This Web site is no longer being updated. This page has
been changed to make it more reader friendly and has several sub pages. To
go to the updated site for the new Chalybeate Springs Pioneer Community and
Cemetery pages click on the links below.
Introduction http://williesigler.com/old_chalybeate_springs.htm
Community http://williesigler.com/cscommunity.htm
Churches http://williesigler.com/cschurches.htm
Schools http://williesigler.com/csschools.htm
Meeting Houses http://williesigler.com/csmtghouses.htm
Cemeteries http://williesigler.com/cscemeteries.htm
Families http://williesigler.com/csfamilies.htm
Descendants http://williesigler.com/chalybeate_descendents.htm
UGRR? http://williesigler.com/csugrr.htm
Charts http://williesigler.com/cscharts.htm
Real Estate http://williesigler.com/real_estate.htm
Old Chalybeate Springs Community and Cemetery
Note: The Introduction is on this page. The other
chapters have separate pages. Click on the rectangles at the top of the
page to view the other chapters.
Chalybeate Cemetery Tour Videos Northwest
South
The Northwest video has a running time of 2 minutes 15 seconds and the South
video has a running time of 1 minute 48 seconds. For DSL, Cable, and other
comparable super fast download speed systems download times of almost 3 minutes
for the Northwest and about 2 minutes 15 seconds can be expected. Dial-up
56 K systems might consider starting the downloads and then finding something
else to do for about a half hour or so.
Click HERE for a recent video
of the cemetery cleanup project progress.
This video has a running time of 11 seconds and downloading should not be a
problem.
USGS Map of the Chalybeate Area in the 1950's
This map is divided into four quadrants with the southwest quadrant being the
largest and the northeast being the smallest. The meridian shown on this
map is 87 deg 47' 30" west longitude and the parallel is 37
deg 35' 00" north latitude.
Some of the roads on this map are no longer open to the public. Check
current maps before driving in this area. Obtain permission from current
landowners before walking or hiking on closed roads.
The Old Chalybeate Spring Cemetery is located northwest of the intersection
of the meridian and parallel where the route of the road turns toward a
southwest direction
The road that goes from the northwest corner of the map to Shelton and then
to the south edge of the map is Kentucky 857 which is also called Persimmon
Ridge Road.
The road that goes from the north edge of the map just west of the meridian
to the east edge of the map near the southeast corner of the map is Kentucky
983. This road intersects with U.S. 41 A in Dixon.
The road that goes from the southwest corner of the map to Kentucky 857 is
Airline Road.
The road that goes from the east edge of the map to Kentucky 983 is New Cedar
Grove Road.
The road that goes from the north edge of the map to Kentucky 983 is Givens
Road.
The road that goes from Shelton eastward to Kentucky 983 is Old
Morganfield-Dixon Road.
The road that goes from the south edge of the map to the Old Chalybeate
Spring Cemetery is the Waggener Church - Chalybeate Road. While the
community was active during the 1800's this road continued westward from the
cemetery along the creek and continued to Walnut Grove Church. Walnut
Grove Church and Cemetery, Old Chalybeate Springs Church and Cemetery, and
Waggener Church and Cemetery were all connected by this road. A road also
existed from Shelton to the road that existed between Old Chalybeate Springs
Church and Walnut Grove Church. Schools were located at Shelton and at
the intersection of New Cedar Grove Road and Kentucky 983.
The trail in the northwest quadrant goes from the area of the home of Jacob
and Malinda Sigler to Kentucky 983.
Kentucky 983 north of the parallel has be rerouted so that it no longer has a
"T" intersection. The old road is still visible.
Chapter 1 Introduction
Location of the Cemetery and Directions to the Cemetery-----Correction Notice-----Cemetery
Cleanup Project-----Other Chalybeate Cemetery Web Pages-----Grave Location Project-----Cemetery Mapping Project-----Current Research Issues-----Ancestors of this Page's Author in Old Chalybeate
Springs Cemetery
Chapter 2 The Community
Chalybeate Community History-----Tour of Chalybeate Community by Dr. Ishmael Oakley-----
, Robert Henry Sigler's Additional Chalybeate Community Points of
Interest-----(Original
Text) Dr. Ishmael Oakley's Tour----- Cousin Todd Shelton's excellent description about his trip to
Chalybeate during the 2002 Sigler Family Reunion-----Before The Woodlot - This section contains
stories from people who saw the cemetery when it was being mowed and was a
grassy field of cemetery stones. Clinton Mulcahy and Nancy Morehead Fust
have contributed to this section so far. Hopefully there will be more
contributions.
