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All cemeteries with Speer family graves are special. However, numerous cemeteries found during my research are particularly important to our family. Some of these are historic cemeteries. Others may be the final resting places of many Speer individuals, entire families, or our oldest ancestors.

All of these cemeteries are well worth visiting; the sooner the better. Most tombstones are made from relatively-soft marble or sandstone and their inscriptions seldom last more than 120 years. Many of our Speer tombstones are no longer readable. Some cemeteries and/or graves are no longer being maintained and will soon disappear.

This well-known historic cemetery is located near the abandoned communities of Bull Town and Church Hill, approximately 5.5 miles southeast of Lowndesville and 11 miles west of Abbeville. It lies on the east side of an unmarked and unpaved County Road about 1.8 miles north of County Highway 244 and 1.3 miles south of the junction of County Highways 55 and 140. It lies on the low ridge between Morrow Creek to the east and Gill Creek to the west. Nothing exists at the site except the heavily overgrown cemetery. The unmarked County Road is a surviving remnant of an historic late eighteenth and early nineteenth century well-traveled road through the Back County.

A fort against Indian attacks was built at a nearby spring in 1761. It was called Bull Fort in honor of William Bull, the Royal Governor of South Carolina. Governor Bull made peace with the Indians in 1761 and ended the French and Indian War. Peace brought great expansion and prosperity to the Back Country. Bull Fort was later used as protection against the British and the Tories during the Revolutionary War. Today it no longer exists.

The first Bull Town church was organized in 1772; but it was later moved to the site of the present graveyard and renamed Rocky River Presbyterian Church. The celebrated educator and preacher, Dr. Moses Waddel was pastor here for nine years. The church was subsequently moved to its present site two miles to the southeast.

William Speer, Sr. and his family were members of the Rocky River Presbyterian Church. William Speer, Jr.'s homestead at Monterey was located only 1.7 miles to the east and this family also attended the church.

The map accompanying the 1820 Mills' Atlas identifies the site as "R River M. H." Early churches were called Meeting Houses. The "Church Hill School" is shown nearby on the map. Church Hill was a US Post Office from 1820 to 1850. An 1830 letter from South Carolina Representative George McDuffie to State Comptroller General Alexander Speer², who apparently lived in the community, was addressed to Church Hill. In addition, Alexander Speer's famous report to the State Legislature, also in 1830, was mailed from the Church Hill Post Office.

Grier's 1894 Official Topographic Map of Abbeville County identifies the site as "Rocky River P Ch." The map also shows that Elijah Hunt Speer³ lived nearby.

The cemetery has not been maintained for many years and today is heavily overgrown.

Many pioneers, including the following Speer individuals are buried here:

The Smyrna Methodist Church Cemetery is located on County Highway 529 Spur about 1.4 miles northwest of Lowndesville, Abbeville County, South Carolina. It lies immediately east of the junction of County Highways 79 and 64 and is 1.7 miles southeast of the Anderson-Abbeville County line. Two sections of the cemetery exist; the larger section lies east of Highway 79 while the smaller section lies to the west of the highway. The Smyrna Methodist Church is located in Lowndesville.

Members of the Andrew Jackson Speer³ and William Mark Speer⁴ families are buried in the large section of the cemetery:

The Providence Presbyterian Church Cemetery is located in the center of Lowndesville, Abbeville County, South Carolina. The church and cemetery lie on the west side of State Highway 71 at the ninety-degree bend in that road. The church was formerly called Lowndesville Presbyterian.

Many Speer families attended this church and several are current members. John Speer² joined the church in 1809 and was ordained a Ruling Elder in 1816. In addition to John's family, most of the other Speer family members buried here were descendants of William, Jr.², Elijah Hunt³ and Lawrence Orr Speer⁴. They include:

The Old Silverbrook Cemetery is the City Cemetery and is located on the southeast side of Anderson, Anderson County, South Carolina. It lies west of the intersection of US Highways 76-178 and 29. This large cemetery is bounded by White Street on the west and Shockley Ferry Road (US 29) on the east. The entrance is from White Street.

The many family members buried here include:

The Plumb Branch City Cemetery is located on the northeast edge of Plumb Branch, McCormick County, South Carolina. It lies on the east side of County Highway 101 between County Highways 139 and 283. It is approximately 0.4 miles from the center of town.

The following family members are buried here:

The Melrose Cemetery is located on the northwest side of Abbeville, Abbeville County, South Carolina. It lies between and immediately north of the intersection of State Highways 28 and 71. This is approximately 1.4 miles northwest of the town square.

Buried here are:

The Oakland Cemetery is the Gaffney City Cemetery and is located near Limestone College in Gaffney, Cherokee County, South Carolina. It is to the west of College Drive and is bounded by College Drive, Thompson Street, Church Street and Rest Street.

Buried here are:

The Riverside Cemetery is located along the west side of the Ocmulgee River in Macon, Bibb County, Georgia. It lies between Riverside Drive and the river just north of town center.

Buried here are:

The Oconee Hill Cemetery is located between the Oconee River and the University of Georgia Football Stadium in Athens, Clarke County, Georgia. The entrance is from East Campus Drive immediately east of the stadium.

Buried here are:

The Bethlehem Methodist Church and Cemetery are located on the south side of State Highway 72 in southeast Elbert County, Georgia. They lie about 2.5 miles west of the Savannah River and 2 miles east of the intersection of State Highways 72 and 79. This church was organized in 1788.

Buried here are:

The Hillview Cemetery is located on the east side of US Highway 27 in LaGrange, Troup County, Georgia.

Buried here are:

The Ruckersville United Methodist Church and Cemetery are located in the Ruckersville Community about 6.5 miles northeast of Elberton, Elbert County, Georgia. They lie on the south side of the Ruckersville Road just west of the Community center. This church was organized in 1796.

Buried here are:

The Van's Creek Baptist Church and Cemetery are located in the Community of Ruckersville, about 6.5 miles northeast of Elberton, Elbert County, Georgia. They lie along a short loop road north of the Ruckersville Road. This church was organized in 1785.

Buried here are:

The Westview Cemetery is located in southwest Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia. It lies immediately north of Interstate 20 between exits 17 and 18. The address is 1680 Westview Drive, S.W. which is approximately 2.8 miles from downtown.

The following family members are buried here:

The Culloden Cemetery is located in the Town of Culloden in the extreme southwest corner of Monroe County, Georgia. It lies on the northwest edge of the small town about a mile west of US Highway 341.

Buried here are:

The Oakhill Cemetery is located in Griffin, Spalding County, Georgia. It lies on both sides of State Highway 16 east of the center of town. Members of the Alexander Middleton Speer³ family are buried in the Old Section south of the highway.

Buried here are:

The Isabella Methodist Church and Cemetery are located at Maplesville, Chilton County, Alabama. They lie along County Highway 29 (or 139?), approximately two miles north of State Highway 22.

Buried here are:

The Speer Family Cemetery is located on the west side of US Highway 231 and approximately 1,000 feet north of Little Weoka Creek in Elmore County (formerly part of Coosa County), Alabama. The cemetery lies on private property in a grove of trees atop a hill approximately 1,300 feet west of the highway. The map location is in Section 11, T.20, R. 18 and marks the former site of the small Speer Chapel (church). The property is owned by Mrs. Judson Waites.

Buried here are:

The Lakeview Cemetery is located on west 25th Street in Sanford. In Block 25 adjacent to the large gazebo in the center of the old section of the cemetery, the following Speer family members are buried: