His bones are dust His good sword rust
His soul is with the Saints, we trust.
On South Washington Street, three blocks south of the Courthouse, is a little cemetery sacred to the history of El Dorado. The title to the cemetery now rests in the name of "The Deacons of the First Presbyterian Church of El Dorado, and their successors forever." In 1843, county commissioners were chosen to select a seat of justice for Union County and to play the same into lots and blocks, streets, avenues, and alleys. They selected the Southwest quarter of Section 28, Township 17 South, Range 15 West, and obtained a patent thereto from the United States Land Office. Matthew F. Rainey, a founding father of the county, had built a home on the site and had a pre-emption claim on this land. This claim he relinquished in favor of the commissioners. The plat made was filed with the county court and is recorded in county court record D page 57. On it is shown a block designated “Graveyard,” the location of the cemetery. On the plat is a small square indicating a house and the letters “P.C.” designating the Presbyterian Church as it stood at the time the plat was made in 1848. Matthew F. Rainey was one of the associate justices of the county court who signed the order approving this plat.
Rainey is buried there and his tombstone carries the legend, "He was the First Settler and Built the First House.” Hugh D. Marr, prominent in the affairs of the community at the time, is buried there. "His grave is surrounded by an iron fence, the gate to which is a rare piece of moulder's art. The gate itself is a weeping willow, the lines so soft and natural that its leaves seem almost to sway in the breeze, though covered with the rust of more than half a century, while doves rest in its branches and lambs are lying beneath its shade.” (Quote from a letter to the El Dorado News Times Editor: from Neil C. March, Elder of First Presbyterian Church and father of Ed W. Marsh, written October 6, 1926.) The fence and gate are of cast iron and was made by Wood and Perot of Philadelphia.
The Rev. W. S. Lacy, who was the pastor of the Presbyterian Church from the date of its organization for many years, is buried there. Rev. Lacy was born in 1791 in Virginia and was the father of Capt. W. E. Lacy of this community. A large stone marks the resting place of Mrs. A. R. Banks, wife of Rev. A. R. Banks, one of the founders of the First Presbyterian Church.
