Upson-Taylor County GaArchives Obituaries.....Hamp Spinks September 15 1912 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/copyright.htm http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/ga/gafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Carla Miles cmhistory@mchsi.com February 9, 2004, 4:00 pm The Butler Herald, September 17, 1912 The Butler Herald Tuesday, September 17, 1912 Page Four Death of Mr. Spinks The numerous Taylor County friends of Mr. Hamp Spinks will be grieved to learn of his death which occurred Sunday at his home at Thomaston. Mr. Spinks was about 60 years of age and for many years a highly respected citizen of this county, moving to Thomaston and engaging in business there about ten years ago. The remains of Mr. Spinks were interred in the cemetery at Horeb church near the line of Taylor and Talbot Monday. An impressive funeral service was conducted by Rev. M.T. Gaultney. This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/gafiles/ File size: 1.1 Kb

Diane Caldwell contributes often to our Upson County materials, so I was thrilled when I saw that this was printed in the New York Times. I'm sure hoping that such coverage will get more people interested. Histories Vanish Along With South’s Cemeteries (Click on link to see photo's on the site.) (or copy and paste) http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/08/national/08CEME.html?ei=5062&en=94283ca446c8d9a6&ex=1076821200&adxnnl=1&partner=GOOGLE&adxnnlx=1076247029-A/hMFotKWlrz0mKaBJdlMg New York Times Published: February 8, 2004 Histories Vanish Along With South's Cemeteries By ANDREW JACOBS THOMASTON, Ga. — The old dead lie beneath a noxious carpet of brambles and poison ivy, their tombstones mostly shattered and their names long forgotten. The graves of the recent dead, fresh mounds of ocher clay, are equally anonymous, without a single stone or marker among the strewn beer cans and candy wrappers. Hundreds of people — or perhaps more than a thousand, no one really knows — are buried in this single acre of sloping earth. Former slaves, sharecroppers, teachers and preachers who lived in Thomaston's black section in the 1860's lie beside modern-day indigents brought here by funeral homes. Local records show that impoverished Confederate veterans were buried here, too, but their headstones are nowhere to be found. Old Mill Cemetery, as it is known, is a no man's land of the dead. Diane Caldwell comes here once in a while to tear out saplings and vines, but she knows nature is winning. "I go through this cemetery and I can feel people crying out for help," said Ms. Caldwell, 38, a genealogist who lives near this faded mill town of 9,400 people. "They're saying `Please don't forget us.' " But there are thousands of graveyards like this in the South. From North Carolina to Arkansas, time, development and neglect are swallowing abandoned cemeteries, historians and preservation groups say. The Mississippi Heritage Trust, alarmed by the destruction and disintegration of so many historic burial grounds, recently included a handful on its list of the state's most endangered places. In Montgomery County, Tenn., a local historian estimates that there are as many as 500 lost or abandoned black cemeteries in the county. And in Palatka, Fla., the Francis Community Black Cemetery was recently paved over for the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant. Glenn Jones, who runs a cemetery preservation group in Benton County, Ark., said he believed that a dozen graveyards in his state were buried beneath asphalt each year. When he complained to a local developer, Mr. Jones said, he was told, "Life is for the living, not for the dead." The old cemeteries are under siege on several fronts. Suburban developers are taking advantage of weak laws or lax enforcement to bulldoze them. Vandalism laws provide little protection — in South Carolina, for example, those prosecuted for destroying abandoned cemeteries must be shown to have done so "willfully and intentionally," a difficult burden of proof. In most states, disused cemeteries are legal orphans, ineligible for public money that might rehabilitate them. And strapped state and county governments seldom get involved. "I get a few calls a day from people who ask for our help, but the most I can do is tell them, `It's your project,' " said Ken Wilson, a historian with the Historic Preservation Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. "I mean, there are thousands of these cemeteries across the state." But preservationists say the most imperiled burial grounds are those historically used by