Southern Graves

James Exom Taylor was born on 9 May 1837 in Pulaksi County, Georgia, the son of Charles Edward Taylor (1810-1886) and Charlotte Exum Phillips (1814-1877). Aside from the ten years he was married to Anna Bell Jordan (d. 1882), James lived the bachelor life, usually occupied with farming pursuits. James maintained a close friendship with members of the George Walker family, whose sons settled the Longstreet community where James was born. Upon James's death in 1913, Dr. T. D. Walker wrote the tribute to his friend transcribed below, and James was laid to rest by his late wife in the Walker Cemetery at Bleckley County, Georgia. Bleckley was carved from Pulaski the year before James's death. In the dim unknown standeth God, within the shadow, keeping watch above His own. Note:  This tribute is a classic example of early 20th-century memorial writing. During this era, particularly in the South, it was customary for friends or family to write highly sentimentalized tributes for newsp...

Col. Colquitt & Julia Jordan Photo © 2011/2 S. Lincecum Julia Flournoy Hurt Colquitt Jordan rests in Linwood Cemetery at Columbus, Muscogee County, Georgia. She is buried in a plot next to her father and first husband, Col. Peyton H. Colquitt, C.S.A (d. 1863). The front of Julia's elaborate tombstone is inscribed with the following: Julia Flournoy Jordan Only Child of Joel Early & Fannie Hurt Born June 13, 1842 Died Dec 30, 1891 Beyond These Shadows There's Peace The back of her monument contains a beautiful verse from a poem called "There Is No Death!" by J. L. McCreery : The Birdlike Voice Whose Joyous Tones Made Glad These Scenes Of Sin And Strife, Sings Now An Everlasting Song Around The Tree Of Life. Julia's second husband was Leonidas A. Jordan, "one of Macon's most popular and highly esteemed citizens...a cultivated gentleman of great wealth,...known throughout the state as one of the largest planters and real estate owne...

Just inside the entrance to Oak Hill Cemetery in Talbotton, Georgia is what looks to be an above ground vault for the Jordan family. While I think it was designed as such, it's likely a false crypt. This large, beautiful memorial is made of marble and contains the following inscriptions: Robert Henry Jordan, Jr. May 14, 1948 Oct 22, 1966 ------------- Chief Justice Robert Henry Jordan Feb 6, 1916 Oct 23, 1992 Court of Appeals of GA 1960-71 Supreme Court of GA 1971-82 ---------------------------- Jean Ingram Jordan Nov 5, 1923 June 10, 2005 Robert Jordan, Sr. also served in the GA State Senate from 1953-54 and 1959-60. He was born in Talbot County, Georgia and attended the University of Georgia. He served in the US Army 1941-45 and was the author of There Was a Land , a history of Talbot County, Georgia. The Georgia General Assembly, in House Resolution 25, stated Robert Henry Jordan served his country with honor, was an outstanding legal scholar, and was an ex...