Sacred Ground: Scott Memorial Gardens
Last week the Sacred Ground series visited the Abner Thomas Cemetery on Dexter Laxton Road east of Oneida.
Just through the woods and across the railroad tracks from Abner Thomas Cemetery, more or less, is Scott Memorial Gardens.
Also known as the Jeffers Cemetery — and sometimes as the Phillips Cemetery; both families feature prominently here — this cemetery is in no way connected with the Abner Thomas Cemetery except for the two burial grounds’ close proximity.
But they were started at about the same time, in the mid 19th century, by families who lived nearby.
These days, Scott Memorial Gardens is owned by First Baptist Church of Oneida, having been deeded to the church by the Jeffers family — Ralph Jeffers and his wife, Shirley.
The Phillips family
It really is no surprise that the first person buried at the cemetery that would grow to become Scott Memorial Gardens was a Phillips. You find Phillips and Jeffers family members throughout this cemetery, and much of the old, original section of the cemetery is dominated by the Phillips family.
Jonathon Phillips — spelled “Jononthon” on his headstone — was 44 years old when he died on July 14, 1871 and was buried at the cemetery.
It’s not clear who Jonathon Phillips’ people were, but he married Jane Chitwood on April 8, 1859. He was the first of her three husbands. Following his death, she remarried to Pleasant Chambers, a grandson of Revolutionary War veteran William Chambers, the son of early Scott County official Thomas Chambers. And following his death in 1887, she remarried to Dennis Taylor.
In any event, Jonathon Phillips had at least seven, and perhaps eight, children. For whatever reason, most of those children left Scott County and settled in other states — including in Arkansas, Texas, and elsewhere.
A few exceptions: Sherman Phillips (1866-1931), who married Malinda Coffey (1871-1937) and settled down in Oneida; Martha Phillips (1869-1950), who married Nicholas Edward Stanley (1865-1936) and also settled down in the Oneida area; and Sarah (1871-1893), who married Bailey Bilbrey.
Nicholas Stanley was the son of Calvin Stanley and Sallie Sharp, and an Oneida grocery store owner.
Malinda Coffey, who went by “Linda,” was the daughter of James Coffey (1790-1882) and Sarah Emerline Sumpter (1792-1869). Coffey was the forefather of the Coffey family in Scott County today, and was buried at the Coffey Cemetery on his farm where the Scott County Fairgrounds is now located in Oneida. (Johnnie Coffey, 1907-1976, and his wife, Stella Phillips, 1913-2002, are also buried at Scott Memorial Gardens. Johnnie Coffey was a great-grandson of James Coffey; Linda Coffey was his great-aunt.)
Sherman Phillips and Martha Phillips and their spouses are all buried at Scott Memorial Gardens, and Sarah Phillips is buried there, as well.
Also buried at the cemetery is one of their siblings, Richard Phillips (1862-1937), who died in Paris, Tex. And was returned to Oneida for burial.
Several of Sherman Phillips’ children are buried at Scott Memorial Gardens, including: Fred (1893-1964), Grace Ann (1895-1958), Lula Cecil (1900-1991) and Thomas (1908-1935). Two exceptions are Mary Alice Watts (1905-1992), who is buried in Chattanooga; and Joseph Audney (1913-2000), who is buried in Ohio.
Some of Martha Phillips Stanley’s children are buried at the cemetery, as well, including: Iris Phillips (1906-1993) and her husband, Clyde (1913-1977), and Richard E. Stanley (1912-1944).
Others of Martha’s children include oldest son Clyde (1900-1942), who was buried on Pine Hill after being struck by lightning; Mary Jane Byrd (1908-1984), who is buried in Huntsville; and Floyd (1901-1981) and Calvin (1912-1944), who moved out of Tennessee.
In 1946, when Fred Phillips applied for a military headstone for his son, John Sherman Phillips, who died at the age of 22 and was buried at the cemetery, he listed the name of the cemetery as “Phillips Cemetery.”
The Jeffers family
Besides Jononthon Phillips in 1871 and his daughter Sarah in 1893, no one else had been buried at the Phillips Cemetery — as it was then known — when the 1920s rolled around.
It was in 1922 that the first member of the Jeffers family was buried there.
