Humboldt, Tennessee
Information compiled by John Blankenship

Click on the camera icon after name to see photo of that stone
All photos courtesy of John Blankenship

1) Eliza J. Scott, wife of Dr. W. D. Scott   Died: Sept. 26, 1847    Age: 27 years, 11 months, 13 days

2) Harry H. Warmath    Born: November 25, 1799    Died: October 9, 1849 

3) George A. Sharp    Born: 1830    Died: 1859  

4) Johnnie A. Sharp    Born: 1858    Died: 1859 

5) Jas. A. McGee    Born: August 30, 1827    Died: August 10, 1864 

6) T. N. Ferrell, father of T.C. Ferrell    Born: 1837    Died: 1864 

7) Mallie E., daughter of H.T. and M.F. Johnson    Born: Feb. 17, 1861    Died: July 7, 1865 

8) William H., only son of Dr. W.G. and Booker Inman    Born: March 27, 1867    Died: July 19, 1867

9) Richard Cross    Born: Sept. 11, 1828    Died: Jan. 15, 1868 

10) Albert Jones ( G.S. Lannom said in 1932 history that this is first person buried here)
                     Died: October 11, 1868                        Age: 61 years, 2 days

11) Mary J. Transou, daughter of B.F. and S.A. Transou        Died: November 6, 1868

12) David Cornelius Dickey (said by Nelson A. Cresap to be first or second person to be buried here)
                      Born: April 18, 1822         Died: December 11, 1868

14) D. F. McIntosh   Born: Oct. 24, 1810   Died: Dec. 30, 1869   Aged: 59 years, 2 months, 5 days

15) Julia A. Read, wife of James Mitchell    Born: Feb. 22, 1839     Died: March 21, 1869

16)  Annie, daughter of John and Nannie Lee    Born:  October 28, 1867   Died:  August 9, 1869
                    Aged:  1 year, 9 months, 12 days

17)  D. F. McIntosh     Born:  Oct. 24, 1810   Died:  Dec. 30, 1869 Aged: 59 years, 2 months, 5 days

Rose Hill Cemetery lies in the southern part of Humboldt, situated on the most beautiful grounds. The grounds are dotted with many one hundred plus year old trees and some of the most beautifully carved tombstones in the state.  Here lie the men, women, and children whom are the founders of Humboldt.  Many that lie here played major roles and some didn’t play such  major roles, but all played a very important part in the founding of Humboldt, Tennessee.

The question has been asked to me by many people why the cemetery was named Rose Hill. In my response I always say “there must have been roses growing here at one time”. Of all the research I have done and the people I have asked nobody remembers any roses ever being in the cemetery. So the roses must have been removed many years ago. Also the question is asked when was it named Rose Hill. That is another question that I cannot completely answer. I do know in 1877 it was called “cemetery”, so the name Rose Hill must have came sometime after that. But those are questions that will probably never be answered. Like I say roses or not Rose Hill Cemetery is one beautiful burying grounds in Tennessee and one day I will be laid to rest in this sacred ground alongside the “founders of Humboldt” whom I respect so dearly.

This is the most complete history of early burials in Rose Hill Cemetery that could be compiled with the few records available.

Eliza J. Scott has the earliest tombstone in the cemetery. Eliza died September 24, 1847.  She is the wife of Rev. W.D. Scott. According to histories of Humboldt that have been written in the past, this is not the first burial here. According to those histories, the first burial came much later, in 1868. There are two things that could be possible. One, is that she could have been buried there before the cemetery was established as the city cemetery. Two, her tombstone and body were moved from somewhere else at a later date. See Humboldt was chartered in 1866 and she could have already been buried there, and the histories said that the 1868 burials were the first official burials in the "city cemetery". But anyway this is the earliest stone here.

The next oldest stone is Henry H. Warmath who died October 9, 1849. He settled about 3 miles east of Humboldt between  the Esquire Lewis Road and the Mullins Road. Recently I received some information from Mr. Billy Warmath, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and Mr. Frank Warmath, of Humboldt, Tennessee that the stones(Henry and his wife Elizabeth) were moved about 20 years ago to Rose Hill Cemetery.  According to Frank Warmath, his father J. Frank Warmath moved two people to Humboldt. These must be the two people his father moved. They were moved here from a cemetery off of the Mullins Road on the Madison and Gibson County line. They are located on the John W. Warmath lot. (John W. Warmath is the son of Henry Warmath.) So Henry Warmath was not originally buried in Rose Hill Cemetery.

The next oldest stone is George A. Sharp who died in 1859. He is the father of Oscar C. Sharp, who owned a dry goods store in Humboldt for many years. I do believe this man could have been originally buried here, because his family had already settled in the area back in the 1840's. His old tombstone was removed many years ago and replaced with a more modern one. (NOTE:  Geo. A. Sharp’s widow, Martha Howse Sharp, married Geo.’s brother, T.A. Sharp and he raised Oscar C. Sharp.)

The next stone is of a child named Johnnie A. Sharp who died in 1859 also. I do believe he was originally buried here. He is buried right near George A. Sharp. I assume he is the son of George A.  Sharp.  He also has a newer tombstone.

The next burial is James A. McGee who died August 10, 1864. McGee was one of the first druggist in the new town of Humboldt.  James A. McGee was married to Elizabeth Gillespie, the daughter of John C. Gillespie. Elizabeth died in 1856 and is buried in the McLeary Cemetery west of town by her father.  I believe that James A. McGee was originally buried in Rose Hill.  His stone is located near Sharp. (Note: When McGee died, D.M. McKnight acquired his drug business.)

