HANES CEMETERY
Hanes Cemetery is located on the west side of Hayes Road in northeastern Decatur County. If driving north on Hayes Road from Bohannon's Landing Road, follow Hayes Road until it crosses Ricketts Creek, then curves and climbs a hill. Hanes Cemetery is at the top of the hill. On first impression this is a black cemetery. There are about 50 graves scattered throughout the woods. Nearly all are unmarked and many are sunken, some quite deeply. However, the graves which do have markers are mostly nineteenth century death dates, so these people are unlikely to be black. Two possibilities are could be explored. First, the cemetery may have originated as a plantation cemetery (if G. W. Hanes was a slave owner). Second, area black families may have begun using the cemetery after it was abandoned by area white families. Most burials at this cemetery may be early twentieth century black burials.
David Donahue recorded Hanes Cemetery December 25, 2003. Margarett Alexander and Blanche Tuten recorded this cemetery on June 22, 1977. Their record appears as Haynes Cemetery in Decatur County, Tennessee Cemetery Records published by the Captain Daniel A. Wesson Chapter, United Daughters of the Confederacy, Parsons, Tennessee, 1984, p. 254. In addition to misspelling the cemetery as Haynes, Alexander and Tuten misspell G. W. and his wife Elizabeth as Haynes. They are HANES.
Markers (probably all white burials)
Bohannon, Virginia Bell, Dec. 19, 1871-June 30, 1877, "Dau. of J. H. & Mary Ann Bohannon" [not found in 2003; reported by Alexander and Tuten]
Curry, Mary E., Sept. 7, 1854-Oct. 1, 1883, "Wife of G. W. Curry" (broken) [the top of marker is missing in 2003 and what remains reads like a marker for G. W. Curry; missing information from Alexander and Tuten]
Hanes, Elizabeth, d. Apr. 29, 1910, Aged 81 ys. 9 Ms. 7 Ds., "Wife of G. W. Hanes"
Hanes, G. W., d. Apr. 30, 1893, Aged 71 Ys. 10 Ds.
Pitts, Rosa Aner, Oct. 3, 1856-Nov. 18, 1876, "Wife of L. W. Pitts" (broken) [broken through birth date; birth date reported by Alexander and Tuten]
Williams, John S., Mar. 22, 1865-Aug. 16, 1872, "Don of D. E. & L. A. Williams"
Williams, Mary E., June 2, 1871-Aug. 5, 1874, "Dau. of D. E. & L. A. Williams" (broken)
As a side note, during the 1870 there was an effort to organize a Hanes County out of northern Decatur Co., southern Benton County, northeastern Henderson County, and southeastern Carroll County. These may be the only Hanes (not counting Haynes or Haines) buried within this geographic area.