Heath Caison Cemetery

There is no Witch!

UPDATE 2010. This cemetery was completely destroyed shortly after my first visit. The stones were piled up and most of them were broken and crushed even more than they had been the first time I was there. The cemetery is on private property and you must have permission BEFORE you vist. Two of the monuments were at the Troup City Hall for a long time.

1999. This cemetery is in very poor condition, only two monuments are unscathed. It is located near Lake Striker in a heavily wooded area. Trees have toppled and fallen across the yard and large trees have grown up through some of the graves. Vandals have broken and scattered almost all the stones. I believe there are many more graves which I could not locate or identify. There are two areas of particular interest. One is an old cairn. It consists of many of the large rust colored rocks we find in this area. The other is the area which has been fenced off. It contains a broken headstone with the inscription "Gone but not forgotten" and "Weep not, she is only sleeping". The foot stone is present, but also broken. The fence posts are inscribed "Patented Dec 17, 1895". Some of the markers in this cemetery appear to be almost new, and are obvious replacements for older ones.

From Henderson, take Hwy 79 east. Turn left (south) on County Road 4187. Go about one mile and turn left on County Road 4188. Go about two miles and start watching on the right for a grass and dirt road to the right. There is a fairly large cleared area where you may park. (There are several trails in that area. The one you want will have a creek on the right just a short way down where people have dumped their trash. If you miss the trail, you will come to Hwy 839. Backtrack about two miles and the road will be on the left.) You cannot drive down the road, it is rutted about three feet deep in some places and it is on private property. Lucinda's stone is lying on the right at the foot of a tree not far from an old gate. You will walk about a quarter of a mile and the cemetery is on the left in the woods and you have to watch for it.

The names are spelled as they are on the stones - I double checked the McMillen stones because a previous transcription spelled them the same. There are two identical stones with "son of W.G. and E.S. Caison", both are broken in half. The top (with the name) of one is missing and the bottom (with the dates) of the other is missing. I double checked this also, the "son of..." line is present on both stones, so there are 2 of them. These stones are William Nathan Dallas and Unknown Caison. TYLEE B. may be misread as TYLEEB. W/O is "wife of". My notes are in parenthesis, the other comments are on the stones.

The earliest burials I found were of Baby Caison (died on 9/17/862) and his mother Catherine Caison (died two days later). The latest burial was J. M. Ramey who died in 1948.

ALPHABETICALLY

CAISON, Baby 09/17/1862- 09/17/1862 (Baby 1)
CAISON, Baby 08/23/1873- 08/23/1873 (Baby 2)
CAISON, Catherine 07/01/1841- 09/19/1862 (died two days after Baby 1)
CAISON, Elmina 12/09/1847- 04/30/1894 47 yrs, 4 mos, 21 days
CAISON, James Larkin 10/30/1860- 02/28/1870
CAISON, Mary Elminer Willmoth 02/26/1869- 09/26/1874 daughter of W. G. & E. S. Caison
CONNER, Mattie E. 06/10/1864- 07/28/1939
CAISON, Tylee B. 09/27/1874- 09/16/1878 daughter of W. G. & E. S. Caison
CAISON, Unknown 12/24/1879- 01/16/1880 son of W. G. & E. S. Caison
CAISON, W. G. 11/02/1839- 03/14/1881
CAISON, William Nathan Dallas (stone broken) son of W. G. & E. S. Caison
HEATH, Burrell W. 12/20/1841- 03/03/1917
HEATH, Henry O. 12/23/1886- 07/11/1918 Woodsmen of the World
HEATH, Infant 01/20/1910- 01/20/1910 daughter of Mr. & Mrs. T. P. Heath
HEATH, R. F. 04/15/1856- 05/29/1900 married 12/18/1878
HUNT, Lucinda E. 10/2/1844- 7/18/1896 W/O J.C. Hunt (about 1/4 mile from cemetery on trail, maiden name Caison)
MCMILLIEN, J. L. 04/10/1868- 07/09/1897
MCMILLEN, Mary A. 06/08/1847- 09/15/1918
RAMEY, Infant 02/13/1912- 02/13/1912 Son of J.M. & M.M.
RAMEY, John M. 1864- 1948 Mason Symbol
RAMEY, Mary M. 04/25/1876- 02/28/1912 W/O J.M. Ramey (died 15 days after infant)
S?, T.M. (foot stone only) T.M.S.
SCOTT, Mary Elminer 08/17/1866- 11/07/1868 (stone broken)
SYLVESTER, E. McCall 1825 - 1901 (double stone with Nicy Ann) Mason Symbol
SYLVESTER, Nicy Ann 1839 -1884 (double stone with E. McCall)
No Name 12/26/1866 -10/26/1869 Æ 2ys, 10 mos
Unknown (iron and heavy gauge wire mesh fence around broken head and foot stones)

