West Virginia Cemetery Preservation Association: Somerville Cemetery, Mason Co., WV

Cemetery Reading

Cemetery Name:	Somerville (off Rt. 62 N.)
County:	Mason
USGS Quad:	Cheshire
Coordinates:	near 38.929ºN 82.093ºW
Maintained by:	not maintained
Land owner:	unknown
Date added to WVCPA register:	December 2007
Condition of cemetery**:	Abandoned (October 2007)
Accessibility:	The cemetery is located in Robinson District not far from the Mason Co. Fairgrounds - precise coordinates yet to be determined. It is virtually inaccessible due to overgrowth - WVCPA volunteers provided the following directions they took to get to the cemetery: "We went to Grandview Heights (just off the Fairground Road) went to the end of the circle on Grandview and then down over the hill through the wilderness...down through the creek bed and then up the hill (still in the wilderness) to the cemetery. A resident on the street showed us a deer path. Then, we figured out how we could have found it if we had found the right lane to turn down from Rt. 62."
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:
[Illegible]	Mrs. Vera			[Aged 83 Ys 11 Ms 27 Ds] [Rest of inscription illegible per 1959 reading]
Allen	Alexander	7 February 1818	20 May 1888	"Born in Scotland" "Aged 70 Yr's, 3 M's, 13 D's"
Boyles	Simeon Howard		27 July 1888	[Aged 3 M. 18 Ds]
Boyles	Sophia J.F.		11 July 1888	"Dau. of ..." [Rest of inscription illegible in photo] [Aged 21 Ys 4 Ms 17 Ds]
Brown	Mary	14 February 1802	30 June 1887
Brown	James		15 October 1845	[Aged 20 years]
Bumgarner	Jeremiah B.	1854	1916	[Husband and wife - shared stone] "His Wife"
Bumgarner	V.J.	1856	1940	[Husband and wife - shared stone] "His Wife"
Clendenin	Alberta L.	1873	1919
Clendenin	Arnold L.		31 March 1915	[Aged 1 year - son of B.T. Clendenin - no marker]
Clendenin	Joseph	15 July 1841	9 May 1918	[Husband and wife - shared stone] "His Wife" "At Rest"
Clendenin	Frances Edwards	16 October 1842	30 August 1924	[Husband and wife - shared stone] "His Wife" "At Rest"
Clendenin	Kathleen	1854	1925
Clendenin	Samuel A.	1850	1925	[Husband and wife - shared stone]
Clendenin	Martha E. Stevens	1856	19__	[Husband and wife - shared stone]
Clendenin	Thomas R.	1869	1935
Edwards	Ernest	2_ October 1897	24 September 1901
Gabhart	John S.	3 February 1886	2 February 1891	[Son of P.M. & M.E. Gabhart]
Gabhart	Mary E.	1844	1909
Gabhart	Perry M.	1841	19__
Gardner	Don Everett	26 November 1878	8 May 1941	[Son of J.W. & Lucy Gardner - last recorded burial in this cemetery]
Gardner	John Weaver	7 March 1857	19 October 1920	[No monument per 1959 reading - husband of Lucy Knopp Gardner]
Gardner	Lucy Knopp	27 September 1863	April 1933	[Dau. of Jacob & his secong wife Betty E. Hogg Windon Knopp]
Gardner	Walter Deem	1881	1909
Hawkins	Annie L.	26 November 1886	29 April 1892
Hawkins	Mary F.	23 December 1855	18 December 1888
Hawkins	Robert S.	26 May 1847	12 December 1908
Hogg	Lucy		20 September 18_2	[Aged 62 Ys 10 Ms 4 Ds - wife of T.G. Hogg]
Hogg	Thomas G.		18_3	[Aged 73 Ys 8 Ms 12 Ds]
Hopkins	David A.	1856	3 December 1881
Hopkins	Hattie M.		10 April 1887	[Aged 27 Ys 2 Ms 10 Ds. - dau. of Samuel T. & Arabella Windon, wife of David A. Hopkins]
Humphrey	Catherine		27 August 1878	[Aged 26 Ys 2 Ms 23 Ds]
Johnson				[4 old funeral home markers bearing the surname "Johnson"- no longer legible per 1959 reading]
Johnson	Arthur	2 September 1824	13 June 1889
Johnson	B.T.	1856	19__
Johnson	David Lewis		1931
Johnson	John	1824
Johnson	M.J.		13 June 1899	[Aged 64 Ys 11 Ms]
Kirby	Lucien	28 January 1854	16 November 1855	"Son of John E. & Malinda Kirby"
Knopp	Jacob	11 October 1815	19 September 1900	[Husband and wife - shared stone] "His wife" [Dau. of Thomas G. & Lucy Ball Hogg, wife of Francis H. Windon, then Jacob Knopp]
Knopp	Bettie	1830	1897
Knopp	Thomas P.	21 March 1865	9 July 1890	"Son of Jacob & Bettie Knopp" "Aged 25 Ys 18 Ms"
Knopp	William T.		27 October 1888	"Aged 22 Ys 3 Ms 16 Ds" "Son of Jacob & Bettie Knopp"
Lee	Julia F.		March 1882	[31 Ys 2 Ms 11 Ds - Dau. of G.W. & J.F. Lee]
Lee	Ora Della		9 July 1875	[Aged 8 Ms 11 Ds - Dau. of G.W. & J.F. Lee]
Long	Rebecca S.	27 March 1824	23 March 1879
Mitchell	[Baby]		14 September 1918
Noble	[Son]
Noble	William
Proffitt	John H.	1832	1913
Proffitt	Laura	1830	1877