Mary Jeffers was the infant daughter of Oliver Etheridge Jeffers (1901-1963) and Margaret Julia Chambers (1903-1991). She died on May 25, 1922. A year later, on July 16, 1923, she had an infant sister, Martha, who was buried at the cemetery. Their parents would later be buried at the cemetery, as well.
O.E. Jeffers was the son of William Jasper Jeffers (1870-1942) and Emily Jane Duncan (1869-1951). He married Margaret Chambers in 1921. She was the daughter of Michael James Chambers (1874-1971) and Cordelia Honeycutt (1883-1967).
Chambers was from the large Chambers family on Buffalo Creek, a great-grandson of Revolutionary War veteran William Chambers and grandson of Thomas Chambers, both of whom are mentioned earlier in this story. Mike and Cordelia Chambers are buried at the Chambers Cemetery at Buffalo.
William J. Jeffers was from Huntsville, and was a bank cashier at Oneida Bank & Trust Company at the time of his death. Prior to that he was superintendent of schools in Scott County, and also served on the Scott County Quarterly Court — a precursor to Scott County Commission — for 12 years.
Jeffers married Emily Jane on March 20, 1891. She was the daughter of Oliver Duncan and Ruth Duncan of Buffalo. Her grandparents were Joshua L. Duncan and Rosa Sartain. Oliver Duncan was with Lark Cross and Ranson Vanover when they were murdered by Confederate soldiers on Buffalo Creek in November 1862.
It was with William J. Jeffers that the Jeffers part of this story begins. His family lived nearby. In fact, the road past the cemetery is today named W.J. Jeffers Road, after him.
Both William and Emily Jeffers were buried at Scott Memorial Gardens when they died. The cemetery came to be known as Jeffers Cemetery because of him. In fact, it is still often called the W.J. Jeffers Cemetery.
W.J. Jeffers’ mother, Burnetta Jeffers Marcum (1852-1947), is also buried at Scott Memorial Gardens.
Drucinda “Cindy” Marcum Jeffers (1887-1978) was a half-sister to W.J. Jeffers. She married Thomas Jefferson “Tom” Jeffers (1885-1978) and they lived “across the river” near Huntsville. They were the subjects of an iconic photo snapped by Independent Herald founder Paul Roy that has appeared many times in Scott County’s historical annals through the years.
Both Tom and Cindy Jeffers are buried at Scott Memorial Gardens.
Back to O.E. Jeffers: he was a prominent man about town in Oneida. He was an attorney who, like his father, served as Scott County Superintendent of Schools. He and his brother, Guy Curtis Jeffers (1903-1968) founded the Jeffers & Jeffers Law Firm in Oneida. He served a term in the Tennessee House of Representatives, and was president of the Oneida Bank & Trust Company, where his father had worked as a cashier. Just prior to his death, he and his wife moved to Cocoa, Fla., where they purchased a motel.
Like his brother, Guy Jeffers — who was Scott County’s attorney for 16 years at the time of his death in 1968 — was buried at the family cemetery. Guy Jeffers was married to Ann Fortner (1901-1994), who is also buried at the cemetery.
The cemetery today
Scott Memorial Gardens remains a very active cemetery, with plenty of room for expansion. The number of graves at the cemetery is approaching 300.
The most recent person buried at the cemetery, as of this writing, was Wayne King, the owner of Baby J’s Pizza in Oneida who died the day after Christmas in 2023. Also buried at the cemetery in 2023 was Ruth Ann Jeffers Phillips, the wife of James Kelsie Phillips (1942-2018) and daughter of Guy and Anna Jeffers.
There were eight burials at the cemetery in 2022 and eight in 2021.
