Southern Graves

" Willard H. Love is Dead. Mr. W. H. Love died at his room at the Phoenix Hotel, Waycross, Friday night, last, May 15th, at 11 o'clock, of congestion of the brain. Mr. Love came in on a late train, Thursday night from Jacksonville, apparently in usual health and retired at once. Next morning he did not come down to breakfast, but nothing was thought of this, as he often left the city on one of the early trains. About 5 o'clock in the afternoon, as his door was still locked, it was forced open and Mr. Love was found in an unconscious condition. Prompt measures were taken to restore him, but he never regained consciousness, and died that night at 11. A telegram was sent his family in Tifton, and they went to Waycross on the first train Saturday morning. The remains were carried through Tifton to Fort Valley Saturday night, for interment there beside his father and other relatives . At Tifton the party was joined by an escort from Tifton Lodge No. 47, F. & A. M., headed b...

Sometimes, when I visit a gravesite, it's obvious a tombstone or grave marker was added years after a deceased individual's death. Maybe this was not an uncommon practice. Anna E. Hollinshead died 5 February 1913 and was laid to rest in Oaklawn Cemetery at Fort Valley, Houston (later Peach) County, Georgia. On 20 November 1911, she signed her last will and testament. In it, she instructed her executor to erect monuments over the graves of her two siblings and mother "should I not, during my lifetime." Should I not, during my lifetime, erect over the graves of W. E. Brown and his wife, Mrs. Emma Brown, a monument, then I hereby instruct my executor to have erected over their graves a suitable monument at a cost not to exceed One Hundred & Fifty Dollars, which sum I authorize him to employ for that purpose. Emma Hollinshead Brown died 12 October 1906, and Walter Edward Brown died 1 March 1899. This was, respectively, five and twelve years before the signed last will...

Home Journal  (Perry, Georgia) 3 June 1880 - pg. 3 [via Georgia Historic Newspapers ] Death of Mrs. W. M. Kersh. The death of Mrs. W. M. Kersh, which occurred at her residence in this place on Tursday [sic] evening last, about nine o'clock, was not unexpected; as, for the past few weeks of her illness, but little hope has been entertained of her recovery. She has been sick for a long time, and at times her suffering was almost beyond endurance, yet she bore it all with a christian resignation and fortitude worthy of her true character as a follower of Christ. Mrs. Kersh has been a resident of our town for the past seven years, and had made many warm and admiring friends among our people, with whom her death has been the source of great sadness. A large concourse of friends followed her remains to Oak Lawn Cemetery, where they were interred on Friday evening last. We, together with the entire community, deeply sympathize with the bereaved family in their sad affliction. -- Fort Vall...

Susan M. Dawsey, Spinster , married Henry Love 11 November 1847 -- about five weeks before her eighteenth birthday -- in Chatham County, Georgia. Upon Susan's death in 1875, she was buried in Oaklawn Cemetery at Fort Valley, Houston (now Peach) County, GA. This final resting place may seem odd since the couple seemed to spend the majority of life together farther south. For the 1850 and 1860 censuses, Henry and Susan were counted in Effingham County, GA. In 1870, they were in Glynn County. The Fort Valley connection coincides with the American Civil War. In August 1863, Georgia Governor Joe Brown appointed Henry Love captain of the Fort Valley Cavalry. This unit was organized for local defense, and Henry's stint was scheduled to last six months. Houston County, GA is also where Mr. and Mrs. Love's daughter Laura (1851-1890) married Robert Braswell (1847-1920) in 1866. He was a son of Sarah Ann Mims and William Braswell. [Another child of Henry and Susan was Olin P. Love .] ...

