A tabby sign notes that Behavior Cemetery was established around 1805 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. I photographed Behavior in different seasons over several years, remembering Cornelia Bailey’s request that I be respectful and not to linger. I was always in awe of the place and the name began to make sense to me.

From Sapelo’s People: A Long Walk Into Freedom,[William S. McFeely, W. W. Norton, 1994]: “The graveyard is as irregularly plotted as were the hammocks once scattered over the island…And the uneasy grass is less level than the road under oaks and pines that takes you to the graveyard…

“Behavior is an odd name for a cemetery, but it makes sense on Sapelo Island …And a visitor to the island doesn’t find it strange, either…

“Behavior, its grounds uneven and grass-choked, its stones akimbo…suggests life rather than death.”

The images that follow are individual memorials and are shown in no particular order. They represent the memories of countless individuals who kept the Gullah-Geechee culture of Sapelo Island thriving into the modern era, as their listing on the National Register of Historic Places validates. I hope I am able to afford them some level of respect with my images.

Minto (also recorded as “Bintou” and “Binty”) Bell was of seven known daughters of Bilali (also recorded as Bel-al-i and Bu Allah) Mohammed (c. 1770-1857) and his wife Phoebe. She was born in the Bahamas but came to Sapelo with her Guinean father, who, though enslaved, was a noted scholar of Islam. Bilali served as the manager of Thomas Spalding’s operations on Sapelo Island.

William Bell was a descendant of Bilali Mohammed and with William Hillery and John Grovner in 1871, was one of three investors in the first Black-owned land settlement on Sapelo Island, at Raccoon Bluff. This was significant for allowing newly freed families to purchase their own land.

Charles Walker was the patriarch of one of the largest families on Sapelo, whose descendants still live on the island today. Cornelia Walker Bailey, for one, is among the most significant advocates for Gullah-Geechee cultural preservation, not just on Sapelo but throughout the Sea Islands.

Chloe Jacobs’s contemporary commercial memorial features a quote from the 23rd Psalm: “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…” She is one of many born enslaved who lived to see freedom on Sapelo.

The clock-shaped vernacular headstones of Boston and Phillis Gardner are among the most notable works of art in Behavior Cemetery. There is always an old broken clock adorning Mr. Gardner’s memorial, as well.

Phillis Gardner, spelled Philis” on the memorial, was likely the wife of Boston Gardner.

The Phebie Sams memorial, in another part of the cemetery, also features the clock design. Phebie was the wife of Anthony Sams. Phoebe, spelled “Phebie” on her memorial, was a member of the prominent Hillery family of Sapelo Island.

Glasco Grovner was a member of one of the most prominent families on Sapelo Island, still found on Sapelo Island today. His father, John Grovner, was one of the partners in the Raccoon Bluff land trust. His memorial is one of the most notable vernacular works in Behavior Cemetery.

Liberty Handy was a beloved member of the Gullah-Geechee communities of Sapelo Island, who was one of the charter members of the Farmers Alliance in 1892. His wife was Katie Brown (1850-1918). In local folklore, he is remembered for a dream he had the night before he died, in which he was scratched by a black cat.

Mrs. Hall’s vernacular memorial remains in good condition and is typical of other examples on Sapelo and throughout the coastal region.

Mr. Wilson’s headstone has split but is a good example of one of the most common vernacular styles found in Behavior Cemetery, featuring stenciled characters on a standard shape.

This vernacular memorial was placed by Mr. Hillery’s wife, “In memory of my first husband.”

The red painted fleur-de-lis at left may be the memorial for Monday Robinson, whose wife, Isabella, is buried to its right. They were married on 6 May 1876.

Peter Maxwell was born on Sapelo Island and went on to serve the Union effort as a member of Co. A, 33rd United States Colored Troops. He was a prominent advocate for Civil Rights during Reconstruction and for the rest of his life.

This is one of my favorites of the many beautiful memorials in Behavior Cemetery. Mrs. Nancy was born into the prolific Bailey family of Sapelo Island. Her first husband, Sandy Hall, drowned in 1886, and she married Peter Maxwell in 1889. Peter and Nancy both had seven children from their first marriages.

Mary Wright’s memorial is one of many vernacular memorials surviving in Behavior Cemetery.

Ms. Jackson’s memorial features a passage from the 23rd Psalm.

The handmade memorial for this person illustrates the difficulty in identification inherent with vernacular examples. It is thought that Kitchrel is a phonetic spelling of Kittrell. It is also possible that Olsie is a variant spelling of Ossie or Elsie.

It is important to document these vernacular memorials, as time and weather are eroding so many. While little is known of Ms. Shepard, she should not be forgotten.

Like many vernacular memorials, Ms. Wilson’s features continuous lettering. The Wilson family are longtime residents of Sapelo Island.

Martha Wilson was an earlier member of the prolific Wilson family. Her commercially made headstone has long been detached from its base. One member of her family was a founder of the Farmers Alliance in Hog Hammock.

As the memorial notes, Benjamin Brown was the “Beloved Husband of Katie Brown”. They married on 7 August 1877. Katie Grovner Brown (1853-1940), a granddaughter of Bilali Mohammed, was one of the most beloved citizens of Sapelo, serving as a midwife for generations and an early member of the Farmers Alliance. Perhaps more importantly, she preserved many details about her family’s history, recorded in the Federal Writers Project work Drums and Shadows: Survival Stories Among the Coastal Negroes.

This is one of several of the iconic “Star Motif” vernacular memorials in Behavior Cemetery, and one of dozens in coastal Mcintosh County which I believe were all made by the same unidentified craftsman. The epitaph reads: He Died in Faith. Sleep On Son. Take You Rest.

This “Star Motif” memorial is in amazing condition.

This “Star Motif” memorial is a later interpretation of the design and is significant in that sense. It appears to have been placed in recent years. Rev. Dunham was a beloved member of the community and was known throughout the island as “Sawney”. He officiated numerous weddings, funerals, and other events throughout his life. His wife was Rachel Dunham (November 1865-November 1947).

National Register of Historic Places