Sacred Ground: Peaceful Rose Garden
What started as a small community cemetery with the death of a young child in 1871 has grown to be one of the largest cemeteries in the Paint Rock area, with more than 300 graves.
It’s called the Peaceful Rose Garden Cemetery, and it sprawls across more than 3.5 acres of land on Huntsville Hill Road, near its intersection with Tunnel Hill Road just outside what once would have been considered Paint Rock proper.
The cemetery has also been known by several other names through the years, including the Paint Rock Cemetery and the Almy Cemetery. In the days when this community had its own post office, Almy was its official name. Although the post office closed in 1909 and mail service was moved to Oneida, the name persisted for many more years. (The Sexton Memorial Cemetery a few miles away has also been called the Paint Rock Memorial Cemetery through the years.) On some maps, Peaceful Rose Garden is even listed as the Pumpkin Hollow Cemetery.
Strolling through the Peaceful Rose Garden, you’ll find names of the families that have long settled Paint Rock — including perhaps the two most prominent: Buttram and Duncan. The area of a cluster of homes just below the cemetery is still referred to as Buttram Town.
The cemetery begins
A sign at the entrance states that the Peaceful Rose Garden was established in 1894. The cemetery actually dates back about a quarter of a century earlier. The earliest verifiable grave — there are a number of graves that are unmarked, and others that are marked with uninscribed field stone — is that of James L. West, who died about three weeks shy of what would have been his second birthday in May 1871.
Born May 5, 1879, James was the son of Fredrick West (1839-1884) and Jane Ellis (1843-1918). The West area lived in this area at the time, and the first several burials at the cemetery were members of the West family.
Fredrick West, who was buried next to his son when he died in 1884 at the age of 45, was the son of Reason West and Pheriba Marcum. His father died in a Civil War camp in 1863 after contracting camp fever while serving in the Union army. Frank West also served in the Union army, as did at least two of his brothers. Both of his brothers, John and William, were among the many Scott Countians captured by Confederate forces at the Battle of Rogersville, Tenn. in November 1863. William died in the disease-ridden Rebel prison at Andersonville in August 1864.
The West family migrated from Virginia to present-day Scott County with Reason West’s grandfather, Charles P. West (1774-1841), who was born in Rockingham County, Va. and married Sarah Phillips. They had a large family, including at least 14 children besides Reason.
One of Reason’s sisters, Rachel, married John Arthur Marcum Sr., and was the matriarch of the Pine Creek Marcum family. Pheriba Marcum, who Reason married, was likely closely related to John A. Marcum, though the exact family tie isn’t clear.
Several of Reason and Pheriba’s children were buried at Peaceful Rose Garden, in addition to Fredrick. Barzilla Angeline, who married Franklin Asberry Duncan, was buried at the cemetery in 1927. General Taylor West was buried there in 1925, while his wife, Nancy Sexton, was buried there in 1917.
Fredrick West married Jane Ellis, the daughter of James Ellis Sr. and Sarah Isham. They had at least eight children, including three born before James and four born after.
The second person buried at Peaceful Rose Garden, in between James and Fredrick, was Reason West, who died in 1882 at the age of 21. He was the son of John West and Margaret Crabtree. John was Fredrick’s brother who was captured at Rogersville during the Civil War. It isn’t clear how Reason died. He married Bernetie Roberts less than one year before his death.
A number of other members of the West family were buried at Peaceful Rose Garden through the years. There was one-year-old Helena West in 1915. Her stone reads that she was the daughter of Mary. There was Ethel Laxton West in 1926. She was the wife of Theodore West. There was Laura Etta West Laxton, who married Bailey Laxton, in 1925. There was her brother Martin Luther West in 1926. There was baby William L. West in 1927. There was Lee West — a brother to Martin Luther West and Laura Laxton — in 1928. There was General Taylor West’s son William Ray West in 1931, and his brother Daniel C. West in 1942. There was William Ray West’s son Floyd West in 1950. Floyd had a sister, Hattie Stephens, buried there in 1938. She had married Homer S. Stephens.
There have been others in more recent years, as well. The most recent member of the family to be buried there was Lissie West in 2018. She was the widow of Tom West, who was buried there in 2000. Tom West was the son of William Ray West and a brother of Floyd West.
