Orange County North Carolina Cemeteries Other NC County Cemeteries
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240    UNIDENTIFIED CEMETERY - FORMER GATTIS AND MADDRY PROPERTY (BEF. 1850)

Location - In Chapel Hill Township south of Homestead Road (SR #1777) in Chapel Hill, on land owned by the State of North Carolina and managed by UNC Chapel Hill. The 208 ft wide property where this cemetery is located is planned to be the main northern entrance to the Carolina North development of the University of North Carolina. Private property.

Coordinates: 35d 56m 59.0s N; 79d 04m 02.0s W Click here for Online Maps

Survey - Margaret Jones of the Orange County Department of Environment and Resource Conservation and Milton Forsyth surveyed the cemetery on 11 Nov 2008 with the permission of UNC-Chapel Hill Grounds Services.

Graves - There were two graves marked with engraved stones and some 21 other graves marked by fieldstones, along with several unmarked depressions. Probably additional graves within the marked cemetery area that were not obvious would bring the total burials near 30 or so.

Comments - The approximately 75 ft N-S by 60 ft E-W cemetery is surrounded by a rock border. It was well-maintained in a natural state and was free of undergrowth. The cemetery is shown on Orange County Plat 67:164, 24 Sep 1964 and mentioned in O. C. Deeds at DB 197:256. The property is identified as O. C. PIN 9880-00-0680.

The property was part of a large acreage originally owned by Alexander Gattis, Sr. (c.1760 - 2 Dec 1842), a veteran of the NC Militia in the American Revolution. He was first married to Rebecca Ann King (died c.1805); their one child, James, is buried here. Alexander and his second wife, Rosanna, (c.1772 - 18 Apr 1856; married abt 1 Sep 1806) had 8 children. They were members of the New Hope Presbyterian Church, and his Revolutionary War service is commemorated on the monument there. There is no record of where Alexander, Sr. or his wife Rosanna were buried and it is possible they were buried in this family cemetery.

In 1836 Alexander gave two acres for the establishment of what is now the Orange United Methodist Church, located nearby this cemetery. His son James, buried here, was apparently a member of the church and his son Alexander (1818-1859) was the pastor there. Alexander, his brother Samuel (1821-1914) and their sister Jane Gattis Maddry (1813-1885) are buried in the church cemetery.

Alexander, Sr., passed this property to probably his son William when he died (but if not, to either sons John, Alexander or Thomas - see O. C. Wills, F:153). The property was eventually conveyed to the Maddry family and it became part of the Frank C. Maddry farm. He sold this piece of the farm in 1964 along with several other small parcels. The State of North Carolina purchased it in 1992.

The cemetery had been noted by Cheryl M. Smith as not being included in the survey. Family and land research by Milton Forsyth and Margaret Jones. Added information provided by Kathie Whitt Young.

1. Burch, David   (b. 11 Oct 1820 - d. 16 Apr 1892)
Footstone: "D. B." (fallen). Son of Elijah Burch and Eleanor (Ellen/Nellie) Mason and brother of William Henry Burch (family members buried Orange UMC cemetery) [See 1850 Census,Orange Co., NC, p. 157, family 50]. Husband of Mary M. Long (born c.1838), married 21 Sep 1869, dau. of Charles Long, shoemaker, of Chapel Hill and Elizabeth Self [O. C. Marriages 01/209 - Mary may have been the sister of Margaret B. Long (27 Jul 1829 - 7 May 1876), who married William Henry Burch, bond 26 Jan 1856; see Long family in 1850 Census, Orange Co., NC, p. 199, family 682].
2. Burch, Eleanor Mason   (b. Abt 1775 - d. aft 1850)
Wife of Elijah Burch, mother of David Burch and William Henry Burch. Probably buried here. [Enumerated as 75 yrs old in 1850 Census, Orange Co., NC, p. 157, family 50].
3. Burch, Mary M. Long   (b. Abt 1838 - d. aft 1895)
Wife of David Burch. Probably buried here. Mary was some 18 years younger than her husband. There is no indication David and Mary Burch had children [see U. S. Census of 1870 and 1880, Orange Co., NC (recorded as "Birch" in 1880)]. She was living in 1895 [see O. C. Mortgages 2:22 and Deeds 54:226]. She is probably the Mary (?) Burch enumerated in the 1900 census, widow, not having had children, but age recorded as 53 rather than 63 [1900 Census, Orange Co., NC, p. 180, family 224].
4. Gattis, James   (b. 17 Sep 1801 - d. 3 May 1851)
Engraved fieldstone, inscription: "JAMES GATTIS / WAS.B.SEP.17:1801 / DIDE.MAY.3:1851" Son of Alexander Gattis and Rebecca Ann King. Husband of Martha (Patsy) Mason, married 18 Jan 1821 [O. C. Marriages G-H/0097 (Bond 10 Jan, marriage date given as 20 Jan in county record); Hillsboro Recorder, 24 Jan 1821, Vol I, Nr. 50: "Married - James Gattis to Martha Mason, 18th Inst." [Shirley J. Mallard, Death and Marriage Notices from the Hillsborough Recorder, 1997, p. 12]. Enumerated in the 1850 Census, Orange Co., NC, p. 158, family 70: James Gattis "(of A)" age 49; Martha, 55; Mary 22.
5. Gattis, Martha (Patsy) Mason   (b. Abt 1795 - d. aft 1850)
Wife of James Gattis. Probably buried here.