Heinrich Reinhold Schlatter's Gravesite
Palmetto Cemetery, Brunswick, GA
You should have come to this page from the article about my paternal grandfather's brother, Heinrich Reinhold Schlatter -- born 11 September 1866, Oberglatt, Zurich Canton, Switzerland. Came to the US, arriving on 3 April 1892. Died of yellow fever, 20 November 1893, Brunswick, GA.
I first located his gravesite by searching at
findagrave.com, name SCHLATTER and state
GEORGIA. Then, through several Google searches, I located a website that
has an index of everyone buried in the Palmetto Cemetery, Brunswick, GA, up to
2002. The index on this site lists the locations of gravesites by section
and lot number, and, this site has maps of the cemetery showing the location of
each gravesite.
http://www.glynngen.com/cemetery/glynn/palmetto.htm -- and search the S-Z
index for SCHLATTER.
Here's a copy of the map from the Palmetto Cemetery website. Reinhold is buried in Section 36, Lot 1.
This photo from Google Earth shows the approximate location of Reinhold's gravesite.
UPDATE, April 2010: Photos of Heinrich Reinhold Schlatter's Gravesite and Headstone
After determining that Reinhold Schlatter died in Brunswick, GA, 20 November 1893 of yellow fever, I was able to contact a very kind lady in Brunswick, GA, who does research at the Palmetto Cemetery. She took a lot of her own time to go to the cemetery, check their records, and locate Reinhold's grave. Although she has her name and email address posted on her own website, I will not identify her here for privacy reasons.
On 3 April 2010 -- the day before Easter 2010 -- she sent eleven photos of Reinhold's gravesite and headstone. Here are some of the photos.
In the center of this photo are two small headstones --
Reinhold's is on the right.
Palmetto Cemetery, Brunswick, GA
Reinhold's headstone -- on the right -- is broken and weathered.
Look closely and you can read:
REINH . . . . . ATTER
SEPT 11, 1866 (his date of birth)
?? Oberglatt (Oberglatt, Switzerland, his birthplace)
The piece lying on the ground at the top of the photo reads:
IN MEMORY (OF)
In this photo it appears that she has arranged the broken pieces of the headstone. I don't know what significance there is, if any, to the symbol at the top of the stone.
While you may not be able to read this inscription, I enlarged this photo in Photoshop and the inscription clearly shows his date and place of birth -- Sept. 11, 1866, Oberglatt. The bottom line -- at the very bottom of the stone in this photo is his date of death: Nov 20, 1893.
UPDATE, November 2014: Photos of Heinrich Reinhold Schlatter's Gravesite with New Headstone in Place
In early 2014, my brother John and I purchased a new headstone for Heinrich's grave. John spends the winter months in Myrtle Beach, SC; he contacted a monument company in Brunswick, GA, and ordered a new headstone. We had talked with two ladies in Brunswick who were active in the local historical society. They told us the accepted practice is to place the old headstone on the ground over the grave then emplace the new headstone at the head of the grave. John handled all the arrangements. In November 2014 he went to Brunswick, GA, Palmetto Cemetery, and made these photos of Heinrich's gravesite with the new headstone.
This is the new headstone; you see the top of the old headstone lying on the ground over the grave. The inscription on the new headstone reads:
HEINRICH REINHOLD
SCHLATTER
B. 11 SEP 1866
Oberglatt, Switzerland
Came to the US 1892
D. 20 NOV 1893
Brunswick, GA of yellow fever
SON OF
JOSEF SCHLATTER
AND ANNA FRUH
BROTHER OF
ADOLPH AND ALFRED
This is the back side of the new headstone; the engraving reads:
PLACED 2014 BY
HIS GREAT-NEPHEWS
ADOLPH'S GRANDSONS
JOSEPH AND JOHN
SCHLATTER
Heinrich Reinhold Schlatter's grave site in the Palmetto Cemetery, Brunswick, Georgia. The new headstone was emplaced summer, 2014. The old headstone is lying on the ground in front of the new stone. The small stone to the left is for another grave.
When he was in Brunswick in November 2014, my brother tried to locate more information on Heinrich; he found nothing more. He did discover that this section of the cemetery is known as the "yellow fever section" and is where victims of the yellow fever epidemics that swept coastal Georgia were buried. Fourteen people are buried here and the only ones with headstones are Reinhold and the one to the left in this photo.
Check out these articles:
1893: A terrible year for Brunswick, Georgia
September 1893: Yellow fever rages at Brunswick
Now, let's review some facts and questions.
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Reinhold arrived in the US in April 1892.
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We know his two brothers, Adolph (my grandfather) and Alfred arrived in 1890 (Alfred in April, Adolph in August). We are fairly certain they lived in/around Long Island, NY.
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The ship manifest that lists Reinhold's arrival states that his destination was "New York, New York;" we assume he was going to see his brothers, perhaps to live with them.
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We know from entries in Reinhold's bank book that he was in Brunswick, GA, in February 1893.
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We know from a newspaper obituary and the engraving on his headstone that he died in a yellow fever epidemic on 20 November 1893.
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Someone must have settled his estate because there are entries in his bank book dated January 1894 -- two months after his death. Also, he has a headstone, which suggests someone paid for a headstone and he was not buried as a pauper.
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Which lead us to these questions:
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What did his brothers Adolph and Alfred know about Reinhold's fate?
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Did one or both of them travel to Brunswick, GA, to see their dying brother, or, did one of both of them travel to Brunswick, GA, after Reinhold's death to settle his affairs? -- or --
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Did his brother(s) contact someone in Brunswick and ask that person to handle Reinhold's burial and settle his estate?
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I have to believe that Reinhold's brothers Adolph and Alfred were in contact with him after he left NY and headed for GA -- probably because he heard there was work in Brunswick, GA. They would have learned that he was ill with yellow fever, or, he may have died quickly and someone may have informed them of his death.
When my mother died in March 2007, she had in her family history "stuff:"
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Reinhold's bank account book.
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Reinhold's Swiss military service record book.
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Reinhold's Swiss family registration certificate.
She could have obtained these documents only from my father's family -- through his father (Adolph), his mother (Emma Waldner), or one of my father's brothers. Either way, we must assume that Reinhold had these documents with him when he died, probably to be used if needed to prove of his Swiss citizenship and birth date. If that is the case -- and I really believe it is -- then, someone had to take those documents from Reinhold's personal effects after his death where they eventually wound up in my mother's possession and now in my hands.
Maybe there are some questions that we will never answer.
Return to the Heinrich Reinhold Schlatter biography page.