He Understands!

Last night I realized my son does understand my love of cemeteries when I received this short email:

"Look what I found not too far from post"

 I giggled as I replied "Ha ha. Been there. Keep looking."

What he didn't know was that during our visit in May, when he returned from Afghanistan, I had to find something to fill those hours he was busy and I too found [and quickly visited] this cemetery just a few miles outside of Ft. Campbell.

Now, this realization probably won't prevent future "eye rolls" but you never know, because hey, I recently discovered that my husband subscribes to this blog and reads my posts! There may be hope for my guys yet.

Captain John Crane

Crane Cemetery

Last summer I spent a week in New York and found time to visit a few of the cemeteries. It was just as I imagined. Lots of wonderful old stones containing beautiful epitaphs and symbolism.

In this small cemetery is Captain John Crane, an American Revolutionary war soldier.

Marion Bailey - The Photographer

Marion Bailey - Part 1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Marion Bailey - Part 2 [final]

Ethel, Marion, Edna, Mary, Edith

Google+

I'm not one to jump quickly on the newest bandwagon, so I surprised myself that I did with the Google+ Project. Perhaps it was because of my use of Google and its products. My blogs and facebook are what I'm using these days. I never found a need for Twitter and others.

I've seen several blog posts about how it compares to facebook and will give it a little time before I make a decision on whether it has value for what I do or is more work.

For now I am building my circle of genealogy and cemetery friends. I do like that I can group people and share my posts to a particular circle only.

So, if you follow this blog and are experimenting with Google+ circle me.

Ellsworth / Dukelow Lot

Eastside Cemetery

William Ralph Ellsworth 1884 – 1919

Lillian R. Peck Ellsworth Bovee 1888 – 1970

Thelma M. Rittgers 1908 – 1995

William T. Dukelow 1943 –

Evelyn C. Ellsworth Dukelow 1910 – 2008

Samuel G. Dukelow 1917 – 2003

Aged 500

I'm aged 500..........500 posts that is!

I started this blog in September 2008. It was my way of sharing the interesting cemeteries and headstones I find on my cemetery walks. I never would have guessed it would lead to being voted as a best genealogy blog for 2011 by Family Tree Magazine readers.


Crawford Cemetery

Here's hoping you'll remember me for the next 500!

Davis Cemetery

Davis Cemetery
Hwy 80
Several miles west of the East Alabama Speedway

Don't blink or you'll miss it.

14 interments on Find A Grave.

Confirmed: Nuts!

Most of you that read my cemetery blog are also genealogists. Well, I've done it. What you ask? Put my own genealogy research back at the top of the list. I have been involved in other things for too many years and I haven't done much research.

I have found many ancestors through the census, wills and dusty old marriage books. I know that many others are waiting to be discovered.

I'm starting with moving my data, the hard way, to RootsMagic, which I've had sitting quietly on my computer for too long.

I plan to share this on a new blog: Piney Woods & Prairie Winds

Piney Woods & Prairie Winds: Southern Girl Marries Midwestern Boy

There isn't much there, yet. I do have a list of the direct ancestors that will make an appearance. Since it's been a while that my files have been opened and used it will be like rediscovering the treasures I've filed away in the past.

I hope you'll stop by and visit me as I continue my journey.

Beneath the silent tomb

In remembrance of
Little
Oscar R. Carden
Son of
Mr. & Mrs. S. C. Carden
Born
Oct 30, 1901
Died
Dec 2, 1909

Godwin Cemetery

Those little lips so sweet to kiss
Are closed forever now
Those sparkling eyes that shone so bright
Beneath that pearly brow
That little heart that beat so high
Free from all care and gloom
Are hidden now from those he loved
Beneath the silent tomb

What do you do?

I follow a lot of blogs. And on different subjects like: cemeteries, photography, genealogy, cooking, etc. I wonder if anyone ever looks through my list and finds one with an interesting name and clicks on it? Then I wonder what they think when they land on one, after another, that is stale and hasn't had a new post in a very long time. Do they bother with many more? Isn't this hurting those hidden jewels on my list that post and share good things on a regular basis?

I'm sure most people start blogs with good intentions only to let it fade to memory. A good example is when The Graveyard Rabbit Association hit the web and new blogs were popping up daily. Sadly, many of those blogs haven't had updates in a long, long time. I'm not picking on anyone, just using this group as an example since I'm posting this on my own cemetery blog. We all go through dry spells or life happens, like what is going on with my daddy's health that requires a lot of my time.

