Catholic Cemetery
Port Gibson
Mississippi
With one exception, the pictures on this page were taken by my son, daughter-in-law and
granddaughter on a recent trip to Claiborne, Jefferson and Adams Counties.  They visited
historic churches, cemeteries and a synagogue in Port Gibson.  They strolled through the
haunting ghost towns of Rocky Springs and Rodney and visited their ancient cemeteries.

They took photos in cemeteries that author Eudora Welty photographed in the 1930's, when
they had already been abandoned by towns that had all but ceased to be.  And they wondered
at the fragile nature of the monuments we build, believing that they will last forever.

-- Nancy (May, 2019)
Above & below:  Tombstone of Rezin Pleasant Bowie

Rezin Bowie led an eventful life, but he's best known as the inventor of the Bowie
knife, which his brother, Jim Bowie, made famous in his 1827 "Sandbar Duel" on the
banks of the Mississippi River.  Rezin Bowie died in New Orleans in 1841 and was
originally buried in Louisiana, but his daughter, Elvie, moved his remains to the
Catholic cemetery in Port Gibson ten years later.

From the post of a church member in 2012:
"The church was built by Elvie Moore, the daughter of Rezin Bowie.  They are both
buried in the cemetery.  She started a fund raising campaign amongst her friends that
embarrassed her husband, so he gave her the money to build it.  The altar rails were
carved by architect John Foley's son, Daniel, who was only a teenager at the time."
Construction began on St. Joseph's Catholic Church in 1849 and the cemetery was
established in 1854.  St. Joseph's is one of the oldest surviving Catholic churches in
the state of  Mississippi.  The building remains as it was originally constructed, with
the exception of a few interior additions, such as the blue cobalt windows.  The church
was established through the efforts of Elvie Moore, daughter of Rezin Bowie.  The land
for the cemetery was donated by Rezin Bowie's widow, Margaret.  For many years, the
church was known as "the Bowie church."
This photograph is courtesy of St. Joseph's website.