Sacred Ground: Marcum-Kidd Cemetery
On a hill at the intersection of Pine Creek Road and Grave Hill Road just outside Oneida is the Marcum-Kidd Cemetery, the largest of several Marcum family cemeteries in the part of West Oneida that this family has long called home.
Consisting of well over 300 graves — with plenty of room for more — the Marcum-Kidd Cemetery dates back to 1927. Incidentally, that’s the same year that the nearby Sunnyview Cemetery — where a number of members of the Marcum family are buried — was established.
The Marcum family
As detailed when the “Sacred Ground” series profiled the Sunnyview Cemetery, the Marcum family in the West Oneida area dates back to John Arthur Marcum Sr. (1812-1905).
It was John Marcum and his son, John A. Marcum Jr. (1841-1903) who donated the land for Pine Creek United Baptist Church, which was established in the early 1870s as an offshoot of Bethlehem Baptist Church and for the past 72 years has been pastored by James E. Marcum and his son, Keith Marcum, who are descendants of John A. Marcum Sr.
While John A. Marcum Jr. settled down in the Pine Creek area, like his father, he had a brother, William Marcum (1842-1893) who settled in the area of Litton Road. There were several other Marcum siblings, as well: Reason Marcum (born about 1842), George Marcum (born about 1846), Loreany Marcum (born about 1846), Lovaney Marcum (born about 1846), Filana Helen Marcum (born about 1850), Tabitha Marcum (born about 1852) and Pheriba Marcum (born about 1853).
There was also a Reuben Smith listed in the Marcum household in the 1850 census, age 18 at the time. Some genealogy sources list him as Reuben Smith Marcum, a son of John A. Marcum Sr. Worth noting: Reuben Smith does not show up in the 1860 census, though a Reuben Marcum does show up in the 1860 census and subsequent censuses. He was living in southern Scott County in 1860.
Several of the Marcum siblings served in the Civil War. Reason Marcum served in Company K of the 2nd Tennessee Infantry, Union army. According to Paul Roy’s Scott County in the Civil War, Reuben Marcum also served in the war and was shot in the arm. Nothing more is known about his war service. Meanwhile, George Marcum appears to have been the George Marcum who was gunned down by Confederate soldiers while on leave at the home of Hiram C. Marcum on Smith Creek near Buffalo. Hiram Marcum was the father of Civil War heroine Julia Marcum, who became famous for her bravery while defending her home and family as a teenager. Julia witnessed George Marcum being gunned down by the Rebels just a few months after she was seriously wounded and nearly died. It was George Marcum’s death that convinced Hiram Marcum and his family to leave Buffalo and Scott County. In her memoirs, Julia Marcum referred to George Marcum as her cousin. Hiram Marcum and John A. Marcum Sr. were brothers. George Marcum was buried at the Lloyd Cemetery on Smith Creek.
While the Marcum brothers who served in the war were Union soldiers, one of their sisters — Lovaney — married Ewell Smith, the son of Methodist circuit rider Isaac Smith. The Smith family were Confederates, and Ewell Smith served in the Rebel army.
The cemetery begins
On Nov. 10, 1927, Rebecca Watson Marcum died at age 52 and became the first person buried at what would eventually become known as Marcum-Kidd Cemetery. The daughter of James A. Watson (1846-1930) and Mary Hatfield (1857-1945), she married John Shermon Marcum (1865-1941) in 1892.
John S. Marcum was the son of William Marcum and Lucy Phillips, and a grandson of John A. Marcum Sr. He and Rebecca had several children, including William Calvin (born 1893), Josie (1895), James Hillery (1896), Lucy Jane (1900), Henry Clay (1905), Frona (1910), Andrew (1914), and George Caney (1917).
Following Rebecca’s death, John S. Marcum remarried to Erna Maye West, and they had two more children: Edna Faye, born in 1933, and Bettie Sun, born in 1935.
Rebecca Marcum’s grave isn’t difficult to find. The first person buried at Marcum-Kidd Cemetery, she was laid to rest directly on top of the hill and in the very center of the cemetery, beside the flag pole that stands at the top of the hill today.
John S. Marcum was buried at the cemetery when he died in 1941, as was his second wife, Erna Maye, in 1974, and several of his children: Josie Brown and her husband, Enmon; James Hillery and his wife, Vera Maude; Frona and her husband, Burg Marcum; Andrew and his wife, Manda West; George Caney; and Bettie Sue, who died in infancy in 1935.
George Caney Marcum was killed in action in World War II. He enlisted on March 1, 1942 at Fort Oglethorpe, Ga., and served as a rifleman in Troop A of the 7th Armored Division. He died in Marieulles, France on Sept. 18, 1944, at the age of 26.
Several of John S. Marcum’s grandchildren — which would be the second-great-grandchildren of John A. Marcum Sr., are also buried at Marcum-Kidd Cemetery. Chris Marcum, who was murdered in 2011 at the age of 29, was buried at the cemetery. He was the son of Jerry and Christy Marcum, and the grandson of James Wallace Marcum and Edith Thompson. His second-great grandfather was John S. Marcum, and he is among the fifth generation of the Marcum family represented at the cemetery. (William Marcum, John S. Marcum’s father, was buried at Grave Hill Cemetery; none of his siblings are buried at Marcum-Kidd Cemetery. It’s unknown where his father, John A. Marcum Sr., was buried.)
The cemetery grows
The second person buried at Marcum-Kidd Cemetery was one-year-old Estalena Marcum in January 1929. She was the daughter of Ezra Marcum (1902-1992) and Orlena Blevins (1905-1989). Ezra was the son of Marion Marcum, and a grandson of John A. Marcum Jr. He and his wife also had another young child buried at Marcum-Kidd Cemetery: 11-month-old Flonnie Rose died in 1936. Estalena and Flonnie are buried beside their infant cousin, Buddy, who died in 1930 and was buried at the cemetery. He was the son of Burg and Frona Marcum. Another child was also buried at the cemetery during this time span. Maude Marcum died in 1929. She was the newborn daughter of James Hillery Marcum and Maude Watters, one of the many grandchildren of John S. Marcum buried at the cemetery.
The most recent member of the Marcum family to be buried at Marcum-Kidd Cemetery was Larry Marcum, who died June 3, 2022 at the age of 71. He was the retired chief of wildlife for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, and the son of M.L. Marcum (1919-2012) and Julia Stanfill (1929-2003), both of whom are buried at Marcum-Kidd Cemetery. His great-grandfather was John A. Marcum Jr.
The Kidd family
The Marcum family history represented at Marcum-Kidd Cemetery is extensive, but the cemetery is also named for the Kidd family. In fact, it was long known as the Kidd Cemetery and it is listed on some tax records today as the Kidd Cemetery.
There aren’t nearly as many Kidds as Marcums buried at the cemetery, but the Kidd family’s history goes back to near the very beginning of the cemetery. On Nov. 21, 1930, the infant son of Roscoe Kidd (1906-1985) and Ruby Rosser (1906-1993) died and was buried at the cemetery. His name was J.D.
The rest of J.D.’s family — his parents and siblings — were all buried at H.C. Smith Cemetery in the nearby Coopertown area of West Oneida.
The Kidd and Marcum families, as you might suspect, are connected. Emily Marcum (1882-1947), one of the daughters of William Marcum and a granddaughter of John A. Marcum Sr., married Thomas “Herb” Kidd (1878-1952).
Both Herb and Emily Kidd were buried at Marcum-Kidd Cemetery, as were three of their five children. Herbert Kidd (1912-1992) was buried there, as were their daughters, Ollie (1899-1979) and Ruby (1910-1988). Both of the sisters married brothers in the Marcum family. Ollie married Gilbert Marcum (1899-1973) and Ruby married Gason Marcum (1907-2006). They were the sons of Marion Marcum. All are buried at Marcum-Kidd Cemetery.
