Members of the Silas McDowell chapter held a Patriot Grave Search/Headstone Cleaning event in Franklin, NC today. Compatriots Tom Long and John Ruble worked at two cemeteries in Franklin, NC searching for, finding, and then cleaning the headstones of six Revolutionary War veterans. Three veterans were found in the cemetery of the 1st United Methodist Church, and the other three were at the Sugar Fork Baptist Church. Next step is to contact the two churches to determine if they will allow the SAR to hold a SAR ceremony and place a marker at the grave site of the Patriot, then contact descendants of the Patriots and see if they would allow a grave marking ceremony, and then schedule the activity with the churches, descendants, other organizations (DAR, American Legion), and publish the schedule in local newspapers. In the photos below, chapter president Tom Long, at left, and chapter genealogist John Ruble, at right, work on the headstones.

Read the story from The Franklin Press here.