This is Oak Grove Cemetery, an African-American cemetery located off County Road 40, in the NW section of Conecuh County, near the home of Curtis Grace, out by the old county lake. It's an old black cemetery; however, it sounds like it might have been on land previously owned by either the Yates or possibly the Churchill Jones that has been in the Written in Stone columns articles -- if that's the case, it might really predate quite a few cemeteries around in the Owassa/Gravella area. Currently older citizens are being interviewed who have first hand knowledge of those who lie n many of the unmarked graves, and their relationships to the families interred in this historic cemetery.

    One of the earliest families include a Purifoy, who was a boot maker from Maryland, perhaps came out of GA with his slave master and ended up being a most influential citizen of this early community named Oak Grove. With him, another gentleman, named Maxwell, another shoe cobbler of Georgia and established a school and church, leaving a legacy of his life in the community. The names of Purifoy, Grace, Hessell, Maxwell, Crosby and Kyser can all be found in this cemetery.

    The community eventually blended in with Milledgeville, which also probably had its' roots in Milledgeville GA. In researching the Purifoy name so far, the names of the post offices/precincts where you find the families, have come up with "Oak" as part of the name, whether it's "Oakland", "Oak Hill ", or "Oak Grove".