Henry and Sarah Shrock, Camden Cemetery, Camden, Mississippi

Today, on Mississippi Memories, I began writing the first in a series of posts about the Shrock Family of Attala County, beginning with the family of Joseph K. Shrock and his wife, Caroline Fitler Shrock. Posted here today are photos of the grave stones of Henry Shrock and Sarah Shrock, Joseph's parents.



Sarah Shrock, Joseph Shrock's mother
b. May 6, 1817, d. Sept. 16, 1836
Buried in Camden Cemetery
Madison County, Mississippi

Henry Shrock, Joseph's Father
b. October 9, 1780, d. April 11, 1858
Buried in Camden Cemetery
Camden, Madison County, Mississippi

Old St. Philip's Cemetery (Kirkwood Cemetery) near Camden, Mississippi

On Mississippi Memories today, I began a series of posts about the Hemingway family of Camden, South Carolina and Camden, Mississippi. Included in that post was a copy of a photograph of Henrietta Hemingway.

I first learned about the Hemingway family from Mitchell Sawyer, one of my readers and Henrietta's great-grandson, who contacted me and provided photos of the cleanup he organized of old St. Philips Cemetery, also known as Kirkwood Cemetery. Henrietta Hemingway is buried in this cemetery, along with former Mississippi governor William McWillie, members of McWillie's immediate family, and his long-time friend and business associate, Chapman Levy.

Henrietta Hemingway
b. April 6, 1799, d. April 8, 1860
Buried in Kirkwood Cemetery
Madison County, Mississippi



Henrietta Hemingway
(photograph courtesy of Mitchell Sawyer)

In one of his emails, Mitchell related a story about his great-grandmother: "My Hemingway ancestors left Duesbury England on the Ship Majestic and arrived in Charleston Harbor in 1829. Settled in the Camden, SC area which is how they knew Governor McWillie. In fact, the 'tale' in the family is that Catherine (Gov.'s wife) prepared my great grandmother Henrietta Hemingway's hair on her wedding day."

I hope you will join me at Mississippi Memories to read more about members of the Hemingway family who migrated to Mississippi during the mid-1800's.

Tombstone Tuesday - Woodmen of the World Monument

This unique Woodmen of the World monument marks the grave of Hal P. Shrock. Mr. Shrock, born on August 26, 1849 and who died on February 9, 1904, is buried in Shiloh Cemetery, near Camden in Madison County, Mississippi. Although Woodmen of the World grave markers can be found in many cemeteries throughout Mississippi, this marker is one of the larger that I recall and the only one I have seen of this particular design.

Fitler Familes of Madison and Issaquena Counties

The grave of Eliza Fitler is located in Camden Cemetery in Madison, County. Her simple grave stone shows that she was born in 1788 and died on August 20, 1853, when she was 65 years old.

The broken grave marker of William Fitler, stating he was born in 1785, is located nearby. According to the marker, Fitler died in 1810. Although not proven, it appears likely that William and Eliza were husband and wife.

George Fitler is also buried in Camden Cemetery, and his marker states he was born in 1811 and died in 1842. Although I have found no proof of George's relationship to Eliza and William, his date of birth and the proximity of his grave to theirs indicates he may have been their son.

The name Fitler, well-known in Philadelphia, with Fitler Square named for Edwin H. Fitler, a former mayor of Philadelphia in the 19th century, has never been a common name in Mississippi. But in the early 1800's, as evidenced by U. S. Census records taken in Mississippi, some members of this Pennsylvania family migrated to Mississippi and lived in Madison County and in Issaquena County. The earliest appearance of the name Fitler on a U. S. Census recorded in Mississippi was in 1850, the first such census to document a resident's place of birth.

Twenty (20) individuals named "Fitler" were enumerated that year in the the United States. Only two persons with this family name resided in Mississippi in 1850, Eliza Fitler, age 60, born in New York, and Louisa Fitler, a Pennsylvania-born 28 year old. Although this particular census did not show relationships of household members to each other, it is possible that Louisa was Eliza's daughter. Among the neighbors of Louisa and Eliza in Madison County was a blacksmith from Georgia, a merchant born in Kentucky, a Scottish-born tailor, a tanner from Virginia, and a Tennessee-born planter. Eliza and Louisa Fitler, according to the census, were not wealthy, since the value of their personal property and real estate was valued at only $200.