Maggie Boyatt Kidd, Herbert’s wife, was buried at the cemetery in 1990, two years before her husband. She, too, was a part of the extended Marcum family. Her mother, Lucy Jane Marcum, was the daughter of John S. Marcum and married Willie E. Boyatt of the Foster Crossroads community.
Herbert and Maggie have a daughter, Regina Kidd Kennedy, who was buried at the cemetery in 2020. Her husband, Ray, was buried there in 2013.
The most recent member of the Kidd family buried at the cemetery was Vonda Garrett Kidd in February 2023. She was the wife of David Kidd.
The cemetery today
The Marcum-Kidd Cemetery is meticulously maintained and remains active today. More than 330 people are buried at the cemetery today.
The most recent burial at the cemetery was 97-year-old Jack Layne, a World War II veteran who was buried at the cemetery when he died on April 14, 2024. His wife, Doris Weest Layne, was buried there in 2021.
Prior to Jack Layne’s death, William Angie Stephens was buried at the cemetery in December 2023, and Gary McGuire was buried there in July 2023.
Cemetery census
MARCUM-KIDD CEMETERY
GPS Coordinates: 36.52429, -84.54050
First Burial: 1927
Last Burial: 2024
Joyce Marcum Adams, 1930-2009
Mark T. Adkins, 1966-2019
Jackie Jackson Armstrong, 1957-2007
Ernest J. Autry, 1950-1982
Henry W. Autry, 1907-1989
Virginia Chitwood Autry, 1917-1979
Frank Barkley, 1957-1986
Frank J. Barkley, 1902-1965
Billy J. Blevins Jr., 1954-2014
Billy J. Blevins Sr., 1934-2015
Florence West Blevins, 1907-1999
Joe Blevins, 1947-2024
Lorene Carson Blevins, 1935-2016
Tirl M. Blevins, 1904-1989
William H. Blevins, 1946-2022
Carl Boyatt, 1917-2010
Clay Boyatt, 1923-1997
Lois Watson Boyatt, 1928-2017
Patty A. Boyatt, 1946-1946
Rose A. Boyatt, 1893-1935
Virginia Cordell Boyatt, 1927-2013
Gaitha Marcum Bridges, 1944-2024
DeWitt C. Brown, 1915-1986
Dillard Brown, 1928-1941
Enmon Brown, 1894-1964
Enmon John Brown, 1933-2011
Josie Marcum Brown, 1895-1979
Cleduith Burk, 1937-1992
James H. Burk, 1896-1986
Marian Stanfill Burk, 1944-2021
Sally Terry Burk, 1898-1995
Flora Crabtree Burke, 1922-2004
George P. Burke, 1908-1993
Melba Ellis Burke, 1945-2018
Camron James Butler, N/A – N/A
Cora Sexton Byrd, 1898-1987
John R. Byrd, 1895-1984
Marie Newport Byrd, 1928-2011
Megan Byrd, 2004-2004
Morgan Byrd, 2004-2004
Obra Z. Byrd Sr., 1925-1991
Billie Cross Canfield, 1927-2013
Glen E. Canfield, 1945-2004
Roy E. Canfield, 1926-2004
Timothy L. Canfield, 1947-2003
Benny B. Carson, 1967-2022
Joe Cecil, 1951-1966
Kenneth E. Cecil, 1914-1986
Malvern Hill Cecil, 1925-1986
Shirley Marcum Cecil, 1924-1981
Harold C. Chambers, 1936-2004
Mark A. Chitwood, 1969-2017
Lloyd Collier, 1924-2013
Virginia Thomas Collier, 1926-2018
