PROVIDENCE BAPTIST CHURCH CEMETERY, Oconee County, SC A.K.A. Tokeena Crossroads & Townville, SC A.K.A. C231 Hayes Cemetery Version 1.0, 02-May-2010, C156.TXT, C156 This cemetery was originally posted as the "C231 Hays Cemetery", but during an interview with the clerk at the Townville Baptist Church, it was learned that the cemetery was originally part of the burial grounds for the Providence Church. See the following history write up for further details. **************************************************************** 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. **************************************************************** DATAFILE INPUT . : Paul M. Kankula at (visit above website) in Feb-2002 DATAFILE LAYOUT : Paul M. Kankula at (visit above website) in Feb-2002 HISTORY WRITE-UP : Babbitt Johnston at catmcaw@hotmail.com in Jan-2001 Ken Morgan at kenneydmorgan@hotmail.com in Jan-2001 Townville Baptist Church in Townville, SC Kathy Lynn Clark Ruby Wallace at rg1935@vzinet.com IMAGES .......... : Paul M. Kankula at (visit above website) in Mar-2002 LOCATION WRITE-UP: Babbitt Johnston at catmcaw@hotmail.com in Dec-2000 Paul M. Kankula at (visit above website) in Feb-2002 TRANSCRIPTION .. : Babbitt Johnston at catmcaw@hotmail.com in Dec-2000 Box 664, McAdenville, NC 28101 LOCATION: --------- Locate the intersection of Highways 24 & 59 in Tokeena Crossroads. Drive 1.6 miles east on Highway 24. Cemetery is located next to Highway 24, the on the left side of road, in-between County SR37-147 and Deer Roads. The area is fenced and has a metal gate that is marked with red plastic tape. 0.1 miles west of Deer Ridge Road. 3.6 miles west of Townville. 7.9 miles west of I-85. N34 35.155 x W82 56.861 HISTORY: -------- Lucille Mason (landowner) reports that the Providence Baptist church was located across the road from the cemetery. o------o The (Townville Baptist Church) was constituted 29-Mar-1851. The circumstances which led to its organization are rather phenomenal, yet the same spirit which constrained the brethren and sisters to form this new church, has doubtless been a vital factor in the rapid and permanent growth of the church. The circumstances are as follows: Old Providence Baptist Church, located four miles west of Townville and which, by the way, is marked only by an old cemetery, was dominated over by some men who were not overly saintly, and opposed the Sons of Temperance. They refused to receive a young man into the church because he belonged to the Temperance order, so a number of the better members were highly incensed at this unchristian procedure and determined to organize a church where temperate people could be permitted to join. There were but a few members at first, but the blessings of God rested on the little band, and they prospered. The following were the charter members: Samuel Brown and wife, Helen T. Brown, H.R. Vandiver, Mrs Lizzie Ledbetter, C.P. Bruce, O.H.P. Fant, Rev. J.R. Hunnicutt and wife Elizabeth, Susan and Mary C. Vandiver. The church was called Townville Baptist Church. Though the church was not organized until March, they sent delegates to the Saluda Association in August, asking for admittance, and they have been a working unit of that body ever since. The first deacons were R.O. Tribble and Samuel Brown. Brother Samuel Brown was elected church clerk and treasurer, and a committee was appointed to prepare rules of decorum. ( Between 1840 and 1842 there existed in the United States of America a Temperance Movement, which had its origin in Baltimore, known as the "Washington Movement". During these two years many thousands signed the pledge. However the Washington Movement did not encourage legislative action to control the liquor traffic, many broke their pledge, and the lapses multiplied. In New York a few determined workers resolved on the formation of a Society where the pledge could and should be taken in a solemn manner and honored, and where new and higher associations for mutual benefit, would take the place of the Saloon. Its objects were to shield its members from the evils of intemperance, to afford mutual assistance in times of sickness, provide a sum of money at the death of a member, to elevate character, to enlist workers in an earnest and noble endeavor to reclaim those who fell under the influence of strong drink, to save the young from the terrible power of the drink habit, and to assist in every way the suppression of the drink traffic. ) ( Submitted by: Townville Baptist Church ) o------o This past fall, I started gathering our family history information. My husband and I share a love of visiting old graveyards and reading the tombstones. Even when we were dating, we visited many old cemeteries and hunted ancestors. On my mother's side of the family, the best source of family history is Wingo Hays King of Anderson, South Carolina. She comes from both of my mother's lines, King and Hays. My grandmother, Mary