Forgotten Cemeteries, Part Two - Peck Cemetery

Peck Cemetery

The Peck Cemetery is located north of the Peniston Cemetery on highway 913 near Leland.  This cemetery is the final resting place for Dr. Henry John Peck, his wife Laminda McKinney Smith Peck and other family members.

Dr. Henry John Peck (1803-1881)

Laminda McKinney Smith Peck (1811-1871)

Peck Cemetery - View from highway

The photograph above was taken from highway 913 facing west.  The cemetery sits atop the knoll and is accessible only by foot.

Entrance to Peck Cemetery

The gated entrance shown above is located on the western side of the cemetery.  A fence surrounds the area and appears to be in fairly good condition.

Buried in the cemetery are the following family members of Dr. Henry John Peck and wife, Laminda McKinney Smith Peck:

Son, John Gilman Peck, Sr. (1837-1878) and wife, Elizabeth "Bettie" Smith (1839-1871)

John Gilman Peck, Sr.

Elizabeth "Bettie" Smith Peck

Grandson, Henry John Peck (1860-1862); son of John Gilman Peck, Sr. and Elizabeth "Bettie" Smith.

Henry John Peck

Granddaughter, Maria Louise Peck (1871-1873); daughter of John Gilman Peck, Sr. and Elizabeth "Bettie" Smith.

Maria Louise Peck

Grandson, John Gilman Peck, Jr. (1874-1936); son of John Gilman Peck, Sr. and Amy Lovelace.

John Gilman Peck, Jr.

Grandson, Richard Lovelace Peck (1876-1949) and wife, Mary Martin (1883-1978); Richard was the son of John Gilman Peck, Sr. and Amy Lovelace.

Richard Lovelace Peck and Mary Martin Peck

Son, William Smith Peck (1842-1910) and wife, Florence Celeste Lovelace (1845-1881).

Captain William Smith Peck

Florence Celeste Lovelace Peck

Granddaughter, Laura Kirkland Peck (1869-1873); daughter of William Smith Peck and Florence Celeste Lovelace.

Laura Kirkland Peck

Grandson John Lovelace Peck (1871-1872); son of William Smith Peck and Florence Celeste Lovelace.

John Lovelace Peck

Grandson Henry Clarendon Peck (1876-1899), son of William Smith Peck and Florence Celeste Lovelace.

Henry Clarendon Peck

Son, Francis "Frank" Peck (1854-1862)

Francis "Frank" Peck

Also buried in the Peck Cemetery was Harriet P. "Hattie" Lovelace (abt 1847-1885); daughter of John Henry Lovelace and Julia Patience Kirkland; sister to Florence Celeste Lovelace Peck and Amy Lovelace Peck.

Hattie P. Lovelace

Forgotten Cemeteries, Part One - Peniston Cemetery

The Old Pine Hill Cemetery - History and a Call for Help

The Old Pine Hill Cemetery

Old church records for Pine Hill Methodist Episcopal Church, South show that on November 26, 1858, John Henry Lovelace donated four acres of land for a church to be built in the Pine Hill area.  These four acres also included the land where the Old Pine Hill Cemetery was established in 1860.

Pine Hill Methodist Church

The church, known as Pine Hill Methodist Church, was built on the western side of highway 913.

Former site of Pine Hill Methodist Church - Western side of Hwy 913

The cemetery was established across from the church on the eastern side of the highway.

Hwy 913 in the background

It should be noted that there were burials in the cemetery prior to the establishment date of 1860 as seen below.

Mary K Holstein
1800-1852

John C Desha
1821-1849

Ada Jane Lovelace
1844-1851

Descendants of the original families of Sicily Island are buried in the Old Pine Hill Cemetery including John Henry Lovelace.  John Henry Lovelace was the son of Richard Ludwick Lovelace and Louisa Holstein.  His grandparents, John Lovelace, Sr. and Anne Hughson, are believed to have been the first permanent settlers on Sicily Island.

John Henry Lovelace
1821-1891

The maintenance of the cemetery has been overseen by local citizens throughout the years.  With a cemetery fund created at the Sicily Island State Bank, descendants and friends could donate money to cover the costs of maintaining the cemetery.

