Southern Graves

Charles David Anderson was born 22 May 1827 in DeKalb County, Georgia to William Robert Anderson and Annie Coker. Charles married Mary Caroline Hiley about 1851, and the couple had at least six children. After a life that included Civil War service on the side of the Confederacy "conspicuous for its bravery," Charles died on 22 February 1901 in Fort Valley, GA. He was buried there in Oaklawn Cemetery. Per Wikipedia  -- Anderson participated in the Maryland Campaign in the fall of 1862, fighting during the Battle of Antietam on September 17. In the fight he was wounded and captured by Union forces, and exchanged later that year. Upon release Anderson was promoted to major, effective back to the date of the Battle of Antietam... In 1863 Anderson participated in the Chancellorsville Campaign and was seriously wounded on May 3. He was hit in his shoulder, his abdomen, as well as his left hand, losing a finger in the process...Upon returning home to Ge...

Myles Lafayette Green was a son of Peter B. Greene (d. 1836). In 1850, Myles married Ann E. Persons (1832-1879). This union produced at least five children: Ella G. (d. 1892), Myles Claude (d. 1923), Orville Lafayette (d. 1890), George Peter (d. 1926), and Mary Lois "Mamie" (d. 1923). Mamie was born approximately six weeks after the death of her father. And the deaths of Myles Claude and his sister Mamie were separated by just three months. Myles L., his wife Ann, and their three sons were all buried in Oaklawn Cemetery at Fort Valley, Georgia. Southern Christian Advocate  (Macon, Georgia) 5 January 1866 - pg. 8 Obituary. MYLES L. GREENE  was born February 6th, 1826, and died in Fort Valley, Ga., Dec. 8th, '65. He joined the M. E. Church in early life, but never became a decided, experimental, active and zealous christian, until he was the head of a family. From this time, the family altar was erected, and his pious fidelity continued during his entire after life. He serv...

" Willard H. Love is Dead. Mr. W. H. Love died at his room at the Phoenix Hotel, Waycross, Friday night, last, May 15th, at 11 o'clock, of congestion of the brain. Mr. Love came in on a late train, Thursday night from Jacksonville, apparently in usual health and retired at once. Next morning he did not come down to breakfast, but nothing was thought of this, as he often left the city on one of the early trains. About 5 o'clock in the afternoon, as his door was still locked, it was forced open and Mr. Love was found in an unconscious condition. Prompt measures were taken to restore him, but he never regained consciousness, and died that night at 11. A telegram was sent his family in Tifton, and they went to Waycross on the first train Saturday morning. The remains were carried through Tifton to Fort Valley Saturday night, for interment there beside his father and other relatives . At Tifton the party was joined by an escort from Tifton Lodge No. 47, F. & A. M., headed b...

Sometimes, when I visit a gravesite, it's obvious a tombstone or grave marker was added years after a deceased individual's death. Maybe this was not an uncommon practice. Anna E. Hollinshead died 5 February 1913 and was laid to rest in Oaklawn Cemetery at Fort Valley, Houston (later Peach) County, Georgia. On 20 November 1911, she signed her last will and testament. In it, she instructed her executor to erect monuments over the graves of her two siblings and mother "should I not, during my lifetime." Should I not, during my lifetime, erect over the graves of W. E. Brown and his wife, Mrs. Emma Brown, a monument, then I hereby instruct my executor to have erected over their graves a suitable monument at a cost not to exceed One Hundred & Fifty Dollars, which sum I authorize him to employ for that purpose. Emma Hollinshead Brown died 12 October 1906, and Walter Edward Brown died 1 March 1899. This was, respectively, five and twelve years before the signed last will...

Home Journal  (Perry, Georgia) 3 June 1880 - pg. 3 [via Georgia Historic Newspapers ] Death of Mrs. W. M. Kersh. The death of Mrs. W. M. Kersh, which occurred at her residence in this place on Tursday [sic] evening last, about nine o'clock, was not unexpected; as, for the past few weeks of her illness, but little hope has been entertained of her recovery. She has been sick for a long time, and at times her suffering was almost beyond endurance, yet she bore it all with a christian resignation and fortitude worthy of her true character as a follower of Christ. Mrs. Kersh has been a resident of our town for the past seven years, and had made many warm and admiring friends among our people, with whom her death has been the source of great sadness. A large concourse of friends followed her remains to Oak Lawn Cemetery, where they were interred on Friday evening last. We, together with the entire community, deeply sympathize with the bereaved family in their sad affliction. -- Fort Vall...

