In the midst of the Second Seminole War young Dr. Motte, a Harvard educated Army surgeon, found himself detailed for duty at Franklinville, GA to provide medical care for soldiers under the command of Major Greenleaf Dearborn.  The arrival of federal troops in Lowndes County in late September of 1836 followed  a series of engagements between local miltia and Native Americans who were fleeing to Florida to avoid forced removal to western lands.  Levi J. Knight, pioneer settler of Ray City, GA, had led a company of men in a skirmish at William Parker’s place on July 12, 1836, and from July through August, engagements were fought at Brushy Creek, Little River, Grand Bay, Troublesome Ford, Warrior Creek and Cow Creek.

Dr. Motte recorded his experiences in Lowndes County in a journal he kept of his military service. This part of his story picks up in the first days of Autum, 1836…

In consequence of the great alarm excited in the southern counties of Georgia by murders and depredations committed by the Creek Indians who were endeavoring to escape into Florida from Alabama, Governor Schley had petitioned Gen. Jesup to station some troops in Ware or Lowndes County, that being the least populous and most defenceless portion of the country through which the Indians were passing.  It was also liable to invasions from the Seminoles, as it bordered upon Florida.  In compliance with this request, Major [Greenleaf] Dearborn with two companies of Infantry was ordered to proceed immediately to the above counties in Georgia, and there establish himself.  These counties being so far south and in a low swampy part of the country had the worst possible reputation for health, and going there at this season of the year was almost considered certain death to a white man and stranger unacclimated.  It was necessary then to send some surgeon with the troops, that it may not be said they died without proper medical attendance; and also that they might have a chance of a surgeon in the other world to physic them. Dr. Lawson, the Medical Director, was therefore instructed by Gen. Jesup to select some on of the surgeons for this duty; and the Doctor with his usual friendly discrimination, whenever there was any particularly disagreeable duty to be done, picked upon me. [Dr. Thomas Lawson, Medical Director at Fort Mitchell, was appointed Surgeon General of the United States on November 30, 1836.] So away I was ordered, to die of fever as I thought amidst the swamps of Lowndes County.  Major Dearborn to whom I was ordered to report myself was at Irwinton [Eufala, AL], sixty miles below Fort Mitchell, on the Alabama side of the Chatahooche. It was therefore necessary for me to proceed there forthwith alone….

I found Major Dearborn encamped two miles from Irwinton, and after reporting myself to him rode over to visit Major Lomax, who was also stationed in the neighbourhood with his battalion of Artillery.

On the 29th Sept we took up the line of march for Lowndes County, Georgia, and after crossing the Chattahooche advanced fifteen miles the first day over the most wretched roads that ever disfigured the face of the earth.  We proceeded by easy marches, generally resting in the middle of the day when we took our food, which was prepared before we started in the early morn and again when we encamped for the the night. The second night I slept in a church by the roadside…The third night we slept in the midst of a pine barren. The fourth near the banks of the Kinchafoonee River upon the site of an old Indian town [Chehaw village, where Georgia militia massacred Creek Indians in 1818]

Dr. Jacob Motte’s 1836 route to Franklinville, GA

The fifth night, the surgeon was coming down with fever. Of the sixth day, he wrote that the column had passed through Pindartown, in present day Worth County, GA.  According to the New Georgia Encyclopedia, Pindartown was of considerable importance in the early days. When the Creek lands changed hands in 1821, the village was bought from the Indians. Pindartown served as the only post office between the Ocmulgee and Flint rivers in the early days. The town was located at the head of navigation on the Flint River, and the stagecoach road between Milledgeville and Tallahassee, Florida, went through Pindartown.

Continuing his narrative of the travel on October 4, 1836, Motte wrote of his worsening condition.

We crossed the Flint river, and had got beyond Pinderton in Baker county, when the exertion proved too great for me, for fever with its dreadful hold had seized on my very life-springs; and finding myself unable to keep my saddle, I was forced to dismount and lie down upon the road until one of the baggage wagons came up, when I was helped into it. The torture I endured for four days during which I was conveyed in this vehicle of torment cannot be expressed in language.  My anxiety, however, to continue with the troops, enabled me to support the greatest agony for some time. 

Motte’s description of the rude and uncomfortable travel by wagon over the stage roads matches the perceptions of  Charles Joseph La Trobe, an English traveler and writer, who in 1833 rode from Tallahassee, FL to Milledgeville, GA  via the weekly stagecoach. La Trobe observed “The roads through the south of Georgia are in the roughest state. ”

The rough roads in the heat of an Indian summer in south Georgia were too much for the feverish Dr. Motte.

The thin covering to the wagon afforded my burning brain no protection against the heat of a vertical sun in this latitude, and the constant jolting over the rugged roads and roots of trees was fast driving me into a dreadful tempest of delirium. Human nature could endure such suffering no longer, and with reluctance I was compelled to be left in a log-house which stood beside the road in Thomas county, ten miles from Florida. The occupant, whose name was Adams, seemed a kind hearted man, and he promised to bestow [upon me] all the care in his power. Fortunately I retained my reasoning faculties, and I was enabled to prescribe for myself the proper medicines…

… By aid of a good constitution I was at last enabled to master the disease, and after ten days confinement to bed, again stood upon my legs. …On the 21st Oct I had regained sufficient strength to ride my horse; so on that day I bid farewell to my kind and hospitable host…and following upon the trail of the troops, proceeded to rejoin them.

The route of the troops from Thomasville toward Franklinville would have undoubtedly been along the Coffee Road.     Coffee Road, the military road constructed by John Coffee and Thomas Swain in 1823 became the first route opening up the south central Georgia region to pioneer settlers.  In this section the road passed through Thomas county, Lowndes county, and present day Berrien county, continuing on to its terminus at Jacksonville, GA on the Ocmulgee River. From Thomasville heading east via the Coffee Road, Dearborn’s company could reach Sharpe’s Store which was just fifteen miles west of Franklinville, GA

Now traveling alone and by horseback, Motte’s perception of  conditions along the rough-cut roads are in marked contrast to his torturous wagon ride.

Autumn with its refreshing sunshine had now superceded the heat of summer, and its hollow winds, with mournful sound announcing the approach of dreary winter, were driving the leaves about in eddying course; their rustling alone broke the stillness of the scene as I journeyed slowly through the wide forests, which were now throwing off their garb of sturdy vigour and assuming the ostentatious and gaudy livery of the season. The beauty of woodland scenery is always heightened just before the chilly winter throws its icy influence over their bloom. and envelopes them in a robe of dusky brown.  Then it is that the gorgeous and fantastic blending of green, yellow, crimson, purple and scarlet, which tinge the distant prospect, defies the art of the painter, who endeavours in vain to imitate successfully the varied hues of nature.

On the evening of the 22nd Oct I arrived at Franklinville, which is the only town in the whole of Lowndes county, and contains only three log-houses one of which is a court-house, and another the Post-office; the third is a store. This great place is situated on the upper Withlacooché, and here I found the troops encamped. They were preparing to move farther south, and nearer to Florida; and the day after I joined, the tents were struck, the Withlachooché crossed, and after marching ten miles in a southerly direction, a new place of encampment was selected near the plantation of a Mr. Townsend.

[Thomas O. Townsend was one of the first settlers of Lowndes County, and later owned several lots in the town of Troupville.]

Related Posts

• Dr. Jacob Rhett Motte: Army Surgeon
• Medical Men of Rays Mill
• Final Report of General Julius C. Alford on Actions at the Little River and at Grand Bay, August, 1836
• Levi J. Knight Reports Indian Fight of July 13, 1836
• Levi J. Knight’s 4th of July Address at Franklinville, GA 1835
• Old Land Mark Gone ~ Death Of “Uncle Billy” Smith

Dorothy and Doris Boyette at Georgia State Womans College

Doris Boyett, of Ray City, GA at Georgia State Womans College, Valdosta, GA

Dorothy Boyett, of Ray City, GA at Georgia State Womans College, Valdosta, GA. 1945

In 1944, Doris Boyette was a senior at GSWC and her younger sister,  Dorothy “Dot” Boyette was a freshman.  Doris was born 27 Oct 1923; Dot was born May 14, 1926. The girls grew up just east of Ray City, GA, in the adjacent portion of Lanier County. Their parents were Eddie D. Boyette  and Mattie Deen Boyette.

At GSWC, Doris was living in Ashley Hall,  a dormitory for sophomores; her roommate was Clare Carson, who was president of the sophomore class.

October 4, 1944 GSWC Campus Canopy mentions petite blond Doris Boyette, of Ray City, GA

Among the Boyette’s 1945 classmates was Carolyn DeVane, also of Ray City, GA. There have been many other Ray City women of G.S.W.C. over the years.

Ashley Hall, Georgia State Womans College, Valdosta, GA 1845

The girls’ activities in 1944-45 included the Polio Drive, scrap paper salvage, planting the Camellia Trail, and dancing with those men from Moody Airfield.  The May 9, 1944 edition of the Campus Canopy student newspaper reported. “It’s boy trouble for Dot Boyette…which of the four do you intend dating Sunday night, Dot? – Gee, we wish we could get one date. ”

1945 women of GSWC at Saturday night dance with the men from Moody Airfield.

The October 4, 1944 school newspaper reported:

“There they were, standing all alone just waiting for us to ask them to dance…Men, men and more men and not one of them had a chance.
    To quote one Freshman, Ann Maddox, “It was wonderful just to look at a man.”
    The dance was swell, but that familiar tap on another’s shoulder could mean one of two things…height of ecstacy or depths of despair…’til the next girl broke. This from Lawanda McCellar, as if she were just tearing herself away from it all.
    “Course I wished my fella had been there,” sighed Mary Tharpe, but what chance would I have had with him if he had been.”
    Annes Jean NeSmith summed it all up in a few words…”Plenty of men, good dancers, nice plausible lines, and I can hardly wait ’til next Saturday night.”
    “I’m still overcome by the sight of those men, to express an honest opinion.” says Betsy Markert still in a daze.
    “All in all the opinion of Converse is that it was wonderful and everybody had a good time, but give us men. We see women all week, is the general idea.
    Favorable opinions were not limited to the college girls though. Several of the Moody Field boys were carefully eavesdropped on. Result: “I just can’t believe it, so many girls. If I were to write my mother and say 15 girls cut in on me she would say I was crazy drunk, or lying.”

