Belcher Cemeteries

Submitted by Tony Belcher, Irvine, KY, Nov. 2006
Email: tonylinda@irvineonline.net
A. There is a single tombstone located on a hillside at Meshack Creek, near Center Point,
Monroe County, KY. Going west from Burkesville on Hwy 90, go 6 miles. Turn left on Hwy
100 and go 11 miles. Go past Hwy 212 (Center Point) on the left. The next road on the
right is Meshack Creek Road. Go less than one mile, take the left fork of the road.
Tombstone is about one mile on the right. Note: If you come from Tomkinsville, take Hwy
100 east to Meshack Creek, which is about 11 miles that way. The lone tombstone
contains the following information:
1. On the front: “JOHN BELCHER (1788-1869) AND PERMELIA BELCHER (1786-
1877).” The last line on the tombstone reads, “DAUGHTER MARY ELIZABETH
GRIDER.”
2. The back side of the tombstone says, “NAMES OF PEOPLE BURIED IN THIS
CEMETARY: BETSY ELIZABETH B. GRIDER AND BABY, MARGARET
ANDERSON BELCHER AND BABY, JOE WALDEN’S BABY BOY, MARY
AUTRY.”
B. A larger Belcher cemetary is located closer to Tompkinsville. Take Hwy 100 west from
Tomkinsville about 1.5 miles. Turn right on Hwy 1366 (County House Road). Go 6 miles,
pass Freetown/Emberton Road on the left. Cemetary is on the right just before Freetown
Church of Christ. The cemetary contains over 60 grave sites, some of them with simple
stone markers with no readable information. Following is some of the information from the
tombstones.
1. Left side, first through third rows: Hazel and Irene Adams, Pearl G. Ford, Dorothy M.
Ford, Porter and Donie Fawbush, Winford Fawbush, Ester Fawbush, William and Sarah
Fawbush, Numerous Fawbush.
2. Left side, fourth row are two infant sons of A.P. and L.L. Belcher: Guy Belcher (1904)
and Infant Belcher (1900).
3. Left side, fifth row: Berton Belcher, April 2, 1878 to July 18, 1929; Henry F. Belcher,
May 1, 1844 to Sep. 6, 1919; Martha E. Belcher, wife of H.F. Belcher, Nov. 18, 1858 to
Mar. 18, 1910; Preston Belcher, April 14, 1819 (?) to Sep. 26, 1892; Margaret Belcher,
wife of Preston Belcher, Feb. 19, 1829 (?) to Mar. 28, 1908. (Note: Birth year for Preston
or Margaret might be incorrect. Compare census notes below.)
4. Left side, sixth row: Frances E. Belcher (wife), Aug. 20, 1858 to Oct. 19, 1891; John W.
Belcher (husband), Sep. 10, 1848 to April 22, 1918; plus several unmarked stones.
5. Left side, seventh through tenth rows: Mary, wife of D. N. Richard, 1821-1907; Hettie P,
daughter of N & M Richard, 1852-1875; Permelia E, daughter of N & M Richard, 1843-
1866; plus several unmarked stones and a few stones with Riggs.
6. Right side, first row: Mancell Rex Belcher, Oct. 17, 1927 to Oct. 10, 1987, U.S. Army
Plaque; Raymond Belcher, Mar. 26, 1915 to Oct. 5, 1929 (son of Hulet and Belle); Hulet
A. Belcher, Jan. 1, 1880 to Dec. 2, 1955; Belle Belcher, Feb. 24, 1892 to April 6, 1970.
7. Right side, second row: Dewey Fultz (1904-1966); John S. Fultz (1851-1928);
Nelgena, wife of J. S. Fultz, (1859-1918); Hascal J. Fultz (1877-1915); Joe Cephus Fultz
(1896-1936); Charlie Bedford Fultz (1919-1937).
8. Right side, third row: Ray S. Belcher (husband), May 23, 1912 to May 25, 1998;
Stanford F. Belcher (wife), Mar. 26, 1924 to Dec. 25, 2003; there is also a plaque to “Ray
Smith Belcher, Cpl. U.S. Army, WW2, Purple Heart.” Nelson Belcher (husband), Mar. 28,
1862 to April 5, 1928; Lou Belcher (wife), Sep. 24, 1889 to Aug. 20, 1966; Stanley W.
Belcher (son of N & L Belcher), Oct. 26, 1916 to Feb. 22, 1921; Missouri A. Belcher, wife
of M. N Belcher, Sep. 6, 1856 to Sep. 7, 1903; Hurchell J. Belcher, son of M. N. Belcher,
June 9, 1894 to Oct. 27, 1918, also a plaque “Pvt. U. S. Army, WWI, 357th Inf, Died for
His Country.”
C. Notes on Belcher families of Monroe County, KY.
1. John Belcher, born 1788 in VA, was possibly son of William, son of Isham Belcher.
2. Another son of Isham Belcher was George. Both George and John Belcher (uncle and
nephew) are found in the 1810 census of Floyd County, KY. In the 1820 census, George
is listed in Floyd, but John in Cumberland County. In the 1830 census, George is no longer
listed, but John is listed in Monroe County. John is also found on the 1830 tax list of
Monroe County. Note Monroe was formed from Cumberland in 1820.
3. David Belcher is found in the 1830 census of Cumberland County. Zachariah Belshe of
Lincoln County had land transactions in Cumberland as early as 1809 and into the 1820’s.
Peter and Robert Belshe are also mentioned in the 1820 land deals. Their lineage is
unknown to this researcher.
4. The 1850 census of Monroe County lists families of John, Preston, and Hopkins Belcher.
i. John Belcher (62), Parmelia (65), Elizabeth (22), Cynthia (21), John (20),
George (16).
ii. Preston Belcher (31), Amanda (21), Henry (5), Elizabeth (4), John (2).
iii. Hopkins Belcher (33), Harriett (26), Mary (6), John (3), Lucy (1).
5. Preston and Hopkins were probably sons of John and Parmelia; all four were listed as
being born in Virginia, while all the other children were born in Kentucky. Note some of
these names and dates from the census records match those found in the cemetaries listed
above. It seems John and Parmelia lived in the Meshack Creek area of Monroe County,
while Preston and Hopkins lived closer to Tompkinsville, near Emberton. Note John named
one of his sons George. The researcher who submits this data descends from John's uncle,
George, who settled in Floyd/Pike Counties, KY.