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Pastor restores old family cemetery
Published June 18, 2006
MONROE Nearly invisible from Hwy. 78, near Sardis Church Road, sits Jones Cemetery a 141-year-old marker of history.
Once overgrown with weeds, the cemetery was nearly left to decay. But thanks to Bethlehem resident Steven Smallwood, a pastor at Harvest Baptist Church in Monroe, the cemetery has been restored.
Smallwood, whose relatives are buried at the small cemetery, said he began the rejuvenation process back in the fall of 2005 and has worked on the project with his grandfather to return it to its normal state.
I wanted to do this for our family and to make sure that the cemetery is maintained in the future, Smallwood said. I tried to make it easy to keep up.
Once just a place of weeds and grass, a small brick wall now lines the Jones cemetery, and Smallwood filled the ground inside with gravel to make sure it stands out to the public as they drive by.
I think it turned out good, Smallwood said. With growth on Hwy. 78, it would have been easy to overlook the site. By now hopefully someone will see it and leave it alone.
Smallwood admits that the thought of someone digging himself up one day is kind of disturbing.
It seems kind of weird to think that someone could mistakenly unbury me when I die because the cemetery I am in is not kept up, Smallwood said.
The cemetery was first discovered by Smallwood through a distant cousin who had done some research on the family history.
When you get a lead, you go with it, he said. I have actually done some genealogy research myself. It is something that has always interested me since I was a kid.
Though the cemetery had been vandalized and was in harsh conditions, Smallwood credits the fact that the graves were still there to the Sons of Confederate Veterans. Since Henry Clayborn Jones was part of the Confederate army, the Sons cleaned up and tried to maintain the grave.
They did try and keep it up a little, Smallwood said. I would like to thank them because every once in a while they came out and killed off some of the weeds.
Through restoring the burial site, Smallwood hopes to bring the Jones descendants together in one location so that everyone can get to know each other.
On Aug. 5 we will have a re-dedication ceremony, Smallwood said. I will speak a little bit and then everyone will meet at Harvest Baptist Church for a Jones family reunion. Our family has not had a reunion in almost 100 years.
The cemetery is the burial site for Henry P. Jones (June 8, 1787 June 18, 1865), Sarah Lightfoot Vickers Jones (June 3, 1794 June 8, 1866), Henry Clayborn Jones (Nov. 19, 1830 Jan. 7, 1909), Sarah Elizabeth Tuck Jones (Feb. 11, 1834 Jan. 21, 1910) and five people that are unidentified.
Smallwood plans on honoring these people by keeping the site clean and making it stand out, but he also plans to let everyone know about them as well.
One of the greatest ways to honor someone is to let the living know about them, Smallwood said. I want to let the whole family know.
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