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| ADKINS-BRUMFIELD CEMETERY |
| I first learned of the Adkins-Brumfield Cemetery in the summer of 1993. Betty (Davis) Brumfield, a local mail carrier and dear friend, told me how it had at one time been the site of large gatherings of people in the old tradition of food, family, preaching, and decorating. Betty said she'd be glad to show me the cemetery, although she warned that it was probably all grown up and infested with snakes. To get to the cemetery, we drove up to the old Bill Brumfield homeplace between the mouth of Cole and Caney Branch. We parked at Frankie Henson's house and set out on foot up a hill toward the cemetery. After a few minutes--just as we neared a little "flat" in the mountain--I noticed the tops of a few tombstones poking up amidst a virtual forest of weeds. These were incredible weeds--seemingly of every variety and with a thickness that resembled small, limp trees. Betty and I both immediately located a "snake stick" just in case we might happen upon a copperhead. I kind of stood there in my shorts with the image of a poisonous snake curling around my feet--flicking its tongue at my low-top sneakers--while Betty charged out ahead into the brush, poking her stick into the weeds, finding one tombstone after another. Following Betty's lead, I carefully maneuvered through the cemetery, taking several photographs (which later developed backwards) and writing down as many dates from gravestones as possible. Later that fall, I again returned to the Adkins-Brumfield Cemetery, this time by myself. I took several more pictures (which for some weird reason came back double exposed or with patches of light) and re-checked all the dates on the stones. I found a few more graves that I'd missed the first time and recorded them in my notebook. Over the next few years, the cemetery was a source of fascination for me. As I learned more about the people buried there--they were relatively close family although I never personally knew any of them--I became very attached to their memory. In other words, they became more than gravestones with names and dates. I began to view the cemetery with a great deal of melancholy for it was the only one in my family in such a poor condition. In the spring of 1997, I resolved to clear the Adkins-Brumfield Cemetery and restore it to its former glory. My goal was to have it ready by Decoration Day (Memorial Day to Yankees). I secured permission from the property owners to work on the cemetery, then borrowed my father's weed-eater, some white paint, and countless other tools with names completely foreign to me. I must have been determined in my efforts because I even persuaded my younger cousin, Richie McCann--an extremely lazy kind of guy (even by my standards)--to help me battle the weeds and "save" the cemetery. We were soon waist-deep in weeds, clogging up our weed-eaters and praying to God for deliverance from snakes. Things went great the first day. It was a day of work--real work--the kind that makes you really feel like a man. I remember at one point even taking my weed-eater up the side of a large tree watching the green vines roll down--almost re-enacting a scene from "The Highlander." That night, though, as I sat with my wife watching fiddlers at the Vandalia Gathering in Charleston, I got my first clue as to what some of those "green vines" actually were. It started as a slight rash around my forehead--a few bumps and a little burning. Later that night, it quickly spread to my eyebrows and temples. Oh, God! It was poison ivy or oak or...really, what difference did it make? I began to swell up like a puffy fish. My eyes were soon swollen to where I could have easily passed for one of those Pacific Islanders "fresh off the boat." I wanted so badly to finish my work on the cemetery the following day, but I had to see a doctor (a nice shot in the hip and a prescription for some type of creme). I was depressed: I was going to miss my deadline (Decoration Day) over some silly poison weeds. And, of course, company dropped in that evening, forcing me to hide my swollen eyes behind a pair of ridiculous shades. On Decoration Day, I made it to the Adkins-Brumfield Cemetery (among others) and placed flowers on the graves. (See the above photograph.) In the next few weeks, I finished clearing the cemetery (outside of two graves on the "fringe") and vowed to work more on it later in the summer. I would battle it to the end, I said. Unfortunately, I was called away to Tennessee for a job. Since then, I have worked on the cemetery when time has allowed me trips home. I have painted the old stones white (as they used to be) and raked the cemetery bare of weeds (the roots remain all along the surface). At some point, I hope to find something to forever kill the weeds and then plant grass and maybe some pine trees (more weed deterent). Then will come the flowers in vases and pots and perhaps a picnic table or two. The ultimate goal is to have a reunion there again while there yet remains a few of the old-timers who remember the "good old days." Brandon R. Kirk A P.S. for the readers: I hope you will overlook any type-o's or misspellings in my writing here as it was done purely "off the cuff." |
