Discovery of the Kelly/Field Cemetery and the Old Field Burying Ground Culpeper County, Virginia

In 1997, we were in Culpeper Co., Virginia, researching the Field Family. One of our goals was to locate land on which various Fields had lived. We had records of land purchased by three brothers, Capt. Abraham (1695-1774), Daniel (-1733) and Capt. Henry Field Sr. (-1790,) at the fork of the Rapadan and Rappahannock rivers in the early 1700's. At the Culpeper County Library we found a large map drawn by Eugene Scheel identifying many historical locations in Culpeper County. Clustered in the area of the Field brother's land were many landmarks identified with the name Field. Among them were Field's Ford, Field's Mill, Field Mill Road and two cemeteries, the Kelly/Field Cemetery and the Field Cemetery. Using a copy of this map we were able to locate many of these points but not the cemeteries.

On a visit the next day to the Culpeper County Surveyor's Office we inquired about other possible maps. We were shown a USGS topographical map of the area (The Germanna Bridge Quadrangle) that had been hand annotated by Eugene Scheel showing even more Field landmarks with very precise locations noted. Among them were the two cemeteries, the Kelly/Field Cemetery (on some maps it is the Kelly/Field/Berry Cemetery) and the Field Cemetery (refered to by Emma Mastin Walker as the Old Field Burying Ground.)

We returned to the area a second time and again began searching for the cemeteries. We drove along Edwards Shop Road (RT 620) which turns into Fields Mill Road (RT 682). The area in which these cemeteries are located looks somewhat as we imagine it to have looked in the 1700's when the Field brothers first settled here. It is sparsely populated, very wooded with a few open pastures. According to our copy of the map we were in the vicinity of the Kelly/Field/Berry Cemetery. A woman drove by and stopped in a drive way of a nearby house. We asked her if she knew where a cemetery was located on the property and she directed us to it. It was just off the RT 620, but could not be seen from the road. She told us that recently the Kelly family had arranged to have the remaining tombstones secured d flat in the ground so they would not further deteriorate.

The first tombstone we found was that of Francis Hill Field (abt.1780-abt.1859) the daughter of Col. Henry Hill for whom we have no further information. She was the wife of Henry Field (1798-1850) the grandson of Capt. Abraham Field (1695-1774) and the son of the famous Col. John Field (1726-1774) who was killed leading his regiment at the Battle of Point Pleasant, in what is now West Virginia, during Braddock's War, October 10, 1774. Capt. Abraham was also the father of Keene Field (-bef. 1754) our direct ancestor and the great-grandfather of Keen Field (abt. 1774-1815) our first immigrant ancestor in Indiana. Keen was the brother of Pvt. Joseph Field (-1807) and Pvt. Reuben Field (-1822) of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

We also found the tombstones of Diana Field (1840-1858) and Anna P. Field (1804-1856) the daughters of Henry Field and Frances Hill. Anna P. was the wife of Col. John Payne Kelly (1789-1871) Another grave was that of Fannie Field Kelly,(1832-1862) daughter of Anna P. and Col. John Kelly. She was the wife of John S. Berry, again, someone for whom we have no further information.

The graves of Francis Hill Field and Diana Field were side by side under a Juniper tree. The stones were in good condition. There were many depressions in the ground near these tombstones indicating other graves. The land was at the crest of a hill which sloped east toward the Rappahannock River.

After locating the Kelly/Field/Berry Cemetery we drove south along Edwards Shop Road to Fields Mill road and tried locating the Field Cemetery. The area is very heavily wooded and it was impossible to see more that a few feet into the forest. We came to a junction of Fields Mill Road (RT 682) and two small lanes leading into the forest. There was a row of mail boxes at this junction but no houses in sight. We stopped to take down some addresses with the intent of writing to some of the residence of the area to ask about the location of the Field Cemetery. As we were writing the addresses a man walked up to get his mail. We asked him if he had any knowledge of the location of the Field Cemetery. He said he did and that it was just up one of the lanes. We asked him if he thought the owner would allow us access and he said of course, as the owner was his brother-in-law, Robert Graham. We proceeded up the lane and there appeared a very elderly man from the forest. I asked him if he were Robert Graham and he replied, "I am what's left of him!" I asked if he knew the location of the cemetery and he said it was his front yard. He was more than happy to show it to us. The cemetery is located in a small patch of forest surrounded by a mown field. It is quite over grown with weeds and vines but we were able to find many grave depressions and stones. The stones are rough field stones with no inscriptions. Robert said that there was a marker erected by the federal government to mark the location of the grave of a Civil War Veteran but we were unable to locate it. We feel that it might be the grave of Capt. Daniel Field, killed during the battle of Chancellorsville (Emma's letter).

We asked Robert if he knew anyone who might have a record of the persons buried here. He gave us the name of a man in Culpeper and we wrote to him. We received a letter from the aunt of this man, Mrs. Emma Mastin Walker. She was able to provide us with the information on the people buried there. We are extremely indebted to Robert Graham and Emma Mastin for their willingness to show us the cemetery and give us the information. Emma is a direct descendant of Catherine Anne Field (married James Mastin) who is buried in the cemetery.

After careful study of records in our possession, we feel that the three brothers Emma writes about were Capt. Abraham Field, Daniel Field and Capt. Henry Field, Sr., sons of Daniel Field (1663-1720) and the grandsons of Abraham Field (1636-1774) of Westmoreland County, Virginia. The land on which the Kelly/Field cemetery is located was originally that of Capt. Abraham Field who was granted a patented to the land in 1722. The land where the Field Burying Ground was found was that of Daniel Field and Capt. Henry Field Sr., who together patented the land in 1719.¹

The letter from Emma states that Daniel Field married Hannah Roberts. We do not know the father of this Hannah. The people buried in the Field Burying Ground are the descendants Capt. Henry Field, Sr. and Esther (1734-.)²

If anyone reading this information has any documentation to further clarify this information we would appreciate copies or your information.

1. Nugent, Nell Marion. Cavaliers and Pioneers: Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents and Grants, Vol. 3, 1695-1732. Richmond: Virginia State Library, 1979. Page 256.

2. Sparacio, Sam and Ruth Sparacio (comp), Virginia County Court Records, Deed Abstracts of Culpeper County, Virginia, 1790-1791 (Deed Book Q pg. 1-325), (The Antient Press, 1993), pg. 113.