Cenotaph:
PVT WEAKLY'S REGT SC TROOPS REV WAR.
David Edenfield was a son of Thomas Edenfield and Elizabeth Creamer. Thomas Edenfield was born in Kent County, Delaware. He moved his family South, first to North Carolina, then in the late 1750s to South Carolina where they settled on vacant land on the Savannah River near what is now Martin, SC. Later, he received a 200-acre land grant of this property from King George III of Great Britain. (The Edenfield Family Tree, published 1982)
--------------------------
News Item from the Swainsboro, Ga., Forest Blade, Nov. 31st, 1932:
EMANUEL CHAPTER MARKS OLD GRAVE
The Governor David Emanuel Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution of Emanuel County unveiled a monument to the memory of a Revolutionary soldier, Private David Edenfield, on Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 29, at the old Edenfield cemetery on the Homer Youmans place, five miles from Swainsboro. This is the first Revolutionary grave to be marked by this chapter, which was organized in June 1931. The regent, Mrs. W. Henry Flanders of Swainsboro, was in charge of the impressive exercises, which were attended by a large representation of the descendants of David Edenfield and of the members of the David Emanuel chapter and of the Adam Brinson chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Representative W.W. Larsen of Washington, D.C., and of Dublin, Ga., was the speaker for the occasion. The program opened with the bugle call, after which America was sung by the assembly. The invocation was given by Mrs. Anna Edenfield Brown, acting chaplain of the Governor David Emanuel chapter. Mrs. Brown is a descendant of David Edenfield.
Mrs. Flanders, the regent, welcomed the guests and told of the joy the chapter felt in honoring a Revolutionary war hero. A history of the Edenfield family and the service of David Edenfield, his ancestry, was given by Mr. H.C. Edenfield, who then introduced Mr. Larsen, who is connected by marriage with the family.
The patriotic address which he gave made a deep impression on the audience. A quartet, Keep the Faith, was sung by Mrs. Adele Holloman, Mrs. Hugh Fillingim, Mr. Fillingim and Mr. Dixon. Mrs. D.L. Bland of Garfield, a member of the Adam Brinson chapter, D.A.R., and a sister of Mrs. Anna Brown, acting chaplain of the Governor David Emanuel chapter, made a gracious impromptu speech of appreciation of the tribute paid to this Revolutionary ancestor. Mrs. John J. Moore, a granddaughter, and believed to be the nearest living descendant of David Edenfield, unveiled the monument, while little June Coleman, a winsome three year old descendant of the hero, placed a lovely basket of roses on the grave. Mrs. Anna Brown and Mrs. D.L. Bland placed beautiful bouquets of chrysanthemums on the grave. Master Homer Durden, Jr., and Master Marion Watson, descendants of the hero, carried the flags, which were displayed at the entrance of the cemetery. Taps was sounded by Bob Pound. The descendants who are members of the Governor David Emanuel Chapter are Mrs. John R. Powell, Jr., a daughter of Mrs. John J. Moore, who had the honor of unveiling the marker; Mrs. Homer Durden, Mrs. Steve Williams, Jr., Mrs. Anna Brown, Mrs. Nora Coleman and Mrs. Adele Holloman.
__________________________________________________________________
In the spring of 1978, I (Norman E. Masters) visited with James L. Carmichael in Swainsboro, Ga. I was accompanied by P. Douglas Fowler, a member of the faculty of Georgia Southern College in Statesboro, Ga. Mr. Carmichael took us out to his farm to a wooded area adjacent to his property, which he stated made up part of the old Lot Youmans (Homer Youmans) place. He said the farm had recently been sold to Marvin Collins and Mr. Collins cleared the wooded area, saying he did not realize there was a cemetery there until it was cleared except for one gravestone. Mr. Carmichael stated that as a child and a young man he remembered there were a number of gravestones there. The gravestone that was left still standing was one erected by the D.A.R. to David Edenfield, and had the inscription, "David Edenfield, Weakly's Regt., S.C. Troops, Revolutionary War, Jan. 19, 1761." There was a dented gravesite to the left of this marker. Through talking to members of the family who had seen this cemetery, we believe there were about 18 graves there. Up from the cemetery there was a draw and a group of trees which gave the appearance that a house might have been there at one time. Old timers in the family have stated that David Edenfield's house was in sight of the cemetery. A search was made for other gravestones but no more could be located. It is assumed that David's wife was buried in the grave next to his, and probably his son, Jesse, and his wife were there, also.
