I'm trying to find an address for Songer Cemetery. Can anyone help? I'm trying to link Della M Brown as Della McGill so I would like to write the cemetery to get any information on her. No matter how I try to find address it won't work.

Thank you,
Cyndi

I help keep songer and i found 5 head stones on graves just east of songer cemetery i have clear some of trees away from them i did not know if this is one of the family grave yards y would be looking for

Songer Cemetery is sometimes called "the John Payne Cemetery" not because of John Payne, Jr., who was shot on the court house steps, but because of his father -- John Payne, Sr. Here is the findagrave memorial for John Payne, Jr.: John PAYNE, Jr., memorial page. And here is the findagrave memorial for his first wife: Virletta O'Neal PAYNE memorial page.

Virletta had died over 15 years before John was shot on the court house steps. By the time he was shot, he had remarried and had two children from his second wife.

More information is at one of my web pages: John and Virletta.

I came across your website on AllAroundDanville. I noticed that you have an album on Songer Cemetary (John Payne's graveyard). I assume that you have a picture of John & his wife, Virletta, headstone but do not have time to look through the album. 1200+ pictures...Wow!

Do you know the story of John Payne? Thought to be a Southern sympathizer, he was shot and killed on 13 Sep 1863, setting off a riot in Danville. You may find the whole story in 'The History of Vermilion County'.

The last time I was out at Songer Cemetary a couple of years ago, the headstone was still standing, but the inscription is unreadable. According to the Payne family website, it reads:

"The brave man seeks not popular applause,
nor over-powered with arms deserts his cause.
Undaunted, though foiled, he does the best he can.
Force is of brutes, but honor is of man."

I just thought that you would be interested in this information if you did not already know it.