2433 Brownsville Road
Powder Springs, GA
1850
The Pleasant Hill Baptist Church was established on June 7, 1850 on what is now the corner of Brownsville Road and Pine Valley Road. The land directly behind the church was set aside for their cemetery. The earliest marked grave was on February 26, 1854 and is that of Mary M. Edwards in 1854. Mary was born February 14, 1826. She was the wife of S. Edwards. Her marker also has the inscription “Two infant daughters”.
The next earliest marked grave was a few months later on May 6,1854 and is that of Amanda M. Eason. Amanda was born on June 1, 1851. Her marker states that she was “Aged 2 years, 11 months, 4 days”.
There were at least three who were over 100 years old when they passed away and about 25 who were in their 90’s. The oldest was Dovie Allene(a) Elliott Ellis who would have turned 105 years old on her next birthday. Dovie was born on May 5, 1902 and died on March 20, 2007. She was the wife of Ivory Ellis.
Agnes M. Harper, July 22, 1905 to May 4, 2007, just short of her 102nd birthday.
Cora M. Harper Abbott, May 11, 1885 to May 2, 1985, just short a few days of her 100th birthday. She was the wife of Robert H. Abbott.
Ruth Hunter McTyre, October 20, 1918 to February 11, 2018, just short about 7 months of her 100th birthday.
As with most cemeteries, this cemetery has graves that are unmarked and/or unknown, broken markers, walled lots, crypts, those of husbands and wives and, sadly, infants. In the Pleasant Hill Baptist Church Cemetery are buried some of the faithful members of their church and community in which they lived. They were part of those early settlers who came here and made this area their home as farmers, businessmen, merchants, building a place to worship and raise their families. Many were ordinary citizens.
A few of those family names buried here are: Abbott, Bell, Brumbelow, Crider, Florence, Hunter, McCravy, Morris, Petty, Standage and White.
Pastor: Francis Marion Mitchell (1825-1913). Rev Mitchell was one of the early, if not original, members of the church, a Mason and a Veteran of the War Between the States. He served in Company I, 20 GA Volunteers, C. S. Army. He was married to Clarentine B. “Tinnie” Stewart (1882-1904).
Edna Florence Bell (1927-2010) was the pianist for many years here at the church. She was married to Doyle Ernest Bell (1925-2007).
Ernest Everett Bennett, Sr (1915-1984) has the Masonic Emblem on his marker indicating he was a Mason. His wife, Dorothy Hoke (1916-2000), has the Eastern Star Emblem on her marker, indicating she was a member of the Eastern Star, an Auxiliary organization for the wives of the members of the Masonic Lodge.
Paul Marchman Coalson (1903-1965) member of the Bartlett Masonic Lodge #139 who were in charge of the graveside rites at his funeral. He was married to Mary Amanda Bennett (1919-2000).
Marion Kennedy Brumbelow (1943-2019) was known, among other things, for her wonderful songs at Pleasant Hill during Vacation Bible School. She was married to Joel “Doug” Brumbelow (1940-?), a Veteran of WWII.
James Thomas “Tommy” Crider (1933-2014) a life-long resident of Powder Springs and member of the Deacon Board at Pleasant Hill Baptist Church. Founder and first President of the Powder Springs Youth Organization where he dedicated over 40 years of his life to the youth of Powder Springs. Tommy served in the U. S. Army and was honorably discharged in April of 1962. He was employed at Lockheed for over 18 years and then at Alco Manufacturing Co. in Douglasville until his retirement. He was married to Melba Elliott (1936-2016) who was also a life-long resident of Powder Springs. After her children were grown, Melba worked with the Cobb County School System for many years.
William Florence (1811-1884) was known as a ‘consistent member of the Baptist Church’ for 48 years. He was married to Lucinda Turner (1809-1873). A stone wall surrounds their graves and includes other family members graves.
There are many others buried here that served and supported their church in different capacities through the years. These were just a few of those great and humble people, no matter how long they were members. There are also those who served their community in other various ways.
James A. Bundrum (1910-1985) and his wife Mina Brown (1916-2011) had sons that served in the U. S. Army during and in Vietnam.
Grady Lamar (1937-2017) is buried in Sunrise Memorial Gardens in Lithia Springs.
Jody Thomas (1943-2013) received the “Silver Star” for his service and is buried in the Georgia National Cemetery in Canton.
James Lawrence (1945-1998) received the Armies Air Medal for his service and is buried in Mount Harmony Memorial Garden Cemetery in Mableton.
