By Frances James (1922 – 2019)
This cemetery is at the dead end of Dwight Street just south of Jefferson Avenue on the western side of the City of Dallas. To the west is Mountain Creek Lake, and the escarpment. From this high spot to the south is a new facility, the Dallas National Golf Club.
All of this land was in Peter’s Colonist Wesley Cockrell’s 640 acre colony survey. Kentucky natives Wesley (1817 – 1885) and Sarah Wilson “Sallie: (1817 – 1875) Cockrell came to Texas in 1843 with three of their children who had been born between 1839 and 1843 while living near St. Louis in Missouri.
One of the first settlers in what is now Dallas County, Wesley acquired many additional acres of land. He operated a hauling business, bringing other settlers to the Three Forks area. He ranched and hunted and the stagecoach stopped by the home stead. When his cousin, Alexander Cockrell, stopped by on his way to join the war with Mexico in 1848, he was asked to deliver a package to the Horton family who lived a short distance north. This is where Alexander met Sarah Horton who became his wife when he returned from the war with Mexico.
The granite marker showing that this small cemetery has been registered as a Historic Texas Cemetery is near the gate and was placed there in concrete by Boy Scouts. Many of the broken and lost pieces of head stones have recently been discovered and repaired by the Texas Youth Commission boys who are working off their assigned community service hours at the site. The work is directed by their counselor and the boys get certain satisfaction learning about the history of this pioneer family.
Burials in the Wesley Cockrell Cemetery are mostly family. Wesley and Sarah eventually had six more children in Texas. There is no head stone for Wesley but there is one for “Sallie.”
Pallina (also spelled Pelina or Paulina) (1831 – 1881) Cockrell was the first daughter of Wesley and Sarah and came to Texas as a little girl with her family. She married D. A. Lacy in 1856, and they had nine children. He was engaged in hauling goods from Houston to Dallas and Shreveport to Dallas. D. A. Lacy was born in 1830 and was twenty years old when his family arrived in Dallas after the long journey from Tennessee. His father, Philemon born in 1770 preempted 320 acres in what is now known as the Eagle Ford Community where he died at the age of 92. The property was near the land owned by Wesley Cockrell.
Morgan Cockrell (1840 – 1869) was the first son of Wesley and Sarah. His head stone says, “Sacred to the memory of Morgan Cockrell. Was born May 10th, 1840 in Cass County, Missouri and departed this life December 22nd, 1869 in Tarrant County, Texas (AJC)”
Morgan enlisted during the Civil War and was taken prisoner and held for several months. After being released, Morgan returned home, sick and weakened. He told of being fed bread and water that was pushed through the bars of the prison. He married Berilla Phillips in 1866 but died shortly after returning home.
Permilia Cockrell (1843 – ) was born in Missouri and married J. H. Curtiss in 1865. Curtiss (1838 – ) was born in McDowell County, North Carolina. He arrived in Dallas in time to enlist in Company A of the Twenty Fifth Cavalry. They had seven children but only five lived to be adults. The Curtiss family owned a large farm in the western section of Dallas County. Mr. Curtiss also worked in the mercantile business and raised cattle.
William Cockrell (1846 – 1867) was born in Texas and died in Freestone County, Texas. No other information on him.
Ellis Cockrell (1853 – 1937) was born in Texas. Ellis donated land where the original Cockrell Hill Baptist Church now stands. Ellis did not care for farming. He hired the farm work done and drove cattle up the Chisholm Trail to Kansas City and Chicago for many years. He married Mary Jane Gray Cockrell in 1879 and they had one son, True Gray Cockrell, born September 29, 1887 who died June 8, 1888 and is buried in this cemetery. The Ellis Cockrell home is still being occupied as a residence in the Winnetka Heights Historical District.
Susan Cockrell (1855 – 1879) was born in Texas and is listed on the 1860 census as one of Wesley and Sarah’s daughter, but there is no other information.
Marsha Cockrell was born in Texas but there is no date. She died at the age of four years. There is one stone in the cemetery that has MC on it with no other information. there is another stone that says Martha Cockrell (1816 – 1830). There were no people living in this section of Texas in 1830. If this was for the four year old girl these dates do not conform to the information available. These dates are questionable and they are practically illegible. If they were 1846 – 1850 this stone may have been for the daughter who died as a child. No other information has been found.
Nancy Cockrell (1858) is listed on the 1860 census as one of Wesley and Sarah’s daughters. She married T. A. Gray. There is one broken stone with no name just the dates 1858 – 1877. One family history says Nancy died young. This could have been her stone but no further information is available.
Several members of this pioneer family died very young as life was very hard on the frontier, the ones who survived helped develop Dallas County.
Frances James, “Dallas County History – From the Ground Up, Book I,” 2007.
