82R7543 MGR-D
By: Farrar H.R. No. 341
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, The Descendants of Olivewood organization has done
an exemplary job of highlighting the rich history of Olivewood
Cemetery in Houston, and its efforts have helped the burial ground
to be recognized on the 2011 Most Endangered Places register kept by
Preservation Texas, which focuses on sites of significant interest
around the state; and
WHEREAS, First incorporated in 1875, Olivewood is one of the
oldest known platted cemeteries in Houston, and it served the
city's early African American community for a century; originally
laid out with 444 family plots containing more than 5,000 burial
spaces, it was expanded in 1917; and
WHEREAS, The cemetery was the final resting place for former
slaves, laborers, military veterans, and pivotal leaders of
Houston's post-Emancipation African American population; among
those buried there are the first black ordained Methodist minister
in the United States, the Reverend Elias Dibble of Trinity
Methodist Episcopal Church, as well as businessman James B. Bell,
educator James D. Ryan, physician Russell F. Ferrill, and dentist
Milton A. Baker; and
WHEREAS, The burial ground also features examples of
pre-Emancipation interment practices, such as upright pipes
symbolizing the path between the worlds of the living and the dead,
seashells as grave ornaments, and text with upside-down or
backwards letters as used in some African cultures to signify
death; and
WHEREAS, Founded in 2003, the Descendants of Olivewood is a
nonprofit organization dedicated to the reclamation of the cemetery
for the benefit of current and future generations of Houston
residents; the group maintains committees focused on restoration,
history, public relations, fund-raising, security, and engineering
issues, and it succeeded in obtaining a Texas Historical Marker for
the cemetery in 2009 in addition to the cemetery's inclusion on the
2011 Most Endangered Places list; and
WHEREAS, This historic site provides a valuable link to
crucial chapters of Houston history, and the Descendants of
Olivewood are doing important work to ensure that the legacy of
their ancestors is not forgotten; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas
Legislature hereby honor the Descendants of Olivewood for their
efforts to preserve the historic Olivewood Cemetery in Houston and
extend to the members of that organization sincere best wishes for
continued success in their worthy endeavor; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for the Descendants of Olivewood as an expression of high
regard by the Texas House of Representatives.