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mcc-jrr_893-030
Lynch Cemetery, 89-3 Summary Report, page 30
married Ephraim (“Ephram”) Lynch and lived in the same area, with residents as listed on page 134-A of the 1880 census. Caroline married Ephraim 10 May, 1879, according to the Madison County Records Center web page listings. However, if she was a daughter of James Timmons who was listed in the 1870 census with wife Priscilla, she was not listed in that household at age 8. Still, that would not necessarily be unusual, as many times children were “farmed out” with relatives, especially to help older family members to continue to live in their own houses. At least the ages match pretty well for Caroline to be a daughter of the James Timmons who bought the land. There was another James Timmons shown in the 1880 census at age 26 on page 25 of this report. It is quite likely that this James was the same as the younger James shown in 1870 in the household of the James Timmons who was born in Africa and was listed at age 75 then. The 1880 census also listed both Elisha and Felix Joiner (page 24 of this report), now heading nearby but separate households, as compared to 1870 when Felix was given as a son in the household of Elisha. Felix Joiner is additionally mentioned in the Summary Report for the Horton - Joiner Cemetery (87-1). It is possible that he is buried in either that cemetery or this one, but his father Elisha is almost certainly buried in the Lynch Cemetery on the land that he co-owned. An interesting point of speculation is the presence of an aunt “Julie Timmons” in the household of Elisha Joiner per the 1880 census (page 24 of this report). Comparing to the 1870 census page, it can be seen that Julia Timmons was head of her own household, enumerated as living next door to James Timmons, who was co-owner of the cemetery land for the Lynch Cemetery. Considering that Julia had in 1870 a girl at age 8 named Caroline Timmons living with her as the only other occupant of the house, it can be pretty safely assumed that Caroline Timmons was the same one who married Ephraim Lynch in 1879 and is found on page 19 of this report in his household. This strongly ties the family of the James Timmons who co-owned the land with the Lynch family name and offers further likelihood that Ephraim Lynch is buried in the cemetery. Thereby, the cemetery probably derived its name. However, since it was originally under the ownership of black families by the name of Joiner and Timmons, it may be more appropriate to call it the Joiner -Timmons Cemetery. Even Julia Timmons and the James Timmons (age 75, born in Africa, per the 1870 census listing shown on page 12 of this Summary Report) are most likely buried in this cemetery, which should reflect their names as ancestors of the original black owners. 30 - (3145)