"Little Mary Marsh" from the Rose Hill Cemetery Blog

As some of you may know, I also author a few other blogs besides this one. One of them is all about a cemetery I dearly love, Rose Hill in Macon, Georgia. I've recently been conducting some research regarding an eleven year old girl buried there. Her real name was Mary Eliza Guerineau, but she was know as "Little Mary Marsh." She was a member of a travelling juvenile comedians troupe founded by her father. On a night in late January of 1859, her dress caught fire while she was performing at the Old Ralston Hall in Macon. She suffered severe burns over her entire body and died shortly after the accident.

Using various sources, I was able to find newspaper articles telling of her death (from all across the United States) and even describing her tombstone. I found a playbill for the act she was performing on the night of the accident, and I was even able to get a photo of the building where the Old Ralston Hall was located. It's a fascinating yet tragic story. If it's something you might be interested in, you may read all about it HERE.

Mary Eliza
Only Daughter of Robert and Jane C. Guerineau
Born March 4th, 1847
at Troy, New York
Died January 27th, 1859
at Macon, Georgia

Rose Hill Cemetery
Macon, Bibb County, Georgia

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