Slatter Family Cemetery

GA Highway 128 West

	SLATTER, Thomas S. "Age 70"	N/D	21 Dec 1835
	SLATTER, Nancy "Age 82"	N/D	22 Feb 1856
	HUNTER, Infant Children "Of George R. & Mary"	N/D	Mar 1851

Slatter Family Cemetery
Submitted by Wyatt Parker, Jr.
Great-Great-Great-Great-Great Grandson of Thomas Shepherd and Nancy Slatter

                                September 25, 2009

The site of the Slatter Family Cemetery is located west of Roberta , Georgia on Ga. Hwy. 128 west, 1.7 miles west of the Roberta city limits.  The approximate physical address is 1932 Ga. Hwy. 128 west and the GPS coordinates are N 32 degrees, 42.041’; W 084 degrees, 02.657’; and the elevation is 446 feet.

Driving directions from Roberta , Ga. – Drive west on Ga. Hwy. 128 1.7 miles from the Roberta city limits to a small dirt/gravel driveway located on the right side of the highway just below the bottom of the hill.  Specifically, the driveway is located 2/10 of a mile west of Moncrief Road and approximately 100 yards east of Spring Creek.  After turning right into the driveway there is a gate across the small dirt road.  From the gate/fence line the burial site is 135 feet on the right side of the dirt road – approximately 40- 50 feet into the woods.  The burial site is in a small grove of mature cedar trees and the ground cover is primarily periwinkle.

The burial site consists of three monuments – two of which are typical mid-nineteenth century graves which consisted of a brick burial vault and covered by a large granite/marble capstone.  The third monument is a smaller upright marker.  The two vault/capstone styled graves are app. 4 feet by 8 feet in size and the third grave’s vertical marker is app. 4 feet in height, 14 inches in width, and an inch thick.  Each has a carved dedicatory message relevant to the occupant(s).  It is apparent from the current condition of the graves that the two capstones have been moved/disturbed, either by human means or by the natural movement caused by tree/root growth over the past 174 years.  The capstones are situated side by side in a northwest to southeast direction with the head of the stone pointed northwest. The upright marker was lying on the ground beside the grave of Nancy Slatter, giving cause to believe that it too has been disturbed.  The moving of the upright marker calls to question the exact location within the site of the represented remains.

The site is littered with bricks from the vaults and from what appears to be a small retaining wall that marked three sides of the perimeter of the site.  On the east side of the site there are four or five granite stones placed end to end that appear to form the fourth side of the site.

The site is littered with debris from years of accumulation and the capstones were covered with leaves, vines, broken limbs, and other debris.  My family and I cleaned the site – removing the debris, leaves, vines, and tree branches.  We leveled the capstones and returned the third marker to vertical.  We then cleaned the granite surfaces with a weak cleaning agent and water exposing the etchings.

The three monuments were designed and carved by the Artope Monument Company of Macon , Georgia .  Artope monuments can be found in many of the cemeteries in middle Georgia and the company also contributed a portion of the Washington Monument .  The Artope quarry, called the Georgia Quincy Granite Company, was located near Sparta , Georgia in Hancock County .

The brick burial vaults contain the remains of Thomas Shepherd Slatter and wife Nancy Slatter.  The vertical marker marks the burial site of grandchildren of Thomas and Nancy.  The children’s parents were George R. and Mary Slatter Hunter (daughter and son-in-law of the Slatters).  It is unclear the number of children buried, but the marker does use the word children.

The inscriptions are as follows:

“Sacred to the memory of Mrs. Nancy Slatter who died Feb. 22, 1856 at age 82 years.  She was exemplary in all the relations of life and died in perfect peace.  This monument erected to her memory by her affectionate daughter, Mrs. Mary S. Hunter”.

“Sacred to the memory of Thomas S. Slatter who died 21^st Dec. 1835 in the 70^th year of his age.  He was a kind and affectionate husband and father, a most sincere and devoted friend, an honest and correct man”.

Sacred to the memory of the infant children of Geo. R. and Mary Hunter.  March 1851.

Thomas and Nancy Slatter were married in 1797 in Hancock County , Georgia and had children Thomas, Lemuel D., and Mary.

This page was last updated Tuesday November 17, 2009