Grave and Biography Research Update
Update written by Steve Erickson
Steve and the tombstone of R. Williams, mentioned below.
As of the end of 2024, our database has 712 burial records plus 3 known cenotaphs and 2 additional possible cenotaphs, for a total of 717 records.
Find-A-Grave (FG) has 705 memorials listed. Ideally the 717 and 705 numbers should match, and I am working on that.
When I started on this, in late September 2023, there were 636 FG entries. So we have added a net total of 69 entries.That does not tell the whole story, however. Looking over the additions to Find-A-Grave from October 2023 to now, there have actually been 83 additions. Apparently, we have also removed 14 entries, either because they were duplicates or they were shown to be buried elsewhere.
Of those 83 added entries, I added 38, Joe Spears added 2 and most of the rest were added by Marilyn Kosanke. It’s hard to get precise counts of other people’s work from Find-A-Grave.
The family tree on Ancestry currently has 5105 people in it. I cannot tell you how many of the 717 burial and cenotaph entries at WHC are (or are not) in that list. Of course there are many of those people who are parents, children etc of the burials. I imagine we have a few hundred burials still not in the tree, as each person requires a bit of research.
As for other counts of interest:
Unearthed markers: 6
John Neighbors 1871-1936 - His is a large flat marker that was below ground level. When Patti and I started our photo survey, it had been uncovered recently by some unnamed volunteer, but was still buried at the edges. We dug out the marker more completely, as well as uncovered a cement border around the burial plot. There were no photos found of this
Sallie Lindsey, Era Daniell - This combined, improvised marker is at the foot of Sallie’s grave. It was placed relatively recently, when Era died in 2001. I believe there was not actually a burial of Era’s body, but of her ashes. While there were photos of the stone on Find-A-Grave from 2012, it was completely buried in 2023.
Sallie Lindsey 1886-1943, border and headstone - Patti and I uncovered the border around Sallie Lindsey to reveal a newly seen detailed inscription of her name, birth and burial dates. This inscription/headstone was not listed in the 1992 survey and had probably not been seen in decades.
R. Williams (William Richard Murray Williams) 1838-1929 - This stone was found in the front of the Struck section, away from the Williams plot which holds the rest of his immediate family. There was no known record of it in the 1992 survey, except as a rumored burial listed in Addendum A. His actual birth year was 1848 or 1849. 1838 is listed on the stone, and 1848 is listed in Addendum A. Patti and I raised and stabilized this stone so that it would not get easily reburied.
Carrie Sanders 1851-1917 - This stone in the far NW corner of the cemetery was buried until one of the volunteers rediscovered it earlier this year. It was in the 1992 survey (mismarked as Carrie Sanford) and was in a 2017 photo on FG, but had since been obscured by dirt and leaves.
Mildred Lucile Hume 1931-1931 - This hand-etched bit of broken curb had been uncovered by some unnamed volunteer and was located in a small enclosed plot. It is now believed that its location is incorrect and that it belongs with nearby burials of her cousins, the Lindsey children, whose names are also inscribed on the bounding curb. This marker was not in the 1992 survey or in FG, so we believe it was uncovered in the recent renovation efforts.
Identified/Re-identified Markers: 13
These are markers whose identities were lost through damage, illegibility, or missing information. I am just listing the names and brief comment for brevity, although each has an interesting story.
R C Gannon (name destroyed by mowers)
Mrs. C H Bradford (nearly illegible on stone)
Harvey Braden Thomas (HBT initials hand etched lightly on stone)
Christine Elizabeth Marie Rohde (stone missing, plinth by husband)
Claud Earl Taylor (“1913” marker with date and no name)
M E Williams (initials almost illegible)
Rachel Claunch (degraded name on marker)
Bobby Joe Woolf (stone damaged; inscription plaque missing)
Carl Beaty (undated, stone identified as husband, not child, to wife buried nearby)
Lula Chenowth 1917 (identified as adult woman lived 1881-1916, not infant child 1917-1917; death year on stone in error)
John Edward Chambers - 1899-1901 (“1901” stone broken; name missing)
Liza Hammond/ Eliza Hammons 1834-1911 (dates not recorded on stone; verified name, dates and that she is an actual burial)
Marshall and Stella Leatherman, placed about 1937 (stone was partially legible in 1992, according to records, but appears blank now; identified by order position in 1992 survey)
Identifications probable: 6
These are likely not 100% proven stone identifications through research.
boy grave with toys - William R Stanford
twin cross vaults in NE corner - Fisher Twins
blank stone #1 in Williams plot - Oliver Preston Williams
blank stone #2 in Williams plot - Elsie Isabel Dorris Williams
Bricks by tree near Walker burials - Enos Walker Sr
Old stone with numbers appearing as possible date- Augustine Bynum
Relocated to correct spot: 3
Mrs CC Wilkins (moved by Buddy Barrow to correct plinth)
Infant Shafer (stone was loose by back gate; we located matching plinth)
Julian P Walker (in wrong location, loose; we moved to matching plinth)
Stones probably in wrong spot, but correct spot is unknown: 3
Mildred Lucile Hume - We have a guess where it goes: by Lindsey children
Lillian Ivy Mills - in plot in west half of cemetery with non-relatives; probably belongs in NE area near other Mills relatives
J B Johnson - too close to path for likely burial; still researching; no definitive family info
