Centenary United Methodist Church Cemetery

Rt. 220 North, Allegany County, MD.
Church Cemetery transcribed by Lila Baier

Alphabetical Table		Row-by-Row Listing
Quadrant 1	Quadrant 2	Quadrant 3	Quadrant 4

Photo by Lilla Baier - August 2005

While visiting 2 years ago, my mother and I went to Centenary United Methodist Church, which is located on Route 220 as you go from Cumberland to Bedford, PA, to take pictures and clean the dirt and grass from around some of my father's family tombstones. While we were there, we transcribed all the tombstones that were found in the church's cemetery. Over the last 2 years I have gone on 4 occasions to check on our family stones, clean the grass and dirt off with a soft rag, make sure that they hadn't fallen down, and checked our original transcribed notes for names and dates to see that they are correct or in a few cases to see if I could get clearer dates, as some of the tombstones are very worn. On a few, it was just impossible and in one case the tombstone, which has fallen face down and has been that way for the last 2 years, I was unable to get any information from at all.

I contacted a representative of the church in August to get the church's permission to put a new tombstone or marker in for a family member whose tombstone is now so worn that none of the original information remains. While talking to her, I told her that my mother and I had transcribed the cemetery and upon hearing this she offered to check church records to see if the church had any official records concerning those buried there. She found no records within her vast collection and since she graciously went out of her way to help us, we offered to contribute our list to the church when it was finished. She told me that the men of the church usually put the cemetery in order each spring by cleaning the cemetery up and standing any fallen stones and that the tombstone mentioned above that was face down doesn't seem to want to stay up. She was unable to provide me with a name or any dates that are on it. She also told me that there are 45 unmarked graves by the church's lower parking lot that were found when they were putting that parking lot in many years ago but that no church records have been found to indicate any names or dates. The graves dates back to the 1860's to 1870's. There are also unmarked graves behind the church and again there are no records to indicate how many or who are buried there.

After checking the names and dates we originally transcribed on all 4 occasions, I think I now have a fairly accurate list of those with standing tombstones at Centenary church and would like to donate this to the Allegany County website.