Tombstone Tuesday: A different sort of tombstone

JAMES LUTHER SLAYDEN

Kentucky 1853 - Texas 1924
Member of Congress 1897-1919
One who loved his fellow men
and labored for
universal peace

When I set off several years ago to find the grave of distant cousin James Luther Slayden at the Mission Park South Cemetery, the style of his stone was surprising to say the least. The small boulder on the right is the gravestone of his wife, Ellen Maury Slayden.

Ellen Maury Slayden is credited with conceiving in 1891 the idea for the Battle of Flowers Parade held yearly in San Antonio in memory of the fallen heroes at the Alamo and to commemorate the victory at the Battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 1836, where Texas had gained its independence from Mexico. She was famous in her own right and the dairies she kept while in Washington were published in 1962 under the title Washington Wife.

More about the Slaydens at The Handbook of Texas Online.