Infant Wallis Daughters 1917 & 1919
Infant Daughters of Mr. and Mrs. John Burton Wallis
(April 26, 1917) and (July 8, 1919)
In these two adjoining graves, within the Wallis section of the Justice Cemetery, rest the infant daughters of John Burton Wallis (1876–1956) and Nora Lyle Wallis (1880–1952).
John Burton maintained a close relationship with his father, John Jackson Wallis, while his older brothers, William Edgus (“Gus”) Wallis and Bobby Lee Wallis, had moved to Elberton, Georgia, and Anniston, Alabama, and beyond respectively.
In early 1899, John and Nora married and followed Gus to Elberton, where Gus had established himself as a respected builder and architect, engaged in the construction of both public buildings and private homes, including the new courthouse and several churches. (More information about W.E. “Gus” Wallis’s architectural work can be found at Vanishing Georgia). https://vanishinggeorgia.com/.../architecture-of-william.../
John Burton, a skilled carpenter, worked closely with his brother as his foreman and second in command.
By 1910, John and Nora had three children:
Jennie Lou Wallis (1901–1969)
Bertis E. Wallis (1904–1974)
John “Johnny” Burton Wallis (1916–1944)
Two more daughters were born in 1917 and 1919, but both died in infancy. These are the little girls buried here as the “Infant Daughters of Mr. and Mrs. J.B. Wallis.” The second child’s death is documented by a Georgia death certificate—the state began issuing these in 1919—and is recorded as a stillbirth.
A few years earlier, in 1914, John and Gus had built the coffin for their father and transported it from Elberton to Colton, Georgia, for his burial in the Justice Cemetery. When his first infant daughter died in 1917, John Burton likely constructed the small coffin himself and chose to lay her to rest near his parents. Two years later, he endured the same heartbreaking task again. (The grave marker for the second child incorrectly lists the year as “1918.”)
In Christian tradition, children receive their names at baptism, but stillborn infants are not baptized, as sacraments are reserved for the living. For this reason, these little girls have no recorded names, sharing this in common with other nameless children likely buried nearby during slavery times.
After these losses, John and Nora left Elberton and moved to Volusia County, Florida. Their son Johnny Burton Wallis later served in World War II and died in the Mariana Islands, in 1944.
