MADISON, GA'S HISTORIC CEMETERIES
WALKING TOUR
The entrance is on Central Avenue, west of S. Main St. Refer to the map.
Click underlined names for more information.
1. Episcopal Church of the Advent site 1853-1940.
2. Joshua Hill - Before the Civil War, Hill was a U.S. Representa-tive; during, a Unionist and leading citizen of Madison; and after, a U.S. Senator.
3. The Stokes-McHenry family monument is one of two signed by Robert E. Launitz of New York.
4. Physician Elijah Jones bought Madison’s c1811 Heritage Hall, now a museum, in 1830. He eventually owned 3,000 acres and 114 slaves in Georgia.
5. Eliza Johnston, who died in 1811, is the oldest marked burial here, probably a re-interment.
6. Aunt Cinda - Born c1790, Lucinda Floyd was the former slave of the Floyd family, with whom she lies.
7. Wilds Kolb, a large landowner, in 1860 owned 199 slaves.
8. The wife (unmarked) and five little children of Harper R. Goldwire lie here with him. He was a former slave, a renowned blacksmith, and wheelwright.
9. The 2009 Old Cemetery Hillside Memorial is dedicated to the many citizens and former slaves buried here.
10. Albert G. Foster was a lawyer and farmer. Note his beautiful obelisk of pink granite.
11. In less than a month in 1822, Amanda Nisbet Irwin, her two little children, and her brother John Nisbet died and were buried here. Just days later, her brother-in-law William died in Iredell Co., NC.
12. Marcellus Alden descended from John Alden of the Mayflower and was the grandson of Governor Wilson Lumpkin who orchestrated the removal of the Cherokee Indians from Georgia.
13. Tabitha Wilson (1832-1858) is the only burial in the city cemeteries covered in cast iron.
14. William Pearman Jr. enlisted in Virginia in 1778 in the Revolutionary War. He, his wife, and family lived in Wilkes County, GA, from 1787 until his death in 1817, when his wife moved the family to Madison, the home of their eldest son.
15. Thomas Norris enlisted in 1776 in Maryland as a soldier in the Revolutionary War. In 1786 he, his wife, and family moved to Georgia, and in 1817, a lawyer, he purchased and moved into the Rogers House (now a museum) in Madison.
16. Cousin Allie (Atkinson) of New York - On a restorative visit to her Madison family at the home of Atharates Atkinson, her despondency worsened, and she committed suicide.
17. Jack died June 18, 1840. His identity is a mystery.
18. Before settling in Madison, teenager Lula Hurst Atkinson, traveled the country as “The Georgia Wonder”, thrilling audiences with her powers over inanimate objects.
19. These 24 headstones of Confederate graves, do not mark interments here, but memorialize those who died here during the Civil War. (Click here also.)
20. 55 Southern Soldiers and Hospital Attendants were buried here during the Civil War, and one after.
21. Born in slavery, E(a)ster Gresham was a servant of, and buried with, the Hogue family.
22. Civil War veteran George Dexter was an under-taker and active in veterans activities.
23. Potter’s field - A Biblical term, this section was reserved for burials of the poor or unknown.
24. Born c1810, Allen Clark was the first pastor, beginning c1866, of Madison’s first African American church, Calvary Baptist Church.
25. Andrew Brown was one of the of founders of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Georgia.
26. The Higginbotham family plot: note the ground level bronze engraving of a ship at sea.
27. Woodsmen of the World insurance provided members a distinctive tree stump headstone for free.
28. Albert H. Winter, the last of Morgan County’s Confederate soldiers, died at age 92.
29. Madison Chief of Police Fred Adams was killed in the line of duty at age 56.
30. Harold L. Murray studied brick masonry in Chicago. He was well known for his fancy brickwork, and helped brick the First United Methodist Church, Pearl High School, and McGeary Hospital in Madison.
31. John Moreland was the beloved janitor during all the years of the existence of Madison Graded School, now the Madison-Morgan Cultural Center.
32. Adeline Rose was born in slavery in 1864. As a widow, in 1893 she had her own home built near Madison’s railroad tracks. Long after her death, the City purchased the house and moved it next to the Courthouse. It is now a museum dedicated to her life and memory.