Ihnken Family Cemetery

Early Castroville colonist and Dutch immigrant, Marie Becker Ihnken, was buried just north of this site in 1847 by her son, Gerhard. The German-born Gerhard married Marie Joanna Pichot on October 22, 1846. The Pichot family arrived on the first of Henry Castro's ships. They originally intended to return to France. The Pichot family remained in Texas after Maria Joanne's father, Jean Nicholas, died of complications after a snake bite.

Major civic leaders in early Castroville, the Ihnkens were farmers who raised cattle and owned and operated a sawmill, a store, and a fruit orchard on their vast lands. Particularly remembered for his agricultural contributions. Gerhard is said to have brought the first reaper and the first binder to the Castroville area.

One of the oldest cemeteries in Medina County, the Ihnken family plot contains eight family members in marked graves. Several others are unknown. Marie Becker Ihnken is one of the few older Castro colonists whose grave is still marked. A freedman employed by Gerhart Ihnken is said to be buried in the cemetery. To avoid disturbing unmarked graves, the cemetery has been inactive since 1955.

The Texas Historical Commission designated this cemetery as an official Historic Texas Cemetery on November 6, 1998.

LOCATION: The Ihnken Family Cemetery is located on private property on Alsace Street, just south of Gentilz Street. This is directly across the street from the Castroville Regional Park.

NOTE: The following tombstone inscriptions were copied word for word, line for line. Tombstones identifying more than one grave are identified by a hyphen (1-2). Underlined information is relative to all graves or burials sharing a common tombstone. FS signifies footstone. A slash (/) indicates the end of a line. Information in italics (italics ) represents comments or observations made by the transcriber or are from other sources as noted.

Compiled by the Medina County Tombstone Inscription Project, Jim Menke, Coordinator, in cooperation with the Castro Colonies Heritage Association, Historical Research Committee. (2002)

No.	Name	Inscription/Remarks
1	IHNKEN, A	ADOLPH / IHNKEN / BORN / Aug. 20, 1849 / DIED / Dec, 1865
2	IHNKEN, M	Grandmother / Marie Becker Ihnken / Born 1783 Holland / Castro Immigrant / 1846 / Died 1847
3-4	IHNKEN, G IHNKEN, M	FATHER / GERHARD IHNKEN / BORN MAR. 10, 1818 / PAKENS OLDENBURG / GERMANY / DIED JULY 30, 1899 MOTHER / MARIE JEAN PICHOT / BORN MAY 18, 1824 / MILLY, FRANCE / DIED OCT. 26, 1888 / R.I.P. / IHNKEN
5	IHNKEN, L	LOUISA C. / DEC. 8, 1856 / FEB. 6, 1950 / IHNKEN
6	DWYER, ____	INFANT SON / OF / ANNA / IHNKEN / DWYER / BN. ABT. 1884 Homemade cement marker with anchor design at each corner.
7-8	IHNKEN, I IHNKEN, W	IRENE IHNKEN / NOV. 2, 1881 / JULY 17, 1901 WILLIAM IHNKEN / JULY 4, 1884 / OCT. 24, 1904
9-10	IHNKEN, L IHNKEN, M	FATHER / LOUIS / JULY 6, 1854 / FEB. 4, 1941 MOTHER / MARY NEE WARD / DEC. 13, 1860 / JUNE 11, 1908 / BELOVED / IHNKEN
11	_________, ___	UNKNOWN IHNKEN EMPLOYEE Homemade cement marker with anchor design in each corner.