Southern Graves

The prompt for the latest Graveyard Rabbit Carnival is "favorite cemetery-related photo," and the one above would certainly be one for me. I actually used it in my very first carnival post, Smile for the Camera, Grandpa , more than seven months ago. A quote from that post: "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." Picking a favorite cemetery-related photo wasn't exactly easy. I enjoy visiting cemeteries so much, and I more often than not have a favorite ...

I will highlight a website I was just introduced to for this Follow Friday . It is the Gravestone Photo Project . Per the homepage, "The Gravestone Photo Project (GPP) is a PHP software project that was designed to provide a web-based archive of aging gravestone images." Actually, the software is no longer available for download. But! Several states (23) did so before it was taken off the market. The following southern states are included, and I encourage you to check them out and add them to your research bookmarks: - Arkansas Gravestones (over 205,200 records) - Florida Gravestones (over 12,300 records) - Louisiana Gravestones (over 1,700 records) - Virginia Gravestones (over 14,900 records)

Uploaded photos from Hillcrest Cemetery in Reynolds, Georgia to Flickr. A few of them tie into my personal family history. View photostream.

I have not commented on the Burr Oak Cemetery (Cook County, Illinois) story to date, and do not plan a diatribe here. Suffice it to say, the situation is awful and horrifying, to say the least. I do want to pass along some information I first saw on the Olive Tree Genealogy Blog : "Authorities plan to give the public access to a searchable online database of nearly 100,000 graves at the historic black cemetery... The Cook County sheriff's office says the database will likely be available later this week." You can read more at Olive Tree Genealogy Blog and Huffington Post . If you have not heard about the Burr Oak Cemetery scandal, a Google search will provide you with more information than you can probably stand. You might also want to visit the cemetery page on FindAGrave . They have almost 1,000 interments listed.

Sarah C. Wife of F. F. Paris Died May 15, 1902 Safely Anchored In The Haven Of Eternal Rest Hillcrest Cemetery; Reynolds, Taylor County, Georgia Sarah was the wife of Fletcher F. Paris. Fletcher, a veteran of the Civil War, was the son of Dollie Lewis and Dr. J. R. Paris. When searching for an obituary for Sarah, I came across this touching tribute to her by Mrs. Chas. Hugh Neisler of Reynolds, Ga: 8 June 1902 Macon Weekly Telegraph , Georgia IN MEMORIAM Mrs. Fletcher F. Paris, Died May 15, 1902 Her memory is with us, fresh and sweet, A flower to bloom within our hearts alway, -- Altho' the early path that knew her feet Is dreary for her sake; and incomplete Are all the days for sake of yesterday, God knows, (who in His wisdom willed it so) If it be best that we should walk alone -- Without the tenderness that used to flow Unceasing from her heart, that now lies low Under the covering of earth and stone. And yet, not so -- the earth and marble lie Above but dust returned to dust,...

Lucy Wife Of Henry A. Paris Died Mar 3, 1890 Within this consecrated tomb An Angel spirit sleeps, But when the trump of God shall sound She'll rise and glory reap. - Her Husband Hillcrest Cemetery; Reynolds, Georgia Photo © 2008, 2009 S. Lincecum

Lizzie B. Wife of A. J. Brown Sept 14, 1878 Jan 23, 1914 She was too good, and too gentle to dwell in this cold world. Family Cemetery; Meriwether County, Georgia Photo © 2009 S. Lincecum

Recent uploads include photos from Rose Hill Cemetery in Macon, Georgia; photos from our trip to Tennessee in 2006; and photos from the Cove Baptist Church Cemetery in Meriwether County, Georgia. I also added some photos from my personal family history. View photostream.

A portion of the Cove Baptist Church Cemetery is now online at the Southern Graves site . Transcriptions and photos can be found concerning individuals with the BROWN surname. I've also uploaded this information to FindAGrave and Flickr .

