West View Cemetery

To help us remember where in the cemetery our 

ancestors are located.

I don't know why it never occurred to me to look for and visit the graves of my ancestors before this trip.  I guess I just always thought they were buried somewhere far away.  When we started looking through the Augusta Chronicle for obituaries, we found that pretty much everybody was buried in the West View Cemetery in Augusta, a place I'd never even heard of.  Three of my great grandparents are there.  My great great grandmother is there.  Several great aunts and uncles are there.  

My great grandparents Carlos Hines Price, Sr. and Willie Gertie Davis.  

Willie actually died in 1972 but that info hasn't been added yet.

Ergo, on Sunday afternoon, our last day in Augusta, Marmee, Julie and I decided to visit the cemetery, despite rainy weather.  We drove out to downtown Augusta to the cemetery located on Division Street, passing the apartment complex where my grandparents, Beamous and Mable, lived when my mother was born.

My grandfather's brother, Carlos Hines Price, Jr.,

 a.k.a. Uncle C.H. who was killed in a car accident

when he was 34 years old.

We had no idea where the graves of our family members were located in this enormous cemetery.  Marmee couldn't remember where they were and Granny's memory was reliant upon a bush that had long been cut down.  So, we just started roaming the cemetery streets, scanning the headstones for any familiar names.  It took a while.  A long while.  But finally we located some of the graves we were searching for.  

My grandfather's sister, Jane Price who was 

actually Mrs. Lamar Martin when she died. 

My great great aunt Claudia.  Her daughter Margaret

and my granny were more like sisters than cousins.

Of course, we were not able to locate Annie Cadle, our great grandmother or her mother, Mollie Dunn who are both buried in this cemetery.  And there are several others we couldn't find as well.  Hopefully we will be able to return soon at a time when we can talk to someone at the cemetery office who might be able to assist us.  But for now, we are grateful we were able to find the graves we did.

The Davis Family Cemetery

Visiting the Revolutionary War cemetery was cool, but visiting the Davis Family cemetery was awesome.  I've been reading about these people for years and searching for them in old censuses and other records, but it was something totally different to be standing there at their graves.  It just made them more real to me.   

My great great grandfather, Melton Ervin Davis.

His wife, Trudie Greenway.

Their daughter, my great great aunt, better known simply as Aunt Sadie.  This was one of the first graves I came across and I got chills.  I actually knew Aunt Sadie.  I have very vague memories of visiting her and my older siblings remember her very well.  My brother has a quilt she made for him.  (He was always her favorite.)

My great great great great grandfather, William Godfrey Davis, the Civil War hero.  

His wife, my great great great great grandmother Dicie Williams.  

Let's Set the Record Straight

Yesterday was a huge day for family history.  For starters, Julie, Joseph, and I headed out in search of the fabled Davis Family cemetery.  We were confident we could find it as we had directions from two uncles, an aunt, and our mother.  Of course, nobody bothered to mention which way we were to turn onto 319.  Well, duh.  You go right!  (Would've been good to know about five minutes ago...)  The only written directions we had were from 1970 and were as follows: 

"Davis cemetery is located on the right side of the road approximately one mile behind Tarver Price's Store, which is on 319 North."

Oh, ok.  That makes everything crystal clear!  Actually, our family was able to give us great directions and we found it with little trouble.  Here are the directions, for future reference.

From Augusta, take Deans Bridge Road/Highway 1 through Wrens to Louisville.  Stay on Hwy 1 for about 14 miles and then turn left onto Hwy 24 and continue about 5 miles.  Then take a left onto US 221 and go 7 miles to Bartow.  At the blinking light, turn right onto 319 and travel for about 7 miles.  Greenway Cemetery Road will be on the right.  The cemetery is about a mile down the road on the right side.