Cornelius Graveyard

Travel Directions: Take Hwy. 145(Old US 72) north, turn right on Hwy. 2, and continue on Highway 2 when it turns north. About ½ miles from this point, the graveyard is in the woods to the northeast. Permission must be obtained from landowner to find and explore the graveyard. Not accessible by automobile.


BACKGROUND: This graveyard had not previously been surveyed and was not known at the time of the organization of this update of the cemetery records for Alcorn Co., MS.
On what was reportedly a one thousand acre tract of land originally settled by the Cornelius family, this graveyard probably contains only Cornelius family members. The cemetery, like many others, has been vandalized, and reportedly many of the tombstones have fallen or been pushed over and are now covered by many seasons of mulch. Luckily, one such stone, discovered broken but together, and left lying flat, is probably that of the original Cornelius patriarch. The first initial was unclear, but the top of it was visible and appeared to be “A”. Thus, the record of A. E. Cornelius’ burial is recorded here in.
There are a dozen or more sunken areas, several in pairs which are almost certainly gravesites, but a cursory search did not turn up any tombstones. Mr. Karl Tucker, who owned the land for many years and was present at the last interment in 1937, and built a hog wire fence (still present but fallen down) around the graves of Ira & Nancy Cornelius, indicated that the other graves had long been unidentifiable.
By the ages shown, it appears that A. E. Cornelius was the grandfather of C. C. Cornelius and Civil War Veteran Ira Ellis Cornelius, and that C. C. and Ira were brothers. Although the grave of the wife of C. C. Cornelius was found marked, alongside that of their six year old daughter Alma, the grave of C. C. Cornelius himself was not found. By the age of C. C. ‘s wife Mary, C. C. himself nay have been to young for the service of the Civil War. Ira was only 15 years old at the beginning of the war.

Cornelius, A. E.
04/17/1786
03/26/1862

Cornelius, Alma L.
Daughter of C. C. & M. A. Cornelius
01/23/1877
11/23/1883

Cornelius, Ira Ellis
Husband of Nancy Emily Cornelius
12/14/1846
09/07/1933
Confederate marker attests his service in
Co F, Stewarts Calvary, C.S.A.

Cornelius, Mary A.
Wife of C. C. Cornelius
12/26/1855
04/11/1887

Cornelius, Nancy Emily
Wife of Ira Ellis Cornelius
07/31/1857
03/20/1937
(This was the last burial in this graveyard.