Savannah: Bonaventure Cemetery

I love history and I love cemeteries.  When you have a historic cemetery, I'm in heaven.  Bonaventure Cemetery is such a place.  Our guide told us that you can't be buried here unless your family already has a plot.  But he did say that you might be able to buy a plot on Ebay.  I looked and didn't find any.  I did a google search and found one option.  It was 3 plots for $6,000.  Tempting.

Bonaventure Cemetery was originally a plantation, also called Bonaventure (Good Fortune).  Purchased by John Mulryne in 1762, the plantation sat on the bluff of the Wilmington River.  Josiah Tattnall (who came to Charleston in the mid-1700's) inherited the plantation from his father-in-law after his marriage to John's daughter, Mary.  In celebration of the marriage, John planted trees so that they formed the initials M & T.  

The mansion was built from bricks brought back from England and the terraced gardens extended all the way to the river.  I wish there was a photo of the house.  Unfortunately, in 1771, a dinner party was in progress when the house caught fire.  The party was moved outside while the guests watched the house burn (it was already beyond saving).

John Mulryne and the Tattnals were loyalists and helped arrange the escape of the royal governor, James Wright.  They fled the country to avoid arrest.  Mulryne went to Nassau where he eventually died.  Josiah and his family went back to England.  Bonaventure Plantation was confiscated and sold at public auction to John Habersham.

In 1771, Junior married Harriet Fenwick, and they had several children, only three of whom lived into adulthood.  In 1782, Josiah Jr came back to Georgia and joined the Continental Army under General Anthony Wayne and help take Savannah back from the Brits. He bought Bonaventure back from Habersham.

Harriet died in 1802 and was the first one buried at Bonaventure.  Josiah died shortly afterwards in 1803.  The children still living were sent to live with their grandfather in England.

This is the Tattnall family plot.  

• The obelisk is for Edward Fenwick Tattnall, son of Josiah and Harriet.  
• Then to the left, I'm not sure.  
• Next to that is Harriet Fenwick Tattnall and Josiah Sr.  In front of that stone is a Revolutionary war marker.  He fought under General Anthony Wayne during that war.
• Next is Commodore Josiah Tattnall III.  He was a commodore in the U.S. Navy until the Civil War.  At that time, he joined the Confederacy.  Note the CSA marker in front of his stone.
• Next to him is his wife, Harriet Fenwick Jackson Tattnall.  
• The cross in the front is Charlotte, daughter of the commodore and his wife.
• The flat stone next to Charlotte is Claudia, daughter of Harriet and Josiah Sr.
• The tall white stone at the back is Charlotte Fenwick Jackson, sister to Harriet Fenwick Tattnall.
• Then on the stone to the right of that one is for Mary Mulryne, Josiah, John and Sally, the four children that Harriet lost in infancy.

This neo-gothic stone was done by Struthers & Co..  It's the marker for Edward & Elizabeth Padelford.  Edward Padelford was one of the wealthiest merchants in Savannah. He had a shipping business and was also one of the founding members of the Georgia Historical Society.  He had six children only four of whom lived to adulthood.  His two sons, Edward Jr and George, both died during the Civil War.  Edward, himself, was an officer in the Confederacy.

That's our guide, Tim, as he gives us the low down on the cemetery and its inhabitants.

The grave shown here is called a "cradle" grave.  It has a headstone, a footstone and low stone walls along the side.  In the space between the "walls", the family would plant flowers.  Most families maintained the graves.  Families would come out and spend the day and bring a picnic to spend time with their loved ones.  That was also back when people didn't move around so much.  Family plots would have several generations interred in the same place.

Taliaferro Angel over the grave of Marie Barclay Taliaferro. (1858 - 1893).  She had three young children (buried in this plot) that did not survive into adulthood.  Katherine and Marie died in infancy and Benjamin when he was 4.

The statue is showing its age a bit.  The fingers on the extended hand have worn away and the wing over her left shoulder is broken.

From another angle.  It's a beautiful statue.

This is Gracie Watson.  She was the daughter of a hotel proprietor in Savannah.  She was six when she died of pneumonia.  Her father commissioned John Walz to create this statue in her likeness.  She is purported to be one of the most visited graves in the cemetery, which would explain why she's now behind a locked iron fence.  People would leave toys and treats at the headstone.

Nannie Herndon Mercer, Wife of George Anderson Mercer.  This is Johnny Mercer's grandmother.  

