Leaving Fayette County behind, I went on a weekend getaway to the Carolinas with a few of my friends. We stayed at Table Rock State Park. Naturally, my friends Sarah, Beverly, and Lisa knew I’d want to visit a cemetery and were game. I already had a specific one in mind.

Oakdale Cemetery is located in Hendersonville, N.C. and covers about 22 acres. I found conflicting information on how many burials are there. The 2013 application seeking to put Oakdale on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) noted there are about 5,400 buried here. But Find a Grave has over 8,000 memorials recorded.

Established in 1885, Oakdale had a section for whites and a section for blacks. Acreage was added in 1913 and 1943. Some grave markers were moved to Oakdale Cemetery from other cemeteries. Some from Hendersonville’s Methodist Episcopal Church were moved in 1923 (now First United Methodist Church) and First Presbyterian Church (1955) when they built new church buildings in the areas where their cemeteries were located. So that explains why you’ll see graves that pre-date the 1885 establishment date of Oakdale.

There are also some intriguing vaults at this cemetery. This brick one for the Staton family was built in the 1940s.

Then there is this large rectangular-shaped, classical style concrete block structure built in 1951 near the 1943 section’s southwest corner to house burial vaults.

But what most people want to see when they visit Oakdale is the angel that inspired an author in writing a bestselling novel that is still read by many today.

Thomas Wolfe’s Inspiring Angel

This particular area of Western North Carolina is notable for two authors that called it home. The best known is Carl Sandburg, who was a poet and an author. He won three Pulitzer Prizes: two for his poetry and one for his biography of Abraham Lincoln. Sandburg was widely regarded as a major figure in contemporary literature, especially for volumes of his collected verse, including Chicago Poems (1916), Cornhuskers (1918), and Smoke and Steel (1920).

The second is Thomas Wolfe (1900-1938), who was born in Asheville, N.C. Wolfe wrote four novels as well as many short stories, dramatic works, and novellas. His best known novel, Look Homeward Angel, was published in 1929 right before the stock market crash. Set in the fictional town of Altamont, Wolfe’s coming-of-age novel is closely based on his family, neighbors, and upbringing in Asheville.

Wolfe’s father, William Oliver Wolfe, was a stone carver and operated a successful grave stone business in Asheville. Although an accomplished artisan, Wolfe did not have the skill to carve an angel’s face. The stone angel that inspired the novel’s angel was actually carved in Carrara, Italy and ordered from New York. His business used an angel in the window to attract customers.

Thomas Wolfe described the angel in great detail in a short story and in Look Homeward, Angel. While there was controversy over which one was the actual angel, the location of the Thomas Wolfe angel was determined in 1949 to be at Oakdale Cemetery.

The title of Wolfe’s book comes from John Milton’s Poem “Lycidas”:

Look homeward Angel now, and melt with ruth:
And, O ye Dolphins, waft the hapless youth.

Although records indicate that Wolfe sold at least a dozen Italian marble angels as grave markers, the angel in Oakdale Cemetery most closely matches the description in the novel.

W.O. Wolfe sold the angel to the Johnson family in 1906. It marks the grave of Margaret Bates Johnson, wife of Dr. Henry Johnson. Dr. Johnson was president of Whitworth Female College in Brookhaven, Miss. Although Margaret died on May 26, 1905, in Brookhaven, she was reinterred in the Oakdale Cemetery since Hendersonville was her hometown. Dr. Johnson is buried beside her.

Wolfe was diagnosed with tuberculosis not long before he died at age 38 on Sept. 15, 1938. He is buried in Asheville’s Riverside Cemetery, which I visited in 2023. So you’ll get to see his grave here eventually.

Sadly, Wolfe’s fans visiting the grave caused damage to the statue that required repair. A wrought iron fence now encloses the Johnson graves to keep them safe from further harm. So I couldn’t get too close to her. But I was able to photograph her through the bars. If you find yourself in the Hendersonville area, it’s well worth the time to visit the angel.

Tragic Train Accident

One of Oakdale’s most heartbreaking monument is for Lewis Littleberry Tunstall. His tree-shaped monument has a train engine and coal car carved into it below his name and birth/death dates.

