| Nesbitt Memorial Library Columbus, Texas |
Last Updated
June 30, 2008 |
Colorado County Cemetery Records
About the Cemeteries
Each of the more than 130 cemeteries and burial sites identified inside Colorado County are listed below, alphabetically according to the legal or most common name of the cemetery. In some cases, alternate names are also provided. Most of the other information is self-explanatory. The maps referred to are the United States Department of the Interior Geological Survey 7.5 Minute Series Topographical Maps, which are indispensable for research in the field and which are available, either by number of by name, at any good map outlet. The parenthetical insertion "marked" or "not marked" indicates whether the site of the cemetery is marked on the map. Often such sites are marked by name, often simply with the designation "Cem."
In addition to the persons whose burial places are known, these cemetery records contain more than 1300 persons whose burial place is unknown and more than 50 persons who were cremated, all of whom are known to have died in or been intimately associated with Colorado County.
Sometimes the names of persons suspected to be buried
in a cemetery are listed in the descriptions provided below.
| Index |
Select the first letter of the cemetery name from the list below, and/or scroll down to find a particular cemetery:
A - B - C - D
- E - F - G - H
- I - J - K - L -
M - N - O - P -
R - S - T - U -
V - W - Z
| List of Cemeteries |
- A - Top of Page - Cemetery Records Page
Abell Cemetery
Origin of name: after Abell family
Source of name: usage
Alternate name: Jones Graveyard
Source of alternate name: Obituary of Robert A. Abell
Location: about 2.5 miles directly north of Garwood and 1.5 miles east of
Highway 71, but on private property and thus inaccessible to public traffic
Map: 2996-133, Garwood Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14,
752879E, 3264462N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1879
Earliest known year of birth: 1844
Most recent known burial: 1916
Racial mix: all white
Surveyors: unknown
Date surveyed: unknown
Auditors: Bill Stein and Elizabeth Schoellmann
Date audited: February 21, 1992
Number of known burials to date: 5
Adams Cemetery
Origin of name: after Adams family
Location: about one half mile north of Ramsey Road, about 1.3 miles
southwest of its intersection with FM 102, but on private property and thus
inaccessible to public traffic
Map: 2996-423, Alleyton Quadrangle (marked)
Universal
Transverse Mercator coordinates:
14,
750553E, 3281633N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1911
Earliest known year of birth: 1871
Most recent known burial: 1932
Racial mix: all white
Surveyors: MacDonald Ruffeno, Rita Ruffeno, and Bill Stein
Date surveyed: July 6, 1990
Number of known burials to date: 7
Adkins Cemetery
Origin of name: after Adkins family
Location: about one tenth of a mile northeast of County Road 201, between
1.5 and 2 miles north of its intersection with County Road 206
Map: 2996-342, Ellinger Quadrangle (marked)
Universal
Transverse Mercator coordinates:
14, 722986E, 3293744N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1860
Earliest known year of birth: 1792
Most recent known burial: 1872
Racial mix: all white
Surveyors: unknown
Date surveyed: unknown
Number of known burials to date: 4
Alexander Cemetery
Origin of name: after Alexander family
Source of name: usage
Location: about .5 miles east of the juncture of Highway 71 and Duncan
Lane (County Road 111), just to the south of the Community Cemetery, but on
private property and thus inaccessible to public traffic
Map: 2996-422, Altair Quadrangle (marked)
Universal
Transverse Mercator coordinates:
14,
750285E, 3267293N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1867
Earliest known year of birth: 1883
Most recent known burial: 1941
Racial mix: all black
Comments: The cemetery has not been used for decades and is consequently
in a dense thicket. The surveyors listed below and an earlier team of explorers
consisting of Tony Williams, Dora Dervin, Elizabeth Schoellmann, and Bill Stein
actually walked through the cemetery without noticing its existence before, on a
second attempt the same afternoon, Glenda Henderson Jordan located the first
tombstone. Only three readable stones were found. Two were concrete slabs laid
on the ground. One was inscribed with the name, birth, and death dates of Addie
Alexander. The top left corner of the other, on which part of the dead person's
name was inscribed, was broken off. What remained read "L DERVIN." The surveyors
took the "L" to be the final character of a first name rather than an initial.
One other stone, a small, quite elegant slab of marble that was mostly intact,
provided the name and dates of birth and death of Patcy Durvine. All three of
the discovered tombstones were partially or completely covered with dirt and
vegetation. Evidence of other graves exists, but no other readable grave marker
was located. Based on information provided by Tony Williams, library staff
subsequently searched the death records at the Colorado County courthouse and
added four names to the list of those buried in the cemetery. None of those
added, however, were said on their death certificates to be buried in the
Alexander Cemetery. Two, Lucian and Emmett Alexander, were said to be buried in
Vox Populi, one, William Alexander, was said to be buried in Garwood, and
another, Saloman Alexander was said to be buried near Garwood. Nonetheless,
based on Tony Williams' testimony, and recognizing that each of the listed
places of burial might easily be confounded with the location of the Alexander
Cemetery, all have been added to our survey.
Surveyors: Glenda Henderson Jordan, Kerry Briggs, Marvin C. Farrow, and
Bill Stein
Date surveyed: August 7, 1992
Number of known burials to date: 10
Allen Cemetery
Origin of name: after Allen family
Source of name: U. S. G. S. Topographic Map
Location: about 100 yards south of County Road 102, at a point about 2.3
miles south of its intersection with Interstate 10, but on private property and
thus inaccessible to public traffic
Map: 2996-423, Alleyton Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 745069E, 3287932N
(NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1852
Earliest known year of birth: 1832
Most recent known burial: 1869
Racial mix: all white
Comments: Gary E. McKee visited the cemetery in November 2006 and noted:
The stones are scattered on a hilltop, apparently by cattle. There is no fence
around the site. The stones are clean, but broken and laying on the ground.
Surveyors: Kay Potter, Leah King, and Bill Stein
Date surveyed: April 28, 2000
Number of known burials to date: 3
Alley Family Cemetery
Origin of name: after Alley family
Source of name: usage
Location: about seven tenths of a mile west of County Road 102, a mile or
so behind a gate that is almost precisely three miles south of the intersection
of County Road 102 and Interstate 10, but on private property and thus
inaccessible to public traffic
Map: 2996-423, Alleyton Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 746433E, 3285701N
(NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1831
Earliest known year of birth: 1787
Most recent known burial: 2000
Racial mix: all white
Comments: On November 2, 1881, Nicola and Elisabeth Glaiser deeded one
acre "to the following named Families (as a burial ground) Dukes Neals Alleys &
Clapps" for one dollar (see Colorado County Deed Records, Book Y, p. 40). Though
this must be counted as the formal creation of the cemetery, it is certain that
there were earlier burials. In fact, the deed uses as one of its landmarks, "the
Tombstone erected to the memory of T. C. Wright," who had died in 1876. In
creating the cemetery, the Glaisers also reserved the right to have themselves
and their descendents buried there.
Surveyors: unknown
Date surveyed: unknown
Auditors: Bill Stein and Nina Tuttle
Date audited: May 1, 1990
Number of known burials to date: 52
Alleyton Cemetery
Origin of name: after town in which it is located
Location: in Alleyton
Map: 2996-423, Alleyton Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 743633E, 3289123N
(NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1867
Earliest known year of birth: 1813
Most recent known burial: 2007
Racial mix: whites and blacks
Comments: 1. In June 1882, H. C. Gaedecke deeded fractional block 68 and
part of block 57 in Alleyton to a group of "trustees for the white citizens of
Alleyton & their successors for a burial ground (see Colorado County Deed
Records, Book Y, p. 362). The section for blacks was added in October 1882 when
a group of trustees paid $40 to the heirs of J. J. Holt for two acres "for a
grave yard for the colored citizens of Alleyton and vicinity" (see Colorado
County Deed Records, Book 2, p. 538).
2. In November 1998, a man named Charles "Red" Underhill erected a tombstone for
Dallas Stoudenmier, probably the cemetery's most famous "resident." Stoudenmier
was involved in several gunfights, finally being killed in one in El Paso. He
was brought to Alleyton for burial. No one knows the precise location of
Stoudenmier's grave, so Underhill simply picked a prominent spot and set up the
tombstone. Underhill used the spelling "Stoudenmire" which is the one commonly
used by Stoudenmier's biographers. The family apparently spelled the name
Stoudenmier.
Surveyors: Jon K. Loessin
Date surveyed: August 1985
Number of known burials to date: 286
Amthor Cemetery
Origin of name: after Amthor family
Location: about 300 yards south of the point on Kveton Road that is about
.3 miles east of its intersection with Sealy Road
Map: 2996-431, Cat Spring Quadrangle (not marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 757956E, 3296394N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1868
Earliest known year of birth: 1860
Most recent known burial: 1882
Racial mix: all white
Comments: The cemetery contains nine graves, arranged chronologically,
with the earliest grave on the left side of the small, fenced enclosure and the
latest on the right. A larger stone, in the center of the cemetery announces, in
German, that the stones mark the burial sites of the beloved children of
Heinrich and Emilie Amthor (Zur Erinnerung an alle unsere Lieben Kinder von
ihren tiefbetrübten Elltern Heinrich & Emilie Amthor, or, in English, In
rememberance of all our dear children from their deeply sorrowed parents
Heinrich & Emilie Amthor).
Surveyors: John Batla, Duane Smith, and Bill Stein
Date surveyed: January 26, 1993
Number of known burials to date: 9
- B - Top of Page - Cemetery Records Page
Bachelor Hill Cemetery
See: Zoar Lutheran Church Cemetery
Barten Cemetery
Origin of name: after Barten family
Location: southeast of the intersection of Cat Spring Road and
Zimmerscheidt Road, about one-fourth of a mile east of Zimmerscheidt Road and
one-fifth of a mile south of Cat Spring Road
Map: 2996-432, Bernardo Quadrangle (not marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 746880E, 3297716N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: c. 1875
Earliest known year of birth: 1819
Most recent known burial: 1903
Racial mix: all white
Comments: Larry Uhlig, Gary E. McKee, and Carolyn Skopik visited the site in
April 2007 and reported that a local landowner told them the stone was removed
for cleaning and not returned yet. The base was there and several pieces of
sandstone were strewn about. There was no fence and some cattle damage.
Surveyors: Larry Uhlig
Auditors: Mary McElvey
Date audited: June 3, 1994
Number of known burials to date: 2
Batla Cemetery
Origin of name: after Batla family
Source of name: usage
Location: east of Highway 71 about half a mile north of Garwood, but on
private property and thus inaccessible to public traffic
Map: 2996-133, Garwood Quadrangle (not marked)
Earliest known year of death: 1898
Earliest known year of birth: 1823
Most recent known burial: 1903
Racial mix: all white
Surveyors: James Hopkins, Mary Elizabeth Hopkins, and E. H. Stienke
Date surveyed: March 22, 1972
Number of known burials to date: 3
Besch Cemetery
Origin of name: after Besch family
Location: about 1.25 miles east of County Road 103 and two miles north of
Highway 90A, but on private property and thus inaccessible to public traffic
Map: 2996-311, Rock Island Quadrangle (not marked)
Earliest known year of death: 1908
Earliest known year of birth: 1836
Most recent known burial: 1918
Racial mix: all white
Comments: There are no tombstones or grave markers of any kind on the site. Both known
burials in the cemetery were extracted from the death records at the courthouse.
