By: Peter J. Gossett

Kaeiser Cemetery is located about four miles off of County Road 29 or Rocky Plains Road on County Road 3635. Dr. Kaeiser was possibly the first person buried there. Today, there are two marked graves in the cemetery: Dr. Kaeiser (spelled Kaiser) and Nancy Martin. Nancy Emmaline (Hyde) Martin was born on September 13, 1862 and died on April 7, 1898. At one time, there was a tree growing on Dr. Kaeiser's grave; it is gone today, but the tree marks can still be seen. The Kaeiser home place is located so many feet from the cemetery; past the cemetery, there is a hill. When down the hill, there is a flat place where his house used to be. Remnants may still be there.

The cause of Nancy Martin's death was the birth of a child that was born on March 31, 1898 and died on April 3, 1898. This infant son's name was William Martin. Nancy's husband, Francis Marion Martin, buried the infant here against Nancy's wishes. She wanted the child to be buried at Enon Cemetery (then Pleasant Hill No. 1). When Nancy died, he buried her here as well. Francis also has a brother, Joseph, (born about 1862) buried here according to FamilySearch. These two graves are the first to be seen from the entrance of the cemetery. There are about twelve unmarked graves in the cemetery with nothing but rocks as tombstones and few rocks at that. Dr. Kaeiser's infant daughter, Elizabeth is buried in this cemetery as well. Some of Dr. Kaeiser's slaves are said to be buried here too.

Joe Martin was four years old when his mother, Nancy, died. She had a little boy, William, and he lived four days. They lived just below old Enon, and she wanted Francis to take him and bury him there; that's where she wanted to buried too. He wouldn't do this, and he took the baby to Kaeiser Bottoms and buried him there. Four days later, she died. He carried her over there too. Joe said that all of us was sitting on a flat bedded wagon with our feet hanging off, and Nancy was in the middle of the wagon in the coffin. They came to Brown's Creek, and the bridge was overflowed. They ran the mules in the creek to get across; Joe said that they all got as close to the casket as they could to prevent them from getting their feet wet. The oldest ones got their feet wet, because they were hanging them over the edge of the wagon. Joe always said he never would forget it.

The Kaeiser Cemetery

Dr. Andrew Kaeiser and daughter Elizabeths' Graves

William Martin's Grave

Nancy Martin's Grave

Kaeiser Cemetery in 1948