African-Americans. Part of the problem, they say, is that 18th- and 19th-century graveyards were often poorly marked, their occupants too poor to afford lasting monuments. In many places, the vast 20th-century migration of blacks to Northern cities depopulated many rural Southern towns, leaving black cemeteries hopelessly neglected. And throughout the South, the traditional days of cemetery tending, family events in the spring and fall, have long since been eclipsed by modern life. "People have become so busy, no one has time to travel four or five hours just to clean up the family grave," said Christine Van Voorhies, a historic preservationist who wrote a how-to guide for cemetery maintenance called "Grave Intentions." Not all the neglect, however, is entirely benign. In some cases, local authorities may be less vigilant in maintaining black cemeteries than white ones, said Michael Trinkley, an archaeologist from South Carolina who frequently testifies in cases of grave desecration. Compared with the neatly planned and monument-filled cemeteries established by white communities, black burial grounds were rarely conceived as manicured places, and in most cases, were relegated to the least desirable parts of town. Page 2 of 2) "Black cemeteries are easier to overlook, whether intentionally or unintentionally," said Mr. Trinkley, the director of the Chicora Foundation, a nonprofit organization that advocates the preservation of historic cemeteries. "Still, if we were seeing as many white cemeteries destroyed, people just wouldn't stand for it." In 1994, when David Paterson decided to compile a history of black Thomaston's transition from slavery to Reconstruction, he was surprised to find that the local historical society had produced three volumes on white cemeteries but nothing on black ones. "When I asked why the books didn't include black cemeteries, the answer I got was, `We couldn't find any blacks interested in copying headstones,' " said Mr. Paterson, an amateur historian. "I didn't know it took black people to copy black tombstones." The steady degradation of Thomaston's Old Mill Cemetery, which sits a few blocks from the city's historic square, began in the 1950's, when the last of the original trustees died. Still, workers from Thomaston Mills, a textile plant that nearly envelops the site, did their best to keep the briars at bay until the company went under four years ago. "We would cut the grass because it was the courteous thing to do," said George Hightower, 54, whose family founded what, for a century, had been the city's largest employer. Local residents tried to get the city and the county to take over the cemetery but were politely rebuffed. But communal apathy, it would seem, is colorblind. When one of Thomaston's black undertakers, Johnny Enoch Bentley Jr., tried to raise restoration money through his Sunday radio show, only $150 came in. "Just about everyone in town feels there's no hope for doing anything about that cemetery," said Mr. Bentley, 77, who has buried 4,000 people over the last four decades. "It's just a lost, lonely place in the minds of most people." That has not stopped Mr. Bentley and his two competitors from using it as a potter's field, with about a dozen interments a year. Mr. Bentley, for one, thinks there is room for as many as 200 more. "The colored people of Thomaston own it," he said. "Who can say anything?" Ms. Caldwell, the genealogist, has been saying plenty. She accuses Thomaston's funeral directors of casting aside old headstones and graves to make room for new interments. Mr. Bentley and the others deny that accusation. "This cemetery has long been filled," Ms. Caldwell said on a recent Sunday, whacking at the underbrush. "This is downright disgraceful." Her goal, she said, is to stop burials, fence in the grounds and form a group to restore the cemetery. She and others also want to solve a mystery of the Old Mill Cemetery: What happened to the graves of the Confederate soldiers? The original deed, filed a year after the end of the Civil War, described the grounds as a final resting place for "soldiers only." Penny Cliff, the Upson County archivist, said she found it hard to believe that Thomaston's white citizenry would have allowed the intermingling of soldiers and former slaves. The theory of some local historians is that the soldiers' bodies were moved to another cemetery. Citing the stories of his father, who died recently at the age of 85, Mr. Hightower, the former mill owner, believes no body has ever been removed from the cemetery. "If they're buried there," he said, "they're still there."