Alexander Besch actually has a tombstone in the Columbus Odd Fellows Rest
Cemetery, but it was not erected at the time of his death. It is a Confederate
veteran marker erected, probably, in the 1960s.
Surveyors: Bill Stein
Date surveyed: July 20, 1993
Number of known burials to date: 2
Boeer Cemetery
Origin of name: after Boeer family
Location: about one third of a mile east of FM 109, about one third of a
mile south of its intersection with Interstate 10, but on private property and
thus inaccessible to public traffic
Map: 2996-324, Weimar Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14,
715727E, 3286053N
(NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1888
Earliest known year of birth: c. 1799
Most recent known burial: 1888
Racial mix: all white
Surveyors: unknown
Date surveyed: unknown
Number of known burials to date: 2
Boetcher Cemetery
See: Böttger Cemetery
Boettcher Cemetery
See: Böttger Cemetery
Borden Cemetery
Origin of name: after community near which it is located
Location: on County Road 217, three tenths of a mile west of its
intersection with County Road 210
Map: 2996-313, Borden Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 723964E, 3287394N
(NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1844
Earliest known year of birth: 1795
Most recent known burial: 1985
Racial mix: all white
Surveyors: unknown
Date surveyed: unknown
Auditors: Bill Stein
Date audited: 1988
Number of known burials to date: 38
Böttger Cemetery
Origin of name: after Böttger family
Alternate name: Boetcher Cemetery
Source of alternate name: U. S. G. S. Topographic Map
Location: about one-tenth of a mile west of FM 1890 (Shaws Bend Road),
about 2.4 miles south of its northernmost intersection with Highway 71
Map: 2996-342, Ellinger Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 726325E, 3294016N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1870
Earliest known year of birth: 1819
Most recent known burial: 1913
Racial mix: all white
Comments: 1. The name of the cemetery and of the family buried within it
might well be questioned by those who know the name by its more common spelling,
Boettcher, especially when they note that the map cited above refers to the
cemetery as the Boetcher Cemetery, but the tombstones of the family members
quite distinctly give the name as Böttger.
2. Gary E. McKee visited the cemetery in November 2006 and made these comments:
There is a new barbed wire fence running through the center of cemetery. The
cemetery on both sides of the fence has been destroyed by cattle. The only
readable stone remaining is that of Mary Zickuhr (1858-1918).
Surveyors: Bill Stein and Mary Annell Horndt
Date surveyed: April 28, 1993
Number of known burials to date: 3
Boykin Cemetery
Alternate name: Mount Zion Cemetery
Origin of alternate name: after the nearby church of the same name
Source of alternate name: U. S. G. S. Topographic Map
Location: on the north side of County Road 79 (Mahalitc Lane), about
one-tenth of a mile west of its intersection with FM 3013
Map: 2996-421, Eagle Lake Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 759241E, 3269296N
(NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1911
Earliest known year of birth: 1869
Most recent known burial: 2003
Racial mix: all black
Surveyors: Bill Stein, Elizabeth Schoellmann, and Isidoro Ramirez
Date surveyed: May 21, 1993
Number of known burials to date: 60
Braden Cemetery
Location: on
the north side of
A. Braden Road, approximately one-half mile west of the Zoar Lutheran Cemetery
Map: 2996-432, Bernardo Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse
Mercator
coordinates:
14, 747432E, 3298899N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1903
Earliest known year of birth: 1875
Most recent known burial: 1903
Racial mix: all white
Surveyors: Gary McKee
Date surveyed: November 14, 2006
Number of known burials to date: 1
Bratton Cemetery
Origin of name: after Bratton family
Source of name: usage
Location: about two miles southeast of Altair, 400 yards east of Highway
71, but on private property and thus inaccessible to public traffic
Map: 2996-422, Altair Quadrangle (not marked)
Earliest known year of death: 1868
Earliest known year of birth: 1842
Most recent known burial: 1882
Racial mix: all white
Surveyors: unknown
Date surveyed: unknown
Number of known burials to date: 7
Bretschneider Cemetery
Alternate name: Kellner Cemetery
Source of alternate name: U. S. G. S. Topographic Map
Location: on the south side of Bostik Road, about 1.9 miles from its
intersection with Cat Spring Road
Map: 2996-432, Bernardo Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse
Mercator
coordinates:
14, 750313E, 3301248N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1897
Earliest known year of birth: 1834
Most recent known burial: 1908
Racial mix: all white
Comments: Carolyn Skopik and Gary McKee visited the cemetery on April 1,
2007 and made these remarks: The cemetery is surrounded by a chain link fence
approximately fifteen feet square. Egmont Bretschnieder and wife are on one
“modern” stone, with unnamed child size grave marked by bricks. There are two
very large cedar trees and some lilies.
Surveyors: Larry Uhlig
Date surveyed: unknown
Number of known burials to date: 5
Bretschneider 2
Carl Bretschneider Cemetery
Origin of name: after Carl Bretschneider
Location: northwest of the intersection of Reichardt Lane and Cat Spring
Road
Map: 2996-432, Bernardo Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 752146E, 3301638N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1890
Earliest known year of birth: 1836
Most recent known burial: 1965
Racial mix: all white
Comments: The cemetery is called "Bretschneider Cemetery" on the map cited
above.
Surveyors: Larry Uhlig
Date surveyed: unknown
Number of known burials to date: 7
Britton "Grave Site"
Location: near the end of County Road 214, but on private property
and thus inaccessible to public traffic
Map: 2996-312, Sawmill Branch Quadrangle (not marked)
Comments: 1. Actually not a grave site at all, though one tombstone is on
the site. At some point, the family of James Brown Britton (who is more
frequently recorded as James Alfred Britton) secured a Confederate-veteran
marker for his grave. However, they did not erect it for years, by which time
they had forgotten where he was buried. Wishing perhaps more than anything else
to get it out of their garage, they finally erected it in their garden, where it
remains today. The existence of the gravestone was reported to the library by
Lillian Schneider on July 31, 1992. Library staff passed the knowledge on to
intrepid Britton family researcher Ellene Williamson, who discovered the true
nature of the "grave site" on August 16, 1992.
2. Gary E. McKee visited the site in December 2006 and added these remarks: The
nonexistent grave site now exists elsewhere. The landowner, Fred E. Westergren,
gave the tombstone to someone, he believes to Ellene Williamson. Westergren
remembered that he had plowed up the marker in his field behind the house near
the end of CR 214 and then placed it in his garden. He is a descendant of
Britton. He also reported that “Aunt Keeler Kohleffel” is buried just west of
his home (14, 723671E, 3278775N) on a rise in the old potato field. His family
has never plowed or planted anything on that little rise.
Number of known burials to date: 0
Brown Family Cemetery
Origin of name: after Brown family
Source of name: death certificates
Alternate name: Charlie Brown Cemetery
Origin of alternate name: after Charlie Brown
Location: on the east side of Highway 71 about one mile south of its
intersection with Highway 90A
Map: Altair Quadrangle, 2996-422 (not marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 746280E, 3272312N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1972
Earliest known year of birth: 1894
Most recent known burial: 2005
Racial mix: all black
Surveyors: Bill Stein and Elizabeth Schoellmann
Date surveyed: February 21, 1992
Number of known burials to date: 6
Brown 2
George W. Brown Burial Site
Origin of name: after the person buried there
Location: in Columbus, on the far southwestern corner of lot 5, block 7
Map: 2996-314, Columbus Quadrangle (not marked))
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 738131E, 3288886N
(NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1848
Earliest known year of birth: c. 1818
Most recent known burial: 1848
Racial mix: all white
Comments: George William Brown, an attorney and the representative of
Colorado County at the 1845 Annexation Convention, died at the age of 30
sometime between January 12 and March 28, 1848. Little more than two years
earlier, on October 18, 1845, Brown had married Elizabeth C. Hinch. Left a widow
at a young age, she remarried (to Edward Musgrove Glenn) in 1851, and shortly
afterward sold the home in which she and Brown had lived and behind which Brown
had been buried. No doubt fearing that the grave site would be neglected, on
July 19, 1852, Brown's brother-in-law, George W. Smith purchased it, a twelve
foot by twelve foot tract in the southwest corner of the lot. It has long since
disappeared from view and from memory (see Colorado County Deed Records, Book H,
p. 308; Colorado County Marriage Records, Book B, p. 71; Lavaca County Marriage
Records, Book A, p. 52).
Number of known burials to date: 1
Brownson Cemetery
See: Golden Rod Cemetery
Brune Cemetery
Location: on the south side of FM 1890 (Shaw's Bend Road), about 1.5
miles southwest of its southernmost intersection with Highway 71
Map: 2996-314, Columbus Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 730674E, 3291863N
(NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1895
Earliest known year of birth: 1840
Most recent known burial: 2007
Racial mix: all white
Surveyors: Bill Stein
Date surveyed: 1988
Number of known burials to date: 214
Brune 2
Ludwig Brune Cemetery
Location: about six tenths of a mile east of Brune's Mill Road, about
three and a half miles north of its intersection with Schobel Road, but on
private property and thus inaccessible to public traffic
Map: 2996-341, Frelsburg Quadrangle (not marked)
Earliest known year of death: 1867
Earliest known year of birth: 1816
Most recent known burial: 1935
Racial mix: all white
Surveyors: Thurman Brune
Date surveyed: April 1990
Number of known burials to date: 8
Burttschell Cemetery
Origin of name: After the surname of the only person known to be
buried in the cemetery.
Location: about .2 miles northeast of Frelsburg Road, about .3 miles
southeast of its intersection with Mentz Road
Map: 2996-423, Alleyton Quadrangle (not marked)
Earliest known year of death: 1878
Earliest known year of birth: 1849
Most recent known burial: 1878
Racial mix: all white
Comments: It is something of a mystery why the person buried in this
cemetery was not buried at the very large St. Roch's Cemetery, which is in easy
walking distance.
Surveyors: Bob Cowart, Jack Hodge, and Bill Stein
Date surveyed: February 22, 1993
Number of known burials to date: 1
- C - Top of Page - Cemetery Records Page
Carlton Cemetery
Origin of name: after Carlton family
Source of name: obituary of Benjamin M. Maner
Location: about two tenths of a mile northeast from the point, about
three tenths of a mile from Highway 71, where County Road 101 turns to the
southeast, but on private property and thus inaccessible to public traffic
Map: 2996-314, Columbus Quadrangle (not marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 740806E, 3283548N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1869
Earliest known year of birth: 1822
Most recent known burial: 1962
Racial mix: whites and blacks
Comments: 1. Those with surnames Maner, Perry, and Jamison were white, those
named Davis, Bratcher, and Glover were black.
