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Coker Cemetery History #22 - November 2009
by Bob Battaglia
Letter written 10/26/98 by Irene Coker Lynch to Bob Battaglia.
"I am a Coker. I was born and raised at the old Coker homestead. I am the child of John Harrison and Fannie Coker. I am the youngest child of their 10 children. I was born in 1908. I am the only one of the children left. I can remember when I was a child that families of the community would bring lunch and gather at the cemetery for a day of cleaning it up. We children thought it was like having a picnic. I don't get to come to church often, I have lots of memory of the Church.
Sincerely,
Irene Coker Lynch"
I found this letter interesting because it reflects the care taken by members of the Coker Community in the early 1900's. The Coker cemetery was a vital part of their history. We no longer "meet at the cemetery" to clean it up,
but thanks to the donation and memorial contributions we can pay to have it maintained. The Coker Cemetery is alive and well!
Bob Battaglia
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Picture shows Royce Jones displaying a stone carved by Amos Dickens Jones in 1856. I don't know
the occasion for this action, but it has endured time. The date would be just a couple of years after he arrived in
the Coker Community.
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Obituary San Antonio Light 28 Feb 1916:
"Mrs. Julia Jones, 32 years old, died at a San Antonio sanitarium at 9:30 o'clock Monday
morning, following a short illness. She was a native of Arkansas and had lived in San Antonio for 26 years. She
is survived by her husband, J.J. Jones, and several small children. The funeral will be held privately at 8 o'clock Monday afternoon and interment will be made in the Coker Cemetery."
Editor's Notes: Julia's parents were James J. Harrison, died 1927 and Augusta Berry, died 1926; both buried at
Coker Cemetery. The Harrisons had six children. The one other daughter was named Mrs. H.H. Wier in Augusta's obit.
This appears to be wife of Henry H. Weir who was Lillian L. If so, they are also buried in the Coker Cemetery.
Editor's Notes: Husband was John Marion Jones also buried at Coker Cemetery. Children were Clinton b. 1903 and Carl Jesse Jones b. 1905. John married secondly to Lula B. Hargrove in Comal County Aug 7, 1922. One child born Jay Marion Jones b. 1925. John Marion Jones was son of Marion Taylor Jones and Clarissa Ann Hopkins.
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Eldridge Coker, deputy county clerk in Bexar County, is shown holding a bill of sale which recorded the purchase of a negro slave by his grandfather, James Harrison Coker, in 1864.
The document was filed March 26, 1864 and states he purchased a slave named Robert, 26 years old, from J.G. Faidley. It states Coker had started the Coker Settlement 8 miles north of San Antonio.
Editor Notes: It would be my guess that James Harrison Coker made the purchase to free this person. The Civil War
was almost over and there is no indication that there were any slaves in the Coker Settlement. |
Eldridge Coker - San Antonio Light, March 23, 1933
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If you have interesting stories and newspaper articles, send them to Bob Battaglia at:
bobbatt@satx.rr.com
These articles will eventually go into the book we are working on. The obits will also be transferred to the Obituary section of the Coker Cemetery Website.
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