Southern Graves

Along the arc of his long life, the personal details of Allen Ramsey Davis (1836-1921) paint a picture of a 19th-century Crawford County, Georgia native who transitioned from a young agricultural overseer to a ranked Civil War soldier, and ultimately to a prominent landholder. Early Life and Roots Allen was born 23 August 1836 to Solomon W. "Sol" Davis (d. 1868) and Aletha "Letha" Barnes (d. 1902). Around 1860, Allen married Georgia Ann Vinson (1843-1924). She was a daughter of Benjamin Vinson (d. 1882) and Mary Renfroe (d. 1877). Since Allen came from a family of ten children, and Georgia a family of nine, the Davis-Vinson union joined two large, prominent local families. In June 1860, the census taker found the A. R. Davis household in the southeastern part of Crawford County, not far from the Houston County line and the 4-year-old railroad hub of Fort Valley. The young newlywed was occupied as an overseer of someone else's property, with no real estate of his...

Samuel Davis Born April 16, 1787 Died Sept 7, 1875 For more than thirty years he was a member of the Baptist Church, and died trusting in Jesus for eternal life. For him death had no terrors but was a welcome messenger of deliverance. "Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright for the end of that man is peace." Greensboro City Cemetery Greene County, Georgia Greensboro Herald  (Georgia) 16 September 1875 Obituary. Samuel Davis was born in Halifax Co., N.C., in April, 1787. Sometime in the year 1807 he left his father's home, and, unattended, came across the mountains into Georgia, making his way on foot to Greene Co., thus early displaying that energy and resolution which characterized his whole life. He settled in Greensboro' in the year 1835, and by his sterling integrity and unswerving honesty he secured and retained to the day of his death, the respect and confidence of the entire community. In 1845 he united with the Baptist Church, and for thirty years was a ...

Eliza S. Davis was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts 15 July 1808 and died in Macon, Georgia 3 January 1841. Just 32 years young. What is to blame for her untimely death? According to an obituary in the 5 January 1841 Macon Georgia Telegraph , "consumption" was the cause. In short, consumption used to be a common term for tuberculosis . This was because it seemed to consume people from within, with a long relentless symptom of "wasting away." According to the World Health Organization, when the disease becomes active, 75% of the cases are pulmonary TB, that is, TB in the lungs. Symptoms include chest pain, coughing up blood, and a productive, prolonged cough for more than three weeks. Systemic symptoms include fever, chills, night sweats, appetite loss, weight loss, pallor, and fatigue. Mrs. Eliza S. Davis was laid to rest in the Old City Cemetery of Macon, Georgia. Her epitaph describes her as A good Wife, good Mother, good Daughter and good Christian . This...

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.

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

I usually reserve the posting of random obituaries I find for another space, but this one I felt compelled to share here. It's a fascinating read, but the skeptic in me wonders how much of it is really true. Inter Ocean , Illinois 28 October 1896 (Viewed online at GenealogyBank .) THE OBITUARY RECORD Martin Simeon Davis J. Davis Martin Simeon Davis, well known in the hat and fur trade of Chicago, died at 2 o'clock yesterday at his residence, No. 2803 Michigan avenue, in his fifty-eighth year, after an illness of nearly three years. He had been a man of unusual size and noted for his great physical strength, but gradually wasted away until his death. Mr. Davis was the son of Moses Davis of Niles, Mich., and with his father built all the water work on the Michigan Central Railroad through the swamps between Niles and Chicago when that road was first laid into this city. Moses Davis, his father, was a first cousin of Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy, ...

Evergreen Cemetery in Fitzgerald, Ben Hill County, Georgia Beth M. Davis was the historian for the city of Fitzgerald, GA. She was the driving force behind the Blue and Gray Museum. According to her obituary ran in the Macon Telegraph and Atlanta Constitution , Beth was born in Statham, GA to Thomas Jefferson Malcolm and Sally Victoria Robertson Malcolm. For more information about her contributions in preserving the history of the "Union Colony in a Confederate hotbed," visit the city of Fitzgerald, Georgia website .

I'm still playing with Picasa's web features and found out I can embed a slideshow into my blog posts. This works well for a small number of photos, as with the case of Shiloh Cemetery. This predominantly African-American burial ground is an old church cemetery located in Henderson, Houston County, Georgia. There are several dated tombstones that likely memorialize former slaves. This is not a complete survey, but a compilation of photos of some of the older stones and others that simply caught my eye. Surnames include Adkison, Amica, Davis, Hill, Jones, Nix, Riley, Simmons, Sneed, Thompson, Webb, and Williams. If you are interested in viewing larger images and / or individuals, as well as my commentary, you may go directly to the album here - Shiloh Cemetery .