Hart & Howard Cemeteries

All information for both cemeteries follows on this page

Hart Cemetery

   Hart Cemetery is just to the east of the town of Greenwood. From Decatur go north on Fm Rd 51. Turn left on Fm Rd 1204. Go into the little town of Greenwood on CR 2640 or CR 2740. Go across the creek and up the hill about a mile. The gate to the cemetery is on the right where the road curves around a hill on the left. The cemetery is on the left in the woods just inside the gate.
    When Rosalie Gregg took us to this cemetery in December 2001 there was only one "crypt type" stone. She said that at one time there had been several headstones there.
   The Hart and Greenwood families were the first settlers in the area. The town was named for the Greenwood’s, and the creek that runs by the town was named for the Hart’s. Greenwood cemetery is further down this road to the east. See the text to the Historical Marker that’s in the town of Greenwood on the Greenwood Cemetery page.
   There was a circle with letters and symbols below the name and dates on the crypt cover. It is pictured below. The inscription on the crypt cover reads as follows:

Howard Cemetery

    The headstones for Suzanne Howard and Birdie Howard are located about 12 miles north of Decatur out Fm Rd 730. Go past CR 2445 (Brumbalow Road) and turn right in the "CG Bar Ranch" gate. This place is the old Murphy place and is now owned by Cody Gillispie who has Dal-Tex Enterprises there. He was kind enough to show us where this cemetery is.
   From the front gate on FmRd 730 go straight on the pasture road over the hill and past a very large tank, or lake, on the left. On the right you will see a tall single mound. The cemetery is in a plowed (sprigged with coastal roots) field just behind this mound. The remains of two headstones can be seen in a small patch of trees in the center of the field.
   One stone says "At Rest", has a cross, and the date 1875 or 78 at the bottom. The other stone is broken up into small pieces and all I could see was "rn &" on one piece.
   We were told that at one time there was a headstone that stood about 3 feet high, but someone used it for "target practice" and not much remains now.

    Thank you to Wilema Howard England for giving us this information about her grandfather’s family.
   She said that her grandfather, John B. Howard (1850-1921 – buried at Greenwood Cemetery) moved to this Brumbalow Community with his first wife, Suzanne "Polly" Helms Howard, and their son, Ernest. They lived on what they called Tater Hill near Boat Mound. "Polly" died in 1878 and was buried there.
   Wilema has the letter that her grandfather, John, wrote to her grandmother saying that Ernest needed a mother and that he needed a wife. Lilly Caroline Chance Howard (1858-1948 – buried at Greenwood Cemetery) married John and they had 10 children together (Knowles, Della, Mark, Birdie, Robert, Mae, Joe, Ethel, Grace and Paul).
   John and Lilly’s child, Birdie (1886-1887), was buried at this cemetery with John’s first wife, Suzanne "Polly".