Southern Graves

From History of Gwinnett County, Georgia by James C. Flanigan: "Mr. Adair was born in South Carolina in the year 1783; just at the close of the American Revolution. He descended from one of the old families of the Adairs of Scotland where all the Adairs in Europe and America originally sprang from, according to tradition handed down from generation to generation. His great grandfather, Robin Adair, was the boon companion of Robert Burns, the Scottish bard. It was said of him: "He was a decided character, a good peacemaker, of jovial good humor, witty and wise. At all public places he would have a crowd around him listening to his witticisms and songs." Some of his descendants emigrated to Ireland, some to England. His son, Robert, went to England, and his son, Robert married Sir John Sidney's daughter, emigrated to America and settled in Virginia. Before leaving England he named one of his sons after both grandfathers, Robert Sidney. This son married a widow, El...

Beneath this Marble repose the remains of JOHN STUART who departed this life on the 1st day of February 18?3 In the 60th year of his age. The day is past and gone The evening shade appear O! may you all remember well The night of Death is near. Also MARY STUART His Wife Born April 25, 1785 Died April 13, 1879 Fairview Presbyterian Church Cemetery Lawrenceville, Gwinnett County, Georgia Photo © 2010/1 S. Lincecum The verse etched in the top of John and Mary Stuart's box tomb is from a hymn written by John Leland in 1792. It is akin to one of the most common of epitaphs: Stranger, stop and cast an eye, / As you are now, so once was I. / As I am now, so you will be, / Prepare for death and follow me. The second verse of John Leland's hymn continues: We lay our garments by, / Upon our beds to rest; / Soon death shall soon disrobe us all, / Of what is here possessed. About a hundred years after the death of Mr. Stuart, this hymn was a favorite for gospel...

I originally wrote this post two years ago for Earth Day 2008. Since I still feel the same way, and hope to continue to give others food for thought on the subject, here it is again. As is pretty well documented, I am very passionate about cemetery appreciation and preservation.  This goes hand in hand with Earth Day and a passion to appreciate and preserve our planet.  Let’s think about the connection for a moment. There is the obvious correlation of mortal remains being buried in the earth, or having one’s ashes spread all over it.  The tombstones we strive to conserve for the information they contain, as well as their artwork, also come from the earth: - marble :  a metamorphic rock formed from limestone or dolomite - granite :  a common, coarse-grained hard igneous rock consisting chiefly of quartz, orthoclase or microcline, and mica - limestone :  a common sedimentary rock consisting mostly of calcium carbonate - slate :  a fine-grain...

Sacred to the Memory of James T. Gresham was born Dec r 9th, 1817 and died August 27th, 1836 with the fever after 8 days illness. Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord. Fairview Presbyterian Church Cemetery Lawrenceville, Gwinnett County, Georgia Photo © 2010/1 S. Lincecum

A. W. Wilson Son of J. F. & S. A. Wilson Born Aug 27, 1869 Died Mar 8, 1890 He, like the flowers of the morning, was cut down in the bloom of youth. Census records and online family trees suggest this tombstone memorializes A. Walter Wilson, first son of James Fletcher Wilson and Shady Ann Byrd. A short article reporting news from Lawrenceville in the 14 March 1890 Macon Telegraph (Georgia) states the "young man of about 29 died of consumption." A. W., his parents, brother Henry, and sister Evie Lou are all resting in Fairview Presbyterian Church Cemetery at Lawrenceville, Gwinnett County, Georgia. H. M. Wilson Second and Last Son of  J. F. & S. A. Wilson Photos © 2010/1 S. Lincecum.

DIED , in Dougherty county, on the 15th day of May, REBECCA HEARTWELL, infant daughter of Mr. Paul E. Tarver and Mrs. Cinderilla Tarver, aged 9 months and 13 days. The death of a child! How little does the world mark such an incident! Society feels no shock. It is scarcely felt in the narrow circle of relatives and friends. The arrow flies swiftly through the air to its victim, its trace is lost and all is tranquil. Yet how often does such an event crush the hopes and destroy the happiness of families. Our heart bleeds in tender sympathy with the parents of the bright little being whose death we chronicle. She was indeed a precious bud, whose leaves had not yet opened to the day. "A vision of beauty! fair as brief!" If the tender affection of parents, or the innocence and beauty of childhood, could have been a defence from the grave, we could not be making this sad memorial of little Rebecca. "Yet thou art fled ere guilt had power To stain thy cherub soul a...

