Wade Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker records out at Wade Cemetery in Waller County. Pull over if you can, because this one goes back a long way. It starts with a man named William Wade.

He came to Texas by the 1820s, arriving from Mississippi with the kind of ambition that doesn't fit in a single state. He purchased considerable acreage from members of Stephen F. Austin's Old Three Hundred Colony, and by the 1840s, William Wade owned over eleven thousand acres of Republic of Texas land.

Eleven thousand acres. His plantation stretched from what was then Austin County, now Waller County, all the way to the banks of the Brazos River. He brought horses, other livestock, and many workers to the area.

He and a man named Churchill Fulshear were instrumental in building up the local school and the Methodist Episcopal Church South. William Wade was planting roots in every sense of the word. Now, in the nineteenth century, families with large ranches and plantations had a particular custom.

When the first family member died, they established a cemetery right there on the property. And so it was that this burial ground was established in 1846. The first to rest here was William's wife, Hulda, who died that same year.

Her grave is the earliest in this cemetery. William himself passed away in 1859. Before he did, he began deeding land to his sons, Robert, Thomas, and Alexander.

He was thinking ahead, making sure what he built would carry forward. Alexander Wade is worth pausing on. He fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War, then settled on his property and married Sophronia Bell, known to those who loved her as Fronie.

She was the granddaughter of Josiah Hughes Bell, one of the Old Three Hundred colonists himself. So the land and the history ran deep on both sides of that marriage. Alexander died in 1915, Fronie in 1925, and they are both interred here.

Their sons are here too. Thaddeus Wade, who died in 1906, rests beneath a Woodmen of the World gravestone, one of those distinctive markers you don't forget once you've seen one. And James Hall Wade, who died in 1957, is here as well, along with other family members.

But this cemetery was never just for the Wades. Over the years, other area residents found their place here too, including people from the Brookshire and Fulshear communities. Fort Bend County neighbors alongside Waller County ones, all sharing this ground.

From a Mississippi planter arriving in a young Texas, to eleven thousand acres along the Brazos, to a cemetery that still stands today, the Wade family left something that outlasted every deed they ever signed. The marker calls it a testament to the pioneering Wade family and other early settlers of Waller and Fort Bend Counties. Out here on this land, that word, testament, feels exactly right.

What the marker says

This burial ground was established in 1846 by William Wade, a wealthy plantation owner from Mississippi who came to Texas by the 1820s. He purchased considerable acreage from members of Stephen F. Austin's Old Three Hundren Colony. By the 1840s, Wade owned over 11,000 acres of Republic of Texas land. His plantation extended from what was then Austin County (now Waller County) to the banks of the Brazos River. Wade brought horses and other livestock to the area, along with many workers. He and Churchill Fulshear were instrumental in the development of the area school and Methodist Episcopal Church South. In the 19th century, it was typical for families who owned large ranches and plantations to establish cemeteries on their property when the first family member died. William's wife, Hulda, died in 1846 and her grave is the earliest in this cemetery. Before he passed away in 1859, William Wade began deeding land to his sons, Robert, Thomas and Alexander. Alexander Wade (d. 1915) fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War before settling on his property and marrying Sophronia (Fronie) Bell (d. 1925), granddaughter of Josiah Hughes Bell, one of the Old Three Hundred colonists. The couple is interred here along with their sons, Thaddeus Wade (d. 1906), whose grave is marked by a Woodmen of the World gravestone, and James Hall Wade (d. 1957), and other family members. In addition to Wade family members, other area residents, including those living in the Brookshire and Fulshear communities, are interred. Today, the Wade Cemetery remains as a testament to the pioneering Wade family and other early settlers of Waller and Fort Bend Counties. Historic Texas Cemetery-2007