MARTIN CEMETERY, (Bradford Road), LIMESTONE COUNTY, ALABAMA

Mapping the location

Cemetery overviews: 9524/9525/9526/9527/9528/9529/9530/9531/9532/9533/9534/9535/9536/9537/9538/9541/9547/9566/9567/9574/9575/9576
/9577/9578/9579/9595/9608/9619/9620/9622/9623/9624/9625/9626
 

ALLISON, Elizabeth, 1 Aug 1766 - 28 May 1835. (Grave lined with old brick) 9612/9610/9617/9618
BINGHAM, Clarra, died 15 Dec 1912, Aged 76 yrs, 1 mos, 5 days.  9549
BINGHAM, Emsley, died 4 Dec 1902 Aged 92 yrs, 4 mos, 13 days. 9550
BINGHAM, Margarett, died 17 Jan 1892 75 yrs, 11 mos, 13 days. 9552/9531/9553/9554/9555
BRAKEFIELD, William P., 10 Mar 1887 - 15 Jul 1888, s/o J.P. & Matilda Brakefield. We will meet again. (Concrete marker - broken) 9621/9568/9570
CRAIG, David Hall, 15 Jan 1784 - 24 Jul 1841. Pvt Tenn Mounted Gunmen, War of 1812. Inscribed as: "In memory of DAVID H. CRAIG, Born Jan 15 1784. Died Jul 24, 1841." Military Monument: David Hall Craig, Pvt Tenn MTD (Mounted)  Gunman, War of 1812. 9614C/9614/9613/9617/9618
LAND, Mary, 8 Oct 1849 - 20 Sep 1850, d/o R.C. & M.A. Land. 9615/9616/9617/9618
MARTIN, Mary Wade, 12 Aug 1810 - 28 Nov 1908. Wife of Melvin D. Martin. 9585/9586/9587/9592/9593
MARTIN, Melvin D., 24 Jan 1806 - 6 Sep 1866.  (born in Fauquier Co., Va.), Pvt Co F, 9th Alabama Infantry, C.S.A. Gone but not forgotten. 6753/6754/9591/9590
MARTIN, Nancy W., (12 Oct 1849) - 22 Oct 1849. Age 10 days. d/o M. D. & M. W. Martin. Asleep in Jesus. 9596/9597
MARTIN, Mary Ophelia, (10 Mar 1836) - 17 Mar 1836. Age 1 week. d/o M. D. & M. W. Martin. Asleep in Jesus. 9598
THOMAS, R. L., 3 Feb 1839 - 27 Dec 1913. Jesus while our hearts are bleeding we calmly say, Thy Will be done. 6738/9559/9565/9564/6740
THOMAS, Martha P. (Priscilla) (Inmon), 28 Jan 1849 - 5 Feb 1914. Gone to dwell with Jesus on that bright eternal shore. (Limestone Co. Al. native; inscribed on stone with R. L. Thomas.)  9560/9565/9564
THOMAS, R. Arthur, 25 Jul 1856 - 4 Feb 1918.  A loved one from us has gone, A voice we loved is stilled, A chair is vacant in our home which never can be filled. 9580/9594
THOMAS, Paul L., 1 Jul 1885 - 15 Apr 1914. The pains of death are past. Labor and sorrow cease. Beloved Parents Farewell. 9556/9558/9565/9564
THOMAS, Samuel W., Died 12 Aug 1902. Aged 23 years, 10 mos & 5 days. All a fathers fond ambition, All a mothers hope and joy Nere fulfilled in sweet perfection, for? their son, this noble boy. 9561
THOMAS, Virgel Inmon, 21 Sep 1907 - 19 Feb 1908. 9562/9565/9564
THOMAS, William Lee, 4 Nov 1899 - 16 Sep 1916. His words were kindness, His deeds were love, His spirit humble, He lies here. 9563/9565/9564/6741
VINCENT, Mrs. Rebecca Ann, 12 Mar 1825 - 17 Oct 1876. 9605C/9605/9606/9607
WRIGHT, James, (no dates or other information) 9571
WRIGHT, Mary, (no dates or other information) 9569/9570/9545
 

This is one of the oldest cemeteries in the county and much is said about that in the book "Tombstone Transcriptions of Limestone County Alabama" by Linda Smith. It is a rather large cemetery spread out over the whole tree covered area of about 2 acres. The graves tend to cluster together by time & surname in this manner:

Craig/Land/Allison (eastern area of the cemetery)
Martin/Wright/Brakefield (in the mid-western part of the cemetery)
Thomas/Bingham (in the central northern area and some toward the mid-western side.)
Vincent (in the south area.)
Grave sinks all around the cemetery in no specific area but toward the center of the cemetery.

The earliest marked grave here is that of Elizabeth Allison, 1766 to 1835. Many unmarked graves abound here. Grave sinks indicating lost graves are found throughout the cemetery or over an area of 2+ acres. I made photographs of many of the sinks, but they tend not to show up in photography. The depth and severity are minimized by the camera lens. A revisit here 29 Jul 2011 found someone had set two new (CSA) military markers for the Martin and Thomas Families. Other changes were the William Thomas marker had tumbled into the grave and was in danger of sinking into the the pit out of sight. It was picked up and laid on the base on the other side to prevent its loss as it will not stand without major repairs.  Old hand made brick cover the grave of Elizabeth Allison and are scattered about the cemetery, indicating a brick structure (church?) may have existed here at one time.
I revisited the idea of bringing to the surface the Mary Wade Martin monument. After gauging it thickness as about 8 inches and width of about 2 feet I decided it was not anything I could handle with a shovel, pry bar & wood blocks, [9592] so I uncovered it again from falling leaves debris & left it as is, down inside the sink of the grave.

Fieldstone marked graves: 9539/9544/9572/9573/9574/9599
Grave sinks with no stone: 9542/9543/9546/9548/9582/9583/9601/9602/9603/9604
Unknown pile of cinder blocks - east side of cemetery. Past restoration effort? 9609
Unknown marker and part of a crumbled stone - found in the Martin family area. 6772/6773
 

LOCATION: SE quarter of NW quarter, Section 28, Township 3S, Range 3W.  Originally known as Old Shoal Ford Cemetery it is one of the older cemeteries in the county. The land for Shoalford Church and cemetery was given to the church congregation before
Jan , 1842. Thomas Gray died before Dec., 1841 and the deed to the cemetery and church land was recorded in Jan., 1842. The church is believed to have been established several years before this date. Gray acquired the land in 1818 and was living at this location in 1820. A daughter and son-in-law (Martin) of Thomas Gray were buried in this cemetery and it is presumed that Thomas and his wife, Matilda Vining Gray, were also buried here. This cemetery is believed to contains over 100 graves. Many of those may have been marked at one time but the stones were not found. Grave sinks and a some fieldstones indicate the numbers of the interred here.

Photography 28 Dec 2005 & programming by C. Wayne Austin, added here 26 Jun 2011. These photographs were almost lost in my archive as evidenced by nearly 6 yeas in dormancy. This photography occurred just after a dry summer. I dread going there after several summers of excessive rain with the now over grown vegetation. 67XX series photos are dated 29 Jul 2011.