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Most of the following information comes from Sammy Tise's Lavaca County Texas Cemetery Records, Volumes I-VI. Several people have volunteered to do lookups in his cemetery surveys for you. The books are also available for purchase.
Please contact Rox Ann Johnson if you have done a cemetery survey or have information or cemetery photos to share.
This old African-American cemetery has over 170 markers. The oldest is for Mariah Mitchell, who died 14 May 1892. Go out of Hallettsville on South Main Street, cross the Lavaca River and take the first road to the left. Go to Adams Branch and just before the bridge turn left onto a private road. The cemetery is on the left about 50 yards off the main road.
Sublime
See photos and a list of burials in the Allen Cemetery.
Historic Texas Cemetery
Historic Texas Cemetery Dedication at Andrews Chapel Cemetery on May 22, 2005. Photo contributed by Ernest Mae Seaholm |
Associated with the Hackberry Community, the Andrews Chapel Cemetery was named for settler A. G. Andrews, who by 1866 had donated land for a burial ground and Baptist Church. The oldest marked grave dates to 1860 and the burial of Mexican War veteran Alfred Morrow. Other burials include that of Joseph Lawrence, a veteran of the Battles of Plum Creek and San Jacinto. At the time of his death in 1897, Lawrence was believed to be the oldest surviving veteran of the Texas Revolution. Today, an association maintains the burial ground, holding annual homecomings to reunite and preserve this link to the area's history. - 2004
Oakland/Shimek Area
See a list of burials in the Austin Cemetery.
In 1991 Sammy Tise reported that this fenced cemetery was cleaned once a year and was in good condition. The oldest marker is for F. Elisabeth Baass who died September 1, 1888, although there is a marker for a Sieber where the death date may be 1880. Of the twenty-eight markers, eight could not be read or were just unmarked stones. To get to the cemetery go south on FM 530 1.4 miles past Vienna, then turn right on CR 16. Go 3.5 miles. The road turning right goes to the cemetery which is about one mile back into the woods. Please note that the road crosses private property.
Hope
This small fenced cemetery south of Hope is the site of about thirty graves. The earliest known grave according to Sammy Tise is the unmarked burial place of Sara Ann Bailey Fitzhenry who died in 1860. Tise included a plat of the cemetery in Lavaca County, Texas Cemetery Records, Volume III, which shows the location of this unmarked grave. To visit the cemetery go south on Hwy 77 past the crossroads with Hwy 111. Turn right at the first gravel road. George Smith's property is straight ahead at the first bend in the road. You will need his permission to get to the cemetery which is located on the bank of Brushy Creek about a mile into the property.
Baursville CemeteryThe markers in this cemetery off County Road 261 list a lot of birthplaces in Europe as well as one from Moskau, Russ. Apparently all are German names. This well kept cemetery has over one hundred markers, with the oldest being for Anna H. Fehrenkamp, who died 28 July 1881.
Also known as New Bethel Cemetery, Pioneer Cemetery, and Sweet Home Cemetery
Historic Texas Cemetery
There are approximately ninety burials in this cemetery founded on the homestead of Stephen and Mary Breazeal Bennett. The oldest is for Lucy L. Dyer, who died 26 February 1873. The cemetery is fenced and located on the west side of FM 531 between Sweet Home and Hwy 77-A. It is .35 miles south of the intersection of Hwy 77-A with FM 531. [Note that Sammy Tise lists this cemetery as both the New Bethel Cemetery and Sweet Home Cemetery in his cemetery books.]
Text from the historical marker:
BENNETT CEMETERY
Stephen Bennett (1789-1874), a veteran of the War of 1812, and his wife Mary Ann "Polly" Breazeal Bennett (1798-1877), were born in South Carolina and lived many years in Alabama. They led a wagon train to Washington County in the Republic of Texas about 1841. They soon relocated to a part of Gonzales County which later became Lavaca County. Stephen Bennett became a successful farmer and prominent citizen.
The first burial on this site is believed to have taken place in 1846 when Stephen and Polly Bennett buried their oldest daughter, Sarah Bennett (1819-1846). Other family members, friends and neighbors had been buried here by 1871 when the Bennetts deeded one acre of their homestead to their seven surviving children for use as a burial ground. The oldest marked burials are those of Lucy L. Dyer (1830-1873) and William M. McMurrey (1806-1873).
The Bennett children left their mark on Lavaca County as prominent physicians, cattlemen, soldiers, county officials, Masons and teachers. After the youngest daughter, Mary A. Bennett McCutcheon, died in 1884, the family land was passed to her two sons, Willis McCutcheon, Jr., and B. B. McCutcheon. They later sold a portion of the family land, legally setting aside two and one-half acres for the cemetery. The last known Bennett relative to be buried here was William L. Tolleson (1851-1915). The last known interment on this site took place in 1977. The graveyard also has been known as Pioneer Cemetery, McCutcheon Cemetery, Sweet Home (City) Cemetery, and Bennett-Tolleson Pioneer Cemetery. (1999)
See the Friend of Bennett Cemetery website for photos and more information.
