Giles County Native Buried at Sea

"On the morning of the 12th of July, 1902, about 8 o'clock, the weather fine, smooth sea, wind southwest, laying about 20 miles south-southwest of the Highlands of Navesick, Jersey coast, on the lookout for incoming ships, I saw floating on the water the body of a woman.

"Upon closer examination, I found her to be a young woman of medium size, with long, light brown hair, dressed in a heavy dark skirt and white shirtwaist. I took from one of her fingers two rings; one of which was a plain gold band with the inscription "T.N.H. to M.R., Nov. 28, 1894, the other a stone setting. They have reached you in the meantime, I hope.

"With the assistance of my crew, I prepared the body for burial. We wrapped it in a blanket and attached weights thereto, whereupon, before placing it in it's nameless grave, we each and everyone gave her a final blessing". From the Report of Capt. Cutter of the Steamer McCaldin Bros.

The initials in the ring, [M.R.] stood for Myra Rivers who married [T.N.H.] Capt. Tremain N. Horne. Myra was the sister of lawyer, Flournoy Rivers and great-great-granddaughter of Tyree Rodes, builder of Clifton Place. Myra and her small daughter, Frances, drowned when an excursion boat went down in Sandy Hook Bay, July 6, 1902.

This clipping was taken out of a book called The Robert Abernethy Family. It was written by the late Arvord M. Abernethy of Texas. He devoted most of his life to genealogy. Went to Scotland and made contact with almost every branch of our great clan; Abernathy/Abernethy from Scotland to Virginia. Mr. Abernethy wrote a second book which kept him in our midst until his 91st birthday when he finished the book and went to his Maker.

Submitted by Virginia L. Keefer, granddaughter of Carissa "Bell" Abernathy, who is buried at old Florence, Lauderdale, AL Cemetery in 1931, and who married John Lewis White, buried at Minor Hill Cemetery in 1945.