Tombstone Tuesday - Cade-Smith Cemetery

This weathered and unusual grave stone marks the graves of Louisa J. Watson Cade and her second husband, W. R. Cade. Louisa, who are buried in Cade-Smith Cemetery located near Emory, Mississippi. The arch connecting the two columns is imbellished with what appears to be a cluster of grapes and a horn of plenty, and the names of Mr. and Mrs. Cade are inscribed on the bases that support the columns. According to the inscriptions, Louisa Cade was born on August 20, 1839 and died on January 27, 1905. W. R. Cade was born on December 12, 1825, and he died on February 1, 1875. The cemetery contains other Cade family members, along with several members of the Hampton, Pollard, and Smith families.

A Triple Gravestone in Cedar Grove Cemetery

This triple gravestone marks the burial places of George Halford and his two wives, Amanda and Margaret. At first glance, the grave stones all appear to have been erected at the same time. The stones on the ends even appear to be the same size and design and weathered in almost the same manner. A second look, however, causes me to wonder if the demarcation in the concrete foundation near the right side may have been made when the grave stone for George's second wife, Margaret, was added.

Watch for a post later this week about the Halford family of Leake County, Mississippi.

Rev. John B. Babonneau's Memorial Marker

Above: The memorial marker of Rev. John B. Babonneau in St. Mary of the Springs Cemetery near Rayville, Mississippi. Rev. Babonneau's marker shows that he was born in France and died in Vicksburg, Mississippi on September 14, 1853


The memorial marker of Rev. John B. Babonneau, a Catholic Priest, stands tall near the middle of St. Mary of the Springs Cemetery, located near Raytown, Mississippi. This cemetery is among the oldest cemeteries in Madison County, and it contains the graves of many Catholic emigrants and their families whose beginnings were in several foreign countries, primarily France, Germany, and Ireland. After arriving in the ports of Mobile, Alabama and New Orleans, Louisiana, some of these families traveled northward into the Mississippi Territory in the early 1800s, where many settled near Natchez or Vicksburg before traveling into other places like Madison County. In the early to mid-1800s, most of these emigrants still spoke their native languages.

Rev. Babonneau was one of these emigrants. According to his memorial marker, he was born in France in 1824. Without a doubt, he still spoke his native French, and that ability served the priest well. It enabled him to communicate successfully with with French parishioners about their spiritual and physical lives in a new country. Possibly, he spoke another foreign language, too. But the life of Rev. John B. Babonneau, like large numbers of others who settled in or traveled through the lower Mississippi River Valley in the mid-1800's, was cut short when he lost his life to yellow fever. This disease, which reached epidemic proportions in Mississippi and elsewere, is the cause of death of hundreds buried in the old cemeteries of Madison County. Rev. Babonneau's marker in St. Mary's Cemetery shows that he died in Vicksburg on September 14, 1853. The fact that Rev. Babonneau died in Vicksburg and may be buried in Madison County some 30-40 miles away, brought up some questions for me.

Available on Google Books, an anthology of writings, "The Metropolitan: A Monthly Magazine, Devoted to Religion, Education, Literature, and General Information," compiled in February 1853 by Martin Joseph Kerney and published that same year, Rev. Babonneau's death was listed in a chapter entitled "Record of Events." Dates and information documented in this chapter seem to be a recap of important ones that occurred in 1853, and that recap included the deaths of some priests. In the chapter referred to earlier, the mention of Rev. Babonneau's death was a single sentence that read: "on the _____of September, at Vicksburg, Miss, Rev. J. B. Babonneau."

Rev. Babonneau was not the only Catholic priest or nun who died that year from the Yellow Fever Epidemic. According to "The Metropolitan," the Catholic Church lost at least four other religious servants to this epidemic. in September, two Sisters of Charity, Sister Francinia Gallagher and Sister Mary Chrysostrom, died at the Orphan Asylum operated by the Order in Natchez, Mississippi. Fr. Antony Parret, S.J., was among those who died of yellow fever in September of that same year in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. And in New Orleans, Sister Lina Griffin, 26 years old, and one of the Sisters of Charity caring for the ill at Charity Hospital in New Orleans, also died as a result of the disease.

Since the publication above is dated February 1853, could it be that Rev. Babonneau died in September of 1852 instead of 1853 as his marker shows? And is Rev. Babonneau actually buried in St. Mary of the Springs Cemetery, or is this truly a "memorial" marker, as the inscription on the stone marker states?

