Brougham Cemetery, Holmes, Mississippi ========================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing Free information on the Internet, data may be used 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 for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor. ========================================================================== HISTORY: This cemetery is located near the Sessions homeplace, on the Brougham Plantation, that was owned by the Sessions family. Eliza Kerchaval was Lucretia Sessions mother, and had lived in Bardstown Kentucky, where Lucretia was born. She came to live with her daughter, at Brougham, after her husband died. It is believed, but not confirmed or documented, that the immigrant ancestor of the Holmes County Sessions family, born in England in 1672, arriving in Massachussetts in 1694, having been appointed secretary to the Colonial Governor of that colony. The first ancestor, that we have any real knowledge of, is Richard Sessions, grandson of John, born in Connecticutt and moved to Sampson County, N.C., where he married Esther Boone, niece of Daniel Boone. Thye had a son Joseph, born in 1774, in Sampson County and moved to Natchez, Adams County, MS, where he married Sarah Howard of that county. Joseph was very active in Mississippi politics. He was a member of the Mississippi Territorial Council and a member of the Mississippi Constitutional Convention of 1817. He was two times elected state representative and also served as state senator. Joseph and Sarah had nine children. Three of their sons came to Hiolmes County, during the decades of the 1830s and 1840s. Joseph Ferdinand, born in 1804, came first and started the farm which came to be known as Brougham Plantation. Joseph died in 1837 and is the first burial at Brougham Cemetery. Phillip, born 1802 came sometime before are shortly after Joseph’s death and managed the farm. Albert M., born 1810, married Lucretia Kerchaval, born 1815, Bardstown, KY. Albert and Lucretia and their three children came to Brougham from Adams County, in 1840. The children were Mary, born 1836, Joseph F., born in 1837 and Phillip, born in 1839. They had five more children, Cornelia born in 1840, Sarah born in 1842, Clara born in 1844, Delia born in 1847 and Caroline born in 1849. There is another child to account for and that is Katie, who is buried at Brougham. She has the same birthdate as Caroline, but is not listed on the 1850 census, leading one to believe that Caroline and Katie were the same child. Clara married Cass Oltenburg and they were ancestors of the Povall and Ginn families of Lexington. Delia married William Eggleston, of nearby Wanalaw Plantation and that family also lived in Lexington. Phillip served in the Confederate Army, Company B, 1st Mississippi Battalion Sharp Shooters. He was wounded at the Battle of Shiloh, April 6, 1862 and died in Verona, MS in June of that year . We do not know where he was buried. His older brother, Joseph, also was in the Confederate Army. He was in Company K, 18th Regiment Mississippi Volunteers. There were at least 10 other young men from the Funnagusha neighborhood in Company K, including his two future brothers in law, Cass Oltenburg and William Eggleston. They served in the Army of Northern Virginia throughout the war, except for the time when Longstreet’s Corps was detached to Bragg’s Army for the Battle of Chicamauga. Joe was wounded four times, at Malvern Hill, Fredricksburg, Gettysburg and Saylor’s Creek. He was captured at Fredricksburg and Gettysburg and was exchanged both times. After the war, Joe earned a degree in medicine from St. Louis University and at the time of his death, in March of 1870, was practicing in Kinmundy, IL. In a letter written to his sister Delia, about two weeks before his death, he seems to be very upbeat. No document had been found that would indicate the cause of his death. Kerchaval, Eliza Dec 14, 1792 Aug 26, 1845 Sessions, Albert M. Jun 9, 1810 Jan 13, 1866 Sessions, Cornelia Nov 25, 1840 Nov 1842 Sessions, Joseph F. Feb 26, 1837 Mar 22, 1870 Born Adams Co., MS; Sessions, Joseph Ferdinand Jul 26, 1808 Jul 9, 1837 Born Adams Co., MS Son of Joseph & Sarah Sessions Sessions, Katie Aug 30, 1849 Jul 25, 1858 Sessions, Lucretia R. Jun 15, 1815 Feb 13, 1869 Wife of Albert M. Sessions Taylor, Henry P. Sep 28, 1832 Jun 30, 1860 Born Clarksville, VA Markers for all of the above have been found.