Ebenezer Presbyterian Church Cemetery ~

John Fewell, Jr. was born in Virginia in the year 1769.

His parents were John Fewell and wife Sarah.

John and Sarah were my 5th Great Grandparents.

John Fewell, Jr.

married

Martha "Patsy" Burns

and they had ten children.
Six girls and four boys.

One of their boys was, Andrew Fewell, a brother to our Elizabeth "Betsy" Fewell.

This makes him our 3rd Great Grand Uncle.

He married Margaret Barron and died April 04, 1882.

There are a great many Barron's here in this cemetery.

John and Martha Fewell's daughter was Elizabeth "Betsy" Fewell.

Elizabeth “Betsy” Fewell was born in

York County, South Carolina, in 1797.

She grew up and married Matthew Nichols.

Matthew was the son of James Nichols and Jane Amberson.

They married and became the parents of at least nine children.
One of these was a daughter named Mary.

Mary Nichols.

Mary married Noah Tyre McKinsey Parrott and so, became the parents of our Robert Samuel Parrott, Sr.

John Fewell and wife, Martha Patsy Burns Fewell are both buried at Ebenezer Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

John Fewell

and

Martha Patsy Burns

are

buried side-

by-side.

My 4th Great Grands.

There are a number of Fewell family plots, where the generations of descendants are buried here.

Also buried there is Jane Amberson Nichols.

I went to Ebenezer in search of the Fewell’s and the Amberson’s.

Jane Amberson was the mother of Matthew. My 4th great grandmother.


James Nichols' , (father of Matthew) burial location, is of now, unknown.

Apparently there was a survey done of the old cemetery, back in the 1930’s. The only Amberson with a headstone was William. His headstone is pictured below:

William was a brother to our Jane Amberson. He was our 4th Great Grand Uncle.

William Hamilton Amberson~

We went down to

South Carolina, one

bright, sunny day

to see Ebenezer

and I was in love

with the old cemetery

at first site.

Something about an

old cemetery with

beautiful

old markers.

Hallowed ground.

We made our way

down each row and

read the names.

Some were very easily read

while others are

simply, lost to time.


There are large expanses of the cemetery with, sadly,

no markers at all, and some field stones are scattered about.

Large cement crypts , large boxes that sit over a grave are pushed off to the side under trees.

At the base of one tree there is a marker being swallowed up by vines. Age has taken it’s toll on this cemetery, but I feel certain that my Amberson family are here.

Jane Amberson's father, James Matthew Amberson, Sr. is thought to be buried here, along with her mother, Mary Cooper Kelsey.

Jane Amberson’s grandfather was Francis Amberson. Francis was born in the year 1720. He married a young lady by the name of Martha Powell.


Francis was born, probably, in England. He immigrated to Pennsylvania and settled an area in Franklin County. There are records where he made an improvement to his land, most likely a home or building in the year of 1763. The lands he owned was called Amberson Valley and it is still called that today.

Francis and Martha Powell Amberson are my 6th Great Grandparents.

I recently found more info about Francis and that will be coming soon.!



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Ebenezer's History

"Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen and called it Ebenezer(the Rock of Help), saying "Hitherto hath the LORD helped us".(1 Samuel 7:12)

The particulars

concerning the

organization of

Ebenezer Church

are not known.

However, it was certainly in existence in the year 1785 (and possibly before). Originally called Indian Land, Ebenezer's first known pastor was the Rev. John Simpson. The first statistical report was sent to the Presbytery in 1808 when the church reported 59 on the roll.

Four buildings have served Ebenezer church. The first log structure was located somewhere in front of the present building across the road. The second structure, constructed in 1826, was a wooden frame building which stood to the left of the present sanctuary and faces what was then the road to India Hook. It was used until 1890, when a brick sanctuary was constructed. This building was used until 1955 when the current brick sanctuary was dedicated.

The cemetery adjacent to the church has been used as a community burial ground since the time of the first settlement. The oldest marked grave is that of Stephen McCorkle who died on September 22, 1790 at the age of 55. Ebenezer Memorial Association was organized in 1945 for the purpose of caring for the church and cemetery grounds.

If you are ever down in Rock Hill, I encourage you to stop and visit. Take a nice stroll among the family....