Denton-Neff Cemetery

 

Locality: Salem                                      Temporal Period:                  2^nd & 3^rd quarters 19^th c.

Realty Map:          116-1-2                                   Cultural Affiliation:              Euro-American

USGS Map:           Salem                                      Landform:                              Ridge top

Grid Locus:            I-10                                         Elevation:                              1100 feet

UTM Easting:       585840                                    Aspect:                                  Flat

UTM Northing:    4127490

 

Site Dimensions:  8 by 13 feet

 

Survey Description:  Site consists of a small family cemetery with four graves.  Three of the graves were marked with inscribed headstones and the fourth contained only an uninscribed stone.  All of the graves were oriented to the east.  Cemetery is enclosed by a modern chain-link and wood post fence and is located on a VDOT storage area.  Historic plantings include two large oak trees and periwinkle ground cover..  Site was field inspected, photographed, and grave marker inscriptions were transcribed and compared to previous documentation.  Site size was determined by measuring the horizontal extent of the surrounding fence.

 

Survey Date:         11/98

 

Field Notes:           _x_Yes   ___No

Photographs:        _x_Yes   ___No

 

References:           Roanoke Valley Historical Society

                                1986        Roanoke County Graveyards Through 1920.  Privately printed, RVHS, Roanoke.

 

Works Progress Administration of Virginia, Historical Inventory, Roanoke County, Virginia, Document #72.

 

Additional Comments:        Assigned temporal period was based on the 1847 through 1853 range of death dates inscribed on observed headstones.  The cemetery is not marked on the USGS Salem map sheet or on local realty maps.

 

This cemetery was initially surveyed in 1936 by the Works Progress Administration of Virginia and recorded as the “Denton-Neff Cemetery” in Document #72 of the Historical Inventory of Roanoke County, Virginia.  The WPA file provided biographical information for the graves of Phebe Denton (Mar. 22, 1758 / Feb. 22, 1853 / Aged 94 yrs. 11 mo.), John Neff (consort of / Barbara Neff / Sept. 7, 1786 / Aug. 27, 1853), and Andrew Neff (Son of / John & Barbara Neff / Sept. 28, 1825 / Aug. 9, 1853).   The WPA file describes the cemetery as “…a two family cemetery and contains several graves.  It is neither well kept or fenced.”

 

The RVHS also surveyed the cemetery and reported that “several stones legible in the 1930s W.P.A. survey were not legible when the historical society’s volunteers copied, and other graves may have disappeared.  Two stones had no legible names but one read “Aged 66 yrs. 11 mos. 26 days / Feb. 23^rd 1877” (1986:  109).  The report also listed biographical information for the graves of Phebe Denton, Andrew Neff, and John Neff.  The headstone for Phebe Denton was described as “a large stone, in good condition.” Presumably, information pertaining to the other graves was derived from the WPA survey document.

Denton-Neff Cemetery (continued)

 

Marker Inscriptions:

 

In                                                            Andrew Neff                                                         John Neff

Memory of                                            Son of                                                                    Consort of

Barbara A.                                             John & Barbara A. Neff                                      Barbara A. Neff

Daughter of                                           Born Sept. 28^th, 1825;                                           Sept. 7^th, 1786

Andrew Andes,                                    Died Aug. 9^th, 1853:                                              (broken) 22th, 1853

 Consort of                                            Aged 27 yea(broken)                                           Aged 66 years

John Neff                                               9 Days                                                                    11 mo. & 15 Days

(broken) 1780                                        (footstone: AN)

Departed this life

Feb. 28^th, 1847

Aged 66 years

6 mos. & 26

Days

(footstone: BAN)

 

Headstone documented by the WPA and  RVHS but not observed during the 1998 survey:

 

Phebe Denton

Mar. 22, 1758

Feb. 22, 1853

Aged 94 yrs. 11 mos.

 

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