Fulton Co. Genealogical Society's "A Walk Through The Past"
Second Annual Cemetery Walk
September 15, 2006 |
The cemetery was begun in 1881, with sections added to it over the years.
THEN - People walking in the cemetery, sometime about 100 years ago.
NOW - People walking in the cemetery today
Good evening ladies and gentlemen,
on behalf of the Fulton County Genealogical Society, I would like to welcome
you to the Second Annual Cemetery Walk - "A Walk
Through The Past". You are standing in Fulton's Historic Fairview
Cemetery.
The cemetery was first established in 1881, with its first burial in March of that year. The first acre of land bought for the cemetery was purchased wih the proceeds from a minstral show. In 1885, two sections were added for the Colored population of the town. Another three sections were added in 1898 and a fourth in 1930. The cemetery now contains approximately 8-1/2 acres of ground, that houses some 4000 burials. Of that 4000, a little over 1100 are unmarked. Tonight, you will meet some of the more prominent people in our town, in their day and time. You will learn facts that you never knew and hear many an interesting story. Your guide will point out other interesting facts on your journey, we hope you enjoy your tour and ask plenty of questions. Enjoy your walk through Fulton's past |
Hannah Rice Owen
Portrayed by Letha Barnes
Good evening. I’m Hannah Rice
Owen, born and raised in McCracken County—mostly lived at 1010 Harrison
Street in Paducah. That is until I met and married John Jefferson
Owen (known in these parts as J. J. Owen) and moved here to Fulton in 1899.
You see, I had a brother who ran a laundry business up in Paducah where
John J. Owen was working. One day I was walking through that laundry
when something came sailing through the air and hit me in the back of my
head. Wheeling around, I met the gaze of that man—J. J. Owen.
Well, he was “smitten” with me and I’ll have to admit I took “aliken” to
him.
|
Bess Morris
Portrayed by P. J. Lamb
Bess Morris They called me Bess. Plain, Simple
“Bess” even though I was named Elizabeth. I was born Sept 9, 1881,
on my grandfather’s plantation, in Harris Station, Obion Co., TN.
My grandfather was a physician as was my father. My parents were Dr. N.
G. “Nat” Morris and wife, Susie DeBow Morris who came from Sikeston, MO.
It has been said that I was a beautiful young woman and I’ll admit that
early photos of me attest to that. I grew up in Fulton – in fact
spent my entire life here except when I attended finishing school at the
elite Moscobel College in Nashville, TN. I never married, remained
a spinster my entire life. Although there was one special man in
my life, but that didn’t work out and I won’t say anymore about him!
|
Josie Black
Portrayed by Gilda Ingram Simmons
On June 6, 1898, on a shanty boat, on
the Mississippi River, off the banks of Ballard County near Wickliffe,
a baby girl was born to a Cherokee father and a Seminole/Negro mother.
That girl child was me, Josie May Carman. My father, William Carman,
was a Cherokee Indian from Virginia. I don’t know how or why he came
to this area. He was a fisherman and farmer and he had been married
before he met Mary Cavitt, my mother. Mother was Seminole Indian
and Negro. Shortly after I was born, my parents gave up farming;
moved to Cario, IL, and relied entirely on fishing to support themselves
and our family. By the time I was 6, both my mother and her mother
had passed away. I, along with my brothers and sisters, came to Fulton
to live with great-aunt Emily Hayes. During this time, schools were
segregated. I graduated from Milton High School here in Fulton in
1916. Milton was over near what used to be called Missionary Bottom.
|
Emerson Bruce Eddings
Portrayed by John Ward
It’s surely good to see you people here
today. My name is Emerson Bruce Eddings. My ancestors were from Virginia.
They migrated to Tennessee. I was born in Gibson County, Tennessee
in 1830 and grew up in Trenton, Tennessee. There was a dark side
to my life. I killed a man. This happened because I was extremely
upset by what happened to my sister. She was a teacher at a private
school and had chastised a small boy. The parents had her arrested
for supposedly mistreating their son. She was honorably acquitted,
but I just could not let it go. I lived in Lexington, TN at that
time and rode horseback to Trenton to visit my sister. One day as
I rode past the place of business that the boy’s father ran, I heard someone
laugh. Thinking that he was laughing at me, I became enraged, walked
in, and shot him in the heart. He died instantly. I gave myself
up and was jailed. In a few days some other prisoners and I escaped.
