PREFACE
A very brief history of Concord was written in 1937 or 1938 by a group of students at the Concord school. This history was based on oral testimony and not documented tact. Since it was the only bit of history of the community, it has been quoted many times and in many places. It stirred and kept alive our interest in the history of the Fitzgerald family and of the Concord community for many years without our ever doubting its veracity.
However, as we began our search for our roots, we became aware that there were descrepancies between that report and what we could document. Then, as we researched details about the church and cemetery for the historical marker, we became aware of even more descrepancies between documented facts and that report. We decided to prepare a factual, documented history of the community, church, and cemetery and hope that future references to the area will cite this history as the source of their information. In the future, documents might be found that could refute or change some of the information in this report. Also, we have included some oral history, such as the story of the holly tree, which cannot be documented but which we thought to be interesting additions to our narration.
October 11, 1997

BLESS BE THE TIE THAT BINDS
A History of Concord Community. Church and Cemetery
Into the virgin forests and hills of East Texas came the first struggling pioneers. David G. Burnett, a New Jersey man, was granted a large track of land above the old road to San Antonio on December 21, 1826.1 The southeast corner was located at Nacogdoches and the area claimed most of the territory later designated as Navarro, Henderson, Anderson, Limestone, Freestone and Leon Counties, except for that part west of Navasota. The purpose of the grant was to introduce 300 families into the area.
Into all that vast area, a few brave families arrived; but the colonies did not prosper. Three years later, on March 12, 1829, the eastern part of the tract was granted to Lorenzo de Zavala. He was to bring in 500 families.2 That, too, was not very successful and in 1830 all the American Contracts were considered null and void.
These American interests were restored to their original force and united under a new company to whom they were sold in 1835. This new company was called Galveston Bay Land and Colonization company. The tracts were still advertized under the head of Burnett’s colonies, trying to interest families in moving into the region .
The rest of the area was laid out and deeded in 1835 by George Antonio Nixon, Commissioner of the Mexican Government, to the following: on July 8 to Elizabeth Groce; on Jan. 3 to James Hall;

