In
vicinity of 39.5994ºN 80.1496ºW
(exact location yet to be identified on topo maps)
Maintained
by:
The
Burnell family
Land
owner:
Mrs.
Charley Robinson
Date
added to WVCPA register:
August
2005
Condition
of cemetery**:
Good
(August 2005)
Accessibility:
To get to this cemetery, take Rt.
19 to Rivesville then Rt. 17 to Baxter. From
Baxter turn onto County Route 25 and follow the Little Paw Paw Creek until
you come to a right onto County 25/3,
known as Chunk Run. The cemetery is 4 miles N.E. of Baxter on the Charley
Robinson Farm on Chunk Run. See further details on location and accessibility in the
section below the "Comments" at the bottom of this page.
** Condition of cemetery as
observed on the given date -
may not be representative of care at other times of the year Scale: Excellent - Good - Fair - Poor - Abandoned
Last Name:
First Name:
Born:
Died:
Inscription:
Photo:
Source:
Amos
George
1794
"Aged
___ Years 11Mo. 16ds"
[George
& Idney's new shared stone]
Amos
Idney
28
November 1783
29
August 1852
"Wife
of George"
"Aged 58 Years 9 Mo. 1d."
Comments:
Dates or names in Red
are not inscribed on the tombstone and have either been calculated based on
death date or are as a result of research on the individual.
An
Account of the Discovery and Restoration of this Cemetery (written by
Dede Burnell):
[Click on images below to view full size
- caution: large file size]
I’m
doing research on the Amos family -- specifically descendants of
George Amos born 1794 in Monongalia (now Marion) County, Virginia (now
West Virginia). I discovered the WPA cemetery listings of Marion
County and found a listing for George Amos and his wife Idney Hawkins
who are buried at the Amos Cemetery #2. The WPA listing gives
the following directions for the cemetery: "Rt. 19 to
Rivesville; Rt. 17 to Baxter, 4 Miles N. E, of Baxter on the Charley
Robinson Farm." The readings were taken in June 1940 and
only 2 graves are listed in this burial area. They are as
follows: George Amos (no dates), and Idney Amos, Wife of George – Died 29 Aug 1852 aged 58 years 9 months 1 day
As you can see I didn't have much to go on, but I rallied some old
friends (and new ones too) and, on Feb 6, 2005, I located a Mrs.
Charles Robinson who is living in Barrackville, Marion County,
WV, and is 91 years old. She says the cemetery was on her
property located on Chunks Run, Marion County, WV, and she and her
daughter offered to meet me and my husband and show us where it was.
She told me that there were no longer any stones there and there
hadn't been for many years. She said her husband had
been unable to locate any family members interested in the burial
area and so had rented the land. Cattle and horses have
grazed in the area for many years and there are currently horses
grazing in the field. She believed the stones had been destroyed.
We met that day and Mrs. Robinson's daughter took us up the
hill about 200 yards (that's straight up the hill <smile>) to
the location where she (the daughter) believed the cemetery used to
be. The daughter was following her mother's directions and had
never seen the gravestones. When we arrived on the level where
she believed the cemetery had been, she was unable to show us any
area more specific than about 100 yards or so and we were unable to
find any trace of the cemetery.
When
we got back to the car, a neighbor (Mr. Gene Bragg) was talking with
Mrs. Robinson. He is an older gentleman and told
us that he had lived on the farm as a child -- his family having
rented from Mr. and Mrs. Robinson. He remembered the stones as a
young child and was sure he could identify the place within 50 or 60
feet. He also told us that the stones had been destroyed many
years before and that, in fact, a bulldozer had been used to clear the
vegetation so that the land could be used as grazing. He
suggested we wait until the field was dry and he would take his ATV
(and we could take a 4-wheel drive truck) up the hill
through Mr. Bragg's nephew's field next door to Mrs. Robinson's
farm.
On
May 10, 2005, we met Mr. Bragg again at his nephew's gate and followed
him straight up the hill through the pasture and across an open property
line to Mrs. Robinson's land. When we arrived, Mr. Bragg said
that the stones had been somewhere in a 50-60 foot area (which he
indicated to us) and that they had not been up against the fence line.
With fantastic
luck and lots of serendipity, we located a piece of one of the stones.
Only an area about three inches across was showing through the grass.
Using a pick we dug up the stone and found it blank. Then we
began testing the ground around the area. We located
the rest of the Idney Amos stone (in 4 pieces found in 4
different locations) and half of the stone that must have been George
Amos's. There were no names or dates on the piece of George's
stone we located, but there was a part of the age -- which would have
been correct for George at his death. We also located the
footstones from the graves. They were marked with I A for Idney
(although the corner with the I was missing) and G A for George.
Some of the pieces of the stones were buried as much as 4 or 5 inches
in the soil and all were lying flat and scattered. Rather than
leave the stones there for the horses to walk on and further destroy,
we brought them home.
My
husband and I went back later that week, marked the area around where
had we found the stones, and continued to look for the rest of the
George Amos stone -- hoping we could find it and have both
headstones repaired and replaced. We were unable to find
that last piece, but we did locate the original sandstone holders for
the stones -- both headstones and footstones.
