Expansion also part of the plan for 191-year-old Davis Cemetery near Franklin
BY Greg Olson
Efforts are underway to expand and further maintain a rural Morgan County cemetery.
Sarah Carpenter Brogdon of rural Franklin is leading the effort to raise money to pay for a new fence and continued upkeep at Davis Cemetery, which is about three miles west of Franklin and just south of the Woodson-Franklin Road.
“We need a new fence because in the past few years we have received a donation of land adjacent to Davis Cemetery to allow for expansion of the cemetery,” which has had nine burials since 2002, Brogdon said.
“The new land will definitely be used for burials because the cemetery is full, and because the south part of the cemetery is believed to hold the remains of several Civil War soldiers who are in unmarked graves,” she said.
Brogdon said she hopes to raise enough money this summer to pay for about 700 feet of fencing.
“Another reason we need a new fence is because the existing 36-year-old fence posts have rotted off and the wire fence is dilapidated,” she said. “The new fence will help keep livestock out of the cemetery.”
Brogdon has a personal interest in the continued preservation of Davis Cemetery, which was established in 1832, because several of her ancestors are buried there, including her maternal great-great-grandparents, James (1838-1895) and Mary Oxley (1843-1913), and maternal great-grandparents, George (1865-1938) and Sarah Rawlings Oxley (1859-1930).
“My relative Clyde Oxley began cleaning up Davis Cemetery in 1987,” Brogdon said. “At that time, the cemetery had been neglected for many years and was overgrown with weeds and saplings. It was a major project to undertake. Clyde was old and my mom, Maxine Wilson Carpenter, took over the cleanup work at the cemetery and was instrumental in keeping the cemetery mowed until her death in 2005.”
Since then, Brogdon has ensured that Davis Cemetery is not neglected.
“I see to it that the cemetery is maintained,” Brogdon said. “Donations help pay for the mowing and other work.”
Brogdon is now seeking donations to help with the upcoming fencing project.
Donations should be sent to: Sarah Brogdon in care of Davis Cemetery at Community State Bank, P.O. Box 200, Franklin, IL 62638.