Chapter 3 The Churches
General Baptist Connections at Chalybeate-----Chalybeate Springs Methodist Episcopal Church-----Cemetery Stone in
Chalybeate Springs Methodist Church Cemetery for Rev. James M. McIntyre, Green
River and Henderson Circuit, Green River District, Kentucky Conference,
Methodist Episcopal Church-----Pentecostal Services
Walnut Grove Church and Waggener Church may also be associated with the
Chalybeate Community.
Chapter 4 The Meeting House Lot and Meeting Houses
Meeting House Lot Deed-----The Last Meeting House-----Kentucky Conference, United Methodist Church
Correspondence
The first meeting house lot was probably a square containing about four
acres. Its boundaries are used as boundary markers in deeds dating back to
the end of the Civil War. A four acre square would have been just about
the right size for a pioneer fort during the early 1800's.
The next reference to a meeting house lot is the acre that was given to
the Methodist Church by the descendants of Jacob Sigler and Malinda Roberts in
1877.
Chapter 5 The Cemetery
Chalybeate Springs Cemetery -----Evansville Courier and Press Chalybeate Springs
Cemetery article (12-6-1983), Used with permission and provided by Nancy
Morehead Fust
Chapter 6 The Families
Chalybeate Springs Community Families
References to courthouse records (book and page) are included in several of
the family sections on this page. An interested person can either visit
the courthouses to view the documents or contact the courthouses to secure
copies of the documents.
Chapter 7 The Underground Railroad Hypothesis
Underground Railroad Station Possibility-----Rufus Sigler by Dr. Robert
Thomas Sigler-----Correspondence with Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr.-----Excerpts from "Underground Railroad, First
Person Narratives of Escapes to Freedom in the North" by Charles Blockson.
Prentice Hall, New York, 1987. Provided by Ms. Jeannie Regan-Dinius,
Indiana Department of Natural Resources
Schools
There were at least two schools in the community. A deed exists for one
of them.
Cemeteries
The main cemetery is located near the Old Chalybeate Spring. However, it
appears that the cemeteries at Walnut Grove and Waggener Church may also be
associated with the community.
Descendents
This page was started to show the descendents of the original pioneers that
created the Chalybeate Community during the first few decades of the 1800's.
Real Estate
This page gives details of various tracts of land owned by members of the
Chalybeate Community. The buying and selling of some tracts have very
interesting stories. This chapter gives descriptions of the tracts and
sometimes references the names of neighbors.
Charts
Due to the nature of charts and printing problems associated with large
charts, I have a separate page for large charts.
Chapter 1
Introduction
Location and Directions
Old Chalybeate Springs Cemetery is located on the Webster County
side of the Union County - Webster County boundary between Kentucky highways 983
and 857. Access to the cemetery is by way of a county maintained road
which connects to Kentucky highway 983. The road is located four tenths of
a mile from the Union County line and is marked by a street sign which says
"Chalybeate Cemetery Road". Kentucky highway 983 intersects with
U.S. highway 41A in Dixon, Kentucky and Kentucky highway 56 near Boxville,
Kentucky. Kentucky highway 56 intersects with U.S. highway 60 in
Morganfield, Kentucky. The cemetery is not named but is
plotted on the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Highway Map for Webster
County. Click here
for a GIF link to the state highway department Webster County map.
Correction Notices
Previously, this web page stated that the Chalybeate Springs meeting house was destroyed by fire. That information was copied from this web
site and printed on page 18 of the "Sigler Book" by Gregory L. Watson
during the first few months of 2002. It may have been copied and printed
in books by others. On June 18, 2002, I visited the site and
community and interviewed two residents who were over 70 years old and had lived
in the community their entire lives concerning the issue. Both of them
independently gave the same information. The last meeting house was not destroyed by
fire. One of the people interviewed was responsible for the removal of the
remains of the building from the property. The fate of the building is
discussed below.
