Pearl Simmons is my great aunt. She was orphaned when a teenager and became desperate and involved in prostitution in Dallas. The Berachah organization brought her to their home in Arlington. She became part of their famous lady quartet visiting churches and revivals. She went to India as a missionary and died from smallpox.
That's fascinating to learn about. Thank you for sharing that so we can understand more of the full picture of what's in the cemetery. It's definitely some interesting history.
That was my goal with this visit. It's sort of a little forgotten piece of history right in the middle of the city while there are tons of people who are near. Thanks for watching Joan!
This area was actually quite overgrown for many years. A group of students participated, as part of an archeological dig, excavating this area prior to the park being open to the public. Several graves were identified but not marked. Many markers were completely eroded, as you saw. The indentions are from where the markers had completely disappeared. The carved brick at the gate was actually found where the foundation of the home was and moved after the excavation. None of the children have been moved from their original resting place. Student participating with the dig spent time and great care to find and bring as many markers to the surface as could be found. As you guessed amongst the trees and to the fence line it is believed there are a few more graves but undetermined as to excavate would harm the trees and likely disturb the remains. A brick walkway and the foundation stones as well as other artifacts of the home were unearthed and studied by students from the Anthropology department at UTA.
That's very interesting and thank you for sharing all of that. It truly sounds like the cemetery was lost and forgotten. Thankfully someone rediscovered it. I would love to probe the ground and see if I could find markers in that indentation. Usually you can find them in that. I'm glad to see that the cemetery is being maintained and the history is being shared. That's how all cemeteries should be.
I've watched another video a while back about this cemetery. Rumor has it that people leave toys and spirits move them around. It looks so peaceful. I could not imagine the cruelty these ladies endured for having children. Every child is a blessing. I would love to know their stories.
The toys moving is supposedly what will happen. I'm sure many of these stories are like today. I do think it was a very peaceful cemetery. Thanks for watching.
Thank you for speaking their names in remembrance- even the ones that were just called "Infant, number" or "Baby". The One True God never forgets their names and will resurrect them to newness of Life.
Isn't it a Beautiful Thing to be able to say that about the God WE serve? You don't hear anyone else say that about THEIR god!! Just think of that!! None of the other gods are gods of LOVE! The ppl that follow the way of the main "god" that we see today teach Hate & Destruction of all who don't believe as they do! But our God knows us even before we're born, knows our names, cares about these babies (and ALL others) & even cares about a tiny sparrow that falls! How wonderful is that?🙏
This is my daughter’s Acct. My book club just read “Home for Erring and Outcast Girls” by Julie Kibler. One of the main characters is Mattie McBride and her 2 yr old son Cap who passed away. You pointed out the headstone in your video that had the most trinkets surrounding it. The book is a great read and gives insight to events that may have happened at this Home.
I absolutely Love that you recorded this and respect them! It’s something special to remember those who have passed away. Each life is precious!! These girls/women and their babies matter!! I’m so thankful to have faith and believe that they are joined together in peace in heaven❤️
This is my first time watching a video of yours. I appreciate how respectful you are to these women. It is not a far stretch to believe that it is possibly some of ones with the full names could be the women who died in childbirth, since that happened often back then. That was a very cool like tour. Thanks for sharing.
You absolutely could be right about the first and last names that are in there. These mothers and babies there had a rough go all the way around. I'm happy you found the channel. Welcome and thank you for watching!
I wish some of the students would trim around the stones so they don't get lost. A 'fallen' woman took the blame but whoever the father was didn't get in trouble with society. At least the ones that didn't make it were buried. Raising the baby for a year then giving them up must have been very difficult on the Mothers.
Overall I do think they probably take pretty good care of the cemetery. It is the college that owns it so I'm sure they maintain it too. There might have been a few of those that needed more trimming but that may be someone getting lazy thinking nobody visits. But they do. That was the case then and I think it still seems somewhat true now about the fallen woman taking the blame while the father doesn't. I think the overall goal of the home was to give the woman a place to live and get on her feet again. She didn't have to give up the baby. Some just wanted to. The year rule was there to discourage giving them up. Some still did though.
Oh most times it's the married man who never got in trouble back then so everyone blamed it on that unwed mother or a young girl got raped by her brother or her father or grandfather or uncle so those men never got the blame its usually their Own mother who would ship their own daughters there to hide what her hubby or some man in the household did to her..
@@gaylenewood7707 A lot of it wasn't from rape it was simply women being women. They wanted sex with their relationship no different then in today's world. Men didn't carry the children so they didn't recieve the blame. They didn't know about biology in the way we do now.
@@kaylaa8092 most were from force. These young girls were given no say, especially in their family. They were used and abused and thrown away. With all that has happened throughout the years women are Still fighting for the right to be her own person. When you can't get birth control except with the consent of your husband, or parents kind of shows how far away from equality we as a society are. Yes some of the them probably did but not the majority.
@@mozellesanders562 Some probably were from force but not all. Many were convinced even during that time if they get with a man he will stay and marry them. Many got pregnant and then men deserted them just like today.
So sad but still nice to know that they respected the little ones lives by giving them a proper burial. Nice to see that someone cares enough to bring little trinkets. Thanks for sharing.
No idea why I came across your video an why i stopped to watch it but I’m glad I did! You brought all of us along to pay our respects to the little lives lost so many years ago! I loved seeing the little trinkets an toys left by people as their sign that they haven’t been forgotten! 💙💖
Welcome and I'm glad you found the channel! I agree with you in that it is wonderful to see mementos left there for these little ones. Thanks for watching Carrie.
I have lived in Arlington for 42 years, and I had no idea that any of this was even here. My dad is University of Texas at Arlington graduate, this is such a treasure.
It really is great that the university has taken it on as something they care for. I've had a lot of family graduate from there. It's a great school. Thanks for watching Holly!
You're welcome and I'm glad I could do it. Bit is a little sad but I'm glad that Reverend set out to help and give them something loving and welcoming. Thanks for watching.
As heartbreaking as this video is.... has such a beautiful story of generosity!! These babies and women were given the opportunity to have a life. Even if they didn’t make it to a long life they were given the chance. Every human deserves a chance to live life. ❤️
I agree. I admire this minister and his wife for stepping up when many others would not. Many of these women and children had better lives because of them. A chance at it for others. And a final resting place for those that didn't. It's history and I'm glad we can still remember it.
Glad someone else does besides just me lol my husband says it makes me weird and depressing. I just love the idea of remembering people and acknowledging there existence when maybe no one alive today is still there to grieve or vist.
You're right. Many of those people may not have any living descendants or the generations are so far removed that they have been forgotten. My goal with this channel is to bring some of those out in the open and help them to be remembered.
He's right about the babies without names being stillborn,even in my lifetime that was the case.Thank goodness that that has since changed ,as a stillborn baby is someone's child and loved and grieved over
Chances are most of those girls hid their pregnancies and never received medical care during their pregnancies or ate well and no vitamins and probably bellies kept girdled in as tight as possible to hide the pregnancy.
My late mother always said that she wished that she and Dad had named their 2nd child and had her name engraved on her headstone. Mom said that my next-younger sister arrived stillborn September 2, 1955, about a week after she stopped moving prenatally. Elizabeth Jean would have been her first and middle name. If she had survived and been treated for hydrocephalus, BethyJean would have been 14 months younger than me.
Losing a child is difficult no matter when it happens. I think many people had engrained that they should just pick up the pieces and not let it affect them. But it does affect them. It does everyone. That same thing still happens today. Sometimes those markers are closure though. They really are more for the living than the dead. But I believe they are for both. Thanks for sharing some of your family's personal story. Certainly not easy.
My parents first baby was never given a name, she was still born, 1959. My parents married Nov 1958, so pregnant at the time which would explain the "look" on my grandmother's face in the only wedding photo I could find
I have visited that cemetery and was very sad to me.all those babies but at least they were buried with care and kindness.thank you for a very interesting video.
Yes, you're right about that. If the Reverend and his wife would not have started that then they wouldn't have a final resting place that was known anyways. They did have success stories as well. Thanks for watching Sharon.
I used to visit it frequently. It was so sad, and yet it was so peaceful. A small group of us would clean the headstones of debris. Last time I was there someone brought out small toys and placed them on the stones. It was nice to see people still care.
The Reverend and his wife were not in the business of taking babies. They were trying to encourage these women to keep them. Most of these women would have given the babies up or left them to die outside of the home. They were giving them an option of giving them up but requiring the women to keep the baby for at least one year prior to doing so. The thought process was so that the women would become attached to them and then not give them up. In the mean time they were teaching the women different skills in the printing industry.
