'Cemeteries of the Smokies'

Some cemeteries in what's now the Great Smoky Mountains National Park are small family graveyards like this one in the woods of North Carolina's Cataloochee area. Great Smoky Mountains Association

John and Lurena Oliver, the first permanent settlers of Cades Cove, was buried in a church cemetery there. Great Smoky Mountains Association

One of the most unusual stones in a cemetery in what's now the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is that of Howard Moss Sr. in North Carolina's Old Payne Cemetery. near Fontana Dam. The marker is made like a tree stump. Moss was a retired cotton mill worker from Charlotte, N.C. who died of a heart attack while in a boat on Fontana Lake. Great Smoky Mountains Association

Seventy-five graves are in the Floyd Cemetery in North Carolina. This low stone wall enclosed six graves there. Great Smoky Mountains Assocation

Seen here is the tombstone of Cades Cove resident Nathan Sparks, who outsmarted Confederate raiders during the war. Gail Palmer, who wrote the book "Cemeteries of the Smokies," is a Sparks descdent. Staff Photo by Amy McRary Amy McRary

One of Dolly Parton's ancestors is buried in what's now the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Great Smoky Mountains Association

A simple, one word stone marks this grave in what's now the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Great Smoky Mountains Assocation

The story of Bas Shaw - and his tombstone is part of a new book "Cemeteries of the Smokies." Great Smoky Mountains National Park/Cemeteries of the Smokies

The Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery in Cades Cove at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Amy Smotherman Burgess, Knoxville News Sentinel