The Bowman City Cemetery was renamed Hillcrest in 1947. Many of the gravestones and the pavilion are much earlier.
The angel monument overlooking the Gloer family plot is perhaps the most ornate in the cemetery. Several of the burials in this plot date to the 1890s and early 1900s.
Chickee is the Seminole word for house, and these iconic shelters are still scattered throughout Florida. To my knowledge, this chickee in the Carter Cemetery is the only such grave shelter in Georgia.
In addition to the construction, the shells marking the graves of George Washington Carter (25 October 1862-4 July 1934) and Millie Louvine Thrift Carter (18 January 1860-30 December 1947) honor a Native American ancestry. Mr. Carter, who was born on Cow House Island, was one of the pioneer settlers of the Okefenokee Swamp. The Thrifts were also early residents of the swamp.
Over 80 of Swainsboro and Emanuel County’s earliest settlers are buried in this secluded downtown cemetery. It’s a great space for quiet reflection and if you’re a taphophile, you’ll enjoy it.
The triumphant arch marks the graves of John Calhoun Coleman (28 October 1844-1 January 1923) and wife Martha Sarah “Mattie” Moring Coleman (21 April 1858-15 September 1926). The angel memorializes their daughter, Juanita Coleman Smith (16 March 1874-18 May 1910). Mr. Coleman was one of the most prominent men in Emanuel County during his lifetime and was a Confederate veteran. He served in Company H, Georgia Volunteer Infantry, taking part in the Seven Days Battle, first and second battles of Cold Harbor, Harper’s Ferry, Second Manassas, Sharpsburg, first and second battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and finally at Manassas Gap, where he was captured and held as a prisoner until the end of the war.
John Coleman Mitchell (25 April 1897-21 January 1901). Grandson of John Calhoun Coleman.
This secluded cemetery, historically known as Old Capitol Cemetery, is located on the western edge of Louisville on US Highway 221. Notable as the final resting place of two of the best-known politicians of early Georgia (one considered such a scoundrel that newspapers of the period cheered his passing with sarcastic obituaries), it also contains cenotaphs for men who fought in the American Revolution, the War of 1812, and the Civil War, as well as early Louisville settlers.
Senator James Gunn (13 March 1753-30 July 1801) – Though the headstone notes his rank in the Georgia Militia, Gunn was, more importantly, one of Georgia’s first two United States Senators.
James Gunn came from Virginia to Savannah where he began practicing law. He was a captain of a volunteer brigade of dragoons in the Revolutionary War and was among General Anthony Wayne’s forces who helped drive the British from Savannah. He was made a brigadier general in the state militia after the Revolution. He was elected to the Continental Congress in 1787 but did not serve. Along with William Few, he was one of Georgia’s first two U. S. Senators, elected as a Federalist in 1789. He attended Washington’s inauguration in New York City. Unfortunately, in 1794 Gunn was one of the primary figures in the Yazoo Land Fraud, having been an organizer of the Georgia Company which perpetrated the fraud. He delayed formal submission of the Georgia Company’s proposal to sell off western lands until after his reelection to the Senate. As soon as it became public, Gunn was the subject of outrage throughout the state but no formal charges were ever brought against him. Upon his death, just four months after his term in the Senate had ended, Gunn was ridiculed in obituaries around the state. Gunn’s wife, Mary Jane Wright (6 December 1763-13 May 1796) of Savannah, committed suicide by drinking poison. She was buried at the family cemetery at Litchfield Plantation.
Though Gunn’s reputation is questionable, the damage to his gravestone is very unfortunate. It was carved by James Traquair, a Scottish immigrant who became a prominent stone cutter in Philadelphia. Traquair worked with America’s first professional architect, Benjamin Latrobe.
Roger Lawson Gamble (1787-20 December 1847) – Gamble grew up near Louisville and was admitted to the bar in 1815, having served as an officer in the War of 1812 and a member of the state house (1814-1815). He served as Georgia’s Attorney General from 1816-1822. He was elected as a Jacksonian to the 23rd Congress in 1832, serving one term. He was again elected, as a Whig, to the 27th Congress in 1841. He served as a judge of the Superior Court from 1845-1847. The crypt was carved by W. Glendinning, a stone mason active in Augusta in the mid-19th century. [Source 1859 Augusta City Directory].
