OUR PRESERVATION WORK
Suwanee First
United Methodist Church
Suwanee, Gwinnett County, Georgia
A Continuing Partnership
The Suwanee Creek Chapter, NSDAR, has worked with the Suwanee First United Methodist Church family for many years. This relationship has grown to include the preservation of historic church records, cemetery documentation, and remembrance of veterans buried there.
Preserving Historic Church Records
In fall 2022, the church’s historic documents were scanned to preserve their contents and make them more widely available. A subgrant from the Digital Library of Georgia made it possible to publish images of the documents online.
The collection includes church and Sunday School records dating from the 1880s through the 1950s. Entries document marriages, infant baptisms, and deaths. Some predate Georgia’s statewide registration of births and deaths, which began in 1919, making them especially valuable for family history research.
In May 2025, chapter Daughters, with assistance from Janis Beavin, transcribed and indexed the documents. The completed transcripts were added to the Digital Library of Georgia collection.
Family Names
The church records include the following family names:
Baxter, Brown, Hanson, Martin, Moore, Pierce, Verner, and White.
Caring for the Cemetery
On October 28, 2023, chapter Daughters cleaned headstones and documented graves throughout the cemetery. Find a Grave memorials were updated with new photographs and Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates.
The cemetery contains 108 marked graves. The earliest known burial is that of Edward Jackson, whose marker is dated February 22, 1845.
Researchers can find memorial listings on Find a Grave under Cemetery ID 2158872.
Honoring Veterans
During the October 2023 workday, veterans’ graves were marked with flag holders and U.S. Flags. Each April and October, chapter Daughters replace the Flags as an ongoing act of remembrance.
Veterans at Rest
Daniel Baxter – Confederate States of America *
Richard Baxter – Confederate States of America *
William Baxter – Confederate States of America *
Wiley Baxter – Confederate States of America
Morgan Brown – Confederate States of America
James Brown – Confederate States of America
Roberts Brown – World War I
James Cato – U.S. Air Force
Paul Fisher – U.S. Army
Edward Jackson – American Revolutionary War *
Frank Johnson – U.S. Navy, World War II
Robert Link – U.S. Army
Edmund Merritt – U.S. Navy, World War II
David E Pierce, Sr. – U.S. Marines, Korea
Raymond Shipman – U.S. Army
Charles West – World War I
Russell Whidby – U.S. Army
*Memorial Stone Only; Not Buried Here
