Friends of Auburn Community Cemetery Fund

Auburn, once a bustling community, was first settled in 1834, before West Virginia seceded from Virginia during the American Civil War. Like many other communities throughout the state, Auburn has experienced a population decline, which has affected the monetary support available to the Auburn Community Cemetery Committee. This Cemetery is the final resting place of some of Auburn's first settlers, including the family names of Sommerville, Tharp, Hall and Watson, with the earliest known grave being that of a young child, Robert Collins, who died in August 1842. On January 31, 1874, Timothy and Sarah Tharp deeded the land to the trustees of the cemetery: John Sommerville, Abraham Kniseley, J. C. Gluck, Lemuel Hall, E. M. Brown, John Frymire, and George Evans. On the same day, John and Julia Kniseley conveyed a right‐of‐way to the cemetery to the same trustees. The Auburn Community Cemetery Committee provides maintenance and upkeep of the Cemetery located within the town limits.

In October 2016, concerned and forward-thinking individuals with loved ones interred in the Cemetery established a permanent charitable fund, the Friends of Auburn Community Cemetery Fund, with the Ritchie County Community Foundation (RCCF), an affiliate of the Parkersburg Area Community Foundation (PACF). The Friends of Auburn Community Cemetery Fund will provide an annual monetary distribution to the Cemetery Committee to support the public maintenance and upkeep of the Cemetery.  The founders also formed a 501(c)(3) organization to oversee the fundraising efforts and manage the relationships with PACF and the Cemetery Committee. 

"It is not our intention for this new fund to hinder annual contributions to the Cemetery Committee," said Bob Sommerville. "My family and some friends started this fund to encourage others to plan for the future of our Cemetery and to provide a long-term option for other concerned citizens to include a donation to the Fund through their estate plans and wills, or to use qualified retirement plans and IRA benefits to make a donation. By doing so, they are striving to ensure that this Cemetery is taken care of long after we have passed."

"The Fund is permanent in nature so that the fund's principal, which includes all donations to the Fund, is never invaded," said Julie Boyce, PACF's Senior Development and Stewardship Officer.  "This means the Fund will forever invest and issue an annual distribution for the benefit of the Cemetery. PACF's prudent spending policy helps to ensure that the Fund continues to grow.  Annually, the Cemetery Committee spends around $5,000 on maintaining the grounds and repairing damaged monuments of the Auburn Community Cemetery.  The early supporters of the Fund had a goal of raising $100,000 over ten years.  As of September 30, 2024 (eight years after formation) the principal balance was almost $90,000, reflecting the outstanding financial support received from many family descendants of those lying at rest in the Cemetery.”

Persons who wish to make a charitable gift to the Friends of Auburn Community Cemetery Fund can mail a check (payable to the PACF with the fund name on memo line) to PACF, P.O. Box 1762, Parkersburg, WV 26102-1762. Other forms of donation may be made by calling the Foundation's office at 304-428-4438. The "Friends of Auburn (WV) Community Cemetery" Facebook page provides more details on the activities in the Fund and at the Cemetery.  Annual gifts to the Auburn Community Cemetery Committee (for ongoing maintenance, rather than investment for the future) can be mailed to P.O. Box 92, Auburn, WV 26325.

There are 41 family names having 5 or more loved ones interred in the Cemetery. They are: Adams, Baker, Bee, Bode, Brake, Britton, Brown, Bush, Cox, Cutright, Fisher, Garrison, Hall, Hardesty , Hardman, Hayden, Heckert, Hoff, Ireland, Knisley/Kniseley, Lowther, Mason, Miller, Norman, Oldaker, Powell, Riddle, Shepler, Simmons, Smith, Sommerville/Somerville, Tharp, Thomas, Waggoner, Ward, Warner, Watson, West, Westfall, Williams, and Wright   If you know anyone from these family names with ties to Auburn, please let them know about the Fund and encourage them to donate.