Pass the Desk Spike, Please

There is a long running joke about beating your head on your desk in utter frustration. Those of us who play at the higher levels know that the advanced version of the joke entails mounting a massive, sharp, pointy spike on the desk first, THEN pounding your head.

I need my Desk Spike.

Been working of late, off and on, to see if I can find sufficient evident to make a good case for who some of the unknown graves may be in the inherited family cemetery. And to see if I can determine a link between all the people known to be there. In addition to the Griffith and Smith families (for whom I know all the connections) there are a couple of Lang graves and Hill graves marked with stones and recorded as being in the cemetery by the county historical society. If they are related I want to know how.

Well, as to the Langs, no. There is no clear connection. They lived in the area and, presumably, knew the family owning the cemetery. I did work out a good case that the Lang couple has a son buried in the cemetery with them. They had a son born in 1850 (when they were living in the adjoining county) who does not appear with them on the 1860 census (when they are living in the same county as the cemetery), And the husband is listed as passing in 1861. Both husband and wife are buried in the cemetery. My supposition is that the missing son died after they had moved to the area and was buried here. Not proven by a long shot. But a reasonable theory that fits the few facts.

It is with the Hill graves that I am screaming with frustration.

There are two graves, obviously children (one or both being infants) who share a single headstone. I am trying to find their history. And I am making zero progress.

I never expect to find deceased children in a Census. Most are not born in Census years. And those who failed to survive long would not be record on a Census unless they 'threaded the needle' by being born just prior to the Census, getting recorded, and passing shortly thereafter. No, the vast majority of these children would be recorded only in a family bible. Or perhaps in a local newspaper (again, not something done regularly for infants).

There is damned little data to begin searching on. But here is what I have:

(Left side of the marker) Infant Hill, no dates, inscription reads "Infant Son of Mr. & Mrs. N.E. Hill"(Right side of the marker) James Robert Hill, no dates, inscription reads "Son of Mr. & Mrs. N.E. Hill"

So all I have to do is find N. E. Hill and wife who lived some time in or around Oglethorpe County, Ga any time between the county being created in the early 1800s and the point when we learned of the cemetery in the 1960s. Simple!

Looking at the stone itself I would think it dates from the mid 1800s to, at the latest, the early 1900s. That is a seriously long span to search.

Try as I might, I cannot nail down N. E. Hill in the county or surrounding counties. At least not consistently. There is an N E Hill on the 1890 Oglethorpe County Tax Roll having about $100 worth of property. And the Griffiths from my clan are listed on the same page, so we have an N. E. Hill in the right place.

But there is nothing on the 1880 or 1900 census. And naturally the 1890 census is missing. Arrrrgggghh! Nothing but the one property record. If only the damned 1890 Census were still around maybe it would hold some answers.

Looks like this one has to remain a mystery for the ages.