Month: August 2005

Posted on

Folk Gravestones at Black Oak Cemetery, Dekalb County AL

I have family buried at Black Oak Cemetery in Dekalb County, and I was there last week to take pictures and get good dates for my genealogy projects.

Besides the usual markers….marble, granite…were these wonderful hand-made markers. This first one below is for John L.A. Brown – he was born September 19, 1800 and died October 19, 1818 (Alabama wasn’t even a state until 1819). His marker as well as some of the others feature this tree motif. What else this particular one includes is heart shapes, and a hand pointing up.

I have a friend whose relative passed away (just a couple of years ago), and their family members dug the grave themselves, with shovels, not machinery – not because they couldn’t afford to hire someone else to do it, but because they wanted to – as a kind of service in itself. I’m pretty sure you couldn’t do that at a big city cemetery, but this was beside a small country church.

The family members who made these monuments below decorated the gravestones by hand either because they couldn’t afford a professional stone, there was noone nearby to do the job, or because they felt it was their duty. In whatever case, these stones in particular seem so much more *real*.

John L.A. Brown 9.12.1800 - 10.19.1818, Black Oak Cemetery, Dekalb County AL
John L.A. Brown

To the Memory Of... Black Oak Cemetery, Dekalb County AL
To the Memory of…

Monument, Margaret ... Black Oak Cemetery, Dekalb County AL
Margaret

Joel T. Thacker Monument ... Black Oak Cemetery, Dekalb County AL
Joel T. Thacker

Son of Thacker ... Black Oak Cemetery, Dekalb County AL
Son of Thacker
Monument with Tree Design ... Black Oak Cemetery, Dekalb County AL
Tree design

Tree Motif ... Black Oak Cemetery, Dekalb County AL
Another…tree motif

Posted on

Laura Kelly Monument, Kosciusko MS

This pic of the Laura Kelly monument is from the Kosciusko City Cemetery in Kosciusko, MS.

Laura Kelly died in 1890, and her husband ordered a statue to be made in her likeness (incl. dressed in her wedding gown) from a sculptor in Italy. The Kelly’s home was under construction when she died, so Mr. Kelly instructed the builder to add a third story to the home so that he would be able to look out the window and see his wife’s monument.

Laura Kelly Monument, Kosciusko MS

Laura Kelly Monument

Posted on

Margaret’s Grocery, Just Outside Vicksburg MS

I was going through some of our old photos last week (scanning them in with my new fabulous Canon scanner) when I found these three pics that Av and I took back in 2000 of Margaret’s Grocery.

Last month, Av and I went by William C. Rice’s Cross Garden in Prattville AL (posted here), so to continue the series of roadside folkart religion…..

The store was actually built by Margaret’s husband, the Reverend H.D. Dennis. One of the more prominent signs states that, “All is Welcome Jews and Gentiles Here at Margaret’s Gro and Mkt and Bible Class”. Av and I didn’t stop in that day to meet Rev. Dennis, but we did take these (admittedly not-so-great) pics. Next time we’re in Vicksburg, we’ll take more pics – I also understand that the Rev. has added more pink squares since we last visited, and that they did a good deal of work after Sept. 11.

Margaret's Grocery, 2001, Just Outside Vicksburg MS

Margaret’s Grocery

Posted on

Covered Bridges of Blount County

Blount County has the most covered bridges still standing of any other county in Alabama – three. The same family, the Tidwells, built all of the Blount County bridges. I took these pics on black and white film about five years ago.

The Easley Bridge was built in 1927:

Easley Covered Bridge Entry, Blount County AL

Easley Bridge

Leading to Easley Covered Bridge, Blount County AL

Easley Bridge

The Horton Mill Bridge was built in 1935 and is the highest covered bridge built over water in the US. It was also the first Southern covered bridge to be listed with the National Register of Historic Places:

View Inside Horton Mill Covered Bridge, Blount County AL

Inside Horton Mill Bridge

Horton Mill Covered Bridge Span, Blount County AL

Horton Mill Bridge

Horton Mill Covered Bridge Entry, Blount County AL

Horton Mill Bridge

Horton Mill Covered Bridge Entry 2, Blount County AL

Horton Mill Bridge

Swann Bridge was built in 1933 and is the longest covered bridge surviving in Alabama:

Swann Covered Bridge Entrance, Blount County AL

Swann Bridge

Swann Covered Bridge Span, Blount County AL

Swann Bridge

Powered by WordPress.com.