John Gamble (1740- 1806) – Georgia Troops, Revolutionary War – I’m unable to confirm that John Gamble is a relative of Roger Lawson Gamble but assume there to be a connection. In 1772, John emigrated to Brunswick, Georgia, on the HMS Brittania.
Major Patrick Carr (? Ireland-1802) – Georgia Troops, Revolutionary War – Carr was present at the Battle of Kings Mountain.
Roger Lawson (17 May 1730 or 1731-6 August 1803) – Georgia Troops, Revolutionary War
Captain Chesley Bostwick (1744-2 January 1808) – 7th Continental Georgia Battalion, Revolutionary War
Nathan Bostwick (26 January 1746-9 May 1817) – Georgia Troops, Revolutionary War – Bostiwick was born in Suffolk County, Virginia. He may have been the brother of Chesley, but this is not presently confirmed.
Phillip Scott (?-21 October 1817) – Georgia Troops, Revolutionary War
Private William Walker, Sr. (17 December 1762-2 February 1818) – Georgia Troops, Revolutionary War – Walker was born in Buckingham County, Virginia.
Aaron Tomlinson (1748-12 April 1828) – Georgia Troops, Revolutionary War
Captain Ambrose Wright (1745-1805) – Georgia Troops, Revolutionary War
Mary Hubbel Savage Wright (28 December1825-23 June 1854) – Mary was the first wife of Confederate Major General Ambrose Ransom “Rans” Wright, who was possibly the son of Captain Ambrose Wright. She was the daughter of Dr. William & Mary Savage, of Augusta. She died in childbirth, and her twins are buried within this enclosure, as well. Though Findagrave notes that this may only be a memorial and that Mary may actually be buried at Magnolia Cemetery in Augusta, this seems unlikely, as the text of the stone notes that her remains are here. Investigation into the matter is needed to confirm.
Thompson Markers – Various members of the Thompson family, representing three wars, are memorialized here. It is possible that these are cenotaphs and the exact whereabouts of the decedents within the cemetery is unknown.
John Thompson and William Thompson are both listed with birthdates of 1750 and death dates of 1826, and with notice of service in the Continental Line, Revolutionary War.
William Thompson (1790-1872) – Captain, Johnson’s Company, Georgia Militia, War of 1812
Judith Price Thompson (1798-1840) – Wife of Captain William Thompson
Seaborn Jones Thompson (1827-1866) – Company H, 63rd Georgia Infantry, CSA
Joseph Maybank Jones (7 May 1804-5 January 1831) – Jones, a native of Liberty County, died near Louisville on his way home from the legislature in Milledgeville and was buried here.
Family of Owen (9 March 1806-27 January 1877) & Bdelia (11 March 1811-15 September 1884) McDermott . Fourteen more family members are buried here.
Seth Pierce (1756-1841) Revoultionary War Veteran & Obediah Pierce (1805-1884) – Cenotaph. Obediah’s three children are memorialzed, as well. His sons, Obediah, Jr., and John W. were Confederate soldiers, who appear to have died in service. His daughter, Susan Pierce Stevens, was buried in Cedar Hill Cemetery in Dawson, Georgia.
Sheffield Chapel was organized in 1854 with 20 members, including namesake Jack Sheffield, Sr. Three churches of varying construction housed the congregation from just after the Civil War until they merged with Haven United Methodist Church to form Haven Sheffield United Methodist Church in 1998. The last, built in 1969 and abandoned since the merger, was lost to arson in 2009. The cemetery is cited in some sources as Sheffield U. M. C. Cemetery and in others as Clayhole Cemetery, for its location in Clayhole Swamp.
Tile Grave Markers of Sheffield Cemetery
Sheltered by old-growth oaks, Sheffield Cemetery contains some of the most important surviving African-American vernacular grave markers in the region. Otherwise simple headstones were decorated with commercial tiles of various colors. (There are nine by my count). Some of the sides and bases feature the tile, as well, while the backs are exposed and feature the names of the decedents. They generally date to the 1930s and 1940s and were most likely created by a member of the congregation.
This is the most colorful of all the tile markers. The name for Mrs. Wite may be a misspelling of White. Such errors are common with homemade markers, in both black and white cemeteries. The first photo shows the marker in perspective.
This is the smallest of the markers.
