Hey Y'all,
Mark and I just got back from a trip to Halan Co., Ky., and Lee Co., Va., where his folks settled after leaving NC. We had a very successful trip with finding graves of his ancestors and meeting a relative. Since we were only about 200 miles from Abbeville, SC, we drove down there to look around, and guess what, we asked a couple of gentlemen, David Higgon's and Mr. Richie (believe his name was Walter) in Ware Shoals, if they knew where the Walnut Grove Baptist Church was. (The church our Rosamond's, Hill's, Hodges, and Graham's attended in the early 1800's)
Sure enough, they both knew where it was. David lead us to it, and he lead us to the few graves on Mulberry Creek that mark the original site of the church that was organized in 1826. Talk about luck! This was so exciting!!! We were so lucky to have ran into these two gentleman.
These graves are right along a paved road in the woods (I mean, the stones are right along the road). This cemetery is in bad shape. No one is taking care of it. It is over grown in weeds, trees and with poison oak and ivy everywhere. David, Mark and I ventured out into the cemetery a little ways. Couldn't go to each stone because the poison oak & ivy is soooo thick. There aren't many stones. Some graves are marked with field stones and doesn't have any writing on them, and some of the field stones looked as those they had been chiseled on but you couldn't read it. There are Mays buried there and one stone was a Williams. Stones are in bad shape, you can hardly read them. They have black mildew, moss or what ever from the trees, all over them. There is one stone laying on the ground in perfect condition. No mildew or anything on it. You can read it clearly. It is the marker of Lucrete Mays born Dec 14, 1797 died Feb 14, 1845. Y'all, this is probably Sarah "Sally" Mays Rosamond's mother. What do you think?
I couldn't hardly leave there without looking at each stone, but the poison oak was to bad. Mark and I are highly allergic to these plants. I knew though, that we are all going to be there next year, or whenever and we can be better prepared to tackle this adventure. As soon as David left, Mark and I changed jeans, socks and shoes right there by the car on the side of the road. Pretty picture! That poison oak and ivy will go through your clothes if you give it time. We were very lucky, we were o'k the next morning. Only one car passed on that road the whole time we were at the cemetery, so it isn't a busy one.
When we go there next year, or whenever, those of us allergic to these plants, will need to wear at least knee high rubber boots. We will also need to do some tombstone rubbings to be able to read the stones. Does anyone in this group know how to do tombstone rubbings? A lady in Lee Co., Va., showed me how by using paper and a pencil. She said you could also use colored chalk that children use at school. It wont hurt the stones at all. When it rains, it will wash the chalk off.
David told us the Walnut Grove Church has tried to put a book together about the History of the Church. He said this book is at the church. We were there on Monday, and no one was there. David said the original church (1826) on Mulberry Creek was a brush arbor, which was posts with brush on top to protect them from rain. They were having Church service when it stated to rain. Had a flash flood that swept the brush arbor away. Everyone was scramming to get to higher ground, scared the horses so bad they all ran away. That’s when they moved the Church to higher ground. It was built next to where the Walnut Grove Church stands today.
Ruth, do you know the History of Walnut Grove Church, and do you know who is buried in the original cemetery?
Abbeville is a beautiful Old Historic town. It takes you back in time. Has a lot of old beautiful two story homes. I have a pamphlet listing the motels in the Old 96 District when we get ready to make reservations. If we stay in Abbeville, there is a Belmont Inn on town square that would be perfect for us to stay in, if y'all like this sort of thing. The Belmont Inn was built 1902-03 as the Eureka Hotel to accommodate "drummers" of the textile trade, patrons of the Opera House, traveling salesmen of the day, and the railroad men who had layovers in Abbeville. It's listed on the National Register of Historic places in Abbeville. It has 25 newly remodeled, decorated rooms. They let Mark and I walk through it. The rooms that didn't have occupants in them, they leave the doors open so we were about to view them. They are furnished with old antique furniture, some rooms have large pieces of furniture. It has wooden floors and looks like bedrooms in antebellum homes, only a bit smaller. It is nice and very clean. Really takes you back in time. Prices are very reasonable. More on that later.
The Belmont Inn is next door to the Opera House and two doors from the court house. The Library is one block away. If yall had rather stay in a motel there are three motels around Abbeville, but the nicer ones are in Greenwood, which is only 15 miles away. Mr. Richie told me the Library in Greenwood was better than the one in Abbeville. I only got to spend a couple of hours at the Library in Greenwood. They have a lot of old books for research, made several copies, but don't think I found too much of what we don't already have. Haven't had a chance to look it over.
Something else we might want to think about. This pamphlet I have says Edgefield County, (which we all know is part of Old 96 District) has D.A. Tompkins Memorial Library. It serves as a genealogical and historical research center focusing on the Old 96 District. It is the headquarters for the Courtesy Center and Archives. If we have time, we might want to check this out.
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Your Cousin,
Gwen Rosamond Forrester