More from Rough Edge! Amazing old homesite and we finally found that old cemetery…… there is a lot of history in these hills. And boy those leaves sure are loud…. PayPal Tip Jar: www.paypal.me/rwrightphotography Mail: Sidestep Adventures PO BOX 206 Waverly Hall, Georgia 31831 Follow me on my old farm: ru-vid.com/show-UC56vh2L-M0czmoTRLhSMaxg Support us on Patreon: Patreon.com/SidestepAdventures
James had a son named James Jefferson Crawford. He was born in 1833 and is buried at Sardis Methodist Church cemetery in Talbot county. His obituary lists the age of his father at 100 and his grandmother at 115, WOW!! Edit: John Maston Crawford was another son of James. He's buried up the road from Waverly Hall near Shiloh at Fellowship Primitive Baptist.
I did a quick look and in 1870 5 people were living in that house one male (James he was 98) and 4 Females. Mary Crawford (78) , Martha Crawford (48), Elizabeth Crawford (36), Nancy East (19).
@@onie4024 Its easy.... If you have a first and last name and a date of birth and a location Ancestry will find any info that may be out there 9 times out of 10.
@@powderriver2424 IDK what to tell you. I have no issues with it at all. I have been able to trace my family all the way back to 1071 in England. I also have no issue finding anybody I look for doing research from vids like these and others.
I think you should start a graveyard cleaning business and it all be voluntary. I would love to clean up all the forgotten cemeteries. The people deserve respect no matter who they are.
A local Boy Scout did research and found a very old forgotten cemetery along a road in someone’s back yard! The graveyard was only steps from the house but so overgrown the people living there had no idea there were over 50 graves in their backyard. Two of the graves were the founders of a nearby town.
I was thinking the same thing! Times were hard back then just to live! Somebody took care of him with love to live that long! Hunting, having chickens and fishing was your meat source! Chopping wood for heat!
Robert it is sites like these that make you wonder more about the people who lived there. As your friend said they must have been dirt poor but they had fantastic ethics and morals. I would think those markers of the children were not cheap to obtain yet they were beautiful and honoured the children in the highest fashion. Good decent folks. May they forever Rest In Peace knowing that someone like yourself is taking the time to acknowledge and document their time there. Thank you Robert for finding them. God bless.
Wow !....To make it to almost 100 years old in those days? And then there were so many Children that didn't see their 1st birthday. I really enjoyed this episode...Dan is easy to listen to... Take care guys.
I'm so glad you guys found that old cemetery. I hope you can bring that 96 year old up there to see it! So many babies and children are buried there. I wonder how many lived.
In America in 1800 462.89 out of 1,000 children did not survive until their 5th birthday that's 46%. By the 1830's(when some of the children in this cemetery died) it had decreased to 447.87 per 1,000 kids under 5 ( 45%) Thank God for modern medicine and vaccines.
Great cemetery find Robert. I recommend you boys go and get the old man and bring him to his family's cemetery as soon as possible. It will most likely be one of the high light's of his life.
Thank you for doing this. It's nice that the cemeteries you find give these people their names back to the public and maybe their families that didn't know where they were buried
@Beth Jackson Well said Beth. Until this visit their names have probably not been spoken in a very long time. I 'd like to think heard and know they're no longer forgotten. There are some very sad stories resting there.
Very sad to see the names and dates and,as a mother, think about the woman who brought all these children into the world,. She must have rocked those precious infants in her arms beside that very fireplace .. There were others who she kept to love a few years longer and others, not buried or grave not discovered yet here. I wonder how many children she and her husband had altogether? I have a friend who researches her family history and she says that when you think of the departed and speak their name, they know and they “take a breath”. .Well, now it is a very good thing that you have discovered the Crawford family cemetary and you will hopefully bring the living descendant to out to see it. and other family members will learn of it.
Can you imagine how long it took to dig that well!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Born 1773! 100 years old!!! Amazing. A lot of young Crawford children...sad. Awesome video.
Oh my goodness to walk back to a time, space and place that meant so much to that family. Dan you are so mesmerizing and a great historian. Thank you Robert well done!
Great video and great story telling. Really brought me back in time and I could envision what the lives of the Crawfords were like. I wonder if they have living descendants? Thanks.
Yes, gentlemen the stories of the families that settled this country are amazing. The stamina some of them had to travel so far,some of them on foot. In KY it is written in books the trees were so thick and huge, only one person at a time could pass through them, families lived in them...they lived in rock shelters,raised children there. But unfortunately a lot of children died along the way. But the people kept moving toward a promise of betterment. My ancestors were some of them,mostly farmers. They ate game,and fish,grew corn,ground it themselves. We have a site in our county of an old mill built not too long after people left Boonesboro in a settlement built by Capt. Billy Bush,there is a rock church there with gun ports in the walls,they were still fighting Indian attacks. There is a cemetery behind the church. Hard to believe sometimes that was just 5 generations ago. America is still fighting for a better way. Thanks for the walk on that mountain in GA. it has seen a lot,too. And you are remembering a family that tried.👍💞💞💞Love from KY.
