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60 people were on hand Saturday, April 23, to witness the dedication
of a Historic Texas Cemetery marker at the Bunting Family Cemetery
located adjacent to FM 532, four miles west of Moulton.
The cemetery is situated on private property in Gonzales
County. |
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Historical Marker:
"Bunting Family Cemetery
Established 1873"
Photo
courtesy Murray Montgomery, May 2005 |
The
Dedication
Robert E. Clark, president of the Bunting Family Cemetery Association,
began the dedication ceremony by welcoming those in attendance. He
thanked Moulton Mayor Kathy Koranek for her presence at the event
and gave special thanks to Tim Koncaba for his dedication to maintaining
the cemetery grounds. “Tim is the man without whom we could not exist,”
said Clark. “He was recently named outstanding citizen of the year
in Moulton, and we can understand why. He maintains the grounds for
us – whenever we’ve gotten in a fix while putting this together, we
just call Tim and he deals with it.”
Clark also thanked David and Amanda Fisher for their work in putting
together the program and distributing copies to all those in attendance.
The program includes recognition to the landowners whose property
surrounds the Bunting Family Cemetery. They are Tracey and Frank Nieto,
as well as, Shannon and L.A. Simper.
Following the welcoming of guests, Bunting family descendents Joe
Key York, Jr. and Betty Wright Sterquell read from the scripture and
expressed their thanks to those in attendance. “We’re here to honor
all the generations past,” said Sterquell. “But I would like to make
note of these wonderful children, of the next generation, who are
with us today. It is such a pleasure to know that we have this continuity
to our family.”
Charlotte Esther Kenell, descendent of Seth L. Bunting, was called
upon to share some of her memories of family members. She provided
some light-hearted humor by telling stories of events that took place
years ago. Those in attendance seemed delighted with her presentation.
Kenell also praised those who’ve worked to get the cemetery designated
as a Historic Texas Cemetery. “We should thank all of the family members
who have worked so hard to get this historical marker,” she said.
“I love all of you and it’s a great honor to be here – this is our
heritage and it’s not something to forget.”
Mayor Kathy Koranek presented a Texas flag to the Bunting family which
was accepted by Robert Clark. The flag has flown over the state capitol
and was sent to the group by Rep. Edmund Kuempel to commemorate the
event.
The Rev. Jeff Wright Fisher conducted the services for the rededication
of the cemetery, as well as the unveiling and dedication of the marker.
Fisher serves as assistant rector at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in
Cypress, Texas. He is the son of Nelson and Nancy Wright Fisher. He
is also a descendent of Zillah Bunting Wright.
The dedication ceremony concluded with the singing of “Amazing Grace”
by soloist John Zimmerman.
Taking into consideration the history of the Bunting family, it is
easy to understand why this group is so proud of their heritage. |
The Bunting
Family
Davis Bunting
and his wife Martha Bowden Bunting, both of English heritage, were
natives of Nash County, North Carolina. In 1846 they moved their family
to Gonzales County,
Texas. The family consisted of nine children, one grandchild,
and a son-in-law.
After being an independent nation since 1836, Texas had just became
part of the United States. The Bunting family traveled to the new
State of Texas by wagon train – indications are that their route took
them through Mississippi. As was common in those days, it is likely
that the Buntings stayed with family and friends along the way. Sometimes
these visits would be lengthy – allowing the travelers time to rest
and prepare before continuing the rest of their perilous journey.
Family records indicate that the Buntings lived in three different
places in Texas. They settled first in Gonzales
County, south of the Guadalupe River. In 1853 they moved to another
area in the Guadalupe valley and in 1857 they relocated to an area
just outside of Moulton.
Davis Bunting spent the rest of his life here. He died in 1885 – his
wife, Martha, passed away before the family moved to the Moulton vicinity.
All three of the Bunting sons served in the Confederate army during
the Civil War. John was with the highly decorated 8th Texas Calvary,
known to most as Terry’s Texas Rangers. Jefferson was with another
Texas unit, Waul’s Legion, and Alanzo served with the 21st Texas Calvary.
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