A vibrant, flag-waving parade from a small chapel at the intersection of Mary Ball Highway and Devils Bottom Road to a newly rediscovered cemetery turned a quiet November Sunday into a powerful celebration of history and service in Virginia’s Northern Neck. Over 100 participants, including church members, community volunteers, and descendants of those buried, gathered to honor the lives of World War veterans and their families interred in a long-forgotten burial site.
Earlier this year, the Kilmarnock Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) made an incredible discovery on their chapel property: a forgotten burial ground once owned by Moreau and Isabella Nickens, African American landowners from the late 1800s. Despite several attempts to locate it, the site had remained hidden under thick overgrowth. The breakthrough came when Branch President Kerry Petersen, determined to search one last time, used a machete to clear a path through the dense brush. This effort revealed a single tombstone for Dorothy E. Ball, a Nickens descendant, inscribed with the words: “Gone, But Not Forgotten.”
This discovery sparked a months-long restoration project, with church members clearing brush and fallen timber. The site now includes around 23 burial plots, including the tombstones of two military veterans: James Carroll Barber, a World War I Army veteran, and John Robert Webb, a World War II Navy veteran.
To mark Veterans Day, the church held a memorial service on Sunday, November 17, 2024. The service began with a chapel service featuring prayers, patriotic hymns, and a history of the Nickens family and the cemetery. A public reading of the names of those interred, many of whom lacked tombstones, deeply moved those present. Among the attendees were two surviving grandchildren, the last of their generation. Margaret “Tina” Webb stood by her veteran grandfather’s restored grave. Dorothy Harrison, a descendant of Dorothy Ball, expressed her gratitude in a letter read aloud during the service.
The day’s highlight was a poignant parade, with participants waving small American flags to honor the Black veterans who, unlike their White counterparts, were often denied public celebrations upon returning from war. The procession moved from the chapel to the cemetery, where flags were placed on the veterans’ graves in a solemn tribute. Whitney Bean, a talented trumpet player from the local high school, performed Taps as part of the emotional rededication ceremony.
The event strengthened the sense of community and history, drawing family members from as far as Maryland. The service concluded with a dedicatory prayer and a luncheon, during which neighbors shared stories and formed new connections.
In a fitting coincidence, the memorial service took place on the birthday of Dorothy Ball, whose rediscovered tombstone had first revealed the existence of the cemetery. The day served as a tribute to the enduring legacy of those buried there and the community’s dedication to honoring their memory. Source: Local Scoop Magazine
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