By Thomas Zei
If you walk along the right side of Section H in Stones River National Cemetery, you will notice three headstones marking graves that contain the burials of three children. It is not unusual to find children buried in the post-Civil War Sections P through T since policies allowed minor children of veterans of foreign wars to be buried in a national cemetery. But these three graves in Section H are distinctly different burials as they are marked with non-conforming headstones purchased by the families and seemingly have no relationship to any other burial in the cemetery. So why are they buried in the national cemetery?
The right side of Section H is unusual. The graves in the entire cemetery are aligned in military precision. The straight rows and columns are a characteristic of any national cemetery. Each section at Stones River is formed into sharp shapes for edges. All except the right side of Section H. There are five extra graves that stick out beyond the planned reach of the section. Several of the graves in the last couple columns are larger headstones than the normal Civil War era markers. There are many unknown graves with no written record of where they came from. And then there are the children.
There is little or no documentation on the children’s burial. In the 1880’s, Superintendent Thomas Frame sent a correspondence in response to a request by the Quartermaster’s Office on unmarked and civilian graves in the cemetery. Most of these were in designated numbered graves and represented two scouts, six unknown Black employees and three civilians originally buried in Tullahoma. The letter also stated that there were four unmarked children’s graves in the cemetery. These children were not in the burial sections and there are no records of these four graves and they were not counted with cemetery interments. It is unknown if these four children’s graves had anything to do with the children buried in Section H, especially since these three children had markers on their graves and there are only three graves, not four.
Let’s look at these three graves and what is known about each one.
If you walk along the right side of Section H in Stones River National Cemetery, you will notice three headstones marking graves that contain the burials of three children. It is not unusual to find children buried in the post-Civil War Sections P through T since policies allowed minor children of veterans of foreign wars to be buried in a national cemetery. But these three graves in Section H are distinctly different burials as they are marked with non-conforming headstones purchased by the families and seemingly have no relationship to any other burial in the cemetery. So why are they buried in the national cemetery?
The right side of Section H is unusual. The graves in the entire cemetery are aligned in military precision. The straight rows and columns are a characteristic of any national cemetery. Each section at Stones River is formed into sharp shapes for edges. All except the right side of Section H. There are five extra graves that stick out beyond the planned reach of the section. Several of the graves in the last couple columns are larger headstones than the normal Civil War era markers. There are many unknown graves with no written record of where they came from. And then there are the children.
There is little or no documentation on the children’s burial. In the 1880’s, Superintendent Thomas Frame sent a correspondence in response to a request by the Quartermaster’s Office on unmarked and civilian graves in the cemetery. Most of these were in designated numbered graves and represented two scouts, six unknown Black employees and three civilians originally buried in Tullahoma. The letter also stated that there were four unmarked children’s graves in the cemetery. These children were not in the burial sections and there are no records of these four graves and they were not counted with cemetery interments. It is unknown if these four children’s graves had anything to do with the children buried in Section H, especially since these three children had markers on their graves and there are only three graves, not four.
Let’s look at these three graves and what is known about each one.
Sarah E Ross – Grave H-6143
Sarah Ross shares a grave and headstone with her father William Z Ross. Per the large grave marker, Sarah died on September 29, 1866, after the end of the Civil War. The marker stated that William Ross was born on December 21, 1822 and died two weeks after his daughter on October 11, 1866. The headstone also includes an epitaph reading “They were lonely in their lives and in death are not divided.” The stone was created by the Calhoun Brothers in Shelbyville.
Census and genealogy records indicates William Z Ross was from near Chatham, Ohio. His first wife Mary died in 1846 and he married her sister Charlotte the same year. A daughter, Sarah, was born in 1850. William and Charlotte also had two other children per the 1860 US Census of Baltimore, Ohio.
The census showed the occupation of William Ross as a Methodist Episcopalian minister. On September 2, 1866, The Republican Banner newspaper in Nashville, TN reported from Bedford County that “Quite an interesting revival of religion is now in progress at Hart’s Chapel, a few miles North of Shelbyville, under the auspicies (sic) of Rev. W. Z. Ross of the Methodist Episcopal Church.” A report that month also indicated that Rev. Ross was leading revivals that led to the baptism of many new members. The ME Church was especially attractive to the African American community with its anti-slavery message.
