When Mormon company Ancestry. com debuted in 1996, the means to trace one’s heritage became possible for the average family. In 2021, the ancestral records of more than 11.5 billion people were digitized through Family-Search International, another project of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That tidal wave of information revealed the connections, movement and assimilation of humans and helped to restore the much-withered family tree.
With the aid of these tools, the Trustees of the Wimberley Cemetery Association have undertaken a community project to discover the narratives of the individuals buried within its borders.
According to trustees, they believe their work will reveal an engaging portrait of the characters — some unique and some ordinary — who contributed to the Wimberley that locals know today.
WCA historian Carmen Polhemus said the project can serve as a resource for both researchers and individuals.
“History is about people and not just about land. More than just identifying people, we want to compile personal stories,” she said. “We want to learn what people did between the dashes of their dates of birth and death.”
Interested parties can volunteer, regardless of whether they have family members in the cemetery or not. The resulting histories will be compiled and available to visitors at the cemetery’s pavilion.
With more than 1600 burials, there is considerable work to be done, Polhemus said. As such, the group is asking for help from the community. For people who can provide a history or obituary of family members buried there, they are encouraged to email it to wimberleycemetery@ gmail.com or to mail a copy to Wimberley Cemetery Association, P.O. Box 483.
A history of the cemetery’s land acquisition was completed in 2022. Ground penetrating radar was used to assess where open ground and unmarked graves were hidden. Trustees found that many of the graves in the older sections were unidentified and have since said they hope the history project will help unravel the identities of some of the forgotten graves.
The first known burial was Melissa Wimberley, daughter of Pleasant Wimberley, in 1876.
Under the leadership of President Joe Pendleton, the cemetery has made notable strides in other areas. An expansion of the grounds is currently underway. A reevaluation of the cemetery’s environs revealed that its boundaries fully extend to Old Kyle Road. Last week, workmen began installing a new fence marking the expanded boundary. Cemetery officials acknowledged that the expansion means that additional plots would now be available in the land-strapped cemetery.
Recently, the WCA installed a Columbarium for the inurnment of cremation remains. A vault for urns, it further expands the capacity of the cemetery. Recent statistics show that 60% of people in the U.S. now opt for cremation over traditional in-ground burials. With the expansion, the Columbarium, and a relinquishment program where plot holders can be paid for unused plots, the trustees can pursue its main goal to keep space available.
“We’re working towards always having a place possible for people who want it,” Pendleton said. “We don’t want people to have to leave Wimberley to be buried.”
To learn more about the volunteer research project, call Polhemus at (512) 557-2234. To learn more about the WCA, its trustee positions, history and projects, visit wimberleycemetery. com.
