Carver Cemetery, George Washington Carver National Monument, Diamond, MO

Carver Cemetery is a small family cemetery established around 1839 on land once owned by Moses Carver, the enslaver and later adoptive guardian of George Washington Carver.

Moses’ homestead in Diamond, Missouri, also sometimes called Diamond Plantation, the place where George was raised until he was about eleven years old, was dedicated as the George Washington Carver National Monument in 1953.

The cemetery is part of the National Monument and can be found along the three-quarter mile walking path situated within the 240-acre site. The path begins behind the visitors center, at the talking statue of George Washington Carver, and takes you by the cemetery and the Carver house where George was raised.

The cemetery is just a few hundred yards down the path, and about five hundred yards from the Carver home and other buildings that George spent time in and around as a boy.

The cemetery and slave cabin are not marked on this 1882 map that shows Moses Carver’s land in Newton County, Missouri. Note the “Carver Branch” creek that runs through the property. Source

While this cemetery is a National Monument that honors George Washington Carver, he is not buried here, and neither is his older brother James who died in 1883 (he is buried in Seneca, Missouri). The known burials here are family and neighbors of Moses and Susan Carver, not blood relatives of George Washington Carver.

Carver Cemetery has been well maintained after its restoration in the 1950s. Most of the gravestones here have their original footstones, and no gravestone is laying down. The stone wall that surrounds the cemetery was originally built by Moses, and was included in the restoration project.

Most of the gravestones have a similar look and design, suggesting perhaps the same carver, or maybe just a desire by Moses for his cemetery to have a somewhat uniform look. There were just four burials here after Moses died, with the last burial occurring in 1919.

Burials at Carver Cemetery

Charity Dunn

The oldest death date on a gravestone here is for Charity Dunn, believed to be the mother-in-law of Moses’ half-brother named George (not Washington Carver, just Carver). It’s not clear if she’s actually buried here or if this was later placed as a memorial and cenotaph.

“It is also possible that one or two of the Carver brothers, accompanied by Charity Dunn, George Carver’s mother-in-law, made expeditions into Missouri as early as 1835 to locate suitable land before the main contingent of family members and children relocated en masse.” Source

Moses and Susan Carver

Susan Blue was born in Ohio in 1814 to Charity Kiser and Uriah Blue. She married Moses Carver in Sangamon, Illinois in 1834. Susan bore no known children of her own, and was said to have raised George Washington Carver and his brother James as her own, teaching little George how to sew, wash, and perform other household duties. It’s also claimed that she counseled James that “he could turn white ‘if he worked hard and sweated.’”

“Old Aunt Susie” died at age 87 from “the grip,” or the flu, which had taken over the area in the winter of 1891-1892.

“I have no longer here to stay; Oh come and follow me away”

Moses Carver was born in Montgomery County, Ohio to Mary Ziegler and Christian Carver. He later came to Sangamon, Illinois where he met and married Susan and became “a friend of Abraham Lincoln.” Moses purchased George Washington Carver’s mother, Mary, as a slave for $700 in 1855. Mary bore two children while living with the Carvers, and she and her baby George were later kidnapped by border ruffians who allegedly wanted Moses’ gold. They didn’t get it, and Moses ultimately paid a hefty sum ($300) for George’s return, but Mary was never found.

When Susan died, “Uncle Mose” was said to be “very sick and not expected to live.” But he did live for another eighteen years. He married again to a woman named Elizabeth Love in 1897, but she abandoned him by 1900. Moses filed for divorce, but later dismissed the suit because the thought of “making his troubles public made him nervous.” Elizabeth died four years after the attempted divorce in 1904 and Moses died a widower at age 98 in 1910.

“Friends and strangers as you pass by, As you are now so once was I, As I am now so you will be, Prepare for death and follow me”

Moses and Susan’s gravestones have no visible maker’s marks to indicate who the carver was.

Other Carvers

Richard Sanford Carver was the brother of Moses Carver, born in 1804 in Ohio. Richard came to Kansas with his brother and died here.

“Gone but not forgotten”

Richard’s daughter Rebecca married a McGinnis and several of her children are buried here, but she is not.

FLT stands for Friendship, Love, Truth and indicates Richard was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, or the “Triple Link Fraternity.”

