Old Bethel Cemetery Location:

It is in the Park Grove Community which is several miles south and little west of Henryville, Lawrence, TN.

Go out the Buffalo Rd. from Lawrenceburg, turn left on Park Grove Road, go about 2-3 miles to the former M.L. Putnam Farm, now owned by Mr. Herbie MaGee. He is considering cleaning the cemetery grounds off much as Mr. Putnam had done back in the 1990's. Putnam used goats to chew the grass down!

The cemetery is abandoned and is in the middle of a field about 500 feet east of the house. It is very overgrown and difficult to find the headstones. There was once an old log church close to this abandoned cemetery.

The old road did not have the sharp curve that is in the current road. It ran from a point a little before you get to the curve and angled across the property, coming out possibly close to where MaGee's driveway is.



In August 1992 Kathy and Lawrence Niedergeses, M. L. and Geneva Putman surveyed this cemetery.

"At Rest" Cemetery Records of Lawrence Co., TN published in 1967/1968 "At Rest" Cemetery Records of Lawrence Co., TN. Supplement I by the Old Cemeteries Society published in 1984.

This book may be purchased at the Lawrence County Archives in Lawrence, TN. "Google" for the web address.

Mr. James Richards photographed part of this cemetery in 2002. These photographs can be found at the Lawrence County Archives webpage.

The Lawrence Archives have ten photographs of this cemetery. We need family members who might have their photographs to contribute them to fill in this forgotten cemetery. And, we need financial contributions to restore these precious headstones.



"Date: Mar 21, 2012 2:23 PM

I have pictures of the stones that remained in 1997 when it was cleaned off and for those that were still there in something like 2004 when it was cleaned off again, but most are gone. I also have some pictures of the
stones in probably the 1960's or earlier if you want to put those on the website.

But, like I said you will not find pictures of the rest of the stones because they have been gone for many years. This was a church cemetery until it was abandoned in the very early 1900's.

You did leave off a few people, one is the Stewart family. You might check the list I attached and see if there is anyone else left off. The info on the ones that are not marked either came from obituaries I found or a letter a researcher sent me a copy of many years ago.

I noticed that you have two Guthrie family members buried there that I do not have. What was your source for these and I will add them to the
archives website?

Gutheie, E. F. 87125027
b. unknown d. unknown Old Bethel Cemetery
Henryville
Lawrence County
Tennessee, USA

Gutherie, H. F. 87125013
b. unknown d. unknown Old Bethel Cemetery
Henryville
Lawrence County
Tennessee, USA

Thanks
Kathy Niedergeses
Lawrence Co. Archives"



From Kathy's forward:

""OLD" BETHEL BAPTIST CHURCH CEMETERY

Most of the graves in this old cemetery were either marked with fieldstones or unmarked. Their location can only be determined by a sunken in spot or a rock placed at the head of the grave. Of the graves that were marked, some of these stones are weathered so bad that they are not readable now. The following is a list of graves actually marked and of other people that are thought by their relatives to be buried here. Some of these names are verified in the letter from Hattie E. Alley to Thad Ashmore in 1908. Many of the names are simply lost to us forever.

+ ALLEY, Virginia T. d. ca 1871/1872 wife of J. Alex Alley, dau. of Elizabeth Burch Revell

+ ANTHONY, J.G. 1812 - 1892
* ANTHONY, Eliza d. 1885

+ ASHMORE, baby of Carroll d. between 1880-1887
+ ASHMORE, Elizabeth Burch d. 19 Nov. 1869
+ ASHMORE, John twin baby of Levinah Hughes Ashmore d. Jan. 1850
+ ASHMORE, Joshua Bloomer d. 10 Oct. 1862
+ ASHMORE, Levinah Hughes d. Dec. 1849
+ ASHMORE, Mary twin baby of Levinah Hughes Ashmore d. Jan. 1850

+ BELL, Agnes Jane Burch d. June 1858
+ BELL, Katie Jane baby of Agnes Jane Burch Bell d. June 1858

+ BURCH, Agnes d. between 1870-1880
+ BURCH, Catherine (Catie) d. between 1880-1887
+ BURCH, Stephen d. 1885
+ BURCH, wife of Stephen d. before 1870

+ FITZGERALD, Jack d. about 1935
His parents also buried here in unmarked graves
* FITZGERALD, Roena Myrtle 25 Aug. 1884 - 13 Nov. 1885

* FOSTER, Ella b. & d. 1873 dau. of D.M. & H.M. Foster
* FOSTER, Hortie 18 Feb. 1866 - 28 Mar. 1867 dau. of D.M. & H.M. Foster
* FOSTER, Mary 26 Aug. 1820 - 9 Oct. 1864 wife o W.C. Foster
* FOSTER, W.C. 21 Feb. 1823 - 1 Sept. 1882

GUTHRIE, John Franklin Monroe 13 Mar. 1858 - 2 Dec. 1863
H.F. & E.F. on adjacent stones to above, no dates

* HOLTSFORD, John W. 18 Nov. 1872 - 11 Aug. 1881
son of M.H. & S.M.J. Holtsford
* HOLTSFORD, Mortimer (Mortimore) H. 15 Apr. 1836 - 28 Dec. 1904
* HOLTSFORD, Rosa M. 20 Aug. 1870 - 7 Mar. 1871
dau. of M.H. & S.M.J. Holtsford
* HOLTSFORD, Sarah Mertilla Jane 21 Mar. 1835 - 3 Mar. 1893
wife of M.H. Holtsford 58 yrs., 11 mos., 18 days
(All Holtsford graves were enclosed in a fenced in area with two unmarked graves in the enclosure in 1967. This fence is now gone.)

+ MARCUM, James R. d. before 1860
+ MARCUM, Sarah Burch death date unknown

* MOORE, John 19 Nov. 1798 - 4 July 1866
* MOORE, Mary D. 8 July 1820 - 14 Sept. 1888
wife of John Moore 58 yrs., 2 mos., 16 days

* NIXON, Ernest L. 20 Dec. 1869 - 19 May 1918

+ STEWART/STUART, Annie Burch d. about 1856
+ STEWART/STUART, Nancy Burgess d. after 1840

* indicates stone still standing and readable in 1992.

+ indicates this is an unmarked grave and information given by a family member.

(Old Bethel Church Cemetery is used to distinguish it from the Bethel Church that was started in the southern end of the county in the early 1900s.)

Contributed by Kathy Niedergeses and last updated 12 Dec. 2009"



We need family help to restore these precious headstones. And, we need help to clear the "jungle-like" overgrowth!

Marilyn and Calvin Whittemore Adams took as many pictures as they could 11 Apr 2012.