On 5 Apr 1998 the cemetery site was visited with Frank Peckinpaugh, who owned the land on which is located the oldest cemetery known of the Harpen Creek Watson's. We learned that a previous landowner had pushed down the tombstones and buried them several years ago. Mr. Peckinpaugh said that he had found some tombstones buried in his pasture and had put them along the fence near the graves. He gave us permission to visit and look for the old tombstones and showed us about where the graveyard was.

We found the old cemetery on top of a hill overlooking much of the farm and surrounding area. It is located on a high ridge in a pasture (2014 grain) field Northeast of Harpen Creek to the west of Highway 786. The bases of four tombstones are visible, in a north-south line. Groundhogs are burrowing in the graves. One stone placed under the fence by Mr. Peckinpaugh was still readable. It was: "Mrs. Nancy Watson, born 1806, died Sept. 2, 1882." Another one had been broken into pieces but Apr 1861 could be read. We believe this was the tombstone of John A. Watson.

There is good reason to believe that Mrs. Henson Overbey, a Watson descendant, who researched the family genealogy more than 50 years, ago visited this cemetery before it was "pushed off." In her notes we found five names of people who were said to have been buried there. Also, there were birth and death dates, which we have not been able to locate anywhere else. Tombstones would have been the probable source of this information.

The names and dates we believe were obtained by Mrs. Overbey from the old Watson cemetery near Harpen Creek are as follows:
Abisha Watson Sr., born 14 Apr 1769, died 26 June 1827
Sally Watson (his wife), born 12 Sept 1778, died 17 Mar 1854
Joab Watson (their son), born 24 Aug 1805, died 22 Dec 1871
Nancy Watson (Joab's wife), born 1806, died 2 Sept 1882
John A. Watson (son of Abisha & Sally), born 15 Mar 1815, died 23 Apr 1861

There were, more than likely, other graves at this site, but many graves in those days were marked only with field stones.