SUTHERLAND SPRINGS TEXAS ... The Sutherland Springs Development Corporation built the first high water bridge over the Cibolo in 1892.

 

The bridge was of iron and wood construction. It's spanned the Cibolo at the foot of County Avenue to simplify trade from within the San Antonio River Valley. They say that during the well-remembered flood of 1913, the bathhouse knocked off the end of it. It was reconstructed.

 

There are many memories of the old high water bridge with its loud creaking boards as vehicles traveled over it.The beloved old wooden bridge was replaced in 1958 when the Texas Department of Transportation built the concrete low water crossing and the Farm to Market Road 539. A 25 foot high concrete Bridge completed in 1995, replaced the low water Bridge.

 

UPDATE:  Mark Johnson shares great new history information on the iron bridge in Sutherland Springs Texas. "This bridge was on hwy 539 just out of Sutherland Springs. It was built but WPA employees about the same time as the bridge at intersection of US 97 and US 87 known to us as the Y. also built by WPA. Ed Johnson worked on the one at the Y. I, Mark Johnson, drove a motor grader across the one in Sutherland Springs after it had been condemned by the state engineers. I would walk across it going to school when we lived up town. There was a kid we knew that used to dive head first off that bridge. I don't recall the years these bridges were built. This one was taken down by Tony Margraf for the metal about the mid '60s sometime after low water bridge had been constructed. Tony was a welder. They lived off hwy 123 in the Alum Creek area. Part of the old bridge is still in the Cibolo because when Tony cut it down it fell in the river and he couldn't get it all out. There were several old bridges built like that. Some are still in existence as historical sites because of their design. I can find out the dates when the bridge was built and taken down after this virus restrictions are lifted.  Hope this helped with the history of this bridge. Mark Johnson"

COURTESY/ Southwest Texas "Along the Line of the Galveston, Harrisburg, San Antonio Rail Yard."

A TIME TO SEEK THE LORD ...    History of the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs Wilson County Texas researched and written by Mrs. Barbara J. Wood, June 30, 1996.  

 

FOREWORD.... The occasion of this Historical Resume is the observance of seventy years of chronicles of those who labored toward the building of this body of baptized believers.

 

It is written for the pleasure and guidance of those who follow.  For no matter how rich the heritage, a church can be no better than the generation that holds it in trust.

 

In the early years of the church, records were kept at the homes of the officers.  Twice, homes of the Church Clerk burned destroying the Church Minutes.  Therefore, Church records are not available until the year of 1953 with years following being incomplete at times.

 

I researched and studied material from Church Records available, Annual Associational Minutes, information from church members and other historical passageways.

 

I am appreciative to my husband, Dewayne, The San Antonio Baptist Association staff, Linda Bright from The South Central Baptist Area Associational Office, The Historical Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, The Texas Baptist Historical Collection, The Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, The Sutherland Springs Historical Museum, Rev. Robert Miller of Calvary Baptist Church, Pastor Jeff Weems of The First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Mrs. Lora Adcock, Mrs. Beulah Wilson, Mrs. Virginia Baker, Mrs. Viva Lou Mills and many others who have helped in various ways.

 

I had hoped to include a biographical sketch of most of the pastors.  However, due to lack of information, this could not be.

 

Occasionally, words and phrases have been used which do not appear good form today.  These have been preserved because they are actual transcripts of the writing at the time.

 

This historical writing may include information of which some may not agree.  When there is a conflict in information, I have printed all versions so that the reader may decide.

 

I have done the best that I could with extensive research from many avenues.  It is my desire to have recorded a true history of the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs.

 

Mrs. Barbara J. Wood

Columnist and Historian

June 30, 1996

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A TIME TO SEEK THE LORD ..... In the early 1900's, Sutherland Springs was a well-known place.  Newspapers, brochures, and folks from all around boasted about her renowned summer and winter resort.

 

The retreat was promoted foremostly for health reasons.  Nature had gloriously flaunted a healing potpourri of redeeming mineral springs, hot and cold.

 

Although, this is not where the spiritual image of Sutherland Springs begins.  One could say that the commencement was  with the faith-driven perseverance of religious pioneers in the 1700's.

 

From the beginning of time, human nature has had the desire to seek and has hoped for a better life.  Therefore, a great religious paradigm was introduced with the arrival of Franciscan missionaries and the building of Missions.  The Franciscan missionaries came to bring Christianity to the Native American tribes living here.  They came to convert them to God.

 

The Franciscans, the Order of Little Brothers, were picturesque with their bare feet and clothing of drab, gray wool.  This image was consummated with their strong will and persistent faith in this time of seeking the Lord.

 

The Franciscans built thirty-six missions in Texas.  They established Mission Concepcion in 1731 in this vicinity.  It covered approximately fifteen square leagues.

 

Mission Concepcion had its own ranch and grazing land for its livestock.  This ranch, Rancho del Paistle, was situated on the west bank of the Cibolo near the present Sutherland Springs.  Rancho del Paistle rephrased is Moss Ranch.  (One of the past traditional characterizations of Sutherland Springs is the silvery hued Spanish moss that so unendingly adorned the exquisite oaks.  The long strings of moss were used for blanket coverings, lived feed, packing material, decoration and the Native American women wove it for clothing such as skirts, shoes and shawls.)  The Moss Ranch was abandoned in 1767.

 

Partial secularization of Mission Concepcion began in 1794.  Then Mission San Jose served it.  The transmittal of the Mission from ecclesiastical to civil use was completed in 1824.

 

Ten years later, in 1834, the Moss Ranch became private property when Jose Maria Balmaceda assumed the ownership.

 

Doctor John Sutherland, founder of Sutherland Springs, settled in this area fifteen years later about 1849.  The fanfare of hot and cold springs, especially the bubbling steamy sulfur was possibly the enticement.  Doctor Sutherland was a practitioner who used a method of medicine that encouraged cures from the use of vegetable compounds and steam treatments.

 

The locality was given the name of "Sutherland Springs" in 1851.  Doctor Sutherland had received a certification for a Post Office that needed a townsite's name.  He gave his last name with validation of the mineral springs.  The actual town site was laid out in 1854 from two-hundred seventy-five acres of the Sutherland estate.

 

The Doctor John Sutherland home place was along the west bank nearly a mile from the springs.  (The limestone cistern on the north side of the First Baptist Church is the last remaining relic of the Doctor John Sutherland home place.  The large concrete block protecting the opening of the cistern is a slab of the sidewalk from Hotel Sutherland.)