NOTE FROM OLIVIA:
I, too, visited this burial site in 1978, shortly after it had been bulldozed. My group first went to the Marvin Collins house and received permission and directions. We went down the dirt road beside their house and crossed over a pond dam on the left side of the road--as I recall, we continued left along the edge of the woods until we saw where bulldozing had taken place. I saw David Edenfield's marker and several broken pieces of other tombstones scattered about in disarray, partially buried in the dirt; some had portions of names on them. I have often wished I'd brought a camera and recorded the devastated site. I was so upset, I didn't even write down the partial names I found, and I so wish I'd gone back and asked permission to dig up and remove all pieces of tombstones and tried to restore them. Shortly thereafter, in passing on the highway (297), I saw Mr. Carmichael there working on his fence. I stopped and had a talk with him, and he told me basically what he had told the gentlemen in the above article. He said I could more easily find the site by going through his pasture gate and across his land. Over the years, I have been back to the general area of the original Edenfield burial ground, but could no longer find the site. By then, Mr. Carmichael was deceased and I had no one to show me the original homesite and burial ground of my great-great-great-great-grandparents. In recent years, I discovered the David Edenfield stone had been moved to the Moore Cemetery near Nunez, but there is no explanation accompanying it about the destroyed cemetery and that this is not the true place of his burial. The James Moore (RS) stone is beside David's in the Moore Cemetery, and there is no explanation on it, as well; I don't know if it was placed in this cemetery by the DAR or moved from another site as David's was. To me, this is such a tragedy! These are only stones; they do not mark the sites where my ancestors' bones actually lie! Their family burial grounds that they, themselves, established on their own property, land that was given to them for their services in the War, where they built homes for their families, reared their children, and worked the fields, were desecrated and totally destroyed by uncaring individuals. And what is worse, their own descendants never stepped forward and did a thing to stop it.
An added note: At the time I found the desecrated Edenfield burial ground, I was working for the county attorney; he was also an Edenfield--not David's descendant, but that of his brother, William. I pleaded with him to help me file a complaint and bring legal action against Marvin Collins for destroying the cemetery (Georgia Law prohibits destruction of cemeteries.). Mr. Collins was then a county commissioner; therefore, I was ridiculed for even making the suggestion.
_____________________________________________
"Gone But Not Forgotten" gives directions to original gravesite:
Go down U.S. 1 South and turn right on State Route 297. Go approximately 1/2 mile and turn left to the second gate on James Carmichael's farm. Follow the road across the field to the head of the branch. The grave marker is in a plot of chinaberry trees.
David Edenfield
Pvt. Weakley's Regiment
S.C. Troops, Rev. War
January 19, 1761
CENOTAPH in Moore Cemetery:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/105347127/david-edenfield
PVT WEAKLY'S REGT SC TROOPS REV WAR.
David Edenfield was a son of Thomas Edenfield and Elizabeth Creamer. Thomas Edenfield was born in Kent County, Delaware. He moved his family South, first to North Carolina, then in the late 1750s to South Carolina where they settled on vacant land on the Savannah River near what is now Martin, SC. Later, he received a 200-acre land grant of this property from King George III of Great Britain. (The Edenfield Family Tree, published 1982)
--------------------------
News Item from the Swainsboro, Ga., Forest Blade, Nov. 31st, 1932:
EMANUEL CHAPTER MARKS OLD GRAVE
The Governor David Emanuel Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution of Emanuel County unveiled a monument to the memory of a Revolutionary soldier, Private David Edenfield, on Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 29, at the old Edenfield cemetery on the Homer Youmans place, five miles from Swainsboro. This is the first Revolutionary grave to be marked by this chapter, which was organized in June 1931. The regent, Mrs. W. Henry Flanders of Swainsboro, was in charge of the impressive exercises, which were attended by a large representation of the descendants of David Edenfield and of the members of the David Emanuel chapter and of the Adam Brinson chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Representative W.W. Larsen of Washington, D.C., and of Dublin, Ga., was the speaker for the occasion. The program opened with the bugle call, after which America was sung by the assembly. The invocation was given by Mrs. Anna Edenfield Brown, acting chaplain of the Governor David Emanuel chapter. Mrs. Brown is a descendant of David Edenfield.
