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After leaving the small but lovely community of Vardy, we made our way to Sneedville where we just passed through on our way to the other side of the county. After a couple of false starts (but what lovely scenery they gave us!), we found the Mills-Wolfe Cemetery near Treadway in Hancock County. This small cemetery holds the graves of Hiram Mills and John A. Mills, both sons of John Mills and Alley Coffey. Several unmarked graves, at least eighteen have been counted, lie beneath the cool shade of oak, hickory and chinquapin trees, and we feel fairly certain that the bodies of John and Alley Mills lie in one of these unmarked graves. John and Alley's grandson, William Orville Mills, left Hancock County for Posey County, Indiana and after the Civil War, moved to Itawamba County with his in-laws, the Samuel McKay family.
Mike overlooking the valley that served as the Mills ancestral home. His great-great grandfather William Orville Mills was born here, and he died in Itawamba County in 1916, having moved to Mississippi from Posey County, Indiana around 1873. Why did Orville's father and family move to Posey County before 1860? Good question but we've found no answer yet.
Orville's Uncle Hiram's grave marker. Its top half has been broken off and lies a few feet away.
One of several graves marked by a simple stone.
The chinquapin tree in the Mills-Wolfe Cemetery.
Mills-Wolfe Cemetery
3 comments:
What a serene place Mike's ancestors chose for a final resting place. In fact, anyplace in rural Indiana could be at such a peaceful "home or final resting places - when Ron and I lived in So. Bend, we drove many miles throughout Indiana in the summer time (without the snow!)
Mona, I will share the tale that the late Judge, James Edgar Shotts shared about the move that his GGgrandfather who married one of John Stone's daughters I believe her name was Frances. They were living in the hamlet of then Stonetown (Shottsville) about the time of talks of withdrawing from the Union and took his family over into Tennessee rather than joining the Confederacy. The Shotts family remained in TN until Mr. Shotts died. Frances sold the TN land and moved back to Marion Co.
I hope this helps to you find the reason for the move to In. bettye
Mona, my name is Audie Kennedy and I live in Wise, Virginia, quite near to the area you visited. I was the first president of the Melungeon Heritage Association and have visited Vardy several times. My mother is a native of Itawamba County (Fairview) and her maiden name was Celia Estel Graham. I read your blog almost every day, but missed it yesterday and didn't see that you had visited this area.
Bettye, that is interesting information. It seems my Purnell GGGgrandfather did the same thing with his family. They moved to Hardin County, TN near Counce but then moved back to Alabama after the war.
Audie, Vardy is a beautiful place, and we definitely will return for another visit. Tell me more about your Melungeon ancestry - fascinating history! - and your Graham connections. Thanks for reading and commenting, and hope to hear back from you.
Mona
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