Gladys King married William Haffie Hays. William Haffie Hays' niece, Bessie Wingo Hays, married Woodie Wilson King, my grandmother's youngest brother. During my visit, Wingo told me that my great great grandparents, William Wheeler Hays and Jane Bryce, were buried "beside the road" in Townville. She said their tombstones were extra nice because they had their birth days, their "death days" and also the day they were married. When I asked about where they were located, she also told me I'd never find them and went on to tell me about my great granddaddy, buried in the Return Church cemetery at Seneca. After I got home and entered all my new data from Wingo into my Personal Ancestral File, I realized I didn't have all those dates. My sense of adventure took over and I decided to make another trip to Anderson and find those graves. I probably could have called Wingo but that would have been to easy. My cousin, Marilyn Woodward (her mother, Alva Josephine King, was my grandmother's sister) said she had a friend in Townville that she'd call about the old cemetery. Marilyn's friend gave us these directions: Stay on 24 in Townville and go a little ways out of town. After the Coneross sign, the cemetery is on your right. If you get to the crossroads, you've gone too far. I left out of Gastonia, North Carolina on a cold, rainy morning, December 27th, 2000. It was only 34 degrees and I had to think twice about making the trip. I didn't want to get too far from home and have the roads freeze up. The weather report was calling for a bad storm front coming in on Thursday and Friday. If I was going to get this done anytime soon, it would have to be today. The drive to Anderson wasn't too bad, just rain and more rain. Marilyn's son, Stanley had advised me to wear my hiking boots if we were going grave hunting in Townville, so I was dressed for the bad weather as well. I picked up Marilyn and we left out of Anderson on Hwy 24, crossing Lake Hartwell and on to Townville. It was gloomy outside, with fog and light rain, still 34 degrees. We stayed to the right on Hwy 24, heading northwest. After a short ways, we saw a Coneross sign and began to study the scenery. With no cemetery spotted on the first pass, we thought we'd better check both sides of the road. You know how people are about directions! We still couldn't find it. We made three of four passes on that stretch of road before we started stopping at houses and knocking on doors. We came this far. We didn't want to give up! No one was home at the first house. We drove on to a brick house across the road. A nice man answered and let us come in out of the rain. He said he hadn't lived there long and didn't know anything about a cemetery. He said the people in the white farm house up the road could probably tell us. From what he understood, they'd owned most of the land around those parts for many, many years. We thanked him and drove on over to the farm house he spoke of. After a couple of knocks, an older woman answered the door. Her name was Mrs. Mason. She was cooking up some collard greens and getting ready for New Year's. She said she knew about the graveyard, that she owned the land the graveyard was on. She told us where to look -- it was right beside the road and it had a nice iron gate and a fence all the way around it. I asked her if it had trees or not and she said it didn't. She couldn't tell us exactly how far down the road it was because it had been a while since she'd been there. She said if we still couldn't find it to come on back to her house. We drove almost all the way back into Townville. Even with her description, we still couldn't find it. Mrs. Mason must have been expecting us back - she'd changed tops and was ready to ride. We stopped at her son's house so Mrs. Mason could confirm the cemetery location with him. At the end of the field following his house, there was a little rise of trees. That was it, she said. There wasn't a single gravestone visible from the road. Marilyn and I were so grateful to have it pointed out for us, we didn't argue. We took Mrs. Mason back home and out of the cold rain and Marilyn and I drove back to the site. I parked the car on the shoulder of the road in front of a tractor sign. I thought Marilyn would stay in the car and I'd go see what I could find but she hopped right out and headed across the road. You sure wouldn't notice this cemetery from the road. Coming from Townville, it's right after a mobile home on a little rise full of trees. It's fenced with hog wire and has an old farm gate in the middle of the front, just off the shoulder of the road. It's all overgrown with trees, brush, briars, you name it. You have to climb up a little bank to get to the gate. The gate wouldn't open. There were vines and briars grown all over it and the trees grown up everywhere. I pushed some vines out of the way and stomped on the others to get inside the gate. Stickers poked into me from all