Cemetery roaming

Yesterday my friend and I walked for miles over rugged terrain.  The hills and mole works of some of Black Mountain and Swannanoa, NC cemeteries.   And most of our cemeteries are on steep slopes!

We were looking for an old grave, nobody in particular, but just the oldest buried that we might run into.  We also took a few rubbings, but most of these stones weren't that great for art, and we mainly did it when we couldn't get enough shadows to read them.

We started (yes, you will share our trip chronologically) on Craigmont at the Old Oak Grove Cemetery.  There's a little chapel on the same hill, without any parking.

 Chapel, Craigmont Rd, Black Mountain, NC

 Across the street is another little white frame Baptist church., where we could park. 
I was interested in the ruined gate post of stone, or perhaps just a foundation for the sign.  I wonder how it looked back when people were coming to the funerals for all these folks buried here.

Thomas Chapel Free Will Baptist Church, Craigmont Rd, Black Mountain, NC

C.G.Lyttle b. 1882

Tiny Fortune

Jane Pertiller 1844-1911

John Pertiller, d 1916 age 78

S.J. Burnett, 1855-1911

One of the most outstanding (different?) markers were S. J. Burnett's.  His foot marker has a piece of chain on it. 

Foot and head markers, S. J. Burnett

Tiny Morehead Chambers, 1858-1947

I wasn't sure if Tiny was a male or female, but since this name includes 2 surnames, I guess that it's a woman with her married name.

Teresa trying to read name and date on a stone

We saw many names, though Teresa has lived and worked in this area for years, so she had had some familiarity with the local family names.  It looks by these markers as if the earlier burials were in 1911...but we weren't able to read many of the dates, either through weathering, or the grass covering the death dates.  So that's a provisional dating.

Tomorrow I'll post over on my blog, Living in Black Mountain.  We go to the newer Oak Grove Cemetery, also on the same road.