Some Cemetery Descriptions for the Ancestors of Albert H. Spinks and Mary W. Spinks
by Albert H. Spinks
August, 1996
Edited April, 2001
For some time I have had visions of escorting a group of relatives
through the various cemeteries in Mississippi and Alabama where our Spinkses,
Foxes, Wilsons and other ancestors are buried; but getting our active selves
together for the several days that would be required has proven impossible. So the next best thing is to write up a
description of where these cemeteries are located and roughly who are
there. I don't plan to go into detail
here about the various individuals. I
do have such information compiled elsewhere so if anyone would like the details
of any of the cemeteries, just let me know.
I will cover more than just Mississippi and Alabama, in fact all that I
know of in the USA.
Where a cemetery is located in a rural area, I will
attempt to give a good description of how to get there. Where a cemetery is located in a town, I
will give a rough description of location and leave it up to the reader to find
it. A local funeral service is
obviously a good place to ask about cemetery locations. Many large cemeteries have offices with maps
(and computers) that show individual grave sites.
One tool that is often helpful is a county map. These maps show roads,
sections/townships/ranges, and important landmarks such as churches and
cemeteries. In the south, I have found
these maps available from the county engineering department for a few dollars
(and sometimes free). Start asking at
the courthouses. There ask first for
county maps, and second for the engineering dept., which is often not located
within the courthouse itself.
Lake Park Cemetery, Laurel, MS:
The best starting point is with Lake Park Cemetery in
Laurel, MS. That is where my mother and
father are buried, Albert Grady Spinks and Helen Fox Spinks. In addition, my mother's father and mother
are there and many of Mother's brothers and sisters. It is perhaps the most beautiful and best kept cemetery I have
ever seen. I understand it is well
funded. Back in the 1920's when the
cemetery was started, D. B. Fox bought a lot next to a road and across from a
small lake; and his son, Francis O. Fox bought a lot just above and adjacent to
his father's lot. In 1926, Francis O.
Fox, Jr. was the first to be buried there.
The stones in the lower lot where Mother and Daddy are
buried are of Salisbury Pink marble that came from a quarry near Salisbury,
NC. The stones in the upper lot are
made from a darker red marble that also came from NC but I have forgotten its
name. There is another interesting
difference between the stones in the two lots, a difference that started early
and has been maintained. The lettering
on the stones in the upper lot, the one of F. O. Fox, is convex. The lettering on the stones in the lower lot
is concave.
Three years ago, when Estelle Fox White passed away and
was buried next to her mother at Lake Park, the cemetery board had set strict
limits on the stone dimensions and on what information could be placed on the
stones. At that time they allowed only
the deceased name, date of birth, and date of death. No message like, "Wife of x" or "Daughter of
y" allowed, as has been utilized in the past. However, things change and the board may soften such requirements
in the future.
I have also been told there is some control over who is
buried there. In particular, I was told
that anyone in the oldest living generation of ownership can use a space there
without permission of the other owners.
However, anyone of a younger generation must receive written permission
from all of the living older generation(s) before using a plot. For example, Estelle Fox White was buried
there without permission required.
However, anyone in my generation would have required permission from any
living member of Mother's generation to be buried there. There is one obvious exception to that
rule. Dorothy Shearard was buried there
in 1993 when members of her mother's generation were still living, and to my
knowledge no permission was asked.
However, it is my belief that the rule did not apply because her ashes
were placed in the same grave site as her mother's; that is, she did not take
up another space.
The family of Laura Fox Jones and the family of D. B. Fox,
Jr. have their own family lots at Lake Park Cemetery.
Lake Park Cemetery is located in Northwest Laurel,
Mississippi. I have found over the
years that the Lake Park cemetery maintenance crew has been very helpful in
pointing out individual grave site and have been cooperative in the
installation of special grave markers such as DAR decals. Note that the cemetery has gates that are
closed promptly at 5 pm. However, on
several occasions, I have parked on the street and walked into the cemetery
after hours without any problem.
Enterprise, MS, cemetery:
A cemetery located on the north side of the small
community of Enterprise, Mississippi, is important to the D. B. Fox family. My mother's oldest brother (Grandmother's
first child) is buried there. He was
named for his paternal grandfather, Nathan Jackson Fox, and lived to be only a
few months old. I'm not sure how I
learned about him; neither my parent's generation nor Grandmother spoke of him
during my early years. I have been told
that at one time Francis O. Fox gave some thought to moving his brother's grave
to one of the family lots at Lake Park in Laurel. Anyway Nathan Jackson Fox II is buried next to his cousin, Gaston
Love Fox, both grave sites marked with small, sweetly engraved stones. Since these boys passed away within several
months of each other, I wonder if one of the terrible childhood diseases got
them. Next to the two boys are buried
my Grandfather Fox's bother and sister-in-law, William Love Fox and Lelia
Blanche Gaston Fox. The four Fox stone
are underneath a cedar tree near one of the entrances.
