El Paso Cemetery

El Paso Cemetery sits on a slight hill in the center of Derby but was once surrounded by farmland and was about a mile southeast of the growing settlement. In 1878, the cemetery opened, 9 years after the Garrett family staked a claim near the bank of Spring Creek about a mile south. Over the years, the cemetery expanded, and today the original cemetery comprises just the southeast corner of the entire cemetery. In this historic area lie buried many inhabitants of the early settlement of Rockford Township and the town of El Paso, later renamed Derby. , In 1878, the first interment was Robert H. Stafford, born May 15, 1823 in Indiana and died Dec. 17, 1878 from “lung fever.” He was husband to Mary A. Stafford and was a resident of Gypsum Township at the time of his death. He was buried in Block 7, Lot 20, Space 1. In the spring and summer of 1879, 10 interments were made “from private cemeteries,” which is assumed to mean family members buried on their farms were transferred to the new cemetery. , Today, cemetery officials maintain the original leather-bound Book of Interments, which was custom made by a book binder in Topeka. Copies of pages from that book are on display in the Derby Historical Museum and make an interesting read. One column in the book shows the place of birth but is titled Place of Nativity. Another column lists the cause of death and is titled Disease. Noted “diseases” include “kicked by a mule,” “thrown from a horse,” and “drowned in well.” The most frequent cause of death in early book entries was consumption (later known as tuberculosis). We can only guess what was meant by the disease labeled “pitchfork” and “false statements.” Yikes! , Lettered captions on left: , A. Alexander and Margaret Garrett arrived by covered wagon in 1869, staked their claim and built a sod house on the bank of Spring Creek and thus were the first settlers in the area. , B. Dr. Henry C. Tucker, arrived in 1871 to farm and practice medicine, becoming El Paso's first doctor and surgeon. He owned a drug store and started the first bank in 1884. He was a charter member of the Presbyterian Church, started the first Sabbath School in the county and served as postmaster. , C. Samuel Wade McCoy, first lawyer in El Paso, was later named a judge. He came to Wichita in 1873 and moved to El Paso the following year after a fire burned everything he owned. He was a farmer, Justice of the Peace, school board member and treasurer, and notary public. , D. Albert and Marie Lauber came to El Paso in 1909 by covered wagon and homesteaded along Spring Creek. Albert was born in 1876 in Germany and came to Derby in 1900 with Fred Gerteis. He went back to Germany in 1907 to get his bride, and they married at Ellis Island. , E. Gertie and Bill Chamberlin owned Independent Oil Company, a gasoline filling station on the southwest corner of Baltimore (K-15) and Market streets. Later, a small café called Gertie's was built on the north side. In 1884, Gertie moved to El Paso from Ohio with her parents George M. and Catherine Cantley and siblings Charles and Mary. , F. George Sickler, general store owner (born 1857, died 1932) , G. Napoleon B. Sickler, barber (born 1887, died 1948) , H. T. D. Wardell owned T. D. Wardell Hardware Store beginning in 1889, was mayor of El Paso from 1917 to 1921, and was postmaster for 12 years. He moved from Ohio to the El Paso area around 1879. , I. Charlie H. Waugh, barber. As of 1909, C. H. Waugh was the only barber in El Paso to have a shop of his own. He had moved to the area in 1889 and started his business in 1891. , J. John Hout Minnich filed the original town plat of El Paso with business partner John Hufbauer. Minnich (born May 25, 1835 in Ohio, died Sept. 6, 1881) and his family moved to El Paso in 1870 and in April 1881 moved to Wichita. , K. Albert Minnich was in the dry goods and grocery business (born 1842, died 1917). He moved to the El Paso area around 1870 from Ohio. He and his brother John H. Minnich started a general store, of which he later became sole owner. , L. Dr. William E. Dixon, MD was born in New York in 1860, came to El Paso in 1894, and died in 1927. Dixon Square shopping center (on Baltimore just south of Madison Avenue) was named after him. , M. Edward Braden (born 1849, died 1921) was the first mayor of El Paso serving from 1903-1905, hand-wrote the first city ordinances, and served as postmaster and trustee for several years. He came to El Paso in 1884 from Indiana.