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Lack Township
Cemetery Directions and Photographs
Beggar’s Row Cemetery
Lack Township
A local resident brought this cemetery to the attention of the Historical Society in 1971. It contained several graves but none with engraved tombstones, only mountain stones marking the gravesites. In 1971 the field was part of a farm owned by Charles Parsons and was formerly known as the “Bell place farm”. The cemetery was located along SR 4006 [Beggar’s Row Rd] at North Point Hill, perhaps 80 yards up the hill. [1]
[1] Beggar’s Row Cemetery File.
Black Log Church of the Brethren Cemetery
Now Byron Run Cemetery
Lack Township
"The German Baptists have a meeting house on Charles Glock’s farm, at a graveyard, said to be the oldest in the valley." [1]
This cemetery is located across the road from the former Black Log Church of the Brethren, now a private residence.
From Mifflintown take Rt. 35 South/west to Reed’s Gap, about 15 miles. Turn right onto SR 4005[Black Log Valley Rd]. Drive approximately 5.5 miles to T306 [Pine Ridge Road]. Drive an additional 2.5 miles. The former church is a white frame building on the left, the cemetery is on the right, up a short drive, above the road.
[1] History Of That Part Of The Susquehanna And Juniata Valleys Embraced In The Counties Of Mifflin, Juniata, Perry, Union And Snyder In The Commonwealth Of Pennsylvania,
Volume I, Philadelphia, Everts, Peck & Richards, 1886, page 738.
Cross Keys United Methodist Cemetery
Lack Township
“Near Lack [the name given the Post Office in Cross Keys] is a church, built in 1850, by the Lutherans called Willow Grove, but which has been used by the Methodist for the ten years past, and served from the Concord Circuit. There is a graveyard adjoining this church." [1]
Follow Route 35 South/west to the village of Cross Keys, a distance of 22.6 miles. Turn left onto SR 3025 [Berry Ridge Rd] and drive 0.1 miles. The Church and Cemetery lie to the left of the road.
[1] History Of That Part Of The Susquehanna And Juniata Valleys Embraced In The Counties Of Mifflin, Juniata, Perry, Union And Snyder In The Commonwealth Of Pennsylvania,
Volume I, Philadelphia, Everts, Peck & Richards, 1886, page 737.
Ferrier Family Cemetery
Lack Township
This graveyard contains the remains of at least five adults, one child and one infant, all victims of yellow fever. In 1792, Andrew Ferrier, while attending court in Lewistown, slept in a bed, the clothing of which the tavern-keeper had purchased at auction in Philadelphia. Ferrier and a number of others in this vicinity took the fever and died, and they were buried on this old mill property.” [1]
This cemetery was ‘rediscovered’ in 1974 by a member of the Historical Society along with a Ferrier family member. The graves are marked only with mountain stones; the cemetery is approximately 10 feet wide and 25 feet in length.
The above history documents that John Ferrier, father of Andrew, bought two tracts of land in Lack Township. One, purchased in 1798 is the tract on which Peru Mills is situated. The other is three miles ‘below’ Peru Mills and on this land father and son erected a small grist-mill [1]. When the cemetery was visited there were signs of a foundation, a dug well and apple trees.
This family cemetery is located in Lack Township past Reeds Gap, off of T 314 [Turkey Ridge Rd], now Pennsylvania State Lands.
[1] History Of That Part Of The Susquehanna And Juniata Valleys Embraced In The Counties Of Mifflin, Juniata, Perry, Union And Snyder In The Commonwealth Of Pennsylvania,
Volume I, Philadelphia, Everts, Peck & Richards, 1886, page 735.
Kenepp / Knepp Family Cemetery
Lack Township
This family cemetery near the village of Cross Keys, Lack Township was located [according to 1970's Historical Society documents] "off a dirt road [T302], near a set of old farm building, up the hill a further 130 yards, into the woods 15-20 feet to the left of the field." At that time, a four-foot high wire mesh fence enclosed it. The cemetery was about 24 feet square and there were six distinct graves, two that were sunken and had no markers, and four that had engraved tombstones. Three graves are of Kenepp Family members. The earliest death was 1864; the latest was 1877. One of the sunken graves formerly contained the body of "Uncle Will Knepp whose remains were removed to Huntingdon". [1]
[1] Knepp Cemetery File
Kyle Family Cemetery
Lack Township
The Kyle Family cemetery is located in Black Log Valley, a long, narrow depression between the Black Log and Shade Mountains. It is located along SR 4005 [Black Log Valley Rd.] The cemetery’s stones were recorded in 1970 by the Historical Society and consist entirely of Kyle and Stephenson family members. There are nine recorded graves. The earliest recorded death was 1855, the latest in 1881.
