Myrtle Cemetery
Ennis, Ellis County, Texas
Marker Inscription
W.H. Parsons deeded the original ten acres at this site in 1875 for use as a cemetery. The burial ground was named "Myrtle" for a child whose single grave was included in the tract of land. Also buried here is Frederick H. Ranklin (1795-1874), a member of Stephen F. Austin's "Old 300" colony and veteran of the Texas Revolution. Other graves include those of author Katie Daffan (1874-1951), and Marine Lieutenant Jack Lummus (1915-1945), who was killed at the battle of Iwo Jima during World War II and later awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
When W.H. Parsons deeded ten acres for a cemetery in 1875, it took the name "Myrtle" from a child already buried on the tract. The grounds became a resting place for figures across generations of Texas history — Frederick Ranklin of Stephen F. Austin's "Old 300" and a veteran of the Texas Revolution, author Katie Daffan, and Marine Lieutenant Jack Lummus, killed at Iwo Jima in 1945 and awarded the Medal of Honor.
Why it matters
A single burial ground can gather the sweep of the American story, from a colony's first families to a Marine's sacrifice in the Pacific.
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Related people
- · Jack Lummus
- · Katie Daffan
- · Frederick H. Ranklin
- · W.H. Parsons
Related events
- · Battle of Iwo Jima
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Moore House
Ennis, TX
Built in 1905 for Malinda and Hardin T. Moore, this Neoclassical Revival house — with fluted Ionic and Doric columns, balustrades, and urns — announced the wealth of a family formed by two remarriages. Malinda had inherited substantial land and businesses from a first husband and managed them herself with notable diligence, while Hardin, a Civil War veteran and cattle merchant, brought his own holdings. She lived here until her death in 1930.
Katie Daffan
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Katie Litty Daffan built a remarkable public career at a time when few women did, working as a teacher, author, journalist, and clubwoman. She served as an officer of the Texas State Historical Association, wrote several books including a Texas history textbook, and edited the literary pages of the Houston Chronicle from 1921 to 1928. Deeply active in the United Daughters of the Confederacy, she led the Confederate Woman's Home in Austin from 1911 to 1918, and later taught and wrote a column in Ennis, where she died in 1951.
Phillip R. Pierce
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Born in North Carolina in 1813, Phillip R. Pierce came to Texas and took up arms in the war for independence as a member of the Madisonville Cavalry, Texas Volunteers. He lived out his days in Ellis County, dying in 1891. The state erected this marker to his service in 1962.
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