The Duncan family
The Duncan family was a prominent Paint Rock family in the late 19th century and throughout the 20th century. The first member of the family to be buried at Peaceful Rose Garden was one-year-old Earnest Duncan in 1896. His stone indicates that he was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Mary Duncan.
It’s not clear who a “Mr. and Mrs. Mary Duncan” would have been. However, it could have been a reference to Aaron Duncan and his wife, Mary Elizabeth Murphy. They had several children in the 1890s, including Cora Lee in 1890, Jesse Everett in 1893 and Alva Mae in 1899.
Aaron Duncan, who was buried at Peaceful Rose Garden when he died in 1908 at the age of 44, was the son of Henry Duncan (1823-1883) and Katty Thompson (1828-1865).
Henry Duncan was the son of Joshua Duncan Sr. and Rosie Sartin, who came to Scott County from Virginia. After Katty died in 1865, he married Ruth Thomas, the daughter of Abner Wiley Thomas Sr. and Rebecca Brown. She was buried at Peaceful Rose Garden when she died in 1908. Her sister, Martha, married Henry Duncan’s brother, Joshua Duncan Jr.
The most recent member of the family to be buried at Peaceful Rose Garden was Loretta Abbott Duncan in 2017. She married Pret Duncan, who was buried at the cemetery in 2010. His parents, Frank Duncan and Lillie Jeffers, were previously buried at the cemetery, as was his brother, Leland.
The Buttram family
The first member of the Buttram family to be buried at Peaceful Rose Garden was baby D.J. Buttram, who died just four days shy of his first birthday in November 1941.
D.J. was the son of Fred Buttram and Rebecca Carson, who would later be buried at the cemetery, as well. They had a large family, including children Ruby, Princess, Althia, Geraldine, James Harrison, Joey Raymond, Betty Charlene, Glen and Denzil Lee.
With the exception of J.R., who was buried at the Phillips Cemetery in Oneida, and Glen, who survives, all of Fred and Rebecca’s children were buried at Peaceful Rose Garden, as were many of their spouses: Princess’s husband, Enmon Lowe, and their son, Harold Gene; Althia’s husband, Clarence Yancy, and their children, Allen, Carline and Roger; and Geraldine’s husband, Luther Byrge.
Denzil Lee Buttram’s widow, Sheila Hall, currently represents the Paint Rock community and the rest of Scott County’s 3rd District on County Commission. She and Denzil have two children buried at Peaceful Rose Garden: Troy Thomas, who died as a baby in 1964, and Paul Derek, who died at the age of eight in 1976.
The most recent member of the family to be buried at Peaceful Rose Garden was Kerm Buttram in 2015. He was the son of Marion Buttram and Delphia Chambers. His grandparents, Jim Buttram Sr. and Nannie Sexton, had previously been buried at the cemetery, as had his wife, Irene Jeffers.
The Barnes family
One of the most striking sites at Peaceful Rose Garden are three handmade, concrete headstones in a row: Vaughn C. Barnes, Willard H. Barnes and James Oscar Barnes.
Vaughn, Willard and James were the sons of Herman Lee Barnes and Toledo Allphene Sexton.
James Oscar was born and died on July 29, 1940. Willard was James’ twin brother, and died two weeks later. Vaughn died in 1947 at the age of three.
Herman, the boys’ father, died in 1958 at the age of 36 and was buried at Peaceful Rose Garden. Toledo was buried at Morris Goodman Cemetery in 1998 after remarrying to John T. Hall.
The Barnes family is tied to the Buttram family. Oscar Barnes, Herman’s father, married Isabell Buttram, the daughter of Jim Buttram and Nannie Sexton. Oscar and Isabell are both buried at Peaceful Rose Garden.
The Barnes boys who were buried at Peaceful Rose Garden had a number of surviving siblings, including Dean Barnes, who has been the pastor at Paint Rock Baptist Church for many years.
