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

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

Tombstone Tuesday - Edward Ousley, Seneasha Cemetery

Photo by Andy McCrory

Edward Ousley,

b. March 1879

d. Nov. 27, 1907

Buried in Seneasha Cemetery

Attala County, Mississippi

Photo by Andy McCrory

Wordless Wednesday - Nettie Allen Branch

Photo by Andy McCrory

Grave stone of Nettie A. Branch

Buried in Seneasha Cemetery, Attala County, MS

Born April 15, 1863 - Died July 2, 1917

Edward Tillman Branch, Buried in Seneasha Cemetery, Attala County, Mississippi

My post on Mississippi Memories today features an excerpt from Stokes McMillan's new book, "One Night of Madness," that contains some details about the life of Edward Tillman Branch. Born on November 15, 1901, Tillman, as Branch was known, met a tragic death when he died of a gunshot wound on April 14, 1963.

Photograph by Andy McCrory

Tombstone Tuesday - Seneasha Cemetery, Attala County, MS

Grave stone of Henry Clay Branch, son of Nettie A. and E. T. Branch. Buried in Seneasha Cemetery, Attala County, Mississippi.

Born Sept. 2, 1886, d. Sept. 29, 1889

Photo by Andy McCrory

Seneasha Cemetery, Attala County, Mississippi

Branch family members who lived and died in Attala County are buried in several cemeteries, including Good Hope Cemetery in Madison County and Hillcrest Cemetery in Goodman (Holmes County.) But Seneasha Cemetery in rural Attala County seems to have been the burial place for more Branch family members than any other cemetery in the three-county area that includes Attala, Holmes, and Madison Counties.



Entrance to Seneasha Cemetery
Attala County, Mississippi

(Photo by Natalie Maynor)

Recently, one of my blog readers who is also a distant cousin, began taking photos of grave stones in Seneasha Cemetery and uploading them onto the website known as Find-A-Grave.com. Please visit again soon to see some of these new photos and read stories about members of the Branch family.



Attala County, Mississippi
Seneasha United Methodist Church

(Photo by Natalie Maynor)

Ezra L. Hearst, buried in Seneasha Cemetery

Seneasha Cemetery, located near Seneasha United Methodist Church, has many old graves of deceased individuals who were born in the 1800's. One of those graves is that of Ezra L. Hearst, who was born May 23, 1873, and who died on July 10, 1908. A number of other Hearst family members are buried in Seneasha Cemetery, near Newport, Mississippi, as well as members of several allied families, including Dickerson, Donald, Holley, McDaniel, Mabry, and Presley.

The monument at the gravesite of Ezra Hearst includes an inscription that states "In Memorium to the Loving Memory of My Dear Husband." Above the inscription are engravings of the fronts of buildings similar to the design of those in Jerusalem or elsewhere in that region of the world. A masonic symbol also appears near the top of the stone. The name HEARST is engraved near the bottom of the monument, and an inscription honoring the deceased states "His mightiest pursuits form the noblest monument to his memory." According to his monument, Ezra L. Hearst died in Fort Worth, Texas when he was only 35 years old.

According to the U. S. Census taken in 1900, Ezra headed up a household in Newport, Attala County, Mississippi, that included his wife, Ida F. Hearst, born in April 1870, and Elizabeth V. Turner, born in September 1843. Ezra's occupation was shown to be that of "farmer." The birthplaces of Ezra and Ida Hearst were recorded as "Mississippi." Elizabeth Turner, according to the census record, was Ezra's mother-in-law, a woman who was born in 1843 in South Carolina to parents who were born there, as well. In 1900, the Hearst family lived near families with the names of Clower, Donald, Flowers, Nichols, O'Leary, and Ousley.

I have been unable to discover the cause of Ezra Hearst's death in Fort Worth, Texas, over five hundred miles west of Attala County, Mississippi. Based on the loving and respectful inscriptions on his grave marker, I can only imagine that Ezra Hearst must have died a hero.