Roland Gillispie (abt. 1835)

Biography

GALLIPOLIS - Movement of a West Virginia cemetery to make way for a highway project has an area woman concerned that descendants of Civil War soldiers and other individuals may be unaware of the development. Joyce Saunders of South Point reported that the Gillispie-Roach Cemetery, also known as Gillispie View Cemetery, is being moved to make room for the new U.S. 35 project at the Putnam County end. The cemetery is on top of a hill on 35 at Teays Valley, and will be moved to Spring Hill Cemetery at Huntington. A reburial ceremony has been set for May 12 by Cadot-Blessing Camp 126 of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, based in Gallipolis. “It is my understanding that descendants from some of these families moved to Gallia County,” Saunders said. “There are several unmarked graves and perhaps one of them is your descendant.” Saunders said it is believed the most of the people buried at Gillispie-Roach lived on or near Hurricane Creek, Poplar Fork or in the Teays Valley area in the 1800s. Among those known to be buried there are Elmer Roach and his wife, Lillie Mae, Civil War soldier Roland Gillispie, and two children of William and Mary Hanshaw Quinn who moved to Huntington in the late 1800s. They were grandchildren of Hugh and Martha Gillispie Quinn, whom Saunders believes are also buried at Gillispie-Roach. There is also reason to believe that Alan K. Bailey and Sampson Gillispie, a brother to Roland Gillispie, are also in the cemetery in unmarked graves. “We would like to locate descendants of the families we know are buried here and perhaps descendants of those who we believe may be buried here in unmarked graves,” Saunders said. The families are Gillispie, Roach, Quinn, Bailey, McLaughlin, Ryals and Minnick. Saunders can be contacted at (740) 894-5852.^[1]

Sources

Footnotes

1. ↑ Entered by Chris Varney.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Chris Varney for starting this profile. Click the Changes tab for the details of contributions by Chris and others.