Tombstone Tuesday - Nancy J. Porter Tucker, Quiet Ridge Cemetery, Durant, MS

Nancy J., Wife of J. S. Tucker, Sr.
Born July 22, 1823
Died Jan 28, 1902
She Trusted in The Lord

Nancy J. Porter Tucker, daughter of Samuel Porter, and a sister to my paternal great-great-grandfather, James M. Porter, was born on July 22, 1828, in Port Gibson, Mississippi. When Nancy was about nineteen years old, she married John Smith Tucker, a wealthy planter who was twice her age.  Mr. Tucker was also a widower, with the oldest of the children by his deceased wife being just four years younger than her new step-mother. Nancy and John had several more children and raised their large family near Canton, Mississippi, in Madison County.  When Nancy died on January 28, 1902, she was buried near other Tucker family members in Quiet Ridge Cemetery near Durant, Mississippi.


Source:  
Ancestry.com, U.S. Census Record, 1850
Personal Family History (Oral) - Porter Family of Madison and Attala Counties in Mississippi

Tombstone Tuesday - Maggie Neal Unger, Buried in Sharon Methodist Church Cemetery

Photo by Natalie Maynor


Maggie Neal Unger
Date of Birth Unknown; Died April 23, 1897
Sharon Methodist Church Cemetery
Madison County, Mississippi

Sunday's Poem - "Beyond the Years," by Paul Laurence Dunbar

Beyond the Years  Beyond the years the answer lies, Beyond where brood the grieving skies    And Night drops tears. Where Faith rod-chastened smiles to rise    And doff its fears, And carping Sorrow pines and dies—    Beyond the years.   Beyond the years the prayer for rest Shall beat no more within the breast;    The darkness clears, And Morn perched on the mountain's crest    Her form uprears— The day that is to come is best,    Beyond the years.  Beyond the years the soul shall find That endless peace for which it pined,    For light appears, And to the eyes that still were blind    With blood and tears, Their sight shall come all unconfined    Beyond the years. By Paul Lawrence Dunbar

Tombstone Tuesday - William Bailey Netherland, Coxburg Cemetery, Coxburg, Mississippi

 Digital Photo Collection 
Privately held by J. Tracy


W. B. Netherland
Coxburg Cemetery
Coxburg (Holmes County) Mississippi

William Bailey Netherland, my maternal great-grandfather, served in Red's Company, Mississippi State Troops, Confederate States of America (C.S.A.)  A son of John Patrick Netherland, William Bailey was married to Martha Elizabeth Garrard, and the father of twelve children, including my maternal. grandfather, Ralph Ernest Netherland.  The C.S.A. marker shown here is located in Coxburg Cemetery, near Coxburg Methodist Church, in Holmes County, Mississippi.  Many other Netherland family members and their allied families are buried in this old cemetery.   

Sunday's Poem - God's Acre by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

GOD'S-ACRE

I like that ancient Saxon phrase, which calls
  The burial-ground God's-Acre! It is just;
It consecrates each grave within its walls,
  And breathes a benison o'er the sleeping dust.

God's-Acre! Yes, that blessed name imparts
  Comfort to those, who in the grave have sown
The seed that they had garnered in their hearts,
  Their bread of life, alas! no more their own.

Into its furrows shall we all be cast,
In the sure faith, that we shall rise again
At the great harvest, when the archangel's blast
  Shall winnow, like a fan, the chaff and grain.

Then shall the good stand in immortal bloom,
In the fair gardens of that second birth;
And each bright blossom mingle its perfume
With that of flowers, which never bloomed on earth.

With thy rude ploughahare, Death, turn up the sod,
And spread the furrow for the seed we sow;
This is the field and Acre of our God,
This is the place where human harvests grow!

