CATAWBA COUNTY GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY ACCEPTS DEED TO HISTORIC CEMETERY
A recent accomplishment of the Catawba County Genealogical Society was to accept the deed to the historic HUFFMAN-SEABOCH Family cemetery near Falling Creek in northeast Hickory, a gift from Hickory developer George L. Henson of Select Homes. Members of the society received permission in the summer of 1986 to clean and restore the cemetery after the society's Cemetery Committee chairperson, Mrs. Earl (Cassie) Deal, contacted the former owner, Mrs. Thelma Ollis of Washington, N.C. Meanwhile it was sold, along with the surrounding property, to the real estate development firm. When bulldozers began clearing the surrounding property, Mr. Henson was contacted about the society's preservation efforts and he too granted permission for the work to continue.
Boy Scout Troop 300, its leader William Faulkner, and members of the society worked long and hard to clear out the heavy growth of weeds, bushes and vines. Trustees for the cemetery are Cassie Deal; her husband, Earl Deal? James Miller, society president; and society members, William Byrd III and Kevin Isenhour.
Many years of neglect have taken their toll on the cemetery: many of the tombstones are broken, many others were moved from their original location and stacked in a pile near the road, and others are probably buried. The oldest tombstone found was under six inches of dirt. That was the stone of Martin Hoffman Sr., who died Oct. 1, 1822 at the age of "87 y, 6m lacking 3 day". Martin was born in Germany in 1735 and emigrated to America with his parents in 1749, according to a family history published in 1937 by Max Ellis Hoffman of Asheville, N.C. The book says Martin Hoffman's wife, Barbara, died the same year and was buried by his side, but her stone has not yet been found by the society. Martin moved with his parents to the Clark's Creek area in 1765 and in 1807 sold the land he aquired near his fathe and moved to the Falling Creek section. Buried in the cemetery also is Martin Huffman, Jr. (no date on stone) and his wife, Betty Hawn, for whom no stone has yet been found.
The real estate developer was delighted with the society's preservation efforts. During a conversation with the society president, Mr. Henson volunteered to donate the lot containing the cemetery to the society, which surprised and overjoyed the cemetery committee. The deed has since been registered in the Register of Deeds Office in Newton, N.C. There is still much more work that needs to be done in the preservation efforts. Cassie Deal has been in touch with Mr. Mitch Wildner of the Restoration Department of the N. C. Department of Archives and History. Mr. Wildner has. offered guidance for the society. The first priority is the repair and/or replacement of the broken tombstones. There are two, those of Martin Hoffman, Sr. and Tobitha Seaboch, which are broken so badly that they will have to be replaced. Wycoff Monuments of Statesville, N.C., has estimated that each of these stones will cost about $250 per stone in order to make them exactly like the original. The society wishes to replace these as scon as possible. The idea is to preserve the original stones after replacement for future study. After all the graves are located the society plans to landscape, fence and place a historical marker in the cemetery. Presently the grass is kept cut by society members, especially by Earl Deal and his son, Mike.
A fund has been established for the preservation of the Hof fman-Seaboch cemetery for those descendants and/or others who are interested in making contributioi As the society is a tax-exempt organization, all donations to it are tax-deductible. Those wishing to make a contribution should make their check payable to the Catawba County Genealogical Society. BE SURE TO MARK ON THE CHECK THAT IT IS FOR THE "HDFFMAN-SEABOCH CEMETERY FUND". Mail to the society at P. O. Box 2406, Hickory, N.C. 28603.
Catawba Cousins - CCGS Vol. 2 # 2 October 1987