Heath Family Cemetery

LOCATION: On the Leonidez Fernandez Ranch, 2390 CR 4513, Hondo, TX 78861 (29 16.70N 099 03.27W)

NOTE: The following tombstone inscriptions were copied word for word, line for line. Tombstones identifying more than one grave are identified by a hyphen (1-2). Underlined information is relative to all graves sharing a common tombstone. FS signified footstone. A slash (/) indicates the end of a line. Information in italics (italics) represents comments or observations made by the transcriber or are from other sources as noted.

Compiled by the Medina County Tombstone Inscription Project, Jim Menke, Coordinator, in cooperation with the Castro Colonies Heritage Association, Historical Research Committee. Published in Branches and Acorns Volume XXII - No. 2 - December 2006

Simon Peter and Levina Heath and their seven children came to Medina County in 1855, settling on the Hondo five miles south of present day Highway 90.

This pioneer family cemetery is in an oak mott on a rise of land just north of Hondo Creek. Today it consists of 10 identifiable graves, eight of which are enclosed with cemented flat limestone rock walls 24 inches high by 16 inches wide. Two graves do not have walls. Only one grave has a headstone, that of Martha R. Heath, the wife of Louis Heath. Her headstone is quite tall and has fallen onto the grave. Four graves, marked a, b, h, and i on the cemetery plat, have headstone bases from which the headstones have been removed.

Burial records of the Guinn-Horger Funeral Home list three burials at the Heath Family Cemetery - Martha R. Heath, Louis Heath, and Mattie Heath.

According to Heath family records, 14 persons are buried in the Heath Family Cemetery. Eleven are family members and three are neighbors. Family tradition states that in the 1980's four of the headstones (not graves) were moved to the Heath Family Plot in Oakwood Community Cemetery at Hondo. A comparison of the list of burials at both cemeteries indicates that a total of six headstones were removed from the Heath Family Cemetery to the Oakwood Family Plot.

It is believed that the following persons are buried in the Heath Family Cemetery:

Name	Inscription/Remarks
CRUSTINER, _	Crustiner, (possibly Crusener) boy.
CRUSTINER, _	Crustiner, (possibly Crusener) boy.
HEATH, B	BENNIE HEATH / BORN OCT. 18, 1877 / DIED NOV. 8, 1877 Infant son of James W. & Eliza Galbreath Heath. Headstone moved to Oakwood Community Cemetery, Hondo.
HEATH, B	BESSIE L. HEATH / BORN / Dec. 21 1889 / DIED / Oct 31, 1894. / Our loved one. Daughter of James W. & Eliza Galbreath Heath. Headstone moved to Oakwood Community Cemetery, Hondo.
HEATH, J	JESSIE HEATH / BORN FEB. 18, 1845, DIED 1869 Son of S. P. & Laurna Heath. Headstone moved to Oakwood Community Cemetery, Hondo.
HEATH, L	LAVINA HEATH / BORN 1810 / DIED MAY, 1889 / AGE 79 Wife of Simon Peter Heath. Headstone moved to Oakwood Community Cemetery, Hondo.
HEATH, L	LOUIS HEATH b. Feb. 12, 1842; d. May 18, 1918
HEATH, M	Sacred to the memory of / MARTHA R. Wife of / LEWIS HEATH / Born Dec. 23, 1850 / Died July 5, 1895. As a wife devoted / As a mother affectionate / As a friend ever kind and true. FS - M.R.H. Martha Rebecca nee Bailey. Headstone has fallen across grave.
HEATH, M	MATTIE HEATH b June 24, 1887; d Oct. 7, 1901 Daughter of Louis & Martha Heath.
HEATH, S	SIMON P HEATH / BORN FEB. 14, 1813 / DIED APR. 1883 / AGE 70 Simon Peter Heath, husband of Levina Heath. Headstone moved to Oakwood Community Cemetery, Hondo.
HEATH, S	SIMON P. HEATH JR. / BORN / AUG. 13, 1847 / DIED 1861. / Aged 14 Y'rs. Son of S. P. & Lavina Heath. Shot accidently. Headstone moved to Oakwood Community Cemetery, Hondo.
HOWE, E	ELLA HEATH-HOWE b. Dec. 19, 1874; d. May 19, 1900 Daughter of Louis & Martha Heath.
WEBER, C	CHARLES WEBER Son of Joe Weber.
INFANT

NOTE: Simon Peter brought a young slave named Isaac with them when they moved to Medina County. He stayed with the family after the Civil War and was drowned in the Rio Grande while he and James were rounding up cattle. His grave is probably one of the unmarked ones.