A Grave Marker for Sgt. Samuel Sentell

Samuel Sentell's signature from his Pension Application.

Traffic in Atlanta on any given Wednesday afternoon is, by Mississippi standards, terrifying.  That's what I confirmed this past Wednesday as I travelled to Greenville, South Carolina for a wedding.  Adding another layer of difficulty to our driving experience in Atlanta, I  planned to briefly visit Arlington Memorial Park and Cemetery in Sandy Springs, Georgia.  Arlington is located just north of the 11 o'clock position on Atlanta's Perimeter road, I-285.  It was no small feat, but Karen and I eventually pulled into the cemetery unscathed.

I hoped to confirm if there was a grave marker placed for Nancy and Samuel Sentell.  Honestly, I wasn't entirely sure I would find them buried at Arlington.  Nearly all indications online were pointing to the adjacent cemetery at Sandy Springs Methodist Church.  

Who were Nancy and Samuel Sentell?  They were a young  couple at the close of the Revolutionary War.  Sgt. Samuel Sentell was just back from his last tour of duty when they married in 1782.  A Baptist minister, Thomas Harvey, performed the ceremony in Halifax County, North Carolina.  Nancy was a daughter of Halifax County, but Samuel was a son of Brunswick County, Virginia.  

The family was of modest means- a trait that carried down to Samuel, the subject of this post and my 4th great grandfather.  Samuel's great grandfather was a Huguenot refugee, also named Samuel, who settled in Virginia around 1700.  Later in life, the elder Samuel hung up his farming implements and is recorded in vestry records as having served as custodian of the Old Blandford Church which is still standing in Petersburg, Virginia.  See the Church wiki page here.  By the time of the younger Samuel's birth, the family had migrated another 60 miles south along the Fall Line Road.  Then, by the outbreak of the War, Samuel enlisted out of Halifax County North Carolina. 

Samuel and Nancy have a fantastic Revolutionary War Pension record.  In it, Samuel detailed 4 tours of duty with North Carolina troops.  He served from 1777 off and on until his discharge in April of 1782.  In one tour he marched from Halifax County, North Carolina to Philadelphia and then to West Point, New York where he helped in the construction of fortifications until weather set in at which time they marched back to Philadelphia and wintered there.  On another tour, during the Battle of Eutaw Springs, he suffered a severe wound to his left breast which he states, "rendered me incapable of further duty for some time."  Samuel served with the rank of Sergeant for much of his service.  

After Samuel's death in 1844, Nancy, at age 83, applied for a pension due her in light of Samuel's service.  In that document, Nancy included the names and birthdates of all 10 of her children.  She also named her father.  Nancy lived considerably longer than Samuel filing her will in 1860.  She filed in DeKalb County, Georgia after having lived there for 23 years.  In it, at age 98, she left her whole estate (likely meager) "both real and personal forever and in fee simple with all the rights members and appurtenances to the same..." to Leonidas F Heflin.  He is also named executor.  Leonidas Franklin Heflin was married to one of Nancy's granddaughters, Henrietta Cardin.  Nancy lived with them after Samuel's death.  After Nancy's death and the death of Henrietta, Leonidas married another of Nancy's granddaughters, Frances Reynolds.

So where are Nancy and Samuel buried today?  Earlier sleuthing by distant Sentell cousin, Ann Crichton, helped me uncover the details.  A few years ago, I found that Ann had posted a story and photos on Ancestry.com describing the exhumation and reinternment of Nancy and Samuel Sentell.  Ann had spoken with some Atlanta area DAR ladies who were interested in marking Samuel's grave site as he was a Revolutionary War Patriot.  It was disappointing that a Revolutionary Patriot had never had a proper headstone.  I'm interested in having him memorialized as well and it is the primary reason for chasing down this story.  One day, I would love to see SAR and DAR patriot grave markers by his headstone.  But first, we need a headstone!

The DAR ladies told Ann about the original grave site;  that it was located at Sentell Baptist Church on Roswell Road in Sandy Springs.  Five graves had been exhumed in 2003 and reinterned at Sandy Springs Methodist Church Cemetery due to some paving/ roadwork needs at the Sentell Baptist Church.

