Faulkner Cemetery

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Faulkner Cemetery

I believe we may have a more precise location of the Faulkner Cemetery. I am having my Windsor Twp property surveyed. I have always known there was a cemetery somewhere on the property and its approximate location. It was referred to in a 1902 deed, but only as a grave yard. So, I'm not absolutely sure it is the Faulkner, but there is evidence it may be. Others more knowledgeable than I can make the call.

In any event, here is information about this cemetery. My surveyor, Mike Keathley of Porter and Associates, located the cemetery and yesterday he and I inspected it. It occupies about 1/10 acre surrounded by the remnants of a wire fence and contains a number of graves, most simply marked by stones. There are, however, three headstones with inscriptions as follows:

William Faulkner Co C. 5 W.Va. Inf Jan 30, 1825 Dec 9, 1896

Sarah Faulkner Nov. 22, 1826 Dec. 8, 1918 A devoted wife and mother. 

John William Wells Nov. 17, 1873 Dec. 6, 1873 Gone to be an angel. 

See attached jpg files of these headstones. From their positioning, it appears William and Sarah were husband and wife.

A search onFamilySearch.orgdiscloses several records for William H. Falkner (sic) and William H. Faulkner which seem to relate to the same man and a couple show his spouse as Sarah Fox. (I've noticed several apparent variant spellings for Faulkner: Falkner, Falknor, Foltner, Folknor, Falkins.) Searching for John William Wells returns a record of a John W. Wells born in Lawrence County with this exact birth date.

There is no death information, but it is unlikely there was another birth with this name in the county with this exact date. Parents are shown as P. F. Wells and Susan Falkins (Faulkner?). Norm Nussbaum's index shows a Peter Francis Wells and a Susannah Wells buried in Faulkner Cemetery. One of the William Falkner (sic) records shows a daughter named Susanna. I suspect two of the unidentifiable graves belong to Peter and Susan.

As I said earlier, someone more experienced than I can make the call that this is the Faulkner Cemetery, but the circumstantial evidence seems pretty strong. Or, maybe you can confirm its identity from other resources. I would appreciate knowing.  To update the location information, the cemetery is on private property about 160 feet up the hillside on the right (east side) overlooking the junction of Windsor Twp Rd 79 and Hwy 217. See attached GoogleEarth image. Coordinates are 38.55339 degrees North, 82.44212 degrees West. There is no path or planned access to the cemetery.

It is a steep, rugged, dangerous climb from the township road. An easier access would be to go to Dobbston, get permission from the owners of the adjacent property, and make one's way about a quarter mile down through the woods as shown on the GoogleEarth image. As I said, it is on private property and access from the township road is hazardous, so I really don't want the general public tramping around up there.  However, I have no objection to serious genealogical researchers or family members accessing the cemetery as long as they respect the natural condition of the site and fully understand it will be done at their own risk. 

Regards, David L. Lewis San Angelo, Texas 

Researching: Lewis, Haner, Thompson, Perkins, Campbell, Linville, Barker, and related families in southern Ohio and West Virginia.

Faulkner Cemetery

John William Wells, Faulkner Cemetery

William Faulkner, Faulkner Cemetery (Top  Photo)

Sarah Faulkner, Faulkner Cemetery (Bottom Photo)

Submitted by David L. Lewis, San Angelo, Texas