as are veterans of World War I and World War II. One of those World War I veterans, Dr.
F.B. King, was born in North Carolina and carried a notable connection — he was the grandson of Eleanor Houston King, a relative of General Sam Houston. Veterans of the Korean War and the Vietnam War also rest in this ground.
The Pearl Cemetery Association was formed in 1972, and the cemetery continues to serve the community to this day — a chronicle, the marker calls it, of pioneers and military veterans of Coryell County. A clerical error, a postmaster's young cousin, a family's grief turned into a gift — and somewhere in those five acres, the whole arc of this corner of Texas is still being written.
What the marker says
Originally named for Swayback Mountain, the community served by this cemetery was named Wayback through a clerical error in 1854. The name was changed to Pearl in 1890 for the young cousin of postmaster P. Davenport. In the early 1890s Pearl residents often were buried in the nearby Hope, Bee House and King Cemeteries. The earliest known burial in Pearl was that of Lottie May Manning who was interred in the Methodist churchyard in the spring of 1893. The first known burial in Pearl Cemetery was that of fourteen-year-old Lillian Keeton in June 1896. Lillian's relatives J.H. and Emily Keeton gave the land on which she was buried. They created a community cemetery by setting aside five acres of property as private burial plots and deeded 4.1 acres of that land to the school district to be used for public burials. Burials of interest include several of the influenza epidemic of 1918, including Dr. H.W. Lingswallow who contracted the disease while treating his stricken patients. Three Civil war veterans, as were veterans of World War I and World War II are interred here. World War I veteran Dr. F.B. King, born in North Carolina, was the grandson of Eleanor Houston King, a relative of General Sam Houston. Veterans of the Korean and the Vietnam Wars also are interred here. The Pearl Cemetery Association was formed in 1972. The cemetery continues to serve the community as a chronicle of pioneers and military veterans of Coryell County. (1998) Historic Texas Cemetery.