• As we see the close of 2009 and the dawn of 2010 just a few days away, the WVCPA staff and would like to take this opportunity to thank you for supporting us in 2009, and wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a much blessed New Year!
• As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, WVCPA receives all of its income to cover operating expenses and be able to pass along gifts for selected cemetery rescue efforts in the state of West Virginia from donations from faithful donors and philanthropists across the United States.  WVCPA makes it a point to NOT charge for any of the services it provides on the internet, in person, or via email, nor do we inundate our volunteers and business contacts with spam email, soliciting donations throughout the year. In fact, as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, we are greatly restricted by the Internal Revenue Service in how we raise funds that are not given as freewill gifts. So, once a year around this time, we strive to remind our friends and visitors of the opportunity that they have to further the work of WVCPA through their financial gifts and potentially gain deductions on their own taxes in the process.
• Remember, too, as we enter 2010 to continue make use of the GoodSearch search engine at www.goodsearch.com, specifying "WVCPA" as your designated charity.  GoodSearch is a search engine with a unique social mission. It’s powered by Yahoo, so you get the same great search results. GoodSearch donates 50% of their advertising revenue to the nonprofits and schools selected by their users. This past week, WVCPA received a check for $77.59 from GoodSearch as a direct result of your use of the search engine in 2009! Now you, our supporters, can make a difference in the work of WVCPA, or any nonprofit charity of their choice that is included among the registered organizations on the GoodSearch site, simply by changing the way they search the Internet!  Anytime anyone uses the GoodSearch site to search on the Internet and specifies WVCPA as their favorite charity, GoodSearch will set aside a portion of their revenue to contribute WVCPA (an average of $.013 per search the past two years). Over the years, many of you have expressed the desire to donate to WVCPA, but have not had the means - now you can without it costing you a penny!  Check out GoodSearch for details, and tell your friends and family so they can help contribute as well!

• Added pages for Haynes-Rhodes Cemetery and Amos Haynes Cemetery in Kanawha County, thanks to research and photography done by WVCPA contributors Charlotte and Steve Iman
• Added pages for the James Armstead Cemetery, Armstead Family Cemetery,  Armstead Cemetery, and the Armstead Cemetery on Dave's Run in Roane Co., thanks to the research and photography of Reggie Watson.

• Posted a cemetery readings page as a courtesy to James Blood, a Putnam Co. Eagle Scout candidate who did updates on readings for several cemeteries in Putnam County (as well as four from Cabell County, located near the Cabell/Mason County Line) as part of his Eagle Scout project. Keep in mind that these are not complete readings of these cemeteries, just lists of recent burials and the inscriptions found on the corresponding tombstones or marker. Thank you for sharing the information with us, James! And thank you, too, to Walt Lovett for bringing this project to our attention!

• Added page for the Wallace Cemetery in Mason County, thanks to a tip from WVCPA contributor Joann Burnside Townsend. Joann has graciously provided additional background information for both this cemetery and the nearby Siloam Baptist Church Cemetery. WVCPA staff visited this cemetery in in October and took the photos you'll see on the page.Thank you for your help, Joann!

• Added pages for the Blaine Memorial Cemetery in Jackson County.

• Added pages for the Lanier Cemetery, Lockhart Cemetery, McCombs-Thomas Cemetery and Mt. Carmel Church Cemetery in Mason County, thanks to the photos provided by WVCPA contributor Chris Dunn. Many, many more photos needed of the Mt. Carmel Church cemetery, plus an updated reading to include the more recent burials. Additional photos and GPS map coordinates needed for the Lockhart Cemetery. If you're willing and able to help, please contact WVCPA!
• Added several photos to the Dunn Family Cemetery and Thos. Foglesong Cemetery pages in Mason County, thanks to photographs and research done by Chris Dunn and other contributors.

• Added pages for Frazier Family Cemetery and Frazier-Washington Cemetery in Putnam County, thanks to the information and photos provided by Frazier Family researcher and WVCPA contributor, Scott McDowell. Note that the Frazier-Washington Cemetery has been previously published incorrectly in some reference sources as the "Washington Cemetery". Further research has proven that it was first the Allen Frazier family cemetery, in which F.A. Washington and J. Galpin family members were interred as the years passed.

• Added a page for Jones Cemetery in Marion County, thanks to the photography of family researcher and WVCPA contributor, Gianetta Hays. Watch for more photos from Marion County cemeteries in the coming months, as Gianetta sends us more of her work!
• Also coming this fall for Marion County, a very comprehensive listing for the historic Woodlawn Cemetery, thanks to the efforts of long-time friend and contributor to WVCPA, Gena Wagaman and her crew of volunteers! This is a huge assemblage of material, and we will get it online for you as soon as we can. We're working on over 20 different cemeteries across, primarily, northwestern West Virginia, and literally thousands of photos for cemeteries we already have online. Like genealogy, it seems a never-ending project most of the time, but we enjoy it! We've also had a flood of inquiries by email and mail of late - so if you've written, we apologize if we haven't gotten to your email or letter yet - we will in time!
• Added over 80 photos to the Frazier's Bottom Methodist Church Cemetery page in Putnam County, thanks to WVCPA volunteer Angela Harkins.

