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M. L. Patterson
From Biographies of the
Cherokee Indians
M. L., son of Thomas and
Adeline (Berry) Patterson, was born December 21,1856, in South
Carolina. Married July 14, 1890 Zonia, daughter of Albert and
Sarah Dawson, born February 5, 1870 in Tarrant County, Texas.
They are the parents of Sarah, born April 21, 1891; Martha,
born January 1, 1893; Claude A., born March 6, 1895, served in
the A. E. F. for two years in France as sniper; Edgar Dawson,
born July 3, 1897, served for two years and six months on the
battleship South Carolina in the navy; Thomas, born June 9,
1899; Roscoe, born December 24, 1893; Ola born July 17, 1907
Fredrick, born October 12, 1909, and Virgil V. born August 29,
1901. Mr. Patterson is a farmer near
Talala.
W. H.
Spurlin
From Biographies of Pulaski County, Georgia
The
father of the Spurlins of Worth County was W. H. Spurlin, born
in Shelby, N. C. He was a Confederate soldier, who moved to
Pulaski County, Georgia, and married Nancy Bateman, daughter
of G. W. Bateman. Children: J. G., W. C., and Sallie Spurlin.
Sallie married D. Boland. They had one son,
Denton.
The second marriage was to Mary
Frances Dewitte. Their children are: Thomas Augustus (called
"Gus") Spurlin, R. L., J. D., G. Clarence Spurlin, and
daughters, Ella and Edna.
Four of these, T. A. Spurlin, Col. G.
Clarence Spurlin, Miss Ella Spurlin, and Mrs. Edna Webster,
made their homes in Sylvester for a number of years.
Only T. A. Spurlin is a
citizen of Worth County now. Miss Ella and Mrs. Edna Webster
live in Florida. Col. G. Clarence Spurlin is Solicitor at
Valdosta.
T. A. Spurlin came to Sumner in
1891, lived there nine months, then went to Tifton, Ga., and
worked for H. H. and W. O. Tift for six years as bookkeeper
and salesman. He married Miss Josephine Fogler in
Tifton, Ga., June 10, 1896. She is the daughter of John Daniel
Fogler and wife, Julia Elizabeth (Havener) Fogler. Mrs. T. A. Spurlin was
born in Brazos County, Texas. Her parents moved from South
Carolina to Texas, where she was born. They returned to South
Carolina, where she spent her girlhood in Port Royal, and at
Boiling Springs, Barnwell County, S. C. She then moved to
Brunswick, Ga., and to Tifton, with her parents, where she met
and married T. A. Spurlin. On her paternal side, her father, a
Confederate soldier, John Daniel Fogler, was born in Barnwell
County, S. C. He was the son of J. D. Fogler, born in North
Carolina, and wife, Annie (Johnson) Fogler, born in Beaufort
County, South Carolina.
The mother of Mrs. T. A. Spurlin was,
before marriage to John Daniel Fogler, Julia Elizabeth
Havener, born in Allendale, S. C. She is the daughter of
Joseph Sayle Havener, born in Limerick County, Ireland. The
mother of Julia Elizabeth Havener was, before marriage, Mary
Elizabeth Evans, born in Charleston, S.
C.
After marriage, Mr. and Mrs. T. A.
Spurlin moved to Sylvester, Sept. 13, 1897. He worked for the
firm of J. S. Westberry and Brother as clerk until 1899, when
he went into business for himself, at first a grocery
business, later a dry goods, millinery and furniture
store.
Mr. William H. McPhaul urged him to go
into the undertaking business, which he did in 1900, taking
the course of embalmer in Atlanta and Augusta. He has followed
this business for thirty-three years.
In December 1899, he leased, and later
bought, the Worth Telephone Company, and organized the
Sylvester Telephone and Telegraph Company, which he sold to
the Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Company, Nov. 1,
1909.
T. A. Spurlin was made a deacon of the
Sylvester Baptist Church thirty-five years ago, and has been
on the active board of deacons to date
(1934).
Mrs. Spurlin became a member of the
Woman's Missionary Society of Sylvester Baptist Church when it
was organized in 1900, and has served in every phase of its
work since. For a long time she was president, and has held
every office. She has been, and is now, one of its principal
leaders. This couple have two children : Annie Hazel (Mrs.
