PICKENS CHAPEL CHURCH CEMETERY, Anderson County, SC A.K.A. Version 2.3, 2-Jan-2006, A225.TXT, A225 **************************************************************** REPRODUCING NOTICE: ------------------- These electronic pages may not be reproduced in any format for profit, or presentation by any other organization, or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. Paul M Kankula Seneca, SC, USA Anderson County SC GenWeb Coordinator Anderson County SC GenWeb Homestead http://www.rootsweb.com/~scandrsn/ **************************************************************** DATAFILE INPUT . : Paul M. Kankula at (visit above website) in Feb-2004 DATAFILE LAYOUT : Paul M. Kankula at (visit above website) in Feb-2004 G.P.S. MAPPING . : Gary L. Flynn at (visit above website) in Feb-2004 HISTORY WRITE-UP : ____________ at ____________ in _______ IMAGES ......... : Paul M. Kankula at (visit above website) in Feb-2004 LOCATION WRITE-UP: Gretchen Ellison at ke4hgx@charter.net in Mar-2004 TRANSCRIPTION .. : Gretchen Ellison at ke4hgx@charter.net in Mar-2004 **************************************************************** CEMETERY LOCATION: A225 = Pickens Presbyterian Chapel, 2m NW of Slabtown, Anderson County a.k.a. Old Carmel Presbyterian Church (1787) P026 = New Carmel Presbyterian Church (1820), 4m SE of Liberty, Pickens County A225: From Easley, take Hwy. 8 to Pelzer. Just across the Pickens County Line, turn right on S-485 (Three & Twenty Rd.). Go several miles to Pickens Chapel on the left. A historical marker is in front. The cemetery is behind the chapel. Latitude N 34 44.391 x Longitude W 82 35.494 CHURCH/CEMETERY HISTORY: ------------------------ Go to this link for a great story about Aunt Jemima Pickens: http://freepages.family.rootsweb.com/~pickensarchive/kaw/kaw.html o----------o Roadside Memorial Marker: Near Pickens-Anderson County line off S.C. Hwy. 88 on S.C. Sec. Rd. 485. This land, Cherokee territory until 1777, became the final resting place after the American Revolution for early pioneers who settled the area. A number of soldiers of the Revolution are buried here, including Robert Pickens, who served in the state militia and was related to General Andrew Pickens. Erected by the Colonel John Robins Chapter, Colonial Dames of the XVII Century, 1980. o----------o There are several locations given for this burial place that are incorrect! The cemetery is NOT located at Carmel Presbyterian Church, Cedar Rock Church or Lighthouse Baptist Church. The directions printed in various Anderson County cemetery survey books are incorrect. The currently abandoned chapel used to be the location of Richmond, Six & Twenty and Carmel Church - all names at different points in time for Carmel Presbyterian Church. Later, it served other churches, including Lighthouse Baptist. The cemetery is located just across the Pickens County Line: drive out of Easley on SC8 on the road to Pelzer; once you enter Anderson County, turn right on Three and Twenty Mile Road (S-485); drive until you see a historical marker to the cemetery on the left. Without a sensitive odometer, we estimate the distance at about 3 to 4 miles from the historical marker at Pickensville (inside Easley on SC 8). Once you turn on Three and Twenty Mile Road, it is about 2 to 3 miles to the cemetery marker. Coming from Pelzer, take SC 8 to junction of SC 81 and SC 88. Take SC 88 west. From SC 88, the road to the cemetery is marked as SSR 485; it is NOT so marked coming from Easley! The road to the abandoned chapel is closed off; you have to park just off the highway. The cemetery is located about 100 yards back from the rear of the chapel. Follow an abandoned road/path to the cemetery. Wear closed-in shoes because the ground is covered with various species of ants and poison ivy. The cemetery is badly overgrown. Toby Turner at tturner@houston.rr.com in Aug-2005 o----------o Few cemeteries in Upstate South Carolina hold the remains of a score, or more, veterans of the War Independence. But the graves of at least twenty- eight Revolutionary soldiers can be found in a single burial ground situated in a rural section of northern Anderson County. That old necropolis is known as the Pickens Cemetery, but many members of families with other surnames were also buried there. The graveyard is situated near the waters of Three and Twenty Creek and in a secluded, wooded area behind Pickens Chapel, which is practically on the same site once occupied by an early Presbyterian meetinghouse first known as Richmond-Carmel and later as Carmel. (Presumably, the church was named for Mount Carmel of biblical Palestine). The predecessors of Carmel Presbyterian Church were the first organized groups of Christian worshipers in the so-called Indian Land, which was a large portion of Cherokee tribal territory ceded to South Carolina in 1777. That Cherokee land concession was later appended to Ninety-Six District, but it was officially renamed Pendleton District on March 7, 1789. Scotch-Irish immigrants and their descendants founded what eventually became known as Carmel Presbyterian Church in Pendleton District several years after the end of the War of Independence. In the 1700's those settlers had migrated to the southern colonies from Pennsylvania and additional areas to avoid scalping raids and other attacks by hostile Native Americans on the western frontiers of several mid-Atlantic colonies. Throughout the War of Independence, many of these Scotch-Irish settlers helped to defeat British troops. They certainly supported the Americans in their struggle for independence from Great Britain. As David Duncan Wallace noted in The History of South Carolina they "made good the long tradition of a people characterized by the grim defense of their