Southern Graves

A tombstone in Fork Cemetery (Madison County, Georgia) stands to memorialize the lives of David Wynn (1838-1904) and wife Elizabeth (1827-1898). A portion of the epitaph on their shared marker -- inscribed below a pair of clasped hands (one male, one female; possibly symbolizing matrimony) -- is the first two verses of a hymn written by Thomas Hastings about 1834: "Jesus, While Our Hearts Are Bleeding." Jesus, while our hearts are bleeding, O'er the spoils that death has won, We would at this solemn meeting, Calmly say thy will be done. Tho' cast down we're not forsaken, Though afflicted, not alone. Thou didst give and thou hast taken, Blessed Lord thy will be done. The third verse: Though today we're filled with mourning, Mercy still is on the throne; With thy smiles and love returning, We can sing, "Thy will be done." As a side note, this hymn is also mentioned in The Sound of the Dove: Singing in Appalachian Primitive Baptist Churches...

Front page of the 20 June 1913 Athens Banner (Georgia): A LADY KILLED INSTANTLY BY THE LIGHTNING (Special to the Banner.) Comer, Ga., June 19. -- Mrs. Jim Moore, formerly Miss Mamie Guest, was instantly killed by a stroke of lightning, at her home near Watson's Mill Wednesday afternoon at six o'clock. Her remains were laid to rest in the Old Ford [sic] cemetery Thursday at 4 p.m. Mamie Guest Moore (1880 - 1913) The next day, the same newspaper reported the following: Went to Attend Mrs. Moore's Funeral Mr. Ed J. Arnold and family and Mrs. J. G. Power and children left Athens Thursday morning on the 10:45 Seaboard Air Line train to attend the funeral of Mrs. Mamie Moore who was killed by lightning Wednesday evening about 5 o'clock while moving flower pots on the back porch of her dwelling. She was killed instantly. She was buried at the old Fork cemetery in Madison county near Carlton. A large crowd of sorrowing relatives and friends attended the funeral. S...

From the 15 June 1906 Danielsville Monitor (Georgia): Son of B. D. & W. A. Power Nov 7, 1885 ~ May 23, 1906 Clyde Power Gone to Rest. At 2 o'clock Wednesday morning, May 23, 1906, there entered into 'the rest that remaineth for the people of God' the gentle spirit of Clyde, the devoted son of Mr. and Mrs. David Power. He had just entered into the bloom of manhood and was a noble young man. It took only fourteen days for typhoid fever to do its deadly work. Ah! so sad are the hearts of all those who knew Clyde, for he was such a good, pious, devoted Christian, not only in his home circle, but wherever he went. But since, in the providence of God, his life and goodness will be felt and realized no more on earth, yet his going away as he did gives a greater light and consolation than his life could have ever done. For in illness he bore his sufferings without a murmur and greeted each and every friend who came to see him with a smile. In his death his parents hav...

James E. Oberry and Penney Faulk were married 1 March 1860 in Robeson County, North Carolina. If you follow me on Twitter, you might have seen me share yesterday an image of their daughter Rosa's tombstone in Cedar Hill Cemetery at Cochran, Bleckley County, Georgia. James and Pennie are there, too. A Faithful Wife, Devoted Mother And A True Friend. Pennie passed away first, at the young age of 38 years. A write-up in a middle Georgia newspaper shared the news: Macon Telegraph Friday, 9 November 1883 - pg. 3 ITEMS AND OPINIONS, As Reported by Our Special Correspondents. ... Cochran. THREE DEATHS IN COCHRAN... NOVEMBER 7. -- The dread despoiler death is dealing sad havoc among us this week...At 7 o'clock last night Mrs. James E. Oberry died. Mrs. Oberry ate a hearty supper, immediately after which she walked into her poultry yard to attend her fowls when she was suddenly attacked, and being removed to her bed chamber expired calmly in a few minutes. Heart clot w...

