Andrews Cemetery, Frenchs Mill Limestone County Alabama

ANDREWS CEMETERY (French's Mill) LIMESTONE COUNTY, ALABAMA

Cemetery Spotter photo: 5084C/5084
Cemetery Spotter photo after the 27 Apr 2011 EF5 Tornado: 9704C/9704
27 Apr 2011 EF5 Tornado damage to one of many nearby neighborhoods this one less than a mile downwind: 9707
Area views: 5051/5052/5053/5067/5068/5069/5070/5071/5072/5073/5078/5079/5080/5081/5082/5083/5085

ANDREWS, DAVID, 3 Jul 1793 - 16 Mar 1840. He was the brother of William A. Andrews. David's wife, Eliza Ann Brown Andrews, was originally interred here (according to records at the Limestone Co., Archives), but was removed to her parents family cemetery, Davis Brown Cemetery, in Giles Co., TN. David owned the land and a grist mill along the nearby French Mill Creek was once on his property. 5066/5065/5064/5063/9694
COSBY, Ida, 1877 - 1908. "I know that my Redeemer Liveth" 5062/5076/9690
PEPPER, Edwin born 18 Feb 1806, Brunswick Co. Va. - 5 Jun 1899, Came to Limestone Co. Al. 1858 and died here. 5059/5061/9686
PEPPER, Nancy Cary Mitchell, 6 Sep 1817 - 10 Feb 1894. 5058/5056/5060/5061/9686
THOMAS, J. (John) D. (David), 24 Feb 1874 - 27 Sep 1936. 5073/9672 *
THOMAS J. (John) D. (Dandridge), 1819 - 1886. "Father, May he rest in peace" 5074/9692
THOMAS, Susan (Pepper), 1845 - 1927, "Mother, wife of J. D. Thomas. She was the sunshine of our home" 5074/9692
THOMAS, W. D., 27 Dec 1882 - 28 Feb 1904, son of J. D. & Susan Thomas. 5075/9691
SLOAN, Alfred A., 14 Aug 1810, Tenn. - 23 Jan 1888, Limestone County, Ala., s/o Samuel Sloan & Elizabeth Patterson SLOAN. Married to Eliza Stinnett Sloan 8 March 1836 in Limestone Co., AL. It is my opinion that there was at one time a stone for him here. There are blank bases aligned in a row beside Margaret Sloans' monument which are now missing the inscribed tops. Short Bio.
SLOAN, Margaret J., 18 Sep 1820 - 20 Jun 1890. (wife of Alfred A. Sloan who may be buried here under a destroyed gravestone. 5054/9684

Unknown stone bases - top missing. Believe some of these are footstones or small child's stone and some appear to be adult size: 5055/5056/5057/5077/5078/9666

Photos of the damage from the EF5 Tornado of 27 Apr 2011 which caused extensive damage to this cemetery including plunging the John David Thomas monument into a deep pit where it will be difficult to salvage: 9666/9667/9668/9669/9670/9671/9672/9673/9674/9675/9676/9677/9678/9679/9680/9681/9682/9683/9684/9685/9686/9687/9688/9689/9690/9691/9692/9693/9694/9695//9696/9697/9698/9699
/9700/9701/9702/9703

No doubt some of the settlers of early French's Mill Community are interred here. This is one of three cemeteries near the French's Mill at the junction of Highway 72 & Mooresville Road. These two roads are among the earliest roads built in Alabama. Bethel Cemetery is another cemetery that served the settlers of French's Mill which resides along the creek banks of French's Creek named after Benjamin French (1764-1847) who lived here for a time but, but died in Lauderdale County somewhere between Lexington and Rogersville where he last lived. Benjamin and his son Amos and their families came here as early as 1808 when the Chickasaw Indians burned their cabin and drove them back toward Huntsville. A son Amos and his family came back in 1816 and finished his life here. Sources: Cemetery compilations & mappings of this site by C. Wayne Austin 7 Sep 2011, and from an article in the Huntsville Times Wednesday, 7 Sep 2011, by John Rankin, Vintage writer.

* This snapshot Before: 5073/After:9672 was taken after the EF5 Tornado of 27 Apr 2011 at about 4:30 PM came through here. Among other trees the storm uprooted a large Red Oak tree just east of this (J.D. Thomas) stone. The tree & monument are shown intact in the above first photo #5073. This event created a large pit which caused the memorial stone to plunge into the hole some 4+ feet down. This stone was then in severe danger of disappearing underground as this giant root ball dissolves (from the weather) back into the pit. It would have gradually covered the stone (forever) as the dirt melted away from the root ball and fell back in the hole. It will take a major effort to salvage this stone because of the depth of the pit. Any effort will create danger to the salvage effort because the root ball is capable of caving off and pinning anyone attempting to salvage the stone. Due care must be taken. Now we are made aware of another reason why some of our old tombstones are disappearing. It is called storms. This above mentioned storm is the same one that destroyed Hackleburg/Phil Campbell/French's Mill & Harvest, Alabama (and many other places) across a span of 90+ Miles. That storm killed 50+ people and the hospitals were filled with the injured.

This cemetery was so devastated now that it likely will be abandoned and grow up in brush over time because of the inability now to mow it. I am not trying to be negative, but that is what I have seen happen too many times in the past. If you can help prevent this please do so. I did go there a few days later with a lift tripod & Hoist and pull the John David Thomas monument from the pit. I left it standing on the ground 5 feet southwest of the original place, The gravestone base was left in the pit because it was deeper down and face down with only a small part showing. I declared it unsalvageable due to the danger of dirt caving in and also I did not want to disturb anymore the raw remains of the grave exposed in the pit when the tree uprooted in the storm. Unless intervention comes its way all that pit will fill back mostly when the dirt from the rootball washes back into the hole over time. It can be leveled back up in time.
Update: A Tornado Crew showed up later and cleared the trees and covered the holes and now the cemetery looks good, but still there is a problem of summer growth taking over as mentioned.

This Cemetery presentation is based on the photography of Wayne Austin on 27 Sep 2010(5XXX) & again on 17 May 2011 (9XXX), Original typing by Faye Bradford 15 Apr 2010, and site linkage & programming occurring on 15 Jan 2011 by Mary Bob McClain Richardson of Birmingham Alabama. Final editing and uploaded here by C. Wayne Austin of Madison Alabama on 17 May 2011. It was also presented in the book Limestone County Alabama Cemeteries by Linda Smith on page 4.