Ward Cemetery
Official Site
Kelleys Creek Road Near Cedar Grove
Kanawha County, West Virginia
NOTABLE HEADSTONES OF WARD CEMETERY
Coal camps such as Ward were giant melting pots of different races, nationalities, and ethnic groups. Ward Cemetery has never been segregated along racial, ethnic, or religious lines. Many headstones in Ward Cemetery tell the story of the immigrant workers who came to West Virginia to work in the mines. Coal miners, railroad workers, veterans, civic leaders, union organizers, homemakers, educators, descendants of pioneer families and religious leaders of different faiths all worked together in building the community and all rest together in Ward Cemetery. (Click on photo thumbnail to view larger photo. You may need to disable any ad blocking software or popup blockers.)
Pioneer Family
The William Morris family was the first white family to permanently settle the Kanawha Valley (Walter Kelly was killed by Indians several months before the Morris family arrived). In 1774 William Morris settled at the mouth of Kelly's Creek. Descendants of this pioneer family continue to live in the area & some are buried in Ward Cemetery. Some descendants claim that Virginia's Chapel in Cedar Grove was built over the grave of William Morris & the DAR has placed a marker there in his honor.
Hungarians
Hungarian miners were second only to Italians as the most numerous immigrant group to work in West Virginia coal mines after the turn of the 20th century. There are several headstones in Ward Cemetery inscribed in the Hungarian language (Magyar). Translated from Magyar to English, the above headstone reads:
Here Lies
Mrs. Steven Antal,
Barbara Fonagy
Born 1887 May 8
Died Nov 30, 1919
Quietly dream
Russians
Many of the Russian born coal miners came to West Virginia from the coal fields of Pennsylvania. Gregory Chirokoff was a coal miner born in 1876 in Moscow, Russia to Mr. and Mrs. Constantine Chirokoff. Gregory immigrated to the U.S. in 1906. At the time of his death in 1930, he had been living on Seng Creek Road in Garrison, Boone County, WV, and was working as a coal loader for Anchor Coal Company. He died from injuries sustained in a mining accident.
Veterans
Many veterans are also buried in Ward Cemetery. One of the most notable veteran's headstones is this Union Civil War headstone for Sergeant John D. Martin. John D. Martin was a Confederate soldier who served with the 44th Battalion, Virginia Cavalry, (Thurmond’s Partisan Rangers), so we are unsure as to why he was issued a Union headstone.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON FIRST SETTLERS WALTER KELLEY AND WILLIAM MORRIS
CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION ABOUT WARD CEMETERY BURIAL RECORDS