THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 10, 1995 TAG: 9503080193
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 08 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PATRICIA HUANG, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 89 lines
Enclosed by a small, rusted iron fence atop a still undeveloped, grassy plot of land, a mother and son have lain in peace for more than a century.
The graves of Martha and Harrison Allmand lie partially hidden from view just yards away from one of the city's busiest intersections at South Battlefield Boulevard and Cedar Road. Untouched for 180 years, the two pre-Civil War graves are being prepared for relocation by property owner William W. Old.
A suit filed last month in Chesapeake Circuit Court by trustees of the Old Family Real Estate Trust seeks to find the heirs to the Allmands. The process, which involves publishing an advertisement in a local newspaper once a week for four consecutive weeks, is the typical legal procedure used to obtain city permission to relocate graves.
The Allmands' graves are the oldest of 23 that once occupied the area. The other graves already have been relocated. Among them were the ancestors of the Olds, Wilsons, Butts and Northerns, some of Chesapeake's most historic and prominent families. The other 21 graves of the Wilson-Old Family Cemetery, which once were in the middle of the existing road, were removed in 1976 when a state-funded project widened Battlefield Boulevard to four lanes.
Shaded by large trees on property elevated slightly from the road, the old Allmand graves lie within view of a nearby 7-Eleven convenience store, gas stations, fast food restaurants and the bustle of Great Bridge.
The faded inscription on the gray tombstone reads, ``Here lie the remains of Mrs. Martha Allmand who died in Norfolk, the 11th of Feb. 1815, aged 55 years, and of her only son Harrison Allmand, Jr. who died at the same place, July 5th 1852, aged 62 years.''
Any descendants of the Allmands should contact Old by April to discuss the Circuit Court suit for grave relocation.
``Usually, it's a friendly type thing, and the heirs want to get (the grave) off the person's property,'' said City Attorney Ronald S. Hallman. ``If there are no objections (or no heirs found), property owners can go ahead with the relocation.''
In rural areas, such as Chesapeake's, old family graves are often discovered in the middle of fields and remote areas. When roads and other developments are proposed, developers need go through similar processes to find heirs before they can obtain permission for relocation.
Old said one reason he is seeking to relocate the graves is because he plans to sell the land, which occupies the southwest corner of the bustling intersection near City Hall. When Old's mother, who lived on the property adjacent to the site, died last fall, there was no longer a caretaker to watch the property daily, he said.
Over the past several years, vandals have tampered with the old Allmand grave, Old said.
``People would lean up against the gate and drink beer. They would shove the top of the box off and we would always have to go and put it back together,'' he said. ``There's nothing in there, but people would think that a long time ago people were buried with their treasures. (My mother's caretaker) would always go out there to pick up all the beer cans left inside. It's really a degrading thing.''
As far as he can tell, Old said, the Allmands are not members of his family. He speculates that prior to 1866, the Allmands owned what is now his family's property. Old said he plans to move the graves of the Allmands to Chesapeake Memorial Gardens, where 21 of his ancestors' graves were moved to. The two Allmand graves were not moved at the same time since they were not in the way of the road widening project in 1976, he said.
Circuit Court records show that Martha Allmand was married to Edmond Allmand, who died in 1795. The Allmand tombstone says that Harrison Jr. was the only son of Martha. But according to Edmond Allmand's will, written and probated in 1795, Allmand had two sons, Edmond and Harrison; and two daughters Ann Elphy and Cresey.
The family owned a plantation of 245 acres in Washington, a section of Norfolk County, which merged with the City of South Norfolk in 1963 to become the city of Chesapeake. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by STEVE EARLEY
The graves of Martha and Harrison Allmand lie just yards away from
one of the city's busiest intersections at South Battlefield
Boulevard and Cedar Road.
``Here lie the remains of Mrs. Martha Allmand who died in Norfolk,
the 11th of Feb. 1815, aged 55 years, and of her only son Harrison
Allmand, Jr. who died at the same place, July 5th 1852, aged 62
years.''
Inscription on the tombstone
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