MITCHELL
CEMETERY, (Monroe Rd) MADISON COUNTY ALABAMA
Area views of the area of the Mitchell
Cemetery looking for the stones: 6335/6302/6304/6305/6306/6307/6308/6309/6310/6311/6312
MITCHELL JOHN W., 13 Mar 1818 - 13 Sep 1854, s/o Obediah and Margaret Mitchell,
native of Madison Co., Ala.
6301/6303
Sacred to the memory of John W., son of Obediah and
Margaret Mitchell, born in Madison Co., Ala., March 13th, 1818,
died September 13th, 1854.
1970 Commentary
This solitary stone is outside what was once the yard of an old home. The
house has burned but the barn (not there in 2014)is still standing in 1970. On a
visit to this grave in October, 1970, we discovered that someone had recently
pulled the stone out of the ground and it was lying flat on the ground. Such a
disrespectful act is inexcusable 1970. [D.J., 1978]
Updated comment 5 Nov 2012:
At the time I visited this cemetery I did not see any clearly marked stones,
but instead from the photos I see a possibility of one of the stones in view
having an inscription. It is clearly a broken base. At my visit these were covered by a
decaying Cedar tree and the limbs
are sharp and need to be removed to further investigate this site, therefore I
cannot conclusively say this is the actual grave of John W. Mitchell. It is in
the right place though. [C. Wayne Austin 2014]
Federal Census of Madison County Alabama, Oct. 30, 1850, 2nd Regt #33, Household
#72:
Mitchell, Obediah (55) Va, Farmer
Mitchell, Margaret (51) Va
Mitchell, John W. (32) Ala, School Teacher, John W. married Didama B.
Darwin 24 Jul 1845 in Madison Co. Al.
Mitchell, Didamy (21) "
Mitchell, William ( 3) "
Mitchell, Sarah ( 2) "
Note: After the death of John W., Didama married William McWilliams on November
25, 1858 in Madison Co Al.
Story by Dorothy
Johnson:
Local folk lore relates that John W. Mitchell died under mysterious
circumstances and the authorities wished to perform an autopsy to determine the
cause of death. The father, Obediah, refused to allow the autopsy, but he was
afraid they would exhume the body and perform it anyway. Thus the old gentleman
buried his son so the grave could be seen from his bedroom window. He then
rigged a shotgun aimed toward the grave so it would be handy in case his fears
proved right.
Listings & Links developed by C. Wayne Austin from photos made 5 Nov
2012, including census information. Also published in the book "Cemeteries of Madison Co. Al." by Dorothy Johnson abt 1978
page 160 Vol I, Page 126. Added here with appropriate commentary & editing by Wayne Austin
26 Mar 2014.
