NOTE - the list of those buried here is complete but I have more historical
information and a map for this cemetery.
Owen Evans reported that
"This (cemetery) is southwest of Erieville on State Land. This plot,
25 ft by 25 ft, is prohibited from reforesting and is to be cleaned of
brush once a year."
His crude map eventually led me to the spot about
675 feet east of the Corkinsville four corners on the south side of the
old abandoned road, and I found it to be quite different than Evans had
described
it. The plot is about 25 feet from the road, is only
15 by 25 feet and is surrounded by a rail fence made of small
poles. The ground is raised about 6 inches within the rectangular
area marked by the fence, so it may be that the present fence had
replaced an earlier one of the same dimensions. The plot is
within the forest lands and iron survey pipes at each corner note that
the
location and dimensions must be known to the State. The ground
within
is today grown up as much as the surrounding land (poplars and junk
trees).
Back in the 1950s Donald Magee, a
descendant of the Mullners, repaired Mary's stone and actually
did a proper job by cradling it in a metal frame, but it had long been
in very poor condition. Evans had been unable to read the death
date
on Mary's stone but it is today readable (imagine that!). He also
had James' age wrong (imagine that!).
In 1994 a third burial
was
made here; that of Richard M. Magee. This is a cremation, with a
small stone placed between Mr. and Mrs. Mullner. Mr. Magee ,
brother of Donald Magee who had repaired Mary Mullner's stone, was a
descendant of the Mullners, but I have a feeling that this was also one
of his favorite hunting spots.
There is a tradition in this
part of the town that James Mullner was in the stage coach or hauling
business and that his favorite horse was buried near him (the 1850
census lists him as a farmer). I could
not find a contemporary account of this, but it was
a story known by many people, and may indeed be based on fact. I
am told by Rowena Blazer, the daughter
of Donald Magee and a descendant of the Mullners, that the horse was
buried at the foot of James Mullner's grave. There is sufficient
space within the fenced area for a horse to be buried. Although
several fieldstones are in the immediate vicinity of the cemetery, they
appear natural and not markers for the horse. Nor did I note or
observe a horse-sized depression near the Mullner graves (I learned of
the details of the horse story after I mapped the site, but I think a
horse burial would be hard to miss [I excavated one in Cicero many
years ago!]). This is one
of two reports of animals being buried in family graveyards in Nelson
(see also the
Humphrey
Cemetery where a man was said to be buried with his dog).
The head of the burials
is to the west with the stones facing east. Mary and John's headstones
are 5 feet apart on center and it is 7' 6" from John's headstone to his
footstone. Mary's footstone was not to be found. The stone
of Richard Magee is placed near and almost between the Mullner stones
Magee, Richard M., 1912 to 1994, U.S. Army (cremation).
Mullner, James, died December 5, 1853, age 85 years.
Mullner, Mary, wife of James Mullner, died November 12, 1856,
age 71 years.