Lollie, Mary, and Olin Love are buried in Oaklawn Cemetery at Fort Valley, Peach County, Georgia. Olin was a son of Dr. Henry Troup Love (1825-1897), who also rests in Oaklawn. Savannah Morning News  (Georgia) Friday, 26 July 1901 - pg. 9 LITTLE LOLLIE LOVE DEAD. Will Be Laid to Rest To-Day at Fort Valley Beside Her Father. Mrs. O. P. Love had the misfortune to lose her youngest daughter, Lollie, shortly after midnight yesterday morning. The little one was just 22 months old and had suffered greatly for several weeks with typho-malaria. She was a bright and promising child and had already won many friends. Mrs. Love left last night for Fort Valley with the body, where it will be laid to rest to-day beside that of the husband and father, Olin P. Love, whose death just six weeks ago is still remembered. Mrs. Love and her family have the sympathy of many friends in their affliction. Savannah Morning News  (Georgia) Friday, 7 June 1901 FORMER SAVANNAHIAN DEAD. Mr. Olin P. Love Die...

If it was, I haven't recovered the final verdict. Which makes me wonder, did someone get away with murder? Bradford Houser, born 31 May 1893, was a son of Emmett Houser (1868-1932) and Mary Mathews (1869-1929). For the 1910 US Federal census, the family was in Fort Valley, Houston County, Georgia. [Note: Fort Valley became part of Peach County when the latter was formed in 1924.] Following is a series of news articles I did find regarding the killing of Bradford Houser in the fall of 1914. Augusta Chronicle  (Georgia) Saturday, 7 November 1914 - pg. 1 Emmet Houser's Son Found Murdered, Fort Valley Macon, Ga., Nov. 6. -- Bradford Houser, 23 years old, son of Emmett Houser, well-known newspaper man and manager for Hon. Thomas M. Felder in the last senatorial campaign, was found murdered at Fort Valley late tonight. Young Houser had been attending a carnival that was in progress at Fort Valley, thirty miles from here. He was not missed by the merry-makers, however, and it was mere...

James Abbington Everett and second wife Mary Beaufort Greene were, upon their deaths, buried in Oaklawn Cemetery at Fort Valley, Georgia. Though the county the cemetery is in is now called Peach, it was called Houston at the time of death for James (1848) and Mary (1852). According to a biographical sketch submitted by Eddie Clark in The Heritage of Houston County, GA: 1821-2001 , "No history of either Houston County or Peach County[,] Georgia could be complete without remembering James Abbington Everett...Historical accounts hold that [he] was both Houston County's first white settler and the Father of Fort Valley." The sketch continues as follows: Mr. Everett's earlier life was spent in the pursuit of worldly wealth. He was known as an intelligent person who could spot opportunities and capitalize on them. At an early age of just 22 years, James Everett left his NC home and ventured into the North Georgia wilderness as an Indian trader. ...In 1818, James becam...

Henderson Walker "Henry" English, born 13 May 1860, was a son of Irvin and Joanna Howell English. Henry was married first to Eva Brantley in 1889, and this union produced three sons: Havis, Fenton, and Ray/Roy. About six years later, on 25 September 1895 in Houston County, Georgia, Henry married Lula Watson. She was born 26 April 1873, a daughter of Richmond H. and Fannie C. White Watson. Henry and Lula had three children: Fannie, Maud, and Irving Brown. Their son, who was orphaned about age five, was the only child from that union to survive to adulthood. Henry died 16 December 1903, and Lula died 25 January 1907. Both were buried in Magnolia Park Cemetery at Warner Robins, Houston County, Georgia. At the time of their deaths, however, the burial sites were in Watson Cemetery at Wellston, GA. (Wellston became Warner Robins in 1942, and Watson Cemetery became Magnolia Park in 1949.) Houston Home Journal (Perry, Georgia) 24 December 1903 - pg. 6 [via Georgia Historic New...

Born in 1836. Baptized in 1846. Married first in 1855. Birthed a daughter in 1858. Widowed in 1863. Married another in 1867. Buried daughter and father in 1873. Died in 1892. Sarah Margaret Baskin was one of at least seven daughters born to Robert Wellborn Baskin (1803-1873) and Temperance Mariah Hargrove (d. 1847). Not mentioned in Sarah's obituary (transcribed below) was she was first married to Lieut. William H. Holmes. He died of pneumonia at Richmond, Virginia while soldiering during the Civil War. Houston Home Journal (Perry, Georgia) 4 February 1892 - pg. 3 [via Georgia Historic Newspapers ] DEATH OF MRS. S. M. CLARK. Again Perry suffers from an additional burden of sorrow. Last Friday night Mrs. Sarah Margaret Clark, wife of Mr. J. W. Clark, died in Perry at the residence of Mr. T. M. Killen, where she and her husband were boarding. For many years Mrs. Clark had been in feeble health, and about six years ago she approached very near unto death, and it was ...