liberties" (p 298). Thus after the armed conflict, some of the Scotch-Irish received land grants in the Carolina backcountry as bounty for their military service. At first, these pioneers existed under harsh, hard scrabble conditions in a virtual wilderness. They built crude log cabins for shelter, then they cleared rocky farmland of trees and thick vegetation and planted crops in virgin soil. As time progressed, their farms yielded not only adequate food for the table but also such cash crops as wheat, corn, oats and tobacco. As the decades advanced and receded, all the Revolutionary veterans eventually died out. Quite a number of them were laid to rest in Pickens Cemetery, which was used by Carmel Presbyterian Church as its initial graveyard until another one was established many years later at the present-day site of the church in southern Pickens County. Additional soldiers of the Revolution were buried at nearby Hopewell (Keowee) Presbyterian Church, which was established near Pendleton in about 1788-89 (shortly after Carmel's founding) and is known today as the Old Stone Church. Although it has long been an inactive church, the sturdy old fieldstone meetinghouse is still standing between Pendleton and Clemson, and it has been carefully preserved as a major historical relic of Pendleton District. Andrew Pickens (1739-l8l7), who was born to Scotch-Irish parents and was a hero of the Battle of Cowpens during the War of Independence, was one of the founders and first elders of Hopewell (Keowee). The bodies of General Pickens and his wife, Rebecca Calhoun (1745-1814), were buried in the churchyard of the Old Stone Church. Situated today about seven miles south of Easley and three miles southeast of Liberty in southern Pickens County---and only a short distance north of the Anderson County line---Carmel Presbyterian Church was the first house of worship of any Christian denomination established in the former Indian Land that became a part of the old Ninety-Six District of South Carolina. Based on available evidence, Carmel's roots appear to have extended back to about 1785, when Scotch-Irish settlers on waters of Twenty Three Mile Creek established two small Presbyterian congregations, namely Twenty Three Mile and Richmond. Jeptha P. Smith (1 Apr 1853 - 17 Nov 1911), son of James Monroe Smith (1 Jul 1808 - 11 Jun 1890) and Hester Ann Watkins Smith (9 Mar 1827 - 4 Oct 1902), prepared an historical sketch containing some details about the organization of Carmel Presbyterian Church in the nineteenth century. That sketch was found among papers which had remained intact in the cornerstone of Pickens County's second courthouse. The old building in which law courts were held for many years was demolished in the late 1950s to make room for the construction of a new courthouse. Because Smith's historical sketch surrounding Carmel's founding, a section of that document is provided below. At first, there seem to have been two preaching places, or mission stations; one situated about three miles east of this place (Carmel) and known as Twenty-three Mile Creek, or Pickens Church, and the other about three miles south of this place and called Richmond. In the minutes of the Presbytery, we find both these places petitioning to be supplied with preaching. We do not think there was a regular organization at these places, but we learn that ministers were appointed to preach at both places. Dr. Thomas Reese, who became pastor of the Carmel Church in the year 1792, says that Carmel was organized in 1787. But the name Carmel does not appear (says Dr. Howe) till around 1793 when it appears in the Minutes of the Presbytery, the names of Twenty-three Mile Creek and Richmond disappear, so it seems very probably that the two congregations, or preaching stations spoken of, merged into one, or unite and form one organization and take the name of Carmel. The first Carmel church building was about three miles east of the present building, and the old graveyard, where some of the founders of the church are buried, is still preserved, and recently a new Methodist Church has been built on this very spot where old Carmel first stood. The church was removed to this place about 75 years ago (about 1814). According to oral tradition, Andrew Pickens the Revolutionary War partisan leader of the Carolina frontier, attended meetings with these Presbyterians and even suggested the name Richmond for the congregation from which Carmel Church became a spin-off. In 1789, Hopewell (Keowee) Presbyterian Church was established about ten miles southwest of Carmel and near present-day Pendleton and Clemson. Then, Andrew Pickens became a faithful member and elder there. Unlike Carmel Church, Hopewell (Keowee) is no longer active, but its sturdy, old building, constructed of fieldstone, stands today (i.e., in 2001) between Pendleton and Clemson. It is now known as the Old Stone Church. At first, the early religious congregations that predated Carmel's founding held prayer meetings and Bible studies in the homes of various local citizens who were Presbyterians. Later, religious services were conducted outdoors in brush arbors, weather permitting. Carmel Presbyterian Church evolved out of these meetings in 1787, and its members constructed a small log meetinghouse on the farm of Robert Pickens (1747-1830), a War of Independence veteran who served as a captain under his first cousin, Colonel Andrew Pickens. In 1784, one year after the end of the War of Independence, Robert Pickens had been granted land on waters of Twenty Three Mile Creek (now on both sides of the Anderson-Pickens line). He moved his family there from the Long Canes settlement and brought along his aged, feeble and almost blind father, Robert Pike Pickens (1697-1793), a native of Northern Ireland, a son of William Pickens and an uncle of the aforementioned Andrew Pickens. Robert Pike Pickens was granted 250 acres of land on December 3, 1763, in what today is Abbeville County, South Carolina. The elder Pickens died at the age of about ninety-six in 1793, and his burial on the Pickens farm was the first one to have taken place in the family's cemetery. His will is dated January 20, 1783, and probated June 1, 1793 (Pendleton District Will Book C, page 15). Later, Pickens cemetery would also be used as an early burial ground for both Presbyterians and Methodists, as well as for other residents of the surrounding community, including the many veterans of the War of Independence who were eventually laid to rest there. But the quiet, wooded graveyard would remain the property of Robert Pickens until his death in 1830. Since that time, one or another of his descendants has owned it. Today, Pickens Cemetery, which once also served as Carmel's initial burial ground, is situated about seven miles south of Easley and on Twenty Three Mile Road in Anderson County. It is surrounded by a wooded area located behind a white frame church building once known as Wesley Methodist Chapel and now known as Pickens Chapel. Richmond-Carmel's first log meetinghouse once stood between the Pickens Cemetery and present-day Pickens Chapel. One of the early Presbyterian ministers who served at Carmel was Thomas Reese, D.D. (1742-1796), a son of Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, a veteran of the War of Independence and a graduate of Princeton College in New Jersey. Dr. Reese accepted a joint pastorate at Carmel and Hopewell (Keowee) in 1792, and he continued to preach at both churches until his untimely death in 1796. In 1792, when Dr. Thomas Reese received his joint appointment, Carmel was the meetinghouse where about sixty Presbyterian families worshiped. On the other hand, members of about forty Presbyterian families attended Hopewell (Keowee), Carmel's sister church. In a written report to the Presbytery of South Carolina, Dr. Reese described his two Presbyterian flocks as follows: In general, the people of these two churches are remarkable for their great simplicity of dress and manners. Living two hundred and fifty miles from Charleston, they are strangers to luxury and refinement. Blessed with a healthy climate, brought up in habits of labor and industry, they are for the most part clothed in homespun, and nourished by the produce of their own farms. There are few slaves among them and these are treated with great kindness and humanity. In George Howe's History of the Presbyterian Church in South Carolina, the following comparison is made between members of the Hopewell (Keowee) congregation and those of Carmel: They were not so numerous as the people of Carmel, but better united, more catholic in their principles, and dispositions, and liberal in their sentiments. A few of their numbers are wealthy and very forward to support the Gospel; among whom are General Pickens and Colonel Robert Anderson, both men of great influence in the State of South Carolina. From 1800 until 1803, English-born Francis Asbury (1745-1816), the self-proclaimed and somewhat domineering bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church in America, came to Pendleton District and surrounding communities. Methodists are members of a Protestant religions denomination organized under the evangelical teaching of John Wesley (1703-1791) and his brother Charles (1707-1788). Bishop Asbury's mission was to spread the evangelical teachings of Methodism and to ordain circuit-riding preachers to fill pulpits of local churches. (Between 1808 and 1852, one of the earliest Methodist itinerate preachers who served churches in the Keowee and Pendleton circuits was the Rev. William Scott.) Since 1771, when he arrived in the American colonies, Asbury had traveled widely on horseback, (an estimated 300,000 miles), and the ranks of the Methodists increased rapidly because of the frail bachelor's untiring proselytism. While making his rounds in the Carolina backcountry, Bishop Asbury visited the homes of a number of local residents, including Samuel Burdine at Burdine Springs near present-day Easley; John Wilson, Sr. on Twenty Three Mile Creek; Solomon James in the George's Creek community; Andrew Pickens at both the Cherry's Crossing home on the Seneca River and the Red House at Tamasse; in present-day Oconee County; and John Douthit near Table Rock Mountain. Bishop Asbury often delivered stirring sermons to groups of interested or curious people who had assembled at some of the homes he visited. Many converts to Methodism occurred at those meetings. Robert Pickens and his family, as well as a group of additional members of Carmel Presbyterian Church, also embraced the more impassioned evangelism of the Methodists. Thus the Presbyterian congregation at Carmel was torn apart. The converts then pulled away from the Presbyterians and built a log Methodist church at another location on Robert Pickens' farm. Between the years 1808-1852, one of the earliest itinerate Methodist preachers who served in what was known first as the Keowee circuit (and later the Pendleton circuit) was the Rev. William Scott. A modern-day account of the schism at Carmel, written by Dr. A. L. Pickens, is provided below: At old Carmel the Methodists had drawn off a large part of the congregation, establishing a new church just far enough away for the shouting and book-board thumping not to worry the more staid Presbyterians. Captain Robert's family was invaded by the schism, and tolerantly he contributed more land, both churches using the same cemetery for years. He saw that it was one