Wheeler Cemetery
Stockdale, Wilson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Also known as Wheeler-Butler Cemetery, this family graveyard was first used in 1863 when David Wheeler’s second wife, Maniza, died in childbirth, followed shortly by the infant, Lela. David and his brother, John E. Wheeler, operated a grist mill on the nearby Cibolo Creek; a brick-making kiln was also constructed. Besides the Wheelers, members from neighboring families, including the Butlers, who married into the Wheeler family, are interred here. In 2008, the Wheeler-Butler Cemetery Association formed to maintain the graveyard, which had been forgotten and neglected. Today, the burial ground remains a record of families who settled the area when Cibolo Creek was still a wild frontier.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The Wheeler family graveyard was first used in 1863, when David Wheeler's second wife Maniza died in childbirth, soon followed by her infant. David and his brother John ran a grist mill on nearby Cibolo Creek and built a brick-making kiln, small industries on what was then a raw frontier. Neighboring families such as the Butlers, who married into the Wheelers, were also buried here, and in 2008 an association formed to reclaim the long-neglected ground.
Why it matters
The cemetery preserves the memory of the mill-and-kiln families who settled the Cibolo Creek country when it was still wild frontier, small enterprises that turned wilderness into community.
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Related people
- · David Wheeler
- · John E. Wheeler
Themes & tags
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