Schlatter Family Site

Heinrich Reinhold Schlatter's Gravesite
Palmetto Cemetery, Brunswick, GA

You should have come to this page from the article about my paternal grandfather's brother, Heinrich Reinhold Schlatter -- born 11 September 1866, Oberglatt, Zurich Canton, Switzerland.  Came to the US, arriving on 3 April 1892.  Died of yellow fever, 20 November 1893, Brunswick, GA.

I first located his gravesite by searching at findagrave.com, name SCHLATTER and state GEORGIA.  Then, through several Google searches, I located a website that has an index of everyone buried in the Palmetto Cemetery, Brunswick, GA, up to 2002.  The index on this site lists the locations of gravesites by section and lot number, and, this site has maps of the cemetery showing the location of each gravesite.
 
http://www.glynngen.com/cemetery/glynn/palmetto.htm -- and search the S-Z index for SCHLATTER.

Here's a copy of the map from the Palmetto Cemetery website.  Reinhold is buried in Section 36, Lot 1.

This photo from Google Earth shows the approximate location of Reinhold's gravesite.

UPDATE:  Photos of Heinrich Reinhold Schlatter's Gravesite and Headstone

After determining that Reinhold Schlatter died in Brunswick, GA, 20 November 1893 of yellow fever, I was able to contact a very kind lady in Brunswick, GA, who does research at the Palmetto Cemetery.   She took a lot of her own time to go to the cemetery, check their records, and locate Reinhold's grave.  Although she has her name and email address posted on her own website, I will not identify her here for privacy reasons.

On 3 April 2010 -- the day before Easter 2010 -- she sent eleven photos of Reinhold's gravesite and headstone.  Here are some of the photos.

In the center of this photo are two small headstones -- Reinhold's is on the right.
Palmetto Cemetery, Brunswick, GA

Reinhold's headstone -- on the right -- is broken and weathered.

Look closely and you can read: 
REINH  . . . . . ATTER
SEPT 11, 1866 (his date of birth)
?? Oberglatt (Oberglatt, Switzerland, his birthplace)
The piece lying on the ground at the top of the photo reads:
IN MEMORY (OF)

In this photo it appears that she has arranged the broken pieces of the headstone.  I don't know what significance there is, if any, to the symbol at the top of the stone.

While you may not be able to read this inscription, I enlarged this photo in Photoshop and the inscription clearly shows his date and place of birth -- Sept. 11, 1866, Oberglatt.  The bottom line -- at the very bottom of the stone in this photo is his date of death:  Nov 20, 1893.

My brother and I now plan to order a new headstone for our Great-uncle Reinhold.  We will ask the monument company to preserve the old stone.  They should be able to mount it on top of the gravesite, probably horizontally, then place a new headstone at his head.

Now, let's review some facts and questions. 

•  Reinhold arrived in the US in April 1892. 

•  We know his two brothers, Adolph (my grandfather) and Alfred arrived in 1890 (Alfred in April, Adolph in August).  We are fairly certain they lived in/around Long Island, NY. 

•  The ship manifest that lists Reinhold's arrival states that his destination was "New York, New York;" we assume he was going to see his brothers, perhaps to live with them.

•  We know from entries in Reinhold's bank book that he was in Brunswick, GA, in February 1893.

•  We know from a newspaper obituary and the engraving on his headstone that he died in a yellow fever epidemic on 20 November 1893.

•  Someone must have settled his estate because there are entries in his bank book dated January 1894 -- two months after his death.  Also, he has a headstone, which suggests someone paid for a headstone and he was not buried as a pauper.

•   Which lead us to these questions: 

  •  What did his brothers Adolph and Alfred know about Reinhold's fate?

  •  Did one or both of them travel to Brunswick, GA, to see their dying brother, or, did one of both of them travel to Brunswick, GA, after Reinhold's death to settle his affairs? -- or --

  •  Did his brother(s) contact someone in Brunswick and ask that person to handle Reinhold's burial and settle his estate? 

•  I have to believe that Reinhold's brothers Adolph and Alfred were in contact with him after he left NY and headed for GA -- probably because he heard there was work in Brunswick, GA.  They would have learned that he was ill with yellow fever, or, he may have died quickly and someone may have informed them of his death.

When my mother died in March 2007, she had in her family history "stuff:"

•  Reinhold's bank account book.

•  Reinhold's Swiss military service record book.

•  Reinhold's Swiss family registration certificate.

She could have obtained these documents only from my father's family -- through his father (Adolph), his mother (Emma Waldner), or one of my father's brothers.  Either way, we must assume that Reinhold had these documents with him when he died, probably to be used if needed to prove of his Swiss citizenship and birth date.  If that is the case -- and I really believe it is -- then, someone had to take those documents from Reinhold's personal effects after his death where they eventually wound up in my mother's possession and now in my hands.

Maybe there are some questions that we will never answer.

Return to the Heinrich Reinhold Schlatter biography page.