MY RIVERSIDE CEMETERY TOMBSTONE
INSCRIPTIONS SCRAPBOOK
By Jonathan K. T. Smith
Copyright, Jonathan K. T. Smith, 1992
NOTES BY LOT
CHAPPELL LOT, NO. 226
JOEL R. CHAPPELL
Born/Feb. 26, 1819
Died/Feb. 20, 1876
Inscribed on the south aide at this stone, within a Masonic emblem is this "Erected by the Masons of Jackson, Tenn. " Meaning, of course, that this tombstone was raised by Chappell's Masonic brethren.
THE JACKSON SUN, Feb. 25, 1876:
Died. Joel R. Chappell, born in Halifax Co., Va., Feb. 26, 1819; died Feb. 21, 1876; came to Jackson, 1836; a Mason since age 21. Md. Oldest sister of P. D. W. Conger. Madison Co. Register of Deeds, 1866-1870; chairman of the county court, 1871. Baptized, Baptist Ch., 1845.
MATTIE CHAPPELL
Wife of
Charles NELSON
July 13, 1846-Oct. 13, 1898
Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.
T. BETTIE
Wife of
J. R. HURT &
Dau. of J. R. & A. CHAPPELL
Born/Sept. 11, 1840
Died/Feb. 12, 1862
From A GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF THE CHAPPELL, DICKIE AND OTHER KINDRED FAMILIES OF VIRGINIA, by Phil E. Chappell (Kansas City, 1900), pages 226-229:
Joel R. Chappell was the son of Robert Chappell and Tabitha Light Chappell. RC's dates 1774-1847. Joel Chappell married Arabella Conger in 1839; of their several children: Tabitha E. married John R. Hurt; Claudia; Martha A. married Charles Nelson, died Oct. 13, 1898; William P.; Mary Narcissa, married George Lannom; Sterling Price Chappell.
John E. Hurt and Tabitha Elizabeth (Bettie)Chappell were married June 21, 1860.
The 1937 copyist noted presence of another stone, now missing:
Nannie E., daughter of J. R. and T. E. Hurt, died July 9. 1862.
J. RUSSELL LOT, NO. 165
JESSE RUSSELL, SR.
Born Mar. 10, 1803
Died Oct. 30, 1659
NANCY D.
Wife of J. RUSSELL
Darn Apr. 13, 1806
Died Dec. 30, 1872
Jesse Russell came to Jackson from Greensboro, North Carolina, January 1, 1822, and, in the year 1823 married a daughter of Major Charles Sevier, his being the first marriage that occurred in Jackson. Their son, Robert S., whose birth was in the same year, is said to have been the first male child who was born of permanent settlers of Jackson. — Jay Guy Ciaco, 1902
TRIBUNE AND SUN, Jackson, March 27, 1879. Captain Jesse Russell (a painter) "pitched his tent in Jackson in January, 1823."
SCURLOCK LOT, NO. 331
Timothy P. Scurlock bought this lot and possibly lot 332 from Samuel Lancaster for one dollar, August 23, 1856 (deed recorded Jan. 15, 1858); it was by the numbering system of the cemetery at that time, no. 59, on the northern tier of the new cemetery. (Madison Co. Deed Book 20, page 241) The SW border stone of this lot has an artistic S incised upon it.
There are tombstones to the number of three on this Scurlock lot. That lovely relic on the far SW corner, shaped as a prie-dieu, with open Bible, is probably that of MARTHA ELIZA SCURLOCK, daughter of T. P. and Ann Scurlock, who died May 30, 1860 at age 12. The death date May 30 seems very clear to me. I cannot read the rest of the inscription. The middle stone appears to be that of TIMOTHY P. SCURLOCK, whose name is incised in horseshoe fashion on the stone, with what appears to be 20, 1867, with May definite the death month. A long epitaph I. located below the name, unreadable. The third stone's face has almost completely gone, a rectangular upright. It was probably the first stone on this lot. There appears no stone to the memory of ANN H. SCURLOCK, wife of T. P. Scurlock, who died May 12, 1862, aged 56, according to St. Lukes burial register, which has her burial at Riverside.
