Only certain Seymours can rest at Rock 'N' Roll Cemetery in Jackson County
A Jackson County cemetery more than a century old with an unusual reputation needs an update.
The William Seymour Cemetery is supposed to be for descendants of William Seymor. Trouble is, there are thousands of them and the cemetery is only about one acre, which leaves room for only about 250 graves that haven't been used or promised.
Local historian Ray Bellande traced the land to a grant by the state to Peter Seymour in 1856. His heirs sold it to William Seymour in 1888.
"There are people under the assumption that if their name is Seymour they can buried there at the Seymour Cemetery," said Wanda Freeland, one of the descendants who have been keeping up the isolated graveyard off Bayou Talla north of Ocean Springs. Not all of them are eligible, she said.
And she'd like as many descendants, and those who believe they are, to meet up at the cemetery Saturday to sort it out. It begins at 7 a.m. with a cleanup, followed by a meeting to discuss changes to the cemetery policies. She said even people who aren't sure they are direct descendants should come to find out once and for all whether they are.
A committee of family members will have the final say, she said.
They also need help with upkeep, she said. She said about 10 descendants clean the cemetery four times a year but those people are getting older.
"We may have to pay a yard company to come up there," she said. "How would paying for that work? All of that is a part of what we're looking at."
The story of the Seymour descendants is just one of the tales surrounding the cemetery.
"They say there are 13 curves going up (to the cemetery) and 12 coming back," she said.
It's a fairly spook journey on its own with trees leaning over the mile or so long Bayou Ralla Road. It's at least a mile to the nearest house to the west. To the east is Bayou Talla.
Someone started the rumor that you could see a ghostly lady rocking in a rocking chair and someone else named it the Rock 'N' Roll Cemetery. Other saw an albino. Ghost hunters saw "glowing orbs" on a video that one commenter wryly said looked just as much like dust particle wafting through the camera lights.
"All this mystical stuff surrounding the cemetery," she said. "I think my dad kind of perpetuated some of that for various reasons."
One reason would be to scare off young partiers, some of whom are believed to be responsible for vandalism at the cemetery.
Vandalism has been a problem for years.
Want to help?
For more details contact Wanda Freeland by phone or text at 355-0156. Share your stories at facebook.com/msseymourcemetery
This story was originally published March 14, 2016 at 4:30 PM with the headline "Only certain Seymours can rest at Rock 'N' Roll Cemetery in Jackson County ."