Sacred Ground: Slick Rock Cemetery
It seems a little bit odd to refer to a cemetery as “picturesque.” After all, grave yards are, by their very nature, somewhat macabre.
And, yet, Slick Rock Cemetery at Brimstone — also known as Sexton Cemetery — is just that: picturesque. It is one of the best-kept cemeteries in Scott County, with more than 200 graves nestled in a wooded setting a few hundred feet from Brimstone Road.
Slick Rock Cemetery dates back more than 100 years — though exactly how far beyond 100 years is difficult to ascertain. There are several graves that are either unmarked or marked by illegible field stone. Some records list burials there dating back as far as the 1850s, and that may well be so. But, if it is, those graves are among those that are unmarked.
The earliest burial at Slick Rock that can be confirmed is that of baby Glennie May Goad, who died two weeks before Christmas in 1905, at the age of just six months. Her grave is also the earliest recorded at Slick Rock in Robert Bailey’s “Cemeteries of Scott County, Tennessee,” published by the Scott County Historical Society in 1994.
Baby Glennie May
Glennie May Goad was the daughter of William Marshall Goad and Elizabeth Sexton Goad, both of whom were buried at Slick Rock when they died years later (William in 1944 and Elizabeth in 1959).
Both the Goad and Sexton families were prominent in the area in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Elizabeth was the great-granddaughter of William Sexton, who may have been the first person buried at Slick Rock Cemetery, and the great-great-granddaughter of Revolutionary War soldier Timothy Sexton, who is buried a couple of miles further up the mountain in another Sexton Cemetery. Her father was Solomon “Sol” Sexton, who is also buried at Slick Rock. Her grandfather was Pvt. Hiram Sexton, a Union soldier who was captured by Confederate forces during the Civil War and died at Belle Isle Prison in Virginia.
The Sextons and Slick Rock
There’s a reason Slick Rock Cemetery is also referred to as Sexton Cemetery. The Sexton surname isn’t the most prominent in the cemetery; that goes to the Robbins surname, another prominent family in the early days of the Brimstone community. But the Sextons were one of the very largest families in the community, with descendants of the Revolutionary War soldier Timothy Sexton settling throughout the valley and further descendants still living in the community today.
William Sexton (1786-1854) and his wife, Rhoda Griffith Sexton (1800-1877) are both listed in some records as being buried at Slick Rock Cemetery, though there are no stones to verify the location of their graves. Both were the offspring of Revolutionary War soldiers who settled at Brimstone; Rhoda’s father was Joseph Griffith, who was bodyguard to Gen. George Washington when Lord Cornwallis surrendered his sword at Yorktown.
Timothy Sexton, originally from New Jersey, moved to Tennessee and married Esther Sisel after the war. Joseph Griffith, originally from Maryland, married Phoebe Hudson and moved to Tennessee after the war. Both settled at Brimstone. Joseph and and Phoebe are buried in a small cemetery further up the valley; Timothy and Esther are likely buried at Rob Sexton Cemetery on top of the mountain.
Timothy and Esther Sexton had several children, most of whom lived out their lives in the Brimstone area. One of their grandchildren, Rebecca, married Jehu Phillips, an early elected official and a member of another of the most prominent families in Scott County.
Timothy Sexton’s oldest son, Timothy Sexton Jr., is likely buried at Rob Sexton Cemetery alongside his parents. William was the second-oldest, followed by Moses Sexton, whose burial location isn’t known. John Sexton moved from Tennessee to Arkansas prior to the Civil War.
Whether or not William and Rhoda are buried at Slick Rock Cemetery, several of their grandchildren are. Hiram Sexton had three children before he went off to war: Sol, Arlena and Sherman. All are buried at Slick Rock. A large number of William and Rhoda’s great-grandchildren are buried at Slick Rock, as well.
The Goads and Slick Rock
Among the earliest Brimstone residents to be buried at Slick Rock Cemetery were Elizabeth “Betty” Robbins Goad (1831-1907) and her husband, Joshua Goad (1824-1910).
Betty Robbins was the daughter of Michael Robbins and Mary Polly Lewallen. Her grandfather was Anderson Grant Lewallen, who settled in the Nydeck area of southern Scott County.
Joshua Goad was the grandson of Abraham Goad, a Revolutionary War soldier who settled what would later be known as the Vanderpool Farm along New River.
