Slave funeral services on Southern plantations were often elaborate ceremonies that reflected African origins mixed with Christian beliefs. African traditions placed great importance on burial in home ground. Because of this, a separate slave cemetery was typically found near the row of slave quarters. The slaves would commonly sing and pray through the night after a death wishing that they might join the departed in "going home". Mourners would beat a drum on the way to the cemetery and march around the grave in a circle, shouting to the cadence of the drumbeat. In Africa, the circle was symbolic of the movement of the sun. Dawn was viewed as birth, midday as the high point of life, and sunset as death. Reflecting native symbolism, various objects were placed on graves to both protect the living and aid the dead on their journeys. The Slave Cemetery at Middleton Place has never been fully explored by archaeologists, however, adequate oral records exist which indicate a cemetery was located on the hillside below the present-day carriage house and extended down the hillside toward the Rice Mill Pond. Tombstones for John Johnson (d. 1859) and Edward Brown (d. 1851) were uncovered within the cemetery area and put in this location to avoid inadvertent damage. although verifiable records do not exist, it is thought that both were slaves here. Existing slave lists suggest that John Johnston was a house servant (perhaps butler) and was married to another domestic slave, Elizabeth. In 1846 they had a child, Priscilla, who remained on the plantation throughout the Civil War. Unfortunately, the true identity of Edward Brown is more difficult to ascertain. He died at the young age of 22, which was not unusual for slaves.