Generations: Finding My Great Grandfather's Grave

My Great Grandfather Dena Long died over seventy years ago.  That's right, he passed away in 1949.  He never had a headstone placed on his grave.  There were a few reasons behind that decision.  First, my family was not only poor, but they were West Virginia poor.  That makes sense due to them living right in the middle of West Virginia.

The second reason is that my Great Grandfather was not a nice man.  When he passed away none of his sons shed a single tear.  My Grandfather Ray (Dena's son) had scars down his back.  Some of them were an inch wide.  I had no idea how my Grandfather received those scars until my Dad said that my Grandfather was beat with a tobacco stick by his father (My Great Grandfather Dena.)

So no one was in a hurry to place a headstone on his grave.  I honestly don't know if anyone ever visited his grave.  About fifty years after my Great Grandfather's death, my Grandfather Ray and his brothers had talked about purchasing a headstone and putting it up there.  However, my Grandfather and Great Uncles all passed away without having been able to do so.

My Great Grandfather Dena is on the left in this photo.  In the middle is my Great Uncle Larry, and my Grandfather Ray in the jaunty hat.  The dog in the middle of the photo is Roy.  The horses were Fred and Prince.

My Father turned seventy years old recently.  I know he wanted to carry out his Father's wishes.  So him and my Mother decided to purchase a headstone for my Great Grandfather.  Also included on the stone are two girls who are buried alongside him.  Claudia Long died young, her date of death is unknown.  Esta Long was stillborn.  So the headstone will contain the names of all three of them.

First up, we went to Fergusons's Monuments.  They are the best headstone makers for country miles.  There really is no one else to go to.

We picked out a small, but extremely nice headstone.

The next day myself, my Dad, Mother, and Aunt Joyce headed to the Pullens Cemetery on 9 Mile Road to find my Great Grandfather's grave.  Now, my family (I wasn't with them then) located Dena's marker a few years ago.  But back then, the cemetery had just been mowed.  This time it hadn't.

Yeah, so that's what we had to deal with.  The first thing I did was bust out a weed-eater.  I cleaned up the entrance so we could actually open the gate.  Dad cleared a path to Ginger Adkin's grave.  He knew that Dena's marker was near it.

The four of us wandered around the cemetery for about half an hour.  I cleared out the brush near Ginger's grave.  I figured that would give us a good starting point.  As I was searching I came up to a handful of stalks that were all together.  When I broke them over I saw what I had been looking for right in the middle of them, my Great Grandfather's marker.

I ended up clearing away some of the brush immediately.

It says: (incorrectly)
Denna Long
1882  1949
McGee Funeral Home

Then I went to town with the weed-eater.

Here are my Mom (left,) Aunt Joyce (middle,) and Dad (Right) standing by Dena's marker.

I had been somewhat holding off on weed-eating the cemetery since I was burning through weed-eater line.  I ended up clearing up around Dena's grave, and then widened the path back to the entrance.  I wanted Ferguson's to be able to haul the gravestone in the cemetery easily.

And here I am standing victorious by my Great Grandfather's marker.

Dad managed to find a blaze orange rope in his truck.  He tied it to a sharpened stick and planted it right by Dena's marker.  Again, we want to give Fergusons all the help they can get finding the marker.

I didn't even talk about getting up the hill.  There were only a few ways to get up the hill.  First up, the hill had to be dry.  Don't even think about trying to get up there on a wet day.  Next, you absolutely need a four wheel drive truck with a 4WD Low option.

Or, you could take a small ATV like a Polaris.  That would be able to climb the hill.  Or you could do it the old fashioned way.  Take your walking stick and put one foot in front of the other.  But I want to warn you, it's a bit of a walk up the hill.  

When coming down, I jogged ahead of the truck throwing sticks out of the road.  I also bent some branches and such out of the way so it wouldn't scrap the truck.  I ended up getting one heck of a workout.  It was much tougher than any "leg day" at the gym.  I'm still hurting.

The good news is everything has been taken care of.  Fergusons said the headstone will be ready in 6-8 weeks.  They should be able to place it before it snows.  I think Dad feels fulfilled, in that, he completed what his Dad wanted to be able to do.  Even he admits that the grave is located in a place where very few will be able to see it, but Dena still deserved a headstone.  No matter what kind of man he was.

I'll make sure to post an update when the headstone is set.  I have a few relatives that will be happy to send me photos.  I don't think I will ever be able to see it, but I'll be happy knowing it's there.