Rita Cheek, a Sentell descendant, prepares the reinternment in 2003.  
Photo posted at Ancestry by Ann Crichton

Prior to 2003, the cemetery had sat idle for decades.  There is no way of knowing for sure, but we can assume the Sentell family cemetery's earliest burial was Samuel himself in 1844. This was a small family plot on a typical family farm.  Samuel's 49 year old son, Britton Sentell was buried there 2 years later.  Nancy passed away about 1860.  She was likely buried next to Samuel.  The original stones in the small cemetery did not provide any information at all about those interred.  They were described in a 1931 interview as "rough uninscribed field stones" by J. Franklin Burdett, a 90 year old citizen of the area. As many as 11 burials eventually filled the small cemetery; most of these being unknown family members.

Some time later saw the addition of an adjacent Church building.  Sentell Baptist Church was presumably named for family members who donated the land and were members of the congregation.  The cemetery predated the Church.

The photo above, sent to Ann Crichton, shows Rita Cheek in 2003 preparing a small coffin for reburial.  Ann sent me a copy of an email from Marlene Wall to Sam P. Sentelle that relates the following...

Sam,

This is a picture of Rita Cheek getting the coffin ready to put the remains of the 5 bodies in this small casket.  She had gone in with the grave diggers and lay on her stomach and unearthed the remains as they showed her what was left.  It was not very much, but she wanted to do it herself.  The five were put into this small coffin and the coroner, lawyer, Rita, myself and the grave diggers went to the cemetery and they buried it in the left bottom corner of her parents grave plot.  The entire thing took from 9 in the morning until about 4 in the afternoon.  What an experience!

Marlene

How I wish I had been there for the exhumation.  It is said that Samuel carried a musket ball in his left breast from Eutaw Springs.  I would have made an concerted effort to find that piece of lead.  It probably wouldn't  be right to keep something like that, but I would have certainly made a wax impression.

Another photo Ann turned up shows the front of the now demolished church...

That small coffin containing a few remnants of bone from 5 burials from the cemetery at Sentell Baptist Church was reburied at the plot of Warren J. & Margaret W. McDonald (Rita's parents) at the Sandy Springs UMC Methodist Church cemetery next door to Arlington.

Ann Crichton posted this photo of the unmarked location where the small coffin is located today...

Ann Crichton's photo of the Methodist cemetery grave location

Believing Nancy and Samuel were buried at Sandy Springs UMC, I called the Church office and eventually got the number of Carlton Smith, chair of the cemetery committee.  We talked by phone in July of 2020.  Though attending the Methodist Church now, he had been a member of Sentell Baptist Church in his youth.  He knew the family but was not knowledgeable of the particulars of the reburial of Samuel and Nancy.  He contacted Helen Sentell Gilliland who he knew had been involved in the reinternment and sale of the Church property.  He gave me her number, but I have been unsuccessful in all attempts to contact her.

Mr. Smith seemed unaware of the 2003 reburial.  He informed me that he was told Samuel and Nancy were not buried at the Methodist Church, but they were located next door at Arlington Memorial Park and Cemetery.  He relayed how Sentell Baptist Church had closed it's doors.  The building survived as a daycare for a time but even that fell through and as of 2015 the building was gone.  

Mr. Smith described that sometime around 2015 the city (Sandy Springs) began a right of way and street widening project and offered to pay for the exhumation, reburial and a new marker for all the graves in the Sentell cemetery.  The city bought a lot at Arlington Memorial Park and Cemetery for the Sentell burials.  This didn't jive with the story of the reburial I found online.  For one, they were off by 12 years.

So, it turns out, there were two exhumations and reburials.  Five of the graves were reinterred in 2003 at the Methodist Church and the remainder were exhumed and reinterred in 2015 at Arlington.  I don't know how either party could have known conclusively which Sentell's they were exhuming.  We can't know for sure who is at either cemetery.  

It was clear there was no marker at the Methodist Church, but no one could verify if grave markers were ever provided by the city at Arlington Memorial Park and Cemetery.  This is what I wanted to confirm as I visited Arlington.

The Arlington Cemetery office was on the left as we entered the property.  I went in and met Felicia Kelley who very helpfully provided some more bits of info after disappearing into a back room of the office to dig through some files.  She indicated the Sentell plot would be found in Monument Section 1-1 on the easternmost edge of the cemetery property.

Nancy and Samuel are in Monument Section 1-1

More specifically, they were located in the southern half of Plot 18 of Block 7.  I snapped a photo of the plot map...

Ms. Kelley pointing to the Sentell grave locations.

Ms. Kelley said her file showed a marker had been designed but she could not verify if it was installed.  I'd have to go out in the cemetery and try to find it.