Macon Telegraph (Georgia) Sunday, 16 September 1877 - pg. 4 TRIBUTE OF RESPECT. COUNCIL CHAMBER. COCHRAN, GA., Sept. 11, 1877. THE wind bloweth where it listeth, and no man knoweth from whence it came or whither it goeth, God who is able to give holds also the power to takeaway. Knowing His infinite wisdom, we question not His justice, nor murmur at his dispensation, although in our short sightedness do fail to see His purpose. At a meeting of the town Council of Cochran, the following preamble and resolutions were this day adopted: WHEREAS, Our highly appreciated and beloved Mayor, William Wade, has succumbed to the final destiny of all mankind, and paid Nature's last debt in yielding up his life to that dreadful scourge Typhoid fever, and recognizing the band of God in our deprivation of a citizen so useful to our town; so influential in his tendency to promotion of good conduct, so devoted to family and friends; so firm yet gentle in his nature, so exacting yet forgivi...

Benjamin Virginius Holland was in the wrong place at the wrong time in March of 1888. A cyclone touched down in Telfair County, Georgia, a place where he had previous business interests. He was no match for the "air demon," and at the young age of thirty-three, his life was taken. Following from the 22 March 1888 Savannah Morning News . AN AIR DEMON. Four Lives Snatched Away at Lumber City. HALF CALHOUN IN RUINS A Brakeman Killed While on the Way to Athens. ALL AUSTELL IN ALARM Darts From the Sky Kill Two in Dougherty. CRUSHED BY A CHIMNEY. Horrible Fate of a Man the Wind's Howl Didn't Wake. ALL THE STATE VISITED. The Wind Accompanied by a Heavy Downpour. LUMBER CITY, GA., March 21. -- A disastrous cyclone visited this part of Telfair county at 4 o'clock this morning, crossing the line of the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia railroad at 9 1/4, known as Whiddon and Holland's turpentine distillery. This distillery is now owned by Rayals,...

Cedar Hill Cemetery Cochran, Bleckley County, Georgia Images © 2013 S. Lincecum

If you walk cemeteries in the southern United States often enough, you are bound to come across some seashells along with the expected gravestones. And I don't just mean cemeteries along the coast. You can find the pair in various combinations even hundreds of miles inland. Whether there's a single conch shell on top of a traditional tombstone or hundreds of cockle shells attached to a fully mounded gravesite, you might see the practice as purely for decoration. And you wouldn't be wrong. But could there be more to it? Could those shells perhaps be more significant? The answer is "yes," and here are a couple of prevailing thoughts on the matter. The Watery World of the Dead Elaine Nichols in 1989 was an archeologist, collector, and editor for a museum exhibit entitled, "The Last Miles of the Way: African-American Homegoing Traditions." According to her, for many enslaved Africans and their descendants in America, "The world of the dead wa...

Jefferson D. "Jeff" Peacock, son of Albert, was born 1 March 1860, possibly in Virginia. At age twenty-three, Jeff married Ella M. Ashburn at Dodge County, Georgia. Less than six years later, Ella's husband was dead. Burial was in a family lot at Cedar Hill Cemetery in Cochran, Bleckley County, Georgia. A few particulars from the front page of the 21 September 1889 Macon Telegraph (Georgia) follow: FOUND DEAD IN HIS BED. Mr. Peacock of Seville Dies Suddenly at Hawkinsville. HAWKINSVILLE, Sept. 20. -- [Special.] -- Mr. Jeff Peacock of Seville was found dead in his room at the Joiner House here this morning. He complained before retiring of feeling cold and ordered a fire made in his room. This morning about 10 o'clock a gentleman called at the hotel to see him and the porter went to his room to wake him. Getting no response to his summons an entrance was forced, when the unfortunate gentleman was found dead in his bed. Death undoubtedly resulted from heart disea...

An urn topped tombstone placed for George H. Gillon stands tall in Cedar Hill Cemetery at Cochran, Bleckley County, Georgia. George was just 27 years of age at the time of his death. A few particulars from the 27 March 1889 Macon Telegraph (Georgia): COLLISION ON THE EAST TENNESSEE. Engineer George Gillon Instantly Killed – Several Passengers Hurt. At Stockbridge on the East Tennessee road yesterday afternoon there was a collision between the southbound passenger and the northbound freight trains. Engineer George Gillon of the passenger train was instantly killed and his fireman was seriously wounded…There were also a number of passengers wounded, but the names could not be ascertained. The officers of the road report that the wires were working badly, and that they could get no definite information as to how the collision occurred or how many were hurt. The passenger train was abandoned and no train came through until this morning. Mr. George Gillon, whose home is in Atlant...

