Hillcrest Cemetery - Lelia and Clark Branch, Grandparents

Founded in the 1800s, Goodman United Methodist Church, in Goodman, Mississippi, has seen its share of christenings, weddings, and funerals. Two of those funerals were for my grandparents, Clark Commander Branch and Lelia Porter Branch, his in January of 1979, and hers in January of 1992. For more about the lives of Clark and Lelia Branch, married on December 8, 1922, please read here. That post was the first in a series of subsequent posts about rural life in the Mississippi Delta before and after the Great Depression.



This double grave stone in Hillcrest Cemetery, Goodman, Mississippi, marks the burial place of my paternal grandparents, Clark C. Branch and his wife, Lelia P. Branch. Clark was born on August 9, 1899, and died on January 20, 1979. Lelia was born on July 17, 1904, and she died twelve years later on January 25, 1992. Natives of nearby Attala County, Clark and Lelia are buried near many deceased members of both the Branch and the Porter family.

Source: Digital Photograph Collection (2009) privately held by Janice Tracy

Wordless Wednesday - Wigley Family Grave Stone

The Grave of Six Family Members buried in Coxburg Methodist Church Cemetery, Coxburg (Holmes County) Mississippi - All of the deceased died within days of each other.

Source: Digital Photo Collection (2009), Privately held by Janice Tracy

Ella Julia Williamson's Grave Monument - Hillcrest Cemetery, Goodman, Mississippi

Pictured here is the grave monument that marks the burial place of Ella Julia Williamson in Hillcrest Cemetery, in the Holmes County, Mississippi town of Goodman. According to her gravestone, Ella was the wife of R. D. Williamson, and was born on October 17, 1878. Mrs. Williamson died on August 20, 1903, barely two months away from her 25th birthday. There are no other graves of Williamson family members in Goodman Cemetery.

According to information found at The Donalds of Panola County, Ella Julia Williamson was the daughter of John Poole Donald and Sara Jane Elizabeth Unger. Ella Julia Donald Williamson had two brothers and two sisters. Her sister, Maggie Donald, married W. E. Grandberry. One brother, Donald, died before he was a year old. A second brother, Ira Unger Donald was born July 17, 1880, and another sister, Ruth Augusta Donald was born in Attala County on September 9, 1882. Ruth died on July 10, 1969, and is buried in the Donald family plot, also located in Hillcrest Cemetery in Goodman, Mississippi.

The unique marker for Ella Julia Donald Williamson's grave is constructed of both marble and granite, which adds contrast to its color, and its shape is that of a draped altar. A covered urn sits atop the altar-like monument, and the name "Williamson" is inscribed in large letters on the base.

A complete list of those buried in Goodman Cemetery, including other members of the Donald and Unger families can be found here.