I started at Arlington State College in 1965, in 67 or 8 it changed names to UTA. I worked on a volunteer crew cleaning the cemetery in the summers and weekends of 1966 and 67. There was one dilapidated white building that looked like a chapel. There was no fencing and it was overgrown. There was no park, just trash and undergrowth. Glad to see it is kept now.
That's interesting. I like that college name better as it is confusing with University of Texas in my opinion. I used to think they were part of them just in Arlington. It's too bad that they didn't save that building as well but at least the cemetery has been saved. Thanks for helping save it!
@@RhettyforHistory UTA has a long history, It was Arlington College, then Grubbs Vocational, later North Texas Agriculture College before becoming Arlington State College. ASC was under the Texas A&M system for about 50 years. It became UTA in 1967.
Many buried without any marker at all, completely forgotten. If you're interested search Taum, Ireland mass grave they have recently reported on. Interesting but very sad.
My great uncle died at 6 in 1924 from tuberculosis and was a ward of the state when he died. He was given an indigent burial and was buried in a mass grave with 46 other people. No marker...nothing. Looks like an open empty part of the cemetery. The lady in charge of the cemetery told me that blank area was full of indigent burials..all unmarked. So sad that it's almost like they never existed.
That is sad. I've heard of that happening with other TB patients as well. There was a real fear on that disease. They should at least have one marker with a list of names though. It would take all the families pulling together for that though. Thanks for watching.
@@QueenCityHistory I've gotten some pretty decent ones for $99. They aren't big and they are nothing fancy but they will do the job. They are black granite. Thin but pour cement in the hole then use a sealer to attach the marker to the cement in the ground.
It's a bit sad but peaceful in my opinion knowing that they had a place and it's still there. I think what the Reverend, his wife as well as the others there were doing was a good thing.
I doubt they did. The good thing is this home was pretty good at getting these young ladies to keep their babies for good as well as teaching them a new skill. These babies interred would have had a better chance of survival with today's medicine. Thanks for watching Jane.
The indents could be where the coffins have collapsed when the wood rotted away and the weight of the dirt on top. So many children died back then from illness.
I am saying prayers for her and her family! One of my Grandsons had to be in the nicu for a while. I know how hard it is when they are in there. Prayers to you all.
It is but it's nice to know that the Reverend and his wife tried to give these women and their babies a better life. There were success stories. I think it's nice to know that there is at least a final resting place for these little ones. Thanks for watching.
I live in south Texas, but if I were closer I would feel privileged to trim the grass around the little markers and keep then names as clean as possible. Rev. Upchurch and his wife must have felt called to care for these women and their babies. They were true to their Christian values.
Yeah if I lived closer I would do the same thing as well as ask the university if I could locate the markers that have sunken into the ground. Thanks for watching!
It is so sad, but at least someone paid a little attention instead of dumping the precious babies in the trash as was done sometimes. Thank you Rhetty for the tour.
Yes you're right about that. I believe the Reverend and his wife were trying to give these women and babies a fighting chance. There were success stories. We have to remember that there has been major advances in medicine and care since that time. Thanks for watching.
One thing to be thankful for: I am sure that a lot of babies that did survive were placed into good homes or actually ended up with their real families. This is what happened when my aunt was put into a home for unwed mothers in the 1940's. My grandparents adopted the baby as their own and raised her as their 9th child. I thought she was my aunt instead of my cousin until I was well into my teens. We still have her in the family, thank God.
Yes you're right about that. There were a lot of success stories. Thankfully there are people like you're grandparents who are willing to step up. Thanks for watching and sharing your family's story.
The name Mattie McBride has become relatively well known because of her status as a primary character in the fictional novel “Home for Erring and Outcast Girls” (Crown, 2019) by Julie Kibler. In the novel, Mattie is an unwed mother who comes to the Home with her ailing son in the early 1900s. The Mattie McBride character was said to be based on an actual resident of the Berachah Home for the Redemption and Protection of Erring Girls, founded as a ministry in 1903 and closed in 1935, near what is now the University of Texas at Arlington. This Memorial is dedicated to the “real” Mattie McBride, who was indeed a resident of the Berachah Home in the early 1900s. However, her surname was not McBride when she arrived, as her marriage to J. F. McBride didn’t take place until 1923. The “real” Mattie was listed in the 1900 U. S. Census (Ferris, Ellis County, Texas) as Mattie Corder (born Nov 1883 in Texas, age 16, Single). In 1900 she was a servant in the household of Thomas A. Cheek, a 48 year old Farmer. It is assumed that Mattie Corder and her son Cap Dewey entered the Berachah Home in the early 1900s. As shown on her headstone, Cap Dewey Corder passed away in 1904. The 1920 U. S. Census (Oklahoma City Ward 3, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma) lists Mattie B. Corder (age 38, born Texas, Single) working as the Proprietor of a Rooming House. One of her listed Lodgers was Patrick J Madigan (age 67, born Indiana, Single). It is believed that Mattie Corder married Patrick Madigan although documents were not found to verify this. However, an Oklahoma County Marriage Record was found for the marriage of Mattie B. Madigan to James F. McBride on 30 Jun 1923 in Oklahoma County. The 1930 U. S. Census (Oklahoma City,Oklahoma County, Oklahoma) lists Mattie B. McBride and her husband James F. McBride (age 59, born Illinois, Owner of Rooming House). Mattie died soon after this Census as described in the following newspaper story excerpt: Cot House Matron Dies Fatalities in yesterday's 103-degree heat rampage were: Mrs Mattie B McBride 50, of 202 1/2 W Reno Avenue . . . Mrs McBride, matron of the Volunteers of America Cot House at the W Reno Av., address died early this morning at the organizations headquarters. Officers of the organization said the heat aggravated an old heart ailment causing her death. She was a resident here for 18 years and a charity worker for many years. . . . Mrs McBride's body was to be sent to Arlington Texas today by Watts & McAtee Funeral Home for services and burial there, her former home. She is survived by her husband J F McBride.
At 11:42 atop the grave of Pearl Simmons, I think the doll might be a vintage Topper Company Dawn Doll, which are difficult to find unless purchased on Ebay or Etsy. More were made for a brief revival, and the one there on top of the headstone could be one of those. I played with the vintage ones as a child. They were half the height of Barbie. Fascinating video on so many levels, so thanks for posting.
@@RhettyforHistory Yes, I winced when I realized that valuable doll was left to be exposed to the elements! I know you said your kids played with a Lego toy like the one atop the Crayton grave marker. Lots of neat tokens of remembrance like you mentioned.
My thoughts keep going to the mother of Josephine or Reuben or infant number 14 ...what was her story, who was the father, was she in love , was it incest or rape..... I wonder what became of these mothers , what kind of life they had . 💐
It does make you wonder. I would imagine there were rapes no doubt but I also imagine it's much like today in that these women were thinking they met a man they could trust or fall in love with. Might have been told they were the one and that he loved them then they got pregnant. I think it's all the same reasons but our acceptance of it has improved as well as the standard of care medical wise. It's sad for sure. It's reassuring to know that the reverend gave and his wife helped as much as they could. Thanks for watching.
Yes I am! Born in Texas but mostly raised in Oklahoma. You'll see me cover a lot in Oklahoma since that's where I live. Welcome and I'm glad you found me! It's great to have an Okie along for the adventures!
Its lovely that they were giving proper graves, as a lot of infants were just gotten rid of, never to know where they went. We could be walking over ground today with people beneath our feet. Horrible thought. My grandfather’s sister died in 1948 giving birth (I think it was to her 3rd child) she was 27. I don’t know if the baby survived (have to ask my mum that one) and my first grandchild died only 2 weeks after her 3rd birthday. She would be 10 now. Just so young. The grounds definitely gave me a peaceful feeling, thanks for sharing ❤️🇦🇺
It is sad to see things like that happen. Sadly I believe it happens more than most people realize. I think these grounds and the facility was used to help these women and children have a fighting chance when they wouldn't have had any otherwise. If they didn't make it then they gave them a place to rest forever. I do believe you are right about the possibility of walking over people we don't know about. Thank you for watching.
You're welcome June. It is sad but also nice to know there were people like the Reverend and his wife to help these young ladies and babies out. Thanks for watching.