Lewis was the engineer on a railroad engine that pulled a train from Hendersonville to Spartanburg, S.C., when the train’s brakes failed and it jumped the tracks. It then slammed into a large chestnut oak tree. The impact killed Tunstall immediately. The cause of this accident was the lack of safety switches on the Saluda Grade. After this tragedy, the railroad built safety switches between Saluda and Melrose to prevent further accidents. So Lewis’ death was no in vain, but actually saved future lives.

Masonic and Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineer (see the interlocking B and E) markings can be seen on the “tree,” along with a skillful carving of a locomotive engine and coal car. It’s possible that the Brotherhood paid for his marker.

Lewis, who was only 32 when he died, left behind a wife and daughter.

Gentlewoman, Philosopher, Author, Composer, and Artiste

I’m going to close Part I by including a grave stone I found for Henrietta Natalie “Hennie” Whitted Price. I had no idea who she was and I’m guessing you don’t either. But it appears she was a minor lady of note in Hendersonville back in her day.

Born in Hendersonville in 1865, Hennie was the daughter of Dr. William Davis Whitted and Sara Earle Yancy Blasingame Whitted. She married William Bates Price in Chicago in 1893 at age 28. Henry was president of the Price-Teeple Piano Company. William had two children from his first marriage, Albert and Kathleen, who lived with their mother, Lucy. The couple made their home in Chicago and had no children of their own.

To be honest, I couldn’t find much about Hennie. She did write two books, “Sketches in Lyric Prose and Verse” in 1920 and “Ravelings in Rhyme” in 1910. I can see how ladies of that era might have enjoyed reading them. I could not track down any of her musical compositions.

When she died on Feb. 4, 1923 at age 58, this was her obituary in the Hickory (North Carolina) Daily Record.

While her funeral was held at the chapel at Chicago’s Graceland Cemetery, Hennie’s body was brought home to Oakdale Cemetery for burial beside her parents. Her husband, William, died in 1936.

Life is Just a Patchwork Quilt

There’s a bit of verse written by Hennie on the back of her grave marker. But I found this one from her poem “The Patchwork Quilt” that I particularly liked.

I’ll be back next time with more stories from Oakdale Cemetery.

After refueling over lunch, Mom and I decided to hit one more cemetery before calling it a day. Ebenezer United Methodist Church Cemetery (EUMCC) is not far from Partner’s Pizza so it was an easy stop to make.

EUMC is still an active church with a rich heritage. It was established around 1882. According to a church history on their web site, EUMC was originally known as Old Field Church. Charter members were G. M. Davis, James Davis, Frank Davis, Barney Tinsley, James Speer, William S. Brown, F. B. Brown and Ed Speer. The 1884 dedication service included the hymn “Nearer My God to Thee”.

Polly Palmore donated the acre that the church was built on, and Chub Davis provided the adjacent land for the cemetery. According to Find a Grave, there are about 530 marked graves on the property. It is in good condition and looked to have been recently mowed. I saw a few recent burials.

A Tragic Fire

One of the first stones we happened upon was for a woman and a child. I felt a wave of sadness, knowing that something bad had likely happened to them. Unfortunately, when I looked into their story, my fears were confirmed.

Born in 1911, Elizabeth “Bessie” Parrott was the daughter of William and Rachel Lavonia Adams Parrott. She married Ralph “Boots” Pope, a Fayette County farmer. They had a son, Ralph Gerald Pope, on March 11, 1939. They lived in a four-room house on the Redwine farm where Ralph worked.

On Dec. 4, 1942, Ralph said goodbye to Bessie and little Ralph, then headed with a co-worker to fetch a load of hay. An hour later, the overseer caught sight of the Pope house and it was engulfed in flames.

Despite all attempts, Bessie and little Ralph could not be saved. The cause of the fire was deemed accidental. Robert was now a widower at 31.

Bessie and their son were laid to rest together at EUMCC. Ralph did not remarry (as far as I know). He worked as a freight handler in his later years. He died at age 82 on Oct. 23, 1994. He was buried beside Bessie and little Ralph.

Accidental Shooting

We like to think that deaths caused by playing with guns is a modern occurrence, but it has been happening for decades. I only learned this week that this was the case for college senior Willie Sam Loyd.

Born in 1882, Willie Sam Loyd was the youngest son of Samuel and Sarah Loyd. The Loyds were well-to-do farmers in Fayette County. Willie attended the University of Georgia in Athens and was approaching graduation when tragedy struck.

