WACO, Texas — In the heart of the City of Waco lies the Historic Greenwood Cemetery, the second oldest in the city.
It dates back to 1875 and is steeped in history. Keeping an accurate record of who is buried there however has never been done until now.
"This is Peter Fraser. He was a private in the US Army World War II he was born in 1910. And died in 1978," John Speas, a volunteer said.
A few mornings every week you'll find John and Debbie Speas at the Greenwood Cemetery.
"I wish we could take better care of our military markers," John Speas said.
The pair are a part of the McLennan County Cemetery Interest Group-- a volunteer group of about ten people from the Genealogy Center at the West Waco Library.
The group started their work in early 2020. Their efforts slowed due to the pandemic. The goal is to have a written record of who is buried in the cemetery and where.
"Cemeteries are special places," Bill Buckner said.
Buckner from the Genealogy Center is spearheading the effort. He said once complete, the information will be available at your fingertips through both a website and an app thanks to collaboration with the City of Waco.
"Knowing where your ancestors are it's important because it gives you a sense of your identity of your past," Buckner said.
The cemetery is divided up into 21 sections called tiles. Volunteers are assigned a tile to catalog. They work based on a map dotted with plot points called grave markers.
"There are usually 50 to 75 headstones per tile or to the area that we were taking care of," Debbie Speas said.
John takes pictures of the markers while Debbie writes down the information on them to enter into a preliminary database.
"Usually in two hours we can get 20 memorials it kind of depends on the condition they are in," John Speas said.
There are at least 2,250 markers but Bucker said it could be higher due to information being lost over time.
While we may not know everyone buried here right now, there are some notable mentions including Broadway singer Jules Bledsoe, Professor Dr. Vivienne Lucielle Malone-Mayes and Negro League baseball star Andrew Lewis Cooper.
The cemetery is also home to graves for both Union and Confederate soldiers who fought in the Civil War.
"We found a lot of doctors out here from the 1800s early 1900s," Debbie Speas explained.
For years this was a segregated cemetery separated by a chain-link fence, until 2016.
"And now it's one cemetery so it's a sign of unity," Buckner said.
As of last November, the volunteer group completed just over 50 percent of the grave markers. It's a slow tedious process but for those involved, they say it is so worth it.
"It's a work in progress and I love my job doing this," Debbie Speas said.
After completing the Greenwood Cemetery, the volunteer group plans to move on to another cemetery in the area. Bucker said he would love to finish, by the end of the year, but realizes that may not be possible.
If you want to inquire about a loved one you think may be buried at Greenwood you can reach out to the library. Reach out to Bill Buckner at 254- 750-5945 or email bbuckner@ci.waco.tx.us.