Episode 148 - Beyond Ghosts: Honoring Lives at Martha's Chapel Cemetery Near Huntsville, Texas

08/23/23 • 41 min

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A Google search for Martha's Chapel Cemetery will lead you down a reportedly haunted road where any number of ghostly spirits and demons are said to roam unsettling the living who pass through this desolate corner of Eastern Texas. But what happens when a cemetery’s main attraction is only about its ghosts and otherworldly atmosphere? We tend to lose sight of why the cemetery even exists, as a burial ground for real people who lived Ordinary Extraordinary lives and they deserve to be respectfully remembered. In this episode Jennie and Dianne learn the true story of Martha's Chapel Cemetery and share the stories of many who were laid to rest among the peaceful shade of its pine trees. From Methodist ministers to Civil War soldiers to women who dedicated their lives to caring for their families, they uncover a tapestry of lives, showcasing the depth and richness of history that resides within the cemetery's grounds.
To purchase tickets to the 34th annual Gilpin County Historical Society Cemetery Crawl, click here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/gilpin-historical-society-34th-annual-cemetery-crawl-tickets-657128116887
To purchase tickets to the third annual Beyond the Grave: an evening with Bram Stoker, click here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/beyond-the-grave-an-evening-with-bram-stoker-tickets-696195337997?aff=oddtdtcreator
Photos from https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/5045/martha's-chapel-cemetery - Photographers include: T. Demars, Janet Bertram, Becky Dale, Mark D. Peters, and G. Walker
Resources used to research this episode include:
Goolsby, Dana. "Martha's Chapel ." http://www.texasescapes.com. 16 Mar. 2012. www.texasescapes.com/DanaGoolsby/Marthas-Chapel-Texas.htm. Accessed 20 Aug. 2023.
Hulse, James. "Martha's Chapel ." https://www.hmdb.org. 6 Apr. 2022. www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=195026. Accessed 20 Aug. 2023.
, National Archives And Records Administration . "Pensions for Military Service in the Army of the Confederate States of America." https://www.archives.gov. 1 Dec. 2010. www.archives.gov/files/research/military/civil-war/confederate/confederate-pensions.pdf . Accessed 20 Aug. 2023.
, Texas State Library And Archives Commission . "Confederate Pension Applications ." https://www.tsl.texas.gov. www.tsl.texas.gov/arc/pensions/introcpi.html. Accessed 20 Aug. 2023.
"Taxas 1821-1836." http://www.let.rug.nl. www.let.rug.nl/usa/essays/1801-1900/anglo-american-colonization-in-texas/texas-1821-1836.php. Accessed 20 Aug. 2023.

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Previous Episode

Episode 147 - Ordinary Extraordinary Teachers of the Past

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Children in many parts of the U.S. gathered their supplies and donned their backpacks, as they headed back to school. Many more will be doing so in the next coming weeks both here in the U.S. and around the world as summer comes to its official end. This inspired us to share the stories of some teachers from the past and some of the challenges they faced. Join us for the Ordinary Extraordinary stories of two teachers who impacted their students and the communities in which they worked. First, we meet Sister Blandina who helped tame the wild west through her gentle ways as both a school teacher and a nurse. She even gained the trust and respect of the notorious Billy the Kid! Next, we travel south to the Appalachian mountains to recall the fond memories of Leonora Whitaker Wood and her time spent teaching in a mission school off the beaten path. Her stories inspired her daughter Catherine Marshall, to publish the novel Christy, based on many of her experiences as a teacher in the early 1900s.
To purchase tickets to the 34th annual Gilpin County Historical Society Cemetery Crawl, click here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/gilpin-historical-society-34th-annual-cemetery-crawl-tickets-657128116887
To purchase tickets to the third annual Beyond the Grave: an evening with Bram Stoker, click here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/beyond-the-grave-an-evening-with-bram-stoker-tickets-696195337997?aff=oddtdtcreator
To preorder The Souls Close to Edgar Allan Poe: Graves of his Family, Friends and Foes, through a local bookseller visit: https://bookshop.org/search?keywords=Souls+Close+to+Edgar+Allan+Poe%2C+The%3A+Graves+of+His+Family%2C+Friends+and+Foes
Photos:
Sister Blandina - Sisters of Charity/https://www.srcharitycinti.org/2021/01/21/the-journey-to-sainthood/
Grave of Sister Blandina - Sister Joyce Brehm/https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/62719319/blandina-maria_rosa-segale/photo#view-photo=226238630
Leonora Whitaker Wood - Leonora Wood at the Mission compound. From the Emma Wood Hoskins collection./https://christyfestinthesmokies.wordpress.com/historian/
Grave of Leonora Whitaker Wood - Steve Brannan/https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/103604967/leonora-haseltine-wood
Resources used to research this episode include:
, San Felipe De Neri Parish. "Servant of God Sister Blandina." https://sanfelipedeneri.org/. sanfelipedeneri.org/sister-blandina. Accessed 13 Aug. 2023.
Segale, SC, Sister Blandina. At the End of the Santa Fe Trail. 2014th ed., 1932. Cincinnati, Sisters of Charity , 2014.
Shirley, Gayle C. More than Petticoats: Remarkable Colrado Women. 1st ed., Kearney, Morris Book Publishing Company , 2002, pp. 32-44.
, Christyfest In The Smokies. "Leonora: The Real Christy ." https://christyfestinthesmokies.wordpress.com/

