It has recently come to my attention that older, rural cemeteries like the one at Bill's Creek are not always being maintained. Or, perhaps more correctly, some sections are not being maintained. A family member has noted that stones marking some of the graves had been thrown over the hill and that other markers had been moved from their original locations. Apparently individuals who had been mowing the cemetery found it easier to collect the stones and stack them to the side and then mow. After mowing stones were returned to positions on the graves. This may explain why my father always insisted that many of the stones were not where they should have been when we went back to visit. Does Tennessee have any type of program that allows for state funds to be used in the maintenance of these older cemeteries? Or, is it the family members' responsibility to maintain these sites? If this task belongs to family members, can anyone suggest a reputable firm for mowing and maintenance? A final question.is there a record someplace of each name, date of birth and/or death, and place in the cemetery? Many thanks, Peggy Yates Riley

Peggy, I don't know about the availability of state funds for the maintenance and care of old cemeteries, but I can answer your other question re: is there a record someplace of each name, date of birth and/or death, and place in the cemetery? Answer: Mabel Wheeler compiled a book Cemetery Records of Fentress County Tenn, copyright 1988. It lists the names of about 60 persons buried in Bill's Creek Cemetery and states that there are many field stone markers with no writing on them. Willie ----- Original Message ----- From: "Stephen Riley" <smriley@indy.net> To: <TNFENTRE-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, August 22, 2006 10:11 PM Subject: [TNFENTRE-L] Bills Creek Cemetery > It has recently come to my attention that older, rural cemeteries like > the one at Bill's Creek are not always being maintained. Or, perhaps > more correctly, some sections are not being maintained. A family > member has noted that stones marking some of the graves had been thrown > over the hill and that other markers had been moved from their original > locations. Apparently individuals who had been mowing the cemetery > found it easier to collect the stones and stack them to the side and > then mow. After mowing stones were returned to positions on the graves. > This may explain why my father always insisted that many of the stones > were not where they should have been when we went back to visit. > > Does Tennessee have any type of program that allows for state funds to > be used in the maintenance of these older cemeteries? Or, is it the > family members' responsibility to maintain these sites? If this task > belongs to family members, can anyone suggest a reputable firm for > mowing and maintenance? > > A final question. is there a record someplace of each name, date of birth > and/or death, and place in the cemetery? Many thanks, Peggy Yates Riley > > > ==== TNFENTRE Mailing List ==== > VERY IMPORTANT************** To Unsubscribe, send E-Mail to > TNFENTRE-L-request@rootsweb.com (For Single Messages) or > TNFENTRE-D-request@rootsweb.com (For Digest Mode)and put unsubscribe > >