 

It was perfectly natural for those who had known the fellowship of other Christians, when scattered out into other areas without a church of their faith and order, to have a time of seeking the Lord.  Doctor Sutherland, an austere Methodist, wanted a place of worship near his family.  Thus, he and Joseph Polley, of the Polley Mansion, co-sponsored the installation of the Sutherland Springs Circuit of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.

 

In 1863, the Fifth Annual Convocation of the West Texas Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South was held in Sutherland Springs.  In 1876, they abolished the Sutherland Springs Circuit of the Methodist Episcopal Church.  The Methodist parishioners continued their worship with a circuit rider pastor who came twice a month to hold services.  The traveling pastor was usually paid with vegetables, fresh milk and butter, and freshly laid eggs from the hens.

 

A time of seeking the Lord for other faiths became apparent around 1877 with traveling pastors from the Protestant Episcopal and the Cumberland Presbyterian Churches.  As well at that time, there were regular Methodist services being held in Sutherland Springs.  The Union Church began to hold revivals in the summer down by the Cibolo outside town.

 

Beginning in the early 1900's, religion instruction did not seem as important.  In spite of the Legislature's 1875 Prohibition Enactment, two saloons were being operated in Sutherland Springs.

 

In the Forty-ninth Session of the San Antonio Baptist Association, they pledged the following:

 

The Liquor Traffic

For still another year our country has continued its human sacrifices, numbering tens of thousands of victims to this hideous monster.  Our civilization does not deserve the name of Christian while the infamous traffic, deadly to the body, mind and soul, is countenanced (supported) by our laws.  This Association stand for the complete extirpation (destruction) of the liquor business.  Signs are numerous that the days of the saloon are numbered in America.  Regulation has been everywhere a failure.  Annihilation (destruction) is the one alternative.  The saloon is always and everywhere a lawbreaker.  Public sentiment, especially in the South, is forming fast and strong to drive the whole business from the land.  Georgia and Oklahoma have already outlawed the saloon.  Tennessee, the Carolinas, Alabama, and Mississippi seem ready to follow at once, in Texas, Kentucky, Virginia, Arkansas and in fact, in the entire South, its years are few.  Wise saloon men already see the handwriting on the wall, and are lustily urging their comrades to obey the laws.  They are too late to avert the storm.  Their business is doomed.  The Anti-saloon league was never before so active and efficient as now.  This association pledges its prayers, and its every possible effort to the task of freeing our state forever of this arrogant, lawless, deadly enemy to society.

 

The glimpse into the spiritual past of Sutherland Springs has now inspired the time back to the early 1900's when she was so prevalently fashionable.  It seemingly was a time for Man assuredly to seek the Lord.

 

In a meeting January 12, 1908 held by the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Stockdale, Rev. John Poole assisted by Rev. S. C. Bailey, State Evangelist, the following action was adopted:

 

"We, the Baptist Church of Stockdale, Texas, hereby certify that we have in the surrounding country several important places that are entirely destitute of the Gospel by Baptists.  Sutherland Springs is a railroad town and they have a House of Worship, etc. located about six miles west of here.  Also Caddo about six miles northeast of here is an important place.  Several places without preaching should be worked up and get them to call pastors.  Therefore, we believe that the Board will do well to employ the Rev. John H. Poole for half time to work at the above mentioned places.

 

This endeavor was manifest at the Fiftieth Session of the San Antonio Baptist Association, as they received a petitionary letter from a Sutherland Springs Missionary Baptist Church.

 

This letter had general remarks about the church's spiritual condition, the general tone of the church life, and special features of the year's work.

 

The Sutherland Springs Missionary Baptist Church was unanimously welcomed October 1, 1908.  The pastor was Rev. John H. Poole, Clerk and Sunday School Superintendent was S. H. McIntire.  Preaching was every second Sunday.

 

The Sutherland Springs Missionary Baptist Church reported regularly to the San Antonio Baptist Association until 1925 when it appears it withdrew from the Association with no explanation about the reason.

 

Another engrossing season in the spiritual growth of Sutherland Springs begins to take place about 1909.

 

The San Antonio Baptist Associational Minutes of September 1909 recorded the ensuing revelation, "We have in our section an organization called The Southwest Texas Baptist Workers Conference.  It is composed of all the Baptists in Southwest Texas who desire to cooperate with it.  This conference is to meet annually."  The Baptist Ministers on the Executive Committee of the Southwest Texas Baptist Workers Conference were R. F. Stokes – Chairman, E. C. Routh – Secretary, Weston Bruner, J. V. Neal, J. Dickenson, B. A. Copas, Sid Williams, H. M. Cain and R. A Cobron.

 

This committee was appointed to select a site for a Southwest Texas Baptist Encampment.  One that would be involving more than three-hundred thousand Baptists in Texas from eleven Baptist Associations.

 

After mindful study and investigation of a diversity of locations, the Executive Committee unanimously decided upon Sutherland Springs.

 

The Sutherland Springs Development Company was formed in 1909.  It owned one-thousand acres in New Town that embraced twenty mineral springs along three miles of frontage on the Cibolo.

 

In an SSDC booklet, the reasons given for Sutherland Springs being chosen were for the most beautiful scenery and trees in Texas; the beautiful Cibolo; inspiring mineral waters and the high moral character of the Sutherland Springs Development Company.

 

The purposed for the Baptist Encampment, Chautauqua, etc. were for an annual Southwest Texas Baptist Workers Conference meeting place; meeting place of the Southwest Texas Baptist Sunday School; an annual evangelistic camp meeting of several weeks; a two or more week's annual Bible School; a Baptist Missionary Alliance; meeting place for the Baptist Woman's Missionary Workers Auxiliary; an auditorium with a two-thousand seating capacity; and a convalescent annex for the Baptist Sanitarium.  (Hospital to be built in San Antonio, Texas)

 

The Baptist Encampment never achieved the greatness planned by the Executive Committee of the Southwest Texas Baptist Workers Conference.  It has been speculated that the reason was the destructive flood that devastated Sutherland Springs October 11, 1913.

 

An interesting report appears in "A Baptist Century Around the Alamo 1858 – 1958".  A committee May 30, 1919 heartily endorsed the location and establishment of an encampment at Leakey, Texas known as Alto Frio Baptist Encampment.

