Lapeer County MI Archives Photo Place.....Bentley Cemetery Sign June 25, 2004
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Hal Prentice hal@wkar.org May 28, 2006, 8:38 am

Source:             Bentley Cemetery
Photo can be seen at:
http://www.usgwarchives.net/mi/lapeer/photos/bentleyc47600gph.jpg
Image file size: 119.5 Kb

Bentley Cemetery, also referred to in some records as the Gray Cemetery, is
located about 250 feet west down a dirt track at the corner of Gray Road and
Reamer Road in Oregon Twp, Lapeer Co, MI.  The Gray School House is located on
northwest corner of Gray and Reamer Roads.  As of this writing (May 2006), there
is no known transcription of burials.

The cemetery was abandoned in 1920 and lay unattended until the early 1990s when
a local troup of the Girl Scouts of America cleared the site of undergrowth.  I
have heard that the cemetery has since been maintained by members of the Taylor
family as some ancestors of the Taylors are buried there.  A local anecdote
relates that the site was originally used for burials by the Chippewa Indians.

There are several gravestones visible, though most are damaged or missing.  A
large portion of the site contains no visible signs of burials.  There are some
large plastic stakes planted throughout the cemetery possibly marking plots,
though who placed them there and the true purpose of the markers is unknown. 
Names of family members who are interred there include Hazzard, Graves,
Sheppard, May & Denson.  The last confirmed burial was William M. Graves 1853-1920.

Additional Comments:
Photo taken by Hal Prentice.  Any information about the Taylor and Graves
families or the Bentley Cemetery, please contact hal@wkar.org

File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/mi/lapeer/photos/bentleyc47600gph.txt

This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/mifiles/

File size: 2.1 Kb