Southern Graves

Today's epitaph is inscribed on a marble ledger marker found at Oak Hill Cemetery in Talbotton, Georgia. My Husband Allen F. Matthews Born Aug 18, 1851 Intered into rest Feb 27, 1901 Bravely he gave his being up and went, To share the holy rest that waits a life well spent. The last lines match closely with a couple of lines from a poem written by William Cullen Bryant, The Old Man's Funeral .  Here is the poem in its entirety: I saw an aged man upon his bier, His hair was thin and white, and on his brow A record of the cares of many a year;-- Cares that were ended and forgotten now. And there was sadness round, and faces bowed, And woman's tears fell fast, and children wailed aloud. Then rose another hoary man and said, In faltering accents, to that weeping train, "Why mourn ye that our aged friend is dead? Ye are not sad to see the gathered grain, Nor when their mellow fruit the orchards cast, Nor when the yellow woods shake down the ripened ma...

Ann Dillworth Wife of Col. Jno. N. Birch Born in Petersburg, VA Feb 21, 1802 Died Aug 28, 1897 Photo © 2009 S. Lincecum Mrs. Birch was laid to rest in Oak Hill Cemetery in Talbotton, Georgia. Here is a death notice from the 31 August 1897 Columbus Daily Enquirer : " MRS. ANN D. BIRCH DEAD. Noble Woman of Talbotton Passes Away After a Useful Life. Talbotton, Ga., Aug. 30 -- Mrs. Ann D. Birch, aged 96, died at the residence of her grandson, Dr. J. B. Douglass, this morning. She was a devout Christian and member of the Methodist church more than eighty years, having been a resident of Talbotton seventy years. She was the grandmother of Dr. J. B. Douglass, Of Talbotton; W. B. Hill, of Macon; Herbert Hill, of Monticello; Mrs. James Bishop, of Eastman; Thomas and Robert A. Matthews, of Thomaston, and W. C. Douglass, of Raleigh, N.C. The burial will take place here tomorrow at Oak Hill cemetery." Also resting in Oak Hill Cemetery is Ann's husband. He actual...

Mrs. M. A. M. MacClellan Born Sept 25, 1848 Died June 1, 1885 Mrs. L. C. Mathews Born May 16, 1826 Died Feb 28, 1885 Hope looks beyond the bounds of time, When what we now deplore, Shall rise in full immortal prime, And bloom to fade no more. Jennie V. Mathews Born March 10, 1857 Died Jan 8, 1881 Rest thee Jennie where the shadows wave O'er thy early unexpected grave; Weeping loved ones have not long to wait, [_?_]  they meet thee at the pearly gate. The tombstones pictured above are found in Oak Hill Cemetery; Talbotton, Georgia.  The first, Mrs. Molly A. Mathews MacClellan, was daughter of Josiah M. and Lavenia C. Mathews.  The second is Lavenia C., wife of Josiah M. Mathews.  The third is Jennie V., another daughter of Josiah and Lavenia. An obituary for Jennie follows. Butler Herald  (Georgia) 18 January 1881 - pg. 3 [via Georgia Historic Newspapers ] Died. At the residence of her parents, in Talbotton, on Saturday last Miss Jennie Mathews, after a...