From Mifflintown take Rt. 35 South/west to Reed’s Gap, about 15 miles. Turn right onto SR 4005[Black Log Valley Rd]. Drive 5.3 miles to T306 [Pine Ridge Road]. Continue past Pine Ridge Road 1.6 miles to a dirt road on the right with a cable stretched across the entrance. To verify this location a utility pole # 157 and a telephone pole # 161 are located on the left side of the road just before the entrance to the dirt road. Walk approximately 20 yard past the cable to a point where another road intersects with this one. Turn left and walk approximately 75 yards to a small clearing. On the east-side of the clearing walk north approximately 75 yards. There will be 3 wooden posts on the right, which mark the south boundary of the cemetery.
McCleery Family Cemetery
Lack Township
No visual evidence remains of the family burial plot of Thomas McCleery and his wife who farmed the land around the year 1759. It is believed that they had no children. Thomas McCleery sold the farm to Thomas Murphy and his wife who built the existing house and barn. The barn bears the date April 25, 1861, no doubt the year of its erection.
Murphy in turn sold the farm to his daughter and her husband Charles Shearer who began farming the land about 1896. Eventually, Charles sold the farm to Thomas, his youngest son. [1]
This family cemetery was located in Lack Township, west of Reed’s Gap, in a farmed field along Route 35.
[1] Information provided by Shearer Family 1970
McWilliam's Cemetery
Lack Township
Once the site of an old Presbyterian Church; is one of the oldest cemeteries in Juniata County. Located about three miles south of East Waterford on Route 75. Located on the left hand side of the road heading south; no signs to show its location; park carefully on side of road.
Oppel / Opple Cemetery at Oppelville
Lack Township
This cemetery is located in Black Log Valley, a long, narrow depression between the Black Log and Shade Mountains in northern Lack Township. There was a post office located “at Oppelville, so called from an educated German farmer who lives there and keeps the office. There is a Methodist Episcopal Church at Oppelville, built principally . . . . as a Lutheran Church, nearby there is also a graveyard” [1]
This cemetery, about 75 feet x 90 feet, contains perhaps as many as thirty graves, many marked with only mountain stones. Other graves may be recognized by depressions in the ground. In 1970, the engraved tombstones were recorded by the Historical Society. Ten stones with the surnames of Steel, Vaughan, McKee, Gender, Parsons and Oppel were identified. Of these, the earliest burial occurred in 1847, the latest in 1914. Civil War Veteran Thomas H. Vaughan of Co. F 19th Regiment, PA Volunteer Cavalry is buried in this cemetery. There is no maintenance of the plot, which lies on Pennsylvania State Game Lands.
From Mifflintown take Rt. 35 South/west to Reed’s Gap, about 15 miles. Turn right onto SR 4005[Black Log Valley Rd]. From this point to T306[Pine Ridge Road] is 5.3 miles. Drive an additional 2.5 miles to the Black Log Church of the Brethren. An additional 1.1 miles brings you to Krause’s store. Continue 1.4 miles to a culvert. Cemetery is on left side, on near side of culvert, 60-65 yards into woods and up steep hill. In 2003 the cemetery is marked with a sign Zerner Cemetery
[1] History Of That Part Of The Susquehanna And Juniata Valleys Embraced In The Counties Of Mifflin, Juniata, Perry, Union And Snyder In The Commonwealth Of Pennsylvania,
Volume I, Philadelphia, Everts, Peck & Richards, 1886, page 738.
Patterson or Old Schoolhouse Grave Yard
Lack Township
This family cemetery was located a short distance beyond the village of Peru Mills in Lack Township. It came to the attention of the Historical Society in 1971 through a descendant of the Patterson family which still owned the land on which it was situated. The cemetery was located in a wooded area, of a logging road.
According to the family the graves sites were marked only with field stones or no marker at all and that two former slaves brought back from the Civil War were reportedly buried here. Other information came from a gentleman who as a young man worked as a hand on a sawmill for David Suloff and W. E. Manbeck, sawyers who contracted to log the timber in the area that included the cemetery. These men were instructed to leave the two pine trees standing because of the baby that was buried between them.
The following is from information provided by the Patterson Family that documents some of the individuals that are buried there.
