Southern Graves

(Plainview Cemetery) Harry Joseph Abernathy was a man of the southeast Missouri soil whose life bridged two distinct eras. Born in the tiny hamlet of Shrum in Bollinger County, Harry belonged to a generation that witnessed their rural birthplaces fade from the map. Named for a local landowner, the hamlet was once a distinct community in Crooked Creek Township. However, like so many small Missouri towns, it fell victim to modernization; the Shrum post office, which had opened in 1900, was discontinued in 1937 as rural mail routes consolidated. Its closure shuttered the town's identity nearly fifty years before Harry himself passed away. As a farmer in the Ozark foothills, Harry was not merely an agriculturalist but a survivalist. Through the lean years of the Great Depression, his labor stood between his large family—spanning two marriages and at least six children—and the economic hardships of the times. As any lifelong farmer knows, the circle of life and death is a constant. Whet...

When Gladys Marie Campbell Abernathy died in early 1941, she was just 37 years old. On paper, her death certificate lists a "coronary occlusion" as the cause, but the location of her passing reveals a much more heartbreaking reality. Gladys died inside Missouri’s State Hospital No. 4 in Farmington, a facility for the mentally ill. While the official record cites a heart issue, the contributing cause—"Manic Depressive Psychosis"—hints that this young mother of six wasn't just battling a physical ailment, but likely suffering from what we now recognize as severe postpartum psychosis. Gladys's mother Hattie died on 8 June 1933, at the age of 49. Gladys was 29 at the time and had given birth to her fourth child just six months prior. To understand the sheer weight Gladys was carrying, consider that over the course of thirteen years, she bore six children. She seemingly never got a break from birthing and nursing. When the 1940 Federal Census was enumerated in Ap...

Manly W. Peacock, son of Albert, was born on 6 March 1877. Two of his brothers were Jefferson D. Peacock , mentioned previously in this space, and Zebulon Vance Peacock, a former mayor of Cochran in Bleckley County, Georgia. Upon his death in November 1903, Manly was buried in a family lot at Cedar Hill Cemetery in Cochran. 📰 Framing the Tragedy: Yellow Journalism in 1903 Manly's death "caused much excitement" in cities and towns across the state. The sensationalized reports are perfect examples of the journalistic style prevalent in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Often called "yellow journalism," this style prioritized sensationalism, drama, and circulation over strict factual accuracy, leading to the kind of contradictions and unverified claims you will see in these articles. Macon Telegraph (Georgia) Sunday, 8 November 1903 - pg. 1 " DUEL TO DEATH IN DODGE COUNTY MANLY PEACOCK INSTANTLY KILLED BY H. G. EVERETT, AFTER THE LATTER WAS PERH...

Decades before penicillin was widely available to the public, Cherry White had an accident with a fork. It cost her her life. Newspapers all across Georgia and neighboring states carried the story: Stuck Fork in Hand and Died: Miss Cherry White Loses Life from Peculiar Accident Death from Poisoning is Fate of Girl Student Wounded By a Fork, Young Girl Dies Cherry Ann White was born in Georgia on New Year's Eve in 1889, just a couple of weeks after the gold-domed State Capitol building in Atlanta was completed. She was the first daughter born to Coley B. and Elizabeth A. "Lizzie" White, and named after her paternal grandmother, Cherry Ann Coley. Also in 1889, the Georgia General Assembly established the Georgia Normal and Industrial College. Located in Milledgeville, just over 60 miles from where Cherry's family resided in Cochran, its mission was to educate and train young white women to become teachers and to provide industrial education in areas such as sewing, cook...

The World War I veteran was shot in his left side with a pistol. Thomas Glover "Tom" Padgett was born on 10 July 1888 in Twiggs County, Georgia, to William B. and Annie Davis Padgett. He was inducted into the United States Army at Jeffersonville, Georgia, on 26 June 1918. Tom served overseas from 24 August 1918 to 2 April 1919. It was noted on his World War I service card that Tom was "slightly" wounded about 1 November 1918, and was honorably discharged on demobilization, 24 April 1919. Years later, by 1935, Tom had a room in a boarding house on West Franklin Street in Gastonia, Gaston County, North Carolina. Gastonia was once one of the nation's largest textile-manufacturing hubs. Though no occupation was listed for Tom in the 1940 census, he was surrounded by neighbors working in cotton mills. In February 1943, Tom was shot and killed in his room at the boarding house. While his death certificate officially records the date as February 16th, contemporary news...

Born just months after the Civil War ended, Thomas B. Pace Jr. lived through Reconstruction, the Gilded Age, and the upheavals of early 20th-century America. His death in 1931 came at the dawn of the Great Depression, a time when the values inscribed on his gravestone—charity, compassion, faith—were desperately needed. Thomas, and two of his siblings highlighted here, were laid to rest in Cedar Hill Cemetery in Cochran, Bleckley County, Georgia. Thomas Pace Jr.'s Life of Civic Virtue Thomas B. Pace Jr. Son of Thomas B. Pace and Catherine, His Wife Born Sept 30, 1865 Died Sept 18, 1931 Here is to the remains of our brother, Thomas B. Pace, who at all times and places gave his strength to the weak; his substance to the poor, his sympathy to the suffering, and his heart to God. This epitaph, presumably composed by his surviving siblings, reflects a life dedicated to civic virtues, especially in the tumultuous era in which Thomas lived. An obituary ran in the Athens Banner-Herald ...