The next burial is T.N. Ferrell who died in 1864. His original stone has been replaced with a newer one some years back.  He is buried by his son, T.C. Ferrell. I figure he was originally buried here. (NOTE: It has been written that the Ferrell's owned some of the land that Rose Hill Cemetery is now located on, but this can not be proven. This info comes from Mr. Howard Choate.)

The next burial is Mallie E. Johnson. She died  July 7, 1865 and is the daughter of Hiram T. Johnson. Johnson was the first lawyer to practice in Humboldt, he came from Purdy, Tennessee in 1865 with his father Milton H. Johnson. I am pretty sure that she was originally buried here.

The next burial William H. Inman, son of Dr. W.G. and Booker Inman. He died July 19, 1867 and is buried near Mallie E. Johnson.  Dr. Inman was a Baptist minister and was the 10th pastor of the First Baptist Church of Humboldt from Nov. 1, 1881 to Dec. 31, 1892. I figure that William H. Inman was originally buried here.

The next burial is Richard Cross who died January 15, 1868. Nothing much at all if any is known of Richard Cross. There are some other Cross' buried near him. On the 1877 Beers Map of Humboldt you will find the Cross family living near the cemetery, so I assume he was originally buried here. He is not far from Inman and Johnson.

The next burial is Albert Jones who died October 11, 1868. Jones opened up a grocery business in Humboldt  after having moved from Newbern. He died soon after having taken up residence in his new home. Mr. George Sharp Lannom, son of the founder J.N. Lannom, wrote in his 1932 history of Humboldt as he remembered it from its earliest times said that this was the first grave in Rose Hill Cemetery. His stone is still there, but is broken into three pieces.  He is  located near Cross, Inman, and Johnson.

The next burial is Mary J. Transou who died November 6, 1868. She is the daughter of B.F. and S.A. Transou. B.F. Transou owned a nursery early in Humboldt's history. He was also a founder of the Methodist Church in Humboldt, which was organized in 1860 by Rev. Nathan Sullivan. She is buried under an ancient magnolia tree.(NOTE: Descendants of the Transou family say that she is the first burial in Rose Hill Cemetery.)

The next burial is David Cornelius Dickey who died in December 11, 1868. Mr. Nelson Adair Cresap said in his 1927 history of Humboldt that Dickey was either the first or second person buried in Rose Hill Cemetery. According to Mr. Cresap's history, Dickey was a teacher in the building that housed the Hopewell Cumberland Presbyterian Church. This church was near old Shiloh (north of Humboldt). Dickey is buried beside the Confederate Memorial Garden. He is buried near Eliza J. Scott and James H. Scales.

The next burial is  Sarah M. P. Seward who died January 10, 1869.  Sarah is the wife of Benjamin Seward who was in the dry goods  firm of Seward, Ferrell, and Scales. Nothing is known about this lady. She is buried east of James H. Scales.

The next burial is Julia A. Read who died March 21, 1869. She was the wife of James Mitchell. The Read’s lived in the southern part of the county, not to far from the cemetery property. (Note: I believe that this James Mitchell is the same person as Dr. James (Jim) Mitchell. Mitchell Street in Humboldt is believed to be named for Dr. Mitchell. James is the son of Dr. P.H. Mitchell of the Edison Community.) Read is buried several rows northeast of Scales and Seward.

The next burial is James H. Scales who died in 1869. In my research of this man, I found that he probably died in early November of 1869, because the Humboldt Lodge No. 202, of F. & A. M., at their lodge room in Humboldt, on Saturday the 13^th of November 1869, picked a committee to pass suitable resolutions expressive of the feelings of the Lodge in the lose of their brother James H. Scales. The committee consisted of Joseph N. Lannom, S.W. Sharp, Moses E. Senter.  James Henry Scales was from Williamson County, Tennessee and moved here sometime around 1860. Scales was in the firm of Seward, Ferrell, and Scales, which sold dry goods. The firm consisted of, I believe, Benjamin Seward, Calvin H. Ferrell, and James H. Scales. (Note: All three of these men and their families are buried in the same area or lot.)  Mr. Ferrell married the daughter of James Scales. But, James’ daughter Lavinia K. Scales, who married Ferrell, was the daughter of Elizabeth Peyton Scales.  Martha, whom is buried by James, is his second wife. He is buried southeast of Eliza J. Scott and northeast of D.C. Dickey.

The next burial is Annie Lee who died August 9, 1869. She was the daughter of John and Nannie Lee, whom I know little about. All I have found on John Lee is that he was listed as a grocer in the 1870 census. She is buried directly south of  Mary J. Transou.

The next burial before 1870 is D.F. McIntosh who died December 30, 1869. McIntosh was one of the first jurors for the newly established "Humboldt Law Court". It was established in April of 1869. Little is known about McIntosh. His stone is broken. It is located right across the road from the Confederate Memorial Garden.

I am stopping my history of early burials in Rose Hill Cemetery with D.F. McIntosh because the cemetery must have been made the “city cemetery” as of about 1870. There are several burials in the early 1870's. I know there are stones that have been gone for many years and were not able to be read, but this is the most complete history of early burials that could be compiled with the records available. There are probably many people buried here that never had a tombstone, but there are no records to tell who they are.  They might not have tombstones to mark their final resting place, but their spirits can be felt when you walk upon the sacred grounds of Rose Hill Cemetery.

                                                                                                                Started in the Summer of 2000,

                                                                                                                Completed December 1, 2000.

                                                                                                                 _________________________

                                                                                                                submitted by John Blankenship