Dry Ridge

Dry Ridge Graveyards

Two historic graveyards are located at Dry Ridge, the Robinson Cemetery on the farm owned by Andy Robinson and the Wilson Cemetery on the farm of Jane Robinson Wilson. Both lie close to the old road that goes through the properties. To date, four marked graves have been found in the Robinson Cemetery and nineteen in the Wilson Cemetery.

Besides the marked graves, a number of others are inferred from death certificates that list the place of burial as one of these two, or an associated place such as “Dry Ridge.” There are undoubtedly graves in each cemetery that are not marked and also not documented in death records.

Wilson and Robinson Graveyards at Dry Ridge

One issue that arises when trying to find unmarked burials is misinformation in the records. For example, the obituary for Siretha Nelson states she was to be buried at West Bend, but her gravestone is in the Wilson Cemetery. Without her stone there we would have looked for her in the wrong cemetery. This could be a problem with many death certificates, which list an intended burial place that was later changed.

Henry Quisenberry (1827-1916), Robinson Cemetery

Lola C. Davis (1907-1994), Wilson Cemetery

There was a third cemetery that has not yet been found and may have been used by the Alexander family. A list of the burials in the Robinson and Wilson graveyards follows.

Cattle have caused a great deal of damage in both cemeteries. A number of gravestones that were broken likely became buried underground over the years. Others may have been carried off.

Identifying burials at the Robinson Cemetery is problematic for several reasons. First, no grave has been found for the cemetery’s namesake, Andy Robinson. Second, none of the four marked graves are of known Robinson descendants. On the other hand, five death certificates do make mention of “Robinson” as the burial place.

Three death certificates of Permelia Alexander descendants list burial at “Dry Ridge” and one lists “Alexander Graveyard.” These have tentatively been listed under the Robinson Cemetery. However, it is possible that there was a separate Alexander family cemetery.

Robinson Cemetery

Name

Mose Alexander
Edward Oliver Banks
Lila Beatty
Anna C. Davis Bruton
Annie W. Davis
Carl J. Davis
Edward Davis
George Davis
Katie W. Davis
Lola C. Davis
Mary A. Davis
Susie Davis
Walter Davis
William W. Davis
Emma Garrett
Nanny M. Gatewood
Harry Haggard
Minnie Haggard
Johnny Morris
Harvey L. Nelson
Homer L. Nelson
Otha J. Nelson
Sarah W. Nelson
Siretha Logan Nelson
John W. Thomas
Charity Watts
George Pete Watts
Morean Watts
Samuel Watts
Martha Williams
Elizabeth “Lizzie” Wilson
Henry Wilson
William Wilson

Dates

no gravestone
no gravestone
no gravestone
1913-1988
1889-1964
1886-1971
1891-1920
1863-1928
1868-1954
1907-1994
1922-1989
no gravestone
1888-1954
1921-1966
no gravestone
1907-1999
no gravestone
no gravestone
no gravestone
1908-1984
1884-1932
1910-1913
1886-1948
1914-1975
1878-1895
no gravestone
1884-1935
no gravestone
no gravestone
no gravestone
no gravestone
no gravestone
no dates

From Death Certificate

Burial: Home Place*
Burial: Wilson Graveyard
Burial: Wilson Graveyard

Burial: Wilson Graveyard
Burial: Wilson Graveyard
Burial: Wilson Graveyard

Burial: Wilson Graveyard
Burial: Dry Ridge

Burial: Dry Ridge

Burial: Wilson Graveyard
Burial: Dry Ridge
Burial: Wilson Graveyard

Burial: Wilson Place

Burial: Wilson Graveyard
Burial: Dry Ridge
Burial: Wilson Graveyard**
Burial: Wilson Home
Burial: Dry Ridge
Burial: Wilson Graveyard
Burial : Wilson Graveyard

Name                                    Dates                                              From death certificate
Amanda Alexander                   no gravestone                                  Burial: Dry Ridge
Broward Alexander                  no gravestone                                  Burial: Alexander Graveyard
Ollie Alexander                       no gravestone                                   Burial: Dry Ridge
Henry Clay Bowen                   no gravestone                                  Burial: Dry Ridge
Lou Bowen*                            no gravestone                                  Burial: Dry Ridge
Alvin Chorn                            no gravestone                                   Burial: Roberson Graveyard
Mary Clay Daniel⁑                    no gravestone                                  Burial: Clark County
Milton Daniel†                         no gravestone                                  Burial: Dry Ridge
Annie Garrett**                       no gravestone                                  Burial: Robinson Graveyard
Mary Louise Green‡                 no gravestone                                  Burial: Roberson Home
Mary Eppa Pace                      1906-1908

Henry Quisenberry                  1827-1916                                         Burial: Andy Robinson Graveyard
Mary Quisenberry                    no gravestone                                  Burial: Roberson Home
Mary Watts                             1876-                                               Burial: Dry Ridge
Sanford Watts                         1874-1946                                        Burial: Dry Ridge

* daughter of Henry and Mary Quisenberry
⁑ daughter of Clay and Lou Bowen
† married Mary Clay Bowen
** stillborn daughter of Bill Garrett and Laura Beatty
‡ daughter of Milton and Mary Clay Daniel

Mary Etta Pace has not been identified and was probably white. There were no known black Pace families in Clark County between 1900 and 1910, but white Pace families were living in the Dry Ridge area. Mary Etta’s death date precedes all the known black burials in the cemetery.

Robinson Cemetery on the Old Andy Robinson Farm

Wilson Cemetery

Burials in the Wilson Cemetery appear to include descendants of Jane Wilson and their spouses—and could also include Jane’s unmarked grave. In cases where Jane’s descendants were listed in death certificates as “buried at Dry Ridge,” they were included as possible burials in the Wilson Cemetery. A few of the Alexander family are buried there also.

* Obituary states that burial was at Wilson Cemetery.
** According to obituary in the Winchester Sun, December 16, 2008.

Wilson Cemetery on the Old Jane Wilson Farm

Postscript

The number of death certificates recording burials at Dry Ridge leaves unanswered questions about whether the Robinson or Wilson Cemetery was intended. There are gravestones in both the Wilson Cemetery and the Robinson Cemetery for which the corresponding death certificate reads “burial at Dry Ridge.” It would appear that, given the data at hand, there is no way resolve this issue for burials for which there is no gravestone.

All Cemeteries