of the best kept anywhere near, and hence a little company of eighteen-odd Revolutionary soldiers with the captains and majors among them for good measure lie there. In about 1802, the Presbyterians residents of the Twenty Three Mile Creek area who had remained loyal to their faith decided to remove their log meetinghouse from the farm of Robert Pickens, who had recently converted to Methodism. They dismantled the rustic Richmond-Carmel house of worship, loaded it on wagons and moved it a distance of about three miles to the Indian Creek farm of Ezekiel Pilgrim, an early settler of the area who had received a 300-acre land grant there in 1784. The log structure was then reconstructed near what today is known as the Flat Rock community of southern Pickens County. Twenty years after that move, Ezekiel Pilgrim sold 3.9 acres of land to Carmel Presbyterian Church for only nine dollars. Carmel's meetinghouse was already standing there. The official deed was dated May 7, 1820, and it conveyed the church property to the following ruling elders: Michael Dickson, Robert McCann, William Walker, Thomas Hamilton, John Dickson, Alexander Oliver, William McMurray and Robert Lemons. Most of these church leaders were veterans of the American Revolution, and as the years passed, they were laid to rest in the Pickens Cemetery at Carmel's original site. Ezekiel Pilgrim did not want a graveyard established on the land that he sold as long as he or his heirs resided on the adjacent farm, and the deed for the church property contained that stipulation. Thus Carmel did not institute a cemetery at its second site until about 1845, by which time Ezekiel Pilgrim had long before passed away and his heirs no longer owned the old Pilgrim homestead. Before 1845, the bodies of deceased members of Carmel were still taken back to the old Pickens Cemetery. Eventually, a frame building replaced Carmel's rustic meetinghouse. Then, in about 1855---and after many years of use---that wooden structure was replaced by a small but substantial building constructed of handmade red brick. When the new brick church building was dedicated, the dedicatory sermon was preached by the Rev. Anthony W. Ross, a former pastor who had preached in the old frame building. The brick building stands today and is still used by an active Presbyterian congregation. When the brick church was constructed, an interior balcony was included to accommodate slaves who worshiped there. The balcony represented an early harbinger of the unfortunate separate but equal doctrine established in 1896 by the U. S. Supreme Court in Plessy v. Ferguson and was in effect for sixty-two years, until racial segregation was declared unlawful in Brown v. Board of Education (1954). In 1889, a memorial commemorating the life and service of the Reverend John Leland Kennedy (1801-1877) was placed outside the main entrance of the church by the Thalian Association, which was made up of former students of old Thalian Academy in nearby Slabtown. The Rev. Kennedy was undoubtedly the most distinguished and beloved early minister at Carmel, and he was also an eminent educator and headmaster of Thalian Academy. For more than a century, Carmel's rather austere house of worship remained essentially unchanged from the day when it was completed. But in 1959, an addition to the structure was built to house classrooms, a fellowship hall and a kitchen. Connected to the old historic church by a breezeway, the new building was constructed of concrete block and then veneered with brick so as to resemble the old sanctuary that had stood for more than one hundred years. by: Charles H. Busha o----------o Carmel Presbyterian Church, Liberty The congregation for this Presbyterian Church was originally formed in the mid 1700's. Carmel is the oldest Presbyterian Church in the old Pendleton District. The first church was built of logs. The present sanctuary was completed in 1856 and is made of handmade bricks and has a slave gallery with its own outside entrance. In the early years of the church, Ezekiel Pilgrim, who donated the land for the church, prohibited a cemetery from being placed on the same grounds as the church. The early Carmel church members were then buried at the old church site, which is known as the Pickens Cemetery. After Ezekiel Pilgrim's death, a cemetery was started at the church. The earliest marker in that cemetery is 1841. The church is located south of Liberty at the corner of Hwy. 135 and Flat Rock Road. To tour the church, please call (864) 843-6827. o----------o CARMEL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH According to the Rev. Doctor Thomas Reese writing in 1793, Richmond Church (later called Carmel) was built by 1787 near Three and Twenty Creek in what is today Anderson County. (The church celebrated its centennial in 1889.) The church has been denoted as Three and Twenty Church, Richmond Church, and finally Carmel Church. According to available church records, one of the earliest ministers at Carmel was the Rev. Thomas Reese, who came in 1792 at the invitation of Carmel and of Hopewell (later known as the Old Stone Church near Pendleton). At the time Reese became pastor, Carmel consisted of about sixty families and Hopewell near forty. He served both churches until his death in 1796. Just after Reese's death, a united petition of the two churches asking for supplies was sent to South Carolina Presbytery. It was signed by Robert Anderson, John Wilson, Robert McCann, Robert Henderson, and Andrew Pickens. As Anderson and Pickens were elders of Hopewell, it is presumed that Henderson, Wilson, and McCann were elders of Carmel Church. The early members are unknown, though tradition claims the Pickens, Wilson, Hamilton, Henderson, McCann families