Daniel Stetson Sanford was a son of Daniel Benjamin Sanford and Elizabeth C. "Lizzie" Stetson. His lengthy obituary also necessitates a separate post. Daniel died 6 October 1924 at Wesley Memorial Hospital (name changed to Emory University Hospital mid-1930s) in DeKalb County, Georgia. Cause of death was Myocardial insufficiency; Edema of lungs. Daniel's widow was Annie L. Robinson Sanford (1872-1954). Both were buried in the family lot at Memory Hill Cemetery in Milledgeville, Baldwin County, Georgia. Obituary from 8 October 1924 Union Recorder (Milledgeville, Georgia) - JUDGE SANFORD DIED IN ATLANTA One of Milledgeville's Best Known Citizens Buried Tuesday Afternoon. Large Crowd Pays Last Sad Tribute of Respect. A gloom was thrown over the city early Monday morning, October 6th, by the announcement that Judge D. S. Sanford, had died at the Wesley Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, where he had gone about two weeks ago for treatment. Judge Sanford had been in f...

Continuing on with a profile of members of the Stetson and Sanford families buried in Memory Hill Cemetery at Milledgeville, Georgia -- Daniel Benjamin Sanford gets a post all to himself. His life, and six years later his death, was discussed in two publications. First up is Georgia: Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons Arranged in Cyclopedic Form edited by Allen D. Candler and Clement A. Evans (Atlanta, State Historical Association, 1906). Sanford, Daniel B. , may well be entitled the Nestor of the bar of Baldwin county, since he has been engaged in the practice of his profession in Milledgeville for two score of years, and for eighteen consecutive years he presided on the bench of the court of ordinary of the county. He was captain of a company in a Georgia regiment of the Confederate service in the Civil war, in which he made a gallant record, and has been a citizen of prominence and influence in his county, having marked professional prestige ...

On the image below, I have labeled gravestones for eleven members of the Stetson and Sanford families. This family plot (no. 22) is located in section D of the east side of Memory Hill Cemetery in Milledgeville, Baldwin County, Georgia. The elder parents of the group are Daniel B. and Edith Dean Stetson. According to his gravestone, Daniel "departed this life Feb 24th, 1865; aged 54 years, 10 mo's & 6 days." And per his death notice, Daniel was "an old and highly esteemed merchant and also a leading and influential member of the Baptist church." Edith was born in Portsmouth, Virginia on 29 February 1811; and died in Milledgeville on 30 October 1883. A portion of her epitaph reads, "After bearing patiently her full share of the burdens of life & doing her duty faithfully with a christian spirit, God called her home to rest." An obituary from the 6 November 1883 Union and Recorder (Milledgeville, GA): DIED. -- Mrs. Edith Stetson, widow of...

Today's obituary comes with a bit of a tip. Don't think your search will surely be fruitless if you scour newspapers for an obituary well after a death date. I always, always look for at least a full month after the death date, and here's an example of an obituary published almost five months after the fact. Her name was Vertitia Massey, and she was laid to rest in Memory Hill Cemetery at Milledgeville, Baldwin County, Georgia. Union Recorder (Milledgeville, Georgia) 8 August 1899 - pg. 7 [via Georgia Historic Newspapers ] OBITUARY. MASSEY. -- Mrs. W. A. Massey, nee Miss Vertitia F. Harrell, was born August 8, 1856, in Milledgeville, Ga., joined the Methodist Church 1874, under the ministry of Rev. A. J. Jarrell; married W. A. Massey Nov. 24, 1880, and died triumphantly March 23, 1899. In many respects sister Massey was a remarkable woman. For twenty-five years she was not only a member of the church, but an earnest, active, wise, Christian worker, in the vineyard of...