November 30, 2010 Grave Matters Lynch Cemetery

Image via Wikipedia

We have now left Pittsylvania County, Virginia and I will be moving to the adjoining County of Campbell County, Virginia.  We will begin with the Lynch Cemetery which is located at Avoca.  The Lynch family, Ward and Adams families were interconnected and in the next week I will be showing you grave markers that connect the Ward and Lynch families.  Avoca is located on the outskirts of Altavista, Virginia and the house is available for tours.  The graveyard is located at the front of the house.

Lest it be Forgotten: a Scrapbook of Campbell County Virginia
Looking back,

As I said before the house is available for tours.  It is a nice stop over place, if you are on Route 29.  There is an Holiday Inn Express at 1557 Main Street and a Comfort Inn at 1558 Main Street in Altavista and there are some quaint eating establishments located in the town. If you are not in to quaint places there is always Applebees, McDonalds and etc.
This is the home of Colonel Charles Lynch.  In later blogs I will be addressing his part in the revolutionary war along with his companions and relatives Robert Adams and William Calloway. I have not included a picture of the famous tree on the property.  I will be posting that later on in the blogs to come about the Tory rebellion.

November 29, 2010 Grave Matters

 The above picture is
the view from the Ward Cemetery in Brights, Virginia.  It's really a lovely spot, but developers are surrounding the area now and all the land is broken up in lots for new homes.  The development has slowed down due to the economy.  I heard a story about when this development first started which may be a little lesson for all us to learn.  Everyone knew about the cemetery and that Robert Adams was buried here with his marker for the revolutionary war.  One of the relatives went up to visit the cemetery and just caught the developers in time before they disturbed the graves.  It was stopped immediately.  So don't think that just because the law of the land says that graves should not be disturbed is obeyed.  If you know about a family cemetery in the middle of nowhere, it would be wise to have someone check on it every once and while to keep it safe.

Gravestone of Anna H. B. Smith  Born December 28, 1803  Died  November 4, 1823

 This is a picture of an unmarked gravestone between the grave of John Ward and William Ward.  I believe this to be the grave of Tabitha Walden Ward.  She was the wife of John Ward and mother of William Ward.  I cannot find a marked grave for her anywhere.  This would be the logical place for her.

 Grave Marker for James T. Johnson Born July 21, 1841 Died April 29, 1919

 Grave Marker for Mary E. wife of J. T. Johnson  Born December 19, 1844 Died  March 4, 1917

Grave Marker for Norman Johnson son of J. T. Johnson Born February 23, 1874 Died January 8, 1902

All the above markers were found at the Ward Cemetery in Brights, Virginia.


First of all I would like to thank everyone for signing up to be a follower.  I can't tell you how wonderful it is to know that people may be enjoying or getting new information from my site.  I going to keep on doing my grave sites and pictures of family members.  I hope you enjoy.

An intimate history of the American Revolution in Pittsylvania County, Virginia
Abstracts of Pittsylvania County Virginia Wills 1767-1820
Pittsylvania County, Virginia, Deed Books 1,2,&3, 1765-1774

November 24, 2010 Grave Matters Dalton Cemetery

These are the last of the Dalton Cemetery pictures which I will be posting.

Wm. A. Bobbett
Born February 19, 1880
Died May 26, 1926

David Albert Bobbitt
Born:  March 20, 1876
Died:  September 25, 1956

L. Emma Short Dalton
Born: June 24, 1890
Died: August 5, 1968
Second wife of Albert Lee Dalton

Rose Dove Dalton
Born October 5, 1875
Died:  February 16, 1913
She was the daughter of Cornelia Ward Dove and George Dove. She married Albert Lee Dalton.  Rose died of heart trouble.

Eighteenth century landmarks of Pittsylvania County, Virginia
Confederate Soldiers of Pittsylvania County and Danville, Virginia (VA)
Shelton County: A Genealogy of Pittsylvania County's Largest Family
Diary kept by William C. Shelton for the year 1850: The daily journal of a school master and farmer of Pittsylvania County, Virginia

November 23, 2010 Grave Matters Addition Dalton Cemetery

We are still at the Dalton Cemetery in Bright's Virginia.  Here are some more tombstones.

 Robert A. Ward
Born August 22, 1881 Died March 30, 1937  At Rest

Susan H. Ward
Born September 15, 1854
Died November 30, 1937

John Henry Shelton
Born 1883 Died 1953

J. F. Shelton Born 1856
Died July 31, 1918

 Hariet Shelton
Born April 28, 1852
Died September 29, 1895

This is a beautiful spot overlooking the rolling hills of Pittsylvania County not far from Leesville Lake.  In the beginning of the twentieth century, the descendants of the Adams, Wards, Brumfields, Sheltons, Daltons and more were still living in this area.  It is true that some of the family members moved to Texas, Tennessee, Kentucky and all over the country, but  to this day some of the family still lives on the property that was deeded to their family over 200 years ago.  I  have more pictures for the Dalton Cemetery which I will post tomorrow.
Pittsylvania County, Virginia: A Brief History
An intimate history of the American Revolution in Pittsylvania County, Virginia
The History of Pittsylvania County, Virginia
Abstracts of Pittsylvania County Virginia Wills 1767-1820

November 22, 2010 Grave Matters Addition Dalton Cemetery in Brights, Virginia

As promised my family went grave hopping last month.  I hope you will enjoy this as much as we enjoyed doing it.  Dalton Cemetery in Brights, Virginia.

The first two grave markers are the same person.  J. T. Dalton Born July 17, 1844 or 1841   

Died November 4, 1908

The Last Tombstone is Albert L. Dalton Born September 20, 1868 Died July 28, 1942.

I have not started my research on the Dalton family as of yet.  But I believe that J. T. is Albert's father.  Albert Lee Dalton married Rose or Rosa Dove.  She was the daughter of Cornelia Ward Dove and George Dove.  As you remember from previous blogs, Cornelia was the last Ward connection in my family.

November 22, 2010 Grave Matters

As promised I went to Virginia last month and took some pictures of local family cemeteries.

In this picture is a view of the Dalton cemetery near Brights, Virginia. It is way off the beaten track, but look at the view. It looks like Westvaco owns most of the land close to this cemetery.