BRATON-MCKELVY-RICHARDSON CEMETERY, Old Alto
Rd, FRANKLIN COUNTY TENNESSEE
Mapping the Location
Area views of the Braton-McKelvy Cemetery: 3723/3724/3725/3728/footstone:3729/3743/3744/3745/3746/3747
Distant Area views: 3733/3748
BENNETT, H. King, PVT CHERRYS CO.
Lauderdale Co. Tenn. Mounted Infantry, Cherokee War. (Military Marker, no dates
b. abt 1815, death not unknown. He was in a
muster roll for Captain Benjamin Cherry's Regiment, Lauderdale's Battalion,
Tennessee Mounted Infantry, Cherokee War (Spies). They were mustered in at Ross
landing 31 Oct 1837 for six months; This stone is probably a
Cenotaph.) 3722C/3722***
H. KING BENNETT, PVT CHERRYS CO. LAUDERDALES
TENN MTD INF. CHEROKEE WAR.
McKELVY, Noah, born 1814 and died after
1880 (He died after his wife and after his remarriage to (Almeda) Jane Edins.
married after the death of Matilda to a Jane Edins 18 Feb 1858 in Lincoln Co.
Tn.)
McKELVY, Matilda, (b. abt 13 Jun 1817) 18 June, 1857 Age 40 years & 5 Days [N.M.
(Inscribers initials)]
3736C/3734/3735/3736
IN.MEMORY OF MATILDA.McKELVY.DEPARTED.THIS.LIFE.JUNE THE 15 1857.AGED
40(or70or80), years & 5 d. N.M.
McKELVY, Jane, Dau of Boby &
Winey Embrey & wife of Joseph McKelvy, (b. cir Oct 1813) died July 27, 1844, Age
30 Yr 9 Mo. (not found-this survey, from Cemetery book, Cem#139.)
McKELVY, Elizabeth, Dau of Christian & Margaret Smith & Wife of Joseph McKelvy
(b. cir March 1819) - 10 Feb 1849, Age 29 years & 11 Months. (Elizabeth Smith m.
Joseph McKelvy 1844) 3739C/3740/3739
ELIZABETH MCKELVY DAU OF. CHRISTIAN & MARGARET SMITH & WIFE OF JOSEPH MCKELVY
DIED FEB. 10, 1849 AGE 29 YEA. 11 MO.
McKELVY, Lucy, (b. abt Dec 1847) Died June the 10th 1858 A Dau of Noah and
Matilda McKelvy, Age 10 Years & 7 Months (My translation may contain errors;
Used the census below)
3732C/3732
LUCY.McKELVY.DieD.JUNe.THe 10t.1858ADAG OF.NOAH.AND MATILDA.MCKeLVY
age. 10. Y. 7M
McKELVY, Elizabeth, Dau of Jo & Jane
McKelvy, (b. abt Jun 1844) - 4 Jul 1844, Age 1 Month. (Dau of Joseph & Jane
Embrey McKelvy)
3726C/3726/3727
ELiZABETH McKELVY.DAU.OF.JO. & JANE McKELVY. JULY 4. 1844, AGE 1 MO.
McKELVY, Martha Ann, Dau of
Joseph & Rebekah McKelvy. (b. abt 1857) - 6 Sep 1858. Age 1 year.
3730C/3730/3731
martha.Ann McKELVY DAU.OF JOSEPH & REBEKAH McKELVY DIED SEPT 6 1858 AGE 1 YEAR
RICHARDSON, Mary, (b. abt 1767 - 18 Nov 1837, Aged
upwards of 70 years. (Erected by her son Freeman Richardson)
3741L/3741/3742
In Memory of MARY RICHARDSON )who departed this life November 18th
1837. Aged upwards of 70 years. Dust to its narrow house beneath, Soul to its
God on high They have all seen Thy look in death No more may fear to die.
Erected by her son Freeman Richardson. (My estimation of the installation of
this stone is abt: 1875.)
SMITH, Tempy Embrey, Wife of C. (Christian) Smith 15 Sep 1810 - 15 Sep
1868, Aged 58. 3737C/3737/3738
TEMPY.EMBREY.THE WIFE OF.C.SMITH WAS BORN THE 15 OF SEPTEMBER 1810
DYED 15 SEPTEMBER 1868, AGED 58
*** Found him in the war records but no luck finding him in the census of 1850.
Was he a war causality, or a census error?
The Findagrave.com crowd has
done no survey of this cemetery. Sometimes if there is a horrible tale tied to
an old cemetery the locals will avoid it. Most times it is because they favor
their kin (known modern cemeteries). Other times, (I believe this time) is that
this cemetery is old & full of briars and the stones are hand made and very hard
to read (except for the two formal markers). One must have training in bringing out the inscription to read these markers.
The latest stone here is a military marker and it has fallen. This is for Mr. R.
King Bennett. The link to read about his war and unit:[
http://www.tngenweb.org/franklin/frindwar.html ]
Joseph McKelvy as we can see from all this was married to Jane Embrey McKelvy d.
1844, Elizabeth Smith McKelvy d. 1849, and Rebecah (?) McKelvy. Rebecah is the
first wife to show up (named) on the censuses (1850)
The McKelvy family were early
settlers of European descent.
