HISTORIC

LINWOOD CEMETERY

COLUMBUS, GEORGIA

Last Updated December 9, 2009

Please note that not all of the names listed below are buried within Linwood Cemetery. Some of the names are listed as references in obituaries of those buried within Linwood Cemetery. The names listed on this web page are from the Linwood Cemetery Index of Names compiled and published by Dolores Autry © 1994.

History

In 1828, Edward Lloyd Thomas and his son Truman were surveying land in West Central Georgia for what would become Columbus, Georgia. Working in the harsh conditions of the winter of 1827 - 1828, Truman became ill in March. Suffering for over a week, Truman passed away on March 26, 1828. The next day, Edward buried his son. The following month, Edward surveyed the four acres surrounding the grave of his son for use as a cemetery for Columbus.

Located behind the Old City Hospital, now the Medical Center, Linwood Cemetery was included in the 1828 plan of Columbus, Georgia as the first public cemetery. Known as the 'City Cemetery", Linwood did not receive its current name until City Council action on November 7, 1894. Rich in tradition and history, Linwood is the final resting-place for some 500 Confederate soldiers, sailors, Columbus Guard and Columbus Artillery as well as several nationally notable persons. Linwood Cemetery is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Columbus, Georgia is the site of the last Civil War land battle east of the Mississippi River. On Easter Sunday, April 16, 1865 (a week after the Surrender at Appomattox), Wilson's Federal Raiders, being 4,000 strong, overran a Confederate entrenchment over a mile long in Alabama, crossed the Chattahoochee River entering Georgia and captured Columbus.

 

Notables Buried in Linwood

 

Brigadier General Henry L. (The Rock) Benning - 1814-1875, Confederate General whom Fort Benning is named after.

Brigadier General Paul J. Semmes - Confederate General killed at Gettysburg.

W. C. Bradley - Industrialist and Philanthropist.

John Pemberton - 1831-1888, Originator of the formula for Coca-Cola.

Lizzie Rutherford - Suggested the observance of a National Memorial Day.

Noble Leslie DeVotie - 1831-1861, Founder of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.

S.M. Ingersoll, M.D. - Helped to establish a ferry spanning the Chattahoochee River. It is said that Samuel Morse obtained his first idea of the magnetic telegraph from Dr. Ingersoll while travelling in a stagecoach in Lee County, Al.

Ulysses Lewis - First Indentant (Mayor) of Columbus. Ulysses was a direct descendant of Betty Washington, sister of President George Washington.

James Jeremiah Slade - Son of the Reverend Thomas B. Slade, co-founder of Wesleyan College. James served as Mayor of Columbus 1892 - 1895 and was a member of the Georgia Assembly 1907 - 1913.

Daniel A. Wallbohm - Soldier under Napoleon the Great in the Russian campaign and at Waterloo.

James Fleming Waddell - Fought in Mexican and Civil Wars. Appointed as Consul to Matamora by President Millard Fillmore.

 

Acknowledgements

 

I would like to acknowledge the tireless work of the late Dolores Autry for undertaking the great task of indexing the names of all of the graves at Linwood. As a co-founder of the Historic Linwood Foundation, she extended her love for Linwood to ensure the preservation and continued remembrance of all those at rest within. Also, a special thanks to her husband, Marshall Autry, and her good friend, Lea Dowd, for continuing her work and persevering to ensure the vision stays alive.

Dolores Autry

January 9, 1936

June 10, 1997

And this is my memorial to all generations; that the generations to come might know them. Exodus 3:15

Pictures of Linwood

Awards

Links

***Please note that names are grouped by Surnames only for convenience of research. No assumptions can be made as to family associations within a specific Surname group unless declared on the inscription. Index includes names of persons referenced in associated obituaries and Sexton records.

  

Index

Please click on the letter corresponding to the FIRST letter of the surname:

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X,Y,Z

 

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For further information about a name that is listed, to add your link to this page, to report broken links or to help support this page:

e-mail CGAutry@knology.net

 

Note: This web site is not affiliated with or supported by The Historic Linwood Foundation, the City of Columbus Georgia, The Board of Historic and Architectural Review, The Muscogee Genealogical Society nor any other government, civic, historical or non-profit organization. This web site is the intellectual property of CGAutry and reflects the public information available about Linwood Cemetery as well as information contained in The Linwood Cemetery Index of Names compiled and published by Dolores Autry, copyright 1994.