NC-CEMETERIES-L Archives

From: "Bob Carter" <>
Subject: [NC-CEMETERIES] Old State Hospital cemetery
Date: Wed, 10 Jun 2009 10:50:27 -0400
References: <1244589979.503126@rootsweb.com>

This was forwarded to me by someone else from the Cemetery-L and
Tombstones-L lists. When you look at the video provided by NBC, toward the
end you can see the grave of Herbert Williams as being born in NC in
February 1859.

Bob Carter
Greensboro, NC
------------------------
To: Tombstones Project; Tombstones-L; Cemetery-L
Subject: [Old Bones Cemetery List] largest forgotten cemetery discovered

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31127332/

By Amanda Marshall
TODAYShow.com contributor
updated 1 hour, 10 minutes ago

Sometimes spring uncovers unexpected stories. Bud Merritt was hiking in
Milledgeville, Ga., when he came across a long-forgotten cemetery.

"There almost seemed to be no end to it. You would find areas where there
were no markers. And then you walk a few yards and you would find
more," he explains.

Overgrown with shrubs, the tall, thin headstones were nearly lost amongst
the oak trees. Upon closer inspection, Bud noticed the graves bore no
epitaphs. Not even a name or date could be found. They were simply numbered
posts!

It turns out Bud had discovered a lost cemetery of patients at the largest
mental hospital in the United States.

City of the dead
Founded by Quakers in 1842, Central State Hospital once housed more than
13,000 people. Beautiful antebellum buildings, now mostly abandoned,
haunt the sprawling campus.

During the Civil War, General Sherman's troops camped here. Today you can
still find descendants of the original hospital staff caring for the
800 patients here now. Scattered in the surrounding acres lie an estimated
30,000 dead - more than the current population of Milledgeville.

For years the mentally ill were discarded, not just in Georgia, but all over
the country. Families who didn't claim their relatives left it up to
hospitals to choose the patients' final resting places. Given the stigma
attached to mental illness, many were given just numbered markers.

Unfortunately, records were often lost or incomplete. In some cases, even
the markers were pulled up and tossed away. It's estimated there are more
than 100,000 of these forgotten graves nationwide.

National correspondent Bob Dotson and I headed to Milledgeville to find out
more. Bud Merritt greeted us at the hospital museum. A sprightly man
with a mischievous smile, he showed us the records listing - in theory - the
name and number of everyone buried on the grounds. The books date
back to the 1900s, and with each handwritten entry is an incomplete story -
the name of a person who came to the hospital and never left.

"There's a lot of people that, frankly, have expressed the attitude to me
that it's too late and there's no need to raise these issues again. It would
be best forgotten. But I've never felt that way," says Bud.

Death by heartbreak
Casey McClain grew up in the shadow of her great-grandfather Herbert Martin
Williams. Once the backbone of the family, Papa Williams suffered
a breakdown after losing his wife in childbirth, his infant son to illness,
and his business to a dishonest partner. Overwhelmed, he checked himself
into Central State and died of heart disease - literally brokenhearted.

Casey's grandmother, Mollie, learned of Papa Williams' death when she was a
teenager. Not knowing where her father was buried pained the young
woman. For years, she kept photos of Papa Williams hidden in a shed. Later,
Casey would tag along as they searched local graveyards for his
headstone.

"It was a child loving her father and mourning," Casey says.
"Grandmother told us, 'There's a reason why people do what they do. You just
have to look for the answer.' "

In 1997, Casey went to work as a counselor at Central State. She had a hunch
that Papa Williams was buried somewhere on the 10,000-acre
property. Bud, also an employee at the hospital, had been so moved by his
cemetery discovery that he made it his personal mission to help
interested families identify graves.

Together they combed hospital records. Within six months, they were able to
locate the plot where Papa Williams is buried. "I just got a peaceful
feeling," Casey says.

Casey and her family now have a headstone at grave No. 1951. It reads,
"Herbert Martin Williams, February 1859-October 9, 1907."

Visiting the cemetery is still extremely emotional. Casey considered moving
Papa Williams to a family plot, but then realized that he belonged where he
was; a name in a sea of numbered graves.

This month, a new national memorial dedicated to remembering those unnamed
graves of the mentally ill will break ground at Saint Elizabeth's Hospital
in Washington, D.C. The memorial is a significant step in acknowledging the
plight of those suffering from mental illness.

As Casey puts it, marking these graves is "like our Arlington. It recognizes
all of the unknowns and gives them dignity in death that they didn't have in
life."

A final goodbye, too long in the making.

For more information, visit the Mental Health America Web site by clicking
here.

If you would like to contact the subjects of this American Story with Bob
Dotson, write to:

Bud Merritt
c/o Central State Hospital
620 Broad St
Milledgeville, GA 31062


Bob Carter

----- Original Message -----
From: <>
To: <>
Sent: Tuesday, June 09, 2009 7:26 PM
Subject: Re: [GA-CEMETERIES] prison cemertary


> This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list.
>
> Author: blondie17
> Surnames: Eaves, Ford, Farmer, Greer, Walden, Rogers, Cox, Jacobs,
> Robertson
> Classification: queries
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> Message Board URL:
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> http://boards.rootsweb.com/topics.cemetery.us.ga/1042.1/mb.ashx
>
> Message Board Post:
>
> Have you tried to find a death certificate for him? Also try contacting
> the prison system and see if they may have a record of where he was
> buried? Good luck
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• [NC-CEMETERIES] Old State Hospital cemetery by "Bob Carter" <>