Duplin County, NC - Cemeteries File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Patricia Howard Armor The following is a PARTIAL listing of those buried in the Duplin County Cemetery in Duplin County, NC. The old county burying ground, also know as the Pauper Cemetery, is located on the west side of NC Highway 11, immediately behind the NC Department of Transportation Maintenance Yard at Kenansville. Most of the tall trees which towered over the one acre Duplin County Cemetery have been cut by workers from the Department of Correction under the supervision of Sgt. Charles Bethea. The underbrush has also been removed and burned. The old county burying ground, also know as the Pauper Cemetery, is located on the west side of NC Highway 11, immediately behind the NC Department of Transportation Maintenance Yard at Kenansville. The sunken spaces in the earth where 68 graves are now sadly visible, without any type of markers. There are possibly other grave sites that are unrecongnizable. Of these 68, 42 individuals are known that have been buried there. The depressions in the ground left from the decay of the wooden boxes which held the deceased, are the only remaining bisible signs of the people who were buried there. Death certificates in the Register of Deeds office and the old County Home records provide the names of the people known to have been buried at the county cemetery. The first known burial was in 1914 and the last in 1968. Information is provided in this format: NAME BIRTH DEATH OTHER Lanier, Tom d. 8/29/1914 Sillers, Prims d. 8/31/1914 Whaley, Rodolph d. 3/27/1920 age 23 Merritt, Maggie d. 7/19/1920 age 65 Stewart, Dave d. 1/12/1922 age 72 Pickett, Martha Jan 1842 5/16/1922 Ellis, George d. 6/7/1923 age 60 Merritt, John 1859 11/4/1924 Tate, Isabella d. 3/24/1927 age 65 Thigpen, Viney d. 1/16/1929 age 70 Gilespie, Louis d. 2/13/1929 age 85 Williams, Carolyn d. 3/12/1929 age 80 Bass, Donnie d. 6/23/1929 Miller, Stephen d. 7/19/1929 age 56 Fergeson, David S 9/8/1849 11/20/1929 Frederick, Julia 1/18/1848 1/25/1931 McLamb, Harvey 5/1909 3/7/1931 James, Milles 3/1909 3/7/1931 James, John 3/1902 3/7/1931 Cox, Claude 4 /1899 3/7/1931 Jarman, Robert 7/1879 3/7/1931 Bennett, Wesley 1/1915 3/7/1931 Merritt, Robert 3/1/1910 3/7/1931 Farrior, John Mac 1912 3/7/1931 Smith, Virgil 1911 3/7/1931 Moore, W.B. 1/1904 3/7/1931 Simmons, Peter 1845 5/22/1931 Taylor, Blythe 3/8/1868 9/18/1931 Rogers, Mary 5/1/1848 5/22/1932 Rogers, John H. 1848 12/1/1932 Armstrong, Joshua d. 3/13/1934 age 75 Reed, Rosie d. 6/1/1934 Cousin, William d. 4/3/1935 Lewis, Henry d. 5/17/1935 Jones, Lucy Rackley 1858 1935 Dixon, Ida 5/14/1908 1/10/1941 Williams, Ed d. 1/25/1942 age 62 Blango, Isom 1/15/1892 9/3/1944 Smith, Nellie J d. 5/15/1945 age 67 Stevens, Johnnie 6/1/1904 2/4/1951 Murphy, Margie Virginia Boise 11/2/1930 6/10/1967 Newton, Ransom 4/1879 6/27/1968 A Deadly Fire Duplin County death certificates show that on March 7, 1931, ten men ages 16-52 died in a fire that occurred at 3 a.m. in the county stockade. The men were locked in their cells when the fire broke out. The guard on duty did not have a key to let them out. The sheriff had gone home and taken the keys with him. These men had been sentenced by the courts to work on the County Home grounds and tend the vegetable garden which fed the residents of the County Home and the prisoners. Every county is required to have a public cemetery to bury those people who are unclaimed and become wards of the state. Mrs Brown, Director of Social Services, is maintaining the ashes of an unclaimed person, waiting for the restoration of the county cemetery to properly dispose of the remains. This article appeared in THE PINK HILL REVIEW Oct. 23, 1997. Thank You, Patricia Howard Armor parmor@geocities.com http://www.geocities.com/~parmor/ ___________________________________________________________________ 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. The 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, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. ___________________________________________________________________