DENDY FAMILY CEMETERY, Oconee County, SC
A.K.A. Richland & Walnut Creek, SC
Old Richland Presbyterian Church(1834)?
Version 2.3, 07-Apr-2005, C055.TXT, C55
****************************************************************
REPRODUCING NOTICE:
-------------------
These electronic pages may not be reproduced in any format for
profit, or presentation by any other organization, or persons.
Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must
obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal
representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb
archivist with proof of this consent.
Paul M Kankula - nn8nn
Seneca, SC, USA
Oconee County SC GenWeb Coordinator
Oconee County SC GenWeb Homestead
http://www.rootsweb.com/~scoconee/oconee.html
Oconee County SC GenWeb Tombstone Project
http://www.rootsweb.com/~scoconee/cemeteries.html
http://www.usgwtombstones.org/southcarolina/oconee.html
****************************************************************
DATAFILE INPUT . : Paul M. Kankula at (visit above website) in Apr-2003
DATAFILE LAYOUT : Paul M. Kankula at (visit above website) in Apr-2003
G.P.S. MAPPING . : Gary Flynn ay (visit above website) in Apr-2003
HISTORY WRITE-UP : Stribling Family History, Unknown Author
IMAGES ......... : Gary Flynn ay (visit above website) in Apr-2003
TRANSCRIPTION .. : Gary Flynn ay (visit above website) in Mar-2003
CEMETERY LOCATION:
------------------
Near 837 Popular Springs Rd in Richland
Latitude N 34 41.191 x Longitude W 83 01.715
CHURCH/CEMETERY HISTORY:
------------------------
The first Dendys in America came from Scotland and settled in Virginia, just
when, we do not know. There were two brothers, Thomas and William, also a sister
Martha, who owned land in Halifax County, VA. Their father, William Dendy, died
in 1757 in Halifax County."
A deed recorded in 1753 states that William Dendy of Antrim Parish sold to
George Currie 350 acres of land on both sides of Runaway Creek in Halifax Co.
"the land where the said William now lives." Court House records in this county
also show that in 1759 a William Dendy bought some livestock, furniture and
tools at the Administrator's sale of the personal property of William Dendy,
deceased in 1757. A 1757 real estate deed mentions "William Dendy and Martha
Dendy, son and daughter of William Dendy deceased." Several deeds on file in the
Halifax County, Virginia, court house record transactions by Thomas Dendy and
his wife Mary, but no further mention is made of the above mentioned Martha.
In 1742 William Dendy had "Race Paths," and in 1745 he was a surveyor of
roads in Virginia.
From 1764 to 1767 William and Thomas Dendy sold their lands in Virginia and
evidently moved to South Carolina shortly afterwards, for William Dendy and
Thomas Dendy obtained grants of land on the North Branch of Little River in
Laurens District in 1768 and in 1771.
Records in the Laurens County court house show that William Dendy, as a
merchant, was reimbursed on a number of occasions for forage, provisions and
"rashones" furnished the South Carolina Militia during the American Revolution.
On two occasions he provided supplies for Captain James Dillard of Laurens
County.
He was recognized as a "Patriot" by the Daughters of the American Revolution.
(National No. 297,933)
He died in 1880. In his will, filed in the Laurens County court house, dated
14-Aug-1800, William Dendy mentions his "beloved wife Clara Dendy," but her
Family name has not been determined for sure. It has been surmised that she was
the daughter of John Cargill, formerly of Virginia, who moved to South Carolina
also. Or she could have been a member of the Hogan Family who lived in the
Laurens District at that time, and Hogan became the name of one of the Dendy
children.
Nine children were named in his will:
1) William Dendy Jr.
2) Thomas Dendy
3) Daniel Dendy
4) John Dendy
5) JAMES HOGAN DENDY, b. 13-Mar-1783, m. (1st w.) Elizabeth Humphrey (c1782-
1854) & (2nd w.) Elizabeth Knox ((1804-1879) her 1st h. (?) Watts & 2nd h.
(?) Motes
6) Priscilla Dendy
7) Sally Dendy
8) Betsy Dendy
9) Joel Dendv, (Will Administrator)
(Daniel Dendy was to receive the 139 acre tract of land owned by his father
and each of the other children were to receive a slave and equal parts of any
estate left after their mother's death.) (12)
JAMES HOGAN DENDY:
James Hogan Dendy, son of William and Clara was born in Laurens District, S.C.
