Tag Archives: Georgia Grave Houses

Criswell Grave House, Wilkinson County

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Gravestones in a cemetery with inscriptions for J.P. Criswell, James P. Criswell, and Georgian Criswell, surrounded by a rustic wooden fence and artificial flowers.

Mount Carmel Primitive Baptist Church, which no longer exists, was established in the 1840s near present-day McIntyre. It was a large community in its early days. The church, and the old Mount Carmel School, are long gone, but the historic cemetery is an important link to the early history of Wilkinson County.

A weathered wooden grave house with a gabled roof, surrounded by a picket fence, located in a graveyard with several headstones in the background.

The Criswell family were pioneer settlers of the area and the grave house of James P. Criswell (1842-1927), his first wife Georgian Shinholster Criswell (1847-1873), and an infant son (1872-1872), is a notable memorial at Mount Carmel. James and Georgian had another son, born in 1870. James P. Criswell enlisted as a private in Co. A, 49th Georgia Infantry, on 4 March 1862. He was soon discharged and on 15 August 1862 furnished James J. Howell as a substitute. Records indicate he re-enlisted in Co. D, 63rd Georgia Infantry on 29 January 1864. After Georgian’s death, Criswell married Celia Jane Billings (1846-1926), with whom he had seven more children.

Coker Grave House, Stewart County

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John & Mrs. Coker’s Baby, 1900 – Red Hill Christian Church Cemetery

I never get tired of finding grave houses. Though they’ve been around nearly as long as human history itself, in one form or another, most of the examples I’ve found in Georgia have a decidedly Victorian appearance, like this one in Stewart County’s historic Red Hill Christian Church Cemetery. Elements of the grave house have probably been restored or replaced, as is often the case with these curious monuments.

The simple ledger stone that marks this burial reads: John & Mrs. Coker’s Baby – 1900. Presumably, the child died in infancy. Mr. Coker’s obituary in the Stewart-Webster Journal, 25 March 1943, notes that John Martin Coker (1866-1943) had lived in or near Richland most of his life, and was well known as a miller.. He was in charge of the Usher mill near Lumpkin for a long period and for many years operated the Richland gin. He had been a member of the Christian Church for more than fifty years. Mrs. Coker was Fannie Coker, but that is about all I’ve learned about her.

Mary Carter Grave House, Berrien County

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Mary Susan Knight Carter (1867-1887) was the first wife of John Samuel Carter (25 May 1859-9 February 1941). Mr. Carter remarried, but paid tribute to his young bride with this Victorian grave house.

It’s located just past the entrance arch at historic Pleasant Cemetery, which is associated with Pleasant Primitive Baptist Church. It’s a beautiful location, as cemeteries go.

The grave house is typical of the era. It has obviously been restored or rebuilt, but done with attention to every detail.

Youngblood Grave House, 1890s, Wilkinson County

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This grave house covers the final resting places of Peter Youngblood [28 November 1828-30 March 1894] and Adeline “Lidda” Temples Youngblood [8 February 1826-28 June 1890] and is the most prominent structure in the Youngblood-Cranford Family Cemetery, which only contains two more graves. Mr. Youngblood was a Confederate veteran, serving in Co. K of the 57th Georgia Infantry. I suspect he built the grave house after his wife’s death.

Bud Merritt writes: There was a log house associated with it that we remember being disassembled and moved. Eugene Moore adds: I think this is on the Parker Place. Mr. Claude and Mrs. Willie Parker lived there. Mr.Claude farmed and had the best watermelons ever.

The Youngbloods did not have any children. The other two burials, to the right of the grave house [above] may have been cousins or even neighbors. They are Elizabeth Cranford [?-22 November 1906] and James Nelson [birth and death dates unknown].

Garland Grave Houses, Hancock County

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These grave houses, which I photographed at Mt. Hope Methodist cemetery in Hancock County in 2010, are still among my favorites. Sadly, they were in poor condition and were gone by 2016. They protected the final resting place of James M. Garland (31 March 1827-19 May 1912) & Mary E. Garland (10 September 1836-9 November 1888) and though they are difficult to date, were likely placed around the time of Mr. Garland’s death in 1912.

