Tombstone Tuesday - Dr. J. H. Binford, Coxburg Cemetery, Coxburg, MS

Digital Photography Collection (2009-2010); Privately owned by J. Tracy

Dr. J. H. Binford
Born April 9, 1938
Died Nov. 16, 1889
Buried in Coxburg, Cemetery
Coxburg (Holmes County) MS

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.

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.

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

Grave Stone Inscription - United Fire Sides of America

Recently, while reviewing some of the photos I took last May of grave stones of Killebrew family members buried in Coxburg Cemetery, I found this one. According to its inscription, R. S. Killebrew was born on June 23, 1846, and died on November 11, 1915. His grave is among a number of other graves of Killebrew family members who have been buried in the cemetery for more than a century.



In addition to the usual name and dates of birth and death, the top portion of Mr. Killebrew's grave stone also bears the words "United Fire Sides of America," along with an emblem that resembles a fireplace that contains burning logs.

During a quick search using Google, I found a reference to a Mississippi Supreme Court decision around the turn of the century that involved this entity. Full details of the case were not provided in this reference, but the attorney for the company had a Houston, Texas address.

Was "United Firesides of America" an insurance company, possibly one that provided burial coverage, or was it a dues-paying fraternal organization something similar to Woodmen of the World?

I still don't know, but maybe one of my readers will.

Rosa Lee Killebrew, Coxburg Cemetery, Coxburg, MS

Rosa Lee Killebrew and her brother, Raiford, were born during the marriage of my maternal great-great-grandmother, Susan Elizabeth Coggins Trigleth, to her second husband, Isaac Garrett ("Ike") Killebrew. Interestingly, my maternal grandmother, Rosa Mae Pettus, born to Susan's daughter, Lucy Lula Trigleth, during her first marriage to William Elza Pettus, was named for Lula's half-sister, Rosa Killebrew.

Rosa Lee Killebrew, b. Jan. 8, 1889, d. July 7, 1958

Lucy Lula Trigleth, March 15, 1881 - April 7, 1951

Lucy Lula Trigleth Payne Pettus Bass was my maternal great-grandmother. Buried in Coxburg Cemetery near many of her relatives and allied family members, the engraving on her grave stone reflects her last marriage to Mr. Bass. For more about Lula Trigleth's family, read here.

Wordless Wednesday - William Bailey Netherland, Red's Co, Mississippi State Troops, C.S.A.

William Bailey (W.B.) Netherland, My Great-grandfather
Veteran of Red's Co., Miss. State Troops, C.S.A.
Buried in Coxburg Cemetery, Holmes Co., MS

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

Tombstone Tuesday - W.O.W. Monument of Charles Whitehead

This grave monument is similar to others erected in Mississippi by the Woodmen of the World society around the turn of the century. Standing taller than most of the markers in Coxburg Cemetery of Holmes County, Mississippi, this monument marks the grave of Charles Whitehead. Like other Woodmen of the World monuments, it is fashioned in the likeness of a cut tree and is stamped with the W.O.W. seal.

Charles Whitehead's Woodmen of the World Grave Monument

Coxburg Cemetery, Coxburg (Holmes County) Mississippi

Born February 28, 1863, Died July 25, 1903

Source: Digital Photo Collection (2009) - Photo by Janice Tracy

Tombstone Tuesday - David A. Edwards, Coxburg Cemetery - Coxburg, Mississippi

The inscription on the base of the monument that marks the grave of David A. Edwards states "His many virtues form the noblest monument to his memory."

Standing in a shaded part of Coxburg Cemetery in a rural portion of Holmes County, Mississippi, the grave stone bears two symbols that give some insight into the life of the deceased. Located underneath a crown of feathers that adorns the top of the grave stone, a symbol on the right indicates Mr. Edwards was a member of a Masonic Order. Another emblem to the left of the Masonic Emblem appears to be one of the earlier symbols that denoted membership in the Woodmen of the World organization.

David A. Edwards

Coxburg Cemetery

b. July 11, 1856

d. March 25, 1913

Wallis Family - Buried in Coxburg Cemetery, Coxburg (Holmes County), Mississippi

My mother has always told me that I am related to everyone buried in Coxburg Cemetery. On a recent trip to Mississippi, I photographed most of the grave stones in that cemetery, not knowing for certain what relation I am to many of those buried there. I simply took my mother's word for it. After several months now of trying to determine the relationships of these families to my Netherland, Pettus, and Trigleth relatives, also buried there, I had a stroke of luck.

On Tuesday evening, I opened my email to find a message from a reader named Jeannie Wallis Bowser. Jeannie had found my blogs and wanted to tell me that we are Netherland cousins. On Wednesday, I called Jeannie and we talked at length about our Netherland connections, her paternal grandmother Amabel Netherland Wallis and her brother, Ralph Ernest Netherland, my maternal grandfather. I plan to write about some of this Netherland family information that Jeannie was kind enough to share, in future posts on my other blog, Mississippi Memories.

Because I had taken photographs of grave stones in Coxburg Cemetery, I was able to email photos of Wallis grave markers to Jeannie, who resides in another state.