Eroding text on the exposed concrete complicates identification.
This is the only stone not featuring the predominant mid-century commercial tile.
Lawson Markers
Most of the tiles have fallen off this marker.
There is also a marker for Prince Richardson (1877-27 January 1949), but I somehow overlooked it.
Other Headstones of Sheffield Cemetery
Besides the whimsical tile markers, a number of other significant markers and plots are located within Sheffield Cemetery. I’m sharing a small selection here.
The Sheffield family, who established the congregation in slavery days, are well represented.
Susan married John Sheffield in 1852.
Arnold was the son of John and Susan Sheffield. Chains carved on the grave may, or may not, indicate he was born into slavery, as were all (or nearly all) those buried here who were born before the end of the Civil War. Sometimes, actual chains were placed within the concrete of the graves and some scholars suggest that broken chains indicate that the decedents were freed. This is not employed in all cemeteries but the chains speak for themselves, even for those who lived long after Emancipation.
Birthdates of African-Americans, even long after the end of slavery, were often unknown.
This is a foot stone, placed before a more formal marker was added.
Atkinson Enclosure
The Atkinsons were successful small farmers, like many members of Sheffield Chapel.
One of the earliest documented European cemeteries in Georgia, Darien’s Old City Cemetery is all but gone today. The Highland Scots who first settled Darien’s predecessor, New Inverness, were buried here. The only preserved section of the cemetery contains the crypts of two Loyalists, enclosed in a brick and stone fence. Other earlier known burials were: Hugh Clark, John Cunningham, Donald Fraser, John Grant, Major Elisha B. Hopkins, James MacKay, Archibald McBean, Alexander McDonald, Lt. Colonel William McIntosh, Thomas McKenzie, Angus McLean, Donald McLeod, Hugh Morrison, Alexander Munro, Alexander Murray, David Stewart, Robert Sutherland, Colonel Abitha Thomas.
The two visible crypts contain the remains of John Cunningham [1767-22 June 1806] and his sister, Margaret Cunningham Pearis [1775-18 April 1805]. Margaret was the wife of South Carolina Loyalist Richard Pearis. John and Margaret’s father, Brigadier General Robert Cunningham, was exiled to Nassau, Bahamas and received a land grant from the King for his loyalty. He was well-known in the Bahamas and died there in 1813.
Though largely forgotten today, the story of Anjette Lyles and her morbid crime spree was one of the most sensational in 20th-century Georgia. Lyles was born Anjette Donovan in 1925 to a relatively prosperous family. She married Ben Lyles in 1947 and soon after the birth of the couple’s first daughter, Marcia, went to work in the Lyles family’s popular downtown Macon restaurant with Ben’s mother, Julia. Ben, a veteran of World War II, apparently had a drinking and gambling problem and sold the restaurant far below market value in 1951 to pay off a gambling debt. Anjette, who had recently given birth to the couple’s second daughter, Carla, was furious that Ben hadn’t consulted her before the sale. Ben suddenly fell ill in December 1951. Doctors at the Veterans Administration ran a battery of tests but were unable to determine the cause of his sickness. He never recovered and died on 25 January 1952. After his death, Anjette moved in with her parents while learning the ins-and-outs of the restaurant business and saving money. She bought back the Lyles Restaurant in 1955 and renamed it “Anjette’s”. It quickly became one of Macon’s most popular eateries. She hired her mother-in-law, Julia, to help bring back some of the old Lyles customers.
In July 1955, Anjette went on a vacation with one of the restaurants new regulars, pilot Joe Neal [Buddy] Gabbert and upon their return to Macon, many were shocked to learn that they had been married on the trip. Rumors began to circulate almost immediately, as Buddy was gone most of the time. It didn’t help that Anjette was a big flirt and was known to dabble in “black magic”. Restaurant staff reported that she had been seen whispering to black candles when she thought no one was around. In October 1955, Buddy went to the hospital for a minor operation on his wrist. When he returned home to convalesce, he developed a fever and a rash which spread over his body. Doctors were at a loss as to explain the origin of the rash and after his condition continued to deteriorate, he died on 2 December 1955. Shortly after Buddy’s death, Anjette changed her name back to Lyles and bought a house and new car with the insurance settlement. This raised eyebrows in Macon. Julia Lyles moved in with Anjette to be with her grandchildren but the women did not get along well. Anjette wanted Julia to make a will but Julia refused. In 1957, Julia became ill and was hospitalized, dying on 29 September 1957.
