July 2009 - Scvportland.org

Page 6 Volume 4, Issue 7Confederates Remembered: Nathan B. Whitfield & James M. FrazerGrave of Capt. Whitfield prior to cleaning.her. The newly located daughter’s grave was about five-inches below the surface,and peeled off of the grave stone like an old carpet, leaving a negative imprint on theunderside of the removed piece of sod. That’s a pretty bad drainage issue with aboutan inch of silt and dirt built-up each decade, and completely covering over somegraves and pushing others several feet away entirely off of their concrete bases!In the end, with the limited manpower and tools on hand, and the rain, we decidedthat the best option for now was to just make all of the markers visible and clean.What needs to happen now is another trip out to the cemetery with the right equipmentto place the loose markers in concrete, back in their original locations and in anice straight line. The cemetery has already OK’d this.While out at the cemetery, a nice lady named Kate Follen who happens to be on thecemetery board along with her sister Mary, stopped by to chat with us. She was veryhappy to see someone out at the cemetery cleaning. The cemetery is completely nonprofit,has no employees or money, and relies solely on volunteers for maintenanceand upkeep. Kate advised us that it would be perfectly all right for us to dig up andmove the markers as we saw fit, as well as to place the markers in concrete. In addition,Kate mentioned that she would like to try and put together a class or workshopsomeday about howbest to clean oldgrave markers andNewly found grave of Capt. Whitfield’s oldest daughter, Medora.by Brent Jacobs(continued from page-1) -- several feet from where theywere originally placed, as they were installed near thebottom of a fairly large slope. It was then decided thatwe should continue clearing enough of the dirt so thatwe could uncover all of the original bases. In doing so,another Whitfield family member was discovered!There are now five Whitfield’s known to be buriedthere. Three grave stones in a line in the Whitfield familyplot, and then a few feet in front of them on the rightside of the plot was a newer Whitfield grave of a KoreanWar veteran, presumably a grandson. In the line ofWhitfield’s, Capt. Nathan Bryan Whitfield lies on theright, his wife Medora Whitfield is in the center, and ayoung daughter lies buried on the left. We discoveredthat the oldest daughter, Medora A. Whitfield namedafter her mother, was buried directly in front of hermother, and hermarker lies only afoot or so in front ofCompatriot Zane Jacobshow to set them in concrete. The light-bulbs went offin Brent and Dan’s heads as we either know how to doeverything in that regard, or know someone who does.This is a terrific opportunity for our Camp to get somegreat positive exposure, make new friends, help out ourcommunity, and advertise our cause.We need to not only follow through with the job westarted with the Whitfield’s graves, but absolutely needto follow through with the cemetery workshop idea.It’s too great to pass up! Anyone who wishes to beinvolved, help teach, or knows someone or some resourcesthat would be helpful in this endeavor shouldcontact Brent at their earliest convenience. NathanBryan Whitfield was born in Lenoir County, North