FULTON COUNTY, GA - CEMETERIES Oakland Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Shirley Holland sdholland@mindspring.com Georgia Table of Contents: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm OAKLAND CEMETERY Oakland Cemetery was opened in 1850, long before the automobile was invented. It is the oldest Cemetery in Atlanta and is a supreme example of a Victorian Cemetery. It was originally only 6acres and is the only land in the City of Atlanta that has not been changed since it was purchased. Today, it encompasses 88 acres and is the third (3rd) largest greenspace in Atlanta. Although lots are sold this is not a private Cemetery. It is a City of Atlanta Cemetery. It was originally named "Atlanta Cemetery" and then renamed "Oakland" after the big oak trees in the cemetery. It is located at 265 Oakland Ave., SE, Atlanta, GA It is bordered by Boulevard and Glenwood Rd. 1976 "Historic Oakland Foundation (HOF) was established and dedicated for restoration. 1976 Oakland Cemetery was also placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Jewish Section: This Cemetery overlooks what use to be "Fulton Bag and Cotton Mill". Mr. Jacob Elsas who founded this company is buried, in the Jewish Section of this cemetery, where he would face the business even after his death. Mr. Morris Rich and Mr. Emanuel Rich who founded Rich's Dept. Store, is buried here. Dr. Joseph Jacobs, founder of Jacobs Drug Stores, where Coca Cola was 1st introduced, is also buried here. Mr's Rich and Dr. Joseph . Jacobs is said to have paid the City of Atlanta, Fire Dept. Police Dept. and other City of Atlanta Workers during the depression. Margaret Mitchell is also buried here. Jewish burial Symbols: Raised Hands-descendant of Aaron and High Priest of the Temple Pitcher: assisted the High priests as Temple functionaries Branch with a plucked leaf-Life Cut short Veil: Prayer shawl (featured throughout the cemetery. African-American Section: Oakland predates the "Abolishment of Slavery" and has a historic Black Section. Unfortunately the graves only contain the name of the owner and first name of person. Many prominent Black Atlanta leaders are buried here. Bishop Wesley Gaines, who was the 2nd pastor at Big Bethel Church and founder of Morris Brown College. Carrie Steele Logan a former slave who established the 1st black orphanage in 1888, known today as the Carrie Steel Pits Home. Antoine Graves was a widely known real estate broker respected for his 55yr. career and his integrity. Mayor Maynard Jackson, 1st Black Mayor - City of Atlanta, is also buried here. It is not a "Perpetual Care" cemetery. Each family is responsible for the upkeep of their sites. Some families arrange for maintenance and some do not. Oakland has a Foundation that pays for maintenance of many plots. The City of Atlanta Parks Depts. occasionally cuts the grass to keep it from being so overgrown. Confederate: A 20acre Section There are approximately 70,000 people buried at this cemetery. Only approximately 40,000 markers are visible today. There are 3,000 unmarked Confederate graves. Each year a ceremony is held on the week end closest to April 26th, Confederate Memorial Day, to honor the soldiers that died in the war and to award military service medals to service personnel with Confederate Ancestors. Generals John B. Gordon, Alfred Everson,jr. and Clement A Evans are buried in the Confederate Section. Lucuis J Gartrell and William S. Walker are buried at Oakland on family lots. The Lion of Atlanta rest over an Undetermined number of Unknown soldiers buried beneath. There is a 65 ft oblisk installed in 1874 by the Atlanta Ladies Memorial Assoc. to mark this section. Some graves that were originally marked, however, without maintenance they sink into the ground and are covered by grass and dirt. Some are disfigured by age, weather, erosion and lawnmowers. Potters Field: Oakland Cemetery also has a "Potters Field" with 17,500 people buried there. Some were originally marked with wooden crosses. They have been long since lost to time.When checking to see if an ancestor is buried there and it records "grave site unassigned", this indicates the person is buried in this "Field". Oakland is still an active cemetery with monthly burials. The Oakland Cemetery Foundation is