When someone
dies, at least three records are usually generated - a death certificate, a
cemetery record and an obituary. There are times, however, when one or more of
those records is missing. Smithland
Cemetery has a number of burials without tombstones so, in order to tell the
story of those buried there, we must rely on other records. For example, we can learn about the death of
little Lena Hodge, the 10-year-old daughter of Harriet Hodge of Smithland, even
though she has no tombstone. The story of what happened to her can be found in
the Paducah newspaper.[1]
Lena and her
mother Harriet Hodge went to Paducah on the steamer Golconda
to celebrate the 8th of August emancipation celebration. After celebrating all
day, Harriet and Lena returned to the boat to return home. The girl went
to sleep, but soon was missed. Her
hat was found floating in the river, indicating she had probably gone overboard.
Lena's body was
found near the wharf boat. "Evidence showed that no one saw the girl fall go into the water but several people heard the splash and there was a cry of 'Somebody
Overboard! The remains will probably be taken to Smithland for burial. "[2] It makes sense
that she was buried in Smithland Cemetery as she and her mother lived in
Smithland and a number of years later when her mother died, she was also buried
in Smithland Cemetery. Unfortunately, Lena's grave was never marked with a
tombstone, but our best guess is she is buried there.
Another
person thought to be buried in Smithland Cemetery without a tombstone is Sterling
Barner Taylor. Sterling was born in
1869, just a week before his mother, Pattie Barner Taylor, died of
complications of childbirth in Nashville, Tennessee. She had recently separated
from her husband, B. Waller Taylor, and the child, who was named for his
grandfather, Sterling M. Barner, was reared by his grandmother, Sarah Jane
(West) Barner, in Logan County, Kentucky. In fact, Sterling B.
Taylor was the heir to the combined estates of Benjamin Barner, Sterling
Barner, Sarah Jane Barner and Pattie Barner Taylor.
As an adult,
Sterling B. Taylor took his medical training at Bethel College in Russellville,
Kentucky and Ohio State University
College of Medicine. Later he became chief surgeon of the N.Y. Central R.R. and
was a fellow in the American College of Surgeons.
Most of his
professional life was spent in Columbus, Ohio before he retired to St. Petersburg,
Florida, where he died 21 September 1944. It seems strange that he would be
buried in Smithland Cemetery since he only lived in Smithland for a very
brief time after his mother's death, but two different, undated obituaries from
the Columbus, Ohio newspapers stated that burial was to be in "the family
burial plot in Smithland, Ky." One obituary also says that the burial will
be "by the Isadore Branstetter funeral home." In addition, his death
certificate[3] states the body was to be removed 24 September 1944 to Smithland, Kentucky. To date, nothing has been found that there was ever a tombstone marking
Sterling's grave or a newspaper notice of his funeral.
These are
only two of the unmarked graves in Smithland Cemetery. There are many more that need
to be identified and the decedents' stories told.
[1]
"Child Drowned," Paducah Evening
Sun, Tuesday, 8 August 1899, p. 1.
[2]
Ibid.
[3]
Pinellas County, Florida Certificate of Death #18971 of Sterling Barner Taylor
shows the body to be removed 24 September 1944 to Smithland, Kentucky.
Published 6 October 2016, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com
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