Cemeteries of Madison Parish, Louisiana

the long version

Prior to the War-Between-the-States most people in Madison Parish were buried in small plantation cemeteries. Through the years these small cemeteries have become “lost” or have been destroyed by being incorporated into the surrounding farm land. However, some of these old cemeteries are still being found. One of the oldest tombstones discovered -- that of Thomas B. Scott (1817-1853) – was found recently and must have originally been located near his home in what is now Tallulah. Of the two cemeteries listed in this report, Silver Cross is by far the older and larger. Although It was established about 1880 by the Ziegler family, many graves are much older than this and must have been moved here from other locations, such as Milliken’s Bend or some of the smaller plantation cemeteries. During the 1960’s when it was feared that Silver Cross could expand no more, Memorial Park cemetery was established as a private enterprise. Both cemeteries are still in use today. The two cemeteries have been combined in this report. However, any grave can be traced to its proper cemetery since each line is annotated with an “MP” (Memorial Park) or “SC” (Silver Cross).