Mrs. Flanders, the regent, welcomed the guests and told of the joy the chapter felt in honoring a Revolutionary war hero. A history of the Edenfield family and the service of David Edenfield, his ancestry, was given by Mr. H.C. Edenfield, who then introduced Mr. Larsen, who is connected by marriage with the family.
The patriotic address which he gave made a deep impression on the audience. A quartet, Keep the Faith, was sung by Mrs. Adele Holloman, Mrs. Hugh Fillingim, Mr. Fillingim and Mr. Dixon. Mrs. D.L. Bland of Garfield, a member of the Adam Brinson chapter, D.A.R., and a sister of Mrs. Anna Brown, acting chaplain of the Governor David Emanuel chapter, made a gracious impromptu speech of appreciation of the tribute paid to this Revolutionary ancestor. Mrs. John J. Moore, a granddaughter, and believed to be the nearest living descendant of David Edenfield, unveiled the monument, while little June Coleman, a winsome three year old descendant of the hero, placed a lovely basket of roses on the grave. Mrs. Anna Brown and Mrs. D.L. Bland placed beautiful bouquets of chrysanthemums on the grave. Master Homer Durden, Jr., and Master Marion Watson, descendants of the hero, carried the flags, which were displayed at the entrance of the cemetery. Taps was sounded by Bob Pound. The descendants who are members of the Governor David Emanuel Chapter are Mrs. John R. Powell, Jr., a daughter of Mrs. John J. Moore, who had the honor of unveiling the marker; Mrs. Homer Durden, Mrs. Steve Williams, Jr., Mrs. Anna Brown, Mrs. Nora Coleman and Mrs. Adele Holloman.
__________________________________________________________________
In the spring of 1978, I (Norman E. Masters) visited with James L. Carmichael in Swainsboro, Ga. I was accompanied by P. Douglas Fowler, a member of the faculty of Georgia Southern College in Statesboro, Ga. Mr. Carmichael took us out to his farm to a wooded area adjacent to his property, which he stated made up part of the old Lot Youmans (Homer Youmans) place. He said the farm had recently been sold to Marvin Collins and Mr. Collins cleared the wooded area, saying he did not realize there was a cemetery there until it was cleared except for one gravestone. Mr. Carmichael stated that as a child and a young man he remembered there were a number of gravestones there. The gravestone that was left still standing was one erected by the D.A.R. to David Edenfield, and had the inscription, "David Edenfield, Weakly's Regt., S.C. Troops, Revolutionary War, Jan. 19, 1761." There was a dented gravesite to the left of this marker. Through talking to members of the family who had seen this cemetery, we believe there were about 18 graves there. Up from the cemetery there was a draw and a group of trees which gave the appearance that a house might have been there at one time. Old timers in the family have stated that David Edenfield's house was in sight of the cemetery. A search was made for other gravestones but no more could be located. It is assumed that David's wife was buried in the grave next to his, and probably his son, Jesse, and his wife were there, also.
