Southern Graves

Resting in Locust Grove City Cemetery at Henry County, Georgia is Rachael and her husband W. W. Williams.  The epitaph inscribed for Rachael is quite poignant -- Rachael Williams Born Dec 19, 1823 Died Apr 20, 1909 At last we learned submission to our lot, And though we less deplored her, ne'er forgot. The last lines of Rachael's epitaph, though not word-for-word, are from a poem by William Cowper (1731-1800) titled My Mother's Picture : MY mother, when I learned that thou wast dead, Say, wast thou conscious of the tears I shed? Hovered thy spirit o’er thy sorrowing son,— Wretch even then, life’s journey just begun? I heard the bell tolled on thy burial-day; I saw the hearse that bore thee slow away; And, turning from my nursery-window, drew A long, long sigh, and wept a last adieu! But was it such? It was. Where thou art gone, Adieus and farewells are a sound unknown; May I but meet thee on that peaceful shore, The parting word shall pass my lips no more. Th...

Mr. H. E. Ellis, 81 years old, formerly of Locust Grove, died at a private sanitarium in Atlanta…   is how the obituary begins.  Henry Ellis, born in Georgia, was a son of T. J. and Nancy (Dunn) Ellis. The obituary (24 December 1925 McDonough Advertiser ) further states: Mr. Ellis was a Confederate veteran, member of Company E, Second Georgia Regiment, Wheeler's Cavalry, who during the days of the war between the states volunteered to do his share for the south in the great struggle that lasted four years. Henry married Martha Rebecca before 1881, and he later became a widower when she died in 1890. When Mr. Ellis died in the late morning of 20 December 1925, cause of death was listed as Uremic intoxication .  This is generally a by-product of kidney failure, when waste enters the bloodstream. I found something interesting on Henry's death certificate.  Both the informant and the physician was noted as H. C. Ellis of McDonough, Georgia.  The obituary confirmed m...

Mollie E. was born 7 June 1854 in Henry County, Georgia to Mr. and Mrs. Shirley Green. She married Dave Thomas Copeland about 1873.  Mollie died the evening of 1 December 1929 in Locust Grove, Henry County.  Despite her age, death was unexpected.  Per her death certificate, Mollie Died [of Paralysis] very sudden without medical attention in presence of witness. She was laid to rest at Locust Grove City Cemetery.  At the time, this cemetery belonged to the Baptist Church. Husband Dave was laid beside Mollie almost seven years later.  This cemetery also holds Mollie's daughter Gertrude (Copeland) Parr, who died 1939 at the age of 64.

Julia (Colvin) Sowell was born 10 December 1867.  She died 12 September 1899 in Locust Grove, Henry County, Georgia due to typhoid fever.  She was the wife of M. Perry Sowell and left behind "several" children.  Julia's obituary states she was laid to rest "in Indian Creek cemetery," but I know the location as Locust Grove City Cemetery. Sleep on, dear one, and take thy rest. In Jesus' arms, forever blest. Five years later, Julia's husband succumbed to "lung trouble." M. Perry Sowell was born 1 September 1862.  Not long before his death on 16 November 1904, Perry had remarried to Miss Jewell Dickson.  Per his obituary, "Perry Sowell was a true, good man…" He hath done what he could. By the will of God, he fell on sleep.

Homer F. Bell…miraculously escaped serious injury or possible death late Wednesday when he fell through a collapsed porch partly into a well. This nugget was printed on page 1 of the 23 May 1940 Marietta Journal (Georgia).  Almost exactly one month later, another accident happened.  This time, Mr. Bell was not as lucky.  The same newspaper, issued 24 June 1940, stated Homer F. Bell died "of an accidental shotgun wound inflicted while cleaning his gun."  He was just 43. The tragedy is echoed on Mr. Bell's death certificate. In the section devoted to cause of death is written: We the sworn an Empaneled jury – according to Law find that Homer Franklin Bell came to his death from accidental gunshot wound. Homer Bell was born  2 November 1896 in Canton, Georgia to Mr. and Mrs. C. F. Bell.  He received excellent marks in prep school and graduated from Mercer University.  His career was devoted to education. Homer died 21 June 1940 in Smyrna, Georgia...

FYI:  Robert Young Burton, according to the Georgia Death Index at FamilySearch.org, died 17 January 1965 in Fulton County. Robert and Mittie rest at Level Creek Church Cemetery in Gwinnett County, Georgia.

Martha Jane Armstrong was born 12 August 1833 in Gwinnett County, Georgia.  She was a daughter of Martin W. Armstrong and Martha Jane Fincher, both of Georgia.  Daughter Martha married, less than a month after her nineteenth birthday, John L. Wisdom. Martha J. Wisdom died April 1922 in Buford, Gwinnett County.  Her death certificate gave her age at death as 88 years, 8 months, and 8 days.  The draped urn topped tombstone Martha shares with her husband, however, gives her date of death as 22 April 1922, turning those 8 days into 10. I'm no doctor, but I dare say "old age" was the simple cause of death for Martha Jane Wisdom.  Yet Local Registrar George L. Brogdon decided to explain it this way: There was no doctor in the case.  I have known this old lady for years and her health has been failing for some time.  And the family said she died in a few minutes after they discovered something unusual was wrong with her and they didn't have time to get a doct...

Level Creek Church Cemetery Gwinnett County, Georgia George and Sarah Brogdon were parents to Noah R. Brogdon , and grandparents to Daniel G. Brogdon .