At 21:42, I went online andfound a Maude Trice b.1893 in the household of Leroy Trice, her father in the 1899 census. Mothers name was Mary Zeigler, Leroy died 21 April 1925 Mineral Wells, Palo Pinto, Texas, Not sure if the same Maude.
I grew up in Arlington, started college at Arlington State College, now UTA, in 1960. I believe the missionary society who maintained the home was closed then, but several buildings and the cemetery were present. I believe they sent missionaries to China before WW II. I remember walking the grounds and seeing the cemetery. Thanks for doing the video.
You're welcome and thank you for filling us in on more of the history of the cemetery and mission. That 's interesting that you had the chance to see the buildings.
It seems like the little toys were left by a single person who had visited there before and wanted the little ones to be remembered in some way. Our Creator promised to remember all.
It’s so Pretty there all these baby’s are pure and without sin my heart breaks for the Mothers that gave birth to these baby’s along with all these babies God is watching over them. All
They had a rough start but I really believe this Reverend and his wife vfc were doing a great thing in trying to help them have a chance. I appreciate think they were a beacon of of hope when they otherwise wouldnt have had it.
Back in late 1800s and early 1900s, babies were not always immediately named. This could also account for the markers with infant on them. My grandmother had a baby before she was married, she later married my grampa and he was very abusive towards her because of this. Their last child was born in 1939 and lived for 2 years. It just has a marker with baby last name and its year of death. Times have changed, Thank God!
You're right. For the most part things have changed and it is more acceptable. But there are still babies unmarked in cemeteries or that really have no name. But at least there is a record of them. Thank you for watching and sharing some of the family history.
I really enjoyed this one. I’m glad to hear that someone in that time frame was willing to help young women who were scorned, shunned, and left behind by family at a time in their lives when they needed it most. So much judgement. I wonder if after caring for the babies a year did they generally put them up for adoption, leave them at the orphanage, or hopefully, try to melt back into society with their baby, perhaps with an explanation of a husband who died, thus letting them get work. It’s actually a very smart idea to have the condition of caring for their baby a year-most moms would naturally be bonded to the babies, and could not leave them behind. This is a little off topic, but my dad, who was born just a few years before the Great Depression, had a big family with his mother & father having 2 boys & 6 girls. The story was that the kids never knew when grandmother was pregnant (she was always heavy-ish), and when she knew she was going into labor, would send the kids to church, to school, and they would come home, finding a new baby had arrived while they were gone. Sex was never spoken of, at all! But my dad and an aunt told me they came home one day, perhaps a little early, and found a stillborn baby “laid on the radio”. They were immediately sent out, nothing else said, no funeral. A few years later, one of the sisters asked grandmother about that baby-and was promptly slapped across the cheek. It was never spoken of again. My mom took grandmother to a dr visit many years later, overheard the dr ask “any miscarriages or stillbirths?” Her answer was NO. A few years before dad died, he went to several old cemeteries around the places they had lived, but never could find that baby’s grave. Just another way to show how different things were, and just a few generations back! Dad was born in 1922, died in 1990.
The indents into the ground are when the coffins collapsed! Where I live locally, we have to bury our loved ones in a cement box which is then lowered down six feet. And when you walk around a local graveyard, you can see where the older graves have collapsed ...and the new ones (30 years and more recent) are still the same as when they were buried. Little coffins would only collapse a little bit. THANKS
Yes those could have been the markers sinking above the burial location or they could have just sunken without. The in ground cement crypts or burial vaults are a requirement in most cemeteries. It does make a difference in decomposure. They have been around since the late 1880's so you can see them used then. They were not required then though so it was a very small percentage that was used. They really started gaining momentum in the later half of the 20th century.
It is sad. Thank you for always watching and commenting. I'm not sure why I am not seeing all the comments. But I am noticing there are a lot I have never seen and yours is one of them.
Well that was very interesting. It's good to know that someone took great care of these mothers and their babies. Thank-you so much for taking the time to show us these interesting finds. I find them facinating :)
They weren't always well cared for. In fact many times at one point in history their families disowned and shunned them. They were an embarrassment. Research Magdalene Laundries.
A wonderful, sensitive video. Great to see some form of Rememberance. My Great Grand Mother died in 1903 and she was buried with still births etc in a very large mass grave here in Sydney, Australia. Nan is just in there with everyone else, never given a plot #. There is however a General Memorial Plaque. For me that is a very sad spot. Thanks for your fine work and for the History lesson.
I am a member of the "Find a Grave" community and there is a listing for Susie Singletary but unfortunately, her age is not known as they do not know when she was born. It just says "Unknown date-1915"
RhettyforFun yes it’s very unfortunate but (this is going to sound harsh and cold but it’s not meant to be) back then, unfortunately, it was so common for stillbirths, miscarriages and childhood deaths that sometimes, they couldn’t afford to have these things put in place for these children. It’s awful, now looking back, but that was their reality, they lost children because they didn’t have the medical advances we have now.
@@starfieldrock101 You're right about that. I also think that everyone worked and had things to do. There was also a lot less government regulations back then and so birth certificates, death certificates and crypt records weren't required.
What is find a grave ?? I'd it something only in your state or is it world wide ??I'm desperately trying to locate my paternal grandparents...so it be nice if they were registered somewhere
You are so talented. Your research is amazing. Thank you for your incredible stories. If you and your family ever want to visit NC and see some new sights, let us know.
Thank you! I love North Carolina! It's been 5 or so years since I have been out there and that was before the channel but I do need to go back and film some things!
There is a very interesting novel written about this place called the Home for Erring and Outcast Girls. It is well researched but not a biography or completely true account - but the author (whose name I cannot remember now) does a great job of using history and filling in the blanks with plausible storytelling. Overall, a very good read.
True the grass needs to be cut, but proper burial and care was well established. Not like today, babies who are born to unwed mothers are tossed away like trash. There are only a few babies that do survive after they are tossed in garbage cans. Young ladies, if you do not want your babies, give your baby to a safe clean place. Your local Fire Department, Police Department, Medical Clinic, and Hospital. If you are in labor, call the Parmedics they will assist you.
Yes I think many young mothers don't realize they can do that. I think this Reverend and others like him sort of paved the way for things like that to be able to happen.
What a term, "erring girls." Go figure. Where I grew up, they had an unwed mother's home called the something Home for Wayward Girls. We always used to try to see over the bushes and spot them in their confinement for being "wayward."
Hello Rhetty Thankyou for another interesting story. This made me a bit sad. I can't imagine giving up your child after one year. These poor women had already bonded wirh their babies. It had to be so sad for them. Thank you reading out some of names of the infants who passed away they also should be remembered. Tace care. Carmela from N.Y.
They did not have to give up their child. The goal of it all as I understand was one to give them a place to stay, teach them a skill and then encourage them to be the parent or really mother they need. Certainly no easy task for these women and children by any means. Thankfully we have made advances in opinions, medicine and care. They did have success stories back then though. I really do think they were doing a great thing. It's just difficult to see that many graves of infants. Thanks for watching from NY.
That was really their goal. If they could get the mother to care for the baby, bond with the baby, allow them to get on their feet and teach them a job skill them the ministry had done what they had set out to do.
My grandmother's name was also Eunice and when you mispronounced it I heard myself saying her name out loud. She always said 'Do Not name your child after me because no one will ever be able to get it right the first time." When I finally had my daughter I gave her my other grandmother's name Helen as her middle name. She passed away 2 years ago Exactly 1 month and 1 day after her husband, my grandfather, and that was a truly beautiful love story.
I used to live in one of the dorms near the cemetery during the mid 1980s. I remember the cemetery being a lot more wooded and unkempt. Hardly any students knew about the place.
I'm sure that they will maintain it better. Especially if this video gets around to them. I believe the university maintains it and the city appears to be redoing the park.
I have a friend whose sister got pregnant out of wedlock back in the late 60’s or early 70’s . He told me his parents sent her off to Texas to have her baby. He didn’t tell me if it was a home for unwed mothers but I’m guessing it was. Times have really changed. Today it’s pretty much normal for women to have babies out of wedlock. It’s a sign of the times. God Bless that Reverend from long ago.
It really has changed a lot just since the time period you are mentioning. It was even worse in this other time period. I'm glad we have made advances in that as well as medical care so that these people have a better quality of life. Thanks for watching!
Having lived and worked in Arlington for over 30 years I have driven past there uncountless times and never knew enuff about it to pay a visit, so sad. Several Facebook groups of Arlington mention it a couple times a year.
