Who takes on the job of taking care of Great-Grandma and Grandpa's graves? Most likely our older generations are forgotten once they have died and are buried, and oftentimes the old cemeteries are abandoned. In order to keep the Hamilton Cemetery from being covered with briars and brambles as it once was, we need donations to cover the mowings each year. The Hamilton Cemetery began on the farm of William Hamilton, who was in what is now Union County, in 1794.
Some of the family names in the cemetery are: Cook, Yadon, Kitts, Baker, Lambdin, Hamilton, Edmondson, Booker, Shumate, Moncey, Colvin, Lay, Haynes, Bell, Clifton, Dail, Damewood, Davis, Dinwiddie, Hammock, Haynes, Hill, Johnston, McDowell, McPhetridge, Merritt, Monroe, Mullins, Oxendine, Wade, Walters, Williams.
These families, according to author Rick Bragg, "...grows from a stone garden, the cemetery where we have buried the treasure...some of the names have worn away but not their language. It sings up from the ground. When you forget who you are, wander in the weeds among" your ancestors until you find your way.
If you have an ancestor buried in the Hamilton Cemetery and are willing to help keep the cemetery mowed properly, please send a donation to the Hamilton Cemetery Fund, c/o John Cabage, 740 Cabbage Cemetery Road, Washburn, TN, 37888.
If each family could give a little, it would help preserve a part of their family history and Union County history. The Hamilton Cemetery is a 501(C)(13) charitable organization and all donations are tax deductible. Thank you in advance for everyone that can help. Benjamin Franklin said, "Show me your cemeteries and I will show you what kind of people you have."