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Next Episode

Episode 149 - Eternal Innovations: The Story of Fisk Cast Iron Coffins

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Join Jennie and Dianne as they delve into the intriguing world of Fisk metallic burial cases, also known as Fisk coffins. Unearth the remarkable story of Almond Dunbar Fisk, the visionary behind the cast iron coffin, whose innovation forever changed the way we lay our loved ones to rest. From first lady Dolley Madison who made the cast iron coffin fashionable among the leaders in Washington D.C. to the mysterious "Lady in Red" discovered within the sturdy embrace of another metallic burial case, this episode uncovers the secrets of one of history's most unique burial methods. They also share the Ordinary Extraordinary narrative of an African American woman whose remains, preserved for over 150 years, were found in one of these remarkable coffins reminding the world of the many freed African American communities that made up the fabric of New York City long before the American Civil War.
To purchase tickets to the third annual Beyond the Grave: an evening with Bram Stoker, click here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/beyond-the-grave-an-evening-with-bram-stoker-tickets-696195337997?aff=oddtdtcreator
Resources used to research this episode include:
, Family Search. "Dr. Almond Dunbar Fisk." https://ancestors.familysearch.org. ancestors.familysearch.org/en/LCJT-LJG/dr-almond-dunbar-fisk-1818-1850. Accessed 27 Aug. 2023.
Warnasch, Scott. "Almond Dunbar Fisk." https://ironcoffinmummy.com. ironcoffinmummy.com/inventors/almond-dunbar-fisk/. Accessed 27 Aug. 2023.
, Genealogy Trails. "Fisk Metallic Burial Case South Carolina Genealogy Trails ." http://genealogytrails.com. genealogytrails.com/scar/fisk_coffins.htm. Accessed 27 Aug. 2023.
Blart, Art. "Photgraphs: Exhumed Coffins." https://artblart.com. 2 May 2019. artblart.com/2019/05/02/photographs-exhumed-coffin/. Accessed 27 Aug. 2023.
Bot, Citation . "Fisk metallic burial case ." https://en.m.wikipedia.org. 4 Nov. 2022. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisk_metallic_burial_case. Accessed 27 Aug. 2023.
Biesinger, Meredith . "The Mystery of Mississippi’s Lady in Red ." https://www.ourmshome.com. 11 Jan. 2023. www.ourmshome.com/the-mystery-of-mississippis-lady-in-red/. Accessed 27 Aug. 2023.
Broom, Brian. "She has no one to pray over her:' Lady in Red remains a Mississippi mystery. Who is she? ." https://www.clarionledger.com. 14 Feb. 2019. www.clarionledger.com/story/magnolia/2019/02/14/lady-red-who-woman-unearthed-mississippi-1969-unsolved-mystery/2766496002/. Accessed 27 Aug. 2023.
McBride Jacobson, Molly. "Grave of the Lady in Red ." https://www.atlasobscura.com. 17 Oct. 2016. www.atlasobscura.com/places/grave-of-the-lady-in-red#:~:text=No%20one%20is%20sure%20about,traveling%20the%20nearby%20Yazoo%20River. Accessed 27 Aug. 2023.
, The White House Historical Association . "Dolley Madison ." https://www.whitehousehistory.org. www.whitehousehistory.org/bios/dolley-madison. Accessed 27 Aug. 2023.
Schwartz Foster, Feather. "The Funeral of Dolley Madison: End of an Era." https://featherschwartzfoster.blog. 28 Dec. 2018. featherschwartzfoster.blog/2018/12/28/the-funeral