directions. Marilyn found herself a stick about the size of a baseball bat and pushed her way around through the briars. She's a real trooper. I guess something about having two boys will do that to you. I could see two big markers just inside the gate. When I got untangled, I went to them and started copying all the words. They were put there by Hays grandchildren in the last fifty years or so to record everything before the old stones wore out. The rain got my paper damp and the ball point pen wouldn't write. I had to go back to the car for a pencil. As I wrote, Marilyn went around to the other tombstones and called out the names. We found almost everyone listed on the markers. We didn't find a grave for Jennie Mason Hays. She'd link the Hayses to the Masons that owned the land. I went around to all the stones with writing on them and double-checked my notes. There were a lot of graves marked with field stones. The total graveyard is about fifty feet deep and maybe seventy-five or a hundred feet wide. Between Major Thomas Bryce and Abram Hayes, there's a two to three foot high mound of flat stones. Maybe that's Jennie. Most of the graves with carved stones are at an angle from the road. The headstones of William Wheeler Hays and Jane Bryce seem to face away from the direction where the graves lie. There are foot stones with their initials opposite of where I thought they'd be. We didn't stay around to count all the graves with fieldstones, though it would have been nice to have an idea of how many are there. The rain was starting to pick up and the cold dampness was getting to us. We crossed a side fence where it was bent low and made our way back to the road. It was all red mud from the edge of the field to the road. That warm, dry car felt wonderful. We toweled off and laughed at ourselves, knocking on doors and dragging strangers out of their homes. What an adventure the day had been. We'd met some wonderful folks and found those graves out in the middle of nowhere. I hope my recounting of the day will help someone else find their ancestors out there. It sure was fun. ( Submitted by: Babbitt (Babs) Shaw Johnston ) o------o This is the only Hays Cemetery that I know of in Oconee County. It is identified on the U.S.G.S topographical map. Before "cousin" St. John Mason passed away (the man that owned the land),I frequently quail hunted on that tract of land. Although I have never surveyed the cemetery, in my genealogy work I have found evidence that a Hays/Mason relationship does exist. It is believed that the wife of William Hays married a close relative of my gr-gr-gr-grand father Elias Mason. I believe "from memory" that her name was Hannah Mason. ( Submitted by: Ken Morgan ) o------o Abram S. Hays: MILITARY INFORMATION: COMPANY E. Company E was mustered into Confederate service by Major David R. Jones, A. A. General, Mustering Officer, on Sullivan's Island, May 17, 1861. It had previously been designated as Company K. Privates: Hayes, Abram - enlisted at Fort Moultrie, May 25, 1863; transferred to Co. G, February 20, 1864. On May 24, 1863, Abram enlisted as a Private in Co. E, 1st. Regiment South Carolina Infantry at Pickens County by Lt. Marshall for three years or the duration of the war. On February 1, 1864 he was transferred to Co. G by orders of Col. Butler. He was accounted " Present" in January & February of 1864. There is one report for December 31, 1863 to June 30, 1864 that states he was in the hospital at Mt. Pleasant for that period. Mt. Pleasant is on the Eastern coast of South Carolina, not too far from Ft. Moultrie in Charleston County. The report for July & August of 1864 show him as being " Absent", on furlough for 60 days. The September & October report show him " Absent", gone to the hospital. November & December report shows him "Absent", absent without leave since December 4, 1864. There were no more reports on him. It appears that either he was in the hospital or he left the hospital and went home. According to his tombstone at the Old Providence Church, located 1.7 miles east of Cross Roads on the north bank of Hwy. 24 in Oconee County, he died April 16, 1865. It appears that he must have been really ill during his time in the service and never recovered. He would have been 38 years old when he enlisted; this seems pretty old to have gone into the service. o------o The following is information received in October of 2001 from Kathy Lynn Clark, a descendant of Joseph Anne Hays Harris, which gives more information on Abram S. Hays: "Ouida Harris Milner was the daughter of William Andrew Harris (b 12Dec 1853 near Fair Play, SC/ d 6 FEB 1935 in Cass County, TX) and Joseph Anne Hays (b 7 DEC 1853 in Oconee County, SC/ d 4 APR 1940 in Cass County, TX). She and a cousin did extensive research on the Harris family history and as a result discovered the following about the Hays family. These are her words. Hays Family My grandmother named my mother, Joseph