Grimes Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker at Grimes Cemetery has to say — and friend, this one's got layers worth peeling back. Now, you wouldn't necessarily expect a cattleman's cemetery out here on the Matagorda County land to trace its roots back to Rocky Hill, Connecticut — but that's exactly where Richard Grimes was born, way back in 1789. From a young age he took to the sea, and by the time he'd earned the title of Captain, he was sailing his own vessel — a brig called the Driver.

In 1837, Captain Grimes pointed that brig toward Texas, came ashore at Palacios Point on Matagorda Bay, and decided this was where he'd plant himself. He kept on in the shipping trade, because a man who loves the water doesn't just quit the water. But then 1843 rolls around, and something shifts.

Captain Grimes goes into the cattle business — with his son, William Bradford Grimes, born in 1825. Together they established the WBG ranch right here on this ground. And here's where the story starts to get a little bigger than it might first appear, because that ranch drew cowboys.

And not just any cowboys. Among the hands who worked the WBG were a fellow named Charles Angelo Siringo — and one Abel Head Pierce, who you might know better by the name Shanghai Pierce. Men who would go on to become well known in the annals of Texas cattle country.

They were here, on this ground, learning the trade. After the Civil War, major cattle drives started rolling out from this very ranch — heading up to Dodge City and Abilene, Kansas — and they kept going, annually, right through the 1870s. Let that settle for a moment.

The drives that shaped a cattle kingdom launched from right here. Captain Grimes himself, though, didn't live to see all of it play out. He died in 1858.

And this cemetery — the reason we're standing here today — he established it himself, back in 1856, when his infant grandson died. The very first soul laid to rest in this ground was the smallest and the youngest. That tends to stay with you.

His son William kept ranching after his father was gone. But when William's wife died in 1876, he packed up and moved to Kansas City, Missouri, where he became a successful financier, banker, and businessman. The man knew how to find his footing wherever the ground was.

In 1881, William gave the WBG ranch to his eldest daughter, Fannie Louise — born in 1860 — upon her marriage to Thomas Jefferson Poole. And when Fannie Louise died in 1888, her son Thomas Jefferson Poole, Jr., born in 1883, inherited the ranch and kept right on ranching until his own death in 1969. He became a director of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association for many years, and when he passed, the Texas State Legislature honored him for his achievements as a cattleman.

From a Connecticut sea captain's brig on Matagorda Bay, to Shanghai Pierce learning the ropes in a pasture, to a legislatively honored cattleman more than a century later — and through it all, this cemetery right here, still active today, still receiving the people of this land. Some ground just holds more history than it has any right to. This is that kind of ground.

What the marker says

Cattleman Richard Grimes (1789-1858) established this family cemetery in 1856 when his infant grandson died. Grimes was born in Rocky Hill, Connecticut, and from a young age he pursued a seafaring career. In 1837, Captain Grimes came to Texas in his brig, the Driver, and settled at Palacios Point on Matagorda Bay where he continued in the shipping trade. In 1843 he entered the cattle business with his son William Bradford Grimes (1825-1904), and they established the WBG ranch here. This early Texas ranch employed a number of cowboys who would later become well known, including Charles Angelo Siringo and Abel Head (Shanghai) Pierce. After the Civil War, several major cattle drives to Dodge City and Abilene, Kansas started from this ranch, continuing annually through the 1870s. After Captain Grimes died, William continued to ranch here until his wife’s death in 1876, when he moved to Kansas City, Missouri. There he became a successful financier, banker and businessman. In 1881, he gave the WBG ranch to his eldest daughter, Fannie Louise (1860-1888), upon her marriage to Thomas Jefferson Poole. Her son, Thomas Jefferson Poole, Jr. (1883-1969), inherited the ranch from her and continued ranching until his death. He was a director of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association for many years, and upon his death, Poole was honored by the Texas State Legislature for his achievements as a cattleman. Today, this burial ground continues to be an active cemetery. Historic texas cemetery – 2007