The first clean up (Feb 18) was attended by 13 people. Good progress was made, but about half of the clean up remains to be done. Then next clean up day is scheduled on  Saturday March 11, 2023 from 9:00am to 12:00pm. This cemetery is located at 1461 Purfoy Rd. Surnames include  Barbour, Betts, Revels, Smith, Wray.   Seventeen graves are named. The earliest burial is dated 1814-1890. 1461 Purfoy Rd. Be sure to visit the Harnett County Cemtery Preservation Group on Facebook to see photos of the clean up progress and to get details for March 11. Page link:   https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089072144515&mibextid=LQQJ4d Clean Up Event link:  https://fb.me/e/4cyE4borY?mibextid=RQdjqZ This cemetery is in Wake County, right in our backyard.  Visit Wake County Genealogical Society's Website  -  Homepage  |  WCGS Events  |  Join WCGS  |  Publications  |  Wake Cemetery Survey Images ...

" Looking deeper into the letter published by John Powers, all remembered Mary Locust as being an old lady of color who passed as free. Witnesses confirmed her children were as she had stated, and she was neither Black nor White as they had always heard her mother was “Indian.”  Lewis Barker stated that Mary Locust went from Wake County with his brother Thomas Barker to the Yadkin River, where he, Lewis Barker, saw her some other time.” People were clearly in motion."  -  George Thomas Today's guest post has George Thomas looking at the power of Reverend John Powers to sway the powerful Gov. John Sevier from far away Logan, Kentucky to do the right thing in regards to the Lucost/Locust family. The Locust family were formerly free people of color in Wake County, North Carolina and enslaved by Sevier at some point after they arrived in Tennessee.  John Powers was a Methodist preacher and, as it turns out, a member of the Barker Family. John was "the son of Mrs. Thomas ...

As George has traced Wake migration west, he has uncovered some really fascinating stories. Today's guest post is a case in point. The continuation of the Barker families migration finds Thomas Barker in Middle Tennessee where he is part of a letter writing campaign to right a wrong done to a family known to him and his family and associates. The wrongdoer - none other than John Sevier, at the time serving as the first govenor of Tennessee.  Barker and his family figure prominently as witnesses in the lengthy open letter written by John Powers to Gov. Sevier in August of 1804. The open letter was published in the Tennesee Gazette of Nashville, Tennessee  Read the letter for yourself and continue on to find out what becomes of Mary Lucost's family, previously free people of color, who were enslaved by John Sevier on migrating from North Carolina to middle Tennesee.  Source This one is a must read folks.  Mary Lucost, the Barker Family, and Col. John Sevier (Pt 5) Foll...

The latest guest post from George Thomas has him mapping out the early settlers of Wake County. He has taken his presentation plat technique and applied it to the southwestern corner of Wake that was originally a part of Orange, Johnston and Cumberland counties. For history geeks like me, this is a joy to behold. The community of early Wake settlers as they were situated as neighbors and associates way, back when. I see many names I recognize mentioned in  the Wake Cemetery Survey, c. 1978 including Etheldred Jones, Jesse Jones (!), Popes, Utleys, Hollands, Lanes, Olives, and so many more in addition to the Barker family that has been George's recent focus. Early researchers of  Wake County will want to click through to George's post to see the detailed list including early Granville Grants and NC Secretary of State Land Grants.   Visit George's blog post for larger version Read more at George's blog post -  MAPPING SOUTHWEST WAKE (Pt 4) Follow George's Blog -...

  "The Barker family was large and acquired much land through the generations. Keeping them straight is a genealogical chore as is the case with many early North Carolina families as their number slowly migrated in generations across our state." - George Thomas  Join George for the next guest post os his study of the westward expansion of  Wake County's early citizens. Part three follows the Barker family as they migrated to Cabarrus County and further to western Tennessee. source Associated families include: Letman, Briggs, Beddingfield, Hobbs, Hobson, Hogson, Utley, Peddy. Visit George's blog post for the details of the story with maps and migration notes. BEYOND THE MOUNTAINS (Pt 3) Follow George's Blog -  They Lived Along a Rocky River Visit Wake County Genealogical Society's Website  -  Homepage  |  WCGS Events  |  Join WCGS  |  Publications  |  Wake Cemetery Survey Images  | Digital Resources  |  ...