We
took the Idney Amos stone to Stewart Granite Works in Mannington,
Marion County, WV, to see if it could be repaired, but we were told
that the marble was too narrow (and fragile) to drill -- the stone
would just crumble. We were concerned that because the
headstones were so thin, they would be destroyed and the gravesites
lost again. We decided to place the footstones (which were
fairly short and in better repair) in the holders for the headstones
and to purchase a modern marker to be placed between the two
footstones showing the names and dates of George Amos and his wife.
With
Mrs. Robinson's permission, this week my husband went back to place
the stones. He discovered that one of the sandstone holders for
the headstones was broken into several pieces and the other was so
tilted that it would be impossible to place the footstone in it
without resetting the holder. So he reversed the sandstone
holders, placing the larger headstone holders at the foot of the
graves and the smaller footstone holders at the head. He placed
the footstones in the holders and then, with the help of a friend, put
the new granite marker between the footstones. We hope to go
back when the weather is cooler and cover the base of the stones with
dirt and re-seed the area with grass.
So,
that's the story. We documented each step with digital pictures
that I have on my computer. I have attached a photo of the
Idney Amos stone to this message, as well as a picture taken today of
the site. What I don't want to happen is for the burial
area and the story about its stones to be lost again.
I'm
hoping you'll be able to work with me and take the pictures of the
burial area, its original stones, and its restoration and place them
on the Cemetery Preservation site. I realize that this cemetery
is not in its original condition, but believe that the story should be
told and the pictures of the original stones be shared so that they
are not lost."
[Dede Burnell in email to WVCPA dated 2 August 2005]
Historical Notes on
the George Amos Family
[The following background research was contributed in
email to WVCPA dated 2 November 2007 by Marion County researcher, John
Boggess]
Edgar W. Amos, grandfather of Curtis Edgar Amos
(see sketch below), was the son of George M. Amos (son of Henry Amos,
Sr.) and Edna "Idney" Hawkins, who are buried in the
Amos Cemetery in Marion Co., WV.
*** "CURTIS
EDGAR AMOS is practicing law at Fairmont, with offices at 228 Adams
Street. He has been a member of the West Virginia bar since 1913.
He was born at Fairmont, June 28, 1887, son of
Elias S. and Rhoda Annis (Parker) Amos, and grandson of Edgar W.
Amos, also a native of Marion County. His grandfather was a farmer
and large land owner. Elias Amos was born in 1852, was educated in
the Fairmont State Normal School, and for over twenty years was
engaged in educational work teaching in the city schools of Fairmont
and as county superintendent of schools. He died in 1915. His wife
was a daughter of Capt. William C. and Rebecca (Conway) Parker.
Captain Parker was an officer in the Union army during the Civil
war.
Curtis E. Amos was educated in the public schools
of Fairmont, graduated from the State Teachers College in 1908, and
from West Virginia University with his law degree in 1913. He at
once located to Fairmont for practice.
On March 4, 1918, he joined the colors, being
sent to Camp Greenleaf, Georgia, where he was made a member of the
Depot Brigade. On March 26th of the same year he was sent to Camp
Upton and put with the Seventy-seventh Division, and two weeks later
sailed for overseas, landing at Brest. He was with the medical
supply department of his division and his duties took him to a
number of the advance sectors where the Seventy-seventh was engaged.
In November, 1918, he was promoted to sergeant, first class. He
received his honorable discharge at Camp Meade, Maryland, May 28,
1919.
On returning to Fairmont he resumed his law
practice as senior partner of the law firm of Amos & Amos, with
his brother Frank R. He is a member of the Marion County and West Virginia
Bar Associations, the American Legion, and is affiliated with the
Independent Order of Odd Fellow and B. P. O. Elks."
*** SOURCE: Morris
Purdy Shawkey, West Virginia in History, Life, Literature, and
Industry, Lewis Publishing, 1928
Descendants of Curtis Edgar Amos
Curtis Edgar
Amos was born 28 Jun 1887 in Marion, WV, and died 17 Apr 1951 in
of Rivesville, Marion Co., WV. He married Beryl Morgan 02 Aug 1922
in Fairmont, Marion Co., WV, daughter of Lloyd Morgan and Elizabeth
Caton. She was born 04 Jul 1891 in WV, and died May 1986 in
Melbourne, FL.
Children
of Curtis Amos and Beryl Morgan are:
i. [Private]
Amos, married Joseph Lynn Freeland 20 Mar 1947 in Marion Co.,
WV; born 09 Aug 1923; died 01 Jun 2001 in Melbourne, Brevard Co.,
FL.
ii. Robert Morgan Amos,
born 07 Mar 1925 in Fairmont, Marion Co., WV; died 13 Dec 1994 in
Fairmont, Marion Co., WV.
iii. Elizabeth
Ann Amos, born 07 Oct 1926 in Fairmont, Marion Co., WV; died Bef.
1994. She married Unknown Welch.
------------------------------
Curtis Amos'
wife Beryl was the great-great granddaughter of Samuel Boggess and
Elizabeth Dorsey, early settlers in Harrison Co., WV.
Mrs. Amos was heavily involved
with the Marion County Genealogical Society and the Historical
Society in Fairmont, WV, and was (I believe) the head of the
Genealogical Society for many years.