DUANE
Duane's take
Now, this one comes straight from the official marker — let me tell you what that stone out in de Zavala Cemetery has to say. Some places hold their stories quietly. Real quietly.
De Zavala Cemetery, out in Harris County, is one of those places — a patch of ground that has kept the company of the famous, the forgotten, and the heartbreakingly young, all resting together beneath whatever Texas sky decides to offer on any given day. The marker lists them by name. Every one of them.
And when you read through that list slowly — which is the only honest way to read it — something starts to settle over you. First name on the stone: Vice President Lorenzo De Zavala, born 1789, died 1836. That's a life that brushed against the founding of a republic, and this cemetery bears his name.
Buried alongside him is Emily West De Zavala — no dates given for her, just her name, which is its own kind of mystery the marker doesn't explain and neither will I. Then the generations begin to unfold. Ricardo De Zavala, 1835 to 1906.
Minna Wadzick De Zavala, no dates. Emily Smith De Zavala, 1847 to 1883. And then the ones that stop you cold — Darwin De Zavala, 1872 to 1881.
Edward Theodore De Zavala, 1863 to 1882. Katherine E. De Zavala, 1911 to 1914.
Children. Just children. The ground doesn't distinguish.
Leroy De Zavala, 1905 to 1954. Lorenzo De Zavala the Third, no dates offered. Sidney De Zavala, 1870 to 1906.
And then a name that arrives with a title and a single stark date: General Manuel Fernandez Castrillon, died 1836. Just that. No birth year on this marker — only the year he left.
The list keeps going. Frederick Dulitz, 1873 to 1876 — another child. Peter Jefferson Duncan, 1799 to 1836.
Doctor Dunlap, no dates at all. Willa Folk, 1850 to 1871. Amy Inez Higginbotham, 1878 to 1915.
And beside her in the record, Lillian Marie Higginbotham, 1901 to 1903. You don't need to say much about that one. You really don't.
Emily De Zavala Jenkins, no dates. Thomas Jenkins, no dates. Ethel K.
Joyner, 1909 to 1912. Katherine S. Joyner, 1887 to 1911.
Frederick Nitsche, 1794 to 1863. William Nitsche, no dates. Emma De Zavala Singleton, 1870 to 1938.
James Singleton, 1881 to 1912. David Thomas, 1801 to 1836. Emily C.
De Zavala Weaver, 1861 to 1892. Ethel Gertrude Weaver, no dates. And Charles D.
Wilcox, 1873 to 1909. Thirty names. Some with full bookends of years, some with none at all — just a name, standing in the record like a person who showed up and refused to be entirely erased.
That's the thing about a cemetery marker that does its job right. It doesn't editorialize. It doesn't rank the important above the forgotten.
It just says: these people were here. This ground received them. And now you know their names too.
De Zavala Cemetery, Harris County. The names are on the stone. Go say a few of them out loud if you ever get the chance — because a name spoken is about the most a road can do for the dead.
What the marker says
Vice President Lorenzo De Zavala 1789-1836, Emily West De Zavala (no date), Ricardo De Zavala 1835-1906, Minna Wadzick De Zavala (no date), Emily Smith De Zavala 1847-1883, Darwin De Zavala 1872-1881, Edward Theodore De Zavala 1863-1882, Katherine E. De Zavala 1911-1914, Leroy De Zavala 1905-1954, Lorenzo De Zavala III (no date), Sidney De Zavala 1870-1906, General Manuel Fernandez Castrillon died 1836, Frederick Dulitz 1873-1876, Peter Jefferson Duncan 1799-1836, Doctor Dunlap (no date), Willa Folk 1850-1871, Amy Inez Higginbotham 1878-1915, Lillian Marie Higginbotham 1901-1903, Emily De Zavala Jenkins (no date), Thomas Jenkins (no date), Ethel K. Joyner 1909-1912, Katherine S. Joyner 1887-1911, Frederick Nitsche 1794-1863, William Nitsche (no date), Emma De Zavala Singleton 1870-1938, James Singleton 1881-1912, David Thomas 1801-1836, Emily C. De Zavala Weaver 1861-1892, Ethel Gertrude Weaver (no date), Charles D. Wilcox 1873-1909 (recorded-1970)