Magnolia Park Cemetery is the largest cemetery in Warner Robins (formerly Wellston), Georgia. The land for it was donated by Mr. Thomas Watson. It was originally used for his family burying ground, known as Watson Cemetery. Mr. Thomas Watson lived across the street from the cemetery. Magnolia Park as it is known today was not officially established until 1949. Crawford V. Watson, grandson of Thomas Watson, was laid to rest in Watson Cemetery in 1914. He was born 20 November 1885, the son of Richmond Hezekiah Watson.

I found a blurb in the 27 August 1911 edition of the Macon Weekly Telegraph stating C. V. Watson was sworn in as deputy sheriff of Houston county and moved to Perry to "assume the duties of the office." By the time of his death, his residence was back in Wellston.

In an obituary for Crawford V. Watson from the 11 January 1914 edition of the Macon Weekly Telegraph, the Watson family is mentioned as being one of the best known in Houston county. There are, even today, schools and roads named after this family. One of the main thoroughfares through downtown Warner Robins is known as Watson Boulevard.

The obituary:

Crawford V. Watson
Friends throughout Macon and Bibb and Houston counties will be grieved to learn of the death yesterday afternoon at 4:30 o'clock of crawford V. Watson, at his home, at Wellston. He was 27 years of age and had been ill only one week. Pneumonia is given as the cause of his death.

Just two weeks ago, Mr. Watson's father, R. H. Watson, one of the best known men of Houston county, died from the natural infirmities of old age.

Mr. Watson is survived by, besides his widow, three brothers, W. [C?]., C. B., and C. K. Watson, all of Wellston, and three sisters, Mrs. T. W. Murray, Mrs. James Stubbs and Miss Clifford Watson, all of Wellston.

The Watson family is one of the best known in Houston county and the deceased was a member of the firm of Watson Bros., extensive planters and merchants of Wellston.

He was a charter member of the Cherry Camp, W.O.W., of Wellston and the members of the Woodmen of the World of Macon are invited to attend the funeral which will be held from the family residence at Wellston this afternoon at [1?] o'clock. The services will be conducted by Rev. Will Green, of Gray, Jones county. Interment will follow at the family burying ground near Wellston.

Two beautiful tombstones at Sardis Cemetery; Bibb County, Georgia caught my eye recently. I liked them so much I wondered who made them. I'll have to start looking more closely at stones in the future for any signatures. The first gravestone is for Martha A. and B. F. Hudson. Martha A. was born Dec 19, 1849 and died Mar 4, 1919. Benjamin Franklin Hudson was born June 29, 1843 and died Feb 6, 1924:



The second stone was identical in design. This one was for two sons of Martha A. and B. F. Hudson. Otis M. Hudson was born July 15, 1882 and died Feb 11, 1916. William Havis Hudson was born Feb 2, 1886 and died Feb 7, 1919:



My enjoyment of the stones of course got me doing some research on this family...

Benjamin Franklin Hudson was the son of William "Buck" Hudson and Mary B. Moore. This family was in Jones County, Georgia in 1850 and 1860.

According to the 1850 Jones County, Georgia census, Benjamin's siblings were as follows: Matilda, John, William, Sarah, Camilla, Amelia, David B., Mary, and Louisa. According to an 1867 will abstract for William "Buck" Hudson from Book E, Jones County wills, these were his children: John W. Hudson, William Hudson, David B. Hudson, Benjamin Franklin Hudson, Barnwell R. Hudson, Matilda Lipsey, Sarah Rice, Louisa Hudson, and Mary Felts.

