Children of Stirling Kirkpatrick White and Mary Willis White

Mary Austin Willis was the only child of Julia Ragland Willis, my paternal great-great-great-grandmother's sister, and her second husband, Andrew Jackson Willis, whom she married in 1869. When she grew up, Mary Austin Willis married Stirling Kirkpatrick White. During her marriage to Stirling White, Mary Willis White gave birth to three daughters who died while they were still very young children. Reminders of the White family's sad story of tragedy and loss can be seen in Raymond Cemetery in Raymond, Mississippi, where the grave stones of the three children are located in the Gillespie Plot. These three children were younger sisters of Mary Elise White, who was born on July 4, 1891.

Norma White
Born August 3, 1900
Died April 5, 1901

Minnie Lee White
September 25, 1892
Died April 30, 1893

Stirling Willis White
August 14, 1896
August 19, 1901

Wordless Wednesday - Grave Monument of Mary Willis White

Photo by Pattie

Mary Willis, Wife of Stirling K. White
Born April 18, 1870
Died February 24, 1905
Daughter of Julia Ragsdale Willis and Andrew Jackson Willis
Buried in Raymond Cemetery (Gillespie Plot)
Raymond, Mississippi

Tombstone Tuesday - Julia B. Ragland Daniel Willis

Julia Ragland and Andrew Jackson ("Capt. Jack") Willis
Buried in Raymond Cemetery
Raymond (Hinds County) Mississippi

A double grave stone marks the grave of Julia B. Ragland Daniel Willis and her second husband, Andrew Jackson ("Captain Jack") Willis.  Julia's first husband died in the Civil War, and she married Mr. Willis in 1869.  To read more about the Ragland family of Hinds County, Mississippi, visit this site's sister blog, Mississippi Memories. 


Five years later, Julia died, leaving A. J. Willis with a four-year old daughter, Mary Austin Willis. Julia and her husband are buried in the Gillespie plot in Raymond Cemetery, in the historic town of Raymond, Mississippi in Hinds County.  Much of the history of the Gillespie family and other allied families, has been documented in The Gillespie Collection, a digital collection of historical documents, available on the Raymond, Mississippi website.

Ragland Family Members Buried in Hinds County, Mississippi

During recent weeks, I have been researching the Ragland family in Mississippi, attempting to locate the burial places for the parents of my third great-grandmother, Winiford Ragland Branch.  Yesterday, I found that Elizabeth Smith Ragland, Winiford's mother, is buried in Palestine Cemetery in Hinds County, Mississippi.  

Photo by NatalieMaynor

Elizabeth (Smith) Ragland
Died Dec 21, 1850
 Aged 60 years

Photo by NatalieMaynor

Palestine Cemetery
Hinds County, Mississippi

Also buried in this small, rural cemetery near the historic town of Raymond, Mississippi, are two of Elizabeth's children, Arthur S. Ragland and Mary V. Ragland. Winiford Ragland Branch and her husband, Edward Tillman Branch, named a son, Arthur Joseph Branch, for this brother, and a daughter, Mary V. Branch, for her deceased sister.

Photo by NatalieMaynor

Arthur S. Ragland
Born July 22, 1811
Died Feb. 25, 1847

Photo by NatalieMaynor

Mary V. Ragland
Born Mar. 28, 1835
Died Nov. 28, 1849

For more about the family of John W. Ragland and Elizabeth Smith Ragland of Newberry, South Carolina, please watch for future posts on Mississippi Memories.

Wordless Wednesday

Vicksburg National Military Park

Tombstone Tuesday - Edward Tillman Branch, 1850 - 1902

Photo by Andy McCrory

Edward Tillman Branch

b. 1850 d. 1902

Son of Edward T. Branch and Winiford Ragland Branch

Buried in Seneasha Cemetery

Attala County, Mississippi

Old Brandon Cemetery, Brandon, Mississippi

Photo by Natalie Maynor

According to an article in the online version of RankinLedger, Old Brandon Cemetery will be placed on the National Register of Historic Places. This very old cemetery, which covers approximately nine acres, is situated on a hilltop near the historic town of Brandon, Mississippi, the county seat of Rankin County. I understand that downtown Brandon will be placed on the Register, as well. 


Containing more than 1000 graves, with some dating back to 1834, the cemetery is the burial place for two former Mississippi governors, Robert Lowry and Anselm McLaurin.

Photo by Natalie Maynor

Of special historical significance is the fact that Old Brandon Cemetery is the final resting place for the remains of 200 Union and Confederate soldiers who died in the Battle of Shiloh.