Surnames (including maiden names) of those buried in the cemetery include Armstrong, Bell, Bennett, Berdych, Bethel, Bingham, Bolsius, Bonneau, Breazeal Calhoun, Clements, Clifton, Cox, Currington, Dew, Durst, Dyer, Ellis, Fisk, Greenwood, Hagin, Harrison, Harwood, Hooper, Hranitzky, Kaiser, Koerth, Kuenstler, Kunetka, Layton, Lehmann, Lewis, McCord, McCutcheon, McGrew, McMurrey, McVey, Middlebrook, Moore, Morgan, Mudd, Neely, Niemann, Noble, Oldham, Perrin, Rathke, Saunders, Schlageter, Sharber, Slanina, Spaulding, Stephenson, Sutton, Tate, Tolleson, Vick and Williams.
Bila Hora CemeteryThe cemetery, shown at right, is located on CR 139 in the Bila Hora community. It is fenced with the cemetery's name over the gate and well kept. There are 70 markers in the cemetery with the oldest being for Jan Dusek, who died 4 February 1883. Most of the markers have dates in Czech.
This is a large Negro cemetery. It is fenced and well kept. There are about 300 markers, the oldest for Thomas Mitchell who died November 10, 1899. To visit the cemetery take 90-A west to Shiner and across Hwy 95. Turn left on the first road, Sixth Street which eventually becomes CR 343. The cemetery is on the right, next to the San Pedro Cemetery.
Bila Hora
The Bock Cemetery is near the Bila Hora community. There are only eleven markers, but there is evidence of many more. Names at the cemetery include Bock, Dreyer, Laas, Mertz, and Weller. The obituary for Mrs. Austin Higgins Baker indicates that she was also buried here.
See an obituary for Charles Bock, a Texas State Ranger, who was buried here in 1913.
There is only one marker left at this old black cemetery, but Sammy Tise lists the names of fifty others buried there in Volume IV of his cemetery books. The marker belongs to Marian Johnson, a child of Houston of Johnson. To visit the cemetery drive south on FM 530 from Hallettsville to FM 2437. Turn left toward Sheridan. The cemetery is on the right about 25 yards down the road. The cemetery is located where the roads formerly intersected, just east of the present intersection.
Pilot Grove
The Bressel Cemetery is unmarked in the Pilot Grove area and contains four graves. It was on a property of 149 acres located four miles east of Yoakum that once belonged to the Bressel family. The two earliest graves are thought to be Mrs. William Kelly and a brother of William Kelly who both died in about the 1840s.
Breslau CemeteryOne of several cemeteries in the county that are over one hundred years old. It is located at Breslau, on the west side of FM 957. There are over 150 markers. The oldest one is for F. W. G. Ladwig, who died 10 November 1873. The cemetery marker shows that it was put up in 1913 by the German Evangelical Lutheran Church.
See photograph of Lutheran Church when it stood next to the cemetery.
The Breslau Negro Cemetery is located inside the fenced yard of the Breslau Church. There are over 150 burials in the cemetery. The marker for the earliest burial, for a now unidentified person who died 16 January 1888, is broken. Go north out of Hallettsville on FM 957 to Breslau. Turn right on CR 243. The church and cemetery is .2 mile down the road on the right.
All six of the markers are for the Bright family. The oldest is for Caldonia Bright, who died 8 November 1856. Go south on FM 530, .2 mile past FM 2437, and the cemetery is located on the east side of the road.
Browns Chapel CemeteryHackberry/ Oakland
Located next to the Browns Chapel Methodist Church, there are over 250 graves in this cemetery which appears to be the oldest Negro cemetery in Lavaca County. The first marked burial is for Robert Payne who was eighty years old when he died in 1852. To get to the cemetery turn right off Hwy 77 onto CR 214 (Old Kinkler Road) and follow the signs to the cemetery. The cemetery will be on the left side of the road.
This black cemetery is located in the southern part of the county about two miles from the Dewitt county line. It has about 36 markers, the oldest for Lonnie Beck who died March 1, 1930. To get to the cemetery go south from Yoakum on Hwy 111, turn right on FM 1447 and go one-half mile to the first gravel road on the left. The cemetery is on the left about .3 mile down the road where it makes a bend to the right.
According to Sammy Tise this is a cemetery that was forgotten a long time ago. The last grave was in 1918 and there is very little fencing anymore. It is back off in some woods and cannot be seen from the road. It is up in the northwest corner of the county, about a half mile from Fayette County. The oldest marker is for J. M. Burkett, who died on 14 August 1868. There are nine markers.
This cemetery contains forty markers, the oldest for Emil Pfeil who died January 26, 1888. To get to the cemetery go east from Shiner on Hwy 90A, turn on the second road to the left. Stay on this road until it makes a sharp right and then a sharp left turn. The cemetery is on the left in the first bend in a group of trees.