Anne, for my father's uncle and aunt, Joseph and Anne Harris. Joseph and Anne Harris were the nearest neighbors and closest friends of my grandmother and grandfather Hays. Mamma and Papa, they always called each other Joe and Will, were born not very far apart. The houses are still there and are still spoken of as the "Old Harris house" and the "old hays place". They are in Oconee County but it was part of Anderson County then. The Reverend William McWhorter in Anderson County married them on 14 DEC 1876. Once, when we were passing the Fair Play Church, Papa showed me the tree they were standing under when he asked Mamma to marry him. We think that the Hays family came from "old Kentuc", Virginia to South Carolina. Eloise King remembers her grandmother, Julia Hays Bearden (my mother's sister) talking about "old Kentuck" and thought she meant Kentucky, Later she learned that it was actually a place in Virginia. She visited there one summer but could not find anyone that knew of the Hays family. Abram and Jennie owned and lived in a big log house in the Cross Roads Community in Oconee, SC. When the Civil War started, grandfather Abram knew he would go and was uneasy about leaving his family. He was afraid their house might be burned (it was ransacked but survived the war and is still in good repair). He went to Longnose Mountain and built a log cabin. They dug caves into the mountain and took farm tools, a mule, and a cow from their home to the cabin. He moved his family, 3 slaves (a man, his wife, and 12 year old daughter Molly). My mother was 7 years old at the time and at that time and Molly said "Old Miss gave this Baby". She always referred to my mother as "Baby". Longnose Mountain is a pretty place and has a clear stream of water running around it. However, there was little soil for cultivation and mother said they would have starved without the help of the slaves. In April, 1865, my grandfather stood guard in the rain, he had measles and took pneumonia. He was dismissed from duty at Sullivan's island. He arrived home about 12 April and died 16 April 1865. He is buried in the Hays Cemetery. When my grandfather got home, he was so dirty that he would not go into the house until had washed and changed into clean clothes. He stayed in the crib until a wash pot was heated, where he bathed and discarded the filthy clothing that he had worn for so long. I assume he had walked and caught rides on wagons to get home. Harold King, a cousin, told me that when he was young, an old man told him my grandfather was buried at night. He died at Longnose Mountain and since it was 20 miles to the cemetery, the family arrived at the cemetery in the evening despite having left the mountain early in the morning in a wagon. Everyone who came to the cemetery brought his or her lanterns. Harold quoted the old man as saying, "I will never forget that funeral." Johnson surrendered to Sherman on 26 April and the war was over but not the suffering. I don't remember hearing Mamma speak about the return to their home or whether the mother and father of Molly returned with them, but she did speak of Molly and said she stayed with them until she married. In 1920, I went with my parents to SC to visit with my Aunt Julia Susan Hays Bearden, and she notified Molly of our impending visit. Molly was there when we arrived and their reunion was one of tearful joy. Molly brought her husband and children to see us and she and Mamma corresponded for many years.....(Note from Ruby Gray Wallace: on the 1860 Pickens Co., SC census, there was a 6 year old Mary Edmondson, 'Mulato', living with Abram & Jane Hays, and on the 1870 Oconee Co., SC census, this same Mary was shown to be 14 years old; I believe this could be the above mentioned Molly, since 'Molly' is a nickname for Mary.) In 1976, I returned to SC. Harold King took me to Longnose Mountain. We saw many of the old cabins, all built near the creek, which flows around the mountain. People still live in some of the cabins. I have a picture of the Longnose Mountain cabin, painted by Mary S. Stewart of Westminster, which I cherish. The Hays and Harris Homes The house my grandmother Hays and her children came back to after the war is still a well kept home. It is located on Highway 24 between Oakway and Cross Roads in Oconee County, SC. It is across the road from another old house, Joe Brown House. The old Hays House now (1979) belongs to Mr. A.K. Gipson, Jr. RFD 2, Westminster, SC 29693. He took me through the house and was very gracious. I am writing this in hopes that some of you may see it. Also, the old Harris place is not very far from it, on the same highway. It was not occupied when I was there in 1976 but all the gates were locked and it was well kept. The Hays Cemetery The Hays Cemetery is on Highway 24, not too far from the Hays house, approximately one mile or a little more. In 1920, when I was there with my parents, it was believed that