- Why are you photographing cemeteries in Virginia?
After visiting Bruton Parish Church, and other local church cemeteries, on one of my many trips to the area, I inquired as to where all the other people who have lived in the area over the last 400 years were buried. I asked this of someone who worked at one of the taverns in CW, and his reply was that "they must have been buried at their farms." I checked around and nobody seemed to know of any of these "family burial grounds". So I went to my computer and typed in "where was everybody in Williamsburg buried?", I came up with a link to a page on the following website, Williamsburg Postcards. On this page, were 2 articles which asked-and somewhat answered-my question!
Using the information from these articles, I set out to find all of the graveyards mentioned in the CW area. I have found many of them, and photographed what I could. Sadly, I think too many people really were buried at their farms, and those are now under subdivisions or streets-without anyone's knowledge. Each time I return to the area, I hope to find and photograph more hidden graveyards.
- Why aren't you adding any more?
My Brother-in-law is in the Navy, and for several years he was stationed in the Yorktown area. As of February 2004, my brother-in-law and sister have moved to Mississippi, and my mother to Tennessee(after Katrina destroyed her home in MS), so the family I had in Virginia has moved on. I will continue to research the area, though, I cannot currently visit these sites.
- Do I accept photos from other people?
Sorry, but not at this time. I truly intended this website to be a personal scrapbook, and a being a genealogical source of information was only an afterthought. As I am so behind in adding all of my own photos, I would never have the time to add others photos. It costs me about $100 a year to keep this website and lots of time, gasoline and camera batteries to add to it. It is a labor of love and I really enjoy doing it. I like it being something very personal from me.
Websites recommended
Williamsburg Postcards
Colonial Williamsburg
Monuments to our Mortality, from the CW Journal
Tidewater Genealogy Society
Tombstone Transcription Project-Virginia
Virginia Tombstone Photo Project
USGenWeb Virginia Digital Archives
Personal website about Grace Episcopal Church by a descendant of someone buried there
Books used for research:
Williamsburg Before and After, The Rebirth of Virginia's Colonial Capital, by George Humphrey Yetter
Bruton Parish Churchyard:A Guide With Map, Published by Bruton Parish Church
Bruton Parish Church, Its Spiritual and Historical Legacy, by Hugh De Samper
The Hauntings of Williamsburg, Yorktown, and Jamestown, by Jackie Eileen Behrend
The Ghosts of Williamsburg, Volume II, by L.B. Taylor Jr
Civil War Ghosts of Virginia, by L.B. Taylor Jr
A Guidebook to Virginia's Historical Markers, compiled by John S Salmon
Jamestown Archeological Assessment, from the National Park Service
Hollywood Cemetery Her Forgotten Soldiers: Confederate Field Officers at Rest, by Chris Ferguson
Civil War Williamsburg, by Carson O Hudson Jr
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