Lost and found: Detective work, luck leads to discovery of ancestors' graves
Daily Times, The (Maryville, TN) - Sunday, June 8, 2014
Author: Linda Braden Albert | [email protected]
A lot of detective work and a little bit of luck led Ed Rowan to the final resting places of his great-great-great-grandparents, George and Elizabeth Lowery Berry, and his great-great-grandmother, Margaret Berry Rowan, in the New Providence Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Maryville. New gravestones to replace those that had been lost in the passage of time were dedicated on May 24. Several descendants as well as members of the Mary Blount Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution attended.
Rowan, of Boca Raton, Fla., said, "The reason the markers are there is that, up until 18 months ago, I didn't really know who George Berry was. All I knew was that he was my third-great-grandfather, from Virginia, whatever that meant, because in the late 1700s, that could have meant a lot of different things."
Lost in time
In the course of doing research, a distant cousin suggested that Rowan look over the Berry Website at Rootsweb.com (freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~berry/index.htm#search). He said, "They've totally researched George's grandfather's generation and his grandfather's brother, and then his father's generation and all the brothers and sisters back in that time. Then they got down to George and got confused. They knew that George went to Blount County and that's all they knew."
Rowan made contact with the website managers, including Jim Jackson. "It was a ‘Eureka' moment for me and a ‘Eureka' moment for them. Between the two of us, we figured out what we knew."
After visiting Blount County last September and doing additional research, Rowan and several distant cousins in East Tennessee began finding clues pointing to the answer of the question, "Where is George Berry buried?" Perusal of the records of New Providence Presbyterian Church yielded some information, but Rowan said, "There was no good, clear answer. There's no provable record that George was in the cemetery, but at the same time, there are a number of unmarked graves in that cemetery. ... Some of the markers could have been wood, some were stones. Some of those stones were used to build walls with — they were broken into pieces and used to build walls. At one point, the cemetery had been used as target practice. There was a 30- to 40-year period when there was no pastor at that church, so the cemetery fell into disrepair. Consequently, there are a lot of unknowns as to who is buried there."
Compelling evidence
Rowan was able to amass some compelling circumstantial evidence that Revolutionary War Patriot George Berry, his wife, Elizabeth Lowery Berry, and their daughter, Margaret Berry Rowan, are, indeed, interred at New Providence Cemetery, which is located beside St. Andrew's Episcopal Church on Broadway Avenue.
"Elizabeth, for example, was a founding member of the church," Rowan said. "She paid $3 to buy her pew two years before she died. Her son-in-law, who married Margaret Berry, also paid dues in the church two years before Elizabeth died. So I put together all the facts that I knew that could prove George's, Elizabeth's and Margaret's connection to the church and petitioned New Providence to allow me to re-mark them."
The request was approved, the three markers installed, and on May 24, they were dedicated. Other family members attending included Helen Rowan Click and Marion Rowan Brink. Jim Jackson, who was instrumental in helping Rowan put together the pieces from the Berry website, and his wife, Debbie, drove to Maryville from Missouri for the dedication ceremony, as well.
George Berry was born June 28, 1756, in Augusta County, Va., the son of Thomas Berry (1718-1798/1799) and Esther Ward (1730-1822). He married Elizabeth Lowery (1764-1836) in Washington County, Va., in 1784. The Blount County Deed Book 1 mentions George Berry in an entry dated April 13, 1790. In 1807, he acquired 351 acres on Crooked Creek.
He and Elizabeth were the parents of 11 children, including Margaret Berry, born 1800 in Blount County, died 1848 in Blount County. She married James Harvey Rowan in 1832 and had four children. James Harvey Rowan, founder of Centennial Presbyterian Church, a church plant of New Providence Presbyterian, is buried in the Centennial Church Cemetery.
Daily Times, The (Maryville, TN) - Sunday, June 8, 2014
Author: Linda Braden Albert | [email protected]
A lot of detective work and a little bit of luck led Ed Rowan to the final resting places of his great-great-great-grandparents, George and Elizabeth Lowery Berry, and his great-great-grandmother, Margaret Berry Rowan, in the New Providence Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Maryville. New gravestones to replace those that had been lost in the passage of time were dedicated on May 24. Several descendants as well as members of the Mary Blount Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution attended.
Rowan, of Boca Raton, Fla., said, "The reason the markers are there is that, up until 18 months ago, I didn't really know who George Berry was. All I knew was that he was my third-great-grandfather, from Virginia, whatever that meant, because in the late 1700s, that could have meant a lot of different things."
Lost in time
In the course of doing research, a distant cousin suggested that Rowan look over the Berry Website at Rootsweb.com (freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~berry/index.htm#search). He said, "They've totally researched George's grandfather's generation and his grandfather's brother, and then his father's generation and all the brothers and sisters back in that time. Then they got down to George and got confused. They knew that George went to Blount County and that's all they knew."