Grave houses may be as old as architecture itself, as a protection for the deceased. There are myriad forms scattered throughout North America and they were widely used by Native peoples; in the South they are more common in mountain communities than elsewhere. The Garland grave houses are of the framed picket variety, similar to fencing.

It’s amazing to think that these lasted for a century. As with most examples made of wood, they are quite vulnerable to the elements. The first ones I ever saw, at the Dickson Cemetery in my home county of Ben Hill, were very elaborate and sadly, by the time I wanted to photograph them, they were already lost. If you see any or know of any, please share them with me.

Update: As of 2016, the grave houses have been removed.

Allen Grave House, Eudora

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One of the best surviving grave houses I’ve found in Georgia is the final resting place of two pioneers of the nearly forgotten Eudora community, John Ashbury Allen (11 January 1815 – 5 October 1891), and Nancy Goodman Crawford Allen (6 September 1816 – 30 May 1882). The Allen family were involved in farming and also owned a store and ran the post office in Eudora at one time, I believe.

NOTE: The Allen Family Cemetery is private and can only be seen from the roadside.

McCants Grave Houses, Taylor County

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Union Methodist Church Cemetery/Hays Campground Cemetery is located across the road from the Union United Methodist Church, though its history predates the congregation there. The cemetery contains the remains of the original settler of this section of what was then Talbot County, Jeremiah C. McCants (1808-1866), a native of South Carolina who founded the nearby crossroads community (now known as Jarrell) and also gave land, with Robert P. Hays (Hayes) in 1840 for the construction of a church and use as a cemetery. Union Church was originally used by both Baptists and Methodists. The Hays Campground, complete with tabernacle and tents, was also active here in the late 1800s but all remnants of the structures are gone. While extremely historic on the merits of its connection to the early history of Talbot County [this area became a part of Taylor County in 1852], it is most noted today for its antebellum wooden grave houses, covering the burial places of numerous area pioneers. It is believed that they are contemporary with the burials. All are constructed of pine and feature shake shingle roofs.

One shelter covers the grave of William George D. McCants, who died at just over a month old (3 April 1847-11 May 1847). The adjacent shelter is that of George R. McCants (8 July 1808-24 May1850), a brother to Jeremiah C. McCants].

This curious shelter, located in front of the more formal structures, marks a McCants burial, but I’m not sure which one.

Andrew Wood notes: This is my family! The stone at the left is my 5x great grandmother Sarah Black Hamilton McCants and the shelters cover the graves of two of her sons. She was born in Ireland to Dutch parents in 1765, settled on the Georgia frontier as a widow with 15 children before 1830 and lived to be 93!

National Register of Historic Places

Mercer Grave Houses, Candler County

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A wooden grave shelter, surrounded by a white picket fence, located in a cemetery with gravestones and trees in the background.

These grave houses, located at Salem Baptist Church Cemetery, mark the final resting places of Clemons* Mercer (1832-1881) and Jane Elizabeth “Janie” Johnson Mercer (1835-1880). Clemons Mercer served in the Third Seminole War in Florida and contracted malaria there in 1856, which he never completely recovered from. He was later a lieutenant in the Emanuel County Militia (Captain Moring’s Company) during the Atlanta Campaign in the Civil War. Janie Mercer bore him 11 children, all of whom lived to adulthood.

Gary Lee writes: Local lore is that it was raining the day of her burial and her husband promised that another raindrop would never touch her grave. Her family actually rebuilt these a few years ago. Also near her are two of her sisters, Hattie and Adeline who were married to twin brothers, George Washington Lee and Henry Clay Lee who gave the land and the materials for the church.

*also recorded as Clemmons Mercer

Seminole Chickee Grave Shelter, Ware County

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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.

Mt. Hope Methodist Church, Circa 1840, Hancock County

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This is located just north of Warthen.