When a young man he went to Charleston, S.C., attended a school, established a
small business and learned surveying. A few years later he went up into the
northwestern part of the Colony of South Carolina and settled on Greer's Creek
near the Tugaloo River in what is now Oconee County. Here he met and married
Elizabeth Humphrey, daughter of Captain David and Martha (Word) Humphrey, in
1813. To this union five children were born.
Elizabeth Humphrey's Children:
1) Ann Marie Dendy, b. 9-oct-1813, d. __________, h. Issac Knox
2) Martha Humphrey Dendy, b. 18-nov-1816, d. __________, h. James A. Doyle
3) Caroline Elizabeth Dendy, b. 3-aug-1820, h. Ansel Alexander
4) ____________________
5) ____________________
Elizabeth Knox's Children:
1) Elizabeth Frances Dendy Hughs, b. 21-Mar-1828, d. 3-Jul-1913, h. Henry R.
Hughs
2) Thomas Hogan Dendy Jr, b. 1-Aug-1837, d. 8-Apr-1899, , w. Lucy A. Dendy
3) ____________________
4) ____________________
5) ____________________
6) ____________________
7) ____________________
8) ____________________
9) ____________________
10) ____________________
11) ____________________
Unknown Mother:
1) Stiles P. Dendy, b. 28-May-1839, d. 11-Nov-1907 or 9-Apr-1865
2) Marshal Bertrand, b. 16-feb-1833, d. 21-apr-1911, w. Mary L. Penny
3) William H. Dendy, b. 16-Aug-1834, d. 3-Nov-1864
4) John Thompson Dendy, infant
After the death of his first wife Elizabeth Humphrey in 1826, James Hogan Dendy
married Elizabeth Knox, daughter of John and Frances (Reid) Knox, who had
established his home on Seneca Creek near Lake Hartwell, opposite where Clemson
University was later established.
JAMES HOGAN DENDY bought a 200 acre tract of land on Richland Creek in 1827,
first owned by Matthew McDonald, a mile east of Coneross Creek, about three
miles from Walnut Hill, and lived there until his death. 14-Jul-1846. He also
bought 217 acres of land from Robert Stribling and Benjamin Kirkpatrick. He was
buried in the C55 Dendy family burial ground near the Dendy home, but his
remains have since been removed to the cemetery of the C163 Richland
Presbyterian Church, to rest by the side of his wife, Elizabeth KNOX DENDY, who
died 25-Dec-1879, at the age of 72.
For sixteen years, James H. Dendy was Ordinary of Pickens District, which
was probably the most important office in the district at that time. For, while
it corresponded with what is now our Court of Probate, it had more extensive
jurisdiction involving the sale of both real and personal property for the
settlement of estates sold by the decree of the court. He was one of the
founders and a charter member of the Richland Presbyterian Church and was a
Ruling Elder in this church for many years. A stained glass window was placed in
the church sanctuary by their children and grand-children in memory of James
Hogan and Elizabeth Knox Dendy. They had donated the land for, and helped build
the first church and gave land for the cemetery nearby.
A log school house was built near the church and James H. Dendy taught the first
school there in 1840. It was operated four days a week as a private school to
"instruct the children subscribed in the different branches of literature
agreeable to their capacities." The subscribers paid the teacher at the rate of
S7.00 a school year and the trustees were allowable to admit as many as six free
of charge.
o---------o
According to an article published in "Names in South Carolina" in the
winter of 1967, the Richland Community is located between Westminster and
Seneca, and was named for the fertile land found in the area. James Hogan
Dendy's homestead was one of the earliest to be settled in the
region. According to Shelor's history of the church, some of the
inhabitants of the Pickens District, "living in a country granting
toleration to every system of religion not subversive to social order and
civil liberty, have, jointly and severally, agreed to constitute ourselves
into a regularly organized Church. We call ourselves Presbyterians." The
result was the organization of Richland Church in 1834 on land provided by
Dendy. (Dendy, who was an original member of the church, later became an
elder. He died in 1846.)
The church began with eleven charter members; the first elders were
Francis Jenkins and John McWhorter.
A building committee consisting of James O. Lewis, Richard Harris and Rev.
Benjamin DuPre was appointed to take up subscriptions for a church building, "of
such dimensions and after such style as in their wisdom may be deemed expedient
and necessary." Rev. DuPre was called as stated supply, a post he filled until
1841; during this period the church maintained a membership of around 39.
Soon a large log church covered by "riven" boards was built. According to
Shelor, "The house was large and commodious, and was approached by a door
on the east side and one in the south end; one window on the west side and
probably a smaller window over the pulpit; the shutters for windows were
made of plank. The pulpit stood in the north end under the small
window. There were two long, narrow tables for the communion service. The
communicants were required to seat themselves at the table and when served
gave place to others."
