West Virginia Cemetery Preservation Association: Somerville Cemetery, Mason Co., WV

Cemetery Reading

Cemetery Name:	Somerville (off Rt. 62 N.)	Click on photo to enlarge
County:	Mason
USGS Quad:	Cheshire Map
Coordinates:	38.9292ºN -82.0942ºW
Maintained by:	maintained on a limited basis
Land owner:	C. Dallas Kaiser
Date added to WVCPA register:	December 2007
Condition of cemetery**:	Fair (September 2009)
Accessibility:	The cemetery is located in Robinson District not far from the Mason Co. Fairgrounds. WVCPA volunteers provided the following directions they took to get to the cemetery: "We went to Grandview Heights (just off the Fairground Road) went to the end of the circle on Grandview and then down over the hill through the wilderness...down through the creek bed and then up the hill (still in the wilderness) to the cemetery. A resident on the street showed us a deer path. Then, we figured out how we could have found it if we had found the right lane to turn down from Rt. 62." The coordinates listed above are to what WVCPA contributor G. Dale McClain refers to as an "easy entrance". At one time there was a "formal entrance" which can still be found. It is marked by two upright 4X4 posts (not railroad ties), along the southern line of the plot. Additional commentary from Mr. McClain on the location and current status can be found in the Comments section at the bottom of this page.
Condition of cemetery as observed on the given date - may not be representative of care at other times of the year Scale: Excellent - Good - Fair - Poor - Abandoned**