The Old Pine Hill Cemetery

The Old Pine Hill Cemetery

The Old Pine Hill Cemetery

As the years have passed, a large number of the descendants and friends have either died or moved out of the area.  The funding for maintenance of the cemetery has dwindled as a result.

Ronnie Cole is now the new caretaker of the cemetery.  He and his family have done a wonderful job with limited funds. Ronnie not only mows the grass and removes fallen trees, limbs and debris from storms, he has taken on the task of restoring broken tombstones.

Before Repair

Before Repair

After Repair

There is still much work to be done to remove dead trees, repair fallen and broken tombstones, and hauling dirt in to build up sunken grave sites.

Dead tree in background

I encourage you to consider donating to the cemetery fund.  Your donations will ensure that the Old Pine Hill Cemetery will continue to be one of the most beautiful old cemeteries in the area.

The Old Pine Hill Cemetery

Below is the contact information for those who may be interested in donating to the Old Pine Hill Cemetery fund.

There are currently over 900 people buried in this cemetery.  For a list of those buried there and photographs of each grave site, please see the cemetery page at the FindAGrave website.

Forgotten Cemeteries, Part One - Peniston Cemetery

Peniston Cemetery - Courtesy of Ashley Varner

So many of the older and often rural cemeteries across our country seem to have been forgotten or abandoned.   Tombstones once placed to remember loved ones are now being swallowed up by undergrowth in areas unaccessible and unknown to most people.  Restoring and maintaining these old cemeteries has become quite a challenge, especially in rural areas where there are no funds available or people interested and able to perform the work.

This post is part one in a series on forgotten cemeteries in the Sicily Island area.  It is my hope that by documenting the burials in these locations and sharing the photographs through this blog, others will become interested in locating and documenting forgotten cemeteries in their area.  Even in cases where restoring and maintaining these cemeteries is not possible, documenting the final resting places of our ancestors needs to be done.

My daughter and I recently visited the old Peniston Cemetery just outside of Sicily Island.  This cemetery, located off highway 913 near Leland, is the final resting place for Dr. Thomas Jefferson Peniston and a few of his family members.  It is believed that Dr. Peniston's wife, Sophia Dorcas Ann Lovelace was also buried in this cemetery, though no tombstone was found to confirm this.

Dr. Thomas Jefferson Peniston
1806-1882

With the help of my friend and fellow researcher, Jon Garner, we were able to complete the documentation of the cemetery.   Many thanks to Nelson L. Nuttall for providing information on the Peniston family and to Ashley Varner for allowing me to use several of her photographs in this post.

View from Hwy. 913

The cemetery sits on a knoll less than 50 yards off of highway 913.  The above photograph was taken from the highway facing west and shows the knoll in the background.

Courtesy of Ashley Varner

Across the highway and to the east sits the Old Pine Hill Cemetery shown above.

Peniston Cemetery Entrance

The above photograph shows what was once the gated entrance to the cemetery. The entrance faces north.

Peniston Cemetery

This photograph was taken from the entrance to the cemetery facing east/southeast and shows the remains of the fencing that once encircled the graves.  One tombstone appears to be just outside the fenced area.

Peniston Cemetery

Buried in the Peniston Cemetery are the following members of Dr. Thomas Jefferson Peniston's family:

Daughter, Sophie Peniston (1839-1911) and her husband, Sylvester York (1821-1884)

Courtesy of Ashley Varner

Courtesy of Ashley Varner

Granddaughters, Clara York (1866-1869) and Pearl York (1869-1870); daughters of Sophie and Sylvester York.

Granddaughter, Julia York (1875-1878); daughter of Sophie and Sylvester York.

Grandson, Augustus York (1881-1883); son of Sophie and Sylvester York.

Son, Horace Marshall Peniston, Sr. (1848-1897)

Granddaughter, Mary Peniston Lee (1884-1906); daughter of Horace Marshall Peniston, Sr. and Anna Doniphan Peniston.

Grandson, Horace Marshall Peniston, Jr. (1886-1906); son of Horace Marshall Peniston, Sr. and Anna Doniphan Peniston.

Courtesy of Ashley Varner

More information on the Peniston family can be found in a previous post, Dr. Thomas Jefferson Peniston and Family.

Additional information on the Peniston family provided by Nelson L. Nuttall can be found on the Find A Grave cemetery page, Peniston Cemetery.