Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 22, Number 67, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 May 1901 — LIVING ON HIS WIFE'S GRAVE. [ARTICLE]

LIVING ON HIS WIFE'S GRAVE.

Qneer Abode that a Georgia Man H Recently Built.i,. Col. Elijah De Board, of GUmer County, Georgia, is probably the only men in the United States whose home is over a grave. This unusual habitation is not due to eccentricity or for the purpose of attracting notoriety, but Is simply a case of loyal devotion shown in a visible way to the memory of his wife. The recent loss of his partner in life affected him deeply, since which time he has become a recluse. His devotion has been carried to an extreme, it is thought by bis neighbors, as be has given up living in bis large home and has just built a house on the spot where his beloved wife rests, on the beautiful mountain side near bis home. The structure is a small but substantial octagon of stone, and on the iron opening into the single room is the following inscription: “One In life, and one in death.” In the right-hand corner is the grave of his Wife, while a secondary space near by lie has reserved for himself, where at the end he can find repose. Around the windows flowers have been planted, and the venerable patriarch spends the days in beautifying the surroundings of his strange home. On the anniversary of her death, with the assistance of a local pastor, the funeral ceremony is repeated. The Colonel has turned a deaf ear to numerous entreaties of his friends to give up his solitary abode, as he has expressed the desire to spend the remainder of his days in this tomblike structure.