2. Gary E. McKee visited the cemetery in November 2006 and made these notes: The
cemetery is in a thicket and has been trampled by cattle.
Surveyors: Nancy Wooten, Bernice Etheridge, Celia Perry, and Bill Stein
Date surveyed: February 23, 1990
Number of known burials to date: 11
Charlie Brown Cemetery
See: Brown Family Cemetery
Carter Family Cemetery
Origin of name: after Carter family
Location: on the north side of Highway 71, at its intersection with
Garden Lane, just north of the north river bridge in Columbus
Map: 2996-314, Columbus Quadrangle (not marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 737036E, 3290097N
(NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1874
Earliest known year of birth: c. 1831
Most recent known burial: 1909
Racial mix: all white
Comments: The cemetery contains just one stone, and that not erect. It
lies near the remains of a small iron gate.
Surveyors: Bill Stein
Date surveyed: 1988
Number of known burials to date: 2
Cheetham Cemetery
Origin of name: after community of Cheetham
Source of name: obituaries and death certificates
Location: south of Highway 90A, just west of its intersection with Lake
Sheridan Road (County Road 275), and about a mile east of Sheridan
Map: 2996-243, Sheridan Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 726958E, 3265484N
(NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1877
Earliest known year of birth: 1801
Most recent known burial: 2007
Racial mix: all white
Comments: On July 6, 1979, one acre was added to the south side of the
cemetery (see Colorado County Deed Records, Book 399, p. 431).
Surveyors: unknown
Date surveyed: unknown
Auditors: Regena Brisco
Date audited: 1991
Number of known burials to date: 494
Clear Creek Cemetery
Origin of name: after the Clear Creek Methodist Church, which once
stood nearby, and which was named for the nearby creek
Alternate name: Devil's Pocket Cemetery
Location: on County Road 250, less than one half mile from its
intersection with FM 2144 and just after its intersection with County Road 248
Map: 2996-324, Weimar Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 701707E, 3280732N
(NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1855
Earliest known year of birth: 1794
Most recent known burial: 1929
Racial mix: all white
Comments: 1. The cemetery was established on land deeded to the trustees of
a Methodist Episcopal Church South by Edward M. Glenn on July 21, 1856 (see
Colorado County Deed Records, Book K, p. 537).
2. In the summer of 1886, about thirty years after it was constructed, the Clear
Creek Methodist Church was torn down. Materials from it were used to construct
the Methodist church in Oakland (see Colorado Citizen, July 22, 1886).
3. The cemetery contains one tombstone with an impossible date on it. Louisa J.
Long's birthdate is given as February 29, 1835, however, as 1835 was not a leap
year, there was no February 29 that year.
4. In April 2007, some of the descendants of people buried in the cemetery
formed the Clear Creek Cemetery Association. Throughout most of the twentieth
century, the cemetery had been covered by a dense thicket of underbrush. Twice
in the 1980s and 1990s, the cemetery had been cleaned up in efforts spearheaded
by Ernest Mae Seaholm. However, no regular maintenance was done, and both times,
the thicket crept back. The new association also cleaned up the cemetery and
conducts regular maintenance. It also publishes a newsletter called Clear
Creek Comments.
5. In January 2008, vandals attacked the cemetery and broke the headstone of
Martha Burgess. They also knocked down the stone of Myrtle Bass and disturbed
the stone of Thomas DeGraffenreid.
(see Weimar Mercury, January 31, 2008; Clear Creek Comments,
volume 2, number 1, January 2008).
Surveyors: unknown
Date surveyed: unknown
Auditors: Ernest Mae Seaholm, Bobby Payne, Judy Payne, and Gene Payne
Date audited: 1989
Number of known burials to date: 76
Columbus City Cemetery
Origin of name: after the city in which it is located
Source of name: obituaries
Location: on the west side of Columbus, just south of Highway 90, between
Rampart Street and Legion Drive
Map: 2996-314, Columbus Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 736852E, 3288587N
(NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1853
Earliest known year of birth: 1785
Most recent known burial: 2007
Racial mix: whites and blacks
Comments: 1. The cemetery was certainly in use long before the City of
Columbus formally purchased it from John and Lavinia H. Toliver on March 15, 1870.
The original seven acre purchase was augmented by three adjoining acres on
October 5, 1893. The cemetery was taken into the city limits on November 13,
1939 (see Colorado County Deed Records, Book O, p. 61, Book 18, p. 173; Minutes
of the City Council of Columbus Book 4, p. 760, Archives of the Nesbitt Memorial
Library, Columbus.)
2. The cemetery was in wide use until December 1913, when a flood washed up many
of the graves and carried off many of the markers. It lay abandoned for years
thereafter, with only sporadic burials of longtime plot owners. On March 13,
1939, two cemetery associations, the City Cemetery Association and the City
Cemetery Association, Colored, were formed. Periodically, the city hired someone
to clean up the cemetery, but over time it was neglected.
In 1955, Hattie
May Dick systematically catalogued the cemetery, and, as a member of the city
council, made an attempt to clean it up (see Houston Post, May 9,
1955). Thereafter,
however, it remained neglected until, in 1970, it was
cleaned up by a volunteer crew led by Charles Redus. Later, at the instigation
of Buddy Rau, a long, narrow concrete slab was poured along the side of one of
the cemetery's main roads, and many tombstones which had been scattered and/or
broken were placed on it.
3. Most of the burials since 1913 have been indigent blacks. A few blacks were
also buried in the cemetery earlier. Fully one-fourth, if not one-third, of the
burials listed herein for this cemetery were derived from sources other than
tombstones on the site.
4. On December 28, 1929, two men were killed in a three car accident west of
Glidden. One of the dead men was identified as John W. Sargent. Sargent was
carrying a diary which revealed that he had traveled extensively. The local
undertakers, Untermeyer Brothers, contacted his family for instructions
regarding the body. The family requested that Sargent be buried as a pauper,
and, on January 2, 1930, he was.
Nearly five years later, on October 31, 1934, an 18 or 19 year old man was
struck by an automobile and killed while walking on the road near Glidden. The
dead man had no identification on him, and though he was traveling with another
man, his name could not be determined. He was embalmed and left in a coffin
above Untermeyer's Store in Columbus for some months. Visitors in town and
people looking for a missing person were taken up to look at him in hopes he
could be identified. Finally, after he had become nearly ossified by the
repeated infusion of embalming fluids, he was buried in an unmarked grave in the
Columbus City Cemetery. Over time, the two incidents were confounded and merged
in the public memory. People "remembered" that a man who had worked with Howard
Carter when he opened Tutankhamen's tomb on November 26, 1922 and therefore been
cursed to die violently had been killed in an automobile accident near Glidden,
laid unidentified above Untermeyer's for several months, become known locally as
King Tut, and then was buried. In fact, it was Sargent who, according to his
traveling companion, H. R. Miller, had been at King Tut's tomb, not the teenage
transient who was killed five years later and never identified (see Colorado
County Citizen, January 2, 1930, November 1, 1934, March 7, 1935).
5. At 11:35 on the night of March 19, 2003, about 12.2 miles east of Columbus,
an eighteen-wheel truck struck a pedestrian who was walking on the frontage road
of Interstate 10, killing him. The pedestrian was an Asian man about 35 years
old. By the articles he was carrying, he was judged to be a homeless man who
sustained himself by fishing at various water holes. He had no identification on
him, and so, on his death certificate, his name is given as "John Doe."
Authorities, however, determined that his name might have been Tuan Dang. He was
buried as a pauper in the Columbus City Cemetery. A small metal marker reading
"Believed to be Tuan Dang died March 19, 2003," was placed on the grave.
Surveyors: Hattie May Dick
Date surveyed: 1955
Auditors: Bill Stein and Michael Hawn
Date audited: April 25, May 1, May 7, and May 8, 1990
Update: Virgil Thompson
Date updated: September 2004
Number of known burials to date: 659
Columbus Confederate Cemetery
Location: unknown
Earliest known year of death: 1863
Most recent known burial: 1863
Comments: During the Civil War, numerous Confederate soldiers were stationed
in and around Columbus. In addition, for several months at least, the
Confederate military maintained a hospital in Columbus. The diary of James
Pitman Saunders, published in John Bennett Boddie, comp., Historical Southern
Families, vol. 7 (Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1963), pp. 173-198, confirms that the
military also had a cemetery in or near Columbus. Pitman visited the cemetery on
April 18 and April 21, 1863. On the 21st he wrote, "There is about fifty graves
here so new that there is no grass growing on them and men at the hospital dying
at the rate of 2 or 3 a week. They are buried in a verry plain coffin, a shallow
grave without a vault in a verry loose sandy piece of ground, dressed in their
own everyday wearing clothes. No fencing whatever about the graves." His
diary provides the names of four of the five persons known to be buried there.
The fifth name, John M. Anderson, was provided by his descendant, Melba McNiel,
who learned the date of his death and the fact that he was buried in the
Columbus Confederate Cemetery from Confederate pension records.
Number of known burials to date: 5
Columbus Odd Fellows Rest Cemetery
Origin of name: after a lodge, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows,
which presumably had some early jurisdiction over the cemetery
Source of name: deed records and obituaries
Location: in Columbus, on Montezuma Street, south of its intersection
with FM 806
Map: 2996-314, Columbus Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 736059E, 3288017N
(NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1852
Earliest known year of birth: c. 1792
Most recent known burial: 2007
Racial mix: all white
Comments: 1. The original cemetery is on the east side of Montezuma
Street, south of St. Anthony's Catholic Cemetery. The land was deeded to the
Columbus Lodge No. 51, Independent Order of Odd Fellows by John Toliver on July
17, 1871. The May 14, 1872 issue of the Colorado Citizen carried a notice
that the cemetery was "tastefully laid off in numerous plots of various
sizes and shapes, all of which are accurately staked off separately and numbered
on the map, which are for sale to any person or persons, whether they belong to
the Order or not, at prices corresponding to size and locality of plots.
Positively no one will be permitted to bury in said cemetery, without first
purchasing a plot and paying in advance for the same, except it be indigent Odd
Fellows (in good standing) and their families." In 1890, the Odd Fellows sold the cemetery to the newly created
Columbus Cemetery Association. The original constitution of the Columbus
Cemetery Association, adopted on November 27, 1890, noted that the association
was formed by "the ladies of Columbus" and set as its purpose, "to keep in order
the grounds of the two burial places near Columbus known as the City Cemetery
and Odd Fellows' Rest." Additions to the cemetery were made on August 8,
1901 and July 1, 1977. The 1977 addition, containing 8.795 acres, is on the west
side of Montezuma Street, across the street from St. Anthony's Catholic Cemetery
(see Colorado County Deed Records, Book 24, pp. 494, 510, Book 37, p. 97, Book
99, p. 13, and Book 362, p. 93).