Louisville, MS:
There are two cemeteries located in the town of
Louisville, MS, in which some of our Fox ancestors are buried-the Masonic
Cemetery and the Old Baptist Cemetery.
My great-grandparents, Nathan Jackson Fox and Eliza Levisa
Love Fox, are buried in the Masonic Cemetery.
Nathan Jackson Fox's father and mother, William Fox and Margaret Steadman,
are buried in the Old Baptist Cemetery.
Besides these people, a number of other Fox relatives and in-laws are
buried in each of these cemeteries.
A number of years ago, Estelle and I visited the
Louisville area and went by the Old Baptist Cemetery to look at grave
sites. Following are my notes, written
in 1983, concerning one thing we found.
NOTES 4 SEP 1983
Several years ago--[Dec. of 1976, I think], Estelle
Fox White (my mother's sister) and I made a trip to Louisville, Miss. In the "Old Baptist" Cemetery we found the stone of Margaret Steadman Fox
in good order but William Fox's stone, suppose to be next to her, was
missing. We later met with Dan Fox of
Louisville who said that several years before my mother visited the cemetery
with him. They found William's stone
broken in two and leaning up against a tree.
They (Mother and Dan) took it to Louisville Building Supply to be
repaired. Estelle and I found the stone
at Louisville Building Supply in a back room.
It had been repaired with metal bolts and flat iron pieces. Dan Fox said he would get the stone put back
into cemetery.
Several years later Estelle called Building
Supply. Dan Fox had not picked up
stone. Estelle asked B. supply to
recommend a mason to put up the stone.
They recommended an old black man and Stell set a date to meet him at
cemetery. They met, Stell showed him
where to put stone. It rained the
hardest rain Stell said she had ever seen and they didn't get the stone
in. But Stell dealt with the mason, he
promised to put in the stone, and Stell went home.
Estelle later checked on stone. It had been replaced "splendidly,"
and she took pictures.
Albert
H. Spinks
Addendum:
In April, 1991, Francis Fox Spinks told me that he had
made a trip to Louisville with Mother.
Perhaps it was on the above trip I referred to.
Albert
H. Spinks
2
MAY 1991
[Note: Since writing this document, I have had the William
Fox stone repaired a second time by a local Louisville Stone Mason. However, I have been told by a relative,
that it is again broken down and in several pieces. The best solution will be to simply put up another new flat
stone. It probably should contain
information on both Margaret and William Fox and be placed in between their
graves.]
There is at least one and maybe two more cemeteries near
Louisville, MS, in Winston Co., in which we have Fox relatives. My records show that Henry Fox, brother of
the above William Fox, is buried in a cemetery 3 miles SW of Louisville,
MS. My records show that his wife is
buried "at Methodist Camp Ground in Winston Co., Miss." These two cemeteries may be one and the
same. Mary and I have stopped by this
cemetery but found no Fox stones that have survived.
Mclemoresville, TN:
William Fox's father was Jacob Fox and his mother was
Martha Huddleston. Jacob Fox is buried
in a cemetery in the town of Mclemoresville, Tenn., near the family of his
youngest son, Nathan Huddleson Fox. We
believe that Jacob Fox passed away while visiting or living in old age with
this son. We don't know the exact
location of the grave site of Martha Huddleston Fox but believe she is buried
in the Chester/York counties area of South Carolina near where she and Jacob made
their home and raised their children.
Bethany Church, Davidson Co., NC:
Jacob Fox's father was Philip Fox (Fuchs) and his mother
was Amelia Catherina Rosenbum. Though
no grave stone survives, I believe they are buried in an old cemetery located
behind Bethany Church in Davidson Co., NC, in a rural area between Winston
Salem and Lexington. I believe this
because Bethany used to be a Lutheran Church that Philip Fox and his family
lived near and were active in. In
addition, there are some surviving stones in the cemetery for people that were
associated with Philip.
Since Philip and Amelia Fox were our Fox immigrants, that
is as far back as I have been able to go with that line.
Clinton, AL
There is a small church and cemetery located in the
community of Clinton, AL, where Mary Ann Fox and husband James Gill are
buried. Mary Ann was daughter of Jacob
Fox and Martha Huddleston.
Starkville, MS
Many of us remember Albert Lee Love and wife Catsey. They are buried in the Starkville, MS,
cemetery in a family plot that includes his parents and some of her relatives.
Brooksville, MS
We have a number of relatives buried in Brooksville,
MS. Included are Hallie Fox, Lucile
Woodward, and Glover Wilkins, plus a number of others.
Goodwater Baptist Church:
My grandmother Fox's father and mother were Alexander
Trotter Hand and Eliza O'Ferrall. They
are both buried at Goodwater Baptist Church, located between Enterprise, MS,
and Meehan, MS, off of a small country road.