Glennie May Goad, the baby who died in 1905 and is the first verifiable person who was buried at Slick Rock, was Joshua Goad’s great-niece. Her grandfather, Aaron Goad, was Joshua Goad’s brother.
Joshua and Betty had at least 10 children. Their youngest, Etta Tennessee Goad, married a Scott County School Superintendent, William Fred Lee, and was the grandmother of Knoxville mayor and U.S. Congressman John Duncan Sr. Joshua and Betty were the great-grandparents of John Duncan, who as mayor was credited with helping Knoxville avoid the violent race riots that were prevalent throughout Southern cities in the 1960s. Their great-great-grandson, Jimmy Duncan, was also a Congressman from Knoxville.
Their oldest child, Almira Goad, married a Civil War veteran, Daniel Walker. Walker was imprisoned at Andersonville during the war, survived, and walked hundreds of miles back to his family’s Brimstone farm, sleeping under the stars and subsisting on acorns.
Among other Goads who are buried at Slick Rock are siblings Ermon and Aaron (whose tombstone is spelled “Aron”). They died just weeks apart in 1924 — Aaron at the age of 25 and Ermon at the age of 21 — and have a shared headstone. They are two of the children of William Marshall Goad and Bettie Sexton. Their sister was Glennie May Goad.
Another of William and Bettie’s children, Willard “Bill” Goad, was buried at Slick Rock when he died in 2007 at the age of 96. His wife, Ethel Honeycutt, died in 2014 at the age of 88 and is buried there, as well. Three of their children, Gene Marshall (1948-1995), Lorraine Goad Dudgen (1947-2005) and Harold (1950-2008) are buried there, as well.
Other Goads buried at Slick Rock include Solman Goad (1900-1940) and Kerney Goad (1907-1929), who share a headstone; and Leabert Goad (1919-1987), another of the children of William Marshall and Bettie Goad.
Slick Rock tidbits
There are more than 200 graves at Slick Rock Cemetery. It would be impossible to write about all of them at length. However, a few stand out.
Among the few is Lawrence Robbins (1905-1936). A member of the Robbins family who settled Brimstone, Robbins was a 31-year-old police officer in Cincinnati who was shot and killed by a 19-year-old robbery suspect. The teenager was later convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
Kermit Robbins (1911-1944) was Lawrence Robbins’ brother. He was a Fireman First Class in the U.S. Navy and was lost at sea during World War II. In addition to the stone placed at Slick Rock, he has a marker bearing his name at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
There were three siblings who died as young children and were buried at Slick Rock in the 1940s. The first to die was Ralph Lee Rich, who died on Feb. 3, 1946 at the age of two. Jean Hellen Rich died on Jan. 26, 1948 at the age of six months. And Kathleen Rich died on March 30, 1949 at the age of four months.
The Rich children were the children of Granville Ralph Rich and Flonnie Hutson. Their parents and grandparents are buried at Slick Rock, as well.
Thomas Nelson “Tom” Walker was buried at Slick Rock when he died on Dec. 31, 1954 at the age of 77. His wife, Zida Kline Walker, was also buried there when she died in 1984. They were the parents of one of Scott County’s longest-serving county commissioners, Lawrence Daniel Walker, who is also buried at Slick Rock. Zida was the aunt of Scott County physician George Kline.
Dwight Stephens was 24 years old when he was killed in a mining accident on Oct. 10, 1975, and buried at Slick Rock. The accident occurred one day before his 25th birthday.
Stephens was working at the Big K Mine near Smokey Junction when a large rock fell from the ceiling of the mine and killed him instantly.
The most recent burial at Slick Rock, as of this writing, was Clois Jean Foster, who died on Sept. 20, 2022.
Cemetery inventory
SLICK ROCK CEMETERY
Coordinates: 36.30891, -84.50619
First burial: 1905?
Last burial: 2022
Burials since Robert Bailey’s 1994 cemetery census? Yes.
