An Old Family Cemetery at Risk: Preserving the Davis-Thomas Cemetery

Note: I used initials to identify people in this blog post for privacy reasons.

In February, I got a phone call from an unknown number. I knew by the area code that it was from South Carolina. I have some family there, so I answered it.

It was B, one of the people who helped my family and me find the Davis-Thomas Cemetery over a decade ago in the Hopkins area of Richland County, SC. You can read about it here: Finding John and Mary Davis.

After finding the Davis-Thomas Cemetery, I gave B information about the people that were buried there along with my contact information.

All these years later, B called to tell me that the large piece of privately-owned land where the cemetery sits had been sold to a developer who was building a very large housing community on the land. She thought I should know since my family’s cemetery is there.

We talked for a bit about who I needed to contact and what B had done already. She could only do so much since it’s not her family in the cemetery.

I went into action the next day.

I left a message for J at the SCDAH (SC Department of Archive and History). J returned my call and directed me to S at City Planning and Development and L at the Department of Natural Resources.

Things started happening after this.

City and Planning got the ball rolling on contacting the developer to make sure they knew about the cemetery.

L at Department of Natural Resources is creating a database of cemetery locations in South Carolina. He didn’t know of the Davis-Thomas Cemetery. With my information, he was able to go there, map it, and add it to the database.

L also suggested I call M at the Richland County Conservation Commission which I did. He works closely with M, so I expect they have shared information about the cemetery.

Soon after this I got an email from Planning and Development with a copy of the survey which shows the cemetery.

Planning and Development also suggested that I contact the developer directly to see what their plans are concerning the cemetery. (Yes, there are ordinances that give the minimum of what must be done. But perhaps the developer can be encouraged to go above and beyond that.)

It’s been four months since this started.

I’m not in a panic about this because B told me she contacted the developer herself who said it would be at least three years before they started on this newly acquired piece of land where the cemetery is.

Next steps

Before the summer is out, I will send an email and a written letter to the developer explaining who the people in the cemetery are to me and how important it is to me that this cemetery is protected as much as possible from those who find cemetery desecration fun.

The oldest stones in the cemetery are from many generations ago. They have sat undisturbed for all this time since they were on private property, and because almost no one knew the cemetery was there. That will change once this area is developed.

I don’t know how much good my efforts will do, but I will try.

And I will contact other cousins, some distant, who also trace back to those in this cemetery. Perhaps collectively we can make a difference in how the Davis-Thomas Cemetery is preserved.

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