To get there from I20, get off at the Chunky intersection, go east on
HW80 to Meehan and look for signs pointing roughly south to Goodwater Baptist
Church. When Mary and I were there in
July, 1996, the signs were present and very helpful. To get to the church from I59, get off at the 142 exit and go
into Meehan, find the signs and go back to the church.
Goodwater Baptist Church is still very active and the
cemetery is well kept in a large area inside a chain link fence. Besides A. T. and Eliza Hand, buried there
are at least two of their daughters, (Amelia Hand Oliver and Corette Hand
Little) some grandchildren, and in-laws.
Millbrook Cemetery, Stonewall, MS:
Alexander Trotter Hand's father and mother were John
Britton Hand and Sarah Ann Everett.
John B. Hand, along with some of his children, grandchildren, and some
in-laws is buried at a family cemetery associated with a pre-civil war home
named Millbrook (now burned) just west of Stonewall, MS. To get there get off I59 at either exit 134
or 137 and go into and thru Enterprise.
Go east of Enterprise on State Road 513 which runs from Enterprise to
Quitman. Just west of Stonewall (or in
west Stonewall) , the entrance to where the Millbrook home used to be will be
on the left. A no trespassing sign will
discourage visitors there. The entrance
to the cemetery is just down, and across, the road from the entrance to
Millbrook, to the right of the road and across a railroad track. The entrance to the cemetery is not evident. It looks like a small driveway but is paved
and goes between two houses to an old nursery with greenhouses located behind
the houses. Stop the car at the
railroad track and walk across. The
cemetery is just to the other side of the track.
I am very concerned about the Millbrook cemetery. It is not associated with any church. Someone tries to keep it up periodically but
it is still growing up in bushes and weeds.
Someday it will be gone. The
stones have been documented to a degree and the next chance I get I want to
take a video of all of them. [Note:
this has been done} It is believed that Sarah Ann Everett Hand is buried there
but she passed away during the Civil War and evidently money was not available
for stones, so there is no marker. [Note: Since writing this I have seen a
letter from Sarah Ann Everett Hand to son A. T. Hand that indicates she was out
West, perhaps Texas, a few months before she passed away. It appears that she was visiting a sister
and brother-in-law. So there is a
strong possibility she is buried wherever that was.]
Henagan Cemetery, Sumter Co., AL
John Britton Hand's father was Obadiah Hand and his mother
was Sarah Britton. Though no marker
exists, I believe Obadiah Hand to be buried in Henagan Cemetery, located just
east of HW11 between Epes and Livingston, AL.
To get there, get off I20/59 at Epes, go to HW11 and turn south, go
about 1 1/2 to 2 miles. In 1996, there
was a sign beside HW11 pointing left to the cemetery. Go on a gravel road, across a railroad track. The cemetery will be near the end of the
road and to the left.
Henagan cemetery is still used and is well kept. I believe Obadiah Hand is buried here
because his last home was nearby, to the southeast on a large hill. In addition, stones for several of the
descendents of his first wife by a previous marriage are there. These stone are to the center rear of the
cemetery and are for a family of Godfreys (William). Sarah Britton was first married to a William Godfrey and I
believe young son, William Godfrey, and his family followed Sarah and Obadiah
in their migrations from S. C. to Miss. and then went with Obadiah back to Ala.
Sarah Britton passed away in Wayne Co., MS, in 1826. To my knowledge, no record of her grave
sites exists. Stone markers in the
South placed in the ground before 1840 rarely have survived.
Christian Valley Baptist Cemetery:
After Obadiah Hand passed away, his fourth, and surviving,
wife, Martha Clanton, married one Thomas Cusack. The two of them along with some of Obadiah Hand's descendants are
buried in Christian Valley Baptist Cemetery near Coatopa, Alabama. Of particular interest is son, Samuel Patton
Hand, who is recorded as having received $5,000 per will of Commodore Cornelius
Vanderbilt! (One of Samuel Patton Hands aunts, Phoebe Hand, was the Commodore's
mother.)
At one time Mother thought Obadiah Hand might have been
buried in an unmarked grave next to Martha at Christian Valley. However, I believe him to be at Henagan
Cemetery as described several paragraphs back.
Christian Valley Baptist Church is still active and the
cemetery is well kept. They are located
on HW 28 SE of Livingston, Alabama.
Canada:
Obadiah Hand's father was Cap. Samuel Hand. He was in the shipping business before the
Revolutionary War and because of that his allegiance was with the British. After the war he found it necessary to go to
Nova Scotia, Canada, for his personal safety.
I believe he is buried in that vicinity. I have found records of him there but nothing concerning his
grave sites.
East Hampton, LI:
John Hand, Obadiah's g-g-g-grandfather, is believed to be
our first Hand ancestor to come to America.