ANN HUNTSMAN was married in Madison County, December 22, 1840, to Timothy P. Scurlock. She was apparently a daughter of ADAM HUNTSMAN (Feb. 11, 1786-August 23, 1849), native of Charlotte Co., Va. and his first wife. SARAN WESLEY QUARLES, who died in Oct. 1825. Huntsman served several terms in the Tenn. Senate, from 1827-1831 for Madison County, et al.; was a member of the Constitutional Convention, 1834; served in Congress, 1835-1837; a colorful political figure of his time. Buried in Old Salem Cemetery near Jackson, with his three wives. He married, secondly, to Elizabeth Todd, 1829, and then to Nancy ?, who survived him. (See. BIOGRAPHICAL DIRECTORY OF THE TENNESSEE GENERAL ASSENSLY, volume I, edited by Robert M. McBride (Nashville, 1975) pages 292-293.)
* * * * *
On Sunday, March 22, 1992, I copied these inscriptions from tombstones in Old Salem Cemetery near Jackson:
Reading from south to north:
In memory of ELIZABETH
wife of Adam HUNTSMAN
Died 9th Jan. 1843
aged 33 Years
In memory of SARAN W.
wife of Adam HUNTSMAN
Died Oct. 1825
aged 33 years
(No day of death inscribed on this stone)
ADAM HUNTSMAN
Born Feb. 11, 1786
Died Aug. 23, 1849
Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy.
NANCY
third wife of Adam HUNTSMAN
Died Dec. 4. 185*
aged 69 years
A fine effort was made some years ago to clear, clean, fence-in this historic burial ground but vandalism and the natural elements have undone much of this restoration. Some of the most beautiful emblems on tombstones to be found in west Tennessee are still seen here.
* * * * *
The LWT of Timothy P. Scurlock appears to have been drawn up for him in his last illness, May 2, 1867. The date appears twice in the original LWT, with May 2 then a / and then 1867. As below:
Buried on the south slope near Riverside Drive with a tombstone:
To
the memory of
SILAS
A GOOD &
faithful servant
He is not forgotten
by his attached
mistress
ANNE SCURLOCK
(Page 24)
CARTMELL LOT, NO. 330
AGE 87
ROBERT H. CARTMELL
Born July 27, 1828
Died Sept. 30, 1915
He lived long and served well as a lawyer, soldier, farmer and churchman.
Thou shalt cometh to thy grave in full age as a shock of corn cometh in his Season.
WILLIAM E.
youngest son of Martin & Jemima
A. Cartmell
Born Mar. 7, 1844
Was mortally wounded and died on the battlefield of Perryville, Ky. Oct. 7. 1862
A member of the 6th Tenn. Infantry
And we know not where they have laid him, we know that a tender link in the family chain is broken, and we will cherish his name and embalm it in our hearts forever.
MARY JANE
Wife of Robert H. Cartmell
and daughter of N. & E. Baldwin
Born in Richmond Co.. N.C. Sept. 21, 1831
Died May 31, 1865
Having faithfully performed her earthly mission, her pure spirit is gone to dwell in the bosom of her Redeemer. Neither can she die any more for she is equal unto the angels.
MARGARET HELEN
second daughter of Martin and Jemima A. (Sharp) Cartmell
Born April 17, 1835
Died Sept. 18, 1842
SARAH DEAN
oldest daughter of Martin and Margaret (Neil) Cartmell
Born Aug. 2, 1822
Died Mar. 21. 183'
"the countenance of a good man"
ROBERT H. CARTMELL, 1828-1915
I use this picture with the permission of Mrs. Camille Anderson Townes, of Jackson, Tenn.; widow of Robert Cartmell Townes, 1907-1971, who donated the Cartmell diaries to the TSLA in 1968. This picture is also in the Cartmell collection at the TSLA in Nashville. I also am grateful to Dr. Wayne C. Moore of the TSLA for his guidance in using manuscript collections in that depository. Mrs. Townes extended her permission to me on April 9, 1992, understanding also my expressed purpose in making brief quotations from the Cartmell diaries.
