Odd Facts About Grundy County
Did you know that there is a cemetery at the Grundy County High School and in that cemetery, there is only ONE grave? Here is some information on the gentleman that is buried at the Grundy County High School.
Henry Geissler
Born January 1827
Born in Saxony, Germany--father b. Saxony, Germany--mother b. France
Could read, write and speak English
Farmer
Military record--Pvt.; Co. A--10, NY, Inf; enlisted July 1863; discharged 15 Nov 1865; served 2 yrs 4 mos--1890 Veterans Schedule, he lived in District 6, Grundy
In 1900 U. S. Census, Henry was a boarder in the Mary Jossi home in Tracy City, TN; fellow boarders were Victor and Joseph Flury. At this time Henry was listed as 73 years old and single.
Gravestone death age 76 years--this would make death ca. 1903
Buried on new Grundy County High School grounds
An honest man
Georgia E. Patton Washington
First Female African-American Physician & Surgeon
(1864-1900)
Georgia E. Patton Washington was the first African-American woman licensed physician and surgeon in the state of Tennessee, U.S.A. and one of the first African-American medical missionaries in Africa. She was born April 16, 1864, as a slave in Pelham, located in Grundy County, Tennessee, but was freed with all the slaves after the conclusion of the American Civil War. She attended Nashville’s Central Tennessee College for four years and then enrolled in Meharry Medical School in Nashville from which she graduated in 1893 as a medical doctor. Soon after graduation, she sailed to Liberia as a missionary and paid for the passage herself because her church couldn’t afford the expense. She practiced medicine in Liberia for about two years until her health suffered and she had to return to the United States. After her return, she opened a medical practice in Memphis, Tennessee, and married David Washington, one of the most highly respected local letter carriers. The couple had one child who died. Georgia Washington died November 8, 1900, at the age of thirty-six.
Bibliography:
The Book of African-American Women; 150 Crusaders, Creators, and Uplifters by Tonya Bolden, Adams Media Corporation, 1996
http://www.distinguishedwomen.com/biographies/washington-gep.html
