Brooksville Cemetery - Mrs. M. A. Dotherow

This beautiful grave monument marks the burial place of Mrs. M. A. Dotherow in Brooksville Cemetery, located in Noxubee County, Mississippi. The large marble monument bears the resemblance of a draped altar, with its top adorned with a partially covered urn.

According to the inscription on the monument, Mrs. Dotherow was born on February 18, 1837, and died on February 1, 1908, barely a week before her 71st birthday.

Wordless Wednesday

Marker with angel and baby

Brandon Cemetery, located in

Brandon, Rankin County, Mississippi

Tombstone Tuesday - Weeping Angel

This large grave monument of a weeping angel bears the name Teasdale and marks the plot where several Teasdale family members are buried in Friendship Cemetery, in Columbus, Lowndes County, Mississippi. Smaller stones nearby mark the graves of Rev. Thomas Cox Teasdale and his wife, Delia Lottridge Teasdale.

Rev. Teasdale was born in Massachusetts, and according to his grave stone, his date of birth was December 2, 1808. Well-known for his service as the pastor of First Baptist Church in Columbus, Mississippi from 1858 - 1863, Rev. Teasdale died on April 4, 1891. Also nearby is the grave marker of Rev. Teasdale's wife, Delia Lottridge Teasdale. Born in New York, Delia's date of birth was January 16, 1811. On July 5, 1899, Delia died, having outlived her husband by a little over 8 years.

Friendship Cemetery, a historical cemetery in the eastern part of the state, contains several thousand graves, including those of Confederate heroes and Mississippi statesmen.

Duck Hill Cemeteries, Montgomery County, MS

Duck Hill Cemetery is actually the name of two cemeteries located in Duck Hill, Montgomery County, Mississippi. Historically, one of the cemeteries is Black, and the other is White. Combined, the two cemeteries contain almost 1,000 graves of deceased residents of this north central part of the state. Among the families buried in the Black cemetery are those with Bloodsaw, Butts, Elliott, Eskridge, Grantham, Gordon, Hardiman/Hardimon, Khite, Lott, McChrision, Monday, Nash, Parker, Sykes, and Tyler surnames. Buried in the larger of the two cemeteries, the White cemetery, are members of the Abel, Bennett, Binford, Embry, Fox, Grant, Holmes, Leverette, McCuiston, Miers, Mitchell, Moore, Oliver, Pottle, Rodgers, Rose, Sledge, Sykes, Taylor, Thomas, Trotter, Waugh, and Wilkins families.

Rose Hill Cemetery - Burial Place of The King and Queen of the Gypsies

Meridian’s Rose Hill Cemetery, where the oldest marker is dated 1853, is a well-maintained, historic cemetery, where residents of the area have buried their dead for almost 150 years. Buried in the cemetery are Confederate soldiers, well-known politicians, and lesser known, but well-respected everyday citizens who lived their entire lives just miles away from their final resting places.

But a few graves are different.

The story began in early 1915, when Kelly Mitchell died near Meridian. According to her grave stone, she was 47 years old. Kelly was not the daughter of a pioneer, nor was she the daughter of a politician, war hero, or even the daughter of an ordinary citizen; she was a member of the Mitchell Tribe, the beloved Queen of the Gypsies of America.

By all accounts, Queen Kelly and her tribe were camped near Meridian in early 1915, when she died during childbirth. Within a few short days, thousands of members of the Mitchell Tribe would travel to Meridian, Mississippi to mourn their queen. An article that appeared in Meridian’s newspaper, the Meridian Dispatch, on February 7, 1915, describes the scene at the funeral home:

"On one side of the parlors, with candelabra at the head and foot stands the magnificent silver-trimmed metallic casket. Hermetically sealed within, in all the barbaric splendor of a medieval Queen lays Mrs. Callie (Kelly) Mitchell, Queen of the Gypsies of America. Her swarthy face with its high cheekbones is typical of Romany tribes and the head, the upper portion of which is covered with bright silken drapery pinned at the back with pins, rests upon a cushion of filmy silk and satin. The hair is braided Gypsy fashion and the dark tresses shine. The body is attired in a Royal robe of Gypsy Green and other bright colors contrasting vividly with the somber hues usual under such circumstances. Two necklaces are around the neck, one of shells, an heirloom that was descended through generations. The lower part of the body is draped with “Sacred Linen” treasured by Gypsy bands for the use only when death overtakes one of their numbers. When the children arrive, each will put a memento of some kind in the casket and it will devolve upon the youngest child to place her mother’s earrings in the ear.”

On February 12, 1917, a funeral procession, complete with a Gypsy band and carriages carrying immediate family members, women, and children, followed the hearse from the funeral home to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church where the funeral service was held. Rector H. W. Wells officiated at the traditional Episcopal funeral rite.



On February 12, 1917, a funeral procession, complete with a Gypsy band and carriages carrying immediate family members, women, and children, followed the hearse from the funeral home to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church where the funeral service was held. Rector H. W. Wells officiated at the traditional Episcopal funeral rite. St. Paul’s Episcopal Church was a large one, but the church was unable to accommodate all those who attended, and large numbers of of mourners who had traveled from all parts of the United States, gathered outside on the lawn and in the street. When the body was consecrated to the earth at Rose Hill Cemetery, legend has it that more than 5,000 people witnessed the burial. Queen Kelly Mitchell’s burial was the first of several other royal burials that would occur in Rose Hill Cemetery. When King Emil, Queen Kelly's husband died in 1942, he was buried in Rose Hill in what was referred to by locals as the "Gypsy Royal Plot."

Wordless Wednesday

Tombstone Tuesday - A Man and His Dog

This grave monument depicting a man's love for his dog, marks a grave in Crystal Springs Cemetery in Crystal Springs, Mississippi.

(Photo by Natalie Maynor)