GOODSPEED'S HISTORY OF TENNESSEE (MADISON COUNTY EDITION, 1887), pages 850-851:
|
Robert H. Cartmell was born in Jackson, Tenn., July 27, 1828. His father, Martin Cartmell, was born in Virginia November 2, 1797, and came to Tennessee with his mother. At the age of eighteen he enlisted in Gen. Jackson's body guard, and served in the Georgia and Florida campaign against the Indians. He was married to Margaret Neill, of Wilson County, who died October 24, 1820, having borne two daughters, who are both dead. In 1827 the father married Miss J. A. Sharp, and the fruits of their union were three sons and two daughters, our subject being the eldest member of the family. The father was a saddler by trade and owned several large farms, one of which was the finest in the county. Besides this, lie owned a large number of slaves. He died at his home in Jackson July 4, 1864. The mother was born in Rutherford County in 1809, and is now living in Jackson. Robert H. Cartmell was raised in that town and graduated from the West Tennessee College. He served a short time in the Confederate Army, but was discharged, at Tupelo, Miss., on account of disability. March 27, 1850, he married Miss M. J. Baldwin, daughter of Alfred Baldwin, and their union resulted in the birth of eight children, four of whom are living: Lizzie, Gaston B., Robert H. and Harry Martin. Mrs. Cartmell was born in Richmond County, N.C., and died at her present home May 31, 1865. Our subject is an old line Jacksonian Democrat and a member of the K. of P. and old school Presbyterian Church. He owns 800 acres of land one mile from Jackson. |
H. W. McCORRY LOT, NO. 301
HENRY W. McCORRY
Co. C
19 Tenn. Cav
CSA
1845-1904
In his second diary, page 278, Robert H. Cartmell under February 25, 1863, that Henry W. McCorry, aged about fifty, had died the day before locally. "He was a kind hearted and clever man." So, Henry W. McCorry died Feb. 24, 1863. His LWT, executed Oct. 31, 1851 and proven after the war, in August 1865, mentions his children: Thomas. Henry, Mary and Corinna; two spinster sisters: Musidora and Ellen McCcorry. His age in the 1860 census was given as 47, born in Tennessee.
CORINNA A.
Wife of
H. W. McCORRY, Esq.
Born
Sept. 9, 1821
Died
June 19, 1850
(This tombstone is broken into two parts.)
Henry W. McCorry was married to Corinna A. Henderson, Dec. 11, 1836.
HISTORY OF TENNESSEE (Madison Co.), Goodspeed, 1887, page 885.
|
Judge Henry W. McCorry, attorney at law, of Jackson, Tenn., and native of Madison County, was born March 25, 1845; son of Henry W. and Corinna A. (Henderson) McCorry, natives respectively of Tennessee and North Carolina. Henry W. McCorry, Sr., was brought to West Tennessee about 1828 or 1829 by his father, Thomas McCorry, who was a large land owner in East and West Tennessee. He was one of the sterling pioneer citizens of the county, and was of Irish descent. Judge McCorry's maternal grandfather was the celebrated Col. Tom Henderson, of North Carolina. Our subject secured a good literary education in Madison County. He enlisted as a private in Company G, Col. Biffles' Ninth Tennessee Cavalry, and served from June, 1863, until 1865. After his return home he entered the Lebanon (Tenn.), Law School and graduated from the same in 1867. He began practicing in Jackson in 1867, and with S. Caruthers, Esq., continued until 1871. He and Gen. Campbell were then partners until 1874. In 1875 he was appointed judge of the common law and chancery court of Madison County, and filled this important office very satisfactorily until 1882, when he resigned to resume the practice of his profession, and has since been associated with C. G. Bond, Esq., in a large and lucrative practice. In 1885 he was appointed by President Cleveland, United States Attorney for West Tennessee, and is now holding that position. In December, 1868, he married Miss Lucy P. Cole, of Brownsville, Tenn. They have three sons and five daughters who are living. The Judge is a Democrat and has taken an active interest in local and national politics. He was a delegate to the convention at Chicago that nominated President Cleveland, and belongs to the K. of P. and I.O.O.F. fraternities. He is a judge and lawyer of experience and ability, and is one of the first citizens of Jackson. |
WILLIAM
Infant son of
CORINNA & H. W. McCORRY
Born
April 11, 1842
Died
April 18. 1845
LONG LOT, NO. 277
To
the memory of
My Husband
WILLIAM HARRISON LONG
Born in Richmond Co.,
North Carolina
August 18, 1803
Died in Madison
Co. Tennessee
May the 4, 1867
To
the memory
of
Our Mother
ELIZABETH JANE LONG
Born in Marlborough
County, S.C.
