Confederate Cemetery Mississippi Cemetery CodeA private question was asked about access and maintenance of old cemeteries in Mississippi, and I answered the person, but thought it would also be of benefit to people who have ancestors buried in old private, village, and church cemeteries no longer maintained, anywhere they are located in Mississippi.There are laws in Mississippi Code that do not allow "landowners" to descecrate a family cemetery, which is often excepted from a deed when land was sold "way back when" anyway, and the same laws require Boards of Supervisors to maintain abandoned private or public cemeteries if they are old and/or "historic". The laws are MS Code 47-5-441 and MS Code 39-5-19. There are others that may also apply. You can find these under "Mississippi Code" on the Mississippi Supreme Court home page on line and print them out (once there, type in
such key words as "cemetery", "restoration", and "historic").The current owner cannot keep you as a descendant from accessing the cemetery, and you may be able to get a deed from him for some small price, since he cannot do anything with the cemetery without violating state law and county ordinances. A trip to the county courthouse and looking at the old historic deeds on the property may reveal that the cemetery was actually excepted from the deed when it was sold by the family, which means that new landowner does not now nor ever has owned the cemetery. Hinds County has a number of abandoned family, church, and village cemeteries, as does every county in this state, and all are subject to being maintained by the counties in which they are located. In reality, this seldom happens unless formal letters specifying the correct information are mailed to the county Board of Supervisors, and/or to the Mississippi Dept of Archives and History. Then, these letters of request need following up on to be sure that action is taken. Most of the time, also specified by law, county inmates do the cleaning and maintenance work. In Jasper County, MS, the Jasper Greys Civil War organization is doing more family and church historic cemetery maintenance than their Board of
Supervisors is.
Mary Collins Landin
It has been over 25 years since I first discovered this old cemetery in Shelby County, Illinois. I remembered the exciting story that my grandmother told of her hike back to the cemetery. It's backwoods location and association with the early pioneer days of the area going back over 150 years, held a special fascination for me. This would be my first experience using the dowsing method of locating unmarked graves. I had been invited to go with a cousin and a lady from a local genealogical and historically society. She was experienced at grave dowsing and gave me many pointers. Also with us was a man and his son who took us in his truck back to the cemetery. Only 8 graves had markers standing. Our purpose was to determine if there were unmarked graves. We believed besides my great, great grandfather's marked grave, his first and second wife as well as his parents were buried in that cemetery. The burials go back to the 1840's. I had prepared my own divining rods from some scrap heavy copper wire. I cut the wires about 20 inches long and the end 6 inches or so bent in a "L" shape to form handles. It is best to use the wires when there is little wind to effect the movement. I wasn't too sure that this would work but it would be worth a try. We started using the wires around my forefather's marked grave. Since several of us were using the divining rods, we were able to verify each other's findings. Taking hold of the handles of the wires and holding them apart in front of me, I walked only a few steps and noted the wires slowly crossing. At that point there was a grave. It was amazing! As I held the wires loosely in my hands, the wires crossed before my very eyes. It is something that we don't understand according to those who do dowsing for graves. Some have offered that it has something to do with the magnetic poles of the earth. The Art of Dowsing for Graves (search the Internet) has been around for centuries. By holding one wire out in front of me over the grave, the wire would slowly turn to the left (a female) and to the right (a male). On either side of my forefather we found a female and thus concluded his first and second wife. Next in the row we located 2 more graves, female and male, and thus concluded the old parents who died in the 1840's. None of these graves had markers but we now were sure they are buried there. There is also a way to determine how deep the grave is. I stood over the grave and held out one wire. I counted the number of times I stomped on the ground. When the wire turned, the number of stomps indicated how deep the person was buried. We found most of the graves were 6 feet deep. The graves not as deep may have been babies or children. Deeper depths would likely indicate a spring of water as the cemetery was on a high bluff over a stream. Through dowsing for graves we located at least 72 unmarked burials in an area 70 x 100 feet. We were all astonished! The graves were laid out in neat rows which were always in line with existing markers. Several graves were under large trees which had grown there in the 150 years since the burial. It is possible that the family planted the trees over the grave to mark it. We found many small sandstones used as markers with no lettering on them. By probing under the ground we found more grave markers with names on them. The accumulation of the years in the woods had covered these fallen markers. We hope to find many of these covered stones, clean them off, and erect them again. We are seeking help from local government bodies to make an access road, erect a fence and have the cemetery maintained. In Illinois there is a Cemetery Act whereby abandoned cemeteries are protected. The township officials have already shown much interest in what we are wanting to do. Our grave dowsing guide made a map of the cemetery on a sheet of grid paper. She showed where each grave was found and indicated female or male. To mark the graves in the cemetery we used lath sticks (lots of them) driven into the ground. We tied ribbons on the sticks to indicate female or male. We hope to put some kind of permanent marker at each grave. It was a most successful and enjoyable adventure in an old family cemetery.The Recording of a Cemetery
BY THELMA GREENE REAGANToday we walked where others walked
On a lonely, windswept hill;
Today we talked where other cried
For Loved Ones whose lives are stilled.Today our hearts were touched
By graves of tiny babies;
Snatched from the arms of loving kin,
In the heartbreak of the ages.Today we saw where the grandparents lay
In the last sleep of their time;
Lying under the trees and clouds -
Their beds kissed by the sun and wind.Today we wondered about an unmarked spot;
Who lies beneath this hollowed ground?
