Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection open for research.

Use Restrictions

No physical characteristics affect use of this material.

Preferred Citation

Goose Creek Burying Ground Collection, 1957, 2013, undated (M 088) Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, VA.

Acquisition Information

Joshua Willis, Ashburn, VA

Alternative Form Available

Spreadsheet created using Excel 2010

Accruals

2013.0097

Processing Information

Elizabeth E. Preston, 7 August 2013

Historical Information

Members of Fairfax Monthly Meeting of the Society of Friends (Quakers) began meeting to worship in Goose Creek (near what is now Lincoln) in 1745. The meetings were initially held in private homes and were only convened during the winter months. A year-round meeting was established in 1749. In 1754, a log meetinghouse was erected on land donated by Isaac Nichols (1720-1803). The meeting grew quickly and split from Fairfax Monthly Meeting to form Goose Creek Monthly Meeting in 1785. To accommodate the growing meeting the meetinghouse was enlarged in 1792, and in 1817 construction began on a new brick meetinghouse. This meetinghouse is still used today. Goose Creek Monthly Meeting also continues to use the burying ground, called Goose Creek Burying Ground. The first dated burial there is from 1784, though there are unmarked and undated graves, and the oldest grave could be slightly older.

Fairfax Monthly Meeting also established another meeting in the area in 1745, South Fork Meeting, near what is now Unison. By 1771, the meeting had acquired ten acres of land and constructed a meeting house. Originally part of Fairfax Monthly Meeting, it was attached to Goose Creek in 1785. South Fork Meeting was not as successful as Goose Creek, however, and it was discontinued in 1836 due to lack of discipline and low attendance. South Fork Meeting had established its own burial ground, and its first dated grave is from 1792. Though the meeting had long since ceased and the meeting house was abandoned, burials there continued until 1932. The burial ground is in ruins today, and some of the grave markers are overturned or illegible.

After it was discontinued, the records of South Fork Meeting were transferred to Goose Creek Monthly Meeting. The burial records of the Goose Creek Burying Ground and South Fork Meeting are kept by the clerks of the Burying Grounds Committee. The committee maintains a list of interments.

Scope and Content

Joshua Willis, an Eagle Scout candidate in the Boy Scouts of America, chose to survey the Goose Creek Burying Ground as part of his Eagle Scout project in the summer of 2013. He, along with his parents and several volunteers, recorded the information from each grave marker and entered the data into a spreadsheet. This collection includes a printout of the spreadsheet created by Willis as well as an electronic version on CD. The printout is in alphabetical order by surname to facilitate searching, while the electronic version maintains the order of entry by Willis. As part preparation for the project, Willis obtained photocopies of the burial lists for Goose Creek and South Fork used by the Burying Grounds Committee. These photocopies are also included in the collection.

Arrangement

Folder

Related Material

Loudoun County, VA Cemetery Records, 1990-2004 (M 017), Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, VA; Preservation Society of Loudoun County Cemetery Committee Records, 1936-1990 (M 006), Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, VA; Rough Minutes of Goose Creek Monthly Meeting, 1802-1849 (M 086), Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, VA

Adjunct Descriptive Data

Bibliography

Hiatt, Marty. Early Church Records of Loudoun County, Virginia: 1745-1800 . Westminster, Md.: Family Line Publications, c1995.

Hinshaw, William Wade. Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy . Ann Arbor, Mich.: Edwards Brothers, Inc., 1936-1950.

Janney, Asa Moore and Werner. Ye Meetg Hous Smal: A Short Account of Friends in Loudoun County, Virginia, 1732-1980 . Lincoln, VA: the author, 1980.

Goose Creek Burying Ground Collection, 1957, 2013, undated (M 088), Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, VA.

"Goose Creek Committees." http://goosecreekfriends.pbworks.com/w/page/15028491/Goose%20Creek%20Committees (accessed 7 August 2013).

Loudoun County, VA Cemetery Collection, 1990-2004 (M 017), Thomas Balch Library, Leeburg, VA.

Preservation Society of Loudoun County Cemetery Committee Records, 1936-1990 (M 006), Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, VA.

Technical Requirements

Computer with disc drive