Sally Reed Graveyard - 1794 Kemp Family Massacre, Shady Grove, SC

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Sally Reed Graveyard - 1794 Kemp Family Massacre

This page is dedicated to the fond & living memory of our cousin, Kemp Swiney.

At the Baltis Kemp Family Reunion of 2000, hosted by Frank and Jane Kemp Frey, near Nashville, TN, those of us gathered we're told by our cousin, Kemp and Shirley Swiney of Anderson, SC about two places of particular interest in our Kemp family history. One of those was Occonne Station in upland South Carolina, where our old ancestor, Nathaniel Kemp/Camp (1774-1857) mustered out after fighting the Cherokee Indians in the 1790s. The other was the location of the Sally Reed Graveyard farther down in the state.

With Kemp Swiney having piqued our curiosity at the reunion, I decided to set up my camper near Greenville, SC that next Summer of 2001 in order to run down and check out several of the Camp/Kemp historical sites and put some photos and documentation with the legends. Little did I know then what additional genealogical surprises would be uncovered!

Belton, SC (click to enlarge)

According to family tradition, history books, and documentation, our Kemp (Camp ) family, which always had some part of it on the very cusp of the early American frontier, were the victims of a massacre at the hands of nearby Cherokee tribes. It occurred in what was then called Shady Grove, a settlement nearby the current day town of Belton, SC. Were it not for one young boy (perhaps a slave) who managed to hide high in a tree, who must have witnessed the awful affair, we'd have no eye-witness account. Copy of that witness has not been located yet, but Anderson County history books document this dark moment in our family's annals.

From "A Survey of Historic Place in South Carolina: Appalachian Area" in the Anderson County Library, we read this excerpt:

"Sally Reed Graveyard: Graveyard marks the site of one of the bloodiest massacres by Indians of white settlers in this section. Fifteen members of the Kemp family were scalped and mutilated by the Indians about 1794."

Another historic journal from the Belton City Library located in the old depot adds further confirmation:

To say that no 'contemporary evidence' exists to support the legend, is to disregard the fifteen or more nearby graves caused by the massacre. They are the earliest plots of what came to be known later as the Sally Reed Graveyard. It is located in a large clump of trees surrounded by a larger pasture on the modern-day Holland Farm. After quite a bit of running around, I was put in contact with Mr. Holland who runs a floral shop in Belton. He was happy when he came home to show me to the historic landmark. I was the most recent in a line of local historians and genealogists to walk the 1/2 mile or so among horses and sheep to witness and photograph the site.

Sally Reed Graveyard
(click to enlarge)

Kemp and Shirley Swiney had come years before and talked to Mr. Holland about the site, but were unable to visit it at that time. It consists mainly of several rows of broken, inscribed, and otherwise unmarked fieldstones - common in that area during the post-colonial period. Mr. Holland mentioned newspaper articles detailing the massacre and the cemetery over the years. He also told me that a historical marker was placed there commemorating the 1794 Kemp Family Massacre. Unfortunately, the summer ground covering and vine growth had so swallowed up the burial ground that we could not find the marker. Mr. Holland said he'd send me a copy of some articles concerning the commemorative marker and the graveyard in general, but his extremely busy schedule has not allowed it as of yet. I think its time to give him a call!

I took both videotape and photos throughout the burial ground, which was rather disappointing in terms of finding any Kemp family inscriptions. In time and as soon as more information becomes available, I will continue this article.... [JSK]

View the Family Tree of Edmund Camp, to see where Nathan Camp/Kemp may fit in, as well as, his possible brothers & sisters, etc.

Visit the Edmund Camp Cemetery, located in Eastanollee, Stephens Co. (formerly Franklin Co.), GA

Visit the Thomas Camp Cemetery, near Rutherfordton, Rutherford Co., NC, located off US221 and Hines Rd., just before the SC state line.

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