Polly Hamilton and daughter
Mrs. Swales- worked for grandmother
A boy and girl from the Shearer family, neighbors
Mr. Middleton-he built grandfather’s house at Peru–the one Will lives in
John Stump and Howard Morrow – they were cousins, died of diphtheria
Aunt Belle Stoner’s baby girl born 1865, buried between 2 pine trees
Child of black family whose surname was Harry, child died of burns; grandmother helped make its shroud [1]
[1] Patterson Family information.
Pollock or Polk Cemetery
Methodist Episcopal Church
Lack Township
“William Short, who died in 1884, was a pioneer in the Waterloo Methodist Episcopal Church. He and a few others worshipped in a little log church five miles north of Waterloo, built at the instance of James Pollock. About 1836, Colonel George Noss and wife joined the church at Mitchell’s camp meeting. For some time they held services in the schoolhouse. Their aggressive spirit met with stormy opposition; and to render themselves independent, Short, Noss and others determined to build a church. The framehouse thirty by forty feet, was dedicated 1842, James Brads and Franklin Dyson being the preachers in charge at the time.” [1]
Take Route 35 South/west to the village of Cross Keys in Lack Township. Turn left in Cross Keys onto SR 3025 [Berry Ridge Rd]. Follow this road for 0.6 miles and turn right onto T 325 [Hog Hollow Rd]. Follow this road for 1 mile to the cemetery on left side of road. The cemetery is visible from the road but is off the road some distance. There is a gate across a lane that leads close to the cemetery and also a private lane which gives walking access to the cemetery.
[1] History Of That Part Of The Susquehanna And Juniata Valleys Embraced In The Counties Of Mifflin, Juniata, Perry, Union And Snyder In The Commonwealth Of Pennsylvania,
Volume I, Philadelphia, Everts, Peck & Richards, 1886, page 737.
Upper Black Log Church of the Brethren – Black Log
Formerly Old German Baptist Church
Lack Township
“The German Baptists have a meeting house on Charles Glock’s farm, at a graveyard, said to be the oldest in the valley.” [1]
The graveyard has three engraved tombstones, all of the Joseph Rohrabacher family. The graves are located below the road, on the south/east and west side of the church. This church building is now a private residence.
From Mifflintown take Rt. 35 South/west to Reed’s Gap, about 15 miles. Turn right onto SR 4005 [Black Log Valley Rd] Drive 5.5 miles to T306[Pine Ridge Road]. Drive an additional 2.5 miles. The former church is a white frame building on the left. Black Log Church of the Brethren Cemetery, now Byron Run Cemetery is on the right, up the short driveway above the road.
[1] History Of That Part Of The Susquehanna And Juniata Valleys Embraced In The Counties Of Mifflin, Juniata, Perry, Union And Snyder In The Commonwealth Of Pennsylvania,
Volume I, Philadelphia, Everts, Peck & Richards, 1886, page 738.
Upper Tuscarora Presbyterian Church and Cemetery
Lack Township
“Waterloo is a small town in the extreme southwestern corner of Lack Township. In this town is the Upper Tuscarora Presbyterian Church, the pastor of which serves this point and Peru and Shade Gap”. The first pastor at Upper Tuscarora was installed in 1799. [1]
The Upper Tuscarora Presbyterian Church and Cemetery is on the outskirts of Waterloo, PA, not far from the Huntingdon County border. Take Route 75 south/west through Port Royal, Old Port, Spruce Hill, Honey Grove and East Waterford. In Waterloo, past the center of the village, bear right onto SR 3027 [Church Rd]. Follow this road for 0.5 miles to the church and cemetery, which will be on the right side of the road. Total distance from Mifflintown is 29 miles.
[1] History Of That Part Of The Susquehanna And Juniata Valleys Embraced In The Counties Of Mifflin, Juniata, Perry, Union And Snyder In The Commonwealth Of Pennsylvania,
Volume I, Philadelphia, Everts, Peck & Richards, 1886, page 737.
Waterloo Methodist Cemetery
Lack Township
This cemetery is located in the village of Waterloo, PA about 29 miles southwest of Mifflintown, near the border with Huntingdon County. Take 75 south/west through Port Royal, Old Port, Spruce Hill, Honey Grove and East Waterford. In the center of Waterloo, turn left into a small alley that runs between two frame houses, one white, one off white. The cemetery is located on the right side of the alley, about 200 feet up the alley.
