Ol' John's Field
and The Search for John Leonard
Dekle's Grave
I have been told since I was a small boy that John Leonard Dekle was buried on our family farm on land owned by my Aunt, Nina Dekle Price. My Aunt Nina and my Aunt Rene always said that they were going to place a marker on the grave, but did not get it done before they passed away. Unfortunately, none of the Dekle children from my generation had the foresight to inquire about the exact grave location before all of our parents were deceased. Thus the exact location of the grave site has been a mystery for many years. The only location I remember being told was that the grave was across the road from the George Washington Dekle house. This could mean anywhere on several hundred acres of property and was not nearly specific enough to locate the actual site, although I have spent many enjoyable hours looking for something that looks like a grave.
Several years ago an older cousin who had lived in the area for many years but has since passed away, said that the grave was located in a field not very far South of an old road. He said the road had once crossed Reedy Creek to his house, but that it was no longer there.
Then, during a trip to the farm about three years ago, I was led by a neighbor who has lived in the area for many years to an area in Aunt Nina's field where he said he believed the grave to be located. He said that he was shown the location years ago and to the best of his recollection, it was within a few hundred feet of the location he pointed out. I wasn't convinced as there was no sign of any grave visible in the field. Then I noticed that the North boundary of the field, which is very brushy, contained some very large trees. Closer examination revealed that the large trees are in two evenly spaced rows. It quickly became obvious that the trees lined both sides of what was once a road on the North edge of the field, and which leads East towards Reedy Creek. Recalling the conversation from several years earlier, about the old abandoned road, I began to be convinced that perhaps I was on the path to actually locating the grave site.
Next, more recently, during an email conversation with another Dekle relative, he referred to a field on the Dekle farm where John Leonard Dekle is buried. He said that in the early 80's when he was visiting an elderly cousin, he was shown the field and was told it was where John Leonard Dekle had lived, farmed, died and is buried. He said that ever since then he has referred toit as Ol' John's Field. Further correspondence about the location revealed that he was referring to my Aunt Nina's cotton field. This further strengthened my belief that I am indeed on the right track to actually locating the grave site. I now believe that this field is a part of John Dekle's property referred to in the deed dated February 15, 1821, located elsewhere on this website. In this deed, John Leonard Dekle sold some property to Aurin Goodgame Horn. The field in question has certainly been in the Dekle family for many generations.
Several months ago, in order to preserve this land and keep it from being sold out of the family, I purchased the field from the estate of my Aunt Nina, who had owned it for the last 50 or so years. She had inherited it from her father and my grandfather, James Ivey Dekle. I now have been told at different times by at least five reliable people, that John Leonard Dekle's grave is in this field.
This week, a neighbor revealed that my uncle, Carlton Dekle, who knew where the grave was located, once told him that the grave is located on the East end of the field about three quarters of the way up to the North border and a hundred feet or so from the trees to the East. This corresponds very closely with the location pointed out to me by the other neighbor two years ago.
I now believe that I know the location of the grave within a few hundred feet. My next step is to find someone with ground penetrating radar or other grave locating equipment to see if we can pinpoint the location. Once we have the grave located, I plan to erect a permanent marker so that future generations can visit the grave site and it will never be lost again.
If you know anyone who might have equipment or expertise for grave location and who would be willing to assist in this search, please contact me at jimthurman@att.net.
In the photograph below, Old John's Field is the rectangle in the lower left of the screen.
This is a close-up of the upper right corner of the field with the approximate gravesite is marked with an x.
You are the
visitor to this page.