KNOWLES CEMETERY, Monroe County, Mississippi

Inventory of Burials

Transcribed from photographs of grave markers found in the cemetery, March 15, 2010

by Terry Thornton

email: hillcountrymonroecounty@gmail.com

The following index is an alphabetized list of names transcribed from the grave markers in the abandoned Knowles Cemetery, Monroe County, Mississippi. The small family cemetery is surrounded by a low iron fence and is located south of Becker just south of Halfway Creek. It is found a few yards off Old Highway 25. Located in a dense wood, the cemetery is not marked nor is it easily seen from the roadway. To the left of the fenced portion is an area which appears to contain burials but only three markers with writing were found there.

The burial within the fenced portion of the cemetery seems to be allied families of Knowles, Stanton, Watkins, and Williamson. Several of the Knowles markers state the individuals were from South Kingston, Rhode Island.

The most recent burial noted is 1887; the earliest burial is 1840. The majority of those buried at Knowles Cemetery died in the 1860s.

The cemetery is in rough condition; much work is needed to clean, restore, and protect these early burials in Monroe County. Additional markers may be found beneath the rubble of the forest. The cemetery is on private land and requires a guide with permission to enter the property.

Index format:

SURNAME, Given names, year of birth, year of death, name of cemetery, image number (which serves as a link to the photograph of the grave marker)

Added information is included within brackets.

Outside the fenced portion of the cemetery to the left; note numerous brick and broken stones in that general area

____, ___ broken stone, 1833, 1871, Knowles, img 4954

CRUMP, Ida E., 1866, 1866, Knowles, img 4951

CRUMP, infant, 1869, 1869, Knowles, img 4949

Inside the fenced portion of the cemetery:

KNOWLES, Benjamin G., [abt 1808], died 1866, age 58 years, Knowles, img 4905

KNOWLES, Charles Lewis, [abt 1849], died 1850, age 1 year, Knowles, img 4936

KNOWLES, Clovis T., [abt 1859], died 1870, age 11 years, Knowles, img 4940

KNOWLES, Edwin G., 1850, 1881, Knowles, img 4912

KNOWLES, Eugene A., [abt 1849], 1851, age 21 months, Knowles, img 4934

KNOWLES, Fannie M., 1848, 1879, img 4914

KNOWLES, Fannie Mabel. [abt 1887], 1880, 3 years age, Knowles, img 4917

KNOWLES, Hannah C., [abt 1819], 1870, age 51 years, Knowles, img 4906

KNOWLES, James C., [abt 1811], 1855, Knowles, img 4925

KNOWLES, Lewis, [abt 1820], 1844, age 24 years, Knowles, img 4946

KNOWLES, Oliver Benjamin, [abt 1851], 1852, age 11 months, Knowles, img 4931

KNOWLES, Ralph Alexander, [abt 1848], 1852, age 4 years, Knowles, img 4926

KNOWLES, Sarah Ann, [abt 1832], 1855, age 23 years, Knowles, img 4919

KNOWLES, Sarah, [abt 1846], 1846, age 6 months, Knowles, img 4938

KNOWLES, Stephen D., [abt 1813], 1852, age 39, Knowles, img 4930

KNOWLES, Susan G., [abt 1815], 1855, age 40 years, Knowles, img 4921

STANTON, Abeel, [1811], 1849, age 38 years, Knowles, img 4910

WATKINS, Adele, 1887, 1887, Knowles, img 4903

WATKINS, Herbert Bryan, 1885, 1886, Knowles, img 4901

WATKINS, May Irene, 1883, 1884, Knowles, img 4898

WILLIAMSON, N.H., 1833, 1873, Knowles, img 4908

Researchers are advised to follow the image number link to Flickr and view the grave marker photographs to determine accuracy of names and dates as well as to obtain additional information about family relationships.

Below are four general photographs of the cemetery.

Additional reading: Knowles Cemetery was transcribed by W. A. Evans, Frank Crawford, and J. L. Shell in May 1938. Their inventory is presented in the Monroe County Mississippi Cemetery Records (reprinted in 1980 by Lowndes County Department of History and Archives), pages 57 - 58. The 1938 transcription by Evans et al is thought to be the only other listing of the cemetery available.

Acknowledgement: Thanks to the assistance of Ray Blaylock, Sipsey Fork, and others who responded to my plea for hunters to advise me of the location of abandoned cemeteries in Monroe County. Through Mr. Blaylock's efforts, the cemetery was marked and his directions enabled me and my guide, brother Sherman Thornton of Amory, to go direct to the cemetery.

Cemetery index and photographs copyright © 2010. William T. "Terry" Thornton, Fulton, Mississippi. All Rights Reserved.