Mollie G. Wife of Pennal Jackson Daughter of M. L. & M. W. Sammon Born Oct 12, 1858 Died Sept 15, 1888 And Little Dau. Mollie Born Aug 10, 1888 Died Apr 16, 1889 Aged 8 Mos. & 6 Dys. A faithful Christian and kind mother of six children. "Be kind to my little children." Fairview Presbyterian Church Cemetery Lawrenceville, Gwinnett County, Georgia Photo © 2010/1 S. Lincecum

Larry Jean Williams US Marine Corps World War II Aug 6, 1916 ~ Oct 18, 1996 Fairview Presbyterian Church Cemetery Lawrenceville, Gwinnett County, Georgia Photo © 2010/1 S. Lincecum Census records suggest Larry was a son of Roland R. and Minnie E. Williams, also buried at Fairview Presbyterian.

"A sheaf of wheat on a tombstone is often used to denote someone who has lived a long and fruitful life of more than seventy years...It denotes immortality and resurrection because of its use as a harvested grain...A sheaf of wheat is a popular Masonic emblem as well." - Douglas Keister in Stories in Stone: A Field Guide to Cemetery Symbolism and Iconography . Photos © 2011 S. Lincecum. Taken at Evergreen Cemetery in Perry, Houston County, Georgia. Zinc marker memorializes H. B. Felder (1828-1878), son of Samuel and Ann Felder.

The FELDER family of Perry, Georgia seems to have been pretty prominent in their time. There are two family plots side-by-side in Evergreen Cemetery that contain the remains of some of the family members. The patriarch of the family is Samuel Felder of South Carolina. He was born 24 November 1796 and died 3 October 1867. Samuel was married to Ann, born 25 August 1803 and died 8 September 1890. Also buried nearby is Samuel's son Henry B. (1828 - 1878). The next plot full of ledger markers with exception of one is dedicated to Edward Lewis Felder (1826 - 1872) and his family. Edward was a son of Samuel and Ann Felder. His first wife was Ada, born 27 June 1831 and died 25 May 1858. Edward later married Charlotte "Lottie" Swift, born 11 April 1841 and died 5 January 1888. Four of Edward's children were laid to rest in this plot: Lucy (1871-1961), Thomas S. (1867-1941), Kate (1863-1940), and Edward Jr. (1856-1893). When poking around about the Felders, I fou...

My Facebook friend, Sid Graves of CemeteryPrints , just posted this quote less than an hour ago. It sums up "why I do what I do" so well. Coincidentally, he paired the quote with an image of his that is almost exactly like one I took some years ago at Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, GA: Photo © S. Lincecum The deep pain that is felt at the death of every friendly soul arises from the feeling that there is in every individual something which is inexpressible, peculiar to him alone, and is, therefore, absolutely and irretrievably lost. ~ Arthur Schopenhauer The goal of this Southern Graves blog is to preserve that inexpressible something found with every tombstone and the life for which it stands.

Depicting the passage of time on a tombstone is a common theme. Rosebuds ( Gather ye Rose-buds while ye may ), Father Time, and the much more common hourglass (sometimes seen with wings) are several symbols from which to choose if you want to express the connection of rapidly passing time with death. But a pocket watch was a first for me. At least that's what it looks like to me atop Emalee Roberts' stone. What do you think? Emalee Roberts Born Nov 8, 1876 Died Nov 8, 1882 "A precious one from us has gone, A voice we loved is stilled. A place is vacant in our home, Which never can be filled." Fairview Presbyterian Church Cemetery Lawrenceville, Gwinnett County, Georgia According to the 1880 U.S. Federal Census for Gwinnett County, GA, "Emma L." is the daughter of William B. and Margaret Roberts. Photos © 2010/1 S. Lincecum

Ever read about someone in a magazine and feel the need to visit their burial place? Yep, me too. Such was the case with Julia Force. I read about her in the Summer 2010 edition of Georgia Backroads magazine. A great article by Gaynie G. Guy and Hugh T. Harrington entitled "Julia Force: Victorian Murderess" told of a crime that had the whole nation following along to find out Julia's fate. In February 1893, Julia Force shot and killed her two sisters, Florence and Minnie, in Atlanta, GA. She was subsequently tried for murder. Julia was not convicted, however, by reason of insanity. She spent the rest of her life in the Georgia Lunatic Asylum located at Milledgeville, GA, where she died 30 March 1916. As to whether or not Julia was truly insane is debatable. During her time at Milledgeville, Julia befriended a matron of the women's building named Johnanna Mitchell Darnell. ("Sent to Milledgeville," maybe with a raised eyebrow, is all anyone has t...

