The Tombstone that Talks: A families Ancestral Journey and Questions Answered upon the discovery of a 300 year old grave in Virginia

John “The Immigrant” Lewis was born 1591 Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Wales to Lewis Ap Richard (Lewis Prichard) and Catherine Morgan. John and his family set sail to Virginia in 1653, settling in Poropotank Creek. He is one of the very earliest settlers in Virginia, and his tombstone is speculated to be the oldest in the area.

For hundreds of years the Lewis family/line of Virginia and Kentucky speculated of their roots, in constant discovery of their progenitor. While there have been numerous books and publications written on this particular line (because of their early pioneering and later connection to Warner Hall), there was no 100% for certain proof to trace John “The Immigrant” backwards into the proper Lewis family. Until his grave was accidentally “discovered” by Dr Malcolm Harris in 1948 that is!

The Tombstone spoke volumes on a variety of levels- it tells of Johns Status, his heraldry, and gives precise dates in order for his descendants to be sure they match “their” John to the proper John Lewis in Wales (Wow, what a task that would be without dates or his parents names!)...One particular detail I find intriguing (out of many) is that John Lewis is buried with an incredibly detailed footstone- very unusual for its time. Not to mention it is phenomenal shape considering its age with no one to look after it. It is also quite interesting in the sense that the soil here is so sandy; no local stones would have been suitable and therefore this had to be ordered from England which took time and money. Gravestones were uncommon in tidewater Virginia in that era, only the wealthiest had them.

Of course the most exciting part of this for the Graveyard Rabbit is that this is the oldest known tombstone in King and Queen County VA and it’s got a great anagram on it; for the family, the inscription of their coat of arms was the key to unlocking their ancestry. The Quartering of the Coat of Arms revealed that their family was of Lewis of Rhys Goch, Howell, Prince of Caerlleon (son of Rhys Goch), a Gemilling married Jenet, daughter of Sir Howel of Caerlleon. And A Grant of Arms was given to him in the eleventh century to use this arms, 3rd quartering is “Argent three Chevronels Gules“. Coat of the de Turberville family of Crickhowell in Brecon, and another quartering shows “Azure three plates“. Fourth position is for the wife, so this was the shield of Johanna Lewis of the family Lewis of Llanddewi Rhydderch acquired by intermarriage with an heiress of the de Trevely family of that parish. These Arms were borne by Sir Walter de Trevely who came into Wales with the Norman Conqueror, Bernard de Newmarsh. And last but not least a Lewis motto (which appears to be added by John The Immigrant to leave his own mark for his descendants– “Omne Solum Forti Patria Est” – “Every Land is Home to a Brave Man”.
What an amazing story!!!

“Here lieth interred the body of John Lewis (borne in Munmoth shire) died the 21^st of August 1657 aged 63 years. The anagram of his name: I shew no ill”.

Unfortunately I cannot recall who emailed me these photos- if you are out there please let me know so I can properly credit you.

The Williams Sisters of Madison County, KY and Family

I recently stumbled across (on the information super highway) photographs of two sisters interned at Salem Cemetery, Madison County, Kentucky. What I saw broke my heart, and warranted some looking up in the hopes I could write a bio about them. It lead me onto yet another interesting adventure in which I hope will help someone out there in their research efforts.

In Madison lived two sisters; Sophronie Mandy Williams (b. 1914) and Mable Williams (b. 1917). The death date for both sisters headstones reads “unknown”. This indicates some sort of tragedy- could they have been harmed by someone? Was there a fire or illness? Were they children or adults when they passed so tragically? I did not know. But I was determined to find out. I performed my usual ancestry hunt based on names, dates of birth, county and state- no luck at all, not even a close match when omitting first names. Being as though their stones state parents as Squire Williams and Lizzie, I decided to try that route. I found a few posibilites but nothing earth shattering. I gave up for a while but something kept drawing me back in, so I kept on the hunt- no records from tombstone transcriptions, death or births in Madison, nothing. Then seemingly out of the blue I found an old death certificate on ancestry with two names listed: Squire Williams and a Saphrona Mandy Williams!

