About a year or so ago....

I had found a cemetery on a deadend road. It was a beautiful little cemetery and full of history. It's called (the name is actually bigger than the cemetery) the Lower Marsh Creek Presbyterian Church Cemetery. I forget the name of the road its on, but it goes back through a farm and then dead ends right at the cemetery. I've been there several times and have yet to see another soul.

The reason I went there was because I was looking for the grave of Alexander Dobbin. I was able to find it. When you go into the cemetery, its about in the middle but all the way down towards the farm. He is buried there with two wives and a child or two. The stones are made of slate and the wording is etched into it. Considering that he died at the beginning of the 1800's, I find it amazing that you can still read them.

But it the search for Rev. Dobbin, I stumbled across the grave of someone that I hadn't thought about and was shocked to see: Ephraim Whisler. Now, you ask, who is Ephraim Wisler??? Well, if you are familiar with the battle of Gettysburg, Ephraim Whisler's house played an important role. His house is where the first shot of the battle was fired from. If you go to his house today, there is a small obelisk-type monument in the side yard dedicated to the First shot.

Ephraim Whisler had heard the noise of troop movements and he went outside to see what was going on in his front yard. As he reached the road, a cannonball hit the road right in front of him and it splattered dirt all over him. It was such a shock to him, that he had a heart attack. He died on August 11, 1863.

To find his grave surprised me immensely. I hadn't really thought about him much. I knew the story of the first shot. I knew the story of how he died. And I knew that the park owned the house. What I didn't know was his age. I was always of the belief that he was much older. It came as quite a shock to learn how old he really was.....he was in his early 30's.

This cemetery has many graves of men who fought in wars throughout the history of our nation: the Revelutionary War, the Civil War, WWI, WWII, etc. It still has burials today. I have to believe that this is one of the earlier cemeteries in the area. I know for a fact that it pre-dates Evergreen and the National Cemeteries. Walking around in there is like walking through the history of this nation.

Now, everyone always wonders about "ghost stories". Has anything weird ever happened to you? Spending so much time in cemeteries, I haven't had anything weird happen....except at this one. One day I was walking through, looking at the graves and thinking. Now, you have to understand that this cemetery is in the middle of no where. There is a farm down the road a couple of hundred yards, but that is it. There is nothing else in the area. Nothing! Well, while I was standing there looking at the headstones, I suddenly smelled cigar smoke. I know the smell of cigar smoke because I HATE the smell of cigar smoke. It lingered around two or three of the graves. I looked up, thinking maybe someone was nearby, but no one was around. I walked about 5 yards away and the smell dissipated. I still didn't think anything of it until I started to walk past where I had originally smelled it and there it was again. Very distinct. I walked about 5 yards or so past it again but on the other side and again it was gone. Hmmmmm. Strange. I haven't smelled that smell again and I really wish I had paid more attention to whose grave I was at....but I have no idea who was there. It makes me sad, now that I think about it. Someone was reaching out to me and I have no idea who.

This is definitely one of those places that you have to keep coming back to over and over again. I have a list of cemeteries that I like to visit and this one is at the top of my list.