- Joined
- Sep 2, 2019
- Location
- Raleigh, North Carolina
I've been studying the Highs, a well-known family in Zebulon, NC, many of whom are descendants of freedmen from the antebellum High farm in Wakefield, a community that was annexed to Zebulon in the 20th century. Recently, I learned about a High family cemetery off of Riley Hill Rd. in Zebulon, and decided to visit it to see if I could learn more about the family there. What I discovered was an all-but-forgotten burial ground grown over by pine woods and nearly unrecognizable.
I came to know about the High family because one of its earlier-known members, Isaac High, was an enslaved worker conscripted to work on the Raleigh fortifications in 1863. I wanted to profile him in the book I'm working on, so I looked into his family history a bit. His Confederate pension application says that he was owned by John Green High of Wakefield, son of Delaney High. A history of Zebulon provides this tidbit of history:
“Wakefield also has a rich history all its own. The small community was founded around the 1850s and was a voting precinct by 1861... Wakefield was the halfway point on the stage route between Raleigh and Rocky Mount. Wakefield also contains property that was known as High Town which was land given to freed slaves who took the name of their former owners, High.” (Cunningham, Mary; and associates. Zebulon, Wake County: A Community Diagnosis Including Secondary Data Analysis and Qualitative Data Collection. Chapel Hill NC: School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, 30 April 1998. Page 7.)
On Find A Grave, I found a page for a High Family Cemetery, and wrote to some of the commenters there. One member of the High family wrote back and gave me some information about the possible location of this cemetery. (The abandoned cemetery she pointed to turned out not to be the one pictured at Find A Grave, so there's more to be learned about interment locations for the Highs.) But she did share some information that led me to the Riley Hill cemetery, and confirmed that this is the location of a freedmen's burial ground:
"Henry High was my great-grandfather... Henry High lived on what was called Wakefield-Riley Rd (now it's just called Riley Hill Rd). According to my family notes the cemetery was across the street from Henry's house. Byggie was laid to rest in the family cemetery across the road on a hill from the house. According to Toney Funeral Home in Zebulon, the address is 8220 Riley Hill Rd." (Personal email communication.)
The Byggie mentioned here is Byzilla Merritt High (1829-1920), wife of Willis Henry High (1833-?). Her photo here is courtesy of R. High-Martin.
The information from my High family source helped me to locate the cemetery through the Wake County property maps (Wake County iMAPS, Wake.gov):
From this, I was able to identify the cemetery with this patch of trees about 150' x 180' on Wynnscott Farm Ln. off of Riley Hill Rd., about two miles northwest of the center of Zebulon, and between Riley Hill Rd. and US 264 (Source: Google Maps):
As you can see from my first photo, this cemetery is quite grown up with pine trees, and the ground covered with tree litter. I found about 10 grave markers, some of stone, and some in the form of metal memorial plaques (perhaps someone like @John Winn will know the correct term for these markers). I was only able to make out an inscription on one marker, a metal plaque for Elbert (Jack) High, who died 1 March 1965 at age 55 or 56. Census records for 1920 show an Elbert High at age 12 in Little River, NC (the Wake County township where Zebulon is located). That would be about the right age for the Elbert who died in 1965. The census record shows him living with his grandparents, "Iaach" and Flora High -- I believe the grandfather to be Isaiah High, with his name misspelled on the census list.
These photos show the various stones and metal markers that I found:
This burial ground seems like a good target for a preservation effort (but, er, not by me). I did suggest that to the High family member I was in touch with. In case she decides to follow up, is there a good source of information for how to carry out a preservation project? I imagine as a minimum one could start by removing tree litter, hoping to uncover grave markers that might have sunk or fallen flat. But I also imagine there are precautions that have to be taken.
Here's a final question: Is it just my imagination, or do the pine trees seem to be growing in rows? And could that indicate something about the original layout of this cemetery? Here's a marked up detail from the Google map:
Roy B.
I came to know about the High family because one of its earlier-known members, Isaac High, was an enslaved worker conscripted to work on the Raleigh fortifications in 1863. I wanted to profile him in the book I'm working on, so I looked into his family history a bit. His Confederate pension application says that he was owned by John Green High of Wakefield, son of Delaney High. A history of Zebulon provides this tidbit of history:
On Find A Grave, I found a page for a High Family Cemetery, and wrote to some of the commenters there. One member of the High family wrote back and gave me some information about the possible location of this cemetery. (The abandoned cemetery she pointed to turned out not to be the one pictured at Find A Grave, so there's more to be learned about interment locations for the Highs.) But she did share some information that led me to the Riley Hill cemetery, and confirmed that this is the location of a freedmen's burial ground:
"Henry High was my great-grandfather... Henry High lived on what was called Wakefield-Riley Rd (now it's just called Riley Hill Rd). According to my family notes the cemetery was across the street from Henry's house. Byggie was laid to rest in the family cemetery across the road on a hill from the house. According to Toney Funeral Home in Zebulon, the address is 8220 Riley Hill Rd." (Personal email communication.)
The Byggie mentioned here is Byzilla Merritt High (1829-1920), wife of Willis Henry High (1833-?). Her photo here is courtesy of R. High-Martin.
The information from my High family source helped me to locate the cemetery through the Wake County property maps (Wake County iMAPS, Wake.gov):
From this, I was able to identify the cemetery with this patch of trees about 150' x 180' on Wynnscott Farm Ln. off of Riley Hill Rd., about two miles northwest of the center of Zebulon, and between Riley Hill Rd. and US 264 (Source: Google Maps):
As you can see from my first photo, this cemetery is quite grown up with pine trees, and the ground covered with tree litter. I found about 10 grave markers, some of stone, and some in the form of metal memorial plaques (perhaps someone like @John Winn will know the correct term for these markers). I was only able to make out an inscription on one marker, a metal plaque for Elbert (Jack) High, who died 1 March 1965 at age 55 or 56. Census records for 1920 show an Elbert High at age 12 in Little River, NC (the Wake County township where Zebulon is located). That would be about the right age for the Elbert who died in 1965. The census record shows him living with his grandparents, "Iaach" and Flora High -- I believe the grandfather to be Isaiah High, with his name misspelled on the census list.
These photos show the various stones and metal markers that I found:
This burial ground seems like a good target for a preservation effort (but, er, not by me). I did suggest that to the High family member I was in touch with. In case she decides to follow up, is there a good source of information for how to carry out a preservation project? I imagine as a minimum one could start by removing tree litter, hoping to uncover grave markers that might have sunk or fallen flat. But I also imagine there are precautions that have to be taken.
Here's a final question: Is it just my imagination, or do the pine trees seem to be growing in rows? And could that indicate something about the original layout of this cemetery? Here's a marked up detail from the Google map:
Roy B.
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