WILLIAM WELLMON GRAVEYARD This cemetery located in Cleveland County, N.C. in No. 9 Township on the west side of the north prong of Magness Creek and on west side of said William Wellmon old plantation, later owned by Pink Petty and now owned by Alonzo Royster, being about one mile east of Philadelphia Colored Church and about one and a half mile southwest of Fallston. Until 1938 the graveyard was completely neglected, grown up in bushes and undergrowth, and containing many large oak trees. The cemetery appears to have originally been about 60 x 60 fee with White people buried on the North and West side with soapstone markers with large flat rocks stuck in the ground around each White grave. I am informed by Mr. James Cline, Atty., who lives near the site, that along the south side of the graveyard some 25 or 30 Negroes were buried. During the year of 1938 this cemetery lot was cleared off by the owner, Mr. Alonzo Royster, and is now in cultivation with the exception of the White graves herein blow mentioned. All Negro graves have been plowed over. Data per P. Cleveland Gardner: Said William Wellmon was the progenitor of the Wellmon family in Cleveland County. He was born in Maryland and his mother's name was Katy Wellmon; the name of his father is not known. His mother was married a second time to a man named Mr. Geo. Riley in Virginia, and following said marriage they moved to Alabama. Young Wellmon stopped on the way in present community of Waco where he hired himself as a farm hand. He married Miss Rebecca Moss of the same community, the daughter of a Baptist minister. He served in the Rev. War, settled just north of said graveyard. His second wife was Miss Preshy Williams of Catawba County. Children by his first wife were William Wellmon, Wilkins Wellmon, Polly Wellmon, Nancy Wellmon, and Elizabeth Wellmon, children by his second wife were, Catherine Wellmon John F. Wellmon, Olavine Wellmon, and Silas Wellmon, William Wellmon lived a long life. He owned some sixteen hundred acres of land between Fallston and Beams Mill. Hi will was filed of record and probated I Cleveland county in 1857. Following the death of John F. Wellmon, his widow (before her marriage was Miss Huldah Beam), was married to Samuel Dalton and they moved to Mattoon in Coles County, Illinois. Enoch Wellmon was a son of Wilkins Wellmon and was married twice: his second wife, Elizabeth Cornelia Haney Wellmon, told me that she had the markers erected at graves of Wilkins Wellmon and wife, Mary Wellmon; that the date of birth of Mary Wellmon given on the marker is wrong, and that the maker of the marker intended to correct the mistake but never did. She says or said the inscription is wrong because the date of birth of Wilkins Wellmon and his wife are inscribed the same year. The first reunion of the William Wellmon family was held at Zion Baptist Church four miles northwest of Shelby on Sunday, October 21, 1934, and annually thereafter except in 1938. Members of the klan have long planned to remove all of the above mentioned graves of White people of the family to Pleasant Grove Baptist Church on State Highway between Shelby and Fallston, which new section of said church cemetery is on the land conveyed by said William Wellmon to his daughter, Catherine Wellmon Williams. Plans under consideration are to re-inter all in one lot and erect one large marker with proper inscriptions, etc. Said Huldah Beam was a daughter of Andrew Beam who ran a corn mill on Buffalo Creek southeast of Fallston, now known as the old Mike Baker mill place. Date of survey: April 12, 1939 Worker: Forrest Williams and A. G. Melton The following diagram represents a plat of said graveyard with graves numbered and named: WEST __________________________________________________________ ! : ! ! : 1 2 3 4 ! ! In this : _____ _____ _____ _____ ! ! section some : ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 25 or 30 : ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Negro Slaves : ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! are buried, : !-------! !-------! !--------! !------! ! SOUTH ! with markers : 5 6 ! NORTH ! removed and : _____ ______ ! ! ground in : ! ! ! ! ! ! cultivation. : ! ! ! ! ! ! : !-------! !--------! ! ! : 9 10 ! ! : ______ ______ 7 8 ! ! : ! ! ! ! _____ ______ ! ! : ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! : !--------! !----------! ! ! ! ! ! ! : !-------! !---------! ! ! : 11 ! ! : _____- ! ! : ! ! ! ! : ! ! ! !___________________________________ !-------!__ ______________ ! EAST Grave No. 1: Wellmon, Infant, of William Wellmon and his first wife, Rebecca Moss Wellmon (No marker) Grave No. 2: Wellmon, Rebecca Moss, first wife of William Wellmon (No marker) Grave No. 3: "Wellmon, William, Gilchrist's No. 9 Va. Regt. Rev. War." (Govt. Marker) (Pieces of a broken soapstone marker to this grave cannot be read. I am informed by P. Cleveland Gardner, a great, great grandson, who copies the marker some ten years ago, says that it contained the following inscription: "William Wellmon, born march 12, 1763, Died September 5,1857.") Grave No. 4: Wellmon, Preshia Williams, second wife of William Wellmon (No marker) Grave No. 5: Wellmon, Wilkins, b. Aug. 31, 1793, d. Jan. 19, 1852. Aged: 58 years, 4 mos., 18 days. Grave No. 6: Wellmon, Mary, wife of Wilkins Wellmon, b. June 13, 1793, d. Sept. 11, 1875. Aged 82 years, 2 mos., 28 ds. Grave No. 7: Contains no marker. But I am informed by P. Cleveland Gardner that it is the grave of Silas Wellmon, a young son of William Wellmon and his first wife, Rebecca Moss Wellmon. Grave No. 8: Wellmon, John F. Co. F. 34 N.,C. Inf. C.S.A. Grave No. 9: Contains no marker. But I am informed by Billie Williams, a brother, that it is the grave of an infant son of his parents, Hugh Williams and wife, Catherine Wellmon Williams. Grave No. 10: Williams, Hugh, b. Jan. 21, 1834, d. Nov. 10, 1862 Grave No. 11: No marker. I am informed by said Billie Williams that this grave is that of an infant child named Spake, whose parents lived on the Wellmon farm. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * This cemetery is among the many Cleveland cemeteries included on the Cleveland Count WPA Cemeteries CD, copyrighted 2008, by Ann K. Propst and Derick S. Hartshorn. All listings and cemeteries listings were made prior to 1940 and represent the conditions of that time. All information has been donated to the NCGenWeb Project but authors retain copyright protection under law. It may be referenced and briefly exerpted under the universal fair use doctrine. For a copy of the complete Cleveland County WPA Cemetery Survey CD, see http://www.hartshorn.us/CWPA.htm