on Jan. 8 to Jesse B. MoNealy and on Jan. 5 to John Little.4 It is within the tract given to Jesse B. McNealy that our forefathers came——to a place they first called Fitzgerald and later Concord. (Appendix 1)
A few families accepted the challenge of life on the frontier but the hardships were many. The virgin timber had to be cut and cleared before crops could be planted. Travel was difficult because roads were all but nonexistent. It was mainly animal and Indian trails they followed. The Indians still posed a problem for these early settlers. There were several massacres in this general area in 1838 and 1839. In the Edens—Madden massacre in 1838, several were killed. In 1839, the CambeR family, who had settled in Town Creek three miles west of Palestine, was raided by hostile Indians and several members of the family were slain.
The decade of the 1840’s witnessed the removal of the Indians so much further out that settlement in the area was rapid and diffused. Finally the necessary number of votes enabled the area to be cut off as a new county and Anderson County was created in 1846. palestine was established as the county seat in 1848.
More and more settlers began moving into the area and new communities began to be formed. It was often difficult to establish boundaries or limits for these communities because they often overlapped.
Our story really begins with the Fitzgerald family. The patriarch of the family was Jackson. In 1839, he brought his wife, Sarah, and his family to San Augustine. He was joined by his son
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William A. and wife, Joicy. It was in San Augustine that Michael Robertson (Robert) married Matilde Shaufner Lindsey, a widow.
William A. and Joicy were newly wed as they began the arduous trip to Texas. She was Joicy Hanks Fitzgerald. Her mother was Nancy Hanks and her father was John Fitzgerald, so she was really Joicy Flanks Fitzgerald Fitzgerald. They were married on October 9, 1839. He was 20 years of age and she was 15. Undoubtedly within a few days after their wedding, they must have packed their belongings in their covered wagon, yoked their oxen and begun their journey to this land of opportunity. Indications are that a trip of that kind took at least two months. We know they were in San Augustine by the 9th of December, 1839, when William A. received a land grant for 640 acres of land in what is now Van Zant County. So far as we know, he never assumed that grant.
William A. and Joicy lived in the San Augustine area for several years before coming to Anderson County. Their first child, James Christopher, was born in 1842 in Shelby County. Their second child. John C., was born in San Augustine County in 1844. However, their daughter, Nancy, was born in 1846 in Anderson County.
Sometime between 1844 and 1846, the Fitzgeralds began moving into an area located about 11 miles north of Palestine on the headwaters of the Mound Prairie Creek, into the area today known as Concord.
The first record of land ownership for the Fitzgeralds is a deed from Courtland Palmer to William A. Fitzgerald for 320 acres, dated Dec. 2, 1850, in the Elizabeth Groce league.5 This deed
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references the NE corner of the land bought from Lyon and Collins on December 30, 1850,6 as ‘now owned and occupied by said Fitzgerald and it contained 360 acres. This last tract of land was located in the Jesse B. McNealy league and joined the first tract on the north.
William A’s brother, Michael Robert (Robertson) bought 160 acres from Lyon and Collins on Dec. 30, 185O. This property lay south and west of that bought by W. A. Fitzgerald. At some point in time, he also acquired the property due west of W. A. Fitzgerald for a total of 360 acres.
The 1850 census shows four Fitzgerald families living in the area:
William Adkins and wife, Joicy, and their 4 children
Michael R. (brother to William Adkins), wife, Matilda, and children
George W. (Buck Horn) (brother to Joicy), wife, Christina, and family of eight
Christopher (brother to Joicy)
At the time of the census, Christopher was living with George W. and his family. The Fitzgeralds had the Samuel Holidays and Henry Atkinsons for neighbors. The Holidays had a young girl named Narcissa Maccaskel living with them. We do not know if she might have been some relative to the Fitzgeralds or just good friends. However, William A. entered her name in the birth and death records of his Bible,
Ties were being formed as neighbor helped neighbor in the sparsely-populated countryside.
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On April 10, 1862, Michael R. sold two acres of land to William Fitzgerald, known as ‘Billie Cupe. He was a cousin of Joicy Hanks Fitzgerald and a half—brother of Amos Fitzgerald who settled in the Blackfoot area. This two acre tract was located 300 yards from the southwest corner of the tract Michael R. had bought from Lyons and Collins and the deed indicated that William already had a house and was living on the property. The house was a log cabin. It still stands although it has been renovated and added to” so that it might be difficult to recognize,