 

The Encampment was for Baptists of the entire Southwest Texas area.  The beautiful, spirit-filled Alto Frio Baptist Encampment meets the criteria of the earlier designated Sutherland Springs Baptist Encampment.

 

With the genesis of the Sutherland Springs Missionary Baptist Church, they revived spiritual activity.  A Baptist Chautauqua Meeting Ground was laid out in the Sutherland Springs park by the mineral springs.  They built a permanent shelter (tall poles with only a roof) to house revival meetings and summer encampments.

 

Chautauqua is a Seneca (Western New York Native American) word meaning one has taken fish here.  It refers to Chautauqua Lake where a Literary and Scientific Circle was founded in 1898 by Bishop Vincent of the Methodist Episcopal Church.  The Senecas pronounced Chautauqua as if it were "Chaud-dauk-wa."

 

The Sutherland Springs Missionary Baptist Church and the Presbyterian Church had resident ministers in 1915.

 

Having no written organizational data on the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, information was recapitulated elsewhere.  Interviews in 1972 with Mrs. Madelyn Cowan, Mrs. Bob Baker, and Mrs. Pearl Adcock provided the following:

 

"The wanting for a place of worship of their faith and in their own community was natural for folks.  Wherefore, several members in Sutherland Springs covenanted together to organize a Baptist Church.  The church was officially organized October of 1926 in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Burl Chaney.  Some of the charter members were Mrs. Claude (Madelyn Prothro) Cowan, Mrs. Johnny (Ruby (Bob) McClanahan) Baker, Edith Elderidge, Lottie Elderidge Parrish, Mr. and Mrs. Burl Chaney, Liilie Joerck Gregory and Grace Joerck Grandstaff."

 

The San Antonio Associational Missionary, Bro. J. S. Henderson, led in the 1926 organization of the Sutherland Springs Central Baptist Church.  Bro. Chaffe, a former pastor of the First Baptist Church of Floresville, came Sunday afternoons and preached the Word of God.  The membership met in the old Sutherland Springs School building.

 

The minutes of the Sixty-ninth Session of the San Antonio Baptist Association records the official acceptance of the Sutherland Springs Central Baptist Church into the San Antonio Baptist Association Wednesday, September 7, 1927.

 

The Associational Minutes read, "Petitionary letters were called for and the letter from the new church at Sutherland Springs was presented.  A committee composed of W. A. Joyner, J. C. Long, and H. A. Seymour was appointed to consider the application of this church for membership in the Association.  The report was adopted."

 

The Minutes recorded the Church Clerk as Harry Craft, Sunday School Superintendent – B. B. Chaney and Secretary – Miss Edith Elderidge.

 

The fact that this new church was called the Sutherland Springs Central Church suggests that it wished to differentiate itself from another Baptist congregation in town, presumably the earlier Sutherland Springs Missionary Baptist Church.

 

They apparently organized or constituted the new church in 1926;  although, there are times (1947 thru 1951) when they gave the organization year as 1909.  For the past forty-five years, they have given the organization date as 1926.

 

It is not known what year the Sutherland Springs Central Baptist Church became known as the First Baptist Church.  The changing of the name could have been simply a matter of preference by the local congregation.  It may have been done interchangeably over a period of years, especially during a transition time.

 

As it seems, the Sutherland Springs Missionary Baptist Church did not make annual Associational reports after 1924.  The Sutherland Springs Central Baptist Church surfaced in 1925.  In the Gambrell Baptist Association's Fourth Annual Session (October 1925), it chronicled Rev. H. H. Chaffee as the pastor.  In a December 1988 historical summary of the First Baptist Church, the writer states "the church was organized in 1926", however, that "the preceding year (1925) a group had organized a Sunday School, Baptist Young Peoples Union, and Woman's Missionary Union."

 

The Sutherland Springs Baptist Church transferred from the San Antonio Baptist Association to the Gambrell Association October 7, 1941.  However, there is some confusion about its relationship for the next few years.  The church reported to the Gambrell Baptist Association in 1941 thru 1943 but to the San Antonio Baptist Association in 1944 thru 1946.  On September 23, 1947, the Sutherland Springs Baptist Church was again admitted into the Gambrell Baptist Association.  This is where the church has been affiliated for the past forty-nine years.

 

According to 1926 Associational records, Bro. Sam Zook is said to be the first pastor.  However, from remembrances of older members, they say that it was Bro. Hal Reddoch.  Bro. Zook's family verifies that he was pastor at one time.  It appears that both served at different times during 1926 to 1928.

 

No doubt many rich blessings came to the church membership as they stepped out on faith to buy their first church building.  The Sutherland Springs Central Baptist Church was the hub of the community.  Persons of all faiths and races with sincerity of purpose and grace in their hearts shared in raising the money.

 

The older church members say folks from all around came with contributions of chickens, pigs, and hand-cranked ice cream to vend.  As well, monetary donations supplemented the needed payment to buy an old store building.  They held worship services in the old building for several years.

 

It was during this period that the church surely was inspired for it was evidently growing in spirit and number.  The membership and community volunteers tore down the old building and built a more effective church building using most of the lumber.

 

The membership persevered in their labor of seeking the Lord.  In 1949, they found themselves in another building program.  Under the counsel of their pastor, Bro. W. C. Binford and the supervision of a church member, Johnny Baker, they tore down the old church building.  They met in the Old Town Sutherland Springs School Gymnasium for Worship Services until the new church was raised.

 

They held a Ground Breaking Ceremony on February 27, 1949.  Chosen members of the congregation turned spades of dirt from the new property purchased in 1948.

 

With most of the lumber from the old church and a grant from the Baptist General Convention of Texas, they built a beautiful House of Worship.  This new, present-day church was completed in September of 1949.

 

In the past seventy years, the church membership under the leadership of twenty-eight pastors, has remodeled, restored, and made additions to the church structure.

 

In Matthew 16:18, the Lord uttered these words, "...On this rock I will build my church..."  These were words of hope and meaning to the early Christians as they are to the Christians of today.

 

Today, June 30, 1996, these words take on an entirely new meaning to the congregation of the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs.

 

Because today, we look back to October 1926, when those few men and women in a time of seeking the lLord, came together to establish this House of Worship.  And as we, the membership of today, continue to see the Lord in all seasons of His church.

