Loyd Pottery Markers

William Payne Loyd and his son William D. Loyd were potters of Tremont, Mississippi. In the 1870's they made a cobalt blue glazed pottery grave marker.  On June 10, 1879 they patented the unique marker.  Most of the markers that are found in northeast Mississippi and northwest Alabama were actually manufactured by potters other than the Loyds as their patented technique was licensed to several other pottery shops. Actual Loyd's are believed to have leaf symbol painted on them. 

Alonzo Glasgow, South Carolina Cemetery, Lamar County Alabama

I have found Loyd's in Monroe County, Mississippi. In Alabama I have located them in cemeteries in Lamar County, Marion County, Pickens County, and Fayette County. I found one in Fulton County, Georgia on the grave of a man "murdered by a crowd of bad men for no reason".  

The pottery marker were made up of a pointed rectangle top that fit in a tube like base. I have not found a lot of intact tops and bases. If the top is intact it is usually stuck in the ground or laying flat in the ground. It is not unusual to find them broken into pieces and stack on the or near the grave. 

Mc W. Easter's marker with base and a rarely found foot marker. 

Alabama and Mississippi Loyds at Flickr

Awesome Informative Pieces of Work About Loyd Pottery Grave Markers: 

Loyd-style stoneware or pottery grave markers - Terry Thornton, 2010

William Payne Loyd, Itawamba Potter - Mona Mills, 2009

Itawamba County's Unique Pottery Monuments - Franks, 2017

The History of Alabama's Rare Ceramic Headstones and Their Cobalt Blue Glaze - Kasek, 2017

Comb Graves - Lamar County, Alabama

Year ago I would encounter the tent-like grave covers in my travels in Alabama and Georgia. I learned that these type of grave covers are called Comb graves. 

Descriptions  of Comb Graves:  

• A stone structure built over an in-ground grave that is triangular in shape. It most often consists of two rectangular sandstone slabs placed together to form a gabled roof over the grave. 

•  slabs of rock (or other materials) that cover the length of the graves. The stones lean against each other to form inverted v-shapes, like the gables of a roof.                                                     

The greatest concentration of these graves can be found on the Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee. The Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee                    


The comb grave below is found in the Sizemore Cemetery of Lamar County, Alabama. This is in the Fall Line Hills of the Alabama Coastal Plain. 

Sources:

Alabama Historical Commission,  Guide to Common Alabama GraveMarkers, www.ahc.alabama.gov.



Griffith, G.E., J.M. Omernik, J.A. Comstock, G. Martin, A. Goddard, and V.J. Hulcher. 2001. Ecoregions of Alabama. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Corvallis, OR.

TSLAblog. “Comb Graves of Tennessee.” Library & Archives News: The Tennessee State Library and Archives Blog, January 1, 1970. http://tslablog.blogspot.com/2015/12/comb-graves-of-tennessee.html.


Comb Graves Encountered:

Alabama
Arkadelphia Baptist Church                 Cullman County

Sizemore Cemetery                              Lamar County

Chickasaw Cemetery                           Walker County