(5 September 1843 – 27 November 1914)
Company C, 47th Georgia Infantry, CSA
Tag Archives: {South Georgia Cemeteries}
Bridger Jones Memorial, Lower Lotts Creek Cemetery
This cenotaph was placed by descendants of Bridger Jones in 1996:
Bridger Jones (1759 – 1819), Son of James Jones and Mary Bridger, a daughter of Robert Bridger who was a grandson of Colonel Joseph Bridger (1628 – 1686), Councilor of State in Virginia to King Charles II of England. Jones served in the American Revolution as a seaman in the Georgia Navy, and later as a cornet in the militia of North Carolina, where his father had moved. His wife was Rachel Barry (1762 – 1830), daughter of James Barry and Mary Noble, daughter of Samuel Noble of Carteret County, N. C. Bridger and Rachel came here in 1806. He was a Justice of the Bulloch County Court (1808 – 1813). Their children were Berry, Mary Rachel, Bridger Jr., John Thomas Briant, Josiah, Bazzell, Buckner, and Ann. After his father’s death, Berry deeded to the church six acres including the graveyard where family members are buried.
Filed under --BULLOCH COUNTY GA--
Behavior Cemetery, Sapelo Island
If you subscribe to Vanishing Coastal Georgia, you’ll be familiar with Sapelo Island’s Behavior Cemetery, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. For more information on one of Georgia’s most important African-American landmarks, visit these links:
http://vanishingcoastalgeorgia.com/2012/09/17/behavior-cemetery/
http://vanishingcoastalgeorgia.com/2013/04/17/headstones-of-behavior-cemetery/
You’ll learn about Minto Bell, whose headstone is pictured below, and many others.
Filed under --MCINTOSH COUNTY GA--, Sapelo Island GA
Mt. Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church & Cemetery, Evans County
This historic African-American congregation located a few miles east of Claxton was founded in 1868 by Reverend K. Williams. The first deacons were: Sampson Brewton; Jonah Brewton; Robert Hendrix; Samuel Hendrix (Treasurer); P. W. Bacon (Clerk); Berry Bacon, Reuben Jones, Jr.; John Byrd; York Collins; Sam Levant; and J. L. Lee. Under the guidance of Reverend W. F. Underwood the church was rebuilt in 1939 and renovated in 1985 by Reverend William Wright.
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Folk Art & Decoration in Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
This irregular concrete cross is painted white and marks nine gravestones of the Primous family. I first thought the elliptical rings beside the name to be eyes, but one viewer, Laurinda Norris, suggested they were more likely halos. I agree. I believe a Primous family member created this, as well as the memorial to veterans. Though less common today, such folk art headstones, as well as abundant decoration, were once found in many African-American cemeteries, a nod to the traditions of slave ancestors and the tribal customs of their native continent.
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Silk flowers in a variety of colors decorate graves of the recently deceased; a whimsical cookie jar stands sentinel over an unknown grave.
Filed under --EVANS COUNTY GA--
Croatan Indian Memorial Cemetery, Bulloch County
In 1870 a group of Croatan Indians migrated from Robeson County North Carolina, following the turpentine industry to southeast Georgia. Many became tenant farmers for the Adabelle Trading Company, growing cotton and tobacco. They established the Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Adabelle, as well as a school and this nearby cemetery. After the collapse of the Adabelle Trading Company, the Croatans faced both economic hardship and social injustice. As a result, most members of the community returned to North Carolina by 1920. The tribe to which these families belonged became known as the Lumbee in the early 1950s. Few headstones remain, though there are five or six in the cemetery, likely of local people somehow connected to the tribe.
Text of the Marker:
In memory of Lucinda Locklear, Pink Locklear, Hezie Emanuel and Margaret Adline Locklear, and the other dauntless Indians from Robeson County, North Carolina, who settled, lived, and died here sometime between the close of the Civil War and the 1920s and whose graves are unmarked.
Dedicated June 4, 1989
Filed under --BULLOCH COUNTY GA--
Cave Cemetery, Toombs County
The gate enclosing this small family cemetery is ornamented with several of these metal finials, representing what looks to be a spaniel of some variety. A marker notes that the cemetery was established in 1906 on land given by Confederate veteran James B. Cave and his son Johnny B. Cave. Levy M. Cave placed the marker in 1969 in memory of his wife, Wilma Lentile Cave.
Filed under --TOOMBS COUNTY GA--
Georgia State Prison Cemetery, 1937, Reidsville
Established in 1937 to provide a Christian burial for prisoners with no family, the cemetery is a part of the massive Rogers State Prison complex near Reidsville. It is a stark reminder of the realities of crime and isolation these men brought upon their lives, and the fact that the crosses are numbered with no names is striking. For many years, Reidsville was known as the home of Georgia’s electric chair, so I suspect some of these interments are of men who were executed for heinous crimes. There are nearly 700 graves located here.
The marker seen below was placed by inmates in 1972.
