A grave house from Hill Country, Part 1

Part 1. Letha Ann Ratliff Grissom: A grave house from Hill Country. Below

Part 2. The Grissoms and Ratliffs of Itawamba County Mississippi, 1860. To be posted later

by Terry Thornton
email: hillcountrymonroecounty@gmail.com

Below is a photographic essay of the grave house of Letha Ann Ratliff Grissom, born April 25, 1844, died March 24, 1861. Letha Ann married Henry Jackson Grissom December 3, 1860. Three months and a few days later she was dead. She was sixteen years old. Letha Ann Ratliff Grissom is buried at Oak Grove Cemetery in the Ratliff Community of Itawamba County, Mississippi, in the grave house that Henry Jackson Grissom built for her 149 years ago.

Grave houses were once common throughout the Hill Country --- but few have survived. This one-hundred-forty-nine year old grave house is a prime example of grave houses built over a burial to shelter and to protect the grave. The custom may have had its origin in the older custom of building "spirit houses" so that the spirit of the deceased would stay near the body until judgment day to then be rejoined with the body, fused with the soul, and resurrected to ascend into Heaven.

The grave of Letha Ann Ratliff Grissom is within the grave house shown above. Her husband, Henry Jackson Grissom, built the grave house in 1861. His grave marker is the one to the immediate left of the house.

The grave house was probably originally covered with a wooden shake roof; the older photo below shows some sort of composition shingles on the roof; but more recently, the grave house has been updated with a metal roof.

Each side of the house features either a window or a door.

A photograph through the back window; sunlight illuminates the marker and the grave covered with flowers. The reflections on the window are of me holding my camera.

Through the opened door, the grave of Letha Ann Grissom is visible; the marker has been repaired but is most readable.

Note the walls and ceiling of the completely sealed small grave house. The rubble on the floor indicates that an earlier concrete floor has been picked and broken apart.

The marker of Letha Ann Grissom, born April 25, 1844, died March 24, 1861. Family records indicate that she married on December 3, 1860. Just a few months later, Letha Ann was dead.

An earlier photograph of the grave house is used by permission of the Itawamba Historical Society. This photograph originally appeared in The Grave of Letha Ann Grissom by Sue Farmer Bean, page 184, Itawamba Settlers, Volume 20, Number 4, Winter 2000, Edited by Joe Nell Wood. Copyright © Itawamba Historical Society. All Rights Reserved.

SOURCES AND ADDITIONAL READING:

Bean, Sue Farmer. The Grave of Letha Ann Grissom, Itawamba Settlers, The Quarterly Journal of Itawamba County Mississippi History and Genealogy. Edited by Joe Nell Wood. Volume 20. Number 4. Winter 2000. Page 183 and following. A photograph of the grave house from that article is republished above with written permission of Bob Franks, Publications Editor, Itawamba Historical Society.

Grissom Family Census, 1860 Federal Census of Itawamba County Mississippi. Available through Heritage Quest through the Itawamba-Lee County Library System.

Ratliff Family Census Information, 1860 Federal Census of Itawamba County Mississippi. Available through Heritage Quest through the Itawamba-Lee County Library System.

All photographs (unless otherwise noted) from Oak Grove Cemetery, Itawamba County Mississippi, by Terry Thornton, Fulton, Mississippi. February 2, 2010. All Rights Reserved.

A PLACE CALLED HOME: Itawamba County, Mississippi

A Review by Terry Thornton

Itawamba County native, author, photographer, and historian Bob Franks has written and published A PLACE CALLED HOME: Itawamba County, Mississippi. This photographic account of the north Mississippi county he understands and respects is Franks' loving tribute to the hills of home. The reader who has never wandered the hills of Itawamba receives an accurate impression of their beauty; the reader who is familiar with them is delighted to see what he already knows presented in a novel and enlightening format.

Franks' love of subject is evident through the numerous photographs of places and objects from "Tombeckbee" Hill Country. His choices are varied and, at times, surprising. Franks photographs show both the unfamiliar and the comfortable. They capture myriad details that usually escape the casual observer.

Franks' pictures and comments about the hill country reflect his knowledge of his native land, his reverence for his heritage, and his willingness to share his vision of this unique area of the world. This book makes the reader yearn for a place called home such as Itawamba County.

If you are looking for a Mississippi Hill Country book to read or to give as a gift, Bob Franks' A PLACE CALLED HOME should be at the top of your list. His coffee-table book will take you on a journey to and through Itawamba County.

A PLACE CALLED HOME is available at Blurb Bookstore online (click link to view). The book may be previewed at Blurb as well as ordered. On a personal note, I ordered A PLACE CALLED HOME for a Christmas present. It was my first experience with Blurb and was a most pleasing one. Blurb Bookstore not only confirmed my order within minutes and stated when they would ship my order, but they also delivered the book as promised.