Previously, I had stated on this web page that the Chalybeate Community was a
community with a single religion and a single political point of view.
Further research indicates the probability that two groups with sometimes
differing views may have shared the community and meeting house. I have
made corrections in the respective area of this web page on 1-19-2004.
Cemetery Cleanup Efforts
A fund to help finance the cleanup and restoration of the
cemetery at Old Chalybeate Springs was established at the 2002 Sigler
Family Reunion. However, very little progress on the cleanup and
restoration has been made so far. The small area which had been cleared
before the reunion is now being overgrown again. It would probably take a
substantial effort by the descendants of the community who live in the local
area of the cemetery and have significant time and resources to cleanup,
restore, and maintain the cemetery. I live about ninety miles away from
the cemetery and have an irregular work schedule.
The landowner who owns the land adjacent to the cemetery organized a cemetery cleanup day. The date for the cleanup day
was Saturday, April 3, 2004. Work began at 9 o'clock A.M.
The cleanup work lasted all day.
The local press covered the activities of the day. The reporters covering
the event were from the newspapers in Providence, Kentucky (Webster County) and
Morganfield, Kentucky (Union County). As I was leaving to return home
another vehicle with people who may have been reporters passed me on the
cemetery access road.
Other Chalybeate Web Pages
Todd Shelton, a career service member of the United States
Navy, attended the reunion and took several photos of Old Chalybeate Springs
Cemetery on June 20, 21, and 22, 2002. Some of Todd's photos are on his
web site. http://sheltonmotorsports.com/chalybea.htm
While the rest of us were in Henderson at the 2002 Sigler
Family Reunion on June 22, 2002, Maria Troutman was at Old Chalybeate Springs Cemetery
creating a special gift for the Old Chalybeate Springs Cemetery and Community family,
friends, and researchers. Maria is the wife of a career service member of
the United States Air Force and has ancestors buried in Old Chalybeate Springs Cemetery. Maria is also the Union County, Kentucky, coordinator for the
Kentucky Genweb (US Genweb) project. Maria photographed well over 90
percent of the stones in the cemetery and has constructed a web page for them.
http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/ky/webster/cemeteries/chalybeate.html
http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/ky/webster/cemetery/chalybeate.html
Open the Cemeteries folder and then open the Chalybeate file.
Grave Location Project
The words of my grandfather, Rufus Sigler, spoken to my father
in my presence were "Robert, they are all buried there (at Chalybeate), all
the way back. Many of them do not have stones. Let the dead bury the
dead." Mamie Tate has added that her grandmother also said those
words but added that a person never died as long as someone alive spoke
their names. On October 26, 2002, I started a project to locate
excavations at the Chalybeate Cemetery using the divining rod method taught to
me by the caretaker of a large cemetery. If the excavations are the
general dimensions of a grave and are in the cemetery, I am going to consider
them probable graves. On October 26, 2002, I located seventeen unmarked
probable graves in the cemetery.
Cemetery Mapping Project
A grid system is currently being established in the cemetery. The
intent is to establish north-south and east-west grid lines approximately 50 feet apart in
the cemetery and identify the location of graves, grave markers, and other items
of interest with respect to the grid which I am establishing. I am using
driveway markers to mark the corners of the quadrangles. When the
grid has been established on the ground I plan to reference things on this page
to the grid on the ground.
I am using the shadow of the sun at nine minutes before noon central standard
time to establish the
first north-south line. Considering the longitude of the cemetery this
should provide a true north reference for the cemetery grid system. My watch was set using data from a satellite
and my watch gains about 20 seconds over a three month period. I am
using a laser level on a forty-two inch tripod, a fifty foot chain, and two four
foot levels to determine the locations of the corners of the quadrangle
components of the grid system. Due to the various slopes encountered on
the ground in the cemetery the quadrangles are not true fifty foot squares.
