Cemetery Saturday - Abraham Smith Keener

Today's headstone is for Abraham Smith Keener and his wife Elizabeth G. Hume Keener. Abraham is my 3rd Great Grand Uncle, or the brother of my 3rd Great Grandfather. Abraham was the son of George W. Keener and Margaret Miller. He was born June 29, 1830 in Taylor County WV, and died on Oct 3, 1921 also in Taylor County.

Abraham married Elizabeth G. Hume in Taylor County in about 1853.
The couple had 11 children*:
Thomas Jefferson Keener born 1853
George W. Keener born 1855
John Addison Keener born 1858
Mary Margaret Keener born 1860
Susanna J. Keener born 1862
Emily J. Keener born 1866
Alice L. Keener born 1868
Hannah Keener born 1869
Agnes D. Keener born 1873
Eva Keener born 1876
Martha E. Keener born 1871



The top of the stone shows the details for Abraham, the lowest area on the front of the stone has the details of Elizabeth, she died May 21, 1916.

This stones and many others of this line of the Keener family can be found on private property in the Keener Cemetery, in Taylor County WV. A great big thanks to Melissa Wisen - a distant Keener cousin of mine, who photographed the stones in that cemetery and made them available on the Find A Grave website and gave permission for me to use them here on my blog.

See all of Melissa's memorials here, or visit Find-a-Grave to search for your own ancestors.



*some information in this post was obtained from another researcher's work and has not been confirmed or denied.

Cemetery Saturday

Mabel Frances (Jenkins) Kidwell
b. July 7, 1910
d. Oct 1, 1928

When I first visited Flint Hill Cemetery in Fairfax County Virginia I was overwhelmed at the number of Kidwell family headstones that were there. My mind raced with thoughts "are ALL of these people related to me in some way?" I've been to that cemetery on three different occasions, always photographing and noting the Kidwell stones that I come across and this one happened to be one of them. Mable Kidwell (not to be confused with my Great Grandmother May/Maybell/Mable Kidwell) was among a group of 3 headstones that I photographed one afternoon. I had no idea how she was connected to me, or if she even was. Turns out, she is my 1st Cousin 3x removed in-law who died after the birth of her first child. She was married to Earnest Kidwell Jr.

Cemetery Saturday (a wee bit early) - Leonard Cleveland Anderson

Not sure if I'll get around to posting tomorrow so I wanted to share a headstone today of my Grandfather - Leonard Cleveland Anderson.

Leonard was born on Feb 25, 1896 in Virginia and died Aug 6, 1978 at the VA Hospital in Martinsburg WV. He was the son of Charles William Anderson and Sallie Virginia Holt. Leonard was in the army for a short time during WWI, but never saw any action due to several illnesses and a chronic back problem.

He was married to May Kidwell in Fairfax Virginia, who I understand left her first husband for him. Together they lived in DC until she died in 1933 as a result of the birth of their final children (twins). Together they had 5 children. He was then married to Edna Keener, together they had 3 children.

Leonard is buried at the Lewinsville Presbyterian Church in McLean, Fairfax County, Virginia; along with other members of the Anderson, Holt and Keener families. In this second photo, beneath the bush on the left is the stone of his Grandmother, Mary M. Holt (mother of Sallie Holt).

Mary M. Holt and Leonard were the only two headstones in the area but I wanted to know who else was in the vicinity of their plots. The records at this cemetery were not readily available when I requested them. As a matter of fact, I was originally told that they could not be found. Several days later the gentleman called me back "Someone above must be smiling down on you" he continued - "I picked up a book this afternoon and out fell the records for your family plot." He promised to send information via email which is outlined here;
Our records show that in 1924 Leonard C. Anderson obtained rights for Lot 5 in our cemetery, which consisted of 12 burial plots. 6 of those were used, the other 6 were returned to the church in 1988 - at this time my Grandmother had re-married and moved to Florida.

Also buried in this lot, without stones, are Sallie Virginia Anderson, Charles William Anderson, Pauline Keener Harrington and Richard Cleveland Anderson. There was also a note about a child burial, possibly beneath Sallie, but the records gave no details - not even a date about this burial. We believe it is a child of Sallie & Charles' who died when very young.

Cemetery Saturday

Today's stone is again from Uvilla Cemetery (link to Find-A-Grave listing) in Jefferson County WV. This is the headstone of Nelson Edwards. Nelson was a resident of Shepherdstown in 1920, at the time living in the home with his wife Adeline (who proceeded him in death according to his death certificate), a stepson and two grandchildren.

