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Saturday, March 23, 2013

Gone but not forgotten

Today a group of family gathered in Galveston to render the honor of descendants to an ancestor. 149 years ago Wyatt Vaughn died on the island of Galveston. Being war time, he was buried in an unmarked grave where he awaits God's resurrection. Wyatt Vaughn has not been forgotten* -- his story has been passed down through the generations -- but all these 149 years no stone was raised for a memorial to his name. That fault has now been corrected, through the leadership of Leslie Vaughn and the generosity of numerous family members. 

Wyatt Vaughn was born in January of 1820. In 1845 he married Eliza Jane Parker in Greene County, Georgia. An "innumerable host" of the Parker family, including Wyatt and Eliza, decided to seek their future in Texas. They called for their church letters and heeded the Western call. Wyatt's "fortune" in Texas was short-lived. Arrived around 1854, he engaged in service to his state and served in Galveston during the Civil War, dying of typhoid fever on March 28, 1864.

Also honored today was Wyatt's son, John W. Vaughn, who was his eldest, who lived and served and died alongside father, three days previous on March 25, 1864. Though we do not know the exact location of their graves, memorial stones have been placed in a section set aside in the Oleander Cemetery to remember Confederate soldiers buried in Galveston.

Through the meanderings of time and the establishment of God's Providence, we proudly yet humbly call ourselves Vaughns and Texans.

* Indicating he was not forgotten, the descendants ranged from the oldest -- a great grandson -- to the youngest -- great-great-great-great children.

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