All information on this page was graciously contributed by Bob Hillskemper [email protected]

[Author’s comments: This article was originally posted on this site in early 2000. Since then, many favorable comments and support for the conclusions reached have been received. This Nov. 2000 update is a result of the author’s receipt of a new, more complete, set of photographs of the Hale Cemetery which revealed features not seen in the previous set].

Introduction: Two different dates are widely published for Lewis Hale's death, March 12, 1802 and July 2, 1802. The purpose of this document is to furnish conclusive evidence in support of the March date.

Source No. 1 - Inventory and Appraisal of Lewis Hale's Estate: Apparently, Lewis Hale (Sr.) did not leave a formal will. However, an inventory and appraisal of his estate was made after his death and recorded in Grayson County, Virginia Will Book No. 1, 1796 -1839, Reel 9, pages 14 -16. Below is a summary of the inventory and the full text of the closing statement.

Inventory and appraisal summary: Livestock, household items, horses, saddles and harnesses, farm implements, carpentry tools, plus many additional items, together with their value, are recorded in an extensive list. The grand total of all goods was $996.32. A sampling of the inventory, exactly as worded, appears below.

Closing Statement (full text):

In Pursuance of an Order of Court, We have appraised the personal Estate of Lewis Hail Dec'd shown to us and Inventory of which is hereto annexed amounting in the whole to nine hundred nintey six dollars thirty two cents. Given under our hands this 3rd day of April 1802.

Source No. 2 - Hale Cemetery Photographs The Hale Family Cemetery is located in Elk Creek, Virginia on a hill above where the old Hale mansion was once built. At the front of the cemetery are two decorative iron gates which swing open at the center. Incorporated within the iron scroll work at the upper portion of the gates is the inscription, "HALE 1802."

In 1972, the Rev. Vickrey Dougherty and his wife, Anna, visited Elk Creek to do research for the book Anna published in 1985, "Sharing the Hidden Secrets of the Past in Dougherty History." As part of their research, they took several photographs at the Hale Cemetery. The Rev. Dougherty, a Methodist Minister, is a descendant of Rosamond J. Dougherty, nee Hale, a daughter of Lewis Hale Jr. and Elizabeth Bourne.

In 1991, sisters Geraldine Moreton and Ruby Yeakley also took a series of photographs at the Hale Cemetery which supplement the 1972 Dougherty set. Mrs. Moreton and Mrs. Yeakley are descendants of Rufus M. Hale, a brother of the Rosamond J. Dougherty mentioned above.

The photographs reveal the following:

One photo shows a view through the iron gates at the front of the cemetery. Lewis Hale’s grave monument can easily be identified in the background by its distinctive shape as it is the same monument described and depicted in the book published in 1914 by B. F. Nuckolls, Pioneer Settlers of Grayson County, Virginia, pages 108 to 113.

The monument is estimated to be about nine feet tall. Located between the white granite base and the top cap is a four sided white granite obelisk.

Views of the four faces of the obelisk reveals that an inscription is carved into each face. Close-up photos of the two inscriptions which establish the death dates of Lewis Hale and his wife Mary [Burwell] are shown below.

1. The filing date of Lewis Hail's estate inventory and appraisal, with the words, "Lewis Hail, Dec'd", firmly establishes that Lewis Hail died prior to 3 April 1802.
2. The listing of the names of Richard Hail and William Hail, the two eldest sons of Lewis Hail, as administrators of the inventory and appraisal, gives us reasonable assurance that the document was for their father, the particular Lewis Hail (Hale) who married Mary Burwell.
3. The monument definitively states that Lewis Hale died on March 12, 1802. This March date obviously conflicts with the statement on page 108 of the Nuckolls book stating that Lewis Hale died on July 2, 1802.

   
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