I have seen some record of John's father coming with him but nothing
conclusive. We know that John Hand was
one of the founders of East Hampton, LI, in the mid 1600's. We know he lived and died there, but it is
so long ago that no stones or record of burial place exists. Mary and I have been to East Hampton. It is an interesting and pleasant community,
today a playground for the wealthy. The
local library has many old records and there is a very old cemetery where John
Hand is probably buried.
O'FERRALL FAMILY:
Enterprise, MS:
My g-grandmother, Eliza O'Ferrall Hand, had a brother,
John William O'Ferrall, who was very active in the Civil War and who lived and
had an active business in Enterprise, MS.
He passed away in 1895. I
believe him to be buried in the cemetery on the north side of Enterprise, MS,
though I have never seen his stone or seen record of it. The next time I go by Enterprise I want to see if I can find his
stone or stones for any of his family.
[Note: Since writing this document, I have found John William
O’Ferrall’s stone in the Enterprise Cemetery, along with his wife and several
children. Also located there are a
number of our other Hand relatives. On
one visit I found the gravesite of Inez Allen Paden’s first husband, John Nutt}
Chatfield, Minn.:
Eliza O'Ferrall Hand also had another brother, Ignatius
Francis Falkner O'Ferrall, who is buried along with his wife and family in the
Chatfield, Minn., cemetery. I am
including them because it was Frank and Amelia O'Ferrall who raised my
grandmother Fox. Some of us may
remember Cousin Medora, Frank and Amelia's daughter. She is also buried in the family plot along with some other
O'Ferrall children I was unaware of until Mary and I visited this cemetery in
1989.
Berkeley Springs, WV:
Eliza O'Ferrall's father was John O'Ferrall. He lived in Berkeley Springs, WV, and family
records say that he is buried along with his mother, Frances McKiernan
O'Ferrall, and with an Aunt, a Mrs. Catherine McKiernan Golding, in the old
Catholic Churchyard in Berkeley Springs.
Mary and I along with our daughter, Helen, stopped by there one cold
winter day a number of years ago. We
found people who remembered the old church and were able to point out where the
cemetery used to exist among some weeds.
The stones had been broken down and were leaning up against some
trees. The only family stone we were
able to find was a foot stone marked, "J. O'F" which we felt sure was
for our John O'Ferrall. We found
nothing for his mother or any other relatives.
Since then I have stopped by Berkeley Springs several times and have
found that someone has taken what stones still exist and imbedded them in a large
common concrete slab, including the John O'Ferrall footstone.
I am aware of several O'Ferrall/McKiernan generations
before John but don't know where they are buried. The ones I know of lived in the Berkeley Springs, WV/Martinsburg,
VA area and are probably buried there.
Hagerstown, MD:
John O'Ferrall's first wife, and my ancestor, was Eliza
Humrichouse. She passed away young in
1835 and is buried along with her father, Peter Humrichouse, and her mother,
Mary Hadelman, in the Zion Reformed Church cemetery in downtown Hagerstown,
MD. In addition, among other relatives,
Mary Hadelman's mother, Mary Margaret Miller Hadelman Post, is buried
there. Per her stone, Mary Miller Post
passed away in 1810 at age 77 and was former wife of Rev. Christian Frederick
Post, a man of some notoriety.
Harrisonburg, VA:
John O'Ferrall's second wife was Jane Lauren Green. Though she was not her biological
grandmother, my grandmother Fox knew Jane as her grandmother O'Ferrall. I have a letter to Grandmother Fox from Jane
and it is signed "from your loving grandmother." Per her obituary, Jane Green O'Ferrall is
buried in Woodbine Cemetery, Harrisonburg, VA., a town in the beautiful
Shenadoah Valley. No stone exists for
her, and her name is not in the cemetery records. However, I have seen a stone there for Jane's daughter-in-law,
Annie McClain, wife of Charles T. O'Ferrall.
It is my belief that Jane Green O'Ferrall is buried in the same lot and
for some reason her descendents never erected a monument.
[Note: Since
writing this document, I have seen a letter written by Charles Triplett
O’Ferrall, son of John and Jane, that indicates that his mother is buried in
Woodbine along with one of Charles’s sisters.
No marker currently exist for either of these graves.]
St. Michael's, Charleston, SC:
Remember Margaret Steadman, wife of William Fox, both of
whom are described a number of paragraphs back and are buried at the Old
Baptist Cemetery in Louisville, MS. Her
grandfather is buried in the cemetery at St. Michael's in old downtown
Charleston, SC. His name is Robert
Steadman; he was born in 1717 and died in 1766. And the original stone monument still exists after 230 years.
Friendship Cem., Columbus, MS:
Eliza Levisa Love's parents were David Love and Clarenda
Neeley. David and Clarenda Love are
both buried in Friendship Cemetery located in southwestern Columbus, MS, along
with at least two of Eliza's brothers and other relatives. The cemetery office has a computer system
that will pinpoint where the various graves are located. One word of warning, however. The cemetery is located in a very
uncomfortable part of town, and it is advisable to go there only during business
hours and always take someone with you.
