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    Fairmont's Cemeteries
    Fairmont's Cemeteries
    Fairmont's Cemeteries
    Ebook149 pages43 minutes

    Fairmont's Cemeteries

    By Gena D. Wagaman

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    About this ebook

    Founded in 1820 by Boaz Fleming, Fairmont, West Virginia, is located midway between Morgantown and Clarksburg. It is the seat of Marion County, which was formed in 1842 from Harrison and Monongalia Counties. During its heyday in the early 20th century, Fairmont was home to 100 millionaires who prospered in the town largely because of the coal fields, which were connected to the Eastern Seaboard
    markets by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Today Fairmont is undergoing a renaissance and looks forward to continued growth while retaining its unique history.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateAug 1, 2007
    ISBN9781439617694
    Fairmont's Cemeteries
    Author

    Gena D. Wagaman

    Gena D. Wagaman has lived in West Virginia for the past 18 years, the last two in Fairmont. She holds a master of arts degree from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She also serves as the director of the Fairmont City Cemetery Restoration Project, which seeks to restore a 19th-century cemetery abandoned for 75 years. Through her research into the lives of the individuals interred in that cemetery, Gena D. Wagaman has begun to make connections to living descendants and to help the community regain a small part of its history.

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      Book preview

      Fairmont's Cemeteries - Gena D. Wagaman

      too.

      INTRODUCTION

      This is not meant to be an all-inclusive look at every cemetery in and around Fairmont, West Virginia. Rather it is a look at a chronological timeline through selected cemeteries to tell the story of Fairmont’s history. By recovering the history of the individuals interred in small, forgotten cemeteries sprinkled across the landscape, the history of our country and its place in world events can also be recovered. By pursuing such an undertaking, we will broaden our scope and deepen our knowledge of our sense of self and the true diversity needed to bring us where we are today. I hope you enjoy the journey as I did.

      One

      THO’ SOFT YOU TREAD ABOVE ME

      Death is a part of life. Every culture has dealt with the need to dispose of human remains, and each has chosen a unique way of doing so. Whether someone is sent on the journey to the other side with all the accoutrements needed to make the trip or is buried in their Sunday best is dependent on time, place, religion, and cultural mores. Exposure, mummification, cremation, and burial under dirt or stone all are ways humans have honored their dead. In early-21st-century, postmodernist America, cemeteries are the way to go. Land set aside for the express purpose of burying the dead, cemeteries are much more. How, why, and where the dead are buried is predicated on religious beliefs and sanitation department issues.

      Cemeteries are sacred places that have long been associated with churches. The ground is sanctified and may only accept the mortal remains of those whose souls have been saved. Anyone whose actions in life are not sanctioned by any given church will not be given space within its fold. As cities grew and the numbers of residents far outstripped the confines of the urban churchyard, burial grounds and burying ceremonies became more commercialized. (Courtesy of the Marion County Historical Society.)

      Beginning in the mid- to late 19th century, the rural cemetery movement established cemeteries outside urban areas, laying them out like parks and encouraging visits with deceased relatives and picnics. This is a view of Woodlawn Cemetery taken in the late 19th century. Although the cemetery would not have a planned landscape until the 1920s, this view shows the winding roadways, lush foliage, and tranquil setting that became valued in cemeteries. The tall obelisk to the left of center is that of Gov. Aretas Brooks Fleming. (Courtesy of Diane Hutchinson Parker.)

      Cemeteries are also repositories of history. This stone details Andrew Fleming’s move from Delaware to Virginia in 1788. The iconic image of a weeping willow attests to the family’s grief. The stonecutter adds an additional element to the value of this stone. Allison Fleming, Andrew’s great nephew by marriage, was a master marble cutter, and examples of his work can be found in four of the cemeteries profiled. (Photograph taken by the author.)

      Cemeteries are also valued by genealogists. This table stone details the lives and accomplishments of several generations of one family. Begin with the name and dates on a stone, a place of origin or death, and perhaps a relationship detail such as wife, husband, or child. Record that information, and go to the county courthouse. Those crumbs of information can lead to a cache of data that can lead back several generations. (Photograph taken by the author.)

      Statuary used as grave markers makes the cemetery an outdoor art gallery. Angels, doves, lambs, and flowers are all things that can be found in a cemetery. (Photograph taken by the author.)

      This is an interesting grouping of architectural forms. Was this planned, or is it a fortuitous happenstance? Given the men’s social position, economic well being, and the fact that all three guided the growth the city of Fairmont and the state of West Virginia politically, socially, and economically, the former is more likely than the latter. The Sylvanus Lamb Watson Mausoleum in the foreground is built in a neoclassical style, while the obelisk of Gov. A. B. Fleming harks back to the Egyptian culture. The oversized cross of James Edwin Watson has lilies carved around its

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