Jim, Thanks for passing on the link regarding the cemetery preservation. I, too, have the following to share with all of you regarding Jessamine County's efforts in their cemetery preservation. This article was published in the July 5, 2001 issue of The Jessamine Journal. Although it is a wonderful article, not enough credit was given, I'm afraid, to Ernestine Hamm and her husband, who have single-handedly been working on some of these old cemeteries. Those of us who attended the Heritage Fest this year were privileged to meet Ernestine and were so impressed with their energy and devotion to this project. Jessamine County could use a lot more like them. I only wish that I could be there to help. Hopefully this article will encourage other Jessamine County groups and individual citizens to offer their help with this project. OLD SOLDIERS GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN Lisa King Staff Writer Toppled and broken, the old tombstones have fallen like those who sleep under them did in battle. But local cemetery ordinances will ensure that the final resting places of those who died fighting for this country's independence will be preserved for as long as America endures. A county ordinance was passed last October that affords a measure of protection to old cemeteries, requiring developers to preserve any burial grounds on their property. A similar ordinance is expected to be passed soon for cemeteries within the city limits of Nicholasville, according to Nicholasville Mayor Sam Corman. Many of these old cemeteries -more than 300 in all-contain the bodies of soldiers from the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. The American Revolution, which began April 19, 1775, ended two centuries of British rule over most of the North American Colonies. The Continental Congress was formed, and the United States of America was born on July 4, 1776, with the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Eight years later in 1783, after British soldiers surrendered at Yorktown, Va., Great Britain signed a formal peace treaty recognizing America's independence. The last Revolutionary War soldier to be buried in Jessamine County was James Irvin. His grave is located on Gayheart Lane on property belonging to Marty Maddox. The Jessamine County Historical and Genealogical Society plans to repair his 6-foot-tall stone monument, currently toppled and broken. 'We may also have a memorial service," said Ernestine Hamm, correspondent for the Historical Society. The Society's goal is to clean up all cemeteries in Jessamine County, clearing away debris, and repairing stones and resetting the ones that have fallen. To date, they have renovated six cemeteries since the county ordinance was passed. The ordinance requires landowners to maintain the condition of a cemetery on their property only if they intend to develop the land. So the Historical Society have set out to restore the forgotten cemeteries that have been neglected for untold number of years. The Shelby Cemetery, located on High Point Golf Course on Union Mill Road, contains the grave of Isaac Shelby, the grandson of Kentucky's first governor, Isaac Shelby, according to Hamm. The governor, a Revolutionary War general who died in 1806, is buried at Traveler's Rest in Stanford, Ky. His grandson and namesake was buried on Union Mill Road along with his infant, Jemmie Shelby, 11 months. The cemetery also contains the graves of his wife, Sarah, and her parents, Andrew and Rachel McClure. Like many old cemeteries, Shelby Cemetery was enclosed by a stone fence at one time. This particular cemetery, however, also boasted a wrought-iron fence at one time. All that remains now is part of the gate, which still stands at the cemetery's entrance, as though waiting to welcome visitors. But though there are no family members left to remember most of them, Clyde Bunch, president of the Historical Society, said preserving the graves, "is a matter of respect." There are a lot of Revolutionary soldiers buried around here, and we owe them that, "he said. Bunch said it's vital to catalogue the cemeteries, which Howard Teater has done, so that their locations will not become lost and forgotten. He added that the society plans to set a stone on the Knox Door Cemetery, located on the estate of the late U.S. District Judge Bernard Moynahan. The stone was purchased by the Moynahans in the 1950s by the judge's wife, who was searching for the grave of her grandfather, William Turner, a Civil War veteran who died of cholera in 1868. The burial site has never been located, so the stone will be erected by the historical society in the family cemetery, possibly this weekend. That property was recently approved for development by the Nicholasville City Commission. Bunch invited anyone from the public who is interested in helping with the restoration of cemeteries to attend the meetings of the Society, held every fourth Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. at Farmer's Bank in Wilmore. Shelia Bruner-Ramos