For a birthday present, I opted for a trip to Wilkes County,
North Carolina. We started out at 7:30 the morning of June 10 for the 2 ½ hour
drive to Wilkesboro, North Carolina. My
focus for this research trip was on the Tripletts and Fergusons. I was, also, happy to find some West
information along the way. After spending about 4 hours searching through deeds
and wills in the Wilkes County Court House, we made our way to Stony Fork.
 |
| Mt. Zion Adventist Church Cemetery |
Needless to say, the beauty and serenity of the area remains
the same. Our first stop was at the cemetery often called the Triplett Cemetery
but was apparently known as the Mt. Zion Adventist Church Cemetery where Franklin
West and his wife Cynthia Holder are buried.
Franklin was the brother of my 2nd great grandfather, Alexander Balus
West. I hoped to find the graves of my
3rd great grandparents, John Balus West and Mary Ann Swanson in this
cemetery. Since his son and
daughter-in-law, Franklin and Cynthia Holder West, are buried there, it seemed
logical that I would. However, I could
not find a marker with their names among the many small, unmarked
fieldstones. I still believe that John
Balus and Mary Ann are buried near Franklin and Cynthia beneath one of those
unmarked fieldstones. Thus far, the
location of their burial is unknown.
While we were meandering among the tombstones and
fieldstones, a lovely, sweet lady, Marie, came from her home, which is behind
the cemetery, and talked with us. I gained
significant information from Marie.
Marie and her husband, who died in the 1970s, purchased the
property and built their home on it at some earlier time. Since the cemetery is on the front part of her
property, she later purchased it from a man named Jordan who told her the land where
they both lived had been Carlton property.
The Carltons were my ancestors. Charlotte “Lottie” Carlton (b 1814) and
Braxton Barlow (1812-1880) were my 3rd great grandparents. Charlotte’s
parents, Thomas Carlton (1756-1844) and Catherine Livingston (1778-1837), were
my 4th great grandparents.
At this point in time, I don’t know which Carlton family would have been
the last owner of the property and the family from whom the man named Jordan
purchased it. However, this information
confirms the fact that the Carltons lived “down the road” east of the Land and
West families.
 |
| Possibly the Old Carlton Home |
Marie said that the church, the Mt. Zion Adventist Church,
had burned years ago, and the congregation moved “down the road.” The building had stood in front of where her
home is located. When my cousin, Joanne,
and I were there a few years ago, we speculated that it may have been in the
clearing to the left of Marie’s house.
Marie indicated that baptisms occurred, as Joanne and I surmised, in the
creek which is on the property. Marie
said that Mt. Zion Baptist Church on Mt. Zion Road, currently maintains the
cemetery.
According to Marie, at one time a now-deceased resident of
the community knew who was buried beneath every tombstone, including those
unmarked fieldstones. Unfortunately, he never
made a record of these graves before he died.
How sad.
Marie told the story of the death of a Charlie Albert West
who is buried in the cemetery. This
event happened in 1920 before she moved to the property. Charlie, who was about 15 at the time, was
going hunting with one of the Carlton sons.
As Charlie was coming across the field on the Carlton property to meet
him, the Carlton boy mistook him for an animal and accidently shot and killed
Charlie. The tombstone indicates that
Charlie was the son of M. L. West and V. A. West.
We greatly enjoyed meeting and talking with Marie. She said that many people come from “all
over” to visit the well-kept cemetery. I
asked if I could take her picture, but she declined indicating that she was not
presentable. She had a bucket of pea
shells that she was taking across the road to give to the cattle, who, she
said, really enjoyed them.
 |
| Mt. Zion Baptist Church and Cemetery |
After our pleasant visit with Marie, we drove west “on down
the road” to the Mt. Zion Baptist Church Cemetery where we spent some time
revisiting those graves. Not many of my
ancestors or relatives are buried there.
While at this cemetery, we had the opportunity to talk with
Chris who was spraying weeds in the church parking lot. Chris recalled that the George Wellborn
family had lived in the house that we believe to be the old West home. He said that the house burned sometime in the
1960s. Again, his memories reinforce the
idea that the location of this home across from the old Mt. Zion Post Office
was where my great grandparents, Thomas Harvey West and America Ann McNeil, lived
for many years prior to their removal to Banner Elk about 1902 or 1903. Also, I think that the home may have been
that of Alexander Balus West and Nancy Land, my 2nd great
grandparents. Alexander Balus West was
killed in the Third Battle of Winchester of the Civil War, in 1864. Nancy Land West lived with Thomas Harvey and
America McNeil West and moved with them to Banner Elk were she died in 1903.
When we came to the Thomas Land Family plot, which is on the
property owned by the Mingo Tribal
Preservation Trust, we found the cemetery to be in
no better condition and possibly worse condition than it had been in 2011. The weeds are so high and thick that it would
be impossible for anyone to enter it and find tombstones. The split-rail fence continues to deteriorate
and fall. Likewise, the Tuscarora Ranch
does not appear to be operational. I was
amused that the few cattle that were in the barn came out to inspect “their
intruders” and lined up in a row in their corral staring at us as we got into
our car to leave. Even though the
grounds and fields were well-maintained, the ranch appears to be mostly
abandoned and in disrepair with much of the fencing deteriorating and in need of
paint.
 |
| Thomas Land Family Plot |
 |
| View of Tuscarora Ranch |
I continue to have concerns about the future of this small
plot of graves. I certainly hope that it
will not be bull-dozed and obliterated.
In order to try to guarantee its preservation, in September 2012, I
registered it with the North Carolina Cemetery Survey Project which is part of
the North Carolina Division of Archives and History. In March 2012, I received acknowledgement
from an archivist at the North Carolina State Archives indicating that my information
about the Thomas Land Family Cemetery has become part of the permanent records
of the North Carolina Cemetery Survey Project.
In addition, George and Joyce McNeil recorded this grave in 1989 when
the heirs of G. W. Wellborn owned the land.
The McNeils, who rendered an outstanding service with their cemetery
transcriptions, later published them. Copies are located in the Wilkes
Community College Library and in other genealogical libraries.
Even though it was the day before my actual birthday, I did
something that I love to do—visit courthouses, libraries, and cemeteries! What a great day!
(You may double click on the photos to enlarge them. Also, a preview pane of all of them will appear at the bottom of the screen. You may select from the preview pane the one/s you wish to enlarge.)