Mary has shared a widow's pension for Caroline E. Kersey -- widow of Henry Kersey. (Do any of you have a pension either for the individual or his widow?) Along with this pension were 3 witnesses.... This is just one of the reasons why we should make an effort to get more pension records on-line -- as they help us with more information about these veterans..... who was alive and living in Upson County in 1891. Remember I'm always trying to locate more info on those Vets who may have been at the Courthouse on the day the Monument was dedicated! http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/ga/upson/military.html Lisa was so good to type up the Southern Cross recipients -- and these awards took place in early 1900's. So take a look at those as well.

Hello to All, I need information on Ace Simmon. 1930 Taylor County Census states: Ace Simmons (H) w m 52 ggg farmer Clara (w) w f 45 ggg Marriage Records Crawford County, Georgia Ace Simmon married Clara Long on 1-05-1906 Does anyone have any more information on Ace Simmon and his family? Thank you for your time and assistance, Brenda

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Brown, Collier, Shepherd, Shepard Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/Dd.2ADI/1284 Message Board Post: Mary Elizabeth Brown born 6 May 1853 Upson Co., GA to William H. Brown & Mariah Marquise Collier, married an unknown Shepherd/Shepard sometime after 1880. She appears as unmarried on the 1880 census. 1880 Upson Co., GA Flint Dist. 537 p 28 #264 Brown, Wm H 53 farmer Mariah 46 Elizabeth 27 Alfred H 25 farm laborer Charles V 23 " Rebecca A. 20 at home Loula K. 17 Rufus C. 14 farm hand Thomas H. 13 " James S. 10 at school Flewellen 6 at home Wm M. 4 at home [this should be female] I haven't been able to find her on the 1900 census, but on 1910 she is in her youngest sister's household as widowed. 1910 MACON CO., GA. CENSUS - 543rd Dist. Town of Marshallville HH 95 BALDWIN, Davis F. 42 m-1-12 ggg Machinist - Shop O/M/H Willie wife 34 m-1-12 ggg Paul son 8 s ggg Davis son 6 s ggg SHEPHERD, Mary 50 Wid. Sister-in-law Does any one have any idea who she married? And when? I have a death date of 20 May 1914 for her, but have no idea where she is buried. Thanks for any help.

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Danzey/Danzy Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/Dd.2ADI/64.481 Message Board Post: Do you have the names of the children of Bryant and Mary Danzy?

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: RAWLS, MANGHAM, WILLINGHAM Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/Dd.2ADI/1034.3.1 Message Board Post: Hi TCoker: Your reply was very, very interesting. It does look like the same family or group of families. I haven't done much on Willinghams, but I have hit a brick wall with my 2g grandfather, Thomas Rawls and decided to branch out, find connected families and maybe, just maybe get an answer on Thomas' parents, siblings etc. Do you have any approximate dates for Joyce and Sarah Willingham? It seems to me Martha Ann, my g grandmother, would have to be the daughter of one of the brothers, if there was one old enough to have a child born in 1821. I never lived near my grandparents, but my cousins who did have told me Langford was a familiar name to them. There was a younger Langford who used to drop by my grandfather's farm who called him 'Uncle'. I thought that might mean that one of his older sisters (most likely S.D. on the census) had married a Langford. Perhaps, there is also a connection farther back. I have never heard of the Langford Letter, but it sounds very interesting. I met on the Internet a 'cousin' who is married to a man descended from Mary Ann Rawls and Joseph Stuart. I eMailed her, pointing out your 2 messages (the Fallen one is the 2nd) My eMail address for genealogy is Jarnold4gen @aol.com. Our original address (Billjanarn) gets so full of spam I am afraid of losing a genealogy reply in the mess. I will ask my cousins about the Willingham history, Indians etc. Sometimes these things jog their memories. I would love to know more and will share what I have on Martha's descendants with family. Thank you. Jan Arnold

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Boring/Cobb/Collins Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/Dd.2ADI/1283 Message Board Post: I am researching my husbands family history. I have no information on the Boring family other than Josie Boring born October 5, 1874 in what i believe is Georgia. The information on the Cobb side that I have is: Robert Henry Cobb b. August 14, 1868 in Florida. married Josie Boring on December 21,1893. Josie was b. October 5, 1874. I also know Roberts parents were believed to be born in either S. Carolina or or Georgia. They had 9 children: Metta Cobb .September 15, 1894 d. October 22,1969, Loniza Elizabeth b. August 15,1896 d. February 1,1976, Robert Henry Jr b. November 21, 1898 d. February 25, 1978, Josie b. April 18,1901 d. June 24, 1911, Ella Maud b. August 26, 1903 d. July 11, 1905, Frankie (daughter) b. March 8, 1908, d. UNKNOWN, George Boring Cobb b. march 20, 1910 d. UNKNOWN, walter Dupont Cobb b. June 24, 1912 d. UNKNOWN, Kate b. August 28, 1914 d. sometime in 1918. Robert Henry Cobb later died on May 22, 1923 and Josie Boring Cobb later died on May 4, 1952. I have information on the Collins side going back to Charles P. Collins being born March 30, 1878. His first wife was Ada Nelson, I do not know when they were married, I do know they had three (3) children Verna b. May 5, 1902, Emmett Douglas b. November 15, 1905, and a third child I believe his name was Jimmy, he died at birth. It is also believed Ada also died at this time. If anyone knows any information on her ( parents, DOB, DOD etc. I would love to her from you) I know after that Charlie married Metta Cobb b. Sept. 15, 1894 d. October 22,1969. Together Charlie & Metta had 10 children. William Harris Collins b. April 28, 1914, d. Dec. 15, 1995Maggie Eugenia Collins b. June 10, 1916 d. May 2, 1987, Robert Austin b. November 16, 1918 d. August 15, 1998, Charles P. Collins Jr. b. October 1, 1921, James Howard b. March 24, 1923, Richard Earl b. January 6, 1926 d. March 28, 1990( this is my husbands grandfather), Betty Jo b.November 21,1928, Audrey b. December 31,1930 d. Ja! nuary 13, 1998, Gordon b. October 27, 1932, Donald b. November 4, 1934. If anyone knows any information that would be helpful I would be extremely greatful. I am plannign a trip to Washington Dc to the National Archives, but not until the weather breaks, sometime in April. I am also willing to share any information I have on the people listed above and their spoises and children.

