WestVirginiaCemeteryPreservationAssociation

Cemetery Reading

Cemetery Name:

George Amos Family


George Amos Family Cemetery, Marion Co., WV


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(Additional images being prepared
 for this page)

County: Marion
USGS Quad: Grant Town
Coordinates: 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" Click for photo of tombstoneClick for photo of tombstoneClick for photo of tombstoneClick for photo of tombstone Source: WVCPA contributor Gena Wagaman
        [George & Idney's new shared stone] Click for photo of tombstoneClick for photo of tombstone Source: WVCPA contributor Gena Wagaman
Amos Idney 28 November 1783 29 August 1852 "Wife of George"
"Aged 58 Years 9 Mo. 1d."
Click for photo of tombstoneClick for photo of tombstoneClick for photo of tombstone Source: WVCPA contributor Gena Wagaman

 

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]

George Amos Family Cemetery, Marion Co., WV

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]

George Amos Family Cemetery, Marion Co., WV
George Amos Family Cemetery, Marion Co., WV
George Amos Family Cemetery, Marion Co., WV
George Amos Family Cemetery, Marion Co., WV
George Amos Family Cemetery, Marion Co., WV
George Amos Family Cemetery, Marion Co., WV
Restoration of the George Amos Family Cemetery, Marion Co., WV
The burial site after some of the ground cover has been removed.
The burial site after some of the ground cover has been removed - note the head and foot stone bases for each grave.


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.

[John Boggess]

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