• Recently added pages for Perry Good Cemetery, Matt Smith Cemetery in Jackson County and Ingram Cemetery in Kanawha County, thanks to the volunteer efforts of Charlotte and Steve Iman.
• Recently added several photos to cemetery pages posted earlier - primarily in Mason, Jackson, Putnam and Kanawha counties - be sure to check cemetery pages you've visited before to see if there have been recent updates or additions! There are also new entries on the "In The News" page - check those out while you're at it!!
• Please remember WVCPA when you think of making charitable contributions to organizations that have provided assistance to the community, and to yourself personally. As a non-profit organization, WVCPA 'stays in business' solely through contributions from the generous gifts of people like you. See our "Contribute" page for details on how you can help us continue providing this totally free service to family researchers and historians, and the families and communities of West Virginia.

• We've received an email from Bud & Katy Blankenship in Mt. Hope, WV, regarding the Macdonald Cemetery in Mt. Hope. They write:

"We are working to clear out the cemetery and restore it as much as humanly possible. we would appreciate any maps and/or pictures of Macdonald Cemetery. If anyone has them please mail them to:

                Bud Blankenship

                605 N. Mountain Ave.

                Mt. Hope, WV. 25880       or call 304-877-3682

 

OR STOP BY CEMETERY MON-FRI  9-3 WEATHER PERMITTING...  ANY HELP WOULD BE APPRECIATED... BUD/KATY"

If you have the opportunity, and will be in the Mt. Hope area this next week, give the Blankenship's a call and offer your help - it's a wonderful, satisfying thing to bring beauty back to an old, beloved graveyard - and so, so very worth it for the community, and for the memory of those that are buried there. Take along a picnic lunch, a camera and plan on having fun meeting new people that may be related to you (that is, if you all have family buried in the cemetery!). If you feel like writing about the experience, send your writing our way and we'll seriously consider posting your thoughts on this website for others to read!

• Added pages for Samuel Greenberry Haynes Cemetery, Haynes-Moffatt Cemetery, Shaffer Cemetery and Ashby Cemeteryin Kanawha County, and Fisher Cemetery,  Hackney Cemetery, Good Cemetery and Goodwill Community Church Cemetery in Jackson County, thanks to the volunteer efforts of Charlotte and Steve Iman.

• Completed pages and available photos for Leon Cemetery in Mason County. There are a few additional photos needed to complete the photo survey (note the listings on the reading that do not have photos associated with them). If you have photos of these tombstones to share, or are able to take photos of them for WVCPA, please contact us.

• Added page for Old Mt. Lebanon Cemetery near Monitor, Monroe County, thanks to the photos and research of WVCPA contributor David Boyd. He's currently working with a group of volunteers to restore this very, very old cemetery - one of the earliest known cemeteries in Monroe County. We expect more photos from him as the work progresses - check back on the page over the coming months as they make headway on the project.

• Added page for Fisher Cemetery in Goldtown, Jackson County, based on WVCPA research and information contributed by various family researchers over the years. Photos are still needed for this cemetery. If you have any to share, or are able to make a photo survey of this cemetery for WVCPA, please contact us.

• Added pages for McCoy Cemetery, Williams Cemetery, and Milton Sayre Cemetery from Calispel Ridge in Mason County. In March 2009, WVCPA founders Joel and Donna Duprey visited these cemeteries with their good friend and local historian Dennis Little. Without his intimate knowledge of these woods and hills, these cemeteries would be nearly impossible to find, due to the tremendous amount of trees that have been brought down across the old road and trails in recent years due to ice and wind storms. The trip served as a serious reminder of just how rough and dangerous the wilderness terrain is in many areas of West Virginia, and how important it is to seek the help of local experts when attempting to find old family cemeteries, no matter how easy their location may seem to be reached when viewing on a map.

• Here's a message from one of our longtime contacts in Marion County, Gena Wagaman, about an upcoming workshop that Woodlawn Cemetery in Fairmont is hosting:

Hello! Woodlawn cemetery in Fairmont, WV is hosting a gravestone preservation workshop on Sat. May 2 from 10-3. A $50 fee includes lunch. Jonathan Appel will present a hands-on workshop on the repair, preservation and restoration of historic stone that is common to the small country burying grounds found in West Virginia. Mr. Appel is a professional historic stone preservationist. If you have any questions or would like to sign up, contact Gena Wagaman at 304-657-1813, gwagaman@verizon.net You can send a payment to Woodlawn Cemetery, PO Box 765, Fairmont, WV  26554. Make the check payable to the Woodlawn Cemetery and mark it att: workshop.   Thanks for getting the word out! Gena Wagaman

If you have the opportunity to attend, do so! This promises to be a great workshop!!

