Location: This cemetery is located on the Ethridge Redhill Road, adjacent to the John Lay Cemetery. It is 1/2 acre in size and was established in 1846. The property on which the cemetery is located was owned by Lawrence County. It had gotten in deplorable condition and the County of Lawrence deeded this cemetery property to the City of Ethridge for maintenance February 22, 1984.
Capt .William B. Allen is buried here, along with other members of his family. He was a hero in the Mexican War and his monument stands on the Lawrenceburg Square.
The following excerpts are taken from the book, The Life and Character of Capt. Wm. B. Allen of Lawrence County, Tn. by W.P. Rowles, Esq., page 119, From the Lawrenceburg Times, Honor to the Brave- The Funeral. On Saturday last, the remains of the late Captain William B. Allen arrived at his fathers residence, from Monterey, Mexico. Yesterday, about a thousand of his friends and acquaintances assembled to commit his body to the tomb. The day being fair and pleasant, a very large number of ladies were present. The body of the gallant dead was soldered up in a leaden coffin, within another mahogany, on which a large silver plate, bearing the name of the deceased was fastened. Hundreds were there, who about nine months since , took leave at the same place of the friend they had now met to bury. They remembered, and often remarked the contrast between this and that assemblage… We have never attended any funeral where was such general and deep sorrow depicted in the countenances of the spectators.
The order of procession to the grave was, as near as we can recollect, as follows: The Hearse with Military escorts, attended by Music on each flank. The Relatives, The Clergy, The Monument Committee, The Ladies, and The Citizens. The fine volunteer company from Mt. Pleasant, commanded by Capt. Alexander Terry, formed the escort. The whole conducted by the Marshal of the day and his associates, S.E. Rose, A.S. Alexander, A.O. Richardson, and Thomas C. Ramsey. The two last gallant youths were the observed of all observers, having each lost an arm at the assault on Monterey. At the grave the usual ceremonies took place, with military honors…. At the close of the ceremonies, Chief Marshal, S.E. Rose, Esq., delivered the sword of Capt. Wm. B. Allen to his father, Gen. R.H. Allen, accompanied by a few appropriate remarks.
The Monument was erected the year following his death as a result of voluntary contributions of friends, and on the 15th of August 1847, the Rev. P.P. Neely delivered the Funeral Sermon at Mount Ararat Camp-Ground, Lawrence County, Tn. The sermon was for Capt. Allen and his brother, Samuel Houston, who was also in Capt. Allen’s Company. He was five years younger and died in New Orleans on his return home. His body was also returned to his father’s home and we believe buried in this cemetery, also, although no stone now marks his grave.
Excerpt from LawCoHistory.com: Allen’s Stand was a well-known gathering point for local people, too. When Lawrence County’s first Confederate soldiers left for training in the spring of 1861, a going-away dinner was held in the field across from the Stand.
No doubt the saddest day this old house ever saw was when General Allen’s talented young son, Captain William B. Allen, was laid to rest in his early twenties in a garden on the back side of the property. William B. Allen was cut down in his prime, leading the Lawrenceburg Blues into battle at the Siege of Monterrey during the Mexican War. More than 1,000 people showed up at Allen’s Stand for his funeral.