unable to sell any lots. When someone that owns a lot in the cemetery contacts the Foundation about a lot for sale, they are provided with a list of people who have contacted/expressed interest in purchasing a burial plot. Lots are for sale only thru families that own the available plots. Grave markers in this cemetery give the Victorian idea of leaving something permanent to commerate the dead. Some of the symbols are: Urn: traditional universal symbol for sorrow Tree of Life-cycle of life, death and resurrection Cross-Christianity Child standing by a tree trunk-life cut short Grieving Woman - mourning and immortality Lamb or Sheep - Jesus Christ Oakland is open for walking tours-Saturday 10AM 2PM - Sunday 2PM. You may contact them www.oaklandcemetery.com. If you wish to check about possible family being buried there contact them-- thru e-mail: burialrecords@oaklandcemetery.com with as much information as possible on the person desired. You may also call them 404-688-2107 . ========== "Angus P. Robinson" Buried in Oakland cemetery are many of those who helped to make Atlanta a city. Among them are remains of many of my kin. Thomas Samford & Susan Edelia (Robinson) Garner and several children are buried in the Garner plot along with Susan's father, John W. Robinson. On the south side, adjacent to the wall, are the remains of her brother, Norvell Mills Robinson, and 5 of his 6 children. The sixth child, Laura, married a man named Garner. The Norvell Robinson graves are covered by marble slabs. Norvell was the eldest son of John W. Robinson. Also buried in the cemetery are Thomas Angus and Cordelia Ann (Wood) Morris and several members of their family. There is no tombstone on the Morris burial plot although there was a suggestion in the old records that indicate there may have been a stone at one time. It was learned during a visit in 1977 that over the years many burial records were believed lost. In several cases grave markers shown to be on a grave had been removed or were missing, especially those away from the center of the cemetery. When the compiler visited Oakland Cemetery again in 1978 he found an old tombstone dumped behind one of the work sheds amidst floweral arrangements and dead flowers. Desecretion of a grave site is not only immoral but makes it difficult for descendants to confirm birth and death dates of family members that might have been on the missing stone. Oakland Cemetery is reportedly the oldest existing cemetery in Atlanta although I was told there had been an older one on North Peachtree Street, beyond the old city limits. This one dated back to the early days of Marthasville (former name of Atlanta). As city limits extended to the north it was decided to remove those buried in the cemetery to another location. Verbal tradition says some bodies remain buried in the area that comprised the old cemetery. The below list of my Morris ancestors were found in a large, bound book located in the cemetery office while visiting in 1978. When the compiler revisited the cemetery a few years later he found the old journal had been removed. When asked to look at it the office people refused, adding that if I wanted to know if kin were buried there give them a name and they would look it up. How many researchers with deep roots in Atlanta would know where their kin was buried without being having access to a listing of the burials. The journal, surprisingly, contained a copy of a letter dated 1938, mailed to Mr. Charles Evans, 1279 Lanier Drive, Atlanta, GA advising him that cemetery records did not show the location of four or five deceased members of his MORRIS family. There was no reply from Mr. Evans. He is believed to be a son or grandson of Mrs. Tocora M. Evans. see the following paragraph. The letter was left in the old journal by the compiler. Its location today is unknown. Mrs. Tocora Morris Evans was one of several daughters of Thomas and Cordelia Morris. Oakland Records show she is buried in the Morris family plot. The same records say that graves 1, 2, 9. 10, 11, 12, 13, 18, and grave 19 are occupied. Unless GrGrandpa Morris purchased additional plots grave 19 may be a mistake since cemetery records say Thomas Angus Morris only owned 18 plots. The date of purchase of the plots weren't shown. Here are the known 18 grave MORRIS burials. Location: Block 29, Section 4. Name of person interred: Plot # Age Date of death MORRIS, Thomas Angus 10 77 08/24/1903 MORRIS, Eva S.