The topic for week fifteen is "brickwall," and for me there's nothing better to write about than Brickwall Cemetery. This cemetery is a "hidden gem," if you will, located out in the Beals, Henderson County, Kentucky area. As far as what we've been told, it's on "Beasley property." We knocked on the door of the house and nobody answered -- so we left a note on the door with our numbers, letting them know we were going to go back and check out the cemetery, that if they had any problems or questions, to just call our cell phones. No one ever contacted us.
It's located about 3/4 mile off of Highway 811 - off the right side of the road if you're heading down 811. If you're heading back towards US 60, it would be on the left side of the road. It seems like there's a "farm road" that leads you back there, kind of.. where they probably take the combines in and out of the field. It's definitely something I wouldn't drive back to, unless you're on a four-wheeler. I would honestly walk it, if I were you.
It's located about 3/4 mile off of Highway 811 - off the right side of the road if you're heading down 811. If you're heading back towards US 60, it would be on the left side of the road. It seems like there's a "farm road" that leads you back there, kind of.. where they probably take the combines in and out of the field. It's definitely something I wouldn't drive back to, unless you're on a four-wheeler. I would honestly walk it, if I were you.
This is a GPS pinpoint that I put onto Find-a-Grave when we went out to the cemetery in August of 2014. I'd like to get out there again because honestly, middle of August wasn't the best time to go. The leaves were thick and hid a lot of tombstones, I have no doubt. Plus, I didn't know about the method of prodding for tombstones beneath the ground (that might be buried by dirt and hidden from view) that I know about now.
Here is another map showing you the roads that are nearby. Highway 811 is what it's technically "off" of but Highland Rd is very near. Across 811 is "Ohio River Rd #2" and Cheatham Rd runs between 811 and Highland "behind" the cemetery if you will.
As far as I can tell, Brickwall was started in the 1830's to early 1840's. It served the community of Beals and whatever other small "river communities" that are close by such as Scuffletown, Vanada, etc. Supposedly, the cemetery got its name because of the brick walls that surrounded the cemetery. When we went out there in 2014, you could still see remnants of the original entrance to the cemetery and all the bricks laying around.
I was told in an e-mail years ago, I forget who from now, that back in the possibly 1920's or 1930's (I forget which decade.. don't shoot me, I'm just the messenger) that hogs, I'm guessing wild hogs, got into the cemetery and rooted up a lot of the bones, scattering them about. They said that the hogs destroyed quite a many tombstones, too.
From what I can tell, the earliest tombstone that can be made out is for Robert McCormick. Robert was born in abt 1801 and died March 20th, 1842. His tombstone says he was 41 years of age.
The newest death I was able to find in the cemetery was that of Cordelia J. Meredith, young daughter of Lonnie Meredith and Cordie Price. She was born September 30th, 1936, and died October 6th, 1936. No tombstone was found for Cordelia but her death certificate states a burial in Brickwall.
The newest tombstone seems to be a new tombstone erected for the Beasley family. Emma Smith was the daughter of Wiliam Smith and Polly Wells. She was born June 26th, 1854, and passed on May 16th, 1918. She married David Morris Beasley sometime between 1880-1883. He died sometime between 1893-1900 and is probably buried in Brickwall Cemetery, too.
Emma shares a new tombstone with her grandchildren: Walter, September 8th 1908 -- September 12th, 1908; Johnie O, August 8th, 1909 -- October 29th, 1910; and Edgar M, February 24th, 1914 -- April 9th, 1914. They were children of William Ambrose Beasley and his wife, Susie Ann Morris.
Other last names buried in this cemetery include: Allen, Babin Barger, Billings, Bolen, Bugg, Burd, Chaney, Dixon, Everett, Folden, Gildersleeve, Goldsberry, Gray, Greathouse, Hardin, Hill, Holmes, Horn, Hust, Lacer, LeGrand, Ligon, Masterson, McCallister, McDonald, McLean, Oldham, Parker, Purcell, Robinson, Scales, Shelby, Skaggs, Smith, Strange, Thompson, Wait, Weddle, White, Williams, and Yates.
There appears to be one Civil War tombstone in the cemetery -- Stephen "Steve" Gildersleeve. He was born October 15th, 1847, in Butler County, Kentucky. It appears he married Milly Phelps in Butler County, KY, in 1865. He enlisted on August 12th, 1862, and by November 17th, 1862, he was assigned to the 12th Kentucky Cavalry. He was on the Union Side. He mustered out on August 23rd, 1865. According to his application for a tombstone -- he died November 30th, 1901, in Spottsville, Kentucky. It appears that Steve was the son of Joel Gildersleeve from New York and Elizabeth McDonald from Ohio. By 1870, the family lived in Union County, KY, but then moved on over to Henderson County by 1880. Their daughter, Annie, married a Billings and some of their infant children are buried in Brickwall.
Without a doubt as of 2014 -- the cemetery was in major disrepair. It desperately needed cleaning.. old tombstones needed cleaning and fixing. Trees needed to be downed and brush needed to be removed.. I can only hope a lot of descendants can gather together in the coming time and fix up the cemetery. There's a lot of history in it, a lot of ancestors that probably half of Henderson are descended from but they don't even know it.. It's always so sad to see a cemetery fall into this shape. They farm all of the land around it, so I guess it's a blessing that the cemetery hasn't been removed completely (yet).
If you're a descendant or a relative of any of these families and you're ever in the Beals, KY, area... try and stop by. I'm sure it'll be worth your visit. If it's summer time though, be sure you wear your hiking clothing and spray down REAL GOOD with spray to combat the ticks and mosquitos!
Mom told me of the times when her family would drive to Brickwall Cemetery on a Sunday morning once a month to clean and decorate the graves of her Yates relatives. She said Granny would pack a picnic lunch and they would eat at the car parked at the entrance. They returned home in early afternoon.
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