The hit songs those college girls were swooning to in 1944-45?  The Campus Canopy mentioned:

• You’ve Got Me Where You Want Me – Curt Massey
• Just a Baby’s Pray at Twilight”\
• Rock a bye Your Baby With a Dixie Melody – Judy Garland
• I Don’t Care Who Knows It – Vivian Blaine
• I’m Homesick – That’s All – Gene Howard with Stan Kenton and his Orchestra
• Cry and you Cry Alone Rita Hayworth
• A Shy Guy – Nat King Cole
• A Stroll in the Park One Day
• No Can Do – Guy Lombardo
• Shame Shame on You” – Tex Williams with the Spade Cooley Western Orchestra
• Who Threw The Whiskey In The Well – Wynonie Harris
• Lady Be Good – Harry James
• Some Sunday Morning – Alexis Smith
• Sentimental Journey – Doris Day
• Open the Door – Bill Samuels and the Cats ‘n Jammer Three
• Gotta Be This Or That – Benny Goodman
• Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe – Judy Garland and the Merry Macs
• Chattanooga Choo Choo – Glenn Miller Orchestra
• Its Been A Long Long Time – Kitty Kallen with the Harry James Orchestra
• I’d Do It All Over Again – Cass Daley
• Don’t Ever Change – Don Brown
• Always – Sammy Kaye

In 1945, Dorothy Boyett was elected treasurer of the Baptist Student Union.  In the Winter Quarter, 1945 Dorothy “Dot” Boyette was elected to the Sophomore Council.  “Members of the house council check lights, cards and attend the simple cases of Student Government violation. They are elected at the beginning of each quarter to serve a term of three months.”  Dot Boyett also served on the advertising staff and the business staff of the Campus Canopy.

By late 1945 Dorothy Boyette left Georgia State Womans College and was working in Brunswick, GA.

Dot married Charles Gordon Howell. He was a grandson of Caswell Howell, pioneer settler and one of the first ministers of the First Baptist Church of Lakeland, GA. Dot and Charles raised crops and children in Lakeland, GA. Their son, Charles Howell, Jr. became Chief of Pediatric Surgery at the Medical College of Georgia. Their grandson, Charles Howell III, is a professional golfer.  Dorothy Boyette died June 2,1985. Interrment was at Lakeland City Cemetery, Lakeland, GA.

Doris Boyette married John Sears and moved to Atlanta, GA.

Obituary of Doris Boyette Sears

Doris Doris Boyett Sears age 87, of Atlanta, GA, passed on Sunday, June 26, 2011. She was predeceased by her husband, John Sears, daughter, Susan Elaine Sears, sisters, Irene B. Smith and Dorothy B. Howell. She is survived by her daughter, Pamela McKinney of Lawrenceville, sister, Louise Davidson of Bonaire, GA, brother, Earl Boyett of Lakeland, GA. 2 grandchildren, Robert Morris and Jennifer Shelton, 4 great grandchildren, Kayla Shelton, Savannah Shelton, Avri Shelton and Joshua Morris, numerous nieces and nephews, cousins and extended family also survive. Mrs. Sears was a charter member of the Johns Creek Baptist Church, a member of the Senior Choir, a Food Pantry Volunteer and an avid Gardner. A Funeral Service to Celebrate the Life of Mrs. Sears will be at 3:00 P.M. on Thursday, June 30, 2011 at Wages Lawrenceville Chapel. Interment will follow in the White Chapel Memorial Gardens, Duluth.

In the fall of 1836,  following a number of skirmishes between militia companies and bands of Creek Indians who were resisting relocation to western territories there was a call for support of federal troops to provide protection for settlers in Lowndes County.  Companies of local militia under the command Levi J. Knight, Enoch Hall, Henry Blair, Henry S. Strickland, Samuel Swilley, Hamilton Sharpe, and others had fought engagements at William Parker’s place, Brushy Creek, Warrior Creek, Cow Creek, Troublesome Ford and other locales.

In response two companies of federal troops, about 200 men, under the command of Major Greenleaf Dearborn were assigned to Lowndes county.  Detailed to provide medical services for Dearborn’s command was Army surgeon Dr. Jacob Rhett Motte. The Federal troops first took up position at Franklinville, GA, then county seat of Lowndes County.  But after a few weeks relocated to a camp near the plantation of Thomas O. Townsend.  Townsend later owned property and practiced law at Troupville, GA.

Camp Townsend was situated about ten miles south of Franklinville, GA.

Dr. Motte, Army surgeon, described the new bivouac at Camp Townsend:

The situation at Camp Townsend was not celebrated for many beauties and ecellencies to make it an object of peculiar attraction. It was in one of the most extensive and most barren of all the pine-barrens in Georgia, where nothing is to [be] seen but pine-trees and saw-palmetto. To the North it was sheltered by lofty pine-trees; to the East it looked upon an extensive forest of over-grown pine-trees, most charmingly variegated by pine-trees of a smaller growth. A fine grove of majestic and venerable pine-trees protected the camp from the sun (whose heat was now acceptable) towards the South; and to the West, the eye was carried along over a glittering and smiling quagmire, abounding in toads, and tadpoles, and the view [was] terminated by the towering and thickly growing trunks of pine-trees, whose numbers were doubly increased by reflection in the puddles which beautifully diversified the aforesaid quagmire. A tender air of repose pervaded the whole scene.  The croaking of the thousand varieties of toads and tadpoles with which the quagmire abounded formed a concert of simple melody; the lowing of the cattle, which rove in native freedom through these woods, the grunting of the hogs who enjoy the same rural felicity; and the strokes of our men’s axes, partook of the softness of the scene, and fell tunefully upon the ear.   Amidst such Elysian happiness my mind could not fail being disposed to gentle pleasures and tranquil enjoyments.  The other senses also had their full share of delight; for I reveled in the good things of the land, which abounded with all manner of fish and flesh, and such like delightsome and wholesome excellencies.  I slept on Buffaloe skin – sat on Bear skin – and fed on venison and wild-turkies, with an occasional sprinkling of squirrel.

With the onset of cooler weather, troops were assigned as woodsmen to keep the camp supplied with firewood.

“The constant felling of pine-trees for fuel was a source of much annoyance to me. From morning to night the strokes of the axe were constantly heard at my ears…It took six pine-trees of the largest size to make one campfire every night. It was made this way; the largest trees in the neighborhood were selected, generally from two to three feet in diamitor; these were cut into lengths of twelve feet, and then rolled up to the front of the tent, distant from it about ten or twelve fee; two smaller pieces are laid upon the ground perpendicular to these, and parallel to one another to serve as andirons, lying towards the tents; upon these other large logs are piled to a height of five or six feet. We each of us had a brobdignag comforter of this description in front of our tents, and as soon as the sun set they commenced blazing with the fierceness of so many volcanies.

As our camp consisted of twenty tents, each of which had a fire in front, the scene presented at night was awfully grand and magnificently comfortable.  We burn’d such a large quantity of wood, that we cleared and used as fuel an acre per week of pine woods…

We had been encamped near Townsend’s clearing about three weeks, when our neighbours began to be too troublesome for a longer proximity. They displayed too great an affection towards our men by supplying them with – a soldier’s greatest luxury – whiskey, – thereby injuring their morals and keeping them constantly in the guard-tent. The Major commanding [Major Greenleaf Dearborn] saw the evil, and concluded to get out of its way. He therefore issued his orders on Monday night the 13th November, that we should all be ready to march the following morning by sun-rise.

Related Posts

• Dr. Jacob Rhett Motte: Army Surgeon
• Levi J. Knight’s 4th of July Address at Franklinville, GA 1835
• Lowndes County Seat Almost Sunk in 1827
• Old Land Mark Gone ~ Death Of “Uncle Billy” Smith
• Fourth of July, 1834 and the State Rights Association
• Pioneers of Old Lowndes Toasted State Rights and American Independence

In 1912, the Valdosta Times ran a pair of articles about the naming of the city of Valdosta.  It is said that the town was named by  Col. Lernoreon D. DeLyon, editor of the South Georgia Watchman, which was published at Troupville and later at Valdosta, GA. According to Yesterday & Today, newsletter of the Lowndes Historical Society, Leonoran DeLyon, as editor, and brother Issac De Lyon, as publisher, purchased the Georgia Watchman [Thomasville] newspaper very early in 1858 and moved it to Troupville.

Valdosta Times
February 18, 1912

The Name of Valdosta and Who Bestowed It

      Valdosta is not so old that knowledge of the man who gave it its name, or the origin of its unduplicated appellation, should be lost in the mists of antiquity, but nevertheless there are all sorts of answers to the question who named the town and where the name came from.
    The most generally accepted statement is that is was called after Governor Troup‘s old home in Laurens county. Another theory is that when the founders of the village that was to become the capital of Lowndes county and the future metropolis of South Georgia were casting about for a name for it, a poetically minded member happened to think of a beautiful Italian valley, the Vale de’Osta, and forthwith Valdosta was christened.
    The Times, though it may not know it origin, is able to make a definite statement as to the identity of the man who gave Valdosta its name. He was Lenorean DeLeon, editor of the Wiregrass Watchman, at old Troupville, in 1858-59, the first newspaper printed in Lowndes county.
    This statement is made on authority of Mr. I. L. Grffin, a pioneer citizen who was born at Troupville, and who knows the history of Valdosta from its founding.  Mr. Griffin states that after Valdosta was established and the county site moved from Troupville, Mr. DeLeon, who was a very talented man, suspended publication of his paper and moved along with the majority of Troupville’s population to the new town, where he became head of the village school, which he taught for several terms. He was an old-time, well-read Southern gentleman,of French extraction,and came to this section from Savannah.  About the close of the Civil War he removed to Texas, where he spent his remaining days.  His extensive reading made him familiar with foreign history and countries, and lends strength to the statement that he named the new town after the Italian valley.
     The new county proposition, or rather the clamor for county seats, was as insistent in those days as they are now, and the establishment of Valdosta was partly due to the demand of the people in the western part of the Greater Lowndes, for a division and a county seat for themselves. Brooks was thus cut off and Quitman established as the county seat, with Little river as the boundary.
     With its western half gone, a commission was appointed to select a new site for the county seat, which would be a little nearer the center of the abbreviated territory. After looking around, the commissioners decided that this was the ideal location for the county seat site, though it would still be near the western border.  They did not think the flat lands to the east and south so well adapted for the laying out of a town, while to have gone to the north would have placed the county seat too far away from the southern border. Four hundred and ninety acres of land were then purchased, the new town laid out and the name supplied by Mr. DeLeon. The latter fact, Mr. Griffin states, was well-known to many of the older citizens, among them Capt. W. H. Briggs and Mr. A. Converse, Sr., who lived at Troupville.
     The father of Col. W.S. West was the member of the legislature from Lowndes when Brooks county was formed and introduced the bill authorizing the moving of the county seat from Troupville to Valdosta.