Cemetery Census
PEACEFUL ROSE GARDEN
GPS Coordinates: 36.59256, -84.43217
First Burial: 1871
Last Burial: 2024
Gregory J. Adams, 1968–2014
Jasper C. Alexander, 1895–1895
Carol Sue Acres Angel, 1944–2005
Herman Lee Barnes, 1922–1958
Isabell Buttram Barnes, 1902–1985
James Oscar Barnes, 1940–1940
Jamie Lee Barnes, 1929–1943
Oscar Barnes, 1893–1977
Vaughn C. Barnes, 1944–1947
Willard N. Barnes, 1940–1940
James Robert Bauswell, 1942–2009
Florence Irene West Blakley, 1928–1998
Roscoe Blakley, 1921–1996
Wilma Stephens Blevins, 1937–2019
Darlene Ward Boyd, 1956–2021
Edna Mae Combs Brooks, 1921–N/A
John Frank Brooks, 1909–1983
Esther Dobbs Brown, 1906–1972
Roscoe W. Brown, 1902–1975
Alfred Butler, 1894–1937
Artist Butler, 1893–1927
Ella Mae Allen Butler, 1939–2006
Elsie Zale Butler, 1917–1998
MacArthur Butler, 1942–2013
Mary King Butler, 1872–1943
Maudie Griffith Butler, 1899–1981
Sharon Rose Butler, 1970–1970
Thelbert Butler, 1939–2013
Archie Bill Buttram, 1911–1991
Baby Buttram, 1960–1960
D. J. Buttram, 1940–1941
Denzil Lee Buttram, 1941–2009
Derek W. Buttram, 1980–2000
Fred Buttram, 1909–1985
Paul Derek Buttram, 1968–1976
Rebecca Carson Buttram, 1911–1982
Shirley Ann Buttram, 1956–1956
Tonya Buttram, 1975–1975
Troy Thomas Buttram, 1964–1964
Virginia Irene Jeffers Buttram, 1928–1997
Zelma C. Dobbs Buttram, 1924–1999
Dennis Ray Byrd, 1945–2017
Gertie Buttram Byrd, 1906–1982
Ruby Lee Cody Byrd, 1943–1995
Luther Byrge, 1928–1988
Bessie Goodman Carr, 1906–1990
Sylvan Thane Carr Sr., 1902–1969
Annie W. Brooks Carson, 1922–2006
Earl Carson, 1908–1992
Louie Carson, 1947–2006
Pamela L. Carson, 1970–1970
Samuel Bailey Carson Sr., 1917–1977
Donnie Harold Chitwood Sr., 1949–2005
Herstle Chitwood, 1941–2008
Leamon Chitwood, 1947–2001
Milford K. Chitwood, 1945–2007
Maxine Smith Conner, 1937–1981
Thomas Monroe Conner, 1929–N/A
Carl Cox Sr., 1935–1997
Minda West Cox, 1884–1964
Jason H. Crabtree, 1974–2018
Robert Lee Crabtree, 1963–2003
Maynard Cross, 1937–2014
Tammy Lorraine Cross, 1963–1964
James M. David, 1885–1931
Allen Lawton Denny, 1919–2007
Truie Yancey Denny, 1919–2002
Audrey Mae Dobbs, 1947–2001
Baby Dobbs, 1911–1911
Clara Dobbs, 1917–1921
D. C. Dobbs, 1930–1931
Daniel C. Dobbs, 1897–1983
Donald Joyce Dobbs, 1932–1986
Edna Marie Slaven Dobbs, 1925–1974
Effie Laxton Dobbs, 1882–1948
Emma Jean Dobbs, 1941–1942
Flora Crowley Dobbs, 1900–1938
Hurstle Dobbs, 1922–2016
Mack Dobbs, 1866–1940
McKinley Dobbs Sr., 1901–1974
Nannie Mae West Dobbs, 1900–1990
Noah Dobbs, 1895–1950
Otto J. Dobbs, 1919–1921
Sarah E. West Dobbs, 1872–1943
Sevier Dobbs, 1900–1920
Aaron Duncan, 1864–1908
Barzilla Angeline West Duncan, 1845–1927
Christene Yancey Duncan, 1923–1996
Columbus Duncan, 1908–1988
Earnest E. Duncan, 1895–1896
Franklin Asberry Duncan, 1893–1969
Helen Phillips Duncan, 1925–2006
Leland Johnson Duncan, 1918–1996
Lillie Jeffers Duncan, 1902–1980
Loretta Hilda Abbott Duncan, 1934–2017
Ruth Thomas Duncan, 1834–1908
Wanda Duncan, 1952–1971
William Isaac Duncan, 1940–2011
