DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker tells it this way, and I'm going to pass it along to you straight. Now, before we talk about this piece of land in Bandera County, we have to talk about the man whose name it carries — because Hendrick Arnold's story is the kind that tends to get swallowed up by history, and it shouldn't be. Hendrick Arnold was a freedman and a soldier.
Born in 1804, died in 1849. And in between those two years, he did something that Texas itself recognized: he fought. He participated in the Siege of Bexar and the Battle of San Jacinto — two of the fights that shaped this whole republic.
For that service, he was awarded land. Six surveys in what was then Bexar County, including this very property, which sits now in Bandera County. A man who earned land like that — you might think he'd hold every acre tight.
But Hendrick Arnold thought of his family. He gave land to his father, to his grandmother, and to his brother, Holly Arnold. That kind of generosity tends not to make the history books either.
But here we are, talking about it. Holly Arnold made his life on this land with his wife, Mary B. Arnold, who passed in 1897.
Mary is buried in what was known as the Arnold Cemetery, right there on the Holly Arnold Headright Land Grant. Holly himself — his birth and death records are unknown. So he lived, and he worked this land, and the years he walked it have simply not been recorded.
That absence is its own kind of story. Over time, the cemetery on the Arnold Survey became something larger than a family plot. It became a burial ground for area residents.
And then in 1922, something was made official that had already been true in practice — one acre of the Hendrick Arnold Survey No. 59 was recorded in deeds as colored burial ground, used primarily by African American families. The first burial there was a child. John Benson, born in 1885, died on April 4, 1890.
He was the first. He would not be the last. From 1884 to 1944, twelve deaths of African Americans were recorded in county records.
Twelve names. John Benson. Someone recorded only as Wellencrane, who died in 1890.
John Coats, 1903. Leonor Benson, 1905. Maria Jackson, 1912.
Baby Cooksey, 1917. C.D. Cooksey, 1920.
Jeff Cooksey Jr., 1924. Andrew Jackson, 1925. Mary Jackson, 1925.
Everett Robinson, 1926. And D.W. Leonard, 1944.
Many of their birth dates remain unknown. Twelve recorded. But here's the thing about this ground — those twelve are just the ones the county wrote down.
Burial record research and site surveys have uncovered dozens of unmarked grave sites. Headstones damaged after years of neglect. Temporary markers, if they ever existed, not found.
Other burials may exist that no record has ever named. That word the marker uses — pioneers — it lands with some weight out here. These were the pioneers of this area and their descendants, buried in land that traces back to a soldier who fought for Texas and gave what he earned to the people he loved.
Some stories are written in courthouse deeds and county records. Some are written in the ground itself. Out here in Bandera County, on Survey No. 59, both kinds are true.
What the marker says
Freedman and soldier Hendrick Arnold (1804-1849) was awarded land following the Texas Revolution for his participation in the Siege of Bexar and the Battle of San Jacinto. He received six surveys in what was then Bexar county, including this property in Bandera county. Thinking of his family, Hendrick gave land to his father, grandmother and brother, Holly Arnold. Holly Arnold lived on this land with his wife, Mary B. Arnold (d. 1897). Mary is buried in what was known as the Arnold Cemetery on the Holly Arnold Headright Land Grant. Holly’s death and birth records are unknown. Over the years, the cemetery on the Arnold Survey served as a burial ground for area residents. In 1922, one acre of the Hendrick Arnold Survey no. 59 was recorded in deeds as colored burial ground, used primarily by African American families. The first burial in the cemetery was that of John Benson, born in 1885 and died on April 4, 1890. From 1884 to 1944, twelve deaths of African Americans were recorded in county records: John Benson, (unknown) Wellencrane (d. 1890), John Coats (d. 1903), Leonor Benson (d. 1905), Maria Jackson (d. 1912), Baby Cooksey (d. 1917), C.D. Cooksey (d. 1920), Jeff Cooksey, Jr. (d. 1924), Andrew Jackson (d. 1925), Mary Jackson (d. 1925), Everett Robinson (d. 1926) and D.W. Leonard (d. 1944). Many of their birth dates remain unknown. Other burials may exist but after years of neglect, headstones were damaged and potential temporary markers were not found. Burial record research and site surveys have uncovered dozens of unmarked grave sites, a tangible reminder of the pioneers of the area and their descendants. HISTORIC TEXAS CEMETERY – 2016