NOTE FROM OLIVIA:
I, too, visited this burial site in 1978, shortly after it had been bulldozed. My group first went to the Marvin Collins house and received permission and directions. We went down the dirt road beside their house and crossed over a pond dam on the left side of the road--as I recall, we continued left along the edge of the woods until we saw where bulldozing had taken place. I saw David Edenfield's marker and several broken pieces of other tombstones scattered about in disarray, partially buried in the dirt; some had portions of names on them. I have often wished I'd brought a camera and recorded the devastated site. I was so upset, I didn't even write down the partial names I found, and I so wish I'd gone back and asked permission to dig up and remove all pieces of tombstones and tried to restore them. Shortly thereafter, in passing on the highway (297), I saw Mr. Carmichael there working on his fence. I stopped and had a talk with him, and he told me basically what he had told the gentlemen in the above article. He said I could more easily find the site by going through his pasture gate and across his land. Over the years, I have been back to the general area of the original Edenfield burial ground, but could no longer find the site. By then, Mr. Carmichael was deceased and I had no one to show me the original homesite and burial ground of my great-great-great-great-grandparents. In recent years, I discovered the David Edenfield stone had been moved to the Moore Cemetery near Nunez, but there is no explanation accompanying it about the destroyed cemetery and that this is not the true place of his burial. The James Moore (RS) stone is beside David's in the Moore Cemetery, and there is no explanation on it, as well; I don't know if it was placed in this cemetery by the DAR or moved from another site as David's was. To me, this is such a tragedy! These are only stones; they do not mark the sites where my ancestors' bones actually lie! Their family burial grounds that they, themselves, established on their own property, land that was given to them for their services in the War, where they built homes for their families, reared their children, and worked the fields, were desecrated and totally destroyed by uncaring individuals. And what is worse, their own descendants never stepped forward and did a thing to stop it.
An added note: At the time I found the desecrated Edenfield burial ground, I was working for the county attorney; he was also an Edenfield--not David's descendant, but that of his brother, William. I pleaded with him to help me file a complaint and bring legal action against Marvin Collins for destroying the cemetery (Georgia Law prohibits destruction of cemeteries.). Mr. Collins was then a county commissioner; therefore, I was ridiculed for even making the suggestion.
_____________________________________________
"Gone But Not Forgotten" gives directions to original gravesite:
Go down U.S. 1 South and turn right on State Route 297. Go approximately 1/2 mile and turn left to the second gate on James Carmichael's farm. Follow the road across the field to the head of the branch. The grave marker is in a plot of chinaberry trees.
David Edenfield
Pvt. Weakley's Regiment
S.C. Troops, Rev. War
January 19, 1761
CENOTAPH in Moore Cemetery:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/105347127/david-edenfield
Cenotaph:
PVT WEAKLY'S REGT SC TROOPS REV WAR.
David Edenfield was a son of Thomas Edenfield and Elizabeth Creamer. Thomas Edenfield was born in Kent County, Delaware. He moved his family South, first to North Carolina, then in the late 1750s to South Carolina where they settled on vacant land on the Savannah River near what is now Martin, SC. Later, he received a 200-acre land grant of this property from King George III of Great Britain. (The Edenfield Family Tree, published 1982)
--------------------------
News Item from the Swainsboro, Ga., Forest Blade, Nov. 31st, 1932:
EMANUEL CHAPTER MARKS OLD GRAVE
The Governor David Emanuel Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution of Emanuel County unveiled a monument to the memory of a Revolutionary soldier, Private David Edenfield, on Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 29, at the old Edenfield cemetery on the Homer Youmans place, five miles from Swainsboro. This is the first Revolutionary grave to be marked by this chapter, which was organized in June 1931. The regent, Mrs. W. Henry Flanders of Swainsboro, was in charge of the impressive exercises, which were attended by a large representation of the descendants of David Edenfield and of the members of the David Emanuel chapter and of the Adam Brinson chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Representative W.W. Larsen of Washington, D.C., and of Dublin, Ga., was the speaker for the occasion. The program opened with the bugle call, after which America was sung by the assembly. The invocation was given by Mrs. Anna Edenfield Brown, acting chaplain of the Governor David Emanuel chapter. Mrs. Brown is a descendant of David Edenfield.
Mrs. Flanders, the regent, welcomed the guests and told of the joy the chapter felt in honoring a Revolutionary war hero. A history of the Edenfield family and the service of David Edenfield, his ancestry, was given by Mr. H.C. Edenfield, who then introduced Mr. Larsen, who is connected by marriage with the family.