Fifteen of the remaining eighteen individuals with the surname Fitler, enumerated on the 1850 census, lived in Philadelphia. Two resided in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and one made his home in Tioga, New York. Germany was listed as the birthplace of two individuals, and another was shown to have been born in England. A list of these individuals, including their places of residence, dates of birth, and places of birth, as they were recorded on the U. S. Census of 1850, appears here:

Joseph P Fitler Kensington Ward 2, Philadelphia, PA abt 1812 Pennsylvania
Mary J Fitler Kensington Ward 7, Philadelphia, PA abt 1813 Pennsylvania
Jacob Fitler Kensington Ward 7, Philadelphia, PA abt 1814 Pennsylvania
Rosina Fitler Marietta, Lancaster, PA abt 1820 Pennsylvania
Mary C Fitler Kensington Ward 2, Philadelphia, PA abt 1822 England
Clanthay Fitler Kensington Ward 7, Philadelphia, PA abt 1832 Pennsylvania
Emma M Fitler Kensington Ward 7, Philadelphia, PA abt 1834 Pennsylvania
Mary J Fitler Kensington Ward 7, Philadelphia, PA abt 1838 Pennsylvania
Francis M Fitler Kensington Ward 7, Philadelphia, PA abt 1842 Pennsylvania
Charles H Fitler, Kensington Ward 2, Philadelphia, PA abt 1844 Pennsylvania
Anna W Fitler, Kensington Ward 7, Philadelphia, PA abt 1846 Pennsylvania
Hannah Fitler, Kensington Ward 7, Philadelphia, PA abt 1848 Pennsylvania
Emily Fitler, Kensington Ward 2, Philadelphia, PA abt 1850 Pennsylvania
Mary Jane Fitler, Marietta, Lancaster, PA abt 1848 Pennsylvania
James Fitler Marietta, Lancaster, PA abt 1843 Pennsylvania
John Fitler, Marietta, Lancaster, PA abt 1811 Pennsylvania
Charlotte Fitler, Spring Garden Ward 1, Philadelphia, PA abt 1825 Germany
Henry Fitler, Barton, Tioga, NY abt 1827 Germany.

In 1860, when the U. S. Census was recorded, a household headed by Theodore Fitler, a 45-year old "planter," appears in the record for Issaquena County, Mississippi. Included in the household was Theodore's spouse, S. L. Fitler, 38, a daughter, Mary J., age 7, and three sons, Charles L., age 11, Eugene B., age 9, and George D. W. Fitler, age 5. Although Theodore's birthplace was shown as Pennsylvania, all other family members were born in Mississippi. While there is a strong indication that Theodore was related to Eliza, Louisa, William, and George Fitler, I have found no tangible evidence that establishes what relationship, if any, Theodore had to these individuals.

When the 1860 census was recorded, Theodore was already a large landowner and a wealthy man, with the value of his real property shown as $18,000 and his personal property as $20,000. The fact that an area of Issaquena County, Mississippi today is still known as "Fitler" is a lasting indication of the family's once sizable land holdings in that county.

Although 57 individuals with the surname "Fitler" were recorded in the United States in 1860, I did not find Louisa Fitler's name. Louisa may have married after Eliza's death in 1853, but it seems unlikely, since "Louisa Fitler" is the name that appears on her grave stone in Shiloh Cemetery, near Cameron, also in Madison County. According to the inscription on Louisa's marker, she died on October 13, 1874 at the age of 61.

Next: Fitler Family's Shrock Connection

The Zinc Grave Marker of Jacob Kinard

The gravestone of Jacob Kinard marks his burial place in Beth Eden Cemetery near the Lutheran church of the same name located in Winston County, Mississippi. Bluish-gray in color, the marker is made of cast zinc, often called "white bronze." A Masonic emblem appears predominantly on Kinard's marker, along with his date of birth, date of death, and a notation that he was born in South Carolina. A pioneer of Winston County, Jacob Kinard, who was born on February 4, 1817 and died on March 21, 1881, is one of over 50 Kinard family members buried in this cemetery where many graves date back to the mid-late 1800s.

Mashulaville Cemetery in Noxubee County

This cemetery is located in Mashulaville, a rural community in Noxubee County, Mississippi. According to William Bright's book, Native American Placenames in the United States, published in 2007, the community was likely named for Mashula, a Choctaw leader. Buried in the cemetery are families named Eichelberger, Lipscomb, Lockler, Otis, Perkins, Sennett, Shaw, and Simmons.