The death certificate lists Sophronie /Saphrona as born January 16 1918 and her death November 8 1919 in Edenton, Madison County, Kentucky. Her parents are listed as Squire Williams and Lizzie, just as the headstone states. Saphrona passed from flu and spinal meningitis; she was only 8 ½ months old. What is odd is the death date is written as November yet the certificate was filled October 30… The handwritten year of filling is hard to make out- it looks like 1918 or 1919, neither of which make sense. Perhaps the death and filing dates were accidentally reversed, or maybe the date of passing was unknown just like the footstone reads. But if that is the case, how would anyone know the cause? I contacted Gerald Tudor, a friendly and knowledgeable researcher in Madison County; I wanted to know if he knew circumstances of the passing of the sisters (Garald has an amazing extended family in the area which numbers at over 45,000).Unfortunately he had no back story but he did provide me with the b & d dates he had in a book for Sophronie, Mabel, Squire and Lizzie. He also told me the family was not buried at Salem, but at Gilead Church Cemetery south of the Salem Cemetery.

The footstones do not appear to date that era and show no wear at all, which (along with the “unknown” death date) is what originally lead me to believe the two sisters were found decades after the fact. I have a few theories… 1) Maybe a later ancestor of the family purchased the stones and didn’t have the correct dates or 2) maybe Squire and Lizzie had another daughter they named after their (missing?) elder daughter of the same name. Not at all unheard of; I’ve seen southern families with many children who succumb to illness and the parents keep renaming the same.

So no, I didn't solve the mystery-yet! But all in all, with just a simple call, email and a quick look into free scans of Madison County original death certificates, I stumbled upon a wealth of informationthat maybe will help someone who is trying to research this family... I found both nearly 10 actual death certs for this family, clarified some vital records dates, got Squires occupation, found out the whole family is in the same cemetery as well as the name of the cemetery. I also discovered the family progenitors and descendants! All in under an hour. "Why go through the trouble?" some might wonder. Well, let me tell you, not only is it interesting and fun for me but I know how difficult family research can be (esp. when armed with wrong dates and miss spellings), and if I can help someone else, maybe someone in turn, will help me.

For anyone out there researching this family who may have hit a brick wall, here is the scoop as I have found it...David Williams wed Betsy Estes 1818, it looks like in Garrard County. They had a son, Shipton Williams. Shipton wed a woman named Mary in Garrard County Kentucky. On all official documents her surname varries; it is McMaddus, McManiss, McManus, McMoore. Shipton and Mary had a minimum of 5 children: Squire (b. Jume 30 1840 in Garrard County Ky-d. Nov 12, 1922), unnamed child who died at birth (b.d. Jan 20 1854 in Garrard County, Ky), Ali (b. August 14 Garrard County no yr recorded but died at age 84 so abt. 1855- d. April 26 1939), Burchell (Jan 21 1859 Garrard -d. July 26 1940), and Dicea (b. July 19 1862 Garrard County-d. July 15 1951). The entire family moved to Madison County from Garrard County abt 1900. Squire, as you know from reading, had at least two daughters and a wife named Lizzie. It also looks as if Squire owned a grocery store in Madison, and judging by/from what I know of names, it is highly probable they are of british descent. [feel free to contact me and I will pass on the certificates]

Amazing Journey: Moravian Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma

Typically when one thinks of all the amazing immigrations of the San Francisco melting pot, rarely do the Moravian Catholics of Eastern Europe come to mind.

