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

Jessamine Cemetery - Ridgeland, Mississippi

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

The entrance to Jessamine Cemetery in Ridgeland, Madison County, Mississippi is seen above. With its historic area and another one that contains more recent burials, the cemetery is owned and maintained by The City of Ridgleland. Partially surrounded by a newer housing development with well-kept, tree-shaded yards, and a portion of the Natchez Trace Parkway, the cemetery is in a serene and peaceful setting in one of Madison County's most beautiful areas.

Already buried in Jessamine Cemetery are some of Madison County's early settlers, including James B. Yellowly, known as the "Father of Ridgeland." Among others buried in the cemetery are members of families with the surnames of Adcock, Battley, Baker, Carr, DeVelling, McNair, Moody, Schluetter, Tucker, Tweedy, and Woodbridge.

Wordless Wednesday - Confederate Graves in Hillcrest Cemetery, Goodman, MS

Photograph is part of 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

Hillcrest Cemetery, Woodward L. and Stella B. Young

This double grave stone seen below marks the burial place of Woodward L. and Stella B. Young, my great-aunt and uncle on my father's side of the family. Woodward was born on September 30, 1896 and died on February 1, 1974. Aunt Stella was one of my paternal grandfather's four sisters, born sixteen months after my grandfather, on November 23, 1900. She was just ten months away from her 95th birthday when she died on January 24, 1995. Stella and Woodward ("Woodard," as he was often called) lived in Goodman, Mississippi most of their adult lives, and it was in Goodman that the couple raised four sons. Woodward was a World War I veteran, and at least three of their sons served in the U. S. military.



Stella and Woodward saw the early deaths of two of these young men. The first son to die was William H. ("Billy") Young, whose grave marker is pictured here. Billy Young was killed on April 22, 1943, just three weeks after his 21st birthday, while serving as an Aviation Cadet in the Army Air Force. Although Billy did leave a young widow, the couple had no children.



Pictured below is the grave marker for Charles Young, who died as the result of long-term effects of a serious brain tumor. Although Charles survived the surgery, he was not able to live again on his own. After years of hospitalization, Charles died in a long-time care facility owned and operated by the U. S. Air Force on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Charles was the father of three children.



The double grave marker shown below marks the burial site of Elton C. Young and his wife, Kathryn S. Young. Elton retired with the rank of Colonel from the U. S. Air Force, having served in a number of locations both in and outside the United States. His wife, Kathryn, died on April 3, 2000, about three years before Elton's own death on Dec. 27, 2003. They are buried near Stella and Woodward, his parents, and near his two brothers, Billy and Charles.




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

Wordless Wednesday - Hillcrest Cemetery, Goodman, MS

Identical Grave Stones of Sons of Mr. and Mrs. W. E. Nelson
Hillcrest Cemetery, Goodman (Holmes Co.) MS

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

Hillcrest Cemetery - Lelia and Clark Branch, Grandparents

Founded in the 1800s, Goodman United Methodist Church, in Goodman, Mississippi, has seen its share of christenings, weddings, and funerals. Two of those funerals were for my grandparents, Clark Commander Branch and Lelia Porter Branch, his in January of 1979, and hers in January of 1992. For more about the lives of Clark and Lelia Branch, married on December 8, 1922, please read here. That post was the first in a series of subsequent posts about rural life in the Mississippi Delta before and after the Great Depression.



This double grave stone in Hillcrest Cemetery, Goodman, Mississippi, marks the burial place of my paternal grandparents, Clark C. Branch and his wife, Lelia P. Branch. Clark was born on August 9, 1899, and died on January 20, 1979. Lelia was born on July 17, 1904, and she died twelve years later on January 25, 1992. Natives of nearby Attala County, Clark and Lelia are buried near many deceased members of both the Branch and the Porter family.

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