The Disinterment of the Graves, Part III

On March 6, 2019, we return again to the Cemeteries. The work is complete at the Wilks site and the Bonham site is now yielding up its own set of surprises. The Bonham site holds not two graves, but twenty-three graves. Charity and Louisa Bonham have not been alone after all. We arrive in the early morning to an enormous work area from which twenty-one burials have been recovered. A recovery is underway under a pavilion, and one last burial shaft remains to be addressed.

Bonham site in early light, photo by Wanda Holmes Oliver.

The remains at the Bonham site are not as well preserved as the remains at the Wilks site, tending to be bone fragments rather than whole skeletons. The soil at the Wilks site is better drained and less acidic, and there was less damage there from the overgrowth of forest. As at the Wilks site, many of the burials are of infants and children. The graves, generally, are more shallow, and in one case an adult and two children were found in the same grave shaft. It is easy to read these as hasty burials and to speculate that perhaps they are the result of an overwhelming epidemic of some sort. The DNA work on these remains will be more difficult due to the deteriorated condition of the bodies, and we must hope that sufficient information can be retrieved to shed some light on these families. Some grave artifacts have been found, including ruby red beads, some buttons, and some pins. In one of the better preserved cases, the individual found is estimated to have been about 6’ 3” tall, unusually tall for the era.

The graves at the Bonham site are more randomly placed, but there is some organization along 6 irregular rows. Charity and Louisa are the westernmost burials. Then in a staggered row to the east of them are 4 graves, one to the north and three to the south. Continuing to move to the east, the next row has 4 graves - 2 at the northern end of the perimeter and 2 to the south beyond a sizable gap. The next row is the most regular with 8 burials in a line. The next row has 3 widely spaced graves, and the final row has one grave. The following schematic is illustrative, but not to scale.

For illustrative purposes only.

In the final count, 34 graves were recovered from the Wilks Cemetery, 23 from the Bonham Cemetery. Of 57 graves, 34 were unmarked. The 23 burials at the Bonham site included 8 adults, 3 juveniles/adults (could be teenagers or small adults), and 12 infants.  At the Wilks site there were 13 adults, 9 juveniles, and 12 infants/toddlers.  (These numbers are courtesy of AR Consultants and are based on what they observed in the field. They may change after they conduct their complete analysis.) Perhaps the biggest job is only just now beginning with the effort of trying to identify as many of the unknown remains as possible.

Emptied grave, Bonham Site, photo by Wanda Holmes Oliver.

Ginger documenting the Bonham Site, photo by Wanda Holmes Oliver.

Bonham Site, photo by Wanda Holmes Oliver.

After visiting the Bonham site, we walk down to the Wilks site. In the relentless march of time, it is no more. The Texas Historical Commission has been asked to release the site, and once this release is given, the clay soil found there will be harvested for use in building the dam.

Final view of the Wilks Cemetery, photo by Wanda Holmes Oliver.

Walking from the Wilks Site out towards what will be the basin of the lake, photo by Wanda Holmes Oliver.

Looking to the future, photo by Wanda Holmes Oliver.

The re-interment of the recovered remains will not begin for some months - not until the scientific work back in the lab is complete. So we leave our friends in Dr. Whitley’s capable hands with a whispered blessing. We will remember.

Wilks Cemetery as we knew it, photo by Wanda Holmes Oliver.

Bonham Family Cemetery, photo by Wanda Holmes Oliver.

Story by Wanda Holmes Oliver.

The Disinterment of the Graves, Part II

On December 6, 2018, Jeff McKito arranges another visit to the Wilks Cemetery disinterment. In the weeks since we were last on site in October, the number of unmarked graves has grown from ten to thirteen. There is an unexpected grave in the Cagle family row, and there are two additional burials to the east of the row of unmarked graves previously discovered. These plus the 3 burials between the Wilks & Cagle rows brings the total to thirteen.

