Montgomery Cemetery

On the rise above this marker is the family cemetery of Major J. M. C. Montgomery (1770-1842), probably the first white man to settle permanently in what is now Fulton County. A soldier in the War of 1812, Montgomery served under Lt. George R. Gilmer (later Congressman and Governor of Georgia) during 1813-14 at Fort Gilmer, at the Standing Peachtree, adjacent to the mouth of Peachtree Creek. Settling here about 1820, he acquired farm lands on both sides of the Chattahoochee River, those on the west bank lying in what was still the Cherokee Nation. In addition to his activities as a soldier and farmer, Montgomery served subsequently as Justice of the Peace, Postmaster, Census Taker, Presbyterian Church Trustee, Tax Collector, Tax Receiver, Sheriff, Indian Agent and Legislator. On Dec. 25, 1837, he was authorized to establish a ferry across the Chattahoochee River at the Standing Peachtree (Bolton). Montgomery's (later DeFoor's) Ferry at the site of the Seaboard Air Line RR Bridge became "a noted crossing place over the Chattahoochee" and the name persists in Montgomery Ferry Drive in Atlanta. The Montgomery family cemetery is one of the oldest authentic landmarks in this area.