CARWELL & ELIZABETH HESTER FAMILY, CEMETERY, Oconee County, SC a.k.a. > Version: 3.0 Effective: 19-Sep-2006 Text File: C126.TXT Image Folder: C126 ******************************************************************************** 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 SCGenWeb "Golden Corner" Project Coordinator DATAFILE INPUT . : Paul M. Kankula at genweb@bellsouth.net in Sep-2006 MaryClyde Mungo in Sep-2006 GPS MAPPING .... : Gary Flynn at (visit above website) in -2006 HISTORY ........ : ____________ at ____________ in _______ IMAGES ......... : Paul M. Kankula at genweb@bellsouth.net in -2006 RECORDING ...... : ____________ at ____________ in _______ ******************************************************************************** CEMETERY LOCATION: ------------------ > Latitude N x Longitude W CEMETERY HISTORY: ------------------------ Hester Cemetery. There is a page in the Jocassee Book by Claudia Hembree (p. 129) about this cemetery. She has it located on her map on the inside cover of the book. "The Hester Family Cemetery was located above the Hemlock House and apparently was never relocated. There are no records of removal as in the case of other cemeteries. Local visitors to the area just before Jocassee was flooded indicated that there were no visible signs of anyone moving the graves. It is thought that Carwell Hester and his wife Elizabeth Whitmire Hester are buried there. At least two of their children were also interred there, Carwell, Jr. and Abraham. Both served in the Civil War and Carwell, Jr. contracted smallpox at a Civil War camp, came home, and died of the disease. Within a two year period there were five deaths that took place among the Hester men, and most were buried on the mountainside property. Elizabeth W. Hester's obituary stated that she, too, was interred in the Hester Cemetery. Joe Burgess' baby sister was buried there, too. (Interview; Hannah). "Mrs. Nancy King, Nee Whitmire, relict of the late Rev. Jonathan King, died at the residence of her brother on Sunday of the flux at the age of 79 years. Her remains were laid to rest in the family burying ground of Mr. Henry Whitmire." (Pickens Sentinel, 16 Jul 1891.) The obituary of Mrs. King strongly points to Hester Cemetery being the burial place of her parents, Henry and Nancy Reese Whitmire, who died in the late 1850's. If this information is indeed correct, the oldest known cemetery in Jocassee was never touched. Several theories have been presented as to why these graves were not relocated. First, there were no inscriptions on the rocks that marked the burials. Then the rumor was circulated about not disturbing the graves of people who had died of smallpox. That, coupled with some family wishes that the cemetery not be altered, presents several questions concerning this matter. Whatever the real issues, an oversight was made of these fifteen to twenty graves that marked the final resting place of some of Jocassee's earliest permanent residents." Submitted by: Anne Sheriff o----------o THE CARWELL HESTER FAMILY Two very large families were represented in the marriage of Carwell Hester and Elizabeth Whitmire. Mr. Hester was born ca. 1796 in Virginia and died March 15, 1863. Elizabeth was born March 22, 1798 and died February 5, 1896. They lived at the upper end of the valley at what was later called the Burgess place. He owned a substantial amount of farmland and was included in the 1860 Agricultural Census information. Hester Mountain ran back of his house, and the family cemetery was located across the river and overlooked his beautiful farmlands. They had nine children: 1. Abraham b. December 8, 1819 (Civil War) d. May 23, 1862: m. Emily Dean b. January 13, 1827 d. March 24, 1884 (buried at Hester Cemetery.) 2. Henry W. b. July 10, 1821 (Civil War): m. (1) Melissa Clayton (2) Malinda Clayton. 3. Jeptha b. February 7, 1823 d. March 20, 1850 (death resulted from a kick by a horse). 4. Louisa b. December 29, 1825 d. April 5, 1828. 5. Malinda b. November 8, 1828 d. July 1852: m. Aaron Robertson/ Robinson. 6. Samuel R. b. September 11, 1830 d. September 20, 1862 (served and died in Civil War). 7. Carwell Hester, Jr. b. September 19, 1832 d. January 21, 1863 (died of smallpox that he acquired while stationed at an army camp in Civil War). 8. Mary Elizabeth b. September 29, 1834 d. October 22, 1860. 9. Waddy Thompson b. July 7, 1839 d. May 13, 1864: m. Elizabeth Capehart. By: Blanche B. Hannah, date unknown TOMBSTONE TRANSCRIPTION NOTES: ------------------------------ a. = age at death b. = date-of-birth d. = date-of-death h. = husband m. = married p. = parents w. = wife >