Rowan made contact with the website managers, including Jim Jackson. "It was a ‘Eureka' moment for me and a ‘Eureka' moment for them. Between the two of us, we figured out what we knew."
After visiting Blount County last September and doing additional research, Rowan and several distant cousins in East Tennessee began finding clues pointing to the answer of the question, "Where is George Berry buried?" Perusal of the records of New Providence Presbyterian Church yielded some information, but Rowan said, "There was no good, clear answer. There's no provable record that George was in the cemetery, but at the same time, there are a number of unmarked graves in that cemetery. ... Some of the markers could have been wood, some were stones. Some of those stones were used to build walls with — they were broken into pieces and used to build walls. At one point, the cemetery had been used as target practice. There was a 30- to 40-year period when there was no pastor at that church, so the cemetery fell into disrepair. Consequently, there are a lot of unknowns as to who is buried there."
Compelling evidence
Rowan was able to amass some compelling circumstantial evidence that Revolutionary War Patriot George Berry, his wife, Elizabeth Lowery Berry, and their daughter, Margaret Berry Rowan, are, indeed, interred at New Providence Cemetery, which is located beside St. Andrew's Episcopal Church on Broadway Avenue.
"Elizabeth, for example, was a founding member of the church," Rowan said. "She paid $3 to buy her pew two years before she died. Her son-in-law, who married Margaret Berry, also paid dues in the church two years before Elizabeth died. So I put together all the facts that I knew that could prove George's, Elizabeth's and Margaret's connection to the church and petitioned New Providence to allow me to re-mark them."
The request was approved, the three markers installed, and on May 24, they were dedicated. Other family members attending included Helen Rowan Click and Marion Rowan Brink. Jim Jackson, who was instrumental in helping Rowan put together the pieces from the Berry website, and his wife, Debbie, drove to Maryville from Missouri for the dedication ceremony, as well.
George Berry was born June 28, 1756, in Augusta County, Va., the son of Thomas Berry (1718-1798/1799) and Esther Ward (1730-1822). He married Elizabeth Lowery (1764-1836) in Washington County, Va., in 1784. The Blount County Deed Book 1 mentions George Berry in an entry dated April 13, 1790. In 1807, he acquired 351 acres on Crooked Creek.
He and Elizabeth were the parents of 11 children, including Margaret Berry, born 1800 in Blount County, died 1848 in Blount County. She married James Harvey Rowan in 1832 and had four children. James Harvey Rowan, founder of Centennial Presbyterian Church, a church plant of New Providence Presbyterian, is buried in the Centennial Church Cemetery.
Lost and found: Detective work, luck leads to discovery of ancestors' graves
Daily Times, The (Maryville, TN) - Sunday, June 8, 2014
Author: Linda Braden Albert | [email protected]
A lot of detective work and a little bit of luck led Ed Rowan to the final resting places of his great-great-great-grandparents, George and Elizabeth Lowery Berry, and his great-great-grandmother, Margaret Berry Rowan, in the New Providence Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Maryville. New gravestones to replace those that had been lost in the passage of time were dedicated on May 24. Several descendants as well as members of the Mary Blount Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution attended.
Rowan, of Boca Raton, Fla., said, "The reason the markers are there is that, up until 18 months ago, I didn't really know who George Berry was. All I knew was that he was my third-great-grandfather, from Virginia, whatever that meant, because in the late 1700s, that could have meant a lot of different things."
Lost in time
In the course of doing research, a distant cousin suggested that Rowan look over the Berry Website at Rootsweb.com (freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~berry/index.htm#search). He said, "They've totally researched George's grandfather's generation and his grandfather's brother, and then his father's generation and all the brothers and sisters back in that time. Then they got down to George and got confused. They knew that George went to Blount County and that's all they knew."
Rowan made contact with the website managers, including Jim Jackson. "It was a ‘Eureka' moment for me and a ‘Eureka' moment for them. Between the two of us, we figured out what we knew."
After visiting Blount County last September and doing additional research, Rowan and several distant cousins in East Tennessee began finding clues pointing to the answer of the question, "Where is George Berry buried?" Perusal of the records of New Providence Presbyterian Church yielded some information, but Rowan said, "There was no good, clear answer. There's no provable record that George was in the cemetery, but at the same time, there are a number of unmarked graves in that cemetery. ... Some of the markers could have been wood, some were stones. Some of those stones were used to build walls with — they were broken into pieces and used to build walls. At one point, the cemetery had been used as target practice. There was a 30- to 40-year period when there was no pastor at that church, so the cemetery fell into disrepair. Consequently, there are a lot of unknowns as to who is buried there."
Compelling evidence
Rowan was able to amass some compelling circumstantial evidence that Revolutionary War Patriot George Berry, his wife, Elizabeth Lowery Berry, and their daughter, Margaret Berry Rowan, are, indeed, interred at New Providence Cemetery, which is located beside St. Andrew's Episcopal Church on Broadway Avenue.
