By GAGE WILSON
for Glasgow News 1
Regardless of the distance, familial attachments always bring people back to their roots.
Recent discussions about relocating graves in the Shaw and Overstreet cemeteries in Cave City have renewed interest in the stories of those interred there — none more so than nonagenarian Margaret “Peggy” Hill, the last known descendant of the Shaw family.
Though now living in Virginia, Hill has taken a keen interest in the proposed relocation. A genealogist herself, she has spent years studying her family’s history in Barren County.
“The Shaw cemetery is one of three cemeteries that I marked in the 1990s,” she said. “I did the Shaw cemetery, the King cemetery, and the Sanderson cemetery.” Each project she immersed herself in brought her closer to ancestors whose roots in the county stretch back centuries.
“William Rice Shaw was my great-great-grandfather. He was married three times, and his first wife was Mary Jane Walters — that’s the line I come from,” she explained. “My notes indicate that William ran a livery stable in Cave City.” She elaborated that a livery stable was a place to rent “horses, carriages, and the like,” and joked that it was a “19th-century Uber.”
She also spoke of her great-grandfather, Jacob Shaw, whom she described as having a case of wanderlust.
“It’s my theory that he and his wife, America, met in Barren County,” she mused. “There was a group of folks from Barren County who moved to Denton County, Texas, and unfortunately, the marriage records there are missing, but I believe that’s where they were married.”
The family eventually returned to Barren County, though their homecoming was marked by sorrow. “When my grandmother was about seven months old, her mother [America] died,” Hill said. America was laid to rest in the Shaw cemetery, where, decades later, Hill’s grandmother would also be buried.
These are just a few of the many stories tied to the cemetery. Many others have been lost to time.
“I think history is very important,” Hill said. “And I think particularly local history is important. It all starts with local history.”
Although the Shaw cemetery has been abandoned and overgrown for years, the effort to relocate the graves to Cave City Cemetery could, ironically, breathe new life into these long-forgotten stories.
Hill supports the relocation.
“I have spoken to attorney Bobby Richardson, and I have agreed that it’s okay with me to move the cemetery to Cave City. I think that’s the best solution, otherwise, those stones will be lost forever.”
She added that Richardson assured her the new location will have plenty of room to keep the family together. She also noted that the Barren County Historical Society has published a list of those buried there, which helps ensure their memory is preserved.
The deadline to oppose the relocation is May 17.
From 500 miles away, Hill continues her research into her family’s past and plans to monitor the relocation effort, proving that whether measured in miles or years, distance is no match for the pull of family ties.
Comments