Talbot County GaArchives Photo Place.....Charles Lee Smith, Sr. Family Cemetery Sign April 17, 2014
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
T. Bradford Willis http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00031.html#0007638 August 18, 2014, 2:41 am

Source:             Charles Lee Smith, Sr. Family Cemetery
Photo can be seen at:
http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/talbot/photos/tombstones/charlesleesmith/charlesl25259ph.jpg
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This is a photograph of the sign for the Charles Lee Smith, Sr. Family Cemetery 
in Talbot County, Georgia which was placed on the cemetery gate on April 17, 
2014. This photograph was taken by Mr. Henry W. Pollard.

Charles Lee Smith, Sr. Family Cemetery
Charles Lee Smith, Sr. was a prominent planter of Talbot County.  A veteran of 
the War of 1812, he was born February 10, 1795 and died December 4, 1877 in 
Talbot County.  He married Martha T. Glenn.  A native of Georgia, she was born 
December 31, 1801 and died September 6, 1878 in Talbot County.  Their home was 
built in the Greek Revival style, and their property included several out-
buildings and a family cemetery.  Members of the Charles Lee Smith family were 
among the early members of the Collinsworth Methodist Church.  Some descendants 
are buried in the church cemetery.
In 2011, the writer read about the Charles Lee Smith, Sr. family, the old home, 
and the family cemetery in A Rockaway in Talbot, Vol. II by William H. Davidson.  
The family cemetery is about 250 yards from the southwest corner of the ruins 
(rock piers) of the Charles Lee Smith, Sr. home. Mr. Davidson stated that, 
"brick and rock tombs of the family were in a poor state, overgrown and 
disrupted. Possibly two or more of the tombs had been covered by wooden 
shelters, now rotted away."  The only identifiable grave marker was the marble 
monument for Robert Lee Smith (February 3, 1881-May 6, 1881). The writer soon 
listed the family cemetery on Findagrave.com and added material about the family 
and the family cemetery. 
The following information about another small 19th century cemetery on the 
original Charles Lee Smith, Sr. property was found in the Final Report on the 
Big Lazer Creek Unmarked Cemetery: A Multidisciplinary Investigation submitted 
to the Fisheries Management Section, Game and Fish Division, Georgia Department 
of Natural Resources in Atlanta, Georgia, by Garrow & Associates, Inc. in April 
1987.

According to the report, the "project focused on the excavation and analysis of 
six historic period graves discovered during construction within the Big Lazer 
Creek Wildlife Management Area in Talbot County, Georgia."

The "historic period graves [were] found during construction of a parking lot at 
the Big Lazer Creek Wildlife Management Area in Talbot County...the graves had 
apparently been unmarked, and were first noted when earthmoving activities began 
to expose the upper sections of coffins" in 1986.

The excavation, disinterment, and reinterment of the remains from the six graves 
were conducted under a permit signed by Mr. Freeman Montgomery, chairman of the 
Board of Commissioners of Talbot County, on Nov. 24, 1986.

The remains from the six graves were reinterred in the existing Charles Lee 
Smith, Sr. family cemetery in the same east-west direction as they were 
originally interred in the unmarked cemetery. It is not known to the writer 
where in the family cemetery these remains were placed.
In 2012, a granite marker was placed in the family burial ground with the names 
of Charles Lee Smith, Sr.; Martha T. Glenn Smith; Virginia “Jennie” Smith; Laura 
Smith; and Asbury Fletcher Smith.  The following entry, "Killed in Battle near 
Atlanta on the 20th of July 1864, Asbury F. Smith" is found in the family Bible.  
Since the exact burial site for Asbury Fletcher Smith is unknown, his name was 
placed on this granite marker as a cenotaph.

The writer wishes to express his deep appreciation to Mr. Gary Maxwell, Mr. 
Danny Hendricks, and Mr. Henry W. Pollard for their placing a handsome sign on 
the cemetery gate on April 17, 2014.  It is the first known sign marking the 
Charles Lee Smith, Sr. family cemetery.  


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