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Servants' cemetery reclaimed from the brush Date published: 11/13/2007
by Hugh Muir
Rising like an island from a rolling hayfield sea, a one-time servants cemetery begun in the early 19th century has been reclaimed from the undergrowth, reviving another patch of Stafford's historical past. In three hours on a recent Saturday morning a crew of some 16, armed with bush axes, machetes, pruning shears, pitchforks, rakes and a chain saw, cleared the quarter-acre knoll of natural debris and dead trees. The detritus was thrown into a Dumpster loaned by the Stafford County landfill, and when that was full the rest was piled a distance away to be burned. The cemetery was begun in 1830, the year the ancestors of the present owners bought the land in North Stafford now known as Poplar Grove Farm. The names of those buried there are unknown. The first were slaves, believed to be mostly children. The estimated 20 graves are marked only by scattered uncut fieldstones. The last burial, of the infant daughter of a servant of the family, was in the 1930s. A white sign marking the entrance to Poplar Grove Farm says "8 Generations" and "Est. ca. 1830." The fifth generation, Sallie Lou Fitzhugh, runs it today. A nephew, a great-niece and two great-great-nieces and a great-great-nephew (who live on a modern house near the entrance) carry the family line beyond her. Sallie Lou, 76, lives up the lane from Poplar Road, on the foundation of the original 1700s house in southwest Stafford County. Hers is the third such structure; the first was torn down nearly a century ago because her mother found it "too cold and drafty," and the second burned in 1934. "This house is pretty good for country living," Sallie Lou said as she prepared sandwiches for the cemetery cleanup crew. The servants' graveyard is a quarter mile across the fields from the house, perched on a crest of the recently mowed hayfield. In its reclaimed state, the graveyard is still marked by sturdy trees, including wild cherry, persimmon (the crew tasted the newly fallen fruit and found it delicious), crape myrtle and cedar (the traditional marker of a cemetery site). There are no poplars.
Read more stories about Stafford Date published: 11/13/2007
In today's article, you made a mistake in identifying Ricky Scites. He is not the "bearded" president of the Friends of Stafford Civil War Sites. Glenn Trimmer holds that position, unbearded. :) Rick is just a "bearded" supporting member of FSCWS and volunteer with the Stafford Cemetery Committee.
This was just one of the many cemetery clean ups that the SCCC has done lately. More volunteers are always needed. Thanks for the coverage!
--Debbi Shelton
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