"Elizabeth, for example, was a founding member of the church," Rowan said. "She paid $3 to buy her pew two years before she died. Her son-in-law, who married Margaret Berry, also paid dues in the church two years before Elizabeth died. So I put together all the facts that I knew that could prove George's, Elizabeth's and Margaret's connection to the church and petitioned New Providence to allow me to re-mark them."
The request was approved, the three markers installed, and on May 24, they were dedicated. Other family members attending included Helen Rowan Click and Marion Rowan Brink. Jim Jackson, who was instrumental in helping Rowan put together the pieces from the Berry website, and his wife, Debbie, drove to Maryville from Missouri for the dedication ceremony, as well.
George Berry was born June 28, 1756, in Augusta County, Va., the son of Thomas Berry (1718-1798/1799) and Esther Ward (1730-1822). He married Elizabeth Lowery (1764-1836) in Washington County, Va., in 1784. The Blount County Deed Book 1 mentions George Berry in an entry dated April 13, 1790. In 1807, he acquired 351 acres on Crooked Creek.
He and Elizabeth were the parents of 11 children, including Margaret Berry, born 1800 in Blount County, died 1848 in Blount County. She married James Harvey Rowan in 1832 and had four children. James Harvey Rowan, founder of Centennial Presbyterian Church, a church plant of New Providence Presbyterian, is buried in the Centennial Church Cemetery.
Daily Times, The (Maryville, TN) - Sunday, June 8, 2014
Author: Linda Braden Albert | [email protected]
A lot of detective work and a little bit of luck led Ed Rowan to the final resting places of his great-great-great-grandparents, George and Elizabeth Lowery Berry, and his great-great-grandmother, Margaret Berry Rowan, in the New Providence Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Maryville. New gravestones to replace those that had been lost in the passage of time were dedicated on May 24. Several descendants as well as members of the Mary Blount Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution attended.
Rowan, of Boca Raton, Fla., said, "The reason the markers are there is that, up until 18 months ago, I didn't really know who George Berry was. All I knew was that he was my third-great-grandfather, from Virginia, whatever that meant, because in the late 1700s, that could have meant a lot of different things."
Lost in time
In the course of doing research, a distant cousin suggested that Rowan look over the Berry Website at Rootsweb.com (freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~berry/index.htm#search). He said, "They've totally researched George's grandfather's generation and his grandfather's brother, and then his father's generation and all the brothers and sisters back in that time. Then they got down to George and got confused. They knew that George went to Blount County and that's all they knew."
Rowan made contact with the website managers, including Jim Jackson. "It was a ‘Eureka' moment for me and a ‘Eureka' moment for them. Between the two of us, we figured out what we knew."
After visiting Blount County last September and doing additional research, Rowan and several distant cousins in East Tennessee began finding clues pointing to the answer of the question, "Where is George Berry buried?" Perusal of the records of New Providence Presbyterian Church yielded some information, but Rowan said, "There was no good, clear answer. There's no provable record that George was in the cemetery, but at the same time, there are a number of unmarked graves in that cemetery. ... Some of the markers could have been wood, some were stones. Some of those stones were used to build walls with — they were broken into pieces and used to build walls. At one point, the cemetery had been used as target practice. There was a 30- to 40-year period when there was no pastor at that church, so the cemetery fell into disrepair. Consequently, there are a lot of unknowns as to who is buried there."
Compelling evidence
Rowan was able to amass some compelling circumstantial evidence that Revolutionary War Patriot George Berry, his wife, Elizabeth Lowery Berry, and their daughter, Margaret Berry Rowan, are, indeed, interred at New Providence Cemetery, which is located beside St. Andrew's Episcopal Church on Broadway Avenue.
"Elizabeth, for example, was a founding member of the church," Rowan said. "She paid $3 to buy her pew two years before she died. Her son-in-law, who married Margaret Berry, also paid dues in the church two years before Elizabeth died. So I put together all the facts that I knew that could prove George's, Elizabeth's and Margaret's connection to the church and petitioned New Providence to allow me to re-mark them."
The request was approved, the three markers installed, and on May 24, they were dedicated. Other family members attending included Helen Rowan Click and Marion Rowan Brink. Jim Jackson, who was instrumental in helping Rowan put together the pieces from the Berry website, and his wife, Debbie, drove to Maryville from Missouri for the dedication ceremony, as well.
George Berry was born June 28, 1756, in Augusta County, Va., the son of Thomas Berry (1718-1798/1799) and Esther Ward (1730-1822). He married Elizabeth Lowery (1764-1836) in Washington County, Va., in 1784. The Blount County Deed Book 1 mentions George Berry in an entry dated April 13, 1790. In 1807, he acquired 351 acres on Crooked Creek.
He and Elizabeth were the parents of 11 children, including Margaret Berry, born 1800 in Blount County, died 1848 in Blount County. She married James Harvey Rowan in 1832 and had four children. James Harvey Rowan, founder of Centennial Presbyterian Church, a church plant of New Providence Presbyterian, is buried in the Centennial Church Cemetery.
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