Cocklin's Cemetery

The Final Resting Place of the Millers and Beelmans of Shepherdstown

Cocklin's Cemetery is easy to miss. The small graveyard on Lisburn Road is tucked in between a cornfield and Ashcombe Farms, a community of townhouses and single-family homes. One could drive by it hundreds of times and never see it.

This sign marks the entrance to the cemetery.

This tiny cemetery has among its inhabitants eight of our ancestors from the Miller family tree. Seven of these graves are still clearly marked.

Adam Miller (1795-1879) was Zella Miller's great-grandfather.

Sophia Hahn (1798-1876), Adam's wife was Zella's great-grandmother.

George H Miller (1819-1895), Zella's grandfather, rests in Cocklin's Cemetery, but he does not have a headstone. It is possible that he is buried here, next to his first wife, Susanna, and the monument he had erected for her. J Zeamer did not list George among the headstone inscriptions that he transcribed in 1904. This must mean that George never had his own headstone. 

Sarah Beelman (1830-1890) was George's second wife and Zella's grandmother. She was buried among the Beelman plots.

George Beelman (1786-1866), was Sarah Ann's father and Zella's great-grandfather.

 Eve Brandt (1794-1884) was George Beelman's wife, Sarah Ann's mother, and Zella's great-grandmother.

Christian Beelman (1751-1804) was George Beelman's father and Zella's great-great-grandfather. 

Christina Brenneison (1760-1820), Christian's wife, was Zella's great-great-grandmother.