Howard Family Cemetery

Association: None
No. of Markers: 3 (View)
No. of Individuals: 3 (View)
Location: Free Union, Albemarle Co.

The Howard Family Cemetery lies buried in the woods, across from the original location of the Michie Tavern. It would have been very difficult to locate this site if not for concerned residents who remembered and noted its location. The cemetery is enclosed by a metal fence, roughly 100 feet by 100 feet. Despite the large area, only three burials remain visible today: William J. Howard, Robert M. Howard, and a metal funeral marker that may commemorate the grave of their sister, Eliza Smith. It looks as if the family intended to bury many more individuals here, but perhaps they sold the house/land that was originally located near the cemetery and subsequently stopped using the burial ground. Today, new homes are going up around the site, but none relate to the Howard Family.

Death certificate research reveals that William and Robert were brothers, the children of Jake and Nancy Howard. These records also show that the Howards had a daughter: Eliza Smith. There is no proof that she is buried here, but there is an unlabelled metal marker (provided by a funeral home). This may be the grave of Eliza or, possibly, Jake or Nancy. Metal markers commonly date to the first decades of the 20th Century. Another possibility is that wooden grave markers were used in the cemetery and, thus, there are many more burials present with unpreserved gravemarkers. The photo below illustrates the overgrown interior and the disintegrating fence that encloses the cemetery.