Filed under --TATTNALL COUNTY GA--, Reidsville GA
Emmaus Church, Charlton County
Located just south of St. George is this iconic primitive style church. I can’t locate anything about its history or construction, but it’s well-maintained.
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Two things you rarely see anymore: the artesian well-fed pump pictured above works! The privy seen below is one of two on the grounds, as there’s obviously no plumbing. I believe the church must still be used for homecomings and funerals, at least.
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The cemetery is nicely kept; the earliest graves date to the late 1800s, so perhaps that’s a clue to the origins of the church building.
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Private Henry Gainey, Jr. Company G, 26th Georgia Infantry (1840 – 1864)
Private Gainey was likely killed in action, as his grave is marked with a Confederate Iron Cross. Beside his grave is that of another Gainey, probably his brother, who was in the Confederate service in nearby Florida.
Filed under --CHARLTON COUNTY GA--
McMillan Burial Ground, Vidalia
An early settler to the area that is now Vidalia was Malcolm McMillan, who pitched his camp near this site circa 1800, and built his pioneer home. In the following years, he and his cousin, the Rev. Murphey McMillan, established a Presbyterian church and cemetery on this site. For the next 100 years, this served as the principal cemetery for the loose community of farmers, loggers and sheepherders that populated this area of what was then eastern Montgomery County. — The McMillans are believed to be buried here in now unmarked graves. Many of the older wooden markers which were once prevalent here no longer exist. The large open areas of the cemetery are not vacant of graves, only markers. — One of the first towns established near this site was Sterling in 1850, and many of its residents are buried here. — With the coming of the railroad in the late 1880s, this cemetery served the nearby communities that sprang up along its route, including: Aimwell, Appleton, Bandanna, Jenkins Stations, Stacers, Straw and Tosh. — After the founding of Vidalia in 1890, these early towns gradually ceased to exist. With the creation of Pinecrest Cemetery in 1907, this site ceased to serve as the area’s primary cemetery, and has often been known as the Church Street cemetery, the Primitive Baptist cemetery, and the Old Vidalia City cemetery.
Erected by the General Robert A. Toombs Camp 932, S. C. V.
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James McLeod (1789 – 1 November 1821)
I believe this is the oldest surviving headstone in the cemetery.
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Peterson Cenotaph
In Loving Memory of
Malcom Peterson (28 December 1772 – 26 April 1842) & Flora McNiel (? – 26 April 1855)
Married 30 August 1804
They migrated to Montgomery County, Georgia, from Cape Fear River Section, North Carolina About 1825 and are buried in this cemetery near this spot.
Children: John Peterson (Born 23 February 1806); Archibald Peterson (Born 12 March 1808); Rose Peterson (Born 4 August 1810); Flora Peterson (Born 26 October 1812); Mary Peterson (Born 18 September 1815); Malcom McMillan Peterson (Born 11 December 1817); Alexander McNiel Peterson (1 December 1819 – 31 March 1877)
Erected in 1938 by descendants of Alexander McNiel Peterson.
Names and dates obtained from his family Bible.
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There is a row of nine McIntosh headstones in the cemetery and each features a different symbol on the reverse side. These two {from the headstones of Daniel McIntosh (1 April 1810 – 23 August 1874) and Kinneth McIntosh (10 March 1814 – 9 August 1879)} leave little doubt as to the profession of the decedents. They are often called “bronze” headstones, as they were made by the Monumental Bronze Company of Bridgeport, Connecticut, but in actuality they are sand cast zinc.
Filed under --TOOMBS COUNTY GA--, Vidalia GA
Unknown Confederate Dead, McMillan Burial Ground
In this section of the old McMillan Burial Ground are the graves of unknown Confederate soldiers. An historic marker, recently placed in observance of the Sesquicentennial of the War Between the States, notes: “As fighting intensified in central Georgia in the summer of 1864, caravans of wagons evacuated sick and wounded Confederate soldiers from Macon’s overcrowded Ocmulgee Hospital. Caravans coming down the Old Savannah Road stopped at this cemetery and buried soldiers who had died en route to hospitals further south.”
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A monument was also placed in this section of the cemetery, with a poem by late Civil War reenactor Sergeant Benjamin R. Gormley. It first appeared in his book Haunted Fields, in 1985.
“The Southern Dead”
The Southern dead are sleeping
In a thousand Southern glens. . .
The moss and willows beckon
With the breath of Southern winds.
Though the blood-stained cross of St. Andrew
Is tattered now and furled. . .
They bore it high on every field
And o’er every ocean of the world.
It wasn’t through their failing
That the gleaming turned to rust. . .
And the dreaming of a Nation
Is enshrined within their dust.
Some would have their deeds forgot,
Their monuments swept away. . .
But while Southern blood flows in our veins,
Those knaves shall never see the day.
Teach your children of their story,
Of battles, lost and won. . .
They must keep memory’s light a-burning
Till Southern rivers cease to run.
The Southern dead are sleeping.
Filed under --TOOMBS COUNTY GA--, Vidalia GA
