Southern Graves

On the image below, I have labeled gravestones for eleven members of the Stetson and Sanford families. This family plot (no. 22) is located in section D of the east side of Memory Hill Cemetery in Milledgeville, Baldwin County, Georgia. The elder parents of the group are Daniel B. and Edith Dean Stetson. According to his gravestone, Daniel "departed this life Feb 24th, 1865; aged 54 years, 10 mo's & 6 days." And per his death notice, Daniel was "an old and highly esteemed merchant and also a leading and influential member of the Baptist church." Edith was born in Portsmouth, Virginia on 29 February 1811; and died in Milledgeville on 30 October 1883. A portion of her epitaph reads, "After bearing patiently her full share of the burdens of life & doing her duty faithfully with a christian spirit, God called her home to rest." An obituary from the 6 November 1883 Union and Recorder (Milledgeville, GA): DIED. -- Mrs. Edith Stetson, widow of...

Our first born JIMMIE Son of J. D. & E. S. Stetson Born May 25, 1873 Died Sep 10, 1885 "It is well with the boy." Rose Hill Cemetery Macon, Georgia Photo © 2012 S. Lincecum Young Jimmie Stetson's tombstone is fashioned after a broken column. This often represents a life cut short. Dying at the young age of twelve years, as did Jimmie, would be an example of just that. A poignant Our first born is inscribed above Jimmie's name on the scroll that bears his epitaph, and at the base of the broken column is "It is well with the boy." I took this latter phrase as a play on "It is well with my soul," a hymn written by Horatio Spafford about 1873. ...No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life, Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul. But Lord, 'tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait, The sky, not the grave, is our goal; Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord! Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul. And Lord, has...

I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes Unto The Hills, From Whence Cometh My Help. So says the granite ledger marker for Mr. John Pate Stetson (1874-1921), son of James Daniel Stetson and Eugenia Sophia Pate. As with many a verse included with epitaphs, this one is from the Bible - Psalm 121:1. Verses 7 and 8 would make good epitaphs, too: 7 The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. 8 The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore. [King James version] John Stetson died in Asheville, NC, but was not buried there. He was brought to Macon, Georgia and interred in the family plot at Rose Hill Cemetery. You will find his obituary at the Rose Hill Cemetery blog .