Near Shepherdstown in Jefferson County, West Virginia — The American South (Appalachia)
Welcome to The Methodist Grave Yard
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), April 1, 2025
1. Welcome to The Methodist Grave Yard Marker
On July 18th, 1833, Jacob and Mary Line sold half an acre of round "bordering on the west side of the Turnpike reload leading from said town to Smithfield" to three Trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Shepherdstown. Milton J. Brown, Jacob Hess, and Francis A. McNeill paid the Lines "the sum of one hundred and sixty dollars law money of the United States" for the "lot or piece of ground" which was adjacent to the Presbyterian burying ground. Both were identified as "G.Y." (Grave Yard). The boundary between them was originally separated by a "wrought iron fence." In May 1863 the Shepherdstown Council requested that the Trustees of the Methodist Church move their fence "to enclose the ground now occupied by the graves of the soldiers of the Confederate army."
Captain Richard Cotton, Company 1, 1st Texas Infantry was wounded at the Battle of Sharpsburg on September 17th, 1862 and brought to Shepherdstown
this page online
Joseph Shindler Fleming was a shoemaker by trade. In 1866 he was appointed to the Board of Registration which qualified voters, and served several terms on the Shepherdstown Council as both Mayor and Recorder.
Grandison Tempien Licklider served on the jury of John Brown Raider Edwin Coppoc. For many years he was Sunday School Superintendent and a long-time Treasurer of the Morgan's Grove Fair.
George Henry Ramsburg was an 1889 graduate of Shepherd College and in 1891 Superintendent of Schools in Jefferson County.
In June 1871, following the lead of the Presbyterian Church, "arrangements (were) made to transfer the Methodist Burying Ground, to the Trustees of Elmwood Cemetery." Still an active grave yard today, over the years more than 300 congregants of the Methodist Church have been buried here. Among them are members of the Byers, Cookus, Fawcett, Ferrell, Fraley, Fulk, Hill, Hout, Kerney, Lemen, LIcklider, Malatt, Moler, Nicely, Nichols, and Schley families.
Erected 2018 by Jefferson County Historical Society.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), April 1, 2025
2. Welcome to The Methodist Grave Yard Marker
Location. 39° 25.726′ N, 77° 48.746′ W. Marker is near Shepherdstown, West Virginia, in Jefferson County. It can be reached from Kearneysville Pike north of Minden Street, on the left when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 4989 Kearneysville Pike, Shepherdstown WV 25443, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Washington Metropolitan Area and in the Eastern Panhandle. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, in Appalachia, and specifically in Northern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture and also the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Confederate Dead (a few steps from this marker); Welcome to the Confederate Cemetery (within shouting distance of this marker); Memorial To Confederate Soldiers (within shouting distance of this marker); Elmwood Cemetery (within shouting distance of this marker); The Presbyterian Grave Yard (within shouting distance of this marker); Welcome to Historic Elmwood Cemetery (within shouting distance of this marker); Confederate Soldiers in Elmwood Cemetery / Colonel Henry Kyd Douglas (within shouting distance of this marker); Elmwood Cemetery Vault (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Shepherdstown.
Credits. This page was last revised on April 1, 2025. It was originally submitted on April 1, 2025, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 235 times since then and 12 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on April 1, 2025, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