Eunice Dobbs Eliton, 1928–2003
Lewis B. Eliton, 1927–1997
James Harlan Ellis, 1882–1912
Rita K. Ellis, 1957–2009
Arthur Bradford Elmore, 1892–1973
Ida Donzy Young Elmore, 1893–1960
Helen R. Terry Ervin, 1946–2013
Charlie Foster, 1925–1925
Ella Gertrude West Foster, 1909–1925
Cleatus Brown Fryar, 1924–1977
Dennis Lee Goodman Jr., 1985–1985
Eddie Bill Goodman Sr., 1971–2000
Hazel Lavaughn Goodman, 1980–2001
Henry Goodman, 1912–1912
James Hoyle Goodman, 1985–1985
John Morris Goodman, 1874–1950
Martha Goodman, 1899–1919
Opal Goodman, 1902–1919
Rebecca Ann Acres Goodman, 1960–2009
Rosa Duncan Goodman, 1880–1961
Travis Lee Goodman, 1992–1995
Raymond Lee Green, 1934–2009
Ruby Buttram Green, 1928–2013
George Hammack, 1883–1972
Sarah Smith Hammack, 1895–1988
Claude Hammock, 1942–1999
Emily Sylvania West Hammock, 1922–1991
John Marshall Hammock, 1876–1952
Martha Rachel Hammock, 1950–1950
Nelson Hammock, 1914–1979
Noah Hammock, 1944–2010
Rachel West Hammock, 1874–1918
Willie David Hammock Sr., 1914–1975
Gary Ray Hembree, 1953–1966
Johnny Wayne Hill, 1966–1985
Luther Duane Hill, 1964–2017
Baby Girl Huling, 1957–1957
Alfred John Jeffers, 1922–1997
Bonnie Dobbs Jeffers, 1934–1995
Donna Faye Goodman Jeffers, 1959–2009
Earl Edward Jeffers, 1939–1939
Flora Katherine Jeffers, 1956–1956
Lola Faye Terry Jeffers, 1948–2023
Melody Magdalene Dobbs Jeffers, 1923–1987
O. B. Jeffers, 1946–1999
Roger McKinley Jeffers I, 1945–1998
Ronald Alfred Jeffers, 1948–2015
Ruby Terry Jeffers, 1927–1982
Vernon Jeffers, 1916–2009
William Donald Jeffers, 1941–1941
James Edward Johnson, 1957–2007
Flonnie Buttram Jones, 1938–2002
Bonita Ann Elmore King, 1921–1982
Edna Arlena King, 1925–1971
Ernest King, 1908–1986
Everett King, 1906–1986
Everett Jerry King, 1941–1941
Ilda Lee King, 1964–2015
John Calvin King, 1880–1962
John Cephus King, 1883–1972
Martha Magdaline Stephens King, 1947–2015
Minnie Belle Wilson King, 1883–1961
Ricky Lyn King, 1962–1990
Terry Lyn King, 1965–2013
James Harold Lawson, 1943–1943
Tamera R. Lawson, 1985-2025
James Elbert Laxton, 1906–1990
Laura Etta West Laxton, 1906–1925
Lucy Mary Laxton, 1877–1904
Mary Etta West Laxton, 1913–2010
Muriel Irene Laxton, 1933–1934
M. C. Lewis, 1880–1914
Mary Helen Crabtree Lewis, 1961–2015
James Edwin Loudin, 1942–2001
Cloreda Sexton Lovett, 1923–1943
Enmon Lowe, 1927–1998
Geraldine Buttram Lowe, 1934–2017
Harold Gene Lowe, 1948–1994
Karen Lynette Smith Lowe, 1967–2014
Princess O. Buttram Lowe, 1930–2008
Ada Mae Yancey McCartt, 1927–1984
Claude Eldridge McCartt, 1923–1972
Gary C. McCartt, 1955–1972
Delore McGhee, 1931–2019
Dennis Rolee McGhee, 1956–2021
Ella Mae Wilson McGhee, 1923–2006
Eulas Marshall McGhee, 1912–2004
Wilma Jane Yancey McGhee, 1933–2023
Joshua John Clay McGinnis, 1985–1990
Stephanie Leighann McGinnis, 1984–1984
Marlene Rose West Meazel, 1937–1971
Barbara Joan Adams Mulligan, 1946–1991
Robert Earl Mulligan Jr., 1941–2008
Catherine McAnaney O’Connors, 1853–1900
Jerry O’Connors, 1843–1915
