Gainesville, Florida Cemetery an Historical Landmark

The following excerpt is from an article by Lawrence Chan, published in the April 18, 2014 edition of wuft.org:

This state historical marker tells what notable people are buried in the Evergreen Cemetery. The site holds about 10,000 graves. Lawrence Chan / WUFT
This state historical marker tells what notable people are buried in the Evergreen Cemetery. The site holds about 10,000 graves. Lawrence Chan / WUFT

It started with a baby and a cedar tree.

In 1856, James Tilatha Thomas, a cotton farmer and landowner, buried his 10-day-old daughter beneath a cedar tree.

Eight months later, his wife Elizabeth Jane Hall Thomas passed away. He buried her on the land, too. It’d be 21 years before Thomas would rejoin his family.

Thomas’ small family graveyard expanded into the Evergreen Cemetery, which was honored April 12 with a Florida Historical Marker. This will preserve the Gainesville cemetery’s condition as a cultural and historical landmark.

The marker is inscribed with the cemetery’s early history and the names of notable historical figures found there.

Read the full article.

View the findagrave website page for the Evergreen Cemetery in Gainesville, Florida. 8,823 interments are listed.

About Leland Meitzler

Leland K. Meitzler founded Heritage Quest in 1985, and has worked as Managing Editor of both Heritage Quest Magazine and The Genealogical Helper. He currently operates Family Roots Publishing Company (www.FamilyRootsPublishing.com), writes daily at GenealogyBlog.com, writes the weekly Genealogy Newsline, conducts the annual Salt Lake Christmas Tour to the Family History Library, and speaks nationally, having given over 2000 lectures since 1983.

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