One set of initials N.M. that may be from the McKelvy individual that carved
these inscriptions may have been N. McKelvy whose initials N.M. are on the
bottom of the Matilda McKelvy monument. Could this be the Noah McKelvy mentioned
as the husband of Matilda. who died on 18 Jun 1857. If so he & his second wife Almira
Jane Edins McKelvy are probably interred here without a headstone. He and she
were still living in the 1880 Census shown below in green text. Since he was
the one inscribing the stones there was no one to inscribe stones after his
death. There is a marriage record to Jane Edins
in 1858. I will add him because it seems normal in the course of events that if
he could inscribed the tombstone for his (1st) wife that he outlived her. It is
also natural to assume that his second wife outlived him because she has no
tombstone here either.
Individuals mentioned in the above cemetery listings but not found listed
themselves are: Noah McKelvy/Margaret Smith/Christian Smith/Joseph McKelvy h/o
Elizabeth Smith & Rebecah (?) McKelvy. Was Tempy and Margaret Smith the same lady or two different
marriages for Christian Smith? I am not related, but find this cemetery
historically interesting.
Some Franklin County
Bratton Family History.
John BRATTON was born in 1788 and died in
1833 in Franklin County, Tennessee at age 45. Notes: 1781-1844 Marriage Records
of Madison Co., Ky,
Bratton, John Bratton, m. Susannah pg 106 Jan 07 1810.
Franklin Co., Tn - Biography:
John Bratton, 1788-1833 -
John Bratton married Susannah Burton in 1810, in Madison Co., KY. Their first
child was born in KY. The family moved to Franklin Co., TN. about 1814 and
settled along the Elk river near Estill Springs. Their second child Robert
Franklin Bratton was born about 1814 in KY. or TN. and the other nine children
were born in TN. John Bratton died in 1833 in Franklin Co., TN. (cannot find
cemetery or a field where he is buried). Circuit court records name his widow
and eleven children and also appoint his oldest son Monroe, as Guardian of the
seven youngest children. His widow, with the eleven children (two or three of
them already married) remained in TN. until moving to Barry Co., MO. in the
mid-late 1838. (several other families from the Franklin, Co., TN. area also
made the move to MO at the same time.
Susannah (BURTON) Bratton was the daughter of Samuel Burton, Jr. and Amy Oldham,
she died in 1852 in Barry Co., MO.
After moving to MO, the descendants of John Bratton took on the surname spelling
of Brattin. [if you have further interest in exploring this issue see this URL:
[ http://www.thebrattonfamily.net/FT/THE%20BRATTON%20FAMILY/D3.HTML#C1632 ]
Comment by CWA: Estill Springs was about 5 to 8 miles northwest of here on the Elk River, but
some of the Bratton descendants could have settled near this cemetery. Ok I am
speculating but can anyone tell me why this cemetery is called the Braton
(spelling probably not important) Cemetery on maps. No mention is made in
the cemetery name of the the predominate McKelvy family who lived here and
formed all these home-made monuments. They are inscribed and shaped out of
common limestone. The other two surnames here are Richardson or Bennett. Every McKelvy grave I can
identify has a footstone and headstone
shaped with a round top and smoothed on the front side enough to hold a hand
carved inscription.
Some Franklin County
Tennessee Census Information on the McKelvy's
1850 Census of Franklin Co. TN, 16 Oct 1850, Dist 8, HH# 942
McKelvy, Noah 36 M Ga Farmer $1,000
McKelvy, Matilda 32 F Tn
McKelvy, William B. 12 M Tn
McKelvy, Samuel 10 M Tn
McKelvy, Frances 8 F Tn
McKelvy, Isabella 6 F Tn
McKelvy, Caroline 4 F Tn
McKelvy, Lucy 2 F Tn
1850 Census of Franklin Co. TN, 16 Oct 1850, Dist 8, HH# 943
McKelvy, Joseph 35 M Ga Farmer $398
McKelvy, Rebecca 29 F Tn
McKelvy, William J. 13 M Tn
McKelvy, Joseph G 10 M Tn
McKelvy, Miley F 8 F Tn
McKelvy, Noah S 5 M Tn
McKelvy, John C 3 M Tn
McKelvy, Jasper N. 2 M Tn
McKelvy, Margret 0 F Tn
1860 Census of Franklin Co. TN, 15 Aug 1860, Dist 8, HH# 1281
McKelvy, Noah, 45 M Ga Farmer $2,000
McKelvy, Almira J. 41 F Tn (Almira/Elmira Jane Edins?)
McKelvy, Isabel 16 F Tn
McKelvy, Caroline 14 F Tn
McKelvy, Narcissa 9 F Tn
McKelvy, Thomas J 6 M Tn
1870 Census of Franklin Co. TN, 18 Jul 1870, Dist 8, HH# 7
McKelvy, Noah 55 M Sc
McKelvy, Norah 51 F Al (Almira/Elmira Jane Edins?)
McKelvy, T J 16 M Tn
McKelvy, H A 9 M Tn
1880 Census of Franklin Co. TN, 21 Jun 1880, Dist 8, HH# 151
McKelvy, Noah 65 M SC SC SC
McKelvy, Elmira 61 F AL AL AL ((Almira/Elmira Jane Edins?)
Floid, Tempy, 11 F TN TN TN (G'Dau.; surname
Floyd?)
Visited & photographed
31 Jan 2015 by C. Wayne Austin. Added to this site by the same 3 Feb 2015. This
cemetery is listed as cemetery # 139 in the Franklin County Cemetery book, but
with some differences in the interpretation of the transcriptions. Revised to
add Jane McKelvy wife of Joseph McKelvy 7 Feb 2015.