Christine Nellie Carson Overbay, 1925–1993
James Ike Overbay, 1924–1993
Margaret Ann Overbay, 1947–2018
Debra Gale Overton, 1957–2011
Eddie Paul, 1955–1955
Flora Cox Pennington, 1919–1963
Norman Lee Pennington, 1951–2004
Ewell Phillips, 1923–1991
Gary Phillips, 1967–2008
Harold Edward Phillips, 1951–2011
Helen Dobbs Phillips, 1926–2013
Isiah Ewell Phillips, 2005–2005
Kelsie Edward Phillips, 1975–2015
Leonard Ledford Phillips, 1908–1945
Linda Marlene Whaley Phillips, 1947–2024
Mildred Barnes Phillips, 1919–1988
Roy Lee Phillips, 1945–2019
Sharon Kay Carson Phillips, 1959–2011
Othelena Dobbs Reagan, 1937–2014
Nancy E. Foster Reagans, 1897–1982
Sherman Reagans Sr., 1884–1980
Corrine Smith Sams, 1934–1953
Baby Boy Sexton, N/A
Cora Sexton, 1909–1927
Elizabeth Bea Sexton, 1886–1929
Hinegar Sexton, 1913–1933
James Marshall Sexton, 1969–2013
Leroy Sexton, 1937–2000
Maudie Della Butler Sexton, 1972–2009
Melvina Abbott Sexton, 1925–1985
Virgil Sexton, 1904–1929
William Ray Sexton, 1914–1982
Sarah Nichole Slaven, 2004–2004
Stevie Warren Slaven, 1962–2004
Warren Vinson Slaven, 1936–2015
Arthur Smith, 1929–1999
Clara Lee Goodman Smith, 1934–2004
Clifford Cordell Smith Sr., 1927–1978
Ella Jean Janes Smith, 1927–2019
Rev. Frank Goldman Smith, 1903–1997
Kent Dwayne Smith, 1958–1958
Lee Goodman Smith, 1934–2004
Letha Sylvania Hammock Smith, 1909–1994
Lucille Duncan Smith, 1947–2021
Priscilla Smith, 1955–2011
William David Smith, 1947–1984
Mathew Douglas Smith-Sexton, 2019–2019
Eva Steen, 1900–1975
Hattie West Stephens, 1918–1938
Jimmy E. Stephens, 1947–2000
Ronda Sue Stephens, 1967–1980
Eva Cox Stephens Wood, 1915–1978
Henry Patric Strange, 1866–1935
Arlin Ray Stringer, 1912–1966
Eddie Dean Terry, 1955–1992
Lonnie B. Terry, 1916–2003
Marie Butler Terry, 1916–1983
Pearl Lee Moore Terry, 1894–1988
Heather Nichole King Thompson, 1982–2009
Charles John Tomalavage, 1924–1996
Dorothy Carson Ward, 1915–1997
Starling Ward, 1900–1977
Daniel Columbus West, 1868–1942
Ethel Laxton West, 1902–1926
Floyd West, 1929–1950
Fredrick West, 1839–1884
General Taylor West, 1847–1925
Helena West, 1914–1915
James L. West, 1869–1871
Jane Ellis West, 1843–1918
Johnny James West, 1900–1981
Lee Reldaugh West, 1904–1928
Martha Hammock West, 1873–N/A
Martin Luther West, 1898–1926
Nancy Sexton West, 1845–1917
Raymond Edgar West, 1896–1976
Reason West, 1861–1882
Sarah M. West, 1923–2018
Tabitha Lee Cross West, 1904–1980
Tom West, 1922–2000
William L. West, 1927–1927
William Ray West, 1866–1931
Lottie Bell Beeler Williams, 1941–2001
Evelyn Wilson, 1926–1997
Joann Terry Winchester, 1949–2001
Clauda Wright, 1917–1918
Cleve Wright, 1880–1953
Pheriba West Wright, 1868–1943
Betty Charlene Buttram Yancey, 1946–2018
John Marion Yancey, 1885–1944
Mary Kathy Yancey, 1949–2023
Myrtle Frances Hughes Yancey, 1887–1973
Allen Ray Yancy, 1948–1948
Althia Buttram Yancy, 1932–2005
Carline Kay Yancy, 1951–2008
Clarence Rolee Yancy, 1925–2006
Roger Lee Yancy, 1953–1955
This story is part of the Scott County Cemetery Project.