2. The cemetery contains the most celebrated tombstone in Colorado County, that
of Ike Towell. Towell had the tombstone made shortly before he committed
suicide. It is inscribed "Here rests Ike Towell an infidel who had no hope of
heaven nor fear of hell was free of superstition to do right and love justice
was his religion." At least twice in the more than fifty years since the
tombstone was erected, some of Towell's relatives have sought to have it torn
down, but other relatives have blocked them.
3. In its early years, the bluff on the south side of the cemetery had serious
erosion problems. In fact, some graves were exposed. In November 1888, a
committee was appointed by the local Independent Order of Odd Fellows lodge to
plant trees to prevent further erosion, and to keep the cemetery grounds,
described then as in deplorable condition, in order. Nonetheless, a few years
later, Henry Middleton, who had died the same month the cleanup committee was
appointed, was washed out of his grave.
4. In March 1955, an entrepreneur named Gene Loewy announced that he was
planning to build and sell crypts in a mausoleum at the Odd Fellows Cemetery.
According to Loewy, the mausoleum was to be "as fine as money, art and science
can build" and contain 36 "dry snow white compartments of stone and marble." Two
weeks after his announcement made the newspaper, a group calling itself The
Interested Citizens' Committee took out an ad criticizing mausoleums. The ad,
headlined "Never let this Happen in your Community!" and "Skull Missing From
Body In Desecrated Mausoleum," warned that "statistics show that many mausoleums
are not permanent." The following week, Loewy responded with a long ad that
scoffed at the Interested Citizens' Committee and their charges. Over the
summer, the mausoleum was built. By the end of August, only two of the crypts
had not been sold. On September 3 and 4, the mausoleum was opened to the public.
It contained 36 crypts, 18 on each side, arranged in three rows of six crypts
each. The prices of the crypts varied according to location.
On May 7, 1958, William Christian Papenberg, who had died two days earlier,
became the first person buried in the mausoleum. Records are incomplete, but
four others are known to have been entombed in the mausoleum: Albert W.
Leyendecker, Robert Beresford Shaw, Edwin Ray Spencer, and Angeline Louise Spencer. Leyendecker, who was buried in 1967, is the last known burial in the mausoleum.
However, since 1967, all the above mentioned person's bodies have been removed
from the mausoleum and buried in the ground. Over the years, it became apparent
that the mausoleum was hardly the magnificent form of eternal rest that Loewy
had claimed. The roof leaked, and, more importantly, so did the crypts. In
addition, the building was poorly ventilated, and whatever odors permeated the
walls remained in the air. In short, the mausoleum became a very disagreeable
place, and people quickly removed the members of their families who had been entombed in
it. The doors remained unlocked and ajar for nearly twenty years before, in the
early 1990s, it was discovered that a homeless man had installed a cot and was
sleeping in the building. The cot was removed and the doors locked. Most of the
crypts remain intact, though the floor is littered with broken marble. The
building stands vacant, or nearly so, and useless, because those families who
bought crypts still hold title to them (see Colorado County Deed Records, Book
187, pp. 67-68, 115-119, 129-142, Book 195, pp. 128-129; Colorado County
Citizen, March 24, 1955, April 7, 1955, April 14, 1955, June 2, 1955, July
14, 1955, August 25, 1955, May 8, 1958).
Surveyors: unknown
Date surveyed: unknown
Auditors: Bill Stein and Heath Moore
Date audited: July 31 and August 2, 1989
Number of known burials to date: 3069
Corner Cemetery
Origin of name: unknown
Source of name: usage
Location: southeast of Altair, near the east end of County Road 212, but
on private property and thus inaccessible to public traffic
Map: 2996-422, Altair Quadrangle (not marked)
Earliest known year of death: 1917
Earliest known year of birth: c. 1862
Most recent known burial: 1959
Racial mix: all black
Comments: At the time it was surveyed, the cemetery contained tombstones
for only five people: Charley Collier, Jessie Forde, Willie Green, Eliza Jane
Polk, and Mattie Washington. In searching the death records at the Office of the
County Clerk in the Colorado County courthouse, library staff turned up about a
dozen names of persons said to be buried in Altair. Several of those persons
were said by local residents to have been buried at the Corner Cemetery, and so
all have been added to our survey.
Surveyors: Elizabeth Schoellmann and Gerry Fling
Date surveyed: March 5, 1992
Number of known burials to date: 21
Cox Family Cemetery
Origin of name: after the Cox family, who owned the site from 1850 to
1867
Source of name: deed records
Location: in Columbus, on the corner of Martin Luther King (formerly Malleck) and Prairie Streets,
north of Martin Luther King and east of Prairie
Map: 2996-314, Columbus Quadrangle (not marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 737569E, 3289293N
(NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: unknown
Earliest known year of birth: unknown
Most recent known burial: unknown
Racial mix: presumed to be all white
Comments: On December 28, 1867, Mary Jane Cox, the widow of George W.
Cox, and her three children, George Lawrence Cox, Mary Laura Cox, and William H.
Cox sold all of lots 2 and 3 of block 93 in Columbus "except ten (10) Varas
Square including the graves in the S. W. Corner of lot No three." Mary Jane Cox
died on November 1, 1882. Seven years later, on June 10, 1889, the three
children sold the remaining small square of block 93, describing it as "having
been used at one time by our parents [as] a family burial ground." The Cox
family, in the person of George W. Cox, had acquired the property on December
31, 1850, and apparently buried more than one of their number on the site.
George W. Cox, Robert Cox, Francis Cox, and Emmeretta Cox, the last three all
children of George W. and Mary Jane Cox, all apparently died before the first
sale cited above was made, and might have been buried on the site. George W.,
Robert, and Francis Cox all appear on the 1850 census, but not on the 1860
census. Emmeretta is on the 1860 census but not mentioned in either of the
deeds. If her husband and some of her children were buried there, then Mary Jane
Cox might have been as well (see Colorado County Deed Records, Book G, p. 326,
Book M, p. 612; Colorado Citizen, November 2, 1882).
Number of known burials to date: 0
- D - Top of Page - Cemetery Records Page
Dahse Cemetery
Origin of name: after Dahse family
Location: about eight tenths of a mile directly west of the intersection
of FM 532 and County Road 244, but on private property and thus inaccessible to
public traffic
Map: 2996-321, Oakland Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 713464E, 3278590N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1887
Earliest known year of birth: 1837
Most recent known burial: c. 1892
Racial mix: all white
Comments: The cemetery is marked on the map cited above simply as
"Grave."
Surveyors: Bill Stein and Nelda Hajdik
Date surveyed: August 3, 1992
Number of known burials to date: 3
Devil's Pocket Cemetery
See: Clear Creek Cemetery
Dittman Cemetery
Origin of Name: After Solomon Dittman, who constructed the cemetery
Location: about one-half mile southeast of the intersection of Cat Spring
Road and Bostik Road
Map: 2996-432, Bernardo Quadrangle (not marked)
Universal
Transverse Mercator coordinates:
14, 753151E, 3299707N
(NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: none
Earliest known year of birth: none
Most recent known burial: none
Racial mix: none
Comments: Larry Uhlig, Gary E. McKee, and Carolyn Skopik visited the site in
April 2007. It is adjacent to the Uhlig Cemetery. In preparation for burials at
the site, Solomon Dittman had constructed a tall metal fence and planted two
trees. There were, as yet, no burials.
Number of known burials to date: 0
- E - Top of Page - Cemetery Records Page
Eagle Lake Community Cemetery
Alternate name: Eagle Lake Community Cemetery North
Location: at the intersection of Cat Springs Road and Cemetery Street
in Eagle Lake, adjacent to the Eagle Lake Masonic Cemetery
Map: 2996-421, Eagle Lake Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 758434E, 3276909N
(NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1885
Earliest known year of birth: 1826
Most recent known burial: 2007
Racial mix: all black
Comments: 1. On June 2, 1902, Arabella Dorigan deeded one acre, less
"three Graves sold at the N. E. Corner to a colored family," adjacent to the
"Freedman Grave Yard" to be used "for a Catholic Burying Ground" to the
Galveston Diocese of the Catholic Church. Her deed also reserved three lots for
the burial of Ellen Cherry and family, and twenty lots for "poor and destitute
Catholics without charge" (see Colorado County Deed Records, Book 24, p. 447).
The Catholic cemetery never developed, and Mrs. Cherry and her family were
eventually buried in the Eagle Lake Masonic Cemetery. The land sold to the
church by Mrs. Dorigan is apparently now part of the Eagle Lake Community
Cemetery.
2. The cemetery contains two quite interesting graves, each with an unusual
headstone, and on one, a footstone that has mounted on it, a clock, with the
time frozen at three minutes after eight.
Surveyors: Bill Stein, Elizabeth Schoellmann, and Geraldine Suber
Date surveyed: December 11, 1992
Update: Virgil Thompson
Date updated: September 2004
Number of known burials to date: 277
Eagle Lake Community Cemetery East
See: Farmer's Improvement Society Cemetery
Eagle Lake Confederate
Cemetery
Location: unknown, except near Eagle
Lake
Earliest known year of death: before 1868
Most recent known burial: 1868
Comments: The Houston Daily Times
of September 29, 1868, in a report on the death of Thomas Scott Anderson, states
that Anderson "was buried on Saturday evening near the Lake, adjacent to the
graves of the Confederate soldiers who died while encamping there during the
war." The site of these graves may have developed into the Lakeside Cemetery.
Number of known burials to date: 1
Eagle Lake Masonic Cemetery
Location: at the intersection of Prairie Avenue and Cemetery Street
in Eagle Lake, adjacent to the Eagle Lake Community Cemetery
Map: 2996-421, Eagle Lake Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 758353E, 3276802N
(NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1867
Earliest known year of birth: 1811
Most recent known burial: 2007
Racial mix: all white
Comments: 1. The cemetery dates from the appointment, on April 9, 1880,
of a committee to purchase land for a cemetery by the Masonic chapter of Eagle
Lake. The land was purchased on July 3, 1880 (see Eagle Lake Headlight,
August 30, 1940).
2. The family of James Alston Harbert was originally buried in a family
cemetery. Upon his death in 1921, he was buried in and his family members were
moved to the Eagle Lake Masonic Cemetery.
Surveyors: Kathryn McRee and Robert Samuel Martin
Date surveyed: March 5, 1973
Auditors: Ernest Mae Seaholm
Date audited: 1989
Number of known burials to date: 766
- F - Top of Page - Cemetery Records Page
Farmer's Improvement Society Cemetery
Origin of name: after an organization of black farmers which offered,
as one of the principal benefits of membership, burial insurance
Alternate name: Eagle Lake Community Cemetery East
Location: in Eagle Lake, on the northwest corner of FM 3013 and State
Street
Map: 2996-421, Eagle Lake Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 759545E, 3275468N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1911
Earliest known year of birth: 1804
Most recent known burial: 2007
Racial mix: all black
Comments: Three markers were only partly legible. One provided the
information that someone who is buried in the cemetery died on either February
or July 8, 1992, another that someone died on June 15, 1965, and a third that
someone was born in 1903 and died in 1979. Other existing records were checked
in an attempt to further identify the burials, but in vain.
