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Depew family cemetery finally located

On Sept. 15, 1995, with my sons, Aaron and Ethan, I accompanied the late Agnes Grubaugh on a cemetery hunt. We were looking for the burial ground of Agnes’ ancestors, John and Mary Seagraves Depew, who settled in Fayette County around 1821.

John Depew was born about 1762, possibly in Augusta County, Va., the son of John and Catherine Shepherd Depew.  John’s father was a soldier of the Revolution.
John Depew, the younger, married Mary Seagraves in Botetourt County, Va. Mary was a daughter of Samuel Seagraves, another soldier of the Revolution, who served from Botetourt County.
John and Mary Depew began their western migration, first by moving to Kentucky.  The second move was to Orange County, Ind., where his brothers, Elijah and James Depew, both settled.
His brother Jacob moved to Bloomington in McLean County, Ill., and settled there, while John and Mary moved farther westward into Illinois.
He first entered land in Edwards County in 1818, but three years later bought 400 acres of land in Sections 6 and 7 of Carson Township. His farm was near the site of Reed’s Chapel church at the "twin churches" crossroads.
John Depew was a Methodist minister,  and the first Methodist meetings were held in his home. He also served as justice of the peace in Carson Township, and married many couples in the area. Both John and Mary died before 1850.
The family knew the site of the John Depew family cemetery was north of his home, but the exact location was not known.  For years, members of the family had searched for the burying ground.
On the day of our cemetery hunt in Carson Township, Agnes had contacted land owner, Kenneth Craig, and he offered to show us the location of a Depew family cemetery on his land.
We followed him by car across several pastures and through a gate or two to the far pasture. According to Mr. Craig, the cemetery had at one time been contained within a 10-foot-by-10-foot area.
The stones had been moved in the mid-1930s and placed against a tree. That is how we found the stones that day. With help from the boys, we were able to move them and photograph each, as well as copy the inscriptions. It was then that we discovered that this was not the cemetery we were looking for; it was the burial ground of John and Mary’s son, Edward Depew.
Ten stones were found piled next to the tree, long since dead, with the earliest being that of Edward H. Depew, who died on May 7, 1845, at the age of 12 years, 4 months and 7 days. We did not find stones for Edward or his wife, Priscilla Williams Depew, although some of their children and grandchildren were interred there.
One of the most important finds we made was of a broken marker for Edward W.H.R. Depew, who died during the Civil War.
Edward and Priscilla sent four sons to war, John and Edward, both joining the 54th Illinois Infantry, and James and Benjamin serving with the 97th Illinois Infantry.
Edward’s broken stone had the image of a soldier with a gun to his shoulder standing at attention with the inscription, “He went at his country’s call to battle for freedom and right. A gallant young hero, he fell in his early manhood.”
With help from the Veteran’s Administration, Agnes was able to obtain a replacement marker for this stone.
His brother, James Depew, died at Milliken’s Bend, La., on May 13, 1863, and his place of burial is unknown.
Now, we fast forward to April 5, 2012.  While waiting at the counter of a local restaurant for my lunch, Andy Craig, grandson of Kenneth, approached me with his cell phone in his hand. “I was going to call you” he said, “I thought you would be interested in this.”
As I studied the image on the screen, I saw it was of a headstone. The first word I saw was "Polly," then "wife of J.H. Depew, died Oct. 14, 1843.”
Polly was a common nickname for Mary, and what Andy was showing me was the headstone for Mary Seagraves Depew, the stone we were searching for in 1995.
The John Depew Family Cemetery had been located. It is north of the "twin churches" corner, just as the family said, situated on land entered by John Depew in 1821. The stone has been broken so that Mary’s age at the time of her death is unknown.
With directions from Andy, my son Ethan once again ventured with me on a cemetery hunt. We did not find a headstone for John Depew, although the footstone that stood at the foot of his grave at one time is there.
From what Andy told me, the location of the cemetery was known by the property owners. They have farmed the ground for years, but left a small area where Polly’s stone was found, undisturbed.
My friend, Agnes, died in 1999, but I am so happy that after all the searching we did and the cemeteries we located during those years, the John Depew Family Cemetery, at long last, has been found.

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