Famous Burials

Duane Allman (11/20/1946 to 10/29/1971)

Howard Duane Allman was a legendary American guitarist and founding member of the Allman Brothers Band, widely regarded as one of the most influential Southern rock groups in history. Born in Nashville, Tennessee, and raised in Florida, Duane developed a deep passion for music at a young age, quickly earning acclaim for his expressive slide guitar work and improvisational style. By the late 1960s, he had become a sought-after session musician, contributing to recordings with artists like Aretha Franklin and Wilson Pickett before forming the Allman Brothers Band in 1969 alongside his brother, Gregg Allman. Their fusion of blues, jazz, and rock created a groundbreaking sound that would forever change the American music landscape.

Duane Allman’s connection to Macon, Georgia, and Rose Hill Cemetery is deeply personal and poetic. The peaceful, oak-draped grounds of Rose Hill were a place of inspiration for the Allman Brothers, who often wandered the cemetery’s winding paths and composed music amid its quiet beauty. Songs like In Memory of Elizabeth Reed were directly inspired by names on the gravestones here. Tragically, Duane’s life was cut short in a motorcycle accident at the age of 24, but his extraordinary talent and musical legacy continue to resonate worldwide. He now rests in Rose Hill Cemetery, not far from where he once found solace and creativity, surrounded by fans and loved ones who continue to honor his spirit. You can locate his grave for a visit on our Interactive Map.

Duane Allman, courtesy Big House Museum

Gregg Allman (12/08/1947 to 5/27/2017)

Gregg Allman, courtesy WikiCommons

Gregory LeNoir Allman was a pioneering musician, singer, and songwriter best known as the soulful voice and Hammond organ backbone of the Allman Brothers Band. Born in Nashville and raised alongside his brother Duane in Florida, Gregg developed a love of music early in life, with gospel, blues, and R&B shaping his distinct sound. After forming the Allman Brothers Band in 1969, Gregg became an icon of Southern rock, writing and performing enduring songs like Midnight Rider, Melissa, and Whipping Post. His rich, weathered voice and lyrical storytelling gave the band a deeply emotional resonance that influenced generations of musicians and fans alike.

Gregg’s bond with Macon, Georgia, and Rose Hill Cemetery was both musical and spiritual. Along with Duane, Gregg spent many hours wandering the cemetery’s rolling grounds, finding inspiration among its gravestones and quiet corners. Rose Hill became a sacred space for the Allman Brothers Band—a creative refuge and final resting place. After a long, storied career marked by both triumph and loss, Gregg passed away in 2017 and was laid to rest beside his brother Duane in Rose Hill. Today, their graves stand as pilgrimage sites for fans from around the world who come to pay tribute to the brothers whose music forever changed the Southern sound. His grave can be found along side his brother's on our Interactive Map.

Berry Oakley (4/04/1948 to 11/11/1972)

Raymond Berry Oakley III was the original bassist for the Allman Brothers Band and a key architect of their groundbreaking sound. Known for his melodic playing style and tight musical bond with drummer Butch Trucks, Oakley brought a rich, jazz-influenced depth to the band’s rhythm section. Born in Chicago, Oakley moved to Florida where he became close friends with Duane Allman. Together they co-founded the Allman Brothers Band in 1969, and Berry’s powerful presence—both on and off stage—quickly made him an integral part of the group’s identity. His work on albums like At Fillmore East and Idlewild South helped define an era of Southern rock.

Berry was often found walking the paths of Rose Hill with bandmates in search of inspiration and peace. Tragically, just one year after Duane’s passing, Berry died in a motorcycle accident only a few blocks from where Duane’s fatal crash occurred. He was also just 24 years old. Oakley was laid to rest beside his friend and fellow musician in Rose Hill Cemetery, cementing the site as hallowed ground for fans of the Allman Brothers Band. Today, the trio of Duane, Berry, and Gregg, all buried within close proximity, forms a lasting tribute to the band’s enduring legacy. Find him here on our Interactive Map.

Berry Oakley courtesy WikiCommons

Butch Trucks (5/11/1947 to 1/24/2017)

Butch Trucks, courtesy Big House Museum

Claude “Butch” Trucks was a powerhouse drummer and a founding member of the Allman Brothers Band, whose dynamic playing helped lay the foundation for the Southern rock genre. Born in Jacksonville, Florida, Butch fused classical training with a raw, instinctive feel for rhythm. His signature dual-drummer style alongside Jaimoe brought a thunderous, jazz-inflected groove to the band’s music, becoming a hallmark of their live performances. From At Fillmore East to Brothers and Sisters, Butch’s contributions helped define the band’s legendary sound over decades of groundbreaking work.

