Dickinson City Cemetery

4617 Highway 3, Dickinson, Texas
Coordinates: 29.457047, -95.048479
From I-45, go east on FM 517 to Highway 3 and turn right (south). Go a few blocks to 48th Street and turn right (southwest). The entrance to the cemetery is on the right across from the boat ramp.

CEMETERY INDEX

All pictures taken and owned by Floyd "Lanny" Martin, Email Zingo1226@yahoo.com

Please contact Ernie Deats for information: historical marker
P. O. Box 1117 - Dickinson, TX 77539
281-337-3954 - 713-252-7957

IN MEMORY OF THOSE WHO SERVED TO KEEP OUR COUNTRY FREE
Deloye Ray Alford - WW II
John W. Averitt - WW I
Thomas Wayne Barker - WW II
A. Mickey Battistoni - WW II
Charles T. Bear - WW I
Lawrence Biondo - WW II
Phillip Roy Carona - Korean War
Emanuel Endresen - WW I
Gabriel Galli - WW I
Paul James Galli - WW I
Paul James Galli - WW I
Maurice M. Green - Korean War
Percy J. Hartman - WW I
Guy G. Hennisen - WW I
James W. Horton - WW II
John Herman Jones - WW I
Victor Kirklighter - Vietnam War
Frederick F Luhning - WW II
Carl B. McDougal - WW II
Jack Curtis Melton - WW II
Robert C. Muller - WW I
Leon Joseph Napoli - Korean War
Elmer H. Neumann - WW II
George Willis Richards - WW II
Arthur L. Schmidt - WW II
Frederick W. Schmidt - WW II
George B. Schmidt - WW II
Walter F. Schmidt - WW I
Frank E. Strom - WW I
Charles H. Tuttle - Spanish American War
Charles H. Tuttle, Jr. - WW II
Willie Reuben Watts - WW II
Chester Leroy Woods, Jr. - WW II

We would like to thank Will and Pharulene Deats for their help in compiling this information. We would also like to recognize Eunice Lanning Andrus, Lucille Smith Craddock, Rose Powell and Ella Lee Sheffield, members of the Texas City Ancestry Searchers who in June 1977 helped to publish information on the Dickinson City Cemetery.

History of Dickinson City Cemetery

by Wilson and Phraulene Deats
P.O. Box 32
Dickinson, TX 77539-0032 Dickinson City cemetery

Passed by the progress of the world around it, the old Dickinson City Cemetery lies peacefully out of the way on the banks of the Bayou where once the community picnic grounds stood. It is on the site that the first Protestant Church in Dickinson was built.

The cemetery has a long history. Prior to 1882, the land was owned by W. P. Ballinger, who in that year signed a quit-claim to W. S. Deats et al, for the purpose of building a Methodist church.

The 1900 Storm destroyed the church building and the church was rebuilt on higher ground. Several members of the congregation died before the church was destroyed and were buried on the grounds. The cemetery has more than 400 grave sites, many belonging to Dickinson's original settlers.

The "Dickinson Cemetery" is sort of a misnomer, as the land does not really belong to the city nor the county. Although the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church now stands near the Dickinson Cemetery, the cemetery does not belong to that church. In trying to research the cemetery's background, it was found that the Galveston County records still show this property belonging to the Methodist Church.

Some of the original records were destroyed in 1961 by Hurricane Carla. After Hurricane Alicia, there was a city-wide clean-up of the cemetery. With professional lawn service, it has remained in good condition. It is maintained mostly from donations given by the families of relatives buried there.

On Monday, December 5, 2004 the Tejas Bluebonnet Trails Chapter of the National Society of the Colonial Dames 17th Century dedicated a historical marker. One of the objectives of the Colonial Dames is to help preserve the records and historical sites of America. This dedication was well attended and a reception at First United Methodist Church was hosted by the Tejas Bluebonnet Trails Chapter.

For nearly 60 years Wilson Deats has been the caretaker of the records. He works with local funeral homes in the location for the lots and with families seeking information on the lots.

If you have never visited the cemetery, it is located to the south of the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church.
This information is current as of May 2008, burials will be added as received.

CEMETERY INDEX