In a posting to the Rootsweb Message Board Sept.  28, 2002  Leo lwlittle@yahoo.com posts an article written by Ted O, Brooke which appeared in Vol 31, No 2 of the Georgia Genealogical Society Quarterly, Page 101-104.

I quote from that posting,

"Note: This cemetery has been surveyed and published three times, with varying degrees of accuracy and completeness. It is identified as "Shakerag" (called "Little" or "Terry') in Cemeteries of Forsyth County Georgia, page [34 135; as "Strickland Cemetery" in Cemetery Records, Atlanta and Vicinity volume 4 pages 263 264 (recorded 1941); as two cemeteries, "Strickland Family Cemetery" and Unknown", in the Georgia Genealogist, County Records Forsyth County Cemeteries, pages 86 87, which was a very incomplete listing and where it is noted "could it be a part of the Shakerag Church"?"

Donna's Comments on the above cemetery.

When I copied it in the early 1970s, there were no signs identifying the cemetery by name.

The residents in Shakerag community that I contacted identified it as either the Little Cemetery or the Terry Cemetery.

After this article appeared
"Tale of white Forsyth not fully factual
Author: By Mike Christensen Staff Writer
Date: 06-28-1987 Publication: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution Page Number: A/01 "

I was contacted by a lady (kin to the Strickland family) whose husband was a deacon in the Afro-American Church located across the County Line in Fulton County. She explained that half of the cemetery was white and the other half, which was black, was maintained by her church.

Over the years I have received requests from different heirs regarding the upkeep of the cemetery and complaining that only half was being maintained.

The cemetery is currently surrounded by property condemned and now owned by Forsyth County. The purpose of condemning was to place a sewage treatment plant on the property. On their design map that was exhibited in 1996, a large settling pond was located just to the rear of the cemetery,  which deeply concerned me. At the time I questioned whether this pond was to be lined.

I think if you consider the time line and the source of the surveys mentioned, you will see they don't really contradict each other. The solution would be to abstract the deeds and to see who owned the property at which time period.

Remember that in the 1830's the general area contained the platted town of Shady Grove.

After Mr. Shelton opened his store at the crossroads there, the area was known as Sheltonville.

In 1912, according to the Sheltonville history, "a black church was burned".

In 1941, the two halves could have been considered two cemeteries, the family cemetery and the Afro American Church cemetery.

One of the surveys mentioned : "in the Georgia Genealogist, County Records Forsyth County Cemeteries, pages 86 87, which was a very incomplete listing and where it is noted "could it be a part of the Shakerag Church"?"
     I believe without checking the original source is the survey done by Ms. Wilson's high school class. Each student went and copied a cemetery and turned it in as part of their homework. Since they ask about the "Shakerag" Church and we have no records of a Shakerag Church, it would be a good project to go thru the deeds and see if this property was at one time owned by the "a black church was burned" mentioned in the Sheltonville history.

Donna Parrish