Welcome to
Search the cemetery records and explore the history of the grounds.
Search by name to find people recorded in Third Creek Presbyterian Church Cemetery. Available records may include a name, birth and death information, and the cemetery Row and Plot associated with the burial.
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The searchable records are based on the cemetery's historical index and reviewed source material. Where the historical record is incomplete or uncertain, that uncertainty is preserved rather than replaced with speculation.
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About the cemetery
Third Creek Presbyterian Church Cemetery has served generations of families in the Third Creek community.
The cemetery was already in existence by 1792. When Samuel Young conveyed land to the Third Creek congregation on May 4 of that year, the deed referred to an existing graveyard, meeting house, and session house. Historical research into the cemetery indicates that several known early burial sites were already present around the old log meeting house at that time.
One of the most important things to understand about Third Creek Cemetery is that an apparently empty space does not necessarily mean that no one is buried there. Historical records indicate that the older portions of the cemetery contain unmarked graves whose identities may no longer be known.
This cemetery is therefore more than a collection of visible headstones. It is a historical record of a community stretching back more than two centuries.
Cemetery history
The cemetery grew alongside the congregation and the surrounding community.
The original cemetery and church property were associated with land belonging to Samuel Young and his descendants. As the congregation grew, additional property was acquired during the nineteenth century, including additions in 1817, 1825, 1834, 1841, 1846, and 1887. By the end of that period, the Third Creek property described in the cemetery history totaled approximately 18.151 acres.
The cemetery itself expanded in stages. Row 2 began to be used for burials during the 1830s. As burial activity increased, particularly by the Civil War era, the cemetery continued to expand. In 1870, the section identified as Rows 30 through 47, outside the old stone wall, was opened as the earlier cemetery filled. Another section separated by the access road was opened around 1900, and Row 1 was opened during the 1920s.
Many spaces in the older cemetery probably contain unmarked graves of people whose identities are no longer known. Historical accounts also indicate that some stones may have been moved or adjusted at different times as cemetery rows were organized. The absence or present position of a marker does not always tell the complete story of a burial.
The 1792 deed refers to a graveyard, log meeting house, and session house. Their exact locations are not all known today, in part because of the presence of old unmarked graves.
There is also a longstanding tradition concerning a possible preaching stand or pulpit near the grave of the Rev. Kilpatrick. Kilpatrick reportedly requested burial on the north side of the pulpit, although the surviving record does not establish with certainty which early preaching location was meant. The area remains an interesting part of Third Creek's cemetery history, but its precise interpretation is unresolved.
Visitor guidance
Use the cemetery record and map together to locate a grave. No app download is required.
Enter a name in the cemetery search and select the matching person from the results.
Review the person's name, dates, and recorded cemetery Row and Plot.
The map will highlight the Row and Plot associated with the burial. Use the map together with the cemetery's physical row markers and nearby landmarks to walk to the recorded location.
Third Creek is a historic cemetery, and some burial locations are more certain than others. Unmarked graves, shared markers, and changes made over generations can affect how precisely a location can be identified. When the historical record is uncertain, the site will say so rather than present an estimate as fact.
Our purpose
This project was created to help preserve the history of Third Creek Presbyterian Church Cemetery and make its records easier for families, descendants, researchers, and visitors to use.
Historical cemetery records are rarely perfect. Names may have been spelled differently, dates may be incomplete, stones may have disappeared, and some burials may never have been marked at all. Rather than erase those uncertainties, this project seeks to preserve what the historical record actually tells us.
By bringing together the cemetery index, historical documents, and cemetery map in one place, we hope to help future generations not only find those who came before them, but also better understand the community they were part of.
Preserve the record. Respect the history. Keep the names from being forgotten.