George Singleton tells of Indian burial urns found at Franklin in 1976

Indian burial urns found at Franklin.

(For decades, local historian and paranormal investigator George “Buster” Singleton published a weekly newspaper column called “Somewhere in Time.” The column below, which was titled “History of Indian urns a mystery,” was originally published in the Feb. 26, 1976 edition of The Monroe Journal in Monroeville, Ala.)

During the years that I have been in Monroe County, I have seen many unusual things. But one of the least expected was a pair of burial urns made in India.

How they ever got half-way across the world from India to this area is still a mystery.

During the past hunting season, Collins McKinley of Franklin came across these urns at an old house site.

The house had long been torn down, and nothing was visible but a few bricks here and there. The yard had long grown up in pine trees, leaving little trace of the place where the house stood.

Hidden near chimney

The partly buried urns were hidden in the soft earth and tall grass near the place where the old chimney had crumpled.

When one examines the urns, one will find that they are identical in most respects.

The only difference between the two is that the engraving was done by hand. Some of the pictures and etchings vary in size, since in most cases it’s impossible to make two items exactly alike when drawing or engraving is done without the aid of a mechanical device.

On each of the urns is the reclined figure of a man, somewhat on the fat side, dressed in pointed-toe boots and turban, lying in a leisurely fashion against a large pillow.

Carvings, writings

The many carvings and writings seem to be in Hindu or Sanskrit; these urns are completely covered with such carvings.

It would be interesting to know just what is written on these urns. Maybe it tells something about the fat man that is pictured there. Maybe the reason there are two instead of one is that one urn wasn’t large enough to hold the ashes of the large guy on the pillow.

The elaborate handles are replicas of the sacred cobra snake. The cobra has great religious significance in the Hindu beliefs.

And, too, these replicas were placed there, probably, as a symbol of protection; their heads are in such a position as to watch the ashes of the departed as long as they remain within the urns.

He’s not talking

Much remains a mystery about these urns. How they came to this area is yet to be learned. The reasons lie somewhere in the past, along the trails of time.

Only the brass urns know for sure; the fat man on the pillow is not giving any information.

(Singleton, the author of the 1991 book “Of Foxfire and Phantom Soldiers,” passed away at the age of 79 on July 19, 2007. A longtime resident of Monroeville, he was born to Vincent William Singleton and Frances Cornelia Faile Singleton, during a late-night thunderstorm, on Dec. 14, 1927 in Marengo County, graduated from Sweet Water High School in 1946, served as a U.S. Marine paratrooper in the Korean War, worked as a riverboat deckhand, lived for a time among Apache Indians, moved to Monroe County on June 28, 1964 and served as the administrator of the Monroeville National Guard unit from June 28, 1964 to Dec. 14, 1987. He was promoted from the enlisted ranks to warrant officer in May 1972. For years, Singleton’s columns, titled “Monroe County history – Did you know?” and “Somewhere in Time” appeared in The Monroe Journal, and he wrote a lengthy series of articles about Monroe County that appeared in Alabama Life magazine. It’s believed that his first column appeared in the March 25, 1971 edition of The Monroe Journal. He also helped organize the Monroe County Museum and Historical Society and was also a past president of that organization. He is buried in Pineville Cemetery in Monroeville. The column above and all of Singleton’s other columns are available to the public through the microfilm records at the Monroe County Public Library in Monroeville. Singleton’s columns are presented here each week for research and scholarship purposes and as part of an effort to keep his work and memory alive.)