SOAPSTONE BAPTIST CHURCH CEMETERY #2(?), Pickens County, SC A.K.A. Owen Family(?) Version: 3.0 Effective: 18-Feb-2011 Text File: P073.TXT Image Folder: P073 ******************************************************************************** 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 Nov-2005 Debbie Kellogg in Jul-2006 GPS MAPPING .... : Gary Flynn at (visit above website) in Aug-2003 HISTORY ........ : G. Anne Sheriff at claytonroom@swu.edu in Jun-2005 IMAGES ......... : Paul M. Kankula at (visit above website) in Aug-2003 RECORDING ...... : Robert G. Dodson at robertgdodson@aol.com in May-2006 ******************************************************************************** CEMETERY LOCATION: ------------------ Locate intersection of Highways 8 & 288 in Pumkintown. Drive (E) on Highway SR 288. In 1.6 miles turn left (N) onto SR S-39-112 (Liberia Rd). In 0.7 miles turn right (E) onto Flyroot Trail. In 0.1 miles turn right (SE) onto Joni Lane. Drive (SE) 0.2 miles. Cemetery is located on the right side of the road - in the woods. GPS = Latitude N 35 00.785 x Longitude W 82 37.792 CHURCH/CEMETERY HISTORY: ------------------------ It is reported that a Soapstone Baptist Church member got mad at the church for some reason and started this cemetery. It's located to the right of the church and within walking distance. o----------o Mr. Raymond Owens told Robert Dodson that the old cemetery was on a hillside about 300 yards south of the present church and cemetery. He stated that there were only three or four headstones and the rest of the graves were unmarked or were marked with fieldstones. o----------o http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.fortner/909/mb.ashx 1. TIMOTHY1 Fortner was born Abt. 1785 in North Carolina, and died Aft. 1850 in Pleasant Grove, Pickens County, SC. He married MILLAK (MILLAC, MILLET) COLLINS Abt. 1806 in Patten Field, Pickens County, South Carolina, daughter of NATHANIEL COLLINS. She was born March 07, 1781 in Ireland ?, and died Before 1850 in Dahlonega, Lumpkin County, Ga.. Notes for TIMOTHY FORTNER: Timothy Fortner died after 1850 in Pickens County, SC. This story has been handed down through the Fortner line: Timothy Fortner was living alone, shortly after 1850. A certain person inquired about buying Timothy's house. For whatever reason Timothy declined to sell his house and property. That night his house was burned to the ground, with him apparently inside. The next day someone came forward and presented a bill of sale for Timothy's house and property, saying that they had previously purchased the property. Timothy's remains Timothy's remains were gathered and buried in an unmarked grave. This site is located on the property of the Owen family, of the Liberia section on Pickens County, near present day Pumpkintown. Mr. Chris Owen, who turned 106 years old in 1999, has maintained the burial site for many years. Chris's wife, a McJunkin, is a daughter of a slave. She is 101 years old. As of December 1998, they are both still alive and living in the Liberia section of Pickens County, near Pumpkintown. The grave of Timothy Fortner, is located near the site of the cabin in which he lived. He is said to have died in his burning cabin in which he apparently lived alone. The grave is situated on a terrace in a small field, located on the property of Chris Owens, and lies about 300 yards Northeast of Soapstone Church, in the Liberia Community. According to the 1850 Federal Census, Timothy Fortner was born in North Carolina in the year 1785. His wife was Millet COLLINS, who died before 1850. o----------o donfortner@charter.net Posted: 19 Nov 2009 5:52PM Surnames: Fortner,Collins Hey Paul, It is my understanding that the remains of Timothy Fortner are not buried at Soapstone. I have been told that Timothy's remains are on the Owen property past the Soapstone Church on the right. I visited Mr. Chris Owen back in 1998 when he was 105 I was told. He had taken care of Timothy's burial site for as long as he could remember. I did not got to the site at the time of the visit but hope to return soon and see where he is buried. There was a marker there in 1972.Due to my bad health I don't get to travel much. Thanks for the info. A marker for Timothy Fortner is placed at P120 Pleasant Grove Church on Liberia Rd. o----------o Clemson students to try to unlock stories buried in nearly forgotten slave cemetery By Anna Simon • Greenville News • Clemson bureau • Published: February 18. 