Nonetheless, the cemetery is well maintained and is in good condition.
Bullock Creek Presb. Cem.; York Co., SC:
Clarenda Neeley's parents were Rev. Thomas Neeley and
Martha Feemster. Both of them are
buried in Bullock Creek Presbyterian Cemetery located in York Co., SC. This is a very active church which takes
maintenance of their cemetery seriously.
The oldest stone in this cemetery is for one Mary Feemster, who died in
1776 "in old age." Mary Feemster
was grandmother of the above Martha Feemster.
Bullock Creek Church is located sixteen miles southwest of
York, SC, between Bullock and Turkey Creeks, and near Broad River.
Beulah, MS, Cemetery:
Remember Amelia Hand and husband Joe Allen who are buried
at Goodwater Baptist Church as covered in a paragraph above? They had a daughter, Inez Allen, who settled
in Rosedale, MS, and was close to my mother, daddy, and their family. She, along with her 2nd husband, Frank
Paden, and two of her children by her first marriage, are buried in a small,
but well kept, cemetery located along HW 1 between Rosedale and Beulah, MS.
Lake Park Cemetery, Laurel, Miss.:
My mother and father, Helen Hand Fox and Albert Grady
Spinks are buried in Lake Park Cemetery, Laurel, MS. I have discussed that cemetery under the Foxes in a paragraph
above.
Liberty Baptist Church, Kemper Co., MS:
There are at least five generations of my Spinks family
buried in the cemetery associated with and next to Liberty Baptist Church in
Kemper County, Mississippi. There is
Albert Hunter Spinks I, (my grandfather); his wife, Undine Brame; two of his
daughters, Ruth Spinks and Margaret Spinks Wilkerson, with her husband, Vernon
Wilkerson; one son, Raleigh D. Spinks; Margaret's daughter, Mary Frances
Wilkerson Kettle, and her husband Robert A. Kettle. Albert Hunter Spinks I's mother and father were Peter Early
Spinks and Mary Elizabeth Lloyd. Peter
E. Spinks's father and mother were John Spinks and Margaret Kelly. They are all buried at Liberty.
Mary Elizabeth Lloyd's father and mother were John Emery
Lloyd and Olive Spinks (note that I descend twice from the Spinkses). They are buried at Liberty, as is John Emery
Lloyd's mother Mary "Polly" Cowling Lloyd Paris.
There are many, many other relatives in Liberty
Cemetery. The ones I've listed just
begin to tell the whole story.
To get to Liberty Church from Meridian, go north from
Meridian on 493 into Kemper County.
Keep going thru the community of Klondike, which will be about 3 miles
past the county line. Go about three
miles farther; Liberty Church will be on the right and the cemetery will be to
the right of the church. The church is still active and has a reunion every few
years. The cemetery is well kept and is
behind a fence.
Klondike Crossroads:
My Grandmother Spinks was Undine Brame. Her father was Rev. Charles Edward Brame and
he is buried, along with his second wife, Emily Hand, in a private cemetery
located behind a machine shop just to the southeast corner of Klondike
Crossroads in Kemper Co., Miss. As
described in the paragraph above, Klondike is three mile before Liberty Church
on 493 coming from Meridian.
I am very concerned about the future of this
cemetery. It is not associated with any
church and is gradually going down hill.
Back in the 1940's my father and my Uncle Peter Spinks took some
laborers to Kemper from the Delta and put up a fence around the Klondike
cemetery. Today that fence is
gone. Every once in a long while
someone mows the grass but mostly it is left to the elements. I have well documented all of the stones in
writing, photos, and videos.
[Note: Since I
wrote the above paragraphs, I and several other Brame descendents have moved
the gravesite of Charles Edward Brame and wife Emily from the Klondike Cemetery
to Liberty Baptist Cemetery, down the road.]
[Note: In the
cemetery, is a stone for two children of Dr. John C. Spinks and wife Victoria
Hand. Dr. John and Victoria are buried
in a well kept and beautiful cemetery in Shubuta, MS. I am quite interested in finding someone interested in moving the
two children’s stones from Klondike to the Spinks lot in Shubuta. If those stones stay at Klondike they will
be gone, destroyed within a few years.]
Wake Forest Baptist Church; Sturgis, Miss.:
Undine Brame's mother was Mary Frances Webb Brame. She is buried in the cemetery associated
with Wake Forest Baptist Church which is on a country road north of Sturgis,
Miss. To get there take HW12 to Sturgis
from either Ackerman or Starkville. At
Sturgis go north on a small country paved road that goes between Sturgis and
the Mathiston, Maben area of HW82. Wake
Forest Baptist Church will be several miles out of Sturgis, and the cemetery is
across the road from the church. Mary
Frances Webb Brame passed away there in 1875 while her husband was a preacher/teacher
in the area. Her stone is about half
way down the cemetery and several rows back from the road. About 15 years ago, I cemented the top and
bottom parts of her stone back together; but several years ago, I noticed it
was loose again, and probably will need repairing soon. There is an epoxy glue that does a better
job now than I was able to do 15 years ago.