In addition to the unmarked graves, there are a couple of other surprises. The grave marked by the Bois d’Arc posts - the grave that we had speculated might be that of Alvie Wilks - was found to be empty. I asked Cody if it was possible that the remains had decayed to dust and he did not think that likely. The remains of one-day-old, Infant Son Wilks, had been found in excellent condition. If the remains of a newborn buried in 1881 were intact, then any burial in the cemetery should have some discernible remains. He thinks it truly was a false grave. We are left to ponder when the Bois d’Arc markers were added, by whom, and why they believed they were marking a grave. Who did they intend to honor and why had the true location of that person’s burial site been lost?

In the Cagle row, one of the graves marked by a foot stone was also empty, though the total number of graves in the row was one more than expected. This an indication that perhaps the Cagle monument and markers were also added at some later time, as they are out of alignment with the actual burials. 


Second visit to excavation, photo by Wanda Holmes Oliver.

Recovery team at work, photo by Wanda Holmes Oliver.

Taking measurements, photo by Wanda Holmes Oliver.

At this point the layout of the cemetery precedes from east to west in five irregular rows. At the extreme east are two graves, followed to the west by a row of seven graves. Then we have the row of marked and unmarked Cagle graves, eight in total. Wedged between the Cagle row and the Wilks row, the westernmost, are three graves, all of children or babies. The Wilks row contains fourteen graves as expected, all marked, making a total of 34 graves at the Wilks Cemetery site.

For illustrative purposes only.

The easternmost graves are thought to be the oldest burials. Moving from east to west the burials are more decadent - fancier caskets and coffins, more buttons, etc. Coffin and casket screws, found in abundance, and very identifiable right down to the manufacturer, will provide important details about the approximate timing of the unexpected burials once the team is back in the lab and can analyze them. The timing of the burials will be a critically important clue when forming hypotheses about who these people might be and how their story fits into the overall picture. Imagine - something as humble as the screw that affixed the lid may hold an answer to some of the mysteries here. The idea fills me with a sense of wonder and irony.

Other details serve to bring into focus the living people who were resting here. One of the children from the Cagle row shows severe remodeling of the bones, indicating a serious, long-term infection. One of the adults from the Wilks row suffered from gall stones. Thomas Wilks had broken his leg at some point well before his death, and most probably walked with a limp, one leg being noticeably shorter than the other. The hair of Margaret Wilks and of an adult female in the Cagle row were dressed with hair pins. Florence Wilks’ hair was arranged with a decorative comb. One of the coffins showed clear traces of white paint. But the most heart breaking of all the grave artifacts is the little red pocket knife in the shape of a dog buried with 8-year-old Charles Jefferson Wilks. It so embodies the love and the grief with which his parents laid him to rest and reminds us all of our common humanity.

Though there is some scraping still to do to the south and west, we are told that the pattern of graves found so far makes it unlikely that more graves will be found at the Wilks site. Furthermore, no graves have been found outside the fenced area of the Cemetery. Strangely enough, before the disinterment began, that was precisely where we thought we might find unmarked graves.

Detail of scraping, photo by Wanda Holmes Oliver.

Sections cleared, section remaining, photo by Wanda Holmes Oliver.

As we are preparing to leave, Cody gives us an update on the Bonham site. The work there has not yet begun. With reassurance from Jeff that he will keep us posted, we drag ourselves away.

Story by Wanda Holmes Oliver.

The Disinterment Of The Graves, Part I

On September, 12, 2018, Jeff McKito, Public Relations Specialist for North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) invited Ginger & I, along with Larry Standlee, representing the Fannin County Historical Commission, to visit the Wilks Cemetery site. We were escorted by Fain Butler, Assistant Construction Manager, NTMWD. The detailed mapping of the cemetery had been completed, and the tombstones were scheduled to be removed the next day in preparation for the beginning of the disinterment. This would be our goodbye visit.

