Southern Graves

First shared on this blog several months ago, I wanted to provide some additional information about Oakland Cemetery's (Atlanta, Georgia) NEAL monument. It's claim to fame is the style of design -- neoclassical. Neoclassicism is defined at TheFreeDictionary.com (citing the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed.) as having characteristics of order, symmetry, and simplicity. Renowned cemetery photographer and author Douglas Keister states in his symbolism and iconography book Stories in Stone , "Most funerary architecture in this [Neoclassical] style is characterized by clean, elegant lines and restrained ornament." Though the monument is simple in design, there are still symbolic elements included. The cross, open book, palm frond, and wreath may all be described as Christian symbols. Most notably are the cross and open book, possibly depicting the Bible. The palm frond and wreath are Roman symbols of victory, adapted by Christians as tr...

Kick yer feet up, folks, this is a long one. Don't worry, it's fun and full of pictures.  You'll enjoy it! A scavenger hunt in a cemetery? You know I'm there! I excitedly played along for the next edition of the Graveyard Rabbit Carnival. I chose to try and find all the suggested items at one cemetery. That could have been a challenge in itself, but I put the odds in my favor by selecting Riverside Cemetery in Macon, Georgia as my hunting ground. This cemetery was established in 1887 and covers a beautiful 125 acres. It is a delightful mix of old and new tombstones. I especially love it because even the "new" sections have maintained an increasingly "old style" look. Upright markers are the norm, and plots can be decorated to the hilt. I know this makes upkeep more challenging, but I am grateful Riverside has chosen to continue with this layout. Fifteen items were on the list -- from crosses to flowers to stars to mausoleums -- and I found...

In March of 1875, at least three tornadoes touched 18 counties in the state of Georgia. In Harris county, at least six members of the Capt. John H. Kennon family were killed. They were laid to rest in the Waverly Hall cemetery. An account of the disaster in the 30 March 1875 Macon Weekly Telegraph says this: "...At Mt. Airy, the house of Capt. John Kennon was whirled around, and portions of it carried half a mile. Mrs. Kennon was killed with her two grown daughters, a son aged seventeen, a daughter of twelve, and a baby. Their bodies were scattered along the road for 50 to 150 yards, and everything else was gone. The bones of all were broken and they had received severe gashes..." Here is an additional article that describes more of the storm. I transcribed the whole article for those that might have genealogical interests. After this transcription is a link to even more articles from other newspapers detailing the destruction of the storms. Augusta Chronicle ...