When it comes to the Civil War, I’m not that interested in the generals and battles. The thing that interests me is the depravation, the hunger, the neighbors turning on one another, and the way that – like wars now – poor men end up paying the price for rich men’s (misguided) dreams.
Mary Ann West was born in 1860, the 9th and youngest child of my brick wall ancestor George W. West (b. abt. 1819 in Spartanburg, SC) and his wife Jennett Cowan West (b. abt. 1816 in County Antrim, Ireland). Unfortunately, perhaps due to the hunger and depravation I mention above, she passed away in 1863 at only 3 years old. She’s buried at the Concord Baptist Church Cemetery in Forsyth County, Georgia.
When I first discovered that my ancestors were associated with Concord Baptist Church, I did what any good genealogist would do an Googled it. Wouldn’t you know it, one of the first stories I came upon was about Forsyth County’s haunted places. I’m a scientist at heart, but found it amusing that the last piece in the article mentions how Concord Baptist Church’s cemetery is haunted by… a little girl. Eerie. 😉
Of course, if she were haunting the churchyard, I wouldn’t really blame her. Maybe she would have had enough food to eat and not gotten sick if she hadn’t been born in the middle of a war.
Now that my anti-war polemic is over, I’m back to seeking out tombstones in the deep forest.
Happy detecting!