As of November 6, 2004, the north-south prime meridian for the cemetery had
been established and two of the parallels had been established. I am
not doing this alone. I am being assisted by James D. Sigler who is local
with respect to the cemetery and a descendant of Jacob Sigler and Malinda
Roberts.
Current Research Issues
I am finding that much valuable information concerning Chalybeate is woven
into the threads of the families not associated with Chalybeate but who are
related to the families at Chalybeate.
The first issue deals with the probability that two different denominations
shared both the cemetery and meeting house at Chalybeate. It seems logical and
probable that both Methodists and Baptists were members of the Chalybeate
community.
According to Paul Sigler in Oklahoma the Siglers were Baptists in Virginia,
North Carolina and Robertson County, Tennessee. The General Baptist denomination
originated as the Liberty Association in southern Indiana. The Liberty
Association organized and established the Union Association in the Tradewater
region of western Kentucky. Jacob Holeman is listed as the leader of the Union
Association in the history of the Liberty Association, excerpts of which have
been provided to me by Mamie Tate. Jacob Holeman and Caswell Mason are credited
with establishing the Enon Baptist Church on the Crittenden County and Caldwell
County line. Dr. Ishmael Oakley has stated that his great great great
grandfather, Amos Mansfield Sigler, was a
Baptist minister in the Shady Grove area on the same county line. Both Caswell
Mason and Amos Sigler married sisters of Jacob Holeman. Amos Sigler has at least
three children, three grandchildren, and one great grand child buried in the
cemetery at Chalybeate. Jacob has at least one son and a grandchild buried in
the cemetery at Chalybeate.
When John Sigler died in Robertson County, Tennessee, his widow and all but
one of his children moved to Caldwell County, Kentucky, and became associated
with the Methodist Church there. John and Nancy were the parents of Jacob
Sigler, the owner of the land where the Chalybeate cemetery and meeting house
lot is located. The meeting house lot was deeded to the Methodist Church after
Jacob and Malinda died.
Another current issue is the actual area described in the deed of the land
from Jacob and Malinda’s children to the Methodist Church. I have been told
that the cemetery was not included in the deed. I used the south fence of the
cemetery as a boundary when I surveyed the property. If the north fence is the
correct boundary it would have been the fence that existed in 1877. In all
probability, if the north fence as it existed in 1877 was used for the boundary,
the cemetery has been extended onto the area of land deeded to the Methodist
Church. I have also found a grave in the wooded area on the western part of the
lot. A deed for adjacent land at the courthouse in Dixon uses the "meeting
house lot" as part of its boundary. I need to go back to the cemetery with
my steel rods and try to find the post holes for the 1877 fence. I found a post
hole in the road when I was looking for the graves under the road but did not
pursue the issue at that time.
Another issue concerns where everyone went after services were no longer held
at the meeting house at Chalybeate. Walnut Grove Church is a short distance from
Chalybeate and is on the old public road that ran between the two churches. A
General Baptist church is located between Chalybeate and Dixon. Also, a
Methodist church exists in Dixon and at one time a grandson of Jacob and Malinda
was the pastor there. Walnut Grove Church and Waggener Church also exist a
short distance from Chalybeate and Chalybeate is located on the old abandoned
public road on which both of them are located.
I am also trying to establish the origins of the original families at
Chalybeate. For the most part it seems that they came from North Carolina
sometimes starting out in Virginia and passing through Tennessee before getting
to Chalybeate.
There are some burials which may be those of descendants of Jacob Sigler and
Margaret of Virginia and North Carolina which I have not yet been able to prove.
If any of you can prove their lineage please let me know. If you know of other
descendants of Jacob Sigler and Margaret that I have not identified as such and
who are buried at Chalybeate please let me know.
Obviously, I need more research in the courthouses in Dixon, Morganfield, and
Henderson as well as at the churches mentioned above and more "reading the
land" at the cemetery and meeting house lot. If any of you have additional
information which you could send me on these issues, please send it. With my
schedule at home and work it may take months or years to resolve these issues
but I will endeavor to do so.
A cemetery survey form with supporting attachments for Old Chalybeate
Springs Methodist Cemetery has been sent to the Attorney General's Task Force on
Cemetery Preservation of the Office of the Attorney General of the Commonwealth
of Kentucky.