Frantisek (Frank) Hrncír was born March 30, 1871 in house #29, Sviadnov, Frýdek-Místek, Moravia. He is one of 9 children born to John Alois Hrncír and Victoria Sedlácková/Sedlácek of Frýdek-Místek. Frantisek’s came to America with his family June 16, 1881 on the Lessing. It was a long and difficult journey, taking 6 weeks tocross the ocean. During the voyage, Frantisek lost his 3 year old sister Anna; because the family were Catholic, they hit her body until arrival as they feared if discovered she would not receive a proper burial. The family landed in New York but their destination was Kansas (as they had family and friends who settled there prior), and so began the second part of their adventure in a new land. When they got to Kansas, the family applied for a homestead and moved on 160 acres near Collyer, in Trego County. By 1886, the teenage Frantisek, his siblings and Father had constructed an 11x14 dugout home, sod table, cellar and well, even though it had been the coldest winter on record. In KS, Frantisek worked for the railroad with his father and they were gone three & six months at a time. The family remained in the dugout and they were sometimes bothered by tramps & Indians. Once one of Frantiseks siblings ran to warn her mother that a tramp was coming, but it turned out to be her father with quite a growth of whiskers.

Abt 1890, Frantisek rented land from neighbors in a Moravian settlement in Roseville Township, and began his own farming operation until he wed Mary Zurich, another Moravian from Frýdek-Místek. Frantisek and his wife packed up and headed to San Francisco California, bringing along Frantisek’s widowed Step Mother Magdalena Chamrad along.

During the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906, Frantisek, Mary and Magdalena lost all of their possessions, but were not injured. Their Moravian family in Kansas must have been amazed (and frightened) by the thought of the earth’s plates moving and causing distruction; nearly 20 years after the quake Frantisek came to visit family in KS and brought with him some of the dishes he had salvaged from his wrecked home, and which were burned black but had not broken, in the fire which followed the earthquake.

From the time of Frantisek’s arrival in San Francisco until his death, he worked at a smeltering plant. He died in 1923 after a work accident in which he was burned by hot liquid.

Frantisek’s tombstone at Holy Cross Cemetery is a large cross which bares his photo with no name, and is in the style typically seen in Czech and Moravian cemeteries. When I discovered it, I was amazed to find it is beautiful shape. Sadly, I could not find his wife nor step mothers burial anywhere. Holy Names staff were incredibly welcoming and helpful, doing all they could to help locate Magdelana and Mary’s tomb (which family insists are at Holy Names), but we had no luck. I hope someday to solve this mystery. Frantisek and Mary had no children and have no California family other than I.

A Family Mystery: Body Moved from Hawaii to San Francisco 52 yrs after Original Burial

Eliza Mercado was born 1891 in Puerto Rico and died August 1, 1923 in Honolulu Hawaii, where she was buried. On August 4th 1975, Elizabeth’s body was removed and put on a plane to be re-buried at Cypress Lawn Cemetery in Colma, California.

While most Graveyard explorers know that relocation of interns from one cemetery to another is really nothing new, rarely does it involve such a long distance. A move such as this would be quite costly and certainly not paid for by the cemetery or state. The reburial was not of ashes, but a grave.

Eliza Mercado was laid to rest this second (last lets hope!) time with Chilo Mercado, who was born 1881 in Puerto Rico, immigrated to Hawaii abt. 1899 and then settled in San Francisco in 1924- one year after the death of Eliza. Chilo Mercado passed away on July 24, 1968.

I have no idea what the relationship is between Chilo and Eliza; they may have been wed or she may be a Daughter. Whatever the relation, someone cared quite deeply to know that they should be placed together and made this happen.

I have tried to research cemetery reburials in Hawaii circa 1923 with no luck. Cypress Lawn staff was kind enough to meet with me and throughly check their records but there was nothing specified other than the above posted dates and information. One clue may be in the undertaker (Tommy Wong) and address on Kopke St. Honolulu. If anyone has any information or theories I would love to hear them.

Gone but Not Forgotten: Over 400 Jonestown Victims Buried in Oakland California

Jonestown was the informal name for the Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, an intentional community in northwestern Guyana formed by the Peoples Temple, an led by Jim Jones. On November 18, 1978, A total of 909 Temple members died in Jonestown, all but two from apparent cyanide poisoning, in an event termed "revolutionary suicide" by Jones To the extent the actions in Jonestown were viewed as a mass suicide, it is the largest such event in modern history and resulted in the largest single loss of American civilian life in a non-natural disaster until the events of September 11, 2001.