A search of a great website for Jones County, Georgia cemeteries -- www.friendsofcems.org/Jones -- lead me to the Hudson / Felts Cemetery. It is located off of Fawn Court near Gray. This cemetery contains many of Benjamin Franklin Hudson's immediate family, including his parents:

William "Buck" Hudson [father] (1800-1867);
Mary B. Moore Hudson [mother] (1810-1870);
Mary S. Felts [sister] (1845-1905);
Robert L. Felts [brother-in-law] (1841-1898) *Co A 54th GA;
David B. Hudson [brother] (1840-1900) *Co A 54th GA;
Pvt. John W. Hudson [brother] (1841-1900) *Co A 54th Inf GA;
Sarah E. Rice [sister] (1835-1895);
Sgt. James M. Rice [brother-in-law] (1834-1862) *Co F 38th Tenn Inf;
Pvt. William J. Lipsey [possible brother-in-law] (1834-1864) *Co F 45th GA.

Interestingly enough, I did not find out for sure if Benjamin was a soldier during the Civil War.

Benjamin Franklin Hudson married Martha A. before 1880. I found them in Jones County, Georgia then as well as in 1900. Their children listed in 1900 were William H., Andrew L., Ora B, and Otis M.

I did not find out any more about Otis M., but I did find his brother William's World War I draft registration:

William was living in Walden, Bibb County, Georgia at the time of registration in 1918. He was farming for his father B. F. Hudson, and he was listed as having blue eyes and dark hair.

Martha A. Hudson died 4 March 1919, less than one month after she buried her son William Havis Hudson. Her funeral notice from the Macon Telegraph:

Mrs. Martha Hudson The funeral services of Mrs. Martha Hudson, wife of Frank Hudson, were held from Sardis Church yesterday afternoon at 3 o'clock. Elder Walter Heard conducted the services, and the interment was in Sardis cemetery. Mrs. Hudson lived at Rutland and was ill several weeks. She died at 3 o'clock Tuesday afternoon.

Mr. Benjamin Franklin Hudson lived less than five more years before being laid to rest next to his wife.

Since my visit to Charleston, South Carolina and St. Philip's Church Cemetery, I have learned a little more about Major General Thomas Pinckney. What a fascinating life he led. Want to know more about him? Read on!

General Thomas Pinckney's grandfather (Thomas Pinckney) came to South Carolina and made it his home in 1692. His wife was Mary Cotesworth. Thomas built a house at the corner of East Bay and Tradd Street in Charleston. He had full view of the harbor. He died in this home of yellow fever.

General Thomas Pinckney's father, Charles Pinckney, was educated in England and became a successful lawyer upon returning to Carolina. He accumulated a large fortune, and was Speaker of the House of Assembly from 1736-1740. Charles married Elizabeth Lucas in 1744. This marriage produced our subject in 1750.

Thomas Pinckney was educated for 19 years in England at Westminster, Oxford. He read Greek fluently to the end of his life. In 1774, Thomas was admitted to the Charleston bar.

Pinckney's law career was interrupted, however, by South Carolina's preparation for the American Revolution. A volunteer company of rangers was formed in April 1775 in which Thomas was appointed a lieutenant. Soon after Lexington, two regiments were formed to defend the colony. Thomas Pinckney was named a captain. His company, part of the 1st regiment, was assigned to duty at Fort Johnson, on the southern shore of Charleston's harbor.

After the first attempt by the British to fire on Fort Sullivan, and the fort being successfully defended, Pinckney and the 1st regiment were moved there in August 1776. This would remain his headquarters for three years.

The following is taken from The Life of General Thomas Pinckney by Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, his grandson:

Captain Pinckney's reputation for handling troops was such that he was often detailed for special duty as instructor in military science. During the first three years of the war he was thus employed along the coast, as far south as Pocotaligo and Purisburg. On one of these tours an incident occurred which marked his firmness and decision of character. It was known to the military authorities that British emissaries from Georgia had visited certain posts, and tampered with the men. During his visit to one of these stations a mutiny broke out among the troops. The company on parade refused to obey orders, threw down their arms, and defied their officers. Persuasion, upbraiding, threats, proved alike unavailing, and the officers seemed about to give up the contest. Captain Pinckney, watching the situation from an adjoining house, saw that the time for parley had passed. Taking his sabre in his hand he entered the angry group, approached the ringleader, and cut him down at a blow. Ordering the company to resume their arms, and fall into ranks, he carried them through the interrupted drill, and turned them over to their officers in a far more submissive spirit than they had manifested. No man could be more averse to assume authority than one of Thomas Pinckney's temperament; he could exercise it promptly when duty required.

