Sunday, June 30, 2024
Strolling through the oldest section of the Gatesville City Cemetery, visitors sometimes notice very ornate tombstones as well as small inexpensive stones. People are often captivated by the information carved into the memorials… “gone but not forgotten” is an epitaph often seen. Other messages might include poetry or Bible verses.
Not too far from the cemetery entrance, in the old part of the cemetery, is a small tombstone which has a hand on it. Upon closer observation, one can make out the word “amputation.”
In years past, when people would lose body parts to amputation, whether for health reasons or accidents, it was custom to give the body part a proper burial and, often, a gravestone was erected at the site. In some parts of the United States, it was the law for amputated limbs to be disposed of by burial.
Perhaps the most famous limb that was buried is that of Confederate General Stonewall Jackson who lost his arm while in battle in 1863. Jackson’s soldiers gave his arm a proper burial and then erected a granite marker at the grave site which read, “Arm of Stonewall Jackson, May 3, 1863.”
Returning to the hand burial in Gatesville City Cemetery, the amputated hand belonged to that of 38-year-old Wiley Osburn Redford. How he lost his hand has faded with history, but the tombstone reflects amputation of his hand and the simple date of Feb. 1, 1898. It is not known if a “proper funeral” was held, but the grave was marked with a tombstone.
Redford married Martha Drew in 1884 in Coryell County and was the father of at least five children. Census records reflect that he was a “traveling welder.”
After losing his hand, Redford and his family left Gatesville and eventually settled in Liberty Hill in Williamson County.
Redford died in 1946 at the age of 86.
There are some theories about why people buried their amputated limbs. In the past, it was reported that some Christians believed that at the time of resurrection, they would want their bodies to be whole again. In some cases, the person would be buried next to the grave that held their appendage. This was not the case with Wiley Redford – he was buried in Liberty Hill, while his hand remains in Gatesville.
