Page 30 - WPA Book
P. 30
Works Project Administration – Articles from Rockingham County
CEMETERIES
1. SUBJECT:
Hershberger - Wynant Graveyard #2
2. LOCATION:
One mile east of Bridgewater, Virginia, on an abandoned road.
3. DATE:
1780, date of oldest grave.
4. OWNERS:
Hershberger Family.
5. DESCRIPTION:
This burying place is enclosed by a stone wall, no gate entrance, the wall being about three and one half feet
high and eighteen inches thick. It was located here prior to 1800 and has long since been abandoned. The wall is
well built and is in fair state of preservation. The entrance was obtained by wooden steps over the top of the
wall, which steps have long ago rotted away, with no trace of them there now.
6. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE:
The “inhabitants hereof” were among the first settlers in this section of Virginia, and the Hershbergers were
very prominent people in their day. I have learned that several families of Hershberger who live in the east side
of the county in the “Good’s Mill” section are direct descendants of the inhabitants living in the “silent village”
under discussion. Some of this same Hershberger family are planted in the old Northern Methodist (abandoned)
cemetery in Mt. Crawford, Virginia. The same type or style of tombstone, the carving, the weeping willows,
and “what-nots” are very similar.
Inscriptions:
1. Sacred to the Memory of Mary, daughter of J. and Elizabeth Hershberger, born June 27, 1818, died October
19, 1838, age 19 years, 3 months, and 28 days.
2. Sacred to the Memory of Benjamin Hershberger, born January 18, 1824, and died May 11, 1856, age 23
years, 6 months, 25 days.
3. Sacred to the Memory of Anna Maria Hershberger, who was born March 27, 1757, and died January 27,
1824, age 67 years, 3 months, 21 days.
4. Jacob Hershberger, born October 10, 1780, died September 15, 1860.
5. Miss Rebecca Hershberger, born August 29, 1840, died October 6, 1860.
WYNANT FAMILY—
6. J. [likely, J. Wynant], born December 10, 1780, died March 1855.
7. In Memory of Annie, wife of Jacob Wynant, born February 12, 1781, died October 31, 1863.
8. In Memory of Lydia Wynant, wife of Henry H. Wynant, born December 11, 1813, died April 3, 1857, age
37 years, 3 months, and 22 days.
7. ART: None
Page 29 of 482
CEMETERIES
1. SUBJECT:
Hershberger - Wynant Graveyard #2
2. LOCATION:
One mile east of Bridgewater, Virginia, on an abandoned road.
3. DATE:
1780, date of oldest grave.
4. OWNERS:
Hershberger Family.
5. DESCRIPTION:
This burying place is enclosed by a stone wall, no gate entrance, the wall being about three and one half feet
high and eighteen inches thick. It was located here prior to 1800 and has long since been abandoned. The wall is
well built and is in fair state of preservation. The entrance was obtained by wooden steps over the top of the
wall, which steps have long ago rotted away, with no trace of them there now.
6. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE:
The “inhabitants hereof” were among the first settlers in this section of Virginia, and the Hershbergers were
very prominent people in their day. I have learned that several families of Hershberger who live in the east side
of the county in the “Good’s Mill” section are direct descendants of the inhabitants living in the “silent village”
under discussion. Some of this same Hershberger family are planted in the old Northern Methodist (abandoned)
cemetery in Mt. Crawford, Virginia. The same type or style of tombstone, the carving, the weeping willows,
and “what-nots” are very similar.
Inscriptions:
1. Sacred to the Memory of Mary, daughter of J. and Elizabeth Hershberger, born June 27, 1818, died October
19, 1838, age 19 years, 3 months, and 28 days.
2. Sacred to the Memory of Benjamin Hershberger, born January 18, 1824, and died May 11, 1856, age 23
years, 6 months, 25 days.
3. Sacred to the Memory of Anna Maria Hershberger, who was born March 27, 1757, and died January 27,
1824, age 67 years, 3 months, 21 days.
4. Jacob Hershberger, born October 10, 1780, died September 15, 1860.
5. Miss Rebecca Hershberger, born August 29, 1840, died October 6, 1860.
WYNANT FAMILY—
6. J. [likely, J. Wynant], born December 10, 1780, died March 1855.
7. In Memory of Annie, wife of Jacob Wynant, born February 12, 1781, died October 31, 1863.
8. In Memory of Lydia Wynant, wife of Henry H. Wynant, born December 11, 1813, died April 3, 1857, age
37 years, 3 months, and 22 days.
7. ART: None
Page 29 of 482