 

Researched, compiled and written by 

Mrs. Barbara Jane Wood

June 1996

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UPDATE : In Matthew 16:18, the Lord uttered these words, "...On this rock (JESUS CHRIST) I will build my church..."  These were words of hope and meaning to the early Christians as they are to the Christians of today. (When the church building in 1996 was being remodeled, the floor under the pulpit was removed while I was present. There on the ground was a large rock .... no other rocks anywhere on the ground. I asked the pastor what they were going to do with it as we both understood it was the materialized rock the church building was built upon. I happily  took home that piece of history.)

 

Today, January 18, 2022, these words take on an entirely new meaning to the congregation of the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs and to the Sutherland Springs Community as the congregation has voted to demolish the 96 year old building. A new church building was built in 2019 following the massacre in 2017.

 

The "first" Sutherland Springs First Baptist Church building's  photo is on the front cover of "A Time to Seek the Lord". It was located on 5th street. When the congregation tore down this building to build a larger church, they used the lumber in the new church building.

SUTHERLAND SPRINGS TEXAS ... Among the more interesting businesses in New Sutherland Springs was a bank, which organized during the early fall of 1909, just five years after the Texas constitution was amended to allow state-chartered banks.

 

The New Sutherland Springs facility received a charter as the First State Bank in October and opened its doors in a rented building with Tom Morgan, the former city marshal of Ennis, as its president. Construction of a concrete building with proper bars began in December 1909 and was completed early the following year. 

 

The company only had $10,000 in capital, but its deposits, under a law adopted in 1909, were originally secured by both the West Texas Bank and Trust Company of San Antonio and Chase National Bank of New York. The Houston National Exchange Bank was added to that list as well by the end of October 1909, and in July 1910 the American Bank and Trust Company, whose president N. S. Graham also served as treasurer for the Sutherland Springs Town and Land Company, became a "reserve agent" for the First State Bank. 

 

At that time the president of the First State Bank was Charles F. Goodenough, a native of Britain. Finance was a difficult business in this period; the West Texas Bank and Trust Company became the largest state bank in Texas by early 1916, then within just a few months was shut down and its assets liquidated. Somehow the First State Bank survived into the 1920s, when it became one of many rural banks in Texas to close its doors after many failures ruined the state deposit security system. 

 

(Courtesy of Richard McClasin, author of "Sutherland Springs Texas: The Saratoga on the Cibolo")

Shirley and John Grammer of La Vernia are working with Bertha Cardenas Lomas and Sharon Hays of the Sutherland Springs Cemetery Association to have the cemetery designated as a historic site. Once the historic designation application is approved, an application will be made for a Texas State historical marker for the cemetery.

 

In researching the deed records of Wilson County, Shirley found that the cemetery was established Oct. 31, 1860, when Dr. John Sutherland granted approximately 5 acres to the town of "Sutherland" for a graveyard.

 

The first interment was of Dr. Sutherland's wife, Ann Margaret Sutherland (1809-62).

 

On May 22, 1911, Jacob Hyder sold 2.09 acres for $75 to Margaret Curry, Mamie Sutherland, and Jennie Wiseman, trustees of the Oak Hill Cemetery Association, present-day Sutherland Springs Cemetery Association, bringing the total acreage to 7.09 acres. On May 1, 1956, Jennie Wiseman and Mamie Sutherland submitted their resignations as trustees of the Oak Hill Cemetery Association. Margaret Curry was deceased.

 

The cemetery became known as the Sutherland Springs Cemetery Association, with Basil Hoke, Claude Cowan, and Melvin Deagen elected as new trustees. Mrs. Hoke was the president.

 

On Sept. 19, 1997, the Billy Deagen family of Sutherland Springs deeded 0.59 acre to the Sutherland Springs Cemetery Association, bringing its total acreage to 7.68 acres.

 

Interred in this cemetery are Texas Rangers, judges, doctors, veterans, Masons, members of the Polley family, and many descendants of Dr. John Sutherland, for whom the town of Sutherland Springs is named.

 

Every gravestone in the cemetery now has been photographed and the information recorded, according to the Grammers. There remain a number of unmarked graves in the cemetery, some with temporary metal markers and a few concrete stones with no identification.

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"As a child I remember going down to Sutherland Springs to visit my Grandmother, Artie Odom Sutherland's brothers, Uncle Ed, Uncle MT, and Uncle Garvie and his wife Aunt Bess Odom. 

 

We would often camp down on the Cibolo Creek, which was called "Sea Willow" River by all of the old timers.  We think that name was derived from the Spanish pronunciation of Cibolo "See Bowe Lowe" which sounds a bit like Sea Willow.  There are also many willow trees all along the creek that could have contributed to the name. 

 

I learned to swim in that creek along with the catfish and alligator gar!  One time Uncle Ed took us in his rowboat as far as the creek would allow to show us where the old swimming pool was located.

 

 By this time in the 1960s there was nothing much to see.  However you could clearly smell the sulphur from the springs.  You could also taste it in the water from the local wells.

 

We would often camp in a little park not far from where Hwy 87 crosses the creek.  My brothers and I learned to swim in the Sea Willow River along with the catfish, the gar, and the muddy bottom.

 

I was always fascinated with stories about the springs and the swimming pools.  One time, Uncle MT took us upstream in an old row boat as far as we could get to see if we could reach the pools.   Unfortunately I never did get to see the area.

 

 However, I did however see everything through the eyes of my Grandmother Ethel Jane Pruett Grant who lived and went to school in Sutherland Springs.  She told stories about going to the springs in a wagon and camping on the banks for about a week to swim in the waters and visit with kin folks who also came.  

 

This was a family reunion of sorts for the Pruetts, the Bundicks, the Glovers, and the Grants.   She was there to see the grand swimming pools and bath houses as well as the dancing pavilion and Hotel Sutherland.   All we have today are the few pictures that remain and those memories."

