Tombstone Tuesday - Henry Bascom Hicks

The Civil War left wounds still raw in many parts of the country even after 150 years. In countless areas, civilians were preyed upon by military forces of one army or the other, while in others helpless civilians were robbed and violated by "bushwackers" or lawless elements who merely pretended an allegiance to a particular army.

In Graves County, Kentucky the wounds still run deep from what is referred to as the "reign of terror" of Union Gen. Eleazar Paine. In Maplewood Cemetery of Mayfield, Kentucky there is a monument in the form of a slab over the grave of young Henry Bascom Hicks. He was killed by order of General Paine on the streets of Mayfield in August of 1864. The 18 year old student was accused of being a spy. Paine had been removed from his post in Gallatin, Tennessee in April of 1864 by the order of Major General William T. Sherman after Paine and his men were found guilty of "extreme cruelty and extortion". He was subsequently posted to western Kentucky.

Hopefully there will never be another time when the people of this country turn against each other with such intolerance and cruelty.






A heavy morning dew on the fall day I photographed Henry's grave accentuates the inscription making it more visible and easily readible.

Tombstone Tuesday - the Chandlers

Lucinda Jane Wingo Chandler and John Hyran Chandler are buried in the Greer Cemetery of Wingo, Graves County, Kentucky.

Lucinda was born shortly after the family's move from Pittsylvania County, Virginia to the Jackson Purchase area of Kentucky which had just been opened for settlement.

Military Monday - William Holifield, War of 1812

WILLIAM
HOLIFIELD

Pvt
KY Detached
Militia
War of 1812

Apr 7, 1784
Jun 23, 1860

Battle of
New Orleans

William Holifield and his wife, Elizabeth Copeland Holifield, along with other family members are buried in the Old Bethel Cemetery just east of Pryorsburg in Graves County, Kentucky.

Original Gravestone

(Photo of original gravestone by westkygenealogy for Find A Grave)

The Pryors of Pryorsburg

Jonathan Pryor and his brother, James, were among the earliest settlers to Graves County, Kentucky. From the records of land grants west of the Tennessee River in Kentucky, Jonathan and James Pryor had each purchased over 3000 acres before 1830. It is said that together they owned all the land between Pryorsburg and Mayfield at one time.

This cemetery is on land once owned by Jonathan Pryor. Even with GPS coordinates it is difficult to find yet it is within the small town of Pryorsburg.

ELIZABETH

Wife of
JONATHAN PRYOR

BORN
Mar. 27, 1788
DIED
July 7, 1857
Aged 69 y. 4 m.
27 D.

(Error in Days)

The graves of Jonathan Pryor, Jr. and his wife Frances E. Rozzell Pryor along with their fourteen year old son Jerimiah are also in this cemetery.

In memory of JONATHAN PRYOR BORN July 13, 1820 DIED Oct. 29, 1857 AGED 37 Yrs. 3 mo. & 9 dys.

In memory of FRANCES E. Wife of JONATHAN PRYOR BORN June 17,1818 DIED May 17, 1858 AGED 39 Yrs. 9 Mo.

JERIMIAH

Son of
J. & F.E. PRYOR
BORN
Mar. 21, 1843

DIED
Jan. 18, 1858
AGED
14 Yrs. 8 mo.
27 Ds.

(Age is almost illegible)

(It should be noted that this cemetery now includes a stone for Jonathan Pryor, Sr. which is not original and has an incorrect date of death as 1857 although he was recorded living in the 1860 census. The stone is of recent addition and accordingly is not included here.)

Tombstone Tuesday - the Bosticks

F. M. BOSTICK

DIED
Dec. 19, 1851

Aged 48 yrs
11 mo 28 ds

LUCY

wife of
F.M. BOSTICK

Born
Dec. 6, 1805

Died
April 9, 1865

Aged 59 yrs
4 mo's & 3 da's

Originally from Halifax County, Virginia, Frances Moore Bostick and his wife, Lucy White Palmer, were among the earliest settlers to Graves County in Kentucky's Jackson Purchase Area. They are buried with other early pioneers in the Greer Cemetery at Wingo, Kentucky.

Wednesday's Child - Della Lee Chandler

DELLA LEE

Daugh. of

J. H. & L. J.
CHANDLER
DIED
Aug. 16, 1868
AGED
1 Yr 2 Mo's 23 Da's

Della Lee Chandler was the daughter of John H. and Lucinda Jane Wingo Chandler who lost several other children in infancy or early childhood. Della Lee is buried in the Greer Cemetery in Wingo, Graves County, Kentucky with her parents, maternal grandparents and two brothers.

Maplewood Cemetery of Mayfield, Kentucky

Maplewood Cemetery in Mayfield, Graves County, Kentucky is a large, diverse cemetery. There are very old stones, crypts and Confederate monuments, not to mention the Woolbridge Monuments. I have many relatives interred there - the Bolingers, Beadles, Slaydens and even a Pryor or two. There are so many photos from this cemetery that it may develop into a series but for today, just one post.

The famous Woolbridge Monuments of Maplewood were extensively damaged when a tree fell on them during the severe ice storm that Kentucky experienced in the winter of 2008-2009. Thankfully they have now been restored.



One of the largest monuments in Maplewood, called the Angel Rock, was erected by William Slayden for his wife Agnes Mayes Slayden and their five young children.

Lucinda (Wingo) Bolinger
1804
May 13, 1856

George W. Bolinger
July 3, 1781
May 18, 1885

Camp Beauregard

In southern Graves County, Kentucky just a few miles north of the Tennessee border atop a rolling hill, Camp Beauregard Cemetery gives no hint of its tragic history. Originally a Confederate military training camp, it was only an active military installation from September of 1861 until March of 1862. During that time approximately 1,500 confederate soldiers died of diseases such as meningitis, pneumonia and thyphoid fever and the camp was closed.

Area residents claim that the now private cemetery is haunted, but my cousin and I spent a lovely spring morning there several years ago and encountered no one, unearthly or otherwise.






In 1909, the United Daughters of the Confederacy placed a memorial to the fallen soldiers within the cemetery. The Confederate memorial is inscribed -

In memory of the loyal men who
died here September 1861 to March 1862
for the Confederate States of America,
and were thus denied the glory of heroic
service in battle.