Welcome to the online tour of Southern Cemetery: More Tales & Tombstones. I’m delighted that you’re here.
So, About Me
Hi! I’m Jennifer. She/her.
Born and raised in rural Georgia turned Athens resident for over 15 years. Currently office manager for Flagpole Magazine, a baker for The Daily Groceries Co-Op, companion to one cool dude and 6 rescue critters, and a huge supporter of literacy, libraries and human/animal rights.
Thanks to the many old cemetery visits in my youth for Homecoming and the like, it feels like I’ve loved funerary art for just about forever.
I’ve spent a good deal of time exploring nearby states and documenting my finds, and I’m pretty sure positive that I’ve moved into the realm of full-fledged taphophile. Definition: someone who visits cemeteries because they have a specific interest or hobby that isn’t affiliated with traditional mourning practices. In other words, I will often visit cemeteries and I won’t know a single soul there!
I like to explore these sites for a variety of reasons – funerary art & sculptures, interesting epitaphs, ghost stories & odd history, interesting characters/people, vernacular works, Victorian Era finds, metal graves of cast iron & white bronze, and the list goes on. But that’s just me and there’s a world of other cemetery-centric interests. Folks might go for historical research or to update find-a-grave. Some go the conservation route such as mapping plots to protect these areas from land development, or going bird or critter watching in a quiet and protected area, or finding rare or native plants tucked against headstones. Oh, there any other number of pursuits! As you can see, there’s a lot to be had from exploring your local cemetery.
I’ve been interested in all of the things that are cemetery adjacent for many years before that – regional history, floriography, sculpture/design, green spaces, funerary symbolism, post-mortem photography, spiritualism, ghost stories, etc. There’s so much to dig up when it comes to the history of how humans bury the dead. (Bad pun but this one is in honor of my Dad who never missed a chance to say something silly like that. Miss you Dad.)
Currently, I’m studying gravestone care and I hope to eventually teach about the environmental friendly techniques one can use to clean and restore headstones/gravestones. I’ve also been a guest instructor and guest lecturer on all thing cemetery as well as floral symbolism, roadside attractions, etc. Oh, and meet me at FLUKE 2026 this year!
I like to balance the honoring of those who have passed while also acknowledging just how intriguing and sometimes odd it *gestures to a local cemetery/graveyard* all is. So whatever your interest is regarding funerary finds, I hope you’ll enjoy my work.
I will detail a bit more about the subject of most of the photos I have in the exhibit – the who, the what, the where – and provide direct links to my blog post or other websites (when available). My website and this blog are best viewed on a laptop just FYI…
The photos are currently not for sale but if you’d like to support me in some small way then please feel free to shop my booklets, photos and stickers on ETSY, and read about my southern cemetery travel adventures on the blog! Please give me a follow on the Instagram, eh? Or make a donation benefitting the library system, Historic Athens, Gospel Pilgrim Cemetery, Friends of Brooklyn Cemetery. I couldn’t do what I do without them.
And now, on with the show!
More Tales & Tombstones
Darien, Ga.
When Belle Hightower died in 1932 her grave was adorned with a unique and oddly proportioned angel headstone. Some say nah, odd doesn’t cut it and it was downright ugly. Other than that it seemed fairly innocuous and not at all spooky. That is until the ghost stories started to reach the ears of paranormal investigators.
Decades later the October 1999 Ghost Trackers Newsletter featured a story – Lee Holloway’s “Encounters at Evergreen Cemetery.” Holloway, a regular investigator and columnist focused on the paranormal scene in Florida, wrote about hauntings at Evergreen and coined the title ‘ugly angel’ for Belle’s gravestone. Supposedly, there were several mourners visiting the cemetery that were comforted by an apparition of a woman that appeared near the ‘ugly angel.’ No word on whether it was confirmed as Belle Hightower returning from ‘beyond’ but her grave appeared to be the epicenter for the spiritual experiences!
I personally find the angel to be very, very cool looking and not ugly at all! The little angels flitting about are less cherubic and more sprite-like, and definitely give a vibe of mischief.
Other other worldly phenomenon documented in this cemetery include the spirit of a young lady dressed in the color violet who roams the cemetery at all hours and then there’s a ghost who becomes someone’s phantasmic lover and boyfriend. Um, what? Visit Jaxlore to find out more about these stories.
Greenview Cemetery in Jacksonville, Fl.
‘The Spirit of Achievement’ is a memorial for Jesse Parker Williams and Cora Best Taylor Williams. Both Cora and the memorial itself have VERY interesting stories.
Jesse is best known as being a timber and railroad magnet and after his passing in 1913 his wife Cora inherited most everything in his expansive portfolio. That included the Georgia Florida Alabama Railroad which made Cora the first global female railroad president of such a large holding. Cora lived another 11 years after her husband, and during that time she became not only a successful businesswoman but a notable philanthropist to a number of organizations which are still operating to this day.
The memorial monument was created by American sculptor Daniel Chester French and American Beaux-Arts architect Henry Bacon. If those names seem somewhat familiar to you, it might be because in 1920 they were the artistic team behind the creation of the iconic Lincoln Memorial statue.
Westview Cemetery in Atlanta, Ga.
Nancy the Elephant. Moultrie, Ga.
A life-size baby elephant carving marks the resting place of circus creator and owner William Duggan, Sr. who died before he ever witnessed his circus actually come to fruition.
It’s said that Nancy, the real-life baby elephant he purchased for the show and who this piece is modeled after, followed him everywhere including to the hospital where Duggan Sr. died of unknown causes. Nancy’s whereabouts after Duggan’s death have never been confirmed but her stone version still stands at his gravesite.
Please note that the church on the property appears to be closed and that the cemetery is monitored by close neighbors.
The Richard’s mausoleum at Oakland Cemetery. A combination of Gothic and Romanesque architecture, this structure was built in 1889 from blue marble that eventually tinged reddish orange due to the dusty red Georgia clay upon which it sits.
Mausoleums – above ground structures built to house the deceased. In this case, the mausoleum is the final resting place of two people – Robert Richards and his wife Josephine Richards.
The historic Lott Cemetery in Waycross, Ga.
An angel with a finger touching their face is often a sign of silence, reverence and contemplation.
This white marble sculpture stands at the grave of a young woman and it’s obvious that the lovely figure carved in stone is mourning the loss of one so young…
Just look at the eyes here. There is a tiny half moon of stone pupil over the open space the iris. It really gives it a glimmer of life.
The wreath, when carved on gravestones or monoliths, has a lot of meanings. Eternity. Circle of life and death. Rebirth. And to gift one to the deceased is a symbol of peace and respect.
They’re very common funerary art symbols but I find that each one feels unique. This one was especially pretty to me!
Fairview Cemetery in Madison, Ga. I absolutely recommend this as a destination cemetery.