 

[In the blog "Sutherland Family History" , Sharon Sutherland has written some stories involving Sutherland Springs. It is appreciated that Sharon has given her permission to post some on the "Talk of Wilson County TX Historic Towns

Sutherland Springs Cemetery .... Sutherland Springs, Wilson County, Texas .... by Shirley Grammer     3/12/2012

 

The community of Sutherland Springs was established ca. 1849   and named for Dr. John Sutherland (1792-1867).  Dr. Sutherland came to Texas in 1835 and is well known in the annals of Texas history as one of the survivors of the Alamo in 1836.   Dr. Sutherland would have been among the many casualties at the Alamo had he not been crippled when his horse fell on him. Not being able to fight, Col.  William Travis sent him to Gonzales to seek help.  While Dr. Sutherland was on this mission the Alamo fell to the Mexican forces. 3    Dr. Sutherland's nephew, William DePriest Sutherland, born 8/10/1818 died March 6, 1836 at the Alamo. He was the son of George Sutherland. 4  

 

     Dr. John Sutherland was born near Danville, Pittsylvania Co., Virginia May 11, 1792. 5  His parents were Capt. John Sutherland, Sr. and Agnes Shelton Sutherland.   Capt. Sutherland was an officer in the Revolutionary War. He was of sturdy Highland Scotch descent; his father, John Sutherland (or Sutherlin as it was originally spelled) having emigrated to America. 6    Capt. Sutherland moved from Virginia to Tennessee in 1805  and settled on Clinch River where he kept a ferry known as Sutherland's Ferry. 7                                                             

     Dr. John Sutherland became a merchant at Knoxville, Tennessee. 8   There he met and married his first wife. Afterwards he went to Decatur, Alabama where he served as president of a bank.  9  After a while he moved to Tuscumbia, Alabama and entered into the mercantile business with his brother George.  In 1825 George and John opened their store in a "new brick building" on the corner of Sixth and Main on "Mechanics Row." 10    It was here in Tuscumbia that Dr. Sutherland selected his second wife.  In 1829 Dr. Sutherland and George Sutherland closed their business.   In December 1835, Dr. Sutherland, Captain William Patton and several others visited Texas with a view to settling on lands which the Mexican government offered as an inducement to settlers to make homes in Texas. 11    Arriving at San Felipe they took the oath of allegiance to the new government.   Then they proceeded to San Antonio arriving there on the 18th of January, 1836. 12   After the fall of the Alamo Dr. Sutherland returned to his family in Tuscumbia, Alabama.  In the fall of 1837, having closed his business in Tuscumbia he brought his family to Texas, reaching the settlement known as Egypt, (Wharton County, Texas) in December of that year. 13     He built a home on the West side of the Colorado River, located 4 miles from Egypt where he lived until  the fall of 1849 when he moved to present day Wilson County , settling near the Sulphur Springs on the Cibolo River, present day Sutherland Springs, Texas. 14 

     

      Dr. Sutherland was married three times; first to Diana Kennedy in Knoxville, Knox County, Tennessee, December 31, 1816. 15  There were 3 children born to this union: David (1820-1852), Sarah Agnes (1822-1870) and John James Sutherland (1824-1845).  Diana died February 17, 1827 in Tuscumbia, Alabama.  Dr. Sutherland's  second marriage was to Ann Bryan Lane on November 17, 1827 in Alabama.  There were five children born to this union: George Quinn (1829-1869), Levin L. (b. 1832 - died in South America) 16  and Jack Sutherland (1838-1922) 17   Two daughters: Margaret Ann, (1834-1834) and Margaret Ann, II born 1/10/ 1840 - died 11/1840). 18   Ann died  January 10, 1840 in Egypt, Wharton County, Texas. 19   His third and final marriage was to Ann Margaret Lucas Dickson 1/21/1841 in Colorado County, Texas. 20   Ann Margaret Dickson was the widow of Abishai Dickson who was killed with Fannin at Goliad. 21  Margaret and Abishai Dickson had several children.  Dr. Sutherland and Ann Margaret had 3 children: Mary Elizabeth (1843-1901), 22 William T. (1845-1924) 23  &  Rev. Alexander Hamilton Sutherland (1848-1917). 24   Dr. Sutherland and Ann Margaret were separated in later years but remained friends.  They never divorced.  

    

 In 1849  Dr. Sutherland purchased the Trevino grant on Cibolo Creek, located some twenty miles east of San Antonio. 25     Dr. Sutherland boarded patients who came to the Sulphur Springs seeking cures for various ailments.  He gained a reputation for curing cholera and other maladies.  His house was soon a regular stop, known as Sutherland Springs, on the road to Port Lavaca from San Antonio.   January 27, 1851 Sutherland Springs obtained a post office.  Dr. Sutherland was the first postmaster.  He had the town platted and sold lots, sponsored the construction of a school and Methodist church and served as a justice of the peace and a member of the school board.  His town became the provisional seat of Wilson County in 1860. 

     

The Cemetery at Sutherland Springs was established October 31, 1860 when Dr. Sutherland granted approximately 5 acres to the town of "Sutherland" for a graveyard. 26    The first burial was that of his wife, Ann Margaret Sutherland, who died May 5, 1862.  Ann Margaret Sutherland was born in Savannah, Georgia August 5, 1809. 27   She ran a boarding house and became acquainted with many travelers traversing the old road from San Antonio to Port Lavaca & Indianola. 

     

On May 22, 1911, Jacob Hyder sold 2.09 acres for $75 to Margaret Curry, Mamie Sutherland and Jennie Wiseman, trustees of the Oak Hill Cemetery Association, 28  present day Sutherland Springs Cemetery Association, bringing the total acreage to 7.09 acres.  On May 1, 1956, Jennie Wiseman and Mamie Sutherland submitted their resignations as trustees of the Oak Hill Cemetery Association. Margaret Curry was deceased.   The cemetery became known as the Sutherland Springs Cemetery Association, with Basil Hoke, Claude Cowan, and Melvin Deagen elected as new trustees.  Mrs. Basil (Pearl) Hoke was the president. 29

     

On September 19, 1997, the Billy Deagen family of Sutherland Springs deeded 0.59 acre to the Sutherland Springs Cemetery Association, bringing its total acreage to approximately 7.69 acres. 30.   A plat of the cemetery is found in a General Warranty Deed  dated 11/21/1995 PP.895-367, Bill Deagen and sons, LTD to John J. Sturm & wife, Jo Ann Sturm, 51.47 acres of land out of the A. Trevino Grant.  The Sturm's own the surrounding  land around the cemetery.

     

Interred in this cemetery are  four Texas Rangers, a county judge,  a sheriff, doctors, veterans, Masons, members of Eastern Star,  descendants of the historic Polley and Sutherland families who were early pioneer settlers to the area. 31. 

