Some Good News about Henderson County Cemeterys
We all owe a note of gratitude to Jinnie Jones Giles and the Hendersonville Times News for keeping us abrest of our Ancestors burial grounds
Property owners, families work to maintain area cemeteries
The Case Cemetery is located off Clear Creek Road in Edneyville. (MICHAEL JUSTUS/TIMES-NEWS)
Editor's Note: This is the next story in a series on old cemeteries in Henderson County. May is Cemetery Awareness Month in Henderson County and county commissioners are asking families, churches, community centers, civic groups, neighborhoods, clubs, youth groups and others to visit these cemeteries and help clean them up. To assist in preservation efforts, the Times-News will publish brief histories of the known and located cemeteries, noting each location, who, if anyone, owns the property and the condition of the cemetery.
By Jennie Jones Giles
Times-News Staff Writer
A property owner who has no ancestors buried in an abandoned family cemetery has cleaned and restored the cemetery. Then he built a corral-type sign attached to tall posts as an entrance.
"This property has been between the Case and Laughter families since the first deed," said Jake Laughter, who made the sign and restored the cemetery. "I just wanted to keep it up."
The cemetery contains the graves of James L. Case, 1842-1919, and his wife, Caroline Garren Case, 1843-1903; the Rev. John L. Case, 1848-1912; and Jacob Case, who served with Co. A 25th Infantry Regiment in the Civil War.
There are also about 16 fieldstones with no inscriptions or illegible inscriptions.
"Jacob Case was born in 1817," said Norman Miller, who chairs the cemetery project for the Sons of Confederate Veterans and serves on the Henderson County Cemetery Advisory Committee. "All seven of his children are supposed to be buried here."
James L. Case also served in the Civil War, but he was discharged for being under age, Miller said.
A deed in 1918 left the cemetery to heirs in "love and consideration paid by Jacob Case and Lucinda Laughter Case."
The deed also provided for free passage to and from the public road to the "burying ground." The cemetery was "for use by anyone who may wish to bury their dead."
The cemetery is off Old Clear Creek Road in Edneyville on .22 acre and is on the county's GIS cemetery map layer.
The Case cemetery is one of several in the Edneyville community that is being maintained and protected.
Barnwell Family Cemetery
In deeds transferring land on Grant Mountain Road, a cemetery is excepted from the land transfers.
There are about 27 graves in the Barnwell Cemetery, which is located on the property of George Barnwell and family.
"The cemetery is in excellent condition," Miller said.
Almost all the headstones identify the person buried there. Three fieldstones were found and a hand-carved marker, which could not be read. On the back of the stone is carved "Done by John Jack." There have also been recent burials in the cemetery.
The earliest burial appears to be that of Enos Barnwell, born in the 1790s. He was the son of the first Barnwell in what is now Henderson County, William Barnhill. The name was later changed to Barnwell, according to genealogists.
William Barnhill moved from Pennsylvania to North Carolina and purchased land in 1814 from John Lanning on Hoopers Creek. Several of his descendants are buried in the cemetery.
Surnames found in the cemetery are Laughter, Owenby, Nix, Connor, Dimsdale and Thomas.
The cemetery is on the county's GIS.
Byers Family Cemetery
A family off Pilot Mountain Road has also restored an old cemetery. When the Byers Family Cemetery was surveyed in 1986 by a team with the Henderson County Historical and Genealogical Society, there were 11 marked and five unmarked graves.
Thirty-three graves were counted in a recent visit to the cemetery on Byers Cove Road, Miller said.
"It's a wonderful thing to find cemeteries improved from the initial survey," he said.
Frank David Byers and his family not only cleaned and restored the cemetery, they searched records and identified many of the graves. A marked road leads descendants and visitors to its location.
William Byers, 1816-1884, was a farmer. He married Sarah Russell. The couple received three grants for land on Hoopers Creek. Later he bought land on Clear Creek. They had seven children.
One of their sons, John Hardy Byers, who served with Co. 25th N.C. Infantry Regiment, is buried in the cemetery, along with his first wife, Emmaline Garren Byers.
Another son, James Simeon "Sim" Byers, also joined the 25th Regiment. He was discharged in 1862 and later enlisted with Co. B 65th N.C. Infantry Regiment. He did not return to Henderson County after the Civil War.
A third son, Samuel Gerome Byers married Elizabeth Jackson. He owned more than 200 acres near the Union Hill section of Dana. They had eight children who married into families with the surnames Justus, Lively, Case, Hyder, Jones, Summers and Ward. He is buried at Mount Moriah Baptist Church cemetery.
A fourth son, David Augustus, 1853-1927, and his wife, Isa Melton Byers, are buried in the family cemetery. He owned large tracts of land in Edneyville and was a farmer and money lender. The couple's children married into families with the surnames Jones, Davis, Fowler, Lyda, Stepp and Farmer.
This cemetery is not listed on the county's GIS.
Rhodes/Lyda Cemetery
In a deed from John A. Rhodes and wife, Sallie, to Carl Dixon Rhodes, James Dunlap and Mack H. Lyda, trustees, about a quarter acre was transferred "for and in consideration of the love and respect of the dead who are buried in said lot or who may be buried therein."
The cemetery was called the James Roberts graveyard and was measured at 48 poles. One pole equals 16.5 feet.
The deed also states that any three members who have people buried in the lot shall have the power to keep three trustees appointed.
"There shall be free access over our land to and from the graveyard to a public road to be used for the graveyard," the deed states.
Today, the property is adjacent to property owned by Lawrence Rhodes off Moss Road.
"This cemetery is in excellent condition," Miller said.
There are about 25 graves in the cemetery. Several are recent burials. One is Eli Rhodes, who served with Co. A 25th Infantry Regiment. Another is Mack Hubert Lyda, 1909-1973, an Army veteran of World War II.
The cemetery can be found on the county's GIS.
Unknown ConfederateSoldier
There is a tall monument and plaque found on Wash Freeman Road in Edneyville in honor of an unknown soldier.
Legend says a young soldier was camping in a ravine of Laurel Creek with two other Confederate soldiers.
A Confederate conscription guard was sent out by Ambrose Featherstone to round up Confederate deserters reportedly seen in the area, writes Frank FitzSimons Jr. in his book From the Banks of the Oklawaha.
Burgan Whitaker, Jacob Lyda and John Case were in the detail sent in search of deserters, FitzSimons writes.
The soldiers camping in the ravine were found. They ran from the men and one was shot and killed.
Daily Lyda Freeman tended the grave since she was a child and kept flowers on it, FitzSimons wrote.
Barry Hollingsworth with the Sons of Confederacy had the monument and plaque made.
The cemetery is marked with a red cross, indicating a cemetery, but the cemetery is not labeled on the county's GIS cemetery map layer. It is located at the property of Lowell Jarrett at 768 Wash Freeman Road.
Information for the stories was obtained from the Henderson County GIS System, Henderson County North Carolina Cemeteries book, the Heritage Book of Henderson County Volumes I and II, other local history books, Register of Deeds office, archivists, preservationists, historians and genealogists. For help or advice with cemetery clean ups, call 698-7392. To announce a clean up, call 694-7867 or e-mail [email protected].
Earl Peeler