Compiled by the
Pocahontas County
Genealogical Group
“Lovingly dedicated to all our ancestors who have gone on before.”
Nestled in the chestnut oaks and giant laurels in Pocahontas County are many marked and unmarked cemeteries. The In Loving Memory series attempts to specifically identify smaller, lesser known cemeteries and gravesites in the county.
Book 1 – (Limited number of copies available.) A lot of the information has been incorporated into Book 4.
Cemeteries included in Book 1:
Camp Allegheny Confederate Civil War Cemetery, Jacob and Nancy Cassel gravesites near Cass, Ervine Gravesites, Gragg Cemetery, Hartman Cemetery, Judy Cemetery, William Nottingham Cemetery, Oak Flats Cemetery, Tacy Cemetery near Cass, Varner Cemetery at Top of Allegheny Mountain, Wilmoth Cemetery, Wooddell Cemetery, Yeager Cemetery, Camp Allegheny, Jacob Yeager Cemetery.
The books in this series contain a brief history of each cemetery, GPS coordinates for directions, diagram of the cemetery, grave listings which provide Section, Row and Stone number when possible, surname, first and middle name and maiden name, where applicable; date of birth and date of death, as well as military info, gravestone inscription and notes. Photos and topographical maps are included, as well.
“Cemeteries are the one arena where the records themselves are being worn away by the wind, and by time. The Genealogy Group has knowledge of at least 368 cemeteries and gravesites within the boundaries of Pocahontas County. Some are maintained by churches, others are on family farms with well-posted signs. Several were abandoned by caretakers over time and suffered dozing over for cropland.
How many more are within the boundary of the national forest or deep in hollows hidden for all of time?”
Book 2 – Oak Grove Cemetery and Coffin Sale Records of Asbury R. Smith. Updated 2012. 84 pages.
“Nestled on some of the prettiest plains in all of the Virginias is a beautiful meadow where many of the county’s early ancestors rest in peace. Familiar surnames are plentiful to any who do genealogy or history in the region…”
Book 3 – Mountain View Cemetery, 160 pages. Updated 2011
“Mountain View Cemetery is maintained by the Town of Marlinton…
As you read the information in these books, remember that many of the headstones are generations old and have been weathered and worn through time. All efforts have been made to include only the information on the stone.
When collaborative information was solicited, it is so mentioned with the applicable reference.”
Book 4 – Back Mountain Road, Durbin to Cass. 2008. 64 pages.
Nottingham, Hosterman, Wanless, Cass, Deer Creek, West Fork – Wildell, Gertrude, May.
This fourth in the series of cemetery listings includes all known cemeteries and burial sites covering the areas of the West Fork of the Greenbrier River and along the base of Back Allegheny Mountain generally from Durbin to Cass. The cemeteries herein are located along FS 44 and Route 250 north of Durbin; then along the Back Mountain Road from Durbin to the top of Cold Run, west of Cass.
They include:
Wildell Cemetery, Italian “Talley” Cemetery at Gertrude, Grave at May, Lee A. Galford Cemetery, Kelly Cemetery, Denver Arbogast Cemetery, Grant Vandevander Cemetery, LeMasters Cemetery, Nottingham Cemetery, Bethel Church Cemetery, Gum Cemetery, Hevener Church Cemetery, Hosterman Cemetery, David McDonald Grave – Old Spruce, Wanless Cemetery, Jacob and Nancy Cassel Graves, Gragg Cemetery, Hilltop Cemetery Tuner Cemetery, McLaughlin Cemetery, Tacy Cemetery, Deer Creek Cemetery, Galford cemetery- East of Cass.
These books contain bits of history, as well.
The Pocahontas Times, November 3, 1921, page 1:
“WOODMAN DEAD – John O’Day, aged 61 years, was found Tuesday in a dying condition at a spring on top of Cheat Mountain near Wildell, He had started to the camps on Cheat River Monday morning and gave out as he reached the brow of the mountain, stayed in the snow 30 hours, and died from the effects of the exposure soon after found. The deceased was from Emporia, Penn., and was an old time woodsman.”
Burial at Wildell Cemetery, Nov. 3. 1921; undertaker – J. B. Sutton, Cass, WV.
Book 5 – Frost to Dunmore. Printed 2010. 90 pages.
Ruth Horner’s 40 years of cemetery records proved to be an invaluable aid in compiling this work. Her records often included important genealogical information that is no longer available due to missing markers or faded markers that are no longer legible.
