Southern Graves

I have posted more than 30 photos from Irwinville Cemetery to my Picasa web albums. This is a small town cemetery located in Irwin County, Georgia. Irwinville Cemetery Surnames include Bishop, Clements, Holden, Underwood, Vinson, Walker, and Watson. Photos may be viewed individually or as a slideshow. Some personal commentary is included, and the ability for you to add comments is enabled.

In the world of genealogy, a primary source is one recorded at or very soon after an event by someone with intimate knowledge of the event. Even though you might think the death date on a tombstone would be a primary source, this is not always the case. An obvious example of the contrary would be an ancestor who died in 1796 has a shiny new granite grave marker -- definitely added many, many years after the death and likely not by someone with intimate knowledge of the death. I came across a curious case of weird dates on a tombstone while visiting the Irwinville Cemetery in Irwin County, Georgia. The stone in question is here: Uriah Holden (1838-1920) & wife Elizabeth (1852-1935). Photo © 2010 S. Lincecum. Focusing on the side for Uriah Holden, the tombstone looks like a "period piece" and figures to be trustworthy. Only after I got home and started poking around to find a bit more about Uriah did I find some inconsistencies. In the 1910 Cassville, Bartow,...