Except where noted below, all headstones are now lying on the ground with their often moss-covered, inscribed surfaces facing upwards, one being a considerable distance from it's presumed base. However, the general arrangement of those headstones, together with accompanying bases and foot stones, suggests that the burying ground was laid out according to Christian custom, with bodies being interred in an east/west direction, their heads placed to the west. Line breaks for the inscriptions are denoted by slashes [/] in the transcriptions below. These transcriptions were based upon visual inspection by the two of us, analysis of multiple photographs of each headstone taken under different lighting conditions and, where necessary to resolve difficult renderings, by rubbings. Variant renditions of transcriptions by those noted in the previous paragraph are noted where appropriate.

CONRAD

Christopher Conrad/David Conrad plot

1. CHRISTOPHER. / CONRAD. / DIED OCTO= / =BER. THE. / 26, 1852 / WA_____ / NO_____R / TH_____ / AGED _____ / YEARS. 11. MO / NTHS. 9. DAYS. / AS. YOU. ARE. NOW. / SO. ONCE. WA[S I] / SO. PREPARE. [FOR] / DEATH. This is a tilted but standing, capped, obelisk-shaped, monument. Unfortunately it is made of sandstone which has spalled on the east face, destroying much of the inscription. It marks the resting place of the patriarch of the Conrad family. Beavers [ELB-2007] and Weaver [CW-1972] record an age of 77 years. Flowers [GF-1998], though questioning it, has the year of death as 1835.

2. ______BA__BARY/ ____NRAD. This is all that can still be made out on two pieces of a broken and crumbling headstone found lying beneath the headstone of Effa Conrad and wedged against its presumed base. That base is about four feet north of the Christopher Conrad's monument and, about seven feet to the east of the base is a foot stone still mounted in its base. The foot stone has on it the initials B.C. This undoubtedly marks the resting place of Christopher Conrad's wife Barbary. Those recording in the 1970's and 1980's were able to decipher much more information on this stone. Weaver [CW-1972] and Beavers [ELB-2007] have Barbary A. Conrad, died 6 June 1869, aged 82y 6m 6d, while the Redds [R&CMR] have Barbary Conrad, ___ died J__186? Aged 82y 8?m and Murphy [JLM-1983] has Barbary J. Cpmrad, died J___186__ ae 82y 8?m.

3. DAVID CONRAD / Died / Feb. 4, 1875 / Aged / 59Y. 1M. & 15 D. / Preserve me oh God for in thee do I / put my trust This stone is broken in two, the break cutting through the word "Aged."

4. EFFA A. / Dau. of / D. & L. CONRAD / died / June 4, 1872 / Aged / 9Y. 1M.& 4D. / My time was short / but now I am free / to live with God / eternally

G. W. Conrad family plot

5. MARANDA / Dau. of G. W. / CONRAD / Died / Oct. 28, 1832 / Aged 10 D. This stone, apparently the oldest in the burying ground, is partially buried. Murphy [JLM-1983], Beavers [ELB-2007], and the Redds [R&CMR] all have the parents as H & J Conrad, while Flowers [GF-1998] reads it as GW & J Conrad. However, the headstone lies in the portion of the burying ground where members of the family of George Washington Conrad were buried and his wife at the time of Maranda's birth was Amelia Reynolds.

6. SETH LEWIS / Son of G. W. & A? / CONRAD / DIED / Mar. 28, 1840. / Aged 10 Ds. This stone is broken in two, the break occurring through the date of death. Beavers [ELB-2007] and the Redds [R&CMR] have the death day as March 26 and the parents once again as H & J Conrad. Murphy [JLM-1983] has the death date correct but also has the parents as H & J Conrad and Seth's middle name as Levis. Flowers [GF-1998] has the death day correct but the month is given as July and the parents as GW & J. While the wife's initial is now impossible to read, G.W. Conrad was still married to his first wife, Amelia at the time of Seth's birth.

7. AMELIA / wife of / G. W. CONRAD / Died / July 10, 1847 / Aged 38 Yrs 2 Mo 9 D. This stone is broken across the death date making the month and day difficult to read. Neither the Redds [R&CMR] nor Murphy found this headstone but Murphy does offer Goslin's transcription [CG-1971] which gives the husband's name as C.W. Conrad. Beavers [ELB- 2007] has the husband as G.S. Conrad and the month of death as September. Weaver [CW- 1972] gets the husband's name correct but also records the month of death as September. Flowers [GF-1998] has the death date as 11 July 1857.