Surveyors: Sandy Ray, Tracey Wegenhoft, and Bill Stein
Date surveyed: April 5, 1994
Update: Virgil Thompson
Date updated: September 2004
Number of known burials to date: 131
Fitzgerald Cemetery
Location: southwest of FM 1890 about 3.5 miles west of its
southernmost intersection with State Highway 71, about 100 yards and across a
ravine from the Grace Cemetery
Map: 2996-313, Borden Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 727497E, 3292619N
(NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1860
Earliest known year of birth: 1786
Most recent known burial: 1992
Racial mix: all white
Comments: This cemetery is often combined with the Grace Cemetery and
referred to as the Fitzgerald-Grace Cemetery. The two cemeteries, however, are
quite distinct from each other.
Surveyors: James and Mary Elizabeth Hopkins
Date surveyed: February 13, 1972
Auditors: Bill Stein and Lucien Templain, Jr.
Date audited: April 26, 1990
Number of known burials to date: 50
Flournoy Homestead Cemetery
Origin of name: after Flournoy family
Location: on the south side of County Road 273, very near its
intersection with County Road 212
Map: 2996-312, Sawmill Branch Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse
Mercator
coordinates:
14, 721140E, 3276325N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1869
Earliest known year of birth: 1857
Most recent known burial: 1869
Racial mix: all white
Comments: 1. There is only one grave on the site, but near the grave there
is a marker designating the original home site of the Flournoy family which
lists the members of the family and their birth and death dates. These people
are actually buried elsewhere.
2. Gary E. McKee
visited the site in October 2006 and made these notes: The UTMs of the home site
are 721127E, 3276274N. There is a debris field on the homestead site, and
a pear orchard remaining.
Surveyors: Jim Kearney, Anders Saustrup, and Bill Stein
Date surveyed: March 14, 1990
Number of known burials to date: 1
Floyd Cemetery
Origin of name: after Floyd family
Source of name: death certificate of Mary Darden
Location: at the southern extremity of Secates Road
Map: 2996-344, Industry Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 731808E, 331254N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1941
Earliest known year of birth: 1865
Most recent known burial: 1973
Racial mix: all black
Comments: The cemetery contains a great many more graves than
gravestones. One partially legible marker was not included in the cemetery
records. It records the burial of someone named Nora who lived to be 61 years
old.
Surveyors: Allen Ruhmann and Bill Stein
Date surveyed: March 10, 1993
Number of known burials to date: 13
- G - Top of Page - Cemetery Records Page
Gaedecke Cemetery
Location: north of Bostik Road
Map: 2996-432, Bernardo Quadrangle (marked)
Earliest known year of death: c. 1926
Earliest known year of birth: c. 1855
Most recent known burial: 1948
Racial mix: all white
Comments: The cemetery that is called "Gaedecke" on the map cited above
is actually the Kretzschmar Cemetery. The Gaedecke Cemetery is some distance to
the northwest, very near the Hinks Cemetery, marked simply "Cem."
Surveyors: unknown
Date surveyed: unknown
Number of known burials to date: 5
Gaedecke Cemetery
See: Kretzschmar Cemetery
Garwood Cemetery
Origin of name: after the nearby town
Location: about 2.5 miles west of Garwood, on the south side of FM 1693
about .3 miles from its intersection with Ed Frnka Road
Map: 2996-133, Garwood Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 748612E, 3259537N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1912
Earliest known year of birth: 1837
Most recent known burial: 1987
Racial mix: all white
Comments: On April 25, 1914, J. J. Pinchback deeded three acres to the
Garwood Cemetery Association for use as a cemetery (see Colorado County Deed
Records, Book 55,p. 613).
Surveyors: Elizabeth Schoellmann
Date surveyed: September 1991
Number of known burials to date: 43
Garwood Methodist Cemetery
See: Lehrer Memorial Cemetery
Gay Hill Cemetery
Origin of name: after the Gay family, who provided the land for the
cemetery
Source of name: death certificates and obituaries
Alternate name: Private Colored Toland Chapel Cemetery
Origin of alternate name: unknown
Source of alternate name: deed records
Location: on the south side of Schobel Road, about 1.8 miles west of its
intersection with Brunes Mill Road
Map: 2996-314, Columbus Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 733660E,
3293001N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1913
Earliest known year of birth: 1853
Most recent known burial: 2006
Racial mix: all black
Comments: On January 15, 1912, James Bates Gay and his mother, Betty Munn
Gay sold 2.143 acres to the Private Colored Toland Chapel Cemetery Association
for use as a cemetery. The original deed refers to the cemetery as the "Private
Colored Poland Chapel Cemetery," but the name is corrected in the release filed
some months later. That name almost immediately fell into disuse. Death
certificates from as early as 1918 refer to the cemetery by its now universal
name, the Gay Hill Cemetery (see Colorado County Deed Records, Book 49, p. 125,
Book 52, p. 147).
Surveyors: Elizabeth Schoellman, Geraldine Suber, and Bill Stein
Date surveyed: October 9, 1992
Update: Virgil Thompson
Date updated: September 2004
Number of known burials to date: 145
Gerstenberger Cemetery
Origin of name: after Gerstenberger family
Location: on the east side of FM 532, about one tenth of a mile south of
its intersection with County Road 244
Map: 2996-321, Oakland Quadrangle (not marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 714866E, 3278513N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1886
Earliest known year of birth: 1796
Most recent known burial: 1886
Racial mix: all white
Comments: The cemetery contains no tombstones. The names of the people
buried at the site, the dates of their births and deaths, and their relationship
to each other were obtained by affidavit of Wilma Gerstenberg Beken. In 1990, an
historical marker was was erected by the Gerstenberger descendants some fifty
yards north of the cemetery. Gary E. McKee visited the cemetery with Butch
Strunk in November 2006 and noted that Strunk stated that the grave is now
believed to be on the site of the historical marker, because when the highway
was being widened, bricks and other artifacts were encountered.
Surveyors: Butch Strunk
Date surveyed: November 15, 1992
Number of known burials to date: 2
Glidden Cemetery
Origin of name: after the nearby community
Source of name: death certificates
Location: on the north side of FM 2424
Map: 2996-314, Columbus Quandrangle (not marked)
Earliest known year of death: 1910
Earliest known year of birth: 1860
Most recent known burial: 1940
Racial mix: all black
Surveyors: John Batla and Walt Glasscock
Date surveyed: May 11, 2005
Number of known burials to date: 11
Golden Rod Cemetery
Origin of name: after Golden Rod Creek
Source of name: deed records
Alternate name: Brownson Cemetery
Origin of alternate name: after Brownson family
Source of alternate name: U. S. G. S. Topographical Map
Location: about half a mile north of Sandy's Road, less than half a mile
from the Lavaca County line
Map: 2996-241, Sheridan SE Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14,
734271E, 3251400N
(NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1884
Earliest known year of birth: 1836
Most recent known burial: 2007
Racial mix: all white
Comments: On July 12, 1915, Henry and Mary Beckman deeded one acre to the
Golden Rod Cemetery Association. The deed specifies that the land was already being used as a
cemetery (see Colorado County Deed Records, Book 59, p. 57).
Surveyors: Beulah Ethel Davis, Lena Emogene Balusek, James Hopkins, and Mary
Elizabeth Hopkins
Date surveyed: June 2, 1971
Number of known burials to date: 32
Good Hope Cemetery
Location: on the north side of the Interstate 10 feeder road, about
1.5 miles west of its intersection with the westernmost branch of County Road
210
Map: 2996-313, Borden Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14,
719987E, 3286887N
(NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1911
Earliest known year of birth: 1846
Most recent known burial: 2006
Racial mix: all black
Comments: As is characteristic of black cemeteries, there are many graves
marked with uninscribed stones, pipes, or other implements. Additionally, many
of the stones that were inscribed were of such poor quality that the
inscriptions have fallen prey to the elements. One grave is marked with a rather
curious metal cross. There is a flat metal plate above the crossbar which
evidently once held the name of the individual buried beneath it. The five
letters of what was apparently her first name, Daisy, fashioned from metal, are
suspended from the crossbar.
Surveyors: Bill Stein and Elizabeth Schoellmann
Date surveyed: April 24, 1993
Update: Virgil Thompson
Date updated: September 2004
Number of known burials to date: 135
Grace Cemetery
Origin of name: after the Grace family
Location: southwest of FM 1890 about 3.5 miles west of its intersection
with State Highway 71, about 100 yards and across a ravine from the Fitzgerald
Cemetery
Map: 2996-313, Borden Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 727509E, 329519N
(NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1857
Earliest known year of birth: 1801
Most recent known burial: 1878
Racial mix: all white
Comments: This cemetery is often combined with the Fitzgerald Cemetery
and referred to as the Fitzgerald-Grace Cemetery. The two cemeteries, however,
are quite distinct from each other.
Surveyors: James and Mary Elizabeth Hopkins
Date surveyed: February 13, 1972
Auditors: Bill Stein and Lucien Templain, Jr.
Date audited: April 26, 1990
Number of known burials to date: 8
- H - Top of Page - Cemetery Records Page
Hadden Cemetery
Origin of name: after the Hadden family
Location: believed to be in the John Hadden Survey, near Alleyton, but on
private property and thus inaccessible to public traffic
Map: 2996-423, Alleyton Quadrangle (not marked)
Earliest known year of death: 1867
Earliest known year of birth: 1811
Most recent known burial: 1868
Racial mix: all white
Comments: The exact location of the cemetery is now unknown. The
information regarding the burials was taken from an old survey, and has not been
verified.
Surveyors: Henry and Erna Naumann
Date surveyed: 1930s
Number of known burials to date: 2
Hahn Cemetery
See: Nada Cemetery
Halyard Cemetery
Origin of name: after Halyard family
Location: on the west side of Highway 71, just less than a mile south of its
intersection with Shaw's Bend Road, outside a pasture fence, on a small bluff
Map: 2996-314, Columbus Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 733308E, 3292163N
(NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1909
Earliest known year of birth: 1842
Most recent known burial: 1937
Racial mix: all white
Comments: Only two gravestones, those for Alphonso Baker Halyard and
Carroll Halyard, are extant. The other two burials at the site were provided by
affidavit.
Surveyors: James and Mary Elizabeth Hopkins
Date surveyed: February 13, 1972
Auditors: Bill Stein
Date audited: 1988
Number of known burials to date: 5
Harvey's Creek Cemetery
See: Pleasant Hill Cemetery
Hasse Family Cemetery
Origin of name: after Hasse family
Location: About one half mile west of FM 155, about one third of a mile
north of its intersection with County Road 230, but on private property and thus
inaccessible to public traffic.
