Stephen Henry Bush, Sr. (28 October 1867-9 October 1916)
The memorial for Stephen Henry Bush, Sr., towering over his small family cemetery in the Bethany community of rural Baker County, is the nicest Woodmen of the World grave marker I’ve ever seen. The tree stump memorials were benefits of an insurance plan and one of this quality, with the custom sculpture in his likeness, would have been quite costly. Mr. Bush was first married to Malinda Mattie Kimbrel (6 May 1866-1 January 1894), with whom he had four children. After her death, he married Hortense Hudson (26 July 1878-1 June 1968), with whom he had six more children.
The Vilulah Cemetery has a nice selection of Victorian monuments. I’m sharing a few random examples.
James N. Bigbie (17 October 1826-25 June 1905)
James Bigbie was one of the founders of Vilulah, and served on the committee which chose the community’s unusual name. He lost an arm during service in the Mexican-American War.
J. E. Bigbie (4 February 1852-31 January 1891)
J. E. was the son of James N. and Louisa Jane Grant Bigbie. This stone was broken at one point and repaired with different material. The open hymnal is a variation on the more commonly seen open or closed Bible.
Ara Adna J. McClendon Bigbie (5 August 1860-27 November 1889)
The weeping willow is a well-loved Victorian cemetery icon, usually signifying sorrow and sadness.
Lilla Bigbie (9 December 1886-9 December 1886)
A lamb symbolizes the purity and innocence of youth and is pervasive in Victorian cemeteries, as infant and childhood deaths were quite common.
Elsie Lee Dawson (2 April 1891-15 April 1891)
The dove is among the most enduring Victorian cemetery symbols, and is said to be carrying the soul of the departed to Heaven when flying. In this case, it marks the passing of the infant daughter of J. J. and M. L. Dawson.
Frances S. Fuller (6 May 1807-19 March 1901)
I’ve not been able to identify this symbol. Dan Fogelson suggests…it might be peacock feathers…used to symbolize the resurrection and eternal life (male peacock grows new and more beautiful feathers year after year).
Mrs. E. R. S. Gilmer (7 August 1816-21 July 1916)
Mrs. Gilmer died just a few weeks before her 100th birthday. I’ve been unable to locate a first name for her but she was undoubtedly a beloved member of the Vilulah community.
Robert Edward Lee Ingram (birth and death dates unknown)
I believe this grave marking to be a memorial for the infant son of Robert Edward Lee Ingram (19 October 1865-22 September 1891), whose more formal headstone is located adjacent to this plot. The field stones were likely gathered nearby. The elder Ingram himself died at the age of 25, so I would guess this child was born and died sometime between 1885-1890.
I believe this congregation dates to the early 20th century. They discontinued services in 2015.
Ebenezer Cemetery
The historic cemetery at Ebenezer is typical of small rural congregations. A mix of vernacular and commercial stones are present. The disproportionate number of veterans buried here is notable, proof that this isolated community believed in service, even in an era when its members did not have equal rights. I think it speaks volumes to their character.
I’m sharing a few random examples in no particular order.
Wise Liberty (birth and death dates unknown)Maurene “Honey” Still (30 September 1917-9 September 2021)
Aunt Honey & Jesus Had a Good Thing Going- According to her obituary, Aunt Honey was a beloved member of Ebenezer from her youth until the church disbanded.
Joseph Williams, Private, US Army, World War II (30 August 1909-24 March 1967)Eddy Byrd Stringer, US Navy, (19 May 1922-31 May 2005)Reginald Grant, PFC, US Army (1951-3 August 2014)
This illustration [I will credit the artist if I can locate a name] depicts the old Union Primitive Baptist Church, a county landmark which stood near Colquitt until it was destroyed by a tornado and razed in 1995. The cemetery on the site of the church is known as Primitive Union for some reason. A memorial ensures the history of the congregation will be remembered for generations to come.
Narcissus Elizabeth Dixon Spooner (4 March 1828-6 August 1911), Primitive Union Cemetery
These austere Victorian memorials stand in stark contrast to the whimsical memorial for Kenn Blankenship, located a few lots away in Primitive Union Cemetery. They’re among the finest of their type in South Georgia. They sit atop pedestals and are life size; with the pedestals, they’re at least 8 feet in height. Mrs. Spooner holds her Bible, and Mr. Spooner wears a Masonic symbol near his waist.
Stephen Morrow Spooner (1 May 1823-14 October 1901), Primitive Union Cemetery
The Spooners were pioneers of the area and, obviously, very prominent citizens. The memorial for their son, Joseph James Spooner, at Olive Grove Cemetery in nearby Seminole County, is also among the finest in the region. [I’ll update with a view of Mr. and Mrs. Spooner in perspective as soon as possible].
I made a special trip to Primitive Union Cemetery in Miller County to see this unusual memorial. It’s an enduring tribute to a man who made a second career paying tribute to Elvis Presley.
