Southern Graves

I'm late to this discussion, but it's one I'd like to join. :-) Terry Thornton at The Graveyard Rabbit of the Hill Country started with Grave Marker Symbols: The Southern Cross of Honor and UCV (link no longer available). Judith Shubert at The Graveyard Rabbit of the Covered Bridges continued with Hood County Texas: C.S.A. Veterans & Southern Cross of Honor Symbol . [UPDATE, 1 June 2009: Judith has moved this post to the blog, Cemeteries with Texas Ties . The link has been corrected to reflect this move. You may also link to her article via her nice comment on this post.] Wikipedia states: The Southern Cross of Honor was a military decoration meant to honor the officers, noncommissioned officers, and privates for their valor in the armed forces of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. It was formally approved by the Congress of the Confederate States on October 13, 1862, and was originally intended to be on par with the Union Arm...

Martha Mills Harp died on this date 91 years ago. She was born 20 December 1845. Martha was buried in Sardis Cemetery ; Bibb County, Georgia. Augusta B. Heard died on this date 53 years ago. She was born 30 November 1866, and she was also buried in Sardis Cemetery. Emma Lou Nash died on this date 32 years ago. She was born 18 October 1900. Emma was buried at Sardis Cemetery as well.

Mrs. Eliza B. R. Mendenhall died on this date 160 years ago. You can learn a little more about her by reading a post from a couple of weeks ago - Mrs. Eliza B. R. Mendenhall and Her Infant Grandson .

Richmond Hezekiah (R. H.) Watson died on this date 95 years ago. He was born 28 July 1839. R. H. was the father of Crawford V. Watson , about whom I wrote a post last month. Father and son were both buried at Magnolia Park Cemetery in Warner Robins, Houston County, Georgia. At the time of both burials, the cemetery was known as the Watson Family Burying Ground, or Watson Cemetery.

Fannie Lou Barton died on this date 41 years ago. She was born 11 September 1877. Fannie was buried in Sardis Cemetery ; Bibb County, Georgia.

Frances E. King died on this date 84 years ago. According to her gravestone, Mrs. King was born 29 April 1839, and was the widow of Lt. James Carswell King. She was buried in Liberty United Methodist Church Cemetery; Bibb County, Georgia. Mrs. Ruby D. Peavy, wife of Edwards Peavy, died on this date 2 years ago. She was born 26 June 1925. Mrs. Peavy was buried in Magnolia Park Cemetery , Warner Robins, Houston County, Georgia. Southern Graves Home

Carlton W. Barton died on this date 80 years ago. He was born 28 February 1868. Mr. Barton was buried in Sardis Cemetery ; Bibb County, Georgia. Poectus L. Self passed away on this date 35 years ago at age 90. Poectus was buried in Magnolia Park Cemetery ; Warner Robins, Houston County, Georgia.

Anna W. Kornahrens Behlmer died 62 years ago on December 4, 1946. She was born 13 October 1872. Mrs. Behlmer was buried in Bethany Cemetery; Charleston, South Carolina. The final words on her gravestone are Auf Wiedersehen (Goodbye).

I have kinfolk from the Stoddard County, Missouri area, and I thought I'd help spread the word... Efforts Underway to Maintain Historic Stoddard County Barn, Cemetery

Eld. Walter J. Heard died on this date 83 years ago. He was born 15 November 1860. Inscribed on his gravestone is the following: "Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou has heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus." Elder John Thomas Reynolds died on this date 76 years ago. He was born 5 November 1845 and was the husband of Mary Emma. The tombstone he shares with his wife is inscribed with "Bold as a lion and harmless as a dove." Both Mr. Heard and Mr. Reynolds were buried in Sardis Cemetery ; Bibb County, Georgia.

Frank Shave died on this date 53 years ago. He was buried in Magnolia Park Cemetery ; Warner Robins, Houston County, Georgia. His gravestone transcription: Frank H. Shave, Jr. Maryland Sgt -- USAF World War II Mar 31, 1928 - Dec 21, 1955

Once again, the work of a fellow Graveyard Rabbit provides inspiration for a post to this blog. Mr. Morgan at the Central Florida Graveyard Rabbit composed Graveyard Wildlife , an article about an active bald eagle nest in a downtown Orlando cemetery. This reminded me of a visit I made this past summer to Beech Springs Methodist Church Cemetery in Twiggs County, Georgia that had several young wild turkeys running through it. They were hanging around the church sign when I pulled up. I thought they would surely run from me, but they didn't. I took a couple photos before I even stepped out of the car. I even attempted to capture them on video: If my memory had served me better a month ago, this would have been a nice Thanksgiving Day post! *Sigh* I thank Mr. Morgan for reminding me of my own graveyard wildlife, nonetheless. If you are interested in learning more about this Beech Springs Cemetery, seeing more video from the cemetery, and connecting to more burials informati...

Minnie A. Hammock died on this date 49 years ago. She was buried in Liberty United Methodist Church Cemetery; Bibb County, Georgia. Read this blog post for more information about her --> Minnie Lewis Avant Hammock .

