Ray City GA | Ray City History Blog

Samuel Register and the East Florida Militia

November 19, 2012 at 12:59 am (Register Family)
Tags: Alapaha River, Appling County GA, Atlantic & Gulf Railroad, Battle of Brushy Creek, Battle of San Felasco Hammock, Bellamy Road, Bulloch County GA, Clay's Landing, Dade Massacre, David Register, Dock Shaw, Dorcas Register, Eady Register, East Florida Volunteer Militia, Elizabeth Cowart, Elizabeth Register, Elizabeth Skinner, Fort Gilleland, Francis Langhorn Dade, Guilford Register, Harriet Brown, Hillery Cowart, Hillery P. Mathis, Indian Wars, Ivy Register, Jacksonville Road, James B. Johnson, Jesse Shelby Shaw, Jincy Register, John J. Johnson, John Jumper, John Register, John Tomlinson, Joseph Henry Pascal Johnson, Josephine Guthrie, Lavinia Arnold, Leta Lee, Levi J. Knight, Lowndes, Luraney Harnage, Martha Register, Mary Ann Fiveash, Mary Hutto, Matilda McDaniel, Moses C. Lee, Newnansville FL, patten, Phoebe Register, Possum Branch, Priscilla Ann DeVane, Ray City GA, Rebecca Register, Registerville GA, Reubin Register, Samuel E. Register, Samuel Register, Samuel Register Jr, Savannah Albany & Gulf Railroad, Screven GA, Seaborn Lastinger, Seminole Indian Wars, Seminoles, Seneth Lee, Stockton GA, Stockton Georgia, Thomas J. Jessup, Thomas Mathis, Thomasville GA, Troupville GA, W. Wall, War of 1812, William J. Mills, William Parker, William Patten, William Register, Young Johnson, Zachariah Lee, Zilpha Register

According to Folks Huxford, Samuel Register came from Appling County to Lowndes County about 1826 and settled in the 10th Land District near Possum Branch, not too far from the homestead of Levi J. Knight and the future site of Ray City, GA. Samuel Register’s place later became the farm of Jesse Shelby “Dock” Shaw.

Samuel Register was born in Sampson County, North Carolina on December 1, 1786, almost three years before that state would ratify the U.S. Constitution. He was a son of Dorcas and John Register.

Some time before 1804 Samuel Register came with his family to Bulloch County, GA where he apparently made his home for some 20 years, although there is no records to show that he ever owned land there. In April of 1806 he married Elizabeth Skinner, a native of South Carolina.

When the U.S. went to war with Britain from 1812-1815 in response to British actions against American expansion and trade, it appears that Samuel Register, like other Wiregrass pioneers (see Dryden Newbern) joined the Georgia Militia. In the War of 1812 the Georgia Militia was occupied with three main theaters of operation: the Creek War of 1813-14, the British blockade, and the British occupation of St. Marys and Cumberland Island in 1814-15. British control of St. Marys, GA would have disturbed the economy of the entire Wiregrass region, interrupting trade on the Alachua Trail which ran from the Altamaha River through Centerville, GA, then across the St. Marys River and into East Florida. The resistance of the Georgia Militia against the British incursions is described in the New Georgia Encyclopedia article on the War of 1812.

After the War of 1812, Samuel and Elizabeth remained in Bulloch county until about 1824 when they moved to Appling County, and then on to Lowndes county in 1826. In 1827, Samuel Register received a draw in the land lotteries for his service as a soldier in the War of 1812.

The land lotteries, legitimized by questionable and coercive treaties, continued the encroachment by settlers on the ancestral lands of Native Americans in Georgia, inevitably leading to conflict. In Florida, hostilities were greatly escalated in December 1835 by the Dade Massacre, where Seminole Indians resisting forced removal to the West wiped out a force of 110 regular army troops under the command of Major Francis Langhorn Dade. When conflict between the Wiregrass pioneers and the resistant Indians erupted in 1836, local militia fought engagements in Berrien county.

In the summer of 1836, a company of militia under Capt. Levi J. Knight of near Ray City was sent to protect the settlers from marauding Indians on their way to join the Seminoles in Florida. When a party of Indians plundered the plantation of William Parker, near Milltown, the militia pursued them N. E. across the county overtaking them near Gaskins Pond not far from the Alapaha River. Several were killed and some injured as the Indians fled across the river. A few days later the militia encountered more Indians at Brushy Creek and ran them off. That was the last real battle with the Indians in this section.

