UPDATE at bottom of the page!
I am still searching for the grave of William Glenn Cathey. It’s driving me insane not knowing where he is buried. I really thought I was onto something when I left the house this morning, but I am now left with a headache and aggravation (and more determination to find his grave!).
Ok, so as I mentioned before there is a book out called Reflections From Our Past, A Pictorial History of Houston County, Tennessee (© 2001) that has the information in it that William Glenn Cathey passed away on July 4, 1906. It also says that he is buried in Nolan Cemetery in Hurricane Creek Mills, Tennessee. Two problems: 1) No one, and I mean no one as in funeral homes, courthouses, libraries, etc, have ever heard of Hurricane Creek Mills, Tennessee and 2) there are many Nolan Cemeteries in the area, two in Humphreys County (where Hurricane Mills is located and Hurricane Creek Road…you can see where this is headed). I called the Humphreys County Courthouse. I called two funeral homes. I called one gravedigger (yes, really…the guy digs graves for a living and apparently knows all of the cemeteries between Montgomery County and Gibson County). I called the Houston County Library (they have a copy of the book, and may have known who submitted the information for publication). I called the Humphreys County Library. The information I got:
there is a Nolan Cemetery in Waverly, Humphreys County, Tennessee about a half mile north of the courthouse.
according to Google Maps there is a Nolan Cemetery south of McEwen, Humphreys County, Tennessee off Hurricane Creek Road and Indian Creek Road. No one at any location I called ever heard of that Nolan Cemetery.
there is a Nolan Cemetery in Stewart County, Tennessee.
So pretty much I am waiting for someone to get back to me about this mysterious Hurricane Creek Mills, Tennessee location.
So today’s field trip. Well, before I get into that I have to backtrack. For a while now we have been seeing the name Will Cathey, year of death 1906, listed as having been interred in Bomar Hill Cemetery in Stewart County, Tennessee. But since there was no photo of the headstone, nor anything on how this information was found, we kinda sorta ignored it, but kept it in the back of our minds. Finally, I sent an email to the person who posted it (screen name Roe Lane at Find A Grave) and received an email back with a map of Bomar Hill Cemetery and information of its history.
Bomar Hill Cemetery is also known as Scarborough Cemetery, Gansner Cemetery and Cemetery 101 (by the Tennessee Valley Authority). Around 1940 plans were underway for the the filling of Kentucky Lake. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) set out to move graves if the families chose to do so. Gansner/Scarborough Cemetery became known as Cemetery 101, with each grave separately numbered. Family members were tracked down and given the opportunity to move their loved ones to other cemeteries, or just leave them be. About half of the interred from Cemetery 101 went to other cemeteries (oddly enough, right across the inlet…not far at all). But the other half stayed right where they were (are). There are six Catheys in the Bomar Hill Cemetery. They were not moved at all. HOWEVER, when I called TVA I was told that each grave had paperwork with it with the next-of-kin information! The TVA then said that they had sent all of the paperwork to the National Archives. Boo. Then I was given a phone number for the National Archives, with a contact name, and it’s the National Archives here in Georgia, just one county over from me! Yay! So today’s field trip was the drive to the National Archives in Morrow, Georgia.
I had sent an email yesterday, so when I arrived they already had the box pulled with the TVA cemetery files. So I set to work going through the folders, reading the paperwork involved. It was kind of heartbreaking. Page after page of graves that were unknown persons that the courts had decided to move to other cemeteries. Those that were moved had a disinterment page with the information on what shape the coffins were in, what shape the bodies were in, if new “containers” were used. The worst were the children. Each would have something like: coffin rotten, body badly decomposed, skull intact, infant, placed in 3’ container. I was actually very happy when I got to the Cathey pages so I didn’t have to read those anymore, though I wish I had made a copy of one to show on here.
Anyway, I get to the Catheys, specifically Will Cathey, and find out that he is not William Glenn Cathey. Unless he had a whole ‘nother family, that is. I’m just going to list the Catheys in Bomar Hill Cemetery, along with the paperwork, and the next-of-kin listed. I have looked up these names and I cannot place them anywhere for some reason! I haven’t been able to find them in the Cathey Family History and Genealogy (Boyt Henderson Cathey © 1993), but I also don’t know the maiden name of the Mattie Cathey on the list. I would love to find out how these Catheys tie into my line!
This is a map of Bomar Hill Cemetery, prior to moving graves.
The Catheys in question are highlighted
The individual records for each person:
Gansner Cemetery Number 101 G-1
Infant Cathey
Died 1902 (age Infant, presumed born in 1902)
Next-of-kin: Glen Cathey (Stewart Co, Tenn), Lucy M Stavley (Stewart Co, Tenn), Lena C Watkins (Cottage grove, Tenn, R3), Ada Courtney (Dover, Tenn) – siblings of Infant Cathey
Gansner Cemetery Number 101 G-2
Sam Cathey
Died 1902 (age 5, presumed born in 1897)
Next-of-kin: Glen Cathey (Stewart Co, Tenn), Lucy M Stavley (Stewart Co, Tenn), Lena C Watkins (Cottage grove, Tenn, R3), Ada Courtney (Dover, Tenn) – siblings of Sam Cathey
Gansner Cemetery Number 101 G-3
Ethel Cathey
Died 1910 (age 10 months, presumed born in 1909/10)
Next-of-kin: Lillian C Watkins (Dover, Tenn, R2) – mother of Ethel Cathey
* (this is the one I was most interested in seeing)
Gansner Cemetery Number 101 G-10
Will Cathey
Died 1906 (age 35 years, presumed born in 1871)
Next-of-kin: Glen Cathey (Stewart Co, Tenn), Lucy M Stavley (Stewart Co, Tenn), Lena C Watkins (Cottage grove, Tenn, R3), Ada Courtney (Dover, Tenn) – children of Will Cathey
Gansner Cemetery Number 101 G-11
Mattie Cathey
Died 1910 (age 55 years, presumed born in 1855)
Next-of-kin: Glen Cathey (Stewart Co, Tenn), Lucy M Stavley (Stewart Co, Tenn), Lena C Watkins (Cottage grove, Tenn, R3), Ada Courtney (Dover, Tenn) – children of Mattie Cathey
Gansner Cemetery Number 101 G-12
Franklin Angelo Cathey
Died 1906 (age unknown)
Next-of-kin: Mrs Maud Cathey (1794 Livernois, Detroit, Mich) – mother of Franklin Angelo Cathey
UPDATE: Ok, I figured it out…it took a moment, though. Will Cathey is the second cousin of my William Glenn Cathey. It goes back to their great-grandfather George Cathey Sr (1765-1840) married Martha Wilson. Two of their children were John Cathey and George Cathey Jr. John married Winnie Bradley. One of their sons was John Cathey Jr who married Rebecca Vickers. John Jr and Rebecca had a son named William S Cathey. And that’s the Will Cathey in Bomar Hill Cemetery. Now, back to George Cathey Jr. He married Eliza Carter. One of their sons was named Archibald Cathey. Archibald married Isabella Lankford. Archibald and Isabella had a son named William Glenn Cathey who is my great-great-grandfather. And that makes Will and Will second cousins! Ta da!
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