Reports of a cemetery adjacent to the church site prompted the Elk Run Church Site Preservation Committee's interest, although no physical evidence was available to support these claims. Guided by the premise that a colonial church would possess an attached burying ground, deed research and interviews with local residents were undertaken. A deed and survey of adjacent property filed on September 15, 1942, in the Fauquier County Courthouse cited the adjacency of "the old cemetery lot" and added documentation and credibility to the premise. 

In August, 2000, the Committee received permission from William and Jacqueline Patton to search for the Church Cemetery on their adjoining property. 

This search began in December, 2000 by using a backhoe with a smooth blade to dig shallow parallel trenches down to the subsoil to expose any possible graves. The results of this process yielded  five areas where the soil changed, indicating possible burials. After careful excavation of one of the most likely spots, a burial was indeed discovered. The grave site and skeletal remains were facing east in the manner of Anglican burials during the 18th century. The find was duly recorded, registered and claimed as a burial. 

The following spring and summer months in 2001 were filled with multiple testing methodologies to further assist in locating possible burials.  In June, July and August 2001, Petrone & Associates utilized remote sensing technology to define the  church cemetery boundaries, possible positions of burials within the cemetery, and areas that might have further archaeological significance. The Reverend James Keith, first minister of Hamilton Parish, is allegedly buried beneath the altar of the church, although no evidence has been found thus far.   

Are Your Ancestors Buried at Elk Run? 

It is now a necessary task to thoroughly investigate who may have been buried in the Elk Run Church cemetery during the approximate years of 1745 to 1816 or earlier. It can be accurately assumed that only the more privileged or wealthier families were entitled to this final resting place in the very early days - the less affluent probably buried within their own land boundaries. 

The list that follows presents the names of the men who are presumed to be members of the first vestry of Hamilton Parish, 1748/9, (although there is no primary evidence to support all the names listed).

• John Bell

• William Blackwell 

• Benjamin Bullitt 

• John Copedge 

• John Crump 

• William Ellzey 

• William Eustace 

• John Frogg 

• Joseph Hudnall 

• William Rousau 

• Timothy Thornton 

• John Wright 

Other names mentioned in the Prince William County Court Records: 

• Bradford 

• Churchill 

• Darnall 

• Eldridge 

• George 

• Gilson 

• Lewis 

• Young 

The list of vestrymen for Hamilton Parish in 1757 consisted of the following: 

• Joseph Blackwell 

• Elias Edmonds 

• George Nevill 

• William Blackwell 

• Richard Hampton 

• Wharton Randsdell 

• Benjamin Bullitt 

• Joseph Hudnall 

• William Rousau 

• George Crump 

• John James 

• John Wright 

Co-existing in Hamilton Parish with the Elk Run Church was St. Mary's Church (better known as the Turkey Run Church) located about 1.25 miles south of what was to become Warrenton. Turkey Run Church was also built in the 1750s (abandoned about 1816) to accommodate the growing crossroads settlement and the ministers of Hamilton Parish were obliged to serve both churches. Old documentation discovered during the 20th century has revealed 81 known burials in the Turkey Run church cemetery. Many of the communicants from Elk Run Church had moved North by that time and they and their future generations are likely to have been buried at Turkey Run instead of Elk Run. 

Are you descended from any of the gentlemen on the lists, or any other individuals known to have lived and died in Hamilton Parish, 1745-1816 or earlier? 

Do you know whether they were buried either at Elk Run or at Turkey Run? 

Do you possess records, Bibles, letters, deeds or genealogies that could furnish even a hint about their final resting-places? 

We want to hear from you! 

Please contact Todd Bonshire at monroepark@fauquiercounty.gov or 540-422-8170.