Among angels: Discover the spirits brought to life at cemetery during this year’s annual Angels on the Bluff
Published 2:42 pm Friday, November 11, 2022
- A flume of smoke provides an ethereal backdrop as Derrick Burt relates the story of the Rev. Henry P. Jacobs, who was born enslaved in Alabama, made his way to Natchez an ordained Baptist minister after the Civil War, served in the Mississippi Legislature, and was instrumental in founding the Natchez Seminary, now Jackson State University. (Ben Hillyer / The Natchez Democrat)
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The spirits of the Natchez City Cemetery were kept busy during this year’s annual Angels on the Bluff tour. A steady stream of visitors passed by several vignettes featuring some of the cemetery’s most fascinating residents. Below are some photographs from this year’s event.
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- Darrin Parkhill entertains tourists as they stream through the cemetery during the annual Angels on the Bluff tour. (Ben Hillyer / The Natchez Democrat)
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- Nicole Harris, playing the role of local preservation torchbearer Mary Postlethewaite, takes a sip of coffee and reads a bit of the news before her next visit from tourists. (Ben Hillyer / The Natchez Democrat)
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- Adelle Middleton plays the role of a Natchez native, young Rosalie Beekman, who was the second daughter of German Jewish immigrants Aaron and Fannie Beekman. As she and her family fled their Natchez Under the Hill home when the city was shelled by the USS Essex in September 1862, she was struck by shrapnel and died the next day. (Ben Hillyer / The Natchez Democrat)
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- A flume of smoke provides an ethereal backdrop as Derrick Burt relates the story of the Rev. Henry P. Jacobs, who was born enslaved in Alabama, made his way to Natchez an ordained Baptist minister after the Civil War, served in the Mississippi Legislature, and was instrumental in founding the Natchez Seminary, now Jackson State University. (Ben Hillyer / The Natchez Democrat)
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- Derrick Burt plays the role of Reverend Henry P. “H. P.” Jacobs, who was born enslaved in Alabama, Reverend Jacobs and his family escaped to freedom in Canada. Arriving in Natchez as an ordained Baptist minister after the Civil War, he also served in the State Legislature, and was instrumental in founding the Natchez Seminary, now Jackson State University. (Ben Hillyer / The Natchez Democrat)
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- Jamal McCullen captivates his audience with his portrayal of Benjamin Dixon a well-known Natchez gunsmith, s member of Hiram Revels Lodge No. 3, and one of the oldest black Masons in Mississippi at his death in 1904. (Ben Hillyer / The Natchez Democrat)
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- The Rev. Doug Broome, senior pastor of the First Baptist Church, tells the tale of Dr. Henry Tooley, who was a local physician, Methodist Episcopal minister, noted astronomer, meteorologist, and scholar of ancient Near Eastern culture. (Ben Hillyer / The Natchez Democrat)
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- Rusty jenkins plays the role of Edward Lewis, a native of France who at eighteen was conscripted into the French army, Edward came to America in 1833 and eventually moved to Natchez where he became a successful auctioneer and salesman. An “educated Frenchman” and an “excellent Hebrew scholar,” he was buried with Masonic honors upon his death in 1868. (Ben Hillyer / The Natchez Democrat)
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- The Natchez Middle School strings program plays “Amazing Grace.” (Ben Hillyer / The Natchez Democrat)
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- Mike Roboski plays the role of Clarence Charles Eyrich Sr., a New Orleans native, who moved to Natchez in 1917 after falling in love with a local girl, Myrtle Evelyn Clark. Several generations fondly remember his warm hospitality. Under his management, the Eola Hotel became the social center of Natchez and a popular hotel for visitors to the Pilgrimage, the town’s annual tour of historic homes. (Ben Hillyer / The Natchez Democrat)
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- Jamie McCallister plays “When the Saints Go Marching In” as visitors to the Natchez City Cemetery say their farewells during the Angels on the Bluff tour Saturday night. (Ben Hillyer / The Natchez Democrat)
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- Nicole Harris, plays the role of local preservation torchbearer Mary Postlethewaite. (Ben Hillyer / The Natchez Democrat)
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- Darrin Parkhill entertains tourists as they stream through the cemetery during the annual Angels on the Bluff tour. (Ben Hillyer / The Natchez Democrat)
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- Jamal McCullen captivates his audience with his portrayal of Benjamin Dixon a well-known Natchez gunsmith, s member of Hiram Revels Lodge No. 3, and one of the oldest black Masons in Mississippi at his death in 1904. (Ben Hillyer / The Natchez Democrat)
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- Mike Roboski plays the role of Clarence Charles Eyrich Sr., a New Orleans native, who moved to Natchez in 1917 after falling in love with a local girl, Myrtle Evelyn Clark. Several generations fondly remember his warm hospitality. Under his management, the Eola Hotel became the social center of Natchez and a popular hotel for visitors to the Pilgrimage, the town’s annual tour of historic homes. (Ben Hillyer / The Natchez Democrat)
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- Jamal McCullen captivates his audience with his portrayal of Benjamin Dixon a well-known Natchez gunsmith, s member of Hiram Revels Lodge No. 3, and one of the oldest black Masons in Mississippi at his death in 1904. (Ben Hillyer / The Natchez Democrat)
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- Mike Roboski plays the role of Clarence Charles Eyrich Sr., a New Orleans native, who moved to Natchez in 1917 after falling in love with a local girl, Myrtle Evelyn Clark. Several generations fondly remember his warm hospitality. Under his management, the Eola Hotel became the social center of Natchez and a popular hotel for visitors to the Pilgrimage, the town’s annual tour of historic homes. (Ben Hillyer / The Natchez Democrat)
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