So sad. So many babies died so young. And young children. What heartbreak for their parents over and over. So pleased that you found the cemetery finally. What incredible hystory you have uncovered Robert and Dan. Dan is such a wealth of information that its a good thing that you are documenting him and all his knowledge so one day they won’t say “he knew so much it’s shame that no one documented it”. Thank you so much. Donna/Michigan
If you walk around old cemeteries you see lots of children’s graves from the early 1900’s back. Chances are the same was with your family members back then. The death rate of children was high. Recall graves in a western Kansas cemetery dating from the 1870’s with the graves of three young boys ranging from 6 - 10 years old from the same family that died within days of each other. To this day I can’t imagine the pain and anguish that their pioneer Mom & Dad went through. A truly hard life.
@@edwarddesoignie1194 Infant and child death is the main reason life expectancy was so low, back then. If you lived past childhood, odds are that you were going to live around as long as we live, now.
You'll notice on these graves as well as other cemeteries from that era, the babies that died young typically died the summer after they were born. A common reason for that was what was called "summer complaint". When a baby was weaned they were switched to a diet that contained milk straight from the cow - if the family had one. Or milk was purchased from someone who did. Milk spoils quickly in warm weather if not refrigerated. When fed to babies it would cause severe dysentery. Back then, no antibiotics, IV fluids, there was nothing that could be done to stop the vomiting and diarrhea and the baby died. My maternal grandfather lost a baby sister to summer complaint. She was born in November of 1899 and died in August of 1900. I had an old medical text book from the 1880s that said if a baby was born alive (many weren't) 10% would die in the first month, 25% would die before the age of 5 and an additional 25% would not make it to adulthood.
@@edwarddesoignie1194 I grew up in a rural town in northern Wisconsin. We lived across the street from the local cemetery. When I was a teenager I walked over there one day and was just looking at some of the gravestones. One family group was located in the oldest part of the cemetery, right on the roadway. It was a mother, aged about 30, and to the right of her grave were the graves of her six children, ranging in age from a baby to a boy of 10. They all died within 3 days in July of 1874. At the end of the row was the father. He died five years after his family was wiped out. He wasn't even 40. In the local library I found a book titled "The History of Barron County", published in 1920. I looked through it and found a one sentence reference that there had been an outbreak of typhoid in the county in July of 1874 and many people died. So I assume that is what took this family.
Great explore Robert and Dan. That fireplace must have been huge. Scary, deep well to have unmarked out in the woods. Sad, so many children in the cemetery, life waS so hard in those days. Thanks for taking the time to read their names
The fireplaces had to be huge back then. It was their heat and cooking source. Most families always had a pot of beans or stew over the fireplace simmering all the time. My great grandpa told me so many stories of our family and how they lived when I was young. Wish I would have recorded everything. But he passed when I was 12. And many of the stories are gone with him, all but a few bits and pieces that I remember.
More great stories from Dan. All of the manual labor it took to survive, always amazing. Yes, WWII and after, so many people left their old home place for work, and never regained true happiness, no matter the money made or circumstances. The land and a home place anchors your soul and the ties can never be severed. More children's graves, always the most sad. Wow, how great would it be taking Mr. Ben to the Crawford cemetery?! Another Great episode of/from Rough Edge!!
Robert I love to adventure with you (and other Robert) when you happen to find a cemetery that you didn't know was there. I also love to listen to Dan tell the stories of the people who use to live there, he is such a great historian and story teller. Great find! Can't wait to see the follow up video when you bring Dan's friend to visit. Keep up the Great Work! Love from Canada
Robert & Dan, Thank you for all of the sights that you bring to us. There’s so much history in your part of the country that we here in the north no nothing about , which is shameful. At the ripe old age of 75 years I have learned so much about your state of Georgia. People like the two of you are just the best.
My grandparents lived the house that our ancestors built in 1803. They had a hand dug well with a bucket on a rope and their was a cup that the original family kept along side that well so that if you got thirsty will lugging water to the house you could help yourself.. This property reminds me of that property. Houses from that era almost always had a one room log cabin,with a dug well on 1 side & a outhouse on the opposite,& usually they had their own family cemetery where they buried the homesteaders. I don’t know exactly where you filmed this but this was a typical set up from around that time.
Loved this video. I live Crawford park Alstonville NSW Australia. This land was the farm of William Ambrose Crawford. There is so many surnames of the graves you find that are the same as early settlers of this area. Can’t help but wonder if they were related! Love your videos.
