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 .

Oscar F. Hosea, Buried in Odd Fellows Cemetery, Lexington, MS

This Woodmen of the World monument marks the burial place of Oscar F. Hosea in Odd Fellows Cemetery in Lexington, Mississippi. Hosea, born on October 20, 1863, died on October 28, 1921.

Oscar F. Hosea was the son of Oscar Fitzallen Hosea, Sr. and Sarah Anne Farr.

In 1860, according to the U. S. Census recorded that same year, Oscar F. Hosea, Sr. and Sarah A. Hosea lived with their young family in Dark Corner, Beat 2, of Holmes County, Mississippi.

In 1870, the family lived in Lexington, where Oscar F. Hosea, Sr. worked as a carpenter.

Photo by Natalie Maynor

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

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 - W. F. Michell's Woodmen of the World Grave Stone

The Woodmen of the World grave monument pictured here marks the grave of W. F. Mitchell in Hillcrest Cemetery (aka Goodman Cemetery) in the town of Goodman in Holmes County, Mississippi. According to the inscription on the marker, Mr. Mitchell was born on August 8, 1856 and died February 25, 1915.

Although there are numerous designs for Woodmen of the World monuments that exist in the cemeteries of Mississippi, this monument has two distinct differences from others that I have seen. First, the base is wider, a design that is more characteristic of an actual tree "trunk." The second difference is seen in the way the scroll that bears the Woodmen of the World emblem appears to hang from the bow of a ribbon that wraps around the top of the marker.

Source: Digital Photograph Collection (2009) - privately owned 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

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.

Tombstone Tuesday - Memorial Marker of Ellie Brister Calkins

The memorial marker of Ellie Brister Calkins, pictured here, is located in Brister Cemetery, Holmes County, Mississippi. According to its inscription, Ellie Calkins was born on March 3, 1872 and died on September 28, 1952. The emblem engraved in the top center of this stone caught my eye, and at first glance, I believed it to be a Woodmen of the World emblem. As I looked closer, I read the wording on the emblem: "In Memoriam Supreme Forest Woodmen Circle."

Many Woodmen of the World monuments exist in Mississippi's cemeteries, but I had not seen this emblem before. So I decided to visit the Woodmen of the World website to see if I could determine if a relationship existed between the Supreme Forest Woodmen Circle and Woodmen of the World.

According to the website, the Supreme Forest Woodmen Circle occupied an important place in the Woodmen of the World history. The Circle was created in 1891, and Woodmen of the World founder, Joseph Cullen Root, was instrumental in founding the organization and had envisioned it as a women's auxiliary to Woodmen of the World and made provisions for its existence when he created the original organization. May Falkenburg, wife of Woodmen of the World co-founder, F. A. Falkenburg, served as the Circle's president from 1891 to 1895.

On September 5, 1895, Root and Woodmen of the World Secretary, John T. Yates, took control of the Circle and incorporated it as a fraternal benefit society. Root proceeded to write the Circle's laws and ritual and started its magazine, Tidings. The Circle's offices were located in the same building as Woodmen of the World, and the two groups held joint meetings and scheduled biennial and jurisdictional conventions together. One of the Circle's greatest achievements was the construction of the Woodmen Circle home for orphans and aged members which was built on a 254-acre site in Sherman, Texas.

Tombstone Tuesday - W. J. Gipson

W. J. Gipson, b. Oct. 30, 1876
Died april 12, 1903
Woodmen of the World Monument
Bloomfield Cemetery
Neshoba County, Mississippi

Tombstone Tuesday - Thomas Jefferson Williams

This Woodmen of the World grave monument marks the burial place of Thomas Jefferson Williams in the Bankston Cemetery, near Chester, in Choctaw County, Mississippi.
According to the inscription on the monument, Thomas Jefferson Williams was born on June 27, 1881 to Mr. and Mrs. M. J. Williams, and he was barely 28 years old when he died on December 22, 1909.

The Watts Family of Attala County

Among those buried in the Macedonia Cemetery near the community of Zama in Attala County, Mississippi, are E. H. Watts and his son, E. L. Watts. A Woodman of the World monument, slightly different from others I have posted on this blog, marks the grave of E. L. Watts.

