FOREWORD

When I first started to gather information for this book, I was repeatedly asked why I wanted to undertake such a macabre subject.  I explained my position by offering two reasons--history and genealogy.

During the past few years I have been involved in developing a family tree for the Jordan and Hall families.  While getting vital information on ancestors, it became increasingly more evident that the only way to obtain some death information was from cemeteries.  But locating where a person was buried was almost as difficult as identifying ancestors.  To add to the problem was that almost no records were available in Gloucester to show cemeteries and persons buried there since 1865.  As a result valuable genealogical data was being overlooked or lost.

A tremendous amount of historical information can be collected at a cemetery.  An insight of life spans of our ancestors became evident.  The mortality rate of infants becomes obvious.  Inscriptions on graves gives an insight as to the closeness of families as well as to the craftmanship and patience of loved ones. With the ever increasing complexity of the migration of persons within this country, the cemetery provides a small link to aid in the identification of that migration.

When a friend of mine was approached about the location of certain cemetery the reply was--"That's no cemetery, it's a graveyard."  The reason was that this "graveyard" had been abandoned, vandalized and overgrown.  Sadly, a lot of the cemeteries listed herein must be categorized as graveyards.  A pity.

I sincerely hope that this book will interest and benefit, in some small way, the genealogist and historian trying to picture Gloucester of yesteryear.  I further hope that others will continue to record future data to assure up-to-date history and not just "lost graveyards."

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

A debt of gratitude is owed to Mrs. Alice West, Mrs. Marionette West, Mr. Ben Borden and Mr. Paul Brown for their assistance in providing a wealth of information.  A very special thanks is due for Messers Homer Buck and James Sterling for their unselfish efforts in locating long forgotten cemeteries and then taking me to those sites.

Grateful appreciation is also extended to members of Boy Scout Troop 113 in general and to Mark Cook in particular for collecting data and copying inscriptions from cemeteries.

Needless to say, none of this work would have ended in success had it not been for my wife, Esther Marie, whose encouragement, assistance, and patience kept me going.

Tombstone Record

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APPENDIX

During the course of documenting the cemeteries of lower Gloucester, I discovered some grave sites that had no head- or foot-stones and thus could not be identified.  One such site was on Cross Road near Jenkins Neck Road.  Another was near the York River near the intersection of Bonniville Lane and Jenkins Neck Road.  A third was cited behind the New Life Church of God on US 17 near Ordinary, Virginia.

Other burial locations were pointed out but no evidence of graves could be obtained.  Therefore no identities of persons buried there could be gathered.

For additional information on grave sites not identified herein, it is recommended that "Epitaphs of Gloucester and Mathews Counties in Tidewater, Virginia" through 1865 by Joseph Bryan Branch be read. It is an excellent source pertaining to early burials.