A posse was formed and after some time I was located in Arkansas and returned
to Trenton. After 2 years in prison, a petition for a pardon was
circulated. It was signed by the judge who sentenced me, the jury,
and Tennessee Governor, Isham G. Harris.
|
Samuel Adrian McDade “Squire McDade”
Portrayed by Dan Voegeli
Samuel Adrian McDade “Squire McDade” Hello ladies and gentlemen, I’m glad to see
you attending our little gathering today. My name is Samuel Adrian
McDade and I was born on September 21, 1870 on my parents’ farm about 5
miles southeast of South Fulton in Weakley County, Tennessee. My
parents were Darcus Amanda Conner and Dudley W. McDade. In 1885,
at the age of 15, I left the farm and came to South Fulton to live with
aunt and to attend her school. After graduating, I decided to remain
here. Farm life was not for me. I prefer city life.
|
William James &
Anna Blanche Clanton Boone
Portrayed by Nick and Trish Boone
William James & Anna Blanche Clanton Boone (BILLY) Good evening
ladies & gentlemen. I am William James Boone, but you may call
me Billy. With me is my lovely wife and helpmate Anna Blanche.
Both of us were born in nearby Feliciana, KY. For those of you too
young to remember, Feliciana was once a thriving town located near Water
Valley. My grandfather, Bryant Boone, born in NC in 1789, moved to
Nashville, TN, about 1810. While living in Nashville he participated
in the War of 1812. In the early 1830’s, he brought his family to
Graves Co., KY. This included his mother, Mary, who lived to be nearly
100. My father, James Boone, born in 1815, married Catherine Latta
from a well known Graves County family. Both my parents and grandfather
Bryant and his second wife, Martha are buried at Pleasant Hill Cemetery
near Water Valley.
|
Virginia M. Provost
Portrayed by Caina Lynch
Pardon me, have you seen my husband?
They called me Virginia Provost and my husband is, H. J. Provost.
In December, 1961 we checked into the Fulton Plaza Court Motel. Within
a few days I died. My husband made my funeral arrangements and then
he left town. He didn’t return for my funeral.
|
Samuel Goodhue Patterson
Portrayed by Rev. Tim Atkins
Samuel Goodhue Patterson I am Samuel Goodhue Patterson. Some
people call me reverend, others call me doctor. I am both.
My life was graced by the fortune of wide ranging experiences. I
was a Methodist preacher – but not what they called a traveling preacher.
I did missionary work in the Indian Territory, as Eastern Oklahoma was
called back then. I was also a medical doctor and a businessman.
I was born may 31, 1811 in New Hampshire, but like many young men of my
day I longed for new frontiers, and thus I went west, by way of Indiana.
I eventually settled in southwest Missouri where I owned a mill, practiced
doctoring, and sometimes worked as a preacher. Now, I confess that
I was southern in temperament during the late War Between the States.
Missouri was one of those places where ardent sympathizers on both sides
of the conflict. Missouri in particular was a place where a lot of
guerilla warfare took place. Guerilla raiders would travel about
to pillage and destroy. On one raid, sympathizers of the northern
variety destroyed my mill and my home. So it was that after the War
Between the States was concluded, I, along with my family relocated here
in Fulton.
|
Noah Norman
Portrayed by Judge Hunter B. Whitesell
Noah Norman Two hundred years ago, on September 19, 1806,
in Rockingham, NC, a baby boy was born to Charles and Elizabeth Norman.
That baby was me, Noah Norman. My brothers, Pleasant & Bethel,
and I were still very young when our father died. When new land in
the west became available, we along with some of Mother’s relatives migrated
to the Nashville area in Davidson County, Tennessee. Times were tough for
a young widow and her 3 small sons. I became the “man” of the
family and unfortunately had little opportunity for a formal education.
However, I did learn the beneficial lessons of industry, frugality, honesty,
and faithful citizenship.
|
Say Good-bye to the actors
We thank them for a great job.
I know it seems like a long time ago when you started this tour; however, we hope you enjoyed yourself and that you learned a lot of Fulton history. On behalf of the Fulton County Genealogical Society, we would like to thank you very much for your attendance and hope you will come back when we have the next walk through the past. |
See you next year