Across the state line in Florida, actions against Indians were being fought by militia on a regular basis. The Battle of San Felasco Hammock was fought September 18, 1836, when a force of 25 US Army Regulars and 100 horse-mounted militia from Fort Gilleland, with 25 armed residents of Newnansville, FL engaged and routed about 300 Indians led by Seminole Chief John Jumper. Fort Gilliland, a picketed fortification located south of the Santa Fe River at Newnansville in present day Alachua County, FL, was one of a string of forts stretching from Jacksonville, FL to Clay’s Landing, at the mouth of the Suwanee River. Newnansville, the largest inland town in East Florida, was strategically located at the junction of the Jacksonville road and the Bellamy Road which ran from St. Augustine west to Tallahassee and Pensacola. Newnansville was about about 80 miles southeast of Troupville, in Lowndes County, GA.

In the spring of 1837 militia troops from Lowndes county were sent across the state line to join the forces at Fort Gilleland:

Jacksonville Courier
Jacksonville, May 11, 1837

—Extract of a letter from Col. Mills, to the Editor, dated Fort Gilliland, May 8.

“Major Staniford, with two companies of the 2d Infantry, arrived here yesterday in obedience to orders from Maj. Gen. Jesup, from Lowndes county, Georgia, and are here encamped, awaiting orders.”

The following summer, in 1837, Samuel Register and other Lowndes county men went south to join the East Florida Volunteer militia to fight against the Indians on the Florida frontier. According to the records of the Florida Department of Military Affairs, Register traveled first to Fort Palmetto, on the Suwanee River at Fanning Springs, FL.

Samuel Register and his sons, David and John, served with “Captain John J. Johnson’s Company of the 2nd Regiment, East Florida Mounted Volunteers, commanded by Colonel William J. Mills, ordered into the service of the United States by Major General Thomas J. Jessup under the Act of Congress approved May 23d 1836, for six months from the 16th day of June 1837 to the 18th day of December 1837. Company enrolled at Fort Palmetto, Florida, and marched sixty miles to place of rendezvous at Fort Gilliland, Fla. Company mustered in by Lieutenant W. Wall, 3d Artillery.”

His son-in-law, John Tomlinson, and two other Registers in this same service and company: Samuel Register Jr and John Register, Jr.. Seaborn Lastinger, of Lowndes County, served as a private; he would be shot for desertion during the Civil War. James B. Johnson and Young Johnson , grand uncles of JHP Johnson of Ray City, served in the Florida Drafted Mounted Militia.

Muster Roll of East Florida Volunteers

http://archive.org/stream/floridamilitiamu05morr#page/n71/mode/1up

Muster Roll of Captain John J. Johnson’s Mounted Company of the 2d Regiment of East Florida Volunteers, 2d Brigade of Florida Militia, Commanded by Colonel William J. Mills.

http://archive.org/stream/floridamilitiamu05morr#page/n72/mode/1up

Muster Roll of Captain John J. Johnson’s Mounted Company of the 2d Regiment of East Florida Volunteers, 2d Brigade of Florida Militia, Commanded by Colonel William J. Mills.

Samuel Register was honorably discharged at Newnansville in December, 1837. He subsequently “served another enlistment in the Indian War under the same Capt Johnson (April 1, 1838-July 31, 1838). He also served a third term under this same Capt Johnson in the Georgia mounted Militia (Aug 25, 1840-Oct 18, 1840). On his Bounty Land application dated Nov 23, 1850, he was granted 160 acres of land for this service. His son-in-law John Tomlinson (husband of Zilpha) who served in the same military unit was granted 80 acres of land for his services”

Between 1840 and 1842, Samuel Register sold out his home-place in the 10th District, and moved from Possum Branch to the 11th Land District where he acquired Land Lot 500. This lot was in that part of Lowndes county that was cut into the new county of Clinch in 1850, and in 1920 was cut out of Clinch into Lanier County.

In 1856, it was a great boon to Register when the Atlantic & Gulf railroad was charted to run from a connection with the Savannah, Albany & Gulf railroad at Screven, by way of his land to Thomasville. But when the surveyors for the new railroad selected a route through Valdosta bypassing Troupville, that old town was doomed. Register had a portion of Lot 500 platted into town lots and founded the town of “Registerville.” Although when the railroad people came through, they changed the name to “Stockton”, in honor of one of their contractors, a Mr. Stockton, who had charge of the road construction.

