I’ve known about, and visited a certain monument at the Harpersville Garden of Memories cemetery in Shelby County, Alabama for several years now, but has had me perplexed for a while, and it’s time to put some research time in.
It’s a large, old cemetery, with some newer monuments in the back, and some nice features like this stacked rock enclosure in the earlier section.
This is the graveshelter. At first, I was trying to figure out if it was — rather than an open-sided graveshelter like so many others — some sort of mausoleum. I’m convinced that it is a barrel-roofed empty space covering graves in the ground.
Above, it appears as though this end has the opening to the inside that’s been filled in. Below, the opposite.
The plaque in view below reads:
Restored 2005
by
Mary Louise Moore Lamkin
Great Great Grandaughter (sp)
of the
Rev. Lemuel C. & Orpah Byrd Moore
The inscription reads:
To the memory of the deceased whose names are inscribed beneath this monument
erected and piously consecrated by their surviving relatives
Rev LEMUEL MOORE born February 13th 1761 departed this life October, 1826. ORPAH, consort of Rev. Lemuel Moore born August 13th 1772, departed this life March 24th 1823
MARTHA MOORE, consort of M.E. Moore, departed this life August 24th 1823 Aged 30 years
By whose side sleeps her infant daughter SARAH ANN
They all left assurances of their peace with God. Let then the doctrines of the immortality
of the soul and of the resurrection of the dead cheer the
hearts of the mourners who come to ??? at this tomb
That’s really as far as I can read because the rest of it is at least partially covered. I’m going to contact some other historians to see what I can find, and if you have information, please contact me.