found found found

david washington montgomery still lies here

bean cemetery near white's creek, rhea co, tn

in september 2003, we were unsucessful in locating david's grave. the cemetery was impenatrable - kudzu and other undergrowth made it impossible to even locate the cemetery. at the time, i photographed the area where the cemetery was said to have once been located.

in march 2004, we searched again. this time we succeeded. the woods still hadn't grown back after the winter, and they were more passable. once up the hill and through the barbed wire, we could see into them, as well, and that's how we located the gravesites.

david's marble stone has been removed from its base. it was far too heavy for two of us to lift to put back into place. the top of the stone is gone. the grave's footstone is still intact and in place. that we'd actually located our david's stone became a certainty when we discovered his daughter lizzie's very nearby.

what remains of my great-great-grandfather's head stone reads,

Da...
Bo...
Aug. 16, 1842.
DIED
June 19, 1879-------

A loving friend, a husband dear
A tender parent lieth here;
Great is the loss we here sustain
But hope in heaven to meet again.

His footstone reads simply, D.M

oh, yeah, exactly enough left for me to know for sure....