An urn-topped obelisk in Cedar Hill Cemetery at Cochran, Bleckley County, Georgia, serves as a single monument to Charles Mullis and his three wives -- each getting their own panel, collectively making up the four sides of the base. Charles Mullis was born on 7 November 1813 in North Carolina. By 1837, he was residing in Pulaski County, Georgia, where he married his first wife, Cynthia Miller (1820-1857), on 1 November.  Charles next married Julia P. about 1860. She was about 29 years his junior, being born in Georgia on 30 August 1842. Julia died on 14 October 1882, and Charles married for the final time the next year. He united with Sarah E., who was born on 3 February 1840. This time, the wife outlived the husband. Charles Mullis died on 9 September 1887 in Cochran, as was reported in the Macon Weekly Telegraph  (Georgia). Death of a Wealthy Citizen COCHRAN, September 10. -- Mr. Charles Mullis, of this place, aged 77, died yesterday afternoon of erysipelas and senile decay....

Homicide at Cochran, Georgia! William Thomas McVay was born on 24 August 1835. He married Martha Ella Linder in Laurens County, Georgia, on 4 November 1858. In 1862, W. T. enlisted in the Confederate Army as a private. He was promoted through the ranks, culminating in the position of 1st Lieutenant of Company F, 14th Georgia Infantry. During the decade of Reconstruction, William transitioned from a Confederate officer to a prominent merchant in the newly established community of Cochran, Georgia. Officially incorporated in 1869, the town was built around a stop on the Macon and Brunswick Railroad. Merchants like McVay were crucial to the town's early economy, linking local cotton and agricultural products to the wider regional markets. Being a successful merchant in a small, post-war Southern town (not to mention his veteran status) likely meant William was an individual of considerable influence and standing in the local community and surrounding counties. A snippet from an articl...

Behind the Greene County courthouse in Greensboro, Georgia, stands an old rock jail. It was built in 1807 and remained in use until about 1895. From the historical marker beside it: "Built of granite about two feet thick, it is two stories in height and has a trap door in the floor of the upper story where condemned prisoners were hanged. An iron bar supported the trap door. When the signal was given, the hangman pulled the lever that controlled the bar and the culprit was launched into eternity." I recently read a 2019 story by Tyler Wilkins in the Lake Oconee News  (Georgia) about the old gaol , and was surprised to learn only one documented execution took place there. Here's how the Atlanta Weekly Constitution  covered it on 4 November 1873: Quick PSA : Since most newspapers of the time were white-owned and reflected racist views, they were biased. So please question and treat with great caution the papers' descriptions of the alleged crimes, victims, and perp...

  Greensboro City Cemetery, Greene County, Georgia © 2013-2025 S. Lincecum Southern Christian Advocate  (Augusta, Georgia) Thursday, 28 July 1859 MRS. SARAH D. WILLIS was born in Petersburg, Va., and died in Greensboro, Ga., on 13th April, in her 64th year. She had been a member of the M. E. Church 38 years. Amid the vicissitudes of a long and chequered pilgrimage, she was "soothed and sustained by an unfaltering trust" in the Redeemer. Her piety was noiseless and unobtrusive. Conscious of many infirmities, she meekly and modestly glided down the hill of life, giving offence to none, loving God supremely. Her last days were distinguished by suffering and sorrow. Adieu, dear, dear mother! Thy soul, purified in the furnace of grief, chastened and sanctified by tribulation and grace, is at rest in heaven. Your children may be scattered -- wanderers on the earth -- their graves may be in distant lands, but the resurrection will reunite. O! when the glorious day shall dawn, may mo...

James Blake Nickelson was born 4 October 1808 in Georgia. On 5 March 1833 in Richmond County, James married Anna Maria Willey. For the November 1850 Greene County, Georgia Federal census, James was occupied as a merchant, and he and Anna had five children: Ann, Julia, Margaret, H. Clay, and James. Greensboro City Cemetery, Greene County, Georgia Image © 2013-2025 S. Lincecum Upon the death of James Blake Nickelson, two obituaries were published in the 31 March 1852 Augusta Chronicle  (Georgia): OBITUARY. Died at Greensboro on the morning of the 22d inst., JAMES B. NICKELSON, Esq., aged about 44 years, after a protracted illness of several weeks. A man of the highest integrity and worth, constant and faithful in the discharge of every duty, a citizen without reproach, a brother kind and affectionate, a husband without fault, and a father whose energies were devoted to the interests and happiness of his children; the community of which he was a member will long feel his loss, and rem...

Samuel Davis Born April 16, 1787 Died Sept 7, 1875 For more than thirty years he was a member of the Baptist Church, and died trusting in Jesus for eternal life. For him death had no terrors but was a welcome messenger of deliverance. "Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright for the end of that man is peace." Greensboro City Cemetery Greene County, Georgia Greensboro Herald  (Georgia) 16 September 1875 Obituary. Samuel Davis was born in Halifax Co., N.C., in April, 1787. Sometime in the year 1807 he left his father's home, and, unattended, came across the mountains into Georgia, making his way on foot to Greene Co., thus early displaying that energy and resolution which characterized his whole life. He settled in Greensboro' in the year 1835, and by his sterling integrity and unswerving honesty he secured and retained to the day of his death, the respect and confidence of the entire community. In 1845 he united with the Baptist Church, and for thirty years was a ...