One of the benefits of my job, at least as I see it, is being able to spend time in some of the most beautiful cemeteries in the South. There are not many cemeteries that I’ve not visited and photographed.

One of the frustrating things about working in cemeteries is finding the names of men who are of the right age to be in the war, but not being able to match those people to anyone from the area. Following the war, tens of thousands of Southern families picked up what was left of their lives and moved on. Sometimes those moves were just over the county line. More often than not, these families moved out west, to Texas, Oklahoma, Washington and Oregon.

When working in local cemeteries, I often jot down all of the names of men who have dates between 1820 and 1850. Below are the men from the Montezuma Cemetery in Avery County. This is one of the oldest cemeteries in the area, and is somewhat connected to my church, even though it is a community cemetery. Here are the names with the dates and regiment when I am somewhat certain.

Anderson, Enoch 14 Jan. 1844 - 8 Apr. 1900 Co. K, 37th NCT
Banner, Columbus B 1840-1931 4th TN (US)
Blalock, William M. "Keith" 21 Nov. 1837-18 Jul. 1913 26th NCT/10th Mich. Cav. (US)
Blalock, Sarah M. "Sam" 26th NCT
Carpenter, John C. 13 Jul. 1846-13 May 1931
Clifton, Samuel 14 Jan. 1843 - 11 Jan. 1922 (1st NCST ?)
Forbes, Abraham 13 Jun. 1846-
Franklin, John 14 Jan. 1817 - 1 Feb. 1900 Co. B, 6th NC Cav.
Harris, Rev. William J. 8 Aug. 1839-31 Oct. 1911 (Co. D., 44th NCT ?)
Luttrell, E. M. 4 Feb. 1847 - 3 Jan. 1929 Co. H, 13th Tenn. Cav.
Matney, Rev. Arthur R. 1 Nov. 1821 - 10 Apr. 1892
Matney, Rev. Thomas W. 1 Dec. 1829 - 23 Dec. 1892 Co. I, 26th NCT
Rash, James B. 13 Oct. 1845-1 Oct. 1912 26th NCT
Teague, William 15 Sept. 1818 - 18 Feb. 1894
Key, Thomas W. 1821-1892
Rominger, J. H. 1843-1898