Gravediggers at Chapel of the Cross Cemetery

Recently I ran across some information about gravediggers. These gravediggers are, in fact, parishioners at Chapel of the Cross, an Episcopal church and cemetery located in Madison County. A picture of the cemetery located beside and behind the historic chapel, appears as the banner photo on this blog today. Volunteer members of this unique parish ministry dig graves, by hand, in which deceased parish members will be buried.

To read more about this unique ministry, visit the parish's website.

Wordless Wednesday

Photo by Natalie Maynor

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

Tombstone Tuesday - Rufus Nicholas Ousley, Seneasha Cemetery

Rufus Nicholas Ousley's grave stone in Seneasha Cemetery, bears the Southern Cross, a tribute to his service in the Confederate Army. Ousley, a son of Thomas Ousley, was born on Christmas Day 1814 in Alabama and died on February 1, 1870 in Newport, Attala County, Mississippi. His widow, Mary Ann Mabrey Ousley, is also buried in this Attala County, Mississippi cemetery.

Photo by Andy McCrory

Tombstone Tuesday - Edward Ousley, Seneasha Cemetery

Photo by Andy McCrory

Edward Ousley,

b. March 1879

d. Nov. 27, 1907

Buried in Seneasha Cemetery

Attala County, Mississippi

Photo by Andy McCrory

Wordless Wednesday - Nettie Allen Branch

Photo by Andy McCrory

Grave stone of Nettie A. Branch

Buried in Seneasha Cemetery, Attala County, MS

Born April 15, 1863 - Died July 2, 1917

Tombstone Tuesday - Rebecca Clark Baldridge Boggs

My readers never cease to amaze me. Yesterday, I received an mail from a new Baldridge cousin who lives in California. This cousin had found posts on Mississippi Memories about John Baldridge and Rebecca Clark Baldridge, my fifth great-grandparents, who were married in Colerain, Londonderry, Ireland and immigrated to Pennsylvania shortly thereafter. I am descended through John T. Baldridge, one of their grandsons, a veteran of the War of 1812 who lived and died in Carroll County, Mississippi. A photo of John Baldridge's grave stone in Enon Methodist Church Cemetery in Carroll County can be seen here.

In his email, my new cousin told me where Rebecca Clark Baldridge is buried. I already knew that John Baldridge was buried in Little Britain Township near Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, near where he had died. And I also knew that after John's death, Rebecca, who still had minor children, moved with an older son and his family to Orange County, North Carolina. Although much of my research told me that Rebecca had re-married in North Carolina and had later died there, I had been unsuccessful in finding her married name or her burial location. Thanks to this email from another Baldridge descendant, I now have both Rebecca's name after she remarried and the name of the cemetery where she is buried.

My contact wrote in his email to me that Rebecca is buried in the cemetery at Knob Creek United Methodist Church in North Carolina. With that information in hand, I soon located photos on www.findagrave.com of the grave stone (see below) that marks the final resting place of Rebecca Clark Baldridge Boggs. According to her marker, Rebecca was born in 1723 and died in 1823, having lived almost a century. By most accounts, Rebecca was perhaps the mother of 21 children.

Photo by Sharon

Grave stone of Rebecca Clark Baldridge Boggs

Knob Creek United Methodist Church Cemetery

Cleveland County, North Carolina

Photo by Sharon

A more recent grave stone placed at the foot of Rebecca's original marker shows her date of birth and date of death.