Titus County, Texas Cemetery Search

By Robert Turner

Tribune Guest Writer

In Hawaiian, Aloha means affection, love, peace, compassion and mercy. Since the mid-19th century, it is also used as an English greeting to say hello and goodbye.

Aloha, Mount Pleasant pretty well sums up Heidi Caglayans' recent visit to Mount Pleasant all the way from her home in Kilauea, Kauai, Hawaii, stopping by Los Altos, California to pick up her cousin, Joey Carlson.

The English meaning expresses a heartfelt greeting to Heidi and Joey from local residents who have corresponded with her by e-mail for over a year after meeting on the internet, and her visit gave the long-distance friends a chance to meet in person on Heidi's first-ever visit to Texas.

Aloha's Hawaiian meaning pretty well sums up Heidi's and Joey's feelings for Mount Pleasant, too.

Heidi was a psychologist in California for 32 years, where she met her husband, Saim, a native of Turkey. Saim worked as a stone carver for 23 years.

A few years ago, the couple retired and moved to Hawaii, where Saim now works as an accomplished oil painter and Heidi leads a caregivers' support group.

The Caglayans are active members of Christ Memorial Episcopal Church, one of the most picturesque Hawaiian churches, recommended by tour guides as a visitor's "stopping place" because of its magnificent English-made stained glass windows, its native stone structure, and beautiful wood carvings.

The church's cemetery dates to the earliest days of the original Hawaiian Congregational Church, with many graves over 100 years old. Like most early cemeteries, it needs a little help from time to time and Saim uses his stone working skills to upright markers and help restore and preserve the cemetery's historical markers.

Heidi knew little about her family further back than her grandparents. With more time on her hands, Heidi wanted to learn more about her roots. About three years ago, with the help of a friend involved in genealogy and aided by the internet and genealogy software, Heidi began her search.

She learned that she was a descendant of Titus County's pioneer Evans, Broaddus, and Jones families, so she contacted the Titus Cemetery Search website to inquire about them. In addition to the information she requested, she was told that Evans Cemetery, where many of her ancestors are buried, was undergoing preservation and restoration work.

Heidi was put in contact with Ernestine Hess and Tom Jones, distant relatives, and a long-distance relationship developed around their common ancestors.

Mary Williams keeps the ever-growing grass mowed, but the cemetery's time-worn fence had allowed livestock into the cemetery, where they toppled most of the upright headstones. Titus County Commissioner Thomas Hockaday added a few strands of barbed wire to raise the fence to prevent further damage, but only as a temporary step to buy more time. Ernestine and Tom did considerable restoration by resetting, straightening and cleaning the headstones and marking several Confederate veterans' graves.

Robert and Mary Turner obtained a Texas Historical Cemetery designation from the Texas Historical Commission to place the cemetery on official record both in Austin and the local court house, helping insure the cemetery won't be destroyed if a highway is built through the property or the surrounding land is developed for other uses in the future. Evans Cemetery received its Texas Historical Cemetery designation on February 10, 2009.

After making connections in Mount Pleasant, Heidi wanted to come see Evans and Edwards Cemeteries, as well as the Confederate monument on the square. She flew to Los Altos,

California, where she met up with Joey and the two struck out for Texas.

Upon first seeing the cemetery's wooded setting, Joey expressed a common misconception about Texas when she said, "Oh, I just love the setting! It's so peaceful here. I'm going to have to tell my daughter she was wrong - she said everything would be brown and flat, but it's so pretty and green."

Near the end of her visit, Heidi elaborated, "Seeing the cemetery not only helps me connect with those who preceded us, but connects us with living relatives. I feel that I have a responsibility as a measure of respect for my ancestors to partner with living relatives to preserve and restore the cemetery that contains my heritage."

While she can't help physically restore the cemetery due to the distance involved, she graciously offered to pay for a proper fence to protect the cemetery's future.

Heidi is also a descendent of Dudley Jones, and she and Joey visited the Confederate statue erected by the Dudley Jones Chapter of United Confederate Veterans on the city square in 1912, and finally Edwards Cemetery.

Upon leaving Mount Pleasant, Heidi and Joey headed for Plano where they attended a bar-b-que, and then on to Galveston to visit friends devastated by Hurricane Ike. Heidi has also traveled to Scotland and Wales while researching her family's roots.

"While it's common for Mount Pleasant residents to visit Hawaii to experience their beautiful scenery, we're pleased to show Mount Pleasant's natural surroundings and historical points of interest to someone who lives in such a beautiful tourist destination, particularly on their first-ever visit to the state of Texas," Robert Turner said.