Spencer Sharp, Revolutionary War veteran, died in 1851. His marker is located in a difficult to access cemetery off Corbitt Hill Road in northern Wood County. (Photo provided)

Spencer S. Sharp was born in Fauquier County, Va., in 1762. In 1781, at the age of 19 years, he enlisted in the Virginia militia, serving as a private under Col. Robert Warren. Sharp was present at the battle of Cornwallis.

Following his service in the Revolutionary War and marriage, Spencer Sharp and his wife, Nancy Ann Arnold Sharp, migrated to Harrison County, Va., now Wood County, W.Va., locating near what is now Waverly; and there, raised their nine children. Spencer Sharp spent most of his life in the area as a farmer.

Passing from this life in 1851, at the age of 89, Spencer Sharp was first interred in what was called the Rolston cemetery, near “downtown” Waverly on the bank of the Ohio River. Following several floods, his remains (as well as others), were moved to higher ground.

Spencer, his wife, and possibly other family members were “relocated” to a high knoll overlooking grounds that he undoubtedly had farmed and the village of Waverly, very near to what was then the Mt. Vernon Baptist Church. The family plot, holding eight or nine burials, was enclosed by what was once attractive iron fencing. There were at least three other small family plots that were fenced.

The church eventually relocated, traffic by the cemetery waned, and nature began to reclaim what had become sacred grounds. Even so, it was reported that in the 1930s, a DAR chapter from Marietta placed a veteran’s marker at Spencer’s grave site. But as is too often the case, left unattended, Mother Nnature will eventually reclaim her own.

A few years ago, members of the Wood County Historical Society and the Capt. James Neal Chapter SAR (Sons of the American Revolution) cut away several years of briers and bramble from the cemetery, removing vines and ivy from the now not-so-beautiful iron fencing. The obelisk gravestone of Pvt. Spencer Sharp, which read “Soldier of the Revolutionary War,” was reset. Upon probing through years of decomposed flora near his gravestone, a metal object was detected. About 8 inches below the surface, the American Legion Veteran marker shown above was found. Is this the marker that was placed at his grave in the 1930s? It probably is. Regardless, we hope that in future years, others will at least occasionally, keep the grave and memory of Spencer Sharp alive.

Since this item first appeared in the News and Sentinel, the Captain James Neal S.A.R. has placed a bronze Revolutionary War Patriot marker at Pvt. Spencer Sharp’s grave. Unfortunately, having difficult access, this rather small cemetery is again being reclaimed by nature.

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Bob Enoch is president of the Wood County Historical and Preservation Society. If you have comments or questions about Look Back items, please contact him at: roberteenoch@gmail.com, or by mail at WCHPS, PO Box 565, Parkersburg, WV 26102.