| Notes |
- Married cousin. Spelled Pruett and Prueit. Prewitt..One source says John was landowner at Tuscaloosa, AL and the richest man in the state. He had 300 slaves "Early Pioneers of Tuscaloosa, AL.
Census : 1830 Tuscaloosa Co., Al
1840 Tuscaloosa Co., Al pg. 227, John W. Pruitt ,3 M 10-15, 1 male 40-50, 1 F under 5; 1 F 10-15, 1 F 30-40.
1850 Tus. Co. Al, p. 237, #658 John W. Prewitt 59 TN Farmer 10000, Elizabeth 40 GA, Isaac 17 AL, Jacob 15 AL, Susan13, John 9, William 6, Margaret 2, Samuel T. Johnson 17
1870 Tus. Co. Al #94 John W. Prewitt 77 TN, Elizabeth 61 GA.
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From the Montgomery Advertiser 3/3/2009
NORTHPORT -- At the end of a narrow, gravel road on the edge of Lake Tuscaloosa is the final resting place of at least 300 slaves.
Many of the graves are unmarked, while some are identified by names scrawled on crude sandstone markers.
The Old Prewitt Slave Cemetery dates back more than 180 years, but since the 1970s has been nestled right against the bank of Lake Tuscaloosa.
Directly across the lake from the slave cemetery is the Prewitt-Hagler Cemetery, the burial place of about 20 of Tuscaloosa County's earliest residents, including John Welch Prewitt, a slaveowner who fought in the War of 1812.
When the lake was impounded to provide an adequate source of drinking water for Tuscaloosa, it formed a deep boundary between the slaves and those who once owned them and blocked public access to both historic cemeteries.
Tuscaloosa resident and Prewitt slave descendant James "Wood" Wilson has obtained permission from two private landowners to access the Prewitt Slave Cemetery.
But now, he is trying to ensure the public can get to the slave burial ground for years to come.
"You've got to give the public rights to access this cemetery," Wilson said.
Before his death at the age of 85 in March 1878, John Welch Prewitt, had amassed an estimated 6,000-acre plantation just north of what is now Northport.
But now, because of the lake and the sale of property from one private landholder to another, the Old Prewitt Slave Cemetery is no longer freely accessible to the public. Private property must be crossed to get there.
And the Prewitt-Hagler Cemetery is completely landlocked, with its only public access point coming not over land but by water. A privately owned forest encloses the cemetery's other borders.
Earlier this month, Wilson took his plea to the Tuscaloosa County Commission, and the county's Engineering Department and legal team are looking for answers.
Mike Henderson, the county's engineering coordinator, said he's nearing a possible resolution that he intends to take to Jim Adkins, who owns the land east of the slave cemetery, and Mike Musgrove, owner of the land on the cemetery's north side.
One question that Henderson is trying to answer is whether the County Commission ever abandoned Old Byler Road, which leads from Bull Slough Road to the edge of Lake Tuscaloosa.
Adkins' driveway parallels the Old Byler Road roadbed, and he has placed a gate at the edge of his property to keep out trespassers and others who used to hang out at the edge of Lake Tuscaloosa on the land he now owns.
"People were coming out here every night," Adkins said of his reasons for the gate.
But the gate is a barrier to Wilson and others trying to get to the cemetery. Now, he is using a makeshift dirt road that cuts across Musgrove's property.
Musgrove said he takes no issue with Wilson getting onto the cemetery, but he and his wife -- both lawyers -- are concerned about the liability that comes with granted unfettered access across their land.
"It's kind of a unique situation," Musgrove said. "I'm not denying them access. I'm allowing them to use my property because I don't want to let the cemetery go bad."
He's also unsure whether the cemetery is considered public or private.
Although it was used to bury the slaves of John Welch Prewitt, most of it is now on land owned by Edwina H. Aldridge, according to county land records.
But the white cemetery across the lake isn't listed in any one person's name. Instead, that parcel of land is owned by Hagler Cemetery, according to county records.
County Attorney Robert Spence said the county government's only duty is to make sure access to a cemetery isn't blocked to those entitled to be there.
"I don't think we have an obligation to go out there, mark off the cemetery and build a road to it," Spence said.
Spence cited a section of state law that mandates that the owners of land on which a private cemetery rests must give access to "family members, friends, or descendants of deceased persons buried there; any cemetery plot owner; and any person engaged in genealogical, historical, or cultural research ..."
The public, including the casual history buff, is excluded.
But that's not enough for Wilson, who said he wants to make sure future generations can freely come see what some consider to be the largest slave cemetery in Alabama.
Nor is it enough for Eloise Prewitt, the great-great-great granddaughter of John Welch Prewitt, who has been involved with restoring the slave cemetery since the 1990s.
She has never made a similar request for the Prewitt-Hagler Cemetery because the difficulty of accessing it has preserved it, she said.
"It is totally hidden from the world," she said, "and that is the reason that cemetery has stayed intact all these years."
But the slave cemetery, which carries obvious historical significance, is not in the same condition it was a century ago.
And with enough public attention, she and Wilson believe it can be preserved for centuries to come.
"I've never had anybody come to me and say, I want go to John Welch Prewitt's grave ...,'" Eloise Prewitt said. "But the slave cemetery, it is very historic and it needs to have public access."
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1793 - 1878 (85 years)
