Maybe it's because these stones are not common in my area of the South. All I know is once I saw this stone, I became fascinated with the man it stood to memorialize. African American research is a whole different type than what I am used to; it's much harder. It's even more difficult once you hit the slavery period. I cannot promise what I have found is the gospel, but it's what I believe is the likely story. As is the proper path to take in genealogy, I will start with the death of Daniel Ryder. Daniel Ryder is buried in Liberty United Methodist Church Cemetery in Bibb County, Georgia. At one time, the area was known as the Walden community, or Rutland district. His stone is a simple military stone with no dates. It reads: Daniel Ryder Co K 137 U.S. Cld. Inf. There is stone to the left of his that is partially sticking up out of the ground with no visible markings. Is this a random stone? Maybe it's a marker for Daniel's wife, Dilly Ann. Daniel is bu...
Telling the Tales of Tombstones