BETHEL GROVE UNITED METHODIST CEMETERY, Oconee County, SC A.K.A. Seneca, SC Version 1.0, 21-Jul-2002, C219a.TXT, C219a ******************************************************************************** It's believed that the usage of any original work submittals contained within these webpages such as articles, compiling, photographs or graphics, conform to Fair Use Doctrine & Copyright Guidelines. COPYRIGHT NOTE: (1.) Works published before 1923, are considered to be public- domain. (2.) Works published 1923-1977 without a copyright notice, are considered to be public-domain. (3.) Unpublished non-copyrighted works will have Author permission for public-domain. Facts, names, dates, events, places & data can not be copyrighted. Narration, compilations and creative works can be copyrighted. Copyright law in the U.S. does not protect facts or data, just the presentation of this data. REPRODUCING NOTICE: These electronic pages may only be reproduced for personal or 501(c) Not-For-Profit Society use. Use the following names, if, you would like to give any author compiling credit. AUTHORS: Paul M. Kankula-NN8NN & Gary L. Flynn-KE8FD *********************************************************************** 05-01-15 LOCATION: --------- Located in Oconee County, on property belonging to the Oconee County Regional Airport. The cemetery was located just N of the W end of the landing strip - they now call this the Jump Area. There is no trace that a cemetery was ever located there. Latitude N 34 40.342 x Longitude W 82 53.388 HISTORY: -------- The tombstone recordings were published in the 28-Jul-1999 issue of the Journal/Tribune and The Messenger newspaper. The following will document the relocation of burials from the cemetery of the former Bethel Grove United Methodist Church, Oconee County, South Carolina. The work was necessitated by the proximity of the Oconee County Regional Airport. The cemetery lay less than 150 feet from the western end of Runway 7 and constituted a violation of runway safety criteria. After issuance of required public notices in the local press and a survey of the site, removal of the burials was completed in November 1999. The physical labor associated with the removal of these graves was contracted to Phil Ellen & Associates. Legacy Research Associates and TRC Garrow provided archaeological monitoring throughout the project. The project was completed in two phases. The first phase consisted of probing the cemetery to determine the approximate number of graves that needed to be relocated. This work was conducted on September 27 and 28, 1999. The second phase of the project was the actual relocation of the graves. This work was conducted between November 8 and November 18, 1999. The work resulted in relocating 258 graves. At the request of relatives, five of the graves were moved to Memory Gardens Cemetery in Clemson and one to Oak Grove Cemetery in Seneca. The remaining 251 graves were reentered at a specially reserved plot at the Mount Nebo Baptist II Church, approximately one half mile west of their original location. Phase 1. Cemetery Probing and Mapping: The initial stage of fieldwork was conducted on September 27 and 28, 1999 and consisted of the identification and marking of probable graves followed by mapping of the entire cemetery to facilitate the removal process. Identification and making of potential graves was conducted by Phillip Ellen & Associates. This work was monitored by a team of three archaeologists: Deborah Joy, Pat Garrow, and Michael Wild. Steel probes were used to verify the presence of graves suggested by surface indicators and to locate probable graves not otherwise identified. This method was used because, in general, the earth that fills the grave shaft is less compact than surrounding undisturbed soil and therefore yields more easily to the probe. Once an area of disturbed soil was encountered, further probing in the same vicinity revealed the extend of the disturbance. A wooden stake was positioned at the estimated eastern end, or 'head' of each grave. Probing resulted in identifying 390 potential graves. These potential graves were numbered individually and the number was written on the stake using an indelible marker. Probing was conducted across the entire cemetery and in areas adjacent to the recognized cemetery boundary. Several graves were found beyond what was believed to be the southern boundary. A visual inspection of the ground to the north of the road revealed that it had been recently graded and there was no evidence of graves in this area. Mrs.Louise Hayne, a local resident, who visited the cemetery during the initial survey, recalled that the cemetery did not extend north of Airline Road and that a house had once been located there. While some of the graves could readily be identified from the presence of memorials, most of the graves were without markers or other surface indicators. Out of the 258 graves relocated from this cemetery, only 32 had gravestones or markers. Topographic disturbances also aided in the identification of unmarked graves. For example, shallow depressions or slumps