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Hickman, Copeland, Duke Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/Dd.2ADI/795.791.1.1.1.1.1.1.3.2 Message Board Post: Kina, Did you ever make the connection between Henrietta Waldrop and Uncle Lewis Arron and Copeland Hickman? John Hickman

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: FERGUSON/BROWN Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/Dd.2ADI/1282.1 Message Board Post: IN JUST A MATTER OF DAYS, I HAVE MET THE NICEST PEOPLE WHO HAVE HELPED ME WITH A GREAT DEAL OF FAMILY HISTORY! LIZZIE FERGUSON IS MY GREAT GRANDMOTHER! MANY THANKS TO AL AND MARY FOR SHARING THEIR RESEARCH. THIS SITE IS A REAL BLESSING! SINCERELY, LONNETTE

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: BROWN FERGUSON Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/Dd.2ADI/1282 Message Board Post: I WAS WONDERING IF ANYONE KNOWS IF LIZZIE BROWN FERGUSON, BURIED IN THE FLINT RIVER CEMETERY, WAS THE MOTHER OF IONE, WILL BROWN, AUBREY, CARRIE T., ALVIS AND LOIS FERGUSON? MY GRANDMOTHER IS IONE FERGUSON BROWN. SHE WAS BORN IN 1902- I BELIEVE. HER MOTHER DIED WHEN SHE WAS ONLY 2, AND THE TOMBSTONE SAYS THAT LIZZIE DIED IN 1904. SO I WAS WONDERING IF THAT COULD BE MY GREAT GRANDMOTHER'S GRAVE? ALMOST ALL MY GRANDMOTHER'S FAMILY IS BURIED IN THE FLINT RIVER BAPTIST CEMETERY, SO THERE CERTAINLY IS A CHANCE SHE IS OUR RELATIVE. I WILL BE ABLE TO GET THE INFORMATION ON MY GREAT GRANDMOTHER'S NAME FROM MY MOTHER, EVENTUALLY, BUT WHEN I SAW THE TOMBSTONE ON THE CEMETERY PHOTO PAGE, IT GOT ME WONDERING. IF ANYONE KNOWS THE ANSWER, PLEASE RESPOND. THANKS SO MUCH! LONNETTE HARRELL

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: FERGUSON-BROWN Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/Dd.2ADI/335.338.1.1.1 Message Board Post: YES, MY GRANDMOTHER WAS IONE FERGUSON. SHE MARRIED ELLIOTT BROWN. SHE WAS AUBREY AND WILL BROWN'S SISTER. I WAS INTERESTED IN IONE'S MOTHER'S NAME AND HER FATHER'S. SHE CALLED HIM PAPA. HER MOTHER DIED WHEN SHE WAS ONLY 2 I THINK. I LOVED HER SO MUCH AND WAS JUST WONDERING IF SOMEONE HERE KNEW SOME OF THEIR BACKGROUND. I CAN TELL FROM THE INFORMATION ON THIS BOARD THAT THE LOSS OF BOBBY SMITH IS A GREAT ONE. I HAVE BEEN FASCINATED TO READ HOW MUCH HE KNEW ABOUT THE FOLKS OF UPSON COUNTY. I'M SURE HE ENJOYED BEING A PART OF THE HISTORICAL RESEARCH AND THAT PEOPLE WILL MISS HIM GREATLY. THANK YOU, LONNETTE HARRELL

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: FERGUSON/BROWN Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/Dd.2ADI/1281 Message Board Post: MY GRANPARENTS ARE BURIED AT THE FLINT RIVER BAPTIST CHURCH CEMETERY AND LIVED IN UPSON COUNTY A GREAT DEAL OF THEIR LIVES. (THOMASTON) ANY INFORMATION ON THEM WOULD BE APPRECIATED AS WELL AS INFORMATION ABOUT THEIR PARENTS. SINCERELY, LONNETTE HARRELL

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/Dd.2ADI/335.338.1.1 Message Board Post: The Bobby C. Smith who you replied to died in February 2002. He was my mother's first cousin. I am familiar with those Ferguson names but not as much as he. I feel sure my mother knew them. Is there a question you would like me to ask her. Also one of my great aunts married Aubrey Ferguson. I'm not sure if he was a brother or cousin to those you speak of. Are you a Ferguson descendant?