Rayburn	Maxwell	1829	1907	[Husband and wife - shared stone] "His Wife"
Rayburn	Mary J. Windon	1831	1886	[Husband and wife - shared stone] "His Wife"
Rayburn	Mazella B.	18_0	1923	[Son of Maxwell Rayburn]
Somerville	Edward Green	16 June 1834	27 August 1914
Somerville	Francis E.	1839	1916
Somerville	Inez E.	15 August 1876	5 October 1911	[Dau. of Weston Somerville]
Somerville	James	1834	1914
Somerville	Jane Catherine	24 December 1854	29 April 1915
Somerville	John		24 April 1895	[Aged 88 Yrs. 29 Ds] [Family Bible entry, per 'Mason Co., W.Va. Cemetery Inscriptions': Mar. 25, 1806-Apr. 24, 1895]
Somerville	Lewis Edgar	1867	1922
Somerville	Margaret (Jane)	6 March 1837	27 December 1912
Somerville	Margaret J.	4 January 1840	3 March 1900	[Dau. of John & Nancy Somerville]
Somerville	Mary E.	1848	1893
Somerville	Nancy		15 November 1869	[Aged 62 Yrs. 11 Ms. 10 Ds] [Family Bible entry, per 'Mason Co., W.Va. Cemetery Inscriptions': Dec. 5, 1805-Nov. 15, 1869]
Somerville	Robert W.	1842	1919
Somerville	Sarah Lavenia Ball	23 September 1846	1909
Somerville	Thomas		6 April 1857	[Aged 19 Ys 2 Ms 11 Ds] [Son of John & Nancy Somerville]
Somerville	Weston D.	20 December 1832	25 October 1892
Swon	Edward E.	8 November 1860	25 September 1899
Troger	Sarah Jane		November 1894	[Aged 54 Ys 3 Ms 20 Ds]
Windon	Ann Eliza		28 April 1869	"Dau. of S. & A.J. Windon" "Aged 13 ys 6 ms 17 ds" [Rest of inscription illegible in photo]
Windon	Arabella Jane	1820	1888	[Wife of Samuel Windon, dau. of Peter Hogg]
Windon	Caroline H.		30 November 1855	[Aged 30 Ys 9 Ms 11 Ds - wife of Francis H. Windon]
Windon	Francis A.		19 April 1865	[24 years of age - son of S.& A.J. Windon - 1st soldier of Co. C. 13th W.Va. Inf.]
Windon	Francis H.		24 May 1859	[Aged 37 Ys 5 Ms 15 Ds]
Windon	James H.		24 July 1854	[Aged 3 Ys 10 Ms 19 Ds - son of F.H. & C.H. Windon]
Windon	John Harry	1862	1918	[Husband and wife - shared stone] "His wife" "At Rest"
Windon	Estella M.	1866	19__	[Husband and wife - shared stone] "His wife" "At Rest"
Windon	Joseph B.		29 October 1884	[Aged 78 Ys 6 Ms 2 Ds]
Windon	Laura Blanch	1867	1886	"Dau. of J.H. & R.J. Windon" "At Rest"
Windon	Lucy Irene	1891	1891	"Dau. of J.H. & Rhoda J. Windon"
Windon	Rhoda J.		May 1878	[Aged 32 Ys 2 Ms 20 Ds]
Windon	Robert		18 December 1855	[Aged 1 M 25 Ds - son of Francis & Caroline Windon]
Windon	Samuel	1814	1868
Windon	Susan		17 June 1891	"Aged 86 Ys. 5 M. 23 D."
Yeager	John		4 May 1860	[Aged 70 Ys 6 Ms]
Yeager	Mary		25 July 1864	[Aged 73 Ys 10 Ms - wife of John Yeager]
Unidentified Graves/Tombstones:
Image 04				[Inscription illegible]
Image 11				[Inscription illegible]
Image 26
...and at least 16 additional unmarked graves noted in 1959 reading, as published in 'Mason Co., W.Va. Cemetery Inscriptions'
Probable Burials:
Clendenin	Thomas Barton	31 December 1869	1935	[Son of Charles & Charlotte Ripley Clendenin]
Neal	Gordon		11 February 1941	[Aged 89 years - son of Charlie Neal]
Noble	Mark		19 September 1884	[Aged 84 Ys 10 Ms]
Windon	William		12 August 1872	[Son of Samuel & Arabella]
Yeager	Susan		February 1869	[Aged 20 years - dau. of J. & S. Yeager]
Yeager	William V.		3 February 1867	[Aged 31 Ys 4 Ms - son of Jacob & Sarah Yeager]

Comments:

Dates in Red above 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.

The following comments were provided by WVCPA volunteers that visited the cemetery in Autumn 2007:

"Today, we found the Somerville Cemetery located off Rt. 62 in a wilderness... There are some monuments that are no longer there that were listed. Also, found a few names that were buried there (through research). Many of the huge, huge monuments are down. Trees from the ice storm did a number on the cemetery and there has been NOOOO maintenance for many, many years. Briars have taken over. It is a true wilderness. An elderly gentleman (who lives in the area) told us there had been a dispute about the cemetery one time and he believed there were cattle allowed to roam among the monuments at one time by a landowner. Now there are NO fences and no cattle. Several monuments are broken. Could be a number of reasons. One horrible sight--a groundhog has burrowed down into one of the old coffins. We took pictures the best that we could."

Updated: 27 December 2007