Chief Bobby L. Carter (1938-1985) Fireman – Fire Chief. He was married to Shelbie Jean McTyre (1938-2001).
Charles Ruben “Charlie” Crider (1936-2018) cattle farmer; a competition horseman and member of Douglas County Saddle Club, winning multiple honors and championships throughout his career in competition, retiring from Delta Airlines after 34 years. His wife was Gloria Stansell (1936-2013) who was an accomplished artist and member of the Artist Guild.
Benny Jack Hughes (1938-2019) retired from Sears as Receiving Manager, then worked at Grand Slam USA. He was married to Edwina Robbie Golden (1943-2013) who retired from Sears as a clerical worker. Both worked at the Sears location on Ponce de Leon Ave. in Atlanta. They were also long time members of Pleasant Hill Baptist Church.
Bobby Sanders Jones (1928-2018) Veteran of Korea, serving in the Air Force. Bobby was a life-long resident of Cob County and a Shriner. After retiring from GMC, he drove a school bus for Cobb County for many years. His wife was Christine Jones.
Jerry Neal Wilkins (1950-2021) wrote articles for the Douglas County Sentinel and retired from CSX Railroad. Jerry was a US History Buff and enjoyed participating in Civil War Enactments. He also volunteered his time by placing markers at the foot of Veterans gravestones.
Clenton Thomas Shackleford (1929-2017) He was a Veteran having served in the U. S. Army. He retired from Lockheed after 35 years. He sang in the Lockheed Choir. He also sang in several gospel quartets for a number of years. He wife is Peggy Sue Shaw.
There are also those graves that do not have markers or are marked but does not have any information on the marker. Thomas Richard Morris (1907-1988) only has the Benson Funeral Home Marker, Dallas, GA. Thomas H. Wood Jr (1802-1882) is unmarked.
The lives and stories of the others buried here are just as important as those listed here. There were those who were able to go into their own businesses – brick/stone masons, electricians, contractors, construction workers, painters and more. Some worked at the other business opportunities in the community and surrounding areas, retiring from many of them. Others stayed home, raised families and worked to provide the day to day necessities.
Some of those farmers were: James Ruben Crider (1862-1929); William Glenn Ellis (1863-1933); Thomas K. Kelley (1857-1921); Henry B. Prince (1886-1966) and Jake C. McTyre (1921-2005).
Then there are also many Veterans from various wars buried here. The ones listed here are only a few of them. A “Thank You” always to all our Veterans, whether they served their country in war or peace time.
War Between the States – William H. Florence (1840-1861) died at Manassas. His family erected a marker in his memory in their family burial plot; Watson Gresham (1823-1862) also died in the war and is buried in the Florence’s plot. His marker has a Masonic emblem on it; C. B. Holleman (1835-1908); Jackson Mitchell (1835-1862) and William M. Morris (1845-1933).
World War I – Glenn Florence (1896-1971); Robert Chester Harper (1889-1970); Ralph Kelley (1893-1976) and Marcus Pritchett (1896-1974).
World War II – Claude Dixon (1920-1987); John Duard Huey (1924-2010); Clarence Morris Knight (1901-1995); James Ernest Petty (1920-1960); Albert George Prince (1923-1956); Raymond Clyde Shutley (1919-1969); Julius G. Trapp (1909-1963) and Woodrow R. Wilkins (1920-1965).
Korea – Charles Lamar Brumbelow (1935-1982); Clifford A. Holtzclaw (1935-2005); Linnie D. Petty (1934-2014); Donald Ray Strickland (1933- 2005) and Doy E. Wellham (1932-2002).
Vietnam – SSGT Paul Richard Standridge (1934-1968). Killed in action. Some of those who served in active duty or the Reserves – Jack William Booker (1936-2010); Larry Allen Gunter (1940-1966); Paul B. Hunter (1924-1981); Sgt Thomas E. Johnston (1942-1996) and PVT Harold C. Kelley (1922-1942), killed on maneuvers in Louisiana (National Guard).
There are Memorial Markers throughout the cemetery honoring the lives and families of those buried here in their final resting place. Many have inscriptions of devotion, how they lived their lives, how much they were loved and are missed. There are also markers here honoring those, who for some reason, could not be buried with their families and loved one. All those buried here have, in some way, helped make their communities a better place to live for all generations. The cemetery has over 430 graves and is still used today.
The information comes from various documents compiled by Sara Frances Miller, Historian, and is on file at the Museum in the Research/Library Room. Other Information source used was the Find-A-Grave website. A more complete list of graves and information can be found on their website. www.findagrave.com.