According to the U. S. Census record of 1900, Edward H. Watts, age 49, headed up a household in Beat 5, Attala County, Mississippi, that included his wife, Mary, age 32, and two sons, Paterson E, age 22, and Ruffie, age 20. Based on Mary's age, it is almost certain that she is not Edward's first wife, and it is unlikely that she is the mother of either of Edward's adult sons living in the household. Although Edward and the other three members of his household were born in Mississippi, each family member enumerated on the census had a parent who was born in Alabama. Since the birthplace of the mother of the two Watts sons is shown as Alabama, it is reasonable to believe that Edward's wife died before the family's migration from Alabama into Mississippi.

Living next door to Edward and Mary on the 1900 census were Eabious L., age 25, and his wife Nancy B., age 24. The couple had been married 6 years, and Nancy had given birth to two children. Only one of the children, a 3-year old daughter named Ella M., born in Mississippi, was living at the time the census was recorded. The census also shows that Nancy's parents and her husband's mother were all born in Alabama.

Eabious (E.L.) Watts died early in the year he would have turned 48 years old. Not only did he die five years before his father, a sad event for any parent, but he died on his father's birthday.

Tombstone Tuesday - J. H. Marshall, Woodman of the World

J. H. Marshall's grave monument stands tall and seemingly unblemished by time in Broom Cemetery, near Coffeeville in Yalobusha County, Mississippi. According to the inscription, Marshall was born on Februry 25, 1865 and died on May 11, 1913. Palm leaves adorn the center section of the stone marker where Marshall's name and dates of birth and death appear. Like all Woodmen of the World grave monuments, symbolic logs bearing the Woodmen of the World emblem appear in a prominent place. This design is one of many others that appear on monuments provided for deceased members of the Woodmen of the World society and erected in Mississippi cemeteries during the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Tombstone Tuesday - Elmira N. Thomas

I wrote a post here over the weekend about W. S. Thomas and his Woodmen of the World gravestone. This stone marks the grave of Elmira Thomas, his wife, who is buried next to her husband in the Ebenezer Baptist Church Cemetery. Since I have never observed a gravestone provided for the wife of a member, it must be that membership in the association provided a gravestone for only the head of the household.







Elmira N. Thomas
Wife of W. S. Thomas
Born Sept. 18, 1843
Died Apr. 6, 1913

Good Hope Cemetery - Woodmen of the World Tombstones

The Entrance to Good Hope Cemetery, established 1851, near the Good Hope Baptist Church.

Good Hope Baptist Church Cemetery is located across a well-built and maintained wooden footbridge from the church. From the footbridge, a visitor can see deep down into a wooded ravine that is part of the heavily timbered countryside that provides a beautiful, serene setting for this old church and deceased members of its community who lived during the 1800's.

To get to the church and cemetery from Highway 51 North, turn right onto Highway 17 East, and travel about 6 miles to Rocky Ridge Road, a paved and scenic county road. Stay on Rocky Ridge Road for about 5.5 miles, passing Shrock Road on the left. Turn left onto Mullinvill Road and travel approximately 500 yards to the church and cemetery directly ahead.

The cemetery is fenced, and on each side of the gate are engraved stones dedicating the cemetery to the memory of Barrett family who were instrumental in its establishment in 1851. The actual location of Good Hope Baptist Church and cemetery is in Madison County, Mississippi, but it is very near the line that separates that county from Attala County.

The tombstone you see here is located in

the cemetery at Good Hope and was erected for Edward Arthur Branch, my paternal great-grandfather. Ed, as he was known to his family and friends, was born on November 15, 1874 in Madison County, Mississippi, and he died on November 2, 1914, in Jackson, Mississippi. The inscription on the tombstone states simply "Gone Home."

Ed Branch was only 40 years old when he was diagnosed with cancer. Two days before his death, he was admitted to a hospital in Jackson for surgery that doctors believed might save his life. He died of complications from that surgery, barely two weeks away from his 41st birthday. He left a widow and five children under the age of 18, and his only son, my grandfather, had just turned 16 years old.

Before he died, Ed Branch had been a member of an organization known as "Woodmen of the World," founded in Omaha, Nebraska in 1890 by Joseph Cullen Root. According to "Wikipedia," the organization's purpose was to help its members "clear away problems of financial security....," and one of the benefits of membership was the organization's free tombstones for its members.

My great-grandfather's tombstone, one of three present in the Good Hope Cemetery, and one of many in cemeteries across the country, is a reminder of the other men who worked in one of the earliest occupations in the United States, the wood and timber industry. Use of these tombstones, unique and shaped like stumps of wood that bore the Woodmen of the World logo, was discontinued by the organization sometime around 1920.