TVA Grave Removal of Lemarr Cemetery

Posted on April 12, 2025 by Teresa

The building of Norris Dam in Claiborne County, Tennessee by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) displaced a greater number of families than any other TVA project. The land purchases displaced over 3000 families over the 153,000 acres in the Norris Basin. Most of the families were farmers and tenants of those farmers. Cemeteries that would end up underwater were moved with relatives of those buried in those cemeteries making the choice of who to move and where. The Lemarr Cemetery was one of those cemeteries.

The location of the cemetery was Powell River Mile above Blue Springs Hollow.  For each grave moved the requestor had to pay $20. The original cemetery was on the property of John Taylor. The graves were moved to Lemarr Cemetery (R-59 on the TVA Map). The distance between the two was a 4.5 mile drive. Isaac Newton (I.N.) Lemarr requested that 14 graves be removed. These were members of his family.

Removals started on Monday 7 Jan 1935 and completed on Friday 11 Jan 1935; None were moved on Wednesday, 9 Jan 1935.

  • 4 relocations on Monday
  • 6 relocations on Tuesday
  • 6 relocations on Thursday
  • 3 relocations on Friday

Below is representative of what the Grave Removal Records looked like.

TVA Grave Removal Record for Temperance Davis

The tables below contain information about those who were removed and reinterred in the new cemetery. This first table contains the vital and relationship information for each individual.

GraveNameBirthDeathCauseNearest RelativeRelationship
5John Bratcher17801866I.N. LemarrGreat Nephew
3Temperance Davis18021882I.N. LemarrGrandson
1D.F. Lemarr18691899Typhoid FeverAlice HopperDaughter
28Effie LeMarr19111914PneumoniaV. LemarrFather
26Frances M. Lemarr18521896T.B.I.N. LemarrHusband
4Infant LeMarrI.N. LemarrBrother
6Infant LemarrI.N. LemarrBrother
7Infant LemarrI.N. LemarrBrother
8Infant LemarrI.N. LemarrBrother
25Infant LemarrStillbornI.N. LemarrFather
22Jas Madison Lemarr18311915I.N. LemarrSon
20John B. Lemarr18801883CroupI.N. LemarrFather
16Margaret Matilda Lemarr18771881CroupI.N. LemarrBrother
18Mary Obedience Lemarr18851887I.N. LemarrFather
27Minerva L. Lemarr18641908I.N. LemarrHusband
2Minnie V. LemarrAlice HopperSister
29Mrs. Rosa Lemarr18891915T.B.V. LemarrHusband
21Obedience Lemarr18301902CancerI.N. LemarrSon
31Earl Young19131915PneumoniaSarah YoungMother

This table describes the tombstone and grave contents for each individual.

GraveNameTombstone and Inscription Contents
5John BratcherRough head and footstones with inscription J.B.W.BWood Container with bones and black dirt
3Temperance DavisRough head stone with inscription May 6, 1882Wood Container with bones and black dirt
1D.F. LemarrRough head and footstonesWood Container with complete skeleton and black dirt
28Effie LeMarrRough head and footstonesWood Container with skeleton and black dirt, 2 coffin handles, 1 doll head
26Frances M. LemarrRough head and footstonesWood Container with skeleton and black dirt, shoes and coffin screws
4Infant LeMarrRough head and footstonesWood Container with black dirt only
6Infant LemarrRough head and footstonesWood Container with few bones and black dirt
7Infant LemarrRough head and footstonesWood Container
8Infant LemarrRough head and footstonesWood Container
25Infant LemarrRough head and footstonesWood Container with few bones and black dirt
22Jas Madison LemarrRough head and footstonesWood Container with few bones and black dirt
20John B. LemarrRough head and footstones with inscription John B. LemarrWood Container with few bones and black dirt, shoes
16Margaret Matilda LemarrRough head and footstonesWood Container with few Bones and black dirt, shoes
18Mary Obedience LemarrRough head and footstonesWood Container with few bones, hair and black dirt, shoes
27Minerva L. LemarrRough head and footstonesWood Container with skeleton and black dirt, coffin screws, false teeth, shoes
2Minnie V. LemarrRough Head and footstonesWood Container with few bones and black dirt
29Mrs. Rosa LemarrRough stonesWood Container with skeleton and black dirt
21Obedience LemarrRough head and footstonesWood Container with few bones and black dirt, 2 coffin handles
31Earl YoungRough Head and footstones with inscription Samuel Everet Earl YoungWood Container with skeleton bones and black dirt, 2 shoes and 2 coffin handles