I've found a death certificate for Nelson and posted it here as well. Vital records for many counties in WV are available on line and are in a searchable database here. Nelson is not part of my family and I see no further Edwards family headstones in the cemetery.






Enjoy this exerpt of Cemetery Saturday.

Cemetery Saturday

Ever see a bumper sticker that says "I stop at any and all cemeteries?" I should have one. I can't help myself - when I see a cemetery, especially a field with very old stones, I feel the urge to stop. Some people think it's weird, I think it's just plain cool to go stomping around a bunch of old headstones, regardless of who's buried there.

Last fall, my family visited a pumpkin patch. On the way, at one street corner there was a small field, very overgrown with weeds and such but specked with headstones. My husband asked on the way out of the place - "You wanna stop at that cemetery?" Do you really have to ask????

I was amazed at the overgrowth in the place, there were vine plants that trip you as you walk and I was planning to call the people who carefully placed a sign on the street claiming to care for this location. Turns out I didn't need to, just two days later someone came and cleared it.

There are none of my family members in this cemetery but I took photos anyway, and posted them on Find A Grave where you can look through thousands of cemetery burials and many photos of headstones. I've been back to the cemetery one time since that last visit and took more photos. Every Saturday I will post a headstone from a cemetery that I've visited, calling this post Cemetery Saturday. If I have info about the burial, I'll post that as well.

Today, I'm posting the headstone of Mary Thornhill who died Feb 18, 1896. The stone is in amazing condition for it's age. Because of the weeds I cannot make out what the lower portion of her stone says - must go back and check that out! I don't know anything about Mary Thornhill, only finding one Thornhill family in the county in the 1880 Census - she was not listed in that family. But she could have been in another area in 1880. There are two Thornhill burials in this cemetery, and 39 total burials recorded at this cemetery on Find A Grave - Uvilla Cemetery in Jefferson County WV.

Ever Visit the Cemetery of Your Ancestors?

When my genealogy search began, I knew that my Great Grandmother was a Kidwell and I knew that her family was from Oakton, Fairfax County, VA. At the time, I was doing most of my research at home (I still do for that matter). I don't remember exactly when I found out where my Great Grandmother was buried, but I knew that I needed to visit that cemetery! I took a day off work, so that I could have the day completely to myself and I ventured out to Oakton. I also knew that the library nearby contained the Virginia Room, a very large genealogical collection and much historical information on the county. Little did I know that there simply wouldn't be enough hours in that day to look at everything I wanted to see. Ah, being a beginner - it actually was a lot of fun! But, more about my visit to the library another day... I drove past the cemetery, and made a u-turn to head back in the right direction then I pulled in. It was a very hot day, and the cemetery had that smell of hot summer air. I so remember the heat! I ventured into the area among the headstones that bore my family name and instantly found my Great-Great Grandparents, Silas & Bertie Kidwell (pictured in post here).


Now, to find their daughter May/Maybelle/Mable... I looked and looked, couldn't see her stone anywhere. After wandering around a bit, I finally sat down in the shade of a nearby tree and had a drink of water, frustrated that I couldn't find her stone. I then thought maybe she didn't have one. Certainly she would be in the general area of her parents right?
It was at this point that I took note of the very large bush next to Silas & Bertie's headstone. I had already looked at the area from front and back... but... could it actually be in that bush?... YES! Her stone was completely engulfed in that bush! A bush that was no doubt planted by my Grandfather who LOVED flowering bushes. I was elated and amazed that I found her stone and returned in the fall to take a shot without wrestling with the bush.



As I wandered the Flint Hill cemetery, I photographed every Kidwell stone that I came across. Regardless of whether or not I had ever heard of the person. Come to find out, this was a very good idea, as most of those people were eventually connected into my line in some manner. With the use of digital cameras now, it's easier than ever to share what you've found with others and there's a great website called Find A Grave where people do just that. If you're no where near your ancestors home and would like a photo of their stone, go to the site and check to see if it's there. There are thousands and thousands of headstone photos there already. Everytime I visit an old cemetery I take as many as I can and upload them all to Find A Grave.

When you do visit the cemetery - take a camera, take some water and remember your bush trimmers (no don't do that - you're not allowed to do that!) but do remember to take notes of other family members in the area of your ancestors. Obviously family members are often buried in the same area of the cemetery (many plots are purchased together) and even if the names aren't the same, that guy buried next to great great grandpa might just be related by marriage or such. Also, if available you should attempt to get a copy of the records for the cemetery on your person of interest. The records will indicate if there are several plots together and who's buried in each.