Ward Cemetery

Ward Cemetery is not the same cemetery as the Cedar Grove Cemetery.  The Ward, WV, post office has been closed for many years and the mailing address for this area is now Cedar Grove, WV.  There are four separate cemeteries in the Cedar Grove mailing address area.  Ward Cemetery and Mount Lewis Cemetery are located approximately 0.3 miles apart in an unincorporated area of Kanawha County, West Virginia, approximately one mile northeast of the town limits of Cedar Grove.  Mount Lewis Cemetery is also known as the Mammoth Cemetery.  Woodland Cemetery and Virginia's Chapel Church Cemetery (also known as the Little Brick Church) are located within the town limits of Cedar Grove, WV, across the road from each other.   Two cemeteries are located on the Virginia's Chapel grounds. Local white residents are buried in one cemetery, and African-American slaves are buried in the other.  The Virginia's Chapel Church Cemetery is also known as Cedar Grove Cemetery in Kanawha County tax records.

Some death certificates found on the West Virginia Culture and History website only name Ward, WV, or Cedar Grove, WV, as the burial place instead of naming a specific cemetery.  This can make it difficult to determine which cemetery is the correct burial location for someone.  Many researchers assume if a death certificate says Ward, WV, or Cedar Grove, WV, as the burial place, it indicates burial in Ward Cemetery, but this is not always the case.  Mount Lewis Cemetery is also located in the Ward, WV, area and is within walking distance of Ward Cemetery (0.3 miles).  Some death certificates found on the West Virginia Culture and History website also name the burial place as Ward, West Virginia, and Cedar Grove, West Virginia, for people buried in Mount Lewis Cemetery.  Many years ago the Mount Lewis Cemetery was associated with the Mount Lewis Baptist Church.  The mailing address for this area of Kanawha County has been both Ward, WV and Cedar Grove, WV, at different times in the area's history.  Ward Cemetery and Mount Lewis Cemetery are both located outside of the Cedar Grove town limits, about one mile northeast of the town limits of Cedar Grove.

If the death certificate indicates the burial place is Cedar Grove, WV, without naming a specific cemetery, then there are four possible cemeteries that the person could have been buried in...Woodland Cemetery, Virginia's Chapel Cemetery, Ward Cemetery, and Mount Lewis Cemetery.  Woodland Cemetery and Virginia's Chapel Church Cemetery are both located within the Cedar Grove town limits.  So if only a burial place is listed on the death certificate without the name of a specific cemetery, then additional research (such as obtaining a headstone photo or obituary) would be necessary to confirm the correct burial location.

EXAMPLE:

Charlotte Shifflett - Death Certificate states burial place as Ward -  DEATH CERTIFICATE

Photo of Headstone in Mount Lewis Cemetery, not Ward Cemetery - HEADSTONE PHOTO

To add to the confusion, many years ago some families also buried loved ones in their yards in the town of Ward and not in any established cemetery.