In the coming months, we will be working with Gena to get the reading and photographs of Woodlawn Cemetery online. It will involve a good deal of work - from student volunteers recording inscriptions, along with Gena's photography and transcription of over 15,000 burial records! Be watching for updates.

• Added a page for Seigrist-Fry Cemetery in Mason County. This cemetery is badly in need of a clean-up. It is relatively small and contained within a wall in a residential area of New Haven - easily accessible. If you are able to help, please do so, as it is apparent that the descendants of those buried in this cemetery are unable, or unwilling, to maintain this cemetery. Photos of the cemetery's condition per April 2009, as taken by WVCPA volunteer researchers, will be posted on the page as soon as they are delivered.

• Added a page for Mt. Hebron Cemetery (a.k.a. Jackson Chapel) in Jackson County. The reading of this cemetery is likely incomplete - if you know of any names that should be included in this listing, please contact WVCPA with the details. A volunteer is needed to take or contribute photographs of the tombstones of this cemetery and to verify and complete the inscriptions on the cemetery page. Contact WVCPA if you are willing and able to help!
• Also added: a page for the Anastasia Long Cemetery in Clendenin District of Mason County (a.k.a. the "Negro Cemetery" or "Tise Long Cemetery") - a cemetery that is at high risk for destruction, that local efforts are under way to restore and protect this hallowed ground from further desecration. More information to come on how you can help!

• Completed page for Stone Cemetery in Roane County, thanks to photos and background information from WVCPA contributor Reggie Watson. Thank you, Reggie!

• Completed pages for Sand Hill Cemetery and Antioch Church Cemetery in Wirt County, thanks to photos and background information from WVCPA contributor Gloria Berry. Thank you, Gloria!

• Completed a page for Thomas Fowler Cemetery in Mason County, thanks to photos from WVCPA volunteers Charlotte and Steve Iman. Thank you, Imans!

• Completed a page for Sycamore Cemetery in Putnam County, thanks to photos from WVCPA volunteer Melissa Fizer Conley.

• Completed pages for Creston Cemetery in Mason County.

• Added a page for the Atkeson Cemetery just north of Buffalo in Putnam County, and Siloam Baptist Church Cemetery in Mason County, thanks to the readings and photos done by WVCPA volunteer, Angela Harkins. Thank you, Angela!

• Added several more photos for the Whitman Cemetery in Logan County, thanks to photos taken by Kathryn Hunt in late June 2008. Thank you Kathryn!
• Added a page for the William Sturgeon Family Cemetery in Mason County, and a Frazier Family Cemetery from by the Buffalo Bridge in Putnam County,  thanks to the readings and photos done by WVCPA contributor, Pam Backus. Thank you, too, Pam!
• Added a page for the Clendenin Cemetery in Mason County, thanks to research, readings and photos taken by Steve and Charlotte Iman late last winter. Thanks to the Iman's as well!!

• Added a page for the Knopp Cemetery in Mason County, and a page for the Center View Ridge Grave in Jackson County, thanks to photos and research by WVCPA volunteer Charlotte Iman.

• Added a page for the Stepp-James Cemetery in Wayne County and a page for the Murphy Cemetery in Mingo County, thanks to the photography and reading by WVCPA contributor Kathryn Hunt.
• Added a page for the Siders Cemetery and Garrett Cemetery in Jackson County, thanks to photos and research by WVCPA volunteer Charlotte Iman.

• Added a page for the Hall Cemetery in Clendenin District of Mason County, thanks to the research and photography of WVCPA contributor Barbara Hall.
• Links to Google Maps for each cemetery that has been positively located, or closely located, have been posted on the Mason County Cemetery page. Unfortunately, the Google Map system does not automatically place a marker on the exact latitude and longitude coordinates (we're working on that!), but the map will give you the general location and how to get there. Precise locating will be limited to visual recognition, hand-held GPS use or the assistance of local residents. Similar links will be added to the other county overview maps and the individual cemetery pages in time.

We do have one cemetery set up with a marker on Google Maps, as well as a special treat - a video taken a few years back at the cemetery. To give this new feature a try, go to the Jackson County Cemetery page, and scroll down to "Rock Spring Cemetery". Once there, click on the Map link in the far right column to open the Google Map. In the information 'bubble' above the map marker, you'll see a link for "youtube.com". Clicking on that link will launch the video in a new window. You can also access both the map link and the video link from the cemetery page itself. The map link is located alongside the map coordinates near the top of the page, and the video link is marked by an old-fashioned movie camera icon in the photo box on the upper right side of the page. Give it a try, and let us know what you think!