Nov. 28, 1805
Died in Jackson, Tenn.
Dec. 6, 1872
WHIG AND TRIBUNE, Jackson, Dec. 7, 1872.
Elizabeth Jane, widov of William H. Long, died Dec. 6; daughter of James and Elizabeth J. Pegues; born Marlborough S.C.; married June 30, 1826 and moved to Tenn. soon after.
To
the memory of
My Grandson
Jas. L. ELROD
Born
Nov. 25, 1855
Died
Oct. 11, 1856
Elizabeth Long had this stone erected for her grandson, who was named James Lyon Elrod at his baptism at St. Lukes, January 9, 1856. Other Long entries in this register: Rufus P. Long died May 18, 1858; Harriett A. Long married John G. Mann, June 25, 1860; William Harrison, s of W. H. and Elizabeth Long, baptized on Jan. 9, 1856.
RUFUS P.
LONG
Born
Dec. 25, 1834
Died
May 18, 1858
One tombstone:
ELIZA JANE
Wife of
John P. PRYOR
and eldest daughter of
H. W. & Elizabeth Long
Born
April 12, 1827
Died
August 8, 1846
Aged
19 yrs, 3 mos, 26 days
LAURA C. LONG
Born Oct. 23, 1844
Died April 7, 1846
Eliza Jane Long was married to John P. Pryor, August 19, 1845.
DOL(LY) VERNO(N)
(Wife of James ELROD
Daughter of W. H. &Elizabeth Long)
Born
June 22, 1836
Died
Jan. 15, 1856
Aged 19 ys, 6 mo, 23 ds
James Elrod and Dolly Vernon Long were married March 15, 1855.
One tombstone:
THOS. C. LONG
Born
Feb. 4, 1830
Died
Sep. 13, 1843
W. H. LONG
Born
Nov. 3, 1839
Died
Sep. 10, 1844
These Long family stones were difficult to read, but with proper cleaning. they yielded their data.
(Page 26)
CISCO LOT, NO. 440A
J. G. CISCO
Born Apr. 25, 1844
Died April 24, 1922
JAY G. CISCO, 76, died in Nashville, Tenn., April 24, 1922; had been U.S. Consul to Mexico; assistant industrial agent for L & N Railroad since about 1898; had four sons and two daughters, none of whom lived in Jackson. His body was returned for burial in Riverside Cemetery in Jackson, Tennessee. (THE COMMERCIAL APPEAL, April 25, 1922)
WHO'S WHO IN TENNESSEE, Memphis, 1911, page 409:
|
CISCO, Jay Guy, Assistant Industrial and Immigration Agent L. & N. Railroad; born New Orleans, La., April 25, 1844; son Louis Jerome and Laurette (Wezinski) Cisco; French descent; educated by private tutors; married Mildred Georgia Pursley January 30, 1870; appointed U.S. Consul to Mexico in 1888; four years in Confederate Army; Trans-Mississippi Department as a. scout; author of "Historic Sumner County, Tenn.;" "Counties and County Seats of Tennessee," "Public Men of Tennessee," "Tennessee Authors," "Rise and Fall of the State of Franklin;" last three now in MSS.; his paternal grandfather, Louis Ruperto Cisco, Marquis of Touchaire; maternal grandfather, Luis Wezinski, baron; after close of Civil War three years' repertorial work, then spent year in European travel; engaged in book and stationery business in Jackson, Tenn., until 1888. |
Cisco's caricature of
himself that appeared in
the FORKED DEER BLADE,
Jackson, Tenn., Jan. 8, 1888
T. HENDER5ON LOT, NO. 238
DR. WILLIAM EDWARD BUTLER
1790-1880
Founding Father
of
Jackson 1822
(metal marker: Jan. 22, 1790-Jan. 5, 1882; Surgeon. War of 1812)
His Wife,
MARTHA THOMPSON HAYS
WHIG AND TRIBUUE, Jackson, March 20, 1875:
