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Sacred Ground: Jonathan Chitwood Cemetery
Traditionally, two small cemeteries in the Pine Grove community near Winfield have each been called the Piney Grove Cemetery. The larger of the two, and the one located furthest from the main highway, is much more commonly known as the Jonathan Chitwood Cemetery. And it’s named for the first-born person buried at the cemetery — a direct descendant of the same Chitwood family that originally settled the Pine Grove community more than 200 years ago.
Rev. Jonathan Chitwood (1829-1910) was not the first person buried at the cemetery bearing his name. The cemetery dates back some 40 years before his death. But he was the patriarch of the Chitwood family that lived here, near where Pine Hill Road meets Piney Grove, and that are buried here.
Jonathan Chitwood was a great-grandson of James Chitwood, the Revolutionary War veteran who first settled what we now know as the Winfield community. He and his wife, Martha White, arrived here after journeying west through the Cumberland Gap after the war for independence ended. Jonathan was descended from their oldest son, Lazarus, who was born in 1770 — well before the family left North Carolina, and before the war had even been fought.
Lazarus married Mary Leiper Oliver in 1801, after the family had moved to Tennessee. Their oldest son was James Lawrence Chitwood, born the following year (1802). He married Elizabeth Richardson (1798-1881), and their oldest son was Jonathan Chitwood, born in 1829.
(Elizabeth was first married to Jonathan Elswick. She married James Chitwood after her first husband’s death. There is some debate about whether Jonathan Chitwood was the oldest child in the family; there may have been one born before him named Nelson.)
Jonathan Chitwood married Safrona Ross (1830-1905) in 1850. Their children included Lucetta, Andrew, John Marion, Sarah Elizabeth, Henry Nelson, Christina, Emma, Nancy, Jonathan Elswick, and a daughter who died in infancy.
The cemetery begins
The first burial at Jonathan Chitwood Cemetery came in 1870, when Christina Chitwood died just a month before her fourth birthday. She was the sixth-born of the Jonathan Chitwood family, and the first (to that point) to die in childhood.
Three years later, in January 1873, Rosie Chitwood was buried at the cemetery when she died at age 38. Born Rosie Acres, she was the wife of James Harvey Chitwood, who would later be buried at the cemetery in 1899. James Harvey was Jonathan Chitwood’s brother. His children included Polly, John, Lucinda, and Henrietta.
Jonathan’s infant daughter was the third person buried at the family cemetery, in 1876. Later, James H. Chitwood, age 12, was buried at the cemetery in 1882. He was the son of Alfonza and Polly Chitwood. Polly was James Harvey Chitwood’s oldest daughter. Alfonza was the son of John Henry Chitwood and Nancy Hamby — another branch of the Chitwood clan. John Henry was the son of Daniel Chitwood and a grandson of James Chitwood. He and three of his sons all died in Confederate prison camps during the Civil War.
Next to be buried at the cemetery was 30-year-old John M. Chitwood, the son of James Harvey Chitwood and Rosie Acres, and James H. Chitwood’s uncle.
The Terry family
The first person other than a member of the Chitwood family to be buried at the cemetery was an infant boy from the Terry family, who died in February 1890. His stone indicates that he was the son of O.J. and Elizabeth Terry.
It isn’t clear exactly who these Terrys were, and no other members of the family were buried at the cemetery.
The Stephens family
James Harvey Chitwood died in 1899 and was buried at the cemetery, followed by Emma Chitwood in 1902. She was another of the children of Jonathan and Safrona Chitwood. She was 33 at the time of her death. She was listed in the 1900 census as living in her parents’ home, with the married name Stephins (Stephens). Two of her children, 8-year-old Everett and five-month-old James, also lived in the home. She married Jerry Stephens in 1891. It isn’t clear what became of him, though Emma being buried with her maiden name on the stone usually implies a divorce rather than being widowed. Everett Stephens joined the military and wound up settling down in California. James Stephens served in World War II, lived in Oneida, and was buried at the Jonathan Chitwood Cemetery when he died of an apparent heart attack in 1971.
More Chitwood burials
Emma’s brother, Andrew, died in 1903 at about age 50 and was buried at the cemetery. He was widowed when the 1900 census was taken, living with his teenage sons, Whig (Whiggy) and Rodes Josh. Andrew’s wife was Elizabeth Duncan. They also had another son, Granville Cecil Chitwood, who was buried at Jonathan Chitwood Cemetery in 1958 (Granville’s wife, Susie Jane Strunk, was buried at the cemetery in 1941).