This table showcases the timelines associated with the grave removal and reburial process for each individual.

GraveNameRemovalTransportedReburied
5John Bratcher8 Jan 1935 - 2:30 PM8 Jan 1935 - 2:40 PM (4.5 miles)8 Jan 1935 - 3:35 PM
3Temperance Davis8 Jan 1935 - 12:05 PM8 Jan 1935 - 2:40 PM (4.5 miles)8 Jan 1935 - 3:50 PM
1D.F. Lemarr11 Jan 1935 - 10:50 AM11 Jan 1935 - 11:55 AM (4.5 miles)11 Jan 1935 - 1:50 PM
28Effie LeMarr10 Jan 1935 - 11:15 AM10 Jan 1935 - 2:00 PM (4.5 miles)10 Jan 1935 - 2:45 PM
26Frances M. Lemarr7 Jan 1935 - 1:40 PM7 Jan 1935 - 2:20 PM (4.5 miles)7 Jan 1935 - 3:55 PM
4Infant LeMarr8 Jan 1935 - 1:30 PM8 Jan 1935 - 2:40 PM (4.5 miles)8 Jan 1935 - 3:40 PM
6Infant Lemarr10 Jan 1935 - 11:20 AM10 Jan 1935 - 2:00 PM (4.5 miles)10 Jan 1935 - 3:10 PM
7Infant Lemarr10 Jan 1935 - 11:30 AM10 Jan 1935 - 2:00 PM (4.5 miles)10 Jan 1935 - 3:05 PM
8Infant Lemarr10 Jan 1935 - 1:35 PM10 Jan 1935 - 2:00 PM (4.5 miles)10 Jan 1935 - 3:00 PM
25Infant Lemarr8 Jan 1935 - 10:10 AM8 Jan 1935 - 2:40 PM8 Jan 1935 - 3:35 PM
22Jas Madison Lemarr7 Jan 1935 - 12:25 PM7 Jan 1935 - 2:20 PM7 Jan 1935 - 3:45 PM
20John B. Lemarr10 Jan 1935 - 11:10 AM10 Jan 1935 - 2:00 PM10 Jan 1935 - 2:55 PM
16Margaret Matilda Lemarr8 Jan 1935 - 11:00 PM8 Jan 1935 - 2:40 PM8 Jan 1935 - 3:45 PM
18Mary Obedience Lemarr8 Jan 1935 - 9:40 AM8 Jan 1935 - 2:40 PM8 Jan 1935 - 3:35 PM
27Minerva L. Lemarr7 Jan 1935 - 1:50 PM7 Jan 1935 - 2:20 PM7 Jan 1935 - 3:50 PM
2Minnie V. Lemarr11 Jan 1935 - 9:15 AM11 Jan 1935 - 11:55 AM11 Jan 1935 - 1:40 PM
29Mrs. Rosa Lemarr10 Jan 1935 - 11:45 AM10 Jan 1935 - 2:00 PM10 Jan 1935 - 2:48 PM
21Obedience Lemarr7 Jan 1935 - 12:50 PM7 Jan 1935 - 2:20 PM7 Jan 1935 - 3:40 PM
31Earl Young11 Jan 1935 - 10:05 AM11 Jan 1935 - 11:55 AM11 Jan 1935 - 1:35 PM

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The Speed of Online Research

Posted on April 12, 2025 by Teresa

When I started my family research back in 1977, there was no internet. Computers that existed were those that required a very large room connected to dumb terminals connected directly to that computer in that very large room.