The patriotic address which he gave made a deep impression on the audience. A quartet, Keep the Faith, was sung by Mrs. Adele Holloman, Mrs. Hugh Fillingim, Mr. Fillingim and Mr. Dixon. Mrs. D.L. Bland of Garfield, a member of the Adam Brinson chapter, D.A.R., and a sister of Mrs. Anna Brown, acting chaplain of the Governor David Emanuel chapter, made a gracious impromptu speech of appreciation of the tribute paid to this Revolutionary ancestor. Mrs. John J. Moore, a granddaughter, and believed to be the nearest living descendant of David Edenfield, unveiled the monument, while little June Coleman, a winsome three year old descendant of the hero, placed a lovely basket of roses on the grave. Mrs. Anna Brown and Mrs. D.L. Bland placed beautiful bouquets of chrysanthemums on the grave. Master Homer Durden, Jr., and Master Marion Watson, descendants of the hero, carried the flags, which were displayed at the entrance of the cemetery. Taps was sounded by Bob Pound. The descendants who are members of the Governor David Emanuel Chapter are Mrs. John R. Powell, Jr., a daughter of Mrs. John J. Moore, who had the honor of unveiling the marker; Mrs. Homer Durden, Mrs. Steve Williams, Jr., Mrs. Anna Brown, Mrs. Nora Coleman and Mrs. Adele Holloman.
__________________________________________________________________
In the spring of 1978, I (Norman E. Masters) visited with James L. Carmichael in Swainsboro, Ga. I was accompanied by P. Douglas Fowler, a member of the faculty of Georgia Southern College in Statesboro, Ga. Mr. Carmichael took us out to his farm to a wooded area adjacent to his property, which he stated made up part of the old Lot Youmans (Homer Youmans) place. He said the farm had recently been sold to Marvin Collins and Mr. Collins cleared the wooded area, saying he did not realize there was a cemetery there until it was cleared except for one gravestone. Mr. Carmichael stated that as a child and a young man he remembered there were a number of gravestones there. The gravestone that was left still standing was one erected by the D.A.R. to David Edenfield, and had the inscription, "David Edenfield, Weakly's Regt., S.C. Troops, Revolutionary War, Jan. 19, 1761." There was a dented gravesite to the left of this marker. Through talking to members of the family who had seen this cemetery, we believe there were about 18 graves there. Up from the cemetery there was a draw and a group of trees which gave the appearance that a house might have been there at one time. Old timers in the family have stated that David Edenfield's house was in sight of the cemetery. A search was made for other gravestones but no more could be located. It is assumed that David's wife was buried in the grave next to his, and probably his son, Jesse, and his wife were there, also.
NOTE FROM OLIVIA:
I, too, visited this burial site in 1978, shortly after it had been bulldozed. My group first went to the Marvin Collins house and received permission and directions. We went down the dirt road beside their house and crossed over a pond dam on the left side of the road--as I recall, we continued left along the edge of the woods until we saw where bulldozing had taken place. I saw David Edenfield's marker and several broken pieces of other tombstones scattered about in disarray, partially buried in the dirt; some had portions of names on them. I have often wished I'd brought a camera and recorded the devastated site. I was so upset, I didn't even write down the partial names I found, and I so wish I'd gone back and asked permission to dig up and remove all pieces of tombstones and tried to restore them. Shortly thereafter, in passing on the highway (297), I saw Mr. Carmichael there working on his fence. I stopped and had a talk with him, and he told me basically what he had told the gentlemen in the above article. He said I could more easily find the site by going through his pasture gate and across his land. Over the years, I have been back to the general area of the original Edenfield burial ground, but could no longer find the site. By then, Mr. Carmichael was deceased and I had no one to show me the original homesite and burial ground of my great-great-great-great-grandparents. In recent years, I discovered the David Edenfield stone had been moved to the Moore Cemetery near Nunez, but there is no explanation accompanying it about the destroyed cemetery and that this is not the true place of his burial. The James Moore (RS) stone is beside David's in the Moore Cemetery, and there is no explanation on it, as well; I don't know if it was placed in this cemetery by the DAR or moved from another site as David's was. To me, this is such a tragedy! These are only stones; they do not mark the sites where my ancestors' bones actually lie! Their family burial grounds that they, themselves, established on their own property, land that was given to them for their services in the War, where they built homes for their families, reared their children, and worked the fields, were desecrated and totally destroyed by uncaring individuals. And what is worse, their own descendants never stepped forward and did a thing to stop it.
