Southern Graves

There's a great photo and some trivia about Baton Rouge National Cemetery (Louisiana) over at teladair's photostream .

St. Philip's Church Cemetery has one more individual interred that I would like to jot down a few notes about. The following is from The Founders: Portraits of Persons Born Abroad Who Came to the Colonies in North America Before the Year 1701 by Charles Knowles Bolton. "Colonel William Rhett was born, it is said, 4 September 1666 in London, although no trace of him can be found there in the accessible printed records. He seems to have been captain of a merchantman in early life, and made his home at Brentwood, County Essex. There he was married, 1 September 1692, to Sarah Cooke. The family arrived in South Carolina in November 1694...Colonel Rhett died 12 January 1722, when on the point of leaving Charleston to be Governor of the Bahamas. ...Rhet was colonel of the Provincial Militia, receiver general of the Lords Proprietors of Carolina, surveyor and comptroller of customs for Carolina and the Bahama Islands. When in command of the colony ships, in 1706, he repelled...

Since my visit to Charleston, South Carolina and St. Philip's Church Cemetery, I have learned a little more about Major General Thomas Pinckney. What a fascinating life he led. Want to know more about him? Read on! General Thomas Pinckney's grandfather (Thomas Pinckney) came to South Carolina and made it his home in 1692. His wife was Mary Cotesworth. Thomas built a house at the corner of East Bay and Tradd Street in Charleston. He had full view of the harbor. He died in this home of yellow fever. General Thomas Pinckney's father, Charles Pinckney, was educated in England and became a successful lawyer upon returning to Carolina. He accumulated a large fortune and was Speaker of the House of Assembly from 1736-1740. Charles married Elizabeth Lucas in 1744. This marriage produced our subject in 1750. Thomas Pinckney was educated for 19 years in England at Westminster, Oxford. He read Greek fluently to the end of his life. In 1774, Thomas was admitted to the Charleston...

I heard about Maplewood Cemetery in Mayfeld, Graves County, Kentucky from Susan at Life in a Box . She wrote a nice entry about the cemetery and some of its more infamous stones. One in particluar is the "procession which never moves." It's the WOOLRIDGE family plot in which every member is represented by a statue. I would love to see it. After following a link Susan provided in her entry to the City of Mayfield website, I was happy to find more information on Maplewood Cemetery. What was even more exciting was the other burial records and cemetery information they have. Onsite, they have records for Maplewood, Highland Park, and Oak Rest cemeteries. Furthermore, they link to a page listing all the cemeteries in Graves County as well as their locations. Very nice.

I just finished creating a page on the Southern Graves website for St. Philip's Church Cemetery . This beautiful cemetery was established in 1680, and it is located on Church Street in Charleston, South Carolina's historic downtown. I've included a short video with the church bells ringing in the background, several transcriptions, and several photos of the church, cemetery, and gravestones. I also made some contributions to FindAGrave from this cemetery. Check 'em out!

Good story at khou.com about College Park Memorial Cemetery in Houston, Texas. This cemetery was established in 1897 and was a burial ground for slaves and their descendents.

Henderson Spring Road Cemetery is now online. It is located in Elko, Houston County, Georgia. I found out about this cemetery from a local resident who knew it as Springhill Church Cemetery. The church is long gone as far as I can tell, and the cemetery is not entirely kept up. It is, I must add, in a beautiful spot. The open part is under a huge tree. The farther in you go, it becomes more overgrown. Parts are under a couple of trees with a lot of moss hanging down. Very pretty. A sad part about this cemetery is the many, many unknown burials. Some of these graves are marked only by mounds of dirt. On the page I set up for this cemetery, you will find a video showing this. In addition to the unknown burials video, I have a 360° pan video, transcriptions of the stones, and more photos. Please stop by and take a look. ~~> Henderson Spring Road Cemetery Southern Graves Home

A great article entitled Restoration of Northport Cemetery Reveals Stories About Past Residents is online. It is about the restoration of Robertson Stone Cemetery in Northport, Tuscaloosa County, Alabama. It includes a video of the some of the cleaning and interviews with the individuals leading the project.

When I visit a cemetery, I am often struck by a particular stone I find. It might be an interesting quote, a somewhat fancy stone, a name that is vaguely familiar, or nothing in particular at all. This happened at Beech Springs Methodist Church Cemetery in Bullard, Twiggs County, Georgia. Thomas Lowe and his wife Cornelia Ann Mims piqued my interest. The following is what I found out about them. From History of Twiggs County, Georgia Sesquicentennial (1809-1959) by J. Lanette O'Neal Faulk and posted to the MIMS Mailing List by Jeanne Filice: LOWE-MIMS Thomas Lowe was born December 26, 1826, and died January 17, 1880 at his home in Bullard. He married Cornelia Ann Mims. She was born in Edgefield, South Carolina July 26, 1829, daughter of Martin and Charlsie Ferguson Mims. Children of Thomas & Cornelia: 1. William T. (1853-1873) 2. Julia Augusta (married William Andrews) 3. John Thomas (1855-1883) 4. E. Martin (1858-1885) 5. John (1862-1869) 6. Thomas (1864-1950) 7....

