John Hadley at Seven Mile Springs November 1998

During the Thanksgiving holiday in 1998, John and Loene Dean, Polly Hadley (my mom) and myself tried to find the old Hadley grave site at Seven Miles Springs Alabama. After the first day of looking we needed some help and found some local cousins, Bob and Nip Hadley. We spent all the next day searching through dense woods getting sliced up by thorns. It was warm and very humid. We were just about to give up when a neighbor helped out and led us to the area. After about 30 more minutes of searching, Nip Hadley found it and let out a hoop and a few hollers.

The original site has stones for markers that are not engraved. In this plot lie Ben and Betty Hadley who died in 1830 and 1826 respectively. To the south of this plot is an ornate fence that encloses John Benjamin Hadley and his stillborn child. They died and were buried here in 1884, the date on the gate. The gate is beautiful wrought iron - it has 2 lambs at the bottom with a tree of life above and 2 doves in the tree. My great-great grandfather, John Hadley, son of Ben, erected the fence with his grandson John T. Hadley in 1884. They hauled it up to north Baldwin county in a wagon behind their horses. John Dean got a few good photos and we all became good friends as well as cousins. We hope to go back and clean it up to dignify our ancestors as they deserve.