Brandt Cemetery
La Grange, Fayette County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Eilert Gerhard Brandt and his wife, Sophie Friedrich Wilhelmine Westing Brandt, immigrated from Oldenburg, Germany to this area in April 1888. They purchased nearly 400 acres of land near the community of Pecan (Holman). Just months later, in June 1888, they established this cemetery with the burial of Meta Wienken, who had cared for their sons H. Emil and George F. before the couple had arrived with four more of their children. Six others had been stillborn or died young and were buried in Germany. After her husband's death in 1919, Wilhelmine (d. 1924) sold the land to George and his wife, Julia, who built a home nearby. In the 1930s, George and Julia sold the property to their children. In 1952, family members formed the Brandt Cemetery Association, which holds annual decoration days for the burial ground. The cemetery features curbed burial plots and slab grave covers. It remains a link to the Brandt family and the many German immigrants who helped settle Fayette County. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2002
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Eilert and Wilhelmine Brandt arrived from Oldenburg, Germany, in April 1888 and bought nearly 400 acres near the Fayette County community of Pecan (Holman). Within months they opened this cemetery with the burial of Meta Wienken, who had cared for two of their sons before the family reunited in Texas. Passed down through the Brandt family and organized as an association in 1952, the cemetery still holds annual decoration days and preserves its curbed plots and slab grave covers.
Why it matters
The burial ground is a lasting link to the German immigrant families who settled and farmed the rolling country of Fayette County.
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Related people
- · Eilert Gerhard Brandt
- · Sophie Friedrich Wilhelmine Westing Brandt
- · Meta Wienken
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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