Help is needed to clean up the Pleasant Hill Cemetery( Old Finley Cemetery).

This may be our last chance to get this cemtery cleaned so that it can be preserved and maintained. Many of the Stones have fallen over and need repair. Afew of us are working on our own family plots and will be happy to help others clean theirs. It is a monumental task and requires lots of volunteers.

If we don't do this now I am afraid this old historical cemetery will be lost forever. The kudzu and erosion are taking it's toll on the area.
If anyone knows of any civic organiztions that would like to help please encourage them to do so.

If you have any questions contact me.

Lynda

I wish you luck with your project. My husband's Ggrandparents are buried there according to the web-site. Maybe you could look for their grave sites and let us know the condition they are in. Their names are Ollie and James Alexander Bradley. On the web-site they are listed as Callie Bradley and J A Bradley. Ollie died Jan. 5, 1912. James died either Mar 13 or 14, 1944.

We live in Loma, Colorado. So it is a bit hard for us to come. We hope to visit sometime, but it is hard to say when that would be.

Thank you and good luck again.
Connie Bradley

Lynda
My brother and I visited the cemetery this week and were both truly impressed with how nice it looked.
I know this is an old post...but would like to communicate with someone about the cemetery.
I meant to copy the 2 names on the gate...but forgot to do that!
I have gr gr and gr grandparents buried at Pleasant Hill.
Bailey Paten Peery and his wife Nellie Peery as well as Linnie C Peery and infant son Jimmy Peery. There is a photo of the tombstone of T.C Peery the son of BP and Nellie which my brother and I never found? As I said I would like to communicate with someone regarding the cemetery.
I noted the cemetery was on the Historic register and was truly glad to see that fact. I want to Thank everyone who helped to rescue this cemetery. We would like to make a donation and I am interested in the situation regarding upkeep?
Thanks,
James Green

James, So glad that you came to see the cemetery since it was 'rescued'. We are proud of the work that has been done. We have formed an association that is taking care of the cemetery now. Our phone nos. are 731-286-5194 (Marshall), call us or email us at mmgoad@cableone.net for more information. Margie Goad

In the what I've read and heard about the cemetery, much of the original cemetery grounds has been substantially eroded by creek on the cemetery's western border. To your knowledge, has anything ever been recovered from the creek bed as far as stones or grave-related materials? As there doesn't seem to have been a formal map of the cemetery on record anywhere, were there any reports of specific graves having been washed away?

Yes, we've lost many graves due to the erosion. Headstones have been found in the gully, plus other items (casket parts, bones, etc.) A plat was made of the cemetery by the State Archaeologist, Mr. Fielder. It shows where each grave is located. Of course, so many of the graves are unmarked - we have about 350 or more stones still standing. Email me at mmgoad@cableone.net for more information on the Pleasant Hill Cemetery Association. Margie Goad

Aside from the listing of graves on the Dyer County GenWeb page, is there any resource that lists graves for which there aren't any stones, but where the burials pre-date the existing J.W. Curry Funeral Home records?

I'm trying to determine where Emma Presley Wilson (daughter of Thomas P. & Elizabeth Presley, wife of John Bartin Wilson) is buried. She's a challenge to find as she was born AFTER the 1880 census, was married in 1899, and I've yet to find her and her husband in the 1900 census. She seems to have died somewhere after the birth of her son Johnie Fred Wilson and obviously before John re-marries in 1909 to Birtie Laxton. Unfortunately, she doesn't seem to have a death certificate on file with the State of Tennessee, and this was before the Curry records begin.

Given how many of the Presley family are buried in Pleasant Hill, I figure it is the logical place for her to have been buried.

As far as I know, there are no other records available, other than family records. We have the plat showing where the unmarked graves are located but no record of who is buried in these graves. In our family, there were several marked graves and one in between the gfather and an older child. We had always been told (by older family members) that the gmother was buried there. We found in the local paper where she was buried in Pleasant Hill. So we have no actual 'proof' but assume that she is buried between her husband and child. Wish we could find some records that would let us know at least some of who the older burials belonged to. Margie Goad

Do you have a Boy Scout Troop in your area? This would be good for a community service badge.

disregard the above...I hit post before I had read the entire thread.
This is a very noble thing you have done.