Southern Graves

Today's obituary comes with a bit of a tip. Don't think your search will surely be fruitless if you scour newspapers for an obituary well after a death date. I always, always look for at least a full month after the death date, and here's an example of an obituary published almost five months after the fact. Her name was Vertitia Massey, and she was laid to rest in Memory Hill Cemetery at Milledgeville, Baldwin County, Georgia. Union Recorder (Milledgeville, Georgia) 8 August 1899 - pg. 7 [via Georgia Historic Newspapers ] OBITUARY. MASSEY. -- Mrs. W. A. Massey, nee Miss Vertitia F. Harrell, was born August 8, 1856, in Milledgeville, Ga., joined the Methodist Church 1874, under the ministry of Rev. A. J. Jarrell; married W. A. Massey Nov. 24, 1880, and died triumphantly March 23, 1899. In many respects sister Massey was a remarkable woman. For twenty-five years she was not only a member of the church, but an earnest, active, wise, Christian worker, in the vineyard of...

On the day Col. John M. Brown died -- 26 July 1864 -- the following was published in Milledgeville, Georgia's Confederate Union : WOUNDED. Lieut. Col. John M. Brown of the State Troops, was wounded in the battle of Peachtree Creek whilst leading his regiment. He is brother to the Governor and is now at the Executive Mansion, and not expected to live. It's likely that several days passed before people farther from Milledgeville learned of the death of this brother of the Georgia governor. Daily Constitutionalist (Augusta, Georgia) Sunday, 7 August 1864 - pg. 1 [via GenealogyBank ] DEATH OF LT. COL. BROWN. -- In the battle near Atlanta on 22d ult., Lieut. Col. John M. Brown was severely wounded, and was brought to the Executive Mansion in this city, where he died on Monday. This is the second brother which the Governor of Georgia has lost in the present war. We learn that Col. Brown was about twenty-five years of age, and was a gallant officer. He had been wounded at Re...

Samuel Walker was born in Putnam County, Georgia on 4 September 1835. Nine days after his 61st birthday, Samuel had a "stroke of apoplexy," and doctors labeled him "critically ill." Two days later, Samuel was dead. He died in Milledgeville, GA on 15 September 1896 and was buried in Memory Hill Cemetery. Another gravestone in the same lot stands as a reminder to what I am sure was a particularly bad year for Samuel. The year was 1873 and in the span of one week, Samuel lost a son, a wife, and a niece to sickness. The tragedy was noted in local newspapers. Macon Weekly Telegraph (Georgia) Tuesday, 11 February 1873 - pg. 4 [via GenealogyBank ] Note: this paper cited Milledgeville's Federal Union . DISTRESSING FATALITY. -- We mentioned in our last issue that Joel Walker, son of Samuel Walker, died on Monday night of last week, of meningetis [sic] contracted at Mercer College. On Wednesday, Alice Dillard, a niece of Mrs. Walker, a lovely girl of about twelv...

Capt. Edwards was laid to rest in Memory Hill Cemetery at Milledgeville, Baldwin County, Georgia. His wife, at least two children, and at least one brother are in the same lot ( East Side, Section E, Lot 12 ). Macon Telegraph (Georgia) Thursday, 22 November 1906 - pg. 6 [via GenealogyBank ] Death of Capt. John M. Edwards. ATLANTA, Ga., Nov. 21. -- Capt. John M. Edwards, of Milledgeville, one of the best known men in that section of the State died in a private sanitarium in Atlanta yesterday. He came to Atlanta four years ago to undergo an operation. He was a veteran of the war and served throughout the conflict gallantly in the Confederate army and won distinction, fighting through the siege of Vicksburg. He was especially prominent in Baldwin County politics and for years served in the county as treasurer. Captain Edwards was also prominent in secret order circles and was a member of the Masons, Knights Templar and Mystic Shrine. Capt. Edwards was 67 years of age, and is s...

Annie was born 9 September 1861 in Georgia to William R. and Harriett Ennis. She married William R. Tyler in Baldwin County, GA on 1 June 1881. Six years later, Annie became ill and died, just a few weeks before her twenty-sixth birthday. Burial was in Milledgeville's Memory Hill Cemetery. The local newspaper chronicled Annie's demise - Union Recorder (Milledgeville, GA) 16 August 1887 - pg. 7 [via Georgia Historic Newspapers ] CITY AND COUNTY. Personal Mention ...Mrs. Annie Tyler, daughter of Mr. Wm. R. Ennis, and wife of Capt. W. R. Tyler of the western part of this county, was very sick for some days during the past week and on Saturday last was reported to be extremely ill. Capt. Tyler who is mail agent on the Macon & Brunswick Railroad has been sent for to come home immediately... I hope he was able to make it in time. Annie died the next day. Union Recorder (Milledgeville, GA) 23 August 1887 - pg. 7 [via Georgia Historic Newspapers ] Death of Mrs. Anni...

Our old citizens are passing away! So said the death notice for John Callaway printed in the Milledgeville, Georgia Union & Recorder . He was born 4 December 1791 and died 5 June 1873 in Milledgeville. Upon death, John was buried in the city's Memory Hill Cemetery. On 25 October 1818 in Baldwin County, GA, John married Margaret "Peggy" Turner. This couple had at least eleven children. Eight of them rest in Memory Hill, and tombstones for six(*) of them are in the image below. - Augustus W. "Gus" Callaway* (3 March 1820 ~ 9 August 1866) - Lucinda A. Callaway Trice* (5 October 1821 ~ 15 March 1889) - John F. "Frank" Callaway - Joshua M. Jasper Callaway - Leonidas Newton Callaway* (19 February 1828 ~ 20 July 1898) - Sarah Elizabeth Callaway Brake (1831 ~ 1907) - Nancy C. Callaway (29 January 1832 ~ 3 February 1901) - Martha M. Callaway Smith* - E. William Callaway* (29 June 1834 ~ 30 November 1873) - Mary Emeline Callaway King Green - ...