and others of Scotch-Irish descent who came to South Carolina from Pennsylvania and Virginia. Tradition also has it that Robert Pickens, John Wilson and Thomas Hamilton were the first elders of Carmel Church. Robert McCann and Robert Henderson are said to have become elders a few years later. The bodies of Robert Pickens and John Wilson are resting in the Pickens Graveyard, the site of the first church building. The remains of Thomas Hamilton, who died in 1850 at age ninety-one, lie in Carmel Cemetery. After the death of Reese, Carmel Church and Old Stone was supplied by J. Simpson and J. Gilliland. These men along with A. Brown probably supplied the congregations until the close of the eighteenth century. For several years Carmel and Old Stone were supplied by Dickson, McElhaney, Montgomery, Templeton, and J. Gilliland, Jr. About the year 1802, the log church, situated on Three and Twenty, was torn down and moved to near Indian Creek, the site of the present church. On September 12, 1803, a call was presented by the two churches, Old Stone and Carmel, for the services of the James McElhaney and James Gilliland, Sr. Gilliland accepted the call, but McElhaney took it under consideration. A year passed, and McElhaney had not accepted the call; so Old Stone and Carmel jointly presented a call for the services of the Benjamin R. Montgomery. Montgomery accepted, and on April 4, 1805, became their ordained pastor at the Presbytery building holding its spring session at Carmel Church. The ordination sermon was preached by Doctor Moses Waddell, and the charge was delivered by John Simpson, the moderator of the Presbytery. Montgomery was succeeded in 1807 by James McElhaney, who continued as pastor of the two churches. He was assisted after about 1809 by his son-in-law, J. D. Murphy. Both contracted fevers and died - Murphy in September of 1812 and McElhaney in October. Until 1816, the churches were supplied at intervals by John B. Kennedy and Hugh Dickson. In the spring of 1816, Carmel and Hopewell petitioned the Presbytery for the services of James Hillhouse as supply until the next stated session, and their request was granted. At the next meeting of the Presbytery, Hillhouse was called as pastor of the two churches, with two- thirds of his time spent serving Hopewell. During his tenure, a frame structure for Carmel was erected. Hillhouse served as pastor until October 5, 1822, when pastoral relations were terminated. After receiving licentiate supplies for several years, Carmel and Old Stone again petitioned Presbytery for supplies. About 1828, the congregation of Old Stone Church moved to a new church in the town of Pendleton, and Anthony W. Ross served as pastor of both Carmel and Pendleton. Ross continued as pastor of Carmel until 1837, when he retired. He was succeeded by John L. Kennedy, who supplied Carmel Church for the next thirty or more years, and was the principal of Thalian Academy, one of the most noted schools of the State during the period from 1840 and 1868. Although Carmel had only fifty-six members in 1825, the membership reached several hundred after it was supplied by Kennedy. The frame structure built about 1820 was moved back from the road in 1857, and a large and commodious brick structure was erected. A gallery for slaves, many of whom were members, was built in one end of the church. After Kennedy retired, Dr. John B. Adger supplied the church for a year. Hugh McLees was called as pastor and served from 1875 till 1878. He was succeeded by A. P. Nicholson. John R. Riley was the next pastor and served until 1896 or 1897. After Dr. Riley retired, the church had grown numerically weak because many of the older members had died and other members had moved away. Other Presbyterian churches had been built at Slabtown, Liberty, Pickens, Mt. Pleasant, Easley and Central, all of which drew members from the old mother church. After Dr. J. R. Riley retired, the church was supplied by W. H. Workman for several years. He was succeeded by J. C. Bailey, who served as pastor for about six years - from 1913 to 1919. He was succeeded by H. A. Knox. Families who attended Carmel were: Boggs, Hamilton, McCann, Smith, Glenn, Ford, Stewart, McWhorter, Lay, Russell, Kennedy, Templeton, Walker, Knight, Robinson, Earle, Fowler, Fennell, Grice, Barr, and many others. Over the years of the church's existence, several members of Carmel became ministers. Among these were George W. Boggs, J. C. Kennedy, D. C. Boggs, John N. Robinson, A. R. Kennedy, W. L. Boggs, and W. K. Boggs. In 1958, members of Carmel Church approved the construction of an educational building, and the structure was occupied the following year. Submitted by: G. Anne Sheriff Source: C. T. Martin in the book The Presbyterian Church in South Carolina, 1850-1900 by W. S. Bean. by: Pickens County SC Heritage Book 1995 o----------o OLD PICKENS CEMETERY The Easley Progress October 22, 1980 Church News, by Carnis B. Davis Walking among the graves of old Pickens Cemetery is like turning the pages of time back two hundred years. You read names and dates and you see a tall young man riding off to war; a beautiful young mother dying at childbirth for lack of proper medical care; infants dying at the age of ten days...two months...two years. You see a grave marked only by a rough field stone, a name chiseled by hand into the granite surface. No last name. No date. You wonder who "Martha" was, and why she died. You can almost see a grieving husband with hammer and chisel, shaping the crude letters into the rock. Pickens Cemetery is probably the oldest burying ground in Upstate South Carolina. It was begun around 1785, barely eight years after the land had been won from the Cherokee Indians. At least 25 to 30 soldiers