Witten Cemetery
Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This cemetery was established for the family of Samuel Cecil Holiday Witten (1819-91), who came to Texas in 1854. A successful landowner, he also served as a Justice of the Peace and Deputy County Surveyor. Witten first used this burial site in 1857 for the interment of his son, William. Also buried here is another son, George (1841-68), who drowned while on a cattle drive, and a son-in-law, Ryan Harrington (1829-84), a participant in the 1849 California Gold Rush. Samuel Witten and his wife moved to Corpus Christi in 1890 and the cemetery was later used by family descendants.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This family burial ground was begun by Samuel Cecil Holiday Witten, who came to Texas in 1854 and became a successful landowner, justice of the peace, and deputy county surveyor. He first used the site in 1857 to bury his son William. Others rest here too, including a son who drowned on a cattle drive and a son-in-law who had joined the 1849 California Gold Rush, so that the cemetery quietly gathers the far-flung ventures of one pioneering family.
Why it matters
A pioneer family cemetery preserves the intimate texture of frontier Texas life — its offices, its cattle drives, and the reach of the Gold Rush into ordinary households.
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Related people
- · Samuel Cecil Holiday Witten
- · Ryan Harrington
Related events
- · California Gold Rush
Themes & tags
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