Parker), of Edison, and Ernest L. Spurlin, who married Florine
Giddens. They have two grandchildren, Patricia Parker, and
Thomas Ernest Spurlin.
This family has been identified
with every worth while movement to build up a better community
in which to live. Especially is this true in the building up
of the cause of education and religion. They can always be
depended upon for substantial help in these.
John Henry Caldwell
From Biographies of Pulaski County,
Georgia
The members of the Henry-Caldwell family are descended
from ancient families of England, France, and
Ireland.
Judge John Henry, head of
the Henry-Caldwell family in Hawkinsville, was born June 12,
in Belfast, Ireland. At the age of five years he came with his
parents to this country, locating at Westfield, New York, and
coming to Georgia as a very young man. For several years he
lived at Hayneville, in Houston County, where he married Miss
Civility Coates Kendrick, a descendant of some of the first
families of Virginia, who served with distinction during the
Colonial and Revolutionary periods.
Just after the War Between
the States, Judge and Mrs. Henry, with their two children,
Edwin and Amanda, moved to Hawkinsville.
Judge Henry was a man of
broad vision, clear insight, and shrewd judgment in business.
By his intelligence, thrift, and sound judgment, he acquired
large holdings in farm lands, city property, stock in many
business enterprises, and was one of the wealthiest. men in
Pulaski County. He was one of the four men who organized the
Hawkinsville Bank & Trust Company, one of the first banks
in this section, which he served as vice president and
director. He was one of the largest stockholders and
depositors until his death on December 12, 1898. He served
many years as county judge, during which time the present
courthouse building was erected. In order to save the county
the expense of an architect, Judge Henry drew the plans for
this building and personally selected and supervised the
planting of the elm trees which now give it such a beautiful
setting. When the county funds were not sufficient to pay the
jurors and other necessary court expenses, Judge Henry, out of
his loyalty to the county, would advance the necessary amount,
without interest.
He was never so absorbed in
business as to neglect his religious duties. It was through
his efforts and influence that St. Luke's Episcopal Church was
erected. He served as senior warden until his death, and was
the largest contributor to the expenses of the church. All of
his descendants have served this church either as officers,
lay leaders, organists, or choir leaders. The large Colonial
home of Judge Henry, one of the two oldest homes in the city,
was noted for its hospitality. Many prominent Georgians were
entertained there.
Mr. Edwin J. Henry, son of
Judge and Mrs. Henry, was a leading spirit in the business,
civic and religious affairs of the city and county. He held
many positions of trust. He was president of the Hawkinsville
Bank & Trust Company and was a large property owner. He
was instrumental in organizing the public school system in
Hawkinsville, and was a member of the first Board of
Education, which position he held for many years. He was an
officer in high Masonic orders, and was noted in this county
as a public benefactor. It was through his efforts that the
Henry Cotton Mill was erected. He was born December 24, 1852,
and died November 13, 1932. His wife was Miss Clara May
Russell. They left no issue.
Judge Henry's daughter,
Miss Amanda Henry, received her education at Wesleyan College,
in Macon, later attending St. Mary's College, Raleigh, N. C.
She married Mr. S. M. Caldwell, son of Dr. William Caldwell
and Mrs. Harriet Huff Caldwell, of Butler, Ga. Mr. Caldwell
was a well-known business man of Hawkinsville and a man of
honesty and integrity. He possessed many sterling qualities
and faithfully discharged all private and public trusts. For
many years he was superintendent of St. Luke's Episcopal
Sunday school. Mrs. Caldwell was a typical gentlewoman of the
old South and a woman of broad intelligence and education. One
of her outstanding traits was her loyalty to her
church.
The lives of Mr. and Mrs.
Caldwell exemplified the graces and virtues of the true
Christian religion. They never neglected their duty to others,
and were always ready to give sympathy and -assistance to
others, especially those less fortunate.
The Caldwell family
includes five children: John Henry, Emma Adele, May Louise,
Effie Kendrick, and William Edwin, all of whom are now living,
and several of whom are known in the business world as well as
in musical and literary circles.
After finishing the
Hawkinsville schools they were educated at Georgia colleges.
John Henry Caldwell attended college at G. M. C., at
Milledgeville. In business, he was cashier of the Hawkinsville
Bank & Trust Company for years, and is at present
associated with a South Carolina firm. On July 14, 1910, he
married Annie Tennent, of Spartanburg, S. C.