In 1778, the now Major Thomas Pinckney, with the joined forces of South Carolina and Georgia, went to help protect those frontiers from the English stationed in Florida.

In 1779, Major Pinckney took part in the battle of Stono Ferry. He was 2nd in command of the light artillery. "Major Pinckney gained great applause for his gallant conduct on this day. The battalion to which he was attached charged two companies of the 71st British regiment, and so completely routed them at the point of the bayonet, that only nine men were able to take shelter within their lines."

During the Siege of Charleston, Pinckney was stationed at the Horn redoubt, a mason fortification built along King Street. A piece of it still remains today.



After Charleston fell, Pinckney went north and offered his services to Washington. Congress took active measures to recover South Carolina from British rule and ordered troops to be raised for this purpose. Pinckney was aide to the commander of these troops. Major Pinckney was severely wounded in the Camden battle. An old schoolfellow found him and had him removed with the wounded British soldiers. Mrs. Pinckney was summoned to care for her husband after the British retreated. When his wound was somewhat healed, Major Pinckney was a prisoner of war for more than a year, after which he was exchanged.

As soon as peace was restored, Major Pinckney resumed the practice of law in Charleston. In 1787 he was elected Governor of the state.

In 1791, Major Pinckney was given the position of minister to London. In 1795, he achieved a treaty with Spain that gave the United States free navigation of the Mississippi River. Later, Pinckney served two terms in Congress, ending in 1801. For the next decade, Thomas Pinckney had the life he loved, that of a Carolina planter.

For the War of 1812, Thomas Pinckney was appointed Major General of the southern half of the United States. His command extended from the southern borders of Virginia to the Mississippi, including North and South Carolina, Georgia, and the Indian Territory (Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana).

Following the war, Pinckney spent the remainder of his days in agriculture.

Proudly serving your country was a trait Pinckney passed down to his three sons. The three swords which General Pinckney used in the American Revolution and War of 1812 were bequeathed to them with the requirement that "they never be drawn in any private quarrel, and never remain in their scabbards when their country demanded their service." Fourteen of Pinckney's descendants served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War.

Thomas Pinckney died 2 November 1828. A large military and citizen group followed his body in the procession from his house on Legare Street to St. Philip's Church and cemetery.

In addition to the above mentioned The Life of General Thomas Pinckney, another book is available for the study of Thomas and the rest of the Pinckney family. It is Charleston in the Age of the Pinckneys by George C. Rogers. It is "a look at the rise and decline of the Pinckney family whose members were present at every major point in Charleston's history."

I just finished creating a page on the Southern Graves website for St. Philip's Church Cemetery. This beautiful cemetery was established in 1680, and it is located on Church Street in Charleston, South Carolina's historic downtown. I've included a short video with the church bells ringing in the background, several transcriptions, and several photos of the church, cemetery, and gravestones.

I also made some contributions to FindAGrave from this cemetery.

Check 'em out!

Henderson Spring Road Cemetery is now online. It is located in Elko, Houston County, Georgia. I found out about this cemetery from a local resident who knew it as Springhill Church Cemetery. The church is long gone as far as I can tell, and the cemetery is not entirely kept up. It is, I must add, in a beautiful spot. The open part is under a huge tree. The farther in you go, it becomes more overgrown. Parts are under a couple of trees with a lot of moss hanging down. Very pretty.

A sad part about this cemetery is the many, many unknown burials. Some of these graves are marked only by mounds of dirt. On the page I set up for this cemetery, you will find a video showing this.

In addition to the unknown burials video, I have a 360° pan video, transcriptions of the stones, and more photos. Please stop by a take a look.