Cemetery Census
SCOTT MEMORIAL GARDENS
GPS Coordinates:
First Burial: 1871
Last Burial: 2023
Elvin L. Acres, 1935 – 2020
Bobby J. Adams, 1945 – 2012
Imogene Terry Adams, 1951 – 2017
Arthur E. Alcorn, 1905 – 1943
Mathew Alcorn, 1874 – 1954
Rosettie Goodman Alcorn, 1875 – 1943
Phyllis Hamon Babb, 1944 – 1990
Richard E. Babb, 1962 – 2010
Jack K. Bishop, 1936 – 2019
Don Blankenship, 1922 – 1990
Lois Wilson Blankenship, 1924 – 1992
Jesse W. Brewster, 2013 – 2013
Alexa Lee Butler, 2002 – 2002
Arvil L. Butler, 1949 – 1991
Lindsey Lee Butler, 2001 – 2001
Reeda Lane Byrd-Lloyd, 1940 – 2022
Betty Hamon Cantrell, 1939 – 2018
Kyle E. Cantrell, 1937 – 2020
Lula Phillips Cecil, 1900 – 1991
Panonia Cecil, 1923 – 2019
Angalee Chambers, 1967 – 1967
Augfie Chambers, 1924 – 1966
Bessie Slaven Chambers, 1908 – 1989
Dan F. Chambers, 1904 – 1952
Earl L. Chambers, 1947 – 1969
Harold E. Chambers, 1930 – 1984
Homer C. Chambers, 1935 – 2020
James E. Chambers, 1897 – 1964
James R. Chambers, 1933 – 1992
Jennifer L. Chambers, 1984 – 2004
Julie Terry Chambers, 1943 – 2020
Levie Chambers, 1904 – 1961
Luella Chambers, 1912 – 1948
Milford L. Chambers, 1926 – 1998
Nancy L. Chambers, 1966 – 1966
Nora Smith Chambers, 1932 – 1994
Osbie Chambers, 1919 – N/A
Paul R. Chambers, 1957 – 2021
Peggy A. Chambers, 1959 – 1959
Rachel E. Chambers, 1898 – 1993
Timothy W. Chambers, 1965 – 2004
Venus Chambers, 1893 – 1951
Winnie Phillips Chambers, 1905 – 1970
Wilda J. Claborn, 1940 – 2003
Kenneth E. Claiborn, 1935 – 2004
Johnnie Coffey, 1907 – 1976
Stella Phillips Coffey, 1913 – 2002
Mildred Chambers Crabtree, 1957 – 2022
Rebecca Cross, 1982 – 2001
John D. Damron, 1941 – 2025
Rhea Damron, 1898 – 1953
Vera Truesdell Damron, 1905 – 1980
Brett R. Davidson, 1981 – 2016
Aaden S. Davis, 2009 – 2010
Thomas N. Donahue, 1959 – 2014
Gernie L.C. Duncan, 1903 – 1967
Lessie Phillips Duncan, 1906 – 1990
Rhoda Phillips Duncan, 1904 – 1979
Archie C. Ellis, 1955 – 1991
Ryley E. Falcone, 2008 – 2008
Thomas L. Flint, 1964 – 2011
Richard B. Franklin, 1946 – 2004
Arlin Goodman, 1932 – 1999
Ella Wilson Goodman, 1929 – 2003
Fredia M. Goodman, 1956 – 1956
Hoyle T. Goodman Jr., 1947 – 2002
Hoyle T. Goodman Sr., 1925 – 2000
Lona Sexton Goodman, 1910 – 1990
Artie Stanfill Grant, 1910 – 1996
Leslie L. Griffith, 1982 – 1985
Jimmie Phillips Gupton, 1921 – 2000
Luverna Sexton Hall, 1959 – 2025
Ben Hambright, 1929 – 2021
Edith Smith Hambright, 1925 – 2001
Elbert A. Hamon, 1906 – 1994
Hazel Burchfield Hamon, 1915 – 1997
Paul D. Hamon, 1947 – 2007
Ben A. Hatmaker, 1904 – 1958
Linda York Hildum, 1942 – 2016
William N. Hines, 1907 – 1952
Wilda Terry Honeycutt, 1939 – 2014
Phyllis Chambers Hughett, 1941 – 1994
William E. Hughett, 1941 – 1993
Donald H. Hutson, 1939 – 2018Jo Ann Hutson, 1969 – 2024
Johnna Livingston Hutson, 1940 – 2010
Velma Wright Hutson, 1939 – 2012
Anna Fortner Jeffers, 1901 – 1994