@@RhettyforHistory there is to this day a home just due west of there that was for unwed mothers back in the day but don't know if it's associated with this cemetery, if not then there have been two or three homes for unweds in Arlington
That very well could be the case. I generally have pretty good luck finding those there it's just that some sink down. I use a probe to find them here in Oklahoma but I did not have that with me in Texas.
You're welcome. It is sad to see these infants like that but they truly were trying to give them a better live and the had a lot of success stories. A lot of things have improved for mothers and babies. Thanks for watching.
Yes, you're right about that. There are often babies in cemeteries that people never know about unless they have a detailed family history telling them that they are there. They could be from unwed mothers or even married families. Some marked them and some didn't. Some just put infant or a first name. Others just put infant and daughter or son or maybe with the last name. It was a very common practice then and I still see some of that today although not quite as common. In those days people didn't dwell on it though so the history wasn't passed unless it was written down. Thanks for watching.
Many women died as did their mothers before then 1960s many people forget this. Today a new born born in Cuba has a 95% chance of seeing age 2 then 97% of new born babies in Mississippi Louisiana Tennessee Alabama West Virginia. Our healthcare system is the main cause of the infant mortality death rate. Thank you for the video I'm not able to travel so I enjoy seeing places online.
You could be correct on that. I'm not sure on the specifics behind bgg each final resting place. I'm sure that happened back bvb then. We've made a lot of advancements in care for the mother and baby since then.
Computer User Our God did not take their lives in the first place. We die because we are imperfect and defective, some are too much that way to live at all.
@Computer UserGod exist and you're foolish to think otherwise, if you were smart you'd change your perceptions. All you have to do is read Revelations about the signs of the endtimes.. time is wrapping up and it's not because of global warming! Jesus is coming back! And if you dont start believing, repent and be baptized, in hell you'll lift up your eyes! I'll pray for your redemption. The devil wants to to not believe, he's clouded your mind! Seek out Jesus for eternal life otherwise stand before God in judgement and then be judged not worthy and cast into the pits of hell! May God please bless you and I pray for to open your eyes, before it's too late!
@Computer User Our God will work miracles if you'd only believe! Jesus has saved me from myself several times, you cant see the wind but yet it still blows, I'm trying to help save your soul, the devil has clouded your mind! Dont let satan win! I dont know you but I'm going to pray for you!
This is very sad, with some not ever being named. The reverend did a wonderful thing here and gave these women a place that gave them peace and hope for a better life for those times.
It is sad but it was really done that way in Hope's of protecting the mother. It was thought that if she couldn't be tied to something like that then she could go back into society and not have that held against her. Even in regular cemeteries you often see infants with no marker at all or it may just say infant daughter. Thanks for watching.
Pearl Simmons is my great aunt. She was orphaned when a teenager and became desperate and involved in prostitution in Dallas. The Berachah organization brought her to their home in Arlington. She became part of their famous lady quartet visiting churches and revivals. She went to India as a missionary and died from smallpox.
That's fascinating to learn about. Thank you for sharing that so we can understand more of the full picture of what's in the cemetery. It's definitely some interesting history.
God bless your Aunt
Brent Brownfield ~ You might be interested in telling her story to have it added here: www.findagrave.com/memorial/167381083/pearl-simmons
Brent Brownfield I am sorry about your aunt I will say a prayer for her tonight
God bless your aunt she had it rough but really became a positive lady..she is in my thoughts and prayers
By reading each of these baby names you acknowledge their existence and you give respect💖
That was my goal with this visit. It's sort of a little forgotten piece of history right in the middle of the city while there are tons of people who are near. Thanks for watching Joan!
This area was actually quite overgrown for many years. A group of students participated, as part of an archeological dig, excavating this area prior to the park being open to the public. Several graves were identified but not marked. Many markers were completely eroded, as you saw. The indentions are from where the markers had completely disappeared. The carved brick at the gate was actually found where the foundation of the home was and moved after the excavation. None of the children have been moved from their original resting place. Student participating with the dig spent time and great care to find and bring as many markers to the surface as could be found. As you guessed amongst the trees and to the fence line it is believed there are a few more graves but undetermined as to excavate would harm the trees and likely disturb the remains. A brick walkway and the foundation stones as well as other artifacts of the home were unearthed and studied by students from the Anthropology department at UTA.
That's very interesting and thank you for sharing all of that. It truly sounds like the cemetery was lost and forgotten. Thankfully someone rediscovered it. I would love to probe the ground and see if I could find markers in that indentation. Usually you can find them in that. I'm glad to see that the cemetery is being maintained and the history is being shared. That's how all cemeteries should be.
Jennifer Tankersley Thank you for sharing!! That is so wonderful for them to have done that ❤️
I've watched another video a while back about this cemetery. Rumor has it that people leave toys and spirits move them around. It looks so peaceful. I could not imagine the cruelty these ladies endured for having children. Every child is a blessing. I would love to know their stories.
The toys moving is supposedly what will happen. I'm sure many of these stories are like today. I do think it was a very peaceful cemetery. Thanks for watching.
That attitude prevailed way up till the 1980s. It's still common believe it or not.
So sad,the ones with no name
Me too
You can Google “Home for Erring and Outcast Girls” by Julie Kibler" to read about them.
Thank you for speaking their names in remembrance- even the ones that were just called "Infant, number" or "Baby". The One True God never forgets their names and will resurrect them to newness of Life.
It's the least I can do for them. Thanks for watching and helping to keep their memory alive.
Isn't it a Beautiful Thing to be able to say that about the God WE serve? You don't hear anyone else say that about THEIR god!! Just think of that!! None of the other gods are gods of LOVE! The ppl that follow the way of the main "god" that we see today teach Hate & Destruction of all who don't believe as they do! But our God knows us even before we're born, knows our names, cares about these babies (and ALL others) & even cares about a tiny sparrow that falls! How wonderful is that?🙏
acts24.15
Bless those sweet babies we all know that they are with God safe in his arms and watching over everyone
It sounds so sad
Thank you for watching
This is my daughter’s Acct. My book club just read “Home for Erring and Outcast Girls” by Julie Kibler. One of the main characters is Mattie McBride and her 2 yr old son Cap who passed away. You pointed out the headstone in your video that had the most trinkets surrounding it. The book is a great read and gives insight to events that may have happened at this Home.
Very interesting. I did not know about that book. Thanks for watching and sharing that.
I’d love to read that book. Is it specifically about this place and cemetery?
I absolutely Love that you recorded this and respect them! It’s something special to remember those who have passed away. Each life is precious!! These girls/women and their babies matter!! I’m so thankful to have faith and believe that they are joined together in peace in heaven❤️
This is my first time watching a video of yours. I appreciate how respectful you are to these women. It is not a far stretch to believe that it is possibly some of ones with the full names could be the women who died in childbirth, since that happened often back then. That was a very cool like tour. Thanks for sharing.
You absolutely could be right about the first and last names that are in there. These mothers and babies there had a rough go all the way around. I'm happy you found the channel. Welcome and thank you for watching!
I wish some of the students would trim around the stones so they don't get lost. A 'fallen' woman took the blame but whoever the father was didn't get in trouble with society. At least the ones that didn't make it were buried. Raising the baby for a year then giving them up must have been very difficult on the Mothers.
Overall I do think they probably take pretty good care of the cemetery. It is the college that owns it so I'm sure they maintain it too. There might have been a few of those that needed more trimming but that may be someone getting lazy thinking nobody visits. But they do. That was the case then and I think it still seems somewhat true now about the fallen woman taking the blame while the father doesn't. I think the overall goal of the home was to give the woman a place to live and get on her feet again. She didn't have to give up the baby. Some just wanted to. The year rule was there to discourage giving them up. Some still did though.
Oh most times it's the married man who never got in trouble back then so everyone blamed it on that unwed mother or a young girl got raped by her brother or her father or grandfather or uncle so those men never got the blame its usually their Own mother who would ship their own daughters there to hide what her hubby or some man in the household did to her..
@@gaylenewood7707 A lot of it wasn't from rape it was simply women being women. They wanted sex with their relationship no different then in today's world. Men didn't carry the children so they didn't recieve the blame. They didn't know about biology in the way we do now.
@@kaylaa8092 most were from force. These young girls were given no say, especially in their family. They were used and abused and thrown away. With all that has happened throughout the years women are Still fighting for the right to be her own person. When you can't get birth control except with the consent of your husband, or parents kind of shows how far away from equality we as a society are. Yes some of the them probably did but not the majority.
