| Wood Family Cemetery |
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| This cemetery is located on the west side of Willie Paris Rd., about .8 mile south from Highway 18. It is thickly overgrown high ground. Several stones visible as of 1997. It is fairly certain that this is the cemetery established in the early 19th Century known as the Wood graveyard, and it is believed that beneath its soil are possibly the remains of many early Wood family members. | |
The cemetery was located with the help of Faye Hill, of Ripley, TN and her niece, Barbara Owen, and Barbara’s mother, Jewel Owen, with whom I had spoken about this cemetery. They contacted Thomas Neal, who recalled a woman named Cornelia Wood, who would visit this area and tend to the graves of her family (Cornelia was my grandfather Albright Wood’s first cousin). Mr. Neal was able to lead the ladies to the site. The cemetery is on land owned by Kenneth Neal (as of 1997). Jennings Realty Company is apparently developing around it, because a sign was located across the road from the cemetery. On 22 November 1997, I visited the cemetery and in addition to re-reading the visible gravestone inscriptions, which had been given to me by Faye Hill, I also unearthed a few other stones after considerable probing. I believe there are others to be found. The existing gravestones as of this date are as follows. My editorial comments are in brackets. Jack D. Wood |
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[On the North end, under a very large magnolia tree are the
graves of Cornelia Wood’s immediate family... the ones Mr. Neal remembered her tending. Reading Left-to-Right] |
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| ROBERT WELLS WOOD 1847-1925 |
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SARAH W. WOOD 1846-1925 |
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WOOD Lucy A. |
[double gravestone] [About 6 feet east of the “Lucy/Robert” double gravestone, is a double footstone, which is facing the headstone, thereby making these footstone inscriptions matched with the opposite headstone inscriptions.] L.A.W. R.E.W. |
| [On the north side of this stone, is a very large, old, dead
cedar tree, which may have marked an early grave, or boundary of some sort] [About 25 feet or so to the southeast from the large magnolia] |
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ALBERT THOMPSON BORN AUG 6, 1852 DIED NOV 20, 1873 We Part To Meet Again |
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| [About 20 feet to the south of Albert Thompson’s grave,
I observed (1997) the bottom of a broken gravestone, with some chunks of the base nearby. Buried
behind several inches in the ground was the following] |
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JOHN THOMPSON BORN DEC 19, 1795; DIED OCT 18, 1860 |
[This John Thompson is undoubtedly my great great great grandfather, father of Pamelia Thompson, who married my great great grandfather, William A. Wood. See Kate Johnston Peters, Lauderdale County From Earliest Times, pp. 14-17, for an outline of John Thompson and his descendants.] |
| [About 6 feet south of John Thompson’s grave] |
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IN MEMORY OF AMY T. WIFE OF P.M. HALLIBURTON BORN FEB 7, 1833 DIED JULY 20, 1858 |
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| [South, about 8 feet, past a large rotting tree limb] |
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INFANT OF A.W. & M.J. THOMPSON BORN JULY 30, 1856 DIED OCT 16, 1856 |
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| [South about 25 feet, on the south side of a huge tulip poplar,
and under a very large fallen limb. This had to be partially dug out. Stone is broken completely across below the word, DIED.] |
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Elizabeth Ann Wife of SEATON BURKS BORN NOV 17, 1822 DIED JUNE 30,1853 |
[Elizabeth Ann Wood was the first wife of Seaton Burks. She was the sister of William A.Wood mentioned previously. I speculate at present, that this cemetery is on the portion of land inherited by Elizabeth Ann from her father, Sabert Wood, as described in the partition (Circuit Court Minute Book, June Term, 1845, pp. 228-233).] |
| [About 4 feet to the left of Elizabeth’s stone] |
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| SEATON E. DAUGHTER OF WM A. & MARY E. BURKS BORN AUG 13, 1852 DIED JULY 2, 18-?- |
[Stone is broken right through the date of death] |
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© 2001 Lauderdale County Coordinator