CEMETERIES IN THE BURKE AREA

The Coffer Family Cemetery is located off Woods Sorrell Lane in Burke. A number of Coffer family members are confirmed to be buried in this plot including Huldah Coffer (1840-1905) and Joshua Coffer (1814-1862).

The Jackson Family Cemetery is located on the grounds of the Burke Presbyterian Church. The history of the cemetery goes back to 1873 when Jeramiah Jackson, a former enslaved person, purchased 184 acres from Ansel and Mary Wheedon in the Sideburn/Burke area.

Jerusalem Baptist Church cemetery surrounds the 1866 church building on the west side of Ox Road (Route 123). The cemetery dates back to the time of 1768 Payne’s Church which went unused after the American Revolution and the disbandment of the Church of England as the state church. When the Jerusalem Church of Jesus Christ was organized in 1840, the congregation met in the old brick structure later torn down during the Civil War. The cemetery contains gravestones as well as slate makers and many field stones.

The Keene Family Cemetery is a small cemetery located on common ground beside a row of townhouses on the east side of Silvervine Lane. A wrought iron fence surrounds part of the site. The following gravestones are all leaning against a tree near the gate: (1) ADDISON KEEN (1810-1872), (2) CLARINTINE V. DODSON (1839-1867), and (3) W. KEEN (d. 1849).

Lee Chapel’s cemetery is one of the oldest in the community and contains over 40 headstones. It is located at the northeast corner of the intersection of Lee Chapel Road and the Fairfax County Parkway. The chapel, which was affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal Church South, is no longer standing, although the gateposts, walkway, steps and railing to the chapel, and parts of the foundation remain.

The Little Bethel Baptist Church Cemetery is located adjacent to the David R. Pinn Community Center on Zion Drive. There are a number of fieldstone grave markers but the only formal monuments were placed after 1992. A granite marker outside the northwest corner of the fence surrounding the cemetery reads “HERE LIE THE REMAINS/OF FAITHFUL MEMBERS/AND FRIENDS OF/LITTLE BETHEL BAPTIST CHURCH/LAID TO REST/BETWEEN 1905–1964.”

Little Zion Baptist Church was founded in 1891, and originally held services at the building located on Burke Lake Road. In 1964, the congregation built a new church on Zion Drive and renamed itself Greater Little Zion Baptist Church. The 1891 church is presently leased to another congregation. The cemetery contains 50+ marked graves and an unknown number of unmarked graves.

The Marshall Family Cemetery is located near the intersection of Old Burke Lake Road and Burke Road. The Marshalls owned a general store in Burke and were prominent landowners in the mid to late 1800s. The family also donated land for the original Church of the Good Shepherd. John and Mary Marshall are buried in this small cemetery. BHS is involved in periodic cleanups of this cemetery.

The Martin Family Cemetery is located off Zion Drive. The 1818 will of James Martin specified that 200 acres “on Martin’s Branch “was to be divided between his sons Noah and Saul. In 1848, the land was sold by the Martins, but the 1/4 acre burial ground was reserved from the sale.

The Pearson Family Cemetery is located on common ground in the Edgewater Subdivision. When Francis Coffer died in 1861, his will freed from slavery Charles T. Pearson, his three brothers, and mother. At the cemetery there is one inscribed marble headstone and four marble base pieces of varying sizes. These appear to be part of the same monument to CHARLES T. PEARSON (1831-1916) & SARAH JANE PEARSON (1841-1911).