FIRST Recorded Burial in Skinner Cemetery - Pilot Point, TX
N 33° 23.222 W 096° 56.954
14S E 690748 N 3696073
The 1998 Texas Historical Marker at Skinner Cemetery in Pilot Point, TX, indicates that the first recorded burial in the cemetery was that of a young boy, Josiah Taylor, back in 1858.
Waymark Code: WM15Q41
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 02/07/2022
Views: 2
This cemetery has seen lengthy periods of neglect, as well as occasional vandalism. Over the last decade, much of that was put right, although the vandals still appear to visit every so often. One minor casualty is that this little boy's headstone may have been on its back for some time, exposed to weather that has worn its inscription to the point of virtual illegibility. There's an older photo at his Findagrave page (see below), but it's still not very clear. Findagrave lists "1853" as his birth year, but that may be an "1858" as well.
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The historical marker provides some background:
In the early days of Pilot Point, Lucinda (Glasscock) and Richard Skinner set aside a 2.44-acre piece of land to be used as a cemetery. The first recorded burial was that of 5-year-old Josiah Taylor in March of 1858; his father, Josiah Sr., died the following July.
Predominantly of Anglo-Saxon Protestant descent, most of those buried here came from Kentucky, Virginia, Missouri, Arkansas, and Tennessee. Many were farmers or ranchers. Significant graves include that of J.D. Merchant, Sr., a local businessman who built the first brick building in the area. Also here are several victims of yellow fever, including Prissie and Sarah Wilson, sisters who died within 2 months of one another during the epidemic of 1872 and 1873. Two people named James Graham, born on the same date two years apart, died on the same September day in 1867.
Lucinda Skinner, the last charter member of the Pilot Point First Baptist Church, died in 1890. By 1900, there were probably 200 graves in the cemetery. The land was sold by John Skinner to the Skinner Cemetery Association in 1905; the last recorded burial was that of Joe Mylo Phipps, an infant who died in 1928. The Skinner Cemetery remains a vital link to the early settlers of the Pilot Point community.
FIRST - Classification Variable: Person or Group
Date of FIRST: 01/01/1858
More Information - Web URL: [Web Link]
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