A Tranquil Setting for History by: Jeanne Miller Link Cemetery is history. It reaches back into the early 1800's when John Link and his wife came by covered wagon from Halifax County, Va. With them were their three children. They homesteaded on a tract of land now known as the Shan Cave farm. John farmed and Elizabeth Lawson Link raised the expanding family. Their only daughter died in infancy, three boys died, eight sons lived, William, Abner, Jackson, Thomas, Richard, Smith, Samuel, and Booker. The small settlement became known as Linkville but when the MKT "Katy" railroad was constructed, an official of the railroad was used as the new name which it bears today - Wainwright. This tiny hamlet, located off Highway 94, about 6 miles Northeast of Jefferson City, still shows rutted tracks of the original Fulton-Jefferson City road. Above the small, river styled homes of Wainwright, on a grassy knoll, is the Link Cemetery. Approximately two acres, the cemetery is believed to have had its first burial about 1838. The first discovered stone is dated 1851 and was to memorialize an infant. The original road to the plot was on the west side and because of the steepness of the hill, oxcarts were necessary. They plodded into the cemetery by an entrance beautified by two magnificent hackberry trees, still alive and dated by a Missouri Conservation agent as between 200-300 years old. Thomas Link deeded the graveyard to the Wainwright Methodist Church and in 1972 the cemetery was incorporated. The entrance modernized recently, is now at the South end. John and Elizabeth Link are buried here as well as kin of the Links and other Wainwright residents. A far corner, for years marked only by large stones was a burial section of black people. Because in early years wooden markers were the only means of identification and have disintegrated, it will probably never be known who or how many early settlers are in this quiet cemetery. One of the most gripping deaths is that of 16-year old William S. Scott. Killed by hanging, his death was justified by "Bushwhackers" because he was a Southern sympathizer. According to a Callaway historian, the killing began a feud against the bushwhackers and their kin by Scott kin that didn't halt until the twentieth century. While Mr. and Mrs. Edward Link are gracious and are willing to open thegates of this community cemetery to interested men and women, they do want to meet those who wish to view this tanquil, beautiful and fascinating area of Missouri history. by: Lois Link A stone bearing the boldface MURDERED is one of unusual significance. It is a reminder of the pathos of the Civil War. At the time, Missouri was controversial, tensions high and emotions mixed. A 15 year old boy, son of William and Sarah Jane Scott hd enlisted in Price's Army. He was captured at the age of 16 and sent to the Alton Illinois Federal Prison. He was paroled from the prison and walked a great part of the distance from Alton to see his sister Betty who resided with her jusband John Dickson in Callaway County. He arrived at the home at night and was enjoying a meal and warm welcome when a neighbor arrived and warned the boy that the Bushwhackers, Northern sympathizers of the Union cause, were after him. The gang believed that he had returned to carry secrets and information and this would be the time to get him. They entered the Dickson home and dragged the boy from the house with the promise to his siter that he would be taken to Alton Prison unharmed to get his discharge papers. It was a night of terrible tension - a horrible night at the Dickson hemestead. When morning arrived, the Dickson family and their slaves followed tracks of the horseback riding guerillas and located Billy's body hanging from a tree only a few miles down the road from the old Lige Phillips farm and near the Rocky Branch Church. Rocky Branch was then one of the thriving Methodist churches in the country. Only evidence of its existence now is an old stile in front and steps that led to the front doors. Transcribed from: Fulton Sun Gazette approx. 1959 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Wayne E. Johnson (© 2003 Wayne E. Johnson) http://www.rootsweb.com/~mocallaw/ 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 for profit or presentation by other organization 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 their legal representative, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. ------------------------------------------------------------------------