Was He A Founding Member?

The oldest obituary that I have in my files is for one of my 2nd great-grandfathers, Randolph Kilpatrick.  He lived from 1885 – 1966.  The obituary was given to me by my grandmother many years ago.  I’d always marveled over the fact that she had manged to hold onto the obituary for so many years – she was about 34 years old when he died.

Tonight, I learned that he may have been a founding member of the church that my family is associated with – Alum Springs Church of Christ in Craven County, North Carolina.  I learned this from a picture that a lady who lives in the area took from a visit to the church to take pictures for me at the cemetery.  His name is listed on the name plate! I also see that the church was established in 1950. This is also helpful as I can now look for any newspaper accounts of the beginnings of the church.

There is also an Eddie Cox listed that I think may be the nephew of my 2nd great-grandmother, Cora Cox Lawhorn.  I’ll have to check on that.  Some of the other surnames on the list are recognizable from the area family names.

I am grateful for people that contribute to FindAGrave! This same lady who took this pictures and others in the cemetery, also took pictures at the cemetery where most of my Koonce ancestors are buried – Mitchell Cemetery.

Update: I realized that many of the tombstones in the church graveyard are much older than 1950. Is it possible that the current building is not the original? Or, perhaps the church was built after the graveyard? I need to find out!