John Talley died in 1843 and was buried in a family graveyard behind his cabin overlooking the Buffalo River in Perry County, Tennessee.  For decades, the site was known locally as Graveyard Bluff.  Eventually the graveyard was abandoned.  The headstones later disappeared. 
 
In 2021, David Talley, a bloodline lineal descendant of John Talley,  undertook to find his grave. 

The 10-month search included reviewing land deeds of John's children who lived near him, his own land deeds, Census records, historic records, newspaper accounts, discussions with archeologists from the Tennessee Division of Archaeology, and memories of local residents.   A technician using a ground penetrating radar found the grave.  It was one of  four located beneath the lawn beside a home on Buffalo River Heights Road near Linden, Tennessee.  A chicken coop, sceptic tank/leach field, and the home mark the perimeter of the graveyard. 

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Using a remembrance from a local resident who saw the graves when he was a teenager and the traditional Euro-American layout of early pioneer graves (husband on the left, wife on the right, aligned east to west),  David identified the correct grave.  John was on the left, his wife, Jane,  on the right.  Two others were nearby.  One, located behind John, may be his son, Hobson, who lived on the farm between 1844 and 1852, when he died.  The other,  separate from the three and perpendicular to Jane,  is unknown.   For a Genealogical Proof Standard of the project, see the attached document. 

 

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However, finding him was the first step.  Saving him was a different process.  According to Tennessee law (TCA 46-4-101-104), whoever owns property having an abandoned graveyard on it can petition the Chancery Court to relocate the graveyard at their own expense.  This would include a future property owner.  The removal could be to any suitable cemetery where all the graves would be  marked "unknown."   Leaving them unmarked on the property created the potential for a future removal as "unknown"  because no one would know who they were moving. 

 
So, wanting to ensure the graves, properly marked, were placed in a proper cemetery, in April 2023, David, as an interested party, petitioned the Chancery Court of Perry County for permission to relocate all four to the Charles Talley Memorial Cemetery in Hickman County. 
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On June 17, 2024, the Chancery Court approved his petition to relocate the graves to that cemetery where they would receive the respect they deserved.  It would also enable  the community and descendants to participate in commemorative events related to the 250th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the Revolution that followed. 

 

  
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