there would probably be no further burials in the cemetery, so we, the Bearden and Harris families, had a new fence put up around the cemetery and bought two marble slabs, the size of doors, and had them installed just inside the gate. The slabs had all the names of our family engraved on them. Those engravings are as follows: Slab #1 In memory of Father and Mother Robin Hays and Elizabeth Woolbright Hays Sons and Daughters The names of all their children followed All resting in the Hays Cemetery 1815-1896 Slab #2 Abram S. Hays, B. 11-9-1824, D. 4-16-1865 Jennie Mason Hays, B. 1-14-1826, D. 5-17-1896 By their Sons and Daughters Julia Susan Hays Bearden Joe Anne Hays Harris Robert Monroe Hays We, the children of Julia Hays Bearden and Joe Anne Hays Harris, dedicate this marker in the memory of our Grandparents, to show our appreciation of those who have given so much for us. We place this marker here in the Old Hays Cemetery..... ( Submitted by: Ruby Wallace at rgw3593@lcii.net ) o------o ------ Original Message ------ From: "Ruby Wallace" To: gcgenweb@bellsouth.net Sent: 4/29/2011 11:16:40 PM Subject: Oconee County GenWeb Project Dear Mr. Paul Kankula, At one time I helped you by writing something about this cemetery and I just wanted to update my email address that is listed at this Providence Cemetery site. This is not particular important, but just in case someone would like me to help them with the Hays' genealogy, I would be very willing. I have been searching for a particular marriage that I assume took place in Oconee County, but have not been able to find it. Could you tell me if all the Oconee County marriage records are online somewhere? The following is who I am looking for. See the 1880 census below. This William A. Hays is the brother to my husband's Great Grandfather, Robert Monroe Hays. Both families came to Texas just prior to 1900. From a Bible record I find that William A. Hays remarried February 14, 1894, probably in Oconee County, to a Malinda Caroline Graham, but I cannot find a marriage record for that marriage either. I just wondered if perhaps there were other Oconee marriage records somewhere that I have not found. 1880 - Oconee County, South Carolina Pg. 409 - House #677-687 Hays, William A. 29M Farmer SC SC SC (1851) Mary 22F " Josephine 3F Daughter " Thank you very much for your help. Ruby Wallace of Texas o----------o TRANSCRIPTION NOTES: -------------------- a. = age at death b. = date-of-birth d. = date-of-death h. = husband m. = married p. = parents w. = wife Two large commemorative markers have been installed just inside the gate. Right-side marker erected in memory of their grandparents, by the children of Julia Hays Bearden and Ann Hays Harris LEFT-SIDE MEMORIAL MARKER: -------------------------- ?, Father & Mother BRUCE, Charles BRUCE, Emily, jan-1875 BRYCE, L.C. Bryce (Col.) BRYCE, Thomas Bryce (Maj.) HARRIS, Amanda Hays, b. 1815, d. 1896 HAYS, Abram HAYS, Anderson HAYS, Charlie HAYS, Elizabeth Woolbright, sons & daughters HAYS, Franklin HAYS, Jimmie HAYS, Robert Seaborn HAYS, Robin HAYS, Sara Jane HAYS, William Wheeler HUTCHINS, Lucinda JOHNSON, Samuel MARTIN, Elizabeth SIMMONS, Elizabeth Hays RIGHT-SIDE MEMORIAL MARKER: --------------------------- BEARDEN, Julia S Hays HARRIS, Jo Ann Hays HAYS, Abram S. HAYS, Anna Amanda HAYS, Jennie Mason, b. 4-jan-1826, d. 17-may-1896 & children HAYS, Robert Monroe TOMBSTONE INSCRIPTIONS: ----------------------- Numerous graves are simply marked with head & foot field stones BATALE, J., b. 1815, d. 1888 BEARDEN, Julia S. Hayes, p. a. & j.m. hays BRUCE, Charles, b. 12-sep-1790, d. 1-oct-1872 BRUCE, Emily, b. sep-1790, d. 21-jan-1875 BRYCE, I.C., b. 14-oct-1835, d. 15-apr-1896 BRYCE, Jane, b. 1-oct-1830, d. 8-apr-1892, m. 24-dec-1846, h. w.w. hayes BRYCE, L.C. (Col.), b. 14-oct-1835, d. 15-oct-1869, p. thomas & mahaly bryce, n. masonic emblem BRYCE, Thomas (Maj), b.1805/6, d. 30-may-1847, next to this grave is one that is simply marked with a pile of field stones. HARRIS, Jo Ann Hays, p. a. & j.m. hayes HAYES, Abram S., b. 9-oct-1824, d. 16-apr-1865 HAYES, Elizabeth Woolbright HAYS, Amanda, b. 11-aug-1857, d. 5-mar-1860 HAYS, Anna Amanda, b. 11-aug-1857, d. 6-mar-1860 HAYS, Jane Bryce, b. 11-oct-1830, d. 8-apr-1892 HAYS, Jennie Mason, b. 4-jan-1826, d. 17-may-1896 HAYS, Robert Monroe, p. a. & j.m. hayes HAYS, Robin HAYS, W.W., b. 20-jan-1826, d. 25-sep-1903, w. jane bryce, n. matching tombstones HUTCHINS, Lucinda, d. 24-dec-1804, d. 21-nov-1832, h. a.f. hutchins ISABELL, Infant Daughter, p. j.s. & a.c. isabell ISABELLE, Hattie, b. 1-mar-1880, d. 16-dec-1880 JOHNSON, Samuel JOHNSON, Samuel, b. 15-dec-1804, d. 30-mar-1850, n. inscription actually reads: sauel jonstonwasbor, b. 15-dec-1804, d. mar-1850 MARTIN, Elizabeth, b. 1-jun-1789, d. 25-apr-1880 Note: 9/03 - The Townville Cub Scouts are considering to restore this cemetery. Lisa Moriarty - Scoutmaster 7415 Highway 24 Townville, SC 29689 864-287-5178