In 1842 Joseph Hillhouse was supplying the church, and membership stood at
20 members. Hillhouse was also supplying Retreat as a mission station, and
working as a missionary in Anderson and Pickens. Other ministers who
assisted with services and protracted meetings were the reverends David
Humphreys, J. Leland Kennedy, Anthony W. Ross, and T.L. McBride. The land
on which the church stood was eventually deeded to the church by Dendy's
widow in 1850. Some of its deacons and members were dismissed in 1851 to
organize Retreat church.
William McWhorter was supplying the church in 1852, but membership
following the organization of Retreat had fallen to 18 members. McWhorter
was to serve as pastor from 1851-65, and later as stated supply from
1874-77. Around 1859 the congregation began to consider building a new
church. According to Shelor, "The noble response given by members of every
denomination in the county, and by the business men also, and liberal
contribution of her own members" enabled them to hire Thomas and William
Bibb as contractors in March of 1860. A condition of the contract was that
the building be completed by September of that year, which it was. This
second church, a large frame building, was dedicated on September 22. "It
was intended by the Committee to be a plain, neat and substantial building
without ornamentation, and the test of time has shown the wisdom of the
Committee in their plans and the faithfulness of the contractors in
executing them."
Rev. William P. Grady supplied the church from 1865-69, and Rev. Duncan
McNeill Turner from 1869-70. Rev. E.F. Hyde took over in January of
1871. In August of that year, the church was divided into groups or
sections with an elder leading each group. Shelor declared this "a very
commendable way of strengthening the stakes and lengthening the cords of
the Church." Mrs. Dendy deeded an additional acre of land to the church in
1871, to be used as a cemetery. Hyde's efforts, according to Shelor, were
"signalized by a marked degree of success throughout." Hyde resigned in
January of 1874, and from this period until 1877, Richland was supplied by
Rev. William McWhorter and others.
Rev. Samuel Leslie Morris took over the church in the spring of 1877. The
first statistical report of the church, issued in 1879, indicated a
congregation of 67 communicants and 36 non-communicants, a Sunday school
enrollment of 40, and a pastor's salary of $104. Rev. Morris left the
church in 1882. No record can be found of who supplied the church between
1882 and 1884, but in the latter year, Rev. Josiah McLeod Seabrook began
his work there and at Seneca. He left in 1888, leaving the church vacant
until February of 1889, when Rev. John Preston Marion took over. Marion,
who was serving the church in Seneca, supplied the pulpit until 1890, as
did Rev. George Lewis Cook, who was then serving as evangelist for South
Carolina Presbytery.
Then Reverend Thomas C. Ligon took over. He was called to the full
pastorate of the church in September of that year, and continued to serve
until April of 1895. Rev. George Gregg Mayes, pastor of the Walhalla
Church, was then hired as stated supply, but his services were terminated
in 1897. Beginning that same year, Rev. Robert Lee Rogers began his
ministry. He gave the church half of his time, spending the rest at
Walhalla. He also served as stated supply at Bethel, Fairview and Ebenezer
churches from 1902-1905. He died in 1905 at the age of 36, and was
remembered as a "safe, sound, conservative, instructive, evangelistic
preacher of the word" who had added more than 120 members to the churches
in his charge.
Rev. W.L. Brown began serving the church in 1906; he resigned in 1908,
after which the church was vacant for a year. Then, in April of 1909, Rev.
George Marshall Wilcox was called for half of his time. He accepted the
full charge of the Walhalla church in 1911, and the church was supplied by
Rev. John G. Law until 1912. In May of that year, Rev. F.D. Vaughan was
installed, but he was to serve not quite a year.
At this time, the church decided to unite with the Seneca church, and they
called Rev. Isaac Emmons Wallace to give half of his time to each church.
By 1915, church membership stood at 114, with 127 enrolled in the Sunday
school. Renovations during Rev. Wallace's tenure included the addition of
Sunday school rooms, a choir loft, and a dome; the newly remodeled church
was dedicated in 1924. Wallace left in 1923 to become superintendent of
Home Missions for Piedmont Presbytery.
Subsequent ministers included: Thomas Davidson Cartledge (1923-25);
Jeremiah Stephen Crowley (served Westminster and Richland from 1927-31);
William C. Frierson (1933-49), William Andrew Brown (1950-56, Westminster
and Richland); Henry D. Mooney (1958-63, Westminster and Richland). In 1958
a large fellowship hall was built behind the church. Subsequent ministers
included A. Stewart Nichols (1964-68, Westminster and Richland); Robert
Horel (1968-1973, Westminster and Richland); James Burgess (1974-76,
Westminster and Richland); Robert Burch (1977-79); Jack L. Stevenson
(1981-83); Nancy Blakely (1983-1994); and Charles Reichenbach (1984-Present).