So, is it time to do some blog following cleaning? I think so. Not a fun task to add to my to-do list. But I think it will better serve me and others.

And, that leads me to wonder...do I follow your blog? If not, tell me so I can correct that. I appreciate each and every one of you that take time to read what I share.

What do you do, if anything, about your blog following list?

William Clark

When I visited this cemetery I left wondering if I would find any other information online that would tell me the person behind the stone. Thankfully a record can be found at Find A Grave, which includes the obituary of William Clark.

William Clark
b. April 26, 1792
d. July 11, 1881
Williams Road Cemetery
aka Peddy-Jones-Clark Cemetery
Columbus, GA

Although he sleeps

William H. Lassiter
Feb 6, 1873 - Jan 25, 1918
Ladonia Baptist Church Cemetery

Although he sleeps
his memory doth live.
And cheering comfort
to his mourners give.
He followed virtue as
his truest guide.
Lived as a christian -
as a christian died.

Grave of the Presidents

In 1977 I took a school trip to Washington, D. C. I remember visiting the grave of George and Martha Washington but no longer have the photographs taken that day. Seems all but 3 or 4 of those photos have disappeared over the years.

So, thanks to the school trip photos taken in 1978 by my husband, Barry, I share the following:

Mount Vernon. Photographed 1978

The grave of the first and greatest of the presidents is that which needs the briefest description. So familiar is every American with the scene and story of Mount Vernon. The vault, which was built in obedience of the provisions of Washington’s will, is a roomy brick vault, with an arched roof, very simple in design and construction, and so substantial as to promise to endure for another century. Through an iron gate the two sarcophagi are seen; on a marble tablet in its arch is the inscription:

Within this enclosure rest the remains
of
General George Washington

The coffins, which lie in the open vestibule of the vault proper, are of Pennsylvania marble; that of Washington bears an American shield, the other but two words – “Martha Washington.” A few feet behind them is the vault door, bearing the inscription: “I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.”

Hutchinson News 9/19/1878 

Tomb of George Washington. Taken 1978.

From the will of George Washington:

The family Vault at Mount Vernon requiring repairs, and being improperly situated besides, I desire that a new one of Brick, and upon a larger Scale, may be built at the foot of what is commonly called the Vineyard Inclosure, on the ground which is marked out. In which my remains, with those of my deceased relatives (now in the old Vault) and such others of my family as may chuse to be entombed there, may be deposited. And it is my express desire that my Corpse may be Interred in a private manner, without parade, or funeral Oration.

What President graves have you visited and photographed? I've been to Washington, Kennedy, Eisenhower and Roosevelt.

Remembering Walter

In the Old Langdon Cemetery lies a crumbled tombstone. Thankfully, someone placed a metal marker on the grave so that we would know the person resting there.

Usually I will see an interesting or sad headstone and look for an obituary or other record to learn more about the person. This time I came across the obituary and checked to see if our genealogical society had the death recorded and if I had a photo since this cemetery has been completely photographed. And my answer was yes to both of those questions.

We know his name is Walter from the marker. Perhaps the original stone also had his name on it. This little guy died a horrible death.

Obituary of Walter Dillard

G. M. Dillard’s little boy, about sixteen months old, pulled a bowl of boiling turnip broth over into its face, on last Monday, and was so badly scalded by it that he died on Wednesday. The mother had just set it out of his reach, as she thought. He was buried in the Langdon cemetery on Thursday. Dr. A. B. Fryrear preaching his funeral. The bereaved parents have the sympathies of a large circle of friends. B. P. Hanan, April 12, 1880.

The Hutchinson News
April 22, 1880

Online Map

Online resource: Muscogee County, GA Cemetery Map

Memorial Art, Ancient and Modern

Online resource: Google eBook.
Read online or download as PDF

Memorial Art, Ancient and Modern
by Harry Augustus Bliss, 1912

Illustrations and descriptions of the
worlds most notable examples of
cemetery memorials.

Chapters 

1. Famous Ancient Memorials
2. The Mausoleums of the World
3. The Sarcophagus
4. The Exedra in Memorial Design
5. The Cross
6. The Tablet
7. Sculpture and its Relation to the Present
8. The Obelisk and Square Monument 
9. Architectural orders in Monumental Work
10. Suggestions on Lettering
11. Mouldings and Comparison of Architectural Orders
12. Glossary