This is the Hugh Mercer family plot.  Hugh Mercer was the original builder of Mercer House.  He was expelled from West Point for participating in some Tom Foolery but was pardoned by President John Quincy Adams and permitted to graduate.  He fought as an officer in the Civil War.  He also stood trial for the execution of deserters.  He was acquitted and after the war went back to banking.  Due to ill health, he traveled to Germany to a spa resort and died there. 

George Dieter and Jacob Dieter.  The angel statue was done by John Walz.

John Walz sculpted over 70 monuments in Bonaventure Cemetery.  On these two stones, note the detailed work.  You'll also note, on the side of the stone, it says "J. Walz".

This is Johnny Mercer's family plot. 

• The Angel in the back on the left is Lillian, Johnny's mother.  
• The cross at the back in the middle is George Anderson Mercer, Jr., Johnny's father, and Mary Mercer, his father's first wife.
• The stone in front of Lillian is Juliana Mercer Keith, Johnny's sister.
• The marker right in front with the small angel is Nancy Keith, Johnny's niece.
• On the right of George Anderson, is Johnny's grave.
• To the right is the grave of Johnny's wife.

Johnny Mercer's grave.  Johnny Mercer was a favorite son of Savannah.  He was a lyricist and wrote a lot of cool songs from the '40's.  He is the great-grandson of Hugh Mercer (of Mercer House fame).

In the corner of the plot is this bench.  It lists the songs that Johnny Mercer wrote.

Corrine Elliot Lawton died in 1877 from an illness that was most likely pneumonia.  According to her mother's journal, Corrine was sick in bed for several days before she died.  There are all kinds of rumors, of course.  She was originally interred at Laurel Grove cemetery but was reinterred at Bonaventure.  The monument was done by a Sicilian sculptor named Benedetto Civiletti based on a photograph and the memories of bereaved parents.  She has a crown of flowers at her feet, and she has a resigned expression on her face.

Monument for Alexander Lawton.  The statue is of Jesus. This monument was erected after Corrine was reinterred at Bonaventure.  There are several rumors about her having turned her back on her family based on the juxtaposition of the markers but that's not the case.  

Alexander Lawton was a graduate of West Point in 1839.  He served in the Army and fought in the confederacy during the Civil War.  He married Sarah Gilbert Alexander in 1848 and they had four children, including Corrine.  The Lawton plot is on the cliff right above the Wilmington River.

Wilmington River

The Morgan Angel

Fred and Dorothea Morgan.

Aiken family plot.  Conrad Aiken, poet and writer is buried here. He lived in Savannah until his parents' death.  His father was a doctor.  His father shot and killed his mother and then committed suicide.  This grave is mentioned in the book, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.  Local legend is that Conrad wanted his marker in the shape of a bench so that visitors could come and have a martini.  There were no martinis on our tour of the cemetery.

The Spanish moss looks very cool in the sunlight, almost translucent.

Obelisks were a sign of wealth.  The taller the obelisk, the wealthier the person.  This is the Jacob Rauers family plot.  Jacob (1837 - 1904) was from Germany. 

Confederate star.  These symbols were placed in front of graves for those who fought in for the CSA during the Civil War.

Baldwin family angel.  The sculpture of the angel was done by Frank Hering for George Johnson Baldwin.

Mary Adele Slater.  The cross has her name.  She died as an infant.  Percival is the name on the stone to the left and it would appear he died very young as well.  

Bacon Family plot.

William Rogers.  He is one of three brothers that died quite young.  His brother, John, died at 19.  Killed in battle during the Civil War.  His other brother, McPherson, died of Typhoid Fever.  Both are buried in this cemetery.

Thomas & Eliza Theus.  Thomas was a confederate war soldier.  He was also a jeweler.

The trees in this cemetery are amazing.  The Spanish moss gives this place an eerie feeling.  Not so much in the sunlight but later in the day.

This Celtic cross monument belongs to Walter Scott Chisholm.  The stones surrounding the monument are those of his family.

This sculpture is also by John Walz.  The monument is for Gertrude Bliss McMillan.  The was married to Thomas Hasley McMillan who came to Savannah in 1878 from North Carolina to open a branch of the McMillan Copper Works.  They lived at 304 E. Huntingdon St, which was a beautiful Italianate house built in 1888.  That house is now a B&B.

In the same plot is this angel.  The monument is for Beulah Bliss Wheless (she's Gertrude's sister) and Joseph Pearce Wheless.  Joseph was a storekeeper and they lived at 511 Habersham Street.

This box in the bottom lower corner is the Wheless children: Julia and Pearce.  Both died when they were toddlers.

We were at Bonaventure Cemetery on a tour, so we were only there two hours.  It is my strong desire to go back and spend more time walking around and enjoying all the artwork and wondering about all the people that are buried here.