Trying to remember the forgotten

Near Br'er's home warren stands the cemetery that belonged to a long vanished church. Now Br'er isn't exactly ancient, but he is long past his days as a kitten (Yes, that is what a baby rabbit is called. Use kit if kitten is too confusing. But those are the correct terms. So feel better about yourself. Today you learned a thing.) Yet it wasn't until he was well into adulthood before Br'er even learned that the cemetery existed.

This area was pretty much what would be considered frontier in the early days of the 19th century. Much of the land in the region was deeded to men who had served in the Revolution in lieu of pay. Even so, being Georgia there were not so many veterans in the area as was the case in more populated areas. And those that were here were often buried in family cemeteries on their land. So imagine Br'er's surprise to learn that there are four veterans of the Revolution interred there, virtually side by side!

Daniel Fones

Sergeant, 1st Rhode Island Regiment

1754 or 1764-?

Edward Levell

1756-1832

Continental Line

Graner Whitley

Continental Line

Peter Cash 

1759-1832

Virginia Troops

Br'er being the curious bunny he is, he naturally sought to learn more about these men who helped birth our nation.

Unfortunately most of their lives and service have been lost to the mists of history.

Daniel Fones appears in the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) Patriot Database with a birth year of 1758 (Find A Grave gives his birth year as 1764, so even that is uncertain) and a service description "Served as a Sergeant in the 1st Regiment of Rhode Island Troops. Enlisted 5 Apr 1777 and served until the end of the war." He does not appear in the Daughters of the American Revolution Ancestor (Patriot) Database at all. Not much more could be located about him. Even the year of his passing is not known.  

Edward Levell appears in the SAR and DAR records under the spelling Leavell though the the details of his live and service differ between the two! The SAR has his birth and death as 1756 in South Carolina and 1832 in Georgia, contrasting with the DAR dates of 1755 in Virginia and 1824 in Kentucky respectively. His patriotic service? Soldier in Georgia according to the SAR vs Civil Service, Patriotic Service - "Paid for services rendered; Juror; Took Oath of Allegiance" - in North Carolina as recorded in the DAR data. Each group lists separate sources for their data. It is possible that there were two separate Edward Leavell/Levell patriots with each organization referencing a different man. Given his grave being in Georgia, I tend to give more weight to the SAR data. 

Graner Whitley is perhaps the saddest of the four. He only appears in the SAR database (no reference in DAR data). His birth and death, service details, virtually everything about him is no longer known. Even his name is disputed. The SAR has it as either Whitley or Whiteley.

Peter Cash is shocking in comparison to his above noted compatriots in that his details in the SAR and DAR records agree! He was, as were so many early settlers, born in Albermale County, Virgina to Stephen Cash and Jemima Grining, one of at least five sons. It was in where he joined the Amherst County Militia serving under Capt Samuel Joggembotham (There's a name to reckon with!) who reported to Colonel Joseph Campbell. He is listed as a "Minuteman" and is, to the best of my recollection, the only individual I have personally encountered who is so noted. After the Revolution he and four of his brothers migrated from Virginia to Georgia. Peter and his brothers William and James settling in what is today Tucker in Dekalb County (James is recorded as resting in the same cemetery though without a grave marker, and appears to have been born to a different mother than Peter and the other brothers). Two other brothers, Howard (also noted as a Patriot  by the SAR) and John, chose to setting in what is today Elbert County, Georgia. The brothers had two sisters. Lydia remained in Virginia with her husband James Cottrell. Sarah migrated to Ohio with her husband Daniel Tyler (also a Patriot).

A coda: The cemetery is small, only 71 entries in Find A Grave (One of them dated January 2019 is in error - the actual burial is in Bulloch County! Yes, I have requested the error be corrected.). 

The earliest recorded burial dates from 1830 (Peter Cash's brother, James) and the last confirmed burial in 2017. There are three graves where the burial date is not known (two of these being Daniel Fones and Graner Whitley so it is possible that either of them could, in fact, be the earliest burial). 

I find it fascinating that so small and (at least initially) remote a location could be in continued use for 184 years, decades after the physical church for which it was established vanished.