I drove to the section and got out where I thought I'd be close to Plot 18, Block 7.  I searched the surrounding markers for "Sentell" but found none.   There were not many markers back in that area.  It was becoming apparent that no marker existed for my Sentell family.  Pinpointing plot 18 was not easy.  There are occasional little round concrete unit markers flush with the turf that denote plot corners.  Most of these have become buried or don't exist but I found one or two that helped me  get close enough that I could confirm there was no Sentell marker.  

Corner Marker two plots west of the Sentell plot

Block 7, Plot 18 is almost on the tree line.  The area denoted by the plots in green on the plot map above is heavily wooded.  I spooked a healthy looking doe as I searched the area.  A little while later one spooked me as I poked my head into the bushes to confirm no markers were behind the tree line.

Turns out this location is within 400 feet of the spot where the little casket is buried at the Sandy Springs Methodist Church cemetery.

The Sentell Marker should be near the tree line behind the "Fry's" marker here.

I went back to the office and relayed to Ms. Kelley that no marker existed for Nancy and Samuel Sentell.  Sentell's had been buried at Arlington for 6 years with no marker at all.  She told me a coworker who was around back then would likely have more info but she was out that day.  Ms. Kelley would follow up with the coworker and get back with me.

After continuing my trip to Greenville, witnessing a successful wedding, taking a subsequent side trip to Hendersonville, NC, admiring the views at Jump Off Rock and returning all the way to Jackson, Mississippi, I emailed Ms. Kelley.  She replied with the following...

Hi John,

I did speak to Kelly and she gave me this information to pass along to you.

The City of Sandy Springs has already paid for the monument, and it has already been designed. The monument just needs to be approved by the City Manager.

The last number we had to reach them is (770) 730-5600. The City Manager that was in charge has since changed.

Perhaps a gentle nudge from a descendent of Sgt. Samuel Sentell will be just what the City of Sandy Springs needs to approve the monument so we can submit it for production.

I hope this was helpful.

It was helpful. I called immediately and spoke with Caroline in the Sandy Springs City Manager's office.  I recounted everything I knew to date regarding the missing grave marker of Nancy and Samuel Sentell.  She took my information and promised to get back with me.  That was Monday, July 12, 2021.

I found out in a subsequent call to Ms. Kelley that the design for the grave marker was sent over to the City of Sandy Springs for approval on September 26, 2016.  Ms. Kelley sent me the proof for the memorial stone that was sent to the city...

On July 30, 2021, I called Caroline with Sandy Springs again and gave her the date info and asked if it would be helpful if I emailed the proof file.  We exchanged emails and I sent the items over with an offer to help in any way possible.

On August 26, 2021, I sent a follow-up email to Caroline and received an automated email reply that she no longer works for the City of Sandy Springs.  The email instructed that I contact Samantha Dulac for assistance.  Samantha is the new Assistant to the City Manager.  I sent an email to Ms. Dulac and asked about the status of our approval after a brief explanation of where we were to date.

After lunch that day, I received the following from Ms Dulac...

Hello Mr. McBride,

Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I apologize for the delay; Caroline no longer works for the City.  Deputy City Manager Dave Wells has signed the document, and Director of Public Works Marty Martin provided the signed document to Arlington today. I will attach the signed copy here as well.

Thank you very much and have a great rest of your day!

I later confirmed with Felicia, at Arlington Cemetery, that they had received the signed document and the stone was indeed now in production.  It will be several months, but there will finally be a stone for Nancy and Samuel and family.

The city and the cemetery apparently know nothing of the previous reinternment of 2003.  According to them, 11 graves were reinterred at Arlington and they include Samuel, Nancy, Britain and 8 other unknown Sentell family members.  

I had a thought to have the small coffin reburied at Arlington or get the verbiage changed on the headstone design to better reflect the questionable nature of the actual occupants of the new lot, but this would be costly and time consuming.  We would have to go through probate to verify who had authority to move the small coffin.  It took six years to get the headstone in production.  Changing the verbiage now could delay it who knows how long.  

In the end, I'm ok with getting a Sentell headstone that may not be entirely accurate.  I think it's close enough.  Samuel, Nancy and Britain deserve a headstone even though it may describe remains some 400 feet away. We will never know which Sentell's are in the little coffin and which are buried at Arlington Memorial Park and Cemetery.  But in a few month's time they will all have a respectable monument and it was a long time coming!

November 2022 Update:  The delivery and installation of the Sentell family headstone at Arlington has been confirmed!  Thanks so much to cousin, James Sentell. for running down a photo of the new headstone and updating the Find-A-Grave memorial page for Samuel.  You can see the photo and James' handiwork at "Find A Grave" here...  https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/73916403/samuel-sentell