Curtis L. Jeffers, 1949 – 1985
Drucinda Marcum Jeffers, 1887 – 1978
Emily Duncan Jeffers, 1869 – 1951
Guy C. Jeffers, 1903 – 1968
James C. Jeffers, 1919 – 1991
James S. Jeffers, 1949 – 2021
Linda L. Jeffers, 1947 – 1997
Margaret Chambers Jeffers, 1903 – 1991
Martha Jeffers, 1923 – 1923
Mary Jeffers, 1922 – 1922
Oliver E. Jeffers, 1901 – 1963
Randall L. Jeffers, 1964 – 1999
Thomas J. Jeffers, 1885 – 1978
William J. Jeffers, 1870 – 1942
Wilma Lawson Jeffers, 1927 – 2000
B. R. Johnson, 1938 – 2021
Carolyn S. Johnson, 1943 – 2002
Estel Keith, 1936 – 1936
Hester Keith, 1936 – 1936
Bobby H. Kidd, 1939 – 2015
Geraldine Byrd Kidd, 1930 – 2011
Judy Phillips Kidd, 1945 – 2011
R. Wayne King, 1959 – 2023
Wilma Sexton King, 1951 – 2022
Linda Strunk Lambert, 1959 – 2012
Dexter Laxton, 1894 – 1982
Glenn J. Laxton, 1922 – 1923
Ruth Jeffers Laxton, 1899 – 1983
John T. Layne, 1958 – 2006
Cierra L. Letner, 1992 – 2011
Charles D. Lloyd, 1948 – 2019
Edith Crabtree Love, 1945 – 2010
Grover E. Love, 1927 – 1998
Kamryn G. Lowe, 2014 – 2014
Kinley R. Lowe, 2014 – 2014
Glennice Maloy, 1916 – 1950
John D. Maloy, 1909 – 1947
Burnetta Jeffers Marcum, 1852 – 1947
Kelly Milton Mattie, 1939 – 2017
Marvin Mayfield, 1954 – 2018
Rickey A. McCartt, 1956 – 1979
Raymond J. Miller, 1939 – 2015
Durk Mills, 1982 – 1982
Bobby Gene Morris, 1945 – 1996
Elizabeth Chitwood Morris, 1920 – 1988
Nancy May Morris, N/A – N/A
Roy Morris, 1920 – 1972
Royce A. Morris, 1942 – 1961
Walter T. Morris, N/A – 1955
Jonathan H. Newport, 2000 – 2022
Roy Norman, 1919 – 2008
Zora Carson Norman, 1921 – 2012
Ryan D. Norton, 1976 – 1999
Franklin B. Orick, 1941 – 2020
Edwin C. Pennington, 1945 – 1970
Ella Phillips Pennington, 1920 – 1980
Gorman Pennington, 1914 – 1962
Carl Phelps, 1914 – 1995
Ruth Strunk Phelps, 1917 – 2003
Billy J. Phillips Sr., 1936 – 2010
Clyde Phillips, 1913 – 1977
Dennis J. Phillips, 1956 – 2021
Dillard M Phillips, 1910 – 2001
Flora Acres Phillips, 1911 – 1986
Fred Phillips, 1893 – 1964
Frona Blevins Phillips, 1887 – 1948
General L. Phillips, 1934 – 2012
Grace Phillips Phillips, 1895 – 1958
H. Legal Phillips, 1898 – 1980
Harold L. Phillips, 1932 – 2004
Herbert R. Phillips, 1934 – 2010
Iris Stanley Phillips, 1906 – 1993
Isaac Blevins Phillips, 1917 – 1972
James K. Phillips, 1942 – 2018
John S. Phillips, 1923 – 1946
Jononthon Phillips, 1827 – 1871
Joyce Phillips, 1934 – 1935
Malinda Coffey Phillips, 1871 – 1937
Orie Acres Phillips, 1916 – 2001
Osbie Phillips, 1919 – 1995
Relda Slaven Phillips, 1913 – 1974
Richard C. Phillips, 1862 – 1937
Riley Phillips, 1904 – 1979
Robert H. Phillips, 1944 – 2013
Ruth Jeffers Phillips, 1940 – 2023
Sarah J. Phillips, 1871 – 1893
Sherman Phillips, 1866 – 1931
Stacia Jones Phillips, 1977 – 2025
Thomas W. Phillips, 1908 – 1935
Zelphia Phillips, 1902 – 1996
Jane Chitwood Taylor, 1833 – 1926
Ollie Phillips Pike, 1918 – 1979