In 1907, baby Homer Chitwood was buried at the cemetery. He was the son of Jonathan Elswick Chitwood and Susie Chitwood, both of whom would be buried at the cemetery later. J.E., or John, was another of the children of Jonathan and Safrona Chitwood. His wife was the daughter of Joel Chitwood and Mary Jane Trammell. Joel was a great-grandson of James Chitwood, the son of James L. Chitwood and Bettie Thompson. Homer’s siblings included Mary Evlyn, Albert, Helen Clarice, Jonathan, Joel, Robert James, Harry, Norman Lee, James Elswick, and Milford Canie.
The following year, 1908, another baby was buried at the cemetery. Granville Cecil Chitwood and his wife, Susie Jane Strunk, had an infant daughter who was buried there. Her siblings included Eva, Edith, Vernon, Joseph (Don), and another infant who died in 1923 and was buried at the cemetery.
The Crabtree family
Nancy “Nannie” Crabtree was buried at the cemetery in 1910, when she died at age 36. Born Nancy Chitwood, she was another of the daughters of Jonathan and Safrona Chitwood. She married James S. Crabtree (1875-1952) in 1904. Their children included Goldie, Clara Charlotte, Crystal, and Violet. Following Nannie’s death, James remarried to Margaret Ballou and had several more children: Mildred, Ruth, and James. He died in 1952 and was buried at the cemetery. Most of his children settled in Ohio. His youngest son, James, was killed in the Netherlands during World War II when his B-17 was shot down.
The cemetery continues
In 1911, infant Leslie Chitwood was buried at the cemetery. She was the daughter of John D. Chitwood and Nora Bell Strunk, who were later buried at the cemetery. John was the son of Blakely Chitwood and Cinda Strunk, and he and Nora had at least four other children: Mary, Homer, Myrl, and Sadie.
The Healy family
In 1914, 44-year-old Timothy Healy was buried at the cemetery. He was the husband of Henrietta Chitwood, who would later be buried at the cemetery in 1937. She was one of the children of James Harvey Chitwood and Rosie Acres. They had two children: Charles Joseph and Florence, both of whom wound up settling down in Somerset, Ky. Timothy Healy was the son of John Healy and Mary O’Connell.
The cemetery today
The Jonathan Chitwood Cemetery has remained active through the years, with descendants of Rev. Johnathan Chitwood and Safrona Ross continuing to be buried at the cemetery today.
Most recently, Mary Meadows Chitwood was buried at the cemetery in 2025, when she died at age 90. Her husband, Milford Canie Chitwood, was buried there in 1980. Milford, as you recall, was one of the children of Jonathan Elswick and Susie Chitwood, and had an infant brother named Homer who was buried at the cemetery in 1907. Many other members of his family were also buried there, including a 17-year-old brother, Jonathan, in 1931, and Jonathan’s 22-year-old twin, Joel, who fell from a ladder and was killed in Cincinnati in 1936. Other siblings buried at the cemetery included Mary Evelyn Walters and her husband, Roscoe; Albert Chitwood and his wife, Cordelia Wright; Helen Clarice Eskeli; Harry Chitwood; Norman Lee Chitwood and his wife, Mitzie; and James Elswick Chitwood.
Many of the next generation of Chitwoods, Jonathan Elswick and Susie’s grandchildren, have also been buried at the cemetery. Among them: Paul Dewey Chitwood (1945-2021), who was a well-known gospel singer and wrote, along with his wife (Beverly Tucker), “Look What I’m Trading For A Mansion.” Paul’s siblings, Joel, Mary Rose Crane and her husband Marshall, and Jack Chitwood and his wife Irene Chambers, were all buried at the cemetery, as well.
Milford and Mary Chitwood’s children include Mark Chitwood, Debbie Chitwood, and Etta Spradlin.
Several of the burials at the cemetery in recent years have followed tragic accidents. In 2013, 17-year-old Shadara Douglas was buried at the cemetery following an accident. The following year, her grandmother, Grace Angel Douglas, was buried at the cemetery. And in 2017, Gayle Chitwood Bridges was buried at the cemetery following an accident. Her husband, Roger Bridges, was buried at the cemetery in 2024.
A final note: The Jonathan Chitwood Cemetery was once known as the Elswick Cemetery, according to old death certificates. Elswick was the middle name of Rev. Jonathan Chitwood’s son, Jonathan “John” Chitwood.
