Elkridge Cemetery Listing & Memorial Photos-White Section
Elkridge Cemetery Listing & Memorial Photos-Black Section
Area photos of the Cemetery
Elkridge Cemetery Signage
Maps showing location of the Cemetery
There was at one time a church on the north side of the road called Elkridge Presbyterian Church of the old persuasion. While it formed the very foundation of the religious movements for early settlers who came here in 1807 from the Carolina's there is no evidence of its existence today, except for the old graveyard across the road on the south side. The Shields, Crockett's, Montgomery's, King's and others who were the early founders of this community known as Elkridge or Roberson Fork were instrumental in founding this church and burial grounds along the Roberson Fork branch long before roads were cut thru here. Goodspeed's "History of Giles County Tennessee" mentioned that they came here from North Carolina in 1807.
A 4 year old boy by the name of Washington K. Shields was the first person buried here that was given an inscribed stone with the following: "Sacred to the Memory of Washington K. Shields who was born Oct 11th 1807 A.D. and departed this life July 16th A.D. 1814, aged 4 years & 9 months and 25 days"
Descendents who knew the location of the old Samuel Montgomery grave passed the information down and later generations installed the military marker commemorating this old Revolutionary Soldier who was born in 1732 and died during 1808. I seriously doubt if there was a formal memorial for him there before that.
Judging from the age of this cemetery and the way it is laid out the first burials here were mostly without markers and it was into the 1830s before markers were used by all but a few fortunate souls.