Emma was educated at Brenau
College, Gainesville, Ga., and May is a graduate of the same
college, and is supervisor of music in the Cedartown, Ga.,
public school. Effie, who is gifted as a singer, studied at
Mount de Sales Academy at Macon, Ga., and specialized in voice
training in Atlanta.
William Edwin served with
distinction overseas as a first lieutenant during the World
War. He is now in business in Rome, Ga. He married Frances
Randle, Rome, Ga., on March 14, 1931.
Jacob Watson
From Biographies of Pulaski
County, Georgia
The Watson family, coming
from the Edgefield District of South Carolina, played a small
part in the early history of Pulaski County.
Watson and his son, Jacob
Watson II came to Pulaski County in its early age (date
unknown), just before the town of Hartford was organized in
1811. Jacob Watson I did not stay in Pulaski long, moving to
Tennessee, Jacob Watson II remaining a citizen of Hartford. He
was a sergeant in the Allen Tooke Company and served as a
lieutenant under R. E. Thomas, captain, in the War of 1812,
serving at Fort Mitchell from November 22, 1814, to November
9, 1817. He was later appointed one of the commissioners of
Hartford by the Legislature. Hartford was governed by
commissioners appointed by the
Legislature.
After marrying Mary Pugh,
they moved to Hawkinsville. Soon afterward it was thought best
to move the town to the west side of the Ocmulgee River. The
west side of the river was now free of Indians, and was a much
healthier location. He always took an active part in politics
and the welfare of the county or wherever he was located. To
Jacob Watson II and his wife, Mary Pugh Watson, were born the
following sons and daughters: James, William, Willis, Thomas,
Jacob III, Oren, Mary, Caroline, and Georgia
Ann.
All of these sons served in
the Civil War except Thomas, who died before the war. Three
died during the war. Of these ten children, only two became
permanent citizens in Pulaski County. Mary, the oldest
daughter, married Andrew Jackson Coalson, a citizen of Pulaski
County. Mary Watson Coalson died soon after her
marriage.
Jacob Watson III was born
in Hawkinsville on December 22, 1832. When a young man he
studied law in Thomasville, Ga., and was admitted to the bar
there. He served through the War Between the States in Company
L, Savannah Guards, Batten Infantry. In February 1866, Jacob
Watson III became a citizen of Hawkinsville to practice
law.
Like his father, he took
great active interest in politics and all public affairs. He
was appointed judge, serving the county one year, until the
county judgeship was organized. He also served as mayor of
Hawkinsville, as county school commissioner, and as trustee of
public schools. He spent the last days of his life as a useful
citizen of Pulaski County until his death on July 17, 1901. He
married Sibbee Gertrude Wilcox, and six children were born to
them. They are as follows: Virginia Lea (Mrs. Lea Watson
Walker, deceased), Ida Sofronia (now Mrs. Ida Watson Grant),
Carrie Pooler, Sarah Elizabeth (now Mrs. Bessie Watson
Anderson), Margaret Ann (now Mrs. Ulla Wilson), and Oren
Wilcox Watson (deceased).
Of Jacob Watson's children
only two became permanent citizens of Pulaski County. Mrs. Lea
Watson Walker and Mrs. Bessie Watson Anderson were the two who
made their home in Pulaski County.
Mrs. Lea Watson Walker,
like the ancestors, took a willing and active part in politics
and all public affairs of the town and county until her death
on March 5, 1929. She was a prominent member of the
Hawkinsville Baptist Church.
Mrs. Bessie Watson Anderson
is the only member of the Watson family now living in Pulaski
County. She also is a member of the Baptist Church, and takes
an active part in all church affairs. She carries on the
tradition of the Watson family.
Henry Hodges
Judge Whitfield
From Biographies of Pulaski
County, Georgia
Judge Henry Hodges
Whitfield was born April 11, 1826, and died January 28,
1886.
