A Grave for Two Submitted by John A. Stegall < johnstegall@hotmail.com Transcribed by Samone Ratcliff on Jan 9, 2000 Far up Brown Ridge in Elliott County, and just about where Rt. 32 now is, the original Concord Schoolhouse was located. It also doubled as a church, and it was at one of the Sunday church services during the Civil War that an incident occured that was both unusual and tragic. While the service was under way, a group of local men chose to set around outside and perhaps discuss the latest war news. Among the men were Tom and Alex Carter and their brother-in-law, Stephen Fraley. While the men were carrying on their conversations, a group of soldiers slowly rode their horses up Brown Ridge from the direction of Sandy Hook. As they rode up to the schoolhouse, one of them, no doubt a local man, addressed Elijah Pennington, who was sitting next to the Carter Brothers on a log: "Move away, Lige, we have nothing against you." As one of the Carter boys was shot fatally, the other broke in a run up the ridge and toward the Carter home about one-fourth mile north of the schoolhouse. Some of the soldiers pursued him and rendered a fatal shot to him just before he got to his home. Stephen Fraley, realizing what was about to happen, made a beeline into the building where Sarepta Carter Fraley was dressed out in her Sunday-go-to-meetin' outfit, which consisted of a dress (or skirt) with the huge round hoops used in dresses at that time. He whispered to her the details of what was happening and told her to stand up and life the skirt. Stephen immediately crawled under and cautioned Sarepta to remain standing and not make a move. The service was immediately brought to a close as soldiers rushed in and began the search for the man they had seen running into the building. They all but turned the building upside down, but could not find their prey. Quite disgusted, they mounted their horses and rode back in the direction of Sandy Hook. It was then safe for Stephen Fraley to emerge from his hiding place. That Sarepta Carter Fraley saved the life of her husband cannot be doubted. Older residents of the Brown Ridge area told me this story many years ago, and they swore that it was "gospel truth". I believed them then, and I still believe it. I might add to the story that the Carter boys bodies were carried a short distance to the home of their parents, George W. and Cynthia Conn Carter, natives of Scott County, Va. A low knoll just a short distance south of the home was to become the final resting spot for Tom and Alex. And it was there that a grave wide enough for two homemade coffins was opened. At that time, coffins were placed inside a wooden box and both were covered with two layers of thick slabs of wood (usually native chestnut) to prevent the weight of the dirt from breaking-in the box and coffin lids. But this method of burial was not exactly adhered to for the Carter brothers. Local men went a short distance down to a stream and located a large flat rock just the right size to go down into the grave. This rock was hauled up to the gravesite and when the coffins and boxes were lowered into the grave, instead of wood, the rock was used to protect them. As the wood in a grave gradually decayed and weakened, the heavy load of dirt caused it to collapse many years later. But not so with this particular grave. Elderly folks of some forty or fifty years ago told me that this grave did not collapse. Today, Tom and Alex Carter's grave is identified by two large triangular-shaped rocks placed side-by-side near each other, and undoubtedly from the same creekbed that the large vault rock had come from. Several years ago, I wrote a series of articles dealing with the Carter family of Elliott County, and one such article "A Grave For Two" appeared in the Elliott County News. Finished USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free genealogical information on the Internet, data may be freely used for personal research and by non-commercial entities as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may not be reproduced in any format or presentation by other organizations or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for profit or any form of presentation, must obtain the written consent of the file submitter, or his legal representative and then contact the listed USGENWEB archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store this file permanently for free access.