The Old City Cemetery in Macon, Georgia has grabbed my attention once again. I think my feelings of sadness and anger are what keep bringing me back, though no one who may be considered responsible for its ruination is even remotely around for me to direct those feelings towards. Bibb County, GA was established in 1822, and the city of Macon, the county seat, was chartered in 1823. The Old City Cemetery was laid out soon after, being used between the years of (roughly) 1825 and 1840. As you might imagine, the pioneers, founders, and builders of Macon were interred there. I've been reading old newspaper articles about the cemetery and have seen numbers as high as 700 regarding interments. I can document less than 60 burials, and there are even fewer than that with visible markers. In a February 1891 article in the Macon Telegraph , a sad story of the then-current state of the cemetery was told. The morning sun never touches those long forgotten graves, save where the beaten...

I enjoy transcribing early 19th century obituaries. The language of the time is almost lyrical. I do dislike the run-on sentences, though! The subject of this obituary is Mr. Elisha Hammond, a known educator in South Carolina and Georgia. He was also the father of James Henry Hammond, governor of South Carolina 1842-1844. According to an 1893 newspaper article , Mr. Hammond was buried in Macon's Old City Cemetery upon his death. His interment is mentioned again in an article from 1907 . However, it seems any marker he had is not to be found today. Unless it is one of the few still standing that are completely illegible. The following photo shows the current cemetery landscape. You would never guess there were possibly as many as 700 burials there. Macon Telegraph (Georgia) 11 July 1829 Obituary COMMUNICATED. Departed this life, on Thursday the 9th instant, after a painful illness of seven days, Mr. ELISHA HAMMOND superintendent of the Macon Academy, in the 53d yea...

While the headline might seem familiar, this incident actually happened more than 175 years ago. -- Thomas Ellis was born about 1798.  His "untimely exit" came way too soon, about 34 years later, and under some interesting circumstances. His obituary ran in the Georgia Telegraph , Macon, on Wednesday, 10 October 1832: Awful Catastrophe! -- Early on Wednesday morning last, in a rencontre with Henry Byrom, Mr. Thomas M. Ellis , long known as one of the most industrious and enterprising men in Macon, received a pistol ball in his abdomen, of which he died in about three hours. This afflicting occurrence has thrown a gloom over the whole town. Mr. Ellis was greatly respected for his moral virtues, his uprightness of conduct, his enterprising genius, and his untiring industry. One of the first settlers of Macon, the town owes much to him for its rapid growth and unprecedented prosperity. What Girard died for Philadelphia, Mr. Ellis was doing for Macon. He pried into every ...

Eliza S. Davis was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts 15 July 1808 and died in Macon, Georgia 3 January 1841. Just 32 years young. What is to blame for her untimely death? According to an obituary in the 5 January 1841 Macon Georgia Telegraph , "consumption" was the cause. In short, consumption used to be a common term for tuberculosis . This was because it seemed to consume people from within, with a long relentless symptom of "wasting away." According to the World Health Organization, when the disease becomes active, 75% of the cases are pulmonary TB, that is, TB in the lungs. Symptoms include chest pain, coughing up blood, and a productive, prolonged cough for more than three weeks. Systemic symptoms include fever, chills, night sweats, appetite loss, weight loss, pallor, and fatigue. Mrs. Eliza S. Davis was laid to rest in the Old City Cemetery of Macon, Georgia. Her epitaph describes her as A good Wife, good Mother, good Daughter and good Christian . This...

Sometimes I come across a tombstone that at first glance appears simple, or common. When I pause and take it all in however, I find that is not the case at all. Like with Elizabeth Gossett's stone pictured below. It contains symbolism, a good bit of genealogical information, and a personalized epitaph. Art and data rolled into one. A hand with a finger pointing up indicates Elizabeth's soul has risen to Heaven. Though not seen in the photo, here is a transcription of her entire epitaph: Elizabeth / Wife of I. F. Gossett / Born Mar 23, 1823 / Died Mar 26, 1903 / She was a member of the M. E. church 62 years. / Her last words... I am going home . Elizabeth was laid to rest near her parents, Casey and Susan Crowe. Their stone is behind hers in the photo. All are buried in Fairview Presbyterian Church Cemetery at Lawrenceville, Gwinnett County, Georgia.