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| 3 | 4 | | |
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| 4 | 5 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 5 | 6 | | WHEREAS, The Texas Historical Commission has recognized Long |
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| 6 | 7 | | Branch Cemetery as a Historic Texas Cemetery, and this honor is |
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| 7 | 8 | | being celebrated with the unveiling of an Official Texas Historical |
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| 8 | 9 | | Marker on May 16, 2015; and |
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| 9 | 10 | | WHEREAS, One of the oldest graveyards in Falls County, this |
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| 10 | 11 | | bucolic site is all that remains of Long Branch, an African American |
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| 11 | 12 | | community of tenant farmers and manual laborers, many of whom came |
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| 12 | 13 | | to Texas from Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina, Tennessee, and |
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| 13 | 14 | | Virginia; the cemetery traces its beginnings to 1883, when trustees |
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| 14 | 15 | | of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Long Branch purchased land in |
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| 15 | 16 | | the settlement for the purpose of erecting a sanctuary and |
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| 16 | 17 | | establishing a burial ground; and |
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| 17 | 18 | | WHEREAS, The Long Branch Cemetery was a community graveyard, |
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| 18 | 19 | | meaning that any African American who was born and raised in Long |
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| 19 | 20 | | Branch could be buried there without indebtedness; while many of |
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| 20 | 21 | | the early interments went unrecorded, the cemetery is known to hold |
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| 21 | 22 | | the graves of 25 freed slaves, and the remains of many Long Branch |
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| 22 | 23 | | natives who spent their lives elsewhere were brought home by loved |
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| 23 | 24 | | ones to this final resting place; the more than 200 known burials |
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| 24 | 25 | | include those of sharecroppers, domestics, hotel workers, taxi |
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| 25 | 26 | | drivers, seamstresses, midwives, teachers, carpenters, butchers, |
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| 26 | 27 | | brick masons, and farmers; and |
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| 27 | 28 | | WHEREAS, Notable individuals buried in Long Branch include |
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| 28 | 29 | | Silvia King, a native of Morocco who is believed to have been born |
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| 29 | 30 | | in 1803 and who died in Falls County in 1937; her remarkable life |
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| 30 | 31 | | story was recorded in the 1930s by staff of the Works Progress |
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| 31 | 32 | | Administration; also buried in the cemetery are a Civil War |
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| 32 | 33 | | veteran, Anthony Shaw of the 104th U.S. Colored Infantry, as well as |
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| 33 | 34 | | veterans of World War I, World War II, and Vietnam; and |
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| 34 | 35 | | WHEREAS, The last worship services in the church were held in |
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| 35 | 36 | | 1971 and the building was later destroyed by fire, but Long Branch |
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| 36 | 37 | | Cemetery remains an active burial ground and a hallowed reminder of |
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| 37 | 38 | | the rich history of this once-vibrant Texas community; now, |
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| 38 | 39 | | therefore, be it |
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| 39 | 40 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas |
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| 40 | 41 | | Legislature hereby commemorate the unveiling of an Official Texas |
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| 41 | 42 | | Historical Marker at Long Branch Cemetery in Falls County and |
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| 42 | 43 | | extend to all those present sincere best wishes for a meaningful and |
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| 43 | 44 | | memorable event. |
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