The original acreage of Indian Springs State Park was "acquired" from the Creek Native American tribe in 1825, and has operated as a park ever since. My one and only visit to a cemetery located within the boundaries of Indian Springs State Park at Butts County, Georgia was back in September 2007. More than a decade ago, there was a ton of overgrowth, broken tombstones, stones knocked off their bases, crumbling surrounding structures, and general disrepair. Rumor has it, the condition of the cemetery only worsened. An article in the Jackson Progress-Argus (Georgia) dated 25 March 2014 stated two organizations -- the Friends of Indian Springs State Park and the Butts County Genealogical Society -- were working together to begin restoration of the cemetery. Following are two images captured for Google street view two years later in 2016: These images, as well as another article from another year later (2017), suggest progress is slow. I know it's thankless work to...

Emma's gravestone in Indian Springs Cemetery at Butts County, Georgia may not have been added until well after her death. Or the carver made a mistake. The death date on the stone and an obituary in a newspaper are a few weeks apart. Macon Telegraph (Georgia) Friday, 25 January 1907 - pg. 2 [via GenealogyBank ] Death of Miss Emma Bradley. INDIAN SPRING, Ga., Jan. 24. -- Miss Emma Bradley, formerly a resident of this place, died at the home of her sister, Mrs. William Faulkner, near Crump's Park, Macon, Ga. Miss Bardley [sic] was an estimable woman, and the news of her death is a profound sorrow to her relatives and friends. Her remains will be brought here for interment in the family lot at the public cemetery. Funeral services will be conducted at the home of her niece, Mrs. T. J. Sanders.

Roy Knox Culpepper, according to his tombstone, was born 2 April 1934. Army records, describing his service during the Korean War, suggest he was born in 1932. I think Roy might have fudged his age to get in. I wish he hadn't. According to a news item in the 13 September 1951 Butler Herald (Georgia) - After basic training at Ft. Jackson, S. C., he went to Camp Hood, Texas. He was with Co. A Sixth Medium Tank Battalion. Pvt. Culpepper left San Francisco July 18, 1950 for overseas duty. He lived barely two months more. Butler Herald (Georgia) 12 October 1950 [via Georgia Historic Newspapers ] First Talbot Soldier Reported Killed in Korea Talbotton, Ga., Oct. 8 – Seventeen year old Roy Knox Culpepper is the first Talbot county soldier to be killed in the Korean War. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. C. R. Culpepper were notified of his death by the Department of Defense Sunday. The classmates of the young soldier are planning a memorial service. He would have been a senior t...

Green Whiddon Duggan was born August 1862 at Washington County, Georgia to John Corlie Duggan and Francis E. Gheesling. Green married Ella L. Dunham at Washington County on 20 November 1892, but I haven't found any children attributed to them. Green was usually occupied as a farmer. In the early months of 1921, he contracted Typhoid Fever and was dead before Spring. Macon Telegraph (Georgia) Friday, 18 March 1921 - pg. 11 [via GenealogyBank ] DEATHS AND FUNERALS GREENE W. DUGGAN Greene  W. Duggan  of Washington county died at his home near Warthen, Ga., after a brief illness of typhoid fever. He was 58 years of age. Besides his wife, he is survived by one brother, J. C. Duggan of Warthen, and three sisters, Mrs. J. E. Fulghum of Macon, Mrs. E. J. Forrester, and Miss Alice Duggan of Sparta. Mr. Duggan was one of Washington county's most prominent citizens. The funeral will take place Friday morning from the Baptist church at Warthen, of which he was a deacon. He Trusted In C...

I still sometimes get surprised by what trying to tell tales of tombstones can uncover. Yesterday, I was interested in John Redfiern (or Redfearn, and later Redfern) of Washington County, Georgia mainly for the way he pronounced and spelled his surname. Then I discovered – thanks to Joy Smith and her public family tree – this nugget from Washington County, Georgia Tombstone Inscriptions (pub. 1967) compiled by Elizabeth Pritchard Newsom. It was under the heading of "A Strange Headmarker." The second was a strange but enduring object used as a headstone to mark a grave. It was a glazed piece of turned clay pottery shaped like a bell jar, about sixteen to eighteen inches tall and nine to ten inches in diameter at the base. Near the base the sides flared into a slight lip or flange, and this, covered with earth, gave it great stability. The domed top offered the greatest possible resistance to breakage from falling trees and limbs which damage many slabs and monuments. The bot...