Sunday afternoon, in northern Chilton County, a group of descendants of a Revolutionary War veteran gathered around his grave to celebrate his life and the freedom that his service gave us.

Jonathan Clower was born in 1763 in Berks County, Pennsylvania, and served in the North Carolina Continental Line. After the war he married Mary Shuler. They moved to Alabama with his family and were some of the first settlers in what is now Chilton County. Clower died in 1837 and his grave is listed as the first recorded grave in Chilton County.

The gravesite, known as Caviness Gardens, is named for Jonathan Clower’s son in law, Andrew Caviness who owned the land on which Clower is buried.

Descendants of Jonathan Clower came from as far away as Texas and Arkansas to attend the dedication ceremony, other descendants represent the family members who stayed in Alabama including one descendant who lives only a few miles away from his ancestor’s grave.

Scott Martin, a Jonathan Clower descendant and member of the Cahaba-Coosa Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, organized the dedication. The Chilton Cemetery Association provided several volunteers for the event. Special thanks to those individuals who assisted in the cleanup of the gravesite: Jenna Burns, David Dennis, Charles Ellison, Kevin Laws, Scott Martin, Jeff Reece, and Tye Southard. Thanks also to Gerald “Buck” Cost who volunteered to bring his golf cart and transported people the 400 yards into the woods, enabling numerous elderly and disabled people to attend the event.

Special thanks also to Hancock Forest Management and John Hancock Life Insurance for granting access to the gravesite and for authorization for the ceremony.