Southern Graves

The Old City Cemetery in Macon, Georgia was established in 1825 and used by many until 1840. That year marked the opening of Rose Hill Cemetery, a much larger and more beautiful landscape that attracted most Maconites for decades to come. Today, the city of Macon maintains the grounds. When I visited in May of last year, the grass was pretty and green and not too tall. That didn't hide the fact that the tombstones left in the cemetery were in poor shape and most of the brick walls surrounding family lots were crumbled. I did see several plaques stating restorations were done, many from the 1960's. All in all, the cemetery is a shell of what I imagine it once was. The Old City Cemetery was neglected for many, many years. In fact, old newspaper articles I have read on the subject say as much. A 1919 "Just 'Twixt Us" column by Bridges Smith of the Macon Telegraph states, "We now speak in sorrow of the neglected condition of the old cemetery at the f...

This mausoleum is located at Riverside Cemetery in Asheville, Buncombe County, North Carolina. I neglected to write down all the information of the readable inscriptions, as I was in a hurry. Nonetheless, I was able to get the following with my digital camera: Ella Pace McElveen Wife of G. W. McElveen Born Rogersville, Tenn May 1860 Died June 1899 Our Mother Parolee Blevins Pace Born Rogersville, Tenn Mar 31, 1836 Died Waco, Texas Jan 26, 1921 I photographed this mausoleum because I thought it was neat how the woman sculpted at the top appeared to be coming out of the greenery.

The Macon Daily Telegraph , Georgia 27 March 1907 Viewable online at GenealogyBank . Caught on the Wing By JOHN T. BOIFEUILLET The remains of the daughter of a former Governor of Georgia, the dust of a president of the first bank in Macon, and the ashes of other persons once well known in this city repose in the old cemetery situated near the foot of Cherry street. This is the burial ground which Alderman Bowdre, with commendable spirit, desires to have reclaimed by the Mayor and Council from many long years of neglect. Broken tombstones, bearing inscriptions to the memories of members of families formerly prominent in Macon, lie on the ground, under leaves and dirt, the walls of the graves in a crumbled state. Some of the tombstones still stand erect, and the lettering on them is easily read, but in the majority of cases the marble memorials are badly broken and the inscriptions almost obliterated by the corroding effects of time. In numerous instances there is scarcely any sig...