Southern Graves

George Christopher Elder, Sr. May 8, 1967 Aug 28, 2004 City of Conyers Police GA #581 Midway Baptist Church Cemetery; Lizella, Bibb County, Georgia Photo © 2010 S. Lincecum

I recently posted an article at my Rose Hill Cemetery blog entitled A Remarkable Funeral: Burial of the Victims of the Woolfolk Tragedy . If you live in the middle Georgia area, you might have heard of the Woolfolk murders. In August 1887 Thomas Woolfolk supposedly killed nine of his family members with an axe. I use the term "supposedly" because there has been much debate over whether or not Thomas was the true perpetrator of the crime. He was convicted and hung for the murders at Perry, Georgia in 1890. While I do not recount the details of the murders, I have provided a short video of the family plot and a newspaper article describing the funeral. I do link to an article describing the particulars of the crime, if interested. On this lot are the graves of nine victims of a kinsman who slew with an axe almost his entire family. This was Thomas Woolfolk, and the extraordinary crime was committed one night in August, 1887. He paid the penalty of his deed on the ...

I have posted more than 40 photos from Midway Baptist Church Cemetery to my Picasa web albums. This small church cemetery is located in Lizella, Bibb County, Georgia. Midway Baptist Church Cemetery Surnames include Blasingame, Clark, Davis, Elder, Gates, Greene, Hamrick, Ingram, Lamar, McCallum, McCord, Moseley / Mosely, Williams, and Yarbrough. Photos may be viewed individually or as a slideshow. Some commentary is included, and comments are enabled.

I found this symbol recently on a ledger marker in Midway Baptist Church Cemetery at Lizella, GA. I figured it connected to the masons somehow, but a little bit of digging suggests that is not the case. This is the symbol for the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. The UBC is North America’s largest building-trades union, with more than a half-million members in the construction and wood-products industries. It was founded in 1881 by Peter J. McGuire. His tireless work in the early years of the union led to the eight-hour workday, the founding of the American Federation of Labor, and wages that more than doubled. P. J. McGuire built union membership to more than 167,000 by 1903. He also crafted a lasting and historical memorial to all workers — the Labor Day holiday. Here is what the UBC emblem means to the organization, according to their website : In 1884, delegates to the United Brotherhood of Carpenters’ Fourth General Convention adopted this emblem t...

Hubert Cleveland Yarbrough (1887-1968): Brother of Walter L. Yarbrough & Uncle of Melvin Leon Yarbrough. Walter L. Yarbrough (1894-1971): Brother of Hubert C. Yarbrough & Uncle of Melvin Leon Yarbrough. Melvin Leon Yarbrough (1923-1950) was born in Macon, Georgia to Earnest E. Yarbrough, a brother of Hubert and Walter Yarbrough. Melvin, a Private First Class in the United States Marine Corps, was killed in action while "fighting the enemy in Korea." His death was "hostile," and the cause was "multiple fragmentation wounds." Melvin was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Action Ribbon, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal. Each of these military men were laid to rest in Midway Baptist Church Cemetery at Lizella, Bibb County, Georgia.

Midway Baptist Church Cemetery Lizella, Bibb County, Georgia Photo © 2010 S. Lincecum

Sacred to the Memory of JAMES GATES, Who was born in Newbury District, So. Ca. Dec'r 18th, 1804. Died in Houston Co, Ga. Nov'r 21st, 1852. Æ 47 Yr's 11 mo's & 3 dy's. Long a citizen of Bibb Co. he was repeatedly honoured with offices of public trust. In the various relations of Citizen, Husband, Father and Master, he was strictly upright, kind, affectionate & humane. On the 8th of July 1846 he was received into full fellowship in Midway Missionary Baptist Church & on the 16th of Nov'r thereafter was ordained Deacon. Having lived a life of viral piety, he died in the full triumphs of a saving Christian faith. By his death the church, the community & his family were bereft of a most useful & much beloved member. Weep not my friends, Dry up your tears; I must lie here, Until Christ appears. James Gates' box tomb. Midway Baptist Church Cemetery Lizella, Bibb County, Georgia Photos © 2010 S. Lincecum

A beautiful symbol of faith. This image of a woman clinging to a cross is sometimes paired with words from the hymn written by Augustus Toplady in 1776, Rock of Ages . Nothing in my hand I bring, Simply to Thy cross I cling; Naked, come to Thee for dress; Helpless, look to Thee for grace; Foul, I to the fountain fly; Wash me, Savior, or I die. [On the day I prepared this post, the Stone Gardens blog coincidentally carried a similar post: Symbolic Monday - Woman Hanging onto Cross . Great minds think alike!]

A flock of at least a hundred. They were terribly loud; we heard them well before they arrived.  I wish I had gotten video, but I was too busy trying to get photos.

Sorry for the delay in posting the latest popular posts. The weather is starting to cool, and I am out and about more than usual in recent months. As a reminder, the most popular posts over the life of this blog (according to Blogger stats) are in the right sidebar. I believe readers have found this feature useful, since some of the most viewed posts over the last thirty days can also be found in that list. I sincerely appreciate all of you looking around for more content. I have almost 500 posts you can wade through. :-) Back to the current "most popular" list: - Undertakers, Coffins, & Furniture - Southern Cross of Honor - FamilySearch Indexing Find for Saturday Soldier: Charles Stevenson - William Weekley Drowned in the San Diego Bay (& My First Experience as a FamilySearch Indexer) - In Hoc Signo Vinces: the Knights Templar - Funeral Mound of the Mississippians - Love, Life, and Truth - More than 100 Photos from Evergreen Cemetery Now Onli...

Sarah Elizabeth Ingram Mar 28, 1855 Oct 14, 1911 Though at thy parting we are sad, The angels in Heaven are smiling and glad. Midway Baptist Church Cemetery Lizella, Bibb County, Georgia Photo © 2010 S. Lincecum

The image above is from a 31 January 1920 Monroe County, Georgia census record. It shows the family of Lunnie L. Mosely, his wife Ruth, and widowed mother Mattie A. As much as we genealogists use, need, and treasure census records, it's amazing the information they DON'T reveal. For instance, can you tell from this document that Ruth is 6-7 months pregnant? I'd say not. So how do I know this? Clues were found in an obituary, of course! A few days ago I visited Midway Baptist Church Cemetery in Lizella, Bibb County, Georgia. It was my first visit to this fairly small church cemetery. Just from looking around at all the MOSELY headstones, it seems this burial ground could have once been on their family property. At the very least, they were prominent members of the church. After I returned home, I began looking a little deeper into some of the lives the tombstones stood for. When I came to Lunie Mosely's (1886-1920) stone, I was curious to know why he died so ...

The Bible describes God as the emanator of all Love , the giver of all Life , and the source of all Truth . Add this to the cross in crown and the open gates leading to presumably Heaven, and you have a pretty "Christian themed" tombstone design. Such is the case for the stone memorializing Mattie A. Mosely. It is interesting to me because seeing "Love" at the top is not unusual, but the addition of "Life" and "Truth" farther down is not often seen in my area. Mattie A. Mosely Jan 11, 1849 Mar 14, 1924 Midway Baptist Church Cemetery Lizella, Bibb County, Georgia Both photos © 2010 S. Lincecum