1883

Joanna Jane Morris was born on 21 Feb 1883 in Kershaw, South Carolina, USA.

1902

She died on 13 Dec 1902 in Camden, Kershaw, South Carolina, USA. Joanna Jane Morris was buried in Camden, Kershaw, South Carolina, USA in a lone grave near Kendal Lake on Lakeshore Drive. Her cause of death was smallpox.

Q — What is the story behind the lone grave near Kendal Lake on Lakeshore Drive? The name on it is Joanna Jane Morris and the birth date is Feb. 21, 1883, and the death date is Dec. 13, 1902. E.L.M.

A – The answer to this question took a little bit of investigative work on Hotline’s part. The grave belongs to the sister of the late John Albert Morris a longtime Camden resident and employee of Kendall Wateree Mill. The 19-year-old girl died of smallpox in 1902, according to Mae Roberts, the daughter of John Morris, and was immediately buried on what was at that time DeKalb Cotton Mill property (the plant was apparently not in operation then) which was located near the Morris home. In addition, Mrs. Roberts said, all of Joanna’s clothes were burned and lime was put in her grave, something commonly done during that period in the hopes of preventing the spread of the highly contagious disease. The fenced-in plot was tended by John Morris’ mother until her death many years ago, Mrs Roberts added, and since then has gone without much attention. When Lockwood Green and Co. purchased the property for H.P. Kendall in 1916, it offered to move the lone grave to a cemetery, according to Mrs. Roberts. However, she said that while her father John Morris, was in favor of it, his mother said no and the grave remained.