Guardian Angel

City Cemetery

San Augustine, Texas

Columbus Cartwright (1837-1901), his wife Sallie Lane Cartwright, and their son Clinton Cartwright are buried beneath the Angel in the San Augustine City Cemetery.

Columbus was born in San Augustine August 23, 1837.  His father, Matthew Cartwright, at the time of his death in 1870 was one of the largest landowners in Texas. He had acquired extensive land holdings by riding horseback throughout the settled portions of the state. He owned a horse he claimed to have ridden over 20,000 miles. Others claimed he could spend the night anywhere in Texas and sleep on his own land. After serving in the Civil War Columbus returned to San Augustine, and because of his family’s vast land empire, he spent the rest of his career in real estate. A tall, slender man, he loved horses and was a respected horse breeder. He has 16 descendents buried in the cemetery. In 1897 he deeded an entire block within the City of San Augustine to the trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. This land gift contained one dominant provision—that a certain portion of the premises be set apart for hitching horses and standing room for buggies. To this day, on the southwest corner of the block, a 15-foot hitching rack is available to all who might come by horseback or by buggy. The angel was placed in the City Cemetery in 1898 prior to Columbus’ death. At the same time an identical angel was placed over the grave of his father, Matthew Cartwright, who died in 1870, in Terrell, Texas, which is near Dallas.  In 1943 the angel’s wing was broken when a tornado ripped through the town.  The broken wing section was preserved through the years and was repaired in 1992.  The obvious fracture is visual in the photograph.  I first photographed this beautiful angel three years ago and she was covered with mold, soot, and lichen.  I was pleasantly surprised upon my return to San Augustine recently to find that she has been cleaned and is now sparkling white. LINKING TO TAPHOPHILE TRAGICS