DESCENDANTS OF EARLY BOLLINGER COUNTY JUSTICE OF PEACE TO HONOR ANCESTOR

PATTON -- It's been a long time coming -- close to 145 years -- but John Devenport, Sr., will finally get a tombstone to mark his grave.

Descendants of John and Delilah Abernathy Devenport will dedicate a tombstone memorial for the couple April 21 at 2 p.m. at the Old Union United Methodist Church Cemetery near Patton. A reception will follow in the church picnic area.

John and Delilah Devenport helped found the Old Union Campground Methodist church in Patton. The church, now led by the Rev. W.D. Snyder, is known as the Old Union United Methodist Church.

The Devenports, and about 70 other people, moved from North Carolina to Missouri in 1820. Their group, all of them members of the Methodist Church, crossed the Mississippi River on a raft.

The Devenports first settled around the Oak Ridge and Pocahontas areas before moving into Bollinger County. They farmed land in the Marble Hill-Patton area. John Devenport served as a justice of the peace for the "Dallas" area before it became Marble Hill. Bollinger County was recognized officially in 1851.

That same year, Devenport and Jacob Bess paid $4.68 for land to be used as a church cemetery. The Old Union Campground Methodist Church cemetery was deeded to members of the church in March.

John Devenport, who died in November 1851, was the first person to be buried in the church cemetery. His wife, Delilah, died in 1860.

Members of the Devenport family also would like to find all their ancestors, much like the Old Union United Methodist Church can trace its origins to a group of settlers from North Carolina.

Since many people with the name Devenport or its variation, Davenport, live in the area, family members hope to locate other relatives around Cape Girardeau. John and Delilah Devenport had seven children but information about their descendants is limited.

Anyone with names or addresses of a John Devenport relative should call Adriana Devenport Jung at 314-928-6494. Her address is 2513 Spring Valley Drive; St. Peters, Mo. 63376.