Elmira was one of Richard Carver’s daughters.

“Budded on earth to bloom in heaven.”

George Carver (not that one) was also the brother of Moses Carver. Moses and Susan Carver unofficially adopted George’s children after he died in 1839.

George’s son Albert Carver left Diamond Plantation in 1845 and went to Texas with other Carvers to homestead there. Albert has a cemetery named after him in Texas that is a historic landmark.

Some people assume that Elizabeth Carver was the daughter of Moses and Susan, but she isn’t, though she is related. She could be one of George or Richard’s children, but I wasn’t able to definitively place her like others feel they have.

“I have loved thee on earth; May I meet thee in heaven.”

Rachel Carver is probably another child of Richard, George, or another brother or relative of Moses.

“Sleep on dear Rachel and take thy rest!”

Malinda Carver, another child, probably of Richard, George, or another brother or relative of Moses.

The children’s gravestones were expertly carved and match the others in size in and style.

“Her record is on high”

I wasn’t able to figure out who Brenager Carver was. There isn’t an age or birth date on the stone, and Brenager is typically a surname, not a first name.

Brenager had a relationship to Moses, either by blood or close friendship. His or her gravestone was erected by Moses.

Richard Davis

Richard Davis has a gravestone that is identical to Rachel and Malinda Carver’s in size and in style. All three have the same carving of a lamb, same lettering and fonts, with a brief epitaph at the end. Richard was probably the grandchild of one of Moses’ brothers, perhaps a grandson of the elder Richard.

“Budded on earth to bloom in heaven.”

William and Sarah Williams

William Williams and his wife Sarah were the last to be buried at Carver Cemetery. Their gravestones are right next to Moses and Susan’s. Carver Branch Creek is currently called Williams Branch Creek, and Williams Spring is also located on the National Monument property.

Moses and Susan had no biological children, but they adopted their niece Sarah after Moses’ brother George died in 1839. Sarah Jane Carver appears by name with them on the 1850 census in their household. Her death certificate says she died of unknown causes “without medical attention,” but lists arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) as a secondary cause. Sarah and William’s gravestones are the only flat granite stones here.

There’s also a half-day old premature baby buried here in an unmarked grave who was born to Sarah and William’s granddaughter, 23-year-old Florence Williams, and an unnamed father.

McGinnis Children

Emma McGinnis was the daughter of Rebecca Jane Carver and Matthew McGinnis. Rebecca was Richard Carver’s daughter, so Emma was the great niece of Moses.

Rebecca and her husband buried several children here, including their two-year-old daughter Marva.

“Sleep on sweet babe and take thy rest.”

Their five-year-old son Willis died within six months of his sister.

“Gone but not forgotten”

Their two-year-old daughter Flora died the following year.

“Budded on earth to bloom in heaven”

Brown Girls

Despite my efforts, I couldn’t determine who B. B. and S. J. Brown were, but they buried two of their children here, including Virginia who was just 26 hours old when she died.

“Sleep on sweet babe”

Virginia has the only gravestone in the cemetery with a maker’s mark, and could be a clue to solving who carved the others. J.A. Stephenson died in 1887, so he carved this gravestone, and potentially others in this cemetery, prior to that date.

Addie Lena Brown’s gravestone differs in style and design from most of the others in the cemetery. She died in 1883 at just over a year old. The girls’ parents moved away from Newton County for Southern California in 1886.

Jack and Elizabeth Ellis

Jack and Elizabeth Ellis were neighbors of the Carvers. Elizbeth’s gravestone is similar in style to most of the others here, but hers is carved from granite.

“Since thou can no longer stay To cheer us with thy love We hope to meet with thee again In yon bright world above.”

Her husband Jack’s grave is only marked with a fieldstone. Moses’ second wife Elizabeth Love was a sister of Jack Ellis.

Fieldstones

There are a number of fieldstones at this cemetery with no clear identifiable details.

One of them could mark the resting place of Lloyd King, an infant who died in 1917.

Even though some people say that Moses and Susan Carver “didn’t believe in slavery,” they purchased George’s mother at an auction, so they definitely believed in it. They may have owned other slaves, or their neighbors may have owned slaves, so it’s possible that some of them were buried here.