Children of Samuel Register and Elizabeth Skinner:

Zilpha Register, born Feb. 4, 1807, married her first cousin John Tomlinson.
Eady (Edith) Register, born Mar. 1, 1809, married Thomas Mathis Nov. 1, 1826 in Lowndes County.
Guilford Register, born Jan. 7, 1811, married Priscilla Ann DeVane.
David Register, born Apr. 10, 1813, married Matilda McDaniel of Bulloch County.
William Register, born Sept. 24, 1814, married Luraney Harnage from Liberty County.
John Register, born June 10, 1819, married 1st Elizabeth Cowart, 2nd.Mary Ann Fiveash.
Rebecca Register, born Apr. 5, 1821, married Reverend Hillery Cowart of Echols County.
Phoebe Register, born Aug. 15, 1823, married Zachariah Lee of Clinch County.
Jincy Register, born June 15, 1824, married Moses C. Lee of Berrien County.
Ivy Register, born Apr. 22, 1825, married 1st Leta Lee, married 2nd Lavinia Arnold
Samuel E. Register, born Sept. 16, 1826, married 1st Seneth Lee, married 2nd Mary Hutto, married 3rd Josephine Guthrie, lived in Berrien County.
Elizabeth Register, born Aug. 21, 1828, married William Patten of present Lanier County.
Reubin Register, born Nov. 25, 1830, married Harriet Brown, lived in present Berrien co.
Martha Register, born Dec. 18, 1831, married Hillery P. Mathis of present Lanier co.

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Hosea Peeples “Hod” Clements

October 2, 2012 at 12:04 am (Clements Family)
Tags: A. J. Futch, Aline Yawn, Allene Yawn, Alma Florence May, Ann Eliza Swindle, Bank of Ray City, Beaver Dam Cemetery, Billy Creech, Caswell Yawn, Chester Nobles, Citizens Bank of Nashville, Duncan Lodge, Frances Clements, grady, Hod P. Clements, Hosea Peoples Clements, Hulda D'Ree Yawn, James Gaskins Grady, James Herman Clements, James M. Studstill, John Miles Clements, Joseph Henry Pascal Johnson, Lawson, Mary Florence Simmons, Mason, Mildred Clements, Mildred Lorene Clements, Montevallo AL, Ray City Bank, Ray City GA, Sirmon Green May, Swindle and Clements, Thomas J. Studstill, Thomas Studstill, Vera R. Yawn, W.M. Creech

Hosea P. “Hod” Clements, son of Ann Eliza Swindle and John Miles Clements, was a life long resident of Berrien County. He was a cousin of the Clements brothers who ran the Clements Lumber Company at Ray City, GA. Hod was educated at the Norman Business Institute, and served in France during WWI, but always returned to Ray City.

On September 15, 1917 Hod P. Clements married Alma Florence May in a ceremony performed by A. J. Futch, Minister of God. Alma was a daughter of Mary Florence “Molly” Simmons and Sirmon Green May. Her father was a farmer at Nashville, GA .

Hosea Peeples ”Hod” Clements and Alma Florence May were married in Berrien County, GA on September 15, 1917.

The following year Alma gave birth to their first child, James Herman Clements, born May 8, 1918.

As told in the previous post (Hod P. Clements and the Dixie Division ), Hod joined the army and shipped overseas late in the summer of 1918 where he served from September 17, 1918 to July 5, 1919.

James Herman Clements, son of Alma Florence May and Hod P. Clements, circa 1921. Image courtesy of berriencountyga.com.

For a while Hod and Alma made their home on his father’s farm, situated on

They moved to Ray City in the 1920s and lived in a house on Jones Street, Ray City, GA. Armed with a degree from the Georgia Normal College and Business Institute, Hod Clements went into business in Ray City: “From 1923 until 1945 Clements operated a general store named Swindle and Clements.”

James Herman Clements and Mildred Lorene Clements, children of Alma and Hod P. Clements, with Marie and Pete Studstill. Image courtesy of berriencountyga.com.

The Clements were involved in the community. Hod Clements was a Master Mason, raised up January 8, 1935, and a member of Duncan Lodge. Alma Clements was a supporter of local education and in 1941 she was working in the lunchroom at the Ray City School.

In the 1940s the Clements home on Jones Street was valued at $1000. Hod and Alma lived there with their children, James Herman Clements, Mildred Lorene Clements, and Helen Frances Clements. Also boarding in the Clements home was James Gaskins Grady. Grady was a school teacher who had come to Ray City from Montevallo, AL some time after 1935.

The Clements’ neighbors on Jones Street were James M. Studstill, who was the uncle of Vera R. Yawn, and great uncle of D’ree, Allene, and Caswell S. Yawn. Another neighbor was Thomas J. Studstill, and a few doors down were Chester Nobles, Billy Creech, and J. H. P. Johnson.

Hod worked 60 hours a week, 50 weeks a year, employed as the manager of a meat market. For this he earned $30 a week, $1500 a year.

In 1948, buying the old Ray City Bank and its equipment for $3,500 he opened The Bank of Ray City , a private bank and the only financial institution in the town at that time. Obtaining a state charter in 1949, H.P. Clements began banking with a capital of $10,000. In 1956, Mr. Clements’ son-in-law, Lawson Fountain, returned to Ray City, from Jacksonville, FL and afterwards the two ran the bank together. In later years Mr. Clements was forced to retire due to ill health. Then in 1973 the bank was sold to the Citizens Bank of Nashville. Georgia, and is now the Ray City office of that bank.