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/Dd.2ADI/335.338.1 Message Board Post: WOULD THIS BE THE WILL BROWN FERGUSON WHO HAD A SISTER IONE FERGUSON AND A BROTHER AUBREY? MY GRANDMOTHER IS IONE FERGUSON FROM UPSON COUNTY. IF SO, LET ME KNOW AND WE WILL TALK MORE. THEIR MOTHER DIED WHEN THEY WERE VERY YOUNG. THEY HAD SISTERS NAMED LOIS AND CARRIE (NOT SURE ABOUT THE SPELLING ON THIS ONE). THANKS, LONNETTE

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/Dd.2ADI/20.127.1 Message Board Post: MY GRANDFATHER REV. ANDREW L CALDWELL WAS THE SON ON JOHN J. CALDWELL (JJ) I KNOW THAT JJ WAS BORN IN MONROE COUNTY GEORGIA IN 1854. HIS FIRST WIFE WAS ELIZABETH WILLIAMSON. HE MADE HIS HOME IN HOLTON GA?? THIS MAY HAVE BEEN AROUND HOUSTON COUNTY, CRAWFORD COUNTY OR PEACH COUNTY GA. HE MARRIED ELIZABETH IN MONROE COUNTY GA IN 1870 OR 71. I FOUND HIS NAME IN A MERIWETHER CO CENSUS ALSO. (NOT POSITIVE THIS IS THE SAME ONE.)

Upson County GaArchives Photo person.....Allen Lewis, son of Oscar Lewis ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/copyright.htm http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/ga/gafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Sheila Giammetta giammett@cs.com January 17, 2004, 10:01 pm Source: Aunt Ida Mae Hall Lewis old pics Photo can be seen at: http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/ga/upson/photos/ph573allenlew.jpg Image file size: 202.7 Kb This is Allen Lewis , oldest son of Oscar and Myrtice Allen Lewis. Uncle Allen was fire chief and police chief of Lake Alfred Florida for many year. He always kept pasture land and raised cattle and horses. His favorite palomino, Taffy, was a favorite in Shriner's parades around the country. Uncle Allen and Aunt Norma had one daughter, living. This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/gafiles/ File size: 1.0 Kb

Upson County GaArchives Photo person.....Oscar Wilson Lewis ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/copyright.htm http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/ga/gafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: sheila giammetta giammett@cs.com January 17, 2004, 9:50 pm Source: Aunt Ida Hall Lewis old photos Photo can be seen at: http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/ga/upson/photos/ph572oscarwil.jpg Image file size: 18.5 Kb This is a small photo booth pic probably taken in the 1940s in Winter Haven Florida. Oscar Wilson "Foddy" Lewis, was son of Abner McCoy Lewis and husband of Myrtice Allen. Foddy, called this because his children could not say father, was born in Thomaston, studied art in New York, worked for the railroad in Mexico, trained surrey race horses, lived in Texas where his 3 sons and 1 daughter were born, then back to Dawson Georgia. When Myrtice died in Dawson, Foddy and the youngest son, Champ, joined the older 2 sons, Allen, and Abner and their families in Winter Haven Florida. I have made a diligent search for descendents of Foddys siblings to no avail. If anyone knows of any of this family, please have them contact me. This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/gafiles/ File size: 1.3 Kb

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/Dd.2ADI/928.1.1 Message Board Post: noticed the caldwell name and wanted to see if you could help me with information on my caldwell family. my ggrandfather was jj (john) caldwell. his obituary of 12-30-1932 states that he was born jan 6, 1854 in monroe county ga. and had lived in houston county before moving to holton (crawford co??) member of hattie baptist church, of centerville and masonic lodge f and am at wellston. he was married several times but the name of my grandmother was elizabeth williamson who he married in monroe county ga in 1870 or 71. he had a sister named mary who at the time of his death lived in shellman, ga. several sons, r.f. caldwell, w.e. caldwell of byron, rev. a.l. caldwell of macon t. b caldwell of conley and two daughters, ms. grey lawson of holdton and ms c.e. brown of cartersville. hope you can help me track this family.

Need infromation on Sallie Coulter Jones (b)1893 (d)- married J.C. Jones (b)1891 (d)- Their children are: Louisa J.G. John L Lois Thank you for your help, Brenda