Upstate Cemetery Preservation Alliance of SC

11/04/2026

We received this video from Matthew Horne, who has been helping clean up several Greenville County cemeteries that have become overgrown over the years.
This is the Benson-Vaughn Cemetery on White Horse Rd. Following the cleanup on October 24th, Matthew returned again on Monday to mow and cut down some of the smaller trees.
We cannot thank Matthew enough for the time, hard work and dedication he has put into helping preserve these historic cemeteries. It takes people who truly care to make a difference and Matthew is certainly one of them.

10/26/2026

We want to extend a heartfelt Thank You to all the volunteers who came out last Saturday to help clean up the Benson-Vaughn Cemetery! Your time, hard work and dedication are greatly appreciated.
A special thank you to Matthew Horne and SCV Camp 36 for organizing the cleanup. We are so greatful to everyone who took the time to help care for this historic cemetery.
Matthew sent me some before and after pictures. The others were taken by Debbie Weeks who was able to be there.

10/23/2026

Great story from The State Newspaper about the work being done at Springwood Cemetery. We’re grateful to be mentioned in the article!

Springwood Cemetery in Greenvlle has about 2,000 unmarked graves. A mapping company found nearly 600 of them.

10/21/2026

The Cemetery is located on the corner of White Horse Rd. and Old Grove Rd.

10/15/2026

Yesterday, in Section V at Soringwood Cemetery, the discs were being installed to mark the 572 unmarked burials recently discovered through our GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar) project. The installation is almost complete, with the crew finishing up today.
We want to extend a heartfelt thank you to Jason Forister, owner of Nat Greene Landscape Co., for generously donating the labor to install these markers. We are so greatful for his support and willingness to help make this project a reality.
We also want to thank everyone else who played a part in helping us bring this project to completion. It has taken the support and generosity of several people to get to this point and we truly appreciate everyone of you.
This is a project that is very dear too our hearts. Section V represents an important part of Greenville history and being able to recognize these 572 individuals previously unmarked burials is something that means so much to us. Every life deserves to be remembered and we are thankful to everyone who has helped make this possible.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts 💕

10/14/2026

Debbie Weeks and Andrew Staton are presenting ia program about their work with the Upstate Cemetery Preservation Alliance of SC which operates out of Simpsonville, SC, to locate, document, clean, and map historic and family cemeteries in Upstate counties (including Greenville, Spartanburg, York, Laurens, Pickens, and Anderson), utilizing ground-penetrating radar (GPR)
Please join us October 18th at 3:00 pm at JudHub Innovation Center.

10/07/2026

Our second post on Evergreen Cemetery which is a fairly large cemetery and there is a lot to see. One of the things we like about visiting cemeteries like this is the incredible variety of headstones and monuments. You can spend quite a bit of time walking through the cemetery, looking at the different styles, inscriptions, symbols and of course, the names and stories behind the people buried there.
The cemetery dates back to at least 1841, and the Evergreen Cemetery Association was officially established in 1858. Even more interesting is that Evergreen is still an active cemetery, with burials continuing today.
A beautiful and heartbreaking monument in Evergreen Cemetery is that of Mary DeGraffenreid, daughter of Tcharner H. and Mary DeGraffenreid. Mary died in 1857 after accidentally burning to death while playing in the yard. She was just a young girl. Her monument is beautiful and one of the most photographed in the cemetery. Her monument depicts Mary in stone as a young girl clutching her favorite blanket and peacefully sleeping in a poster bed. I have added Mary’s obituary from The Lancaster News.
Also buried here is Rebecca Irvine Fayssoux born in 1794 in PA and died in 1879. She was the wife of Peter Simon’s Fayssoux. She was the daughter of General William Irvine & Anne Collender Irvine. General Irvine was an Irish born American Physicuan and a Revolutionary War Brigadier General and Congressman. After her husband died in 1833 in PA she moved to Chester, SC to live with her daughters.
I have added a few other obituaries fog headstones I took pictures of.
Evergreen Cemetery is definitely a cemetery we recommend visiting if you are in the Chester area. With its large variety of beautiful and interesting monuments and historic graves you wont’t be disappointed!!

10/04/2026

Another worthwhile cemetery to visit in Chester, South Carolina, is Evergreen Cemetery.
One of the most interesting burials in Evergreen Cemetery is that of Esther Lewis Moore. Her headstone immediately caught our attention because it tells a fascinating story of her family history.
It reads: Esther Maria Lewis Moore, daughter of Henry Llewelyn Daingerfield and Carter Penn Freeland Lewis: Great Granddaughter of Eleanor Parke Curtis and Lawrence Lewis, who was a nephew of Gen. George Washington. Her Great, Great Uncle, George Washington Parke Curtis, was the Father of Mrs. Gen. Robert E. Lee.
Born at “Audley” Clark Co., VA,. March 26, 1881
Died in Charlotte, NC June 1, 1944
Married to Dr. Alexander Wylie Moore on October 3, 1906, Christ Episcopal Church, Wi******er, VA.
Dr. Alexander Wylie Moore was born in 1878 and died in 1950. His marker gives a brief description of his accomplishments.
We were standing there looking at a woman whose family history reaches directly into the family of George Washington and the family of Robert E. Lee.
I just love cemeteries! You never know what piece of history you’re going to find- or what story is waiting to be uncovered.

10/03/2026

Mike Becknell and I also went to Calvary Baptist in Chester County which was established circa 1839.
One of the first things I noticed when we started walking through the cemetery was the number of old headstones decorated with weeping willows and palmetto trees. I don’t think I have ever been in a cemetery where I saw so many of these designs together. What really surprised me was the many different variations of the weeping willows.
The weeping willow is such a beautiful and fitting symbol on a cemetery marker, often representing morning and grief. The palmetto tree is especially interesting because of its string connection to South Carolina. The three headstones with palmetto tres all belong to Confederate Soldiers who died in service.
As we walked through the cemetery, I kept noticing another marker with a willow or palmetto carved into it. It really made me stop and look at the stones in a different way. These old symbols were more that just decoration- they were part of how people expressed their beliefs, emotions and connection to South Carolina when these monuments were made.
We did find more Carter family members and we are guessing they are connected to the Carter’s buried at New Hope Methodist.
Another thing that caught our attention was that the oldest marked grave in the cemetery was identified by a small metal marker in front of the original marker. The grave belonged to an infant Sanders who died February 21, 1837.
I have added pictures of a few headstones along with a couple obituaries.
While doing some research I found that in 1986, workers were excavating for an addition to the church when they discovered four cannon barrels buried about 18” underground, only a few feet from the existing church building. They initially thought they had encountered some sort of buried pipe.
The barrels turned out to contain remnants of shells, debris and black powder. Three were eventually acquired by the Chester County Historical Society and one by the South Carolina State Museum. There is a fascinating local account explaining why they were buried. As Union forces approached, Confederate troops reportedly removed and disabled the cannons that had been at the Chester railroad depot, then buried them so they could not be captured and used by the Union forces.
I enjoy doing research after visiting a cemetery. I often, discover historical stories I had no idea existed- stories about people buried there, their families, the communities they lived in and sometimes even events that shaped the history of an entire area.
I enjoy finding these stories and sharing them with others.

10/02/2026

📣 Cemetery Clean Up October 17th
We have been informed there will be another clean up at Ebenezer Church Cemetery in Travelers Rest. I’ve added the flyer we were sent.