Canary Island Cemetery Association

Cemetery clean up was a success!! Thanks to all who volunteered. Especially Sacred Heart church Confirmation students and family members who helped out. Looking forward to the next clean up in 2 months!

Thank you to everyone who joined in cemetery clean up! It was a huge success! Special thanks to Lisa Carpenter and the Sacred Heart Catholic church Faith Formation class for your help. Also to the Knights of Columbus Council #6641 for your support! We couldn't have done it without all of your help!
We encourage everyone to come visit our Historic cemetery!

Future clean up date will be forthcoming, Please consider joining us?

Hello everyone! Winter is done and Spring is in the air! And w**ds are growing like crazy! Time for another Canary Islanders Cemetery clean up! We are planning to gather on March 25, 2023 at the cemetery at 9:00 a.m.. Any and all help is appreciated! We'll have some students volunteering there time to help. But additional equipment is needed! Please come join us help make our Historic cemetery clean and respectable for not only us but for any visitors who come to visit our beautiful city! Hope to see you there!

Thanks to the volunteers who made our cemetery clean up as success! Special thanks to the Sacred Heart church Faith Formation class for joining us today. And thanks to Retired Texas Ranger Chief Hank Whitman for your awesome help with cutting and w**ding?
The cemetery should be perfect for the Dia de Los Mu***os next month!
Everyone is encouraged to visit this Historic cemetery!

Thank you for the volunteers who helped make today's cemetery clean up a big success. Special thanks to Leticia Castro and the Sacred Heart Faith Formation students and Knights of Columbus council #6641 for your help, Making good strides to make this Historic cemetery a destination for Historians and families looking to find their ancestral heritage.

It was a cold and wet morning for our cemetery clean up but it was definitely a success.
Thanks to Hank Whitman for cutting the grass and a Thank you to Burger King management for allowing your employees, Mark, John and Xavier to volunteer their time to help with the clean up. Mark says "we just want to volunteer and help the community.
Thank you for your hard work today.

The cemetery is looking much better but lots more needs to be done. We're looking forward for our next clean up in April.

Cemetery clean was a success! Thank you to the Floresville Knights of Columbus members who showed up. Special thanks again to Retired Texas Ranger Hank Whitman Jr. for your help earlier in the week. The cemetery is ready for anyone wanting to visit for Dia de Los Mu***os.

Dia de Los Mu***os is coming up! It will be great to celebrate it at our Canary Islanders Cemetery. Let's gather again to give our cemetery a nice clean up and make it possible for families and friends to visit their loved ones.
The clean up is scheduled for October 16, 2021 starting at 8 am till 11 am. Please bring your lawn mowing equipment, w**d eaters, chainsaws or anything you want to work with.

Everyone's help will certainly be appreciated.

Thank you and hope to see you there!

Hello everyone! Hope everyone is doing well! We've been getting some good rain lately and that means grass is growing fast. The Canary Islanders Cemetery is overgrown with w**ds. A gathering to cut and clean the cemetery is now scheduled for Saturday, July 17,2021. We need as much help as possible. We plan on starting around 8:30-9am.
Ar our last clean up, high school kids were extremely helpful. However they are out for the summer. So, come help and bring your kids to help.
Look forward to seeing as many Association members as possible to make this clean up a success!

Thank you!

If you have questions, please contact Marshall Castro on his page.

Thank you to all who joined us for the Cemetery clean up. Thank you Leticia Castro for allowing your 2022 Confirmation students to help. We will continue to work on keeping the cemetery clean and preserving our ancestral heritage.

Thanks to everyone who showed up for the cemetery clean up. Definitely a success. Thanks to volunteers that recently worked on the cemetery. Definitely made our job easier. A new event will be created soon for an April cemetery clean up. We look forward to continued success and support in keeping our Canary Islanders Cemetery clean and respectable.

Cemetery clean up time!! The reason for our cemetery Association. To help with clean up and maintaining the cemetery. Join us tomorrow morning at 10 am . The cemetery is behind O'Reilly's auto parts store located at 678 10th St. Floresville Texas, 78114. This is our initial clean up and we hope to get support for future cemetery clean up and maintenance. Hope to see you there!

Please watch for updates...

We have a cemetery clean up planned on Saturday. February 27, 2021. Start time is 10:00 am. Additional information to follow soon!

Thank you for your interest in cleaning and up keeping the the Canary Islands Cemetery in Floresville.

Who will join us?

Hello fellow Cemetery Association members. We have an upcoming cemetery clean up planned on Saturday. February 27, 2021. Start time is 10:00 am. Additional information and follow up coming soon. Thank you for your support!

