Cemetery Stroll in our hometown of Trussville, AL

We're home after about 3 weeks on the road.  Short trip for us!  On the way back into Trussville, we kept seeing a sign about "Cemetery Stroll."  There is a really old cemetery in Downtown Trussville across from City Hall.

We were out running errands and decided to stop by and see what was going on at the cemetery.  Since it was from 12:00 pm. - 4:00 p.m. and it was now 3:30 p.m., we were cutting it short.

We got out of the car and was it ever HOT!  Clouds were piling up, but no rain.  JUST HOT!

We approached the tent (cemetery one) and asked what to do next.  We signed in and waiting until our guide came for us.  Soon enough she appeared!


She directed us to our first stop on the stroll.  William P. McCory.  Mr. McCory died while serving in the Navy during the Korean War.

He explained to us that his ship was hit by another ship and he drowned at sea.  He explains his body was not buried here, but he didn't mind as he was at rest.  Note the 3 markers on the top of his tombstone.  The first is the ship he served on, the middle one is his portrait, and the third one is the ship that caused the accident.  It was amazing how much this young man looked like the portrait.

Our next stop was Ernest Garrison.  He and his wife Artemecia had 13 children.  One of the family here, Eugene Garrison, was murdered and his murder was never solved.

After hearing him share his story, we moved on to visit Alice Blake.  She married her husband when she was very young and he was much older.  They had moved to Trussville for work.  Their home was located where Applebee's is now.  She and her husband bought one of the first cars in Trussville.  He wrecked it one day while driving so she learned to drive and took over the family driving duties.

Alice was a delightful young woman!

Time to move on as it's really getting dark!  Next we visited Mary Truss.  She and her family were one of the early settlers of Trussville.  She shared with us the story of the holly tree near her marker.  Over 200 years ago, a westward traveler on horseback stopped to rest his horse.  Deciding to retire his whip, he planted it in the ground.  The whip sprouted into a holly bush and remains there still.

Mary Truss

There are some interesting markers here.  Our guide took time to explain a couple of them to us. The first one shaped like a triangle was built that way to keep cows from falling into the graves.  The second one is made from stacked stone and sort of like a horizontal mausoleum.

The huge magnolia tree in the photo above has it's own history.  Legend has it that the ancient magnolia tree int he Trussville Cemetery is one of the oldest trees in the State of Alabama, if not the country.  Two lovers were betrothed under the beautiful tree.  The bride set her wedding date in June, but caught pneumonia and died. The young man was overcome with grief.  The years went by and the young man would see the tree and cry.  He grieved himself to death and his family honored his request to be buried by his sweetheart.  On nights when the moon is shining bright, you can see the young sweethearts embrace.

On to meet more Trussville settlers!

Here we have Arthur Truss who was the first postmaster for the City of Trussville.  Nancy Truss was the wife of Warren Truss, the found of Trussville.  

We see a young woman moving back and forth near a marker at the back of the cemetery.  It's now darker and thundering!

See her disappearing near the huge marker?  She paces back and forth.

We move closer and she stops to speak to us.

Have you seen my mother?  Where is my father? Please help me find them!

Her name is Una Mae Brown and is the only member of her family buried here. We notice she's carrying a glass of red liquid and her face is stained with red.  She apparently died of TB long ago.  Back then she was though to have "vampire disease."  After she died, her younger brother became very ill.  They dug up her body, removed her heart and had it ground into a powder.  The powder was put into a drink for her brother, but he did not survive.  She still wanders looking for her family.

Here is her marker:

The tour ended here, but there is much more to see. We spend a little more time here, but the storm is getting closer.  We'll come back for more photos!  We also asked to join this group (the live one) to participate in an October Cemetery Stroll.

Here are some of the markers we saw:

He died as a lived..a Christian.

Asleep in Jesus

 Happy Trails Until We Meet Again

 

 This marker was metal.

 Note the lamb carved on top.  This was a traditional child's monument.

A Little History

There are graves dating from the 1700's and 1800's of many prominent Trussville families in this historic cemetery:

The Talley Family - 1785-1838

The Truss Family - 1837

The Carlisle Family - 1880

The Vann Family - 1864

The Praytor Family - 1862

In January, 1871, Mr. T. K. Truss deeded the property where the cemetery lies today to the Trustees of the Cahaba Baptist Church.  In 1948, the First Baptist Church of Trussville deeded it to the town of Trussville.  Once again, in 1962, the town of Trussville deeded it to the First Baptist Church. On April 17, 1962, the First Baptist Church deeded the cemetery and property to the newly formed Trussville Memorial Cemetery Association.  The Association was incorporated January 26, 1962.  The original Cahaba Baptist Church building that was constructed in 1873 and remained there until 1946 is where the Dairy Cone now stands.

The Trussville Memorial Cemetery Association was officially formed in 1962 by Wesley Mann Garrison, buried here.  It is funded through private donations for the perpetual care and upkeep of both the Trussville Cemetery and the Mt. Nebo Cemetery in Trussville, Alabama.  Mr. Garrison, a Birmingham attorney and Trussville native, decided that these stories and the history of these wonderful families needed to be preserved.  Many of the family heirs had moved on and the cemeteries fell into disrepair and neglect. Because many of the Garrison family are also buried here, Mr. Garrison organized several of the remaining heirs and founded the Trussville Memorial Cemetery Association.  His older brother, Mr. Thomas Garrison, was a brick mason who designed and built the existing wall that frames the cemetery.

Please Note:  Much of the history material came from a handout given to us when we visited the cemetery.