Southern Graves

The scenario: You know where an ancestor died, yet are unable to find their burial place even after searching every cemetery in that locale. If indeed their body was shipped to another city, there should be a record -- Transportation of Corpse -- as in the case of Mr. Claus H. Meyer. He died 5 February 1912 in Summerville, Dorchester County, South Carolina. His body was transported about twenty miles (maybe a little more) to Charleston, Charleston County, South Carolina for burial in Bethany Cemetery. These records may be found at the local county level or at the funeral home that handled the burial. (Click to enlarge.) Ancestry.com. South Carolina, Death Records, 1821- 1955  [database online]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008.  Citing South Carolina Death Records  from South Carolina Department of Archives and History. Claus H. Meyer Born Jan 21, 1837 In Wehdel, Ger. Died Feb 5, 1912 In Summerville, S.C. He Giveth His Beloved Slee...

I'm interrupting this blog, normally dominated by tombstones, to highlight history in general. For those of you that don't know, budget proposals in the state of Georgia have forced Secretary of State Brian Kemp to close the archives to the public, effective November 1st. Appointments will be allowed, but based only on available staff. In other words, at no time can you simply walk into the archives and access public records. And since the staffing will be curtailed to nothing, good luck on getting that appointment. Oh! And, by the way, Georgia's Virtual Vault has been acting up a lot lately. Coincidence? Maybe not. So this might even hurt online Georgia research. Here is the letter I submitted to Governor Nathan Deal. If you are interested in sending your thoughts, information on how to do that follows. Re: Closing of the State Archives I think effectively closing the Georgia Archives to the public is a grave mistake. The ability for the public to physical...

I recently received an email requesting information about cemeteries to visit in Charleston, South Carolina. I have only been there once, but that was enough to make me fall in love with the city. It also did not take long to discover that Charleston is a treasure trove of graveyards and cemeteries. I thought I'd go back over some of the photos I took from that trip more than four years ago. It didn't take long for me to find more blogging fodder. Incidentally, I also wonder why I didn't post some of this stuff then. Maybe I'm growing -- a better researcher, a better creative thinker? I hope so! Looking at this image again reminded me of something everyone might not know... Hier Ruhen In Gott [Here Rest In God] Claus Diedrich Geb 12 Octob 1873 Gest 18 May 1886 Anna M. C. A. Geb 2 Nov 1885 Gest 19 May 1886 Kinder von [Children of] H. F. Bittesohn und Meta Geb [née] Meyers Bethany Cemetery Charleston, South Carolina Photo © 2008 - 2012 S. Lince...

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...

Make no mistake, I'm all for living with Jesus. I plan to spend eternity at His side. However, I can't help but feel this epitaph is a wee bit, um, creepy. Lola Sue Giles June 28, 1935 Aug 7, 1937 I Left Here To Live With Jesus How Happy I Am -- Come See Me Taylors Chapel Cemetery Black Rock Mountain Rabun County, Georgia Photo © 2012 S. Lincecum It's the "Come See Me" part that gives me the willies.

I posted briefly about the first of this series about four months ago . Since then, I have finished the entire 3.5 book saga. My conclusion? They're great reads. I've heard tell that there are possibly more on the way, and I for one hope that rumor is true. Here's what I posted about book 1 of the Graveyard Queen series back in May: First in the "Graveyard Queen" series is entitled The Restorer by Amanda Stevens. This read is a work of fiction about a cemetery restorer, Amelia, that finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation in the well-known southern city of Charleston, South Carolina. There actually are mentions and descriptions of cemetery art and symbolism. The main character also has the fortune / misfortune of seeing ghosts. A good combination of criminal minds, local history (some fictional), and paranormal activity, all set in a southern cemetery, with a little bit of romantic tension thrown in for good measure. What more can you ask...

Taylors Chapel Black Rock Mountain Rabun County, Georgia Photo © 2012 S. Lincecum

While the sentiment intended could be quite benign, I couldn't help but feel sad when I read the tombstone placed for Mr. Joseph F. Gray at Taylors Chapel Cemetery: Joseph F. Gray Nov 23, 1870 June 15, 1942 A Man That Gave So Much And Received So Little Taylors Chapel Cemetery Black Rock Mountain Rabun County, Georgia Photo © 2012 S. Lincecum I found Mr. Gray's obituary, but was unable to glean anything specific to warrant the words on his stone. Augusta Chronicle (Georgia) 16 June 1942, Section A, Page 10 (Viewed online at GenealogyBank .) Joseph F. Gray Dies at Clayton Funeral services for Joseph F. Gray, brother of the late Thomas S. Gray of Augusta, will be conducted at his home in Clayton, Ga., today, and interment will follow in the Clayton cemetery. Mr. Gray died at 6:30 yesterday morning, following an extended illness. A native of Atlanta, he was reared in Augusta, where he found his first employment on the Augusta Chronicle, then under the...

Edward Giles II Oct 8, 1945 Dec 19, 1947 As You Pass By Look At Me The Way I Am You Soon Will Be Taylors Chapel Cemetery Black Rock Mountain Rabun County, Georgia Photo © 2012 S. Lincecum

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to visit with family in north Florida. While there, since just about everyone knows my love for cemeteries, I was directed to a small family graveyard in Lee, Madison County. According to FindAGrave , it is known as Hays (Hayes) Cemetery. J. E. & Gertrude Horton Whitty © 2012 S. Lincecum Upon entering the gate, the first few graves I came across were part of the WHITTY family. John Edward Whitty (1864-1938) married Gertrude Horton (1871-1928) and had several children. One, a son, was John Butler Whitty (1895-1976). Photo © 2012 S. Lincecum John Edward Whitty was a prominent citizen of Lee, Florida. In the early 1900s, he owned a drugstore with his sons. And, in 1923, he was a member of the Florida House of Representatives for Madison County. While googling around, I came across several photos of members of the J. E. Whitty family housed online at the Florida Memory Photographic Collection . Here are a couple of goodies: ...

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 .