May/Weeks Cemetery - Vernon Parish, Louisiana Submitted by Jane McManus ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** Directions: In Leesville at the intersection of US Hwy. 171 South and LA Hwy. 8, go west on Texas Highway for approximately 6.2 miles. Turn right at Camp Baker Road (blacktop) and go 4.9 miles until road comes to dead end (road becomes gravel at 10 miles). Turn left onto Camp Baker Trace and go approximately 2.5 miles (the road narrows to one lane road here). Continue straight for .5 miles and turn left onto unimproved dirt road. Continue on this trail for approximately 1.0 miles until you reach a crossroads on top of a hill. Go straight on a dirt trail for approximately .5 miles. At this point, a driveway turns to the right where it continues a short distance and separates the two cemeteries. Both cemeteries have a good hurricane fence, with the May Cemetery located on the left and the Weeks Cemetery on the right. Both have a sign on the gate. The area has been abandoned for many years, but was recently cleaned (1995) and is maintained by Don and Linda May Scoggins of Leesville. Inscriptions were MAY CEMETERY -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Allen, Lula May - 7 Aug 1862/1 Jan 1913 Mother [old marker on top of grave, new stone at head, month & day off old stone] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- May, Liddia [Lyddia] - 10 Apr 1837/15 Jan 1913 Mother [old marker on top of grave, new stone at head, Lyddia on old marker] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Allen, Baby - 1901 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- May, Zena Andrews - [no dates] [b. Jan 1822 GA / aft 1900, 1880 & 1900 Vernon Parish Census] May, David, Husband of Zenah Andrews - 16 Nov 1797/23 Apr 1863 [Masonic Emblem] [old marker on top of grave with epitaph and different spelling for wife's name] [above 2 burials have double stone] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Allen, Stephen - 2 Dec 1843/19 May 1923 [unmarked burial with sandstone rock at head and foot. In the 1960's, Jack Hadnot recorded information from one additional tombstone which was not visible in 1995, possibly this unmarked burial]: WEEKS CEMETERY - This cemetery is slightly larger than the May Cemetery, approximately 30' x 50', with 7 tombstones and 3 burials marked with sandstone rocks. There is room for other burials; none were found. Droddy, Ollie Dickeson, wife of W. E. Droddy - 17 May 1871/24 Nov 1909 [small obelisk, d/o John Dickeson] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dickeson, John - 2 Feb 1832/30 Nov 1914 Dickeson, Tabitha, wife of A. J. Dickeson - 22 Jun 1836/24 Sep 1894 [new stone, d/o John McGee and Sarah Winfree] Dickeson, Joseph Bryant - 18 Feb 1862/14 Jan 1870 Dickeson, Mittie Belle - 13 Dec 1867/5 Sep 1881 [d/o John Dickeson [stone made by Mursheed Benvenu, New Orleans] Dickeson, Annie - 9 Mar 1869/30 Jul 1885 [stone off its base and propped against fence] [d/o John Dickeson] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hogue, John D., son of Mary J. & W. L. Hogue - 27 Sep 1878/5 Jul 1881 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [3 unmarked burials with sandstone rock at head & foot of 2, granite rock at 3rd - no information] [Unmarked Burials]: [Jack Hadnot was familiar with the unmarked burials in these cemeteries. In 1977, he identified the following persons as being buried in this cemetery, possibly in some of the unmarked burials above.] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Williams, Samuel - born ca 1834 [Son of Benjamin Williams and Louisa Little] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Winfree, Mary Huddleston - [no dates] [1st w/o Elijah Absolom Winfree, d/o of Isaac Huddleston] Winfree, Gethern - ca 1844/ca 1863 Winfree, William - ca 1846/ca 1863 [Gethern and William were sons of Elijah Absolom Winfree and Mary Huddleston. Old timers remembered that Gethern Winfree died in Vicksburg during the Civil War, and his father and brother started to Vicksburg to get his body. However, before they left Vicksburg with the body, William Winfree became ill and died. Elijah then packed his sons' bodies in salt, loaded them in the wagon, and brought them home to Vernon Parish for burial in this cemetery. JH]