Pet In A Churchyard - Woodville VA - Out of Place Graves on Waymarking.com

St. Paul's Episcopal Cemetery in the small town of Woodville, VA has burials spanning over 150 years and some unusual memorials and monuments. Notables such as former senator and presidential candidate, Eugene McCarthy, and former NBC newsman, Frank McGee, are buried here. But even with the wide and diverse selection of graves, one remains distinctly out of place. A small flat marker on the west side near the fence that surrounds the cemetery is inscribed:

Dovey Collier
Beloved pet of
the late
Rev. C. W. Collier
& Ella V. Collier
Nov. 12, 1919
I love you my
darling & I miss
you & am lonely
without you.

Even though many members of the same family are buried here, Dovey is the only Collier. A local resident says that Dovey was a cat.

Very little is known about the Colliers. What scarce references reveal about a Rev. C. W. Collier or Ella V. is that they were probably not from this area. Ella may have been the daughter of the reverend. A blurb in a newspaper extract from Berkeley County, WV mentions a Miss Ella V. Collier, daughter of Mrs. C.W. Collier of Martinsburg.

St. Paul's Episcopal Church which was established circa 1850 was destroyed by a tornado in 1929 leaving only the cemetery. Dovey died in 1919 which means this 'beloved pet' was buried while the church was still standing.

First Name: Dovey Last Name: Collier Died: 11/12/1919 Born: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   01/18/2014 Rivers End visited it