    

There are many interesting characters interred in this cemetery.  To mention a few:                                    

     Mrs. Susan Walker Pickett, born ca. 1825 in Fredericksburg, Virginia.  She wrote letters to Andrew J. Hamilton 32  a noted Unionist and Texas Congressman in 1865. 33  Hamilton assumed the office of provisional governor (6/17/1865 - 8/9/1866) under an appointment  from President Andrew Johnson during the turmoil of reconstruction.  Susan expressed her differences with William Longworth, the local agent for the Freedmen's Bureau.  She was also recognized as a poet. 34  Susan was married to County Judge, Andrew Greer Pickett.  Susan died October 26, 1873 and is buried in the Sutherland Springs Cemetery.  Judge Pickett remarried Eleanor Adelia Polley in 1877. They are buried in the Floresville City Cemetery.

     Mary Augusta Polley-Polley Baylor (1827-1915) was born under the Republic of Texas flag at San Felipe de Austin.  Her father,  Joseph Henry Polley, was a veteran of the War of 1812.  He came to Texas with Stephen F. Austin and was a member of Austin's "Old 300".  Mary Augusta was married twice; first to her (1st) cousin, Joseph Egbert Polley in 1842.  After the death of her husband Mary Augusta came to the Cibolo in 1847 with her family and settled near Sutherland Springs.  She married Walker K. Baylor in 1852.  At one time Mary Augusta Baylor was believed to be the oldest native Texas woman and had the distinction of living under four flags. She has a "Citizen of the Republic of Texas" medallion on her gravestone that was placed in 2008.  Walker K. Baylor (1821-1891) was connected to the well-known Baylor family of Texas.  He served as a postmaster of Sutherland Springs in 1866 and county judge of Wilson County in 1867.  W.K. Baylor and Mary Augusta Polley-Polley Baylor are buried in the Sutherland Springs Cemetery. 

     Jonathan James Polley (1848-1925) was the son of pioneer settlers Joseph Henry Polley and Mary Bailey Polley.  He was born on the Cibolo near Sutherland Springs.  He was a brother to Mary Augusta Polley-Polley Baylor.  Jonathan never married.  He is buried in the Sutherland Springs Cemetery.

     Susan Rebecca Polley Henderson-Brooks (1835-1906) was the daughter of Joseph Henry Polley and Mary Bailey Polley.  She first married Connally F. Henderson in 1858. Connally was killed in the Civil War at the Battle of Gaines Mill. 35   Susan married (2nd) Josiah D. Brooks in 1876.  Susan and Josiah are buried in the Sutherland Springs Cemetery.

     John W. Lilly (1818-1883) appears to have arrived in Texas by 1838.  He conducted business in Matagorda and Wharton Counties, including a partnership under the name Wadsworth and Lilly.  He received a third class head right grant from the Republic of Texas in 1845, which was later patented in Maverick County.  Sometime prior to 1861, Lilly relocated to Sutherland Springs in Wilson County, where he entered into a partnership with W. K. Baylor in a mercantile business.  He had a daughter, Rowena, by his first wife, Mary Lilly, and another daughter, Alice Viola, from his (2nd) marriage to Eliza Temperance  Craighead 6/17/1873.  Eliza (1843-1877) was the daughter of James Patterson Craighead (1812-1854) and Sarah Agnes Sutherland Craighead (1822-1870).  Eliza was a granddaughter of Dr. John Sutherland.  John W. Lilley, Mary Lilly (1829-1866), Eliza T. Craighead Lilly, Rowena Lilly Killough (1865-1932) and Sarah Agnes Sutherland Craighead  are all buried in the Sutherland Springs Cemetery. 36 

     Mary Ann Cotton Mayes (1821-1875) was the wife of early settler, William D. Mayes.  W. D. Mayes came to present day Wilson County as early as 1847, purchasing land along the Cibolo south of Sutherland Springs.  His wife, Mary Ann Cotton Mayes, was born in Halifax, N.C. to Joseph Cotton and Eliza H. Harris Cotton.  Mary Ann married William D. Mayes (12/14/1837) in Memphis, Shelby Co., Tennessee.  William and Mary Ann became wealthy land owners in Wilson County.  Mary Ann was buried in the Sutherland Springs Cemetery. The burial place of W. D. Mayes is unknown. 37 

     John D. Murray (1836-1916) served in the Civil War as 1st Sgt. Co F 4th TX Inf.  He was a member of Hood's Texas Brigade and attended the Forty-fourth Hood's Texas Brigade Reunion in Floresville, Texas on October 14th & 15th, 1915. 38  He was born in North Carolina. His family came to the Cibolo  ca. 1858 and settled near La Vernia.  He was the son of  William Owen Murray and Sarah Ormsby Murray who are buried in the Historic Rector Chapel Cemetery in La Vernia.   John married Arabell May Stevenson (1849-1933) in 1869 and they were the parents of eleven children.  John and Arabell are buried in the Sutherland Springs Cemetery.

     John Frederick Perchard (1873-1920) was born on the Island of Jersey, England according to his obituary.  He was the son of a highly honored English family.  He came to America in 1892. He married Miss Edna Murray in 1903, daughter of John D. Murray and Arabell Stevenson Murray.  He ranched for awhile and then went to work for Waters-Pierce Oil Company.  John and Edna Perchard are buried in the Sutherland Springs Cemetery. 39  

     Sanford Brown (1830-1916), Texas Ranger, was born in Maury County, Tennessee and came to Texas when he was about 13 years old.  He married Miss Mary Reynolds (1840-1905).  They had eight children.  Sanford Brown often spoke of his Indian fighting days at Fort Davis.  Among his papers was a brief report stating: "Under the command of Major John S. Simonson, in Capt. W.R. Henry's Company, while trailing Indians we saw where they had a war dance, saw many moccasin tracks and a dead Indian Chief and a squaw." According to the Texas State Archives Records, Sanford Brown drew two pensions; one as an Indian fighter for the U.S. Government and another as a Confederate Veteran of the Civil War.  The government classified these men as Texas Rangers attached to the 8th US Infantry.  A Texas Ranger Cross was placed at his grave site in 2008 by the FTRA.  Sanford and Mary are buried in the Sutherland Springs Cemetery. 40  

     John Sutherland Craighead (1847-1935) Confederate Soldier, former Sheriff of Wilson County (1894-1899) and pioneer settler.  He died at the Confederate Home in Austin, Texas September 22, 1935.  John Craighead was born in Knoxville, Tennessee .  He came to Sutherland Springs in 1857.  He married Miss Mary Isabella McAlister (1846-1910), daughter of John M. McAlister and Isabella McClain McAlister, early pioneer settlers of La Vernia.  John was the son of James Patterson Nelson Craighead and Sarah Agnes Sutherland Craighead.  He was a grandson of Dr. John Sutherland.  John and Mary I. Craighead are buried in the Sutherland Springs Cemetery. 41  

