𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚?
𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘢 𝘌𝘳𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘔𝘤𝘔𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘯
𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘢 𝘗𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘥
𝘔𝘳𝘴. 𝘑.𝘛. 𝘗𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘥
𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘢 𝘌𝘳𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘔𝘤𝘔𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘯, 𝘸𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘑𝘰𝘩𝘯 𝘛. 𝘔𝘤𝘔𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘯
This collection of names is significant to the Old Clarkesville Cemetery for a meaningful reason.
Georgia was the gatekeeper through whom we understand the stories we steward. It is through the lens of her girlhood memory that we have learned so much to support the mission to preserve and restore this sacred resting place.
In the Oct. 27, 1927 edition of the Tri-County Advertiser, Georgia wrote under the byline Mrs. J.T. Pittard. At that time, it was common for women to be identified as ‘Mrs. So and So,’ not by their own names.
Entitled Who’s Who in the Old Clarkesville Cemetery, she shared recollections of individuals she knew or had heard about from her time growing up in Clarkesville. This newspaper article transformed our understanding of the Old Clarkesville Cemetery, providing valuable clues for researching the people whose lives shaped Clarkesville’s earliest days.
An excerpt from the article:
“…𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥. 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 31 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘴𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦, 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘴𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥’𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘯𝘴, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴. 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯.” – 𝘔𝘳𝘴. 𝘑.𝘛. 𝘗𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘥.
Although Georgia herself is not interred in our shady sanctuary, her family’s presence endures—her father and infant sister sleep there, alongside other relatives on both her maternal and paternal sides.
Her parents were Garnett McMillan and Julia Wales Erwin. Her father died on January 14, 1875, at age 32. Georgia was left fatherless at 4. Her sister died on Oct. 14, 1874, at age 1.
Georgia Erwin McMillan, born on Sept. 26, 1870, in Clarkesville, married widower John Thomas Pittard, Sr., as his second wife, on Dec. 23, 1902, in Oglethorpe County, Georgia.
Georgia died on June 13, 1936, in Winterville, Georgia. She is buried in Winterville Cemetery alongside her husband, who died on May 19, 1935.
She appears to have had two children: John Thomas Pittard, Jr., born and died in 1899, and Lois Catherine Pittard, born in 1908.
With Women’s History Month closing out next week, we express our gratitude to Georgia Erwin McMillan Pittard, in all her iterations, for recording the past so that those in the future can learn the stories that lie beneath our native Hemlocks.
Her headstone reads:
She was a beautiful soul.
We agree.
𝘚𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘌𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘳, 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘴𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘥 𝘓. 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘺, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘔𝘳𝘴. 𝘑.𝘛. 𝘗𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘥.
Old Clarkesville Cemetery 