Bethel Revisited

Last week I had the opportunity to spend a few hours in my hometown doing a little research. One of my goals was to go back to Bethel Presbyterian Church so that I could either show my cousin where our relatives' graves were located, or to at least be able to give better directions on how to find the graves. GPS was on my mind, though I am not sure I was successful on that front.

I found the church with no problem. The weather was overcast and hinting of rain which helped me to get a better shot of Zachariah's tombstone. You can read most of the words in this photo. Here is a copy of the new photo and another showing its orientation relative to the church building. To find the stone, walk inside the stone wall and to the end that is closest to the church building. With your back to the building, look straight out at a small holly tree. It's just a few feet away from you and Zachariah's stone is at the base of the tree. Here is a view of the church from Zachariah's grave so you can orient yourself.

 

The next set of graves that have been elusive are those of my grandfather's siblings. Clyde and his little sister both died in infancy. If you once again put the church behind you and look straight back from Zachariah's grave, just up on the rise are several grave sites that are surrounded by marble coping. Walk straight toward those graves to the Alexander family group. These will include Claudius and Mena Alexander. Walk around to the foot of those graves and you will find Clyde and his sister. Here is a view of the church from their gravestones so that you can orient yourself. You can see the holly tree where Zachariah is buried.

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Bethel Presbyterian Church Cemetery

Bethel Presbyterian Church

Tombstone of Zachariah Hubbard

There is a beautiful little church that sat just out of sight of my grandparent's farm house in the Picket Post Community of Oconee County, South Carolina. The church has a long history, having been established in 1805. My Great Aunt Clara used to tell me that all of the "old timers" in the Hubbard family were buried there so one day, back in 1997, while on a trip home from Alaska, I decided to visit and see who I could find. Unfortunately, most of the church records have burnt in one or more fires through the years, and no copies are held at Montreat which is the regional archive for the Presbytery in that area. So, one must rely on the Oconee County, South Carolina Cemetery Surveys done by the Pendleton Chapter of the South Carolina Genealogical Society and published in the early 1980s, the card catalog at the local library and the Keowee Courier. The cemetery was vandalized on more than one occasion and in the last rebuild of the church, all of the old tombstones that had been knocked over were laid flat and used to create the foundation of the new sanctuary.

I was able to locate the tombstone for Zachariah Hubbard, husband of Harriet. It was in front of a tree, just off the front corner of the church. My camera was not a good one and so it is difficult to see the names and dates in the photo. I have a copy of his obituary from the Keowee Courier which was and still is the local newspaper.  Harriet should be here too, but I was unable to find her headstone. Hers may now be part of the church foundation or perhaps is buried by the grass. I don't have an obituary for her at this time and only recently discovered her date of death about eleven years after her husband's.

Also buried in the cemetery are several of Zachariah and Harriet's grandchildren and even a couple of great-great grandchildren. The great-great grandchildren, both infants, were my grandfather's brother and sister. Both died as infants, less than six months old, one in 1906 and the other in 1909. The boy's name was Clyde. If the girl was ever named, I've never heard or seen her name. Her tombstone, which she shares with Clyde, simply reads "Inf. Dau." and "Children of A.A. & Lucy C. Hubbard."

I haven't visited in several years. My grandmother sold the farm back in 1991 and so I don't have a reason to visit that end of the county very often. Still, I need to go again to see what new treasures I might find and to pay my respects to those who've gone before.