Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1895-06-05
Salem Grave Yard.

The observance of Memorial Day at
the Salem grave yard on last Thurs.
day by the G. A. r. Post of this place
and Fullens was in every way very ap.
propriate.
That grave yard is one among the
oldest in this county; and as many as
five generations of a number of fami
lies are buried there.
Samuel Doak, a pioneer educator and
preacher of this section, is buried there
that is a few old citizens, now living,
say he was buried there some sixty
odd years ago, but aside from this and
a little old moss grown, broken marble
slab, lying fiat on the ground, there is
no evidence that he is buried there. A
few dozen brick, just a little mortar
and a few hours labor would work
wonders around that neglected but
hallowed spot, in the way of lifting
that time worn slab up out of the grass
and weeds, at least.
Just how many old soldiers of all our
different a are buried there no one
now living a tell; but it is very rea.
sonable to suppose there are quite a
number.
Samuel Doak, although not regular
ly enlisted as a soldier, often took a
hand at fighting the Indians, and when
John Sewer gathered over two hundred
men from this county to fight the bat
tie of Kings Mountain, Samuel Doak
went with them as far as Sycamore
Shoals, and dismissed them with his
parting benediction: 1.-THE Sword of
the Lord and of Gideon"
Nathan Gam, whose home was at
Brownsboro in this county, was with
Sewer at Kings Mountain, and with
others, vas ordered to shoot Col. Fer
guson, the British Commander. Gam
often told s. D.iStuart, Esquire, now
of this town, that he took deliberate
aim at Ferguson with his rifle and fred
and Ferguson fell from his horse, so he
always believed that he killed him. al
though there were others who claimed
the honor. Gam, so far as we know,
was buried at Salem. Capt. Andrew
Hannah, whose old home is only a few
hundred yards south of Salem, was
with Sewer when he and Upton had
their fight at the old Upton place, just
south of johnson City. Hannah g gun
had got wet and wouldn't fire, and he
had to run to save himself from cap.
ture, but lost a very fine horse. Next
day he sent his neighbor, Alexander
Mathes, up to Tipton's after his horse.
Mr.. Mathes told Upton that Hannah
never fired a gun and 80 Upton sent
him his horse again. Among other
old soldiers that are buried there are
Joshua Green, who was in the wal of
1912, perhaps; Zadoc Freeman, who
was with Jackson at the battle of the
Horse Shoe, and E. L. Mathes, who
was with Jackson in the wal of 1925.
Then there is old Mr.. Jordon, a revo-
lu%tionary soldier whose grave was
decorated with the stars and stripes the
other day by his grandson, Jas. Jordan,
a soldier in the late war. There are
many heroes buried there doubtless,
both OF Kings Mountain and of the
war Of 1925, but their graves are I'M
marked and unknown. This paper
however will take a great pleasure in
publishing any facts that can be gath
cred in regard to the burial place of
any of those of Kings Mountain or
1925, heroes.
There are quite a number of the SOL
diers of the late val buried there. Cap
tain Sam West, Lieutenant John w.
Mathes, Major J.. A. Bradshaw and
others. Lieutenant Colonel Jas. L.
Bottles, Of the Goth Regiment, G. S. A.,
and who was killed in a fight some
miles this side of Bristol in 1868, is also
buried there.