James Collins, 1918-1990
Kathleen Boyatt Collins, 1919-1984
Audrey Thomas Combs, 1931-2016
Donald P. Combs, 1955-2004
Phillip W. Combs, 1951-2011
William E. Combs, 1920-1973
Beverly Marcum Cook, 1947-2002
Gregory C. Cooper, 2009-2009
David O. Crabtree, 1947-1989
Janet Pennington Crabtree, 1942-2022
Norman L. Crabtree, 1933-1990
Russell L. Crabtree, 1937-2021
Zelma Hill Crabtree, 1944-2014
Gloria Marcum Daniel, 1931-2022
Milford E. Daniel, 1923-2017
Ervin L. Daugherty, 1959-1980
Joel E. Daugherty, 1915-1989
Joel R. Daugherty, 1944-1979
Joyce Terry Daugherty, 1924-2011
Melvin H. Daugherty, 1949-1967
Terry Z. Daugherty, 1953-1981
Herthel Davis, 1937-1981
Hubert Davis, 1925-2018
James H. Davis, 1899-1985
Mary Terry Davis, 1904-1979
Robert L. Davis, 1940-2001
Rodney Davis, 1949-2019
Alma Combs Deianov, 1949-1992
Thomas Deuso, 1963-2022
Carolyn S. Dewbre, 1948-2017
Brenda Stanfill Duncan, 1958-2022
Antha M. Foster, 1922-1944
Donnie Foster, 1950-1950
Donnie L. Foster, 1968-2013
Dorcia Wilburn Foster, 1923-1977
Emily West Foster, 1892-1976
Garman L. Foster, 1919-1941
Gary D. Foster, 1947-2017
George L. Foster, 1890-1962
Gorman R. Foster, 1948-2016
Infant Foster, N/A-N/A
Ira L. Foster, 1937-2018
James W. Foster, 1916-1993
Mildred Marcum Foster, 1927-2017
Phyllis Strunk Foster, 1950-2022
Rickey L. Foster, 1960-2011
Roy L. Foster, 1947-2017
Ruth Ellis Foster, 1925-1980
Shirley Marcum Foster, 1941-2011
Vanella West Foster, 1900-1978
Velma F. Foster, 1954-1954
Virgie Martin Foster, 1944-2022
Alex A. Garrett, 1912-1983
Nora Maxwell Garrett, 1915-1980
Denzel Gregory Sr., 1935-1988
Dempsey Marcum Hadley, 1978-1978
Jeanetta Shoopman Harness, 1966-2014
Lottie Hill, 1930-2021
Willie E. Hill, 1906-1970
Burglene Marcum Howell, 1937-2019
Van S. Howell, 1938-2011
James Dester Hughes, 1934-1988
Lassie Foster Hughes, 1921-1997
Erika R. Jackson, 1979-1986
John D. Jackson Sr., 1925-2010
Clara Marcum Jeffers, 1919-2015
Herbert H. Jeffers, 1905-1991
Homer Jeffers, 1914-1995
Maxine Watters Jeffers, 1911-1997
Samuel Johnson, 1882-1958
Kelsie S. Jones, 2002-2004
Ronald A. Judy, 1917-1989
Rotela Marcum Judy, 1923-2000
Ida Byrd Keeton, 1903-1990
Ray D. Kennedy, 1955-2013
Regina Kidd Kennedy, 1957-2020
Deborah Hunley Kidd, 1956-2020
Emily Marcum Kidd, 1882-1947
Herbert Kidd, 1912-1992
J.D. Kidd, 1930-1930
Janette Boyatt Kidd, 1949-2014
Maggie M. Boyatt Kidd, 1921-1990
Pamela Phillips Kidd, 1955-2021
Thomas Francis Kidd, 1878-1952
Vonda Garrett Kidd, 1957-2023
Johnny M. Kimla, 1971-2007
Thomas M. Kimla, 1942-1974
Heather Jones King, 1982-2025
Kenneth K. King, 1933-2020
Clifford S. Koger, 1934-2012
James C. Koger, 1933-2015
Billy H. Lay, 1934-1967
Mary Terry Lay, 1938-2011
