Southern Graves

Hiram Peavy was born 4 February 1854 in Georgia, son of Abram Y. Peavey (d. 1864) and Priscilla Jane Layfield. In 1879, Hiram married Laura McCormick (1858-1925). She was a daughter of Thomas Franklin McCormick (1828-1893) and Eliza J. Bass (1838-1913). (Pine Ridge Cemetery at Pinehurst, Dooly County, Georgia) Vienna Progress  (Georgia) 19 March 1896 IN LOVING REMEMBRANCE Of A Dear Husband. Mr. Hiram Peavy died at our home near Pinehurst, Feb. 5th 1896 after a painful illness of eight days. He was born in Dooly county, Feb. 4th 1856, married Jan. 2nd 1879 and baptized into the fellowship of Pinehurst Baptist church July 22nd 1892 by Rev. J. J. Hyman. God in his wisdom has taken him from us, but we feel that our loss is his eternal gain. I asked him a few minutes before he died if he did not feel better. He said that he felt better in spirit and was prepared to die. Oh! how hard it is for me to realize that he is gone and we can never see his dear face nor hear his kind voice again....

Did you have a nice Memorial Day weekend? I hope so.  This was the first in ages that I wasn't at a "traditional" job.  So I was free and fortunate to be able to attend a local Memorial Day service.  I posted about it here . Earlier in May, Elizabeth Shown Mills shared a link on facebook about a lecture being given by University of Georgia History Professor Stephen Berry.  It was about coroners in the 19th century South.  From lecture summary:  "He discussed the role of a coroner as an agent of the state and talked about the records created from coroner inquests. He argued that coroners can shed light on the emerging patterns of death within a society…" It was a highly informative and very interesting lecture.  As of this writing, it is still available (free!) on C-Span.org . I was able to visit a couple of cemeteries this month.  One I wrote about for yesterday's post .  The other was "the older one" across the way.  I was looking for ...

According to his death certificate at FamilySearch.org, Rond e ll Peevy lived 1 year, 1 month, and 4 days.  That calculation results from birth and death dates of 23 January 1929 and 27 February 1930. This differs from the dates found on his lamb topped tombstone.  According to it, Rond a ll E. Peevy was born 31 January 1929, and died 28 February 1930. This little Peevy was a son of Hubert and Nema (Roebuck) Peevy.  He died from "meningitis resulting from influenza." Rondall rests at Hopewell Church Cemetery in Gwinnett County, Georgia. From mother's arms to the arms of Jesus.

Hubert Preston Peevy was born 5 March 1909 in Gwinnett County, Georgia to Grover C. and Mattie (Jones) Peevy.  A month before reaching his 26th birthday, Hubert died.  This last life event took place in the early morning of 11 February 1935 in the Sugar Hill area of Gwinnett County.  Less than two weeks prior to his death, Hubert had been at work.  He was employed by Bona Allen, Inc., and had been so for fifteen years.  If the source -- his death certificate via FamilySearch.org -- is accurate, Hubert began working for the company about the age of 21. Since I had no idea this company existed (and I lived in Gwinnett County for about four years), it was interesting to discover Bona Allen, Inc. opened in 1873 in Buford, Georgia.  The company was owned by Bonaparte Allen , and was the largest tannery in the nation.  According to Wikipedia , "…the company made horse collars and saddles, postal bags, cowboy boots, shoes and more."  The small map below ...

Jesse James Peavy was born 22 March 1859 in Dooly County, Georgia to Michael S. Peavy and Mary Ann Hudson.  Jesse followed the farming vocation for about 60 of his 77 years on earth.  He started when but a child and retired about the age of 70. Jesse married Mrs. Narcissa Caroline Herring 31 August 1887.  A justice of the peace of Dooly County did the honors.  Though I do find Jesse and Narcissa in the 1900 U.S. Federal census, I'm unsure whether or not they had any children.  And when trying to find Narcissa's maiden name, I came up with Peavy .  It'll take more time for me to sort that out! Narcissie died August 1908 at just a little over 60 years of age.  She rests, gone but not forgotten , at Harmony - Smyrna Cemetery. A relatively short time later, Jesse married again.  This time to a woman named Dora.  I know of at least one child they had together:  Jesse James Peavy, Jr. Jesse Sr. died 23 February 1936.  His weather-worn tom...