I made some contributions to FindAGrave from the Beech Springs Methodist Church Cemetery in Bullard, Twiggs County, Georgia. Items include transciptions and photos. Surnames include BULLARD, COOK, GOODWIN, GRESHAM, JOHNSTON, LOWE, MCCORMICK, and RAMEY. According to New Georgia Encyclopedia , Bullard was first the site of a steamboat landing on the Ocmulgee River. It later became Bullard Depot on the Southern Railway. According to Towns & Communities of Twiggs County, Georgia , this town was named after the Daniel Bullard family. Following is a video of Beech Springs Methodist Church Cemetery:

Maybe it's because these stones are not common in my area of the South. All I know is once I saw this stone, I became fascinated with the man it stood to memorialize. African American research is a whole different type than what I am used to; it's much harder. It's even more difficult once you hit the slavery period. I cannot promise what I have found is the gospel, but it's what I believe is the likely story. As is the proper path to take in genealogy, I will start with the death of Daniel Ryder. Daniel Ryder is buried in Liberty United Methodist Church Cemetery in Bibb County, Georgia. At one time, the area was known as the Walden community, or Rutland district. His stone is a simple military stone with no dates. It reads: Daniel Ryder Co K 137 U.S. Cld. Inf. There is stone to the left of his that is partially sticking up out of the ground with no visible markings. Is this a random stone? Maybe it's a marker for Daniel's wife, Dilly Ann. Daniel is bu...

I have just finished adding more than 30 transcriptions and photos to my Rose Hill Cemetery (Macon, Bibb County, Georgia) pages. Most are interments from the Pine Ride section. A new page for Hawthorne Ridge has been started. Check it out! You can use any of the links in the beginning of this post. You can also surf there from the Southern Graves website, as well as the Bibb County, GA American History & Genealogy Project .

I recently visited Liberty Baptist Church Cemetery in Dooly County, Georgia and found many PEAVY gravestones. Most appear to be the family of Isaac Y. Peavy (1823-1903). I photographed and transcribed all the stones. A short video, all the transcriptions, and some photos are now online at Southern Graves .

I have just finished uploading information and photos from Vienna City Cemetery located on the corner of Cemetery and Woodward streets in Vienna, Dooly County, Georgia. Included are transcriptions of all found PEAVY gravestones. Click here to go to the transcriptions and photos. Southern Graves Home

Here is a video about Rose Hill Cemetery in Macon, Georgia. It's very beautifully done. Enjoy!

I have updated the information I have online for Wesley Chapel United Methodist Church and Cemetery in Crawford County, Georgia. I added transcriptions for all (and photos of some) of the VINSON gravestones, as well as some for possibly related families. Check it out!

I have recently been blessed with the work of Mr. James Allen. He took over 10,000 photos of gravestones at Rose Hill Cemetery in Macon, Bibb County, Georgia. He generously donated copies to me, and I am working on getting them online. The Central Avenue Division has been updated, and I have begun a page for Pine Ridge . Stop by and take a look!

The GUNN Family cemetery is located on Highway 41 in Centerville, Houston County, Georgia. The land around it has been stripped and the little family cemetery is in ruins. It is horrible to see. To make matters worse (in my opinion) those interred are relatives of Daniel Gunn, a Revolutionary War soldier given the land by grant for his service. This was one of the early settlers of the area. He operated a general store on the same road. Time deteriorates history enough, this total disregard for it speeds up the process tremendously. I emailed the city administrator about the future of this cemetery. I have yet to receive a response. There is a cross-road behind the cemetery named Gunn Road. We'll name a road after you, but to hell with the graves of your family. Wow. I have put up a page of grave marker transcriptions (the ones I could read and piece together) and photos here: Gunn Cemetery . Below is a short video clip of the cemetery.

Cool song.

Footnote has images of over 179,000 Texas Death Certificates online. Years range from 1890 to 1976. These records are searchable by first and last name of the deceased, year, county, and city. A certificate may include the decedent's date, place, and cause of death; age; date of birth; last residence; and marital status. If known, it will also include occupation, birth place, parents' names, and place of burial. Browse by county, then year, then surname, beginning with the first letters of the last name of the person you seek. If unsure of the year or location, use the search box under the browse menu. Check it out! Happy Hunting!