Miss April Boggan of Florence, Mississippi on Friday, September 25, 2026 in regards to the burial location of her Revolutionary War Soldier Ancestor, Patrick Boggan of Anson County. She mentions my name in the last paragraph.
Posted on Anson County Historical Society Facebook Group, by Miss April Boggan of Florence, Mississippi on Friday, September 25, 2026 in regards to the burial location of her Revolutionary War Soldier Ancestor, Patrick Boggan of Anson County. She mentions my name in the last paragraph.
So, I (April Boggan) have decided to do this in two parts. And by “this”, I mean my forward motion in my family historical research. I’m at a unique advantage because I love creating stories. I love taking broken or fragmented puzzle pieces and making them into a beautiful completed puzzle. A lot of the family is just looking for answers to the age-old question, “what really happened when the Boggan family came over on the boat to the new world for a better life?” Lots of questions will never get a definitive answer. But that doesn’t stop me from providing with not only the accuracy the family deserves but also in order to set the record straight once and for all. So, I intend on gathering together my compiled information including deed entries, court minutes, and everything in between and publishing a compilation (yes, it will include information on the current whereabouts of Slaughter Hill Cemetery) but I also intend on publishing the story. The beauty of historical fiction is the second word. Fiction. It doesn’t have to be verbatim exactly what happened. We won’t ever know verbatim what exactly happened unless someone got a Time Machine for us to go back to the mid-18th century and witness events with our own eyes. But I’ll tell you what. It’s gonna be one heck of a story when it is done. And when it is done, it’s going to be epic. Because with every stone I unturn and with every idea that pops in my head, the story just keeps getting better and better.
As to the location of the cemetery? I haven’t been down the path I’ve pictured in this post. But its location is right next to Coffee Pot Road. Now, I have Anson County Historical Society to thank for the clue to this location. Because in December (I think) of 2024, a post was made indicating that the late Mr. Dunlap made reference to the final resting place of Patrick Boggan, but never took that person down to the actual location. However, clues were present in the post. Clues I caught on to rather quickly. Mr. Dunlap pointed down Coffee Pot Road and stated he was buried about 400 yards down Coffee Pot Road (I will never get tired of typing the name of that street. It’s just too good). And the lovely ladies of the DAR way on back in the 1930’s had originally erected a marker to his grave on that very stretch of what is now Avery Road near Hopewell Baptist and Peaches and Cream. When the highway went to 4-lane in the 50’s, that very stretch of road where the marker originally stood remained. Because it connected Coffee Pot Road and I can imagine the headache of extending Coffee Pot Road up to the newly 4-laned highway. But for some reason, the decision was made to move the marker to the Historical Society. Sadly, this is officially when the location of the cemetery became lost. But here’s my thing:
Just because the marker no longer stands in its spot doesn’t necessarily mean the subtle signs aren’t still there. There is a path just to the east of Coffee Pot Road and Gould’s Fork. And it’s quite distinctive. It’s a raised path which may very well have been raised more in recent years to accommodate the log trucks that now use it as a path to get on up the hill to the tippy top. But what they did was they made another path on that path that leads to their spot they use to load up the log trucks. But guess what? What if that path also led elsewhere? Liiiiiike a cemetery, maybe?
So, full disclosure, I haven’t taken this path yet. But I took a picture of it. It leads into the woods and curves wide leading up to a line of different trees than the surrounding pine. This is where the industrial folks chose a different path to continue up the hill. And that’s understandable. Go back towards Gould’s Fork and it’ll become unstable, the ground will. Not good for heavy Mack trucks with logs attached. They’d go swimming in the Fork. And not voluntarily.
But this different tree canopy goes in almost a perfect straight line. I believe there’s a straight-line path that perhaps has overgrown in the years no one has gone down it. But coming to that tree line, I believe if one was to hang a right and head in a western direction, eventually one will run into the creek. But if one was to stop near where Gould’s Fork is and looked to their left in a southern direction, I believe they’d see a little clearing. And in that little clearing, if one was to do a bit of poking and prodding perhaps with something that could poke in the ground and feel for something that may have been buried underneath God’s beautiful earth, they may uncover a surprise. Three surprises, actually. Elements have a way of hiding history. Stones that may have once been there could’ve fallen and been soaked up by the soft ground. No one would’ve noticed. No one would’ve thought much about it. Time moved forward. And I thank my lucky stars no one has thought to destroy that area. It’s remained relatively untouched.
My trip is nearing an end and I definitely believe I found what I was looking for. No, I didn’t go up this path to the area because the land is owned and I’m not wanting trouble by way of trespassing on private property and being shot at. Or have the cops called on me. But I believe in my gut that something is there. Now is the time to be making phone calls or sending emails to figure out proper channels to launch a probe in that area. I mean, these are Revolutionary War Patriots. Fathers who fought for the freedom we get to enjoy today. I won’t let them get lost in current modernization and forgotten like they don’t matter. Trust me when I say they most definitely do matter.
I’m the one writing the story. And I’m not stopping until the story is complete. That is my vow and promise to myself, Anson County Historical Society’s Office Manager, Mr. Steve Bailey, my Patriot fathers, the Boggan family, and literally anyone else that’s a fan of my work. I don’t want to move them from their current resting place. I want to preserve it for generations to come. So, the next generation of Boggan historian can come and have a rich knowledge of this absolutely amazing family that I’m absolutely blessed to be part of.
Stay tuned for more updates!
Posted Sep 25, 2026, 7:49 PM UTC