This may, or may not, turn into an oft written about topic (causes of death defined) here.  How would you feel about that? Someone who is interested in tombstones and obituaries is naturally drawn to death certificates, right? Good.  Me, too.  It's also not a bad idea to learn one's medical history.  That knowledge might come in handy one day. So! Charlie Homer Peavy, son of yesterday's Charlie Peavy , was born 24 October 1878 in Dooly County, Georgia.  He spent at least thirty years of his life in the agricultural industry, farming his last field about 1933.  This blue eyed young man married at least once, maybe twice, but was "single" at the time of his demise in 1936.  Charlie H. Peavy was buried at Harmony-Smyrna Cemetery. Charlie's cause of death was listed as "chronic brights." [You can see his death certificate here at FamilySearch .  Sign-in required.] Bright's Disease Defined Per Wikipedia - Bright's disease is a historical classif...

Charles "Charlie" Peavy was born 21 July 1844 in Georgia.  He was one of (at least) eight sons born to Bird Y. Peavy.  It appears Charlie lived his whole live in Dooly County, usually connected to the farming industry. According to Ancestry's database of U. S. Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865 , Charles Peavy of Dooly County, Georgia enlisted in the Confederate States Army at the age of sixteen years.  In May of 1862, he settled as a Private with Company C of the 55th GA Infantry Regiment.  He was mustered out 25 June 1863. Charles and Ella Gurr were married 19 January 1878 in Dooly County by a Justice of the Peace.  They went on to have eight or nine children. In 1900, Charlie Peavy was farming and living in the city of Unadilla.  He died 28 May 1902 and was buried at Harmony – Smyrna Cemetery in Dooly County.  His obelisk tombstone reads: His many virtues form the noblest monument to his memory.    

It's not often I find " Z " names in the cemetery.  Just in time for the challenge, I find two! Zilpha (aka Zilphy) was born about the year 1819, and joined the Missionary Baptist Church in 1840.  Zilphy married Jerry Myre (Jeremiah?) Broxton and had several children.  When she died in 1881, Zilphy left "one son, 5 daughters, 12 grand children and her dear husband." Zilphy and Jerry share a stone obelisk in Harmony – Smyrna Cemetery at Dooly County, Georgia.  He was born 20 August 1819, and died 8 November 1888.  The inscription to both Zilphy and Jerry from their children: Died as they had lived in full assurance of a blessed immortality. Our loved ones is Gone. Good by dear father and mother.  We hope to meet you in that better land. And then there was Zollie.  Born 20 April 1882 in Georgia, he was one of eight children born to Charlie and Ella Peavy.  Zollie spent his younger years and early adulthood farming.  He then married Juli...

I have a lot of Peavys in my family tree.  A lot.   There's a direct line, and there are collateral line/s that married into other collateral line/s.  It's quite convoluted, actually.  In many instances, if my genealogy software didn't tell me the connection, I'd be pretty clueless.  Basically, it seems that if the surname is Peavy (with or without an e before the y ) and it's found in middle Georgia, we're related – or at least "connected." So here's one for the Peavy researchers – all about Uncle Mike .  [I have nine Michael Peavys in the family tree, btw.  Some with sources, some without.  (Honesty rules!)] Vienna News (Georgia) 18 August 1911 – pg. 1 UNCLE MIKE PEAVY DEAD. "Uncle Mike" Peavy, one of the old citizens and landmarks of Dooly county, died late Tuesday night at the home of a son, Mr. Richard Peavy, near this city.  He had suffered a slight attack of malaria and chills but was believed to be recovering when his case deve...

Sometimes I look back at the photos I've taken at cemeteries, and think, "Wow.  I am so-o far behind in posting." And it gets even sillier when a photo involves a relative or ancestor.  For example, I photographed the gravestone for G. M. Dallas Peavy almost five years ago…  Just got around to getting the image and information in my family tree program a couple of days ago.  *Insert sigh here. George M. Dallas Peavy was a distant cousin of mine.  The initial M might stand for Madison, and I've personally seen the surname spelled as both Peavy and Peavey .  He was a son of Green B. and Martha (Vinson) Peavy/ey.  This branch of the family generally hung around Dooly County, Georgia.  Dallas, his wife Amanda, and two of their sons were laid to rest at Mt. Olive Cemetery in the Pinehurst area of Dooly county. Dallas was married to Louisa Amanda King 16 November 1865 by a minister of the gospel in Dooly County. Research suggests Dallas and Amanda ha...

