This article, written by Todd Preston, President of the Magoffin County Historical Society, was taken from the November 12, 2009 issue of THE SALYERSVILLE INDEPENDENT newspaper.

The Salyersville Independent  is a weekly newspaper published and edited by Michael David Prater, P. O. Box 29, Salyersville, KY 41465. Telephone (606) 349-2915.  Yearly subscription rates are $24.00 in Kentucky and $30.00 per year out of state.

            Bobby Davis “The Barefoot Fiddler” of Indiana came for a visit this week.  We went up into Abbot Creek of Floyd County to an old abandoned cemetery where some of his kinsmen were buried.  He had been to this cemetery before but could not find any identifiable markers.  This time we took a mattock and shovel and dug down to lift up the headstones or fieldstones.  We could only make out the lettering on a couple of markers.  One was a granite marker, which had “Mary E., wife of A. H. Herrall, b. 1 May 1858 d. 27 Nov 1878.  Another marker had “M. Poe b. 16 Jan __ 80” and on another, we found “Judy Poe, 1903-1935, Mother”.

            This is a very large cemetery but has been a pasture field for many years.  This neglect overshadows several cemeteries, not only on Abbott Creek but here in Magoffin also. 

            Another stop was on the Bee Fork of Abbott at the Conley-Spradlin Cemetery.  Here we found markers for Stone, Green, Stanley, May, Leslie, Baldridge, Howell, Ray, Alley and Hall families.  This old cemetery could very well be the resting place of Revolutionary War soldier Cudberth Stone whose gravesite I have been searching for to no avail for several years.  There are an estimated 20 to 25 graves on this cemetery without stones. 

            This old cemetery is in dire need of being cleaned up and if it were done, would be one of the loveliest spots in that area.  It has a lot of stones with the typical round heads showing that someone in the past took great care to shape their loved one’s marker.

            It is shameful that this old cemetery has been neglected and if anyone is interested in getting it cleaned up, I would do my part.  I have searched all over Abbott Creek for Cudberth Stone and feel this could be a possibility for his burial site.

            Joe Skeens calls this cemetery the Conley and Spradlin Cemetery.  Speaking of Joe, a few laurels should be thrown his way.  He has copied hundreds of cemeteries in Floyd and all over eastern Kentucky.  Connie Wireman did a lot of typing the earlier volumes into book form. 

            While Bobby Davis was here, he met with Dave and Janet Essig of Warsaw, IN and Janet’s first cousin, Charles Williams and his wife Jo of Atwood, IN.  They went to the Williams Cemetery on Abbott Creek then came back to do some research in our library.  Charles was looking for info on Civil War soldier “Flitterfoot” Brice Shepherd. Burl Manns stopped in while they were here. Bobby took all of them to the Williams Cemetery on Puncheon Camp Creek here in Magoffin County.

            This has been a good week as another memorial monument has been set that we have wanted for many years.  This one is for a Revolutionary War soldier, Archibald Prater and his wife Sarah Fugate.  It tells some of the life history of this old soldier, including a list of his children and their spouses.  This marker is set in the old section of the cemetery, known as the Irvin Prater-Polly Ann Brown area of the cemetery.  If I had been a few years younger, I would have jumped up and down and shouted for this project has been on my mind for a long, long time as Archibald was my children’s fifth great-grandfather.  

            Kris and Cindy Salyer of Louisville, KY came into our facility and brought a replica of a moonshine still that Kris’s grandfather James Arthur Salyer had built.  It had been displayed at the Kentucky State Fair a few years ago and his grandmother Vivian wanted our historical society to have and preserve it.  Now, we are looking for a glass case at least 16 inches by 24 inches and 16 inches in height or larger to show this nice piece.

            Randall Risner and Jack Sizemore, along with some of their helpers such as Kellie Lee Miller and Henry Clay Sizemore got the majestic memorial marker to the Shonney Branch of the left fork of Puncheon installed.  This memorial honors the first sheriff of Magoffin namely Stephen Howard, his children and siblings. It also lists all the known burials in the cemetery.

            I copied this old cemetery several years ago when I had to walk, parting the bushes and briars to find it.  At that time, it was in a semi-abandoned condition with few identifiable markers.

            This has miraculously been changed thanks to Jack and Randall and their families who have cleaned it up, repaired or replaced old markers, set new markers and now lack only about ten graves of having every grave marked on this cemetery.  They are hopeful that some who are “next of kin” will step in and make it one hundred percent marked.

            We salute these good Samaritans and their comrades, Bob Whittaker among others, who have aided and assisted in keeping the final resting places of our ancestors cleaned up and restored for the future generations that will follow this generation.

            Helen Craft Arnold, 2417 Wooldridge Dr., Austin, TX 78703 wrote that she receives the Salyersville Independent newspaper and reads this column and states I have found many of her kin.  Her father, Roy Craft (Patton), visited the Lester Arnett Cemetery on Crane’s Nest of Craft Creek and would like to have it listed in our cemetery books.

            This cemetery is listed in Volume 3 on page 55 of our cemetery books as having three unmarked adult graves and six unmarked baby graves along with 14 marked graves. I visited this cemetery a few years after Earl Bailey copied it for us, found it in sort of a “swampy” place, and had been run over with a dozer or some other heavy equipment.

            I talked with Chester Howard yesterday, grandson of Lester Arnett.  He said he had visited it some time ago and found it getting overgrown with bushes.  It is sad but there are a number of our cemeteries getting in the same condition.

            Now is a good time to check on those family cemeteries of your own.

            We heard from Lonie Miller Allen, 1111 Longwood Dr. 104 B, LaPorte, IN 46350 this week.  She reports that she is doing well and will celebrate her 90th birthday on the 27^th of this month.  We send her congratulations and wish her a very happy birthday.  We know many of you will want to send her greetings for her special day.