♦♦♦♦

Valdosta Times
February 18, 1912

“Val-De-Osta” Was Name of Troup’s Farm

     An article that appeared in the Times last Friday in regard to the origin of Valdosta’s name has caused a good deal of comment in this city and section, among old-timers especially.
      The Times has a communication from an old resident of Valdosta which says: “In regard to your article in the issue of February 14, ‘The Man Who Named Valdosta’, the facts are these: Lenora DeLeon, whom I knew personally before he went to Texas in 1867 or 1868, named Valdosta after Governor Troupe’s plantation in Laurens county, old Troupeville having been named after the rugged old governor. See the suggestion of one by the other.
      “But it is a historical fact that Governor Troupe named his plantation after the Alpine Val-de-osta.”
These facts have several times been printed by the Times.
The confusion seems to have arisen by claiming that Valdosta was named after the Alpine valley and town of that name, when, as a matter of fact, it was named after Governor Troupe’s estate in Laurens county, the name of his home be adopted for the new town, which was made up largely of people who came from a town named after Governor Troupe himself, old Troupeville.
The Savannah Morning News of Sunday contained a correspondence from Valdosta, which made it appear that Valdosta was named after the Alpine city and valley. If the Morning News had printed the entire article that was sent it the facts in the case would have appeared, as it was stated in the full article that Valdosta’s name was taken from Troupe’s home, though the original Valdosta was in Italy.
A year or two ago Bishop Pendleton sent to the public library of this city a book by Felice Ferrero, the Italian historian, who was thoroughly acquainted with the valley of Val-de-osta and who wrote a most interesting story of that valley and of its people. More than 1,000 years ago it was one of the most beautiful spots in Europe and the old castles, the sewerage and the splendid highways that were built then still exist, though in a dilapidated condition.
In the near future the Times hopes to review the story which was written by this Italian historian, reproduce many of the things which he wrote of the Valdostans who formerly inhabited the Alpine valley and who, in many of their characteristics, remind one of the sturdy, hard-headed Valdostans of South Georgia.

Related Topics

• The Southern-Georgia Watchman
• Valle d’Aosta Does not translate “Vale of Beauty”
•  James Hardy Touchton, Jr. of Valdosta
• Early Ray City Motorist Runs Down Valdostan
• 1910 Train Wreck in Valdosta, GA
• Old Land Mark Gone ~ Death Of Uncle Billy Smith
• Jack Knight, Valdosta State Slugger

Ray’s Mill Founders Day, November 7, 1863
Ray City, Berrien County, GA

The gristmill at Beaverdam Creek commenced operation on November 7, 1863.  Then known as Knight & Ray’s Mill, the construction was a collaboration between Thomas M. Ray and his father-in-law, Levi J. Knight.

1978 photograph of Ray’s Mill, Ray City, GA. Kids used roof of Ray’s Mill to slide into pond.

Related Posts:

• Ray’s Mill Founders Day ~ November 7, 1863
• Sesquicentennial of Ray’s Mill, 1863 – 2013
• Thomas M Ray Founded Ray’s Mill in 1863
• Annie B. Sirmans Once Owned Ray’s Mill
• 1887 Family Feud at Ray’s Mill

Green Bay Community of Berrien County, GA

Green Bay, now long gone, was once a community in south Berrien County, near Ray City, GA.  In the late 1800s, Green Bay had its own newspaper, the Green Bay Herald,  and Green Bay School was attended by many students associated with the town of Ray City.

Tifton Gazette
March 13, 1896

Bayings

        GREEN BAY, March 10. – Mr. P. T. Knight, one of Green Bay’s students received a very interesting letter from one of Lowndes county’s Cahoosiers.  He puts a very fantastical name to his epistle.  The initials of so called name is J. R. F. He offers a reward for the one who will give the Cracker the right name.
Mr. Jasper Cook, had the misfortune to lose a five-year-old mule last Friday, apparently the mule was all right until a few hours before he died.
Well what are the people of Green Bay community going to have connected with their academy next? They have two or three societies running there, and Monday morning they rolled in a $125 organ. We know of nothing better to elevate the growing youths than good societies, and there is nothing like having their wants supplied.
This is the third school in which I’ve been instructed by Prof. J. M. Patten and I must say that this one is quite different from any of the others. Why? He has adopted the method of working all problems mentally. Some might say that students could not do that, but it is an evident fact that he has five in his school that have worked up to 167 page in Wentworth’s arithmetic.
The Green Bay Singing Society convenes next Sunday, and a large attendance is expected.
The Green Bay Literary Society will hold their meetings on Friday evening instead of Saturday.  We have made a division in our society. One for the larger members, known as the Advanced Class literary and the other as the Juvenile Society, as the time was too long between intervals, we have simmered down to semimonthly.  For the Advanced Society we elected J. A. Weaver, president; Miss Amanda Clements, secretary, Miss Lillie Clements and B. L. Wilkerson, Editors; J. M. Patten and P. T. Knight, critics, For Juvenile, W. P. Patten President; Miss Jennie Lee, Secretarys; Lucius Clements, critic.

Mr. Mathew Patten killed some more of those porkers this morning, and now for another fresh feast.

AJAX.

March 13, 1896 notes from the community of Green Bay, Berrien County, GA

Notes:

Professor James Marcus Patten was running the Green Bay School. His wife was Ida Lou Hall Patten. Professor J.M. Patten was college educated, having completed the teacher education program at North Georgia Agricultural College. His lifelong career was teaching in the common schools of Berrien County. In 1911, he and his wife were teaching at the Ray City School.

James Alfred Weaver was a member of Union Primitive Baptist Church, and was elected in 1901 as its clerk.

Perry T. Knight attended Oaklawn Baptist Academy  and went on to became a teacher, lawyer, soldier, chaplain, railroad commissioner, legislator, and public service commissioner.

Lucius J. Clements, son of Levi J. Clements and Elizabeth Rowena Patten, later  attended the Georgia Normal College & Business Institute,  and managed the Clements Sawmill at Ray City until the Clements family sold the business.  He became a businessman, license inspector, and assistant tax collector.

Lillie Clements, sister of Lucius J. Clements, married Fisher H. Gaskins.

Benjamin L. Wilkerson became a dentist and later moved to Miami, FL.

Jennie L Lee (1882 – 1974), daughter of Moses C. Lee and Amanda Lee Clements,  married Sam I Watson, 1900.

Related Posts:

• Perry Thomas Knight (1877-1955)
• Rays Mill Boys Debate at Advance Society Meeting
• R. S. Thigpen ~ Turpentine Man of Ray’s Mill
• Ray City’s Mail Order House
• The Ray City News ~ Once A Hometown Georgia Newspaper
• Watson Grade News May 27, 1904
• Watson Grade News, March 25, 1904

Ray City School, Eighth Grade 1960-61

In 1954, Ray City High School and all other white high schools in the county were combined into Nashville High School.  The brick school building at Ray City continued to serve as an elementary and middle school until 1994, when all county schools were consolidated into facilities in Nashville.

Ray City Elementary School. Mrs. Taylor & Mrs. Patten’s Eighth Grade, 1960-61. Front Row, fourth from the left is Johnny Guthrie. Other Identifications needed.

Sue Nix, from the New Lois area near Ray City, GA. Her sister taught music at Ray City.

Sue Nix attended Berrien High School in Nashville, GA, where she was a member of 4-H, Glee Club, Tri-Hi-Y, Broadcaster Staff, Rebel Yell, Annual Staff,  Dramatics Club, and Future Homemakers of America. She served on the  Student Council, and as  Class Vice President and Class Treasurer. She was the Sweetheart of the Future Farmers of America Sweetheart and was elected Miss B.H.S. of 1954.

Sue Nix, 1953

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Sue Nix, 1954

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Sue Nix, 1955 Senior, Berrien High School, Nashville, GA. Image courtesy of www.berriencountyga.com

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1954 Miss Berrien High School, Sue Nix. Image courtesy of www.berriencountyga.com

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1954 Homecoming Court – photo from Valdosta Daily Times QUEENS AND COURTS – Here are the football and Berrien High School beauty queens and their courts as they appeared recently at a homecoming in Nashville. Left to right are Anelda Baker, Nancy Nix, Joanne Register, Sally Jo Connell, Patricia Carter, football queen, Sue Nix, Miss Berrien High School, Elaine Carter, Imogene Holland, LulaBelle McEuen and Louise Shouse. Image and caption courtesy of www.berriencountyga.com

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1954 Miss Berrien High was Sue Nix, resident of the New Lois community near Ray City, GA. The 1954 Football Queen was Patricia Carter. Image courtesy of www.berriencountyga.com

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FFA Sweetheart Sue Nix with FHA Beau Kenneth King, Berrien High School, Nashville, GA. Image courtesy of http://www.berriencountyga.com

Did Berrien’s own Jonathan P. Knight almost nix Coca Cola in Georgia? Knight grew up at Ray City, GA before moving to the Berrien county seat at Nashville. He was elected to Georgia Assembly first as state representative and later as state senator, and was known for his fiery activism against drinking. He was chairman of the Temperance Committee in the Georgia Senate and was outspoken about the prevalence of drinking in the very halls of the Georgia Assembly.

Jonathan Perry Knight, 1902.

J. P. Knight, of Berrien was among the foremost champions for statewide prohibition on the sale of liquor, which was passed in Georgia in July 1907.  Knight didn’t think the law went far enough and was among the first to point out that the law contained very large loopholes, namely, that liquor could continue to be served in social clubs where members kept their own stock in private lockers.  Knight’s bill introduced July 17, 1907 was aimed at closing this loophole.