within a cemetery frequently occur above graves and are formed by the collapse of the decaying coffin and the subsequent collapse of the soil used to fill the grave shaft. Following the probing, the archaeological team established a 50-foot interval grid over the cemetery. The grid was used as a reference to map the location of the 390 wooden stakes set in place during the cemetery probing phase of the project. Phase 2. Cemetery Relocation: The second phase of the project, which comprised the removal and reburial of the graves, was conducted between November 8 and November 18, 1999. Each workday began at 7:30 AM and typically ran until 5:00 or 5:30 PM. Ten full days were required to complete the project including Saturday, November 14. No work occurred on Sunday, November 15. The removal process began at the eastern end of the cemetery with the backhoe removing the soil above Probable Grave #1. Work continued along the same row of graves, gradually working westward. As the topsoil was removed, it was possible to verify the existence of the probable graves and to identify any that had been missed by probing. Identification was aided by the recognition of the slightly darker and less compact soil within the grave. Once a grave had been positively identified, the fill of the shaft was removed by backhoe. Darker soil stains within the grave generally indicated the presence of decayed wood of a wooden coffin. Backhoe excavation continued until the top of the coffin was researched. From this point excavation continued by shovel. All physical remains of the body, clothing and coffin, and all associated artifacts were placed in a new container for reburial. Each container was marked with the same number used to identify the grave. Metal caskets or concrete vaults were lifted out with a crane. In one instance, the metal casket was so corroded that it could not be lifted and in this case, the casket was disassembled to allow removal of remains. Although 390 potential graves were identified by probing, only 247 of these were graves. An additional 11 graves that had not been recorded in the survey were located during the backhoe excavations. These graves were identified by a number the incorporated the adjacent grave number and the letter "a" or "b." In all 258 graves were disinterred from the cemetery. The original field map was modified throughout the project to reflect either the absence of a probable grave or the presence of a grave that had not been detected through probing. A photograph, believed to have been taken during the 1980s, suggested that the cemetery had recently been cleared of scrub. It is likely that the over estimation of graves in the initial survey resulted largely from soil disturbance caused by tree-roots and their subsequent removal. At about 3:30 PM each day removal of burials would cease. The backhoe would fill the excavated graves with soil and ensure that the site was level. Work would then transfer to the main re-interment site at Mount Nebo Baptist #2 Church. Latitude N 34 39.957 x Longitude W 82 53.811 The graves are located in a separate burial area, in back of the church. Reference cemetery profile C86. The final three volume report documenting the relocation of the cemetery can be viewed at - - South Carolina of Archives and History - Oconee County Clerk of Court - Walhalla Public Library, 975.721 Bon-Harper, SC Room By: Legacy Research Assoc., 1030 W. Trinity, Durham, NC DATAFILE INPUT . : Paul M. Kankula at (visit above website) in Sep-1999 HISTORY WRITE-UP : Journal/Tribune Newspaper in Sep-1999 Legacy Research Associates at djoy@legacy-research.com in Mar-2000 LIBRARY REFERENCE: Walhalla Public Library in Mar-2000 LOCATION WRITE-UP: Journal/Tribune Newspaper in Sep-1999 Legacy Research Associates in Mar-2000 TRANSCRIPTION .. : Journal/Tribune Newspaper in Sep-1999 Legacy Research Associates in Mar-2000 TRANSCRIPTION NOTES: -------------------- a. = age at death b. = date of birth d. = date of death h. = husband p. = parents w. = wife BROWN, Frank H., b. 22-jul-1940, d. 17-mar-1968 CONLEY, Makkrey, b. 1893, d. 5-oct-1934 CRARANCEF,(?), b. 22-oct-1916, d. 8-jun-1918 GANT, William, d. 8-apr-1939 HARRIS, James, d. 18-may-1942, a. 64y HARRIS, Sarah, b. 12-feb-1882, 21-jun-1942 HARRISON, Levand, b. 2-may-1886 HARRISON, Lucretia, d. 10-nov-1930 HARRISON, Rance, b. 1876, d. 5-oct-1934 KIBBLER, Infant, d. 10-apr-1898, s. of elias & dora kibbler MOSS, Lizzie, d. 2-jul-1916, h. sam moss NICHOLSON, G.W.N., d. 12-jul-1890 PETTIGREW, Alice, d. 7-feb-1910, h. a.pettigrew PETTIGREW, Bob, d. 3-aug-1910 PETTIGREW, Thomas, b. 28-jun-1908, a. 36y SEAWRIGHT, Enoch, b. 8-sep-1860, d. 19-apr-1908, p. wesly & gillie seawright SEAWRIGHT, Jeanie, b. 25-dec-1861, d. 4-apr-1929 SEAWRIGHT, Willie, b. 11-jul-1886, d. 24-apr-1917, p. enoch & jane seawright SHIFLETT, Jones, d. 1-dec-1880 SPENCER, Della, d. 14-jul-1964, a 82y SPENCER, Jim, b. 1880, d. 1963 SPENCER, Jim, d. 11-jun-1968 WAKER, Mary, d. 12-sep-1973 WORDIAN, J.R., d. 18-apr-????, a. 71y WRENN, David E., d. 20-nov-1976 WRIGHT, M./N. NOTE: Approximately 139 unknown/unmarked graves also exist.