Sherman R. Pike, 1914 – 2009
Elizabeth Taylor Posey, 1948 – 2024
Ray J. Reagan, 1926 – 1995
James L. Robbins, 1941 – 2009
Janice Jeffers Robbins, 1946 – 2006
Tonya Kidd Roberts, 1968 – 2013
Bobby L. Rodgers, 1947 – 2013
Mary Goodman Rodgers, 1946 – 2004
Bertha Ross, 1893 – 1986
David Ross, 1947 – 1947
Howard R. Ross, 1932 – 1996
M.F. Ross Jr., 1927 – 1960
Raymon Ross, 1942 – 1942
Ricky G. Ross, 1957 – 1999
Barbara Sexton, 1937 – 2024
Chester Sexton, 1929 – 2017
Eddie A. Sexton, 1954 – 2015
Eddie M. Sexton, 1982 – 2019
Flora Jeffers Sexton, 1914 – 1997
Georgie Lee Sexton, 1933 – 1966
Sadie Chambers Sexton, 1928 – 1974
Shella Phillips Sexton, 1954 – 2013
Edwin Z. Sharpe, 1976 – 2022
Nevada Chitwood Simpson, 1934 – 2015
Ralph Simpson, 1932 – 2022
Barry J. Slaven, 1938 – 2002
Charles Slaven, 1946 – 1971
Clifford R. Slaven, 1955 – 1982
Elijah C. Slaven, 1902 – 1966
Isaac Slaven, 1915 – 1988
Julia Marcum Slaven, 1895 – 1953
Mable Ooten Slaven, 1917 – 2000
Merie Slaven, 1911 – 1961
Robert B. Slaven, 1974 – 2005
Roy L. Slaven, 1940 – 1988
Sarah Sexton Slaven, 1940 – 2015
Jackie R. Smith, 1950 – 2014
Sarah Smith, 1814 – 1898
Deborah Smith-Hernicz, 1960 – 2002
Harold K. Spaulding, 1930 – 1982
William J. Spaulding, 1875 – 1942
Wilma Chambers Spradlin, 1955 – 1994
Andrew Stanfill, 1914 – 1987
George L. Stanfill, 1879 – 1960
Rachel Phillips Stanfill, 1877 – 1948
Ralph L. Stanfill, 1940 – 1989
Shonia S. Stanfill, 1967 – 1997
Wilma Acres Stanfill, 1944 – 2012
Calvin L. Stanley, 1929 – 1997
Clyde Stanley Jr., 1939 – 2001
Dorothy Beaty Stanley, 1932 – 2001
Martha Phillips Stanley, 1869 – 1950
Nicholas E. Stanley, 1865 – 1936
Richard E. Stanley, 1912 – 1944
Willard E. Stephens, 1956 – 2014
Elizabeth Laxton Stewart, 1971 – 2013
Elizabeth Stidham, N/A – N/A
Arnold W. Strunk, 1935 – 2021
Helen Phelps Strunk, 1936 – 2009
James E. Taylor, 1946 – 2022
David S. Terry, 1962 – 2016
Feeba Watson Terry, 1917 – 2001
James L. Terry, 1943 – 2016
Jay M. Terry, 1941 – 1961
Margaret Upton Terry, 1940 – 2021
Matthew L. Terry, 1993 – 1994
Doris I. Thurber, 1926 – 1984
Jannie T. Vincent, 1897 – 1972
Mary K. Vincent, 1869 – 1949
Ross A. Vincent, 1890 – 1982
Ella Phillips Watters, 1941 – 2013
Margaret Jerred Watters, 1932 – 2010
William C. Watters, 1913 – 1997
Douglass C. Weaver, 1895 – 1950
Edith Young Weaver, 1891 – 1978
Jane Simpson West, 1943 – 2009
William C.West, 1942 – 2018
Edna Crabtree Whisnant, 1945 – 2022
Dottie Smith Wiggins, 1905 – 1993
Bill J. Winchester, 1945 – 2011
Hubert E Winchester, 1951 – 2011
Orangie Hill Winchester, 1949 – 2012
Cledith L. Wright, 1916 – 2008
Gladys Ross Wright, 1918 – 2020
Minor Lewallen Wright, 1875 – 1952
Ronnie D. Wright, 1941 – 2021
William H. Wright, 1866 – 1949
Lena Alcorn York, 1912 – 1992
Granville K. Young, 1872 – 1955
Jennie Fletcher Young, 1871 – 1958
This story is part of the Scott County Cemetery Project.