Eddie Barnes Born Apr. 8, 1889 Died Feb. 20, 1935
The style of this machine-cut granite headstone appears to date it well after 1935. It is located in the Mincey family plot, but may not be sited at Eddie Barnes‘ actual grave. I have not been able to identify him further.
Photo by Lisa Y. Henderson, January 2021.
Ella Dau of Charlie & _____ Oates _____ 1897 _____
Ella Oates died 21 July 1913 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was about 17 years old; was single; lived on Ash Street; was a servant; and was the daughter of Charles Oates and Emma Williams.
Both Charles and Emma Oates are buried in Odd Fellows, but, Charles’ headstone, like Ella’s, is broken and lies at a distance from Emma’s. Ella Oates’ marker is in the stamped concrete anchor-and-ivy style.
Wiley Oates‘ sandstone obelisk is arguably the loveliest surviving monument in the Lane Street Project cemeteries. Found shrouded in honeysuckle, the five-foot gravestone is in nearly perfect condition.
Wiley Oates Born 1877. Died July 23, 1913. A loving Husband and a friend to all.
The lotus motif is unique in these cemeteries and symbolizes resurrection and eternal life. The designs alternate with fern and ivy imagery.
For more about Wiley Oates, see here and here and here and here.
I’ve written of the dozens of simple narrow marble grave markers in Odd Fellows Cemetery. Most are inscribed with the full name of the deceased and, often, the fraternal organization’s emblem. Were they headstones or footstones, though?
Yesterday I had a go at unscrambling the chunks of concrete from a shattered anchor-and-ivy marker found when trash and privet were cleared from the edge of the parking lot bordering Odd Fellows. There was an obvious base and, around it, two dozen or so pieces of headstone, which I sorted more quickly than I’d expected. I was surprised to recognize the name of the deceased — Smith Bennett — especially since I’d already found a Smith Bennett marker.
Smith Bennett Died Apr. 30, 192_ [May the Resur]rection Find Thee On the Bosom of Thy God
The first stone, which lies about 15 feet from this one, is of the smooth white marble variety that the Odd Fellows seem to have supplied to lodge members and their families. Presumably, in this instance, it served as a footstone, though it (or the headstone) has obviously been dislodged from its original place.
Smith Bennett’s footstone. At top, between the trees, his broken headstone.
Photos by Lisa Y. Henderson, April 2021.