Knight to Present Bill to Banish Club Lockers

Those of the clubmen of Georgia who boast a convivial liking for the cocktail, the highball, or the mint julep, as the particular taste may dictate, and have been consoling themselves with the fond belief that, after all, prohibition would not mean such a hardship forthem, as at the worst they would be able to keep their well-stocked lockers, where they would always be easy of access, have a rude jar coming to them, if Senator Knight of the sixth district, chairman of the temperance committee of the upper house, has his way.
     The former representative from Berrien has in his desk a bill the purpose of which is to declare that any place in which liquors are kept for sale or use, whether by individuals or corporations, is a tippling house, and consequently in violation of the prohibition bill which he expects to see entered on the statute books of Georgia.
     If this bill is passed, it will not only be illegal for clubs to supply their members with drinks, but it will be impossible for them to provide lockers in which members may keep their own liquors and mixing materials.  It will then be possible for a man to get a drink only within the confines of his own home.

But some thought the state prohibition laws were too tight – Prohibition could have ended the sales of soft drinks in Georgia as well as alcoholic beverages.

Ocala Star, July 17, 1907 reports J.P. Knight’s bill for prohibition

Ocala Florida
Thursday July 18, 1907

GEORGIA WILL BE A GEM

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Of Purest Ray Serene in Prohibition’s Diadem

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No Bottle in the House; No Soda at the Fount – The People will be proper to Climb Zion’s Happy Mount

Atlanta, July 16. – Senator J. P. Knight, of the seventh, from Berrien county, chairman of the state temperance committee, says he will introduce a bill tomorrow, not only to prevent the sale of liquor in private clubs but to make it a misdemeanor for any member of any club to keep a bottle in his private locker.  He thinks there is no question about its going through along with state prohibition.

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Soft Drinks Will be Scarce

Atlanta, July 16. – It is claimed if the state prohibition bill passes practically all the soft drinks manufactured Georgia will have to go out of business. A small quantity of alcohol is required for the purpose of preserving the syrups, which are the basis of them, and with state prohibition in effect it will be impossible to secure it. – Savannah News.

Georgia’s prohibition law went into effect in 1908, although Knight’s proposal to tighten the prohibition  was not adopted.  For a while at least, alcohol remained available in Georgia’s social clubs, and while the presence of alcohol in sodas became widely known, the demand for soft drinks soared under Prohibition and ever after.

“SOFT DRINKS.”

     Apropos of prohibition, word comes from Washington that the Internal Revenue Bureau has discovered that in many of the so-called soft drinks dispensed from soda fountains there is present alcohol in larger percent than in the same sized drink of beer.
     If the man with the soft thirst could take a deep draught from the onyx covered receptables in which certain extracts and essences are concealed in soda fountains, he would consume a drink probably from 40 to 60 percent alcohol. With the addition of fizz and the other things that are artfully welded to make a soft drink the precentage is cut down considerably.
    Local druggists, it is said, may expect to hear that the internal revenue officers have determined that mixers of these extracts and essences with carbonated water shall pay taxes for the privilege of competing with the regular bars. The internal revenue laws says that before a man may mix a drink containing alcohol he must take out a rectifier’s license.
    Now the soda water man takes essences, extracts and syrups containing alcohol, and adds water to taste to produce a beverage, and is rumored that the internal revenue commissioners will be instructed to issue rules so worded to compel druggists who desire to use the alcoholic essences to become rectifiers and also retail dealers in spirits.
     It is claimed that in some soft drinks served from soda fountains there appears 4 percent of alcohol, while beer is claimed to contain less than 3 percent.  Most of the soda fountains in Bainbridge, however, use almost entirely the fruit juices, which contain not more than a fraction of 1 percent of alcohol.
     Druggists state, however, that some extracts are still used and that in some of them the “spike” is two-thirds of the entire fluid. A small drink of the pure extract would serve much the same purpose as several mint juleps and gin rickeys mixed in the regular bars.

The Georgia legislature turned its attention to taxing the “bring your own bottle” clubs,  thus preserving the revenue of the state, the privilege of the wealthy, the future of Coca Cola, and the appearance of temperance for the lower classes.

For a time the legislature offered the “wets” some loopholes—near-beer saloons serving low-alcohol drinks were permitted, as were alcoholic beverages in locker-clubs—but these were closed in 1915. Georgia ratified the Eighteenth Amendment for national prohibition three years later. It did not vote for repeal of national prohibition, but after that occurred, Georgia repealed its own statewide prohibition in 1935. –New Georgia Encyclopedia

Even after the passage of national Prohibition, the Demon Alcohol – moonshine liquor, the kind that simply makes a man forget himself and everything else – was widely available in south Georgia, and public drunkenness in Ray City led to “free fights and a good deal of threatening and a considerable amount of gun play.” It must have been a personal embarrassment to Jonathan Perry Knight that in his own home county of Berrien the consumption of alcohol remained so rampant.

Related Posts:

• Jim Griner ~ Lawman
• J H Touchton Raided Giant Moonshine Still at Fargo, GA
• James B. Griner Once Deputy Sheriff of Berrien County
• The Ray City Skin Game
• Knight of Berrien ~ Jonathan Perry Knight
• Jon P Knight Sought Nomination to the Bench
• Berrien County Cadets and Coeds at Georgia’s “West Point”
• The Demon Rears its Head in Ray City

Frances Cornelius, born 1938,  lived with her family on Possum Creek Road just west of Ray City, GA.  Her father, Shelley Wade Cornelius, was a bus driver for the Ray City School and her mother, Pearl Williams Cornelius was a teacher.

Frances Cornelius, 1952-53 sophomore at Ray City School

Frances “Frankie” Cornelius, Senior, Class of 1955, Berrien High School, Nashville, GA

At Berrien High School, Frances Cornelius was a member of 4-H, Glee Club, Tri-Hi-Y, and Future Homemakers of America. She also play on the Girls basketball team and was a cheerleader.

Joe and Diane Sizemore
School-year 1952-53

Joe and Diane Sizemore, long time residents of Ray City, GA attended teachers college at Statesboro, GA and spent their first teaching in Irwin County.

Joe Sizemore, 1952, Georgia Teachers College, Statesboro, GA

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Diane Sizemore, 1952, Georgia Teachers College, Statesboro, GA

Their first year out of Georgia Teachers College Joe and Diane went to Ocilla, GA where they taught school for the 1952-53 school year.  They moved into  a small, four unit apartment building located at 108 South Irwin Avenue, called the Teachers’ Building.  It was in downtown Ocilla where they could walk to shop. The hardware store was across the alley from their apartment.  They bought their first refrigerator there.

Joe and Diane Sizemore lived in this Ocilla, GA apartment building during their first year of teaching 1952-53.

Joe got a job in the Ocilla city high  school; Diane was hired to teach  in one of the county schools.  The Ocilla position was highly recommended by Joe’s math professor at Statesboro, W. B. Moye, who knew the Irwin County School Superintendent.   Joe’s degree was in Exact Science. That first year he taught math and algebra and two study halls.

Joe Sizemore taught high school math at the Ocilla Public School, 1952-53. Image By Michael Rivera [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

Diane taught 4th grade at the public school at Mystic, GA five miles west of Ocilla.  She rode to work every day with one of the other teachers. The Principal was Mr. Peavy; he had previously been pastor of the Baptist Church at Ray City, GA.

Mystic Public School, constructed 1928. Diane Sizemore taught 4th grade at Mystic in 1952-53.

Even with two incomes, teaching didn’t pay enough for Joe & Diane to live on.  Joe took an extra job working on Saturdays at a grocery store so they could afford to eat. Still, they  saved enough of that money in the first semester to buy their first car at the end of the first semester.  One of the Ocilla teachers sold them a black Plymouth sedan, used but it looked like brand new.  When they went home to Nashville and Ray City for Christmas, both of their families were shocked to see them drive up in their own car.

But at Christmas, the Irwin County superintendent lost his bid for re-election and a new superintendent was elected. After that, their positions in Ocilla were uncertain and they decided to pursue other jobs.   When school closed for the summer, they moved to Quitman, GA and took teaching positions there.

Related Posts:

• A Ray City Engagement
• Ray City was boyhood home of Morris Levin
• Second Grade Portraits, Ray City School, 1939
• Ray City Carnival Photos
• The Marriage of John David Miley and Lessie Lee Guthrie

Mary Washington “Mamie” Langford, daughter of Mary Virginia Knight and William E. Langford, was born August 5, 1883. She married John Shaw  on November 18, 1917. The wedding ceremony was performed by primitive baptist pastor Aaron Anderson Knight.

Marriage certificate of Mary Washington “Mamie” Langford and John Sheffield Shaw.

John Sheffield Shaw was born October 6, 1885 in the Lois community just west of Ray City, GA, a son of William S. Shaw and Mary Parrish Shaw.  After his mother died in 1906 and father died in 1907 he lived with his divorced sister, Alice Shaw, helping her run her rented farm on the Hahira, Cecil and Milltown Road

John S. Shaw was in the Army during World War I. He enlisted at Ft Slocum NY on August 1, 1914.  Other Berrien county men who entered the service via Fort Slocum included Rossie O. Knight who enlisted at Fort Slocum, NY on August 31, 1913, and Carter H. Exum and Charlie Turner, both of Nashville, GA who enlisted June 22, 1914.

John S. Shaw was detailed to the Bakers and Cooks school at Ft Sam Houston, TX.

Wanted! 500 bakers for the U.S. Army, (also 100 cooks). If you can bake bread, Uncle Sam wants you – if you can’t bake bread Uncle Sam will teach you how in a government school. […] Recruiting office: Cor. 39th St. and 6th Ave. (south east corner). – WWI recruiting poster, 1917. Library of Congress

He was appointed 2nd Lieutenant, Quartermasters Corps on October 20, 1918 and was stationed at Camp Sevier, Greenville, SC, apparently taking time off between assignments to come home to Ray City and get married.

John received an honorable discharge on January 7, 1919 and returned to Ray City, GA where he returned to farming. Mamie and John had a mortgaged farm on the Ray City – Milltown road. John worked the farm on his own account. Their neighbors included Paul Knight, and Mamie’s sister and brother-in-law, Thursday  and Albert Studstill. Mamie’s father resided with the Studstills.