Florene Robbins Basler, 1930-1984
Elsie Henry Bowling, 1917-1985
Flora Bowling, 1948-2022
James F. Bowling, 1924-2005
Jason E. Bowling, 1976-2021
Jasper Bowling, 1912-1999
Leoda Bowling, 1909-1980
Lloyd Bowling, 1946-1981
Louis Bowling, 1951-2011
Milford Bowling, 1961-2018
Millie Overton Bowling, 1922-2003
Obis Bowling, 1914-1999
Charles M. Breckel, 1932-1984
Arlena Sexton Brown, 1862-1940
Boyd Brown, 1924-1996
Carrie Newport Brown, 1930-2021
Delphia Rich Brown, 1897-1941
Diane Nichols Brown, 1948-2014
Garfield “G.D.” Brown, 1928-1976
Jackie A. Brown, 1954-1954
James Henry Brown, 1896-1951
James T. Brown, 1873-1944
Jesse L. Brown, 1921-1941
Raymond O. Brown, 1926-1954
D. Arminda Gibson Byrd, 1928-1989
Eddison E. Byrd, 1925-2012
Addie Jones Byrge, 1902-1999
Chadwick G. Byrge, 1975-1975
Doris Gunther Byrge, 1933-1995
Enmon Byrge, 1900-1983
Flira Bowling Byrge, 1930-2011
Howard “Buddy” Byrge, 1950-2009
Howard “Dan” Byrge, 1927-2000
Nathaniel “Pete” Byrge, 1867-1942
Robin Byrge, 1890-1961
Silvesta Bowling Byrge, 1868-1925
William Paul Byrge, 1925-1987
Zada Byrge, 1900-1927
Clegie Chambers, 1917-1972
Marie Sexton Chambers, 1927-2007
Ricky D. Chambers, 1959-2011
Albert Clowers, 1902-1975
Albert Clowers Jr., 1923-1930
Betty Robbins Clowers, 1874-1944
Christine Todd Clowers, 1902-1994
David Roger Clowers, 1943-2018
Dellmon Clowers, 1898-1918
Joel Clowers, 1874-1910
Mable Hughett Clowers, 1906-1981
Marley J. Clowers, 1939-1939
Millard F. Clowers, 1897-1978
Steven R. Crabtree 2006-2006
Doris Byrge Daugherty, 1938-2013
Edward L. Daugherty, 1937-1989
Gertie Harness Davis, 1915-2005
Oliff Davis, 1955-1955
Ralph W. Davis, 1909-1965
Lorraine Goad Dudgen, 1947-2005
Cara Watts Ellis, 1930-2013
Clois Griffith Foster, 1950-2022
Lena Byrge Foster, 1896-1973
Shirley Goad Furrer, 1929-2010
Arminda Robbins Goad, 1889-1964
Aron Goad, 1899-1924
Elizabeth Sexton Goad, 1879-1959
Elizabeth Robbins Goad, 1831-1907
Ermon Goad, 1903-1924
Ethel Honeycutt Goad, 1926-2014
Gene Marshall Goad, 1948-1995
Glennie May Goad, 1905-1905
Harold Goad, 1950-2008
Joshua Goad, 1824-1910
Kerney Goad, 1907-1929
Leabert Goad, 1919-1987
Solman Goad, 1900-1940
Willard “Bill” Goad, 1910-2007
William M. Goad, 1877-1944
Andrew Griffith*, 1810-1879
Charles Griffith, 1936-1936
Ernest Griffith, 1922-1995
Glena Byrge Griffith, 1931-2020
Lucy Sexton Griffith, 1813-1886
Russell L. Griffith, 1941-2007
Pauline Grisco, 1935-2024
Berley “Burl” Henry Jr., 1928-1989
Burl Henry, 1900-1978
Cas Henry, 1905-1985
Claude Henry, 1937-1978
Clovis Henry, 1939-2016
Clovis M. Henry, 1975-1975
Earl Henry, 1947-2021
Elmer J. Henry, 1926-1972
Elmore Henry, 1952-1973
Emma L. Henry, 1949-1978
Ethel York Henry, 1916-1995
Gloria Duncan Henry, 1954-2014
Gretchen E. Henry, 1983-1983
Juanita Henry, 1931-1977
Jake Henry, 1947-2016
John Union Henry, 1919-1978
Johnny Henry, 1932-2006
Jonathan Henry, 1983-1983
Julia Henry, 1923-2008
Kaywood Henry, 1906-2004
Lenard M. Henry, 1915-1995
Lorenzo Henry Sr., 1882-1961
Mary Sexton Henry, 1906-1990
Mildred Henry, 1930-?