|
WILLIAM EDWARD BUTLER Jackson is not yet old enough to have outlived one of the first two men who identified themselves with this part of West Tennessee, when the site of our city was a wilderness plantation. One of these men is Dr. William Edward Butler. |
DEMPSTER LOT, NO. 270W
[Lot 270-H in Tombstone Inscriptions]
G. DEMPSTER
Born in Scotland
July 1841
Died
June 1905
ALICE
Wife of
Gilbert DEMPSTER
1847-1917
In her Tennessee death certificate, Mrs. Alice Dempster is stated to have been born Feb. 10, 1847 and died May 20, 1917. Born in Glasgow, Scotland. Parents: John Kennedy and Elizabeth Shepherd Kennedy. Informant: Gilbert Dempster, Columbus, Ms.
1900 Census. Madison Co., Tenn. June 9:
GIlbert Dempster, machinist, b. July 1841, Scotland; entered U.S. 1871;
Alice E. Dempster, wife, b. 1846, Scotland; entered U.S. 1872;
Robert K. Dempster, son, b. Alabama, May 1873 (blacksmith);
Gilbert Dempster, son, b. Alabama, April 1877 (machinist);
Maggie Dempster, dau., b. Alabama, October 1881:
John A. Deapster, son, b. Alabama, July 1885;
Robert K. Dempster, brother, b. Scotland, Nov. 1843; entered U.S., 1871 (blacksmith)
(Page 27)
SOUTH SLOPE
Confederate Graves
[Lotss 427-A through 429-B in Tombstone Inscriptions]
Confederate Graves, Riverside
From Life, Lectures and Poetry of Egbert Haywood Osborne, St. Louis, Missouri, 1898, Page 36.
|
(BATTL)E OF BRITTON LANE |
|
It was with the keen assistance of Mr. Charles H. Richards of Jackson, a foremost authority on the Battle of Britton Lane, that I was able to "make sense" and read portions of the above inscription. He told me that Lt. Montgomery was in fact George Montgomery, who was in the forefront of the Confederate forces at the battle. He suspected also that Sgt. Lee Briscoc's name was the one which was inscribed on the missing upper part of the stone. Nearby, judging from the 1937 copyist's notation there was also a marker that read, "ALBERT SEARCY died a Confederate soldier during the late war." We could not locate this stone.
On Lot 224, facing west, Riverside Drive, at 6th Street, are buried the Confederate dead, the individual graves having been NUMBERED, without names, many years ago. The Musidora C. McCorry and W. H. Jackson Chapters of the UDC placed a monument on this lot stating that 40 graves are there. On the south slope of the cemetery. where the tombstone of Lt. Montgomery and his comrade-in-arms is located, the Musidora C. McCorry Chapter of the UDC has placed a monument on which is noted that 75 graves are there. These had also been individually marked with number stones many years ago. Evidently numerous ones of these small stones had been scattered and they were placed back on graves randomly, because these stones reveal that this was done, with numbers not in proper order.
1860 Census, Tensas Parish, La., page 14 (June): George W. Montgomery, age 39, born in Mississippi; planter. with young family.
MILITARY HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI, 1803-1898, by Dunbar Rowland, Repr. 1988),. page 364.
