Needville Methodist Church Cemetery
Needville, Fort Bend County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Located on land purchased by the Needville German Methodist Church from the State of Texas in 1896, this small cemetery began in 1903, when the infant son of the church's pastor, William Sievers, and his wife Alma was buried near the church building. By 1905 children of the Busch and Kielman families also were buried here, and the Zich family began burying relatives in the graveyard in 1907. Adjacent to the Needville Public Cemetery, this plot has historically been used by members of the Methodist church, which moved into the town of Needville in 1927. Incise on base: Funded by the Estate of Mr. and Mrs. Ben Bacica
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
On land the Needville German Methodist congregation bought from the State of Texas in 1896, this small graveyard opened in 1903 with the burial of the infant son of the church's pastor, William Sievers, and his wife Alma. Children of the Busch and Kielman families soon followed, and the Zichs began burying kin here in 1907. Long used by the German Methodist community, it sits beside the Needville Public Cemetery.
Why it matters
The plot preserves the family names of Fort Bend County's German Methodist settlers, a quiet record of an immigrant faith community's roots.
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Related people
- · William Sievers
- · Alma Sievers
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Needville Methodist Church
Needville, TX
German immigrants worshiping in their mother tongue founded this congregation in 1892 as the German Methodist Episcopal Church, North, gathered by pioneer missionary the Rev. Jacob Ott. Early services met in private homes until the church bought land and raised its first sanctuary in 1897, later moving into Needville and building anew in 1927. Services and records stayed in German until the 1930s.
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Frederick and Anna Cesinger, German settlers, brought their family to this corner of Fort Bend County in 1891 and soon deeded part of their land to their son George. When George's young sister Philipina died in 1894, he set aside an acre as a family burying ground, which grew to hold relatives and neighbors. For nearly two decades a German Evangelical church in Needville tended the plot before it returned to Cesinger heirs.
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