Old Live Oak Cemetery

Old Live Oak Cemetery

Details
Location	Selma, Alabama
Country	United States
Coordinates	32°24′19″N 87°01′55″W / 32.40531°N 87.03203°W / 32.40531; -87.03203

Bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest in Old Live Oak Cemetery.

Old Live Oak Cemetery is an historic cemetery in Selma, Alabama that was founded in 1829 and expanded in 1877. The newer portion is sometimes called New Live Oak Cemetery and the cemetery is collectively known as Live Oak Cemetery. It contains burials of Confederate States of America leaders, as well Benjamin Sterling Turner, an African-American who served as U.S. Representative for Alabama during the Reconstruction era. The cemetery is at 110 Dallas Avenue approximately 0.7 miles (1.1 km) west of downtown Selma.^[1]

Famous burials[]

• William R. King (1786–1853) 13th Vice-President of the United States.
• John Tyler Morgan (1824–1907) CSA General, then six-term U.S. senator after the war. An ardent racist and ex-slave holder, advocate for Jim Crow laws and racial segregation^[2]
• (1849–1902) Episcopal Bishop of Alabama^[3]
• Benjamin Sterling Turner (1825-1894) African American State representative that was born into slavery and freed during the civil war. Worked and died in Selma, Alabama

Confederate Circle[]

The graves of soldiers are to the south of the Confederate Soldier Monument,^[4][5] with cannons pointing north,^[6] forever protecting the deceased Confederates.^[7][8] Elodie Todd Dawson, buried nearby, was head of the Ladies Memorial Association (later the United Daughters of the Confederacy) and spearheaded the effort to build the $5,500 Confederate Monument in the cemetery. 155 soldier bodies were moved from elsewhere to be around the monument.^{[9][10][11][12]}

Other Confederate monuments[]

• Jefferson Davis Memorial Chair unusually in the form of a carved stone chair^[6][13]
• Forrest Memorial (2000) inscribed in part "Defender of Selma, Wizard of the Saddle, Untutored Genius, The First with the Most, This Monument stands as a testament of our perpetual devotion and respect for Lt Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest ... One of the South's finest heroes."^[14]

Elodie Todd Dawson Monument[]

The Elodie Todd Dawson Monument marks the graves of Elodie Todd Dawson (April 1, 1844 – November 14, 1881) and her husband Confederate Col. Nathaniel H. R. Dawson (1829–1895). Elodie Todd Dawson was the half-sister of Mary Todd Lincoln the wife of President Abraham Lincoln. Her parents were Robert Smith Todd (1791–1849) and Elizabeth L Humphreys Todd (1800–1874) and she had 17 full or half siblings.^[12]

After the war Dawson was appointed U.S. Commissioner of Education, the first from Alabama. Dawson also served as a member of the Alabama legislature which included serving as Speaker of the House. He was an organizer in the Democratic Party. Dawson was considered a leading citizen of Selma who raised money for Selma's Charity Hospital and Dallas Academy. He was a church leader at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, where his funeral was held.^[11][15]

In 2015, the Elodie Todd Dawson sculpture was named one of Alabama's "most photographed cemetery monuments".^[15]

The Pigeon House[]

A structure also called the Spring House for when it was used, sits near the Confederate Soldier Monument. The unusual name arises from the gables that were designed as bird houses, since closed to preserve the structure. The building was used for Confederate Memorial Day band concerts and programs each Spring. It is now used for storage.^[16]

See also[]

• List of Confederate monuments and memorials

References[]

External links[]

• Official website
• Media related to Live Oak Cemetery, Selma, Alabama at Wikimedia Commons
• Library of Congress Image [1]

Coordinates: 32°24′19″N 87°01′55″W / 32.40531°N 87.03203°W / 32.40531; -87.03203