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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, The Texas Historical Commission has recognized Long |
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Branch Cemetery as a Historic Texas Cemetery, and this honor is |
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being celebrated with the unveiling of an Official Texas Historical |
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Marker on May 16, 2015; and |
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WHEREAS, One of the oldest graveyards in Falls County, this |
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bucolic site is all that remains of Long Branch, an African American |
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community of tenant farmers and manual laborers, many of whom came |
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to Texas from Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina, Tennessee, and |
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Virginia; the cemetery traces its beginnings to 1883, when trustees |
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of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Long Branch purchased land in |
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the settlement for the purpose of erecting a sanctuary and |
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establishing a burial ground; and |
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WHEREAS, The Long Branch Cemetery was a community graveyard, |
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meaning that any African American who was born and raised in Long |
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Branch could be buried there without indebtedness; while many of |
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the early interments went unrecorded, the cemetery is known to hold |
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the graves of 25 freed slaves, and the remains of many Long Branch |
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natives who spent their lives elsewhere were brought home by loved |
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ones to this final resting place; the more than 200 known burials |
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include those of sharecroppers, domestics, hotel workers, taxi |
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drivers, seamstresses, midwives, teachers, carpenters, butchers, |
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brick masons, and farmers; and |
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WHEREAS, Notable individuals buried in Long Branch include |
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Silvia King, a native of Morocco who is believed to have been born |
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in 1803 and who died in Falls County in 1937; her remarkable life |
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story was recorded in the 1930s by staff of the Works Progress |
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Administration; also buried in the cemetery are a Civil War |
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veteran, Anthony Shaw of the 104th U.S. Colored Infantry, as well as |
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veterans of World War I, World War II, and Vietnam; and |
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WHEREAS, The last worship services in the church were held in |
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1971 and the building was later destroyed by fire, but Long Branch |
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Cemetery remains an active burial ground and a hallowed reminder of |
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the rich history of this once-vibrant Texas community; now, |
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therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas |
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Legislature hereby commemorate the unveiling of an Official Texas |
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Historical Marker at Long Branch Cemetery in Falls County and |
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extend to all those present sincere best wishes for a meaningful and |
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memorable event. |