Ebenezer Cemetery, Edinburg, Mississippi

Ebenezer Cemetery, located near Edinburg, in Leake County, Mississippi was established in 1800. Within the boundaries of this old, sprawling cemetery, hundreds of early Leake County settlers with Scotch-Irish ancestry are buried. Posted here are some of the surnames to be found in Ebenezer Cemetery: Allen, Brooks, Carter, Chamblee, Donald, Fairchild, Hogue, Jolly, King, Logan, McPhail, Moore, Peoples, Rhodes, Sikes, Tolbert, and Wiggins. Wilcher, and Withers.

Metal Funeral Home Markers

Mrs. Linda A. Patterson, who died on November 9, 2002, is buried in Carr Cemetery, near Ethel, Mississippi. Born on December 26, 1953, Patterson, at 48 years old, was still young when she died. I do not know the reason for her death. Her grave site is marked by a simple aluminum "funeral home" marker that shows her name, date of birth, age, and date of death. It also shows that Myrick's Funeral Homes, in Kosciusko and Carthage, MS, handled the arrangements for her burial. This type of marker is shaped like a stake at the bottom and is planted in the ground to mark a grave site where no gravestone yet exists.

The top part of funeral home markers contain windows made of clear, hard plastic, intended to be weatherproof in an effort to protect the information contained in it. The "window" of older funeral home markers was often made of flexible clear plastic. These markers almost always show the name of the funeral home, a bit of information that can sometimes yield more vital information to a family researcher who makes a contact there. Mrs. Patterson's funeral home marker still appears to be in good condition, although it has been in the ground at her grave site since 2002. Many markers, similar to this one, although not all in good condition, can still be seen in the rural cemeteries in Attala County. Some of the markers have been in place since the Depression, when the cost of a tombstone was likely prohibitive to many. During the past several decades, however, descendants of a few of these individuals buried in graves marked with funeral home markers have honored their ancestors by replacing the markers with conventional grave stones.

The Draped Tombstone of George Harman

George Harman, b. May 1793 in

Lexington Co., SC; d. Apr. 15, 1878

Buried in Harmonia Cemetery,

Sallis, Mississippi

The gravestone of George Harman in Harmonia Cemetery near Sallis, Mississippi, is one of the first gravestones with a drape of this type that I have encountered. Although my initial thought was the drape was a symbol of mourning, I decided to search for a more professional opinion. The material I found actually validated my first thought, and the research provided a comprehensive source of meanings for tombstone symbols that will be useful in the future.

But simply viewing a tombstone and analyzing its symbols is not enough for this Graveyard Rabbit, so I soon began a search for more information about George Harman. First, I searched the U. S. Census of 1850, where I found that Mr. Harmon was likely a widower and the head of a household where he lived with four minor children, Edwin P., age 15, Walter A., age 14, James J., age 13, and Susanna C. Harman, age 8. Mary A. Howard, age 14 with no relationship shown, also resided in the Harman household. The family resided in Township 14, Range 5 East, Attala County.

According to the U. S. census of 1860, the family lived in Attalaville where George, now 66 years old, still headed a household that included four children. Mary Howard was absent from the household, and another individual, identified as Kate S. Harman, 17, possibly the young wife of Walter A., age 21, was included.

By the time the U. S. Census of 1870 was recorded, George's surname was shown as "Harmon," the common modern-day spelling of the name, and he was then 76 years old. Harmon no longer headed up his own household, but he lived, instead, with his son, Walter Harmon, age 31, and Walter's wife, C. S. Harmon, age 27.

George Harman's grave is one of several in Harmonia Cemetery where Harman family members who migrated from Lexington County, South Carolina are buried. An examination of other Harman family tombstones shows that George's deceased wife must have been named Barbara, as Walter A. Harman's tombstone shoes he was the son of George and Barbara Harman.

Confederate Graves at Isaacs Cemetery

Some cemeteries have tall pillars and ornate gates and sculptures that grace the entrance to the final resting place of those buried there. But the location of Isaacs Cemetery is marked by a simple, homemade sign, with stencil-painted letters that spell out the name. Like so many other cemeteries that began as family cemeteries, Isaacs Cemetery contains the burial places of some of the county's earliest residents, along with those of residents and their families who have died in recent years. This Attala County cemetery is located at McVille, south of Kosciusko, between Highway 43 and the Natchez Trace Parkway, about halfway to Thomastown. In the very early 1800's, this area was still part of the Choctaw Nation. Graves of several Confederate soldiers are located in the cemetery, and markers for four of those graves are pictured below. You will note that the emblem known as the Southern cross appears on each gravestone.