In 1866, Michael FL sold his property to W. A. Harding.9 In 1869, Harding sold part of the property to M. L. Dotson.10
Other families were arriving. We are not sure when W. A. Harding arrived. He did marry Mary Fitzgerald, “Billie Cupes” daughter, in 1853.11
In 1856, the Gaines family came from Georgia. They had moved from South Carolina to Georgia and from Georgia to Texas. Ruben Gaines and his wife, Sarah, developed their Texas farm to include a gin, sawmill, barns, grist mill and large apple orchards. When Ruben returned to Georgia after about fifteen years, he left this property with his son Milton Pinkney Gaines, known as ‘Pink”. The Gaines owned a plantation of about 2400 acres. Pink” was known for saying ‘Bless my soul”. Pinks son, Ralph Gore, better known as Rafe lived in the Concord community where he was a successful farmer and cattle raiser.
The Hathcocks arrived in the area in 1859, corning from Kentucky and first settling in the Beaver Valley area. The family
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reports that upon their arrival, they lived in a tent, They traded Kentucky property plus some horses for the Anderson County land.
One of the first things we note about these early settlers is that education was important to them. Wood Chambers, a school teacher, is listed in the 1860 census with the household of WiYliam
A. Fitzgerald family. There is a later reference to the Fitzgerald schoolhouse in 1872 at the time of the organization of the church. The school was probably a one—room log cabin with seats made of split logs. School was only two or three months a year and the teacher often boarded with families in the community. Books were usually whatever the different families could contribute.
The 1860’s brought the Clvi] War and with it the disruption that it brought everywhere. Young men from the community left to fight.. for some with fatal results. Jim Hathcock who had married William A’s and Joicy’s daughter, Sarah, established an iron foundry for the purpose of making guns for the Confederate soldiers. They also made plows for those who were left behind and could not get supplies from the North.
James E. Fitzgerald, the son of George W., enlisted as a private in Company D, 13th Regiment, Waul’s Brigade, Walkers Division, in Palestine. His first Captain was a Hanks. He wrote, “The Company in which I enlisted did not leave till in 1862. I was only a boy of 16 when I left and oH the privations and hardships I endured. The many, many miles I marched, footsore, weary, hungry, and cold. Well do I remember the one—half ear of corn as rations. I threw my part away thinking that if I could get no
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more, this wouft do me no good but someone told me that I had better keep it, it would taste good before I got any more and it was only too true. But the giver of all good threw his protecting arms around me and I was permitted to return to my loved ones again. There were four brothers of us in the war and two were lost and two reached home.i2
William A. and Joicy lost their son, John C., in the Civil War. George W. and wife lost sons John B. and Christopher. William Fitzgerald lost son William. Other families lost husbands, fathers and sons. Few families were left untouched by the horrors of the war.
The grief, hardships, and difficulties of the time only served to deepen the ties that had already formed, They bound heart to heart and life to life. The people shared “mutual woes’. They bore “mutual burdens” and for each other “flowed the sympathizing tear.”
The cemetery contains the graves of three Civil War veterans,
C. A. Fitzgerald served in Company 6, Thompson’s Co., Sates Regiment of the 13th Texas Infantry CSA. He was a private. He served from the spring of 1864 to the end of the war. He was transferred to Company F of the First Texas Artillery which was stationed at Sabine Pass, Texas. John J. Kearney served in Company E, Seventh Georgia Infantry CSA. Family members of W.J. Hatheock also report that he served in the Civil War and have a medal that belonged to him. He had a Civil War marker on his grave that has been stolen. Pink Gaines served in the 13th Texas
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Regiment, Haw’s Brigade, Walker’s Division, but is buried in the Gaines Cemetery.
The end of the Civil War brought further changes to the community. According to a report Vivian Kelley Brack wrote in 1973, Joel Parish Kelley and Deborah Ansafee Funderburk were married in Farmerville, Louisiana. She says, “In the year 1869, they came over the hills in lumbering ox wagons from Union Parish, Louisiana, along with Joel’s brother and family, two sisters with their families, and Van Funderburk and his family.’ Van Funderburk was a brother of Deborah Kelley. Joel Kelley was a Baptist preacher. He died in February of 1872, only about three years after their arrival, reportedly from spinal meningitis. Deborah lived forty one years after his death and lived to see five generations.