Within a few weeks, Rev. Ross and his daughter were dead. A newspaper article from the Memphis Daily Press in October, 1866 stated that Chaplain William Earnshaw, Stones River National Cemetery's superintendent, participated in a state convention of Methodist Episcopalian ministers in Murfreesboro. During the meeting, he and his fellow ministers served at the funeral of fellow ME minister Rev. William Ross of Shelbyville who died of cholera. If there was a cholera outbreak, it is likely that his daughter also died from it. With Earnshaw at the funeral service, he could have offered to have the Rosses buried on the grounds of the national cemetery.
Cemetery records have a comment that they were buried near where the rostrum was eventually built. There is no record of Rev. Ross serving in the Civil War or what brought him to Shelbyville, TN. It is likely that the building of the rostrum required moving their grave to the new location in Section H.
The epitaph on their marker is unusual in that they are described as “lonely in their lives.” His wife Charlotte Ross lived until 1900 and he had his three children. It is unknown whether Charlotte and the two youngest children traveled with him to Tennessee. It is also interesting that another almost duplicate marker is located at Green Lawn Cemetery in Columbus, Ohio marking the deaths of William and Sarah Ross.
Sarah Ross shares a grave and headstone with her father William Z Ross. Per the large grave marker, Sarah died on September 29, 1866, after the end of the Civil War. The marker stated that William Ross was born on December 21, 1822 and died two weeks after his daughter on October 11, 1866. The headstone also includes an epitaph reading “They were lonely in their lives and in death are not divided.” The stone was created by the Calhoun Brothers in Shelbyville.
Census and genealogy records indicates William Z Ross was from near Chatham, Ohio. His first wife Mary died in 1846 and he married her sister Charlotte the same year. A daughter, Sarah, was born in 1850. William and Charlotte also had two other children per the 1860 US Census of Baltimore, Ohio.
The census showed the occupation of William Ross as a Methodist Episcopalian minister. On September 2, 1866, The Republican Banner newspaper in Nashville, TN reported from Bedford County that “Quite an interesting revival of religion is now in progress at Hart’s Chapel, a few miles North of Shelbyville, under the auspicies (sic) of Rev. W. Z. Ross of the Methodist Episcopal Church.” A report that month also indicated that Rev. Ross was leading revivals that led to the baptism of many new members. The ME Church was especially attractive to the African American community with its anti-slavery message.
Within a few weeks, Rev. Ross and his daughter were dead. A newspaper article from the Memphis Daily Press in October, 1866 stated that Chaplain William Earnshaw, Stones River National Cemetery's superintendent, participated in a state convention of Methodist Episcopalian ministers in Murfreesboro. During the meeting, he and his fellow ministers served at the funeral of fellow ME minister Rev. William Ross of Shelbyville who died of cholera. If there was a cholera outbreak, it is likely that his daughter also died from it. With Earnshaw at the funeral service, he could have offered to have the Rosses buried on the grounds of the national cemetery.
Cemetery records have a comment that they were buried near where the rostrum was eventually built. There is no record of Rev. Ross serving in the Civil War or what brought him to Shelbyville, TN. It is likely that the building of the rostrum required moving their grave to the new location in Section H.
The epitaph on their marker is unusual in that they are described as “lonely in their lives.” His wife Charlotte Ross lived until 1900 and he had his three children. It is unknown whether Charlotte and the two youngest children traveled with him to Tennessee. It is also interesting that another almost duplicate marker is located at Green Lawn Cemetery in Columbus, Ohio marking the deaths of William and Sarah Ross.
Hester Bell Woodward – Grave H-6142
Very little is known about Hester. Her headstone states that she died on December 15, 1864 at the age of eight years and seven months. This indicates she died before the end of the Civil War and about the time of the creation of the national cemetery. The marker also contains a verse called An Epitaph on an Infant written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
A historical cemetery record stated that she was re-interred from the lodge. Most likely, the lodge was the building constructed later as the housing for the superintendent and cemetery office.
No census records were found for Hester Woodward. Since she was buried on the grounds, it is possible that she was connected to either Joseph Tompkins or Benjamin Lillard, Esq who owned the properties, although the land was already under eminent domain proceedings for the national cemetery. At the time of the battle, there were no residents or buildings on the grounds so it is very unlikely that she was buried in an existing family graveyard.
Very little is known about Hester. Her headstone states that she died on December 15, 1864 at the age of eight years and seven months. This indicates she died before the end of the Civil War and about the time of the creation of the national cemetery. The marker also contains a verse called An Epitaph on an Infant written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
A historical cemetery record stated that she was re-interred from the lodge. Most likely, the lodge was the building constructed later as the housing for the superintendent and cemetery office.