So much important family information contained in that cemetery. I noticed that Crawford family trees online are missing death dates and details for the children that passed. I hope someone connected to the family sees this video and visits the cemetery to record the information before it is lost. Thank you so much for sharing.
I really enjoy your videos. Please cover that open well! What if someone bring their kids exploring and has no idea that is there. Kids often run carelessly here and there. Besides, animals may fall in an be unable to escape.
Robert, this series that you are doing with your friend Dan has been fascinating. That man has so much historical information in his mind it is amazing. Thank you for taking us along. It's always so sad to see so many children's graves. I wonder if any Crawfords lived to adults.
I love doing this kind of work. There's so much history out in the woods across the country. So many stories that accompany that history as well. I like finding people that people thought they would never find. It's joyous to me.
Enjoying the videos. thanks for the time and effort. hint: my wife helped a group record the graves in black cemeteries in central TX. They used shaving cream and a stiff (not wire) brush to make the inscriptions more visible.
I think of what lie was like for the people that originally lived in that area and the hardships they endured. I picture people dressed in their "Sunday go to meetin' clothes" shedding tears as they said good bye at the graveyard to their loved ones, especially their children.
Thank you, gentlemen for taking us on this adventure! A wealth of history in those mountains! I'm like y'all, I'd rather traipse around old homesteads than go on a cruise. When I found some fascinating family history of my own, I told my dad we owe it to those before us to tell their story!
Good job gentlemen, for finding the cemetery & the names of some who lived & died there.For reading aloud their names. My father was from a similar hillside in eastern KY.,born in 1911.He told me of a Christmas in his childhood when he received an orange.
Great video and series in Rough Edge. This is the third video in this area that it looks like you passed an Indian Trail Tree (marker tree). In this one, you can see a trail tree at the beginning, at around 15 seconds, to the right of Dan. The tree is bent with sharp angle pointing towards the ground and you can see a small knob at the tip. I believe it’s a ceremonial marker tree, pointing to a grave site. Very interesting area!
Family is from east Tennessee, I was amazed at how many cemeterys were hid in the woods. Some long forgotten, stones so old that they were wore down couldn't make out much, others kept up and cared for, but so far off the path you really had to know where to look.
Cemeteries from that time bring to front all the blessing we have to day. Seeing one family that lost so many young children in such a short period should remind us how gracious God has been to us as a people. Thanks for sharing
Where in the world has the other Robert been? Sure hope he's alright and really miss the two Roberts together- Btw, the Christmas tree in the old Byrd house was absolutely beautiful-
I enjoy listening to Mr. Dan’s stories and commentary. It reminds me of sitting and listening to my late daddy tell me his tales of West Virginia. Thank you.
I love seeing all these old abandoned homes lot of history. I wish I could find some here in Boston. The families holidays fun times in these old homes. Wish we could take a glimpse of what it was like back then. Simple easy times
That's amazing, I love old homes, things, and history. When I was younger my cousin and I were hiking way down off of Mt Mitchell and found the remains of an old log cabin. The only thing about this graveyard was so many children who died so young, it's sad and life must have been so hard.
What people? Nobody lives there. Nobody. You can not believe it. This is in the middle of nowhere and you need 4 wheel drive to get there! It's like if a tree falls and no one is around does it make a noise? It's that remote.
@@forecon11 They are there.,so anybody could wind up messing around in that area. Not to mention the likelihood that animals have died because of falling in. Needs to be filled in or covered over with something. It's stupid to leave it like that
I'm glad that y'all found the gravesite but it's so sad that so many babies and children are laid there. Great job on this one Robbie. Thanks so much. PS I seen the well on your TikTok lol please see if you or Dan can get it covered up 🥺😕
What an awesome video. The craftsmanship in that long-standing chimney. And the wonderful cemetery! So glad you guys found it and, in your always respectful way, a few of those names were spoken again. It’s just amazing how many children were lost at such early ages, heartbreaking. I’m 73 years old, and the dignity you grant to these folks and the respect you show to them and their resting places speaks to the kind of person you are, Robert. So you, in turn, have my utmost respect. You’re a good man, Charlie Brown.
It is so wonderful you were able to find the cemetery! The gentleman who is in his 90s and a descendant of the Crawfords, would you be able to film an interview of him? It would be wonderful to hear what he knows. I hope he will be able to the cemetery soon.
I love that you do this, just wish you lived in Pennsylvania where my family was from. I've done Genealogy for 40 years, and as the searcher of my family's history this would make my day. Your giving back lost family to someone that might be searching themselves. To you it might a walk in the woods, to me it's priceless.
