DUANE
Duane's take
The marker out here in Fayette County is the one telling this story, and I'm just passing it along to you. Now, before there was much of anything in southwestern Fayette County, the land itself had a name — Muldoon. And that name goes back to the 1830s, when Father Miguel Muldoon acquired a Spanish land grant from Stephen F.
Austin. Settlers followed, the way settlers do, and through the rest of the 19th century the area kept growin', kept drawing folks in from places near and places very far away. By 1871, the community had enough roots to plant something permanent.
Four men — Jesse Sullivan, J.R. Allen, Duncan Carmichael, and J.T. Burleson — acting as trustees for the Methodist Episcopal Church, purchased six acres of land from a man named John Sauer.
The purpose was plain and serious: a church and a burial ground. The first soul laid to rest in that ground was Dr. John B.
Floyd, born in 1842, gone by 1875. He was a doctor, originally from St. Martins, New Brunswick — a long way from home, and now home forever in Fayette County.
The second burial belongs to James Carrel Bell, 1820 to 1880. Bell was a Texas Revolutionary War Veteran. That alone earns a man some silence.
And then there's Simon Peter Ford, born 1816, died 1898 — a veteran of the Battle of San Jacinto. You don't pass over that name quickly. Duncan Carmichael, one of the very trustees who helped purchase this land, is also buried here.
Born 1827, died 1886, a Civil War veteran. And he rests alongside many other veterans from the Civil War onward — men and women who served their country — as well as pioneer families, pastors, educators, and business leaders. Now, one burial deserves a little extra telling.
James Chambers Coulson, 1857 to 1909, came to this country from England. He became an expert stonemason and managed the Muldoon Rock Quarries — quarries that supplied a sandstone known as Muldoon Blue. That stone went into local landmarks, into buildings across Texas, and — hold onto this — into the Galveston Seawall and jetties.
Somewhere in those great coastal fortifications, Coulson's work is holding the line against the Gulf of Mexico itself. At the center of this cemetery stands the old Union Hill Baptist Church. In the 1940s it was moved right here to the cemetery grounds, and it's been used for funerals and meetings ever since.
Also in the 1940s, a cemetery association was established to care for the place — to make sure that all those stories, all those names, don't get swallowed up by time and grass and forgetting. That's what Pitman Cemetery is. Not just a burial ground.
A tangible reminder and connection to the area's rich history — their words, and the right ones.
What the marker says
Located in southwestern Fayette County, the Muldoon area was first settled in the 1830s when Father Miguel Muldoon acquired a Spanish land grant from Stephen F. Austin. The area continued to grow and attract settlers throughout the 19th century. In 1871, Jesse Sullivan, J.R. Allen, Duncan Carmichael and J.T. Burleson, trustees for the Methodist Episcopal Church, purchased six acres of land from John Sauer for a church and burial ground. The first burial in the cemetery was for Dr. John B. Floyd (1842-1875), a doctor originally from St. Martins, New Brunswick. The second burial is that of James Carrel Bell (1820-1880), a Texas Revolutionary War Veteran. Battle of San Jacinto veteran Simon Peter Ford (1816-1898) is also buried here. Duncan Carmichael (1827-1886), a Civil War veteran, is also buried here aside many other veterans from the Civil War onward who served their country. Other burials include pioneer families, pastors, educators and business leaders. One burial of note is that of James Chambers Coulson (1857-1909), an English immigrant who became an expert stonemason and managed the Muldoon Rock Quarries that supplied the "Muldoon Blue" sandstone for many local landmarks, the Galveston Seawall and jetties, and buildings across Texas. In the center of the cemetery is the old Union Hill Baptist Church, moved to the cemetery in the 1940s and now used for funerals and meetings. A cemetery association was established in the 1940s to care for the cemetery, a tangible reminder and connection to the area's rich history. HISTORIC TEXAS CEMETERY - 2016