Corn-Stovall Cemetery - Patrick Co. VA Brief history: In 1981 Mr. O. E. Pilson took Jack and Richard Corn of Tennessee to this family cemetery in small grove of trees on a little knoll. At this time the headstone of Jesse Corn, Jr. had been knocked over and the burial area had received no care or maintenance for several years. There were at this time four graves with inscriptions identifying the burial location along with several graves marked with crude stones containing no inscriptions. Mr. Pilson told the Corn brothers he believed that Jesse Corn, Sr. was also buried in this family burial ground. On March 3, 1983, Mr. O. E. Pilson was back at this cemetery and recorded it as cemetery #347 in his forthcoming book Tombstone Inscriptions of the Cemeteries of Patrick County, Virginia. His record for this cemetery went as follows: “JESSE CORN, JR. CEMETERY, Located on knoll, above old race track, on the east side of Road #635, about ˝ miles east of Goblintown Church. 3 Mar. 1983 Jesse Corn, b. 11 Mar. 1787; d. 12 Feb. 1876, age 88 yrs. 11 mo. 1 day. Elizabeth Corn, b. 12 May, 1793; d. 29 Mar. 1869, 75 yrs. 10 mo. 17 days. Judith V. Ross, b. 19 Dec. 1828; d. 15 July 18880 [should be 1880]. Mary P. F. Via, Dau. of J. R. & M. L. Via, b. 29 Oct. 1875; d. 31 July 1897. At least 6 graves marked with crude stones, no inscriptions.” In February of 1999 this cemetery was located by the husband of Rebecca Martin Christiansen, fourth great granddaughter of Jesse Corn, Sr. and third great granddaughter of Elizabeth Corn and Jesse Corn, Jr. Mr. Harold Royal, who lives on the same road and was 86 years old, showed the way to the burial grounds and introduced the property owner to Christiansen. He pointed out that the old Stovall place, which burned down a few years earlier, lay just a few hundred yards to the east, and the old Corn home place was between a half a mile to a mile to the south along an old road which used to run almost directly south from the cemetery area. At this time three of the inscribed headstone laid on the ground, and the fourth was leaning badly, and cattle grazed over the cemetery within their larger pasture. Contact was made with the property owner and after nine or ten months of negotiating the burial area was fenced to preclude incursion by the cattle in late November of 1999. In the meantime research of the land records traced the ownership of the property back from the present owner to Jesse Corn, Sr. who had sold his residence on Sycamore Creek and established his home place on Goblintown Creek. This property passed down to his son, Jesse Corn, Jr., and then to the latter’s son-in-law Joseph Madison Stovall with the condition that it pass jointly to Jesse Corn, Jr.’s two grandsons, George W. and John T. Stovall with the stipulation that if one of the grandsons died without heirs the other would inherit the entire place. The joint ownership worked fine until an epidemic of small pox took both of the Stovall parents plus George W. Stovall and his wife in 1902. This left several young orphaned heirs and eventually the court decided there was no way the property could be fairly be divided and ordered one half of the property sold at auction to satisfy the young heirs. The property sold contained the burial area which the court had formally decreed that an area seventy-five feet square be reserved as a burial grounds for the Corns and Stovalls. In the meantime the Stovalls had donated land to establish the Goblintown Primitive Baptist Church nearby and in 1896 buried one of the family on adjacent property starting what eventually became the Goblintown Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery, and where the Corn and Stovalls would be buried hereafter. In the process of cleaning up and restoring this family cemetery it was found that two of the four inscribed headstones could no longer be read. It was further found that the grave of Jesse Corn, Jr. had two headstones-one a crude stone sticking up and then just inches away the granite inscribed headstone. More interesting and noteworthy in the southeastern end of the cemetery where the other Corns were buried and far removed from the other graves marked only by crude stones, there was a grave marked with a crude stone and inches away a small granite marker with no inscription. From the research of the land records it was concluded that this must be the grave of Jesse Corn, Sr. who started the cemetery and was the patriarch of the family. A government marker was obtained to mark his burial site (this grave now has three markers set one behind the other) and denoted his two years of service in the Revolutionary War. In the restoration two flat identifying granite markers were placed beside the Elizabeth T. Corn and Judeth V. Ross graves. These last markers list Elizabeth’s maiden name and as well as Judeth’s along with the spelling of Judeth’s name taken from an old photograph of her original headstone. Hereafter this burial place will be known as the CORN-STOVALL CEMETERY and it contains the following known graves: 1. Jesse Corn, Sr., b. Oct. 31, 1753; d. March 9, 1809. [his widow buried in Tennessee] 2. Elizabeth T. Burnette Corn, b. May 12, 1793; d. March 29, 1869. [wife of Jesse, Jr.] 3. Jesse Corn, Jr., b. March 11, 1787; d. Feb. 12, 1876. 4. Judeth V. Corn Ross, b.Dec. 19, 1828; d. July 15, 1880. [daughter of Jesse, Jr.] 5. Mary P. F. Via, Dau. of J. R. & M. L. Via, b. Oct. 29, 1875; d. July 31, 1897. [great granddaughter of Jesse, Jr.] Probable burials in the graves marked only with crude stones: 1. George Corn, b. Sept. 30, 1799; d. prior to his father Jesse Corn, Sr.’s death in March of 1809. 2. Joseph Peter Stovall, b. abt. 1856; d. Jan. 19, 1860 - son of Permelia and Joseph Madsion Stovall. 3. Jesse Brett Stovall, b. 1849; d. Jan. 29, 1860 - son of Permelia and Joseph Madison Stovall. 4. Mary S. Stovall, b. 1843; d. early 1860s - daughter of Permelia and Joseph Madison Stovall. 5. Sarah “Salley” Stovall, b. abt. 1810; d. 15 Feb. 1886 -- daughter of Brett and Nancy Stovall. 6. Martha “Patsy” Stovall, b. abt. 1818; d. Feb. 15, 1886 -- daughter of Brett and Nancy Stovall. NOTE: The unmarried sisters Sarah and Martha Stovall were living with their brother Joseph Madison Stovall on the 1880 census, and he reported their deaths. Submitted by Larry D. Christiansen **************************************************************** USGENWEB 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. Files may be printed or copied for personal use only. ****************************************************************