An added note: At the time I found the desecrated Edenfield burial ground, I was working for the county attorney; he was also an Edenfield--not David's descendant, but that of his brother, William. I pleaded with him to help me file a complaint and bring legal action against Marvin Collins for destroying the cemetery (Georgia Law prohibits destruction of cemeteries.). Mr. Collins was then a county commissioner; therefore, I was ridiculed for even making the suggestion.
_____________________________________________
"Gone But Not Forgotten" gives directions to original gravesite:
Go down U.S. 1 South and turn right on State Route 297. Go approximately 1/2 mile and turn left to the second gate on James Carmichael's farm. Follow the road across the field to the head of the branch. The grave marker is in a plot of chinaberry trees.
David Edenfield
Pvt. Weakley's Regiment
S.C. Troops, Rev. War
January 19, 1761
CENOTAPH in Moore Cemetery:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/105347127/david-edenfield
PVT WEAKLY'S REGT SC TROOPS REV WAR.
David Edenfield was a son of Thomas Edenfield and Elizabeth Creamer. Thomas Edenfield was born in Kent County, Delaware. He moved his family South, first to North Carolina, then in the late 1750s to South Carolina where they settled on vacant land on the Savannah River near what is now Martin, SC. Later, he received a 200-acre land grant of this property from King George III of Great Britain. (The Edenfield Family Tree, published 1982)
--------------------------
News Item from the Swainsboro, Ga., Forest Blade, Nov. 31st, 1932:
EMANUEL CHAPTER MARKS OLD GRAVE
The Governor David Emanuel Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution of Emanuel County unveiled a monument to the memory of a Revolutionary soldier, Private David Edenfield, on Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 29, at the old Edenfield cemetery on the Homer Youmans place, five miles from Swainsboro. This is the first Revolutionary grave to be marked by this chapter, which was organized in June 1931. The regent, Mrs. W. Henry Flanders of Swainsboro, was in charge of the impressive exercises, which were attended by a large representation of the descendants of David Edenfield and of the members of the David Emanuel chapter and of the Adam Brinson chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Representative W.W. Larsen of Washington, D.C., and of Dublin, Ga., was the speaker for the occasion. The program opened with the bugle call, after which America was sung by the assembly. The invocation was given by Mrs. Anna Edenfield Brown, acting chaplain of the Governor David Emanuel chapter. Mrs. Brown is a descendant of David Edenfield.
Mrs. Flanders, the regent, welcomed the guests and told of the joy the chapter felt in honoring a Revolutionary war hero. A history of the Edenfield family and the service of David Edenfield, his ancestry, was given by Mr. H.C. Edenfield, who then introduced Mr. Larsen, who is connected by marriage with the family.
The patriotic address which he gave made a deep impression on the audience. A quartet, Keep the Faith, was sung by Mrs. Adele Holloman, Mrs. Hugh Fillingim, Mr. Fillingim and Mr. Dixon. Mrs. D.L. Bland of Garfield, a member of the Adam Brinson chapter, D.A.R., and a sister of Mrs. Anna Brown, acting chaplain of the Governor David Emanuel chapter, made a gracious impromptu speech of appreciation of the tribute paid to this Revolutionary ancestor. Mrs. John J. Moore, a granddaughter, and believed to be the nearest living descendant of David Edenfield, unveiled the monument, while little June Coleman, a winsome three year old descendant of the hero, placed a lovely basket of roses on the grave. Mrs. Anna Brown and Mrs. D.L. Bland placed beautiful bouquets of chrysanthemums on the grave. Master Homer Durden, Jr., and Master Marion Watson, descendants of the hero, carried the flags, which were displayed at the entrance of the cemetery. Taps was sounded by Bob Pound. The descendants who are members of the Governor David Emanuel Chapter are Mrs. John R. Powell, Jr., a daughter of Mrs. John J. Moore, who had the honor of unveiling the marker; Mrs. Homer Durden, Mrs. Steve Williams, Jr., Mrs. Anna Brown, Mrs. Nora Coleman and Mrs. Adele Holloman.