Marion Kenneth “Kenn” Blankenship was born in 1940 to a West Virginia coal mining family, and after working for the Ohio State Highway Patrol, he changed careers and began working for Southern Bell. His new occupation brought him South, first to Florida, then to Bainbridge, and finally, Colquitt.
Music was initially a side gig, and in his early days in Southwest Georgia he played lead guitar for a country band known as East River Junction. He married Barbara Jones in 1978 and soon thereafter, he got out of the phone business. He and Barbara opened a restaurant and supper club in Bainbridge. Moving on from the restaurant business after a few successful years, the couple formed their own band and traveled all over the Southeast, working regularly. In the 1990s, Kenn began doing his Elvis tributes and they were wildly popular. He even bought three suits from the company that outfitted Elvis.
Kenn and Barbara Blankenship
Kenn passed away on 8 June 2009, but his love of performing and sharing his talents still brings joy at this unique memorial. The beautifully maintained gravesite invites reflection and will likely inspire people far into the future. In addition to the life-size “Elvis” and the bench featuring laser cut images of Kenn performing, there’s a concrete palm tree, and a guitar shaped stone, presumably the future resting place of Kenn’s fellow guitarist, Denzil Newbern.
The white marble angel in Olive Grove Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery marking the grave of Joseph James Spooner (19 July 1848-31 March 1929) and his first wife, Mary Jane Lane Spooner (2 March 1850-2 December 1914), is one of the finest examples of Victorian funerary art in rural Georgia. Mr. Spooner’s parents’ memorials in Union Primitive Baptist (aka Primitive Union Cemetery) in Miller County are also landmarks of statuary. [I’ll be sharing photos of them soon].
Olive Grove Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery
My presumption is that the angel was placed in 1914, after Mary Spooner’s death, to signify Mr. Spooner’s profound sadness over her loss. The monument is life-sized and makes quite the statement.
Cemeteries often hold mysteries, and there’s a good one in the Whitaker Hill-Harrison Cemetery, the final resting place of a woman who is said to have been a veteran of the Revolutionary War, Sibbiah Earl Blair. Sibbiah [also referenced as Sabbiah in some sources] Earl was the daughter of John Earl, who came to Screven County, Georgia, from North Carolina in 1760. She married William Blair (c.1740-c.1780) of Queensborough [now Louisville] at Jerusalem Church at Ebenezer, Effingham County, on 26 October 1771. Blair migrated to the Georgia colony with his father, James Blair, from Northern Ireland, circa 1770, and served with the Liberty Boys of St. George’s Parish [now Burke, Jefferson, and part of Screven County] as a Revolutionary soldier. William and Sibbiah had five children, Jane, William, Henry, Mary, and Martha. William died before the end of the war, whether in service or of other causes is not evident. He is believed to be buried at Whitaker Hill-Harrison Cemetery, but there is no marker, and considering that he died at Queensborough, he may have been moved from that location at some point.
The Whitaker Hill-Harrison Cemetery is located on the historic Post Road at the Brantley-Glynn county line, in an area identified on maps today as Popwellville. This was located in Wayne County until 1920, when Brantley County was created. There are no Whitakers to be found in this cemetery, so I’m presuming Whitaker Hill was an early plantation or place name.
The Blairs’ daughter Jane is the connection to this cemetery and to this section of Georgia, as she married Robert Stafford (1765-1829), also a Revolutionary soldier. Stafford most likely came to this area through land granted him for Revolutionary service. Birth and death dates for Jane Blair Stafford have not been confirmed, but she died after 1838. Other than the marker related to Sibbiah Blair and the Stafford markers, all other known burials date to the 20th and 21st centuries. [Note: The marker for Robert Stafford seems to be missing from the cemetery; there’s a photograph of it on Findagrave, but I couldn’t locate it].
Another mystery remains for me. The grave markers for Sibbiah Earl Blair and Jane Blair Stafford were placed by the Brunswick Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) in the early 20th century. For such a memorial, the DAR would have vetted the service records and genealogy. My presumption is that they concluded that Sibbiah Earl Blair assisted in the war effort in Screven County, after William’s death in 1780. Sibbiah must have moved to Wayne County to live with or near her daughter Jane.
Thanks to Cynthia Jennings for sharing some of the background information.
The Old Field Cemetery is a rural cemetery located a few miles from Fitzgerald which has fascinated me since I first photographed it in 2009. It contains a mixture of commercial and vernacular memorials, with several significant vernacular memorials, including the unusual Benton Family cross [pictured above]. Old Field Cemetery predates the establishment of Fitzgerald; the earliest identified burial [1861] is that of Archabald McInnis (4 July 1816-7 July 1861) with several other burials dating to the 1880s. At least one pioneer family of the Old Soldiers Colony of Fitzgerald, the Hallett Rathburn family, is also associated with the cemetery.
