Little Lamb Grave Site

Here's another interesting gravesite in Pleasant Shade Cemetery. I took the photo from a distance, but assume that this is the gravesite of a child. Perhaps during another visit, I will take a closer look at the grave site.

Tombstone Tuesday - Wedding Dates on Tombstones

I have heard about marriage dates being on tombstones, but never saw one until earlier this month during a visit to the Pleasant Shade Cemetery. Below are two examples from the tombstones of Mr. and Mrs. Mask and Mr. and Mrs. Gayles. This is invaluable information for a family researchers.

Beer Bottle Grave

On Saturday, I visited Pleasant Shade Cemetery in Hampton, VA. This is one of the interesting graves I saw. Who left the beer bottles, I wonder? Was this a random act by some beer guzzlers or was this from the friends of Rashed?

On Sunday, I visited the cemetery again to get a better picture of the grave marker. I only moved the bottles that covered the writing on the grave marker of this young man. Still, even with the bottles repositioned, this makes an interesting photo of a grave marker decorated with beer bottles and gold praying hands.

In an attempt to understand the reason for this beer bottle grave, I shared this photo with some family members and genealogy friends on MyFamily.com. One family member believed that this was some type of ritual; a genealogy friend enlightened me about this ritual with the comments below.

"I have seen this also, especially for certain "club" motorcycle riders. Some
have had one beer bottle at the gravesite, which I believe to be the deceased's
favorite beer. One like this with several bottles makes me believe a group of
friends came and partied with him. Especially since one of the bottles is still
capped, that would be Rashed's beer. I would assume (bad thing to do I know)
that at one time these bottles were all standing up on the headstone."

On Sunday, August 9th, I looked at the date of death more closely and noticed that this was the 6th anniversary of Rashed's death. I found this bottle arrangement on Saturday, the 8th. Therefore, I assume that Rashed's friends may have partied at their friend's grave, possibly on Friday night to commemorate his death and life.

For me, this is certainly an interesting alternative to just decorating a grave with flowers.

R.I.P. Rashed!

Tombstone Tuesday - Just Sleeping

On Sunday, July 19, 2009, I visited the Pleasant Shade cemetery in Hampton, VA for several reasons. One was to visit the grave of a relative who had been buried on July 11th. The second reason was to locate the grave sites of sevearal Pair family members, who are believed to be distant cousins of my father's family. After the burial I attended on July 11th, several family members informed me that they noticed the tombstones of some Pairs in this cemetery. I did not see these tombstones, however, through obituary research, I know that members of the Pair family are buried in this cemetery.

Near the grave site I was visiting on Sunday, was this interesting grave marker of Joy E. Jackson, (February 17, 1958 - June 23, 2001.) I do not believe that Joy is a family member, however, her epitaph "Just Sleeping" caught my attention which is the reason I took this photo. Since it was extremely hot during my cemetery visit, I did not stay there long enough to look at similar or other grave markers.

I plan to visit this cemetery again soon during a cooler time.

Tombstone Tuesday - Uncle Moses Robinson

Uncle Moses Robinson (1893-1979) was the son of my great great grandparents, Joshua and Ersie Jane Providence Robinson. My Robinson family lived in the Skippers area of Greensville County, VA. He is buried in the Robinson Family Cemetery of Antioch Missionary Baptist Church.

Cousin Rosella

I visited the cemetery of Antioch Baptist Church (Skippers area of Greensville County, VA) during a visit to the church this past Sunday. I took losts of photos. Here is the tombstone of a cousin who was a granddaughter of my great-great grandparents Joshua and Ersie Jane Providence Robinson.

Cousin Rosella provided me with valuable information about our Robinson and Greenaway family history. I met her during one of my visits to Antioch Baptist Church and we talked on the phone on several occasions. She was a daughter of Lucretia Robinson Hill (1881-1915), who was a daughter of Joshua and Ersie Robinson, and is also buried in this cemetery.

Tombstone Tuesday - Joseph Bullock

This is the tombstone of Joseph Bullock (August 11, 1905 - October 11, 1932). He was the youngest son of my great-great grandparents Andrew and Luvenia Bullock and is buried in the cemetery of Morning Star Holy Church in Vance County, NC. His mother Luvenia and sister Nancy are also buried in this cemetery.

Through oral history, I learned that Grandma Ven (Joseph's mother), purchased a car for her son to drive her to church. Like young men of any time frame who sometimes take advantage of car privileges given to them by their parents, Joseph, reportedly didn’t always show up to take his mother to church when she wanted to go. This car was possible purchased sometime during the mid to late 1920s. No doubt, Joseph's abuse of car priviledges created much friction in the Bullock household.

Joseph Bullock died as a young man on October 11, 1932 from “pulmonary tuberculosis” in the Jubilee Hospital, in Henderson, NC. Jubilee was the hospital for blacks or negroes during the time that Joseph Bullock died. He was attended by Dr. S. M. Beckford fore three days, October 9, 1932 to October 11, 1932 when Joseph died shortly before midnight at 11:25 PM.

Joseph's death certificate lists his age at death as 28, however, a date of birth is not listed on the certificate. Joseph's tombstone lists a date of birth as August 11, 1905 and date of death as October 11, 1932. If this is accurate, then he would have been age 27 when he died.

My maternal grandmother Emma and her younger siblings were living with Grandma Ven during the time of their uncle's death, but my grandmother does not recall this death. She was ten years old when her uncle died. My grandmother, does, however recall getting rides in the car with her uncle.

Tombstone Tuesday - Grave of Luvenia Jeffress Bullock

This is the tombstone of my great, great grandmother Luvenia Jeffress Bullock (1864-1951). She is buried in the cemetery of Morning Star Holy Church in Vance County, NC.