For our June Genealogy meeting, the group took made a field trip to a joining county of Caldwell County to visit the Pleasant Hill and Asher Cemeteries. Why would we do this?
Buried in both of these cemeteries are many with ties to Crittenden County. Especially Pleasant Hill, as it is very close to the Piney Fork area. Many familiar names are noticeable as soon as you enter this pretty cemetery located on a hill side.
As you enter the cemetery this huge tree stands in guard of the grounds. We couldn't help but be amazed at the size of its truck and the spread of its branches.
Left to right: Rita Travis, Margaret Parish, Doyle Polk, Fay Carol Crider, Don Foster, Darlene Eskew, Steve Eskew, and that is me in the little insert picture on the right end.
Here some of the members stand around her mausoleum -type marker, making suggestion on some of the decorations that adorn her marker.
There are 2 large mussel shells embedded on the front and on the top are 3 cannon balls also embedded in the top of the stone. The mussel shells are a symbol of Eternal Life, and another source says they are a symbol of a person's journey through life. The shells were very popular to use on old graves in this area and Crittenden County also has many graves with the remains of shells on them.
Her dates are on a stone with the same unusual lettering and is located in front of the stone.
We had a lot of fun trying to figure out all the symbols and how the unusual marker, lettering and numbers were made.
A thank you to member, Steve Eskew, for sharing some of his research about Manda C. Coleman.
She was Manda Caroline McKee, born 1839 in Wilson County Tennessee. Her father was Robert McKee, mother Elizabeth Turner.
Her 1st husband was Thomas Coleman, born 1833 in Smith County, Tenn.
Knowing more information about the people that are buried here and some facts about their tombstones, makes visiting old cemeteries an exciting adventure, or it does for us die-hard genealogists anyway.
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