Southern Graves

I was surprised at the number of ceramic photos (sometimes known as porcelain pictures ) I found while traipsing through Forsyth Cemetery and its subdivision called Rest Haven in Monroe County, Georgia. Young soldiers and children were prevalent. From the 1940s to the 2000s. Below are the nineteen I photographed. J. Ponder Carson (1868-1943) H. Walter Carson (1873-1943) *brother of J. Ponder Calvin Clifford Hudson (1946-1967) James T. Pritchett (1881-1941) Bessie W. Pritchett (1884-1967) *wife of James T. Joseph D. Pritchett (1917-1940) *son of James & Bessie John W. Martin (1943-1966) Samuel F. Anderson, Jr. (1929-1954) Joyce A. Belknap (1953-1970) James Floyd Mitchell (1901-1962) Ozella McCord Mitchell (1903-1990) *wife of James Floyd William Raymond Maddox, Sr. (1918-1984) Lucille Bates Maddox (1919-1996) *wife of William Raymond Gail Eugenia Maddox (1946-1959) *daughter of William & Lucille Sharron Crutchfield (...

I have a confession to make: I am not a good blogger of my personal genealogy. It has become increasingly clear over the last several months. My personal genealogy blog is the most neglected of them all. I do work on my personal family history, to be sure, I just rarely want to blog about. On the other hand, I LOVE spending hours and hours in a cemetery, photographing tombstones, conducting research, and bringing you the stories behind those stones. Even though there have been lapses when my personal life took a front seat to cemetery research, this blog has been pretty darn consistent. I have decided to interject a little bit of my family history into this Southern Graves blog. You will know these posts at a glance because the tag This Time It's Personal will always be included. I plan to migrate applicable posts from my personal genealogy blog to this blog, as I wrestle with the decision as to whether or not to even keep the other blog. These posts will be concentrat...

John F. Lewis b. Feb 4, 1830 d. Dec 29, 1879 Felton Cemetery Montezuma, GA Lavinia Butts Lewis b. Feb 16, 1837 d. April 17, 1906 Felton Cemetery Montezuma, GA

During a recent visit to Felton Cemetery in Montezuma, Georgia, I paused at the graves of the Elijah Banks Lewis family. E. B. Lewis was a United States Representative from Georgia for several years. His was not the tombstone I noticed, however. I was drawn instead to the graves of his two sons. They dwarfed the surrounding tombstones and contained what I imagine are likenesses of the young men. I was somewhat surprised at what research would uncover about the lives of each of these individuals. From a youthful hero to an accidental shooting. From appendicitis to suicide. The tragedies that befell this family were chronicled in the local newspapers... Macon Weekly Telegraph March 18, 1895 " A YOUTHFUL HERO. Saved a Drowning Boy at the Risk of His Own Life. Montezuma, March 16 -- Yesterday while a crowd of boys were viewing the washout on the Beaver Creek Turnpike Frank Hague, 8 years of age, fell into the water and was carried by the mad current through a sewer pipe ...

Sarah C. Wife of F. F. Paris Died May 15, 1902 Safely Anchored In The Haven Of Eternal Rest Hillcrest Cemetery; Reynolds, Taylor County, Georgia Sarah was the wife of Fletcher F. Paris. Fletcher, a veteran of the Civil War, was the son of Dollie Lewis and Dr. J. R. Paris. When searching for an obituary for Sarah, I came across this touching tribute to her by Mrs. Chas. Hugh Neisler of Reynolds, Ga: 8 June 1902 Macon Weekly Telegraph , Georgia IN MEMORIAM Mrs. Fletcher F. Paris, Died May 15, 1902 Her memory is with us, fresh and sweet, A flower to bloom within our hearts alway, -- Altho' the early path that knew her feet Is dreary for her sake; and incomplete Are all the days for sake of yesterday, God knows, (who in His wisdom willed it so) If it be best that we should walk alone -- Without the tenderness that used to flow Unceasing from her heart, that now lies low Under the covering of earth and stone. And yet, not so -- the earth and marble lie Above but dust returned to dust,...