The disinterment would involve a number of steps, moving from the use of chainsaws and tractors to painstaking work done with gentle brushes. The first step would be to cut all vegetation at ground level and remove it in a perimeter extending 25 feet from the line of the existing fence in all directions. Then, section by section, the earth within that cleared area would be removed in progressive layers using heavy equipment to scrape off a few inches at a time. During this scraping process, the team would be watching for telltale changes in the color of the earth indicating a grave shaft. Once one or more grave shafts in an area were found, the scraping would stop. All grave shafts identified would be flagged and covered by a plastic tarp, to be addressed one by one. As each grave became the target of work, a sheltering pavilion would be erected over the area, the shaft carefully measured, and the soil slowly removed by shovel. Once coffin wood was struck, the work would shift again - to finer tools and yet more careful processes of slowly working deeper into the grave using archeological recovery methods. As the work progressed, all coffin hardware, coffin wood, artifacts such as buttons, fragments of clothing, jewelry, etc, and skeletal remains would be painstakingly documented, gently removed, and carefully stored. Even burial dirt would be saved to be reinterred.

As we stood in the cemetery, cleared of all small vegetation and peppered with pink flags, the realization that this really was the beginning of the end pressed in on me. The reality of this transition had been sinking in by degrees for weeks, and now the day had finally come.

Graves surveyed and marked in advance of removal of the stones, photo by Ginger Sisco Cook.

Our last view of the Wilks Cemetery intact, photo by Ginger Sisco Cook.

In mid-October, we received the news that, though the scraping was not yet complete at the Wilks Cemetery site, ten unexpected and unmarked graves had already been discovered. This was our first indication that so much of what we thought we knew about the Cemetery was about to be turned on its ear. On October, 23, Jeff invited us back out to the Cemetery to visit the disinterment in progress. Mitch Harrison, Senior Construction Inspector, NTMWD, is our guide for this visit and we pile into his pickup for the drive from the Foremen’s barn to the site. It has been raining incessantly, and there is standing water in the bottom. The fields are wet and we almost get stuck in one place. Then suddenly we are there. The Cemetery is an exposed spot now - not a hidden glade - and I don’t realize just how close we are until we are on top of it. 


First glimpse of the disinterment, photo by Ginger Sisco Cook.

A pit encompasses the northeast section of the cemetery. Around its edge are heaps of excavated dirt and heavy equipment. In the pit, there are canopies covering work areas and plastic sheeting covering exposed grave shafts yet to be worked. My first reaction is shock and I find myself near tears, but as I walk up to the edge of the excavation, sadness gives way to scientific wonder.

The initial excavation, photo by Ginger Sisco Cook.

The pit itself is terraced somewhat due to there being grave shafts discovered at differing depths.


Detail of terraces, photo by Wanda Holmes Oliver.

Cody Davis, Project Manager and Principal Investigator, AR Consultants, who is responsible for the cemetery removal and relocation effort, greets us as we approach and leads us into the pit. Under the canopies two graves are being painstakingly emptied by teams with hand tools. Another grave is being reduced by thin shovelfuls of dirt from exposed grave shaft to burial site. The graves being emptied are those of Mary Wilks (d. 1932) and Margaret Wilks (d. 1869). Charles Jefferson Wilks (d. 1896) has already been removed and his grave shaft is now a shallow, rectangular indentation in the ground. Cody tells me that his body was very well preserved, that the clay soil enhances preservation. The bodies of Mary and Margaret are also in exceptionally good shape. Mary was buried with her glasses on her face and they are in perfect condition. The shell buttons from Mary’s dress are visible as scattered points of white against the dark earth.

Recovery team at work, photo by Wanda Holmes Oliver.

Recovery team at work, photo by Wanda Holmes Oliver.

Recovery team at work, photo by Wanda Holmes Oliver.

The empty grave of Charles Jefferson Wilks, photo by Wanda Holmes Oliver.

Outline of grave identified, photo by Wanda Holmes Oliver.

The ten unexpected graves found so far are in two rows. The graves of three children lie between the Cagle family row and the Wilks family row. Seven graves lie in a row to the east of the Cagle family row. Are these additional families? Are they additional members of the Wilks and Cagle families that our research has not revealed? Dr. Catrina Whitley, a bio-archaeologist from Southern Methodist University, is the leader of the team removing the remains. In addition to the disinterment, Dr. Whitley's team will be doing the scientific analysis and DNA work on the remains found here. The value of that work has taken on a whole new significance with the presence of the unmarked graves. With luck she will be able to pinpoint gender, age at time of death, cause of death, when the burial occurred, and family affiliation.

