Southern Graves

Shadrach Inman's obituary was carried in newspapers all up the east coast, from Georgia to North Carolina to New York. He was a man of the South who made fortunes in two eras -- the "old" south prior to the Civil War, and the "new" south after it. His story was related in an article by Tammy H. Galloway for the New Georgia Encyclopedia : "The Inman family is representative of those members of the planter class who lost much of their wealth during the Civil War (1861-65) but recouped their fortunes in a postwar urban environment." Shadrach Inman came to Atlanta from Tennessee about 1865 and established a dry goods store with his youngest son, Hugh. Hugh T. Inman was the father of Louise and Hugh , previously profiled on this blog. Ms. Galloway continues, explaining how the Inman family, including Shadrach, his brothers, and his sons, expanded their wealth after the Civil War: "The dry-goods stores of the time served as places to barter go...

Little Hugh Inman, son of H. T. and J. V. D. Inman, was born 22 October 1879. He died just eleven days shy of his second birthday. His tombstone in Oakland Cemetery at Atlanta, Georgia is full of symbolism. Hugh is depicted as an infant angel hovering above a rock piling. He lifts a cloak to reveal a coffin underneath. The rocks represent a firm foundation for life, and the rising above a revealed coffin represents victory over death. As was with his sister , Hugh's likeness was sculpted into the cherub form. All photos © 2012 S. Lincecum

I followed this story for some time -- the relocation of remains from an African American burial ground in Bibb County, Georgia. Throughout the process, I always felt proud of how the project was being handled. I remain so to this day. A kind Facebook friend shared this documentary with me. It is 30 minutes long, but time so very well spent. If you have an interest in archaeology, cemeteries, history, or African American history specifically, please watch. In addition, I wrote a post four years ago about a man who might just have a connection to this burial place -- Daniel Ryder, U.S. Colored Infantry . For more information about this project, including contact information if you might be related, please visit www.avondaleburialplace.org .

Photo © 2012 S. Lincecum Louise Inman was a daughter of H. T. and J. V. D. Inman. She was born 5 December 1883, and died 2 May 1888. The tree stump sculpted for her tombstone in Atlanta, Georgia's Oakland Cemetery indicates a life cut short, and she is depicted writing on a tablet -- possibly the particulars of her time on earth. According to the Historic Oakland Cemetery Self-Guided Tour & Map , Louise's face is a death mask. "In Western cultures, a death mask is a wax or plaster cast made of a person’s face following death. Death masks may be mementos of the dead, or be used for creation of portraits. It is sometimes possible to identify portraits that have been painted from death masks, because of the characteristic slight distortions of the features caused by the weight of the plaster during the making of the mold. In other cultures a death mask may be a clay or another artifact placed on the face of the deceased before burial rites." [ Wikipedia ] Ph...

Not to be outdone by his wife Margaret Peavy , Edward Greenway Hitt, Jr. (b. 1920 Illinois, d. 2001 Georgia) was a pretty cool cat. His obituary in the 9 September 2001 edition of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution says as much. Copyright prevents me from printing it in its entirety here, so let me just itemize some tidbits about the son of Edward Greenway Hitt and Lamar Jackson Slaton: - Edward was a retired insurance executive and underwriting member of Lloyd's of London. - He co-founded The Southern General Insurance Company about 1951. - He founded the Southeast Commandery of the Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus in 1980. - He attended Emory University, and memberships included The Society of Colonial Wars, The National Society -- Americans of Royal Descent, The Military Order of the World Wars, The Georgia Trust for Historical Preservation, Historic Oakland Cemetery, and the Georgia Historical Society. - He "was the great great great grandson of one ...

View Larger Map South Bend Cemetery is located next to the Atlanta Youth Academy, near the intersection of Constitution and Forest Park Roads in Atlanta, Georgia. Mr. Doug Yancey and a group of volunteers have been working for five years to transform this sacred spot from an overgrown mire to a clean and visitable cemetery. Why? To honor his father's request to be buried next to his parents. The 100+ graves date back to the 1800s and contain the names of Clark, Duncan, Ford, Grogan, Harper, Hubbard, Hughes, Johnston, Jordan, Lawrence, Schell, Shepherd, and Yancey. The story of Mr. Yancey and the reclaimed South Bend Cemetery was written about in an article by Bo Emerson for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- Family Transforms 1800s Cemetery From a Jungle Into a Garden . If you are looking for more information, you may get in touch with Mr. Yancey. His contact information is at the bottom of the news article linked above.

