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Billy Trogdon Cemetery 
(AKA: Trogdon Burying Ground and/or
Allred-Trogdon Cemetery)
Research Comments /
Thoughts from Trogdon Researcher Jean
Covington LaCoss
highlighted in yellow below
Two Newly
Discovered Tombstones!
"This cemetery was established upon land
owned by William Trogdon and willed to his children upon his death in
1805. This William possibly was born in Maryland, but his death is documented
in Randolph County, NC in 1805. He was buried in this cemetery, then The Billy
Trogdon Cemetery. It is possible from my research that he is the son of
William Trogdon, born 20 August 1695, Anne Arundel County, Maryland, son of
Thomas and Mary (Jones) Trogdon. Research is still ongoing as to whether one or
two Wm. Trogdons came to Orange Co., NC in the 1750's. No documentation has
been found to prove that a William Trogdon was killed on Sandy Creek during the
Revolutionary War in 1783." Glenda Trogdon Allen
 The
ECAFA has been told this cemetery was abandoned around 1930, but
we have not found any tombstones dated after 1851 (so far). Located
on private property near Cedar Falls, Randolph County, NC. The cemetery is
held in trust and managed by the ECAFA
and permission requested before visiting. For more information, Contact
Gina
As the graves of
other families are identified, we'll attempt to post copies of original
documents (will, estate papers, etc.) to show why or how we identified
each. If you have any questions about this process or would like to help,
please Contact Gina. Unless
otherwise noted, all document originals are on file in the Research Room, NC
Archives, Raleigh, NC.
Scenes
from the Work Day in the Allred-Trogdon
Cemetery
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Review and New Photos
In the center is Alton Garner, former owner of the property the cemetery is
located on. To his left is Hollis Allred and on the right is James Eugene
Allred, two ECAFA members. Mr. Garner inherited the land from the Burrows
"because I took care of them". The Burrows were Trogdon
descendants, so the land had remained in the Trogdon family continuously over
the generations. However, in early Spring 2002, 
Mr. Garner was in ill health and of advanced years and was "in talks"
with a developer who wanted to purchase the property when the ECAFA stepped
in. Mr. Garner agreed to deed the cemetery itself (no additional property)
to the ECAFA in exchange for a tax credit. Within a couple of weeks, the
rest of the property was sold to the developer who immediately sold a lot
of the timber to a lumber company. We watched as several acres of the woods
surrounding the cemetery were destroyed, trees cut down and removed, and were
thankful the cemetery was in our hands and protected. For further information about the ECAFA or this cemetery, please
Contact Gina. 
The graves were laid out in careful, neat rows with narrow "walkways"
between each row, as you can see from this photo. We've placed wooden
stakes and/or surveyor flags at each grave, making them easier to find as we
work in the cemetery. These stakes/flags will be removed this winter
(2003) as we place more permanent and respectful, numbered, markers on each
grave which will correspond to a diagram of the cemetery that we are
creating. 
We are estimating there are 200 - 230 graves here.
Unfortunately, most are not marked. The majority of the graves that are
marked only have rocks or the writing is no longer legible. Such a
shame. But, we're trying to piece together as many clues as possible to
try to figure out who is buried here. There is a thick carpet of
periwinkle covering the entire cemetery, protecting the graves as much as Mother
Nature can. 
As we work in the cemetery, we are careful not to disturb or
kill this periwinkle because it helps keep the forest undergrowth and weeds from
growing. Future plans for the cemetery include erecting an information
display (to be erected October 24, 2003) and continued efforts at
identifying each grave. For information on how you can help, Contact
Gina.
This is the new information display case the ECAFA built October 24, 2003.
It was erected on the edge of the cemetery property away from any graves and
easily seen by all who come down the road. It will contain a variety of
information about the cemetery including a diagram showing numbered graves so
visitors can quickly find their ancestor(s).
 Nov
22, 2003: ECAFA members Harlan Sexton and Wayne Ward talking to Douglas
Vuncannon (center) about our work in the cemetery. Mr. Vuncannon owns the
property and cow pasture bordering the cemetery land.
Look closely at this photo and you can see the rectangular hole under the trees
that Franklin is cutting. This hole is all that remains of one of the
graves. Mr. Garner (the former property owner) told us that about 30 years
ago, someone - he couldn't remember who - asked for permission to move their
ancestor to another cemetery. Unfortunately, he gave permission and the
grave and tombstone were moved. Sadly, Mr. Garner has passed away so we
may never know who was buried here or where he/she was moved
to. If you know where this ancestor was moved to - or can identify who was
buried in this grave, please contact us. We are not interested in moving
the grave back to it's original burial site - we would just like to know who was
buried here for our records. All that remains of this grave is a
rectangular hole about 5 foot deep.
1809 The Memory Of E x SWAFF When we first saw the cemetery
in 1998, a large tree had fallen and was lying on top of several tombstones
including this one. Apparently, when the tree fell, it broke the tombstone
into several pieces and scattered them as you can see from the photo on the
left. We've pieced it back together now. If you can help identify
this grave, please let us know. Could this be a member of the Swafford
family?
S A 9 of July 1833. Could this possibly be the grave of Sarah Spencer
Allred, wife of John Allred? Per family and court records, Sarah died
before John did in 1848. More research is needed, but this may be a
possible identification.
 
