Travel Tuesday ~ In Search of the Gillis Cemetery

Frank "Merle" Finister

The Gillis Cemetery is located on a knoll overlooking Lake Lovelace (now known as Lake Louie) in Sicily Island. 

Lake Lovelace

An incomplete list of those buried in the Gillis Cemetery include the following:

Roy Lee Enright, 1894-1918
Marion Jennie Lovelace Stone, 1814-1872
Frances A. Lovelace, died 1851; age 16
Samuel Lightner, died 1828; age 19
Samuel Gordon, died 1829; age 30
George Peniston, 1837-1842

I have wanted to locate and photograph this cemetery for quite some time.  While back home for a few days last week, my sister, one of my brothers and my daughter joined me in my search for the Gillis Cemetery.



The cemetery is on private property so I contacted my cousin for permission to search the area.  We enlisted the aid of Frank "Merle" Finister who works for my cousin.  Merle, along with my brother, brandished their machetes to help cut a path through the undergrowth which included thorn bushes, briars, and lots of poison ivy.  The photograph above was taken in an area where the undergrowth wasn't particularly bad.

It got worse.  

We came across thick patches of dewberries.  The Louisiana black bear loves dewberries.  This fact did not go unnoticed by my sister who felt we needed to turn back but who grudgingly agreed to continue on.

We finally reached the knoll but found no grave stones.  Over an hour was spent searching the area yet we were unable to locate the cemetery.  I spoke with my cousin afterwards and we agreed to make another trip down in a few months.  Plans are to have the area cleared out using a bush-hog. 

I haven't given up so stay tuned.