As 2022 faded into 2023–and my family commenced work on the Gabriel N. Shelton Cemetery in the new year–we realized there had to be an even more effective way to search for grave markers buried beneath the sod. While poking with metal rods and shovels bore considerable results, we were hampered by a lack of space to grip (the rods) and our inability to search very deeply (the shovels). Luckily, my Dad has quite a bit of ingenuity, so he was able to rig up two new tools to work with (see below).

This new tool, which gave us a handle to grip and a long metal rod to poke beneath the ground, proved most effective. After hours of searching, my family and I discovered a few grave markers denoting my cousins’ burials covered beneath the sod. For many of these markers, it was the first time they’d seen the light of day in literally decades. As four members of my family were present at Gabriel N. Shelton, we broke off into teams of two. Racing the clock against rapidly fading February daylight, my Dad and I started repairing and replacing broken headstones. My Mom and little sister used the tool pictured above to locate grave markers.

On February 16, the sun began dipping beneath the horizon fast. The temperatures were plunging right along with the daylight. After working several hours–and getting a majority of the grave markers uprighted–we decided it was about time to call it a day. But my Mom wasn’t yet ready to give up. She’d been scouring the cemetery with the metal rod and just couldn’t understand why the grave marker of my grandparents, Finis and Eliza Shelton, still hadn’t been uncovered. With blistered, rubbed-raw hands, she kept poking through the ground while my Dad, little sister, and I began cleaning up our supplies.

“Hey, I think I found something. Listen!” My mom exclaimed. We’d been noticing that regular rocks and roots had a different sound quality when struck with the rod than traditional headstones did. She poked a large area, and each time the rod met with a decided strike. A strike that sounded convincingly similar to a headstone.

“That sounds promising,” I called back as I hurried over with a shovel. My mom showed me all the areas where she had a hit, and we began to dig. After a few moments, we spotted a grave marker. Not sandstone, like some of our previous finds, but an actual marble grave marker. My hopes soared.

All my hopes took full flight when I noticed the initials on this headstone–F.T. As in, Finis Taylor! As we peeled back the layers of dirt like aged carpeting, digging approximately four inches below ground, more of the headstone appeared. Next, we could see Finis’s birthdate, and then, digging to the right, we discovered that this was actually a joint headstone. Blessedly, my grandmother’s name, Eliza C. Shelton, also appeared. Ironically, being buried beneath ground acted like a time capsule, likely preserving the stone from further damage when cows roamed through the cemetery. (See the progression of uncovering their headstone at the bottom of this post.)

To say I was thrilled by this find is a tremendous understatement. I’d already been kneeling on the ground, helping roll back the dirt and dust off the marker. With the headstone fully revealed, I dropped to my knees in joy and gratitude. I wrapped my arms around the grave marker, the closest I could get on this side of Heaven to giving my grandparents a hug, and squeezed tight. It felt special to have a tangible little piece of them, after all that time.

Earlier in the day, I’d commented that a large marble base, large enough for a joint headstone, was possibly the base for Finis and Eliza’s marker. Of course, I had nothing more to back up my claim other than a historian and genealogist’s hunch. After checking out the base and the headstone, it was clear my hunch had been correct after all. With my Mom’s discovery of the headstone–and the base still on site along with Finis and Eliza’s foot markers–it would be possible for them to have their full headstone back, decades after it had initially been lost.

Today, my family’s work at Gabriel N. Shelton Cemetery continues. After cutting down a dead tree that threatened to fall within the cemetery, our next task is to finish repairing and replacing the remaining markers–Finis and Eliza’s included. Once the cemetery is finally complete (hopefully sometime this summer), I plan to have a ceremony to honor those buried therein. Plus, an event at Gabriel N. Shelton Cemetery will give the community a chance to see the restoration work we completed, showing that even neglected cemeteries are salvageable and worthy of being saved. At Gabriel N. Shelton Cemetery, where I experienced one of the best days of my life in uncovering my grandparents’ stone, it’s apparent that cemeteries truly are storybooks of the past. It’s a story I’ll revisit again and again.

Finding Finis and Eliza Shelton’s Headstone (A Photo Progression)

Above: A small portion of Finis’s side of the grave marker is unearthed.

Above: My Dad and I unearth Finis and Eliza’s grave marker. (Yes, I’m sporting American flag sunglasses. Also yes, they’re the only design I’ll wear!)

Above: Covered in dirt, my family’s next task if figuring out how to pull this heavy marker from the ground.

Above: After lots of pulling, we finally pop up the headstone.

Above: Dusting off Finis and Eliza’s headstone, they’re finally back out into the light of day. Notice that Finis’s death date (1939) isn’t inscribed. This is likely because he passed after Eliza and his family, likely still reeling from the Great Depression, didn’t have added funds to pay for the inscription.

Stay tuned for Part 3 of the Gabriel N. Shelton Cemetery installment, coming later this year!