Wordless Wednesday - Susan E. Coggins (Trigleth) Killebrew, My Maternal Great-Great-Grandmother

Photo by Dudley Rinicker

Susan E. Coggins (Trigleth) Killebrew
b. Nov. 25, 1855
d. June 24, 1921
"Wife of Ike"
Buried in Hebron Cemetery
Brozville (Holmes County) Mississippi

Tombstone Tuesday - Wigley Family Tombstone - Coxburg Cemetery

Source:  Digital Photography Collection, 2009-2010; privately owned by J. Tracy

Wigley Family Tombstone
Coxburg Cemetery
Coxburg (Holmes County) Mississippi

This large tombstone marks the burial places of Wigley family members who were killed in a tragic automobile accident that occurred in mid-1927.

Sunday's Poem - "Dear Ancestor"

Dear Ancestor

Your tombstone stands among the rest, 

Neglected and alone.

The name and date are chiseled out

On polished, marbled stone.

It reaches out to all who care

It is too late to mourn. 

You did not know that I exist,

You died and I was born.

Yet each of us are cells of you

In flesh and blood and bone.

Our blood contracts and beats a pulse

Entirely not our own.

Dear Ancestor, the place you filled

One hundred years ago

Spreads out among the ones you left

Who would have loved you so.

I wonder if you lived and loved,

I wonder if you knew

That someday I would find this spot

And come to visit you.

- Author Unknown

Tombstone Tuesday - Helen Loveless Steffner, Brandon Cemetery, Brandon, Mississippi

Photograph by Natalie Maynor


Grave Monument Marking the Grave of Helen Loveless Steffner

Born December 20, 1882
Died July 12, 1904
Buried in Brandon Cemetery
Brandon (Rankin County) Mississippi

Harland's Creek Cemetery, Holmes County, Mississippi

Photo by Natalie Maynor

Harland's Creek Cemetery
Holmes County, Mississippi

Recently, on Mississippi Memories, I wrote about the family of Robert W. Ragland, of Hinds, Attala, and Holmes Counties.  Robert, the son of John W. Ragland and Elizabeth Smith Ragland, is buried in Harland's Creek Cemetery, pictured here.  Also buried in the cemetery are Robert's son, William Turner Ragland, and his wife, Sarah Frances Killebrew Ragland.  Among others buried in this old cemetery near Coxburg, Mississippi, are members of the Able/Ables, Abernathy, Burrell, Callihan, Chisolm, Chunn, Garrard, Harthcock, Hocutt, Killebrew, Robert, Rogers, Stewart, Thrasher, Tidwell, Wilkes, and Winpigler families.

Wordless Wednesday - McKinley Carr's Grave Monument

McKinley Carr
Feb. 9, 1897 - Feb. 8, 1974
Buffalo Cemetery
Kosciusko, Mississippi

Tombstone Tuesday - Arthur Dromgoole, Palestine Cemetery, Hinds County, Mississippi

Arthur Dromgoole
Born January 7, 1851
Died Feb. 16, 1857

Young Arthur Dromgoole, who died shortly after his 6th birthday, was the son of James J. Dromgoole and Eliza Ragland Dromgoole.  His mother was the sister of my third great-grandmother, Winiford Ragland Branch. For more information about Eliza and Winiford Ragland and other members of the Ragland family, visit my other blog, Mississippi Memories.

Children of Stirling Kirkpatrick White and Mary Willis White

Mary Austin Willis was the only child of Julia Ragland Willis, my paternal great-great-great-grandmother's sister, and her second husband, Andrew Jackson Willis, whom she married in 1869. When she grew up, Mary Austin Willis married Stirling Kirkpatrick White. During her marriage to Stirling White, Mary Willis White gave birth to three daughters who died while they were still very young children. Reminders of the White family's sad story of tragedy and loss can be seen in Raymond Cemetery in Raymond, Mississippi, where the grave stones of the three children are located in the Gillespie Plot. These three children were younger sisters of Mary Elise White, who was born on July 4, 1891.