Lists Lt. George Montgomery in Co. A, Tensas Cavalry. La. Unit in Col. Wirt Adams Cavalry which was first called First Miss. Cavalry. Of the Britton Lane engagement, September 1, 1862, this source on pages 387-388, reads, "A dashing charge won the guns, which were brought off (by Confederates), but a heavy fire from infantry (Federal) checked the advance and occasioned considerable loss in the regiment. Among the killed was Lieut. Montgomery of the Tensas cavalry."
The Seventh Tennessee Cavalry, First Missouri Cavalry and First Mississippi Cavalry, CSA, under Armstrong encountered Federals, under Dennis, September 1, 1862, near Denmark, Madison County;" afterwards known as the battle of Britton's Lane." THE MILITARY ANNALS OF TENNESSEE, Confederate, ed. by John B. Lindsley, Nashville, 1886, page 637.
WILEY POPE HALE
Adjutant of the 2nd Regiment of Tennessee Volunteers, commanded by Col. Wm. T. Haskell and wounded on the 18 of April 1847 at the Battle of Cerro Gordo, Mexico and died on the 26 of April, of his wounds at Plan Del Rio, three miles from the field of battle.
Only son of Thomas and Harriet A. Hale
Born Sept. 2, 1821
HARRIET A.
HALE
Born
Dec. 24, 1800
Died
Feb. 7, 1870
The Jackson TELEGRAPH/SENTINEL, May 25, 1838, carries the obit. for Colonel THOMAS HALE who had been on a trip to New Orleans, became ill on return trip in Memphis and died and was buried in that city. He was a native of Franklin Co., Va., moved to Jackson in the spring of 1835. D. May 16. 1838. (This is the husband of Harriet Hale and father of Wiley P. Hale.)
memory of
_____ THOMAS
(son of
Robt. & Mary) TAYLOR
Born
Feb. 22, 1847
Died
Aug. 16, 1847
(The top portion of this slab stone is broken, some of it missing, including the part with the child's first name.)
Little Thomas was a son of Mary Docia Hale and husband, Robert Taylor, who were married May 12, 1842.
Reading the Lt. Wiley P. Hale tombstone inscription
How can the civilized mind take joy in war; in conflict that must lead to pitiless deaths, hideous wounds, horrid indignities to civilians as well as the armed forces? There is that seemingly endless need to defend what for one is precious. Perhaps there is some excuse for the hoopla with the occasion that goes with the men leaving for War. They're off to a miserable task, however noble a cause may be. We must defend our liberties but must we glory in slogans and wild emotions that detract from the good cause? The boys and young men of Jackson and Madison County who enlisted in the late spring of 1846 for service against Mexican forces, had a grand local send-off. Company F called itself the AVENGERS. Official records show that this company mustered-in, Memphis, June 4, 1846 and mustered-out, in New Orleans, May 25, 1847. Lt. Wiley P. Hale distinguished himself by courageous daring at Vera Cruz. Among other Madison Countians who served in this outfit were John C. Cochran, Samuel Lyon, Horace G. Bledsoe and Richard J. Hays.
O'CONNOR LOT, NO. 229
JAMES O'CONNOR
Born In
Daileyhogue, Wexford Co.
Ireland
March 14, 1818
Died
May 21, 1887
ANNE O'CONNOR
Wife of
James O'Connor
Born in
Patrick Co., Va.
March 1, 1831
Died in
Jackson, Tenn.
Feb. 3, 1908
HALL LOT, NO. 196
R. N. HALL
Born
Mar. 10, 1813
Died
Oct. 4, 1890
MARTHA C.,
consort of
R. N. HALL
Born
Feb. 25, 1825
Died
Nov. 2, 1888
Robert H. Cartmell, in his diary, volume 6, page 113, Oct. 5. 1890, "Attended funeral & burial of Mr. Robert Hall. Mrs. Hall died some 3 years ago. They lived just across the street from where my Mother lived, in Jackson. Mr. Hall moved to Jackson from Lexington (Tenn.) during or some (time) after the (Civil) war. Merchandized a no. of years in Jackson, had a stroke of paralysis in July or August 85 rendering him in a manner helpless, mind impaired: had a large family, now 4 boys and 4 dauqhters, latter all married."
Return to Contents