Southern Graves

Louisa Jane Griner was born 27 April 1830 in Tattnall County, Georgia to Benjamin and Caroline Griner. She married Hardy Padgett 26 January 1847, and the couple had at least five children: Georgia, Benjamin, John, James, and Caroline. For the taking of the 1870 U.S. Federal census, Hardy and Jane were residing in Quitman, Brooks County, Georgia. Louisa died 11 June 1874 and was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery at Cartersville, Bartow County, Georgia. A brief obituary: Standard and Express  (Cartersville, Georgia) 17 June 1874 MRS. PADGETT , wife of Mr. H. Padgett, of this place, died on Thursday morning last, after a long and lingering sickness of near two years' duration. A consistent member of the Methodist church, she died in the faith, departing in peace. Her funeral services took place at the Baptist church, conducted by Rev. Mr. Headden, the resident pastor, before a large and sympathizing congregation. So one by one we pass away to the great gathering day, when the sorrows of e...

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...

This mausoleum, located at Magnolia Cemetery in Charleston, South Carolina, houses members of the McDowall and Wragg families. Andrew McDowall was born 25th January 1790 in Scotland, and died 4th October 1866.  His wife Pamela was born 25th November 1797, and died 17th June 1875.  Their eldest daughter Caroline is there, as well.  She was born 22nd June 1816, and died 10th November 1858.  An obituary from page 2 of the 23rd November 1858 Charleston Courier (available online at GenealogyBank ): Obituary. DEPARTED THIS LIFE , at Savannah, on Wednesday, 10th November 1858, in the forty-second year of her age, Mrs. CAROLINE WRAGG, wife of Dr. JOHN A. WRAGG, formerly of this city. it is a beneficent constitution of nature, that the ordinary approach of death is manifested, by disease, old age, or some failure of human organization.  By this process, so to speak, not only the sufferer, but surviving friends are prepared for the catastrophy [sic]; yet if the shock b...

"E gyptian, is perhaps the most funerary of all architecture," writes Douglas Keister in Forever Dixie: A Field Guide to Southern Cemeteries & Their Residents .  This, of course, makes perfect sense.  The very definition of an Egyptian pyramid, at it's core, is a tomb.  History.com's article about the Egyptian Pyramids says this: The pyramid's smooth, angled sides symbolized the rays of the sun and were designed to help the king's soul ascend to heaven and join the gods, particularly the sun god Ra. Oftentimes, especially in cemeteries located in the southern United States, Eqyptian architecture is combined with more mainstream Christian symbols.  Delmar Warren's pyramid tombstone at Rose Hill Cemetery in Macon, Georgia , however, is pretty plain. Frankly, the simple display looks out of place amid the crosses, angels, flora, and fauna carved in stone around it and throughout the cemetery.  So why was this particular tombstone placed for Delmar Arlis...

Homemade headstones often elicit a bittersweet emotion from me.  But if stones could exude love, these two would surely be examples of just that. Mrs. Eliza Jane Ray was a daughter, born 1865, of G. W. and Winnie (Davis) Wright.  She was also the wife of Robert "Bob" J. Ray.  Jane died in March of 1931 after battling tuberculosis of the lungs for fifteen years.  The name listed as undertaker on her death certificate was George Ray, who possibly was a son. According to census records , James Robert Ray was a son of Bob and Jane.  His death, which came just 4 days before Christmas in 1932, was due to pneumonia. Both Jane and her son James died in Fannin County, Georgia.  They were laid to rest in the graveyard of Harmony Baptist Church at Blue Ridge, where more than 80 years later, we can still see the homemade headstones lovingly placed for each of them.

Martha Jane Armstrong was born 12 August 1833 in Gwinnett County, Georgia.  She was a daughter of Martin W. Armstrong and Martha Jane Fincher, both of Georgia.  Daughter Martha married, less than a month after her nineteenth birthday, John L. Wisdom. Martha J. Wisdom died April 1922 in Buford, Gwinnett County.  Her death certificate gave her age at death as 88 years, 8 months, and 8 days.  The draped urn topped tombstone Martha shares with her husband, however, gives her date of death as 22 April 1922, turning those 8 days into 10. I'm no doctor, but I dare say "old age" was the simple cause of death for Martha Jane Wisdom.  Yet Local Registrar George L. Brogdon decided to explain it this way: There was no doctor in the case.  I have known this old lady for years and her health has been failing for some time.  And the family said she died in a few minutes after they discovered something unusual was wrong with her and they didn't have time to get a doct...

Level Creek Church Cemetery Gwinnett County, Georgia George and Sarah Brogdon were parents to Noah R. Brogdon , and grandparents to Daniel G. Brogdon .

M. E. Williams Aug 2, 1861 Dec 29, 1914 At Rest Pinehurst City Cemetery Dooly County, Georgia I always find the rough-hewn look visually appealing.

