St. John Lutheran Church Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the St. John Lutheran Church Cemetery out in Llano County. Now, every cemetery has a beginning, and this one begins with a loss.

The congregation of St. John Lutheran Church had been meeting in its new sanctuary for some four years, still settling in, still getting used to the sound of their own voices in that fresh-built space, when one of their own was taken from them. Her name was Anna Charlotte Lillie Bauer, born in 1905, gone by 1930.

She had been a Kowierschke before she was a Bauer, and it was her passing that moved the congregation to act. They purchased a half acre, right there, and dedicated it as the church cemetery. So this ground, in a very real sense, was called into being by her.

Her in-laws, J.W. Bauer, born in 1874 and gone in 1932, and Bertha Bauer, born a Flint in 1872 and living all the way to 1956, they are buried nearby, in that same plot. A family kept together, at least in this.

But the cemetery holds an older story too. Christian Schneider, born in 1838 and gone in 1920, had been resting in a different spot entirely, a grave near the Llano River in a location that had become endangered. So he was moved.

Brought here. Kept safe. And to this day, church members and family descendants care for that half acre.

It is, as the marker tells it, a record of the lives of many of the Castell area's beloved citizens. Not just names on stones. A record.

Tended by people who still remember why that word matters.

What the marker says

The congregation of St. John Lutheran Church had been meeting in its new sanctuary for some four years when the death of one of its members, Anna Charlotte Lillie (Kowierschke) Bauer (1905-1930), led to the purchase of this half acre for use as the church cemetery. Her in-laws, J.W. Bauer (1874-1932) and Bertha (Flint) Bauer (1872-1956), are buried nearby in the same plot. The older grave of Christian Schneider (1838-1920) was moved here from an endangered location near the Llano River. Church members and family descendants care for this site that is a record of the lives of many of the Castell area's beloved citizens. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2001