Virginians and Their Old Cemeteries

Ridge Road CemeterySomewhere near this dirt road is a lonely sliver of land, that is all that remains of the burying ground for members of the Hall and Sutherland families of Fairfax County, Virginia. Thirty years ago or so, the upright field-stones that agrarian Virginians used to mark their graves were still plainly visible. Since then they have been mowed, plowed, back-filled and beaten back into the earth by various utility companies and developers as the area was readied for modern housing.

From “The Connection” of 22 June 2006:

In the early part of the 1800s, Archibald Hall bought 143 acres in what is now known as Springfield. Hall died in 1836 and the land passed down to his wife and then on to successive generations. Hall and his wife, Patience, were likely among those buried on the property in a 1-acre area that was set aside to be the family cemetery. Now, that cemetery land has been sold to a developer, pitting one set of Hall family descendants, who were left out of the sale, against those who sold the land.

No one knows for certain exactly all who are interred here. Some likely were slaves of the old families. Researchers feel certain that remains of the following individuals are resting in these woods:

  • Archibald Hall d. 1836
  • Patience Hall c.1792-c.1880
  • Maria Sutherland 1820-1897
  • John Sutherland 1807-1854
  • Amanda Sutherland 1817-1895
  • William Sutherland 1812-1893

Genealogy researchers seem to agree that Archibald and Patience HALL were the parents of Amanda HALL who married William SUTHERLAND. MAP

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