One of the things that I like to do is visit cemeteries. Now that may seem odd to you but it is something I have been known to do for a very long time. When we visited Abingdon, Virginia, I had the perfect opportunity to take a little walk through history by visiting Sinking Spring Presbyterian Cemetery.

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There was a really nice brochure which we found after we walked around but it gave us some background information and was helpful. The Mound was the most predominant site in the cemetery– a grass covered mound encloses a stone tomb and it was built by John Henry Martin who was a wealthy farmer and carpenter. He had 3 wives and he. was buried here in 1899 with his second wife Malinda Lewis Ragsdale who died in 1893. Burial place of his first wife is unknown and his third wife who outlived him is buried elsewhere.

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The cemetery is what you would expect – filled with old markers and gravesites. Some are in really good condition and others not so much. I was drawn to a corner of the cemetery where the Unknown Confederate Dead were buried. It was sobering to see the freshly mown grass where about 30 soldiers lie. The information provided stated that the first burials were probably from a collision involving two troop trains. Other burials during the war were those who were injured or ill and left behind.

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The cemetery was large and as we walked around we looked at dates and names on the monuments.

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It was a peaceful place.

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I especially loved the tree above. What a beautiful tree to be buried beneath.

Finally we saw a very unique stone and I did some digging and found out some information about this.

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Woodmen of the World, which does business as Woodman Life, is a not-for-profit fraternal benefit society founded in 1890 in Omaha, Nebraska. It operates a large financial services and insurance company, offering members life insurance, annuities, investments, and community volunteer opportunities through local chapters. The unique markers on the graves of those who had policies was unique.When the Woodmen of the World was founded by Joseph Cullen Root, a burial and a grave monument were included free of charge as a benefit for members from 1890 and 1900. After that a fee was charged and later the markers were discontinued. The grave markers were often in the shape of a tree stump, an axe, or other symbols of the order.

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There is a lot of history here just waiting to be discovered. Thanks for sharing my walk through history today.