Adrion M. Hurt
died March 6, 1840 at the age of 16 years and 11 months. He was
laid to rest by his father and mother at Hamlet Hill, near the site of
Ira & Eliza Hurt's first home
in Franklin
County.
The mystery of Adrion Hurt's death
and the unknown location of his grave has baffled the family for years. Mystified and
intrigued, an undaunting determination to find this grave and lay eyes
upon
the "marble stone from Kentucky" consumed me. With only a general
idea of the location, a topographical map showing cemeteries in the general vicinity was obtained.
Opportunity gave rise to impulse when, one warm April afternoon in 2001,
there was nothing to prevent the adventure of exploring the woods with
nothing more than an irrepressible hunch and a fragment of a topo map to
lead the way. Down a steep hill and around an old dirt road that lead from one ridge to another in a U-shaped
pattern, the bushes were combed and every rabbit trail examined until it
seemed the most logical thing to do was to give it up. Having
delved much deeper into the woods than originally intended, the sudden glimpse of gray rock
standing upright beckoned. It was, indeed, a
cemetery set in the fork of the road. Every stone and
fieldstone was checked with no sight of the name "Hurt".
Ready to give up but vowing to leave with no stone unturned, another flat
rock commanded attention. Kicking at it, the weight gave some
indication of its
significant size. Brushing off the leaves and dirt and lifting its face off
the ground, Adrion's stone stared back in an astonishing moment of elation
and shock. It was one of those events in life that is
indescribable unless experienced. The stone was photographed and stood
upright in the exact spot it was found, supported front and back with other rocks.
As it was broken from its base, there was great concern about its safety
from further damage or theft.
In early spring 2002, I was
joined by my mother, Ruth Hurt Joyce, and my brother, Bill Wadkins on a
second visit to the cemetery, this time equipped with 4-wheel drive,
tools for cleaning the stone and clearing brush, cameras,
etc. Our aim was two-fold: (1) identify the actual site of
Adrion's
grave so the stone could be re-erected there and (2) restore the stone
by scrubbing with acid and water. About 8-10 feet from where
the stone was found was a slightly sunken grave with a field stone at
the foot, but there was no sign
of the head stone facing east as with the other graves nearby. For
hours we scoured the area adjacent to where the stone was first discovered
looking for the base from which it had broken. As
we worked carefully with small tools, digging through layers of leaves
and dirt, we finally hit upon an area with rock that did not
dislodge. We carefully swept away dirt and crumbled stone
revealing a stub that was buried deeper into the ground than we dared
uncover. It was obviously the base from which a marker had broken
as some of the square edges remained. Convinced Adrion's grave had
been identified, rocks were positioned there to mark the evidence. The
tombstone was
then cleaned to remove the
moss covering the lettering. The clearly defined face of a boy (his nose broken) was encircled
with angel wings, their hands crossed in prayer under his chin.
The beautifully carved epitaph was missing letters here and there, but
the message was one inscribed by a grief-stricken father and a mother's
broken heart.
By summer 2003, our original
trio joined by my sister, Cindy Cheatham, and her son, Robert, returned
on an early July morning with all the
tools necessary to build and fill a 2x3 ft. form with enough cement in
which to embed the stone. This method was chosen for two reasons: (1) the stone
was broken through on the last line so that erecting it upright in
cement would be impossible as it would require the inscription to be
embedded in cement; (2) the stone had a foreboding crack through its
midsection. The flat construction would prevent further breakage
and damage due to fallen trees, timber cutting equipment, and other misfortune.
The stone was covered with plastic and left to cure
until the family returned as a group to remove the form and plastic in
November 2003. Descendants of Adrion's brother, William H. H. Hurt,
and their families brought flowers and paid their respects to Adrion
Hurt on a most significant occasion in our family history. If you would
like to visit Adrion's grave, we would be happy to help you in any way
we can. The cemetery also contains
many well-marked graves with modern stones. For a listing of
those named in the cemetery, click here.