Levisea Allred, June 15 AD 1824 - October 30 AD 1843
As you can see, in 1998 the stone was still standing, although leaning badly.
In the fall, 2003, the stone is broken at the base and lying on the ground.
 
Anderson
Allred, died January 31, 1851, aged 42 y, 1 m, 9 d.
 
Kiss
Reann Allred born August 30, 1849 died May 31, 1851 age 1
yr, 9 m, 1 d
Lavisea Allred's stone in the foreground, Anderson Allred's stone in the back
ground.
Levisea Allred and Daniel Free's tombstones were standing in 1998, but both had
fallen over by Spring 2003. During the Cemetery Work Day November 2003,
the ECAFA members re-set the tombstones so they are standing once again.
 
W
x S A June 25 x 1828 Very interesting tombstone.
Note how the "S" is above the "x". What does that
mean? Are this person's initials "W S A" or does the
"S" mean "spouse" or "son" or "second"
as in junior? If you can help identify this marker, please contact us.
 
N A July 15 1834 - Nathaniel Allred Nathaniel was
listed among others at the estate sale for Samuel Trogdon and in these receipts
found in the estate paper file for Sarah Trogdon. But, we have not been
able to place him on the Allred family tree yet.
 
A T Nov 11 AD 1801 Abigail Julian Trogdon, wife of
Samuel Trogdon
S T May 1831 Sarah Trogdon or Samuel Trogdon?
As you can see from the document detailing the personal items of Sarah Trogdon,
sold at her estate sale, the date of the estate sale is just a few months after
the date on the tombstone. But, the date on the tombstone is also just a
few months after the estate sale for Samuel Trogdon. So, who is buried
here? If you can help answer this question, please Contact
Gina
Jean
LaCoss: (1) Someone contacted me about something they said they had seen your
website. She said it was a picture of the headstone of ST who died May 11,
1831
and the question was raised if this was Sally (Sarah-wife of Samuel) or Samuel's
headstone. It definitely wouldn't be the grave of Sally (Sarah), wife of
Samuel, as we know she was alive when she petitioned for dower in August, 1831.
That petition was granted during the Nov. session of Pleas and Quarter Sessions
1831, but it is possible that she was dead by then, as the sale of her minimal
property was in early December, but she was alive in August.
(2) Hopefully I cleared up a little the
Samuel situation. His estate sale was in August. Her estate sale was in
December. He died in May, she died between August when she filed for Petition
of Dower and December 9th, with the sale and I believe they had to post
publicly 30 days notice of the sale, so she would have died in November
probably, but she didn't die in May. Since Abigail his first wife, the mother of
all his children is there, I feel quite comfortable that this is Samuel's
headstone and not Sally (Sarah). If any Trogdon researchers have any
information that can shed further clarification or facts to this, please contact
me, we are always in search of the facts and the Trogdon truths.
(3) I believe somewhere in that cemetery
lies Ure Trogdon, his wife Deborah Trogdon and Ephriam Trogdon.
jclacoss@earthlink.net
 
