West Virginia Cemetery Preservation Association: Gray-Smith (Pontsler) Cemetery

Cemetery Reading

Cemetery Name:	Gray-Smith (a.k.a. Smith-Gray)	Click image to enlarge
County:	Mason
USGS Quad:	Elmwood
Coordinates:	38.7031ºN -81.8654ºW
Maintained by:	Unknown
Land owner:	Unknown
Date added to WVCPA register:	30 September 2003
Condition of cemetery per specified date**:	Excellent (Oct. 2003)
Accessibility:	Just over six miles in from highway 62 on Tribble Road, at the crest of a hill just past Wolfe Valley Chapel. Access across private land, through pasture gate and across field. In dry summer or early fall weather, easily driven in car, with good area by cemetery for parking and turning around. Not recommended in snowy or very wet conditions, unless walking in to cemetery from farm houses on Tribble Road (walkable, if you're in good shape). Check at the R. Smith farm (the brick house) before driving across their field, as livestock may be present, and they will best know the current driving conditions back to the cemetery.
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:
Boswell	Creed Marshall	30 September 1876	1 November 1938	"At Rest" [His death certificate has birth year of 1878, death date of 1 Nov. 1938]
Boswell	Ernest R.		5 January 2006	[From his obituary in the Charleston Daily Mail Jan. 6, 2006]
Burnside	Andrew J.	13 August 1871	10 June 1908	"Son of Hugh & Ruth Burnside"
Burnside	Hannah J.	3 April 1880	28 July 1882	"Daughter of H. & R. Burnside", "Aged 2 yrs 3 mo 25 da"
Burnside	Harriet J.	10 July 1877	22 October 1881	"Daughter of H. & R. Burnside", "Aged 4 yrs 3 mo 12 da"
Burnside	Hugh	10 May 1836	6 February 1911	"Co B W.Va. L.A.", "Aged 74 yrs 8 mo 27 da"
Burnside	Ottie P.	August 1890	9 November 1890	"Son of H. & R. Burnside", "Age 3 mo"
Gray	Amos	17 August 1862	25 April 1887	"Son of G. & M. Gray", "Aged 24 yrs 8 mo 8 da"
Gray	Anna	1883	26 May 1886	"Daughter of George & M Gray", "Aged 3 yr"
Gray	George L.	1852	1935	[husband & wife - shared stone]
Gray	Christina	1856	1941	[husband & wife - shared stone]
Gray	Hanna Brown	1815	1872	"Wife of Paris"
Gray	Infant Twins		1927	"Sons of Jasper & Esther Gray"
Gray	Iva	17 September 1882	18 December 1883	"Daughter of George & M Gray", "Aged 1 yr 3 mo 1 da"
Gray	J.M.			"Co. C 7th W.Va. Cavalry"
Gray	Lizie	September 1900	10 September 1901	"Daughter of Wm. & Rebecca Gray", "Age 1 year"
Gray	Owen	20 March 1919	21 November 1945	"Aged 26 yrs 8 mo 1 da"
Gray	Paris	1819	1899	"PVT Co K 13 Regt W.V. Inf"
Gray	Richard	9 December 1880	12 October 1882	"Son of George & Christina Gray", "Age 1 yr 10 mo 3 da"
Gray	Ruth	1889	April 1901	"Daughter of George & Christina Gray", "Age 12"
Haught	Infant		22 April 1922	"Daughter of E.W. & Fannie Haught"
Kimberling	Dencil Lee	31 October 1943	17 May 2008	[Son of Verlin and Mary Kimberling, husband of Connie Kimberling - from his obituary in the Pt. Pleasant Register May 21, 2008]
Kimberling	Verlin D.	1915	1996	[husband & wife - shared stone]
Kimberling	Mary A.	1914	1981	[husband & wife - shared stone]
Luh	Birdie	28 March 1890	16 July 1890	"Son of B & L Luh", "Aged 3M 19D"
Luh	George	15 July 1887	18 February 1888	"Son of B & L Luh", "Aged 7M 3D"
Pontsler	Serick	31 December 1800	11 March 1867	"Aged 66 yrs 2 mo 11 da" "Gone Home"
Smith	Bernard E.	29 June 1917	3 August 1962	"West Virginia PVT 401 AAA GUN BN CAC World War II"
Smith	Franklin E.	1926	1938
Smith	Infant			"Son of Sam & Ruth Cossin Smith"
Smith	J. Abner	1886	1961	[husband & wife - shared stone]
Smith	I. Pearl	1889	1973	[husband & wife - shared stone]
Smith	John P.	1877	1951	[husband & wife - shared stone]
Smith	Flora B.	1883	1930	[husband & wife - shared stone]
Smith	James A.	1915	1932
Smith	Jimmy Allen	5 January 1952	13 April 1952	"Son of Sam & Ruth Smith"
Smith	Raymond E.	12 February 1922	15 May 1971	"West Virginia PFC 1767 Base Unit AAF World War II"
Smith	Samuel Ray	1948	2003	[Raynes Funeral Home marker]
Smith	Samuel Scott	15 December 1919	13 June 1977	"PVT US Army World War II"
Taylor	Elzie	1 May 1891	1 September 1970	"In God's Care"
Wingett	A.L.	12 August 1883	27 January 1967	[husband & wife - shared stone] "Gone to Rest"
Wingett	J.E.	28 November 1885		[husband & wife - shared stone] "Gone to Rest"
Wingett	G.I.	23 May 1913	12 December 1913	"Son of A.L. & J.E. Wingett", "Our Darling Baby"
The following stones mark graves, but are not identified by person:
Stone 1 --- Stone 2 --- Stone 3 --- Stone 4 --- Stone 5 --- Stone 6 --- Stone 7 Stone 8 --- Stone 9 --- Stone 10 --- Stone 11 --- Stone 12 --- Stone 13
The following individuals are probably buried in this cemetery, though it is not known for sure:
Burnside	Ruth Gray	15 September 1850		Wife of Hugh Burnside and daughter of Paris and Hannah Gray, along with at least three of her children
Gray	Margaret Lacy			Wife of J.M. Gray
Luh	Lenard	1 May 1896	29 July 1896	Son of Philip and Iva Luh, Age 2 mo 29 da
Luh	Kungunda	in Germany	9 May 1867	Daughter of John & ____ Gras. Aged 77 yrs 2 mo 1 da

Comments:

Dates and inscriptions in red above have not been confirmed, and are based on either attempts to read the remains of inscriptions on the stones, or on research by WVCPA and its volunteers. Verify the dates with your own research before taking them as fact.

The cemetery is very well kept, surrounded by a new, sturdy fence to keep out the livestock. All cemeteries should look this good! A real credit to the caretakers and land owners.

Much of the above information was gathered with the assistance of Gray family researcher, Herman Gray, descendant of Paris & Hanna Brown Gray. His assistance with the recording of this cemetery has been greatly appreciated by us.

Information above that is not accompanied by a photo, has been gathered from the book "Mason County, W.Va. Cemetery Inscriptions", Volume III, compiled by Juanita K. Burdette, and re-published by the Meigs County Pioneer and Historical Society. In many ways it was Juanita's work, and that of all of the dedicated volunteers that decades ago recorded the cemeteries of Mason County, that has inspired the founding of the West Virginia Cemetery Preservation Association.

Updated: 07 September 2012