Photos courtesy of Robert Tarin. Photos taken in 70s or 80s.

Does anyone have an information on Jose Maria Baladez? If this is your ancestor, please tell us about him.

BIRTH unknown
DEATH 20 Oct 1922

Pedro Cantu
BIRTH 1860
DEATH 1940 (aged 79–80)
BURIAL
Canary Islanders Cemetery
Floresville, Wilson County, Texas, USA
MEMORIAL ID 23311993 · View Source

Name: Jose Casanova
Death date: 18 Jun 1938
Death place: Florisville, Wilson, Texas
Gender: Male
Race or color (on document): W
Age at death: 65 years 4 months 20 days
Estimated birth year:
Birth date: 29 Jan 1873
Birth place: Texas
Marital status: Married
Spouse name: Maria Garza
Father name: Juan Casanova
Father birth place: Texas
Mother name: Ponciana Luna
Mother birth place: Texas

Source: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/23311998/j_j_-j-casanova

Canary Island Cemetery Association updated their address.

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I am María del Carmen Calvillo, descendent of early settlers of San Antonio and owner of Rancho de las Cabras in what is now Wilson County. I was born at the Villa of San Fernando de Béxar (San Antonio) on July 9, 1765, the eldest of six children born to Ygnacio Francisco Xavier Calvillo and Antonia de Arocha. My father acquired Rancho de las Cabras ("the Goat Ranch"),an outpost of San Francisco de la Espada Mission, after the mission and its lands were secularized. I married Juan Gavino de la Trinidad Delgado around 1781. We had two sons, Juan Bautista and José Anacleto, and we adopted three additional children, Juan José, María Concepción Gortari, and Antonio Durán. During 1811 and 1814 Gavino played a major role in the overthrow of the Spanish; as a result of his activities he was declared a rebel against the crown. I separated from my husband at this time. In April 1814 Ygnacio Calvillo was murdered at his ranch during a raid; initially the raid was thought to have been perpetrated by Indians, but subsequent investigation revealed that the attackers included Ygnacio's own grandson. At this time I gained control and ownership of the property. On August 28, 1828, I formally petitioned the Mexican government for a new title to my father's ranch; it was granted the next month. Later grants in 1833 placed three leagues of land under my control. My Last Will passed ownership of the property to two of my adopted children, María Concepción Gortari and Antonio Durán.
I, María del Carmen Calvillo died on January 15, 1856. I am rumored to be buried in the Canary Island Cemtery in Floreville, and am also rumored to ride my white stallion and roam the lands of my father at night. Listen quietly and you may find me walking within the walls of Rancho de las Cabras. I am Doña Maria del Carmen Calvillo.

Here is a list of the people that we know of buried in the Canary Island Cemetery. This list as we know, is not complete and more research and investigation needs to occur to make it complete. But here is what we have so far. The list begins after Old Bird Cemetery and ends before Nockernut Cemetery.

Some have asked for a listing of those buried at the Canary Islands Cemetery. We'll work to get a pdf list posted but for now, you can look up the names at Find A Grave link below where many of the headstones are photographed:

https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2207088/memorial-
search?page=1 -23311986

Canary Islanders Cemetery in Floresville, Texas - Find A Grave Cemetery Established prior to 1732 by Canary Islanders who formed the first organized civil settlement in Texas at San Fernando de Bexar, now San Antonio. Hallie Garrison says the cemetery is also known as...

I want everyone to know that this site is under construction...Please do post your family history as it relates to the Canary Island Cemetery...I will post it and share it and love it.

Thank you to those that have LIKED "Canary Island Cemetery Association". Your participation and discussion is valued and please do post your photos and comments. Thanks again and please do continue to invite people to learn about this piece of history!!!

The Canary Island Cemetery Association (CICA) is a Non-Profit Organization dedicated to the restoration, preservation, upkeep, and maintenance of the Canary Island Cemetery located in Floresville, TX. The Canary Island Cemetery was once a private cemetery owned by the Cantu’s in the mid 1800’s. Later, other families got buried there, the most prevalent were the Castros, and so the name of the cemetery became known as the Castro Cemetery. No one is certain when or how all this transpired, but it evolved into what we now know as the Canary Island Cemetery. The Wilson County Historical Society is in the process of submitting the required documentation to the State of Texas to have this historical cemetery designated as a “Historical Texas Cemetery” to honor the people, families, and memories connected to this beautiful cemetery. Please share and invite your family and friends to our page in order to share the history of it and honor the people buried here.

It's now easier to email Canary Island Cemetery Association

Canary Island Cemetery Association updated their website address.