In March 1958, Marcia became violently sick at the restaurant and people in Macon began to be suspicious about Anjette. Marcia remained hospitalized with hallucinations and failing kidneys. She died on 4 April 1958. A coroner’s inquest initially found no indication of foul play but an anonymous letter from a restaurant employee suggested that Anjette had kept ant poison on hand and perhaps this should be investigated. The ant poison contained arsenic and this led the coroner to order the exhumation of the prior victims, who all showed signs of arsenic poisoning. A month after Marcia’s death, while Anjette was in the hospital for varicose veins, she was arrested and charged with the murders of both her husbands, her mother-in-law, and Marcia. Her trial in October 1958 was a media frenzy. She was found guilty and sentenced to death but Governor Ernest Vandiver, unwilling to be responsible for executing a white woman, had her declared insane and placed in Central State Hospital in Milledgeville, where she died in 1977.
Ironically, she was buried alongside Marcia and Ben, in the Donovan family plot at Coleman’s Chapel United Methodist Church cemetery near Wadley.
Jaclyn Weldon White’s Whisper to the Black Candle is the most comprehensive book on the subject to date.
Located in the historic Mentionville community near Cathead Creek, the Upper Mill Cemetery was originally known as the Presbyterian Cemetery. As well as prominent early white settlers of Darien, including William Carnochan and Henry Todd, many of the community’s most important African-Americans are buried here. It has come to be known as the Upper Mill Cemetery for the neighborhood’s association with the Upper Mill Sawmill, owned by the Mention family in the 19th century.
The memorial to George is quite interesting. [As was often the case with early African-Americans, no surname is known; being a free person he did not assume the name of his employer as did slaves]. The man who placed it, Dr. John Champneys Tunno, once owned Champneys Island [then known as Tunno or Tunno’s Island]. It reads: This stone is here placed by J. C. Tunno as a grateful appreciation of his attachment to George, a free person of color who died in his service in Darien, June 26, 1822 aged 25 years. Having possessed the advantages of decent competence and a good education. His humble, unassuming and correct deportment gained him the approbation and secured him the good will of every liberal person under whose notice he chanced to fall. And in no heart perhaps was gratitude ever so strong. It’s a bit confusing as to why a “free person of color” died in “service” to someone.
This brick enclosure contains the remains of Armand LeFils, Sr. (1790-?) and family. A native of Paris, LeFils married Sarah Fox (1796-1856) and served on the county board, presumably as Secretary and Tax Collector.
The LeFils plot is one of the most historic in the cemetery, but is beginning to need preservation.
Several large Chestunut Oaks (Quercus prinus) can be found throughout the cemetery and are very colorful in autumn.
The mausoleum of Henry Todd (10 August 1813-1 May 1886) and Mary Ann Cardone Todd (20 January 1826-27 May 1887) is the most significant monument in Upper Mill Cemetery, befitting the wealth of Mr. Todd. Henry Todd was a leading citizen of Darien during the port’s prosperous timber era.
Born in Fernandina, he came to Darien as a “free man of color” and established the San Savilla Union Steam Saw Mill. Some confusion as to Todd’s race has arisen over the years. He’s thought to have been of Minorcan ancestry, which was a common thread among early fishing families in Fernandina. Today, he wouldn’t be considered “black” but in the racial structure of that era, he was. He was a member of the white Presbyterian Church and was apparently embraced by both the white and black communities. He left money to white and black churches upon his death, as well as for the establishment of a black school. His obituary in the Atlanta Constitution noted: At the funeral of Henry Todd, a negro and ex-slave of Darien, Ga., some of the wealthiest white men of the place acted as pall-bearers. He died worth $125,000. He left much of it to local schools and churches.
Reverend William H. Rogers, about whom I can locate very little information, was obviously another Darienite respected by both the white and black communities. He was African-American but elected to the Georgia legislature. To say that this was highly unusual in post-Reconstruction Jim Crow Georgia is an understatement.
Robert G. Cuthbert (3 September 1936-7 Feruary 1969). This is one of several headstones decorated with commercial bathroom tile, a folk embellishment somewhat common in African-American headstones in the mid-20th century.