   J. P. N. "Pat" Craighead (1875-1921) Texas Ranger, was born in Sutherland Springs.  Pat Craighead joined the Texas Rangers in 1906 and served in Captain John R. Hughes Company at Ysleta, Texas and later was stationed in the lower border country.  He was badly wounded by Mexican bandits in the San Benito ambush in 1910 at which time his partner Quirl Carnes was killed.  Due to the seriousness of his wounds his left leg had to be amputated.  After serving as a Texas Ranger for five years Pat resigned to become Sheriff of Jim Hogg County.  He was elected to that office in 1912 and served in that capacity until his death in 1921.  Pat Craighead is the son of John S. and Mary Isabella McAlister Craighead.  He is a great-grandson of Dr. John Sutherland.  Pat is buried in the Sutherland Springs Cemetery. 42  

          Mary Frances Sutherland Johnson (1843-1901) was a daughter of Dr. John Sutherland and his third wife, Ann Margaret Dickson Sutherland. She married Robert Johnson.  She is buried in the Sutherland Springs Cemetery along with a young child.  The burial place of Robert Johnson is unknown. 

     Jack Sutherland (1838-1922) son of Dr. John Sutherland and his second wife, Ann Bryan Lane.  Jack married Mary Elizabeth Sutherland, daughter of the first Chief Justice of Wilson County, Dr. William Sutherland.  Judge Sutherland and his wife are buried in the Evergreen Cemetery, Victoria, Texas.  As far as I know, no kinship has ever been established between the two Sutherland families.   Jack and Mary Elizabeth Sutherland-Sutherland (1848-1897) remained in Sutherland Springs.  Eleven children were born to this union.  43  Jack served in the 4th Regt Texas Infantry,  Hood's Brigade CSA.  He engaged in the mercantile business in Sutherland Springs.  Jack and Mary Elizabeth Sutherland are buried in the Sutherland Springs Cemetery. 44 

     William Thomas Sutherland (1845-1924) was the son of Dr. John Sutherland and his 3rd wife, Ann Margaret Dickson Sutherland.  He was born at Egypt, Texas.   William married Miss Eunice Sophia Will (1849-1936), born in Canada. William entered the Confederate Army in 1864 and served in Texas and Louisiana until the end of the war.  He became a surveyor in Wilson County which he learned without ever taking a course in school.  He was elected county surveyor in 1876. His compass, tripod, chain and ax have gone to the corners of practically every foot of land in Wilson County and his word was law in the field of surveying.  William and Eunice are buried in the Sutherland Springs Cemetery. 45 

     Sarah Agnes Sutherland Craighead (1822-1870), daughter of Dr. John Sutherland and his first wife, Diana Kennedy Sutherland.  Sarah married James Patterson Craighead (1812-1854) 1/5/1843 in Tennessee.  Her daughter, Eliza Temperance Craighead, was the second wife of John Lilly.  Sarah Agnes Craighead is buried in the Sutherland Springs Cemetery.  The burial place of James Patterson Craighead is unknown.

     Charles  P. Warren (1858-1924) Texas Ranger, (Private, Company F of the Frontier Battalion, mustered into state service June 1st, 1882 46 and honorably discharged August 1, 1882).   was one of the founders of the Methodist Church at Sutherland Springs.  He served as steward and trustee for many years.  He was revered and loved by the entire membership.  He was Postmaster in Sutherland Springs for twenty-four years, having been appointed March 16, 1886 and serving until the appointment of George B. Everts March 7, 1910. 47  He married Miss Zora Wright (1866-1897) of Yorktown 10/8/1885.  They are buried in the Sutherland Springs Cemetery. 48

     Dr. John McQuincy Weston (1833-1918) Born in Columbia, S. C..  He graduated from Charleston Medical College in the class of 1852.  He came to Texas and located at Richmond, Ft. Bend County as a practicing physician.  He married Miss Marie Louise Chambers (1840-1935) in 1856 who became his life companion.  Eight children were born to this union.  He enlisted in Terry's Rangers, 8th Texas Cavalry and was commissioned a surgeon.  He served four years .  He was badly wounded at the Battle of Shiloh.  He returned to Ft. Bend after the war but was forced to give up  the practice of medicine for a while  due to a heart problem.  He was elected County Judge of Ft. Bend County.  After retiring from this office he moved to West Texas.  In 1892 he moved to Marcelina in Wilson County where he resumed the practice of medicine, later moving to Sutherland Springs.  He retired in 1914.  Dr. and Mrs. John Weston are buried in the Sutherland Springs Cemetery. 49   

     Parker M. Weston (1882-1936) Texas Ranger.  He was known as one of the best fox hunters in the Sour Lake, Hardin County, Texas area where he lived at the time of his death.  He owned a pack of fox hounds which were the envy of hunters for miles around.  He married (1st) Zillah Short (d. 1916) & (2nd) Kate Standley.  Parker joined the Texas Rangers in 1906 and served under Captain John H. Rogers in Company "C".  He retired from the Rangers in 1917.  He went to work as a security guard for the then-fledgling Texas Oil Company, which later became Texaco.  He later worked as a pumper at Sour Lake, Texas.  Parker and his first wife are buried in the Sutherland Springs Cemetery. 50 

     Georgia Walker (1888-1950) is buried in the African-American section of the Sutherland Springs Cemetery.  Her obit states she was a well known colored woman of Floresville and wife of I. S. Walker, resident of Floresville for many years.  The body was taken to Sutherland Springs for burial .  Many friends attended the burial rites.  Services were held by the colored Methodist pastor from Seguin.    Her husband who survived her was a highly respected colored citizen of the community for years.  She left no children. 51 

     Jose Angel "Joe" Cardenas (1911-2001) was born in Mexico.  He came to Fredericksburg, Texas with his parents when he was seven years old.  The family came to Stockdale, Texas ca. 1926.  Joe married Refugia Guerra of New Berlin, Texas October 29, 1929.  They moved to Sutherland Springs .   Joe was a farmer and worked for Pat Higgins on the "Higgins Buffel Grass Farm" until he retired at the age of 87 years.  Pat Higgins was the son of Patillo Higgins of Spindletop fame.  Joe and Refugia had five children; three boys and two girls. 52 