An interesting comment on the entry for Flora Ann Dixon McCall on Find a Grave fills in an important fact about potentially missing gravestones: Rumor has it (as recounted by Josie Mims McCall) that many McCall’s [sic] were buried in the Old Field Cemetery, however, a local man vandalized the cemetery and many of the grave stones were destroyed as he “cleaned” up the cemetery. He was upset that no one in the town of Fitzgerald helped him clean up the cemetery, after he placed an ad in the local paper to encourage all families to lend a hand, so he demolished most of it with a tractor during his “clean up.”
Vernacular Memorials of Old Field Cemetery
Cylindrical Memorial No. 1, Decedent Unknown
There are three cylindrical headstones in Old Field Cemetery. It’s an unusual form of grave marking that I’ve not encountered elsewhere .
Cylindrical Memorial No. 2, Decedent Unknown
All are made of poured concrete and two examples are ornamented by round stones placed on the ground beside them.
Cylindrical Memorial No. 3, Decedent Unknown
I don’t think these stones have any particular religious meaning but rather a practical one. I don’t believe they ever contained the names of the decedents and their identities may be lost to history.
Wooden Grave Marker, Decedent Unknown
Wooden markers were commonly used to mark graves in the past, especially in rural cemeteries. Wood is among the most vulnerable of all the materials used to mark graves and countless examples have been lost to the elements over time.
Benton Memorial, detail
The top left horizontal section of the Benton Memorial cross is actually signed by the maker, Jessie Morris. Morris may be responsible for several of the vernacular memorials in Old Field Cemetery. Signed vernacular stones are very rare.
Benton Memorial, detail
The top right horizontal section of the cross [see first photo in this article for an overall view] contains the words God Bless You All.
I cannot read the names of the Bentons buried here and have no idea if there’s a connection, but my father remembers two or three Benton brothers who lived in the general area in the 1950s. He recalls that they were bachelors and lived in a large old house on the Jacksonville Highway [U.S. 319] and were among the first people he knew of in Ben Hill County to grow and sell strawberries.
The original memorial marking the final resting place of Brinkley Bishop was surrounded by four cedar trees that have since been removed.
Brinkley Bishop (1811-1899), detail
It was replaced by a modern vernacular stone by his grandchildren.
There are quite a few simple vernacular memorials throughout the cemetery, like the two Hasty stones pictured above.
Baby Morris (birth and death dates unknown)
The headstone for Baby Morris features a butterfly and vine design. It possibly dates to the late 1930s, when considering the design of the Baby Beck memorial which is located nearby.
Baby Morris (June 1938)
I believe the two baby memorials may be the work of Jessie Morris, who made the cross for the Benton family.
Frank Cook (29 September 1870-4 April 1928)
The memorial for Frank Cook is a hybrid form commonly found in rural cemeteries. The headstone was poured into a mold and the lettering and shaking hands designs are created with stencils.
Commercial Memorials of Old Field Cemetery
John Sullivan (1842-?)
The headstone for Frank Sullivan notes that he was a Marine. It is in the government-issued style known as “Civil War” or “Recessed, or Sunken, Shield” and was in widespread use from the 1880s until at least the 1910s.
Alex M. McInnis (10 May 1881-31 July 1883)
The headstones for two of the six children of Daniel A. (15 December 1855-26 May 1906) and Elizabeth Tucker McInnis (14 February 1859-12 July 1934) are very common examples of one of the most popular commercial motifs of the Victorian era.
Mattie Thetis McInnis (4 July 1889-4 December 1893), detail
The lamb represents the Lord and also symbolizes innocence, hence its presence on numerous infant and toddler graves throughout the United States.
Mattie Thetis McInnis (4 July 1889-4 December 1893)
Infant and childhood deaths were common before the advent of modern medicine.
Cedar Grove is an historic African-American cemetery in Lumber City, across the highway from the white cemetery. It contains a mixture of vernacular and commercial markers. The headstone of Annie Comings is of a style I’ve rarely encountered, which is cruciform but also evokes a human figure or perhaps an angel.
Carrie W. White (18 August 1876-2 March 1941)
This memorial was originally in a “T” shape, which is a rare form, but not the first I’ve seen. Like most I’ve seen, it has broken over time.
Maggie [Surname unknown] – (?-1928)
This cruciform memorial is similar to that of Annie Comings but has broken over time. Sadly, the last name of Maggie has been lost.
Ned Martin (17 August 1849-8 April 1898)
This commercially made marble obelisk is unique in the cemetery. Mr. Martin’s date of birth would indicate that he was likely born into slavery.
Rachel Dailey (10 March 1853-19 December 1903)
The heart-shaped stone is a typical Victorian commercial theme. Ms. Dailey was also likely born enslaved.
Reverend Cornelia Boyd Williams (1904-1951)
Reverend Williams was a female evangelist, somewhat rare in her time.
The cemetery gate identifies those who administered and saw to the upkeep of the property. President, Albert Clements; Secretary, Gracie Quinn; Treasurer, Bessie Lee.