A son of J. L. and H. V. Manning, Joseph Reubin was born 4 July 1885 and died six months later. He rests beside his sister, Zada Lillian, at Cedar Hill Cemetery in Cochran, Bleckley County, Georgia. Though she outlived her brother, Zada was only on this earth six years. These cradle graves are a reminder of the tremendous loss surely felt by the Manning family during the years of 1886 and 1889. Joseph Reubin Son of J. L. & H. V. Manning Born July 4, 1885 Died Jan 15, 1886 Zada Lillian Dau. of J. L. & H. V. Manning Born Nov 23, 1882 Died Sep 4, 1889 Cedar Hill Cemetery Cochran, Bleckley County, Georgia Photo © 2013-2014 S. Lincecum

Mary Helena Lynes was born 30 June 1861. She married Elijah F. Donehoo just a few weeks before her 28th birthday in Fulton County, Georgia. The marriage was a short one, ending with the death of Mary a few years later on the 31st of December, 1892. Her colonial brick tomb is at Oakland Cemetery at Atlanta, GA. Mary Helena Lynes Wife of E. F. Donehoo Born June 30, 1861 Died Dec 31, 1892 Photo © 2011/2 S. Lincecum While poking around Ancestry.com in search of something about Mary, I came across the Atlanta Centennial Year Book . Included within was a bit of history about the Parish of the Immaculate Conception in Atlanta. Baptismal registers for the year 1861 list a Mary Helena Lynes. The church stands today as the Catholic Shrine of the Immaculate Conception . (Photo at right courtesy of TripAdvisor .)

In a cemetery, it's usually easy to tell with a glance which side a soldier served during the Civil War. Union soldiers have a recessed shield with raised lettering, and Confederate soldiers have a Southern Cross of Honor etched above their names. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs states it this way: "There are specific styles of upright marble headstones to mark the graves of Civil War Union soldiers and Spanish-American War dead. These historical styles...are inscribed in raised lettering inside a recessed shield...The inscription on the recessed-shield headstone is limited. For Civil War Union and Spanish American War, a shield is inscribed which encompasses the arched name and abbreviated military organization. Because of the special design and historical uniform significance, no emblem of belief or additional inscription may be inscribed. The dates of birth and death are inscribed below the shield." "A special style is also available to mark the grave...

James Sawyer was born in England 30 January 1857. He immigrated to the United States around age 17 and settled in Snellville, Gwinnett County, Georgia. For the 1880 census, James was a merchant boarding with Joseph T. Snell (also a merchant). James became a naturalized citizen of the United States about 1884. Around that same time he married Emma A., whose full name (according to online family trees) was Emma Alice Webb. The 1890 property tax digest and the 1900, 1910, and 1920 census records show Emma and James stayed in Snellville and raised six children. James was consistently a retail merchant, his wares being specifically dry goods and groceries in 1920. Emma, born 6 September 1866, died in Gwinnett County 21 June 1929. James lived almost another nineteen years and passed away 1 May 1948. Emma and James' gravesite is a wonderful, "homemade looking" rock vault in Snellville Historical Cemetery. It is adorned with light colored rocks that spell out the SAWYE...

This Monument IS DEDICATED To the purest affection FOR A WIFE AND CHILD, By the Husband and Father. SAMUEL F. ALEXANDER MRS. MAHULDA ALEXANDER Born August 17th, 1813 Died April 23rd, 1853 In every relation of life, as Wife, Mother, Sister, friend, neighbor and humble, devout Christian, she was admired and beloved. Long she endured with Christian fortitude the tortures of a lingering and most painful disease and finally sunk to rest. "Farewell, conflicting joys and fears, Where light and shade alternate dwell; How bright the unchanging morn appears, Farewell, inconstant world, farewell." SAM'L F. ALEXANDER Born Sep 3rd, 1846 Died Sep 10th, 1848 As a wave on the Ocean, as a bubble on the River, is gone, gone forever. Pedestal Tombstone with a vaulted roof Dedicated to Mrs. Mahulda Alexander and her infant son Samuel F. Fairview Presbyterian Church Lawrenceville, Gwinnett County, Georgia All Photos © 2010/1 S. Lincecum

Shady Ann S. Byrd Born Sept 11, 1830 Died Nov 1, 1848 Aged 18 Yrs, 1 Mo, & 20 Dys Shady Ann, upon her untimely death, was laid to rest in Fairview Presbyterian Church Cemetery at Lawrenceville, Gwinnett County, Georgia. Her tombstone is interesting to me. It is somewhat akin to a plaque marker, which from the side looks like a right angle triangle. Shady's stone however has no sharp, purposed edges or corners. Instead, everything about it is curved. It reminds me of a scroll. Shady Ann, daughter of Alfred Williams, was married to Daniel M. Byrd in Gwinnett County on 25 November 1847. They were married a little less than a year when she passed away. Daniel (13 Oct 1826 ~ 10 Mar 1880) is buried beside his young bride in the church cemetery. Photos © 2010/1 S. Lincecum

Walter Berry Born in Delaware Co, Ind. Oct 21, 1861 Died Nov 22, 1911 Walter's tombstone is known as a diamond die. The diamond shaped stone is on top of a stone base. See the three chain link above Walter's name? This emblem shows he was a member of the Odd Fellows. I have written about this emblem and organization before. The article is here --> Odd Fellows and Rebekahs This stone is located in Evergreen Cemetery at Fitzgerald, Ben Hill County, Georgia.