Once again, I have to credit Hugh Harrington, author of "Remembering Milledgeville: Historic Tales from Georgia's Antebellum Capital," "Civil War Milledgeville," and "More Milledgeville Memories" for the following information on the Fish family and their mysterious vault in Memory Hill Cemetery in Milledgeville.
According to Hugh, there is a lot of misconception about the vault. First off, Thomas Jefferson Fish (T.J.) is NOT buried inside the vault, or in the cemetery for that fact. In truth, he is not even buried in Georgia. He is buried in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia. He was a casualty of the Civil War. However, he does have a Confederate marker outside the vault. He is not there, though. Mr. Fish, Thomas Jefferson Fish's father, is buried inside the vault, as well as his mother, Mrs. Fish. She is the one in the metal casket. The other remains in the vault were buried in wooden coffins, all of which had decomposed and were almost gone when Harrington and the other members of Friends of Baldwin Cemeteries helped renovate the crypt. There are the remains of three children there, one of which has been identified. There was also an unknown adult male buried in the vault. However, upon researching the family history, Harrington discovered that the Fish brothers were all accounted for. They do not know who this adult male is.
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