Near what was probably once the center of the cemetery, I found a neat old building that looked like a Tudor cottage from England during the time of Robin Hood with part of a medieval castle in the middle.
This was apparently once the cemetery office at one time but it was long ago abandoned in favor of a newer office. It had old flower bouquets that had wilted and were stacked up together against a wall. Some of the windows were boarded up, and inside looked like it was abandoned in the 1960's and left to slowly decay since then like many of the tombstones populating the cemetery itself. In the front was a community bulletin board with a map of the cemetery and its annex built in 1917 across the street. The only names on the map were those of the original family plots. The map was useless to try to find a specific grave, like Swante Palm.
I couldn't figure out why this person wanted me to take photos of this grave considering the fact that the site already had several photos of his grave and headstone, along with that of his child who died in infancy and of his wife, Agnes CC Alm Palm, however, I would take them nonetheless if only I could find it. I had not thought of making a copy of the photos on the site to possibly guide me to the location of his grave. It had a large State of Texas historical marker marking it, and this is not a very common thing. I was unable to see a historical marker during my 4 hours there, but perhaps it is in the annex.
I was hoping that the spirit of Swante Palm would guide me to his grave and that I would stumble upon it and thank him for his help, but no luck. However, as I stepped back to photograph the old office/castle, I looked to my left and what did I see? No, it wasn't the grave of Swante Palm. Instead, I saw the most interesting & beautiful grave that I have ever seen.
The grave is covered with an elaborate grave slab made mostly of metal. The headstone is not made of stone but is instead made of metal as well. The headstone pronounced it to be the grave of
Mrs. Mary Murphy, wife of Wm. Murphy of Ala (Alabama), (born in) Virginia 1788 - died in Texas 1861.
The center portion of the slab, the raised portion, has repousse, or puffed-out, designs all over it. Although most of the metal is rusted, this raised portion does not have rust all over it. In fact, it appears to be painted or colored an earthy rust color. Further, to the touch it feels like it is made of terra cotta which, coincidentally, has a rust color to it. At the time that Mary Murphy died in 1861, which I presume is the date that the marker and this grave slab were made, plastic had not been invented or discovered yet. There were other man-made materials that were being invented right and left around this time, such as gutta percha, and this may very well be made by man. If it was all metal, then I would think that it would be rusted all over, like the bottom part of it is, however, it may be that the water flows down and off of this raised part of the slab and therefore doesn't stay on it long enough to rust it.
On the other hand, if it was made of terra cotta, I would think that it would be cracked and or possibly be disintegrating due to the elements & its fragile nature unless luck, supernatural or not, had thus far protected it from harm. I promised myself to do research on this type of grave slab so I could solve this minor mystery.
Regardless, this is one of the most beautiful and unique grave slabs that I have ever seen. I did not see another one in the cemetery, but I still have a long, long way to go before I can truthfully say that I have covered it entirely. At least I can say that I did not see another similar grave slab near this one. There were two graves, both with stone headstones, near Mary Murphy's; one was small, like those made for children who die young, and the second was much larger. I really didn't take a look at the names on these stones, but I will when I go back.
I have discovered that the types of headstones, the materials they are made of, and the designs etched or put on them all vary depending on the year and the fashion of the time. Some graves had grave slabs, some did not. Some of these grave slabs were made of concrete, rocks and marble. Below is another example of a grave slab made of what appear to be concrete shells.
I never found Swante Palm's grave that day, but I am going to go back just as soon as I speak to the manager of the cemetery and find out where he is. The cemetery and the annex are both way too big to try to find it through blind luck or the stumbling-upon it method, with or without dousing rods, which, by the way, I did not use.
In the meantime, here are some other photos I took of interesting graves I found that day. I did not find another grave as interesting, beautiful or unique as the grave of Mrs. Mary Murphy, but I did see some others that raised some questions about how much stock we place in the afterlife and in looking like good Christians even after we have departed this world for the next.
One family plot I found was the Robertson family plot near the castle building. The entire plot is made of white marble, which must have cost a lot of money.The low fence surrounding the plot is entirely made of marble as is the downspout, the pillars and even the flagstone walkway surrounding it. Each of the headstones appear to be made of marble. The tallest headstone, which is apparently meant to speak for all of the people buried within the marble borders, is a beautiful statue of an ornate cross. The grave slabs, some which cover the grave entirely and others, such as the grave for Mother, only borders her grave and it is filled in with grass. There was even a sprinkler system built inside the plot so that the grass would be green.
Below are some more photos of graves I found somewhat interesting such as the double headstone, which sits very high off the ground, of James & Nancy McGary, who died in 1880 and 1876, respectively. I believe that it is made of marble.
Then there are the gravestones of the Graves' graves. You get the irony.
Finally, although the following pictures are not of elaborately carved headstones or family plots made of marble or gold; instead, these two graves are covered in simple irises, which happen to be blooming this time of year.
The irises have naturalized over the years, which bulbs tend to do if left to grow free of man's interference, and I managed to pull out some of the tall grass growing in between the irises, but I could not get it all out. I only made a small dent in it. If I make it back to this grave site, I'll take another whack at it. I don't know who these people are, but seeing these beautiful irises in bloom made me smile and feel good, so I want to show my respect.
As I walked among the graves and headstones I wondered what mine might would look like. I would love to be covered by a grave slab and headstone like that of Mary Murphy, or the irises would be beautiful, but they only bloom in spring. The most I can hope for is that I won't care when that time comes and that a display of wealth in your afterlife really is a waste of money.
If you read this and you have photos of interesting graves, please leave a comment. Any supernatural, paranormal or spiritual experiences are also welcomed! I'm always on a search for proof of life after death.
