 Parker Family Cemetery Newton Co, MS
Located in a field behind the home of the late O. J. Gordon Jr., the family cemetery is filled with unmarked graves that might have been lost to time. Thanks to the diligence of Ralph Gordon, the Parkers have been snatched back from the grasp of Father Time. When I asked Ralph how he found out about the unmarked cemetery he indicated that he had known about it forever. Grave Dousing pointed to the location and sex of the individuals buried in the copse of trees. Ralph has marked the location of each grave with red flags, which can be seen in the following pictures. The family is thought to have been a tenant of Civil War veteran Eli Gordon, the original owner of the land. The 1860 Newton County Census validates the information passed down through the Gordon family. Enumerated in household 743 was Eli Gordon. Household 740 was the family of North Carolinian farmer Gabriel Parker, aged 31. He is shown as having a personal worth of $825 but no real estate, validating the fact that he was a tenant farmer. With him in the household was wife Martha (24) and children: Eliza (9), John (7), Sarah (5), and Thomas (3/12). All of Gabriel Parker's dependants except young Thomas were born in Georgia. In 1870 Gabriel Parker is living in an adjacent household (7-7) to Eli Gordon (8-8). They are in Township 8 Range 12 of Newton County on Census Page 508. Gabriel Parker is listed as a 40 year old farmer born in North Carolina. He has $160 in real estate and personal property worth $350. With him in the household are wife Martha (35), and children: Sarah J. (14), John J. (12), Thomas (9), Mary E. (6), William (3), & Alice (3/12). Martha and the older children were born in Georgia. Thomas and the younger children were born in Mississippi. Cemetery Photographed March 23, 2005. |
