DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker says about the Ihnken Family Cemetery, just north of where this story begins. Now, every old cemetery in Medina County has a story underneath it, and some of those stories stretch back further than most folks care to reckon. This one starts with a woman named Marie Becker Ihnken — an early Castroville colonist, a Dutch immigrant — buried just north of this very site in 1847.
She was laid to rest by her son, Gerhard. That's how old this ground is. Gerhard himself was German-born, and he had married a woman named Marie Jeanne Pichot on October 22, 1846.
Now the Pichot family — they came over on the first of Henri Castro's ships. That alone puts them at the very beginning of this colony's story. But here's where the tale takes a darker turn.
The Pichots had originally intended to go back to France. That was the plan. Then Marie Jeanne's father, Jean Nicolas Pichot, died of complications after a rattlesnake bite.
And just like that, France became a memory. The Pichot family stayed in Texas. So Gerhard and Marie Jeanne put down roots, and they did not do it quietly.
These were major civic leaders in early Castroville. Farmers who raised cattle. They owned and operated a sawmill, a store, and a fruit orchard on their vast lands.
Gerhard is said to have brought the first reaper and the first binder to the Castroville area. You let that sit for a moment — the first reaper, the first binder. That's not a small thing in farm country.
That's the kind of contribution that changes how a whole region feeds itself. The cemetery the Ihnkens left behind is one of the oldest in all of Medina County. Eight family members rest in marked graves.
Several others — unknown. A Freedman employed by Gerhard Ihnken is said to be buried here as well, his presence remembered even if his name is not. And Marie Becker Ihnken, that Dutch immigrant who was buried here back in 1847, is one of the very few older Castro colonists whose grave is still marked today.
That's a rare thing. Out of respect for those who lie in unmarked ground, the cemetery has been inactive since 1950. Nobody digs here anymore.
The people resting in this plot — known and unknown — are left in peace. Some places earn their quiet. This one did.
What the marker says
Early Castroville colonist and Dutch immigrant Marie Becker Ihnken was buried just north of this site in 1847 by her son, Gerhard. The German-born Gerhard married Marie Jeanne Pichot on October 22, 1846. The Pichot family arrived on the first of Henri Castro's ships. Though they originally intended to return to France, the Pichot family remained in Texas after Marie Jeanne's father, Jean Nicolas, died of complications after a rattlesnake bite. Major civic leaders in early Castroville, the Ihnkens were farmers who raised cattle and owned and operated a sawmill, a store, and a fruit orchard on their vast lands. Particularly remembered for his agricultural contributions, Gerhard is said to have brought the first reaper and the first binder to the Castroville area. One of the oldest cemeteries in Medina County, the Ihnken family plot contains eight family members in marked graves; several others are unknown. Marie Becker Ihnken is one of the few older Castro colonists whose grave is still marked. A Freedman employed by Gerhard Ihnken is said to be buried in the cemetery. To avoid disturbing unmarked graves, the cemetery has been inactive since 1950. (1997)