A personal genealogy query. I have been logging information found on the Peavy s buried at Pinehurst Cemetery in Dooly County, Georgia. One is Joseph Lee Peavy (1881-1932). He was a son of Jesse Calloway Peavy, and the husband of Mamie R. I think Joe spent all his life in Dooly County. He was a farmer, and had at least three children, two of which are buried in his plot: Vivian Peavy Foshee (1906-1975) and Charlie Calloway Peavy (1908-1954). I located Joseph's death certificate on FamilySearch.org, and was surprised to find his cause of death listed as fractured skull (accident) . A secondary cause was "encephalitis" -- inflammation of the brain. The document seems to suggest the accident happened in Vienna. This locale is in Dooly County, Georgia, but a bit north of Pinehurst (where Joe was ultimately laid to rest). "Georgia Deaths, 1928-1939," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1-13527-45788-45?cc=138...

I, probably like most amateur historians, gravitate toward the "old" tombstones when traipsing through cemeteries. I paused at Lucius Van "Rip" Peavy's newer granite ledger marker, though, because I'm related to many (most?) Peavys of middle and south Georgia. So I must always document those! I was not only rewarded with some vital dates for cousin Rip Peavy, but also a quite interesting epitaph. Lucius Van "Rip" Peavy, Sr. Aug 29, 1905 Jan 1, 1994 No Longer Let Life Divide What Death Can Join Together We often see death as dividing the living from those that have passed on, but this line tells it a bit differently. Here, death is joining Lucius together with those that have gone before. The prophetic words are from a poem by Percy Shelley entitled Adonais: An Elegy on the Death of John Keats . They can be found in the 53rd of 55 stanzas: Why linger, why turn back, why shrink, my Heart? Thy hopes are gone before: from all things h...

Thomas J. Peavy and Sarah L. Mills were my 2nd Great Grand Uncle and Aunt. They, along with at least three of their seven children, were laid to rest in Barber Cemetery at Concord, Gadsden County, Florida. Thomas J. Peavy (1842-1921) Sarah L. M. Peavy (1851-1935) Maggie E. Peavy (1872-1896) Olliver D. Peavy (1875-1899) Annie I. Peavy (1884-1899) Died just 5 days after her brother Olliver.

Velma F. Williams was born 28 January 1900 in Ellaville, Georgia to Henry J. and Mamie Williams. She attended Georgia Normal and Industrial College, "A State Institution for Georgia Girls," located in Milledgeville. She was a senior in 1919. In 1920, she was still listed with her parents in the Ellaville Federal census with an occupation of public school teacher. In October 1922, Velma married William Wallace Peavy, Jr. Their engagement was noted in the 24 September 1922 edition of the Atlanta Constitution : Engagements WILLIAMS -- PEAVY Mr. and Mrs. H. J. Williams announce the engagement of their daughter, Velma, to Wallace Peavy, Jr., the wedding to be solemnized in October at the Methodist church, Ellaville. After her marriage, Velma made her new husband's home town her own -- the little railroad stop of Byron, Georgia. The Peavys were prominent there. W. W. Peavy Home, 2010 In 1930, Velma and her husband were living next door to his parents. The Willia...

Photo © 2012 S. Lincecum So, a couple of days ago I told you how I happened upon the grave of a third cousin of mine some time ago in Atlanta, Georgia's Oakland Cemetery. As mentioned in the previous post, my source of information for how Margaret fit into my family tree is/was from a Peach County, Georgia history and lineage book published by the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1972. Margaret Peavy was the daughter of Jack Peavy and Katherine McGaw. Jack was a son of Charles Drury Peavy and Belle O'Brien Bowles. Charles was a son of William Henry Peavy and Elizabeth Jackson. William was a son of Littleton Dickson Peavy and Ann Mims. Littleton and Ann were my third great-grandparents. Now that we got that out of the way... Have you ever began learning about an individual that might be a relative and discovered they were such an interesting character that you really wanted to be able to claim them? Yep, I'll bet most of us have been there. That's...

This is an example of a symbol for the A ncient A rabic O rder of the N obles of the M ystic S hrine, commonly known as the Shriners. It includes a scimitar (sword with a curved blade), crescent, star of Bethlehem, and head of a sphinx. Seeing the "head of a sphinx" included in the Shriner emblem carved on a tombstone is a rarity for me. Most of the time, in my area it seems, that element is omitted. James A. Marples, VII°, describes the emblem of the Mystic Shrine: "The official emblem of the Mystic Shrine is the Crescent. It is composed of two Royal Bengal Tiger Claws united in a gold setting by a Keystone. Inside the Keystone - on the keystone's face - is the head of a Sphinx. Originally behind the Crescent were a pyramid, urn, and star. Today, below the Crescent hangs the Star of Bethlehem. Depicted above the Crescent is a Scimitar from which the Crescent and Star are suspended." (1) An article on Wikipedia , relying heavily on A Short History: Shriner...