Van Funderburk bought approximately 109 acres of land from Mary J. Lappinton on Dec. 25, 1869.13 He bought 114.68 acres of land from George W. Fitzgerald on March 5, 1872.14 Van Funderburk sold this 114.68 acres of land to Mrs. Deborah A. Kelley on Jan. 11, 1877.15 (This property can be located as Tract 2 of Appendix 3 and is the tract of land that later became known as the Kelley land.)
The Lunsfords probably arrived at the same time because Uriah Williamson Lunsford had married Sarah, daughter of Van Funderburk. The Lunsfords located about 2 1/2 miles from Brushy Creek. Sarah’s eyesight was impaired and, though totally blind, we are told that
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she knitted, sewed, spun,, and oared for her children——four boys and five girls.
Ethel Funderburk Evey in her paper prepared for the 45th Funderburk Annual Reunion in 1994 says, Lorenzo Dow Funderburk, the thirteen—year old boy who made the journey to Texas in 1868, grew up to be a preacher, influenced, perhaps, by the Concord Church. In a letter to a friend in 1934, he wrote: ‘A church having been organized in the community, I was converted and baptized into the fellowship of the Concord Baptist Church. I was later ordained as a deacon of the church, and in 1885, I was licensed to preach.’
F. M. Griffin and A. H. Malone came from North Louisiana. Griffin married Delaware Della’ Funderburk in 1871 and Malone married Margaret, a daughter of Billie Cupe Fitzgerald, the same year. The Wards had also arrived in the area. The ties that bound the community were being lengthened to welcome those moving into the area.
As in all communities, there were deaths. We know that William A. Fitzgerald had a child, Mary Matilda, to die in 1856 and two children, Nancy Kirby and Roberson Bluford, in 1857. There was also a Narcissa Macoaskol, mentioned previously, who died in 1852. William Fitzgerald’s wife, Betsy, died in 1867 and according to descendants is buried at Concord. G. W. Fitzgerald’s wife died in 1868. Mit/lena, infant daughter of Van R. Funderburk, died in 1869 and daughter, Elizabeth, died possibly in 1868 and are reported to be buried in Concord cemetery. Michael Robertson’s son, William
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Aiford, died in 1857 and daughter, Mary Elvira, in 1871. Where was the burial place of these people? The church in the community had not yet been organized. Did W. A. Fitzgerald bury his three children on a part of his land where other settlers later joined in laying to rest their loved ones. We really aren’t sure, The families of some say they were buried at Concord.
With the arrival of the new families, interest grew in the organization of a Baptist church in the community. This would be the cohesive force that continued to bind the community.
On November 11, 1871, HJ Daves, Albert B. Dawson, M. P.
Gaines, H. G. Garloop, M. L. Taylor, M. A. Corder, Sarah A.
Funderburk, S. E. Hardin, Julia Fitzgerald, Nancy P. Kelley, Dicy
F. Lunsford, Sarah A. Lunsford, Jane Mitchel L. A. McCain and M.
I. Taylor met with ministers of the Gospel, L. R. Gore, P. R.
Morrow and U. W. Lunsford, at the Fitzgerald School House for the
purpose of constituting the above mentioned into a Baptist
Church.l6 William A. Fitzgerald was received by letter and Joyce
Fitzgerald, (wife of William A.), Sarah J. Fitzgerald (daughter of
William A.), James Cris and Richard B. Fitzgerald (Sons of William
A.) and Mary A. Daves were received by experience.”
In December of 1871, the church proceeded to choose by ballot a name for the church which resulted in Concord18 Tradition has it that Concord was the name of the small community in Louisiana from which the Kelleys, Funderburks and Lunsfords came. The word also carries the meaning of peace and unity. As they met and worshiped together, the bond of Christian love was a uniting force.
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Bless be the Tie that Binds
Our hearts in Christian love
The fellowship of kindred minds
Is like to that above.’
A Union church had existed prior to this time because between September and November of 1872, the church asked U. W. Lunsford and
S. P. Gore to see about dissolving the Union Church.1° We have no idea where it was located.20
We are not absolutely sure of the location of the Baptist church building but reports of older settlers locate it near the front of the present cemetery. The church may have continued for a while in the Fitzgerald school, We do know that by 1883 the church had it’s own building because the church was called into session to treat the propriety of allowing Dr. Fowler, a lecturer, the use of the church house.21 In 1884, reference is made to repairing the church house and cleaning the church yard,22
In those years, church life was a little different——usually the men sat on one side and the women on the other. In the church roll, there was one list for male members and another list for female members.
Church discipline was common. In every business meeting, the phrase “The peace of the church called for” was used to introduce the subject. If some disciplinary action was necessary, then it was treated. If there was no action to be taken, or after it was taken, that part of the business meeting was closed with the phrase “church in peace.”
•11

