A Heavenly Home

A Heavenly Home. Pleasant Hill Graveyard, 1811. , "And when their time on earth is done God's angels will convey Their bright immortal spirits home to share eternal day We need not sorrow nor condole altho' the change is great T'will shortly pass upon us all to quit this mortal state", - "A Funeral Hymn," Pleasant Hill, 1819, This graveyard's first resident was 33-year-old Nancy Bryant, who died of consumption in December of 1811. Over the years she was joined by 300 to 400 of her Shaker brothers and sisters. As in life, men and women were separated and buried on opposite sides of the graveyard: women on the right, men on the left, but always with their heads to the east., The original stone wall was replaced by a wooden fence in 1885 to allow for easier expansion. As Shaker land was sold off to private individuals in the 20th century, many headstones were removed or damaged beyond repair. Today roughly one-fifth of the graveyard's original headstones remain, leaving us to guess approximately where a vast majority of Pleasant Hill's residents found their final earthly resting place., (Captions):, Background Image: Simple headstones engraved only with initials were typical for Pleasant Hill, but several members, including Francis Penebaker and Emily Cross, were given stones with their full name and lifespan. , Late 19th Century/Early 20th Century , Credit: Max Charleston Collection, The Filson Historical Society, Louisville, KY, Sister Sara Nagel was the first member of Pleasant Hill to be buried outside of these grounds. This article does, however, mistake the peak population of this village, which was 491, as opposed to 600. , December 1923 , Credit: (Louisville, KY) The Courier-Journal, December 21, 1913, William Outlaw, a Confederate soldier, died at Pleasant Hill October 26, 1862, of an unknown illness. The Shakers inferred his remains in this graveyard. The Company Muster Roll shows he was hospitalized in Lexington on October 1st of 1862. , c. 1860s , Credit: National Archives and Records Administration