Norma White
Born August 3, 1900
Died April 5, 1901

Minnie Lee White
September 25, 1892
Died April 30, 1893

Stirling Willis White
August 14, 1896
August 19, 1901

Wordless Wednesday - Grave Monument of Mary Willis White

Photo by Pattie

Mary Willis, Wife of Stirling K. White
Born April 18, 1870
Died February 24, 1905
Daughter of Julia Ragsdale Willis and Andrew Jackson Willis
Buried in Raymond Cemetery (Gillespie Plot)
Raymond, Mississippi

Tombstone Tuesday - Julia B. Ragland Daniel Willis

Julia Ragland and Andrew Jackson ("Capt. Jack") Willis
Buried in Raymond Cemetery
Raymond (Hinds County) Mississippi

A double grave stone marks the grave of Julia B. Ragland Daniel Willis and her second husband, Andrew Jackson ("Captain Jack") Willis.  Julia's first husband died in the Civil War, and she married Mr. Willis in 1869.  To read more about the Ragland family of Hinds County, Mississippi, visit this site's sister blog, Mississippi Memories. 


Five years later, Julia died, leaving A. J. Willis with a four-year old daughter, Mary Austin Willis. Julia and her husband are buried in the Gillespie plot in Raymond Cemetery, in the historic town of Raymond, Mississippi in Hinds County.  Much of the history of the Gillespie family and other allied families, has been documented in The Gillespie Collection, a digital collection of historical documents, available on the Raymond, Mississippi website.

Ragland Family Members Buried in Hinds County, Mississippi

During recent weeks, I have been researching the Ragland family in Mississippi, attempting to locate the burial places for the parents of my third great-grandmother, Winiford Ragland Branch.  Yesterday, I found that Elizabeth Smith Ragland, Winiford's mother, is buried in Palestine Cemetery in Hinds County, Mississippi.  

Photo by NatalieMaynor

Elizabeth (Smith) Ragland
Died Dec 21, 1850
 Aged 60 years

Photo by NatalieMaynor

Palestine Cemetery
Hinds County, Mississippi

Also buried in this small, rural cemetery near the historic town of Raymond, Mississippi, are two of Elizabeth's children, Arthur S. Ragland and Mary V. Ragland. Winiford Ragland Branch and her husband, Edward Tillman Branch, named a son, Arthur Joseph Branch, for this brother, and a daughter, Mary V. Branch, for her deceased sister.

Photo by NatalieMaynor

Arthur S. Ragland
Born July 22, 1811
Died Feb. 25, 1847

Photo by NatalieMaynor

Mary V. Ragland
Born Mar. 28, 1835
Died Nov. 28, 1849

For more about the family of John W. Ragland and Elizabeth Smith Ragland of Newberry, South Carolina, please watch for future posts on Mississippi Memories.

Wordless Wednesday

Vicksburg National Military Park

Tombstone Tuesday - Edward Tillman Branch, 1850 - 1902

Photo by Andy McCrory

Edward Tillman Branch

b. 1850 d. 1902

Son of Edward T. Branch and Winiford Ragland Branch

Buried in Seneasha Cemetery

Attala County, Mississippi

Old Brandon Cemetery, Brandon, Mississippi

Photo by Natalie Maynor

According to an article in the online version of RankinLedger, Old Brandon Cemetery will be placed on the National Register of Historic Places. This very old cemetery, which covers approximately nine acres, is situated on a hilltop near the historic town of Brandon, Mississippi, the county seat of Rankin County. I understand that downtown Brandon will be placed on the Register, as well. 


Containing more than 1000 graves, with some dating back to 1834, the cemetery is the burial place for two former Mississippi governors, Robert Lowry and Anselm McLaurin.

Photo by Natalie Maynor

Of special historical significance is the fact that Old Brandon Cemetery is the final resting place for the remains of 200 Union and Confederate soldiers who died in the Battle of Shiloh.

Tombstone Tuesday - Louis Burel and Sarah Margaret Jenkins Burel

Double Gravestone of Louis and Margaret Burel

Hog Mountain Cemetery

Lawrenceville (Gwinnett County) Georgia

Louis Burel was born in 1786 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and died in January 1872 in Hog Mountain, Gwinnett County, Georgia. He was a son of Patience Hanna Bird and Jean Baptiste Elzeard Burel.  His wife, Sarah Margaret Jenkins, born in 1800 to Deborah Darby and Randolph Randel Jenkins, died at the age of 95 and is buried next to her husband.