Membership remained small, fluctuating between 27 and 32 members between
1988 and 1993. Membership as of September 2001 is 83.
(For more detailed information on the early history of Richland Church, see
Shelor, John W. The Richland Church: Early Presbyterianism in Upper South
Carolina. Walhalla: Keowee Courier Presses, 1915. Additional information
came from Doris S. Foster's sketch of the church in Heritage of Oconee
County.)
o----------o
It has been alleged that Harold Alexander Sr (now deceased) and his grandsons
desecrated/destroyed this plantation cemetery in approximately ______ - sometime
after John H. Dendy's grave was moved to the Richland Presbyterian Church by his
2nd wife.
This was a large one-half acre cemetery that had several wire fences that marked
it's boundary. Other than the graves of James H. Dendy and his son John T.
Dendy, all others probably belonged to his Slaves.
The field-stone markers were removed from the area and the land was bulldozed.
The field-stone markers were then used to build a chimney for the new Alexander
homestead.
When it was discovered that this cemetery was desecrated/destroyed, Louie Keys
of Walhalla attempted to file a formal complaint. Because Harold Alexander was
deceased at the time, further action was not taken. However, the current
Alexander landowner had agreed to place a memorial marker in the cemetery area,
but it was never done.
As of Apr-2003, the Alexander homestead that was built near the cemetery is up
for sale.
Keys, Louis T.
503 S Church St
Walhalla, SC 29691-2209
(864) 638-3643
o----------o
Richland Church, located on Poplar Springs Road between Richland and West Union,
was organized in 1834, enrolled by South Carolina Presbytery at Midway Church
March 22, 1934, subscribed by James O. Lewis, Esquire, Mrs. Mary Lewis, Mr.
James Hogan Dendy, Mrs. Elizabeth Knox Dendy, Mrs. Eliza F. DuPre, Mr. Francis
Jenkins, Mrs. Mary Jenkins, Miss Sally (Allie) Jenkins, Mr. John McWhorter, Miss
Mary McWhorter, and Miss Sally L. McWhorter. Reverend B.D. DuPre served as first
supply with Francis Jenkins and John McWhorter as ruling elders.
James O. Lewis, Richard Harris, and Reverend Benjamin D. DuPre as executive
committee were instructed to take up subscriptions, select a site, and employ a
workman to build a house for public worship. This log house was built on land
(1-1/8 acres) owned by James H. Dendy and deeded to Richland Trustees by his
wife, Elizabeth Dendy, including one acre for a graveyard.
o----------o
My name is Katherine Dendy, wife of Julian Dendy, Jr. We would like to send you by
Snail Mail so information you do not have online as well as a few corrections.
My Husband is the grandson of Samuel Knox Dendy whose father was James Hogan
Dendy, son of William Dendy and Clary Cogill.
We would be happy to send this information if you would be so kind as to send Snail
mail address.
Sincerely,
Katherine LeMaster Dendy, LeMasterK@aol.com, 4-Jun-2005
TOMBSTONE TRANSCRIPTION NOTES:
------------------------------
a. = age at death
b. = date-of-birth
d. = date-of-death
h. = husband
m. = married
p. = parents
w. = wife
NOTES:
------
In the early 1980's, the following cemetery information was published by Buddy
Roach and Ann Rogers of Walhalla - on separate occasions. L.T. Keys reports
that the only tombstone in the cemetery, was that of James H. Dendy - the other
graves used field-stone markers. Ann Rogers would have probably gotten the
information from the Keowee Courier Newspaper obituary notices.
DENDY, James Hogan, b. 13-mar-1783, d. 14-jul-1846, 1st w. elizabeth humphrey,
2nd w. elizabeth knox, tombstone & grave(?) moved to C163 richland presbyterian
DENDY, John Thompson, infant, p. john h. & elizabeth dendy, it's unknown if this
grave was moved with james h. dendy's
Are balance of graves in this cemetery for the Dendy Slaves?
How do the following people fit into this cemetery, if at all?
Doyle, Elizabeth, b.c1782, d.12-jun-1854, a. 72y
DOYLE, William, b.c1780, d.17-apr-1867, a. 87y
HOLLAND, W. F/T. (Dr), w. jeanette
JAMES, William
MARTIN, Octavia Fleming, b.oct-1856, d.13-apr-1877, p. j.f. & o.f. martin
MARTIN, (2) Infants, p. j.f. & o.f. martin
PENNEY, Margaret A.W., b.7-dec-1823, d.30-may-1864, h. rev. henry penney