Old Dunker-Universalist Cemetery

Here are some pictures from 2002 of the Dunker-Universalist Cemetery (aka Chapman-Summers cemetery, aka Paysinger cemetery) near Newberry, South Carolina. There was a meetinghouse in the middle of it, but it was abandoned by the Civil War, and all that remains (I believe) is a square footprint. A former Universalist church — a child of this one — has been converted to a house, and is about a mile closer to town on the same road. The Clayton Memorial Church (a few miles away) would be a “grandchild” church, I’m guessing.

Another page about this cemetery

I’ll get to the TofUUism reply later.

From the road, into the cemetery

Elijah Linch's grave

Elijah Linch (or Lynch) was a transitional figure, having been baptized among the German Brethren (the Dunkers). All of the South Carolina Brethren became Universalists, and he was an elder minister through much of the antebellum era. More about his grave later.

Elizabeth Linch's grave

Chapman family graves, including early Universalist minister, the Rev. Giles Chapman

Within the presumed church footprint

Looking back to the road, from within what I think where the church was.

4 Replies to “Old Dunker-Universalist Cemetery”

  1. Hi Scott: There are a lot of pictures of Univeresalist Churches (mostly New England) if you go to eBay and search the paper and postcards section for Universalist Churches. I collected a few of them, but there must be almost 200 images.

    Cheerfully, Roger Kuhrt

  2. I was there this past summer, I was sadden at how some of the graves were weathering (and these are being kept up quite well – its the nature of the type of stone and weather – hmm, as soon as I wrote that, i wondered about acid rain,.,,,) anyway, I had hoped to read Dr. Boozer’s stone – as he mentioned being an Universalist and wasnt kin to anyone else burried here – but I didnt have time to do rubbings to try to read it — hopefully the WPA or someone transcribed these stones…
    – I also thought that space is where the church was, although the other likelyhood is that this is the earlier now unmarked graves are.
    I thought the next church building was at the Hartford community – a 1/2 mile away, but not on the same road….
    .. but i suspect you know better than I….

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