Spinkses in Georgia:
The father of John Spinks (1785-1861) was Presley
Spinks. We don't know exactly where
Presley and his wife, Molly Dickens, are buried but they lived the latter part
of their lives in Warren Co., GA, in the early 1800's. I have visited churches in that area and
stones just have not survived from that far back in that area. In one old church near the Spinks home I
found only stub sticking out of the ground where thin monuments used to be.
Fairfax Co., VA:
I believe the father of Presley Spinks to be John Spinks
(died ca. 1779) of Fairfax Co., VA. We
do not know exactly where John Spinks and his wife, Rosamond Corbin are
buried. It is undoubtedly in Fairfax
Co. but thus far I have not attempted to find it. It is my impression that there were several generations of
Spinkses in northern Virginia before John and Rosamond.
Magnolia Cemetery; Meridian, MS:
My Aunt Mary Spinks Stephens and her husband Brice
Stephens are buried at Magnolia Cemetery in Meridian, MS.
Kelly Private Cemetery--Wilcox Co., AL:
My g-g-grandfather, John Spinks, first sought his fortunes
in the early 1800's in Wilcox Co., Alabama, where he set up a farming
operation. A nearby neighbor was one
Peter Kelly and his wife Jane Ewing, who just happened to have a daughter
Margaret. My John Spinks and Margaret
Kelly soon married as recorded in nearby Marengo Co., Ala., courthouse. In the 1830's John and Margaret Kelly
pioneered to Kemper Co., Miss.
Peter Kelly, wife Jane, and a number of their descendent
are buried in a private cemetery in what is now woods behind their old house
site in Wilcox Co. Following are my
notes of a visit to that site in 1988.
On Tuesday afternoon, March 29, 1988, Louise (Pete)
Harvell of 119 Bridgeport Road, Camden, Ala. took me out to the Kelly Place to
grave sites of Peter and Jane (Ewing) Kelly.
To get there, we went out Rt. 28 from Camden, across Alabama River,
almost to the Morengo Co. line [about 2 to 2 1/2 miles from line]. 'Pete' said it was Section 32 of
T15N-R6E. I noted that it was just past
milepost 64 on Rt 28. We measured
approximately 23.8 miles from Camden.
We turned off to the right of the road, opened a wire pasture gate and
went down a two lane path through a pasture to an old house site. [Pete had
called one Claude Strothers, Jr. for permission to go into the property.] We drove through the old house site area a
short distance to a cutover wooded area.
At a mud hole I didn't want to take my car through, we stopped and
walked several hundred yards into the woods.
We first passed some grave sites that Pete said was a black cemetery. Just beyond that, on a ridge we found the
Kelly cemetery. It was surrounded by a
torn down native stone fence. Eight
graves were marked and 'Pete' gave me info on a 9th grave. Peter Kelly and Jane Kelly's graves were
prominently marked. The headstones were
miraculously in good shape. They had
footstones. We recorded the info of all
stones. I photographed Peter's and
Jane's stones.
Addendum (August 6, 1996):
On the night of August 6, 1996, Louise (Pete) D.
Harvell of Camden, AL, told me by phone that Frank Thomas (now deceased), a
Kelly descendent of Thomaston, AL, around 1990 had the Peter Kelly family
graves moved 3 to 4 miles from the Kelly cemetery to McKinly Cemetery located
across the road from Bethel Baptist Church in Morengo Co., AL. It sounded as if the stones plus a token of
each grave soil was moved. Pete said
that McKinly Cemetery is maintained, cleaned a couple of times a year. Pete said that the grave of Daniel Warner
William, who noone can identify, was not moved.
Hale Co., AL:
The parents of Mary Frances Webb, one of my g-grandmothers,
are Thomas Webb and Martha Dickens.
They were born and reared in North Carolina and later moved to a
plantation in Hale County, Alabama, about 11 miles NE of Greensboro, AL, where
he passed away in 1848 and she in 1853.
They are both buried, along with a number of relatives, in a cemetery
back of Mt. Herman Church, which was on, or near, property they owned. Their stones still exist in a well kept
family plot enclosed by an iron fence.
To get to Mt.