Doris West Layne, 1936-2021
Jack Layne, 1926-2024
Creed E. Ledford, 1913-1973
Estelle Turner LePore, 1922-1993
Doris Marcum Litton, 1917-2004
Lester Litton, 1914-1984
James D. Lutes, 1954-2019
Sandra Phillips Lutes, 1952-2003
Bettie S. Marcum, 1935-1935
Billy E. Marcum, 1937-1981
Buddy Marcum, 1930-1930
Burkey L. Marcum, 1944-1944
Charles L. Marcum Jr., 1949-1968
Charles L. Marcum Sr., 1926-2014
Christopher W. Marcum, 1982-2011
Cloreda Reynolds Marcum, 1928-1981
Donna R. Marcum, 1945-1945
Dorothy Burke Marcum, 1912-2002
Edith Thompson Marcum, 1924-2009
Emmit R. Marcum, 1933-1954
Erna West Marcum, 1901-1974
Esau O.D. Marcum, 1928-2012
Estalena Marcum, 1927-1929
Eulin B. Marcum, 1904-1974
Eulin M. Marcum, 1937-1981
Ezra Marcum, 1902-1992
Flonnie R. Marcum, 1935-1936
Franklin D. Marcum, 1933-2010
Frona Marcum Marcum, 1910-1994
Gason Marcum, 1907-2006
George C. Marcum, 1917-1944
Gilbert Marcum, 1899-1973
Gilbert A. Marcum, 1939-2021
- Andrew Marcum, 1914-1983
James H. Marcum, 1896-1980
James W. Marcum, 1923-2008
James W. Marcum, 1912-1988
John S. Marcum, 1865-1941
Julia Stanfill Marcum, 1929-2003
Kizzie Keeton Marcum, 1878-1959
Larry C. Marcum, 1950-2022
Lucy C. Marcum, 1933-2021
M.L. Marcum, 1919-2012
M.T. Marcum, 1934-1935
Manda West Marcum, 1914-2007
Marion Marcum, 1874-1951
Marion E. Marcum, 1951-2017
Maude Marcum, 1929-1929
Ollie Kidd Marcum, 1899-1979
Orlena Blevins Marcum, 1905-1989
Rebecca Watson Marcum, 1874-1927
Robert G. Marcum, 1954-1987
Ruby Kidd Marcum, 1910-1988
Sheila R. Marcum, 1954-1954
Vera Watters Marcum, 1900-1997
Willard B. Marcum, 1917-1947
Willard R. Marcum, 1949-2002
Wyvonda West Marcum, 1936-2021
Allen D. Matthews, 1945-2020
Eula Craig Matthews, 1908-1977
John C. Matthews, 1968-2013
Myrtle Stanfill Matthews, 1924-2010
Roy W .Matthews, 1926-1951
William C. Matthews, 1925-1992
William T. Matthews, 1903-1991
Lester H. Maxwell, 1925-1958
Michael H. Maxwell, 1951-1953
Gary W. McGuire, 1949-2023
Roy T. Miller, 1936-2022
Roy A. Monday, 1971-2004
Ashlyn Jame Moore, 2006-2018
Shelva Foster Morrow, 1953-2002
Frankie L. Niblack, 1945-2011
Ira T. Payne, 1944-2006
Hoey L. Pennington, 1983-2016
Dorothy Brown Perry, 1921-2006
Alice Spradlin Phillips, 1904-1975
Beulah Phillips, 1935-2017
Corneal Foster Phillips, 1918-1939
James H. Phillips, 1957-2022
James R. Phillips, 1930-2015
Moncie Phillips, 1902-1970
Othanine Keeton Phillips, 1927-2005
Peggy Matthews Phillips, 1939-1992
Jimmie C. Putman, 1936-2012
Jerry L. Reagan, 1961-2019
Nora Blevins Reynolds, 1932-2019
Pamela Marcum Reynolds, 1963-1983
John W. Roberts, 1886-1930
Aaron W. Sexton, 1964-1964
Avery S. Sexton, 1975-2018
Doris Matthews Sexton, 1932-2012
Howard Sexton, 1922-1995
