BRANCH CREEK MEETING HOUSE CEMETERY, Oconee County, SC a.k.a. > Doran-Lemar-Nichols Family Version: 3.0 Effective: 3-Apr-2006 Text File: C274.TXT Image Folder: C274 ******************************************************************************** REPRODUCING NOTICE: ------------------- These electronic pages may not be reproduced in any format for profit, or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the recording contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the following USGenWeb coordinator with proof of this consent. Paul M Kankula - nn8nn SCGenWeb "Golden Corner" Project Coordinator DATAFILE INPUT . : Paul M. Kankula at genweb@bellsouth.net in Oct-2004 GPS MAPPING .... : Gary Flynn at (visit above website) in Oct-2004 HISTORY ........ : Walter M. Lee in Mar-1926 IMAGES ......... : Paul M. Kankula at genweb@bellsouth.net in Oct-2004 RECORDING ...... : Gary Flynn at (visit above website) in Oct-2004 & Walter M. Lee in Mar-1926 ******************************************************************************* CEMETERY LOCATION: ------------------ Three miles SW of Westminster Latitude N34 38.541 x Longitude W83 07.754 CEMETERY HISTORY: ------------------------ OLD GRAVEYARD SPARKS LOCAL INTEREST by: Rolann Lee, The Westminster News, 22-Mar-2006 Jennie Boggs, JoAnn O'Kelley, and Rolann Lee, out of interest and curiosity, visited with Benny and Helen Burton last Tuesday afternoon, March 14, 2006, to find out about an old cemetery located on the Burton property. After following the directions written in an article from an old Tugaloo Tribune dated March 30, 1926, actually 80 years ago, the three found the graveyard about as described in the article. However, over the years from 1926 until now weather and nature have taken a toll on the old rocks. Some graves are just marked with field rock. Mary Doran's and J.A. Lemar's are still legible. The group found none of the other stones with inscriptions. The old chimney is not recognizable. Benny and Helen Burton did not know about the chimney. "It probably was gone years before our owning on this property," they concluded. Jennie Boggs found the following article about the cemetery, but didn't know exactly where it was located until recently. Paul Kankula had located and recorded it for the Oconee County web page. Boggs has been intrigued with the Doran family for a long time. "I love the articles about them living in Westminster," she said. Boggs added, "Another interesting writer is Oliver M. Abbott. Also, an interesting article, "In Days of Yoe" by William I. Dickson is very good." The following article appeared in the Tugaloo Tribune March 30, 1926: AN OLD GRAVEYARD To the left of the road from Westminster to Toccoa, about three miles from Westminster, as one looks he sees a large dead poplar standing some 400 yards to the left of the road. About 200 yards beyond the poplar, on the crest of the hill, and lying between the poplar and tall dump of saw dust, marking the site of an old saw mill, lies an old cemetery, in which there are at present twenty graves marked with stones gathered from the surrounding section. One grave has a tomb stone some three feet tall and some two feet wide, made by hand by some crude artist, and it ahs the following inscription: "Here lies the body of Mary Doran, wife of James Doran. Departed this life on June 6th, 1805, in the 47th year of her age." This grave has a tomb erected over it of stones gathered from the surrounding section about two feet tall and four feet broad. The tomb is still in a good state of preservation, considering that it was built over a century ago, perhaps. Next to the above tomb there is a stone of similar size with following inscription: "Here lies the body of Juannah Nichols, daughter of J. & H. Nichols, died in the fourth year of her age." Still another tomb stone has the following: "Here lies the body of J. A. Lemar. Frost and snow and time and erosion and moss and decay and perhaps other things have erased the remainder of the inscription. Still another smaller stone has the following: "1813 DIDE June." And one other has the following: "D.J., March 1, 1835." On the hill side further over from the road and closer to the poplar are the remains of an old chimney, apparently indicating the location of a former residence or of an old church. The foregoing facts would indicate to an observer that as early as 1805 and as late as 1835 the old grave yard was used for interment. Below the old chimney site is a pool which is perhaps furnished with its water by a spring now hidden or covered. This was no doubt the residence of an old settler who located here during the early days of the history of the section. It is possible that an old church was located on the site. The country was early settled by Irish and Scotch who came ion from the north, and removed westward with the encroachments of population. The March winds now sigh over the tombs and the pine and oak trees sing a dirge over the old chimney site. Here over one hundred years ago, the primitive settler raised his Indian corn and pumpkins and potatoes. Here before the hearth of the old chimney he warmed his toes on frosty nights. The virgin forests around furnished plenty of good wood. The hillsides were alive with turkeys, squirrels, and quails. Mussels and catfish were found in Chauga and Tugaloo. Deer lay in the shades of the undergrowth. Venison furnished savory dishes for his repast. Opossum was caught in the fall. He would not stop to eat a ground hog. Who would eat ground hog when he could have venison? I heard a man say some time since that a ground hog was good to eat when properly cooked. His son partly denied it. The old gentleman said it was as good as coon. But how good is that? Would not a dog be about as good? Let those who know speak. I tried coon once, but it was burned until it was bitter, and it was not very savory. Dog was a popular food with the Indians. They also perhaps ate groundhog. But, it would appear that the ground hog should be saved to prognosticate the weather. Who were the neighbors of Mary Doran and Juannah Nichols, J.A. Lamar and D.J?. Old Fort Madison had its population, large or small, either then or later. Old Chauga church was not far away with its membership as early as 1818. Report has it that this church was formerly, and before the Civil war, located beyond Chauga creek and near the Tugaloo. Some say the records are in Clemson library? Who knows? NOTE: 28-Mar-2006, Clemson University's Regular and Special Collection Library Index Holdings, do not reference this cemetery. However, that does not mean they don't actually have something. It just means that the don't know where it has been put... It is evident that beyond Tugaloo on the Georgia side there resided about 1818 near Oaky Grove the Brantleys, Wylies, Suttons, Martins, Meeks, Thompsons, Woffords, Dobsons, McCraries, Englands, Clarkes, Camps, Sanders, Robertsons, Blairs, Smiths, Balls, Whites, Bryants, Starrets, Holders, Holmes, Taylors, Clevelands, Machins and others. Rev. Littleton Meeks was a Baptist minister. He was held in high repute. He was among the founders of old Tugaloo Association. Dobson and Garrett had a store house on the Georgia side where they sold silk, cotton, linen, thread, groceries, rum, whiskey, cider, cordial, gin and bounce. All these articles if merchandise are mentioned in their old account book and others besides. Pocket books, mirrors, and other household necessities were recorded as charged to the accounts of the settlers. Sometimes a man would buy a half pint of cordial and a half pint of "bounce" the same time. He perhaps mixed these ingredients. They no doubt made him "bounce". Rum was very popular. But even that would not give a man the "jim-jams" like this modern potash, tobacco juice, poison concoction that is slipped around the barn and drunk in secret to one's destruction. by: Walter M. Lee. Submitted by Jennie Boggs at maizboggs170@yahoo.com in 16-Mar-2006 TOMBSTONE TRANSCRIPTION NOTES: ------------------------------ a. = age at death b. = date-of-birth d. = date-of-death h. = husband m. = married p. = parents w. = wife (~16) Field Stone Markers ???, d. jun-1813 D.J., d. 1-mar-1835 DORAN, Mary, b. c1758, d. 6-jun-1805, a. 47y, h. james doran LEMAR, J.A. NICHOLS, Juannah, a. 4y, p. j. & h. Nichols