I attempted to locate Rev. Babonneau on the U. S. Census of 1850, the last federal census recorded before his death, I was unable to find anyone with that surname or a similar one. The names "Babineau" and "Babineaux" are fairly common names along the Mississippi Gulf Coast and in Louisiana today, so I searched for these possible variations of the older French name "Babonneau" on the U. S. Census of 1850, as well. But again, I was unsuccessful in my efforts. One thing I did find during some additional non-census research was that "Babonneau" is the name of a town on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia. Perhaps Rev. Babonneau's family had roots in St. Lucia as well as France.

Since Rev. Babonneau was a Catholic priest in the 1800s, he would not have been married nor is it likely he would have had descendants. The fact that he died in Vicksburg, and may have been buried miles away near Raytown, Mississippi, poses some additional questions. Even 30-40 miles away was a long distance in those days.

If Rev. Babonneau actually is buried in the cemetery, why was he interred there instead of in Vicksburg where he apparently died? In the early 1850's, there was already at least one Catholic cemetery in Vicksburg.

Was Rev. Babonneau a former parish priest of St. Mary's parish, and the parish simply wished to honor him with a memorial marker? Or was he a relative of someone else buried in the cemetery?

It sounds as if my research is not done.

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.

Welcome!

Left: Brooksfield Cemetery

Noxubee County, Mississippi

On December 23, 1833, sixteen new counties were formed in the State of Mississippi as a result of an agreement signed with the Choctaws. This agreement, signed on September 7, 1830, in a location that is now part of Noxubee County, became known as The Treaty at Dancing Rabbit Creek. The new counties that were named from former Choctaw lands, are listed here in the order in which they were formed: Noxubee, Kemper, Lauderdale, Clark, Oktibbeha, Winston, Choctaw, Tallahatchie, Yalobusha, Carroll, Jasper, Neshoba, Smith, Scott, Leake and Attala. Also included in these former Choctaw lands were portions of Sunflower, Bolivar, Quitman, Holmes and Lowndes Counties.

This blog will include information about cemeteries located in these counties that were once part of the Choctaw Nation, and about those who settled in them, along with some stories about the people who were left behind. Since I already write Graveyard Rabbit blogs about cemeteries in Attala and Holmes Counties, this blog will be written about cemeteries in the other counties covered by The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek. I also write a Graveyard Rabbit blog about Madison County, Mississippi. As an opening post here today, I am providing as background some of the provisions of The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek.

Historic Marker near where the Treaty of Dancing

Rabbit Creek was signed on September 7, 1830

This location is now part of Noxubee County, MS

After a period of negotiations, representatives of the U. S. Government met with the Choctaw chiefs and other representatives at Dancing Rabbit Creek, Chukfi ahihla bok, in Choctaw, meaning literally, Rabbit-there-dances creek. At this location, the Choctaw removal was explained to an audience that contained over 5,000 men, women, and children. It is difficult to know how the Choctaw people in this audience felt, but they must have known their futures were all at stake. The treaty that was subsequently signed on September 7, 1830 became known as The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, and its terms resulted in one of the largest land transfers ever signed between the United States Government and American Indians during a time of peace. The Choctaw Nation signed away approximately 11 million acres of their traditional homeland in the United States. Terms of the treaty allowed some members of the tribe and their families to stay in the State of Mississippi, and Article IV of the treaty allowed Mississippi Choctaws to be the first non-European group to become citizens of the United States.

The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek was ratified by the U. S. Senate on September 15, 1831, and its ratification resulted in the Choctaw becoming the first of "The Five Civilized Tribes" to be removed under the Indian Removal Act of 1830. By 1832, tens of thousands of Choctaw people would begin the long journey to Oklahoma Territory. That journey, one that spanned several hundred miles and lasting many months, resulted in many lives that were lost along the way. That journey is known as "The Trail of Tears."

Tombstone Tuesday - David Sanders, KY Rifles

The gravestone here marks the grave of David Sanders, a Confederate soldier, who served in the Kentucky Rifles. Sanders is one of several Confederate soldiers buried in Isaacs Cemetery, near McVille in Attala County, but he is one of only a few who did not serve in a Mississippi unit. His date of death does not appear on the stone.

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