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BELL - CLARK CEMETERY

Chatham County, North Carolina Cemetery

The Cemetery is located on a point where the old Seaforth Community used to be, on a point of land extending out onto Lake Jordan. The cemetery was not moved when they built Lake Jordan because some members of the family contested the removal in court. The protest and subsequent allowing of the cemetery to remain in place was because of, the belief that the cemetery would never be flooded and because, a Patriot of the American Revolution was buried there. Even though, now there is some doubt that it is so. We simply cannot prove that Capt. Alexander Clark and his wife, Phoebe are, in fact, buried here, because their marker is a home-made cement marker, added in the last generation or two.
The Corps of Engineers made a map of the cemetery and their map does not include all of the names I will list here. My list is from family member's recollections. There are some graves with no markers but, some of the family say they remember, who was supposed to have been buried there.
The Corps of Engineers designation of the cemetery is: Tract No. 744-C and they call it the "Thomas Bell Cemetery"
IF, the cemetery is named for, Thomas Bell Sr. b. 1754 d. 1774 ,and he is buried here then, his grave was not marked. And, I don't know why they would call it Thomas Bell cemetery after Thomas Bell Jr. when he obviously was NOT the first one buried here.
William Clark and Susannah Bell Clark have the earliest dated gravestones. We are in the process of mapping the deeds for the land the cemetery is on and doing the title search to see who had the original deed for this land. That should give us a clearer picture.
Abbreviations:
FS- Field Stone
G - Granite
Weight- Is probably in pounds but, cannot say positively.
Names with an " * " - go to bottom of page, for more details about this person or grave.

(Transcribed & submitted by Sue Ashby)

EXPLANATIONS:
* No. 1 - Joseph Clark was the son of Enoch and Winnie Gunter Clark
* No. 2 - Nathan Thomas Clark was the son of Enoch and Winnie Gunter Clark
* No. 3. - This was an unnamed infant son of Bettie Clark Cole and Emerson Cole
* No. 4 - Some of the family 'thinks' that this was a neighbor's child that was buried here. The name unknown.
* No. 5 - Nathan Stedman Clark 1829 - 1906. Son of William & Susannah Bell Clark
He was called N.S. Sr.
* No. 6 - Bettie Wortham Clark, 1847 - 1914, wife of Nathan Stedman Clark
* No. 7 - The size of the Field Stone MAY indicate that this was a child's grave..
* No. 8 - Thomas Bell d. 1857. Son of Thomas Bell Jr. & Rebecca Hill Chapman, according to his tombstone. Grandson of Thomas and Mary Lasater Bell. He died before his father
The size of his tombstone leads me to believe he was a grown man, when he died.
* No. 9 - Thomas Bell ( Jr.) 1791-1861, son of Thomas Bell and Mary Lasater Bell
* No. 10 -Rebecca Hill Bell - d.1857. Since she and her son died in the same year, was it possible there was an epidemic of some sort?.
* No. 11-The size of the Field Stone indicates it MAY have been a child.
* No. 12- Nathan Thaddeus Clark b. 1890 d. 1892. A son of N.S. Clark Sr. & Bettie W. Clark
* No. 13 -George William Roberson Clark b.1876 - 1890. A son of N.S. Clark Sr & Bettie Clark
* No. 14 -Thomas Alexander Blackwell Clark 1880-1881. Son of N.S. Clark Sr. & Bettie Clark
* No. 15 - Field Stone size may indicate an unknown child.
* No. 16 -Possibly an unknown child.
* No. 17 - Enoch Clark 1827-1900, son of William & Susannah Bell Clark, husband of Winnie Gunter Clark
* No. 18 - Winnie Gunter Clark 1832 - 1895, wife of Enoch Clark
* No. 19 - Child of Fannie Clark Crane & Weldon Crane
* No. 20 - William E. Clark 1869-1934. Son of Enoch & Winnie Gunter Clark. Husband of Anna 'Fannie' Broadwell Clark.
* No. 21 -Infant of Fannie Clark Crane & Weldon Crane
* No. 22 - William Clark 1775 - 1851. (The Clark bible says he died Jan 6. 1852) Son of Alexander & Phoebe Jefferson Clark
* No. 23 - Susannah Bell Clark 1784 - 1870. Wife of William Clark and daughter of Thomas Bell Sr.
* No. 24 - Capt. Alexander Clark 1747-1783. Son of William Clark and Winnifred Webb Clark
Husband of Phoebe Jefferson Clark
* No. 25 - Phoebe Jefferson Clark abt 1744 - 1830. Daughter of Field Jefferson and Mary Frances (Robertson) Jefferson and Wife of Alexander Clark
* No. 26 through No. 31 are unknown graves with smaller stones
* No. 27 - This gravestone is large enough to be that of an adult.

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The family says that Fannie (Clark) Womble, b. 1815, d. 1891, wife of Thomas Womble, b. 1819, d. 1883, may be buried here. If so, her husband may have been, also. I find no record of their burial anywhere else in Chatham Co., and I know they died there. They never had children.
Also, one of the small graves may be that of the infant Alexander, 1809-1810 son of William & Susannah. The only one of their children, to die, young.
One child's grave is said to be that, of a child of, Elizabeth "Bettie" Clark Cole b. 23 Aug., 1859, d. 17 May 1940 & Larry Emerson Cole. b, 29 Jan. 1855 d. 19 Sept., 1937.
Bettie & Larry are buried at the Haywood Presbyterian Church Cemetery.
Bettie was the daughter of Enoch & Winnie Gunter Clark. Bettie & Emerson had 2 children, that I know of. One of their Children was was Leroy/Larry? Clark Cole b. 1879 ? d. ?? He may be buried here.
The other was Ella Ann Cole, b. 1878?, who married DeWitt A. Clark. They are buried at Haywood Presbyterian Church Cemetery, also.
 So, if anyone of you know anything about burials here. Please, Please let me know.
There is a Benjamin Clark mentioned as being buried here also. I know of one Benjamin Clark in the family but, do not know whether it is the same person, or not.

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 © 2002 to Present - Sue Ashby for the NCGenWeb Project