Nellie Harness Henry, 1916-1985
Oliver C. Henry, 1916-1984
Ruth Duncan Huckelby, 1929-2007
Sarah Delk Hughett, 1835-1918
Columbus Hutson ?-?
Bobby G. Ingram, 1935-1958
Brenda Sue Jeffers, 1965-1966
Gladys Norris Jeffers, 1940-2019
Hubert Jeffers, 1925-1990
Lori Bowling Jones, 1987-2017
Timothy S. Jones, 1982-2014
Marlin Kidd, 1949-2004
Kenneth S. Lawson, 1915-1918
Hobart Lowe, 1943-2015
Vickie Goad Lowe, 1954-2000
Texas Sexton Miller, 1874-1940
Melinda Daugherty, 1962-2021
Chloe L. Norris 2006-2006
Inman Norris, 1944-2022
Bonnie Davis Overton, 1934-2020
Benjamin Reagan, 1887-1953
Bennie Reagan Jr., 1935-2004
Harrison Reagan, 1933-1933
Larry B. Reagan, 1962-1981
Savannah Reagan, 1999-1999
Irene Newport Reed, 1927-2012
Sylvester B. Reed, 1932-1993
Ernest Rich, 1916-1974
Flonnie Hutson Rich, 1919-2014
Granville R. Rich, 1914-1989
Jean H. Rich, 1947-1948
Kathleen Rich, 1948-1949
Ralph L. Rich, 1943-1946
Sabe Rich, 1879-1953
Arnold C. Robbins, 1917-1966
Arzo Robbins, 1911-1920
Barnie O. Robbins, 1907-1985
Don L. Robbins, 1950-2009
Floyd Robbins, 1911-1967
Jason C. Robbins, 1981-2014
John R. Robbins, 1919-1983
John T. Robbins, 1920-1969
Jonathan N. Robbins, 1883-1974
Julia Sexton Robbins, 1886-1976
Kermit Robbins, 1911-1944
Lawrence Robbins, 1905-1936
Mary Newport Robbins, 1839-1915
Mary Asher Robbins, 1881-1972
Sarah Griffith Robbins, 1848-1912
Solomon Robbins, 1879-1963
Veachel Shannon Robbins, 1923-2007
Wilbert Robbins, 1923-1925
Wilda Hutson Robbins, 1917-2001
William T. Robbins, 1909-1980
Cassie Robbins Ross, 1898-1983
Acie C. Sexton, 1906-1980
Cas Sexton, 1910-1990
Clem Sexton, 1912-1983
Dolly Henry Sexton, 1956-2011
Dorothy Henry Sexton, 1942-2019
Dorothy L. Sexton, 1969-1981
Floyd Sexton, 1914-1973
Harold Sexton, 1915-1978
Hiram Sexton, 1884-1953
Larla M. Sexton, 1904-1987
Mary Griffith Sexton*, 1861-1902
Mary Hicks Sexton, 1873-1942
Neil Sexton Jr., 1945-2010
Neil “Mike” Sexton, 1882-1918
Paul Sexton, 1918-1918
Permelia Robbins Sexton, 1884-1954
Rhoda Griffith Sexton*, 1800-1877
Sherman Sexton, 1863-1931
Solomon Sexton, 1858-1922
Sophia Griffith Sexton, 1839-1909
Willard “Bill” Sexton, 1903-1976
William Sexton*, 1786-1854
Macel Overton Sexton, 1924-2006
Junior L. Staggs, 1940-1990
Dwight W. Stephens, 1950-1975
Joann Terry Stephens, 1955-2015
Donnie Wade Terry, 1953-2014
Eva Robbins Terry, 1932-1989
Odell Terry, 1928-1991
Roel Terry, 1953-2019
James L. Thompson, 1940-2012
Phyllis Rich Thompson, 1945-2015
Jimmy Ray Walker, 1945-2010
Lawrence D. Walker, 1928-2013
Thomas N. Walker, 1877-1954
Zida Kline Walker, 1898-1984
Kayla Wilson, 1999-1999
Nitalee Byrge Wilson, 1948-2024
Vickie Neal Wilson, 1952-2006
Vickie Terry Wood, 1959-2014
Melinda K. Young, 1966-2004
Wilma Reagan Young, 1944-2000
*Inconclusive burials at Slick Rock. Additionally, there are some unmarked graves not included on this list.
This story is part of the Scott County Cemetery Project.