@@mozellesanders562 Some probably were from force but not all. Many were convinced even during that time if they get with a man he will stay and marry them. Many got pregnant and then men deserted them just like today.
You have given a small
Voice to those forgotten and silenced by stigma and time. God bless all those buried there. ❤️💕
They all deserved to be remembered. Thank you for watching Rebecca.
What a lovely comment! Im in australia but i enjoyed the vid :) 💚
I'm glad you enjoyed it and thanks for watching from Australia!
So sad but still nice to know that they respected the little ones lives by giving them a proper burial. Nice to see that someone cares enough to bring little trinkets. Thanks for sharing.
It is sad but I agree with you. I think they did everything they could for these little ones and their mothers at the time. Thanks for watching.
No idea why I came across your video an why i stopped to watch it but I’m glad I did! You brought all of us along to pay our respects to the little lives lost so many years ago! I loved seeing the little trinkets an toys left by people as their sign that they haven’t been forgotten! 💙💖
Welcome and I'm glad you found the channel! I agree with you in that it is wonderful to see mementos left there for these little ones. Thanks for watching Carrie.
Found it quite touching that caps mother was buried near to her son so long after his death
It is interesting to see. At least she didn't forget.
Wow!!!! This is so interesting! Thanks for sharing. May all these babies Rest In Peace.
You're welcome. It really was a neat cemetery to walk thru and see. Thanks for watching and coming along with me.
I have lived in Arlington for 42 years, and I had no idea that any of this was even here. My dad is University of Texas at Arlington graduate, this is such a treasure.
It really is great that the university has taken it on as something they care for. I've had a lot of family graduate from there. It's a great school. Thanks for watching Holly!
Thank you for taking the time to do this video for those precious babies! God Bless them, and you and your Family✌️
You're welcome and I'm glad I could do it. Bit is a little sad but I'm glad that Reverend set out to help and give them something loving and welcoming. Thanks for watching.
As heartbreaking as this video is.... has such a beautiful story of generosity!! These babies and women were given the opportunity to have a life. Even if they didn’t make it to a long life they were given the chance. Every human deserves a chance to live life. ❤️
I agree. I admire this minister and his wife for stepping up when many others would not. Many of these women and children had better lives because of them. A chance at it for others. And a final resting place for those that didn't. It's history and I'm glad we can still remember it.
I’ve always enjoyed visiting old cemeteries and learning their history. They are really peaceful and quiet.
Yes they are. It's always great to know there are others out there that enjoy it like I do. Thank you for watching Milly!
Glad someone else does besides just me lol my husband says it makes me weird and depressing. I just love the idea of remembering people and acknowledging there existence when maybe no one alive today is still there to grieve or vist.
You're right. Many of those people may not have any living descendants or the generations are so far removed that they have been forgotten. My goal with this channel is to bring some of those out in the open and help them to be remembered.
He's right about the babies without names being stillborn,even in my lifetime that was the case.Thank goodness that that has since changed ,as a stillborn baby is someone's child and loved and grieved over
You're right. There are babies still being buried that have no names.
Chances are most of those girls hid their pregnancies and never received medical care during their pregnancies or ate well and no vitamins and probably bellies kept girdled in as tight as possible to hide the pregnancy.
My late mother always said that she wished that she and Dad had named their 2nd child and had her name engraved on her headstone. Mom said that my next-younger sister arrived stillborn September 2, 1955, about a week after she stopped moving prenatally. Elizabeth Jean would have been her first and middle name. If she had survived and been treated for hydrocephalus, BethyJean would have been 14 months younger than me.
Losing a child is difficult no matter when it happens. I think many people had engrained that they should just pick up the pieces and not let it affect them. But it does affect them. It does everyone. That same thing still happens today. Sometimes those markers are closure though. They really are more for the living than the dead. But I believe they are for both. Thanks for sharing some of your family's personal story. Certainly not easy.
My parents first baby was never given a name, she was still born, 1959. My parents married Nov 1958, so pregnant at the time which would explain the "look" on my grandmother's face in the only wedding photo I could find
I have visited that cemetery and was very sad to me.all those babies but at least they were buried with care and kindness.thank you for a very interesting video.
Yes, you're right about that. If the Reverend and his wife would not have started that then they wouldn't have a final resting place that was known anyways. They did have success stories as well. Thanks for watching Sharon.
I used to visit it frequently. It was so sad, and yet it was so peaceful. A small group of us would clean the headstones of debris. Last time I was there someone brought out small toys and placed them on the stones. It was nice to see people still care.
Bless you all for cleaning the headstones.I just wish they had named the babies and included them on their headstones.
The Reverend and his wife were not in the business of taking babies. They were trying to encourage these women to keep them. Most of these women would have given the babies up or left them to die outside of the home. They were giving them an option of giving them up but requiring the women to keep the baby for at least one year prior to doing so. The thought process was so that the women would become attached to them and then not give them up. In the mean time they were teaching the women different skills in the printing industry.
RhettyforFun ty for this video. I’ve not heard of this cemetery before. Nicely and respectfully done . Bless you and yours .
Thank you Louise! I appreciate you watching and commenting.
Nice beard!
Thank you Kimberly!
I think the ones with full names could possibly be the mothers who died in childbirth. I dont know this for a fact, but just have a suspicion.
I started at Arlington State College in 1965, in 67 or 8 it changed names to UTA. I worked on a volunteer crew cleaning the cemetery in the summers and weekends of 1966 and 67. There was one dilapidated white building that looked like a chapel. There was no fencing and it was overgrown. There was no park, just trash and undergrowth. Glad to see it is kept now.
That's interesting. I like that college name better as it is confusing with University of Texas in my opinion. I used to think they were part of them just in Arlington. It's too bad that they didn't save that building as well but at least the cemetery has been saved. Thanks for helping save it!
@@RhettyforHistory UTA has a long history, It was Arlington College, then Grubbs Vocational, later North Texas Agriculture College before becoming Arlington State College. ASC was under the Texas A&M system for about 50 years. It became UTA in 1967.
Wow!! A sofa in a cemetery!! ABSOLUTELY FASCINATING!! I'm glad I found this video, Rhetty!!
RIP sweet babies!! XXXX
The sofa is right outside of the cemetery but it was strange go see. I wonder if it is still there. Thank you for watching.
thank u for careing for this cemetery these infants are with Jesus thats the peace u feel,, wonderful..
It's nice to know that there are people like the Reverend and his wife willing to help out. Thanks for watching.
My all those sweet Babies Rest in Peace! God bless them all ! An the Wonderful person help these women
It's reassuring that the Reverend and his wife did all they could for these women and babies. Thanks for watching.
How sad the baby's with no names but God in heaven knows all of them. Nice video take care.
It is sad but on the other hand they have a final resting place. Many in other places did not have that same opportunity. Thanks for watching.
Many buried without any marker at all, completely forgotten. If you're interested search Taum, Ireland mass grave they have recently reported on. Interesting but very sad.
It is very sad Edwin
GOD does every 1 of them & their all playing in heaven.
@@irisheyesofbelfast thank you for sharing, just found on RUclips
My great uncle died at 6 in 1924 from tuberculosis and was a ward of the state when he died. He was given an indigent burial and was buried in a mass grave with 46 other people. No marker...nothing. Looks like an open empty part of the cemetery. The lady in charge of the cemetery told me that blank area was full of indigent burials..all unmarked. So sad that it's almost like they never existed.
That is sad. I've heard of that happening with other TB patients as well. There was a real fear on that disease. They should at least have one marker with a list of names though. It would take all the families pulling together for that though. Thanks for watching.
@@RhettyforHistory I would love to put up some kind of marker. Idk what or how much it would cost or if I could even do it
@@QueenCityHistory I've gotten some pretty decent ones for $99. They aren't big and they are nothing fancy but they will do the job. They are black granite. Thin but pour cement in the hole then use a sealer to attach the marker to the cement in the ground.
Kevin Eaton they exist in heaven wrapped in the good lords love and warmth never to be forgotten. Amen 🙏
This one tugged on my heart strings a bit! Thank you for walking us around.
It's a bit sad but peaceful in my opinion knowing that they had a place and it's still there. I think what the Reverend, his wife as well as the others there were doing was a good thing.
I love those huge, old oak trees. It’s so peaceful there. I’m glad I came across this video. Thanks for sharing!
You're welcome and thank you for watching. I really loved visiting this cemetery.
I hunt and find lost and forgotten cemeteries in Dallas. I remember when this one was found.
God Bless the Reverend and his Wife for truly Living the Word of God.