Uriah Williamson Lunsford, who preached some at the church. and M. P. Gaines were elected in 1872 as delegates to the Cherokee Association23 which at that time included Anderson County, for the annual meeting. William A. Fitzgerald was one of the alternates. On June 10, 1876, the church voted to write a copy of the church history and forward it to Bro. J. A. Kimball of Larissa, Texas.24 The church voted on Sept. 7, 1879 to petition the Association for letter of dismissal from that body.25 On June 13, 1880, it voted to cooperate with the East Texas Baptist Convention and elected delegates to Saline Association.26 Since that time, it has been affiliated with the Saline Baptist Association, The Texas Baptist Convention and the Southern Baptist Convention.
The oldest grave with a marker in the cemetery is that of Joel
P. Kelley who died Feb. 19, 1872. In the general area where he was buried, under the holly tree and cedar trees, are a number of old, unmarked 9raves. Are some of those the burial sites of people mentioned earlier who had died before the organization of the church? Did William A. Fitzgerald lay to rest the bodies of his three children on a corner of his property? Did others in the community join in burying their dead in the same location? Had even earlier settlers used that plot for a cemetery? We cannot say for sure, but we know that often families did set aside a plot of land for a cemetery. From the number of deaths in the community prior to the organization of the church, we know they had to be buried somewhere. There is no record of any of those burials in any other cemetery.
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Illness was a major problem for the community. The medicine of those days consisted primarily of home remedies. Mortality schedules in the Palestine public library indicate that most of the children died from whooping cough, croup, and hives (infants). Pneumonia meant death for anyone. Childbirth was the primary cause of death among women.
A survey dated September 10, 1985,21 showed 372 marked graves and 75 unmarked graves. The graves labeled unmarked have either concrete blocks, iron ore rocks, or unreadable funeral home markers. The cemetery was cared for by families who had loved ones buried there and by volunteers for many years. This evolved into a loosely knit organization which over a period of time became more organized. A financial report was presented in October, 1970, and annually thereafter. A charter of a non—profit corporation was adopted on September 7, 1986,28 which specifies that the Association will have four officers plus eight members elected at large annually.
Oral tradition, heard many times but repeated to Melba Schochler in 1986 by Hensley Gaines and used in her presentation “Concord Homecoming — 1986 provides the following interesting story about the holly tree planted in the middle of the cemetery. “Some people came through the area on their way further west. Among these were a young couple who planned to be married. While camped here, the young girl became ill and died. The heartbroken young man buried his sweetheart in her wedding dress and, for a tombstone, planted a holly tree at her head.”
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Marcellus Parrish, in 1997, requested the Texas Forestry Service to verify if the holly tree might qualify as Texas largest holly tree. They measured the tree and although it did not qualify as Texas largest, it does measure 60’ tall with a crown spread of 57’ and a stem of 110” in circumference. The largest tree measures
54’ tall, with a crown of 49’ and a stem of 132’. All reports indicate the tree is well over one hundred years old. Vera Ward Green remembers, when, as a student at the school on the hill, they would go down to the cemetery to gather holly to decorate the school at Christmas time.
A lot of early activities revolved around the church such as protracted meetings in the summer. Families would come from all around and camp during this time. It was a time of fellowship as well as spiritual uplifting. In 1883, the church voted to let Dr. Fowler, a lecturer, use the building. The church minutes also inform us of activities of the day, frowned upon by the church to be sure, but which reflected activities within the community such as horse racing, wagering, ballroom dancing, card playing and the imbibing of spirits.
By the 1880’s, the community was becoming a thriving little town called Fitzgerald. In about 1887, C. D. Kelley and other citizens were instrumental in securing the right to establish a
post office. It was kept temporarily in a grain store operated by
W. H. Harding, who also acted as postmaster. It was then moved to the home of C. D. Kelley. He was postmaster in 1896. The mail was brought out from Palestine on Tuesdays and Fridays of each week for
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ten years. Then the mail was brought 3 times each week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday for 7 years. At the end of a period of 18 years, the post office of Fitzgerald was abandoned when the new mail system of the Rural Carrier was established. Ben Kennedy was the first rural carrier on the new rural route serving Concord in 1903.29 In 1896, Fitzgerald had at least two general stores and a flour mill.30 A barber shop has also been mentioned as being located there and possibly other establishments were located there as well. Legal documents were also signed in Fitzgerald.31
William A. Fitzgerald sold to his son, William Jackson, the southwestern 160 acres of his land in December, 868.32 He sold to his 50fl, J. C. Fitzgerald, the southeastern 160 acres on Jan. 26, 1869. William Jackson and J. C. said their property to Mrs. Mary Starkes on December 16, 1875, with the exception of two acres that William Jackson retained in the southwestern corner. Mrs. Starkes sold the property to CA. Fitzgerald on August 10, 1881 ,
(C. A. Fitzgerald was a son of Michael R.)
Why did William Jackson not sell those two acres? Was it because that was where the cemetery and church were located? It is that very two acres that he later deeded to Concord Baptist Church and it s that property where the oldest part of the cemetery is located——land that had previously belonged to pioneer William A. Fitzgerald.
In 1901, a new church building was built. Four different tracts of Jand were given to the church at that time. These tracts are shown on the plat, (Appendix 2), as tracts 1—4 in order of the
15

