SAM KEITH GRAVE, Pickens County, SC a.k.a. Goob Keith Version: 3.0 Effective: 19-Nov-04 Text File: P245.TXT Image Folder: P245 ******************************************************************************** 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 recording contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the following USGenWeb coordinator with proof of this consent. Paul M Kankula - nn8nn (visit above website) SCGenWeb "Golden Corner" Project Coordinator Anderson: http://www.rootsweb.com/~scandrsn/ Oconee: http://www.rootsweb.com/~scoconee/oconee.html Pickens: http://www.rootsweb.com/~scpicke2/ DATAFILE INPUT . : Paul M. Kankula at (visit above website) in Oct-2004 Vivian Parkman at cpvp@aol.com in Oct-2004 GPS MAPPING .... : Gary Flynn at (visit above website) in Nov-2004 HISTORY ........ : John R. McCravy at Easley Progress Newspaper in Aug-1967 IMAGES ......... : Gary Flynn at (visit above website) in Nov-2004 RECORDING ...... : John R. McCravy in Aug-1967 ******************************************************************************** CEMETERY LOCATION: ------------------ 3.5 miles W of Pumpkinville. Latitude N35 00.211 x Longitude W82 42.872 CEMETERY HISTORY: ------------------------ THE EASLEY PROGRESS, EASLEY, S.C. August 30, 1967 THE HISTORICAL TRAIL By John R. McCravy "GOOB" KEITH'S GRAVE Died in 1935 -90 years old On a high hillside overlooking a part of the Oolenoy Valley and deep in a wooded area which contains boulders of varying sizes, a lone grave is located. The headstone is a natural boulder of rock jutting out of the ground in exactly the way it has been anchored for thousands of years. This story, mixed with sentimental feelings, is about a respected and admired Negro man who was born to a slave father and mother and was himself a slave for a time before the War Between the States. He told of being sold to one of the Keith brothers of Pumpkintown for $1,000 when he was a lad of 13 years. He told of prospective buyers examining his muscles and making bids on him during the auction sale. This man took the name of Keith since all slaves had the last name the same as their owners. He was called Sam Keith, but later he was called "Goob" as a nickname. How he came about being called this is a puzzle. Perhaps it was made by a very small child who said "Goob" instead of "Good." To say that Sam (Goob) Keith was good, would be putting it mildly. "Goob," was an unusual person. He bought and paid for his home and farm which overlooked the Oolenoy bottoms. He was resourceful and independent, honest and completely trustworthy. His predictions were thought-provoking. He said, he believed breathing automobile exhaust fumes were harmful and would cause lung disease and cancer. He also said stomach trouble could be caused by eating vegetables which were grown with commercial fertilizers. He believed chemicals in fertilizer could be present in the vegetables and plants grown fast by the stimulating effect of chemicals producing an unnatural food which would be hard to digest. "Goob" Keith may have had much truth in those remarks. He grew all of his vegetables with leaf mold and woods earth, compost and rotten vegetation called humus. At one time he produced the finest peaches and apples grown in the valley. He understood erosion and he built rock fills in washes which soon filled up with topsoil and was put into production. Some may have a tendency to call "Goob" an "Uncle Tom" like the Uncle Tom of Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel but this is not the case at all. Goob was respected and admired by everyone and he was resourceful and frugal. His high morals elevated him in the eyes of most white men. He loved his Lord and could return thanks at the table with more eloquence than many preachers. He had the greatest faith in prayer and he prayed constantly. Goob was the only Negro man to live in that particular section of the county. He had very little to do with other members of his race. He said he was Indian and not a Negro. He said Indians did not have hairy chests, he would then pull open his shirt neck to show a smooth chest. A smile went over his face each time he did this. Come to think of it, Goob could have been part Indian. Goob married once and had a son. His wife had died many years ago and his son went away a half century ago and never returned. Goob Keith lived on in the old place he had bought and developed. When he was about 90 years old, he became sick and feeble and with no one to look after him, he went to the Pickens County Home, where he died in 1935. His one request was to be carried and buried in front of the rock boulder near his home. This rock is a natural tombstone and it faces east. His request was carried out to the letter. His casket was carried to the top of the knoll near his home and there interred in front of the large rock he had looked at so many times and thought would be a nice tombstone. The Rev. H. A. Newton conducted the service in the presence of Goob's many white friends who had brought a number of floral contributions. Thirty or more friends were present but the only Negro in attendance who happened to be the gravedigger. This grave is in a hard-to-reach place, since it is on top of a knoll in a thicket of pines and dense undergrowth which reflects the fertility of the soil of his once-productive farm. Mr. and Mrs. John Chastain, Mr. and Mrs. Jackson Lynch along with my wife, my granddaughter and I, climbed the knoll recently to visit the grave. We cut bushes and undergrowth to clear a trail and this writer chiseled the words, "Sam 'Goob' Keith, 90 yrs. 1935" on the boulder tombstone Goob was a natural entertainer, he sang many songs as he played the accordion. He knew folk songs and the ones popular in his day. At times he would surprise his listeners with excerpts from light opera and songs of deep feeling. TOMBSTONE TRANSCRIPTION NOTES: ------------------------------ a. = age at death b. = date-of-birth d. = date-of-death h. = husband m. = married p. = parents w. = wife KEITH, Goob, b. c1845, d. 1935