Absolutely! It's nice to know there are people out there doing things like that because they truly care. Thanks for watching.
How sad, But interesting.I am sure these girls never forgot their babies as they went through life
I doubt they did. The good thing is this home was pretty good at getting these young ladies to keep their babies for good as well as teaching them a new skill. These babies interred would have had a better chance of survival with today's medicine. Thanks for watching Jane.
This is so sad! 😭 some couldn’t even be named 😭
It's really something you may still see today in cemeteries.
The indents could be where the coffins have collapsed when the wood rotted away and the weight of the dirt on top. So many children died back then from illness.
Yes you're right about that. Many things have improved since then. Thankfully so.
Thankfully we have the vaults surrounding the coffins when people are buried now.
Yes they help a bunch.
Delnita I have a little granddaughter fighting for her life now in the nicu. She was 2lbs. 4oz. when born on Sept. 3rd. Prayers would be appreciated.
I am saying prayers for her and her family! One of my Grandsons had to be in the nicu for a while. I know how hard it is when they are in there. Prayers to you all.
The single women who died in childbirth--or from injury/disease while they were residents--were often buried in these cemeteries as well.
Yes they were. Thanks for watching and adding that.
its comforting to know that those babies were given decent burials
Yes I think so too. I'm glad there were people like the Reverend and his wife to step up and try to help out. Thanks for watching.
Thank you for doing this Video and may they continue to Rest In Peace gone but not forgotten
You're welcome and thanks for watching.
You are so respectful I really love the job your doing
Thank you Mary! I do try to be as respectful as I possibly can.
Very respectful. Love his videos. He's acknowledging those long forgotten.
Thank you so much for sharing.
You're welcome and Thanks for watching.
Sad for everyone involved. Including The young mothers who suffered a lot.
It is but it's nice to know that the Reverend and his wife tried to give these women and their babies a better life. There were success stories. I think it's nice to know that there is at least a final resting place for these little ones. Thanks for watching.
I grew up in Arlington this was always a favorite place to get away. When I was a teen it was a lot more overgrown and harder to find.
I'm glad it is better cared for now. Thank you for watching!
A random couch is the most college campus thing ever.
I think you're right about that. I know many students pick up furniture at the curb and use it. Thanks for watching!
I live in south Texas, but if I were closer I would feel privileged to trim the grass around the little markers and keep then names as clean as possible. Rev. Upchurch and his wife must have felt called to care for these women and their babies. They were true to their Christian values.
Yeah if I lived closer I would do the same thing as well as ask the university if I could locate the markers that have sunken into the ground. Thanks for watching!
I was feeling the same...I live in southeast Texas area...it would be honor to that
Never knew this home for unwed mothers was here in Arlington.
TY for sharing.
You're welcome and thank you for watching.
It is so sad, but at least someone paid a little attention instead of dumping the precious babies in the trash as was done sometimes. Thank you Rhetty for the tour.
Yes you're right about that. I believe the Reverend and his wife were trying to give these women and babies a fighting chance. There were success stories. We have to remember that there has been major advances in medicine and care since that time. Thanks for watching.
Very nice video. Breaks my heart when infants pass away.
Yes it is sad.
One thing to be thankful for: I am sure that a lot of babies that did survive were placed into good homes or actually ended up with their real families. This is what happened when my aunt was put into a home for unwed mothers in the 1940's. My grandparents adopted the baby as their own and raised her as their 9th child. I thought she was my aunt instead of my cousin until I was well into my teens. We still have her in the family, thank God.
Yes you're right about that. There were a lot of success stories. Thankfully there are people like you're grandparents who are willing to step up. Thanks for watching and sharing your family's story.
The name Mattie McBride has become relatively well known because of her status as a primary character in the fictional novel “Home for Erring and Outcast Girls” (Crown, 2019) by Julie Kibler. In the novel, Mattie is an unwed mother who comes to the Home with her ailing son in the early 1900s.
The Mattie McBride character was said to be based on an actual resident of the Berachah Home for the Redemption and Protection of Erring Girls, founded as a ministry in 1903 and closed in 1935, near what is now the University of Texas at Arlington. This Memorial is dedicated to the “real” Mattie McBride, who was indeed a resident of the Berachah Home in the early 1900s. However, her surname was not McBride when she arrived, as her marriage to J. F. McBride didn’t take place until 1923.
The “real” Mattie was listed in the 1900 U. S. Census (Ferris, Ellis County, Texas) as Mattie Corder (born Nov 1883 in Texas, age 16, Single). In 1900 she was a servant in the household of Thomas A. Cheek, a 48 year old Farmer. It is assumed that Mattie Corder and her son Cap Dewey entered the Berachah Home in the early 1900s. As shown on her headstone, Cap Dewey Corder passed away in 1904.
The 1920 U. S. Census (Oklahoma City Ward 3, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma) lists Mattie B. Corder (age 38, born Texas, Single) working as the Proprietor of a Rooming House. One of her listed Lodgers was Patrick J Madigan (age 67, born Indiana, Single). It is believed that Mattie Corder married Patrick Madigan although documents were not found to verify this. However, an Oklahoma County Marriage Record was found for the marriage of Mattie B. Madigan to James F. McBride on 30 Jun 1923 in Oklahoma County.
The 1930 U. S. Census (Oklahoma City,Oklahoma County, Oklahoma) lists Mattie B. McBride and her husband James F. McBride (age 59, born Illinois, Owner of Rooming House). Mattie died soon after this Census as described in the following newspaper story excerpt:
Cot House Matron Dies
Fatalities in yesterday's 103-degree heat rampage were:
Mrs Mattie B McBride 50, of 202 1/2 W Reno Avenue
. . .
Mrs McBride, matron of the Volunteers of America Cot House at the W Reno Av., address died early this morning at the organizations headquarters. Officers of the organization said the heat aggravated an old heart ailment causing her death. She was a resident here for 18 years and a charity worker for many years.
. . .
Mrs McBride's body was to be sent to Arlington Texas today by Watts & McAtee Funeral Home for services and burial there, her former home. She is survived by her husband J F McBride.
Thank you for watching and giving us a lot more information to learn about. This was all very interesting.
At 11:42 atop the grave of Pearl Simmons, I think the doll might be a vintage Topper Company Dawn Doll, which are difficult to find unless purchased on Ebay or Etsy. More were made for a brief revival, and the one there on top of the headstone could be one of those. I played with the vintage ones as a child. They were half the height of Barbie. Fascinating video on so many levels, so thanks for posting.
You're welcome and I appreciate you eating. Also thanks for telling us more about the doll. I had no idea.
@@RhettyforHistory Yes, I winced when I realized that valuable doll was left to be exposed to the elements! I know you said your kids played with a Lego toy like the one atop the Crayton grave marker. Lots of neat tokens of remembrance like you mentioned.
Yes there are. It's neat to see that people are visiting and leaving things like that.
Beautiful place and what a wonderful thing he did for the mothers and babies.
Yes it is. It's nice to know that people are willing to do something good like that!
The baby ones tug at your heart strings. Our heavenly father had better plans for them.
Yes it is sad.
He certainly did... Probably Angels now...👼👼👼
My thoughts keep going to the mother of Josephine or Reuben or infant number 14 ...what was her story, who was the father, was she in love , was it incest or rape..... I wonder what became of these mothers , what kind of life they had . 💐
It does make you wonder. I would imagine there were rapes no doubt but I also imagine it's much like today in that these women were thinking they met a man they could trust or fall in love with. Might have been told they were the one and that he loved them then they got pregnant. I think it's all the same reasons but our acceptance of it has improved as well as the standard of care medical wise. It's sad for sure. It's reassuring to know that the reverend gave and his wife helped as much as they could. Thanks for watching.
What an interesting question! Someone should make a video about that topic.
@@Carol-D.1324 I agree because it was more common than people these days realize...
We'll all have time to meet all these people at the resurrection. And plenty of time to talk. In a perfect, loving environment.
Beautiful little souls❤️. Rest in paradise little ones.
Thank you for watching
Super fascinating! Thank you for documenting this. Very interesting piece of history.
You're welcome and thank you for watching!
This video showed up on my suggested feed. Lovely video and you're a fellow Okie! Cant wait to watch more of your channel.
Yes I am! Born in Texas but mostly raised in Oklahoma. You'll see me cover a lot in Oklahoma since that's where I live. Welcome and I'm glad you found me! It's great to have an Okie along for the adventures!
