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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, A Historic Texas Cemetery marker was dedicated at |
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the Old Kit Cemetery on October 27, 2012; and |
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WHEREAS, Now located within the Irving city limits, the |
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cemetery is the last remaining vestige of Kit, a small farming |
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community nestled between La Reunion and Peters Colony; initially |
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called Gorbit, the community was renamed Kit in 1894, and Isaac |
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Henry Story, who operated a grocery store in the hamlet, served as |
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its first postmaster; and |
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WHEREAS, The site of the Old Kit Cemetery has been used as a |
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burial ground since 1896, when David Chadwell Britain donated 1.5 |
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acres for that purpose; Mr. Britain made the gift when a family that |
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was passing through the area asked if they could bury their child, |
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who had just died, in the grove of trees where they had camped; |
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following its establishment, many members of Kit's earliest |
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families were interred at the graveyard, including I. H. Story and |
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the woman for whom the community was purportedly named, Catherine |
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"Aunt Kit" King; and |
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WHEREAS, Among the approximately 680 marked graves in the |
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cemetery are those of French, German, and Belgian settlers, as well |
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as individuals who traced their ancestry to the British Isles; some |
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grave sites belong to Japanese laborers who were employed by the |
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railroad company that built through the area around the turn of the |
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20th century and to members of their families; the site also serves |
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as the final resting place for veterans of the Civil War, the |
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Spanish-American War, World Wars I and II, and the Korean and |
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Vietnam Wars; the cemetery is still in use today, although burials |
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are now restricted to direct descendants of the community's early |
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residents; and |
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WHEREAS, To promote the upkeep of this historic site, Old Kit |
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Cemetery, Inc., was formed in 1947, and its members have worked |
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tirelessly over the decades both to care for the cemetery and to |
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foster an appreciation for its significance; as a result of their |
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outstanding efforts, the Irving Heritage Society awarded a |
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historical marker to the Old Kit Cemetery in 1998, and an Irving |
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Centennial Celebration Task Force historical marker was conferred |
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on the cemetery in 2004; the Texas Historical Commission recognized |
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Old Kit as a Historic Texas Cemetery in May 2010, the same year that |
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the burial ground entered the Texas RIP guardian program, which |
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coordinates the preservation efforts of local volunteers; and |
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WHEREAS, The Old Kit Cemetery evokes recollections not only |
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of the challenges faced by early settlers in the region but also of |
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their perseverance, and it is a pleasure to commend those dedicated |
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volunteers who have given so generously of their time to maintain, |
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research, and document this site for the benefit of posterity; now, |
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therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas |
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Legislature hereby commemorate the dedication of a Historic Texas |
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Cemetery marker at the Old Kit Cemetery and extend to all those |
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involved with this project sincere appreciation for their |
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commitment to preserving the heritage of the Lone Star State. |