Last Name:	First Name:	Born:	Died:	Inscription:	Photo:	Source:
[Illegible]	Mrs. Vera			[Aged 83 Ys 11 Ms 27 Ds] [Rest of inscription illegible per 1959 reading]
Allen	Alexander	7 February 1813	20 May 1883	"Born in Scotland" "Aged 70 Yrs 3 M's 13 D's"
Boyles	Simeon Howard		27 July 1888	[Aged 3 M. 18 Ds] [Marker not found in 2009 reading - poss. buried with his mother Sophia with no separate marker]
Boyles	Sophia J.F.	24 February 1867	11 July 1888	"Wife of Simeon A. Boyles" "Aged 21Y. 4M. 17D." [Rest of inscription illegible]
Brown	Mary	14 February 1802	30 June 1887	"Thy trials ended They rest is won"
Brown	James		15 October 1845	[Aged 20 years] [Marker not found in 2009 reading]
Bumgarner	Jeremiah B.	1854	1916	[Husband and wife - shared stone] "His Wife" "Gone To Rest"
Bumgarner	V.J. Johnson	1856	1940	[Husband and wife - shared stone] "His Wife" "Gone To Rest"
Clendenin	Arnold L.		31 March 1915	[Aged 1 year - son of B.T. Clendenin - no marker]
Clendenin	Catherine	1854	1925
Clendenin	Joseph	15 July 1841	9 May 1918	[Husband and wife - shared stone] "His Wife" "At Rest"
Clendenin	Frances Edwards	16 October 1842	30 August 1924	[Husband and wife - shared stone] "His Wife" "At Rest"
Clendenin	Kathleen	1854	1925	[Marker not found in 2009 reading - may be on the reverse side of Samuel A. Clendenin's stone?]
Clendenin	Samuel A.	1850	1925	[Husband and wife - shared stone]
Clendenin	Martha E. Stevens	1856	19__	[Husband and wife - shared stone]
Clendenin	Thomas B.	1869	1935	[Husband and wife - shared stone]
Clendenin	Alberta I.	1873	1919	[Husband and wife - shared stone]
Gabbert	John S.	3 February 1886	2 February 1891	"Son of P.M. & M.E. Gabbert"
Gabbert	Perry M.	1841	19__	[Husband and wife - shared stone] "His Wife"
Gabbert	Mary E.	1844	1909	[Husband and wife - shared stone] "His Wife"
Gardner	Don Everett	26 November 1878	8 May 1941	[Son of J.W. & Lucy Gardner - last recorded burial in this cemetery] [No marker found in 2009 reading]
Gardner	John Weaver	7 March 1857	19 October 1920	[No monument per 1959 reading - husband of Lucy Knopp Gardner]
Gardner	Lucy Knopp	27 September 1863	April 1933	[Dau. of Jacob & his second wife Betty E. Hogg Windon Knopp] [No marker found in 2009 reading]
Gardner	Walter Dean	1881	1909
Hawkins	Annie L.	26 November 1886	29 April 1892
Hawkins	Mary F.	23 December 1855	18 December 1888	[Marker not found in 2009 reading]
Hawkins	Robert S.	26 May 1847	12 December 1908	[Marker not found in 2009 reading]
Hogg	Lucy		20 September 18_2	[Aged 62 Ys 10 Ms 4 Ds - wife of T.G. Hogg] [Summer 2009: this stone fallen face down, within an ornate 15'x15' wrought iron fenced plot along with Thomas Hogg's stone. According to the 1850 Census, this couple lived near John & Nancy Somerville who set this land aside for a cemetery (G.D.McClain)]
Hogg	Thomas G.	7 August 1800	19 October 1873	"Aged 73 Yrs. 2 Ms. 12 D."
Hopkins	David A.	1856	3 December 1881	[Marker not found in 2009 reading]
Hopkins	Hattie M.	6 February 1860	16 April 1887	[Dau. of Samuel T. & Arabella Windon] "Wife of D. A. Hopkins" "Aged 27Y. 2M. 10D."
Humphrey	Catherine		27 August 1878	[Aged 26 Ys 2 Ms 23 Ds] [Marker not found in 2009 reading]
Humphrey	Edward G.	1888	1928
Johnson				[4 old funeral home markers bearing the surname "Johnson"- no longer legible per 1959 reading] [Marker not found in 2009 reading]
Johnson	Arthur	2 September 1824	13 June 1889	[Marker not found in 2009 reading]
Johnson	B.T.	1856	19__
Johnson	David Lewis		1931	[Marker not found in 2009 reading]
Johnson	John	1824		[Marker not found in 2009 reading]
Johnson	M.J.		13 June 1899	[Aged 64 Ys 11 Ms] [Marker not found in 2009 reading]
Kirby	Lucien	28 January 1854	16 November 1855	"Son of J. E. & M. Kirby" [Rest of inscription illegible]
Knopp	Jacob	11 October 1815	19 September 1900	[Husband and wife - shared stone] "His wife" [Dau. of Thomas G. & Lucy Ball Hogg, wife of Francis H. Windon, then Jacob Knopp]
Knopp	Bettie	1830	1897
Knopp	Thomas M.	21 March 1865	9 July 1890	"Son of Jacob & B.A. Knopp" "Aged 25 y 3m 18 d"
Knopp	William T.	13 July 1866	29 October 1888	"Aged 22 ys 3 ms 16 d"
Lee	Caroline	4 June 1850	27 August 1878	"Aged 28 ys 2 m 23 ds" [Most likely the wife of F.J. Lee]
Lee	Felix M.	1819	1896
Lee	Julia F.		17 March 1882	"Dau. of C.W. & F.J. Lee" "11Y. 3M. 11D."
Lee	__EA Della		9 July 1875	"Dau. of W. & F.J. Lee" [Rest of inscription illegible]
Long	Rebecca S.	27 March 1824	23 March 1879	"Daughter of Mary Brown" "Sleep Mother dear..."
Mitchell	[Baby]		14 September 1918
Neal	Alice B.	20 November 1909	20 November 1909	"B & D Nov. 20, 1909" [Immediately to the right of this grave, an unmarked adult size grave]
Noble	[Son]
