The Withers-Geoghegan Cemetery is located at the west end of West Point, Hardin County, Kentucky. It is in the back yard of Richard A. Briggs just a few yard south of the Ohio River. Our branch of the Withers family has been in the United States since 1655. William Wither (1636-1698) immigrated to Stafford County, Virginia from Lancastershire, England. His son James (1681-1746) married Elizabeth Keene (1682-1769) the daughter of Mathew (1659-1730) and Bridget (1652-1752) Keene. Their oldest daughter Elizabeth (1706-1760) married Capt. Abraham Field (1699-1695) of Westmoreland and later Culpeper County, Virginia. It was their grandson, Abraham Field (1744-1822) who immigrated in 1784 to the mouth of the Salt River, Hardin County, Kentucky and their two grandsons, Joseph (abt 1880-1807) and Reuben (1822-1823) that accompanied Lewis and Clark as members of the Corps of Discovery. Another son of Abraham of Kentycky moved to Gibson County, Indiana and we descend from him.
William Withers Sr. (1847-1821) is the oldest Withers family member buried in the Withers-Geoghegan Cemetery. He is a great grandson of William who immigrated to Virginia. He is the nephew of Elizabeth Withers Field who married Capt. Abraham Field. He is also the 1st cousin once removed of Abraham Field the early settler of the mouth of the Salt River, Kentucky.
William first lived on land in Lincoln County, Kentucky but he owned 1110 acres of land at the mouth of the Salt Creek.
The land on witch the Withers-Geoghegan Cemetery is located was the land of William Withers son, Gideon Withers (1781-1850) and his wife Mary "Polly" Young. The property is now owned by Richard A. Briggs a 3rd great grandson of William Withers.
In July of 2011 Lucie and Gene spent time with Richard. He not only showed us the Geoghegan-Withers Cemetery but also the Young Family Cemetery at the east end of West Point and the Bethel Cemetery and the graves of the Myrtle family into which Reuben Field married and who might be buried with the Myrtle family. He took us to land owned by Ezekiel Field, the salt maker and another son of Abraham Field of Kentucky.
An interesting side note is that the sir name Keene became a first name in the Firld family. Keen Field, the brother of Joseph and Reuben was the first of the Field family to immigrate to Gibson County of Indiana. The name Keen still is in the family today in a young man in Washington state.
In April of 2012 Lucie and Gene visited the Staford Pioneer Cemetery in the Mohawk Valley of Lane County, Oregon. In the Stafford cemetery was a grave marker for Virginia Bell Stafford Simpson. While researching the ancestry of Virginia Stafford we found out that her grandmother was Mary A. Withers (1855-1909). Virginia Bell Stafford Simpson is the 6th great granddaughter of William Wither the immigrant from England. She is also Lucie's 3rd cousin once removed on the Withers side and the 6th cousin 4 times removed on the Stafford side. Lucie has a double relation to Virginia.