date of the deed. A time line shows those different tracts as they pass from the previous Fitzgerald owners down to the deeds to the church. (Appendix 3)
On September 17, 1901, W. J. (William Jackson) Fitzgerald gave two acres of land to Concord Baptist Church.36 Not only do these two acres contain the oldest part of the cemetery but it is probably where the first church building was located. (Appendix 4) (Appendix 2 Tract 1) (Appendix 3)
On November 20, 1901, C. 0. Kelly and wife, R. M. Kelly, gave
approximately .65 acres of land to Concord Baptist Church which
joined to the west that given by W. J. Fitzgerald.37 (Appendix 5)
(Appendix 2 Tract 2) (Appendix 3)
On November 27, 1901, C. A. Fitzgerald and wife, M. C. ritzgerald, gave to Concord Baptist Church a track of land containing .45 acres which joined to the north that given by W. J. Fitzgerald.38 (Appendix 6) (Appendix 2 Tract 3) (Appendix 3)
On December 30, 1901, W. H. Gaston and Mrs. L. A. Jemison deeded to the church a parcel of land containing 2.48 acres of land which joined the northwest corner of the track given by W. J. Fitzgerald.39 (Appendix 7) (Appendix 2 Tract 4) (Appendix 3) On October 26, 1988, william C. Pannell, deeded to the Concord Cemetery Association a tract of land containing more or less 1.65 acres which joined on the east that given by W. J. Fitzgerald.4° (Appendix 8) (Appendix 2 Tract 5) (Appendix 3) These tracts constitute the property of the present church and cemetery.
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A wooden frame building was built on the site of the present church in 1901 or 1902. Rev. U. W. Lunsford was pastor of the church at the time and the building was dedicated in May of 1902 with Dr. Sellers, Pastor of First Baptist Church, Palestine, preaching the dedicatory sermon.
Tragedy struck the community in 1940 when this church building burned. Once again the “ties that bind’ drew the church and community together. They rallied together to build a new, modern brick building which is in use at the present time. It was dedicated on May 10, 1942.41
Lucretia Lightfoot Andrews wrote a poem in 1978 which she called ‘Memory Lane” (Appendix 9). In this poem she recalls a number of those who descended from the early settlers as well as later ones. She remembers Uncle Wiltz and Aunt Margie Kelley. There is also Dr. Kelly as well as William Ward and his family. Her Uncle Francis, Aunt Cora, and Uncle Edmond are included. Other families include the wilkersoris, Wilbanks, Hardings, Madison Dean, Marvin Johnson, and others. She says, ‘My mind then wanders in the past, of things I’m thankful for at last. My Church, my Home, my Family, my Friends, on all these things my life depends.’ These are the elements that create bonds that truly bind us together.
In the 1940’s, oil was discovered in the area. Four pumps from the vicinity were from the Woodbine pay around 4,300 feet. It produced 16 gravity oil, virtually asphalt which was widely used on roads in that part of the county. Wells up on the hill had a higher gravity.42
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As more and more families settled in the area, the people south of the area organized a school close to the iron foundry which was called the Foundry School. Doff Hutcherson, born in 1890, remembered when he was a lad six years old attending that school. He said that the first phrase he remembers copying on his slate was Time and tide wait for no man. One year, when they had no school there, he walked to what was later called Concord to school
School continued to be important to the community. In 1912,
J. V. Kelley gave land for a school .“ Pervy Johnson gave property to the school and Woodmen of World in 1915. The building on the property, was to be used by the Woodmen of the World (the upper floor), and the lower floor to be used by the school.44 There were two teachers by 1925 and the enrollment had reached 100. The Woodmen Hall became a third classroom. The old school building was torn down in 1927 and a two—room school was erected to the east.45 Ira Wagner, in March of 1916. also gave land for school and it apparently joins that given by Johnson.’6 Gaston and Jemison also gave property for the school, joining to the north that which they had given to the church.47
Around 1916, John Walter Kelley, grandson of Joel Parrish Kelley, helped the community in organizing and building a telephone system. The neighbors formed construction crews to cut trees for poles. They hand dug the holes, set the poles and then strung the wire with the aid of horses and wagons. Homes within a radius of three to four miles from the church, school, and store were served.
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Power was furnished by a magneto unit and hand cranking was required to activate the ringing of the telephone bells in each home. The switchboard was located in the Kelley hone, the Edmund Fitzgerald home, and possible other homes at different times that we do not know about. We must recognize the help and leadership the Kelley family provided the church and community down through the years and continues to provide even today.
The ties that bound the early settlers were those of blood, sweat and tears. They shared their burdens. They mourned their loved ones together. They shared their joys and sorrows as well as their tears and laughter. They were bound by mutual love and respect. Bonds of friendship were forged by dependency on each other. Through the years, many marriages took place between the families of the community. Just a sample include the following:
Sarah Jane, daughter of William A. Fitzgerald, married James Hathcock.
Mary, daughter of Billy Dupe Fitzgerald, married William A. Harding.
Florence, granddaughter of Mary and William A, Harding, married Burette Fitzgerald, grandson of William A. Fitzgerald.
Another granddaughter married Jeff Funderburk
Bud, son of Mary and William A. Harding, married Nancy Jane Kelley.
Chilton, grandson of Mary and William A. Harding, married Ruby Fitzgerald, granddaughter of Michael P. Fitzgerald.
John Edgar, son of Billy Cupe, married Elizabeth Lunsford.
William Wilson Kelley (Uncle Wiltz) married Margaret Harding.
Effie Harding married Dick Ward.
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Lena, granddaughter of William A. Fitzgerald, married Gregg Gaines, son of Rafe Gaines.
Mary J. Mollie granddaughter of Michael R. married J. Van Kel ley.
Once again we observe the influence of the church on community because after the post office closed and, over a period of time, the community ceased to be called Fitzgerald and came to be called Concord after the name of the church. Today, few people remember the community Fitzgerald. There are still descendants of older families in the area but also many new ones. The community is still undergoing changes because the life of any community is never static. New families continue to move into the area; others leave.
As hearts and lives were bound in the past, they continue to be bound in the present. The church and cemetery are places that have been meaningful to us in the past. It continues to be so today. Recently, a man called the woman he loved and asked her to meet him at the Concord cemetery. Because of the unique beauty and old—fashioned charm of the place, he chose that site to propose marriage——the old fashioned way, on bonded knee.
We pray the community will continue to feel the strong bonds of love and fellowship. Those of us who are descendants cannot help but feel that a special bond is ours. We say: Blest be the Tie that binds. Our prayer for the future continues to be
Bind us together, Lord
Bind us together with cords that cannot be broken
Bind us together, Lord
Bind us together, Lord
Bind us together with love.

