This small family cemetery at Airline Rd and Milton St near Southern Metholdist University holds the graves of early Texas pioneers and the slaves they brought with them.
Tiny beautiful Daniel Family Cemetery is a forgotten remnant of old Texas in an affluent area of Dallas near Southern Methodist University. There are about 140 people buried here.
On the Cemeteries of Texas website, we find a 1953 newspaper article about the cemetery: (
visit link)
"Found in Historical Cemetery
article by Barbara Ann Hodson
Park Cities News Sept 3, 1953
Behind the iron fence and tall shrubbery on Airline between Daniel and Milton lies buried a woman who helped to build the western frontier of a land that her father fought to create and her sons fought to divide. Her name was Frances Sims Daniel.
Four years after Texas was annexed to the United States and eight shortyears after John Neely Bryan built his log cabin on the banks of the Trinity, this woman, widowed only the year before, brought six of her eight living children and her sister, Mrs. Nancy Harlan, to the wilds of Texas from civilized Alabama.
With her carefully hoarded savings, she invested in the frontier's only security---land. for her home place, she bought a section, 640 acres, around the location of today's Snider Plaza at 50 cents an acre. Through other purchases she acquired land on both sides of the Trinity and some rich bottom land along the river.
Frances Sims Daniel was born in Hanover Co. VA on Jan 19 1796, the youngest daughter of Judith Cross Sims and William Sims, a revolutionary soldier. The family moved to Maury County TN, where Frances married the Rev. John M Daniel on July 11 1816.
The Daniels then moved to Alabama where John died in 1848.The year 1849 marks the beginning of the Daniel family in what is now University Park.
With her household effects, children, sister and several slaves, Mrs. Daniel made the long trek across county, and thus another southern family GTT---Gone to Texas.
The children, Jesse, Francis R., John, Thomas B. Isabella O. and Margaret S. were the founders of several local families.
With the year 1850, the history of the family cemetery begins. On the tombstones is that two-acre plot can be read the story of a family. Births, marriages, deaths--the tragic record on the many tiny stones marked "Baby The cemetery was begun in the newly-planted orchard behind the house when Frank, one of the slaves who came from Alabama, died. Later four other slaves were buried in the north west corner of the orchard.
Frank was one of the slaves given to Frances when her father died in 1813. Williams Sims' will read, in part:"I do lend unto my daughter Frances Sims, three Negroes, Kitty, Rose and Frank, also a colt, saddle, and bridle, also a walnut chest and at my daughter's death I give said negroes and their increase to her lawful issue."
She also received her "respective bed and furniture, and a cow and the increase of said cow forever."
The east boundary of the home property were somewhere between Airline Road and Greenville Avenue and the house faced south. The other boundaries were Lovers Lane on the north, Haynie on the south and Turtle Creek on the west.
The first member of the family buried in the orchard was Isabella, who died in her teens leaving an infant daughter. The wife of Alexander Harwood, county clerk of Dallas, she died in 1851 and was buried in the south east corner of the orchard. Her daughter was buried beside her in 1860. Mrs. Harlan, Mrs. Daniel's sister was also buried in 1850.
Margaret, the youngest Daniel daughter, married Joshua Fayette Smith in 1853. Soon after the death of her oldest daughter, Sophronia, in 1897, she had a fence built around the little plot, already outlined with the bois'arc trees planted by her mother.
On all the stones are inscriptions that reveal the shortness of life , the terrible toll of infants taken by death and the sorrow of bereaved parents and children. Francis Sims Daniel herself was only 57 when she was laid to rest."