Chronologically:

CAISON, Baby 09/17/1862- 09/17/1862 (Baby 1)
CAISON, Catherine 07/01/1841- 09/19/1862 (died two days after Baby 1)
SCOTT, Mary Elminer 08/17/1866- 11/07/1868 (stone broken)
No Name 12/26/1866 -10/26/1869 Æ 2ys, 10 mos (may be William Nathan)
CAISON, James Larkin 10/30/1860- 02/28/1870
CAISON, Baby 08/23/1873- 08/23/1873 (Baby 2)
CAISON, Mary Elminer Willmoth 02/26/1869- 09/26/1874 daughter of W. G. & E. S. Caison
CAISON, Tylee B. 09/27/1874- 09/16/1878 daughter of W. G. & E. S. Caison
CAISON, Unknown 12/24/1879- 01/16/1880 son of W. G. & E. S. Caison
CAISON, W. G. 11/02/1839- 03/14/1881
SYLVESTER, Nicy Ann 1839 -1884 (double stone with E. McCall)
CAISON, Elmina 12/09/1847- 04/30/1894 47 yrs, 4 mos, 21 days
HUNT, Lucinda E. 10/2/1844- 7/18/1896 W/O J.C. Hunt (about 1/4 mile from cemetery on trail, maiden name Caison)
MCMILLIEN, J. L. 04/10/1868- 07/09/1897
HEATH, R. F. 04/15/1856- 05/29/1900 married 12/18/1878
SYLVESTER, E. McCall 1825 - 1901 (double stone with Nicy Ann) Mason Symbol
HEATH, Infant 01/20/1910- 01/20/1910 daughter of Mr. & Mrs. T. P. Heath
RAMEY, Infant 02/13/1912- 02/13/1912 Son of J.M. & M.M.
RAMEY, Mary M. 04/25/1876- 02/28/1912 W/O J.M. Ramey (died 15 days after infant)
HEATH, Burrell W. 12/20/1841- 03/03/1917
HEATH, Henry O. 12/23/1886- 07/11/1918 Woodsmen of the World
MCMILLEN, Mary A. 06/08/1847- 09/15/1918
CONNER, Mattie E. 06/10/1864- 07/28/1939
RAMEY, John M. 1864- 1948 Mason Symbol
CAISON, William Nathan Dallas (stone broken) son of W. G. & E. S. Caison
S?, T.M. (foot stone only) T.M.S.
Unknown (iron and heavy gauge wire mesh fence around broken head and foot stones)

There is an earlier transcription for this cemetery at the Rusk County Library and comparing this transcription with the one in the library answers some of the questions about who is buried here.

I have more information on this cemetery. I was contacted recently by a granddaughter of Lucinda Caison Hunt. It seems there was an article published in the Tyler newspaper about this cemetery several years ago that said that Lucinda was the mistress of W. C. Caison. This is not true, Lucinda was a cousin to WC and was married to John Carter Hunt. WC's father was Larkin and Lucinda's father was Seth - brothers.

The article went on to say that women who were kept by men other than their husbands were called "witches" in those days. Hence the rumor that Lucinda was a witch and the name "the Witch's Grave" for the cemetery. It is unfortunate for the descendants of the people buried in this remote cemetery that this rumor was started. It has resulted in a great deal of damage to headstones and the cairn. It is also unfortunate that the newspaper article ground poor Lucinda into the dirt.