The remains of David G. Slappey rest at the Marshallville City Cemetery in Macon County, Georgia.  D. G. died at Portsmouth, Virginia in 1862 or 1863, in the service to his country. Our Soldier Boy David G. Slappey Died in Portsmouth, Va April 30, 1862 In his 19th Year He died a Martyr to his COUNTRY . Twas hard to bid a long adieu, To one we loved so well; Ah hard to say that bitter word, That bitter word farewell. Amiable and beloved son, farewell! Thy years were few, but thy virtues were many; they are recorded not on this perishing stone, but in the Book of Life, and in the hearts of thy afflicted Parents, and FRIENDS .

The remains of Alfred and Martha B. Shorter rest at Myrtle Hill Cemetery in Rome, Floyd County, Georgia under a remarkably clean tombstone topped with a draped urn .  Martha was born 25 January 1799, and died 22 March 1877.  When her funeral services were conducted at the Baptist Church, it was said by the Rome Weekly Courier to be the largest congregation "ever known to have assembled on a week day." Alfred, born 23 November 1803, lived five more years without Martha.  His obituary ran in the 20 July 1882 Cedartown Advertiser : Death of Col. Shorter of Rome. On Tuesday at 2 P. M. Col. Alfred Shorter in his 79th year died at his home surrounded by his friends and kindred.  For more than a year his physical strength has been failing and by degrees death took possession of his frame, the vital flame burned itself away and his noble form was left cold and pulseless.  His biography would be the history of Rome, for forty years he has lived among his people, been i...

Remember Hibernia Berry from yesterday's post? This is the son she buried just fifteen months before her own sad demise. "It is well with him, for he is now an angel." Thomas Joel Infant son of William B. & Hibernia L. Berry Born Jan 8, 1870 Died July 13, 1870 "Our God in Heaven, from that holy place, To each of us an angel guide has given. But parents of dead children have more grace, For they give angels to their God and Heaven." Oak Hill Cemetery Newnan, Coweta County, Georgia Are you wondering what's up with all the "letter" posts? I am participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge (links to official page). This challenge lasts through the month of April, with Sundays off.  Each day follows a different letter prompt, in order, from A to Z.  Click here to see all my letter posts on one page (in reverse order). This blog as a whole is one of my themes – telling the tales of tombstones, primarily from those found in the Southe...

This pair of crossed feathers was carved to decorate the tombstone placed for Jesse Calaway Wootten in Newnan, Georgia's Oak Hill Cemetery.  Unless in the form of wings, feathers are not something I often see.  Douglas Keister writes in Stories in Stone : Because of their lightness and their association with wings, feathers can be a symbol of the ascent to the heavens.  A feather can also represent the authority to administer justice because, even though the feather is very light, it is enough to tip the scales. Ok.  But that just didn't seem to fit in this case.  So I kept digging to find out more about Jesse Calaway Wootten. Jesse was born 6 October 1836, possibly in Wilkes County, Georgia.  He was married and occupied as a lawyer by 1860, residing with wife Frances "Fannie" J. (Dent) in Carrollton. Pvt. Wootten enlisted in Company A of the 12th Battalion, Georgia Light Artillery in May of 1862 at Newnan.  In mid-January of the very next year, he was...

A family burial lot that can't be missed (even if you tried) while wandering through Oak Hill Cemetery at Newnan, Georgia is that of the Parrott – Bigby family.  The sacred ground is adorned with grand columns, several-feet-tall tombstones, and life-size angels. Bigby Parrott was a son of Charles C. and Callie D. Bigby Parrott.  He died January 1917 due to pneumonia.  Following is from the 19 January 1917 edition of the Newnan Herald (Georgia): A Tribute. Bigby Parrott – a friend, a beloved husband, a cherished brother, a generous character and a good business man – passed to silence and pathetic dust as the golden sun kissed the morning dew at 6:15 o'clock Tuesday morning, Jan. 16, at his home in Atlanta.  He had just passed the milestone that marks the middle station on Life's highway, being 37 years of age.  He had not been well for several weeks, and on Friday before he fell into that "dreamless sleep that knows no waking," his physician called over the ...

