Descendent Identification and Notification Plan Graham Cemetery, Barrow County, Georgia

A small cemetery in the northeast portion of the City of Winder, in Barrow County, has been delineated by Southeastern Archeological Services, Inc. The cemetery contains about 30 graves, including three with inscribed tombstones. These are of Samuel Graham, John Page, and Ethel Page, who died as an infant in 1905. The cemetery is generally known as the Graham Cemetery. Don Williams Home Builders, Inc. is developing a ca. 58 acre tract of land that includes the cemetery. Development plans call for the cemetery to be avoided and preserved.

It is situated at the comer of two subdivision streets, within a lot (Lot 50) that is for sale. In accordance with Georgia Code Section 36-72-4, a permit for avoidance and preservation of the cemetery is being sought by the developer from the City of Winder. Code Section 36-72-5(4) requires that one part of the application for a permit be a plan prepared by a genealogist for identifying and notifying descendants of those buried. This document is that plan. The author of this plan (Gresham) is not a certified genealogist, but meets the definition of genealogist provided in Code Section 36-72-2(7). Identification of descendants will initially proceed by two means, with a third means invoked if necessary. The first will be by direct contact with already identified descendants. 

Don Williams Home Builders, Inc. will send a letter to the approximately three known descendants requesting their aid in identifying persons and families buried in the cemetery and other direct descendants of those buried. The same letter will inform the descendants of the plan to avoid and preserve the cemetery and will provide information on how to contact the local governing authority (the City of Winder). After initial contact, additional information from these known descendants and other identified descendants may be gathered by telephone, direct interview or in writing. Secondly, a notice will be placed in two issues of The Winder News requesting that anyone who has knowledge about this cemetery, especially about who is buried there and who the descendants might be, contact Williams Home Builders, Inc. If these two approaches fail to provide reasonable results, then archival research will be conducted. This will entail census records, marriage records, wills and other court records and will augment information already gathered from known descendants.