Children of Mamie Langford and John Sheffield Shaw:

1. Johnnie Shaw, born December 15, 1918, died April 1, 1925
2. Infant, born and died September 1, 1925

Grave of Mary “Mamie” Langford Shaw, Beaver Dam Cemetery, Ray City, GA

Grave of John Sheffield Shaw, Beaver Dam Cemetery, Ray City, GA. Image source: Michael Dover.

Grave of Johnnie L. Shaw, Beaver Dam Cemetery, Ray City. GA

Grave of infant son of John S. Shaw and Mamie Langford Shaw, Beaver Dam Cemetery, Ray City. GA

Wendell Garner and brother Carlton Garner, lived on Garner Road north of Ray City. #44 Wendel, #38 Carlton

Wendell and Carlton Garner, sons of Asa Duggan Garner and Bessie Yopp, lived with their family first on Old Valdosta Road and later on Garner Road. Their father was a contractor who worked in heavy construction. Their sister, Marjorie Garner, attended the Ray City School where she performed with the Glee Club.  Brother A.D. “Al” Garner attended Berry College.  A.D. “Al” Garner attended Berry College and served in Navy during WWII.

Wendell Garner, #44, and Carlton Garner, #38, Berrien High School Football Team

1954 BHS Football Team
The Nashville Herald, front page, September 16, 1954
Photo caption:
BERRIEN HIGH FOOTBALL SQUAD – After dropping the opening game in Ocilla last Friday night, Berrien high opens the home schedule here Friday (tomorrow) night against Cook high of Adel. The squad, pictured above, reading front row, left to right, Coach Hal Leddy, S.B. Griner, Bobby Vickers, Dothan Bennett, Weyman Vickers, James Whidden, Max Gaskins, Emory Jenerette, Garland McMillan; Center row, left to right, Wendell Garner, Lamar Mathis, Jerry Shaw, Junior Futch, Jerry Eason, Fayne Outlaw, Owen Williams, Carlton Garner, Raymond Stone; back row, left to right, Coach Mitchell Kirkland, Thomas Pace, Gene Gaskins, DeWitt Osborne, Jerry Dryden, Sonny Nix, James Davis, Kenneth Dix, Bobby Joe Giddens. – Photo by Wink Rogers. Image courtesy of http://www.berriencountyga.com

Wendell Garner, 1953, Nashville High School. Image courtesy of http://www.berriencountyga.com

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Carlton Garner, 1955, Berrien High School

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Ray City School 1934

William Anderson Knight

William Anderson Knight, forefather of the large and influential Knight family of Wiregrass Georgia,  was among the earliest settlers of Lowndes County, GA and the first to settle at Grand Bay near the present day town of Ray City, GA. He and his wife, Sarah Cone Knight, were constituting members of the primitive baptist Union Church which became the mother church of all the primitive baptist congregations in this section of Georgia. He served as a state senator in the Georgia Assembly, and was the father of General Levi J. Knight. William Anderson Knight  died December 8, 1859, the settlement of his estate extending into the years of the Civil War.

Grave of William Anderson Knight, Union Church cemetery, Lanier County, GA

Allen Jones,  husband of Keziah Knight and son-in-law of William A. Knight,  secured a judgement against lands owned by Dr. John W. Turner to satisfy debts owed to the estate.

Savannah Daily Morning News, December 6, 1862. Legal advertisement for property seizure to satisfy debts owed to the estate of William Anderson Knight.

Savannah Daily Morning News
December 6, 1862

Berrien Sheriff’s Sale

Will be sold, before the Court House door, in Nashville, Berrien county, on the first TUESDAY in January, within the legal hours of sale, the following property, to wit: Lots of Land No. 517, 496 and 497, in the Tenth District of said Berrien county, levied on as the property of John W. Turner, to satisfy a fi. fa. issued from the Superior Court of Clinch county, in favor of Allen Jones, who sues for the use of himself and the heirs of William A Knight, deceased. This November 12, 1862.  

nov 17         JOHN M. FUTCH, Sheriff

The land lots referenced in the legal advertisement were of 490 acres each.   Dr. Turner’s property was seized during the Civil War while he was serving as a private with the Berrien Light Infantry, Company I, 50th Georgia Regiment.  At the time of the seizure, Turner was in Virginia in a hospital with smallpox.

Related Posts

• Reverend William A. Knight at old Troupville, GA
• Knights Come to Lowndes County, GA
• Old Union Primitive Baptist Church, also known as Burnt Church
• Levi J. Knight ~ Settling Lowndes County 1827-1836

The Talley family has a long history in Berrien County, GA. Reverend Nathan Talley came, from Greene County, GA to Berrien County  with his wife, Martha Travis some time in the 1850s.  The Methodist minister resided in the vicinity of Ray’s Mill.  He was a neighbor of  Keziah Knight, daughter of William Anderson Knight, and her husband Allen Jones.  Also residing with the Talleys was Dr. John W. Turner.

Two of Reverend Talley’s own sons were physicians.

Dr. Hamilton M. Talley practiced medicine in Nashville and Valdosta, and also called on residents of  Ray’s Mill (now Ray City), GA.  In the Civil War, Dr. H.M. Talley served as Captain of Company E, 54th Georgia Regiment, one of the infantry units raised in Berrien County.

Dr. James W. Talley, born  had a medical practice in Milltown (now Lakeland), GA.

Dr. James W. Talley, of Milltown (now Lakeland), GA

The following biographical sketch of James W. Talley was written just before his death:

James W. Talley, M.D., was born February 22, 1826 in Henry county, GA, not far from Atlanta, and is of English ancestry.  His grandfather, with two brothers, came to this country, and the former, Caleb Talley, after serving during the revolutionary war, settled in Virginia. He was the father of seven sons, five of whom were Methodist ministers. One of these, Rev. Nathan Talley, of Green County, GA, was the father of James W. Talley. The later received a good academic education, and in 1850 began the study of medicine under Dr. William Blalock, of Fayetteville, GA.  In 1851, he entered the Medical College of Georgia, at Augusta, but took his degree from Savannah Medical College. 

Savannah Medical College, 1867.

He located in Milltown, Berrien, Co., where he has built up one of the most successful and extensive country practices in the state. During the war, Dr. Talley was exempted from military duty on account of his profession. Politically he is a democrat.  He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, of lodge No. 211, has been grand master, and is now past master.  One of Dr. Talley’s brothers, H. M. Talley, is also a physician at Valdosta.  Another, A.S. [Algernon] Talley, is a real estate agent in Atlanta.  For his first wife, Dr. Talley married Miss Mary Little, daughter of Zabot Little, of Henry county.  She died in 1867, and he afterward married Miss M. [Araminta Mississippi] Holzendorf, daughter of Alexander Holzendorf, of Cumberland Island, one of the best known planters in the state. [Her brother, Robert Stafford Holzendorf married Satira Lovejoy Lamb, widow of Major John C. Lamb who commanded the 29th Georgia Regiment during the War.]

Dr. Talley’s family consists of two sons and four daughters. His eldest son, Junius V., born May 8, 1872, graduated from the Louisville Medical college in June 1894; William T., born August 30, 1875, at home, attending school. The eldest daughter, born in 1854, is the wife of Huffman Harroll, a merchant of Valdosta; Mary I., born in 1864, married J.H. Bostwick [Bostic], a manufacturer of naval stores in Berrien county [and a trustee of Oaklawn Academy]; Effie C., born November 5, 1870; Lelia H., born September 6, 1873, is the wife of J.J. Knight, a merchant of Milltown.

Dr. J. W. Talley’s son, Dr. Junius V. “June” Talley, after graduating from Louisville Medical College returned to Milltown (now Lakeland), GA where he also took up practice.

In October 1894, Dr. J.W. Talley was elected to the executive committee of the short lived Berrien County Prohibition Association.

Dr. James W. Talley died November 25, 1895. An obituary was published in the Tifton Gazette.

Obituary of Dr. James W. Talley, Tifton Gazette, November 29, 1895

Tifton Gazette
November 29, 1895

Dr. J. W. Talley Dead

Death has again visited our community, and claimed as its victim Dr. J. W. Talley.  Dr. Talley came to this country in the year 1856, and has been a practicing physician here ever since. He was an exemplary citizen and a Christian gentleman, having joined the Methodist church in early boyhood, and leaves a large circle of relatives, friends and acquaintances, who were present today at his burial. The funeral services were conducted by Rev. E. L. Padrick and Rev. Wm. Talley, who read a short history of the deceased’s life. The bereaved wife and children have the deepest sympathy of the entire community.   BUTTERFLY.

Grave of James W. Talley, died November 25, 1895. Old City Cemetery, Lakeland, GA. Image source: Ed Hightower

Related Posts:

• Medical Men of Rays Mill
• Witchy Women and Wiregrass Medicine
• Resolutions of the Berrien Minute Men

Allen Jones (1800-1875)

Allen Jones was the second husband of Keziah Knight Giddens, widow of Isben Giddens.  She was a daughter of William Anderson Knight, pioneer settler of the Ray City area.  Following the demise of Mr. Knight, Allen Jones acted on behalf of the family in collecting a debt owed to the estate.

Allen Jones was born January 1, 1800, in Bulloch County, a son of Thomas and Martha Denmark Jones. He grew to manhood in Bulloch County.  On January 16, 1823 he married Ann Cone, daughter of Aaron Cone and grand-daughter of William Cone, R.S. She was born January 5, 1801

To Allen Jones and Ann Cone were born four children:

1. Sarah Jones, born 1823, married Fleming B. Walker of Brooks Co.
2. Susannah Jones, born 1827, married Benjamin F. Whipple from New York.
3. Thomas A. Jones, born 1828, married Martha , Died in Savannah
4. Aaron Cone Jones, born 1831, married (1) Jane Vickers (2) Mrs. Polly Williams Lovett

About 1837 Allen Jones bought a farm in the Grooverville area in that part of Thomas County  later cut into Brooks County, where he moved his family. Some time  in the early 1840s he sold his Grooverville property and moved to Lowndes county and settled on a farm in the Cat Creek District. While living there he served as Justice of the Inferior Court of Lowndes County 1845-1853.  Jones was a primitive baptist by faith, and joined with Friendship Church at Hahira, GA

His wife, Ann Cone Jones, died about 1855,  Afterwards, the widower Jones re-married to the widow of Isbin Giddens and daughter of William Anderson Knight, Kiziah Knight Giddens. The couple made their home in the new county of Berrien, in the vicinity of present day Ray City, GA near the homes of Reverend Nathan Talley, William R. Brandon, and James M. Baskin. The farms of William A. Jones, William Washington Knight and James A. Knight were in the same area.