FOOTNOTES
l.A Memorial & Biographical History of Navarro. Henderson. Anderson. Limestone, Freestone & Leon Counties. Texas, p. 229.
2.A Memorial & BiociraDhical History of Navarro. Henderson. Anderson. Limestone. Freestone & Leon Counties. Texas, P. 229.
3.A Memorial & Biographical History of Navarro. Henderson. Anderson. Limestone. Freestone & Leon Counties. Texas, p. 230
4.A Memorial and Biographical History of Navarro. Henderson. pnderson, Limestone, Freestone & Leon Counties. Texas, p. 232

24.Concord Baptist Church Minutes, page 35
25.Concord Baptist Church Minutes, page 51
26.Concord Baptist Church Minutes, page 54
27.Cemeteries of Anderson Couy, Volume 1, pp. 72—81
28.By—laws of Concord Cemetery Association of Anderson County.TX
29.Palestine Hera7d Press, December 22, 1968
30.The New Handbook of Texas, Page 1016, Texas State Historical
Society
31 Deed Records, Vol. 84, Page 275
32.Deed Records, Vol M, page 451
33.Deed Records, Vol. M, Page 450
34.Deed Records, Vol. 5, page 147
35.Deed Records, Vol. 30, Page 10
36.Deed Records, Vol 69, Page 154
37.Deed Records, Vol. 84, Page 276
38.Deed Records, Vol. 84, Page 215
39.Deed Records, Vol. 69, Page 270
40.Deed Records, vol. 1213, Page 303
41.100 Golden Years, 1871—1971, Booklet prepared for Homecoming
42.Palestine Herald Press, December 22, 1968
43.Deed Records, Vol. 71, Page 470
44.Deed Records, Vol. 109, Page 580
45.Palestine Herald—Press, December 22, 1968
46.Deed Records, Vol. 179, Page 163
47.Deed Records, Vol. 117, Page 622
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Vol. 179, Page 163
Vol. 117, Page 622
Reminiscences of the Boys in Gray 1861—65, Mamie Yeary, Palestine Public Library, Palestine, TX
A Memorial & Biograhieal History of Navarro. Henderson. Anderson, Limestone, Freestone & Leon Counties, Texas, Palestine Public Library, Palestine, TX
The New Handbook of Texas, Texas State Historical Society, Palestine Public Library, Palestine, TX
Concord Baptist Church Minutes, Palestine Public Library, Palestine, TX
William A. Fitzgerald family Bible records
“Palestine Herald—Press’, Dec. 22, 1968
Marriage Records, Anderson County, Book 2, Page 87
Cemeteries pf Andpron County. Vol. 1, Palestine Public Library, Palestine, TX
“By—laws of Concord Cemetery Association of Anderson County, TX’ 100 Golden Years. 1871—1971, Booklet prepared for Homecoming
23

