Old Poplar Springs Baptist Church Cemetery, Coosa, Alabama http://files.usgwarchives.net/al/coosa/cemetery/popspr.txt ================================================================================ USGENWEB NOTICE: All documents placed in the USGenWeb Archives remain the property of the contributors, who retain publication rights in accordance with US Copyright Laws and Regulations. In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, these documents may be used by anyone for their personal research. They may be used by non-commercial entities so long as all notices and submitter information is included. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit. Any other use, including copying files to other sites, requires permission from the contributors PRIOR to uploading to the other sites. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. This file was contributed and copyrighted by: Ted Pylant, Arlington, Texas ==================================================================== March 2002 There are only two tombstones in the "Old" Poplar Springs Baptist Church cemetery that I'd like to see listed so they don't get lost to memory. One is for John Pylant, my gr-gr-gr-grandfather, and the other is for James Lindsey. I've included a note on how I found the cemetery. In April of 1988 my wife Shirley and I visited friends in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and decided to come back to Arlington, Texas via Coosa County, Alabama where we planned to find John's grave and to visit the old homestead at Hanover, Coosa County, Alabama. A lady in Coosa county had written that John and a man named James Lindsey were buried "in a pasture between the Poplar Springs Baptist Church and the road." Said she had no idea why the two weren't buried in the church cemetery. We found the church and the road and I tromped through the woods trying to locate the two graves. Had no luck so started knocking on doors asking people if they knew where the graves might be located. No one knew but one young man told me that if anyone would know it would be Mrs. Scroggins who was 82 years old and had lived in the area all her life. Told him I surely needed to talk to Mrs. Scroggins; he said she wouldn't normally talk to strangers but that he'd call ahead and tell her we were okay. Had a very pleasant visit with Mrs. Scroggins. Told her who I was and what I was doing and she asked where I'd been looking. I pointed out the area between the church and the road and she said "no, no, it's out yonder" and pointed toward the woods behind her house. She also told me that John Pylant and James Lindsey weren't buried by themselves. The Poplar Springs Baptist Church was originally located at that spot and had an adjoining cemetery where John Pylant, James Lindsey, and many others, including her grandfather, were buried. John and James had the only tombstones that had survived the years - others were of wood or stone that had eventually returned to nature. After the church burned, they built another at the present site along with another cemetery. So, John Pylant and James Lindsey are buried in the "Old" Poplar Springs Baptist Church cemetery. Shirley and I walked through the woods behind Mrs. Scroggins' place for almost two hours and, as it was beginning to get dark, decided to find a place to spend the night and return the next day for more hunting. As we turned onto a blacktop road from the dirt road, I saw a man in his front yard and decided to make one more effort. Told Mr. Mondell Cardwell who I was and what I was looking for and asked if he knew where the graves might be. Said they were on his property across the road and took us there. Took pictures then went back to his house. His wife Sara mentioned that there had been another couple there years ago looking for the James Lindsey grave and that she might still have their name and address. Turns out that Mr. and Mrs. V. V. Dempsey had been there 11 or 12 years ago looking for her ancestor, James Lindsey. Mrs. Dempsey also lives here in Arlington, Texas - not more than four miles from us. John Pylant Died 18th June 1854 aged 82 years SACRED to the Memory of JAMES LINDSEY who was born April 12th 1791 and departed this life February 14th 1846 Aged 54 years 10 months and 2 days