of the American Revolution are buried in the cemetery. Some say this is probably more than you will find in any other cemetery in the state. Some of the head stones are almost completely illegible. Most of the graves of the soldiers are marked to indicate that the men fought in the Revolution. Pickens Cemetery is a fascinating place to visit. Aware of the historical significance of the cemetery, the members of the Col. John Robins Chapter, Colonial dames XVII Century have erected a roadside marker at the entrance to the cemetery and Pickens Chapel Church. The cemetery is a short distance behind the church, hidden in a grove of trees but easily accessible on foot or by car. The marker will be unveiled in a dedication service on Saturday, Nov. 1 at 2:00 p.m. Descendants of the Revolutionary soldiers are especially invited to the dedication, as well as other interested friends. According to early historians the first church to stand on the site, a log structure built about 1785, was called Richmond Church. The church was built on land belonging to Capt. Robert Pickens, one of the sons of Robert Pike Pickens who had come to America from Ireland in the early eighteenth century. Capt. Robert, it is said, had settled here after the war, having brought his aging father with him to live at the headwaters of Three and Twenty Creek. The father, a cousin of general Andrew Pickens of Revolutionary War fame, was the first person to be buried at Pickens Cemetery. General Andrew Pickens is thought to have worshipped at the church and possibly to have been a member there in the beginning. Later, however, the General and his neighbors organized Hopewell Church, now known as Old Stone Church, near Pendleton. Although much of the early history is hazy or lost, it has been established that Richmond's name was later changed to Carmel; that the church was moved from its first site where the graveyard stands to another location on the Pickens plantation; that the congregation eventually split, the church was torn down, and two new churches were built, one on either side of what is now the line dividing Anderson and Pickens counties. C.T. Martin, an early editor and publisher of The Easley Progress, described the split between the two churches in his history of Carmel Church written for The Presbyterian Church in South Carolina. He said, "About the year 1802 the log church situated on Three and Twenty was torn down and removed to the present site on 'Indian Creek.' Tradition says that the removal was caused by a division in the church, several members having withdrawn and joined the Methodist, a new sect that made their first appearance in the state in 1785. "It is stated that a little girl daughter of one of the Pickens families appeared before the Session of the church for admission. On account of her age, the Session failed to receive her, which offended the child's mother, causing the family and others to withdraw from the Presbyterian Church and join the Methodists." Dr. A.L. Pickens, in a book called "Skyagunsta" referred to the split at Carmel in this excerpt from the book: "At old Carmel the Methodists had drawn off a large part of the congregation, establishing a new church just far enough away for the shouting and book board thumping not to worry the more staid Presbyterians. Captain Robert's family was invaded by the schism, and tolerantly he contributed more land, both churches using the same cemetery for years. He saw to it that it was one of the best kept anywhere near, and hence a little company of twenty-odd Revolutionary soldiers, with the captains and majors among them for good measure, lie here." Another book, "Historic Places in the S.C. Appalachian Region, documents the present Pickens Chapel building as having been erected in 1888. According to this account, the Pickens family went back to the original site of Old Richmond-Carmel and erected their new church in front of the Old Pickens cemetery. The Methodist church was known as Wesley Chapel, having been named for John Wesley, founder of Methodism. It remained an active Methodist congregation until 1928-29 when the small group was dissolved. The building, renovated and freshly painted, is now the home of Lighthouse Baptist Church. However, the property still belongs to the Pickens family, as it has for the last two hundred years. Most of the older graves in the cemetery lie together on the east and southeast side. Their epitaphs tell a poignant story of life and death in the early days of Upcountry South Carolina. Four neatly squared markers of native stone read: "Amanda E. Pikle (sic) was Born 4 Sept.1839 and Died 20 Nov.1841." "Nancy J. Pickle was Born 16 July 1840 (died) 8 Dec. 1844." "Caroline F. Pickle was Born 19 Mar. 1843 and Died 21 June 1849." "Pickle. A Still Birth. 8 Apr. 1845." Another headstone reads: "Sacred to the Memory of Eliza Tyrrell wife of Henry Tyrrell and Daughter of Majr. A. Hamilton, who departed this life August 23, 1818 Aged 17 years." Another: "Sacred to the Memory of Mrs. Margaret Hamilton, Consort of Major Andrew Hamilton Who was born on the 6th of August, 1782, and Died on the 4th of November 1822, leaving a Husband and ten children to lament their irreparable loss, and an extensive circle of relatives and friends, who will long appreciate her worth." During the slavery period of the 1800's many faithful slaves shared a burying ground with their masters. One such testimonial to the devotion of master to slave can be found at Pickens Cemetery. In one corner there is a grave marked simply, "Aunt Jemima." According to the June, 1933 issue of The National Genealogical Society Quarterly, the names of the Revolutionary War soldiers who are buried at Pickens Chapel are: James Dickson, John