Pleasant Cemetery

My initial problem with finding this cemetery is that various references call it different things. Sometimes it is listed as the Lois Cemetery, and other times the Pleasant Church Cemetery. However, my initial stop at the City Hall in Ray City proved lucky, because they knew exactly where it was told me how to get to it. From the junction of US-125 and Rt. 37 (Main Street) in Ray City, drive West on 37 for 4.4 miles until you see a small business that says Scott Signs. Turn left there, onto Old Valdosta Rd., and travel South for .9 miles to Pleasant Rd. Turn right and travel West for 2 miles exactly, and the Pleasant Cemetery is on your left.

Several of my direct ancestors are buried here: Benjamin Sirmans & Nancy Shaw, and John G. Taylor & Eliza M. Smart. Both couples are my 3rd great grandparents. Benjamin and Nancy are the parents of Benjamin Hill Sirmans; John and Eliza are the parents of Mary Elizabeth Taylor. Benjamin Hill Sirmans and Mary Elizabeth Taylor are my 2nd great grandparents, and they are buried together at the Royal Palm Cemetery in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Nancy Shaw's parents are buried at the Old Union Cemetery. I am not sure where Benjamin Sirmans' father Abner is buried. If you know, please contact me. His mother, Elizabeth Kirkland, is supposedly in an unmarked grave at the Fender Cemetery, which is also where Abner's father Josiah Sirmans is buried, and some of his siblings and their descendants.

As for the parents of John G. Taylor (William Taylor and Mary _____) or the parents of Eliza M. Smart (Nathan Smart, Jr. and Elizabeth Warnell), I have no idea where they are buried. If you know, please contact me.

There are a few Sirmans graves here that I could not identify. I placed them on a separate page.

Photos by Christopher Sirmons Haviland. You may download and use any tombstone photograph at this site as you wish.

The Pleasant Cemetery
(aka The Lois Cemetery; The Pleasant Church Cemetery)

Me with My 3rd Great Grandparents
Benjamin Sirmans & Nancy Shaw
Children: Mary (Marintha), Matilda, Benjamin Hill, and (Sarah) Minerva. Benjamin Hill Sirmans is buried at the Royal Palm Cemetery. I don't know where the other children are buried.

My 3rd Great Grandfather
Benjamin Sirmans
Son of Abner Sirmans & Elizabeth Kirkland
Husband of Nancy Shaw (m. 1853)
b. 11 Nov 1828, d. 22 Sep 1913

My 3rd Great Grandmother
Nancy Shaw
Daughter of Jeremiah Shaw Jr. & Rachel Horne
Wife of Benjamin Sirmans (m. 1853)
b. 1836, d. 1915

Me With my 3rd Great Grandparents
John G. Taylor & Eliza M. Smart
Children: Nathan, Julia A., Susan, Harriet, William H., James, Mitchell M., John T., and Mary Elizabeth. Mary Elizabeth Taylor is buried at the Royal Palm Cemetery. I don't know where the other children are buried.

John G. Taylor
Son of William Taylor & Mary _____
Husband of Eliza M. Smart (m. 1839)
b. 15 May 1808, d. 15 Jun 1888

Eliza M. Smart
Daughter of Nathan Smart, Jr. & Elizabeth Warnell
Wife of John G. Taylor (m. 1839)
b. 10 Sep 1820, d. 15 Dec 1882

Pleasant Cemetery

Town of Ray City, County of Berrien, Georgia