I have genealogical information on ALLENs who resided in Prince Edward County and are noted as being buried in Douglas Church Cemetery. Is this in the county and is it accessible?

Thanks for the info on the cemetery! Unfortunately, we'll be there in June, but now that I know about the August Allen reunions, perhaps my family can plan to be there in the future. I appreciate your help!

Hi Julie, Yes, Douglas Church is in Prince Edward Co., Va. I was born and raised about 0ne mile from that church. Several Allen families lived around there, and went to that church. In recent years a Allen reunion is held at the church during the month of August. The church is just off the road from Worsham to Charlotte Courthouse, about 7 miles south of Worsham and about three miles from the Chorlotte, Prince Edward county line. Hope this might be of help to you. I now live in Pennsylvania

I too have family buried at Douglas. My family names are Roberts and Franklin. I am from Maryland but my dad was from Drakes Branch. I haven't been researching for a while now but perhaps you know some local connections that I might use. The Franklin family has been especially difficult-
Peter Franklin married Rebecca Worillow. Their children John Thomas, Mary, Rebecca and Sara.This family lived there just before the start of the Civil War. Any help would be appreciated.

Julie- I too am descended from a Roberts family from the area. My Roberts come from Drakes Branch and Madisonville. Would love to know who your relations are.

Hi Nancy,
When I was growing up in Prince Edward Co., Va. my father use to rent land to grow corn from the Frankins. If I remember correctly the land was owned by Mr. John Franklin who died around 1920. His son then lived on the farm but sold the farm around 1930 and moved away from the area. I can not remember where they moved. The Franklin farm was located south west of Douglas Church. The farm was west of my father's farm.
I also knew a Morton family that attended Douglas Church, Mr Peck Morton and his wife Birdie, who had four boys and one girl. One of my closeest boy friends was their son, Louis Morton. Sorry I can not refer you to descendants of these two families. I left the area 65 years ago and only visit my family there once a year.
Reg Vassar

Thank you so much for replying. It sounds like you were a neighbor to my great grandfather, John Thomas Franklin. His wife was Sallie Morton, daughter of Wesley and Sarah Morton. You are the first person who has any recollection of the farm that I have reached. I know there are family members but they are all scattered. I went to the church a long time ago with my daddy, Jim Henry Roberts. He has been gone since 1986.I would appreciate it if you have any memories of the area or the children of the Franklins that you would let me know, I know it has been a long time but the stories are what I love the most and I have kept record of most of my fathers. He told me that John Franklin loved horses and that he was in the Civil War and was at Appotomax at the surrender. I have a picture of him but know nothing of his personality. I know you were a small child but any memory would be wonderful.
His son was George I and unfortunately did not do much with his life. I know my father spoke of the St John family, the Mortons, the Harveys, and others. Could you tell me what Indians lived in the area. There may be some mixed blood there also but I don't know of the tribes. If this is too much and you just don't remember that is quite alright-I appreciate you writing to me anyway. Sincerely Nancy Roberts Huffman

Hi Nancy,

If you're interested, I have a few photos I took of Douglas Church when I visited in June. It was a lovely day and, although we had a bit of trouble finding the church, once we did we found it so lovely and peaceful. We were amazed to see Allens & McDearmons in the church yard--I think it surprised my husband most, being that he's named Allen McDearmon after these two Prince Edward County families in his line. It must be strange to see one's names on headstones, I think.... If you'd like copies, drop me a line at roberts.45@osu.edu with your mailing address and I'll be happy to send them to you!

Juli

Would it be possible to have pictures of this Church. I have been researching the McDearmon/man family from VA to Tn for years.

Do you have any names you saw that day and directions to this church?

Kathy McGee

Hi! I have a few photos with the names in our family (McDearman and Allen) but I think that adjacent headstones are visible in some of the photos.

We go SO lost on our way there. I got directions online, but they weren't in much detail. We stopped at a small market in the vicinity and got directions--one man said it was about five miles away and told me which turns to take. It was more like ten miles!! It was to the point that we were just about ready to give up when we finally came upon it. How to get there? I still couldn't tell you! I could give you an idea but my directions would not be exact. You may be able to get it from MapQuest. We were on our way to Williamsburg from our home in Ohio so you could just imagine our kids' "delight" when we said we were stopping at a family cemetery on the way there!!!

By the way, we stopped at Hampden Sydney College nearby in Farmville and saw some of the same surnames in the cemetery there. The info building was closed the day we arrived so we couldn't get any info about the cemetery.

I'll email you over the weekend after I go through my photos and let you know what other names I find.

Juli Roberts