November 8, 2012.
KNOTTS ISLAND CEMETERIES
Compiled by Melinda Lukei
October 20, 2012 Cemeteries 1 thru 4. Graves 1-39. Route 615 at Virginia Beach Border
October 22, 2012 Cemeteries 5 thru 14. Graves 40-94
October 24, 2012 Cemeteries 15 thru 28. Graves 95-228
October 30, 2012 Cemetery 29. Graves 229-796 Main Island Cemetery
November 1, 2012 Cemeteries 30 thru 40. Graves 797-920
November 2, 2012 Cemeteries 41 thru 52. Graves 921-996
November 4, 2012 Cemeteries 53 thru 60. Graves 997-1024
November 24, 2012 Addendum. Graves 1025-1049
November 8, 2012 Index
The graveyards of Knotts Island are located all over the island.
Many of the graveyards are in good condition, however I also found
gravestones thrown in ditches, some covered by garbage, many
entangled in vines and sticker bushes, and a few that only the
location is known.
I inventoried these cemeteries three times. Once in 1981, 1987 and
again in 1993 to make sure that I had copied the correct
inscription. It is sad to say but, some gravestones that were in
good condition on the first visit were broken or missing on later
trips. I found stones that had been pushed down and some that were
under several inches of grass and dirt.
This book was written to preserve the information on the
gravestones on Knotts Island before more grave sites disappear.
This book contains the grave sites from the Virginia/North
Carolina state line on Highway 615 near The Anchor Club north of
the Marsh Causeway to the Currituck Ferry landing at the south
end. The grave sites on the Virginia side of Knotts Island are
also included.
A consistent order of date (day, month, year) has been used
throughout this book, which may not be in the same order found on
some gravestones. Information in parenthesis is data that I had in
my records about the person. Several abbreviations have been used
which need to be explained so you will get the most out of this
book.
b - born
d - died
s/o - son of
d/o - daughter of
w/o - wife of
h/o - husband of
m/o - mother of
f/o - father of
gs/o - grandson of
gd/o - granddaughter of
() - information I have obtained from records, bibles and family
history.
I am sure this is not all the graves that were on the Island. Many
of the early graves were marked with wooden markers and have long
ago deteriorated. There were also slave graveyards that were not
marked at all. Some of the older folks of the Island told me of
two but, I found no markers just indented ground.
The "old graveyard" of Knotts Island is in the woods and east of
the fire station. I have heard there were over 300 graves in that
one cemetery, but I only found a precious few by crawling on my
hands and knees. The area is big enough for 300 graves so I do not
doubt the number. If only someone had made a record in the early
1900's this information would not have been lost.
Many of the old stones were very difficult to read and family
records may have a different date. If this is the case I would
appreciate your telling me so I can correct this in future
editions of this book.
The first land grants were issued on Knotts Island on 20 April
1680. I believe, from my research, that people were on the Island
many years before 1680, but they had not applied for land grants.
A lot of our ancestors have lived here in the past 300 years.
The oldest grave on the island is said to be George Bullock buried
at Knight's Point around 1722. It was a large marble slab and
metal plate. Many of the older residents say they saw it but it is
not visable today.
I would like to thank Jane Brumley for the imput she had in this
project. She had researched many of these cemeteries and we
compared information that is no longer there, hoping to preserve
the dates that we were able to pick up from other sources, such as
cemetery records, church records, Mrs Harrell's collection of
tombstones, Mrs Shannonhouses' records in her book on Eastern
North Carolina Tombstones. Also thanks go to Dennis Wright, Edmund
White, Russell Edward Simpson, Mrs Victor Boyce, Ida Jean Cason
who helped me locate these graves.
The purpose of this project is to preserve dates for the families
of Knotts Island. It is a collection to help others to find their
family roots.
P.S. I forgot to mention that these cemetery records were also published in the Currituck County, NC Cemetery Book by the Alblemarle Genealogical Society in 1995. A lot of these tombstones have disappeared since I first started collecting them. Others were already gone but we had records that the WPA had done so I included them in the book.