Pfeffer Headstone (1860s). I presume the Pfeffers were German or Austro-Hungarian immigrants, as the headstone is in German.
Unknown Confederate Veteran
Sadie McGuinley (1872-10 April 1885)
Ann Jones (?-19 October 1822). This is one of just a handful of typical early-19th-century headstones in the cemetery. Considering the age of the cemetery, and the fact that the Presbyterians were among the most prominent early Darienites, one could assume that many have been lost over time.
William Bradley (20 July 1811-30 November 1832)
Huntington Family Plot, Victorian fence detail, 1870s.
The only history I can locate regarding this historic church was written by Sarah Waller McCleskey circa 1951. She did note that since the records of the congregation have been lost or misplaced over time she was unable to authenticate dates. What follows is abridged from her history.
A congregation first met here in a brush arbor and then a church known as Piney Grove Meeting House. Upon construction of the present structure in 1790, it became known as Smyrna Methodist Church. It is believed to be the second oldest Methodist congregation in Georgia. Bishop Francis Asbury reportedly preached here while the church was under construction. [Mrs. McCleskey’s account states that the construction date of 1790 “is attested by the foundation, which is constructed of hewn sills joined with wooden pegs”. Though it is an indicator of an era of construction, it is not a definitive way to accurately date the structure, which I believe to be of 19th century origin.]
While Mrs. McCleskey wrote that some gravesites “show the marks of time to such an extent that that the names on the markers are scarcely legible”, I only saw memorials from the late 19th and the 20th centuries. I wish I’d had time to explore further because it is a delightful spot.
John Abbot was one of the most important naturalists and artists working in early America, but because he generally eschewed publication and most of his work was only available to wealthy patrons and collectors, he has not been as appreciated as other notables of his era, including Alexander Wilson and John James Audubon. Credit is due the Georgia Historical Society for commissioning a delightful memorial marking Abbot’s burial place, installed at the old McElveen Family Cemetery in Bulloch County. Publication of a collection of his ornithological paintings, John Abbot’s Birds of Georgia, by the Beehive Press in 1997, has done much to advance his reputation.
Born in London in 1751 to James and Ann Abbot, John was influenced from an early age by the impressive art collection of his lawyer father. Though the elder Abbot expected his son to read law, he also encouraged his interest in art and natural history, hiring the noted engraver Jacob Bonneau to instruct him. In his late teens, John Abbot clerked for his father’s law office but was far too distracted by his passion for natural history and art to give it serious consideration as a career.
He set out for Virginia aboard the Royal Exchange in 1773 and upon arrival resided briefly with Parke & Mary Goodall. By 1775 rising unrest in the colony prompted Abbot to leave, settling with Parke Goodall’s cousin William and his family in St. George Parish, Georgia (present-day Burke County). Sometime during the Revolutionary period he married a young woman named Sarah (maiden name unknown) and their son John, Jr., was born around 1779. During this time Abbot was actively collecting and illustrating Georgia’s insects and a large number were acquired by Sir James Edward Smith, founder of London’s Linnaean Society. Smith commissioned hand-colored engravings of the original Georgia watercolors and published them in 1797 as the Natural History of the Rarer Lepidopterous Insects of Georgia Collected from Observations by John Abbot. It is considered the first major publication devoted to American entomology.
Spicebush Swallowtail on Sassafras, John Abbot, from the Natural History…, 1797. Public Domain Image.
The Abbots remained in Burke County, where John likely taught at Waynesboro’s Burke County Academy, until moving to Savannah in 1806. He was often in transit throughout the central Savannah River area in pursuit of specimens and new material. Sarah’s death in 1817 sent Abbot into a deep state of grief and poor health consumed him for at least two years, during which he was inactive. He finally settled in Bulloch County in 1818 and resumed collecting and drawing for patrons. He lived out his last years on the property of his friend William E. McElveen. His exact date of death is unknown, but thought to be 1839 or 1840.
In what has to be some of the most inspiring language on any memorial in the state, the Georgia Historical Society notes of John Abbot: Talented artist and searching naturalist of birds and insects. – As a tribute to him and his work may you who stand here find pleasure in protecting the natural beauty of Georgia. – John Abbot lies buried in this woodland cemetery because of his love of nature and his long friendship with the McElveen family.