(2nd wife) 18 33* 04/27/1905 MORRIS, Harry O. 1 21 12/16/l904 MORRIS, Cordelia (lst wife ? ? MORRIS, Eddie ? ? EVANS, Tocora Morris 12 52 01/89/1910 EVANS, Dave ? ? ADAMS, Emma Morris ? ? ADAMS, Child ? ? After Thomas Angus Morris died in 1903 his second wife petitioned the court for approval to handle her husband's estate. The court petition is as follows. State of Georgia ] Americus Court of Ordinary, Sumter County ] First Monday, Dec. 7th, 1903 ] Thos. M. Allan, Ordinary. The application of Mrs. Eva Morris to be temporary Administratrix of the Estate of T. A. Morris, late of Sumter County, deceased. Read and duly considerd. It is Ordered that she be and is hereby appointed Temporary Admlnistratrix upon the Estate as prayed for. Let Temporary letters issue to her upon her taking the usual oath and giving bond in double the amount of the personal property, viz: ($200.00), two hundred dollars. Given under my hand and seal of office this, the (blank) day of December 1903. Thos. M. Allan, Ordinary. Test: T. A. Morris, late of said county, decd died intestate on the 23rd day of August 1903 bearing an estate of personal property of the probable value of $l00.00, one hundred dollars. Petitioner shows further that on account of the length of time required by law to petition for permanent Administration and the circumstances of the estate of the said deceased it is necessary that temporary letters of Administration should be granted at once for the purpose of collecting and taking care of the property until permanent letters are granted to the wife of said deceased. Wherefor she prays to be appointed temporary administratrix. Mrs. Eva Morris, by R. E. Lee, Atty.at law The following court documents were on preprinted forms. TEMPORARY LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION Georgia ______________Sumter (written in)__________________Georgia TO ALL TO WHOM THOSE PRESENTS SHALL COME..... Greeting: WHEREAS____________________ Mrs. Eva Morris_____________________ hath made application to me for Letters of Administration on the estate and effects of T. A. Morris Deceased And whereas, in consequence thereof, the necessary forms have been followed, and citations issued from this office, returnable to the next Court of Ordinary: And it being suggested to me, that unless authority is granted to some person to collect and gather up the goods, chattels and effects of the said deceased, during that period of time, the same will be liable to be made waste and injured: NOW, THEREFORE KNOW YE, That I __Thomas M. Allan__ Ordinary of said county, by virtue of the power in me vested by the General Assembly, have granted, and by these presents do grant, unto the said Mrs. Eva Morris full power by the tenor of these presents, to collect and gather up all and singular the goods and chattels, rights and credits of the said deceased, and to keep the same without impoverishment or waste until legal Administration thereon shall be granted; and to render a just and true account of the same when thereunto required. GIVEN UNDER MY HAND AND OFFICIAL SEAL, this day 7th day of Dec. 1903. Thos. M. Allan ORDINARY I asked for the names of several of my KNOWN kin who are buried in Oakland Cemetery and each came up ZERO. I was unsuccessful in getting any of the below names to come up. John W. Robinson, d. 12 July 1879 Norvell M. Robinson, d. 21 Sept. 1890 Thomas A. Morris, d. 23 Aug. 1903 Thomas S. Garner, d. 7 Aug. 1890 Susan A. Garner, d. 1 Aug. 1890 There are four Garners buried in the same plot with John Robinson. Susan was his daughter. I have photographs of all but one tombstone(s) so I know they are there. The missing stone seems to have been removed many years ago since the original journal indicated a stone was on the grave but, if so, I found it missing. ================= Alfred Mars McAlpin, Co. D, 1st Louisiana Cav died in Atlanta Mar 21, 1862. He is buried at Oakland Cemetary in Atlanta. I recently had his gravestone replaced. I also have his last letter home, and the letter from the attending surgeon informing his wife of his death. (Name added by: Michael T McAlpin Mc539@aol.com)