To research for a person or individual required one to go where the records were located at. If you were lucky the records had been filmed on micro-film that you could order from the LDS library and view them from a nearby location. All of this took time and money to travel.

As I lived in Tennessee, to find what happened to someone on the west coast would take time to work through the records to even understand where to start. Then you had to figure out what records might be available and where they would be located.

Fast forward to the age of the internet with many records digitized and viewable online. Several years ago, I realized that there was an uncle my grandmother told me about that I had not searched for. So, one evening, curled up in my pajamas in front of my computer, I searched for him. Within less than an hour I had tracked his journey through Washington and Oregon and found the names of his two wives and the “lost child”, my Grandmother’s Uncle James had been found!

James William Lemarr – The Lost Child – Tennessee Family Connections

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Granny Young – Gone but Not Forgotten

Posted on April 11, 2025 by Teresa

Sam and Sarah Lemarr Young were my great grandparents. Sam Young died 9 years before I was born so I only know him through pictures and stories my Grandmother Barley and her sisters told to me.  Granny Young died when I was 13 and I am thankful that I had the opportunity to know her. On one of the yearly trips to Lafollette, Tennessee to place flowers on the graves of her parents, grandfather and other family members buried in the Lemarr family cemetery, my MaMow Barley asked me who would bring flowers when she was gone?  Would there come a time when no one would place flowers on their graves leaving them bare and forgotten? I promised her that I would as long as as I was physically able.

As the generations come and go the past slips further away. The grandparents that held the family together pass on, leaving their legacy behind, sometimes scattered by distance and time. Those cousins you grew up with grow up, have families of their own and eventually you lose touch as your lives travel down different roads.  And they all become …   Names carved in stones! Gone but not forgotten!  …..  They were loved and they loved someone who eventually loved someone who loved me.

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Two Caspers, Two Families

Posted on April 10, 2025 by Teresa

Many researchers of the Byerley family have long confused the two Casper Byerley’s and at one time I was among them, believing that my ancestor first migrated to Pennsylvania and then on to South Carolina.  I ignored some important information that shed doubt on this and believed that the facts presented by others to me were true.  But now after years of research I have concluded that the two Caspers are two distinct individuals, who never crossed paths in America. Whether they are related and crossed paths in their homeland has yet to be determined.  Let’s examine the facts surrounding the two men.

It is believed that the Caspar Philip Byerly who lived in Pennsylvania migrated to America aboard the ship “Recovery”, which landed in a Pennsylvania harbor October 23, 1754. Based on information contained in E.W.S.

Parthemore’s book Genealogy of the Parthemore Family 1744-1855, published in 1885, Caspar was born in 1727 and died on November 7, 1794 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  His wife’s name was Catherine.  She was born in 1735 and died in 1797.  They are buried in an old graveyard at Shoop’s Church, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.  Casper Byerly resided in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, when the 1790 census was taken.  Jacob Byerly, his son, was born March 9, 1768, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  Jacob married Maria E. Parthmore on December 4, 1790.  Other possible children of Caspar and Catherine include Andrew, Elizabeth, Mary, Michael and Phillip.

Caspar Byerley of South Carolina migrated to America aboard the ship Caledonia arriving in October of 1752.  He petitioned for land in November 1752, almost 2 years before the other Caspar Byerly arrived aboard the ship “Recovery” in Pennsylvania. On the petition his name was listed as John Caspar Beyrle.  Later South Carolina land records have his name as Gasper Philip Byerly and Casper Philip Byerley.  In his will, his first name was spelled with a “C.”  In the 1790 census he is listed in the 96th District of Newberry County, South Carolina.  He sold land in January of 1802, which implies that he was still living.  

Given the various ship, census, and land records, I believe that these two men are distinct men who migrated to different areas of America, two years apart.  Given that they both had the same name, it is very likely that they were related in their homeland.  How they were related remains to be determined.

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