     Dr. John Sutherland died on April 11, 1867.  Eulogized by Susan J. Pickett, he was buried in the "village cemetery" he had donated.  He left little to his heirs except the home in which he had lived and  188 town lots in Sutherland Springs, most of which his son Jack sold. 53  

      Charles B. Stevenson, County Judge of Wilson County (1925-1936) born 1854, described Dr. Sutherland as a courteous, portly gentleman, much interested in the development and progress of the community and welfare of its people. 54 

 

     Sutherland Springs Cemetery is probably the only cemetery in Wilson County that has African-American, Hispanic and Caucasian burials in the same cemetery.  The Sutherland Springs African-American Community had their own private cemetery adjacent to the Sutherland Springs Cemetery prior to 1977.  It was separated by a barbed wire fence and terribly overgrown.  Billy Deagen was elected commissioner in 1977.  Richard Cardenas, Commissioner Billy Deagen and others removed the fence, cleaned the cemetery and incorporated both cemeteries.  Old metal markers were removed.  There are approximately 60 graves in that section of the cemetery; many of these are unmarked.  It is kept clean by the Sutherland Springs Cemetery Association. 55 

   

 There are over 90 veterans interred in the Sutherland Springs Cemetery.  An annual Veterans Day Memorial Service is held in the cemetery every year on Memorial Day.  All local living veterans are invited.   A local minister is in charge of the service.  Nice Refreshments are always served.  The community looks forward to this event.

    

 The Sutherland Springs Cemetery Association holds annual meetings.  They elect officers every year.  The present officers are: 55 Bertha Cardenas Lomas, President; Chuck Allen, 1st Vice President; John Ferguson, 2nd Vice President and Sharon Hays, Secretary-Treasurer. They send an annual newsletter with notification of the meeting date. They have paid maintenance of the cemetery and a volunteer work day the third Saturday of October.   Gravestones have been placed on unmarked graves with the inscription "Unknown".  If an unmarked grave can be identified, a stone is placed by the cemetery association with the appropriate name and dates.  The cemetery has one wrought iron fence surrounding the Charles Hines family plot and one concrete enclosure around the John Lilly plot.  A number of graves are surrounded by cradles.  Crape Myrtles were planted in the cemetery; some by the association and others donated in memory of Jason Puryear.  Roberta Chesley donated Crape Myrtles in memory of Dr. John Weston.

    

 The entire cemetery is fenced. They have a flagpole.  They have two entrances that connect to FM 539; one entrance has an arched iron sign above the gate.  The road into the cemetery makes a huge circle and connects with both entrances.

Sutherland Springs own "Rosie the Riveter" .... Some of us might only know about the cultural icon Rosie the Riveter from our U.S. history classes. Many have probably seen the poster often called by that name, which depicts a woman dressed in a blue uniform and a red bandana, flexing her bicep while declaring, "We can do it!"

 

Unfortunately, this poster, painted in 1942 by J. Howard Miller for the Westinghouse War Production Coordinating Committee, is often mistakenly called "Rosie the Riveter." Actually, Norman Rockwell gave the name taken from the 1942 song by Redd Evans to a different painting the following year. Rockwell's painting was for the cover of the May 29, 1943, issue of the Saturday Evening Post.

 

While both fictional characters came to embody the American women who answered the call to enter the work force during World War II, Sutherland Springs Wilson County Texas native Martha Kasprzyk, 83, was one of many real life "Rosies."

 

Martha, who now resides in Corsicana, is known by some as "Wilson County's Rosie the Riveter." She talked of this experience when she visited American Legion Post 38 in Floresville May 25, 2008, in honor of Memorial Day.

 

"What you see is what you get," Martha said with a smile. "I'm not a speechmaker. I'm just an old woman who likes to talk."

 

Martha is the only child born to Carrie and John Dawson. Like millions of women who remained at home while the men in their lives were fighting in World War II, Martha went to work. Shortly after she graduated from high school at age 17 in 1942, Martha received training as a sheet-metal worker through the National Youth Administration (NYA).

 

"We didn't go to work as Rosie the Riveter, we went to work as sheet-metal workers," Martha said.

 

While her NYA training was geared primarily toward shipbuilding, Martha eventually joined her mother in working at Duncan Field (which later became part of Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio). There, she helped build and repair military airplanes.

 

"We patched bullet holes, and sometimes we had to weld some pieces on [the planes]," Martha said. "I could rivet. But I was often the one holding this small piece called a dolly on the backside of the rivet."

 

She added, "And we didn't have earplugs back then."

 

Working in the factory was grueling and dangerous. Martha and other females working there had to wear mesh snoods over their hair, in addition to their safety caps.

 

"One reason we started wearing [the snoods] was after this girl with really long hair who leaned over a drill and got a big section of her hair pulled out by the roots," Martha said.

 

But Martha said she actually liked the uniform, because of the freedom of wearing pants instead of dresses or skirts.

 

"I seldom wear dresses anymore," she said. "I haven't worn a dress in almost eight years. The last time was when my husband passed away."

 

The days were long, with the work shift running from 3:15 p.m. to 11:45 p.m. and her commute home not ending until 1:30 a.m.

 

"We rode a van with seats on either side, 28 miles from the edge of San Antonio to Sutherland Springs," Martha said.

 

Because no one in the family owned a car — nor could drive one — they wound up moving to San Antonio to be closer to work.

 

Regardless, the pay still seemed great at the time.

 

"I made $90 per month," Martha said. "That was good money in those days."

 

Factory work was short-lived for Martha, once superiors found out she could type. She went to work as a secretary in the woodworking department and eventually worked selling war bonds.

 

In August 1944, Martha settled into the role of a homemaker when she married her husband, Ernest. The couple were married 56 years, raising five children.

 

"I wanted to work but he told me, 'No, I didn't marry you for you to work,'" Martha said.

 

Ernest served in World War II as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Coast Guard, where he was stationed in the Panama Canal Zone.

 

"He didn't bomb anything and he didn't fight anybody, except maybe the mosquitoes," Martha chuckled.

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Martha Lenora Dawson Kasprzyk left her earthly home to receive her eternal reward with her Heavenly Father on Sunday evening, Feb. 14, 2016. 

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COURTESY/ Wilson County News