The following cemeteries are included in this volume:
Joseph Sharp, Taylor-Townsend, Curry, Abraham Sharp, Austin Sharp, Mary Bowers (gravesite), Gilmer Sharp, James Gragg, Bannis Buzzard (gravesite), Snowden Buzzard, Howard Buzzard, Warwick Shinaberry, John Lindsay, Cecil Shinaberry, Zane Grimes, Cornelius Buzzard, Criss Dilley, Baxter, James McLaughlin.
Book 6 – Little Levels. Printed 2010. 200 pages.
“Little Levels is so named for the level formation of uplands in the southern part of Pocahontas County. The Big Levels are in Greenbrier County.
“The strength of our forefathers and their pride in ownership of land instilled a pride in their future generations that remains today. As we visit those final resting places located on private property, it is important that we ask permission to enter, close gates we open, not climb the fences, and not drive on muddy roads or through fields. Farm animals can pose a danger and we should always respect their territory.”
Information from the following cemeteries is included in this volume:
Mill Point – Hillsboro –
Sharp Cemetery, James Rose Cemetery, McClintic Cemetery, McNeel Cemetery.
Steven Hole Road –
Seebert Road: Ruckman Cemetery, Smith Cemetery, Rosia Cole Grave, Cook Cemetery, Lewis Graves, Pleasant Green Church Cemetery.
Beard – Denmar –
Poor Farm, F. W. Harper Cemetery, Jordan Cemetery, Denmar Sanitarium Superintendent’s Grave, Denmar Sanitarium Cem-etery, Birchfield Cemetery, Rhea-Ewing Cemetery, Old Droop Church Cemetery.
Droop –
McCarty Cemetery, and Civil War Memorial Mar-ker, Confederate Graves, Droop Mtn. Battlefield State Park, Harper McCoy Grave, Whiting Cemetery, Cutlip Cemetery.
Lobelia Road –
Richard Hill Cemetery, Emmanuel Church Cemetery, McCarty Cemetery, Caesar Mountain, Ann Armstrong Gravesite, Thomas Hill Cemetery, Clark-Beard Cemetery, Blair Cemetery.
Jacox Road –
Kellison Cemetery, Sunset Cemetery, Sullivan Cemetery.
Book 7 – Mace, Big Springs, Linwood, Slaty Fork, Pleasant Valley, Elk Mountain, Edray and the Brush Country. – Printed 2014. 168 pages.
Early pioneer settlers to this area were Barlow, Beale, Daugherty, Doyle, Drinnon, Duncan, Friel, Gay, Gibson, Hannah, Johnson, Moore, Poage, Sharp, Varner, Warwick and Waugh.
Mace, Big Springs and Linwood –
Beale Cemetery, Gibson Cemetery on Dry Branch Road, Big Springs Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Beckwith Family Cemetery.
Elk Mountain –
Varner Cemetery, Sharp Cemetery at Slaty Fork, Civil War Gravesite at Sharp’s Country Store, Hannah Cemetery, Jack Cemetery, Gibson Cemetery, Moffett Cemetery, Moore Cemetery.
Edray –
Smith Cemetery at Edray Methodist Church, Smith Cemetery II on Quarry Road, Edray Cemetery, Julia L. Price Gravesite on Quarry Road, Clifton Family Cemetery on Quarry Road, William M. Sharp Cemetery on Quarry Road, Geiger Cemetery.
Marlinton –
Robert Gay Cemetery near Campbelltown.
Back Mountain Road –
Burial site on Back Mountain Road, Mt. Pleasant Church Cemetery, McKenney Cemetery at Mt. Pleasant Church, Gay Cemetery at Indian Draft, William Sharp, Jr., Pioneer, Cemetery.
Brownsburg –
Brownsburg Cemetery, Carpenter Cemetery.
Fairview Road –
Fairview Cemetery, Fair-view Cemetery II, Rev. Harrison Francis Grave-site.
Airport Road –
Neff Gravesite, Bright Gravesites, Gay – Gibson Cemetery.
Seebert Wilfong Road –
Wilfong Cemetery.
Book 8 – Huntersville, Beaver Creek, Watoga State Park, Burr Valley, Minnehaha Springs and Rimel. Printed 2016. 158 pages.
The eighth book in the series of cemetery listings includes all known cemeteries and burial sites from Marlinton, east along US Route 39 to the Bath County, Virginia, line on Allegheny Mountain, and the area south of US Route 39 to the Greenbrier County line.
