From Floresville at the intersection of SH 181 and SH 97E
(going to Stockdale) go 5 miles east on SH 97E. At Cr 404 turn right (south) and
go .5 mile. Cemetery will be on your right adjoining the Marcelina Baptist
Church.
The original Marcelina Cemetery was the private burial plot
for the Samuel H. Foster family. The first person buried in the cemetery was
Martin Donaho who died in 1882. When Mr. Foster sold the farm where the burial
plot was located, he kept the 1.5 acre cemetery. On May 18, 1901 Isaac and
Melinda Sims sold 6.5 acres to the Marcelina Baptist Church for use as a church
and cemetery. The new cemetery was fenced. This land was joined to the Foster
Family Cemetery. In the next few years the fence between the two cemeteries
disappeared and the two became one.
The Marcelina Baptist Church is a little church with six pews on each side
and forty-five members. They have small Sunday School classrooms that were later
added onto the church building. Isaac and Malinda Sims, a couple that used to
live in the area, gave six and one-sixth acres to Marcelina Baptist Church on
May 18, 1901 at the price of $95.00. Four acres were for church purposes and two
and one-sixth for a graveyard. There are actually two graveyards, both under the
title of Marcelina Graveyard. The first graveyard was called Marcelina
Graveyard. The other one was called the Foster family graveyard. Over the years
they got too full and then they finally just grew together. The graveyard is not
open to the public and they only allow people that are family. A little part of
the Marcelina Cemetery was part of Mr. and Mrs. Foster's farm. It was only for
people in the Foster's family. The Fosters later sold the part of their farm
that was part of the Marcelina Cemetery. When it was sold, it was surveyed and
fenced very carefully. At that time, the cemetery did not have a name. Mr.
Foster reserved a section next to the church for strangers and other people who
died friendless or poor.
Sources:
Wilson County History, by Louise Stadler, 1990 Taylor
Publishing Company, Dallas, Texas.
Meyr, Irma M. Cemeteries of Wilson County, Texas (Over 130 Cemeteries and
Burial Plots) privately published
Click on this image to see larger photo.
Marcelina Community Marker: Located on the Old
San Antonio-Indianola Road, this rural settlement, named for nearby Marcelinas
Creek, began in late 1873, when Wiley R. Franklin (1837-93) bought land in the
area (1.5 miles S) and built a small horse-powered cotton gin. In 1874, a
Baptist congregation was organized, holding services in the home of Gabriel
Moffit; a one-teacher school opened in 1875; and the cemetery was begun in 1882
with the death of Martin Donaho. William Y. Elkins established a mercantile
store in 1886, and was named postmaster when the post office opened on Feb. 1,
1887. By the mid-1890s, Marcelina had 2 stores, 2 cotton gins, a blacksmith and
wheelwright shop, gristmill, large school and church buildings, and several
homes. From the beginning, the local economic base had been agriculture,
primarily cotton production, but in 1901, the crops became infested with boll
weevils and the prosperous community began to decline. Improvements in
transportation diverted trade to Floresville (5.5 miles W), and the advent of
rural mail delivery caused the post office to close on Oct. 1, 1906. All that
remains of the Marcelina Community are the cemetery and the Baptist Church. The
present sanctuary was erected in 1935. (1974)
Click on the images to view larger photos.
Buried at the Marcelina Cemetery are:
Hopkins, Aubrey N. and G. Gail
McVay, Clara M. and Roy C.
Cox, W . T. "Bill" and Emma L.
Cox, Larry Wayne
McVay, C. W. and Joyce Marie
Westfall, S. Arthur and Miriam Ada
Short, Louis E. and Ada C.
Short, Theodore E.
Kalak, Russell W.
Barber, Letha
Teague, Herman?
Teague, Magness
Teague, Alma H.
Westfall, Wayne
Westfall, Bill and Verna T.
Conn, Baby Boy 1997
Conn, Hugh Wm and Annie Velma
Conn, Gracie May
Shouse, Melba Lee Sutherland
Romo, Louise Teague
Teague, Clyde Carl and Dorothy Rehms
Teague, Stanford Ross
Sanders, Leola
Cannot Read
Fuller, Voncille Chancellor and William Uriah
Humphries, James M. and Ethel M.
Donaho, R. C. and Ella
Nisbet, Michael Allen
Pate, Mark Dwayne
Dismuke, Mattie Novell
Pease, Mary Jane
Unmarked
Unmarked
Odom, Garvie and Bessie M.