Noble	Ernest Edward	27 October 1899	26 September 1901	"Son of W.T. & L.E. Noble" "Baby" [In front of this marker is a small stone with no inscription - likely his footstone, per summer 2009]
Noble	William			[Marker not found in 2009 reading]
Proffitt				[Nothing further was inscribed on this stone (as seen in Summer 2009), and no other similarly named monuments were located nearby]
Proffitt	John H.	1832	1913
Proffitt	Laura	1830	1877
Rayburn	Maxwell	1829	1907	[Husband and wife - shared stone] "His Wife" [Adjacent to this stone, in Summer 2009, was a stone fallen face down, possibly that of Joseph Windon]
Rayburn	Mary J. Windon	1831	1886
Rayburn	Mazella B.	18_0	1923	[Son of Maxwell Rayburn]
Somerville	Edward Green	16 June 1834	27 August 1914	"Our Parents" [Husband and wife - shared stone] "His Wife" "At Rest"
Somerville	Sarah Lavena Ball	23 September 1846	1909
Somerville	James	1834	1914	[Husband and wife - shared stone] "His Wife"
Somerville	Frances E.	1839	1916	[Husband and wife - shared stone] "His Wife"
Somerville	John	26 March 1807	24 April 1895	"Aged 88y 29d" [Husband and wife - shared plot] "Aged 62y 11m 10d" "Father and Mother now farewell, A short time it will be, Till one by one we'll gather, To tune our harps with thee"
Somerville	Nancy	5 December 1806	15 November 1869
Somerville	Lewis Edgar	1867	1922	[Marker not found in 2009 reading]
Somerville	Margaret J.	4 January 1840	3 March 1900	[Dau. of John & Nancy Somerville]
Somerville	Mary E.	1848	1893	[Marker not found in 2009 reading]
Somerville	Robert W.	1842	1919	[Husband and wife - shared stone] "His Wife"
Somerville	Jane Catherine	24 December 1854	29 April 1915	[Husband and wife - shared stone] "His Wife"
Somerville	Samuel	1841	1908
Somerville	Thomas		6 April 1852	"Son of John & N. Somerville" "Aged 19 years 2 Ms"
Somerville	Weston D.	20 December 1832	25 October 1892	"Our Parents and Sister" [Husband and wife - shared stone] "His Wife" "Our Dau."
Somerville	Margaret	6 March 1837	27 December 1912
Somerville	Inez E.	15 August 1876	5 October 1911
Stevens	Martha E.	1856	19__	[Two unmarked footstones resting against this headstone]
Swon	Edward E.	8 November 1860	25 September 1899
Tooly	Polly		11 September 1825	"In Memory of..." "Daughter of Reuben & Hannan Tooly, who died Sept. 11, 1825, Aged 6 yrs 6__"
Troeger	Sarah Jane	1 August 1840	21 November 1894	"Aged 54 Ys 3 Ms 20 D"
Windon	Ann Eliza	11 August 1849	28 April 1863	"Dau. of S. & A.J. Windon" "Aged 13 ys 8 ms 17 da" [Rest of inscription illegible]
Windon	Caroline H.		30 November 1855	"Wife of Francis H. Windon" "Aged 30 years 9 mos 11 dys" [Rest of inscription illegible]
Windon	Francis A.		19 April 1865	[24 years of age - son of S.& A.J. Windon - 1st soldier of Co. C. 13th W.Va. Inf.]
Windon	Francis H.	9 May 1822	24 May 1859	"Aged 37 yrs 15 ds" [Rest of inscription illegible]
Windon	James H.	2 September 1850	21 July 1854	"Son of F.N. & C.H. Windon" "Aged 3 years 10 mo 19 ds"
Windon	John Harry	1862	1918	[Husband and wife - shared stone] "His Wife" "At Rest"
Windon	Estella M.	1866	19__	[Husband and wife - shared stone] "His Wife" "At Rest"
Windon	Joseph B.		29 October 1884	[Aged 78 Ys 6 Ms 2 Ds] [Marker not found in 2009 reading]
Windon	Laura Blanch	1867	1886	"Dau. of J.H. & R.J. Windon" "At Rest"
Windon	Lucy Irene	1891	1891	"Dau. of J.H. Windon & Wife"
Windon	Rhonda J.	13 December 1845	5 March 1878	"Wife of J.H. Windon" "Aged 32 ys 2 m 20 d"
Windon	Robert		18 December 1855	[Aged 1 M 25 Ds - son of Francis & Caroline Windon]
Windon	Samuel	1814	1868	[Husband and wife - shared stone] "His Wife" "Our Parents" [Dau. of Peter Hogg]
Windon	Arabella Jane	1820	1888
Windon	Susan	25 December 1804	17 June 1891	"Aged 86 Y 5 M 23 D"
Windon	William		12 August 1872	"Son of S. & A.J. Windon" [This stone was seen alongside Samuel & Arabella's graves, but mostly illegible, in Summer 2009 ] [Marker not found in 2009 reading]
Yeager	Joseph	4 January 1790	4 May 1860	"Aged 70 yrs 6 months"
Yeager	Mary		25 July 1864	"Wife of Joseph Yeager" "Aged 72 yrs ___ 10 m"
Unidentified Graves/Tombstones:
Image 04				[Inscription illegible]
...and at least 16 additional unmarked graves noted in 1959 reading, as published in 'Mason Co., W.Va. Cemetery Inscriptions'
Probable Burials:
Clendenin	Thomas Barton	31 December 1869	1935	[Son of Charles & Charlotte Ripley Clendenin] [Marker not found in 2009 reading]
Neal	Gordon		11 February 1941	[Aged 89 years - son of Charlie Neal] [Marker not found in 2009 reading]
Noble	Mark		19 September 1884	[Aged 84 Ys 10 Ms] [Marker not found in 2009 reading]
Yeager	Susan		February 1869	[Aged 20 years - dau. of J. & S. Yeager] [Marker not found in 2009 reading]
Yeager	William V.		3 February 1867	[Aged 31 Ys 4 Ms - son of Jacob & Sarah Yeager] [Marker not found in 2009 reading]