Map: 2996-321, Oakland Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse
Mercator
coordinates:
14,
715081E, 3276535N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1876
Earliest known year of birth: 1812
Most recent known burial: 1888
Racial mix: all white
Comments: The cemetery was apparently started in 1876, when the two
earliest known burials occurred. At the time, Charles Siegmund Boeer owned the
land. On September 30, 1897 he sold the land to his son, Charles August Boeer.
Four years later, on November 2, 1901, the younger Boeer sold the land except
"the Graveyard lot 22 x 40 ft." to Henry L. Rathke (see Colorado County Deed
Records, Book 17, pp. 266-268, Book 23, pp. 320-322).
Surveyors: Butch Strunk
Date surveyed: unknown
Number of known burials to date: 2
Hebrew Benevolence Society Cemetery
Origin of name: after a common Jewish lodge name
Source of name: inscription on cemetery gate
Location: in Columbus, on the southwest corner of Montezuma Street and FM
806
Map: 2996-314, Columbus Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 735770E, 3287809N
(NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1879
Earliest known year of birth: c. 1809
Most recent known burial: 1992
Racial mix: all white
Comments: 1. The cemetery is on one acre of property deeded by Ben F.
Toliver on July 24, 1879 for $35. It was created as a burial ground for the
local Jewish population. Though many cities around Texas contained Hebrew
Benevolence Societies, it is believed that no such formal organization ever
existed in Columbus. Columbus did, however, have a chapter of the B’nai B’rith.
That chapter, the Naomi Lodge No. 313, was organized in 1879, and was certainly
the body which created this cemetery (see Colorado County Deed Records, Book V,
p. 30; Colorado Citizen, May 1, 1879.).
2. Interest in the cemetery was revived in the late 1980s, when Joe L. Williams
induced a troop of boy scouts to clean out the incredible thicket of weeds,
bushes, and trees, and to repair the fence. Williams then spearheaded an effort
to erect a historical marker on the site, which went in place in early 1990. In
1992, when Sarah Ann Caplan was buried there, the cemetery saw its first funeral
since 1938.
Surveyors: Lee Nesbitt
Date surveyed: unknown
Auditors: Bill Stein
Date audited: 1988
Number of known burials to date: 11
Hehr Cemetery
Origin of name: after Hehr family
Location: about one third of a mile east of FM 155, about 1.75 miles
south of its intersection with Interstate 10, but on private property and thus
inaccessible to public traffic
Map: 2996-324, Weimar Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14,
715636E, 3285525N
(NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1891
Earliest known year of birth: 1822
Most recent known burial: 1892
Racial mix: all white
Surveyors: Butch Strunk
Date surveyed: October 12, 1992
Number of known burials to date: 2
Heinsohn Cemetery
Origin of name: after Heinsohn family
Location: about 250 feet north of Stokes Road, about .4 miles northwest
of its intersection with Buxkemper Road, but on private property and thus
inaccessible to public traffic
Map: 2996-344, Industry Quadrangle (not marked)
Universal Transverse
Mercator
coordinates:
14, 734747E, 3312969N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1882
Earliest known year of birth: 1829
Most recent known burial: 1909
Racial mix: all white
Comments: Gary McKee visited the cemetery on June 3, 2007 and made these
remarks: The site
is well maintained. There is a time capsule buried in the southwest corner. It
is to be opened in 25 years (2031 or 2032).
Surveyors: Teddy Schultz, Allen Ruhmann, and Bill Stein
Date surveyed: March 10, 1993
Number of known burials to date: 5
Himly Cemetery
Origin of name: after Himly family
Location: north of Bostik Road
Map: 2996-432, Bernardo Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse
Mercator
coordinates:
14, 751333E, 3301649N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1885
Earliest known year of birth: 1907
Most recent known burial: 1814
Racial mix: all white
Comments:
Carolyn Skopik and Gary McKee visited the cemetery on April 1, 2007 and made
these remarks: There is a chain link fence surrounding the cemetery
approximately ten feet square. One stone is in good shape. The cemetery is in
the back yard of a private home.
Surveyors: Larry Uhlig
Date surveyed: unknown
Number of known burials to date: 2
Hinks Cemetery
Origin of name: unknown
Location:
Map: 2996-432, Bernardo Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 751230E, 3301998N
(NAD83/WGS84)
Comments: There is an iron fence which has been destroyed by the growth of a
large cedar tree. No stones are visible.
Surveyors: Carolyn Skopik and Gary McKee
Date surveyed: April 1, 2007
Number of known burials to date: 0
Hoppe Cemetery
Origin of name: after Hoppe family
Location: On the east side of Dvorak Road, about four tenths of a mile
south of its intersection with Ehlinger Road.
Map: 2996-341, Frelsburg Quadrangle (not marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 730653E, 3305592N
(NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1996
Earliest known year of birth: 1927
Most recent known burial: 2001
Racial mix: all white
Comments: 1. The cemetery was established by the Hoppe family in 1996. Both
persons who are memorialized at the site by tombstones were cremated. The
tombstones stand in the back yard of what was once their home.
2. Gary E. McKee visited the cemetery on June 3, 2007 and made these remarks:
The remains may have been moved to the west side of Cummins Creek. There is one
stone for George and Dessie Hoppe. His side of the stone has emblems for the
Marine Corps, the freemasons, and the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Surveyors: none, all burials known through obituaries
Date surveyed: none
Number of known burials to date: 2
Hurr Cemetery
Origin of name: after Hurr family
Location: on the west side of Hurr Road, about .2 miles south of its
intersection with Braden Road.
Map: 2996-244, Sheridan NE Quadrangle (not marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 735982E, 3261559N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1977
Earliest known year of birth: 1977
Most recent known burial: 1977
Racial mix: all white
Surveyors: Esther Curry
Date surveyed: March 24, 1994
Number of known burials to date: 1
- I - Top of Page - Cemetery Records Page
Ijams Cemetery
See: Pleasant Grove Cemetery
Independent Methodist Cemetery
Origin of name: unknown
Source of name: sign on gate
Location: about one tenth of a mile southeast of the northernmost point
at which County Road 250 turns west
Map: 2996-324, Weimar Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 709217E, 3281562N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1885
Earliest known year of birth: 1820
Most recent known burial: 1970
Racial mix: all black
Comments: 1. The cemetery was established on October 22, 1885, when
A. B. Kerr deeded four acres "for Burial purposes" to a group of trustees (see
Colorado County Deed Records, Book 2, p. 491).
2. One grave is marked with only a footstone reading "J. A. A."
Because of its location in the cemetery, within a group of people named
"Arthur," it has been assumed that the stone marks the site of the burial of a
person by that name. That person was probably Jack Arthur, who is known to be
buried in the cemetery.
3. November 2006,
remarks by Gary E. McKee: The graves are spread over the four acres, some in the
trees next to an old road bed and some in pasture. There are many different
styles of markers. The Independent Methodist Church is approximately one mile
to the west.
Surveyors: Butch Strunk and Mary Elliott
Date surveyed: October 4, 1992
Number of known burials to date: 34
- J - Top of Page - Cemetery Records Page
Jacobs Cemetery
Origin of name: after Jacobs family
Location: on Lehrmann Road, about .25 miles to the south of its
intersection with FM 949
Map: 2996-432, Bernardo Quadrangle (not marked)
Universal Transverse
Mercator
coordinates:
14, 752964E, 3295554N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1886
Earliest known year of birth: 1838
Most recent known burial: 1886
Racial mix: all white
Comments: There are two stones on the site, though one is only partially
intact. Both appear to be for the same individual.
Surveyors: Larry Uhlig
Date surveyed: unknown
Auditors: Bill Stein
Date audited: 1988
Number of known burials to date: 1
Johse Cemetery
Origin of name: after Johse family
Location: on the west side of FM 949 less than a mile north of its
intersection with Cat Spring Road
Map: 2996-432, Cat Spring Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 755480E, 3300275N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1892
Earliest known year of birth: 1833
Most recent known burial: 1923
Racial mix: all white
Comments: The map cited above erroneously calls the cemetery the "Jokse
Cemetery."
Surveyors: Larry Uhlig
Date surveyed: unknown
Number of known burials to date: 3
Jokse Cemetery
See: Johse Cemetery
Judyville Cemetery
Origin of name: after the community in which it is located
Location: on the east side of County Road 255, about nine-tenths of a
mile north of its intersection with Highway 90A
Map: 2996-311, Rock Island Quadrangle (not marked)
Universal Transverse
Mercator
coordinates:
14, 735628E, 3266995N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1935
Earliest known year of birth: c. 1874
Most recent known burial: 1940
Racial mix: all black
Comments: The cemetery is enclosed by a barbed wire fence, about sixty by
forty feet. It has three grave markers, two of stone, neither of which contain
any text, and one cross made of pipe. According to Emily Taylor, the cemetery
once had several more markers, all of which were removed by one of her relatives
because they had been handmade by one of her ancestors. Ms. Taylor said there
were a dozen persons buried on the site, including Dan Thomas (a preacher who
died about 1930), Fred Thomas, and Reuben Green. The last remembered burial was in
about 1945, when a man who was visiting the area unexpectedly died. According to
Ms. Taylor, the sheriff investigated the death and directed those present to
wrap him in a sheet and bury him.
Surveyors: Emily Taylor, Laverne Taylor, Harold Taylor, Regena Williamson,
Norma Hooper, and Bill Stein
Date surveyed: May 10, 2006
Number of known burials to date: 2
- K - Top of Page - Cemetery Records Page
Kaiser Cemetery
Origin of name: after Kaiser family
Location: on the west side of Brune's Mill Road, less than one-tenth of a
mile south of its intersection with Dungen Mill Road
Map: 2996-341, Frelsburg Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 731609E, 330267N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1860
Earliest known year of birth: 1808
Most recent known burial: 2006
Racial mix: all white
Comments: Gary E. McKee visited the cemetery in November 2006 and made
this note: The
cemetery contains one unique, homemade marker, a slab of stainless steel.
Surveyors: Bill Stein
Date surveyed: 1988
Number of known burials to date: 73
Kansteiner Cemetery
Origin of name: after Kainsteiner family
Location: about .75 miles north of a point on Kansteiner Road that is
about one half a mile west of its intersection with Reese Lane, but on private
property and thus inaccessible to public traffic
Map: 2996-432, Bernardo Quadrangle (marked)
Earliest known year of death: 1866
Earliest known year of birth: 1835
Most recent known burial: 1917
Racial mix: all white
Comments: The U. S. G. S. Topographic Map cited above shows a second
cemetery just northeast of the Kansteiner Cemetery. Neither a search of the
grounds or interviews with locals turned up any other evidence that this
cemetery exists.