The above photo is from the gravestone of Frank Augustus Coburn (1861-1908) and can be found in Rose Hill Cemetery, Macon, Georgia . It is of an open book with a cross through a crown inside a circle. Below the circle is ECCLES. XII 1-7. If you look closely, you might be able to make out a series of letters going around the circle. Starting at the top, they are H T W S S T K S. Quite a lot of symbolism going on here. For that, I always turn to the works of Douglas Keister. Using two of his books, Stories in Stone: A Field Guide to Cemetery Symbolism and Iconography and Forever Dixie: A Field Guide to Southern Cemeteries & Their Residents , we can decipher what some of it might mean. I use the word might because we can rarely be sure of what was going on in the mind of the individual who made the decisions as to what was to be put on any particular stone. We must always remember that. The open book, says Keister: "In its purest form an open book can be compared...

Terry Thornton of Hill Country of Monroe County Mississippi alerted many of us to this story. I'm passing it along with very few words to add. I simply cannot believe how greedy, disrespectful, and callous all persons involved in the decision-making process for this destruction of local, state, regional and cultural history can be. As Terry said, "Read it and weep." Oxford, Alabama Destroying A 1500-Year-Old Indian Mound To Build A Sam's Club

If you are in any way familiar with Twitter , you are probably aware of "Follow Friday." In case you don't know, that's the day of the week that everyone posts names of people they follow. It is a way of bringing attention to the people that the people you follow, follow. Get it? Think of it as a chance to meet some people you might not have otherwise met. I have decided that, on occasion, I might just very well have my own "Follow Friday." I will share with you some people and blogs I follow. They might be on Twitter, they might not. You might have already heard of them and know how great they are, or you might not. In this inaugural edition, I would like to introduce you to The Daily Undertaker . This blog is described as "a funeral and memorial service journal." The author is Mr. Patrick McNally. In his profile, he states: "Funeral service is an opportunity to serve families and help them through a very difficult time. We need to ...

Frances Adelia Wickes Born 1832 Died 1908 May She Rest In Peace St. Joseph's Catholic Church Section Rose Hill Cemetery Macon, Bibb County, Georgia The memorial dedicated to Mrs. Frances Adelia Wicks is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen. I almost always stop by and visit it during my trips to Rose Hill Cemetery. Mrs. Wicks is described in an obituary as "profoundly religious." I'm sure she is very pleased with this magnificent sculpture... 8 August 1908 Macon Weekly Telegraph Deaths and Funerals WICKS The news of the death of Mrs. Frances Adelia Wicks was received in Macon during the wee and caused profound regret amongst the many friends of the deceased here. The end came at the home of her daughter, Mrs. L. L. Dempsey at Ridgefield, Conn. A native of Connecticut, Mrs. Wicks made her home in Macon many years ago and while here endeared herself to all who had the pleasure of knowing her. To a refined and gentle nature she added a keen intellect, a well sto...

I actually created an account at flickr some time ago, and I am finally starting to use it. I am not a professional photographer by any stretch of the imagination, but every now and again I get a good shot or two. Those occasions might be shared with a few groups I've joined. Plus, I hope this is a good application for keeping my cemetery photos organized. I'm only using the free version, for now. We'll see how it goes. My first few uploads are photos from the Russellville Baptist Church and Cemetery (link goes to blog post about my trip). I added this photo to the Southern Cemeteries group . So! If you're on flickr and want to find me, I'm southerngraves .

Here are the most popular posts over the last 30 days: - The City of Lost Graves - Update on Unmarked Graves from 1800's Found in South Bibb County, Georgia - 10 Best Places to See Dead People - Southern Cross of Honor - Unmarked Graves from 1800's Found in South Bibb County, Georgia - Want to Take a City's Pulse? Head for the Graveyard. - Millions of Southern State Death Records Published - Adrienne Dure's Gravesite Reminded Me of an Important Lesson - This Rico Rant Might Interest You - In Case You Missed It -- May 2009