The Daniel Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Way out in southwest Dallas County, there's a patch of ground that's been holding stories since before the Civil War; and it goes by the name of The Daniel Cemetery. It starts with one man: the Reverend Ellison Armistead Daniel, Senior, born in 1797, and the kind of man who didn't just do one thing.

He preached on Sundays, sure enough, but the rest of the week he was out farming and ranching the land. In 1852, he brought his family here; set down roots in southwest Dallas County the way pioneers do, with conviction and a whole lot of work ahead of them. Now, a cemetery tells you when a place truly becomes a home, and this one didn't wait long.

Just one year after the Daniels arrived, in 1853, that ground received its first soul: Fannie P. Daniel, the Reverend's daughter-in-law. That's a hard beginning for any family in a new land.

Then comes the earliest marked grave, and that belongs to William S. Langley, born in 1822, died in 1857; Daniel's son-in-law, his name cut into stone while the Reverend himself was still very much alive, still preaching, still working that Texas earth. Ellison Armistead Daniel, Senior, lived until 1875.

And scattered across that cemetery are others who carry the Daniel name; people who didn't just settle southwest Dallas County, they helped shape the very town of Duncanville. One family, one plot of ground, and the whole arc of a community buried right there beneath it.

What the marker says

This burial ground originally served the family of the Rev. Ellison Armistead Daniel, Sr. (1797-1875) and pioneer settlers of southwest Dallas County. Daniel, who brought his family here in 1852, was a part-time Baptist minister who also farmed and ranched this land. The cemetery was first used in 1853 for the interment of his daughter-in-law Fannie P. Daniel. The earliest marked grave is that of Daniel's son-in-law William S. Langley (1822-1857). Other graves include those of Daniel family members who figured prominently in the development of Duncanville. (1982)