Last week I spent four days in the area doing research. I met some great folks and had a good time in spite of the rains. Thursday was dedicated to driving the county cemeteries. I had a very unique and disturbing experience last Thursday afternoon. I was driving around the county trying to visit cemeteries and document my line. I was trying to find one behind the Rosewood High School. It was listed as cemetery #256 in the Wayne Co. Gravestone book, I was looking for the stone for my a great uncle, Lewis and his family. I searched and searched and could not find the place. Finally, I saw a woman who was one of the groundskeepers and I asked her about some graves behind the school. She had a perplexed look on her face and said that she remembers seeing four or five stones this past summer when they were doing some cleaning behind the school. She took me out to the area on her tractor and we found one overturned stone that was not the one I was looking for but, clearly we were in the right spot. Broken stones were being used to prop up the tongue of a rusted trailer. Other stones had been busted up. She said she told the workers who were cleaning that one day someone would come looking for their relatives. She called one of her co-workers on the radio who came right over and the worker related to us that the Principal wanted the area cleared up last summer and that several of the school employees were working on the area. She saw several stones loaded on the back of a truck and taken to the Dudley dump with the other trash from the back area! I was appalled. We all just shook our heads in disgust. I could tell both of the workers were very surprised and almost embarrassed to realize that less than three months later a 40 year old guy from Texas would show up looking for these stones. I said my thank you's and left. In my opinion, this story should be made public. Just maybe someone at the dump didn't let these stones get trashed. At the least, new stones should be set up for all the folks buried in #256 by the Rosewood School District. I would like for someone at the News-Argus to look into this. Please let me know what you feel I should do. According to the Wayne Co., NC Cemeteries book p. 253: Lewis Gurley b. 5-11-1832 d. 6-24-1905 Wife Elizabeth Gurley b. 5-4-1848, d. 8-26-1882 Mack Edwards Sallie, daughter of Sampson and Clarkey Edwards Sula, wife of J.S. Edwards Elizabeth G. wife of A.J. Swinson Carl Raymond, son of Ad and Lucretia Pierce two sunken plots and tree infant graves

I have had a similar experience with trying to locate some of my ancestors in Wayne County. There was a cemetery near woodland School that had graves of some of my ancestors and the stones are broken and upturned and in general vandalized and a pig pen had been on the site! Sarah Ted Gurley wrote: > Last week I spent four days in the area doing research. I met some great > folks and had a good time in spite of the rains. Thursday was dedicated to > driving the county cemeteries. > > I had a very unique and disturbing experience last Thursday afternoon. I > was driving around the county trying to visit cemeteries and document my > line. I was trying to find one behind the Rosewood High School. It was > listed as cemetery #256 in the Wayne Co. Gravestone book, I was looking for > the stone for my a great uncle, Lewis and his family. I searched and > searched and could not find the place. Finally, I saw a woman who was one > of the groundskeepers and I asked her about some graves behind the > school. She had a perplexed look on her face and said that she remembers > seeing four or five stones this past summer when they were doing some > cleaning behind the school. She took me out to the area on her tractor and > we found one overturned stone that was not the one I was looking for but, > clearly we were in the right spot. Broken stones were being used to prop > up the tongue of a rusted trailer. Other stones had been busted up. She > said she told the workers who were cleaning that one day someone would come > looking for their relatives. > > She called one of her co-workers on the radio who came right over and the > worker related to us that the Principal wanted the area cleared up last > summer and that several of the school employees were working on the area. > She saw several stones loaded on the back of a truck and taken to the > Dudley dump with the other trash from the back area! I was appalled. We > all just shook our heads in disgust. > > I could tell both of the workers were very surprised and almost embarrassed > to realize that less than three months later a 40 year old guy from Texas > would show up looking for these stones. I said my thank you's and left. > > In my opinion, this story should be made public. Just maybe someone at the > dump didn't let these stones get trashed. At the least, new stones should > be set up for all the folks buried in #256 by the Rosewood School > District. I would like for someone at the News-Argus to look into this. > > Please let me know what you feel I should do. > > According to the Wayne Co., NC Cemeteries book p. 253: > > Lewis Gurley b. 5-11-1832 d. 6-24-1905 > Wife Elizabeth Gurley b. 5-4-1848, d. 8-26-1882 > Mack Edwards > Sallie, daughter of Sampson and Clarkey Edwards > Sula, wife of J.S. Edwards > Elizabeth G. wife of A.J. Swinson > Carl Raymond, son of Ad and Lucretia Pierce > two sunken plots and tree infant graves > > ==== NCWAYNE Mailing List ==== > Wayne County, North Carolina NCGenWeb > http://www.betterthanmost.com/wayne/ > > ============================== > Visit ROOTS-L, the Internet's oldest and largest genealogical > mailing list: > http://www.rootsweb.com/roots-l/