This tombstone was new to me when I first saw it in 2013. I had no idea what it was made out of except that it was definitely not made of stone. What it was made out of was White Bronze Metal. There are groups on Facebook for the spotting and sharing of these markers because they are just so rare and interesting to find. These White Bronze markers were sold by a companies between 1870s and 1914. They were advertised as a sort of cheaper and standard way of ordering a monument while having the flexibility to order different parts when needed. In the example to the left, the metal plate that has words on it was replaceable. There are four sides and each one was able to be changed (such as when a second child died in this case). The monuments are extremely durable. As you can see there is very little rust. One other one in this cemetery even had a gun shot through it and was still fine. As you can see in this photo, the dates are clearly pre-monument making time periods. This is likely placed after the fact by family who now could suddenly afford placing a marker for their children. The end of the White Bronze marker making came because of WWI where many of the factories were taking over for the War Efforts to make critical equipment and supplies.
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On a recent hiking trip to locate what I thought would be an old site of an abandoned 1860's town, I found a hidden and forgotten cemetery. As I normally do when hiking, I have out an app on my phone called BillionGraves. I do this not to necessarily document cemeteries but to locate them. I knew I was fairly close and started walking through an old gated access road. It said I was in the middle of it. I looked more closely and sure enough, there were tombstones. The underbrush was so thick I could barely see it. But as I explored, parts of the cemetery which was once over 1500 graves, opened up to reveal a hidden beauty set on the banks of the Wheeler Wildlife Reserve. In this cemetery, the latest burial was 2006 that I found and so I stood baffled and confused. 1500 bodies. Grandparents and great grandparents that are just forgotten. Left.... as recently as 7 years ago. But as always, I find some wonder and beauty in my bewilderment. The photo above shows a gigantic pristine tree, showing me just how old this cemetery really is, and how beautiful it must have once been. There are days where some of these things don't makes sense for me but I know that life goes on for the living and it isn't always possible to keep the dead "alive" so to speak. In my Adventures in Genealogy, I've tried to keep even just a small portion of it alive in my photographs. I've enjoyed my Adventures in Genealogy, and I hope you do as well! ~ Wow! I took my trip this last weekend and boy was I so not prepared. I was able to go to most of the places I wanted to but was not able to utilize the resources as much as I could have. What I did do a lot of however, was find burials. High up on my list was "visit graves". Most of the Cemeteries in this county are not indexed or photographed so one of my main goals was to do that. That's exactly what I was able to accomplish. Since I took a long weekend, I made it a point to visit several a day. There are so many, though, that I was not able to go to all the places where I have ancestors buried. Maybe next time. News on the website : You may notice a bunch of changes. The website has grown so much with information that I felt it was too complicated to navigate. I simplified and lightened it. If you have missing relatives from the 1800's in Perry County, Alabama, please do take a look at the stones from the three cemeteries that I visited while there. You can now find this link easily at the top of the page! In the mean time, take a look at this tombstone I found at Old Cahawba, Dallas County, Alabama. Have a great day and enjoy your Adventures in Genealogy!! A long forgotten cemetery in a neighboring town. While the town it resides in is listed as a historical village, and is on the national register, the property that the cemetery is on belongs to the Tennessee Valley Authority. When first purchased, about half o the the 2500 (some estimates are between 2500-8,000) graves were relocated. Only a handful of them documented. Deeply overgrown and unkempt, this historical cemetery of "The first town in Alabama" is left to it's own accounts. The residents in the historical town, some 20 or so people, pay no attention. Historical Committees have large waiting lists of obligations with very little funding. At one time this cemetery, about 8 acres or so, was a beautiful setting overlooking a grassy field and bustling river of merchant boats. At high water levels, the lower portions of this cemetery are submerged. Many of the stones are broken, buried and scattered about the property.
There are many stories like this across the country. Join a preservation society near you and help preserve our ancestor's final resting places. I'm starting a new Blog idea today, it came to me when I was thinking about trying to keep a theme to my blog. While I'm a bouncer (jumping around) sometimes I need a little more focus. So for each day of the week I will make it a theme. I've decided that Tuesdays are Tombstones day. So it begins..... What a better way to start my post than with the tombstone of the brother who should have been shot instead of his twin at the Perry County, Alabama Courthouse. Interesting story - but we have no evidence. It's been a new focus lately - to uncover the truth. True or false. So here lies Jasper J and Rosa B Duke. (While their names were more often than not spelled Jasper Gerome and Rosannah we'll let them remain.) You can read more about Jasper and his twin brother Newton on both the Duke family Genealogy page and also the Civil War Family page. Jasper and Rosannah are buried at Mineral Springs Cemetery, Lincoln Parish, Louisiana. |
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AuthorMichele is an obsessed mother of 4 residing in North Alabama. Hobbies include long walks in the woods, on the beach and in strange cemeteries and libraries. Genealogy friends need only apply. Categories
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