The following is a transcription from a letter written by Earl C. Grayson, October 11, 1977 concerning his search for burial sites of Graysons in Westport, Indiana
My family and I have really enjoyed the time we have spent searching
for the Grayson Family. We have made some startling discoveries and
some chilling ones. Enclosed you will find two maps; on of Decatur
County, Indiana and one of Jennings County, Indiana. On the Decatur
County map I have marked off an area and numbered it: (1)
This is the 80 acres of land in Decatur County that Wren and his family
settled on. Number (2) is the 40 acres
Wren's sister Nancy Hamilton settled. Number (3)
is the 80 acres in Jackson Twp. that my grandfather lived on and where
my father was born. The red circle around the unnamed cemetery is
where Wren and Wren, Jr. and two of their wives are buried. I have
learned that the cemetery is sometimes called Wyaloosing Cemetery, named
after Wyalossing Creek which runs along the east side.
Our search for Beryl carried us all over southern Decatur Co.,
and northern Jenning Co. We were told we could find Beryl in Bear
Creek Cemetery. There are two Bear Creek Cemeteries. One in
Jennings Co., at the intersection of Bartholomew, Decatur and Jennings
Co., the other in Jennings Co., directly south of Westport.
We search both but found no known Graysons. Another suggestion
was the Eddleman Cemetery located east of Sardinia. This search
was also fruitless. With two possibilities left in the immediate
area, we tried Dag Cemetery as it is marked on the map. Later we
discovered that it is also called the McCammon Cemetery. We had to
travel the road Eddelman Cemetery was on and travel south on it until it
came to a fork. Bearing to the left we were traveling on a road which
was little more than a lane. We followed this road, passed one house
and coming to a dead end with another house located there. Quite
a thunderstorm struck as we turned around and backtracked. At the
firs house we had passed we stopped for directions. A teenage girl
told us to go on down the lane, just across the road from the house, past
an abandoned house and straight down the lane. We drove down the
land to the old empty house and ahead lay tow tracks. They were lightly
graveled. This lane was located between two fences lined with tress
and dense undergrowth. It slowly descended lower and lower between
the fences. Soon we came to a spot where the lane was no longer passable,
completely grown over with weeds and saplings. When we stopped, my
wife said she had seen the cemetery about 25 feet back and above us.
Above was a path leading to a gate and entrance to an old, neat and well groomed
cemetery. Again my daughter, this time the younger, astonished
me by walking straight to Beryl's grave. Next to his stone was his wife's, Eliza Jane nee McCammon who had remarried on Feb 3, 1866 to James
Armstrong II.
Donald G. Hooper
