Arab in Marshall County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)

Fry Cemetery

Photographed By Johnny Tidmore, November 19, 2010

1. Fry Cemetery Marker

Inscription. Located on the hilltop 500 feet southwest of here. Fry Cemetery typifies rural valley-and-ridge community cemeteries of the 1800s. The Fry family emigrated from Virginia to this area when it was still part of the Mississippi Territory. Revolutionary War veteran Phillip Fry was buried here in 1840. Family names found in the cemetery include Carnes, Copeland, Cox, Fry, Hinds, Mays, Wilcox, and others. Numerous graves are indicated by cairns, stone slabs, and inscribed stones, while many graves no longer have visible markers.

Erected 2009 by Fry Cemetery Perpetual Care & Preservation, Inc.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1840.

Location. 34° 16.827′ N, 86° 25.623′ W. Marker is in Arab, Alabama, in Marshall County. Marker is on Fry Gap Road (County Route 48) 0.1 miles west of Rock Hill Road, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 4965 Co Rd 48, Guntersville AL 35976, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 5 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Federal Attack at Red Hill (approx. 2.3 miles away); Brashier's Chapel Cemetery (approx. 2.9 miles away); Shoal Creek Baptist Church (approx.

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3.4 miles away); Bodine Cemetery (approx. 3.6 miles away); Stephen Tuttle Thompson (approx. 4.7 miles away); Farmer's Exchange (approx. 4.7 miles away); 1883 Methodist Church Cemetery (approx. 4.7 miles away); First Arab High School / First Arab Auditorium (approx. 4.9 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Arab.

Regarding Fry Cemetery. Article from "Historic Arab", The Arab Historical Society’s Newspaper, August 2010
by Janet Calhoun

Fry Cemetery
J .A. Thomason states that Solomon and Cloe Fry were married December 15, 1814, in the Fry Cemetery, which is also where they are buried. It is not known if a cemetery already existed there at the time of their wedding or if it was just the site where the cemetery is now. This gives rise to the question, “Who originally owned the land where the cemetery is located and who gave the land for the cemetery?”

J .A. Thomason also states that the cemetery was located on the ridge not far from the B. G. Johnson sawmill and the Johnson Chapel. (These almost assuredly were not there in 1814.) The first known burial took place in

Street view of Fry Cemetery location image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Johnny Tidmore, November 19, 2010

2. Street view of Fry Cemetery location

Photo taken viewing Southwest toward the hill where cemetery is located.

1840. (The last one was in 1950.) “As in any area where people live out their lives, there is a necessity for a cemetery. Often as the communities diminish and the cemeteries are no longer used, they fall prey to decay, neglect and vandalism.” This was true of the Fry Cemetery. At least until the Copeland siblings, Mary Jo Cochran, Faye Markham, Paul Copeland and Jane Walley decided that something needed to be done about it.

New markers of the Copeland ancestors were placed and dedicated in 2004. After Faye died in 2006, Jane assumed the lead and spent many months recording the “cemetery’s essence” by sketching the cairns, monuments and partial monuments. She made photographs and prepared an application for the cemetery to be included on the Alabama Historical Cemetery Register.

The application was accepted and the cemetery was listed March 3, 2009, by the Fry Cemetery Perpetual Care and Preservation, Inc. Jane called on her extended Copeland family to help pay for the marker and it was unveiled at a ceremony held July 24th during the Copeland Reunion. It was attended by some sixty descendants of those buried there and friends.

Fry Cemetery Historical Marker
The marker was placed at the intersection of Fry Gap and Rock Hill Roads (not far from the cemetery). It reads: On the hilltop 500 ft. southwest of here, Fry Cemetery

Fry Cemetery image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Johnny Tidmore, September 15, 2012

3. Fry Cemetery

typifies rural valley-&-ridge community cemeteries of the 1800’s. It served local families of Carnes, Copeland, Cox, Fry, Hinds, Mays, Wilcox and others into the mid-1900’s. The Fry family settled here from Virginia when the area was still part of the Mississippi Territory and Philip Fry, buried here in 1840, served in the Revolutionary War. Graves are indicated by cairns, stone slabs and inscribed stones, but many no longer have visible markers. (Editor’s note: "Wilson" was incorrectly printed “Wilcox” on the marker by mistake.)

Fry Cemetery Grave Markers
Jane Walley was able to copy the following dates. Carnes: John H. 9/18/1847—7/14/1870, Margaret E. 3/24/(?)—12/12/1872, John S. 3/13/1808—3/1/1874. Copeland: John Solomon 1855-1889, William Robert 1/23/1821—5/2/1898, Sarah Minerva 4/21/1825—5/5/ 1894, July Ann & Dolcena Minerva 1857-1857, Nancy Rachel 1853-1874. Cox: Margaret A. E. wife of J. R. (J.A.?)
1/3/1835—7/28/1896. May: James W. 7/27/1869—4/13/1930, Rebecca H. 1875—5/18/1950, Infant sons 2/4/1897—2/8/1897, Infant daughter 8/1905—5/ 1906. Wilson: Sally 4/11/1878—7/14/1948, Jim W. 10/7/1869—12/13/1942.

Jane also reported that there are many other remains of monuments, cairns, slabs, and gravesites without markers spread over the acre cemetery. Other names

Grave Monument for Philip Fry, for whom the Fry Cemetery is named image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Johnny Tidmore, September 15, 2012

4. Grave Monument for Philip Fry, for whom the Fry Cemetery is named

offered from the Marshall County records of deaths/burials from the Guntersville Public Library include Cox: Fannie Mae d/o T. B. & N. Cox 9/8/1888—7/3/1889, Alpheonse 1/27/1888—1/17/1891, Lillie Mae d/o T. & N. C. Cox 6/3/1890—7/3/1891. Hinds: James Pickett s/o B.W. & M.H. Hinds b/d 12/12/1861.

Fry descendants’ records show these are also buried there although they neither have markers nor the birth dates that are added here. Fry: Solomon & Cloe Hinds and their children Benjamin Franklin (b. April 29, 1829), Wiley Phillip (b. Feb. 20, 1824), Sarah Hamilton (b. 20 June 1835) and Thursey Ann (b. April 12, 1833).

Their notes also suggest that spouses of some Fry family members that may also be buried there include: Nabors, Armstrong, Boyles and Farris. Other families, said to be represented among the burials, include Jacobs, Johnson and Henderson.

According to J .A. Thomason’s writings, many other families lived at some time in the Fry area. Some of them may also have family members buried there including the families of Linn, Eckerbush, Brazelton, Stone, Thomason, Clark, Breedwell, Shirley, Maze, Hartsfield, Reynolds, Coker, Hunt, Bryant, Berry, Bodine, Leak, Martin, Bryant, Alexander, Murphree and probably even more. Gary and Ann Vaughn currently own the property on which the Fry Cemetery is located. Ann keeps a list of those buried

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in the cemetery. Thanks to Jane Walley for much of the above information.

Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on August 4, 2011, by Johnny Tidmore of Arab, Alabama. This page has been viewed 2,045 times since then and 92 times this year. Last updated on July 20, 2015, by J. Makali Bruton of Accra, Ghana. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on August 4, 2011, by Johnny Tidmore of Arab, Alabama. 3, 4. submitted on September 24, 2013, by Johnny Tidmore of Arab, Alabama. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.