8. MINURVEY O. / Dau. of / G. W. & Julian / CONRAD / DIED / Aug. 28, 1857. / aged 3 mo. / 17 d. Murphy [JLM-1983] gives her middle initial as D.

9. A "modern" granite headstone, lying upside down against it's base. The inscription reads: FATHER & MOTHER / HENRY CONRAD / DIED OCT. 11, 1902 / AGED 77Y. 8M. 12D. / MARGARET CONRAD / DIED FEB. 16, 1900 / AGED 71Y. 10M. 5D. Foot stones inscribed MOTHER and FATHER are about 7 or 8 feet to the east of this monument.

10. CHRISTIAN L. / [Son of] / H. & M. CONRAD / Died / Oct. 26, 1858 / Aged 3 Yrs. / 11 Mo 26 Ds. This stone is broken in two, the break coming between the child's name and his parents' names. Because of this it has not been possible to determine whether the words "son of" are inscribed on the stone as they are on the stone beside it or not. Murphy [JLM- 1983], Beavers [ELB-2007], and the Redds [R&CMR] all read this as "daughter of" H. & M Conrad, and Murphy indicates that Goslin [CG-1971] rendered the given name as Christina. Beavers also has the age listed as 3y 17d. The question of gender can't be resolved absent something like an 1855 census record, but the name on the headstone is definitely Christian L. and not Christina.

11. INFANT / Son of / H. & M. CONRAD / Died / Nov. 1, 1853. Flowers [GF-1998] has the year of death as 1852.

12. A standing square pillar with inscriptions on three sides. East face: RHEUEY A. / CONRAD / DIED / JAN. 2, 1893. / AGED / 42Y. 1M. 20D. West face: AMANDA J. / CONRAD / DIED / FEB. 18, 1895. / AGED / 35Y. 8M. 5D. North face: Dying is but / going home. Murphy [JLM-1983], Beavers [ELB-2007] and the Redds [R&CMR] all claim that this stone had fallen, but it is presently upright and one of the two most noticeable monuments in the burying ground. Flowers [GF-1998] only records the inscription for Amanda.

CARDIFF

Cardiff family plot and Henry Conrad plot

13. ISAAC W. / Son of / SETHEL ISABEL / CARDIFF / Died / Dec. 27, 1851. / Aged / 11 MONTHS. Beavers [ELB-2007] has the year of death as 1852.

14. MARCUS / Son of / SETHEL ISABEL / CARDIFF / DIED / Dec. 4, 1852. / AGED / 5 Yrs 9 Mo & 25 D. Not recorded by the Redds [R&CER] but included in the other two transcriptions included in their work [CW-1972 & GF-1998]. Beavers [ELB-2007] claims that this stone is missing, relying on an earlier 1972 transcription.

15. WILLIARD C. / CARDIFF / died / Sep. 22, 1861 / Aged / 4 yrs. 7 mos. 20 d. The age in years is very difficult to decipher. There is a single numeral that looks something like a 1 but is probably the right hand portion of a 4 as Willard is recorded as being four years of age in the 1860 census. Murphy [JLM-1983] has his death year as 184?, age as 1y 7d, and includes the line "son of S. & I. Cardiff." Weaver [CW-1972] and Beavers [ELB-2007], referring to an earlier 1972 transcription for a now-missing stone, record his age as we have it but they include "s/o S. & J." in their transcriptions. Flowers [GF-1998] also includes this line, but gives Willard's age as 1y7m20d. The Redds [R&CER] do not include this record. Williard/Willard was the son of Sethel and Isabel Cardiff but we have found absolutely no indication, by rubbing or any other means, that this information was included on his headstone.

16. MARY J. / CARDIFF / died / Oct 20, 1861 / Aged / 2 ys. 9m. 5 ds. The age is difficult to read. Murphy [JLM-1983], Beavers [ELB-2007], the Redds [R&CER], Weaver [CW-1972] and Flowers [GF-1998] all include the line "dau. of S & J. Cardiff." Once again, we have found no indication that this line was inscribed on Mary's headstone and, if it was, the wife's initial should be I. Not J.

HARPER

Harper family plot

17. JAMES HARPER / died Jan. 15, 1845. / Aged 41 years 2 mo. / & 13 days. This stone is in beautiful condition. It is resting almost upright against the trunk of a large tree. Oddly, given its present prominence, Murphy [JLM-1983] does not record this headstone in his work. Beavers [ELB-2007], the Redds [R&CER], and Flowers [GF-1998] all have his age as being 44y 2m 13d, but photographs clearly show that the second numeral is a 1 not a 4.

