From October 2021 to August 2022 the LAMAR Institute GPR team (Dan and Rita Elliott) were engaged in surveying the dead in two large cemeteries in coastal Georgia. Reports on both projects are available on the LAMAR Institute’s website at these links:
The first was the Richmond Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery in Port Wentworth, Georgia. This was an African-american cemetery that started in 1913 and continues in use. Our survey located many unknown graves and also documented those with grave markers.The cemetery has its roots in far more ancient Georgia history, however, as the Richmond Plantation dates to the Colonial period and it was awarded to Major General Anthony Wayne by the State of Georgia following the American Revolution in appreciation of General Wayne’s deliverance by military means from the evil rule of King George III in Georgia. Wayne proved to be less skilled in operating a rice plantation than in leading an army, however, so his ownership of the property was relatively brief. The African-american community of enslaved persons, later living in the area as freedmen, maintained a Baptist church throughout the very late 18th through early 21st century. The earliest church was located nearer to the Savannah River. The general locale of Richmond Plantation today is dominated by Interstate 95, and many hotels, restaurants, and gas stations. The historical fabric of the old plantation is threadbare. One glimmer of continuity is the Richmond Missionary Baptist Church, which nearly disappeared from the landscape, but now is experiencing a revival. It was our pleasure to conduct a survey of their cemetery to document those known and unknown in the graveyard. Happy Halloween!
Our next large GPR cemetery survey was conducted in the Union United Methodist Church Cemetery in rural Bulloch County, Georgia. This early Methodist church shares many similarities with the previous church, in that its congregation is composed of persons of advanced age. This church dates back to at least 1790. The present wooden church structure is quite old, but it is probably the third church building to occupy this site. The adjacent cemetery also contains graves dating back to the end of the 18th century, although none of the grave markers attest to this. Our survey located many unknown graves and also documented those with grave markers. Today the church’s congregation is composed of caucasians, but in its earlier years, it welcomed African-americans into the church. The cemetery experienced an extreme “clean up” in the 1970s, where many grave markers were removed. This greatly increased the numbers of unknown graves, which our GPR survey helped to relocate. Despite summer head, it was our pleasure to conduct a survey of their cemetery to document those known and unknown in the graveyard. Such a serene place!
Mister Soapstone 
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