The Shelton Family Cemetery at Possum Trot

Shelton Family Cemetery at Possum Trot

A Sacred Site - A Place of Reverence

The Possum Trot Cemetery was renamed the Shelton Family Cemetery at Possum Trot in 2022 as part of ongoing descendant efforts to ensure that the legacy of the family’s ancestors would not be forgotten.

In addition to other family members buried within the cemetery, descendants believe that Hardy and Mary Bearden Shelton are also buried at Possum Trot. Other individuals largely believed to be buried there include Irvin Spruce, Lucy Shelton Spruce, and Saphronia Spruce Ware.

A Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) survey of the cemetery was conducted on March 14, 2022 in 2026, by Dr. Jennifer Dickey, Associate Professor of Public History at Kennesaw State University, as part of preservation and historical documentation efforts connected to the site.

Below are family and non-family individuals currently documented as buried at Possum Trot. It is believed that members of the Lovie Haynes and Bobby Dozier families may have received permission from the Shelton family to be buried at the cemetery and may have had ties or affiliations with the broader Shelton community.

It is also important to note that, in addition to Flatwoods, this area was historically associated with the name Pleasant Hill.

Identified Family Graves at the
Shelton Family Cemetery at Possum Trot 

1. Aaron Hardy Shelton

B. Aug. 3, 1857 D. Jul. 16, 1952 

2. Fannie Key Shelton

B. Dec. 6, 1866 D. Oct. 19, 1954 

3. Pleas Lewis Shelton

B. Feb. 18, 1888 D. Aug. 2, 1937 

4. Mary Madolyou Shelton King

B. May 30, 1890 D. Apr. 17, 1953

5. Mary Shelton Powell

B. abt. 1863 D. Mar. 12, 1897

6. Peter Powell

B. abt. 1858 D. Feb. 1, 1914 

7. William S. Robinson

B. Aug. 1867 D. Jul. 12, 1906 

8. William Selman

B. Dec. 1869 D. Feb. 1935

9. Fannie Spruce Selman

B. May 6, 1877 D. Feb. 9, 1940 (unmarked) 

10. James Selman

B. April 1910 D. August 15, 1933

Identified Family Members Whose Death Certificates Indicate a Rome, Georgia Burial

(Possibly in the Shelton Family Cemetery at Possum Trot)

11. Irvin Spruce

B. Aug. 14, 1849 D. Nov. 18, 1922 - Spruce Cemetery

12. Lucy Shelton Spruce

B. July 4, 1850 D. March 2, 1923 - Pleasant Hill Cemetery

13. Saphronia Spruce Ware

B. March 1889 D. April 6, 1915 (Body brought to Rome from Churchville, TN)

Identified Affiliated Non-Family Graves at Possum Trot Cemetery

  1. Bobby Dozier (Infant)

    B. Sept. 3, 1934 D. Sept. 20, 1934 (Son of George Dozier and Margaret (Margie) Fain)

  2. Lovie Haynes (Infant)

    B. Nov. 20, 1898 D. Jan. 13, 1899 (Daughter of C? and A? Haynes)

1. Aaron Hardy Shelton is the oldest son of Hardy and Mary Shelton;

2. Fannie Key Shelton is the wife of Aaron Hardy;

3. Pleas Lewis is the son of Aaron Hardy and Fannie Key Shelton;

4. Mary Shelton King is the daughter of Aaron Hardy and Fannie Key Shelton;

5. Mary Shelton Powell is Aaron Hardy’s sister and daughter of Hardy and Mary Shelton;

6. Peter Powell is the husband of Mary Shelton Powell;

7. William S. Robinson is the husband of Hattie Spruce. Hattie is the daughter of Irvin Spruce and Lucy Shelton Spruce;

8. William Selman is the husband of Fannie Spruce. Fannie is the daughter of Irvin Spruce and Lucy Shelton Spruce;  The family has not been able to confirm the actual burial location of Hardy and Mary Shelton;

9. Based on research, Laura Shelton Franklin Powell appears to have passed some time in 1906;

10. Based on research, Mary Shelton, the matriarch, appears to have passed in 1908 and is presumed buried at Possum Trot;

11. Irvin Spruce was the husband of Lucy Shelton who lived on the Possum Trot settlement.