Fannie W. Wallis - b. 1873, d. 1955

J. Thomas Wallis - b. 1870, d. 1932

Grave Marker of Charles Otto Wallis, husband of Elnora Brown

Born Mar. 13, 1900; Died October 18, 1978

William C. Wallis, b. 1893, d. 1932

Amabel Netherland Wallis, b. 1894, d. 1983

Known as "Amy" to her family, Amabel was my mother's aunt, my great-aunt, and Jeannie's paternal grandmother. Buried next to Amabel is her husband, William C. ("Clarence") Wallis. The couple were parents of five children, including Jeannie's father. Although Amy lived until she was almost 90 years old, Clarence died before he was 40.

Coxburg Cemetery, Coxburg, MS - George T. Carter's Woodmen of the World Grave Monument

This unique Woodmen of the World monument that stands alone in an uncrowded section of Coxburg Cemetery, Holmes County, Mississippi, marks the grave of George T. Carter. The ornate marble marker bears the W.O.W. emblem and sits atop a base that is adorned with a single calla lily bloom surrounded by ivy leaves, leaves of the lily plant, and fern leaves. Although the monument is similar in design to others in Mississippi's cemeteries, this particular marker is more artistic in design that most. Even the lower portion of the marker above the base is imbellished with ivy leaves.

According to his grave stone, George T. Carter was born on June 25, 1868 and died on August 26, 1914, shortly after his 46th birthday.

Tombstone Tuesday - Lucy Lula Bass

The tombstone pictured here is that of my maternal great-grandmother, Lucy Lula Trigleth Pettus Bass. She was born Lucy Lula Trigleth and married my maternal great-grandfather, William Elza Pettus around 1900. After her first husband died, Lucy remarried, and her grave stone shows "Bass," the surname of her second husband. Lucy was born on March 15, 1881 and died on April 7, 1951, and is buried in Coxburg Cemetery in Holmes County, near numerous graves of other members of the Pettus and Trigleth families. Lucy's grave marker is a simple rectangular stone, with engravings of palm leaves and the word "Mother" stamped on the top.

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

Tombstone Tuesday - William L. Ziegler, Coxburg Cemetery

This is one of many beautiful and unique Woodmen of the World monuments that mark graves in Mississippi cemeteries. The marble monument seen here was provided by the organization and erected at the grave of William L. Ziegler in Coxburg Cemetery. Mr. Zieglar, a longtime resident of Holmes County, was born January 22, 1873 and died on August 2, 1912. Other Ziegler family members and members of their allied families are also buried in this cemetery next door to the Coxburg Methodist Church.


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

Coxburg Cemetery - Ralph Ernest Netherland and Rosa Mae Pettus

Ralph Ernest Netherland was one of the nine children born to William Bailey Neatherland and Martha Elizabeth Garrard Neatherland. Their grave stone was pictured in my post yesterday. Ralph was born on February 1, 1886 in Holmes County, Mississippi. He married my grandmother, Rosa Mae Pettus, whose grave stone is pictured below, when he was 39 years old and she was barely 17. My mother was born a year later, and four and one half years after she was born, Rosa Mae and Ralph Netherland and a son. I know very little about my grandparents' life together, except that their marriage was not an enduring one, and they were divorced when my mother was about 14 years old. Several years later, my grandmother married again, this time to Frank B. Parsons, Sr., a widower, whom I knew as a child as "Pa Frank." Mr. Parsons died a few years later, and was buried in the cemetery near Coxburg Baptist Church, next to his first wife.

Born on August 28, 1908 in Holmes County, Mississippi, Rosa Mae Pettus was the daughter of William Elza Pettus and Lucy Lula Trigleth. As a young woman, "Grandma," as she was later called by her grandchildren, worked as a visiting nurse in the Lexington, Mississippi area, near Coxburg and Ebenezer, where she had grown up. Grandma moved from Ebenezer to Jackson after Mr. Parsons died, and worked at St. Dominic's Hospital until she retired in the early 1970's. After retirement, Grandma sold her house in Jackson and moved back to Holmes County, where she lived until she died unexpectedly on January 4, 1986. As far as our family could determine, Grandma had driven home from church on Sunday, and apparently went inside, sat down in her easy chair and removed her shoes to rest for a few minutes, possibly to take a short nap. And it was in that chair that she died, just a little over seven months before her 78th birthday.



Rosa Mae Pettus Netherland Parsons was buried in Coxburg Cemetery, next to her first husband, Ralph Ernest Netherland. Buried nearby are many deceased members of the Pettus and Neatherland/Netherland families. I know that her children made the final decision about Grandma's burial location, but I have often wondered if this was her choice, as well.

Tombstone Tuesday - William Bailey Neatherland and Martha Elizabeth Garrard

William Bailey Neatherland and Martha Elizabeth Garrard, my maternal great-grandparents, are buried in Coxburg Cemetery, in the old community of Coxburg, Mississippi, near Lexington, the county seat of Holmes County. William Bailey Neatherland and Martha Elizabeth Garrard Neatherland were parents of nine children, including my maternal grandfather, Ralph Ernest Netherland. William was born on May 22, 1845 in Scotland and died in Holmes County, Mississippi on May 24, 1937. Martha Elizabeth Garrard was born on September 8, 1853 in Kentucky, and she died on January 17 1939, just a few months after her 85th birthday. Coxburg Cemetery is the burial place of many other Neatherland/Netherland family members as well as members of several allied families, including the Bass, Harthcock, Killebrew, Pettus, Thomas, Trigleth, and Ziegler families.

Source: Digital Photograph Collection, Privately held by Janice Tracy