LEOPARD CEMETERY

Rusk Co. Cemeteries of TX

This cemetery is one of the 42 lost cemeteries found by Don & Becky Austin

Submitted by Gloria B. Mayfield

NOTE FROM MELVIN VINSON:
John Leopard in the Leopard Cemetery (Pine Springs) is my great-great grandfather. Nancy Leopard in the Hunt Cemetery was my great grandmother, the second wife of Thomas Hunt, Jr.   The story we heard about the Hunt Cemetery is this: Thomas Hunt, Sr., who donated the land for the Hunt Cemetery and John Leopard didn't get along together at all; we don't know why. Thomas Hunt, Sr., said that he wanted his family to be buried someplace else because the Leopard Cemetery was "undesirable".Melvin Vinson Dallas vinvin@mcione.com


Location: Approximately five miles west of Pine Hill, between MF 840 and FM 2867, east of Hunt Cemetery

Number of graves: 3-5

Number of identifiable graves: 1

Number of non-identifiable marked graves: 2

Earliest known grave: 1883

Latest known grave: 1883

Race count: all white, presumably

Located on a fairly level ground in open country in a small grove of sassafrass trees. The Leopard grave is enclosed by an old wooden picket fence about four feet tall, surrounded by a newer galvanized chain-link
fence with a gate. The grave has fairly large trees growing directly on top of it.

Just outside of the fence are two small footstones, one bearing readable initials and the other broken in two just above the ground with no lettering evident.

Many years ago, there was a church located at this site, called Pine Springs Missionary Baptist Church, also nicknamed "Greasy Kitchen."

It is very possible that this is a forerunner to the Hunt Cemetery located just a few hundred yards to the west. The location was presumbale changed to higher ground because of watery graves, so there could be more graves there than expected.

Identifiable graves:

Leopard, John
B 1800 in South Carolina
D July 19, 1883

Non-identifiable graves:

"C.V.K." - footstone with initials - no headstone evident