Venus-Cherina Cemetery, Rapides Parish Louisiana Submitted by Jane Parker McManus ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** From Pineville, go north on Cottingham Expressway past the Tioga cutoff and turn left onto US Hwy. 71. Go about 1.0 mile, and just past the Al-Pine Golf Course (on Hwy. 71) turn left onto Hermitage Road into the Timber Trails subdivision. Go .3 miles to stop sign, and turn right onto Ridgemont Street. Bear to the right at a sharp curve, and go .6 miles to top of hill. Cemetery is on the left between Ridgemont Street and the golf course. The area is about two acres in size enclosed by a hurricane fence. Many large hardwood trees are scattered over the cemetery, along with large stumps from trees that have been recently cut. In 1956 before the subdivision was developed, the road had to be cleared from the highway for the Robert Singer funeral. Members of the Brown family stated the cemetery was once much larger. A house is now on each side of the cemetery; and it is possible that graves are lost in this area even though none were marked when developers sold the lots. The Brown-Singer families have maintained the cemetery in recent years, and have removed all limbs from the fallen trees. The stumps will probably remain, but the general appearance of the area is good. A new sign has been erected over the front fence. On the reverse side of the sign is: Perpetual Peace, Venus Cherina Cemetery Ass. Inc. 1994 Tombstone inscriptions were recorded as approached by Mary Parker Partain, 25 September 1996, and submitted by Jane P. McManus. [Group of Burials - left of the gate at front]: Singer, Mollie W. - [no dates] / 10 May 1930 Mama Singer, Robert L. - [no dates] / 23 Feb 1956 Daddy [Double Stone] Brown, Lucille S. - 24 Sep 1900 / 29 Jan 1982 Mother Brown, Jesse - 19 Mar 1896 / 25 Jul 1993, US ARMY WW1 Father [Double Stone] Brown, Son of Jesse & Lucille Brown - [no dates] Singer, John - [no dates] Singer, Lillie - 7 Jan 1872 / 24 Mar 1921? [unreadable stone] Singer, Mary, daughter of John & Lillie Singer - [no dates] Reed, Lillie Beatrice - 1922 / 1922 [small engraved metal marker] * * * Chevealliar, Audie - 23 Mar 1915 / 23 Dec 1918, 3 yrs 9 mos Chevealliar, Beulah Singer - 14 May 1895 / 23 May 1930 Wife of Frank Chevealliar Chevealliar, Frank - 13 Aug 1889 / 5 Aug 1947 [These three stones are in a separate row] Smith, Alfred Alden - 20 Mar 1934 / 27 Jul 1995 [Funeral marker] Ramsey, William W. - 1918 / 1986, US Army WW2 [on left side of cemetery] Ross, Charles D. - 1841 / 1923 Ross, Laura K. - 1900 [ONLY DATE] [Handlettered concrete stones near corner of left rear] [Left side to back fence]: Hadnot, Louise - 1930 / 1989 [Funeral marker: Mary L. Hadnot Ward - 12 Apr 1930 / 20 Mar 1989, 58 yrs] [Infant burial with sandstone marker - no information] Hadnot, Charles Edwin - 25 Oct 1904 / 26 Oct 1981 [Adult Slab - no information] Hadnot, W. S. - 1878 / 1937 [These 5 burials in a row at left rear corner] Strother, Infant son of M. W. Strother - 33 / 33 [1933 / 1933] Strother, Infant daughter of M. W. Strother - 37 / 37 [1937 / 1937] Hadnot, Amos? ?P. or F.? - 1913 / 1914 Hadnot, Willie ?S.? - 1920 / 1921 [These 4 burials are near the above Hadnot burials] [3 unreadable concrete stones] Daigre or Daigle?, ?Ray or Kay? - ?1898 / 1929? [almost unreadable] [Right Side - from the front]: Brown, Vivian Peterman - 27 Apr 1924 / [no dates] Brown, Jesse Vernon - 27 Feb 1925 / 27 Feb 1990 [Double Stone] Noakes, Helen - 1929 / 1994 Mother Noakes, Charles - 1930 / [no dates] Father [Plot with white picket fence] [Double Stone] - Married 11 Jun 1948 Venes [sic], Steve - 1825 / 1909, 84 yrs [Note: Stephen Venus married 1st to Caroline (?) who was born ca 1822 LA and died after 1880] Venus, Emily E. - died 17 Mar 1932, 96 yrs [Identical Stones] Louis, Francis Sescele - 1885 / 1906, 21 yrs. [Mended Stone] [Footstone - no information] [2 Infant slabs - a visitor identified them as LaCroix babies] Crooks, Volsen Jr. - 4 May 1890 / 19 Nov 1912 Crooks, ?Louisa? ?Elisha? - [Unreadable name & date] [2 Concrete slabs thought to be Volsen's parents, however, there is no identification.] [NOTE: 1880 Rapides Parish Census shows Louisa Venus born 1862 LA, married in 1881 to Valsin Crooks] Yawn, James H. - [no dates], Co. B 4th MS Cav. CSA [Born 1834 LA, married to Sally (?) who was born 1844 MS] [This burial near right rear corner] [James Hodge Yawn, born March 12, 1836, Henry Co., Alabama-died December 15, 1882 or 1883 near Bayou Flagon, Ball, LA. Married to Sarah Elizabeth Lee, born 1844 Miss.-died June 22, 1931 in Alexandria, LA - David H. Bell] [Note: The cemetery visitor reported the Labat family was buried near the Yawn grave, but all graves have been lost. There is a lot of room here for lost graves, 100 or more. MPP]