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Land for this cemetery was donated in 1876 by Tennessee native William Boyd Burns (1821-1907), whose log cabin home was located adjacent to the site. Pioneer settler of the Trenton community, he also gave nearby property for a Union church building, Burns Chapel, which served as an early schoolhouse for the surrounding rural area. The cemetery was first used in 1877 for the burials of Burns' stepson John Patton and daughter Priscilla Burns, who at 16 was a teacher in the Orangeville Academy. Other graves include those of pioneer area settlers and prominent leaders of Trenton. Among the Civil War veterans interred here and early physician Dr. W. C. Holmes, who fought at Shiloh, and John w. Connelly, a former teacher in the Indian Territory who became a popular local preacher. For well over a century the Burns Cemetery has served residents of the Trenton area. The original tract has been enlarged through a donation of land and the purchase of additional property. Still in use, the cemetery serves as a historic reminder of the region's rich heritage and as the site of an annual memorial service honoring the settlers who led in the area's development. |