Wordless Wednesday - Dr. Joseph B. Smith

Photo by Natalie Maynor

Dr. Joseph B. Smith

b. May 1792, Rhode Island

d. Nov. 1862 in Mississippi

Buried in Camden Cemetery, Madison County, MS

Tombstone Tuesday - Milton and Josie Trigleth

Double Grave Stone in Coxburg Cemetery, Coxburg (Holmes County) Mississippi

Josie F. Trigleth, b. Oct. 31, 1883; d. Sept. 27, 1958

Milton E. Trigleth, b. Sept. 15, 1879; d. Jan. 3, 1945

Sale of Mississippi Cemeteries

According to a press release dated September 23, 2010, from the Office of the Attorney General and Secretary of State, a Mississippi judge has ordered the sale of several Mississippi cemeteries, including Liberty Memorial Park, Pinecrest Memorial Park, and Prentiss Memorial Gardens. This action was taken after investigations conducted by the the offices of the Mississippi Secretary of State and the Attorney General resulted in the conviction of the former owner of four cemeteries.  To read the full press release please click here.

In Memorium - Fredrick Jamison Padget, 1967-2010

In Memorium
Fredrick Jamison Padget
Born April 30, 1967 in Helena, Arkansas
Died September 14, 2010, Brandon, Mississippi
Loving Son, Brother, Husband, and Father


"Gone But Not Forgotten"

Wordless Wednesday - Grover C. Barrett

Source:  Digital Photo Collection (2008) - Privately held by Janice Tracy

A Woodmen of the World monument in Good Hope Cemetery in Madison County, Mississippi shows Grover C. Barrett was born on Aug. 20, 1887 and died Mar 5, 1912.  The inscription on the marker gives his age at death as 25 yrs 6mos and 15 days .

Coxburg Cemetery, Holmes County, Mississippi

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

Coxburg Cemetery, in the Holmes County community of Coxburg, is the burial place for many of my Netherland ancestors, with the early spelling of Neatherland inscribed on at least one grave stone. Over a dozen other families with ties to the Neatherlin/Neatherland/Netherland family are also buried in this old cemetery, including deceased members of the Chisolm, Edwards, Gilmore, Harthcock, Killebrew, Payne, Pettus, Spell, Tolar, Trigleth, Wallis, Wigley, and Ziegler families.

Grave Stones of Dicy Netherland Saul and John Saul in Bagdad Cemetery, Williamson County, Texas

Pictured here are the grave stones of Dicy Netherland Saul and her husband, John Saul, whose graves are located in Bagdad Cemetery, near Leander, in Williamson County, Texas.  Dicy was a daughter of Rachel Fenner and William Neatherlin, my great-great-greatgrandparents.

(Photo by John Christeson)

Dicy Netherland Saul

b.March 5, 1795

d. June 1, 1861

"Blessed Are the Merciful

For They Shall Inherit Mercy"

(Photo by John Christeson)

Sacred to the Memory of

John Saul

b. March 22, 1794

d. September 10, 1864

A profile of John Saul, Jr. found in the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, Volume 1, Patriot Ancestor Album, published by Turner Publishing Company, states that John Saul, Jr. was born on February 22, 1794, in Georgia to John and Rachel Saul.  John Saul, Jr. married Dicy Ann Netherland in Mississippi about 1817.  In 1824, John brought his family and his parents to Texas, settling in the Nacogdoches District.  The same reference states that John and his family were living in Liberty County, Texas in 1835, Walker County in 1848, and Williamson County, Texas in 1855. Dicy and John Saul had six children, Charles (1818 -1870); Erzenieth Elizabeth (1820 - 1887); Sarah (Sally) born around 1825; Rachel (1829 - 1868); Polly Mary Ann (1832-1908); James Saul (later known as Sawles). Resources:   1. Daughters of the Republic of Texas, Vol. 1, Patriot Ancestor Album; Turner Publishing Company, Paducah, Kentucky, 1995.   2. Find-A-Grave, Bagdad Cemetery, Leander, Williamson County, Texas, Accessed online on August 27, 2010

