Friends Church Cemetery
Friendswood, Galveston County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1895, six families left the disbanded Quaker settlement of Estacado in the Lubbock area and moved to Galveston County. Here, they established the community of Friendswood, named in honor of their faith and association with the Society of Friends, more commonly known as the Quakers. By November 1895, the settlers needed a burial ground when a falling tree killed young Newton Knode while he cut firewood with his father-in-law. His grave is the earliest marked burial at what became Friends Church Cemetery, adjacent to the Friends church and school building on property owned by community founders T.H. Lewis and F.J. Brown. A church appointed committee has cared for the cemetery throughout its history, arranging for maintenance and establishing criteria for burial. The cemetery was open to all community residents for several decades, but when the town's population boomed in the late 20th century, new restrictions then required church membership or early town residency to qualify for burial. The cemetery today is a link to the early community and its religious founding. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2006
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1895 six families left the disbanded Quaker colony of Estacado on the Llano Estacado and resettled in Galveston County, founding Friendswood in honor of their Society of Friends faith. Their need for a burial ground came suddenly that November when a falling tree killed young Newton Knode as he cut firewood, and his grave became the cemetery's earliest. A church committee has overseen the grounds ever since, beside the Friends' church and school.
Why it matters
The cemetery marks the quiet founding of one of Texas's few Quaker communities, whose plain, cooperative faith left a lasting stamp on the Gulf Coast town that still bears its name.
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Related people
- · Newton Knode
- · T.H. Lewis
- · F.J. Brown
Themes & tags
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