The Old Chalybeate Springs Methodist Community Underground Railroad
Hypothesis has been registered with the Indiana Underground Railroad Initiative
through the Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology of the Department
of Natural Resources of the State of Indiana. The Initiative is a
volunteer organization.
Ancestors of this Page's Author Associated with
Old Chalybeate Springs Community and Cemetery
One of my grandparents came from the Chalybeate Springs Community
and three of my grandparents came from the Old Bethel Baptist Community.
Both communities were a part of the original Union County, Kentucky, before
Webster County was formed in 1860 and both are a part of Union County history.
Names in bold are known to be buried in Old Chalybeate Springs Cemetery.
Source for parents of Elizabeth Duncan: Beverley Hackley Ballentine and
Carol Cates
Source for parents and grandparents of John Hearin: Todd Shelton
Charles Franklin Wallace was the son of John Wallace (1782-1855) and Francis
Taylor (1787-1856). An
excerpt from the History of Gibson County, Indiana, (Jas T. Tartt & Co,
Edwardsville, Illinois, 1884) concerning John Wallace, the father of Charles Franklin Wallace
is as follows.
"Mr. Wallace and wife were both members of the Methodist Episcopal
Church and he was for many years a class leader. He was a Whig and
Republican, and being strongly opposed to the institution of slavery, it was the
prime reason of his leaving Kentucky. He was also a botanic doctor and
was successful in the practice, though his main occupation was that of a
farmer."
Jacob Sigler was a grandson of George Wales (1737-1824) and Nancy Irvin,
who were born in Pennsylvania in the Quaker community and moved to North
Carolina in 1767 where they became involved with the Baptist community.
Jacob's parents, John Sigler and Nancy Wales were married in North Carolina and
moved to Robertson County, Tennessee, where Jacob Sigler grew up. George
Wales moved to Warren County, Ohio, in 1816 and Jacob Sigler had grandparents,
an uncle, and cousins living there during the 1800's. (History of Warren
County, Ohio, by W. H. Beers, 1882, pp. 650, 1019, 1020) and (Encyclopedia of
American Quaker Genealogy, Volume 1, North Carolina)
Mary Sigler, a sister of Jacob Sigler's father (John Sigler), was born in
Loudoun County, Virginia. She moved with her family to Rowan County, North
Carolina, and, at the age of seventeen, married Samuel Wales, a brother of Jacob
Sigler's mother (Nancy Wales) in 1791. The family lived in Rowan County,
North Carolina, and seven children (Margaret Wales, Sarah Wales, George Wales,
Jacob Wales, Isaac Wales, Sabra Wales, and William Winford Wales) were born from
1792 to 1818. Mary and Samuel moved to Indiana to be with their son,
Isaac, and his family. Mary died in 1845 in Bartholomew County, Indiana,
and is buried there.
Catherine Sigler, a sister of Jacob Sigler's father (John
Sigler) was born in Loudoun County, Virginia. She moved with her family to
Rowan County, North Carolina, and, at the age of fifteen, married Samuel Wales
Busey in 1794. Catherine and Samuel moved to Shelby and Franklin Counties
in Kentucky where seven children (Matthew Wales Busey, Edith Busey, Jacob Busey,
Mary Busey, Lazarus Whitehead Busey, Catherine Busey, and Samuel Andrew Jackson
Busey) were born from 1798 to 1813. The family moved to Washington County,
Indiana, and two more sons, John H. Busey and Singleton Wilson Busey, were born
in 1815 and 1818. Samuel died in Putnam County, Illinois, in 1844 and
Catherine died in Urbana, Champaign County, Illinois, in 1845. Matthew
Wales Busey married Elizabeth Bush in Washington County, Indiana, in 1821.
Eight children (Louisa Jane Busey, Simeon Harrison Busey, Mary Cerelda Busey,
Sarah A. Busey, Samuel Thompson Busey, Elizabeth Frances Busey, and Matthew D.
Busey) were born. Elizabeth Bush Busey died in Champaign County, Illinois,
in 1880.