Hart, Doris C. and Howard P.
Cox, M. R. and H. R.
Cox, Veda Evaughn
Southern, Hubert Lee Jr.
Risley, Emma L.
Risley, Geo.
Ewing, Joseph H. and Martha A.
Ewing, Henry
Ewing, William Thomas and E. Wilson
Mills, Roger and Evelyn
Calvert, Carlean
Calvert, Charles W.
Calvert, Britt Norman
Unmarked
Donaho, William E.
Donaho, Harriet Hart
Peterson
Smith, John Henry and Connie Donaho
Anderson, Archie E. and Virginia D
Donaho, James Newton
Donaho, Virginia Corder
Barnes, Hattie Donaho
Crews, Bettie Barnes
Barnes, John Freemont and Bonnie Creech
Donaho
Lumbart, Dorothy Barnes
Cannot Read - Possible Barnes
Donaho
Reddoch, Rev. H. C. (Hal) and Florence M.
Mills, William Reed
Mills, Jesse T. and Mattie R
James, Dorsey L. and Eron Mills
Mills, Clara and Willie
Mills, William C. and Laura I.
Pace, Eddie Mills
Pace, W. C. Jr.
Hesskew, Albert and Minttie
Unmarked
Hesskew, Hattie
Hesskew, Moses (Baby)
Hesskew, Henry Harry
Hesskew, Joseph
Unmarked
Hesskew, John
Herring, Richard B.
Hesskew, Kenneth W. (Baby)
Brister, M. E. (Jack) Manuel
Herring, Franklin L. and Bettie Virginia
Herring, Leona Thelma
Herring, Hugh B.
Unmarked
Unmarked
Shubert, Francis Walter
Unmarked
Duglosch, Mikel K.
Duglosch, Robert E.
Mills, Judson Gady and Marjorie Iva
Mills, Thurman Blake and Laura Mae
Mills, Vesta J. (Gee) and Rev. R. Bartlett
Pirtle, Estelle Taylor
Barber, Laura Marie
Barber, Neva T.
Barber, R. O. (Rudolph Otis)
Unmarked
Unmarked
Taylor, James B.
Taylor, William Mario
Taylor, E. E.
Taylor, G. E.
Unmarked
Mills, Hardy P. and Sallie Mae
Holcombe, Ruthie D. and Holcombe, Harvey P. (Boots)
Treadway, Jearl Ray and Gladys Mills
Mills, Clara and Willie
Cryer, Alice Talley
Talley, J. A.
Talley, Minnie E., Lemuel A., Iva H.
Talley, Troy E. and Elenora S.
Marsh, Ruby May (Nanny)
Mills, Douglas G. and Lois R., Infant Son
Mills, H. P. Infant Son
Houck
Houck, C. L. and L. H
Sellers, Abi
Sellers, M. Estelle
Sellers, Robbie?
Sellers, R. L.
Sellers, Infant Daughter
Sellers, William Harvey and Mary Jane
Sellers
Sellers, Archie
Sellers, Lora Ella
Sellers, Infant Son
Sellers, Infant Son
Sellers, David Arthur and Ida Amelia
Moote, Cora Lee and Judson
Moote, Kennard Wayne and Janet Carole Purvis
Sellers, Woodrow W.
Sellers, William I. and Mattie J.
Thrash, Charles Clay and Ceusie E.
Houck, George W. and Mary Jane
Unmarked
Taylor, L. Napoleon and R. Gertrude
Ables, Rev. Ernest T. and Colma R. Taylor
Bailey, Billie Ruth
Holcombe, Everett G. and Helen L.
Unmarked
Short, Z. O.
Dismukes, Jerry (Infant)
Dismukes, Marvin and Belle Sellers
Dismukes, John W. and Mollie L.
Mills, Robert Lee and Novelle Reagan
Reagan, Sadie Adcock
Reagan, Henry Marvin
Reagan, Josephine E.
Reagan, Henry Reid
Reagan
Reagan, Dwight L., Sr.
Franz, Archie and Irene
Holcombe, Melissa Caroline Shinn and W. H.
Holcombe
Crain, Almo Holcombe
Holcombe, Sallie J.
Holcombe, E. B.
Holcombe, E. C.
Matthews, Virginia Lee and John Clayton, Jr.
Mathis, Alberta J.
Lynn, Francis Elizabeth Hare
Lynn, Roy Robert
Robinson, Dicy A. and Fernidand W.
Robinson, Texas
Unmarked
Unmarked
Holcombe