Marlinton, East of the Greenbrier River –
Messer Cemetery
Poage Monument
McGlaughlin Cemetery
Huntersville –
Civil War Cemetery
Old Huntersville (Bradshaw) Cemetery
Huntersville Cemetery
Logan W. Dale Grave
McLaughlin Cemetery, Ambassador’s for Christ Campground
Beaver Creek Road –
Esco Alderman Cemetery, Ivan F. McKenney Marker, Charles N. McComb Grave, Parsons Cemetery, Phillips Cemetery, Keeney Cemetery, Beaver Creek Cemetery, Allen Hamilton Grave, Terry Wayne Sheets Grave, Pyles Family Cemetery.
Watoga State Park –
Gaylor Cemetery, Bel-cher Cemetery, Workman Cemetery, Kellison-Alderman Cemetery.
Burr Valley –
Burr Cemetery, McComb Family Cemetery, Ryder Cemetery, Coulter Cemetery.
Minnehaha Springs –
Alexander-Jordan Cem-etery, McElwee Cemetery, White Cemetery, Alderman-Wade Cemetery, Alderman Cemetery, the Docks, Alderman Cemetery, North Fork of Anthony Creek.
Rimel –
Rider Cemetery- Grazing Allotment, Rider Cemetery II, Cochran Creek Baptist Church Cemetery, Moore Cemetery, Trainer Cemetery, Combs Cemetery at High Top, Peter’s Pinch Memorial Marker.
History of Peter’s Pinch – “Sometime in the late 1800s, a man by the name of Peter was riding a mule with a sack of grain along the Knapp Spur Road to a grist mill on Little Back Creek. Near the top of Allegheny Mountain (on the Virginia side) the mule slipped and Peter was crushed between the mule and a tree. This particular spot has been called Peter’s Pinch ever since. Knapp’s Spur Road was one of the earliest pioneer roads across the Allegheny Mountains. It came down to Knapp Creek on a ridge between Hamilton Hollow and Spruce Lick Hollow.” Cultural Resources Inventory. Monongahela National Forest, Marlinton Ranger District, by Larry Jarvinen, April 5, 1979. Compartment 58 – Hamilton Hollow.
Book 9 – Woodrow to Buckeye – Williams River, Dutch Bottom, Woodrow, Onoto, Red Lick Mountain, Spruce Flats, Jerico Road, Beard Heights, Swago and Buckeye. Printed 2018. 169 pages.
Woodrow Road –
Barlow Cemetery, Cochran Cemetery, East Woodrow Branch Road Cemetery, Burgess Cemetery, White’s Chapel Church Cemetery.
Williams River –
Wallace W. Warner Stone, Handley Wildlife Management Area, Mullens Cemetery, Handley Wildlife Management Area, Sheets Cemetery, Dutch Bottom
Spruce Flats Road from Woodrow Road
Beverage Cemetery, Stony Creek
Jerico Road
Civil War Union Cemetery, John Moore Cemetery, James Moore Cemetery, William A. Ratcliff Grave, Ethel R. Sharp Grave, Sharp Cemetery, Duffield Cemetery -1936, Duffield Cemetery-1986, Duffield Cemetery, 2016, Gay Cemetery
Historical Society Museum –
Marlin’s Bottom Confederate Cemetery, James Atlee Price Cemetery
Beard Heights –
Robertson Cemetery, Apperson Cemetery
North Buckeye Area –
Rogers Cemetery – Thomas Road, Fleming Cemetery, Kee Cemetery.
Spruce Flat Road from Buckeye –
Armstrong Cemetery, Beverage Cemetery, Dry Creek Road, Overholt Cemetery, E. S. Hefner Grave, Simmons Cemetery, Sheets-Carpenter Cemetery, Rachel E. McCoy Grave, Burgess Cemetery.
Buckeye Area –
Paul Hilleary Grave, Buckeye Chapel Cemetery, Rogers Cemetery, Rush Run, Jonathan McNeill Grave, McNeill Cemetery
The Genealogy Group is grateful to the people of this county who graciously granted access to the cemeteries on their property and, in some cases, personally took members of the group to the out of the way and hard to access cemeteries.
If you know of a cemetery or gravesite that should be included in this series, please contact Roger or Jan Orndorff at rjorndorff@htcnet.org, Gail Hyer at gailhyer@yahoo.com or call Pam Hoover at McClintic Library, 304-799-6000.
In Loving Memory books are available at The Pocahontas Times office or by mail from Roger and Jan Orndorff at rjorndorff@htcnet.org
I would like to get info on the Hilltop cemetery in Case. Allie Sheets was my husband’s great grandfather and I would like to find his grave to mark it. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you