__________________________________________________________________
In the spring of 1978, I (Norman E. Masters) visited with James L. Carmichael in Swainsboro, Ga. I was accompanied by P. Douglas Fowler, a member of the faculty of Georgia Southern College in Statesboro, Ga. Mr. Carmichael took us out to his farm to a wooded area adjacent to his property, which he stated made up part of the old Lot Youmans (Homer Youmans) place. He said the farm had recently been sold to Marvin Collins and Mr. Collins cleared the wooded area, saying he did not realize there was a cemetery there until it was cleared except for one gravestone. Mr. Carmichael stated that as a child and a young man he remembered there were a number of gravestones there. The gravestone that was left still standing was one erected by the D.A.R. to David Edenfield, and had the inscription, "David Edenfield, Weakly's Regt., S.C. Troops, Revolutionary War, Jan. 19, 1761." There was a dented gravesite to the left of this marker. Through talking to members of the family who had seen this cemetery, we believe there were about 18 graves there. Up from the cemetery there was a draw and a group of trees which gave the appearance that a house might have been there at one time. Old timers in the family have stated that David Edenfield's house was in sight of the cemetery. A search was made for other gravestones but no more could be located. It is assumed that David's wife was buried in the grave next to his, and probably his son, Jesse, and his wife were there, also.
NOTE FROM OLIVIA:
I, too, visited this burial site in 1978, shortly after it had been bulldozed. My group first went to the Marvin Collins house and received permission and directions. We went down the dirt road beside their house and crossed over a pond dam on the left side of the road--as I recall, we continued left along the edge of the woods until we saw where bulldozing had taken place. I saw David Edenfield's marker and several broken pieces of other tombstones scattered about in disarray, partially buried in the dirt; some had portions of names on them. I have often wished I'd brought a camera and recorded the devastated site. I was so upset, I didn't even write down the partial names I found, and I so wish I'd gone back and asked permission to dig up and remove all pieces of tombstones and tried to restore them. Shortly thereafter, in passing on the highway (297), I saw Mr. Carmichael there working on his fence. I stopped and had a talk with him, and he told me basically what he had told the gentlemen in the above article. He said I could more easily find the site by going through his pasture gate and across his land. Over the years, I have been back to the general area of the original Edenfield burial ground, but could no longer find the site. By then, Mr. Carmichael was deceased and I had no one to show me the original homesite and burial ground of my great-great-great-great-grandparents. In recent years, I discovered the David Edenfield stone had been moved to the Moore Cemetery near Nunez, but there is no explanation accompanying it about the destroyed cemetery and that this is not the true place of his burial. The James Moore (RS) stone is beside David's in the Moore Cemetery, and there is no explanation on it, as well; I don't know if it was placed in this cemetery by the DAR or moved from another site as David's was. To me, this is such a tragedy! These are only stones; they do not mark the sites where my ancestors' bones actually lie! Their family burial grounds that they, themselves, established on their own property, land that was given to them for their services in the War, where they built homes for their families, reared their children, and worked the fields, were desecrated and totally destroyed by uncaring individuals. And what is worse, their own descendants never stepped forward and did a thing to stop it.
An added note: At the time I found the desecrated Edenfield burial ground, I was working for the county attorney; he was also an Edenfield--not David's descendant, but that of his brother, William. I pleaded with him to help me file a complaint and bring legal action against Marvin Collins for destroying the cemetery (Georgia Law prohibits destruction of cemeteries.). Mr. Collins was then a county commissioner; therefore, I was ridiculed for even making the suggestion.
_____________________________________________
"Gone But Not Forgotten" gives directions to original gravesite:
Go down U.S. 1 South and turn right on State Route 297. Go approximately 1/2 mile and turn left to the second gate on James Carmichael's farm. Follow the road across the field to the head of the branch. The grave marker is in a plot of chinaberry trees.
David Edenfield
Pvt. Weakley's Regiment
S.C. Troops, Rev. War
January 19, 1761
CENOTAPH in Moore Cemetery:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/105347127/david-edenfield
Inscription
David Edenfield
Pvt. Weakley's Regiment
S.C. Troops, Rev. War
January 19, 1761
Gravesite Details
Grave marker moved here from the desecrated David Edenfield Cemetery (see Find A Grave Memorial #71562689, created by Olivia Williamson Braddy).
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