Hamilton, Peter McMahan, Alexander Oliver, Benjamin Smith, Joseph Smith, Charles Wilson, William Wilson, James Watson, Robert Henderson, Job Smith, Laban Mauldin, Rucker Mauldin, John Arial, Samuel Barr, Edward Boggs, Micajah Hughes, Hampton Smith, Joshua Smith, Mead Smith, Capt. James Anderson, Robert Pickens, Michael Smith, William Wadle, John Wilson, Michael Dickson, John Dickson, Mathew Dickson and William McMurray. The cemetery is, indeed, rich in history. TOMBSTONE TRANSCRIPTION NOTES: ------------------------------ a. = age at death b. = date-of-birth d. = date-of-death h. = husband m. = married p. = parents w. = wife s/o = son of d/o = daughter of w/o = wife of There are numerous unmarked fieldstones and many of the tombstones are broken and unreadable. ARIAIL, Chloe Clinelia Ives, d. 14 Feb 1844 ARIAIL, John Harvey, b. 26 Mar 1775, d. 29 Aug 1836 ARIAIL, Eliza, d/o J.H. & C.C. Ariail, 23 Mar 1808, "Died in Her Youth", "We Shall Never Forget", Placed by Ariail Family BARR, Mary Warnock, d/o Andrew & Mary Warnock, w/o Samuel Barr b. 1775, d. 1849 BARR, Samuel (Greenfield), Pvt. 4 SC Arty Rev War 1816 BENCON, Elizabeth, w/o Late Tom Bencon, b. ?, d. 1 Mar 1969, Age 77 years BOGGS, Aaron, D. 26 Mar 1832, SC PVT Hamilton's Co Pickens SC Military Rev. War BOWEN, Antoinette Oliver, b. 1835, d. 24 Nov 1907 BOWEN, Col. Robert E., b. 8 Sep 1830, d. 10 Jan 1909,SC Rifles CSA BURDINE, Charlotte, w/o Rev. John Burdine, b. 15 Jan 1808, d. 13 Jan 1891 BURDINE, Rev. John, b. 25 Sep 1801, d. 3 Feb 1880, "In Memory Of" DAVIS, William, Pvt. Pickens Co., Goodwyn's SC Mtd. Mili., Florida War, 23 Jul 1869 DICKSON, James, b.?, d.? Pvt. S.C. Mili., Rev War DICKSON, Maj. Michael, b. 1731, d. 1825, Rev. War DICKSON, Sarah Neeley, w/o M. Dickson ELROD, Inf./o J.H. & I.L. Elrod, b. 26 Jul 1908, d. 26 Jul 1908 GARRISON, Lura P., d/o P.W. & Kate Pickens, w/o Henry D. Garrison, b. 28 Sep 1893, d. 17 Feb 1981, "She Now Sings In God's Choir" HAMILTON, Maj. A., b. 17 Jan 1772, d. 1 Oct 1849 HAMILTON, John, b.?, d.?, Pvt. SC Mili., Rev. War HAMILTON, Margaret, consort/o Maj. Andrew Hamilton, b. 6 Aug 1782, d. 4 Nov 1822 HENDERSON, Robert, D. 29 Sep 1840, PVT Hampton's Co. 6 SC Regt. Rev. War JOHNSON, Robert A., b. 26 Jun 1918, d. 14 Mar 2002, SP3 US Navy JOHNSON, Robert Benjamin, b. 28 Sep 1930, d. 15 Mar 2002, SK 3 US Navy MARTIN, Mattie Lee Price, w/o Russell Martin, b. 22 Sep 1909, d. 26 Nov 1936 MARTIN, Russell Gale, b. 12 Oct 1905, d. 22 Apr 1941 MAULDIN, Nancy Posey, w/o Rev. Rucker Mauldin, b. 20 Mar 1769, d. 1849 MAULDIN, Rucker, d. 1846, PVT SC Mili. Rev. War McCANN, Hannah, c/o Robert Mc Cann, d. 1 Oct 1802, Age 37. "in Memory Of" McCANN, Esq., Robert, b. 1 Jan 1764, d. 17 Jun 1831, Native at Killileagh, Ardogon, Ireland McCANN, Jane w/o Robert Mc Cann, d. 10 Jan 1831, aged 67 years McMAHAN, Peter, B.?, d.?, Pvt.SC Mili., Rev. War MERRITT, Rosamond Wigington, w/o J.W Merritt, Jr., 27 Jan 1907, d. 21 Dec 1998 MERRITT, Jr., John Walker, b. 2 Dec 1909, d. 15 Aug 1998 OLIVER, Alexander, SC Pvt. SC Mil. Rev. War OLIVER David Alexander, s/o Dr. James & Martha Oliver, b. 3 Oct 1824, d. May 1826 OLIVER, Dr. James, d. 10 Nov 1837, "In Memory Of" OLIVER, Martha, b.?, d. 2 Jul 1872, Age 87 OLIVER, Mary Lou, b. 23 Aug 1827, d. 3 Jul 1905 PEGG, Elizabeth, b. 29 Jun 1817, d. 5 Dec 1854, "In Memory Of" PEGG, James B., b. 10 Mar 1812 in Hardin Co., KY, d. 26 Sep 1885 in Anderson C., SC PEPPER, Addison Guinn, b. 15 Aug 1890, d. 27 Jan 1892 PEPPER, Annie Lucinda, b. 2 Nov 1882, d. 6 Apr 1970 PEPPER, L. Jane, w/o W.C. Pepper, b. 28 Mar 1851, d. 11 Sep 1918 PEPPER, Minnie J., b. 18 Feb 1889, d. 30 Jan 1978 PEPPER, Nancy Elizabeth, b. 19 Apr 1887, d. 18 Jul 1981 PICKENS, Addison G., b. 23 Sep 1849, d. 14 Dec 1872 PICKENS, Aunt Jemima, D. 1868, Age 105, See Note PICKENS, Ben Perry (no dates) PICKENS, Capt. Robert, b. 26 Feb 1747 in Maryland, d. 19 Jul 1830 in SC, Served as Chaplain under Gen. Andrew Pickens in the Rev. War PICKENS, Charles Franklin, b. 16 Dec 1832, d. 28 Jun 1852 PICKENS, Charles Wesley, s/o W. S. & J.W. Pickens b. 3 Apr 1857, d. 4 Jun 1857 PICKENS, Col. Wm. S., b. 6 Feb 1823, d. 20 May 1907 PICKENS, Dorcas Emeline, b. 6 Oct 1845, d. 14 Jun 1864 PICKENS, Dorcas Hellams, w/o Robert Pickens, b. 15 Feb 1760, d. 5 Feb 1828 PICKENS, Eleura Sitton, w/o W.C. Pickens, b. 30 Dec 1871, d. 9 Apr 1933 PICKENS, Elias (no dates) PICKENS, Elizabeth, b. 16 Apr 1780, d. 12 Oct 1858 PICKENS, I. Wesley, b. 5 Nov 1835, d. 19 Mar 1909 PICKENS, James Robert, s/o Mason Pickens, b. 18 Dec 1852, d. 12 Mar 1862 PICKENS, J. Oliver, s/o W.S. & P.E. Pickens, b. 19 Dec 1865, d. 13 Apr 1913 PICKENS, Julia Welborn, 1st w/o Col. W.S Pickens, b. 29 Oct 1825, d. 17 Jun 1857 PICKENS, Kate Wigington, w/o R.W. Pickens, b. 10 Jun 1851, d. 17 Mar 1936 PICKENS, Martha Ann Burdine, w/o Robert Mason Pickens, b. 20 Jan 1825, d. 13 Nov 1891 PICKENS, Minnie, d/o A.W. & J.A. Pickens, b. 11 May 1878, d. 29 Mar 1880 PICKENS, Minnie J., b. 18 Feb 1889, d. 30 Jan 1978 PICKENS, M. Mandeline, b. 11 Dec 1867, d. 7 Apr 1921 PICKENS, Nancy, 2nd w/o Robert Pickens, b. 14 May 1810, d. 12 Oct 1873 PICKENS, Nancy Elizabeth, b. 19 Apr 1887, d. 18 Jul 1981 PICKENS, Prudence Emaline, 2nd w/o Wm. S. Pickens, b. 7 Feb 1823, d. 14 Jan 1893 PICKENS, Rev. Robert Mason, b. 27 May 1825, d. 14 Mar 1899, Co G 22nd SC Reg CSA PICKENS, Robert, b. 14 May 1795, d. 2 Nov 1871, "In Memory Of" PICKENS, Robert, b. 1697 in Ireland, d. 1787, Minister PICKENS, R.M., b. 16 Mar 1877, d. 2 Mar 1935, "6th Generation of Roberts Buried Here" PICKENS, R.W. (Robert Welborn), b. 31 Aug 1847, d. 19 Feb 1948, Enlisted in Co. G 2 Battallion State Reserve of SC, Last Confederate States Veteran from Upper SC PICKENS, Sarah "Sally", b. 12 May 1818, d. 21 Nov. 1853 PICKENS, Sarah Sitton, b. 