Drawing 1 Back to Ditty Cemetery Index
Drawing 2
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Drawing 3
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Ditty Cemetery Restoration
Putnam Co. TN
Ditty/Fergus Cemetery Restoration Journal
Cookeville, TN Thursday, August 31, 2000
Beginning at the Cookeville Public Library on Broad Street I found two books listing seven gravesites at he Ditty Cemetery on Ditty Road, while awaiting the arrival of Vicki Ward Moore, a descendant from Francis Fergus - an unmet cousin!
After quick introductions Vicki and I began to work as a team in our thinking and in our actions. Immediately we drove to Lillard Maxwell's farm to re-introduce ourselves and ask for permission to visit the cemetery accessed through his farmland. A wide-swing gate opened onto a field where cattle were grazing. We drove across the dry field to the cemetery marked by a 50-60 foot tulip poplar swaying in the wind. The tree had apparently been struck by lightening at one time and a large split down the center of the tree was visible. The cemetery had been surrounded by temporary posts and barbed wire that Joe Fergus and his son, Gary had installed earlier to begin to protect this plot of land belonging to the descendants of Francis Fergus and Abraham Ditty and Jesse Farley. Broken tombstones tied together with barbed wire and staked, poked above the overgrown grass, weeds, and wild roses. It was a despondent, lonely cemetery waiting to be found, restored and cherished. Whose descendants would claim this plot of land in need of care and love?
I felt the poignant claim of the land belonging to me when I again saw the headstone of Francis Fergus. It had been erected by the D.A.R. to mark the 100th anniversary of his death in 1841. At one time the tombstone must have fallen over as it now stands surrounded by a puddle of concrete. Later, this will have to be removed from the headstone and it will need to be properly set into the ground.
Next, I saw the one Ditty tombstone with Jincy's name on one side and Abraham's on the other. The stones had been broken and obviously reassembled incorrectly. Moving lineally from right to left the next headstone is but a sheared piece of stone. There is no inscription left. But, it is the consensus of opinion that it is most likely that of Magdalena and John Ditty, mother and father of Abraham Ditty. This John Ditty was also in the Revolutionary War. And, next to this stone is that of John Ditty (the son).
We believe this to be the first row of the cemetery on the western line. To recap:
Francis Fergus-Jincy Fergus (Ditty)-Abraham B. Ditty-probably Magdalena Spangler (Ditty)-John Ditty, Sr.-John Ditty, Jr. In genealogy it is important to begin to put pieces into place and to make logical deductions based upon findings. The gravestones began to fit a pattern as we measured the space between them. We found some of the footstones delineating the length of the graves. The footstones had been broken at ground level and loose pieces scattered about were gathered up to see if there was a match to the break. I believe that the first match was that of Abraham Ditty. His initials, A.B.D., are chiseled into the top of the stone which is approximately 5" wide by 2" in depth. It was a match on the footstone base on the north side of the gravestone. We began to look other footstones located approximately 7'9" from the headstone. Next we found Jincy's. She is buried beside her father. With this fact we can then suppose that Abraham is buried next to his mother and his father beyond that. His brother, John Ditty, Jr. is then beyond his father.
For purposes of clarity we will call this cemetery row, Row A and Francis' position A-1, Jincy A-2, Abraham A-3, Mary A-4, John Sr. A-5, John Jr. A-6.
In viewing the cemetery it was apparent that no work would begin until the tree was removed. The owner of the land had given us permission to remove the tree, but then changed his mind and wished to have the tree repaired. Only one day earlier he told Joe Fergus that he would agree to having the tree removed. This meant that we had to quickly find someone to cut the tree down as the cemetery restorationist would be arriving the next day to begin to repair the stones and advise us of the steps we would need to follow. We telephoned a tree removal service and within several hours he met us at the site. The cost would be $725 to cut and remove the tree since we were on a quick time frame. Oh, my! This definitely would deplete our funds and leave little for fencing. We thanked the man and called the next service. Within several hours we had a new bid, $385! Sold! And, he would have the tree down by Friday noon, the day all were to arrive.
Next we made an appointment with the "fence" man for first thing Friday morning. Vicki and I drove to his business to see/select the type of fencing which would best meet our funds and needs. We did see the aluminum fencing which most closely resembles old wrought-iron fencing . . . but the costs were double. Our choice is a heavy gauge of 4' crown fencing with a heavy gauge of metal tubing for the posts and also for the top of the fence. There will be a walk-in gate for entry to the cemetery. Also, we would like to be able to put a swing gate for vehicles to enter from Ditty Road, rather than through a private driveway. Yes, all of this is in our plan. The "fence" man drove to the site to measure the existing cemetery area. By Tennessee state law the minimum area for a cemetery must extend 10' beyond any graves/gravestones. We have received a drawing and a bid on the known area, which has now expanded as an additional grave was discovered outside of the barbed wire area.
Vicki and I met Betty Ensor Thomas for a grill-out dinner at her aunt's home. In conversation later in the evening we discovered that Anna Jo Beasley (McDonald) lives next door. It is Anna Jo who now has the Bible that belonged to Jincy and Abraham Ditty. Vicki and I headed straight over to make a surprise visit to Anna Jo. We had tried to telephone her earlier in the day but had been unsucessful in connecting with her due to her work schedule and our meetings with various contractors. She graciously welcomed us into her home and showed us the magnificent Bible that recorded the births and deaths of the family. Each of us craddled the book while we snapped photographs. Anna Jo has had the Bible carefully rebound to keep the integrity of its original condition. This was indeed a GMC (God Made Coincidence) to be having dinner next door to the lady we had been trying to connect with during our brief stay in Cookeville.
Stay tuned for the rest of the story. . . . .
Drawing 1 Back to Ditty Cemetery Index
Drawing 2 Back to Cemetery Index
Drawing 3 Back to Cemetery Index
Drawing 5 Back to Cemetery Index
Drawings and Photos by Richard Fergus July 1999,
descendant of Francis Fergus
Cynthia Nichols Russell
6113 Edmar Drive
Traverse City, MIchigan 49686
(231) 947-8780
c.russell@charter.net
