Tombstone Tuesday~Sarah A. Williams Purvis

Sarah A. Williams Purvis

b 1 June 1830

d. 3 June 1888

bu. Antioch Cemetery

Wife of Geo. Purvis 

For many years I tried to get information on the second wife of George W. Purvis without success. George and his Wife Sarah are buried in the Antioch Baptist Church Cemetery, Rankin County, Mississippi.^{1  2}

Also buried in that same cemetery is:
Sarah E. Purvis ³
b.  18 June 1830
d. 9 June 1906
The inscription on this Tombstone reads: “"Sarah E. Wife of George Purvis"

I had two choices but with no knowledge of the Cemetery and no photos of their burial location I had no way to determine which of these two Sarah’s were the second wife of George W. Purvis (1809-1897).

So this past Christmas the wife and I drove to Dallas to spend Christmas with our daughter and son-in-law. Jackson, Mississippi was on our direct path to Texas. The Antioch Baptist Church Cemetery was at the top of my list of things to do and places to visit.

As you can see in this photo; Sarah A. Purvis is buried beside George W. Purvis.



George W. Purvis was born in 1809 in Chesterfield County, South Carolina. He migrated with his family to Mississippi about 1818. he first married Mary Ann Patrick on 19 October 1838. Mary Ann died about 1859. ⁴

After the death of Mary Ann, George married Sarah A. Williams Huff on 31 August 1867. She was previously married to Washington G. Huff who perished in the Civil War. George and Mary Ann had eight children. Sarah brought three of her four children into the marriage and together George and Sarah had two additional children, both boys. ⁵

Sarah died on 3 June 1888 leaving George to raise their two sons; John S. Purvis, age 20 and Robert Washington Purvis, age 13. Sarah and George are buried in the Antioch Baptist Church Cemetery.⁶









___________________________________
[1] Find A Grave, Inc., Find A Grave, database and digital images, (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 14 January 2015); Memorial page for George W. Purvis; (1810–1897); Find a Grave memorial # 13976654, Citing Antioch Cemetery; Rufus, Rankin, Mississippi.
[2] Find A Grave, Inc., Find A Grave, database and digital images, (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 14 January 2015); Memorial page for Sarah A. William Purvis; (1 June 1830–14 June 1888); Find a Grave memorial # 12849451, Citing Antioch Cemetery; Rufus, Rankin, Mississippi.
[3] Find A Grave Memorial# 62937292
[4] "Mississippi Marriages, 1776-1935," database, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : Viewed 14 January 2015), George Purvis & Mary Patrick; Dodd, Jordan R., comp; Marriage Date: 19 Oct 1838.
[5] "Mississippi Marriages, 1776-1935," database, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : Viewed 14 January 2015), George Purvis & Sarah Huff; Dodd, Jordan R., comp; Marriage Date: 31 Aug. 1867.
[6] Find A Grave, Inc., Find A Grave, database and digital images, (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 14 January 2015); Memorial page for Sarah A. William Purvis; (1 June 1830–14 June 1888); Find a Grave memorial # 12849451, Citing Antioch Cemetery; Rufus, Rankin, Mississippi.