Southern Graves

"E gyptian, is perhaps the most funerary of all architecture," writes Douglas Keister in Forever Dixie: A Field Guide to Southern Cemeteries & Their Residents .  This, of course, makes perfect sense.  The very definition of an Egyptian pyramid, at it's core, is a tomb.  History.com's article about the Egyptian Pyramids says this: The pyramid's smooth, angled sides symbolized the rays of the sun and were designed to help the king's soul ascend to heaven and join the gods, particularly the sun god Ra. Oftentimes, especially in cemeteries located in the southern United States, Eqyptian architecture is combined with more mainstream Christian symbols.  Delmar Warren's pyramid tombstone at Rose Hill Cemetery in Macon, Georgia , however, is pretty plain. Frankly, the simple display looks out of place amid the crosses, angels, flora, and fauna carved in stone around it and throughout the cemetery.  So why was this particular tombstone placed for Delmar Arlis...

[Originally posted at the Your Peachy Past blog .] About a week ago, we began a walking tour of Perry, a town in Houston County, Georgia. It took us a little over an hour to visit just under 30 "significant sites". We have many more to go, and definitely plan to finish the tour. One of the sites we had the pleasure to see was a house built for Eli Warren (b. 1801). It dates prior to 1870, and several window panes still with the home today bear dates of 1893 and 1894. The brochure I have to accompany the tour states: "General Warren sat in two constitutional conventions of Georgia, in both of which also sat his only son, and in one of which also his son-in-law, Colonel Goode; a coincidence never equaled in the history of this State." Eli Warren died 14 February 1882 and rests in Evergreen Cemetery, about five blocks from his former home at 906 Evergreen Street. I visited his grave site about four years ago. And here's an obituary from the 15 Febr...

Photo by S. Lincecum I've been a frequent visitor of Byron City Cemetery (Georgia) for several years now. And every visit includes stops by the graves of cousins, one being that of Moultrie Alfred Warren, Jr. He was a third cousin of mine by way of his mother, Sadie Almira Peavy Warren. Engraved on Moultrie's ledger marker, in addition to his birth and death dates, is "Professional Engineer." And those aforementioned dates reveal Moultrie died at the young age of 43 in 1956. I have often wondered what was the cause -- now I know . Via FamilySearch.org A World War II draft registration card from 1940 shows a 27 year old Moultrie Alfred Warren, Jr. living in Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia and employed by the United States government and the science organization of Geological Survey ( USGS ). In 1947, Moultrie became engaged to Ruth Tomlinson, daughter of Homer R. Tomlinson. Moultrie and Ruth were a very studious couple. Ruth was a graduate of Winthrop ...

Happy Labor Day! I had to work this three day weekend, but I hope the ones who have it off are enjoying the summer fling finale. I am including a few more links than usual in this "In Case You Missed It" post. I'm now using the three most convenient (to me) stats and analytics programs to get the most popular posts over a specific period of time. They are all essentially Google entities -- Feedburner, Google Analytics, and Blogger Stats. I found several "ties" in trying to gather the top ten list, so I just decided to include them all. Also, as a content note / reminder, the most popular posts over the life of this blog (according to Blogger Stats) can be found on the right sidebar. Here are the most popular posts from the last thirty days. - Southern Cross of Honor - Minnie Lou (Tombstone Tuesday) - Marion's Lyre (Tombstone Tuesday) - Colorful (Wordless Wednesday) - In Hoc Signo Vinces: the Knights Templar - Life is a Span (Today's E...

(Click to enlarge) Handy Moore Warren Feb 14, 1862 Apr 2, 1914 God's Noblest work Is Man. As Such He Lived, As Such He Died. Man Cannot Aspire to More. Beneath the inscription on Handy Warren's large tombstone in Evergreen Cemetery (Fitzgerald, GA) is a cross and sword in a crown. Most often I see the cross with crown, but rarely see the sword in there as well. The cross in crown first and foremost is a Christian symbol of the sovereignty of the Lord. The crown means victory, and the cross means Christianity. This cross with crown symbol also often means the deceased was a member of the York Rite Masons. Adding the sword might denote more specifically the Knights Templar. There are usually two swords crossed behind a Maltese cross with the cross and crown in the center. My hunch that Mr. Warren was a member of a Masonic fraternity was confirmed by his obituary: Atlanta Constitution (Georgia) Sunday, 5 April 1914 " MORTUARY H. M. Warren, Fitzge...