Southern Graves

Rev. James Hamilton Hall, a Doctor of Divinity, was born 16 April 1836 in Greenville, Meriwether County, Georgia to Alexander and Elizabeth "Betsy" Brown Hall.  James's grandfather was the Irish born Hugh Hall. Alexander was in a position of "financial ease," and thus provided his son James with the "best educational advantages." Yet in a biography of the good reverend, published 1912 in Men of Mark in Georgia , it was written that James led "an aimless and dissipated life." The young man arrived at manhood and became, through a certain philosophic trend of mind, imbedded in the meshes of unbelief.  He even went so far as for a time to lead an aimless and dissipated life.  He had one strong anchor in the shape of the young lady to whom he was engaged, Miss Sarah E. Hall, of Greene county.  She was a woman of strong Christian character, and while she positively refused to marry him during this period of his life, she yet did not let him entire...

John H. Folds was born 17 December 1861 in Georgia, the son of Edmund J. and Matilda J. Coleman Folds.  About the year 1887, John married Laura (b. 1863).  She was a daughter of  L. B. Bray. John died 4 November 1909 in Dooly County, Georgia.  Notice of his demise was printed in the 5 November 1909 edition of The Vienna News : J. H. FOLDS DIED NEAR PINEHURST Stricken With Second Stroke of Paralysis Which Caused His Death Thursday Morning. Judge J. H. Folds, Justice of the Peace of the Pinehurst district passed away at his home a few miles west of Pinehurst Thursday morning about 2 o'clock.  He received a second stroke of paralysis Wednesday night and rapidly grew worse until death relieved him. He was a member of the Primitive Baptist church and was a man much beloved by all who knew him.  His death is deeply deplored. He leaves a wife and a large number of relatives to mourn his death. The interment took place this morning at Mt. Olive cemetery. A week lat...

I've written about monuments as tombstones in this space before ( here and here ). Last week I took a drive to visit another example -- The Signer's Monument in Augusta, Georgia. Signer's Monument Augusta, Richmond County, Georgia Photo © 2013 S. Lincecum The monument which stands in the middle of Greene Street and Monument Street is dedicated to the signers of the Declaration of Independence from the state of Georgia. It's also a tombstone for two of them, per the historical marker standing beside it: Dedicated July 4, 1848, in honor of the signers of the Declaration of Independence for Georgia: George Walton, Lyman Hall and Button Gwinnett. The first two lie buried in crypts beneath this shaft. The burial place of Gwinnett, whose body was to have been reinterred here, has never been found.

Mrs. Nettie C. Hall's (1841-1908) ledger marker is located in Evergreen Cemetery at Fitzgerald, Georgia. At first glance, there might not seem to be a whole lot of information inscribed here. However, there is actually much included in these few lines. Let us start at the top. W. R. C. stands for W omen's R elief C orps. From the W. R. C. website : "The National Woman's Relief Corps, Auxiliary to the Grand Army of the Republic, Inc., is a patriotic organization whose express purpose is to perpetuate the memory of the Grand Army of the Republic, as we are their auxiliary organized at their request on July 25 and 26, 1883 in Denver, Colorado..." The first statement of their mission reads, "To perpetuate the memory of the Grand Army of the Republic and its heroic dead; to assist in every practicable way in preserving, and making available for research, documents and records pertaining to the Grand Army of the Republic and its members..." The Grand Army...