Comments:

Dates in Red above are not inscribed on the tombstone and have either been calculated based on death date or are as a result of research on the individual.

The following comments were provided by WVCPA volunteers that visited the cemetery in Autumn 2007:

"Today, we found the Somerville Cemetery located off Rt. 62 in a wilderness... There are some monuments that are no longer there that were listed. Also, found a few names that were buried there (through research). Many of the huge, huge monuments are down. Trees from the ice storm did a number on the cemetery and there has been NOOOO maintenance for many, many years. Briars have taken over. It is a true wilderness. An elderly gentleman (who lives in the area) told us there had been a dispute about the cemetery one time and he believed there were cattle allowed to roam among the monuments at one time by a landowner. Now there are NO fences and no cattle. Several monuments are broken. Could be a number of reasons. One horrible sight--a groundhog has burrowed down into one of the old coffins. We took pictures the best that we could."

A subsequent project, single-handedly taken on by Somerville descendant G. Dale McClain, has helped to bring this cemetery from the brink of total abandonment, to that of a cemetery in definite rescue. When Mr. McClain worked on the cemetery the summer of 2009, he also provided an updated/corrected reading of the stones, along with this commentary:

"The attached alphabetical list indicates the grave markers located, as of 2009, in the Somerville Cemetery just east of Rt. 62 north of Point Pleasant. This slightly larger than 2 acre tract of land is located near the coordinates of North 38 Degrees 55.753 Minutes , West 82 Degrees 05.653 Minutes. Surrounding ownership on three sides is C. Dallas Kayser. Access to this location, which requires crossing farm ground, should be requested before entry.

This Cemetery has been previously inventoried, and discrepancies occur between the following list and previous inventories. Differences are attributed to the lack of care of the Cemetery since it was first established in the 1800’s. From July through September, 2009, brush and smaller trees were cut from a portion, but not all, of this tract of land. Additional clearing may result in the discovery of additional markers.

Markers found, and hereby recorded, were cleaned only to the extent of being able to read the inscriptions. Listing in alphabetical order does not correspond to any specific location, or adjacency to other markers in the Cemetery. To find a specific marker will require a visit to the entire plot. The boundaries of this Cemetery have not been precisely identified Further research and work on site will undoubtedly modify this list. Additional inscriptions were recognized on some markers but were too worn to fully transcribe. Digital photographs were taken of markers recited below.
This inventory was taken by G. Dale McClain. His Somerville and Yeager ancestors rest at this location. He currently resides in Ohio. Cellular telephone 614-286-0770, or email mcclainswheels (at) yahoo.com."

WVCPA sincerely thanks Mr. McClain for his hard work and dedication in honoring the memory of those buried here by rescuing this cemetery, and for providing us with additional information for the permanent documentation of Somerville Cemetery.

Updated: 07 September 2012