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| Charles and Minerva (Dingess) Adkins. From Daisy (Adkins) Dempsey, daughter of Charles "Reb" and Laura (Tomblin) Adkins, Jr. |
| William "Bill" Brumfield (1875-1930). This photograph is from Bertha (Brumfield) Nelson, a daughter of Taylor and Lola (Crowder) Brumfield. |
| LIST OF THOSE BURIED IN THE CEMETERY ARRANGED L-R LOOKING TOWARD HARTS CREEK: Row 1 Billie Brumfield February 20, 1910-March 12, 1955 "AT REST"; Stone put up by Taylor Brumfield; s/o William and Hollena (Adkins) Brumfield, Sr.; died in housefire at Cherry Tree Bottom in Logan unmarked rock W.A. unmarked rock Row 2 Garnet J. Willis March 11, 1909-September 26, 1938 "SLEEP ON DEAR FRIEND AND TAKE YOUR REST. GOD CALLED YOU HOME. HE LOVES YOU BEST"; d/o William and Hollena (Adkins) Brumfield, Sr.; m1. Edward Miller; m2. Harvey Willis; died of gunshot wound Bill Brumfield July 3, 1871-November 2, 1930 "ASLEEP IN JESUS"; census gives birth as July 1875; s/o Paris and Ann (Toney) Brumfield; murdered Pearlie Brumfield May 1895-1902 "AT REST"; Stone put up by Taylor Brumfield; d/o William and Hollena (Adkins) Brumfield, Sr.; died in kitchen fire before 1900 Mollie Brumfield April 8, 1899-May 1917 "AT REST"; Stone put up by Taylor Brumfield; census gives birth as circa 1901; d/o William and Hollena (Adkins) Brumfield, Sr.; died after a woodchip flew in her eye; the eye was removed and became infected Mary Brumfield September 25, 1897-November 1917 "AT REST"; Stone put up by Taylor Brumfield; census gives birth as September 1898; middle name "Jane"; d/o William and Hollena (Adkins) Brumfield, Sr. Brady Dingess January 7, 1917-January 30, 1960 WV PFC 1330 BASE UNIT AAF WWII; nicknamed "Tuck"; s/o Tom Dingess and Mary J. Brumfield; raised by Hollena Brumfield; died in car accident Hollena Brumfield December 13, 1873-December 11, 1963 often called "Maw Tina" (pronounced Tiny); d/o Charles and Minerva J. (Dingess) Adkins; m. William "Bill" Brumfield, Sr. Row 3 Stonewall Adkins June 18, 1889-December 10, 1936 named "Richard"; nicknamed "Dick"; s/o Charles and Minerva J. (Dingess) Adkins, Sr. Minerva Adkins 1852-1925 "REST IN PEACE"; middle name "Jane"; census gives birth as November 1850; d/o Harvey S. and Patsy Ann (Adams) Dingess; m. Charles Adkins, Sr. Charles Adkins 1850-1922 "REST IN PEACE"; census gives birth as March 1850; s/o Isaiah and Mary Jane (Toney) Adkins; Mary Jane Toney was a sister to Ann (Toney) Brumfield; Charles was a miller and Republican justice-of-the-peace; previous stone gave date of death as July 10, 1919 Ward Adkins October 10, 1914-October 17, 1914 "REST IN PEACE"; previous stone gave date of birth as October 12, 1911; s/o Charles "Reb" and Laura (Tomblin) Adkins, Jr. Lace Adkins 1916-1916 "REST IN PEACE"; s/o Stonewall "Dick" and Wealtha (Dingess) Adkins Mayme Adkins March 1912-November 1913 "REST IN PEACE"; d/o Stonewall "Dick" and Wealtha (Dingess) Adkins Row 4 Maurice Adkins September 20, 1928-December 25, 1928 nicknamed "Marcy"; s/o Charles "Reb" and Laura (Tomblin) Adkins, Jr. Enoch Adkins 1881-1933 birthdate guessed at by daughter, JoAnn; census gives birth as November 1883; s/o Charles and Minerva J. (Dingess) Adkins, Sr.; storekeeper and Republican; died on September 27, 1933 of heart attack or heat stroke Enoch Adkins, Jr. November 30, 1933-November 30, 1933 "REST IN PEACE"; s/o Enoch and Cynthia (Ramey) Adkins, Sr.; died at birth (suffocation on umbilical cord) Row 5 Benjamin Adkins 1881-1938 "REST IN PEACE"; census gives birth as November 1880; s/o Charles and Minerva J. (Dingess) Adkins; Republican; went insane; died July 18, 1938 Drexie Jean Webb 1929-1963 d/o Enoch Adkins and Emarine Browning; m. Boyce Webb Further up the hill Earl Black 1910-1956 death certificate gives birth as July 25, 1911; s/o Nim Black and Martha Alford; m. Cora Brumfield; died on Nov 15, 1956 NOTES: Anna Brumfield, daughter of William and Hollena (Adkins) Brumfield, is reputedly buried in this cemetery. She was born on February 8, 1891 and died before 1900 in a kitchen fire. Charles and Minerva J. (Dingess) Adkins had a daughter named Martha Ann Adkins who died young. Perhaps she is buried here. |
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| FRONT ROW: Baker Farley, Charles Adkins, Minerva Adkins, Mollie Brumfield?. BACK ROW: Unknown lady often seen in pictures taken around Cole Branch, Ben Adkins, perhaps Ben's wife. Photo from Daisy Brumfield, granddaughter to Garnet (Brumfield) Miller-Willis. |
| Billie Brumfield, Jr. and Taylor Brumfield (circa 1934). This picture was copied from Corie Brumfield, daughter of Taylor and Lola (Crowder) Brumfield. |
| This site is lovingly dedicated to: JoAnn Dempsey Daisy Dempsey Lola Brumfield Bertha Nelson Corie Brumfield Daisy Brumfield The Henson Family The Black Family In Memory Of: Taylor Brumfield Joe Maynard Betty Brumfield |
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| Hollena (Adkins) Brumfield. Photo from Bertha (Brumfield) Nelson. |
| Mary Jane Brumfield, d/o Bill and Hollena. Photo from Brandon Kirk, great-grandson of Eva (Brumfield) Kirk. |
| Garnet Brumfield, Billie Brumfield, Mary Jane Brumfield, and Mollie Brumfield. From Brandon R. Kirk. |
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