On the evening of Nov. 5, 1905, Willie was relaxing with his roommate in their dorm when he drew out a pistol and began playing with it. Despite his roommate’s warning to stop, Willie continued and accidentally shot himself below his stomach. He died about an hour later, despite medical efforts to save him. Willie was 23 when he died.

Willie’s parents were understandably heartbroken. Their older son, Thomas, had died two years earlier at age 45. A delegation of Willie’s classmates accompanied him as his remains were taken home to Fayetteville. Many people from near and far attended his funeral at EUMCC.

Willie’s mother, Samuel, died on June 30, 1909 at age 72. His mother, Sarah, died on Aug. 22, 1910 at age 69.

Grave of a Murderer

At the end of last week’s post, I mentioned that I was going to follow up on a convicted killer buried at this cemetery. If you want the full story about the murder, please read my post from May 2019 about Bethany United Methodist Church Cemetery. It’s also located in Fayette County.

In that post, I told the story of Acey Edward “Eddie” Banks on May 15, 1931. He was only 38 a the time. Eddie was married to Lexie Mae Griffin Banks. Lexie’s mother, Emma Griffin, lived in fear of her husband (and Lexie’s father), Charlie Griffin. She was living at her daughter’s home when Charlie arrived and tried to take her home.

Eddie stepped in to protect Emma and Charlie killed him, fleeing into the nearby woods. He was caught and convicted of murder, then sent to prison. Amazingly, he only served seven years and was released. Eddie was buried at Bethany United Methodist Church Cemetery. Lexie, who remarried, died in 1964 and is buried with Eddie.

Charlie died a few years after his release on Jan. 11, 1945 at age 70. The epitaph on his marker is a familiar one: “Remember me as you pass by.” Unfortunately, the Banks family likely remembers him painfully for what he did to Eddie.

Emma, like her daughter, lived until 1964 and was 89 when she died. She is also buried at EUMCC.

The Short Life of Simmie Griffin

I didn’t connect Charlie Griffin to the Banks murder until several days later. I was distracted by another grave marker that I saw at EUMCC for a young man named Simmie Griffin, who was Charlie’s nephew. Simmie was the son of Charlie’s brother, Clifford.

It was what was inscribed on Simmie’s stone that stopped me in my tracks. I have never (or since) read anything like this before.

I don’t know how Clifford and Nancy met. I don’t know if they were both born deaf and mute or if they were became so later in life. It appears they both lived in Mitchell County. I wondered if perhaps they met at a school for the deaf but I could find nothing. They married in Dekalb County in 1902. Together, they would have five children. They did not let their disabilities stop them from living happy and active lives.

Simmie was the second oldest of the children. According to what I read, he served as the “spokesman” for his parents and made sure the household ran smoothly. From what I can tell, neither he or his siblings had any hearing/speech/sight issues. At night, when his baby sister would cry, Simmie would take her to their mother because she couldn’t hear her.

On April 22, 1918, Simmie went out for a ride with local automobile salesman Thomas Nipper. They were struck at a railroad crossing and Simmie was killed. He was only 14 years old. Thomas Nipper, while injured, survived. He would die a few months later on Oct. 22, 1918 at age 23 after a long illness. He is buried at Fayetteville City Cemetery.

“We Have No Simmie Now”

I don’t normally post this lengthy of an obituary, but in this case, I thought it was worth sharing.

Sometime between 1920 and 1930, the Griffins moved to Cincinnati, Ohio where both Clifford and Nancy took factory jobs. Clifford died in 1942 and his body was sent home to Fayetteville for burial at EUMCC. Despite the fact her name is on Clifford’s marker, after Nancy died in 1963, she was buried at Arlington Memorial Gardens in Mount Healthy, Ohio (near Cincinnati).

End of the Road

This wraps up my Fayette County “hop” with my Mom from October 2019. We’ve been on a few since then, and I’ll be sharing them in due time.

Next time, I’ll be taking you with me out of Georgia. The angel statue immortalized in Thomas Wolfe’s autobiographical novel, Look Homeward, Angel, now marks a grave at the Oakdale Cemetery in Hendersonville, N.C. Lots of stories to share from that cemetery!