Surveyors: Dianna Foster
Date surveyed: November 1991
Number of known burials to date: 9
Kainsteiner 2
Origin of name: after Kansteiner family
Location: about one-third of a mile north of Piney Woods Road, at a point
about 1.5 miles down the road from and west of its intersection with Mentz Road
Map: 2996-432, Bernardo Quadrangle (not marked)
Earliest known year of death: 1882
Earliest known year of birth: 1830
Most recent known burial: 1914
Racial mix: all white
Surveyors: unknown
Date surveyed: unknown
Number of known burials to date: 3
Kelch Cemetery
Origin of name: unknown
Location: on the east side of Winslow Road, about two-tenths of a mile
east of its intersection with FM 949
Map: 2996-423, Alleyton Quadrangle (not marked)
Universal Transverse
Mercator
coordinates:
14, 751848E, 3289246N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1873
Earliest known year of birth: 1849
Most recent known burial: 1904
Racial mix: all white
Surveyors: Tracey Wegenhoft
Date surveyed: April 6, 1994
Number of known burials to date: 4
Kellner Cemetery
See: Bretschneider Cemetery
Kollmann Family Cemetery
Origin of name: after Kollmann family
Location: on the south side of Kollmann Lane, about two-tenths of a mile
east of its intersection with FM 109
Map: 2996-341, Frelsburg Quadrangle (not marked)
Universal Transverse
Mercator
coordinates:
14, 737208E, 3293470N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 2007
Earliest known year of birth: 1982
Most recent known burial: 2007
Racial mix: all white
Comments: The cemetery was created in 2007 for the burial of Joshua
Thomas Kollmann.
Surveyors: Bill Stein
Date surveyed: December 6, 2007
Number of known burials to date: 1
Kretzschmar Cemetery
Origin of name: after Kretzschmar family
Alternate name: Gaedecke Cemetery
Source of alternate name: U. S. G. S. Topographic Map
Location: on the west side of Reichardt Lane near the county line
Map: 2996-432, Bernardo Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse
Mercator
coordinates:
14, 752515E, 3301233N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1880
Earliest known year of birth: 1815
Most recent known burial: 1892
Racial mix: all white
Comments: Just three of the people listed, Dorothea Sophie Kordt,
Christian Korth, and Paula Kretzschmar, have tombstones. The others are said to
have been buried there by family members.
Surveyors: Larry Uhlig
Date surveyed: unknown
Auditors: Larry Uhlig, Anders Saustrup, and Bill Stein
Date audited: March 15, 1990
Number of known burials to date: 6
- L - Top of Page - Cemetery Records Page
Laas Cemetery
Origin of name: after Laas family
Source of name: U. S. G. S. Topographical Map
Location: about nine tenths of a mile north of FM 532, about 1.4 miles
east of its intersection with FM 2144, but on private property and thus
inaccessible to public traffic
Map: 2996-321, Oakland Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 712535E, 3278353N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1855
Earliest known year of birth: 1846
Most recent known burial: 1885
Racial mix: all white
Comments: 1. The visible evidence of the existence of the cemetery was
reportedly destroyed by a landowner in the 1980s, with the tombstones being
buried near the site. An exploration of the known site of the cemetery by Butch
Strunk on October 4, 1992 revealed that the cemetery had indeed been destroyed.
However, new landowners in 2005 discovered five stones on the site, all laying
on the ground and broken into pieces.
2. Elizabeth, Sarah, and William Tooke were said to be buried at the site by
James W. Holt, the son of Elizabeth Tooke, in a brief reminiscence of his life.
No other evidence of their burial has been found.
3. Gary E. McKee visited the cemetery in November 2006 and made these remarks:
The stones are still on the ground. The site is on a hilltop in a grove of
trees.
Surveyors: Butch Strunk
Date surveyed: July 7, 1983
Number of known burials to date: 8
Lakeside Cemetery
Lakeside Latin Cemetery
Origin of name: after the community near which it is located
Location: on the east side of FM 102, just south of Eagle Lake
Map: 2996-421, Eagle Lake Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 758252E, 3274653N
(NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1868
Earliest known year of birth: 1814
Most recent known burial: 2007
Racial mix: white, Hispanic, and black
Comments: 1. The September 29, 1868 edition of the Houston Daily Times
contains a report on the death and burial of Thomas Scott Anderson at Eagle
Lake. The opening paragraph of that report reads, in part, he "was buried on
Saturday evening, near the Lake, adjacent to the graves of the Confederate
soldiers who died while encamped there during the war." As Ernest Mae Seaholm
has pointed out, this is likely the origin of the Lakeside Cemetery.
2. The middle section of the southern part of the cemetery contains mostly
Hispanic graves and is often referred to as the Lakeside Latin Cemetery or the
Latin American Cemetery. Persons buried in this part of the cemetery are
designated with the code "LakeLatin" while persons in the rest of the cemetery
are designated "Lakeside." Note that there are Hispanic burials outside the
Latin American part of the cemetery.
3. One grave is marked "Beloved infant Jane Doe Dec. 30, 1980 Mar. 28, 1981."
This child was not the daughter of some family named Doe with a devilish sense
of humor, but rather an unidentified child who was abandoned on the steps of the
Eagle Lake Community Hospital on the day she was born. The infant was cared for
at the Eagle Lake hospital, then transferred to Hermann Hospital in Houston,
where she died. She was never named.
4. Ida Jewell Kuykendall, who was buried on August 7, 1999, was the first known
black person to be buried in the cemetery.
Surveyors: Kathryn McRee and Robert Samuel Martin
Date surveyed: May 4 and October 11, 1975
Auditors: Bill Stein, Elizabeth Schoellmann, and Joe Fling
Date audited: April 30, May 7, May 13, and May 21, 1993
Number of known burials to date: 2440
Lehrer Memorial Cemetery
Origin of name: after a nearby church
Source of name: obituaries and death certificates
Alternate name: Garwood Methodist Cemetery
Origin of alternate name: after the nearby church's former name
Source of alternate name: U. S. G. S. Topographical Map
Location: on the east side of Highway 71, between 1.5 and 2 miles south
of its intersection with County Road 111
Map: 2996-133, Garwood Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 750510E, 3264785N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1889
Earliest known year of birth: 1845
Most recent known burial: 2007
Racial mix: all white
Comments: The cemetery has only recently come to be known by its current
name. Originally it was known as the German Methodist Cemetery, after the German
Methodist Church of Vox Populi. The church was disbanded and the building sold
and moved to Columbus for use as a private residence. The Lehrer Memorial
Methodist Church, named after William Kaiser and Dorothy Ann (Shaw) Lehrer, who were members
and benefactors, took over management of the cemetery in the 1970s.
Surveyors: Elizabeth Schoellmann
Date surveyed: September 1991
Number of known burials to date: 73
Lilie Cemetery
Origin of name: after Lilie family
Location:
Map: 2996-341, Frelsburg Quadrangle (not marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 729617E, 3303497N
(NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1885
Earliest known year of birth: 1828
Most recent known burial: 1888
Racial mix: all white
Surveyors: Wayne Penello
Date surveyed: 2002
Number of known burials to date: 2
Live Oak Cemetery
Origin of name: unknown
Location: on the north side of FM 2434, near its intersection with County
Road 222
Map: 2996-313, Borden Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 720247E, 3283979N
(NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1888
Earliest known year of birth: 1813
Most recent known burial: 1991
Racial mix: all white
Comments:
Gary E. McKee visited the cemetery in October 2006 and made these notes: Someone
recently has made numerous small wooden crosses to document grave locations. The
cemetery is in good shape. It is at the site of the old Live Oak School.
Additional comment made on July 5, 2007: Vernon Wagley, whose father is buried
in the cemetery, made to small wooden crosses for placement on previously
unmarked graves.
Surveyors: Bill Stein
Date surveyed: 1988
Number of known burials to date: 75
Lostracco Cemetery
Origin of name: after Lostracco family
Location: on the east side of County Road 250, near the southernmost
point at which it turns west
Map: 2996-324, Weimar Quadrangle (not marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates:
14, 708535E, 3279897N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1983
Earliest known year of birth: 1942
Most recent known burial: 1983
Racial mix: all white
Surveyors: Butch Strunk and Mary Elliott
Date surveyed: October 4, 1992
Number of known burials to date: 1
- M - Top of Page - Cemetery Records Page
Max Cemetery
Origin of name: after Max family
Location: about one-tenth of a mile north of a point on
A. Braden Road that is about two-tenths of a mile from the southernmost place at
which the road turns west.
Map: 2996-432, Bernardo Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 747782E, 3300610N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1873
Earliest known year of birth: 1804
Most recent known burial: 1892
Racial mix: all white
Comments: Larry Uhlig, Gary E. McKee, and Carolyn Skopik visited the site
in April 2007. The wooden fence has been taken down but the corner posts are
still standing. There are three stones in good shape. The site is on a
newly-established ranch and shielded from the public.
Surveyors: Susan Rogers and Bernice Rodgers
Date surveyed: April 24, 1993
Number of known burials to date: 3
McDowell Cemetery
Origin of name: after McDowell family
Source of name: death certificates
Location: On the south side of Brune's Mill Road, between .1 and .2 miles
west of its intersection with FM 109
Map: 2996-314, Columbus Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates:
14, 736220E, 3292653N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1937
Earliest known year of birth: 1888
Most recent known burial: 2001
Racial mix: all black
Comments: The cemetery is very informal. It is in a residential area,
occupying most of the front yard of a house.
Surveyors: Duane Smith, Butch Strunk, and Bill Stein
Date surveyed: March 27, 1992
Number of known burials to date: 11
McGrew Cemetery
Origin of name: after McGrew family
Source of name: death certificates
Location: about .4 miles east of Highway 71, about 2.5 miles south of its
intersection with Highway 90A, but on private property and thus inaccessible to
public traffic
Map: 2996-422, Altair Quadrangle (not marked)
Earliest known year of death: 1940
Earliest known year of birth: 1874
Most recent known burial: 1990
Racial mix: all black
Surveyors: Ron Butler and Bill Stein
Date surveyed: March 18, 1992
Number of known burials to date: 17
McLeary Cemetery
Origin of name: after McLeary family
Location: about one-fourth of a mile east of County Road 204, about
six-tenths of a mile north of its intersection with County Road 201
Map: 2996-313, Borden Quadrangle (not marked)
Universal
Transverse Mercator coordinates:
14, 717808E, 3290940N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1872
Earliest known year of birth: 1816
Most recent known burial: 1884
Racial mix: all white
Comments: 1. There is at least one other grave on the site, marked with a
heavy concrete slab. However, there is no inscription now visible on it.
2. Gary E. McKee visited the site in December 2006 and made these comments:
The stones and
markers are all in pieces, and the concrete slab was not visible.