The Whitfields from whom
the subject of this sketch is descended came originally from
Lancashire, England. William Whitfield, in the early part of
the eighteenth century, settled in Nansewood County, Virginia,
and in 1713 married Elizabeth Goodman of Yates County, North
Carolina. This couple had four sons and six daughters. The
sons were: William, Matthew, Luke, and Constantine. Matthew
and Luke married Misses Warren, from the Pee Dee section of
South Carolina. Luke Whitfield moved to Craven County, South
Carolina, and later lived in Marlborough County, in that
state. He had a son named William, who was granted land in
Marlborough County in 1812, according to original papers now
in the hands of his Pulaski County descendants. From similar
sources it is known that William's son, George B. Whitfield,
lived in Marlborough District, South Carolina, as late as
1821. Two years later George B. Whitfield moved to Putnam
County, Georgia, where his son, Henry Hodges Whitfield, was
born April 11, 1826.
In 1826, George B.
Whitfield moved to Houston County, Georgia, and in 1833 to
Henry County, Georgia, and thence to Lowndes County, Alabama,
where he died in 1839. He and his father and grandfather were
extensive land and slave owners.
Two of George B.
Whitfield's sons moved to Pulaski County, Georgia, in early
life,. the exact year not being recalled. These two sons were
William S. Whitfield and a younger brother, Henry Hodges
Whitfield. The elder of these two sons was a brilliant lawyer.
He was in the General Assembly from Pulaski in 1836, 1839, and
1840, and was in 1839 a delegate to a convention to amend the
Constitution of Georgia, his colleagues from Pulaski being A.
C. Bostwick and James M. Bracewell. A daughter of William S.
Whitfield married Dr. S. W. Taylor, and at her death left two
daughters, both of whom are now living. William S. Whitfield
died October 29, 1847, and the tomb above his dust in Orange
Hill Cemetery contains these
words:
"If genius fire thee, reader, stay;
If
nature prick thee. drop a tear; If neither move thee, turn
away, For Whitfield's honored dust lies
here."
Henry H. Whitfield was
identified with the mercantile interests of the community in
the 1850's. On August 4, 1853, he married Elizabeth Pipkin,
and a son, George W. Whitfield, was born of the union. George
W. Whitfield at one time was tax receiver of Pulaski County
and lived in Midway District, where he married Miss K. C.
Daniel, daughter of D. C. Daniel. Mrs. Elizabeth Whitfield
died May 30, 1856, and on January 19, 1859, Henry H. Whitfield
married Mary Willcox Daniel, daughter of James and Elizabeth
Daniel. Elizabeth Daniel was the daughter of John and Polly
Lea Willcox, which brought the Whitfields in close blood kin
to the Willcox clan so numerous in Wilcox, Telfair, and Dodge
Counties.
Of this marriage, ten
children were born. Two, Charles Henry and Nelia Bell, died in
infancy, while those surviving his death on January 28, 1886,
were : Elizabeth, John James, Josephine, Letitia, DeWitt
Clinton, Augustus Bryant, Mary Lee, and Henry Hodges,
Jr.
Letitia married Howell Cobb
White, and one daughter, Mary Emma, came to this union, and
Mary Emma, marrying Charlie Fitzgerald, gave birth to one son,
Charles Howell. Mary Lee married Dr. J. P. Doster, and a son,
William DeWitt Doster, survived her death at his birth. DeWitt
Clinton married Eva Allen, and Henry H., Jr., married Birtie
Manne, and a daughter, Sarah, and a son, Henry III, came of
the union. Sarah married Morris Lee, giving birth to a son.
Henry H. III married Lois Burch.
On the formation of the
Pulaski Grays, Company K, Forty-ninth Georgia, Judge Whitfield
was made first lieutenant, and was promoted to captain on
March 22, 1862, upon the election of the original captain,
Seaborn M. Manning, to the lieutenant colonelcy of the
regiment. Captain Whitfield's first battle was at Seven Pines,
and after the battles around Richmond he was compelled because
of illness to resign. He was stricken desperately, his wife
meeting him on the homeward journey and nursing him. His
health being partially restored, he took over the well-known
tanyard property and made leather, to be converted into shoes
for the Confederate soldiers. Later, when, on August 6, 1863,
Company F, Twentysecond Battalion of Georgia Cavalry. was
formed, he again entered the service as first
lieutenant.
He was appointed Justice of
the Inferior Court by Governor Joseph E. Brown, and the family
is still in possession of his commission issued from the State
Capitol at Milledgeville and dated January 23,
1865.
Among other interesting
historic relics possessed is a written deposit slip for $9,000
in the "Planters Bank Agency," signed by O. C. Horne, and
dated September 10, 1859.