The work is fascinating and the care with which it is being done reassuring. As we walk around and talk to the team members, it is abundantly clear that everyone on the site is engaged in a labor of love and deeply respects the nature of the work they are doing. Despite the cold, wet conditions they have been working in almost from the beginning, everyone is cheerful, friendly, and eager to share their findings. We leave with a tentative plan to be back before Thanksgiving, weather and schedules permitting.

Story by Wanda Holmes Oliver.

Contacting NTMWD

Ginger and I had been shown where the Wilks Cemetery was by Mike Barbaro, and been given access to his land for our cemetery visits.  On some level we knew that the cemetery was, at that point, actually owned by North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD), but until construction started Mike seemed to remain in control of what had been his land and his permission to visit seemed relevant and sufficient to us.  After construction began, we knew that we had to gain the support of NTMWD if our project was to be successful.  And, as the clearing of the dam and basin area continued, the need to ask for that support became increasingly more urgent.  I had reached out early on to Larry Standlee, member of the Fannin County Historical Commission and local graveyard expert, for information about the Wilks Cemetery.  In mid-July, we learned from Larry that NTMWD would be presenting a petition to the Fannin County District Court regarding the removal of the remains - that, in fact, a court order was necessary to begin the disinterment process.  We attended that hearing and while waiting for it to begin were introduced, for the first time, to folks from NTMWD.  They were open, welcoming, and friendly, and we left the hearing optimistic about gaining official support for our project.  We also learned at that meeting that the removal would be handled by a professional bio-archaeology team under the direction of a respected professor in the discipline from SMU.  Having had no idea what to expect, we were relieved to learn of the detailed legal requirements and the great respect, care, and scientific rigor the team intended to bring to the relocation of the burial sites.

Judge Blake did not grant the court order at that hearing.  She asked for additional information and scheduled a follow-up hearing for August 1, 2018.  Ginger and I attended that followup hearing, and again were able to visit with NTMWD staff while waiting for the case to be called.  We met Cody Davis, the NTMWD consultant who is in charge of both the cemetery removals and the Riverby mitigation project, along with his colleague, Dr. Allen Skinner.  Cody talked to us about having worked on the reservoir project for close to ten years.  From him we learned a bit about the lab work and DNA analysis that will occur in the lab at SMU before the disinterred remains are reburied, work that would be especially important if any unmarked graves were found.  He also explained that the disinterment process itself would take weeks, perhaps months. 

Ginger and I left the hearing and drove out to Carson to check on the progress of construction. The images below are from that drive. They illustrate how quickly the area had changed from the beginning of June to the beginning of August, and perhaps evoke the sense of urgency Ginger and I were feeling. The pace of change was accelerating rapidly.

First sight of dam being built across from Mr Foreman’s land, photo by Ginger Sisco Cook.

Along FM1396 towards Carson, photo by Ginger Sisco Cook.

Along FM1396 towards Carson, photo by Ginger Sisco Cook.

Along FM1396 towards Carson, photo by Ginger Sisco Cook.

On CR2705, photo by Ginger Sisco Cook.

Tranquil still, photo by Ginger Sisco Cook.

Encouraged by the two casual visits we’d had with NTMWD staff and consultants at the hearings, Ginger and I drove to NTMWD headquarters in Wiley on Aug. 27, 2018 to discuss our project with Jeff McKito, Public Relations Specialist.  We laid out our vision and asked for permission to continue our work.  Jeff gave generously of his time, asked engaging questions, and seemed genuinely interested.  He asked for time to circulate our plans a bit internally and get back to us. We left feeling buoyed by a good meeting and a hopeful prospect. 

On Sept. 10, 2018, a Monday, we learned that the District would support our project.  We also learned that the disinterment would begin on Wednesday, Sept., 12, with the removal of the tombstones for safe keeping.  We were invited to go out to the Cemetery with Jeff on the 12th for our last visit to the intact site - the closing of an important chapter in our journey had arrived.

Story by Wanda Holmes Oliver.