In Berrien County Allen Jones served as a Justice of the Inferior Court, 1861-1862.

On November 1, 1861 Allen Jones lost his second wife, Kiziah Knight Giddens Jones.  At the time of her death, the estate of her father had not been settled.  This put her widowed husband, Allen Jones, in a curious position of having to file a fi fas action against a debtor, John W. Turner, in order to settle a debt owed to the estate of William A. Knight, so that the estate of his dead wife could inherit from her father’s estate, and he in turn could inherit from his wife’s estate.

After the death of Kiziah, Allen Jones married a third time.  The marriage was March 8, 1862 in Berrien County to Mrs. Eliza Kinsey Newsom, widow of William Newsom. The wedding ceremony was performed by primitive baptist Elder Ansel Parrish.

The couple removed to Lowndes county. Mr. Jones acquired a farm about one mile from Mineola, GA where he died August 2, 1875.

He was buried on his estate lands, in a small cemetery; grave unmarked.

Mr. Jones died testate in Lowndes County, leaving a will dated February 11, 1871, probated August 2, 1875, in Lowndes  Court of the Ordinary.  It bequeathed his lands consisting of home place on Lot No. 51, 11th district of Lowndes County, to his wife Eliza and his children and her children, viz: Mrs. Sarah Walker, Mrs. Susannah Whipple, Thomas A. Jones, deceased; Aaron C. Jones, Mrs. Miriam Harrell, wife of John W. Harrel and Asa Newsom. 

Aaron C. Jones and Asa Newsom were appointed executors of the will.  They were fellow veterans of the Civil War, Jones having served with the 56th Georgia Regiment, Company B, and Newsom serving with the Berrien Minute Men, Company K, 29th Georgia Regiment.

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The Will of Allen Jones
State of Georgia
Lowndes County

In the name of God, Amen, I, Allen Jones, of said state and county, being of advanced age, but sound and disposing mind and memory, knowing that I must shortly depart this life, deem it right and proper both as respects my family and myself, that I should make a disposition of my property with which a kind providence has blessed me I do therefore make this my last will and testament hereby revoking and annulling all others by me heretofore made.

First, I desire and direct that my body be buried in a decent and Christian-like manner suitable to my circumstances and conditions in life. My said body shall return to dust – to the God who gave it, as I hope for salvation through the merits and atonement of our Blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Secondly, I desire and direct that my just debts be paid without delay by Executors hereinafter named and appointed

Thirdly, I give and bequeath to my beloved wife (Eliza) for and during her natural life only (without power to dispose of by will or otherwise) one lot of land number 27 in the Eleventh district of Lowndes county being the improved land on which we now live. I also give and bequeath to my beloved wife in the same reserved manner the farming utensils used on and belonging to the farm on said lot of land; and two mules, my carriage horse and carriage, my other live stock of each all and every kind where ever found, all the provisions on said farm side; growing crop (if any) and all my household and kitchen furniture and I direct my executor not to molest disturb trouble or bother my beloved wife within peaceably proper on and holding the property holding given her for and during her natural life.

Fourthly, The residue of my property both real and personal whatever and where ever it may be including that given to my wife in the third article of this will for and during her natural life only (after her estate ? is over) I give bequeath and bestow by equal shares  to the heirs of my natural body, and heirs of the body of my wife, to wit; Sarah Walker, Susan Whipple, Thomas A. Jones deceased, Aaron C. Jones, Miriam Harrell (alias Mrs. John P. Harrell), and Asa Newsome in fee simple and forever.

Fifthly, I hereby constitute and appoint my son Aaron C. Jones and Asa Newsom both of the county and state aforesaid sole executors of this my last will and testament this February 11th 1871.

Allen Jones

Signed sealed dictated and published by Allen Jones as his last will and testament in the presence of us the undersigned who subscribed from hereunto in the presence of said testators at his special insistence done —– in the presence of each other.

Hanford D. Tyler
John H. Tyler
Asa Newsom

Related Posts:

Melvin Plair of Lois community near Ray City, a son of Effie Mozelle Moore and Eugene Plair. In the 1940s, the Plairs rented a farm on the Nashville and Valdosta Highway.

Melvin Plair, Senior at Berrien High School, 1955. In high school he played basketball and baseball, and was a senior superlative by his classmates.  He was on the Student Council and the Annual Staff, and a member of the “N” Club.

Melvin Plair, 1955, Senior

Melvin Plair played on the 1952-53 Nashville High Sschool boys basketball team. Image courtesy of http://www.berriencountyga.com

Melvin Plair, 1953 at Nashville High School

In 1955, Melvin Plair played baseball for the Alapaha.

The Nashville Herald, front page, June 23, 1955 Photo caption: ALAPAHA LIONS BASEBALL SQUAD – Berrien County’s representative in the Twin-Rivers Baseball League this year is the young and talented Alapaha Lions Club team pictured above. Players, front row, L-R, James Moore, Edwin Register, Charles Matthews, Billy Sanderson, Weyman Vickers; middle row L-R, Melvin Plair, Joe Dixon, Russell Nix, Garland McMillan, Joe Peach; back row L-R, Manager Buford Powell, Tommie Vickers, J.C. Rowe, Rufus Powell, Harvey Dorsey, Coach Julian Paulk. Squad members not present for picture include Don Haskins, Hubert Moore and Pete Williams. – Photo by Wink Rogers. Image courtesy of http://www.berriencountyga.com

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Senior Superlatives, BHS Class of 1955, Frances Gray and Melvin Plair

Melvin Plair and Frances Gray were later married.

The first commercial activity at Ray City arose during the Civil War when Levi J. Knight and his son-in-law Thomas M. Ray constructed  a millpond and grist mill on Beaverdam Creek in Berrien County, GA. Captain Levi J. Knight, an old Indian fighter, raised the first company of Confederate soldiers to go forth from Berrien County, the Berrien Minute Men.

After enlisting at Nashville, GA in 1862 the Berrien Minute Men mustered in near Savannah, GA as a company of the 29th Georgia Infantry Regiment.  Following this organization, Captain Knight resigned and the company came under the command of John C. Lamb.   In the first months after mustering in, the regiment trained and served picket duty on the Georgia coast.  They were stationed at a number of camps  on the coastal islands and marshes, first at Sapelo Battery, off the coast of Darien, GA, then in Chatham County, GA at Camp Tatnall, Camp Causton’s Bluff, Camp Debtford, Camp Mackey, and Camp Young.

At times the conditions in the Confederate camps of Chatham county were nearly intolerable. The weather was cold in the winter and hot and muggy in the summer.  Men were apt to become irritable. One soldier of the 29th Georgia Regiment killed another over a game of marbles. Some men were bored with picket duty. Some were frustrated and longed for action. Others just longed to go home to their farms and families. At Camp Young the harsh realities of Army life in the field would test the commitment of volunteer soldiers in the 29th Georgia Regiment.

The likely location of Camp Young was on Wylly Island about eight miles southeast of Savannah , on a tract of 110 acres which had been acquired  by Judge  Levi Sheftall D’Lyon at some time prior to 1860.  Judge D’Lyon was a prominent citizen and city court judge of Savannah. He was also the father of Isaac Mordecai DeLyon and Leonorean DeLyon, who edited and published the South Georgia Watchman newspaper at Troupville, GA and later at Valdosta, GA.  Lenorean DeLyon is credited with giving Valdosta its name.    Judge D’Lyon himself was an enigma. He took great interest in supporting the Chatham Dispensary, “a free medical clinic and pharmacy for the poor.” He devoted much of his professional legal career to assisting free African-Americans in acquiring their own property, but he also profited from the business of buying and selling slaves.  In 1859 he called for a “vigilance committee for the better preservation of Southern Rights.” In 1861 he was acting as guardian for 48 “free persons of color” in Savannah, while at the same time working to establish a district court system in the new Confederate States of America.  In his will D’Lyon directed that five of his slaves be freed, but another 21 were sold in 1863 to liquidate his estate.

Wylly Island is a river island formed by a bifurcation of the Herb River.  According to a Civil War map of the defenses of Savannah,  Wylly Island was between Thunderbolt Battery, a Confederate artillery emplacement on St. Augustine Creek, and  Battery Daniels at Parkersburg on the Skidaway River.  Battery Daniels had several supporting batteries on the Herb River and Grimball’s Creek.

There is no remaining trace of these Confederate locations or of Camp Young. Some descriptions of Camp Young are found in the Civil War letters of William Washington Knight, son of Levi J. Knight.

At first, the Berrien Minute Men found fresh food was in short supply at Camp Young. Soldiers supplemented their camp diet either with food purchased in Savannah with their own money, or had food sent from home. William W. Knight’s  letter of January 4, 1863 written from Camp Young and addressed to his wife, Mary,  mentioned that fellow soldier J. P. Ponder had delivered a box of potatoes sent by her father. Knight wrote of being deployed without rations and of spoiled provisions – “blue beef that will stick to your hands equal to adhesive plaster.”  He asked her to send more potatoes, and pork if the weather was cold enough. Knight remarked on the high prices being gotten in Savannah for peanuts, corn, and bacon, and the shortage of bread. He also requested Mary send his mattress bed cover, iron shoe heels, “vial oil”, and carpet bag.

Deadly infectious diseases of all kinds were rampant in the crowded Confederate camps. The river delta land was low lying and prone to malaria. On February 28, 1862 Knight wrote, “We have a good many sick now with cold or pneumonia. Nineteen of our company on the sick list  this morning…” In early March, Knight himself was incapacitated by fever.

By mid-March soldiers’ letters home indicated that the supply of food at Camp Young was much improved.  But by the end of March Knight wrote of worsening weather conditions; “It is the worst time we have had this winter. The wind and rain from the North East. There is very little timber in that direct. It has all been cut down in front of the Batteries for over a mile.”