No census records were found for Hester Woodward. Since she was buried on the grounds, it is possible that she was connected to either Joseph Tompkins or Benjamin Lillard, Esq who owned the properties, although the land was already under eminent domain proceedings for the national cemetery. At the time of the battle, there were no residents or buildings on the grounds so it is very unlikely that she was buried in an existing family graveyard.
Aggie Williams – Grave H-6141
The headstone for Aggie provides about all that is known of her life. It does not provide a date of death. Her epitaph reads “Our little Aggie, youngest daughter of Rev. G. W. and M. S. Williams. Aged one year, seven mo’s and 20 d’s.” The headstone is also adorned with a verse of a Baptist song written by Samuel Francis Smith. Both headstones of Aggie and Hester appear to be the work of the same memorial maker but very different than the Ross marker. The headstones do support that the families had enough money to purchase complex headstones rather than a simple marker.
A search of census records did not find a G. W. Williams that was a minister in 1860 or 1870. It is interesting that both Aggie Williams and Sarah Ross were daughters of ministers. It is possible that G.W. Williams was a part time minister with another occupation shown in the census record. There was several G or George Williams that were farmers in Middle Tennessee but not with a M.S. as a spouse.
Just like Hester Woodward, cemetery records indicate that Aggie’s grave was also moved from the lodge area. No date was indicated when her grave was moved. Based on the grave numbers for Williams, Woodward and Ross, their reburials probably occurred between 1905 and 1911 since the veterans buried in Section P, that had grave numbers on either side of the three children, died in 1905 and 1911.
So why were these three unrelated children buried on the grounds of what became Stones River National Cemetery? The Ross family were moved a long way from the north Shelbyville church that William was creating. Another minister then buries his daughter either before or after Sarah Ross but in a different location than what became the rostrum. Hester Woodward dies in 1864 and is buried near where the superintendent’s lodge is eventually built. Aggie Williams is buried either before or after Hester near her grave. Why weren’t they buried in an established cemetery in Murfreesboro or Shelbyville? Why did they choose a property with no residents and apparently no other graves? Were the families drawn to the area by the U.S. Regular soldiers buried nearby on the property? Did the fathers serve with the Union troops during the war? Were they White or Black? Were they somehow related to the United States Colored Troops assigned to protect the railroad and eventually to create the national cemetery?
We probably will never know the answers to these questions. If you can provide any background on these children, please contact us at [email protected]
The headstone for Aggie provides about all that is known of her life. It does not provide a date of death. Her epitaph reads “Our little Aggie, youngest daughter of Rev. G. W. and M. S. Williams. Aged one year, seven mo’s and 20 d’s.” The headstone is also adorned with a verse of a Baptist song written by Samuel Francis Smith. Both headstones of Aggie and Hester appear to be the work of the same memorial maker but very different than the Ross marker. The headstones do support that the families had enough money to purchase complex headstones rather than a simple marker.
A search of census records did not find a G. W. Williams that was a minister in 1860 or 1870. It is interesting that both Aggie Williams and Sarah Ross were daughters of ministers. It is possible that G.W. Williams was a part time minister with another occupation shown in the census record. There was several G or George Williams that were farmers in Middle Tennessee but not with a M.S. as a spouse.
Just like Hester Woodward, cemetery records indicate that Aggie’s grave was also moved from the lodge area. No date was indicated when her grave was moved. Based on the grave numbers for Williams, Woodward and Ross, their reburials probably occurred between 1905 and 1911 since the veterans buried in Section P, that had grave numbers on either side of the three children, died in 1905 and 1911.
So why were these three unrelated children buried on the grounds of what became Stones River National Cemetery? The Ross family were moved a long way from the north Shelbyville church that William was creating. Another minister then buries his daughter either before or after Sarah Ross but in a different location than what became the rostrum. Hester Woodward dies in 1864 and is buried near where the superintendent’s lodge is eventually built. Aggie Williams is buried either before or after Hester near her grave. Why weren’t they buried in an established cemetery in Murfreesboro or Shelbyville? Why did they choose a property with no residents and apparently no other graves? Were the families drawn to the area by the U.S. Regular soldiers buried nearby on the property? Did the fathers serve with the Union troops during the war? Were they White or Black? Were they somehow related to the United States Colored Troops assigned to protect the railroad and eventually to create the national cemetery?
We probably will never know the answers to these questions. If you can provide any background on these children, please contact us at [email protected]