Black Cemetery
Brighton, Adams County, Colorado

Lat: 39° 58' 00"N, Lon: 104° 50' 09"W

Contributed by Rachelle Sherman, Apr 2000, last edited Mar 30, 2008 [shelly80504@comcast.net]. Total records = 18.

The Black Cemetery is located at the end of 148th Ave in Brighton, Colorado.

This cemetery measures approximately 132' (East to West) x 83' (North to South), and has eighteen stones, as of 4/9/2000. It looks as though there may have been a wooden marker or two that are gone now as there are unmarked "mounds".

There is a large section on one side with no stones at all; whether this was for future burials or some of the people were moved to nearby Elmwood Cemetery is unclear at this time. A wrought iron fence surrounds the cemetery with a gate in the southeast corner. In the cemetery is another, smaller wrought iron fenced area, that appears to have no stones in it. A small pioneer cemetery in relatively good shape.

This cemetery was surveyed by Shawn Sherman & I on Apr 09, 2000.

- Rachelle Sherman

Blundell, Hugh, b.1880, d.1918, this stone is 1'10"w x 4"d x 2'h made of gray granite and faces west
Blundell, James, b.1815, d.1884, cross & Illinois Pvt 3 Brig ILL MTD Vols Black Hawk War, stone is 2'8 1/4" w x 1'6 3/4" d x 5"h and is a brass or cooper plaque in a concrete base there is a broken wooden marker laying behind this stone but it is too badly weathered to tell if it belonged to Mr. Blundell or someone else (stone faces east)
Blundell, Mary M, b.1852, d.1917, this stone is shared with William Blundell
Blundell, William, b.Aug 13, 1843, d.Nov 24, 1911, this stone is 5'1"w x 2' 4"d x 4'3 1/2"h made of gray granite and shared with Mary M Blundell (stone faces west)
Carlson, May Blundell, b.1871, d.1905, stone is a pink granite plaque in a concrete base and faces east
Donelson, James, b.1860, d.1869, stone is 1'7"w x 11 1/2"d x 1'9"h made of sandstone on a concrete base and faces west
Donelson, Laura, b.1827, d1864, stone exactly matches James Donelson's (faces west)
Donelson, Mary A, b.1838, d.1905, stone is exactly like James and Laura Donelson's (faces west)
Donelson, Thomas, b.1824, d1904, stone reads 'In Memory Of/Thomas Donelson/And Family/1824-1904', stone is 1'10"w x 1'5"d x 2'8"h made of polished gray granite on an unpolished gray granite base (faces west)
Donelson, William T, b.1854, d.1935, stone is 1'9"w x 10 1/2"d x 1'8"h and faces east, has a lamb on top with inscription 'died 8ms. 5days/of such is the kingdom of heaven', stone is made of white marble badly broken (all of the name area is missing) and lying very close to Mary A Donelson's if standing it would have been 8 1/4"w x 2"d x over 1'6 1/2"h
Gillham, Mary Laura, b.1823 Ill, d.Apr 15, 1863, Cross, Wife of James Blundell & Pioneer, this stone exactly matches James Blundell's and also has a wooden marker laying behind the stone that is too badly worn to find any inscriptions (stone faces east)
Houle, Belle, Jan 17, 1906, stone is about 5'h and exactly matches the stone of Pearl L Houle (faces east)
Houle, Julius, May 3, 1926, Father & At Rest, stone is 1'8 1/2"w x 6 1/4"d x 3'1"h including base made of gray and black possibly marble or granite and faces east
Houle, Pearl L, October 17, 1918, stone is laying on it's side but if standing would be about 5"h made of gray possibly marble or granite and is sitting on a pink (unknown type of) stone base and faces east
Lytle, Daisy, Nov 6, 1904, on the top of the stone is a circle that has Woman of Woodcraft around the top/Courage Hope Remembrance around the bottom and a bird with a piece of wood in the center on the bottom of the stone it says Erected By The Women Of Woodcraft, stone is almost exactly identical to Pearl L and Belle Houle's stones right behind this stone is the smaller fenced area that has no visible markers (stone faces west)
McMillan, Alice, b.1891, d.1935, Mother, stone is 2'w x 8"d x 1'4"h made of black & gray granite and faces east
McMillan, Hugh, b.May 19, 1919, d.July 14, 1933, At Rest, stone is 2'10 1/2"w x 11"d x 1'9"h made of granite on concrete base faces east
Talbot, Louisa M, b.May 4, 1854, d.March 18, 1893, Wife of Robert Talbot, this stone is laying over on the ground but if standing would be about 1'7"w x 9 1/2"d x 2'9 1/2"h this stone is "off by itself" on one end of the cemetery (stone faces east)