Its lovely that they were giving proper graves, as a lot of infants were just gotten rid of, never to know where they went. We could be walking over ground today with people beneath our feet. Horrible thought.
My grandfather’s sister died in 1948 giving birth (I think it was to her 3rd child) she was 27. I don’t know if the baby survived (have to ask my mum that one) and my first grandchild died only 2 weeks after her 3rd birthday. She would be 10 now. Just so young. The grounds definitely gave me a peaceful feeling, thanks for sharing ❤️🇦🇺
It is sad to see things like that happen. Sadly I believe it happens more than most people realize. I think these grounds and the facility was used to help these women and children have a fighting chance when they wouldn't have had any otherwise. If they didn't make it then they gave them a place to rest forever. I do believe you are right about the possibility of walking over people we don't know about. Thank you for watching.
Thank you for sharing this with us. Such a sad place but so sweet at the same time.
You're welcome June. It is sad but also nice to know there were people like the Reverend and his wife to help these young ladies and babies out. Thanks for watching.
At 21:42, I went online andfound a Maude Trice b.1893 in the household of Leroy Trice, her father in the 1899 census. Mothers name was Mary Zeigler, Leroy died 21 April 1925
Mineral Wells, Palo Pinto, Texas, Not sure if the same Maude.
I bet it is. Good job on that and thank you for sharing what you found!
I grew up in Arlington, started college at Arlington State College, now UTA, in 1960. I believe the missionary society who maintained the home was closed then, but several buildings and the cemetery were present. I believe they sent missionaries to China before WW II. I remember walking the grounds and seeing the cemetery. Thanks for doing the video.
You're welcome and thank you for filling us in on more of the history of the cemetery and mission. That 's interesting that you had the chance to see the buildings.
It seems like the little toys were left by a single person who had visited there before and wanted the little ones to be remembered in some way. Our Creator promised to remember all.
It's nice to know they do get visitors and are remembered. Thanks for watching.
It’s so Pretty there all these baby’s are pure and without sin my heart breaks for the Mothers that gave birth to these baby’s along with all these babies God is watching over them. All
They had a rough start but I really believe this Reverend and his wife vfc were doing a great thing in trying to help them have a chance. I appreciate think they were a beacon of of hope when they otherwise wouldnt have had it.
Thank you for saying their names.
It's the least I can do to keep their memory alive. Thanks for watching.
Very interesting. It's a beautiful cemetery. May they all rest in peace. What a cute frog.
Yes it is. I go in a lot of cemeteries and I think that's the first frog I have seen in a hole like that. Thanks for watching!
Back in late 1800s and early 1900s, babies were not always immediately named. This could also account for the markers with infant on them. My grandmother had a baby before she was married, she later married my grampa and he was very abusive towards her because of this. Their last child was born in 1939 and lived for 2 years. It just has a marker with baby last name and its year of death. Times have changed, Thank God!
You're right. For the most part things have changed and it is more acceptable. But there are still babies unmarked in cemeteries or that really have no name. But at least there is a record of them. Thank you for watching and sharing some of the family history.
I really enjoyed this one. I’m glad to hear that someone in that time frame was willing to help young women who were scorned, shunned, and left behind by family at a time in their lives when they needed it most. So much judgement. I wonder if after caring for the babies a year did they generally put them up for adoption, leave them at the orphanage, or hopefully, try to melt back into society with their baby, perhaps with an explanation of a husband who died, thus letting them get work. It’s actually a very smart idea to have the condition of caring for their baby a year-most moms would naturally be bonded to the babies, and could not leave them behind.
This is a little off topic, but my dad, who was born just a few years before the Great Depression, had a big family with his mother & father having 2 boys & 6 girls. The story was that the kids never knew when grandmother was pregnant (she was always heavy-ish), and when she knew she was going into labor, would send the kids to church, to school, and they would come home, finding a new baby had arrived while they were gone. Sex was never spoken of, at all! But my dad and an aunt told me they came home one day, perhaps a little early, and found a stillborn baby “laid on the radio”. They were immediately sent out, nothing else said, no funeral. A few years later, one of the sisters asked grandmother about that baby-and was promptly slapped across the cheek. It was never spoken of again. My mom took grandmother to a dr visit many years later, overheard the dr ask “any miscarriages or stillbirths?” Her answer was NO. A few years before dad died, he went to several old cemeteries around the places they had lived, but never could find that baby’s grave. Just another way to show how different things were, and just a few generations back! Dad was born in 1922, died in 1990.
I'd bet that poor baby wasn't properly buried at all, probably disposed of. And I hope she met that child at Judgment and had to answer for that
The indents into the ground are when the coffins collapsed! Where I live locally, we have to bury our loved ones in a cement box which is then lowered down six feet. And when you walk around a local graveyard, you can see where the older graves have collapsed ...and the new ones (30 years and more recent) are still the same as when they were buried. Little coffins would only collapse a little bit. THANKS
Yes those could have been the markers sinking above the burial location or they could have just sunken without. The in ground cement crypts or burial vaults are a requirement in most cemeteries. It does make a difference in decomposure. They have been around since the late 1880's so you can see them used then. They were not required then though so it was a very small percentage that was used. They really started gaining momentum in the later half of the 20th century.
So sad....but glad they have a peaceful place to rest. Thanks for the video. Mike and Connie.....
It is sad. Thank you for always watching and commenting. I'm not sure why I am not seeing all the comments. But I am noticing there are a lot I have never seen and yours is one of them.
A little surprising to hear about so many unwed mothers back in that time period. I liked what you said about Mother Nature reclaiming the graves.
Mother nature is interesting. It never takes her long to take back what is hers. Thanks for watching my friend.
They were well hidden in those days.
You have done a nice job of showing respect doing this video
Thank you Carrie. I always try to do that as much as possible. I appreciate you watching and commenting .
Well that was very interesting. It's good to know that someone took great care of these mothers and their babies.
Thank-you so much for taking the time to show us these interesting finds. I find them facinating :)
You're welcome. I think what the Reverend and his wife did was amazing. They really had no one else to turn to. Thanks for watching.
They weren't always well cared for. In fact many times at one point in history their families disowned and shunned them. They were an embarrassment.
Research Magdalene Laundries.
A wonderful, sensitive video. Great to see some form of Rememberance. My Great Grand Mother died in 1903 and she was buried with still births etc in a very large mass grave here in Sydney, Australia. Nan is just in there with everyone else, never given a plot #. There is however a General Memorial Plaque. For me that is a very sad spot. Thanks for your fine work and for the History lesson.
So since she has no plot number you have no idea where her exact location is? That seems so strange to me how that was handled.
I am a member of the "Find a Grave" community and there is a listing for Susie Singletary but unfortunately, her age is not known as they do not know when she was born. It just says "Unknown date-1915"
That's interesting. Record keeping was not always the best and birth certificates really weren't a requirement like they are now. Kind of sad.
RhettyforFun yes it’s very unfortunate but (this is going to sound harsh and cold but it’s not meant to be) back then, unfortunately, it was so common for stillbirths, miscarriages and childhood deaths that sometimes, they couldn’t afford to have these things put in place for these children. It’s awful, now looking back, but that was their reality, they lost children because they didn’t have the medical advances we have now.
@@starfieldrock101 You're right about that. I also think that everyone worked and had things to do. There was also a lot less government regulations back then and so birth certificates, death certificates and crypt records weren't required.
What is find a grave ?? I'd it something only in your state or is it world wide ??I'm desperately trying to locate my paternal grandparents...so it be nice if they were registered somewhere
@@lisakazmarick1802 It is free online. If you have difficulty finding them, lemme know .
You are so talented. Your research is amazing. Thank you for your incredible stories. If you and your family ever want to visit NC and see some new sights, let us know.
Thank you! I love North Carolina! It's been 5 or so years since I have been out there and that was before the channel but I do need to go back and film some things!
Thanks for the video 📹 it was great to be with you on this tour but 😔 but glad you found it interesting love sandy
You're welcome Sandy and thanks for coming along with me! I know it's departure from the norm on the channel but it's still history.
There is a very interesting novel written about this place called the Home for Erring and Outcast Girls. It is well researched but not a biography or completely true account - but the author (whose name I cannot remember now) does a great job of using history and filling in the blanks with plausible storytelling. Overall, a very good read.
Brittany Stephenson oh thank you. I must look for that. ❤️
God rest their little souls.
Thank you for watching
True the grass needs to be cut, but proper burial and care was well established. Not like today, babies who are born to unwed mothers are tossed away like trash. There are only a few babies that do survive after they are tossed in garbage cans.