Today marks the 31^st anniversary of the Jonestown tragedy…. I am always saddened and amazed to find the majority of local residents of Oakland California are not even aware that over 400 victims of the Jonestown tragedy are interned at Evergreen Cemetery of Oakland, nor do they realize on this day each year there is a memorial service to those which brings in hundreds of mourners. Friends and family of the victims as well as temple survivors come to pay their tear filled respects. Even so, each year the annual memorial service at Evergreen increases in number. While at one time there was a sort of false and unfortunate stigma attached to the Jonestown Massacre, it has become more widely accepted that all involved were simply ordinary people betrayed by a charismatic minister who lured them to an integrated church with programs for the poor.

Evergreen is home to 400-410 victims of the Guyana tragedy, both adults and children were laid to rest in a mass grave here in the 1970’s. While some names are known, the majority of interned here are still unidentified and unclaimed. The mass grave is marked by a headstone and throughout the years more memorials have been placed in homage to the tragedy. There is a Cherishing the Children Jonestown Memorial Wall dedicated to the 273 children whose lives were lost, with Forty three and one-half-foot caskets as a reminder. There is also a 36-foot-long stone wall inscribed with the names and ages of more than 900 victims of the violence in Guyana, which is still in progress.

The Nurse Family Graveyard

From June through September of 1692, nineteen men and women, all having been convicted of witchcraft, were carted to Gallows Hill, a barren slope near Salem Village, for hanging. Another man of over eighty years was pressed to death under heavy stones for refusing to submit to a trial on witchcraft charges. Hundreds of others faced accusations of witchcraft; dozens languished in jail for months without trials until the hysteria that swept through Puritan Massachusetts subsided. While most people associate Salem Witch Trial Graves with the famous Burial Hill Cemetery (which contrary to popular belief does not actually intern accused witches [click here], there is another place in which is the final resting place for some of those accused. The ancient Nurse family graveyard is nestled among tall pine trees on the west side of the property. Numerous generations of families are buried here, many in unmarked, or simple fieldstone-marked graves. Among the families represented are Nurse, Putnam, and Tarbell-all names associated with those accused and hanged.

William Towne and Joanna Blessings had three daughters; Rebecca, Mary, and Sarah, all of whom were accused and hanged for witchcraft in 1692. In the case of Rebecca Towne Nurse, no in the community it seemed believed she could be a witch; many spoke out on her behalf (which was quite dangerous to do) and signed petitions in her defense. At Rebecca’s trial the jury came back with a not guilty verdict; when this was announced there was a large and hideous outcry from both the afflicted girls and the spectators and magistrates urged reconsideration. When Rebecca was asked a question yet did not answer (as she was hard of hearing), The jury took her silence as an indication of guilt and brought back a guilty verdict. Rebecca was even granted a reprieve by Governor Phips, however no sooner had it been issued, than the accusers began having renewed fits. The community saw these fits as conclusive proof of Nurse's guilt. Her family did all they could to rectify the mistake that had caused her to be condemned, but it was no use. On July 3, she was excommunicated from her church in Salem Town without a single dissenting vote, because of her conviction of witchcraft. Nurse was sentenced to death and executed on July 19, 1692. Rebecca was secretly buried by her family, who brought her body back from Gallows Hill following her execution, secretly buried on the property, in the oldest portion of the graveyard. On July 30, 1885, the Nurse family dedicated the obelisk-shaped granite memorial to Rebecca's memory. The monument includes a poetic sentiment written by famed poet, John Greenleaf Whittier. In 1892 an additional monument was erected nearby remembering and naming the 40 neighbors who in 1692 signed the petition in support of Nurse.

