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Wilkes September 2, 2025 Finley’s Iron Fence At the northeast corner of the Old
Wilkesboro Cemetery, a venerable iron fence surrounds the burial site of many
members of the Finley family.
A deed dated August 2, 1898, deed explains
the origin of this fence. A
transcription of the highlighted section follows.
Wilkes
deed book 31, page 40. The highlighted
section explains the erection of a fence. The highlighted section reads: “And it is further agreed
that A. A. Finley and T. B. Finley, administrators of M. L. Finley, deceased,
are hereby authorized and empowered to get suitable monuments for the members
of the family of A. W. Finley buried in Wilkesboro, NC, and have them properly
erected and to have the graves properly fixed and enclose the same by an iron
railing, and take funds out of the estate of M. L. Finley, deceased, to pay
the expenses thereof.” Martha Lenoir Gordon Finley was born in
1821 and died on July 25, 1898. She
was the daughter of Nathaniel Gordon and Sarah Gwyn, and she was the sister
of Gen. James B. Gordon who was killed in the Civil War. Martha married Augustus W. Finley in
1842. Their sons Arthur A. Finley and
Thomas B. Finley are named as the administrators of their mother’s estate,
and this deed empowered them to “get suitable monuments” for their family
members and to “enclose the same by an iron railing.”
Martha
Lenoir Gordon Finley (1821-1898), from the book Happy Valley. This section of the cemetery includes
several graves including one for “Jno. A. Finley – July 18th 1811”
which is said to be the oldest marked headstone in the entire cemetery. He is thought to have been a young son of
Maj. John Finley, the progenitor of all Wilkes County Finleys.
The
Finley iron fence, looking southeast.
The
Finley iron fence, looking northeast.
The
headstone of Jno. A. Finley is said to be the oldest marked stone in the
cemetery. While doing research about this
cemetery for a future project, I discovered that there were no deeds to the
property after the lot was first sold at auction by Gen. William Lenoir in
1800. At that time, the lot was sold
to merchants James Patton and Andrew Erwin for $20. Both men moved west to Asheville about
1812, and there is no deed on record where they sold the property. And there are no deeds to the cemetery lot
for a span of over 180 years! This lot
remained “unowned” until 1987 when a deed was created whereby the descendants
of those buried here were the grantors, and the town of Wilkesboro was the
grantee. This established ownership of
the cemetery so that the town could officially maintain it. Even though the ornate iron fence looks
a bit tired and worn, that’s OK, because it has been guarding these
historical plots for over 125 years!
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