2011 2:00AM CLEMSON - Clemson University anthropology students will be scratching below the surface of Upstate history in a northern Pickens County cemetery where former slaves were buried and, until recently, forgotten. The cemetery near Soapstone Baptist Church in the Liberia - a community settled by freed slaves in the 1800s - was discovered about four years ago by surveyors working on the church property. "It's been hidden history for so long," said Mable Clarke, whose great-great- grandfather Joseph McJunkin founded the community of descendants of slaves from the African nation of Liberia. A nearly impenetrable thicket encased the cemetery. Volunteers from area churches brought earth-moving equipment and chainsaws "and inched their way in so not to disturb the graves," Clarke said. The cemetery has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places, added to the state's Heritage Corridor, and there are plans for a kiosk and brochure about the cemetery and the history of the early Upstate black community and church. Recently, Mike Coggeshall, a Clemson University anthropology professor studying the mountain cultures in Pickens and Oconee counties, stopped his car in a driveway along a mountain road to take a picture of Table Rock. It happened to be Clarke's driveway. Thinking Coggeshall was lost or stranded, Clarke offered help. It seems they were able to help each other. Saturday, students in Clemson's Anthropology Club will visit the cemetery to rake, measure, identify and map as many graves as possible. "They have been there over 150 years. Their story is important to tell," Coggeshall said. Clemson archeologist Melissa Vogel and Clemson forensic anthropologist Katy Weisensee will supervise the project that lets students work on a real site using skills from archeological, biological and cultural classes, Coggeshall said. "We hope to identify any patterns in the gravesites, such as family clusters, and create a map of the cemetery for preservation purposes," said Coggeshall. "We also want to document, preserve and interpret the sites for regional tourism." The number of graves is unknown, and one goal of the project is to determine how many people are buried there, Coggeshall said. Sunday services are still held at the concrete block and stucco church that is the third to be built on the site next to a huge soapstone outcropping. The first was a brush arbor church built from small saplings that served the congregation of about 900 slaves freed around the time of the Emancipation Proclamation, in the early 1860s, until a wooden church could be built, Clarke said. The wooden church was burned to the ground by the Ku Klux Klan in 1966. Clarke was away at college at the time and heard about it from her parents, who lived next to the church. "It was just starting to get dark, and they could see the smoke and the flames coming out. They went to see what was going on. It was so engulfed at the time there was no way to save it," Clarke said. The present church was built with donations from local residents and the Holly Springs Baptist Church north of Pickens. Services still are held every Sunday, and a fish fry on the third Saturday of each month helps today's small congregation keep the doors open. The public is invited to both. The fish fry - with choices of fish, ribs or chicken, is served from noon until 8 p.m. Plates are $10. The fish fry attracts visitors from as far as Asheville, and visitors often stand on top of the huge soapstone rock that affords views of Table Rock and Caesars Head to take pictures, Clarke said. TOMBSTONE TRANSCRIPTION NOTES: ------------------------------ a. = age at death b. = date-of-birth d. = date-of-death h. = husband m. = married p. = parents w. = wife NOTE: The following tombstone inscriptions do not fully represent what has actually been recorded. A more detailed recording can be obtained by purchasing the Pickens County Black Cemetery Project publication from Anne Sheriff - Editor, 988 Old Shirley Road, Central, SC 29630-9337, sheriff@innova.net ANDERSON, C.H. & E.M., b. 28-sep-1896, d. 25-feb-1903 GOWAN, Rhoda, 1882 GOWAN, William, b. c1860, d. oct-1896, a. 36y GOWENS, A.R. (Rev), b. 1845, d. 1928 KEMP, James, 19-jul-1938, s.c. franks & son funeral director McKINNEY, A.P., b. 1884, d. 1925