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SCRAPBOOK
Fourteen people are known to be buried in the Mary Sharp Cemetery, and there were eleven headstones. From what is known of these people, Mary and James are unrelated to the others. Where further information has been obtained on the various individuals, their names in the attached list of headstone inscriptions provide linkages to the information learned.
The Mary Sharp Cemetery was, for many years, in dire need of repair. Joy Gallagher found this 1882 news article from the Winchester Home Journal showing that Mary's headstone was already shattered as far back as then. This picture of the cemetery was taken by Bob Clay on September 13, 2000 shows it's state of disrepair when he visited it. Although Mary (Corn) Sharp did not herself bear children, the generosity she and her husband bestowed on others during their lifetime should entitle them to our support now.
Joy Gallagher, who initiated the Mary Sharp Project is neither a relative of Mary, nor of any of the other residents (at least to her knowledge) of the Mary Sharp Cemetery. As chairperson of the Historic Preservation Committee for the City of Winchester, TN., Joy's committee completed in the late 2003 a project to make a historical tour of Winchester available. Begun a year and a half previously to spark interest in that city, her committee developed a tour that shares the history behind the houses, businesses, government buildings, cemeteries, etc. within their city. During that development effort, and while researching at the Mary Sharp Cemetery (which is within the Winchester city limits), Joy learned that Mary Sharp's tombstone has been missing for many years. Also, as one of the directors of the Franklin County Historical Society, Joy was aware of Mary Sharp's history and that, from time to time, people both locally and from all over the country have visited and inquire about the Mary Sharp Cemetery.
Shocked and saddened by the state of disrepair of the cemetery, Joy decided that something should be done. Determined to restore the Mary Sharp Cemetery to be a place that Winchester citizens could be proud of, Joy single-handedly began to tackle those issues associated with the cemetery's renovation. The status of that effort, and its progression, is given below:
Completed Activities
In December of 2003, Joy and her family scoured the cemetery for tombstones and portions thereof and found headstones for everyone but Mary Sharp. The fragments of Mary's headstone photographed by Mr. and Mrs. Burks in 1972 could no longer be found [see ongoing activity 3 below for an update regarding some of these fragments]. Also missing was Mary's footstone that was still upright in 1972 when photographed by the Burks.
However, the good news was that, while searching, they found beside James Sharp's large headstone another rather large piece of tombstone. Seeming to have an undecipherable meaning, it's engraving read:
"Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.
By her Loving Niece
Shirley & Shane
Nashville"
Joy later managed to unravel this mystery by making a thorough search of the loose court records for Mary Sharp's estate. There she found a bill for Mary's head and footstone dated December 7, 1866 from a company in Nashville. The name of the company was:
"Shirley & Shane --dealers in foreign & American marbles".
Since Mary died in 1864 during the Civil War, it apparently took a couple of years to get her estate settlement underway.
Now, thanks to the efforts of Joy and her family, we are able to know for the first time, the full inscription that was on Mary's headstone, and we can understand it's meaning. "her Loving Niece" would have been Mary's niece and adopted daughter, Susan Frances Sharp.
Mr. C. E. Vincent, the present owner of the farm where the one-half acre cemetery is located has completed a fence to separate the cemetery and secure it from grazing animals, etc.
The Winchester City Council has agreed to add Mary Sharp Cemetery to the list of cemeteries to keep mowed.
A new gravel driveway for the cemetery was constructed by the City of Winchester. It has a "T" shape, allowing vehicles that enter to be able to easily turn around.
Estill Springs Monument Company installed Mary Sharp's head and
foot stone that they had made on Monday, September 27th, 2004. They installed
the granite plate they had affixed with the lower portion of Mary's original
headstone. Joy Gallagher took pictures as the new stones were being set, and
they can be seen in the
scrapbook.
Ongoing Activities
Several citizens of Winchester who want to remain anonymous are providing
funds to get a driveway entrance from Sharp Springs Road into the cemetery. They
will provide the gravel and hauling for the driveway, and will purchase a fence,
a
gate and sign foTher its entrance. C. E.
Vincent tied in the new fence around the cemetery to an existing fence that is
parallel with Sharp Springs Road. When the entrance drive is made, this existing
fence will have to be removed and replaced with the new one and unlocked gate.
There is also a chance the road will
be paved after graveled. It is steep enough
that it may wash but
this will have to be accessed after the road is made.
Resetting the headstones to their correct position.
Several local citizens have
volunteered to do this. Putting the pieces of James Sharp monument together and
repositioning them looks to be both a challenging and difficult task for them.
That's because his monument is quite large, and it'll be difficult to reattach
the broken pieces. Those pieces, some of which are quite heavy, can be seen near
the base of the main monument in these two pictures, one
circa 1972, and the other from
2000. It's assumed that most of the pieces are part of the monument itself,
and many that can be seen in the earlier picture seem to be missing in the more
recent picture.
When Mary's replacement stones were being installed,
two more fragments from Mary's original headstone were found.
Estill Springs Monument Company has volunteered to affix them to another granite
plate in the same manner as the
previously found portion of Mary's original stone was handled. They have
also committed to resetting the other grave markers in the cemetery (item 2,
above) and will try to address the problems found with James' large monument.
This significant donation of effort by Estill Springs Monument Company is very
much appreciated by many Winchester citizens, as well as the relatives of those
interred at Mary Sharp. Our sincere thanks and appreciation again goes out to
them.
The Rogers Group, a paving
company, plans to donate the paving of the new gravel driveway of the
cemetery.
A new iron entry fence and gate would be most desirable for the
Mary Sharp Cemetery. A total of $425 has been contributed from local
Winchester citizens for the entryway, but much more is needed. The estimate
for putting up a new entry fence and gate that is needed is $2,600.
Except for the purchase of Mary Sharp's head and foot stone markers, Joy Gallagher has managed to accomplish the above activities with only help from the local citizens of Winchester. Sincere thanks to everyone who has contributed with this effort. The list of volunteers and donors can be seen here.
Additional funding is required for the
purchase of an entry gate and sign to the Mary Sharp Cemetery. Those wishing to
donate should make their check out to -
Franklin County Historical Society
"contribution to - Mary Sharp
Cemetery Project"
(The society is tax
exempt, so monies going through the society are tax deductible)
Mail it to:
Franklin County Historical Society
Attn: Steve Arnold, Treasurer
P. O. Box 130
Winchester, TN 37398-0130
Please contact
Joy Gallagher
for further information on the Mary Sharp Cemetery and it's status
Thank you
