THE WAY I REMEMBER IT
It has been a half a dozen years ago or so that I got to wondering where my ancestors were buried. So we planned a Sunday trip east of Austin to try to find all those buried in that direction. Mona and Larry and Menda joined us. We made our first stop for a service at St. Paul Serbin at 8 AM. The rest of the day took us to Warda, Round Top (for lunch), Frelsburg, and even a look at the National Cemetery. No relatives there, but we saw it on the map, and had to have a look. It’s just a little country cemetery.
And then there was the stop at Scranton Grove Cemetery. Beautiful spot on a bit of a rise with huge live oak trees covered in Spanish moss. It is very near the place where my Grandpa Franz Robert, (and his dad Andraes) taught school, and where my dad, Alvin, was born.
It was a long day, but a fun trip. We looked in on several old Lutheran Churches, and they were delightful. Not locked either. I recall Frelsburg, Round Top, Fayetville, and of course, Serbin.
A couple of days ago I got to thinking that some of my ancestors, some day, might be interested in where their ancestors were buried. With the help of the Mathias and Teinert books, and a chance look into the Patschke book at the Wendish Museum and Library, I was able to come up with a good bit of underground history. In many instances, I was able to determine where the folks were born, as well as where they were finally laid to rest.
The Mathias folk also had a hard time getting their name straightened out. It seems that both church and public officials kept spelling it differently. Fortunately, it finally wound up with the short version. I’m real glad that I didn’t have to go through life spelling out Mattijeschke or whatever else.
So, the following listings give you the info that I found, in case you ever want to go ancestor hunting in Central Texas cemeteries.
Vic Mathias, August 23, 2007
