Your thoughts on this...

[GySgt USMC]

There is a small grave yard here on base (the headstones are from the mid 1800's and all have the same last name) Anyway, the graveyard is like out in the middle of the woods near a river. I went exploring around the area last night, and was seeing boken chards of glass, some broken old red bricks, and other indicators there may have been a house there at one time. I never did find a foundation or any major evidence though.... Am I correct to assume that "back in the day" familes would have a grave yard located near there house? And if so, what distance away from the house would it be located? My gut feeling tells me there was a house some where in the general area of the graveyard. Iam gonna check it out more this weekend... Any thoughts would be great!!
Thanks Gary

[Wyatt Earp]

There was a family cemetery on my Grandfather's farm...about a quarter of a mile from the house. It may not be as nearby as you think....but ten again it could be in real close proximity. No rules on this one that I'm aware of. Maybe finding the tax records would be a place to start.

Wyatt

[bbqcook]

There is an old house in the woods behind my house, with just part of a chimney about 5' tall left, and the cemetery of that family is about 150' from it. If you see bricks, hunt it. There was a house there at one time.

[rip]

Sounds pretty promising ! I have a site that i search that has a graveyard (2 stones) about 100 yards from the housesite.Try looking for plants like irises,lilys,lielocks.Or other plants not normaly found in that area.An old topo map could be of help also.Good luck ! HH

Hi Gary,

I have some experience with out of the way graveyards, so I'll take a crack at this one.

My assuption is that all of the headstones are facing the same direction. If I had a family plot on the farm where I live, I would probably walk out my back door to visit the graves. I logically would place the stones in such a way as to be able to see the inscriptions as I approach on foot. Also, in the vast majority of the homestead cemeteries I have seen if you draw an imaginary square around the stones, you roughly have the direction that the house faced. It was a good solid reference while planning the plot, and it is common that the inscriptions are facing the same direction as the front of the house. This is a good rule of thumb, but if the plot was planned to overlook an ancestors' favorite bend in the river, all this goes out the window.

My advice? Stand in front of the oldest stone, do an about face, and walk a b-line straight ahead. I think you may find what you are looking for.

Just my 2 cents,
HJ

[PAPPY]

GUNNY, Back in those day's...Famlies had private plot cemeteries that they buried family members in on their private owned land. We have quite a few in our family. The sites were usually "IN SITE OF THE HOUSE" so they could be viewed from the house. People back then were awful particular about taking care of their deceased family members.

[ButchB]

Semper Fi.................Art

[GySgt USMC]

Thanks for all the great advice. I was able to spend about 45 minutes doing somemore walking around over there Saturday afternoon, still didn't really find much. I did how ever find 5 old horse shoes (square nails still rusted in them) just laying on top of the ground. They look really old, maybe thats a good sign. Anyway, I plan on spending more time in the near future....

Art,
Semper Fi Jarhead!! I will be a re-tired Marine come May of next year!! Looking forward to it, yet will miss it as well. OOOOOOraw!!

Gary