Margaret Peavy Hitt passed away almost nine years ago. That's it. Pretty short time in the grand scheme of my personal genealogy. When I discovered Margaret was a third cousin of mine, this notion made me a little sad. Like Margaret, I have lived a large portion of my life in the state of Georgia. In fact, from about 1997 - 2000, I lived less than an hour's drive from her! I sure wish we could have met. Margaret Peavy Hitt was one cool chic. She was a woman with a newspaper career. Even though women have had a foot in the door of that field for centuries, it was just that -- a foot in the door. The National Women's History Museum has a great online exhibit I highly recommend, Women with a Deadline . I just finished reading it and learned oh so much. Did you know: · The Women's National Press Association was founded in 1882, but women were not allowed into the male dominated National Press Club until 1971 . · Nellie Bly pioneered investigative journalism i...

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...

While on a recent visit to Atlanta, Georgia's Oakland Cemetery, I happened across a tombstone with a fairly common surname from my mother's side of the family. I always snap a photo of these finds, just because, well, you never know. Margaret Peavy Hitt with husband Edward Greenway Hitt, Jr. Photo © 2012 S. Lincecum This is the only angle I shot. No close ups, no studying of surrounding stones. Nope, not any of that smart stuff. Still, I'm glad I took this photo because Margaret Peavy Hitt is my third cousin. Genealogy serendipity strikes again! Of course, I did not know this until I returned home and took a peek at my genealogy database. And, truth be told, I still don't have proof of this relationship. My source for the data is a Peach County, Georgia history and lineage book by the Daughters of the American Revolution published in 1972. Margaret's obituary did wonders for bolstering my theory. The names included in the item published in the Atl...

Antoine Graves (1862-1941) Only Mausoleum in the African-American Grounds of Oakland Cemetery at Atlanta, Georgia. Photos above & below © 2012 S. Lincecum. Find-A-Grave contributor icedobe has a nice photo with the doors open here .

Thomas L. Son of A. B. & A. T. Small b. Sept 15, 1869 d. Aug 2, 1879 We give thee to thy God - the God that gave thee, A well spring of deep gladness to our hearts, And precious is thou art, And pure as dew of Heaven.  He shall have thee, Our own, our beautiful, our undefiled, but thou shall be His child. Rose Hill Cemetery Macon, Georgia Photo © 2012 S. Lincecum

© 2012 S. Lincecum Yesterday, I shared a post about Pvt. G. W. Dupriest , who rests in the Confederate Memorial Grounds of Oakland Cemetery at Atlanta, Georgia. Visible in the photo included in that post (and shared here) is the tombstone placed for Alphius J. Moor. Pvt. Moor(e) served in the Confederate States Army with Company E of the 51st Alabama Regiment, Partisan Rangers. His death occurred 14 April 1863. In reviewing his compiled service record on Fold3 , I discovered A. J. Moore was on a list like the one on which Pvt. Dupriest was found -- "Register of Officers and Soldiers of the Army of the Confederate States who were killed in battle, or who died of wounds or disease." I couldn't quite make out everything written regarding his death, though. His date of death and place being a hospital in Atlanta, Georgia were the only parts clear to me. A Google search informed me about what I believe to be the cause of A. J.'s death -- Erysipelas . Yet I sti...

© 2012 S. Lincecum Pvt. G. W. Dupriest is one of the 7,000 Civil War soldiers resting in Atlanta, Georgia's Oakland Cemetery. More specifically, his remains lie in the Confederate Memorial Grounds of the cemetery. Though his government issue headstone only bears his name and unit (Co B, 34 Ala Inf, CSA), there are records available that provide a bit of information about the death of Pvt. Dupriest. Fold3 has images of Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers of Alabama online. Page 2 of Pvt. G. W. Dupriest's file states he is on a "Register of Officers and Soldiers of the Army of the Confederate States who were killed in battle, or who died of wounds or disease." His date and place of death: 23 July 1864 at Atlanta, Georgia. This was the day after the Battle of Atlanta.

Are you overlooking some symbols in the cemetery? Oftentimes we concentrate so hard on deciphering what is on the tombstone we don't pay too much attention to what's around it. Landscaping is sometimes very purposeful and meaningful. Take a look at the photo below: Lochrane Lot Oakland Cemetery Atlanta, Georgia Photo © 2012 S. Lincecum The beautiful purple ground covering planted in the Lochrane lot at Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta, Georgia is phlox. Guess what it means. Sweet Dreams. Quite fitting, isn't it?