APPENDIX 1

utAV
i,
‘“on
‘ej
£101>

/
D c 0 N

/

APPENDIX 2

L 77.1

This is a p]at of total land given to the Concord Baptist Church
and Cemetery.

W. H. Gaston
Dec.30, 1901
vol 69, p. 270

275

Tract 4 2.48 acre*

i V qS’
1

William Jackson
Fitzgerald
Sept. 17, 1901

Pannell

Oct 26, 1988

V

ljJs,

V

Vol. 69, p. 154

IJvI1o,
ol. 1213, p. 303

Tract I 2.0 acres

Tmct 5
1.65 + - acres

4

LIV p
4

r&t,& ‘3. I U.I’ C. Pn.i.cI)
I 3. R-. CiLI7

C)
(;.iq aL,) CAIICJ 3i.Th, 4.
4itic A..
ins A’.
t;.4 U, Hdfl}afl

W.,i c, Pdntc$ 3. p,Iistn tatI;—

38,072-Ac.
Wit C L.E In

. oa,

33)”.
— Ui

c’s/S0 ?

K
.4

APPENDIX 3

TIME LINE FOR PROPERTIES
William Adkins Fitzgerald Property
Dec. 30. 1850 360 acres from Lyon & Collins toW. A. Fitzgerald
Vol. C. p. 459
Dec. 27. 1868 140 acres from W. A. Fitzgerald to Willirn Jackson
Vol. M, p.451 Fitzgerald
Dec. 16, 1875 138 acres from Wm. Jackson Fitzgerald to Mary Strkes
Vol. S. p. 147
Aug. 10, 1881 138 acres from Mary Starkes to C. A. Fitzgerald
Vol.30. p. 10
Sept. 17, 1901 2 acres from Wm. Jako, Fiera1d to Coord Baptist
Vol. 69, p. 153 Ch.reh
PIAT MAP - TRACT I
Nov. 27, 1901 .45 acres from C. A. Fitger1d to Concord Miionr
Vol. 84, p. 275 Bptit Ch.rh
PLAT MAP - TRACT 3
***s* The remainder of C. A. Fitzgerald’s property changed ownership several times
Feb. 18, 1974 from Wm. C. Panncll to Wrn. C. Pa,mell
Ott. 26, 1988 1.65 .cre from Wm. C. Parn,eIl to Coord Cemetery
Vol. 1213, p. 303 + or - Asoiation
FLAT 1L4P - TRACT 5

Michael it Fitzgerald Property
Dec. 30. 1850 160 acres from Lyon & Collins toM. R. Fitzgerald
Vol. D. p. 14
filed 08/04/185
200 acres from ??unkr,own--- to M. R. Fitzgerald
Apr. 10, 1862 2 acres from M. R. Fitzgerald to Wm. Fitzgerald
Vol 74. p. 352
filed 10/31/1902
Nov. 20, 1866 358 acres from M. R. Fitzgerald toW. A. Harding
Vol. 37, p. 179
filed 0 1/18/1886
June 21. 1869 243.32 acres from W. A. Harding to M. L. Dotson
Vol. 37. p. 181
filed 01/18/1886
******Record coWd not be found for M. L. Dotson selling this land but it changed ownership
several times
114/68 acres from W. A. Harding to Unknon
114.68 acres from ???7unknown to J. M. Rodden
Dec 30, 1869 114.68 acres from J. M Redden to George W.
Vol. N, p. 86 Fitzgerald
March 5, 1872 114.68 acres from Geo. W. Fitzgerald to Van Funderburk
Vol. P p. 168
Jan. 11, 1877 114.68 acres from Van Funderburk to Deborah A. Kelley
Vol. Y, p. 36
Nov. 27, 1884 114.68 acres from Deborah A. Kelley to C. D. Kelley
Vol. 35,p.624
Nov. 20, 1901 .65 acres from C. D. Kelley to Concord
Vol. 84, p. 276 Baptist Church
flat Map - Tract 2

Michael. It Fitzgerald Property
Dec. 30, 1850 160 acres from Lyon & Collins to M. R. Fitzgerald
Vol. D, p. 14
filed 08/04/185 1
200 acres from ?? unknown?? to M. R. Fitzgerald
April 10, 1862 2 acres from M. It Fitzgerald to Wm, Fitzgerald
Vol. 74, p. 352
filed 10/3 1/1902
Nov. 20, 1866 358 acres from M, R Fitzgerald toW. A. Harding
Vol. 37, p. 179
filed 01/18/1886
from B. N, Bryant to W. H. Gaston &
E. S. Gaston
Dcc. 30, 1901 2.48 acres from W. H. Gaston to Concord Missionary
Vol. 69, p. 270 Baptist Church
P1ST MAP - TRACT 4