Not
easily
accessible. Rough terrain. Access via the Lincoln Bush homestead
farm (adjacent to property on which the cemetery lies) on a long driveway,
drivable only with a four-wheel drive vehicle at this time. Contact farm
owners prior to visiting cemetery, if possible.
** 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:
infant
[none]
I.A.W.
[presumed
to be a Withers]
Minks
Mary
C.
2 April 1845
30 December 1876
"Aged
31 yrs 8 mo 28 days" "Daughter of L.N. & E.J.
Withers"
Withers
William
Frank
1864
1923
[son
of Jacob & Mary Jane King Withers]
Withers
I.B.
15
March 1884
3
April 1885
"Daughter
of J.F. & N.J. Withers"
Withers
infant
twins
[infant
son and daughter of Albert Withers]
Withers
infant
daughter
ca.
2 June 1878
10
June 1878
"Aged
8 (?) days"
Withers
Elizabeth
9
April 1821
6
August 1901
[shared
stone]
[son of Jacob Withers]
Withers
Lewis
N.
20
October 1818
24
January 1885
Withers
Matilda
D.
17
March 1800
19
April 1828
"Aged
28 yrs 1 mo 2 days" "Wife of Jacob Withers"
H.C.
[family
historian identifies this as a Harbour child]
Harbour
James
1930
1930
Harbour
John
15
January 1921
21
February 1928
[son
of C.W. & Rosa Harbour]
Duncan
Moses
26
April 1831
15
August 1919
Persinger
John
Alexander
Persinger
Nancy
28
August 1883
"Wife
of J.A. Persinger"
Persinger
Joseph
31
January 1915
Persinger
James
T.
2
October 1918
28
July 1953
"West
Virginia PVT, HQ CO 35 INF, 25 INF DIV WWII" [killed in auto
accident in Lancaster, OH - son of Thomas & Gertie Persinger]
Persinger
Thomas
J.
1867
1
June 1935
[grandfather
of contributor, Lois Downour]
Persinger
Gertie
9
February 1891
11
October 1959
"Wife
of Thomas" [daughter of George & Barbara Neville Minks]
Persinger
Warren
G.H.
1921
1927
[Son
of Thomas & Gertie]
Denny
Martha
A.J. Persinger
12
May 1864
13
November 1887
[Wife
of George W. Denny]
Hill
Syntha
Ann
1836
[wife
of Ruben Siders]
Burns
James
18
December 1844
27
April 1929
[shared
stone]
[Lucy:] "Aged 72 yrs" [dau
of Jack Casey]
Burns
Lucy
Ann
1
September 1856
10 September 1921
Meeks
Samuel
"Corporal
18th Ohio Inf"
Meeks
Lucy
ca.
1875
7
August 1900
[wife
of Samuel, believed to be the daughter of Dan & Lou Jenkins]
Meeks
Albert
ca.
1871
28
February 1900
"Aged
29 yrs" [Son of Samuel & Rachel Meeks - died in Ben Lomond]
Russell
Herd
[half
brother to Gertie Minks Persinger, and buried next to her grave.Older cemetery books say he is here, and there are stones
marking the graves, but no names or dates on them]
Russell
Jerry
Neville
Hiram
Allen
5
August 1871
?
[grave
at the feet of Gertie and Thomas Persinger. Hiram was the uncle of
Gertie Minks Persinger, her mother's twin brother]
Russell-
Minks- Neville
Barbara
Allis
5
August 1871
?
[twin
of Hiram A. Neville - also buried at the foot of Gertie, who was her
daughter]
Burris
infant
[child
of Ora & Elmer Burris - no dates]
Barke
Emma
17
March 1811
26
June 1886
[widowed
daughter of Emma Withers]
Siders
Ethel
11
March 190?
[stone
broken and otherwise damaged, only partially legible]
Siders
Minnie
29
August 1886
16
March 1906
Siders
Hattie
21
February 1876
18
August 1901
"Wife
of Jim" [cemetery records say she was a Clemens]
Burns
Bertha
29
May 1889
25
July 1909
Burns
Burt
16
June 1884
28
March 1905
Holley
Bub
[cemetery
books say he is buried here, but found no identifiable stone per July
2003]
Withers
[photos
of Withers infant stones - uncertain to which children they belong]
Comments:
Near Ben Lomond, WV, 3 miles out Mud Run in
Clendenin District. Originally named the Withers Cemetery, later changed
to include Harbour and Persinger to represent the three main families buried
there.
There are about 13 headstones that were
illegible or unidentifiable per July 2003, and maybe more. Many graves
are marked with stones with no inscriptions, and many stones have been
lost.
In July 2003, a gathering of 21 family members
of those buried in this cemetery spent a day in conjunction with a family
reunion to clear away brush and trees and record what gravestones remained.
This, following years of neglect and damage from cattle allowed to graze in
the cemetery through lack of concern of the present property owner (unrelated
to those buried there). They found that the gravestones of Herd and
Jerry Russell, and those of brother and sister Hiram and Barbara Neville had
been knocked over and virtually destroyed by the cattle that had broken
through the fence that had been surrounding the cemetery. These
tombstones are being re-created at the time of the posting of this page, and
will be placed in their appropriate locations when completed. To
quote the primary contributor for this page, Lois Downour (granddaughter of
Gertie & Thomas Persinger), when describing the "cemetery
rescue": "a lot of the Persinger headstones are missing
from just being very old and some were destroyed by cattle
before we got the fence up. Some of the Withers headstones were saved we think
because they were under a lot of multifloral, so we think the cattle didn't
bother them, others weren't so lucky, We had to use chain saws to cut away
some of the multifloral because weed eaters just wouldn't cut it, But we had
to crawl through the multifloral to make sure there was no stones in the
way".
While these family members live far away from
this cemetery, they showed the care and concern to preserve the memory of
their pioneer ancestors for generations to come, and have pledged to continue
to see that this burial ground will no longer be forgotten. All of the
photos on this page were contributed by Lois Downour, and all the readings
were completed in July 2003 by her and extended family. The information
presented here is still incomplete, as many of the graves have yet to be
clearly identified. As they are, and as additional photos are taken,
they will be added to this page.
Work
completed under auspices of WVCPA:
Lois Downour brought her family cemetery to the
attention of the WVCPA in March of 2003, having the distinction of being our
first "official" contact for helping rescue the family cemetery
from being lost for future generations. WVCPA, while being very
limited in its ability to help Lois and her family in these early days of
being established as an association, have remained in contact with Lois
throughout these past months, encouraging and offering advice where we
could. This cemetery is, and always will be, in a very special place
in our hearts. And while those who are buried there are, at best,
very, very distant cousins multiple times removed and frequently only by
marriage, they will be as family to Joel and I the rest of our days.
Thank you for touching our hearts as you have, Lois, and reaffirming to us
that what we have set out to do with WVCPA is a truly worthwhile and
endearing venture.