Recent Hollingsworth Cemetery Discoveries

On Friday, 14 Apr 2006, Dan Carder of Elliott's Scouts (CSA Reenactors) and I visited Hollingsworth Cemetery. We "found" some missing pieces of the ornate wrought iron fence including the gate. Actually, I knew where the gate was, but it was underneath an inch or so of soil. Like patient archaeologists, we carefully swept leaves and dirt away in an attempt to stand the gate up. We made good progress, but it is still on the ground.

There is still quite a bit of fence missing. Like the gate, I'm sure the pieces are buried somewhere nearby. Two of the corner posts are missing, too. As big as they are (about 4" x 4" x 4'0") it should seem easy to locate them. They may be gone altogether. It will take a lot of work and skillful hands to replicate them.

Dan and I also located the bases to both of the headstones. Neither of the headstones are situated upon them at this time, although Gideon's headstone was only inches away from one. It was buried in the dirt. We found it by sticking a screwdriver into the earth. Jeptha's marker was moved about 15' away from the other base. It is partially exposed and has a metal peg protruding upward from it. In front of both markers are depressions about a foot deep. It's obvious now that the two graves are located under these depressions. The earth has settled as the bodies and whatever they were buried in decomposed over the past 144+ years.

The next day marked the 144th anniversary of the day Jeptha Hollingsworth died on 15 Apr 1862.

A moment of silence, please.

Thank you.

I made another trip to the cemetery on Monday, 17 Apr. This time there were three other helpers with me including Liz Murphy of the James Farm, Carol Dildine of the Daughters of American Colonists, Osage Chapter, and Charles McCorkendale of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, Westport Camp #64 (as I am) as well as the Civil War Roundtable of Western Missouri. Together we discussed a plan of attack on the cleanup.

One of the first steps we decided upon was to work our way inwards by removing brush and then trees. Brush will either need to be burned (if we can get permission), mulched (if we can get a wood chipper), or hauled away (if we can get trucks and dumping locations). Liz lives nearby and said we may be able to haul it to her place. Once the trees and brush are removed we can focus on the fence (Dan knows a blacksmith that may be able to help repair/reconstruct it), and the landscaping as well as stone setting.

Everyone who has visited the cemetery this Easter weekend agreed that it is more than they expected, but it is a gem of a cemetery despite the condition it is currently in. It will get tougher to reach it as time goes by until the hay is cut and bailed. It would be nice to complete this project before school starts up again in August. As a matter of fact a good target date for a commemoration would be 15 Aug 2006, marking the 145th anniversary of Gideon Hollingsworth's death.

Supporting Hollingsworth Cemetery

Hollingsworth Cemetery lies within this grove of trees.


















The fence is in desperate need of a talented blacksmith,


















the trees are in desperate need of a fireplace,


















the ground is in desperate need of landscaping,


















and the markers are in desperate need of proper placement.

If you're willing to devote some time turning this sacred area into a cemetery again as it was many years ago, please write a comment on this blog. Your time, service, and support will be greatly appreciated. At this time, I do not feel it would be appropriate to ask for donations. More information about donations will come at a later time.

For more information about the location of the cemetery, please read related blogs beginning on 05 Jan 06. Thank you for reading!

Spring '06 Return to Hollingsworth Cemetery

April 1 turned out to be a nice day for a weekend jaunt to Hollingsworth Cemetery. The land owner where the cemetery is located in Lawson, Missouri approved the "cleaning up" of the cemetery grounds. Besides, he could use some firewood.

So, my youngest daughter and I went to take some measurements and record the coordinates of the corner posts. Doing so led me to discover the gate into the cemetery. I was standing on it, but didn't realize it because most of it is beneath the top layer of soil.

Another discovery we made was the base of another headstone. It's only the base, though. No marker yet.

The wrought iron fence, badly in need of repair, measured approximately 28' 6" x 11' 0". The 4'0" wide gate is located on the east fence at the southeast corner with coordinates of N 39° 25.767', W 094° 13.383'. The other end of the same fence at the northeast corner is at N 39° 25.771', W 094° 13.381'. About half of that fence is gone or buried. The northwest corner is situated at N 39° 25.770', W 094° 13.383' and the northeast corner is located at N 39° 25.771', W 094° 13.381'. All coodinates are accurate within 25', at least according to the GPS.

Since the leaves are just beginning to bloom on the trees, there was quite a bit of sunlight filtering into the cemetery. I was able to photograph more images of the cemetery. There are too many to post here, but I will post those that seem to capture the serenity and condition of this place.