He served as judge of the
County Court eight years, an office not often given any one
other than a lawyer, and while holding this position was
vested with the control of county affairs as its governing
authority, a position with the same duties as that now held by
his son, J. J. Whitfield, as sole commissioner of roads and
revenues of the county.
To him was given the honor
of supervising the construction of the steel bridge across the
Ocmulgee River that replaced the ancient ferry. At the May
term of the 1879 grand jury, the following citizens were
appointed a committee to act with Judge Whitfield on the
matter: J. H. Pate, John Henry, R. T. Bembry, and J. J.
Kinchen. The grand jury of the November term said: "We endorse
Judge Whitfield's actions in the way he is carrying on the
river bridge, and he continue to use his discretion as to how
the work shall be completed."
During his life he had
served as treasurer of his county, mayor of Hawkinsville, and
at his death, which came suddenly on the night of January 28,
1886, he was serving as postmaster of Hawkinsville under
commission from President Grover Cleveland. He was a member of
Mount Hope Lodge, F. & A. M., No. 9.
Judge Whitfield's main
hobby was his flowers. He took a great interest in his front
yard, which became indeed a show place in Hawkinsville. He
spent many leisure moments among his shrubs and blossoms, and
possessing a wide knowledge on that subject and a great love
for it, he made an outstanding success of his flower yard. How
many sick rooms have been brightened with the flowers from
that garden, and how often they have beautified the House of
God! Judge Whitfield filled many positions of trust and
confidence, and to the performance of his official duties he
brought a sound and conservative judgment; but the artistic
temperament was his, too, and the outlet to this was his
passion for flowers.
Careful research in the
Public Library of New York discloses, and from other
information it is established, that the family possessed a
coat of arms, which, as described in the records, is "a shield
of black and silver, with a golden stag rising from a
castellated crown, showing that the coat of arms was no doubt
granted because of some notable assistance given in a military
way, such as storming a castle, whose turrets are indicated in
that type crown."
This coat of arms has been
reproduced, and children and grandchildren of the late Henry
H. Whitfield are proud possessors of them, and the confident
belief of the worthwhile standing of their ancestors in good
of England.
William Hopkins
From A History of the
Pioneer Families of Missouri - Warren
County
William Hopkins, of South Carolina, removed to
Kentucky, where he married Jane Stone, and in. 1810 he came to
Missouri, and lived for some time in Captain James Callaway's
house. In the spring of 1819 he settled in (now) Warren
County. His children were Cyntuia, Isaac, Walker, Polly,
Sally, Thomas, Jane, Matilda, Lucy, Anna, Benjamin, John, and
Susan. Isaac married Elizabeth Brown. Walker married Nancy
Gibson, by whom he had twenty children. He was married a
second time to Jane Beck, a daughter of one of the first
settlers of Warren County. Thomas married Lydia Beck. Jane
married Joseph Hatfield. Matilda married James Stark. Lucy
married John Zumwalt. John married Sally Cops. Susan married
John Corker. Anna and Benjamin died of measles
Josiah Miller
From A Standard History of
Kansas and Kansans
Josiah Miller, a pioneer
newspaper man of Lawrence and Kansas, an ardent free-soiler
and public official in the formative periods of the territory
and the state, was born in Chester District, South Carolina,
November 12, 1828. He graduated from the Indiana University in
1851, and from the law school at Poughkeepsie, New York, and
in August, 1854, came to Kansas. As his father had been
waylaid and mobbed because of his anti-slavery views, it was
but natural that Josiah should be an ardent opponent of
slavery, and on January 5, 1855, he began the publication of
the Kansas Free State at Lawrence. A pro-slavery jury found an
indictment against him for maintaining a nuisance in its
publication, and on May 21, 1856, his printing office was
destroyed by the territorial authorities. In that year he made
speeches in several states for John C. Fremont, the republican
candidate for president, and in 1857 was elected probate judge
of Douglas County. In 1861 he was a member of the first State
Senate, but resigned his seat in that body to become
postmaster at Lawrence. In 1863 he was appointed a paymaster
in the army, with the rank of major, and in 1866 was elected a
member of the Legislature. His death occurred at Lawrence on
July 7, 1870, after having a leg amputated. The inscription on
the monument erected to his memory in Oak Hill Cemetery
credits him with being the author of the motto, "Ad astra per
aspera," on the Kansas seal of
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