18. ENOCH HARPER / Born / Mar. 27, 1802 / Died / Sept. 18, 1867. This stone is broken below the inscription. The presumed base with the stub of a headstone is about eight feet to the south, with an accompanying foot stone bearing the initials E. H. lying along side it. Flowers [GF-1998] has Enoch's birthday as 22 March.

ADDITIONAL OBSERVATIONS
The burying ground appears to have been divided into five distinct sections or family plots, three of which belonged to various members of the Conrad family [see appended site map]. In the northwestern corner of the ground are the graves of Christopher Conrad, his wife, his grown son, David, and at least one of David's children. In the northeastern portion of the ground is a section given over to the family of another of Christopher's sons, George W. Conrad. In between these two plots there is a section wherein the Harpers were laid to rest and, to the south of that is a section where five children of Sethel Cardiff are buried. Finally, in the southern-most portion of the ground one finds the family of Henry Conrad, a third son of Christopher.

In addition to the headstones transcribed above, there are a number of other stones present throughout the burial ground. Thirteen of these served as bases for some of the headstones or foot stones. Another sixteen are smaller foot stones with initials or words carved in them, seven of which appear to be still in place. Yet another five stones look to be foot stones but have no visible inscriptions on them. Four of these are simply lying on the ground. Most, but not all, of the foot stones with initials on them match nearby headstones. Those that do not suggest the possibility that there were additional intermits in this burial ground. This will be discussed on a plot-by-plot basis in the four paragraphs which follow.

Between the base stone that presumably held Barbary Conrad's headstone and the presumed base to David's headstone to the north are two other stones, each with a single hole drilled in the top of it. One of these two undoubtedly served as the base for Effa Conrad's small obelisk-shaped headstone. However, no headstone has been found for the companion base, nor are there any inscribed foot stones to the east of these.

The portion of the burying ground containing members of George W. Conrad's family is greatly disturbed. None of the four transcribed headstones are erect and two are broken. A total of six bases have been uncovered, five of them aligned pretty much in a row running roughly north/south. A sixth base is about eight feet further east and appears to have once held the nearby foot stone having the initials S.L.C. on it. The broken headstone of Seth Lewis Conrad lies just to the west of this base and five feet or so further east is its presumed base, the middle one of the five bases in a row. A total of five additional, small, probable foot stones are scattered about the area, none of them being upright and embedded in the earth. Of those five, four have initials carved into one face. However, the initials only match one of the headstones in the vicinity, that being M.O.C. Two of the other three foot stones have the initials J.C. inscribed on them, while the third has L.C. on it. The stone marked L.C. might refer to George Conrad's daughter Lucinda who is recorded in the family as a 21 year old in the 1860 census, but is not mentioned in the 1870 census. One of the stones inscribed with the initials J.C. may belong to George's son Joseph who is recorded as a two-month-old infant in the 1860 census but is not mentioned in the 1870 census. The other stone inscribed with the initials J.C. is undoubtedly George's second wife, Juliann (or Julia Ann). I suspect that it is the small foot stone that is resting against a tree at the southern end of George W.'s family plot. Roughly eight feet to the west of it is a base with the stub of a headstone imbedded in it. The remainder of the headstone was not found. This base is about four feet south of the base and headstone of Minurvey O. Conrad, Juliann's only child. Goslin in 1971 [CG-1971] apparently saw a headstone for Juliann for he has the following transcription in his notes:
Juliann Conrad, d. Aug. 7, 1858, ae 40y 2m 7d. Wife of C.W. Conrad [for C read G]. No one else has transcribed this headstone.

In the Harper portion of the burial ground there is, resting next to Enoch's headstone, a foot stone containing the initials S.H. for which no accompanying headstone has been found. Both Weaver [CW-1972] and Beavers [ELB-2007], referring to a 1972 reading of a now-missing stone, have included the following transcription:
Samuel, son of S. & M. Harper, d. 5 Oct 1837. Aged 18y 5m 11d. The stone does not appear to have been found after 1972.