At the time of Mary Towne Eastys questioning she was about 50 years of age. Her examination followed the pattern of most in Salem: the girls had fits, and were speechless at times, and the magistrate expostulated with her for not confessing her guilt, which he deemed proven beyond doubt by the sufferings of the afflicted. Mary was committed to prison after her examination for two months and upon her release it was presumed to be the end of her accusations. Unfortunately her accusers were determined to not let the matter rest, and redoubled their energies to get her back into prison. On the 20th, Mary Lewis spent the entire day experiencing severe fits which she blamed on Mary and a warrant was issued Easty was rousted from her sleep by the marshall, torn from her husband and children, and taken back to prison where she was loaded with chains. Once Easty was back in prisons with chains, Lewis's fits stopped. Easty was tried and condemned to death on September 9th. She was executed on September 22 1692, despite an eloquent plea to the court to reconsider and not spill any more innocent blood.

Sarah Towne Cloyce was the youngest (48) of the sisters accused of witchcraft. While attending church meeting the preacher spoke sermon accusing her sister of being a devil, causing Sarah to rise and exit in anger. For this she was charged with witchcraft, and imprisoned. Unlike her sisters Rebecca and Mary, Sarah lived. Her trial was, for some reason, delayed (perhaps because of over crowding of the jails during the witch craze) until after the trials had been stopped.

Like Rebecca, George Jacobs family also secretly removed his body from the hanging gallows, interned on the Jacobs family property. They were later unearthed and finally laid to rest in the Nurse Graveyard. In May 1993, a stylized facsimile of a slate gravestone was dedicated over the remains, which includes as an epitaph the brave words uttered by Jacobs at his examination. "Well! Burn me or hang me but I'll stand in the truth of Christ." The skull on the stone represents death, while on either side, the carved wings represent the belief that the soul would wing its way to heaven. Jacobs and Nurse stood ready with their lives not to confess to something they did not do, but to speak the truth no matter the consequences.

Evergreen Cemetery: Underrated Jewel in the Heart of Oakland, Ca.

When cemetery enthusiasts think of Oakland Cemeteries, rarely-if ever- does Evergreen come to mind. Explorers bustle to see Millionaire row at Mountain View Cemetery and the beauty of its neighboring St. Mary’s (literally across the street from one another). While not as old, Evergreen certainly has its fair share of prominent internments. Evergreen Cemetery first opened in 1903, likely because so many other Oakland resting places were lacking space as well as to serve as a closer alternative for families who had been living in this area for generations. The majority of pre 1910 burials are unmarked. There is also a two level mausoleum and a lovely chapel. Evergreen now holds upward 1,700 internments.

Aside from its many local neighborhood families, Evergreen holds important history makers. There is Jesse Fuller, who taught himself to play a homemade instrument at the age of 5, ran away to California at the age of 10 and went on tobe known as one of the great blues musicians. Other musicians here include Johnny Fuller and Earl “Fatha” Hines (who is credited with helping to put jazz on the musical map and well known for his work with Louis Armstrong). US Congressman and House of rep.(New York's 3rd District) Otto Godfrey Foelker and Jacob E. Swap, Civil War Congressional Medal of Honor recipient are both at Evergreen. Interestingly, Evergreen also is home to Clarence Leo Best, founder of the Caterpillar Tractor Company as well as inventor of the grain harvester, Daniel Best. Without a doubt, the most famous of burials would be that of child actor Allen Clayton Hoskins, better known as Farina in the Our Gang short films from 1922 to 1931. Evergreen is most noted as the final resting place to over 400 unknown and unclaimed victims of the 1978 Jonestown massacre.

While I am typically drawn to older cemeteries, I personally have a soft spot for this cemetery because there are incredibly valuable lessons to be had in regards to Allen Clayton Hoskins and the Jonestown Memorial. Hoskins was not the first black actor but he certainly was the highest paid making $250 a week, more than any other child star at that time, which certainly cleared the path for others. More importantly, his controversial typecasting, though historically a shameful negative, has lead into valuable learned lessons, thus making Hoskins an important figure in America’s growth and education. The Jonestown tragedy speaks for itself. To learn from such, be it stereotyping or tragedies of the past allows for it never to happen again.

Evergreen Cemetery is well taken care of, more so than most which are much more well known. Though it is located in dubious area of the city (where crime is concerned), the respect factor for Evergreen is high and theft and vandalism are non existant.