Conway Cemetery is the family graveyard of the Joseph Conway family, one of the founding families of the Chesterfield area. If you visit the Old Stone Church down the road, you will see his name as one of the founding members of the church. The Conway family moved from Kentucky to Missouri with Daniel Boone's family.
Interesting fact about Joseph Conway: He actually survived a scalping at age 14, and later was a sort of Indian prisoner of war. He went on to fight in the Revolutionary War and helped clear the Illinois territory of Native Americans so it could be opened for westward expansion. That's the kind of thing the DAR gives plaques for.
I've never been able to find the right words to explain why finding a tiny graveyard is like finding a treasure. I think it's because I'm such a history buff, and you just don't find new tiny graveyards. Finding something like this always leads to new knowledge about someone who may have been forgotten by many, but at the same time, the fact that it is still here means that someone knows about it and has protected it from surrounding development. When you stand here you know you are standing on what was once the Conway Farm, and you can't get the same feeling from graves that have been moved to a larger cemetery.
I also love the quiet solitude of a tiny cemetery in autumn. This sunbeam pointed out Dr Samuel and Elizabeth Smith, who were neighbors of the Conways. Ancestry buffs can read more on Rootsweb. Conway Cemetery is located on Conway Road in Chesterfield, MO. If you are driving from Bonhomme Presbyterian Church to the Old Bonhomme Stone Church, it is about 4/10 of a mile from the new church, on the right. You might have to make a couple passes.
I happened to find a couple other family graveyards LAST autumn, and never did post them here. Next is Sturdy Cemetery, also known as Smith Sturdy Cemetery, in Crestwood, MO.
I did not have much luck finding out more about the Smith/Sturdy family. This is a small cemetery of only about 50 burials, surrounded by a subdivision. According to Find A Grave, there have been burials here as recent as 2012.
Last on the tiny tour is Eddie Cemetery. This one is surrounded by chain link fence with no gate, but you can photograph 99% of it from one spot.
Leave a comment if you know more about any of these cemeteries, or if you know of other tiny graveyards in the St Louis area!
Oh I love seeing old cemeteries. I've actually been mapping out my family burial sites to try and plan a visit of some sort to as many as I can. I've found a cemetery my husband's family is buried in called Molitor Farm out in St. Paul. I hear there are about 20 or so graves in there though my husband says some of the headstones are disappearing. It's on an active farm but there's supposed to be access so I guess I need to start exploring!
ReplyDeleteHollis Sturdy maintained the cemetery and lived in Ava MO about 12 years ago.
ReplyDeleteMy father, James N. Sturdy, was just buried in our family cemetery this past week. The writer above is correct, his cousins Chuck and Hollis Sturdy have been the primary contacts for the site for many years. The oldest gravestone is of Oswald Sturdy, one of the earliest settlers of Kirkwood. The family settled on an area off Watson Road, and operated a 300-acre dairy farm for many years. The 110 year old homestead was torn down to build the subdivision of Sturdy Estates. Also of note, one of the gravestones is for John Sturdy who died 4/10/1863. At first glance, this appeared to perhaps be a Civil War casualty, but in fact he was killed at age 24, and is the first Metropolitan St. Louis Police Department officer killed in the line of duty. http://www.odmp.org/officer/12944-sergeant-john-sturdy
ReplyDeleteMy father, James N. Sturdy, was just buried in our family cemetery this past week. The writer above is correct, his cousins Chuck and Hollis Sturdy have been the primary contacts for the site for many years. The oldest gravestone is of Oswald Sturdy, one of the earliest settlers of Kirkwood. The family settled on an area off Watson Road, and operated a 300-acre dairy farm for many years. The 110 year old homestead was torn down to build the subdivision of Sturdy Estates. Also of note, one of the gravestones is for John Sturdy who died 4/10/1863. At first glance, this appeared to perhaps be a Civil War casualty, but in fact he was killed at age 24, and is the first Metropolitan St. Louis Police Department officer killed in the line of duty. http://www.odmp.org/officer/12944-sergeant-john-sturdy
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry for your loss, Suzy. Thank you for taking a moment to share your family history with us!
DeleteMy mother is James N. Sturdy's sister. (Suzy, who posted earier is my cousin) Our parents,
Deletegrandparents, great grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and many other Sturdy family members are buried there. This land was the Sturdy farm. The family owned the Sturdy Dairy. The Sturdy cemetary was on their land. When much of the farm was sold, Sturdy Estates subdivision was developed. The Sturdy Cemetary was maintained in the subdivision. The Sturdys have maintained it. I even remember going with my grandparents when they mowed, trimmed, cleaned up and maintained the fence, etc.
Currently, Chuck Sturdy maintains the grounds for us all. Several Sturdys, including my siblings and I, and our cousins, contribute financially so Chuck doesn't bare the entire burden of caring for the Cemetary alone.
It concerns me that The Sturdy Cemetary has now somehow included the name Smith in its title. Even if some Smiths are buried there, it is "The Sturdy Cemetary". Other Sturdy relatives' married names are represented in the Cemetary but not in the NAME of the cemetary. It is The Sturdy Cemetary. If you have relatives in the cemetary, please help us with the upkeep of the Cemetary. You can contact Chuck. The local funeral homes seem to know how to reach him. Thanks.