Young ladies, if you do not want your babies, give your baby to a safe clean place. Your local Fire Department, Police Department, Medical Clinic, and Hospital.
If you are in labor, call the Parmedics they will assist you.
Yes I think many young mothers don't realize they can do that. I think this Reverend and others like him sort of paved the way for things like that to be able to happen.
Yes for sure.
This has to be the saddest thing I've ever seen. May they all rest in peace.
It is sad. Thank you for watching.
"Home for the Redemption of Erring Girls". People were rather judgmental in the old days. Thought that was how the women were kept in line. No bueno.
Definitely not the way to fix it. If anything it added to it. And certainly the man got off scott free.
@@RhettyforHistory As if women were opportunistic temptresses or something. Crazy.
Sad, but thank God for a man who had a heart for these precious mothers and their babies,
Yes, he stepped up when many others were not willing to. Thanks for watching.
What a term, "erring girls." Go figure. Where I grew up, they had an unwed mother's home called the something Home for Wayward Girls. We always used to try to see over the bushes and spot them in their confinement for being "wayward."
The terminology used in both of those is interesting. Thanks for watching.
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 I can just see a bunch of teenage boys peeking through the bushes trying to see "wayward" girls... 😂😂😂😂😂😂
I bet they did.
Hello Rhetty Thankyou for another interesting story. This made me a bit sad. I can't imagine giving up your child after one year. These poor women had already bonded wirh their babies. It had to be so sad for them. Thank you reading out some of names of the infants who passed away they also should be remembered. Tace care. Carmela from N.Y.
They did not have to give up their child. The goal of it all as I understand was one to give them a place to stay, teach them a skill and then encourage them to be the parent or really mother they need. Certainly no easy task for these women and children by any means. Thankfully we have made advances in opinions, medicine and care. They did have success stories back then though. I really do think they were doing a great thing. It's just difficult to see that many graves of infants. Thanks for watching from NY.
Carmela Silvestri, My thoughts exactly. The birthmother most definitely would have bonded with her baby after one year.
That was really their goal. If they could get the mother to care for the baby, bond with the baby, allow them to get on their feet and teach them a job skill them the ministry had done what they had set out to do.
@@RhettyforHistory It is wonderful that these mothers had a place to go & support & care once they arrived.
Mattie Corder Mcbride has a book loosely based on her and her son caps stay at the home. She went on to run a cot house for veterans.
Thank you for watching and telling us about that book.
Eunice is pronounced YOU-NISS. I had an great-great aunt with this name. Old Southern name!
Thank you. It's a name I wasn't familiar with.
My grandmother's name was also Eunice and when you mispronounced it I heard myself saying her name out loud. She always said 'Do Not name your child after me because no one will ever be able to get it right the first time." When I finally had my daughter I gave her my other grandmother's name Helen as her middle name. She passed away 2 years ago Exactly 1 month and 1 day after her husband, my grandfather, and that was a truly beautiful love story.
I imagine when the Grounds Keeper runs his lawnmower, those "toys" on some on the markers, get damaged/destroyed.
I would bet so. It's difficult to tell what is placed there. The university does take pretty good care of it.
I used to live in one of the dorms near the cemetery during the mid 1980s. I remember the cemetery being a lot more wooded and unkempt. Hardly any students knew about the place.
I'm glad to see it is kept better than how you ate explaining it was. Thank you for watching.
I believe the graves that you said "nature is taking over" are areas that just need the grass cut.
I'm sure that they will maintain it better. Especially if this video gets around to them. I believe the university maintains it and the city appears to be redoing the park.
Yes, I had the urge to reach through and pull the grass around those little ones markers!
I have a friend whose sister got pregnant out of wedlock back in the late 60’s or early 70’s . He told me his parents sent her off to Texas to have her baby. He didn’t tell me if it was a home for unwed mothers but I’m guessing it was.
Times have really changed. Today it’s pretty much normal for women to have babies out of wedlock.
It’s a sign of the times. God Bless that Reverend from long ago.
It really has changed a lot just since the time period you are mentioning. It was even worse in this other time period. I'm glad we have made advances in that as well as medical care so that these people have a better quality of life. Thanks for watching!
Is it better or worse that we accept pregnancies in unwed women or girls? Just a moral question not a judgment.
There is the Edna Gladney home for unwed mothers in the same general area. That would be the one for the 60's
Having lived and worked in Arlington for over 30 years I have driven past there uncountless times and never knew enuff about it to pay a visit, so sad. Several Facebook groups of Arlington mention it a couple times a year.
It's an interesting little cemetery and I'm glad it has been preserved. Thanks for watching Randy!
@@RhettyforHistory there is to this day a home just due west of there that was for unwed mothers back in the day but don't know if it's associated with this cemetery, if not then there have been two or three homes for unweds in Arlington
@@RhettyforHistory also I was thinking the Spanish flu may have played a part but that wasn't until around 1918 ish
The indentations looks like stones have been removed
That very well could be the case. I generally have pretty good luck finding those there it's just that some sink down. I use a probe to find them here in Oklahoma but I did not have that with me in Texas.
Very interesting video. At the same time sad. Thanks so much for sharing this.
You're welcome. It is sad to see these infants like that but they truly were trying to give them a better live and the had a lot of success stories. A lot of things have improved for mothers and babies. Thanks for watching.
As I watch your sweet video, the thought comes to me that we viewers could be related to these babies and don't know it.
Yes, you're right about that. There are often babies in cemeteries that people never know about unless they have a detailed family history telling them that they are there. They could be from unwed mothers or even married families. Some marked them and some didn't. Some just put infant or a first name. Others just put infant and daughter or son or maybe with the last name. It was a very common practice then and I still see some of that today although not quite as common. In those days people didn't dwell on it though so the history wasn't passed unless it was written down. Thanks for watching.
Many women died as did their mothers before then 1960s many people forget this. Today a new born born in Cuba has a 95% chance of seeing age 2 then 97% of new born babies in Mississippi Louisiana Tennessee Alabama West Virginia. Our healthcare system is the main cause of the infant mortality death rate.
Thank you for the video I'm not able to travel so I enjoy seeing places online.
We have had a lot of improvement in our healthcare since the time period of when the Reverend and his wife were trying to help. Thanks for watching.
Maybe .those women’s names with a year date were women that died during childbirth
You could be correct on that. I'm not sure on the specifics behind bgg each final resting place. I'm sure that happened back bvb then. We've made a lot of advancements in care for the mother and baby since then.
They could have mary
God Bless these babies I know the Lord holds them in his Arms and they Rest In Peace Baby’s are Pure and Innocent and there poor Mothers also
Computer User Our God did not take their lives in the first place. We die because we are imperfect and defective, some are too much that way to live at all.
@Computer User it is appointed to men to die, because of Adam and eve partaking of the forbidden fruit. Read the Bible.
@Computer UserGod exist and you're foolish to think otherwise, if you were smart you'd change your perceptions. All you have to do is read Revelations about the signs of the endtimes.. time is wrapping up and it's not because of global warming! Jesus is coming back! And if you dont start believing, repent and be baptized, in hell you'll lift up your eyes! I'll pray for your redemption. The devil wants to to not believe, he's clouded your mind! Seek out Jesus for eternal life otherwise stand before God in judgement and then be judged not worthy and cast into the pits of hell! May God please bless you and I pray for to open your eyes, before it's too late!
@Computer User Our God will work miracles if you'd only believe! Jesus has saved me from myself several times, you cant see the wind but yet it still blows, I'm trying to help save your soul, the devil has clouded your mind! Dont let satan win! I dont know you but I'm going to pray for you!
Thank you for watching Mary.
May they all Rest in Eternal Peace 🕊️
This is very sad, with some not ever being named. The reverend did a wonderful thing here and gave these women a place that gave them peace and hope for a better life for those times.
So very sad😔 They still have their place.
We remember sweet souls💙💜👶🏻🧒👶🏻
It is a little sad. It's nice to know they didn't just get rid of the cemetery though. Thanks for watching.
It's sad there is no last names or dates.
It is sad but it was really done that way in Hope's of protecting the mother. It was thought that if she couldn't be tied to something like that then she could go back into society and not have that held against her. Even in regular cemeteries you often see infants with no marker at all or it may just say infant daughter. Thanks for watching.
Its sad how those little angels never had a chance at life 😓😓😓😓😓😓😓😓
Yes it is sad. Still happens today too.
They are assured of eternal life with our heavenly father!