If you ever see this emblem on a gravestone, you will know the individual it memorializes was connected to the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, commonly referred to as Shriners. This organization was established in 1870 and is an extension of Freemasonry. All Shriners must be Masons. To learn more, visit the A.A.O.N.M.S. page at Wikipedia or the official web site of the Shriners of North America . Note: The photo is from the gravestone of Thomas Harris Walker (born 16 October 1926, died 30 April 1953) at Magnolia Park Cemetery in Warner Robins, Houston County, Georgia.

Ora Hudson Bryant died on this date 42 years ago. She was born 17 September 1888. Mrs. Bryant was buried in Sardis Cemetery ; Bibb County, Georgia.

C. H. Schlichting Kornahrens died on this date 96 years ago. She was born at Bremervorde, Hannover, Germany 19 January 1849. She died at Summerville, South Carolina and was buried in Bethany Cemetery; Charleston, South Carolina. The photo is of the angel on her tombstone. H. Coburn Chancey died on this date 20 years ago. Coburn was born 10 December 1912 and was buried in Sardis Cemetery ; Bibb County, Georgia.

Mrs. Eliza B. R. Mendenhall died almost 160 years ago on December 29, 1848. She was 67 years of age at the time of her death, so her birth year was about 1781. She, along with her infant grandson John Bruce Limehouse, was interred in St. Philip's Church Cemetery ; Charleston, South Carolina. I love the wording on this stone. In case you cannot read it via the photo, here is a transcription: This marble marks the spot where repose the remains of Mrs. Eliza B. R. Mendenhall, Who closed her earthly career on the 29th December A.D. 1848, aged 67 years. By her side sleeps her infant grandson John Bruce Limehouse. "Thou art gone to the grave, but we will not deplore thee whose God was thy ransom, they Guardian and Guide. He gave thee, He took thee and He will restore thee, and death has no sting for the Savior hath died." This stone is consecrated to a beloved mother by her daughter. Southern Graves Home

Mrs. Self passed away approximately one month shy of her 102nd birthday. She was laid to rest in Magnolia Park Cemetery ; Warner Robins, Houston County, Georgia.

There's an interesting article about vital records kept in the state of Alabama at the online home of The Birmingham News . The recording of births and deaths in the state began 100 years ago. Here's a note from the article written by Dave Sparks: ...records show that the highest death rate that ever occurred in Alabama came in 1918 after the Spanish flu pandemic swept through the state. More than a third of all deaths in Alabama that year were caused by influenza or pneumonia. In all, the flu and pneumonia killed more than 11,000 people in Alabama during 1918. Read the entire article here --> Health Statisticians Hit Century Mark, Still Counting

I'll continue to follow this provacative and controversial story. It sparks a lot of thought and emotion. " Board Votes to Move Graves for Landfill; NAACP Wants Inquiry ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- The NAACP in Georgia is calling for the state attorney general's office to investigate a county board after it voted to move about 300 African-American graves from a site that will be used to expand a landfill. The Clayton County Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday to allow the graves in Union Bethel A.M.E. Church Cemetery to be moved to a graveyard in nearby Riverdale, a suburb south of Atlanta." READ MORE Southern Graves Home

This post was generated for Smile for the Camera - A Carnival of Images . The word prompt is "Stocking Stuffer." The photo above features my handsome grandfather atop a PEAVY gravestone. My mother and I took him some time ago to pay respects to some cousins at their final resting places. These graves were approximately 10 miles from his home, and he was not aware of them. I was so happy to show him these and other spots related to his cousins around town. Pa had stopped to take a breather while Mom and I were a short distance away documenting some other stones. I saw him, handed Mom the camera, and asked her to snap a photo. I think she got a great one. I would stuff the stockings of my grandfather and two of his daughters with this photo. Grandpa loves hearing stories I find about his and my family history. He doesn't do the genealogy directly, but loves to pour over anything pertaining to it. Every now and again he finds something "old" around t...

William Franklin Weaver Feb 28, 1881 July 10, 1918 How much light, how much joy, Is buried with my darling boy. Mr. William Weaver is buried in Hillcrest Cemetery, sometimes known as Reynolds City Cemetery, in Taylor County, Georgia. According to Ancestry World Tree submitter Benson Willis, William was the son of Zachariah Taylor Weaver and Mattie J. Russell. William married Jetta Muselle Alexander in 1907, and they had five children. William's parents, his wife, a brother, and a son are all buried in Hillcrest Cemetery.

This beautiful stone can be found at Magnolia Park Cemetery in Warner Robins, Houston County, Georgia: John 14: 1-3 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am..."

Tabernacle Cemetery joins historic register By CHRIS TRAINOR/Senior staff writer Monday, December 1, 2008 "Old Tabernacle Cemetery, the final resting place of Methodist ministers, Confederate generals, and Revolutionary War veterans, was for many years an ignored and often abused location in Greenwood County. However, following its recent listing on the National Register of Historic Places, the cemetery will forever serve as a source of pride and a marker of history in the community once known as Tabernacle." READ MORE Southern Graves Home