8 Feb 1838, d. 14 Nov 1893 PICKENS, Sidney Asbury, b. 22 Jun 1842, d. 3 Aug 1861 PICKENS, Theodore Franklin, s/o Mason Pickens, b. 14 Aug 1856, d. 13 Mar 1862 PICKENS, Truman W. b. 13 Apr 1884, d. 24 Oct 1963, SC PVT Co D 6 Engineers WW I PICKENS, V. Angeline, b. 23 Dec 1843, d. 5 Sep 1896, "In Memory Of" PICKENS, William Asbury, s/o Mason Pickens, b. 24 Jun 1860, d. 12 Oct 1868 PICKENS, W. Clarence, b. 14 Oct 1867, d. 19 Aug 1929 ROGERS, Nancy, b. 21 Oct 1833, d. 1 Sep 1905 ROSAMOND, Addie, b, 21 Oct 1833, d. 1 Sep 1949 ROSAMOND, Adelaide Oliver, w/o J. W. & Adelaide Rosamond, b. 15 Apr 1832, d. 14 Nov 1900 ROSAMOND, Dr. James Oliver Rosamond, b. 5 Feb 1865, d. 23 Apr 1938 ROSAMOND, Jennie, d/o John & Adelaide Rosamond, b. 17 Nov 1854, d. 22 Jun 1913 ROSAMOND, John W., b. 25 Dec 1824, d. 21 Sep 1912 ROSAMOND, Mattie A. E., d/o J.W. & A.A. Rosamond, b. 18 Apr 1850, d. 27 Sep 1856 SMITH, Benjamin, Pvt. SC Mili Rev. War SMITH, Benjamin & Ruth Lindley, Parents of: Rebecca, Mary, Hannah, Elizabeth, James, Job, Jonathan, William, David, Sidney SMITH, C. McDuffie, s/o J.E. & M.S. Smith, b. 23 Aug 1878, d. 3 Sep 1878 SMITH, Charles M., s/o C.M. & M.E. Smith, b. 21 Apr 1853, d. 3 Jun 1855 SMITH, Esther D. Burdine,, w/o J.T. Smith, b. 21 Jun 1845, d. 16 Aug 1911 SMITH, Gertrude Genevieve, d/o Mr. & Mrs. J.C, Smith, b. 3 Feb 1917, d. 21 May 1919 SMITH, Inf. s/o J.E. & M. S. Smith, b. & d. Dec 1869 SMITH, J. & Rhoda, (same field stone, no dates) SMITH, Job, SC PVT SC McCall's Co. Mili Rev. War SMITH, John Raymond, s/o J.T. & E.D. Smith, b. 29 Apr 1881, d. 20 Nov 1883 SMITH, Joseph, PVT SC Mil Rev. War SMITH, Joshua, b.?, d.?, Lt. GA Troops, Rev. War SMITH, Luther G., b. 31 Aug 1871, d. 9 Nov. 1957 SMITH, Madison Earl, b. 9 Feb 1852, d. ? 1914, (broken) SMITH, Mallie B., w/o L.G. Smith, b. 10 Mar 1881, d. 10 Aug 1970 SMITH, Martha P., (no dates) SMITH, Michael SMITH, Miss Alma b. 6 Sep 1874, d. 15 Nov 1921 SMITH, Mollie Young, w/o ? Smith, b. 28 Apr 1859, d. 17 May 1909, (broken) SMITH, Ruth Alice, d/o J.D. & M.J. Smith, b. 30 Jan 158, d. 2 Apr 1863 SMITH, Ruth Lindley, w/o Benjamin Smith SMITH, Richard, b.?, d.?, Confederate States Army SMITH, Jr., Pvt. L.G., s/o Mr. & Mrs. L.G. Smith, b. 24 Feb 1920, d. 16 Aug 1941, drowned at Scotfield, ILL SMITH, Twins of J.D. & M.J. Smith, 1856 SMITH, Vera, d/o L.C. & M.M. Smith, b. 13 Aug 1900, d. 26 Sep 1904 SMITH, Walton E., s/o J.E. & M.S. Smith, age 14 months SMITH, William M., s/o C.M. & M.E. Smith, B. 12 Sep 1861, d. 23 Apr 1862 SMITH, Williene, d/o Mr. & Mrs. L.G. Smith, b. 3 May 1903, d. 25 Aug 1929 TYRRELL, Eliza Hamilton, w/o Henry Tyrrell, d/o Maj. A. Hamilton, b. ? , d. 23 Aug 1818, age 17 years WADDLE, William, b.?, d. 24 Jul 1830, Pvt. VA Art., Rev. War WATSON, James, SC PVT SC Mil Rev. War WIGINGTON, Maud Rosamond, w/o T.A. Wigington, b. 15 Oct 1877, d. 6 Dec 1916 WILSON, Charles, SC Pvt SC Mil Rev. War WILSON, Elizabeth, b. 16 Apr 1770, d. 22 Jun 1873, Age 103 WILSON, Elizabeth C., w/o J.W. Wilson, b. 22 Mar 1815, d. 6 May 1892 WILSON, b.?, d. 25 Sep 1823, Pvt. Ballard's U.S. Riflemen, War of 1812 WILSON, John W. b. 6 Nov 1810, d. 14 Aug 1882, Age 75 years, 9 Mos., ? ds. WILSON, William, SC Rev. War WYATT, William T., Inf. s/o E.?. & Mary Wyatt, b.?, d. 10 Sep 1802 1 George C. Rogers, Jr., A South Carolina Chronology, 1497-1970, Tricentennial Booklet No. 11, published for the South Carolina Tricentennial Commission (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1973), p. 38 2 Thomas Cooper, Statutes at Large of South Carolina, Vol. 4, pp. 252-53. Frederick Van Clayton, Settlement of Pendleton District, 1777-1800, reprint of a 1930 masters thesis written at the University of South Carolina (Easley: Southern Historical Press, 1988), p. 30. Richard Newman Brackett, ed. The Old Stone Church, Oconee County, South Carolina, published by the Old Stone Church and Cemetery Association with the cooperation of the Andrew Pickens and Cateechee chapters, D. A. R.; collected and edited by Richard Newman Brackett (Columbia, S. C.: R. L. Bryan Co., 1905), 212 p. Pickens County, South Carolina, Cemetery Survey, Vol. 1, published for the Pendleton Chapter, South Carolina Genealogical Society (Greenville, S. C.: A Press, n. d.), p. 59. The children of Robert Pike Pickens and Miriam (Davis) Pickens were Andrew (b. 1736 in Pennsylvania - d. 10 Aug 1821), who married Elizabeth Griffin; Jain (Jane) (b. 1738), who married John Norwood, a Revolutionary War soldier who served under General Andrew Pickens; John (b. 1740); David (1742-1834); Robert, (Jr.) (b. 26 Nov 1747 in Frederick County, Virginia - d. 19 Jul 1830 in Pendleton District, S. C.), who married Dorcas Hallum (1760-1828); Annie (b. 26 Nov 1747 in Frederick County, Virginia), who married John Simmons; Elinor (b. 1748 in Virginia - d. 15 Nov 1837) in Pendleton District, S. C.), who married John Prater (or Prather) (1754-1829); Israel (d. 1829); Samuel; Margaret; and Elizabeth. According to oral tradition, Dr. Reese's untimely death might have been hastened because of a despairing incident, namely the death of a son killed in a duel. This is from Dr. Thomas Reese's report to the Presbytery, dated September 15, 1793. Thomas H Johnson, p. 44. Francis Asbury, Asbury's South Carolina Visits: Abstracts from His Journal by Harold Lawrence (Tignall, Georgia: Boys Publishing Company, 1988). 16 Beth Ann Klosky, The Pendleton Legacy (Columbia, S. C.: Sandlapper Press, Inc., 1971), p 23. 17 Andrew Lee Pickens, p. 155. 18 Henrietta R. Morton, "Abstracts from Mississippi DA.R Application Records," The Carolina Herald and Newsletter XXV (March-June, 1997, nos. 1 & 2), p. 65. Beth Ann Klosky, The Pendleton Legacy (Columbia, S. C.: Sandlapper Press, Inc., 1971), p 23. Andrew Lee Pickens, p. 155.