- C. Shoopman, 1932-2015
Bonita Brown Sills, 1924-2008
William A. Sills, 1913-1980
Martha Watson Smith, 1891-1962
William I. Smith, 1878-1964
Etta F. Stanfill, 1950-2005
Etta Marcum Stanfill, 1915-1975
Mary Howard Stanfill, 1933-2015
Millard F. Stanfill, 1916-1988
Natina F. Stanfill, 1979-1979
Sharon K. Stanfill, 1944-2025
Kathy Boyatt Stephens, 1957-1996
William A. Stephens, 1946-2023
Fred J. Stevens, 1911-1996
Agnes G.Marcum Terry, 1929-2021
Georgia Evelyn Terry, 1930-1950
Grace Adkins Terry, 1897-1973
Infant Terry, N/A-N/A
James E. Terry Jr., 1951-2017
James E. Terry Sr., 1921-1992
Jesse Terry, 1938-2015
Lester Terry, 1914-1984
Louise Terry, 1917-N/A
Luther Terry Jr., 1932-1977
Luther Terry Sr., 1899-1967
Nikkia Rae Terry, 1987-2019
Oliver Terry, 1918-1968
Oscar Terry, 1901-1951
Celia Reed Thomas, 1940-2019
Infant Son Thomas, 1941-1941
James R. Thomas, 1937-2005
Marilyn Barnett Thomas, 1941-2003
Rachel Phillips Thomas, 1901-1995
Richard H. Thomas, 1927-1956
Roy Thomas, 1938-2021
Shirley Hill Thomas, 1939-2000
Walter R. Thomas, 1938-2017
Walter R. Thomas, 1898-1981
Rosetta Keeton Thompson, 1873-1940
Jennifer Jackson Timbs, 1960-1982
Clara Marcum Vaughn, 1934-2007
James E. Vaughn, 1927-2000
Goldie Foster Walker, 1918-2015
Alfred H. Watson, 1942-2001
David Watson, 1951-1980
Etta L. Watson, 1936-1937
Hattie R. Watson, 1934-1944
James A. Watson, 1846-1930
James E. Watson, 1929-2016
John D. Watson, 1936-2011
John E. Watson, 1905-1951
Joseph Watson, 1876-1952
Laura M. Watson, 1930-1930
M.L. Watson, 1943-1944
Martha R. Watson, 1947-2014
Mary Hatfield Watson, 1857-1945
Milford E. Watson, 1950-1950
Nancy Thomas Watson, 1908-1985
Norma Denton Watson, 1935-1993
Paul R. Watson, 1947-2018
Richard A. Watson, 1955-2012
Sarah Rowe Watson, 1908-1959
Savannah Watson, 1878-1934
Tollie Watson, 1901-1977
Vauda Foster Watson, 1912-1946
Columbus L. Watters, 1903-1986
Frona Thomas Watters, 1906-1994
George D. Weaver, 1929-1985
Agetha J. West, 1905-1971
Allen S. West, 1961-1973
Arlenia Thomas West, 1913-2010
Arthur J. West, 1905-1951
- J. West, 1951-1952
Charles West, 1917-2003
Charles S. West, 1941-2010
David A. West, 1948-1976
Edna Dyer West, 1933-2002
Gilbert L. West, 1925-2017
Gloria Hammock West, 1942-2006
Ikuyo West, 1930-2018
James West, 1960-2018
James R. West, 1939-2015
Jonethan L. West, 1909-1995
Kimberly N. West, 1959-2012
Mable Terry West, 1919-2009
Martha King West, 1884-1944
Milford E. West, 1941-2017
Olson West, 1909-2001
Ona Davis West, 1926-1983
Ressie Gregory West, 1933-2007
Rotela West, 1897-1994
William R. West, 1878-1952
William R. West, 1933-2017
Mabel West Cecil, 1913-1994
Michael R. Whitehead, 1972-1972
This story is part of the Scott County Cemetery Project.