Mr. H.V. Grayson, who resided in Hearne, Texas, died last Sunday night at 12 o’clock, and was brought to Rockdale Monday for burial. He had been sick about four months, and his ailment baffled the skill of the physicians. Mr. Grayson was a brother-in-law to Mrs. J.C. McGuyre of this city. He was a member of the order of Knights of Pythias and the order of Rockdale took charge of the remains on arrival here and conducted the funeral services. The remains were taken to the Murray school house burying ground, and Rev. J.B. Sears, of the Methodist church, held prayer services at the grave. He leaves a wife and four children, to mourn his loss. They are now temporarily stopping at the home of Mr. McGuyre. Rockdale Messenger, Thursday, November 14, 1901
Rockdale - Services for Jack Cummings, 70, were at 10 a.m. Thursday in Phillips & Luckey Funeral Home in Rockdale, with the Rev. Gene York officiating. Burial was in Murray Cemetery near Rockdale. Mr. Cummings died Tuesday in a Temple hospital after a lengthy illness. He was a Rockdale native and a retired pipe fitter. . . . Cameron Herald, October 24, 1982
On this date . . . the 11th day of October . . . in the year 1948 . . . William Henry Stutts dies while a patient at St. Edwards Hospital in Cameron, Milam County, Texas . . . his age was 84 years 4 months 3 days . . . and his residence was listed as Rockdale . . . burial was to be handled by Phillips-Luckey Co. . . . and was to take place on the 13th of October at the "Murry" Cemetery . . . informant on his Texas Certificate of Death was Myrtle Jackson of Milano, Texas . . .
Old Rockdale postcard . . .
Main St. north from I & G. N. Depot
Rockdale, Texas
The postcard has been reproduced in multiple Rockdale publications . . .
location / ownership / existence of original unknown . . .
According to a newspaper clipping from the files of my cousin, Peggy, a Henry* family reunion was held at the old Hamilton homeplace in Rockdale, Milam County, Texas sometime in 1931. That yellowed and crumbling piece of paper recorded the following about the arrival of my 2nd great-grandpa, William Paschal Henry (1836-1912), and his family in the brand-new town of Rockdale, Milam County, Texas . . .
On Oct. 3, 1876, the Henrys arrived in Rockdale to visit a sister and family of Mrs. Henry's, it being Dr. and Mrs. M.F. Anthony, who at that time had the post office and drug store combined on the corner where the Wolf Hotel now stands.
[*See Henry graves in Murray Cemetery at findagrave.com]
That is the Hotel Wolf in the lower right corner of the above collage, with an arrow pointing to the same building on the old Rockdale postcard. The Hotel had gone out of business before 1935 when Rockdale's American Legion post purchased the building.
During World War II the building's second story was lopped off and its Main Street front was shortened and remodeled. A stage was added and the hall became the place to be for dances and music for almost 20 years. Rockdale Reporter, 06 Aug 1998
When I was in high school (the 60's), we frequently spent a portion of our weekend hours attending teen dances -- with real live bands! -- in the un-airconditioned bottom-half of this building. My parents were regular fixtures as chaperones at these events.
Directly across the street was McVoy's Grocery Store where my parents shopped weekly. Every Friday, my widowed Grandma, who never learned to drive, had her grocery list ready for Mom or Dad to take with them to McVoy's. There was a large wooden magazine rack near the front door where I would sit and read comic books while Mom checked out. Mr. Galbreath kept the produce stocked and freshly washed, and would give us pieces of fresh sugar cane to chew on. The meat market at McVoy's was where Mom bought steak cutlets for making her infamous chicken-fried steak with cream gravy which NONE of us have ever been able to replicate.
I was back on Main Street just this past weekend (2009) while in Rockdale for the 75th Annual Rockdale Homecoming as well as my Mom's 60th RHS Class Reunion, where I was flattered to be told by numerous people (who had known Mom since the 40s) that, "You look just like your Mom!"
At the Homecoming gathering, one lady said to me, "Aren't you the one who found the snake in the bedroom when you were babysitting Delaine?" That was also during high school in the 60s! I was babysitting for the local pharmacist in his home. The baby and I were sitting in the rocker / recliner in her nursery when I saw a snake come crawling in the room! I got out of the room with Delaine and shut the door (which wasn't much of a barrier since it had such a gap at the bottom) and called my trusty Dad at our home (no cell phones in those days). Dad was there immediately, but it took him a while to find and kill the poisonous copperhead -- it had crawled up into the coils under the rocker / recliner!
Before I left town, we (me & Mom & my sister) visited the Dan Kubiak exhibit at the I&GN Depot, and I also took a few photos of Joy Graham's Bit of History building on Cameron Avenue.
The journey back home to Main Street was nostalgic, while somehow filled with the sweet assurance that at Home we are not forgotten. These people knew me as a child. They knew my grandparents. And in some cases, their parents and grandparents knew my ancestors. And many of the families of Rockdale have somehow managed to climb into my family tree! V. . . . June 2009 . . .
Grandpa Hargrove died suddenly at Rockdale Monday at the home of his daughter Mrs. Simms. He was 81 years old and an Alabamian. Cameron Herald, September 20, 1906
Special Telegram to The Express. ROCKDALE, Texas, Sept. 17. - J.A. Hargrove, aged 79 years, died this morning at 9 o’clock at the residence of his daughter Mrs. E.G. Simms. While walking in the yard he suddenly fell down and after being carried into the house expired in a few minutes. He was a very old resident of Rockdale, and a admirable Christian gentleman. Funeral will take place at Murray school house. The Daily Express, San Antonio, Texas, September 18, 1906
On this date . . . the 12th day of September . . . in the year 1920 . . . six-year-old Beatris Murphy is laid to rest in the Pleasant Grove Cemetery [i.e., Murray Cemetery] in Milam County, Texas . . . she died of typhoid on the 11th day of September in Rockdale . . . she is survived by her parents, Thomas and Zulda (Gray) Murphy, and several siblings . . .
Following an illness of long duration, Thomas Evan Murphy, 59, died at his home in Deanville Tuesday morning. Funeral services, under the direction of Phillips-Luckey, were held Wednesday afternoon at the Murray cemetery near Rockdale, with the pastor of the Rockdale Baptist church officiating.
The deceased was born in Mississippi, where he lived until 1919, when he moved to Milam county. He had been a resident of Deanville eight years.
Survivors include his widow; two daughters, Mrs. Milton Brandstetter of Sharp and Mrs. Oden Dockall of Rockdale; four sons, Paul Murphy of Deanville, Clyde Murphy of Rosenberg, Homer Murphy of Brenham, and Clarence Murphy of Corpus Christi.
The Caldwell News and The Burleson County Ledger (Caldwell, Tex.), Vol. 56, No. 9, Ed. 1 Friday, September 5, 1941
On this date . . . the 19th day of August . . . in the year 1917 . . . little Emory Seelke is laid to rest in the Murray Cemetery in Milam County, Texas . . . he was born in Rockdale, Milam County, Texas on the 9th day of November in the year 1916 . . . and passed away in Rockdale on the 18th day of August at the age of one year nine months and ten days . . . his parents were Henry Seelke and Susie Ann Jones . . .