There is an embedded foot stone with the initials E.J.C. in the Cardiff portion of the burying ground for which no headstone has been found. It is one of five foot stones that are more or less in a line running north/south and about three feet apart. Three of the other four foot stones have the initials I.W.C., W.C.C., and M.J.C. inscribed on them, with the E J.C. stone being between the last two of these. It is probable that this marks the grave of Effie J. Cardiff who is recorded as a six-year-old family member in the 1860 census but is missing from the 1870 census. Weaver [CW-1972] and Beavers [ELB-2007], again referring to an earlier 1972 transcription of a now-missing stone, have recorded the following:
Effa J., dau. of S & J Cardifff, d. Sep. 10, 1861. Aged 6y 7m 9d. This stone also does not appear to have been found after 1972. It should also be noted that no base stones were found in the Cardiff portion of the burying ground. The five upright foot stones were simply placed in the earth. It is probable that the same was done with the headstones.

We have been able to transcribe and photograph the eighteen headstones located by us in late 2007 and early 2008, marking the final resting places for twenty members of the Conrad, Cardiff and Harper families. Earlier transcribers in the 1970's were able to record three additional headstones, raising the number of persons known to have been interred in the burying ground to twenty three. We have also turned up two initialed foot stones in the G. W. Conrad section of the burying ground for which there are neither extant headstones or earlier transcriptions available. There is also an "extra" base stone between that of Barbary Conrad and that of her son David for which no headstone has been located. Whether the missing headstones are present somewhere in the area buried beneath the forest litter or whether they have been removed from the burying ground is not known. The trees now growing on the site are no more than 40 or 50 years old at best and the land downslope from the site remains in pasture to this day. One person familiar with the property indicated that the burial ground had at one time been fenced to keep cattle out but that the fence had broken down allowing the animals access to the site. Indeed, we have turned up two still-standing fence posts in what was probably the southwest corner of the fenced area, as well as a number of barbed wire staples embedded in old snags along the eastern boundary of the burying ground. Grazing cattle, together with the growth of the trees themselves, have probably led to much of the destruction now apparent.

SITEMAP

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SITEMAP LEGEND

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INDEX OF PHOTOGRAPHS

1. Overview looking west from the eastern side of burying ground. Rheuey A. & Amanda J. Conrad's monument in left middle ground, Christopher Conrad's monument in the center background, James Harper's headstone against a tree in the right background, and Minurvey O. Conrad's headstone near the tree in right middle ground. Picture was taken in September of 2007.

2. Christopher Conrad/David Conrad plot, looking south. David's headstone behind its base in the foreground. Christopher's monument behind the small tree in the background. Effa A. Conrad's headstone [with Barbary Conrad's broken headstone beneath it] plus three base stones in between.

3. G. W. Conrad family plot, looking south. Foot stone with the initials L. C. on it in the foreground. Another foot stone with the initials J. C. immediately behind it. Amelia Conrad's broken headstone in the middle ground. The other foot stone with the initials J. C. [probably Julianne's] leaning against the tree in the left background. Though not readily visible, a row of five partially buried base stones runs from just in front of the first foot stone to a point beyond the left side of the large tree in the middle background.

4. Harper family plot, looking south. Samuel's foot stone in foreground with Enoch's headstone immediately behind it. Presumed base for Enoch's headstone in background with James' headstone to the right of it. Enoch's foot stone in front of the base.

5. Cardiff family plot and Henry Conrad plot, looking a bit east of south. Isaac W. Cardiff's foot stone in the left foreground. To the right of it on the ground are the headstones of Isaac, Marcus and Williard C. Cardiff respectively. In the left middle ground is the jumbled pile of Christian L. and Infant Conrad's headstones, plus a base. Behind that is the Rheuey A. & Amanda J. Conrad monument and still further back the base and upended headstone for Henry and Margaret Conrad. Photographs 2-5 were taken in March 2008.

6. Christopher Conrad monument, inscription detail [top part].

7. Christopher Conrad monument, inscription detail [bottom part].

8. Barbary Conrad headstone. The stones were removed from their resting place and reassembled for the photograph. They were subsequently returned to that resting place.

9. David Conrad headstone.

10. Effa A. Conrad monument.

11. Maranda Conrad headstone.

12. Seth Lewis Conrad headstone.

13. Amelia Conrad headstone.

14. Minurvey O. Conrad headstone.

15. Henry & Margaret Conrad headstone.

16. Christian L. Conrad headstone.

17. Infant Conrad headstone.

18. Rheuey A. Conrad side of monument.

19. Amanda J. Conrad side of monument.

20. Isaac W. Cardiff headstone.

21. Marcus Cardiff headstone.

22. Williard C. Cardiff headstone.

23. Mary J. Cardiff headstone.

24. James Harper headstone.

25. Enoch Harper headstone.

26. Presumed Juliann Conrad foot stone.

27. Samuel Harper foot stone.