Brazoria County Cemetery Page - Mims Family Cemetery Narrative

Mims Family Cemetery

Brazoria, Brazoria County, Texas

  My wife, Lisa, and I have adopted this cemetery located on the former plantation of Joseph and Sarah Weekley Mims located in Brazoria, Brazoria County, Texas.  We came across Joseph's son, Benjamin Franklin Mims, on a visit to the San Jacinto Battleground.  Benjamin was listed as a participant in the battle of San Jacinto and this got us curious about who Benjamin Mims was.  This led me to the website of the Brazoria County Historical Museum where pictures of tombstones and some information was obtained.  Becoming more curious we ventured down to Angleton, the County Seat of Brazoria, to see what other information we could get from the Museum.  We spoke with Jamie Murray, librarian at the Brazoria county historical museum, who was more than happy to provide us with the information she had in her files.  Jamie told us we could visit the site of the former plantation as there is a cemetery not too far off the main road of FM 521 and not too far from Angleton and just south of the town of Brazoria.  So we journeyed to Brazoria to see the sites.

  Finding the gate was easy, but the gate was locked.  Lisa, being pregnant, could not hop the gate so I went in to see what was there and how far the cemetery was located from the gate.  I found the cemetery located relatively close the gate and very overgrown with vines, trees, and undergrowth.  I took pictures to show Lisa.  We were both appalled at the condition of the cemetery as Joseph and Sarah were one of Stephen F. Austin's "Old Three Hundred" families to settle Texas.  We also wanted to find out more about Joseph's partnership with Col. James Fannin of Texas Independence Fame.  This concern brought us to the Brazoria County Historical Museum's Cemetery Committee which meets in Angleton on select Saturdays.  From there, we decided to "adopt" this cemetery while researching to learn more about the individuals buried there.  We met and obtained permission from the property's current owner Mr. Jack Patterson who graciously provided permission to clean up the cemetery and even helped to remove some of the trees with his son Jack, Jr. assisting.  We have also had assistance from Alfred Cole and his son Alvin Cole who are related to the Coles of Jesse James "fame."  While going to the cemetery as often as we could which was usually one a month, we also compiled information and submitted this information to the Texas State Historical Commission where we applied for and received an Historical Designation for this cemetery. 

  Although a small cemetery, much work remains to be done but so far we have managed to clear the area which make maintenance easier.  I hope to soon have the obelisk marking the graves of Joseph and Sarah put back together.   All of the stones have been cleaned using ORVIS soap and water and a lot of elbow grease.  I have tried to take as many pictures as necessary to document the progress.  I have attached links to my pictures for others who may live too far to visit the site in person.   

                                                             

MIMS FAMILY CEMETERY PHOTOS

 

Back to Brazoria County Cemetery Page

Copyright © 2004-2013 James H. Mims. All rights reserved.
Revised: 01/01/13