I H : T R B 21 JL 1822 D 7 JU 1843 Isiah Trogdon
was the son of Samuel and Susannah Free Trogdon. Next to him is the grave
of his mother, Susannah. Just beyond her grave, lying on the ground and
covered with leaves, we found the grave of Samuel.
Susanah Trogdon B 23 A 1788 D 4 A 1843 Susannah
was the wife of Samuel Trogdon. Trogdon family records say she was born in Lancaster,
PA but I don't know if this has been documented. She was the daughter of
Daniel and Priscilla Ward Free. Daniel's will is posted below on this
page.
Samuel Trogdon (foreground) and KissReann Allred's tombstones. Note
KissReann's tombstone is leaning against a tree trunk. When we first found
this tombstone in December 1998, we had to dig around to
find all the pieces and put it back together like a jig saw puzzle. A tree
had grown up within the cracks of the tombstone and shattered it. On March 4, 2002, when
we photographed it again, most of the pieces were missing, probably buried once
more under the forest debris.
 
Samuel Trogdon, Jr. died September 11, 1852 aged 69 years, 8 mo., 27
days
R x H x Feb 3 1834 Rachel Hammer, born 1790 (per family
records), daughter
of Abraham and Rachel Meeting Hammer
 
D H 1790 this is the oldest tombstone we have found so
far. Some researchers think it belongs to a member of the Hammer family,
but we have not been able to identify it yet. If you have information
about this stone/grave, please
Contact Gina
 
W x T April 11, 1805 William Trogdon was the
original owner of the land the cemetery is located on. Trogdon descendents
call him "The Patriot" because
he gave patriot service
for the cause during the Revolutionary War. The original copy of William's will is
located in the loose estate files for Randolph County, Research Room, NC
Archives, Raleigh, NC.
 
Another view of William Trogdon's grave. You can see the
tombstone at the base of the tree. Just behind the tree, you see the
tombstone of
M x T April 11 18 0 (see photo & info below).
 
M x T April 11 18 0 We couldn't make out the 3rd number
in the year. The stone has a crack running through that area and it was
very hard to see any writing at all.
On the right at the base of the tree is the grave of William Trogdon the
Patriot. In the foreground is the grave of S A (unidentified) and W xS A
(unidentified).
 
J + F 4 July 1828
Joel Ferree / Free was the son
of Daniel and Priscilla Ward Ferree / Free. Per information in the Free
family file in the Randolph Room (Asheboro, NC), Joel was born around 1792. He
married Mary Trogdon, daughter of Samuel Trogdon and his wife Susannah.
The Will and a Petition from the Estate Papers of Daniel Free naming his children /
heirs. Could Daniel be buried in this cemetery too? Is it possible
that other members of this family are also buried in this cemetery?
 In Memory Of Daniel Free, Born June 8, 1826, Died Nov We
couldn't make out the day and year in the death date. Per Free
family records, Daniel died at age 21 and was buried next to his father Joel
(see his photo below).
 
Joel T. Free, born 17 8, died A 17 1856 The birth
date was very hard to read. I could not make out the month or day and the
3rd number in the year. Joel's tombstone was buried about 6 inches under
some leaves and dirt. When we pulled it up out of the ground, a swarm of
flying ants hiding under it became very upset with us.
W A May 3 1825. Note William's will was
probated during the May session of court 1825. William is known to AFO
members as the "Original" William because he is one of the first 6 Allred men to receive land grants in North Carolina in the 1750's.
Click
here to read more about him.
 
E x A Oc 28 1827. Elizabeth Diffee Allred
E A Feb 7 1800
E TRO and M T together The tombstone on the on
the right (E TRO) was actually under a fallen tree. 
We had to cut the tree into
sections to remove it. Jean
Covington LaCoss: E TRO's tombstone has been identified! Elizabeth
Gilliam Trogdon.
M T x B x Feb 1 1806 D A 19 1840
 
E TRO B April 1778 D JU 1849
Elizabeth Gilliam Trogdon
C J Oct ? 1814 The
writing on this tombstone was discovered by
Jean
Covington LaCoss on December 13, 2008.
You can see the tombstone in relation to others in
the 2nd photo. If you can identify this
tombstone, please contact us. Is this a
member of the Julian family??
L + A Sept 23 1834 The
tombstone was discovered by
Jean
Covington LaCoss in February 2009.
| 
Allred
Family Organization 