William Mattox, born 1836 in Elbert County, Georgia to Henry Page and Sophia N. Mattox, was a lot of things.  He was a son, a brother, a husband, and a father.  He was also a large landowner, a shrewd businessman, a soldier, and a statesman. But was William Mattox the meanest man in Georgia ? Those who labored for him might argue he was. A great-great grandson of Col. Mattox, Mr. Ray Chandler, penned an article about his notable ancestor.  It was published in the Summer 2011 edition of Georgia Backroads magazine.  In detailing the life of Mattox, Mr. Chandler described the acquisition of land which began after his great-great grandfather's 1856 graduation from college.  By 1860, W. H. Mattox owned more than 1,000 acres in Elbert County, much of it along the Savannah River.  To go with that property was 79 slaves. Mattox believed in bringing industry to the South, but had to wait until after the Civil War to put his plan into practice.  After a couple ...

Houston Home Journal (Georgia) 18 September 1913 – pg. 7 Death of Mrs. J. N. Barker Last Tuesday afternoon, the 9th inst, just as the sun was sinking in the west and the shades of night had began to fall, Mrs. Lizzie Pollock Barker, wife of Mr. James N. Barker, departed this life at her home in Bonaire.  She had been sick for several weeks, but paralysis was the immediate cause for her death. Mrs. Barker was the daughter of the late Mrs. Annie M. Baskin of this county and was born Dec. 5th, 1854.  She was married to Mr. J. N. Barker Sept. 16, 1869, having been companions for 44 years.  Of this union there were born eleven children, five of which preceded her to the grave. The children, who were with her during her last days are, Mr. B. B. Barker of Unadilla, Mrs. R. S. Woodard and Mrs. W. A. King, of Macon, Mrs. S. H. Sasser, Mrs. J. H. Watson and Mrs. J. R. Hunt of Bonaire. She was an excellent and benevolent woman, a noble wife, a devoted mother to her now sorrowing c...

From Evergreen Cemetery at Perry, Houston County, Georgia - John Mason Giles Son of Andrew & Sarah Cowan Giles Born in Abbeville Dist, S.C. Feb 22, 1818 Graduated at the University of Georgia, 1838 Admitted to the Bar 1839 Member of the Georgia State Constitutional Conventions, 1861-1865 Died in Perry, Ga May 25, 1866 He steadfastly declined mere political offices, But a virtuous and intelligent people honored his life with many important trusts, And mourned his death as a public calamity.

Houston Home Journal (Perry, Georgia) Thursday, 9 June 1904 - pg 6 [via South Georgia Historic Newspapers ] Death of Dr. J. B. Smith At his home on Swift street in Perry Dr. John Baptiste Smith died early last Saturday morning. At the home Sunday morning the funeral services were conducted by Rev. T. E. Davenport, pastor of the Perry Methodist church. The Houston Lodge No. 35, F. & A. M. with visiting Masons, took charge of the body, and at Evergreen cemetery the rites of burial were performed with Masonic honors. Six Knights Templar of Fort Valley acted as an escort of honors. The pall bearers were Messrs. C. F. Cooper, M. L. Cooper, C. E. Gilbert, J. P. Duncan, J. H. Hodges, L. M. Paul. Dr. Smith was 91 years of age nine days prior to his death.  He was the oldest white man in Houston county, and no man in the county was ever held in higher esteem. He is survived by the devoted wife and three daughters, Mrs. J. H. Powers of Perry, Mrs. S. H. Morgan of Atlanta and Mrs. B. C...

This image is from waaay back in 2003. This little Hartley was buried in Walker Cemetery at Byron, Peach County, Georgia. The county was Houston at the time of his death. Our Darling Little J. E. Son Of V. R. & F. P. Hartley Apr 14, 1916 May 15, 1919 "We had a little treasure once. He was our joy and pride, we loved him and perhaps too well. For soon he slept and died." Also buried at Walker Cemetery is J. E.'s sister, Berta Lee (1899-1903). The rhyme on her tombstone is just as sweet: "There was an angel band in Heaven, that was not quite complete. So God took our darling Berta Lee to fill the vacant seat." Happy New Year!

From Clayton Baptist Church Cemetery at Rabun County, Georgia - Dr. A. B. Sams Jan 5, 1819 Feb 1, 1893 Be Ye Also Ready For In Such An Hour As Ye Think Not The Son Of Man Cometh

Tombstone Tuesday from Harmony Church Graveyard in Blue Ridge, Fannin County, Georgia: The Gold Star Mothers veterans service organization has been around since 1928.  Longer than I thought. In the name of accuracy, I do not know if Ida Mae Patton – the mother of PFC Lawrence E. Patton – was "officially" a member of this organization.