This Place Matters

Matagorda County Historical Commission

History Appreciation & Preservation Month
May, 2009
 

Preserving and Appreciating the
Hallowed Grounds
 

Precinct 4
Matagorda County, Texas
 

History Appreciation Month
May 2009
 

Matagorda County Historical Commission

Partain Family Cemetery
 

The Partain Family Cemetery is located on property once owned by John C. Partain and his wife, Nancy Smalley Partain. The first burial was their son, John R. Partain in 1857 followed by Nancy Partain in 1888. Other burials include Robert Abner Partain and his wife, Jenett Parham O'Neal Partain and their daughters, Nancy Margaret and Jennett. The cremains of Hartsell Harvey Gray, Jr. were buried in 2008. Although not marked, it is most likely that Alfred Partain, another son of John. C. and Mary is also buried with the family. Family tradition indicates that John C. is buried under an oak tree somewhere on the same property.
 

Robert A. Partain was born in New Orleans during the Runaway Scrape. He was a Baptist preacher and preached in many area churches. He was the first pastor for the First Baptist Church in Bay City.

Lacy Cemetery
 

In Memory of David Bright His Wife Julia Dinsmore

Their Daughter Sarah Bright Nov. 8, 1808 - June 4, 1880

Wife of Wm. D. Lacy

Sept. 15, 1807 - Oct. 14, 1848 (buried in Ky.)

A Signer of the Declaration of Independence of Texas
Elizabeth Roberts Wife of Captain John Price
 

Hawley Cemetery
 

Known 1838-1899 as Deming's Bridge Cemetery. Second post office in Matagorda County was located nearby in 1858. Two acres donated by Emelius Savage and his son Norman for the cemetery and Tres Palacios Baptist Church, founded 1852. More land given by Jonathan E. Pierce, who in 1900 named area Hawley, honoring United States Senator Robert Bradley Hawley. Buried here are the brothers Jonathan E. and Abel H. ("Shang") Pierce and many other famous early cattlemen; also, more than 50 veterans of Civil War and all U.S. wars since 1865. (1967)

Grimes Family Cemetery

Cattleman Richard Grimes (1789-1858) established this family cemetery in 1856 when his infant grandson died. Grimes was born in Rocky Hill, Connecticut, and from a young age he pursued a seafaring career. In 1837, Captain Grimes came to Texas in his brig, The Driver, and settled at Palacios Point on Matagorda Bay where he continued in the shipping trade. In 1843 he entered the cattle business with his son William Bradford Grimes (1825-1904), and they established the WBG Ranch here. This early Texas ranch employed a number of cowboys who would later become well known, including Charles Angelo Siringo and Abel Head (Shanghai) Pierce. After the Civil War, several major cattle drives to Dodge City and Abilene, Kansas started from this ranch, continuing annually through the 1870s.

After Captain Grimes died, William continued to ranch here until his wife’s death in 1876, when he moved to Kansas City, Missouri. There he became a successful financier, banker and businessman. In 1881, he gave the WBG ranch to his eldest daughter, Fannie Louise (1860-1888), upon her marriage to Thomas Jefferson Poole. Her son, Thomas Jefferson Poole, Jr. (1883-1969), inherited the ranch from her and continued ranching until his death. He was a director of the Texas southwestern cattle raisers association for many years, and upon his death, Poole was honored by the Texas state legislature for his achievements as a cattleman. Today, this burial ground continues to be an active cemetery.

Historic Texas Cemetery – 2007

Marker is property of the State of Texas

Midfield Cemetery
 

The community of Midfield developed at a location equi-distant from El Campo, Palacios, Bay City and Ganado. In 1904, the community's post office opened, and ten years later the town was a stop on the Texas and New Orleans Railroad. By the time, Midfield-area residents were using this site as a community burial ground

Iva Nell Hale, born to William and Eva Bennett Hale in 1896, died from appendicitis on July 17, 1913, and was buried here. Her father talked to W. B. Gaumer, land agent and president of the Midfield State Bank, about the need for a community cemetery, and Gaumer formally deeded this site as a graveyard in August 1916. It has remained in community use since them.

As Midfield's population waned in the latter part of the 20th century, area residents organized an association to maintain the burial ground. The group held its first organizational meeting in 1980, and it continues to care for the site. Members also maintain records on those buried here--individuals who in large and small contributed to Midfield's history.                                                      (2004)      

Cemeteries Located in Precinct 4
 

Bundick Cemetery

Cornelius Family Cemetery
Duffy Family Cemetery

Hawley Cemetery

Kuykendall Cemetery

Lacy Cemetery

LeTulle Cemetery

Markham Cemetery

Partain Family Cemetery

St. Peter's Catholic Church Cemetery

Wheeler Cemetery
John Thomas Williams Cemetery

Thomas Jefferson Williams Cemetery
Wilson Creek Cemetery

Cemeteries With Historic Texas Cemetery
Designations

Grimes Family Cemetery

Midfield Cemetery

For information on the cemeteries listed above and other Matagorda County cemeteries visit

Matagorda County Cemeteries

Copyright 2009 - Present by Carol Sue Gibbs
All rights reserved

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