Is an 1810 grave at Eliska the oldest 'marked' grave in Monroe County?

Ikner with 1810 grave of E. Parker at Eliska in 2006.

(I worked at The Monroe Journal newspaper in Monroeville, Ala. for six years and during that time I had the opportunity to work on a number of very cool stories. Among my all-time favorites was a series of stories about the oldest “marked” graves in Monroe County. What follows is the last installment in that series, which was originally published in the Aug. 31, 2006 edition of The Journal under the headline, “Is E. Parker grave the oldest in Monroe County? Enjoy.)

The search for the oldest marked grave in Monroe County continued this week courtesy of Anna Jean Ikner and George Laurie of Uriah.

Before we get into the most recent developments in this on-going story, here’s a little background. Over a year ago, I began searching for the oldest “marked” grave in the county. Like so many of my side projects, this project began with an e-mail from one of The Journal’s readers.

In May 2005, a gentleman who lives at Goodway e-mailed me with some interesting information about the community near Enon church. Our conversation eventually turned to a rumor I’d heard about how some of the oldest graves in the county are located in the cemetery at Enon Church. I later learned that, although the church is located along the Old Federal Road, the graves at the cemetery aren’t as old as I’d first thought.

With that in mind, and after a few conversations with people who know much more about local history than I do, I set out to locate the oldest “marked” grave in the county. I emphasize “marked” for a couple of reasons. People have been buried around here for centuries, but marking graves with tombstones is a relatively recent practice. For me, the only way to locate the oldest grave in the county with any certainty would be to exclude unmarked graves and to rely on graves marked with legible tombstones.

I realized from the start that this would be a daunting task, maybe an impossible project to complete, but it would be fun to give it a shot none the less.

In June 2005, my search for the oldest grave in the county led me to cemeteries at Franklin, Bradley’s Ridge and Old Scotland. Steve Stacey of Monroeville, who’s forgotten more local history than I’ll ever know, and his good-natured dachshund, Petey, were good enough to give me a guided tour of these cemeteries, which featured some of the oldest graves that I’ve seen during my search.

At the Red Hill Cemetery at Franklin, we found the graves of two War of 1812 vets – Elijah D. Wiggins Sr. and Obediah Barnes. Elijah Wiggins was born in 1784 and died in 1862. Barnes was born in 1780 and died in 1885. (There is information that indicates that Barnes may not actually be buried at Red Hill Cemetery and is instead buried in a cemetery in Wilcox County.)

Before the mosquitoes could carry us off, we moved on to the Davison-McMillan Cemetery in the Bradley Ridge community. In this cemetery, located off the road and nearly consumed by woods, we found the grave of “Mary, the wife of Rev. Neil McMillian.” She died on June 5, 1860 at the age of 64.

From there, we visited the cemetery at Old Scotland Church. Of note there, was the grave of Murdock McCorvey, who died in 1878. McCorvey, a former probate judge, was a key character in local history, who is said to have ridden out to meet Union forces and prevented the burning of Monroeville at the end of the Civil War.

About two weeks later, and after much advice, I found myself standing alone, under a blue June sky, at the Wiggins Cemetery, located on a quite little road in the Mexia community, about five miles from the hustle and bustle of downtown Monroeville.

In this small cemetery, I found what I believe to be one of the oldest marked graves in the county – the grave of Revolutionary War veteran, William Wiggins. According to his tombstone, placed there by the Hunt Springs Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Wiggins was a member of the North Carolina Militia during the war. He was born in 1755 and died in 1819. His wife, the former Elizabeth Cooper, is buried beside him. She was born in 1759 and died in 1825.

Fast forward to February 2006, when I received a letter from Mildred Sessions of Camden. According to Sessions, she visited the Middleton Cemetery in Old Texas in 1988 and found the grave of “Elizabeth Stroud, wife of Eli Stroud, killed by Indians in 1818,” a year before the death of William Wiggins.

In August, I set off for the Middleton Cemetery, armed with a map, a notepad and a camera. Located 37-1/2 miles from the downtown square in Monroeville, the Middleton Cemetery can be found off County Road 29 at Old Texas, in the northeast corner of Monroe County, a stone’s throw from the Conecuh County line and less than two miles from the Butler County line.

Sure enough, just as Sessions described it, I found one of the oldest marked graves in Monroe County: “Elizabeth, daughter of Luke Derbin, wife of Eli Stroud, Slain by Indians at the Ogley massacre, 1818.” To the right of that grave, you’ll find the grave of a woman who was apparently Eli Stroud’s second wife: “Elizabeth, daughter of Joseph East, wife of Eli Stroud, Died 1829.”

Shortly after that story ran in the paper, I received a visit at the office from Anna Jean Ikner of Uriah, the At-Risk Tutor for the Alabama Graduation Exam at J.U. Blacksher High School. According to Ikner, she knew of the grave of “E. Parker, who died July 26th 1810, age 30 years,” a full eight years before the death of Elizabeth Stroud.

Last Thursday morning, Ikner and George Laurie of Uriah were nice enough to guide me to the Henderson Cemetery at Eliska, located on private property near Shomo Creek, southeast of Mt. Pleasant Landing.

Just as Ikner described it, we found two of the oldest marked graves in Monroe County.

T.A. Parker’s 1811 tombstone at Eliska.

Located beneath a large tree, a victim of Hurricane Ivan, we found a tombstone that read, “In memory of E. Parker who died July 26, 1810, aged 30 years.” The marker also featured what appeared to be a verse from the Bible or a religious inscription, but it was largely illegible.

A few feet away, we also found the marked grave of one-year-old T.A. Parker, who died on Aug. 8, 1811. This marker was in remarkably good shape although the upper, left-hand corner had been broken off at some point in the past.

According to Laurie, who serves as the cemetery’s volunteer caretaker, the cemetery was originally called the Henderson Cemetery. He has also heard others call it the John Jenkins Cemetery, he said. In all, he has found 31 marked graves at the cemetery, including a grave marked by an old metal wagon axle. Many of these graves received damage from Hurricane Ivan and from neglect over the years, he said.

In the end, I want everyone to know that this project is still ongoing. I realize that chances are pretty good that there might be older “marked” graves out there in the county. If you know of a “marked” grave that is older than 1810, please contact Lee Peacock…”

(Anyone out there today with any additional information about a really old "marked" grave in Monroe County is invited to contact me at leepeacock2002@hotmail.com. If the grave is as old or older than the 1810 E. Parker grave mentioned above, I'll update everyone here and let the good folks at The Monroe Journal know as well.)