Butch shared with his bandmates a deep, spiritual connection to Macon’s Rose Hill Cemetery—a place where they often wandered for inspiration during the band’s early days. It was among these vaults and monuments that much of the Allman Brothers’ mythos was born. After his passing in 2017, Butch Trucks was laid to rest in Rose Hill beside fellow band members Duane Allman, Berry Oakley, and later Gregg Allman, forming an enduring bond on the other side, even through death. You can visit him alongside the other Allman Brothers here on our Interactive Map.

Elizabeth Reed Napier (11/09/1845 to 5/03/1935)

Elizabeth Reed Napier was a Macon resident whose life, by all accounts, was quiet and private, yet her name would become immortalized in American music history. Born in the mid-19th century, Elizabeth lived through the Civil War and Reconstruction, eventually marrying Confederate soldier Briggs Napier. She lived a long life and was buried in Rose Hill Cemetery, where her simple gravestone might have gone unnoticed—if not for a young musician named Dickey Betts, who took note of her name while exploring the cemetery’s shaded paths.

Betts, guitarist of the Allman Brothers Band, later borrowed her name as the title for one of the band’s most celebrated instrumental pieces, In Memory of Elizabeth Reed, released in 1970 on the album Idlewild South. Though the song itself wasn’t about Elizabeth personally, her name, and the beauty of Rose Hill, became symbolic of the band’s deep ties to this place and its atmosphere. Today, her grave remains one of the most visited in the cemetery, a quiet monument to the way art and history can unexpectedly intertwine.

Elizabeth Reed Napier, courtesy Find a Grave

Martha Ellis (February 1883 to 1/18/1896)

Little Martha Ellis, photo by Megan Morgan

Martha Ellis, often lovingly referred to by visitors as “Little Martha,” was a young Macon girl whose life was tragically cut short at just 12 years old. Her grave in Rose Hill Cemetery is one of its most iconic, marked by a poignant true-to-life statue of Martha as she was at age 12, most likely carved by the legendary Savannah sculptor John Walz. The image conveys a timeless sense of innocence and loss, and has touched generations of those who wander the cemetery’s quiet paths. Beloved by her community, Martha’s kind spirit lives on through her dying wish—that her birthday money be given to orphans and sick children. This act of compassion led to the creation of The Martha Ellis Fund, a charitable legacy that inspired other Macon children to give to the needy as well.

Over the years, a common misconception has linked her grave to the Allman Brothers Band’s gentle acoustic instrumental Little Martha, composed by Duane Allman and featured on the 1972 Eat a Peach album. While the song shares her name, it was actually inspired by Duane’s girlfriend at the time, Dixie Meadows, whom he affectionately nicknamed “Little Martha Washington” due to her modest, old-fashioned style. Though the association is unintentional, the attention her grave receives has led many to reflect on Martha Ellis’s life with renewed reverence. Visitors are encouraged to honor her for who she truly was, a kind-hearted child lost too soon, whose resting place has become a quiet beacon of grace, generosity, and remembrance in Rose Hill Cemetery. You can find and visit Little Martha on our Interactive Map.

Simri Rose (5/25/1799 to 4/05/1869)

Simri Rose was a visionary city planner and horticulturist whose legacy endures through one of Macon’s greatest historical treasures—Rose Hill Cemetery. Originally from Connecticut, Rose moved to Georgia in the 1830s and quickly became an influential figure in Macon’s civic life. In 1840, recognizing the need for a more scenic and thoughtfully designed burial ground, he laid out what would become Rose Hill Cemetery on 50 acres overlooking the Ocmulgee River. Inspired by the rural garden cemetery movement, Rose combined elements of natural beauty with classical landscaping, creating a resting place that felt more like a public park than a traditional graveyard. With winding paths, terraced hills, and carefully selected plantings, the cemetery was designed to offer both peace to the departed and reflection for the living. A "garden of graves" as he described it.

Simri Rose’s foresight gave Macon not only a burial ground, but a sanctuary of history, art, and nature. His plan allowed families to purchase lots on curved avenues named after trees and flowers, and his emphasis on native and ornamental plantings helped establish Rose Hill as one of the South’s most beautiful cemeteries. Today, it remains a place where generations of Macon’s citizens, famous and unsung alike, are remembered. Though much of his life remains lesser-known, Simri Rose’s contributions have shaped the cultural and emotional heart of the city. Fittingly, he now rests in the cemetery he so lovingly imagined, surrounded by the very beauty he helped bring into being. Find him here on our Interactive Map.

Simri Rose, courtesy Find a Grave