James W. Cabaniss

Co. "A" 15 Miss Inf

C. S. A.

Alonzo Lewis, Confederate Soldier

John Fields

Co. "K"

10 Ala Inf.

C. S. A.

Elkanah Sanders

Co. "F"

18 Miss Inf.

C. S. A.

Mrs. B. J. Burrell

The inscription on the gravestone of Mrs. B. J. Burrell states simply, "At Rest." Born on April 7, 1862, the wife of O. R. Burrell died on September 23 1923. Mrs. Burrell is buried in the Good Hope Baptist Church Cemetery near Camden.

The Brewer Children of Camden, Mississippi

So often during the 1800's, children died in infancy or while still very young, sometimes due to contagious diseases for which no vaccinations existed at the time. I feel a certain sadness each time I hear a story of a child taken from their parents at a young age, but in the case of the J. G. and M. L. Brewer family, sadness was a regular visitor to their household in the years just before the end of the 19th century.

During a span of 14 years, the Brewer family lost not only one child, but four. These young children are all buried next to each other in the Good Hope Cemetery near Camden, Mississippi.

According to the U.S. Census taken in 1880, J. G. and M. L. Brewer had two children, both daughters, named Georgia, age 5, and Macy, age 2. J. G. was 27 years old, and his wife was 21. They were children of fathers who were born in South Carolina and in Virginia, fathers who had each married wives in Mississippi.

In August of 1888, their oldest child, Georgia Ann, died just a few months after she had turned thirteen. And by 1902, another three children, all girls, had died before they reached their first birthdays.

Mary Etta Brewer

Born January 15, 1886

Died March 25, 1886

Mamie Velma Brewer

Born October 17, 1901

Died February 20, 1902

Emma C. Brewer

Born Sept. 6 1895

Died July 8, 1896

Georgia Ann Brewer

Born January 1, 1875

Died August 2, 1888

The Mystery of Mary Vanarsdale

This gravestone in Good Hope Baptist Church's Cemetery touched me when I saw it, primarily because of the little lamb gracing the stone's top. At first glance, before I read the dates of birth and death for Mary Vanarsdale, I thought the person buried there might have been a child. I looked for another Vanarsdale family member in the cemetery, but Mary apparently was the only family member buried there. Since the name Vanarsdale was not a common name in Attala County in the 1800's, I decided to see what I could find out about this family.

First, I searched the U. S. Census Records for 1850 and found the only family by this name living in Mississippi was the household enumerated in Beat 3 of Leake County. The head of this household was "L Vanarsdale," born in Kentucky. Leake County, as the crow flies, is not many miles away from Attala County, so I was optimistic that I might have found Mary's family. I became less optimistic when I found that Mary, a 16-year old daughter enumerated in the household, could not have been Mary buried at Good Hope, whose birth date was shown as 1852. I also reviewed the Slave Schedule for 1850 and found that L. Vanarsdale owned 16 slaves. The U. S. Census record taken in 1860 again showed this family still living in the same location, and L. Vanarsdale now owned 26 slaves.

I continued to search the U.S. Census recorded for 1870, 1880, and 1900. First, I found that "L. Vanarsdale" was actually "Lucas Vanarsdale," and his descendants continued for over half a century to live near Carthage, in Leake County. When I examined the U. S. Census for 1870, I also found two Vanarsdale families living near Newport, in Attala County, very near the Good Hope Cemetery. One household was headed by "Drue" Vanarsdale, whose 20-year old wife was named "Mary." A one-year old daughter, Maria, also resided in that household. The racial identity of all individuals enumerated in the two Vanarsdale households living in Attala County in 1870 was shown as "B," a census abbreviation meaning "Black." By 1900, that same family had grown to include a total of 6 children, and they were living in Madison County, in the Camden Community, where Good Hope Baptist Church is actually located.

Was Mary Vanarsdale, the wife of Drue Vanarsdale, the same Mary who is buried in the grave at Good Hope Cemetery? Or was she the wife of another Vanarsdale male, who for some other reason was buried in another cemetery?
Maybe someone who reads this can help solve the mystery of Mary Vanarsdale.