At Camp Young, the 29th Georgia Regiment  became part of a Brigade which also included the 25th and 30th Georgia Regiments, First Battalion Georgia Sharpshooters, and 4th Louisiana Battalion. In a Brief History of the Thirtieth Georgia Regiment, August Pitt Adamson, 1st Sergeant, Company E wrote about Camp Young:

Camp life at Savannah was far from being dull and was not at all monotonous.  Many little incident of a humorous nature occurred.  Sports of various kinds were engaged in, which were shared by both officers and men. Occasionally some of the boys would “run the blockade,” as it was called, and go to Savannah without leave, thus running the risk of being put upon double duty, or digging stumps, which were the usual punishments inflicted. One man of Company E [30th Regiment] could so well imitate the signature of the commanding officer, that he frequently gave himself and others leave to go to the city.  In such cases they always returned in time for drill, and but few knew of it. On one occasion at night, soon after we went to Savannah, a false alarm was given, the men were hastily aroused and called into line with their old flintlock guns; much confusion followed; some could not find their companies, some ran over stumps and against each other, and two or three of Company B fell into and old well, which was, however, very shallow, but they yelled loudly for help.  It was soon found to be a false alarm, gotten up by some of the officers to try the men and have some fun. We were provided good tents and, for the most part comfortably cared for, with plenty to eat, but some of the boys wanted a change of diet, and, discovering a flock of goats belonging to Judge De Lyon, a wealthy old gentleman who had a farm near the camps, the result was nearly all the goats disappeared, leaving the owner quite angry.  The boys would say the goats tried to run over them, and they had to act in self-defense.

While at Camp Young, William Knight reported the Berrien Minute Men  spent a great deal of the time in drill. They drilled in Company formation and as a Battalion and Brigade. When they weren’t drilling or on dress parade, they attended “Regimental School.” When they could get leave they went into Savannah to get personal provisions or to be entertained. When they couldn’t get leave some went absent without leave;  John W. Hagan wrote from Camp Young on March 19,  “I cannot get a pass to visit Savannah, and when I go I have to run the blockade and risk getting caught, but I will manage to slip the block.”

This is not to say the Berrien Minute Men and the 29th GA Regiment were idle.  Like the 30th Georgia Regiment and other units in their Brigade, they probably were engaged in the construction of fortifications, mounting artillery, and placing obstructions in the river channels.  They were certainly conducting picket duty, patrolling the islands below Savannah on the lookout for Federal scouts who might be probing the line of Confederate defenses around the city.  They made brief excursions by train into Florida, South Carolina and North Carolina to strengthen coastal defenses where Union forces threatened to attack.

The 29th Regiment remained at Camp Young through April; by May 12, 1863 they had rolled out to Jackson, MS in preparation for the Battle of Vicksburg. But before that departure, while stationed at Camp Young, twenty men of the 29th Georgia deserted the regiment. From the weeks and months the Special Order 16 was advertised, one can judge these were not men who just sneaked off to Savannah,  but were long gone.  Four of the deserters were from Company K, the Berrien Minute Men, including Elbert J. Chapman, Albert Douglas, Benjamin S. Garrett, and J. P. Ponder.

A reward of $30 was offered for each man  apprehended, $600 for the bunch.

Reward offered for capture of deserters from the 29th Georgia Regiment, Confederate States Army, including four deserters from the Berrien Minute Men, Company K. Advertised in the Savannah Republican newspaper.

$600 REWARD.
Headq’rs 29th Reg’t GA. Vols.,
Camp Young, near Savannah, March 12, 1863.
SPECIAL ORDERS,
No. 15.
Deserted from this Regiment at Camp near Savannah, the following named enlisted men:

      Private FREEMAN BRIDGES, Co. B, is 22 years of age, 5 feet 7 1/2 inches high, has dark complexion, black eyes and dark hair.   Enlisted in Franklin county, Ga.
      Private DAVID CLAY, Co. C, 28 years of age, 5 feet 6 inches high, has dark complexion, dark eyes, dark hair.  Enlisted in Thomas County, Ga.
Private JOSEPH W. SINGLETARY, Co. C., 38 years of age, 5 feet 10 inches high, sallow complexion, blue eyes, dark  hair. Enlisted at Thomas county, Ga.
Private PATRICK FITZGERALD, Co. E, 46 years of age, 5 feet 11 inches high, fair complexion, blue eyes and light hair.  Enlisted at Savannah, Ga.
Private EDWARD ROTCHFORD, Co. E, 45 years of age, 5 feet 9 inches high, fair complexion, blue eyes and light hair. Enlisted at Savannah, Ga.
Private JOHN MULLER, Co. E, 26 years of age, 5 feet 6 inches high, dark hair, dark complexion and dark eyes. Enlisted at Savannah, Ga.
Private DAVID WILLIAMS, Co, E, 40 years of age, 5 feet high, brown eyes, light brown hair, and reddish complexion. Enlisted at Savannah, Ga.
     Private S. A. HALL, Co. F. 20 years of age, 5 feet 8 inches high, dark complexion, blue eyes, and light hair.  Enlisted at Thomasville, Ga.
     Private WM. HARVEY, Co. F, 45 years of age, 5 feet 8 inches high, light complexion, blue eyes, gray hair. Enlisted at Savannah, Ga.
     SYRE CHRISTIAN, Co. F, 40 years of age, 5 feet 10 inches high, light complexion, blue eyes, light hair.  Enlisted at Savannah, Ga.
     JAMES M. TOHEL, Co. F, 85 years of age 5 feet 9 inches high, dark complexion, blue eyes, dark hair. Enlisted at Savannah, Ga.
     Private C. R. OLIVER, Co. H, 29 years of age, 5 feet 8 inches high, light complexion, blue eyes, dark hair.  Enlisted at Stockton, Ga.
      Private J. R. JACOBS, Co. H. 22 years of age, 5 feet 6 inches high, dark complexion, dark eyes, dark hair.  Enlisted at Stockton, Ga.
      Private F. F. F. GRIFFIN, Co. I, 40 years of age, 5 feet 10 1/2 inches high, dark complexion, black eyes, and dark hair.  Enlisted in Thomas County, Ga.
     Private N. P. GANDY, Co. I, 30 years of age, 5 feet 6 1/2 inches high, dark complexion, blue eyes, and light hair.  Enlisted in Thomas County, Ga.
     Private WM. BARWICK, Co. I, 38 years of age, 5 feet 8 inches high, light complexion, grey eyes.  Enlisted in Thomas County.
     Private ELBERT J. CHAPMAN, Co. K, 31 years of age, 5 feet 7 inches high, dark complexion, blue eyes, and sandy hair.  Enlisted in Berrien county.
     Private ALBERT DOUGLAS, Co. K, 32 years of age, 5 feet 6 inches high, fair complexion, grey eyes, and auburn hair.  Enlisted in Berrien county.
     Private BENJAMIN S. GARRETT, Co. K, 25 years of age, 5 feet 10 inches high, fair complexion, blue eyes, and black hair.  Enlisted in Berrien county.
     Private J. P. PONDER, Co. K, 31 years of age, 5 feet 7 inches high, dark complexion, blue eyes, and sandy hair.  Enlisted at Savannah.

A reward of thirty dollars is offered for the apprehension of either of the above named men, delivered at these headquarters or confined in a safe jail.
By order of W. J. Young,
Col.Comd’g 29th Reg’t Ga. Vols.
Geo. P. McRee, AdjL

After deserting from the 29th Georgia Regiment:

• Elbert J. Chapman fled to the west where he joined another unit and fought with determination. He was later charged with desertion from the 29th Georgia Regiment, court-martialed and executed by firing squad.  After the war, a pension for his indigent wife was denied.
• Benjamin S. Garrett was later shot for being a spy.
• Albert Douglas left the Berrien Minute Men “absent without leave” in December 1862 and was marked “deserted.”  There is no record that he ever returned to his unit.  In fact, there is no further record of him at all. He was not enumerated in the household of his wife and child in 1870, and in subsequent census records she is identified as a widow. There is no record she ever applied for a Confederate Widow’s Pension.  Although there is no record of his death or burial, it is presumed that Albert Douglas died while absent without leave.
• J. P. Ponder left little historical record, other than the military muster rolls which document his enlistment and desertion. Even his name is confused, alternately given as Ponder or Powder  Both variations are listed in his Confederate military service records. The letters of William W. Knight indicate Ponder traveled back to Berrien county and returned to Camp Young in February 1863, and that Ponder was back in Berrien in March. In any case, it does not appear the man ever returned to the 29th Georgia Regiment.

Other Berrien County soldiers, such as N. M. McNabb who served with Company D, 12th Georgia Regiment, would be pressed into service to hunt fugitive deserters. According to a sworn statement by Mr. McNabb, “late in the year, perhaps September 1864, the Georgia Militia were  at Griffin, Ga Ordered by the Governor to stack arms and return home until further orders, which we did. After getting home, the Enrolling Officers here at home pressed us in to aid them in hunting Deserters.”

Related Posts:

• Elbert J. Chapman Was A Victim of Military Discipline
• John Carroll Lamb
• William W. Knight Writes Home About Old Yellow and Men of the 29th Georgia Infantry
• L.E. Lastinger and Captain Knight’s Berrien Minutemen
• Berrien Minute Men and Civil War Stories
• Organization and Command of the Berrien Minute Men
• Brief History of the Thirtieth Georgia Regiment

29th Georgia Regiment Soldier Killed by Fellow Soldier over a game of marbles

In the summer of 1862,  the Berrien Minute Men mustered in as a company of the 29th Georgia Infantry Regiment near Savannah, GA, where the regiment trained and served picket duty on the Georgia coast.  They were stationed at a number of camps  on the coastal islands and marshes, first at Sapelo Battery, off the coast of Darien, GA, then defending Savannah in Chatham County, GA at Camp Tatnall, Camp Causton’s Bluff, Camp Debtford, Camp Mackey, and Camp Young.

At times the conditions in the Confederate camps of Chatham county were rough.  Disease, shortage of provisions,  weather, and frustration over being assigned to the literal backwaters of the war all took their toll on the men.   Difficulties sometimes arose between soldiers.  In one incident a soldier of the 29th Georgia Regiment was killed over a game of marbles. The fatal knifing occurred on September 16, 1862.