Herman Church, you start in Greensboro, Ala., and go north on route 25 until
you get to route 51. You take a right
on 51 and go about 9 miles and Mt. Herman Church will be on the right at an
intersection. The most recent part of
the cemetery is right behind the church, but the older part is up on a hill
that is wooded
"Tally-ho"--Granville Co. NC:
The parents of Thomas Webb were William Webb and Frances
Young. They settled in Granville Co.,
NC, on a plantation they named "Tally-ho" near the community of Stem,
NC. Both William Webb and Frances Young
Webb are buried, along with a number of relatives, in a private cemetery
located in about 1 acres of land within a pasture back of a frame house that is
located on their old home site. Mary,
Steve, Helen, and I visited that cemetery back in 1977. We found William Webb's stone broken apart
and nearly buried into the ground.
Frances Young Webb's stone was still upright and in fair condition. However, the cemetery was deteriorating
rapidly. Trees and bushes where taking
over. There was a fence around it to
keep large animals out, but the fence was damaged and would not last long.
To get to the William Webb cemetery, we drove from
Burlington, NC, north on Interstate 85.
We then got off on a road (I've forgotten the number of the road) that
runs between Creedmore and Butner. We
then took a road which is State Farm Road 1215 up toward Stem, and we then
dead-ended into State Road 1127. We
took it on into Stem. We then went
right through Stem to Farm Road 1004, which runs between Stem and Providence. We didn't go as far as Providence, but went
a mile to a mile and a half out from Stem and then took a little dirt road, not
much more than what we used to call a turn-row, that runs about 1/4 mile back
to the left, or to the west of Farm Road 1004. Right where we took a left there
were some trailers that looked like they were being used for tenant
houses. Scattered back off the main
road were three tenant houses. The last
tenant house was on the site of the old Webb home and the cemetery was behind
that house.
In 1977, the land around the cemetery area was owned by a
Mr. Richard Hamme, and was being farmed by his son-in-law, Mr. Carlton
Garrett. I've talked to Mr. Garrett by
both phone and in person out at the cemetery.
In 1977, he lived in Oxford, N. C. and his phone no. was (919) 693-3454.
Mt. Sterling Bap. Church, Mt. Sterling, AL:
Remember Olive Spinks, who married John Emory Lloyd and
settled in Kemper Co., MS. She had a
brother named Windsor Pierce Spinks who settled in western Alabama and became a
successful planter. He and his wife,
Caroline Mitchell, are buried in the cemetery of Mt. Sterling Baptist Church
near Butner, AL. Several miles to the
east of there, on or near his home, is the Spinks/Turner cemetery where many of
their children are buried.
Mt. Olivet Cem., Randolph Co., NC:
Olive Spinks's, and her brother Windsor Pierce's, maternal
grandparents were Enoch Spinks and wife, Amy.
Enoch was brother to Presley Spinks described above, and son of John
Spinks of Fairfax Co., VA, and settled on Deep River in what today is Randolph
County, NC. Though we are unaware of
the grave sites of Enoch and Amy, we do have proof of the burial sites of a
number of his descendents, including a son, Rev. Enoch Spinks, who are interred
at an old cemetery associated with Mt. Olivet Methodist Church, SW of Ramseur,
NC, in Randolph Co., NC. which is close to the old Spinks home on Deep River.
[Note: Since
writing the above, I have come to believe that above Enoch was uncle to my
Presley Spinks, not brother.]
To get to Mt. Olivet Methodist Church, go south from
Ramseur on Rt. 22 to Coleridge. At
Coleridge take a right on Rt. 42 to farm road 1003. Take a left on 1003. Mt.
Olivet Church will be on the right a little over 4 miles down 1003.
There are two cemeteries associated with Mt. Olivet. One is a new cemetery located across the
road from the church. The old cemetery,
where the Spinkses are buried, is about 1/2 mile away from the church. To get to it go back up 1003 to the cross
roads with farm road 1002. Go west less
than a mile and a sign should be on the right.
The old cemetery is back in the woods behind a home. It still belongs to the church and is well
maintained.
Inverness, MS, Cemetery:
Peter Edward Spinks (son of Albert H. Spinks I) and his
wife, Harriett Jones Spinks, are buried in a cemetery in the community of
Inverness, MS.
Dr. John Clark Spinks was brother of my great grandfather, Peter Early Spinks. Dr. John Spinks was among the officers who surrendered at Appomattox in 1865. He, his wife, Victoria Hand, and several children are buried in a well kept cemetery that backs up to the Chickasawhay River in Shubuta, MS.
Winona Miss. Cemetery:
The parents of Mary Wilson Spinks, James Thornwall Wilson
and Minerva Lucile Dotson along with several other family members are buried in
a family plot in the Winona, MS, Cemetery located in SW Winona.
Salem Methodist Church Cem.-Montgomery Co., MS:
A number of Mary Wilson Spinks's maternal ancestors are
buried in a well kept cemetery associated with Salem Methodist Church, located
out from Winona, MS. Included are
Joseph Manning Dotson and Mary Alma Thompson, Mary Spinks's grandparents; David
Mason Pilsher Dotson and Mary Harris, Joseph M. Dotson's parents; and Andrew
Jackson Thompson and Susan Britt, Mary Alma Dotson's parents.