I first learned of a recently added database at Ancestry.com - U.S. National Cemetery Interment Control Forms, 1928-1962 - from Valerie at Begin with 'Craft' . I have at least a couple of ancestors buried in military cemeteries, so I tested the search with my surname of Lincecum. Only one hit was returned, but it was an expected one -- Val Dies Lincecum II at Ft. Sam Houston National Cemetery, Texas. Val Dies Lincecum, Jr. was a son of Val Dies Lincecum and Mary Elizabeth Murray. Val, Jr. was born 29 July 1912 and died 21 December 1957. The report of interment included the same birth and death information I had. A big plus for me was seeing the first name of Val, Jr.'s wife, Ina Marie. Even though I had his death certificate, this was news to me. His death certificate only stated he was married, offering no names, and the informant was listed as "Official Records, Brooke Army Hospital, Ft. Sam Houston, Texas" (his place of death). Something I found a b...

Harriet Cordelia Dick Inman rests beside her husband and son in Oakland Cemetery at Atlanta, Georgia. Augusta Chronicle (Georgia) 25 November 1902 MRS. W. P. INMAN Her Death Sunday Night at Her Home in Atlanta (Atlanta Constitution) Mrs. Walker P. Inman, after a lingering illness, died last night at 8:30 o'clock at her residence, 478 Peachtree street. Mrs. Inman had been desperately ill for a month and had been at the point of death for the past week. She became unconscious last Sunday night and never regained consciousness to the time of her death. During the week the end was expected at almost any time. No hope of her recovery had been entertained during the past month. She was taken ill last March and had been confined to her bed practically all the while since that time. Mrs. Inman became ill shortly after the death of her son, William Inman, who died on March 21. Her death was due to a complication of diseases. The deceased was a woman of many noble traits o...

100,000 page views -- wow. I began this blog a bit over five years ago with fits and starts. Then, in October 2008, the late great Terry Thornton invited me the join the Association of Graveyard Rabbits , and the rest (as they say) is history. I am sincerely humbled by and grateful for all of you who have stopped by to read a post or two (or more!) on this blog. This is a milestone I will not soon forget. I have received messages thanking me for information and telling me of genealogical connections made. The research of cemeteries and the individuals memorialized within is a passion. Yet each message spurs me to continue and is truly appreciated. Thank-you again for reading and following the Southern Graves blog. (Image credit: www.Graphics18.com)

Charles Boynton Memorial Photo © 2012 S. Lincecum A couple of weeks ago, I shared with you the monument erected for Charles E. Boynton (d. 1890) in Oakland Cemetery at Atlanta, Georgia. This memorial is the work of M. Muldoon & Co. of Louisville, Kentucky. Photo © 2012 S. Lincecum A 1977 National Register of Historic Places nomination form regarding the Tyler-Muldoon House in Louisville, Kentucky includes some information about Michael Muldoon and his company: "...The house was built in 1866 for Erastus D. Tyler, a Louisville insurance and real estate agent. It was later owned by Michael Muldoon, founder of the marble-cutting firm that was the predecessor of the present Muldoon Monument Company... Tyler-Muldoon House From Wikimedia Commons ...Michael Muldoon was born in Ireland and came to New York City in 1849. He learned the marble-cutting trade and after working as a journeyman marble-cutter in New York, Baltimore and West Virginia, he came to Louis...

[The following was originally posted at the Rose Hill Cemetery blog . I wanted to highlight it here because of the interesting mosaic tile work on the ledger marker. The deceased, Ella English Cameriero, married into an Italian family in the 1800s. I tried to find out if this type of adornment was common in the Italian cemetery culture, but have yet to find a definitive answer. I did find this mention regarding the Italian Club cemetery in Ybor City, Florida.] Hmmm... I wonder what happened here. In Need of Help. A sad case of need can be found by the charitably inclined this morning at No. 355 Fourth street. Mrs. N. Cameriero, formerly Miss Ella English of Marshallville, who was deserted by her husband several days ago is in destitute circumstances and in need of work. Competent to do all kind of needle work, she finds herself unable to maintain herself for want of employment. The ladies of the city are appealed to in this matter. [ Macon Telegraph , Georgia, 28 Novembe...

Major Philip Cook U.S.A. 1812 Son of Capt. John Cook and Martha Pearson His Wife Born Fairfield District S.C. 1775 Died Twiggs County, GA Nov 7, 1841 A Scholar, A Patriot, A Christian. A couple of days ago I posted that this month is the bicentennial of the War of 1812 (and that Fold3 is offering their War of 1812 collection for free ). While visiting Rose Hill Cemetery in Macon, Bibb County, Georgia to take some volunteer photos for FindAGrave , I came across the monument for Major Philip Cook. He served as commander of Fort Hawkins during the War of 1812. Once I returned home from my cemetery visit, I found an article online about the rededication of Major Cook's monument that took place just a couple of weeks ago. Maj. Cook is buried with his wife Anne Wooten (1794-1832) in the Hawthorne Ridge section of Rose Hill Cemetery. They were the parents of Martha Pearson Cook Winship, considered to be the first white child born in the territory that later became Bi...