 Stanton Litchfield Family Cemetery Virginia Beach, VA
The cemetery sits just off the west side of Princess Anne Road near the house located at 1229 Princess Anne Road. There is a farm road running into the fields directly next to the plot, which is in a heavily overgrown area of vines and bushes. There are probably stones that are not visible under the vines as I found a footstone for which I did not see a headstone. There is one tombstone that was not listed in the 1970s era enumeration by Lynnhaven Parish Chapter NSDAR. There is one tombstone they found that I did not find. In 1880 the household of this family group was headed by James E. Stanton. Living with him was his wife Margaret and her daughters, Emma & Margaret Fletcher, by a prior marriage. Emma was married to Daniel J. Litchfield and had one child Fletcher A. Although a prior cemetery enumeration indicated that Margaret Stanton died in 1907, she was not living in the household headed by Daniel J. Litchfield in 1900. A search for the Stanton name as a household head in 1900 Princess Anne County turned up nothing.
An overhead view of the back portion of the plot reveals an area where there are probably more tombstones under the vines. The bush was probably planted as an ornamental addition. The planter probably did not realize that it would grow to a size that would threaten the shear existence of the remains. The current inhabitants of the farm appear to use the area in front of the plot as a turnaround space for vehicles and a storage spot for the City of Virginia Beach trash receptacles. There is one tombstone that is overturned with the inscribed section facing down into the dirt. This is the same condition of the tombstone as described in the mid-1970s enumeration. This family cemetery needs a clean up and some loving care. |
Margaret Stanton was the widow of well-to-do Elizabeth City farmer Aaron
Fletcher. Fletcher's 1860 census shows her to be 30 years old, which is
even older than the admitted age difference between Margaret and second husband
James E. Stanton. Possibly Aaron Fletcher's sizeable estate might be the
explanation for James E. Stanton's marriage to a woman so much older than
himself. It also might explain the move to Princess Anne County, away from
her older children.
