MICHAEL GLEAVES CEMETERY
GO-11: NASHVILLE, DAVIDSON COUNTY, TN. Swinging Bridge Road
In 2001, family descendants reported the destruction of the Michael Gleaves Cemetery to the Davidson County Cemetery Survey project. This destruction was thought to have occurred during the time of World War I. During 2001, Cemetery Surveyors located an overgrown cemetery, surrounded by a rock wall. They were able to piece together broken pieces of stone and spell “Gleaves 17??” This cemetery was heavily overgrown and could not be entered by Cemetery Survey volunteers.
In the fall of 2004, Owen C. Gleaves and his sister Fran Gleaves Nichols reported to the Davidson County Cemetery Survey project that they had found the original site of the Michael Gleaves Cemetery. This turned out to be the same cemetery visited by Cemetery Survey volunteers during 2001. In March 2005, family members met at the cemetery. They cleared the heavy growth from the inside the rock wall of the graveyard and also from the immediate outside area around the rock wall. The volunteers involved in this project were Owen C. Gleaves, Fran Gleaves Nichols. George Wilkerson, James Lewis and Hilda Hagar Barnes. Pieces of one tombstone were found and could be put together to form a legible inscription for Mary, wife of William Gleaves.
1 TOMBSTONE WITH INSCRIPTION (broken into pieces)
7 FIELDSTONES
MANY BROKEN SLABS OF STONE
GLEAVES Born: 1794 Died: 1877
Front Inscription: In Mem(ory)/ Mar(y)/ Wif(e)/ Wm.Gleaves/ Born/ June 19 A. D. 1794/ Died/ Feb. 11 A.D. (18)77
Kenneth C. Thomson, a descendant, sent a history of the cemetery and burials to the Cemetery Survey project during 2001. The farm where the cemetery was located, was called “Hazelwood.” William Gleaves, son of Michael, died in 1840, and the property, passed to his widow Mary Gleaves. After the death of Mrs. William Gleaves (Mary “Polly” Ann Wilson Gleaves), the land became the property of her step-daughter, Mrs. Richard Ambrose Turner (Martha Ann Gleaves Turner) and at her death to her son Junius Gleaves Turner (1839-1914). Mrs. Clementia Hadley Turner, widow of Junius, and her children sold the land to the U. S. Government for the Powder Plant during World War I. Mr. Thomson reported that the slave graveyard was also located near the family cemetery.
List of probable burials in the Michael Gleaves Cemetery. Kenneth C. Thomson. 2001
MICHAEL GLEAVES
1754 – 1811
RACHEL GLEAVES, WIFE OF MICHAEL GLEAVES
DIED SEPT. 17, 1835
WILLIAM GLEAVES, SON OF MICHAEL GLEAVES
1789 – APRIL 13, 1840
ANN NELSON GLEAVES, 1ST WIFE OF WILLIAM GLEAVES
1790 – 1813
MARY “POLLY” ANN WILSON GLEAVES, 2ND WIFE OF WILLIAM GLEAVES
JUNE 19, 1794 – FEB. 11, 1877
MARTHA ANN GLEAVES DRAKE TURNER
JUNE 5, 1813 – MAR. 31, 1885
ELI DRAKE, 1ST HUSBAND OF MARTHA ANN GLEAVES
DIED 1832
RICHARD AMBROSE TURNER, 2ND HUSBAND OF MARTHA ANN GLEAVES
JUNE 25, 1810 – JULY 2, 1850
E. IRVING KELLEY TURNER, SON OF RICHARD TURNER
JAN. 16, 1850 – AUG. 31, 1852
GEORGE GLEAVES (NO DATES)
End of List of probable Burials. Provided by Kenneth C. Thomson. 2001
On December 22, 1999, The Messenger, ran article entitled “Old Hickory Historic Cemetery to be Preserved,” by Rauline Tedder. There had been local concern about the future of the cemetery with the encroachment of nearby development. At the time of the article, the property owners, West Michigan Auto Auction, had pledged to preserve the cemetery.
UPDATE REPORT MAY 14, 2005
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