Paul Harold Acres, 1913-1999
Margaret Gayle Chitwood Bridges, 1956-2017
Roger Dean Bridges, 1947-2024
Eva Chitwood Burchfield, 1912-1993
James Earl Jim Burchfield, 1933-2022
Albert Chitwood, 1910-1977
Andrew Chitwood, 1853-1903
Beverly June Tucker Chitwood, 1952-1997
Christina Christener Chitwood, 1866-1870
Clarence Hank Chitwood, 1921-1996
Cordelia Wright Chitwood, 1905-1989
Edward S. Chitwood, 1884-1942
Emma Chitwood, 1869-1902
Everly Chitwood, 1952-1997
Granville Cecil Chitwood, 1881-1958
Harry F. Chitwood, 1921-1984
Henry Nelson Chitwood, 1864-1952
Herbert H. Chitwood, 1928-2002
Homer Chitwood, 1907-1907
Infant Daughter Chitwood, 1908-1908
Infant Daughter Chitwood, 1876-1876
Infant Son Chitwood, 1923-1923
Jack R. Chitwood, 1935-2007
James Elswick Chitwood, 1925-1997
James H. Chitwood, 1870-1882
James Harvey Chitwood, 1830-1899
Joel Chitwood, 1914-1936
Joel Edward Chitwood Sr., 1949-2023
John D. Chitwood, 1881-1950
John M. Chitwood, 1857-1887
John Marion Chitwood, 1858-1940
Jonathan Chitwood, 1914-1931
Jonathan Chitwood, 1829-1910
Jonathan Elswick John Chitwood, 1877-1959
Joseph McDonald Don Chitwood, 1926-1975
Leslie Chitwood, 1911-1911
Mae Irene Chitwood, 1910-1915
Mary Euvon Meadows Chitwood, 1935-2025
Melissa Deane Lawson Chitwood, 1965-2019
Milford Canie Chitwood, 1927-1980
Mitsuko Mitzie Chitwood, 1932-2013
Nola Chitwood, 1925-1925
Nora Bell Strunk Chitwood, 1886-1954
Norman Lee Chitwood, 1923-2006
Paul Dewey Chitwood, 1945-2021
Ralph Chitwood, 1922-1994
Rosia Acres Chitwood, 1835-1873
Rosina Chitwood, 1882-1959
Safrona Ross Chitwood, 1830-1905
Susie Chitwood Chitwood, 1882-1962
Susie Jane Strunk Chitwood, 1888-1941
Vernon Chitwood, 1918-2001
Walen Loudin Chitwood, 1923-2002
James S. Crabtree Sr., 1875-1952
Nancy Nannie Chitwood Crabtree, 1873-1910
Marshall Edward Crane Jr., 1931-2009
Mary Rose Chitwood Crane, 1937-2011
Dennis Earl Crotwell, 1960-1960
Grace Alyene Angel Douglas, 1933-2014
Ovia Douglas, 1908-1991
Salena Trammell Douglas, 1914-1998
Shadara Lashia Douglas, 1996-2013
Helen Clarice Chitwood Eskeli, 1912-1987
Julian Shae Goodman, 2004-2010
Benjamin Lee Hamby, 1995-1995
Henrietta Chitwood Healy, 1870-1937
Timothy J. Healy, 1869-1914
Ronald Luther Ronnie King, 1938-2003
Ray Massengale, 1943-2017
Zachary Mayberry, 2001-2001
Easter Fleeta Douglas Myers, 1932-2010
Kenneth Lee Myers, 1927-1998
Ike Phillips, 1892-1961
Richard David Schoenborn, N/A-N/A
Woodrow Wilson Sharp, 1913-1945
Bennie Ben Stanley, 1906-1978
Edna L. Strunk Stanley, 1888-1976
James Harvey Stanley, 1878-1944
James Richard Stanley, 1919-1993
Lucille Ross Stanley, 1923-2002
Maudie Mae Reed Stanley, 1909-2000
James E. Stephens, 1899-1971
Lucinda Chitwood Strunk, 1860-1934
Infant Boy Terry, 1890-1890
Infant Walters, 1938-1938
Infant Son Walters, 1932-1932
Mary Evlyn Chitwood Walters, 1908-1981
Roscoe Casper Walters, 1898-1960
James Wurtsbaugh, 1920-1997
See Also: Jonathan Chitwood Cemetery from Scott County, Tennessee History & Genealogy
See Also: Previous features from the Scott County Cemetery Project
See Also: The Chitwood family, from the Scott County Lineage Project
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