The cemetery signage for Roberts Chapel Cemetery at one time called the Sedberry Cemetery. Oddly there are no marked stones here with that surname. We know they lived nearby because they donated land for this cemetery plot.
This is a view that shows the beautiful array of plant growth here. I call the low plants that bloom white & yellow Daffodils but here in the south they are commonly known as Buttercups. The white blooming shrub is called Bridal Bush or Bridal Wreath according to Linda a descendent of the interred in this cemetery who reminded me of that in an E-mail 2 Oct 2009.
Here we can see the old church building in the background against the backdrop of memorial stones and overgrown plant growth. I inspected it and from what I can tell the architecture appears to be to be original as early as around 1840. The use of narrow tack boards inside is an old feature along with the window size and styles.
This is a closer view of the old declining church building. It has been used as a barn for a lot of years but will not stand much longer given the abuse it is taking. The roof is no longer intact which is letting water get into the timbers inside and that will hasten the decay. Of course the open windows allow birds to infest the inside allowing dirt and other critters to build up and inhabit the interior.
This is not a typical old time church building with twin doors to separate the genders as was a common southern custom in olden times.
I don't know but it seems to me that the building should be as public property as the cemetery and should not be used as private property. If the roof were repaired it would still stand another 200 years given no catastrophic events. We know the Sedberry's donated this property to the church & cemetery so how did it get back into private use?
This photo shows the some of the Roberts memorials. Some are inside iron fences and others outside.
The window photos shows the cemetery looking southwest from about midways.
Looking at the Jethro & Winfrey Jane Howell memorials. His inside the iron fence and hers outside.
This view of the A. Pitt and Lenira S. Roberts memorial along with others in the background shows up as we look west.
Photos and information by Wayne Austin. 24 Mar 2009.