In a letter written September 20, 1862 and published September 26, 1862 in the Rome Weekly Courier a soldier of Company E, 29th Georgia Regiment reported the incident:

A serious difficulty occurred in the company on Tuesday last, between Privates Sam’l Fuller and John M. Reynolds.  They had been playing marbles, and a dispute arose, which resulted in an encounter, when Fuller drew his pocket knife and inflicted three wounds on the person of Reynolds, two in the back and in in the side. The two in the back were not considered serious, but the one in the side was, as it came very near going the hollow. Mr. Reynolds had been here but a few days having came in the the last squad of recruits. He is in the camp hospital and doing well. – Fuller did not wait to be placed under arrest, but went immediately to the guard Tents and gave himself up – He will be tried to day before the Regimental Court Martial

Letter dated September 20, 1862from a Floyd County soldier reports deadly game of marbles at the camp of the 29th Georgia Regiment, Savannah, GA

The knife wounds sent John Reynolds to the camp hospital, which would have placed him under the care of William P. Clower, Surgeon of the 29th Regiment. William P. Clower initially served as company surgeon for the Berrien Minute Men, and was a brother of Dr. John T. Clower of Rays Mill, (now Ray City, GA)

Exerpt from a soldier’s letter written September 26, 1862 at the regimental headquarters, 29th Georgia Regiment, Savannah, GA and published in the Rome Tri-Weekly Courier :

John M. Reynolds is suffering intensely from the wounds inflicted by Fuller, and I fear it will be some time before he recovers, if ever.  He is still in the camp hospital, not in a condition to be moved.  Fuller’s case has been tried but the decision has not been made public, but doubtless will be in a few days. He is under arrest yet.

John M. Reynold did not recover. The Savannah Republican issue of October 1, 1862 reported his death:

Savannah Republican
October 1, 1862

INQUEST. – Coroner Eden held an inquest yesterday at the camp of the Twenty-ninth Georgia Regiment, over the body of Private John M. Reynolds, of Co. D., said regiment. The jury found that the deceased came to his death from wounds inflicted on his person by one Samuel Fuller, of the same regiment, in a quarrel which took place on the 16th ult., while playing at marbles. Upon the facts given in evidence, they found a charge of manslaughter against Fuller.

Writing from Camp Troup on October 1, 1862, a Floyd county soldier reported to the Rome Weekly Courier:

It becomes my painful duty to record the death of private John M. Reynolds,  who died on the morning of  the 30th ult., of Erysipelas, produced by the wounds inflicted by private Samuel Fuller. The particulars of the difficulty I gave you in a former letter. Mr. Fuller was court martialed and sentenced to fifteen days hard labor, and when not at work, with a ball and chain to his leg and confined to the guard tent, but as the Judge Advocate omitted to record the evidence and the names of the witnesses, the Colonel disapproved of the sentence and remanded him back to his company for duty.  This was on the 27th September, Reynolds died on the 30th. Fuller was then arrested again and placed under guard to be delivered over to the civil authorities, when demanded. A Coroner’s Inquest was ordered and held over the body of the deceased, and the jury found that he came to his death from wounds inflicted by Samuel Fuller, and upon the facts given in evidence they found a charge of manslaughter against Fuller.  He had not been sent for by the civil authorities when we left today.

Erysipelas was a streptococcus infection of the skin and was difficult to treat without antibiotics.

letter dated Oct 1, 1862

In a follow-up letter on October 2, 1862, the soldier reported

 Samuel Fuller was arrested and turned over to the civil authorities and placed in jail yesterday evening to await his trial. He made a good soldier, one who was always in his place, and did his full share of duty. If the Captain is here when he is tried, he will see that justice is done him.

letter dated October 2, 1862

Letter of October 5, 1862 from Camp Troup near Savannah, GA

Last Friday was appointed for Fuller’s committal trial, but as some of the witnesses were sick, the trial was postponed until Monday, and for the same reasons it was again postponed until last Tuesday two weeks, wo he will have to lie in jail at least that long.

October 29, 1862 letter from Camp Troup, near Savannah, GA reports:

Fuller’s committal trial has been indefinitely postponed on account of so many of the witnesses being sick.

Letter dated October 29,1862 reports delay in the trial of Samuel Fuller for the death of John M. Reynolds

Finally, in a letter written February 12, 1863, while the 29th GA Regiment was at Camp Young near Savannah, GA, the results of the trial are announced:

Samuel Fuller has had his trial at last; he was cleared and returned to duty.

Related Posts:

• John Carroll Lamb
• William W. Knight Writes Home About Old Yellow and Men of the 29th Georgia Infantry
• Berrien Readied for Civil War, May, 1861
• Civil War Letters of James Parrish
• Resolutions of the Berrien Minute Men
• Organization and Command of the Berrien Minute Men
• L.E. Lastinger and Captain Knight’s Berrien Minutemen

Engagements with Native Americans fought in South Georgia in the year 1842, were a topic of Governor George W. Crawford’s address of November 7, 1843 to the Georgia General Assembly.  The Governor referenced reports  submitted by Levi J. Knight and others  documenting Indian movements and attacks.  Knight was captain of militia companies that fought engagements in Lowndes County during the Indian Wars 1836-1842 (see Levi J. Knight Reports Indian Fight of July 13, 1836;   Final Report of General Julius C. Alford on Actions at the Little River and at Grand Bay, August, 1836)

George W. Crawford, Governor of Georgia 1843-1847. In politics, Crawford was a Whig, as was Levi J. Knight of Lowndes County (now Berrien). Crawford was the only Whig elected to the Governors office in Georgia. Crawford was appointed Secretary of War in the Cabinet of President Zachary Taylor and served from March 8, 1849, to July 23, 1850; presided over the State secession convention in 1861; died on his estate, “Bel Air,” near Augusta, Ga., July 27, 1872; interment in Summerville Cemetery.

In the spring of 1842 Levi J. Knight’s company of men was among those activated to pursue Indians fleeing from Florida and to defend against Indian attacks. After these actions, Governor Crawford was engaged in a dispute with U. S. Secretary of War James Madison Porter over  whether Federal funds were owed to the State of Georgia for expenses incurred when militia companies were called out in Lowndes County.

In his address, Governor Crawford cites Document 200. This document was a report prepared for the U.S. House of Representatives, April 22, 1842 and titled “Depredations by Indians and United States troops in Georgia.” The report included all correspondence between the Governor of Georgia and the War Department from March 4, 1841 and April 20, 1842 “in relation to Indian depredations in Georgia; and the complaints made and evidence submitted of depredations on the citizens of Georgia and their property, by the United States troops;”

The question was whether Governor Crawford’s predecessor, Governor Charles McDonald, was warranted in calling out the militia. McDonald and Crawford maintained that the federal government had failed in its responsibility to provide protection and security to Georgia citizens.  The people of Wiregrass Georgia certainly felt exposed, but federal officers believed there was little real threat from Indians in Georgia.  Bad relations between the federal troops and local citizens complicated the issue.  At the heart of matters was the shooting of D.S. Cone, son of Captain William Cone by federal troops; Cone was investigating the theft of livestock by the federal troops. Furthermore, federal authorities disparaged reports by Levi J. Knight that Indians were responsible for the attack and murder of a Mrs. Oglesby in Ware County on February 28, 1842.

The War Department contended the activation of militia companies was unnecessary and disallowed payment to Georgia.

Exerpt from Governor Crawford’s address to the Georgia Assembly, November 7, 1843, Milledgeville, GA:

In execution of the act of 27th December last, “to provide for the pay, forage, subsistence and transportation, of the troops ordered out by His Excellency the Governor, and by Generals Knight and Hilliard, for the protection of the southern frontier of this State, against intrusions of the Seminole Indians, ” Col. James Rogers of this place [Milledgeville], was appointed paymaster, who proceeded to examine and report to this Department all such claims as were presented under said act, together with the evidence in support of the same.

A coppy of his report is laid before you. The evidence on which it was based is to be found on the files of this Department.  Some of the officers are discontented with the allowances made them and the men under their command by the paymaster. I refer you to copies of letters received from Captains [William B.] North and [Matthew M.] Deas on this subject, which will put you fully in possession of the objections urged against the conclusions of the paymaster, and by a comparison of which, with the testimony on file, you will be enabled to arrive at justice in your decision as to further allowances. It will be remarked that the proof consists, generally, of the affidavits of the men who performed the service.
     I call your particular attention to the letter from the paymaster, relative to Captain North’s roll,  and recommend that every dollar to which the men of his company are entitled, be allowed, but that measures be adopted to remedy such abuses as are disclosed on the part of that officer.
     A warrant has been drawn for the sum of $2,000. for the payment of these troops, which exceeds the amount of claims reported. This sum will cover every small amount of additional claims which may be proven and the pay and expenses of the paymaster who will account for any balance. I regret that the illness of this officer has hitherto prevented the execution of the duties assigned him. I addressed a letter to the President of the U. States, on the subject of the payment of the above troops, and also invited the attention of the Georgia delegation in Congress to it.  Unexpectedly to me, the President referred the matter to the then Secretary of War, an officer with whom I could not communicate with regard to it, after the evidence of his insincerity as exposed in my message to the last General Assembly.  After I was informed by the Adjutant General of the army, that the rights of the State were to be controlled by so unworthy and influence, I deemed it due to the people, whom I represented, to have no further intercourse respecting them, with any officer subject to be biased by his prejudices.  I cannot forbear, however, calling your attention to a passage in his letter of the 27th February last, to a portion of the Georgia delegation, a copy of which is herewith communicated, in which to justify his conduct in opposing the right of Georgia to pay, he remarks that,

“there was no outrage committed by any Indians in the State of Georgia, during the year 1842, and there was no probable or plausible ground to apprehend any.  Its southern border was guarded by ten military posts and by an unceasing vigilance which afforded the most effectual protection.”

These assertions are made notwithstanding the Document 200, to which he refers in the sentence immediately preceding this, being a communication made by himself, to the committee on Military affairs, contains a letter from Major Gen. Knight, giving information of an Indian murder, committed on Tom’s creek, in the county of Ware, in the month of February, of that year.

It is true, that in one of the Documents is contained a letter from an officer of the army, which is intended to create a doubt whether the murder was committed by Indians. But the evidence adduced is inconclusive on that point.  I lay before you, an extract from a letter from Captain Clyatt, of the 26th Sept, 1842, which proves that in August of that year, the Indians had passed into Georgia, and there had an engagement with a company of Georgians and Floridians.  Should there bean error in Captain Clyatt’s geography, which seems impossible, as he examined the lines, the Indians had certainly passed the ten military posts, and there was at least “plausible” ground to apprehend Indian outrages.