Surveyors: Elizabeth McLeary McMahan, Sally Grey Weeks, and Elizabeth
Grey Adkins
Date surveyed: March 1987
Auditors: Sally Grey Weeks and Bill Stein
Date audited: October 21, 1993
Number of known burials to date: 3
Mexican Cemetery
Origin of name: unknown
Source of name: U. S. G. S. Topographic Map
Location: on the west side of FM 102, about one mile north of its
intersection with FM 949
Map: 2996-423, Alleyton Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 749671E, 3284849N
(NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1919
Earliest known year of birth: 1893
Most recent known burial: 1919
Racial mix: all Hispanic
Comments: 1. Several graves are marked with stones that have no
inscriptions. One other stone has an inscription that successfully resisted our
diligent efforts to read it. It appeared to catalogue the death of an individual
who died in January 1939 at the age of 38.
2. Gary E. McKee visited the cemetery in November 2006 and noted: The cemetery
contains unique cultural stones. The site is in a yaupon thicket on the south
side of the property line and a creek, and about 50 yards west of a right of
way. It needs further documentation.
Surveyors: Tracey Wegenhoft and Bill Stein
Date surveyed: April 7, 1994
Number of known burials to date: 3
Meyer Family Cemetery
Origin of name: after Meyer family
Location: on the north side of New Ulm Road, about one and one half miles
northwest of its intersection with FM 949 at Bernardo
Map: 2996-432, Bernardo Quadrangle (not marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 750158E, 3296956N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1877
Earliest known year of birth: 1797
Most recent known burial: 1911
Racial mix: all white
Surveyors: Larry Uhlig
Date surveyed: unknown
Number of known burials to date: 11
Miller Cemetery
Origin of name: after Miller family
Location: on the east side of County Road 215, just north of its
intersection with County Road 215A
Map: 2996-313, Borden Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 727056E, 3281696N
(NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1883
Earliest known year of birth: 1818
Most recent known burial: 1909
Racial mix: all white
Comments: Gary E. McKee visited the site in October 2006 and made these
notes: The area
between the cemetery and the road has been fenced and cleared, and a green sign
erected on the north side. The metal fence frame around the cemetery remains,
but a chain link fence has been installed on the outside of the frame.
Surveyors: unknown
Date surveyed: unknown
Auditors: Jim Kearney, Anders Saustrup, and Bill Stein
Date audited: March 14, 1990
Number of known burials to date: 5
Miller 2
Gerhard Miller Cemetery
Origin of name: after the individual who owned the land on which the
cemetery was established
Location: on the north side of G. Miller Road about six tenths of a mile
east of its intersection with FM 109
Map: 2996-314, Columbus Quadrangle (not marked)
Universal
Transverse Mercator coordinates:
14, 737434E, 3291759N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1918
Earliest known year of birth: 1834
Most recent known burial: 1936
Racial mix: all white
Surveyors: Dorothy Jean Heine
Date surveyed: unknown
Auditors: Frank Steitz and Bill Stein
Date audited: October 1, 1992
Number of known burials to date: 3
Miller Creek Cemetery
Origin of name: after the creek to its northeast
Location: at the intersection of County Road 210 and County Road 214
Map: 2996-313, Borden Quadrangle (marked)
Universal
Transverse Mercator coordinates:
14, 723236E, 3279794N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1878
Earliest known year of birth: 1813
Most recent known burial: 2006
Racial mix: all white
Comments: The cemetery was established on three acres deeded "for the
purposes of a school house and a Lutheran Church" by Georg W. Stoneroad on
September 5, 1872 (see Colorado County Deed Records, Book Q, pp. 168-169).
Surveyors: Bill Stein
Date surveyed: 1988
Number of known burials to date: 74
Miller High Hill Cemetery
Source of name: death certificates
Location: about 1.3 miles directly west of FM 109 and half a mile
directly south of Zimmerscheidt Road
Map: 2996-341, Frelsburg Quadrangle (not marked)
Universal
Transverse Mercator coordinates:
14, 735885E, 3301744N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1918
Earliest known year of birth: 1852
Most recent known burial: 1975
Racial mix: all black
Comments: 1. The land around the cemetery has been excavated to a depth of
six feet or more by gravel operators. The land on which the cemetery sits is
quite rocky, so much so in fact, that one wonders how anyone ever dug a grave
there.
2. Gary E. McKee visited the site in October 2006 and made these notes: The
cemetery is now on the east side of the county road, which dead ends. The site
is a mound in the center of a gravel pit. There are probably a lot more than
seven graves.
Surveyors: Allen Ruhmann and Bill Stein
Date surveyed: September 29, 1992
Number of known burials to date: 7
Miller Oak Grove Cemetery
Source of name: obituary
Location: on Leaning Oaks Trail (a private road) about eight tenths of a
mile south of its intersection with County Road 216
Map: 2996-313, Borden Quadrangle (not marked)
Universal
Transverse Mercator coordinates:
14, 725051E, 3280733N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 2005
Earliest known year of birth: 1919
Most recent known burial: 2007
Racial mix: all white
Comments: The cemetery was created in 1997 as the eventual burial site of
Arthur and Inda Miller. But their daughter, Kay Cates, died in 2005, and she
became the first person buried on the site. The cemetery is a square, fifty by
fifty feet, is fenced, and has a gate with a sign on it.
Number of known burials to date: 2
Montgomery-Thatcher Cemetery
Origin of name: after Montgomery and Thatcher families
Location: on the east side of FM 950, about half a mile southwest of
Matthews
Map: 2996-421, Eagle Lake Quadrangle (not marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 758473E, 3266798N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1890
Earliest known year of birth: 1815
Most recent known burial: 1926
Racial mix: all white
Surveyors: unknown
Date surveyed: unknown
Number of known burials to date: 17
Mount Zion Cemetery
See: Boykin Cemetery
Muckleroy Cemetery
Origin of name: after Muckleroy family
Location: about .2 miles east of Muckleroy Lane, about .75 miles north of
its intersection with FM 109, but on private property and thus inaccessible to
public traffic
Map: 2996-344, Industry Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 737329E, 3311278N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1853
Earliest known year of birth: 1808
Most recent known burial: 1896
Racial mix: all white
Comments: The cemetery contains only one original tombstone. A stone
commemorating the Muckleroys was erected by their grandchildren long after their
death.
Surveyors: Teddy Schultz and Bill Stein
Date surveyed: March 10, 1993
Number of known burials to date: 4
Myrtle Cemetery
Origin of name: unknown
Source of name: obituaries and death certificates
Location: on FM 1693, about one half mile south of Rock Island
Map: 2996-311, Rock Island Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates:
14, 735628E, 3266995N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1898
Earliest known year of birth: 1817
Most recent known burial: 2007
Racial mix: all white
Comments: On May 7, 1902, Stephen Oscar and Oma M. Wheeless deeded five
acres to the Myrtle Cemetery Association for use as a cemetery. One acre and
five acre tracts were added to the cemetery on March 7, 1974 and March 14, 1984
respectively (see Colorado County Deed Records, Book 24, p. 360, Book 324, p.
738, and Book 484, p. 5).
Surveyors: Esther Curry
Date surveyed: 1987
Number of known burials to date: 696
- N - Top of Page - Cemetery Records Page
Nada Cemetery
Origin of name: after nearby community
Source of name: U. S. G. S. Topographical Map
Alternate name: Hahn Cemetery
Alternate name: National Cemetery
Location: on the north side of County Road 115, just over 2 miles west of
its intersection with Highway 71 at Nada
Map: 2996-133, Garwood Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 750566E, 3254153E (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1895
Earliest known year of birth: 1856
Most recent known burial: 1978
Racial mix: all white
Surveyor: Elizabeth Schoellmann
Date surveyed: February 1991
Number of known burials to date: 22
National Cemetery
See: Nada Cemetery
Nativity Cemetery
Origin of name: after the Roman Catholic church in Eagle Lake
Location: in Eagle Lake, at the corner of South Austin Road and Old
Altair Road
Map: 2996-421, Eagle Lake Quadrangle (not marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 756966E, 3276113N
(NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 2001
Earliest known year of birth: 1925
Most recent known burial: 2007
Racial mix: all white
Comments: The cemetery was established in December 2001. Mike V. Duarte
was the first person buried on the site.
Number of known burials to date: 38
New Bielau Cemetery
Origin of name: after the community in which it is located
Location: on the east side of FM 155, just south of its intersection with
FM 2144
Map: 2996-324, Weimar Quadrangle (marked)
Universal
Transverse Mercator coordinates:
14, 715581E, 3280323N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1890
Earliest known year of birth: 1812
Most recent known burial: 2006
Racial mix: all white
Comments: The cemetery adjoins the Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church.
The graves are arranged, roughly, in chronological order, beginning in the
northwest corner of the cemetery.
Surveyors: Bill Stein
Date surveyed: 1988
Number of known burials to date: 263
- O - Top of Page - Cemetery Records Page
Oakes Cemetery
Origin of name: after the Oakes family
Location: on the east side of FM 106, about 7.5 miles, following the
meanders, north of its intersection with Highway 90A
Map: 2996-311, Rock Island Quadrangle (not marked)
Universal Transverse
Mercator
coordinates:
14, 731999E, 3277307N (NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1869
Earliest known year of birth: 1820
Most recent known burial: 1908
Racial mix: all white
Comments: The cemetery contains one footstone with the initials "L. S.
T." for which no headstone could be found. There are informal markers for at
least five more graves.
Surveyors: Vernon Rabel, Juanita Rabel, Regena Williamson, Norma Hooper, and
Bill Stein
Date surveyed: May 10, 2006
Number of known burials to date: 9
Oakland Cemetery
Origin of name: after the community in which it is located
Location: in Oakland, on the north side of Washington Street just west of
Main Street
Map: 2996-321, Oakland Quadrangle (not marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 709850E, 3276658N
(NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1969
Earliest known year of birth: 1870
Most recent known burial: 2003
Racial mix: all black
Comments: The cemetery was started when access to the Oakland Hill
Cemetery became difficult because of the condition of the roads.
Surveyors: Butch Strunk and Mary Elliott
Date surveyed: October 21, 1992
Number of known burials to date: 79
Oakland Hill Cemetery
Origin of name: unknown
Location: about 1.8 miles west of FM 2144 and about .4 miles north of the
point at which the West Navidad River joins the East Navidad River, reachable
only by an unnamed unpaved road
Map: 2996-321, Oakland Quadrangle (marked)
Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates: 14, 709112E, 3277643N
(NAD83/WGS84)
Earliest known year of death: 1905
Earliest known year of birth: 1824
Most recent known burial: 2007
Racial mix: all black
Comments: Gary E. McKee visited the cemetery in November 2006 and made
these remarks: According to Butch Strunk, the site was originally used as a
slave cemetery by Augustus B. Wooldridge. The cemetery was accessed from Oakland
by a road along the Navidad River until a crossing was washed out. This cemetery
was then abandoned, and the Oakland Cemetery used by the black community. The
site is on a promontory and contains many different types of markers. There are
probably many more than 50 burials.
Surveyors: Butch Strunk and Mary Elliott
Date surveyed: October 25, 1992
Number of known burials to date: 51
Obenchain Family Cemetery
See: Pinchback Cemetery
Obenhaus Cemetery
Origi