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CEMETERIES
Perhaps some of the most historically revealing areas that can be visited today are many of the local cemeteries. These contain many records of the times in their own way and show the connection between various families that lived here at the time. The closest cemetery to Annunciation is one called Bayou Coco, about two miles to the east, where most of the recorded families are buried. Some fine monuments, with clearly legible writing, can be studied, while some are a little more difficult, due to weather erosion. The Haas, Herlihy, McLeod, Cue, Curet, Favre graves, and many others associated with the history of Kiln, are clearly visible.
Perhaps an older historical record is the cemetery known as St. Joseph in Rotten Bayou - or its Indian name, Bayou Binanchoa (Bcnny-she-wah). The name apparently came from the fact that the Indians who occupied the area frequently killed the plentiful deer, primarily for their hides, while the carcasses were left to rot by the bayou. One of the earliest churches of the area (St. Joseph) was situated somewhere behind the cemetery, close to the river bluff which probably gave rise to the need for a cemetery'. The most unique feature that first strikes visitors to this cemetery is the fact that virtually every grave and family plot is surrounded by a wire fence - causing some people to think that it must be a pet cemetery. It must be remembered that it was not until relatively recently that this county enacted a stock law putting the burden upon cattle owners to contain their animals. Prior to this law, all animals roamed freely in search of fodder with the result that they trampled on the graves. It seems there was quite a population of wild pigs in the area that found the fresh graves easy digging - so in order to prevent these problems, individuals constructed fences around each plot. Some of the graves appear to be very old in this cemetery and presently earn no markings - however, many older people can still tell where various people have been buried. Some graves, too, are remarkably well preserved and provide our histories with quite a bit of information. The original donor of the property is buried close to the flagpole in one of the oldest sections of the cemetery. The grave of Fr. AC. Denis is simply marked with a granite cross and the years 1877 - 1953. This grave is to be found on the higher section of the cemetery to the left as one enters the property. The father of one of the other pastors of Annunciation is also buried close to the grave of Fr. Denis. (20) Some reports indicated that many of the
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black people of that time are buried in an area now overgrow n with pine trees and very few marked graves to the left of the entrance. One could easily spend a day in the cemetery with some local elderly people, going through all the history that lies there
Of lesser interest are some smaller cemeteries in the area that many residents are unaware of. Some of these were family plots that expanded over the years. One such is known as the Thompson Cemetery to be found off the Texas Flat Road by the banks of the Jourdan River. However, for some reason, the name Thompson does not appear on any of the headstones, but names like Tate (a very old grave) and Holden appear a few times. The little cemetery at the location of Holy Cross Church in Bayou LaCroix is also of some interest, primarily because it contains a tombstone marking the burial place of many of the members of the Choctaw tribe. The grave of Mary Zengarling (1863-1933), the school teacher who ran a school there for the Indian children, is to be found close by, but few burials take place in these cemeteries any more. If one continues w'est on Texas Flat Road to its very end where it joins Highway 607, and travels south toward the N.A.S.A. facility, one encounters a remarkably large long rectangular cemetery completely surrounded by a sturdy concrete wall - known as Turtle Skin Cemetery. However, not many of the names recorded there have much connection to the Kiln area - except through some marriages; those names seem to predominate in the Picayune area today.
Also, within the present-day parish confines, one can find smaller individual family burial plots - usually in the family?s own land, as the county had no restrictions in that regard until recently. The best known of these are the graves of Augustus and Therese Elmer, the original owners of Elmer?s Candy Co. in New Orleans. Their marked graves are to be found a few hundred yards from the old homestead on Joe Moran Road. Therese Elmer died in March of 1993.(21) In the same way, the grave of Mr. Charles Cantrell (and his wife), an original partner of Pat O?Brien?s famous pub in New' Orleans, can be found (with owner?s permission) on what was then his property known as Benny-She-Wah on the Kiln-DeLisle Road. The Brennans of New Orleans are the present day owners of that property. The graves of Mr. Jerry Page and his uncle are also to be found on the family property on Highway 43 - some miles west of Highway 603. Jerry was well known among antique automobile collectors for his work with, and collection of, vintage automobiles, especially his 1929 Packard and his favorite Model-T?s.
Other cemeteries exist in the area, especially those known as Fenton Sandhill and Standard Sandhill, and perhaps others with which 1 have little familiarity - but no doubt these too offer glimpses of history of other times. One
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