One may think a story has been told and there is nothing else to be said or learned—not so with the Mary Christian Burleson legacy. Just ask the Smiths. If Angie and Shelby Smith, brothers and descendants of Mary, had not been curious about the Smith Cemetery in Bastrop County near Elgin, the story would have ended there. Instead, it began a long five-year journey not unlike their ancestor and pioneering family. On May 15, their search culminated with a historical marker and gathering under the post oaks where Mary’s grave marker lies safe within a chain link fence along with ...