To get to Salem Methodist Church, go east from Winona, MS,
on HW 82 toward Kilmichael. Only about
1 1/4 mile from the HW 51/HW 82 interchange turn left (north) on Lodi
Road. This road first runs NE for about
2 miles, then turns east. Go about 7
1/2 miles out on Lodi Road, and there should be a sign pointing to the right to
the church and cemetery. It will be
about 1/2 mile out on a narrow dirt road.
Friendship Presbyterian Church Cem., Chickasaw Co., MS:
A number of Mary Wilson Spinks's paternal ancestors are
buried at a well kept cemetery behind Friendship Presbyterian Church located
near the community of Van Vleet in Chickasaw Co., MS. Mary Spinks's grandparents, Charles James Wilson II and Hilma
Sophia Thornwall, are buried there; as is Serena Jane Martin, Charles J.
Wilson's mother. The grandparents of
Charles J. Wilson II, James Leroy Wilson and Rachel B. Shannon, are buried at Friendship
along with a number of descendents and in-laws.
To get to Friendship Presbyterian Church, go to either
Houston, MS, or Okolona, MS. From
Okolona go west on HW 32 9 miles to Van Vleet.
From Houston go north on HW 15 about 5 miles to 32. Go east on 32 to Van Vleet. From Van Vleet go west on 32 only about a
mile or less. A local road north from
32 will take one to Friendship Church.
I seem to remember there is an appropriate sign on 32.
Ashbury Cemetery, Chickasaw Co., MS:
There are a few Wilson ancestors buried at Ashbury
Cemetery near Van Vleet. To get there
go south from Van Vleet on a very local, unimproved dirt road. Just a very short distance out, the cemetery
is located on the right. Selma Lee
Wilson, daughter of Charles James Wilson II, is buried there. Of special interest is her picture which has
been made into her grave stone.
Battle of Gaines Mill, VA:
Charles James Wilson I, father of Charles J. Wilson II and
first husband of Sarena Jane Martin, lost his life 27 June 1862 in the Civil
War Battle of Gaines Mill a few miles north of Richmond, VA. Mary and I have looked for records of his
burial location, but no luck. The
chances are good that he was buried in an unmarked grave at the site of the
battle. Mary and I have visited that
battle site. Today it is a beautifully
preserved part of our park system.
Pittsboro, MS, Cemetery:
The maternal grandparents of James Thornwall Wilson were
Johan Alfred Thornwall and Anna Sophia Redel Svensdotter, both born in Sweden. They are both buried in the Pittsboro, MS,
City Cemetery.
South Carolina:
It is known that many of the Wilsons, their families, and
in-laws came from South Carolina. It is
known that some of them were associated with Friendship Presbyterian Church,
near Greenville, S. C. One ancestor,
John Paden, is recorded as having been buried in McDill family cemetery near
Chester.
NEGATIVES--
It may be of some value to include cemeteries where we visited expecting to find ancestors but did not. Following are several examples:
Blandford Cemetery-Petersburg, VA.
Per the Charles Edward Brame Bible and newpaper records,
Betsey Yancey, wife of Samuel Chiles Brame passed away 12 SEP 1823 in
Petersburg, Va. There is a real old
cemetery located in east Petersburg, Blandford, that would have been her
obvious burial site. Mary and I have
visited that cemetery and looked at their records—no record of Betsey there. We have visited the library and courthouse
looking for possible records of Betsey’s burial in one of the local private
cemeteries in or around Petersburg. No
luck there either.
Near Independence Ala.
Per the Charles Edward Brame Bible, Samuel Chiles Brame
passed away 3 OCT 1829 at the home of Maj. Walter Frazier near Independence,
AL. It was implied Samuel was buried in
Maj. Frazier’s private cemetery and
that there was a stone. Mary and I have
made several visits to the area. At the
local courthouse, it was easy to find record of the location of Maj. Frazier’s
property. In the community of
Independence we found an elderly gentleman who gave us a tour of the possible cemeteries. No stones found for S. C. Brame. Unfortunately, we found there had been much
damage to a number of family lots.
Local farmers had taken up stones, moved them up against fences and
trees and cultivated over the old gravesites.
Thoughless and illegal.
West Point, MS.
It is recorded that Charles Edward Brame and first wife, Mary
Frances Webb, lost two sons, Charles E. Brame, Jr. and William Yancey Brame,
while the family resided in West Point, MS.
These boys passed away in the 1870’s, so any stone should have
survived. I have made one trip there
looking for their burial site. No
luck. It is quite possible that no permanent
marker was erected, for the family was not prosperous during that period of
time. However, I did find the burial
site in Greenwood Cem, West Point, MS, of a distant relative, George Washington
Brame and his wife Lucy Westbrook.
Albert H. Spinks
Written first in 1996
Edited April 25, 2001