You earned a new subscriber with this one! How very interesting . This was the true meaning of “the homestead “ when families had roots, and stories passed from generation to generation! Nowadays you are lucky if they know their grandparents or if they stay in 1 place more than a year or 2 . This was a difficult life, but it was a Home to many♥️
LOVED this video!! I want to see more of this old settlement site, and hope that Mr. Crawford is not too elderly to make it to the now discovered cemetery. It would be fascinating to hear his stories! Sidenote: do you all ever place logs across open wells? We always did this, over the years, whenever we came across them, and just used with several logs. We know they would rot, still it helps to cover those huge dangerous holes. And do you ever use surveyors tape tied to trees to mark? No need to reply. God bless!
Yeah Robert, you should carry logs around in the back of your jeep to cover old wells up. I carry them around in the bed of my truck right next to the nuke bomb defusers. It's so practical. You wouldn't want the great population of Rough Edge wondering off into wells.
I live in an old coal town and during the big mine strikes, the miners were digging on their own. Many of the air shafts were just covered with logs when they were done with them. Now they are death traps. The logs are rotted, but are choked with leaves over the top. Better to be able to see the holes.
I found an old fireplace and chimney when hunting in West Virginia. It is pretty high up sitting on a shelf of rock with a small spring. I always thought it was a trappers cabin because it is nothing but rock there. It may have burned. A lot of wooded areas burned off a couple times. I was in the hills of Georgia and found a half dozen graves that were nothing but stone piles. It was near a gap and could have been "Movers".
This is really fascinating. The person lived to be 100 in the 1800's. I can't imagine that being too common in those days. He was born before the Declaration of Independence was signed.
James Crawford lived through Washington and Lincoln's presidencies. From the horse and the written word to fast, transcontinental travel, The Victrola, and almost instant communication through the telegraph, and photography. He missed the telephone by just 2 years. That had to be bewildering for the old guy, if he experienced it all. That was a lot of change, even for a century of life.
I got kinda nervous traipsing around with y'all looking for that well 😉 Dan kinda knew where it was .. thank goodness. Then wow y'all found the cemetery .. awesome!! Man they sure had a lot of children die at early ages, many if I heard you correctly Robbie in 1857. Maybe cholera .. that era is when a third wave took place. Hopefully y'all can figure how to get the elder up there thru the woods to the cemetery. Ohh a side by side would definitely work. Can't wait to see that vid. Would b very cool to see him visiting his fam there. Bet he has some stories to tell☺️
You can add GPS map coordinates, photos and grave site info to the find a grave web page. The thirteen graves listed are probably the only identifiable graves and they don't have a map or location for the cemetery.
Thanks for sharing. Old wells are scary. I’ve run into them on old abandoned farmstead in wooded-over public hunting areas. One I recall has covered by rotted-over boards and leaves that had fallen over the years and could’ve been stepped on. Could have resulted in a life-ending event.
This is wonderful! To explore this cemetery, with so many young children buried here, then to return with the 95 year old descendant later. Those stones are lovely.
This is amazing Robert. So happy you found this old cemetery. It is sad to see all the children that died so young. I also love hearing Dan's stories about all the history of this area. Dan has a very calming voice. Great job Robert and Dan 👍
That last thrown rock made 4 bumps so I'm guessing 40 feet Plus? I got dizzy just looking from my laptop! What a sweet but sad story. Kids died so young back then.
What a meaningful adventure! Thank you so much for sharing that! I can hardly imagine how it was and anybody could’ve dug a Deep well like that by hand in a mountain. Blows my mind. I sure hope you guys thought to put up something over around that hole to keep somebody from falling into that unawares and might be just up there getting away the same as you were, but maybe by themselves.
Hi Robert and gang they were hard working families to survive back then early settlement it's amazing there names are still around today it's great to hear the history of the area nice to listen to the old stories of the early settlers thanks again folks 😀 👍 😊 Andrew south wales uk 🇬🇧
Excellent. The history there is amazing. If people would stop and think how far we've come since then, and compare our lives today to back then... wow.
Thank you for doing this - the world needs to be reminded of this history. We are living in a world I don't really understand anymore, and I was only born in 1980, but have seen things change SO much. Thank you again and I will try to promote your videos as much as I can!
Wow...If anyone can find an old cemetery, it's you. I hope you are able to get the elderly gentleman up there to see it. Ill take those crunching leaves any day! Thank you for the trip!
I'm a new subscriber and I get so emotional over found "lost cemeteries. Great Historical Finds, I hope you guys go back and try to clean up the headstones with some water and brushes, and cement the stones back together? Is there a way that you can fence them in an small enclosed area, and take pics and post them on find a grave, or use the app Billion graves?? That app will actually mark them with GPS coordinates when you take the picture of each stone. Great legacy to leave for future generations to know the location of these precious graves.
Robert and Dan, Well said by both of you! We rarely think of how short life was in those days, we take modern medicine for granted. Dan, You are lucky to have had a Dad who told you stories of the past, oral history is so important and you are passing it on to us! Cheers, Rik Spector