I have been told several times that there is a Dorton private family cemetery somewhere in Callaway County, Missouri.  My brother and I found the cemetery index at the Missouri Historical Society and copied down the information on its occupants.  There were no directions on how to locate this cemetery, however.  We would like to visit this cemetery because it contains the grave of our great great grandmother.  Her name is Harriet Leopard Dorton.  We hope it is not among those old private cemeteries that have been destroyed.  If you know of its location, please contact me at the email address on my home page.  

UPDATE:  I recently was able to locate the Dorton Private Cemetery in Callaway County Missouri.  Thanks to the wonderful family that helped me discover the location!!  We have so far identified the existence of twelve field stones and one tombstone with inscription.  The stone is for Harriet Leopard (Lepard) Dorton.  The dates on the stone match what has been previously written for her.  We did not find the stone for Bedford Clatterbuck.  It is possible the stone was buried under the underbrush.  The cemetery was fenced in and located in the forest so it is in pretty good shape other than the obvious growth from neglect.  We believe the other burials in this cemetery are George and Nancy Dorton, Willis E. Dorton, Jr., and Mary Susan Dorton.  If anyone else has information about this cemetery please contact me at the address on my home page.  A picture of Harriet's stone is included in my family tombstone gallery and family photo page on this site.

UPDATE:  My brother Ken and I recently went out to the Dorton Cemetery and began the task of cleaning and cataloging the cemetery.  It was covered with brambles and a few fallen trees.  We have so far located 29 graves, including the stone of Harriet Dorton that I talked about previously.  I also located a stone with the letters L. A. D. engraved on it (either Lewis Dorton, or Lucy A. Dorton, which one I may never know).  I am keeping a photo diary of the clean up process and will be posting those as time goes on.  I also notified the Callaway County Historical Society and am keeping them updated as well.  MORE TO COME!!  

UPDATE:  My son Matt volunteered to help me clean the cemetery this weekend, and while raking up the 4-5 inches of leaf debris/dirt that covers everything except the brambles, he discovered the stone for Bedford R. Clatterbuck  completely buried at the base of a tree.  We have found to date approximately 42 stones in the cemetery.  This is much more than we first realized!!  See the links on my home page for the photo diary of the clean up and stones.

UPDATE:  My husband and I returned and finished cutting weeds and removed the fallen tree.  It has been moved to the fence line.  We need to unwire the fence to get it out.  We began probing in a grid pattern in order to locate stones that are not visible (particularly where the trees fell).  The cemetery is laid out in an East-West pattern (feet to the East).  We have located 51 stones.  We ran out of time, so will return in the fall to probe and uncover the remaining stones.

Click HERE for more information and to view the cemetery.