Sturdivant Cemetery - Mineral Wells, TX - 'You Are Here' Maps on Waymarking.com

There is a metal kiosk just ahead of you as you enter the cemetery, and the front of it is facing east. The vertical side contains the cemetery's rules and regulations, along with contact information, and it encourages you to open the drawer below to sign the guest book and have a look at any enclosed literature in a binder. There is a very thorough guide to burials, which includes the name of the person interred as well as the section where one can find them. North/South rows are labeled A, B, C, and D, while East/West rows are numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. The "You Are Here" shows that you're standing in section B-2.

While there is a Texas Historical Marker in front of the cemetery, inside the binder is a laminated flyer with even more comprehensive information, and it reads:

Thomas Young Sturdivant Sr. and wife, Caroline (Langford) Sturdivant, his mother, Mary (Lindsey) Sturdivant and fourteen of their children, came to Palo Pinto County, Texas in 1876, buying 320 acres of land in the center of what later would become known as Sturdivant Community.

Nancy Jane Sturdivant had already married William Nutter Osborn and they settled on adjoining land in Sturdivant Community also. The older Sturdivant children began marrying other early settlers. Mary Frances Sturdivant married Thomas Fletcher Harrison. They lost a son, Samuel Rose Harrison, born January 7 1880, died January 30 1881, so the need for a cemetery for this new community became a necessity. Thomas Young Sturdivant set aside a plot of land for his grandson, as well as for a community cemetery. This was in pastureland, with many beautiful post oak and black jack trees. He first gave one and one-tenth acres of land, according to Sturdivant land records on record in Palo Pinto County Court House. Around 1926 William R. Holland gave additional land to enlarge the cemetery. This gift of land is recorded in Palo Pinto County records, which more than doubled the size of the cemetery.

Many pioneers of Sturdivant and nearby areas are interred within the bounds of Sturdivant Cemetery. Thomas Young Sturdivant died in 1888 and is buried here. His wife and mother are buried beside him. Five of their children are buried here, George Sturdivant, Charlie Sturdivant, Nancy Jane (Sturdivant) Osborn, Mary Frances (Sturdivant) Harrison and Eliza M. (Sturdivant) DeBerry. The Osborns came to Sturdivant in 1877 and are buried here. William and Elizabeth Withers, who came to Willow Pond around 1880 are buried here, as well as their son, Dr. Horatio B. Withers, who came in 1872 and his second wife, Charity, who died in 1895, with their son, who died in 1883. Nathalie Hoelzle was buried in 1895. She and her family came to Sturdivant by 1880 and her descendants are buried here. Joseph F. Brown and wife, very early settlers, are buried here. James Pratt Green, who came in 1877, and his wife Nancy Hester are buried here. Ransom Cass Holland and his wife, Malenda, came to Sturdivant in 1880 and they are buried here. She died in 1887 and he in 1892. Ransom Cass Holland's second wife, Louisa Jane (Shaver) Holland and her parents are buried here. They came to Sturdivant in 1880. All of Ransom Cass Holland's children are buried here, Andrew, Savannah, William R., Narm Preston and Ed Holland.

Many of J. C. Lynch's descendents are buried here. He was the founder of Mineral Wells. Amos A. Pilgrim and wife, Isabelle and many of their descendents are buried here at Sturdivant. The Pilgrims came to Sturdivant in 1886. Mr. and Mrs. James Wesley Merritt first settled on the Brazos River in the late 1870's, then came to Sturdivant in the 1880's. They and many of their descendents are buried here. L. R. Daniel, his wife, their son, Charles and his wife, and another son, John W. Daniel and other members of this family are buried here. There are many more pioneers buried in the Sturdivant Cemetery.

In early times an ornamental fence was across the front of the cemetery with barbed wire down the sides and back. In 1962 a cyclone fence was put around the sides and the back of the cemetery. A little later the front of the cemetery was fenced with a cyclone fence. In 1973 Ned Patterson sold the cemetery 12 feet on the east side for a drive across the side. A little later Dan Talbert sold the cemetery 12 feet down the west side for a road on that side.

In 1966 a Trust Fund was set up for the upkeep of the cemetery. This trust fund is chartered by the State of Texas. Only the interest from this fund can be used, along with donations by interested parties, for the upkeep of the cemetery.

Location Name: Sturdivant Cemetery

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