Levi Netherland - 1790 - 1860

Photograph by Linda Lott Carter


Levi Netherland's tombstone in Brewer-Smith Cemetery near Simpson in Vernon Parish, Louisiana,  indicates he served in the Mississippi Militia during the War of 1812.  The son of William Neatherlin and Rachel Fenner Neatherlin, my great-great-great-grandparents, Levi reportedly was born in Georgia around 1790.  After the Neatherlin family's migration to the Mississippi Territory, Levi married Elizabeth Smith in Amite County, Mississippi in 1811.  Levi and Elizabeth had nine children whose names were William, Isham, Jemima, Charlotte, Stephen, Samuel, Rachel, Levi Jack, Jr., and Valera. Elizabeth died sometime before July 1860, since marriage records indicate Levi married Margaret Jane Crane Johnson on July 3, 1860 in Lawrence County, Mississippi. After their marriage, Levi and Margaret moved to Vernon Parish, Lousiana, where they became the parents of Jamry Elizabeth and John Westley Netherland.

Wordless Wednesday - Grave of Eli Snow, Bethlehem Cemetery, Choctaw County, Mississippi

An Angel stands watch at the grave of
Eli Snow

b. Dec. 31, 1843

d. Jan. 8, 1924

Buried in Bethlehem Cemetery

Ackerman (Choctaw County) Mississippi

Wordless Wednesday - Sallis Cemetery, Attala County, Mississippi

Photo by Natalie Maynor

Tombstone Tuesday - Drury Brister, Buried in Brister Cemetery, Holmes County, Mississippi

Born Dec. 2, 1821

Died Oct. 15, 1870

Brister Cemetery

Holmes County, Mississippi

Photo by Natalie Maynor

Wordless Wednesday - Maggie Neel Unger, Sharon Methodist Church, Sharon, Mississippi

Wife of Dr. J. W. Unger

Died Apr 23, 1896

Photo by Natalie Maynor

Amanda and Samuel Chastain - Canton Cemetery, Canton, Mississippi

Amanda Chastain

b. Nov. 4, 1853

d. July 27, 1914

Samuel Chastain

b. Jan. 5, 1845

d. Dec. 14, 1917

Photo by Natalie Maynor

Wordless Wednesday - Temple Anshe Chesed Cemetery

Temple Anshe Chesed Cemetery

Vicksburg, Mississippi

Photo by Natalie Maynor

Gravediggers at Chapel of the Cross Cemetery

Recently I ran across some information about gravediggers. These gravediggers are, in fact, parishioners at Chapel of the Cross, an Episcopal church and cemetery located in Madison County. A picture of the cemetery located beside and behind the historic chapel, appears as the banner photo on this blog today. Volunteer members of this unique parish ministry dig graves, by hand, in which deceased parish members will be buried.

To read more about this unique ministry, visit the parish's website.

Wordless Wednesday

Photo by Natalie Maynor

Tombstone Tuesday - John R. Netherland, Coxburg Cemetery, Holmes County, Mississippi

John R. Netherland, b. Sept. 4, 1873, d. January 16, 1956

Buried in Coxburg Cemetery, Holmes County, Mississippi

"Gone But Not Forgotten"

Source: Digital Photo Collection (2009) - privately held by J. Tracy

Tombstone Tuesday - Rufus Nicholas Ousley, Seneasha Cemetery

Rufus Nicholas Ousley's grave stone in Seneasha Cemetery, bears the Southern Cross, a tribute to his service in the Confederate Army. Ousley, a son of Thomas Ousley, was born on Christmas Day 1814 in Alabama and died on February 1, 1870 in Newport, Attala County, Mississippi. His widow, Mary Ann Mabrey Ousley, is also buried in this Attala County, Mississippi cemetery.

Photo by Andy McCrory