Bennett-Belew Cemetery
Bennett-Belew Cemetery is located on the Clarksburg-Milan
Road,
approximately 1.4 miles west of Clarksburg. The cemetery
is located approximately 200 yards east of the Johnny Cook
Road. Going west,it will be in the woods on the South side of
the road behind a mobile home.
I visited this cemetery in the late 1960s while riding horses
with some of the neighbors which was the
thing to do in those days on Sunday afternoons. Since
then, there has been some deteoriation of the cemetery, but
yet not that much.
This past Christmas (December 2000), I was home on
military leave and decided to make some photographs of
the stones. I went by to visit my cousins (their
mother owns the property on which the cemetery sits), Neal
Bartholomew and his brother Teddy, at "The Cowboy Store"
to ensure I had their permission to visit the property. They
were more than gracious. before anyone visits
the cemetery, as a courtesy, I would advise
them to ask Mrs. Bartholomew (Jean), her husband
Farris, or any of her sons for permission to visit the property.
By my experience as a property owner, I always feel
more comfortable in doing this.
So on the Second of January, my son, Jeremy, and
I went went over to visit the cemetery during the late afternoon.
It had recently snowed and was about 28 degrees. I
pulled into the mobile home driveway which is adjacent
to the cemetery. I told the occupants my business
and they were very supportive. I do not have their
names but I want to thank them for providing me some
floppy disks to make up for my poor
planning since I failed to bring the proper supply.
I had been told that shaving cream brings out the letters
on old tombstones. Jeremy and I added too much
on the beginning but we had begun to get the hang of
it about the time we got finished. A few of the
photographs did not come out well and will
have to be added at a future date.
I hope that someone will take an interest in the
restoration of this cemetery. The stones for the
most part are in fair condition. The main
chore that needs to be done is to get rid
of the fallen timber and under brush. This
cemetery could be a showcase as far as
old rural cemeteries go. There are many families
who have roots that are anchored into this cemetery.
Some of these are: Belew, Tosh, Parker, Bennett,
Murphy, Leslies, Johnsons and many others.
Please enjoy!!!
Jerry McDaniel
___________________________________________
