Stone Gardens: Visit to an abandoned cemetery leads down a long road of predecessors to one of the interred

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of abandoned cemeteries across the United States. 

Mostly forgotten, usually overgrown, and some that have almost returned to nature, these outposts of the history of those who came before us always hold fascinating facts.

A quest to find one of these graveyards led me to a spot approximately 1,000 ft from the Lee Creek Reservoir on Gelly Road in rural Crawford County. 

Rumors of the remainders of a homestead for the Bodine family being in the area is what led me on my search. After hiking the area for over two hours on Saturday I can tell our readers that if a homestead did exist, there's much evidence remaning that I could find.

I did find the Bodine Cemetery. Ten years ago, it was clearly marked and not hard to get to. Today, the location reminds me of the 1959 Johnny Horton song "The Battle of New Orleans" because to reach the graveyard you have to deal with "briars and brambles and places where a rabbit wouldn't go."

James Bodine? (AI-generated)

(Note...the cover photo of the cemetery accompanying this article was AI-generated based on available photos from the past. It doesn't look anything like this today. Also, this is an AI-generated composite photo based on photos of known ancestors and descendants as to what James Bodine may have looked like at 60 years old.)

The cemetery itself is in disarray. Some of the tombstones that were there before have been knocked over and a few of them are sinking into the ground. 

Unless you are adventurous, chigger and tick-proof, don't mind scratched-up legs and arms, and can deal with snakes as big around as a Dr Pepper Zero can, you probably need to sit this one out.

Live vicariously through me. That's what I'm here for.

Here's what I have discovered post-adventure: 

Officially, according to Find a Grave, there are only seven identifiable burials in the cemetery. Only two of those had the last name Bodine. Supposedly there were over 100 deceased buried along the ridge that makes up the graveyard, many of them reportedly Confederate black soldiers from the Civil War.

Some other burials are notable in the small cemetery, including a pair of Civil War soldiers, one who was a captain in the New York 17th Infantry/ Both of those individuals are going to take a lot more research before they become the subject of a future Stone Garden feature.

James Bodine, who I assume the cemetery is named after, was apparently buried under false pretenses.  According to information on Rootsweb, James Bodine was born in 1833, and not in 1844 as his tombstone says. 

Depending upon who you ask, James was born either in Tennessee, illinois, or Missouri. Or maybe Texas. There is evidence out there linking his birth to all four states, which is impossible. You only get to be born once. In one state.

The only other Bodine headstone in the cemetery belongs to Wiley Bodine, supposedly one of two twin sons born to James and Roxie Bodine on August 20, 1905. This headstone also is a misnomer, as family history says the twins' names were Wiley and Riley, and it was actually Riley that died one month and 10 days after the twins were born. 

The family notes say "everyone knew it was Riley that died, but the engraver put the wrong name on the tombstone and the family couldn't afford to have it changed".

If this information is correct, James Bodine fathered those children at the age of 71. (You go, James!)

James Bodine died approximately seven months before the twins were born.

We know that James was married at least twice and probably three times. There are traces of James Bodine's back history that puts him in both Illinois and Texas where he was married.

It looks like children were born from each one of those relationships and as you chase the Bodine family history down his bloodline currently runs into at least 11 states we could find.

Thanks to family members who have done a remarkable job of producing and making the Bodine family history available, when you go up James's bloodline you also run into a multitude of surprises. 

Our subject was the fourth son to be named James in his direct line tracing back to his great-great-grandfather.  His next two predecessors were named Francis, which takes us back to the early 1700s 

James's fourth great-grandfather lived on Staten Island in New York and was part of a substantially wealthy family.

The next generation back, represented by Jean (Jan) Bodine, came to the United States between 1675 and 1680 and settled in New Jersey.

A few more generations back takes us to Daniel Bodine who was supposedly born in 1600 in Medis, Saintonge, France but immigrated to Canterbury in London England sometime before he died in 1669. 

Two more generations back and we hit a genealogical jackpot.

James Bodine, who is buried in a hardscrabble cemetery not far from Lee Creek, is in the direct descending line of Jean Bodin, born in 1529 in Angers, Pays de la Loire, France

This guy was a big deal.

Jean Bodin was a friar, French jurist, and political philosopher, member of the Parliament of Paris. and a professor of law in Toulouse.  

Jean was initially a proponent of King Henry III but lost the king's favor in 1576 or 1577. After the death of Henry III in 1589 he ventured into politics, but was unsuccessful and trying to gain office.

During his life, Bodin wrote books on history, economics, politics, demonology, and natural philosophy. He was well regarded as a historian, and was considered one of the most important figures in France during his lifetime.

He died in Leon during one of the many plagues that affected the citizenry of his time.

The family tree has been traced back two more branches to Jean Bodin Sr. who died sometime before 1524.

It's estimated that the living ancestors of Jane Bodine senior number in the thousands and live on four of the seven continents. 

One of them is buried in Crawford County in the boondocks. 

The back of the tombstone that once marked his grave reads "I have lived a Christian life, God bless my children and my wife."