Was it a babe, child, young or old?
No indication could be found.Today we saw where Mom and Dad lay.
We had been here once before
On a day we'd all like to forget,
But will remember forever more.Today we recorded for kith and kin
The graves of ancestors past;
To be preserved for generations hence,
A record we hope will last.Cherish it, my friend; preserve it, my friend,
For stones sometimes crumble to dust
And generations of folks yet to come
Will be grateful for your trust.
Grave Symbols
Anchor/Ships -- Hope or Seafaring profession
Angel, Flying- Rebirth; Resurrection.
Angel, Trumpeting- Resurrection.
Angel, Weeping- Grief and Mourning.
Arch - Victory in death.
Arrow- Mortality.
Bird- Eternal life.
Bird, Flying- Resurrection.
Book-Representation of a holy book: i.e. the Bible.
A pair of Holy Books on Mormom (LDS) headstones indicates the Bibleand Book of Mormon
Three Holy Books on Mormom headstones indicates the Bible, Book of Mormon, and Doctrine & Covenants -- all of which are scripture to the LDS Church.
Breasts (Gourds, Pomegranates) - Nourishment of the soul; the church.
Bouquets/Flowers -- Condolences, grief, sorrow
Broken Column -- Loss of Head of Family
Broken Ring -- Family Circle Severed
Buds/Rosebud -- Morning of Life or Renewal of Life
Bugles -- Resurrection and the Military
Butterfly -- Short-lived - Early Death
Candle being Snuffed -- Time, mortality
Cherub -- Angelic
Coffin, Father Time, Picks/Shovels, Darts -- Mortality
Columns and Doors- Heavenly entrance.
Corn -- Ripe Old Age
Cross -- Emblem of Faith
Crossed Swords -- High-ranking military person
Crown- Glory of life after death.
Cup or Chalice- The Sacraments.
Dove- Purity; Devotion.
Dove, Flying- Resurrection.
Drapes- Mourning; Mortality.
Flame or Light- Life; Resurrection.
Flower- Fragility of life.
Flower, Severed Stem- Shortened life.
Flying Birds -- Flight of the Soul
Fruits -- Eternal plenty
Full-Blown Rose -- Prime of Life
Garland or Wreath- Victory in death.
Grim Reaper- Death personified.
Hand, Pointing Up- Pathway to heaven; Heavenly reward.
Hands, Clapsed- The goodbyes said at death.
Hand of God Chopping -- Sudden Death
Handshakes -- Farewell
Harp -- Praise to the Maker
Heart- Love; Love of God; Abode of the soul; Mortality.
Horns -- The Resurrection
Hourglass- Passing of time.
Hourglass, Flying- Time flies.
Imps -- Mortality
Ivy -- Friendship and Immortality
Lamb- Innocence.
Laurel ---Fame or Victory
Lily or Lily of Valley -- Emblem of Innocence and Purity
Lion- Courage; The Lion of Judah.
Morning Glory -- Beginning of Life
Oak Leaves and Acorn -- Maturity, Ripe Old Age
Open Book/ Bible -- Deceased Teacher, Minister, etc.
Pall- Mortality.
Palm Branch -- Signifies Victory and Rejoicing
Pick- Death; Mortality.
Poppy -- Sleep
Portals -- Passageway to eternal journey
Rod or Staff- Comfort for the bereaved.
Rooster- Awakening; Resurrection.
Roses -- Brevity of earthly existence
Scythe- Death; The divine harvest.
Seashell- Resurrection; Life everlasting; Life's pilgrimage.
Sheaf of Wheat -- Ripe for Harvest, Divine Harvest, Time
Skull- Mortality.
Skull/ Crossed Bones- Death.
Skeleton- Life's brevity.
Snake (Tail in Mouth)- Everlasting life in heaven.
Spade- Mortality; Death.
Stars and Stripes Around Eagle -- Eternal Vigilance, Liberty
Sun Rising- Renewed life.
Sun Shining-Life everlasting.
Sun Setting- Death.
Thistle- Scottish descent.
Thistles -- Remembrance
Tombs -- Mortality
Torch Inverted -- Life Extinct
Tree- Life.
Tree Sprouting- Life everlasting.
Severed Branch- Mortality.
Tree Stump- Life interrupted.
Tree Stump w/Ivy -- Head of Family - Immortality
Tree Trunk- Brevity of life.
Tree Trunk Leaning- Short interrupted life.
Trumpeters -- Heralds of the Resurrection
Urn- Immortality (ancient Egyptian belief that life would be restored in the future through the vital organs placed in the urn).
Urn with /Wreath or Crepe -- Mourning
Urn with Blaze -- Undying Friendship
Weeping Willow Tree- Mourning; Grief; Nature's lament.
Willows -- Earthly Sorrow
Winged Face- Effigy of the deceased soul; the soul in flight.
Winged Skull- Flight of the soul from mortal man.
Wreath- Victory.
Wreath on Skull- Victory of death over life.
Wheat Strands or Sheaves- The divine harvest
The Art of Grave Dowsing
by Wendell Culberson
(Posted with permission from Wendell Culberson)
