Mon
Nov 30 2009
08:59 pm
Maj. Will R. McBath
By: redmondkr

Since today was such a lovely day, I spent the afternoon traipsing through cemeteries.

The Childs Cemetery

I came across Major Will McBath behind a convenience store in Karns.



continued...

I have lived most of my life less than a mile and a half from the fifty foot square Childs Cemetery located in the back yard of the Aztex on Oak Ridge Highway in Karns. Today was my first visit but I need to go back in hopes that some rubbings will reveal worn dates on some of the stones.

I found only five marked graves, all McBaths except for Mrs. Callie Ragsdale who died in 1884. The newest grave is that of P. E. McBath (1893).

But the most interesting stone is the smallest and the least descriptive. There are no dates, just this:

MAJ.
WILL R.
McBATH
2 TENN. CAV.

Before I uploaded my photos, I did a Google search and found this. Can this be the same Major McBath - buried in the back yard of a convenience store?

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rocketsquirrel's picture

1850 US Census In 1850,

Submitted by rocketsquirrel on Mon, 2009/11/30 - 9:51pm.

1850 US Census

In 1850, William R McBath was 12 years old and lived in subdivision 15, Knox County, TN.

The family consisted of:

Robert McBath 55
Sarah McBath 39
Calolme A McBath 19
James McBath 15
William R McBath 12
Martha McBath 7
Sarah E McBath 5
Sebellla McBath 2
Robert B McBath 0
William McBath 38

Commissioned an officer in Company H, Tennessee 1st Infantry Regiment.
Promoted to Full Major on 01 Aug 1862.
Mustered out on 01 Aug 1862.
Commissioned an officer in Company S, Tennessee 2nd Cavalry Regiment on 01 Aug 1862.
Mustered out on 06 Jul 1865.

Sources: Index to Compiled Military Service Records
Official Army Register of the Volunteer Force 1861-1865
Official Records of the War of Rebellion

sources: Ancestry.com.

redmondkr's picture

Interesting, thanks. I'm

Submitted by redmondkr on Mon, 2009/11/30 - 10:19pm.

Interesting, thanks.

I'm curious about the stone of Robert. Aged 72 in 1863 would have made him 59 or thereabouts in 1850. Maybe the old darling lied about his age. I need to go back and do some rubs as well as take a peek behind those fake flowers.


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rocketsquirrel's picture

census transcription could

Submitted by rocketsquirrel on Mon, 2009/11/30 - 10:35pm.

census transcription could be off too. That scripty handwriting they used is subject to misinterpretation.

I was recently researching the tombstone of a Southern train engineer at Greenwood cemetery...through a combo of luck, I found his great granddaughter on Facebook, and within a matter of days, had photos of the family for inclusion in my next book.

redmondkr's picture

I spent some time at

Submitted by redmondkr on Mon, 2009/11/30 - 10:48pm.

I spent some time at Bookwalter today hunting markers to photograph for a gentleman in Texas who has relatives buried there. Only nabbed one on my list before I got rained out.

When I get the rest I'll upload them to Find A Grave.


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redmondkr's picture

One more little piece of the

Submitted by redmondkr on Tue, 2009/12/01 - 10:40pm.

One more little piece of the puzzle, a death notice from the November 29, 1876, Morristown Gazette:

McBath, Maj. Will R. (died Nov. 18, Knox County)


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rocketsquirrel's picture

date of death helps a great

Submitted by rocketsquirrel on Wed, 2009/12/02 - 9:36am.

date of death helps a great deal. In the 1876 Knoxville City Directory, a Wm R McBath was secretary of the Knoxville City Fire Department.

Chief: William Coffman
1st Assistant Chief: SB Luttrell
2nd Assistant Chief: WF Yardley (c)*
Secretary: Wm R McBath
Treasurer: William Nelson (c)

Google Yardley and Luttrell for some fascinating Knoxville history.

In that same city directory, a Wm R. McBath resided on Main, near Crozier (now south Central), in East Knoxville. This would be approximately in the area of the James White Parkway today.

Three McBath brothers, who all lived on Clinch in "West Knoxville" -- Andrew M, James A, and Robert H--operated McBath Brothers, family grocers and dry goods, on the east side of Market Square.

* in these early directories, (c) meant "colored."

redmondkr's picture

It's sad that such a man

Submitted by redmondkr on Wed, 2009/12/02 - 7:10pm.

It's sad that such a man rests in relative obscurity in the back yard of a convenience store.


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Russ's picture

Resting places

Submitted by Russ on Wed, 2009/12/02 - 11:19pm.

It's sad that such a man rests in relative obscurity in the back yard of a convenience store.

One of my Cherokee ancestors, who survived and escaped the Trail of Tears as a child, is buried in a small family cemetery in the center of Gatlinburg. The graveyard is completely surrounded by a shopping mall.

~Russ

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