Big Spring Cemetery in Nelson County, Kentucky, is two miles east of Bloomfield on Highway 52. It is a beautiful place, in the country, with a mixture of old and newer stones. One plot that intrigued us greatly was the Russell plot – Samuel and Sarah Russell. A stone wall surrounds the plot – but there is no entrance! No gate, no open area!
It was a bit high for me to vault over, but Ritchey was up to the task! The stones were very faded, but he took photos of each little area and I think I have deciphered the birth and death dates – or at least a portion of each!
Samuel Russell, born January 1, 1759, died August 20, 1820
In memory of Sarah Russell, wife of Samuel Russell, born January 24, 1772, died July 1827.
There are two or three small stones within the walled area – but we could find no information on them.
Samuel Russell, born January 27, 1793, died July 27, 1853
Two gravestones just outside the stoned area were interesting. The above stone is the son of Samuel and Sarah. In the Nelson County death records for the time period is listed “Samuel Russell, age 61, single, born and resided in Nelson County, the son of Samuel and Sarah Russell, died near Chaplin July 27, 1853, of consumption.” Notice at the bottom of the stone, which you wouldn’t see if it was actually in the ground, is the name of the company and place the gravestone was made – Wells, Jeffersontown, Kentucky.
James McClaskey, Senior, 1756 – January 1805
Mr. McClaskey is buried on the outside of the Russell plot, but up next to the rock wall. His birth date is within three years of the elder Samuel Russell. Did they come to Kentucky together? Were they in the Revolutionary War? They were the correct age!
There are other Russell’s and McClaskey’s buried in Big Spring Cemetery. They very well could be related.
I believe Samuel and Sarah would smile that after almost 200 years someone is still interested in their burial plot and what there lives were like. Let’s not forget any of our ancestors that came before us. But glory in the fact that they were people just like us, who suffered hardships and happiness along the way. But lived out their moment in time, making the world what it is today!
Categories: Cemeteries, Family Stories, Genealogy Ramblings
Hi – Samuel Russell b 1759 is my 4th great grandfather and immigrated from Belfast Ireland. Please contact me at scottfrussell@aol.com if you would like more information
the correct name of the cemetery is Big Spring (NO s, the spelling is singular)
the correct name of the cemetery is Big Spring (NO s, them word is singular)
Thank you, Jane. I don’t believe there was a sign for the cemetery and I found it listed, with the s, online. I like for my information to be correct!
I recently visited this cemetery and was intrigued by the walled grave site. But did not want to enter. Your description was very informative and answered some questions I had on this site.
I am a descendant of James McClaskey and he was indeed in the Revolutionary War. We still have the family farm. Our family came from Antrim County Ireland to Pennsylvania then to Kentucky.
I am also a descendant of James McClaskey. My McClaskey’s left Kentucky and ended up in Sullivan County, Missouri. Who was the McClaskey that came over from Ireland?
There is one McClaskey female buried in Big Spring that was born in Antrim County Ireland. It’s on her headstone and in the family tree. A fellow cousin is currently researching who came over from Ireland. We all seem to start with this James born in 1756. It is believed that his grandfather is the one who came here, but we are working on proving it. Are you on the McClaskey Cousins facebook page?
Hi Beth, my name is George McClaskey and my part of the family is from Maryland. We believe the family came down from Pennsylvania and some than travel the Carolina’s. Especially, James, Joseph but it been difficult connecting the family links. Any information you may have on that part of the family would be of great help. My gg grandfather was Samuel McClaskey (Baltimore) but we have many other McClaskey”s in the area including Baltimore and Harford Counties and links to Chester County PA.
Sorry, George, I don’t have any info on Maryland McClaskeys. The people on this page might: https://www.facebook.com/groups/McClaskey
Hi, George. I have a McClaskey cousin that would love to share information with you. Her name is Susan McClaskey Lohr. Please email her at susanlohr84@gmail.com. She has more information than I do and she is currently researching the McClaskeys in PA and is familiar with the line you referenced. Many thanks, Beth
Samuel Russell immigrated from Belfast with little known about the time between his birth and appearing in Virginia records just prior to the formation of KY as a state. I am unaware of living descendants in the area and my branch went to Wyoming and then Missouri to ranch. There are numerous Russells buried at the cemetery who descended from Samuel and Sarah Russell. My 98 year old father visited the grave in May of this year. His name is Samuel Russell.
It seems that the practice of building walls around graves is not uncommon in Ireland. During a recent trip to Ireland, I viewed multiple instances of low stone walls or metal fences around graves that made it impossible to access the grave. A little research suggests that this was a way of protecting the corpse from the unsavory practice of body snatching. To this day, most grave perimeters have stone or metal borders that delineate the plot. Interestingly, the grave is then covered by gravel, often in various vibrant colors. While it can never be certain that the this Russell plot followed the Irish tradition, it seems to be the most likely conclusion.
Scott, The Russells were neighbors of my McClaskeys in the Ashes Creek/Jack’s Creek area of NE Nelson. I had noticed on the census records that some came from Ireland. Was Samuel perhaps a brother or father of Henry Russell, b 1789 in Ireland? He married a cousin of mine, Fannie Duncan and , if I’m not mistaken, served in the War of 1812 under my ggg grandfather Joseph McClaskey.
That community of Russells, McClaskeys, Duncans, Thomases centered around the Ashes Creek area in NE Nelson and there were many inter-marriages and other transactions among them. Many of them were members of Big Spring Presbyterian Church, as you probably know. I know the Russells show up in my research all the time!
Hi Susan –
The first known Henry Russell in my line was born in 1791 in Nelson County (parents Samuel Russell and Sarah Brown – buried in the enclosed plot mentioned in this article). Samuel was born in 1759 in Belfast and the life details between birth and a marriage record in Virginia in 1790 is not known. This part of Virginia became the state of Kentucky in 1792. Henry had 7 children including Samuel, my 2nd great grandfather. Samuel had 6 children including John Bedford who left Kentucky for Wyoming where my grandfather, Samuel, was born. The family left Wyoming for Missouri where one of of John Bedford’s brothers had located after the Civil War.
I am uncertain as to any relationship between your Henry Russell and my line but I will check with one of my cousins who has done some extensive work on the family tree. I seem to recall that he is aware of the Henry Russell in your line and he thought at the time that there is no relationship.
Have any of the decedents of your Henry Russell done their DNA? Both my dad, sister and I have DNA results from ancestry.com, so we might be able to determine if there is any relationship. I did a quick search to see if any of the last names match either my father’s paternal DNA or mine, and there are a number of surname matches. This leads me to believe that there might be a distant relationship through marriage (I have a Russell marrying a Duncan in my tree but this Russell is a 2nd great grand uncle – there are no Thomases or McClaskeys however).
Perhaps we can take this outside of this post to compare notes and make it more efficient? Please let me know and I can share my email address.
Thanks
Scott Russell
Scott,
My email address is susanlohr84@gmail.com There were, it seems, two Henry Russells born two years apart (1789 and 1791) and who lived in the same neighborhood around Ashes Creek. This is not my research, but I’m happy to share what I have and see if it makes sense to you.
Susan