Hosea P. Clements died June 8, 1978 and now rests in Beaver Dam Cemetery, Ray City, GA

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Ag Teachers go to War

September 12, 2012 at 12:49 am (Education In the Wiregrass, Lee Family, Ray City School, WWII)
Tags: 77th Division, 902nd Field Artillery Battalion, Fort McPherson, H. C. Dorminey, Hal Godwin, J. I. Musselwhite, J. V. Wynn, John Hensley, K. N. Phillips, Nashville High School, New Lois School, Poplar Springs School, R. E. King Jr., Ray City GA, Ray City School, St. Elmo Lee, Tom M. Cordell, Veterans Farmer Training Program, W. C. Thigpen, W. E. Rooks

St. Elmo Lee, 1939

On October 24, 1942 vocational agriculture teacher St. Elmo Lee gave up his classrooms at Ray City and New Lois, GA for the U.S. Army. He was inducted at Fort McPherson, Atlanta, GA for the duration of the war. He was single, 5′ 9″ tall and weighed 134 pounds.

St. Elmo Lee enlisted as a private, eventually serving as a sergeant in Battery C, 902nd Field Artillery Battalion 77th Division. He fought in the Pacific Theater of Operations from March 30, 1944 to November 22, 1945 during which time he was involved in amphibious assaults and campaigns on the Marshall Islands, Southern Philippines, and Ryukyu Islands.

U.S. howitzer fires on Catmon Hill, Leyte, Phillipines. October 20, 1944.

U.S. howitzer fires on Catmon Hill, Leyte, Philippines. October 20, 1944.

In November 1944 the 902nd Field Artillery Battalion provided support for the 77th Division operations in the Battle of Leyte. In April 1945 the 902nd was with the 77th Division in the first attack on the Ryukyu Islands, seizing the islands west of Okinawa, and later moving to Okinawa itself.

St. Elmo Lee continued to serve until the end of the war. He was returned to Fort McPherson, GA for his discharge on January 1, 1946.

Among the decorations he received were:

Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal with 3 Bronze Stars and One Bronze Arrowhead
Philippine Liberation Medal with one Bronze star
Good Conduct Medal
American Campaign Medal
World War Two Victory Medal

After the war, a pamphlet was published to honor the contributions of Georgia’s agriculture teachers, A Memorial to Georgia Teachers of Vocational Agriculture who fought, suffered, died and worked to win the war.

Among the area agriculture teachers who served were: St. Elmo Lee, of Ray City and New Lois schools, J. V. Wynn from Nashville and Poplar Springs schools; W. C. Thigpen, Jr. of Barney; W.E. Rooks and Hal Godwin, of Homerville; K. N. Phillips from Ocilla; and J. I. Musselwhite, of Willacoochee; R. E. King, Jr., of Clyattville and Lake Park; John Hensley of Hahira; H. C. Dorminey from Tifton; and Tom M. Cordell, of Abraham Baldwin.

1946 war memorial to Georgia teachers of vocational agriculture.

ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-SEVEN TEACHERS ENTERED THE SERVICE

One hundred and fifty-seven teachers of vocational agriculture left their classrooms and entered the Armed Service between 1941 and 1945. More than two-thirds of these served in the army, about one-fourth in the navy, and the rest in the Marines.

These teachers scattered to the four corners of the earth. To the damp humid jungles, to the freezing temperature of the Aleutians, to the barren sand-swept deserts, they went to do their bit for Uncle Sam. But no matter how far away from home, their thoughts stayed in Georgia.

Seven of these men made the supreme sacrifice. Some of the men were injured; they came back maimed for life, wearers of the Purple Heart. Some were captured and suffered the horrors known only to “prisoners of war.” Many were decorated for courageous actions. All made courageous contributions to winning the war.

The accumulated stories of these teachers would probably fill a book. Some were baptized in fire with American forces that swept across France and into Germany itself. Others fought from the decks of ships or cheated death in flaming battles of the skies. Still others who may have wanted to get in the active fighting were assigned to shore stations in this country or abroad.

But all of the men have stories to tell-if they wanted to talk. It is highly probable that the experience of the men give them a more international point of view. They have seen enough to convince them that this is now in reality one world. And they have had an opportunity to see where Georgia and her agriculture fit into the scheme of things.

Today, some of the teachers are returning to the classrooms they left behind; some are teachers of vocational agriculture in new fields; others are instructors in the newly developed Veterans Farmer Training Program.

Georgia is glad to welcome back her sons. They have done a good job where they were and there is still a job for them to do here. It is good to see the official family of vocational agriculture getting back together again.

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St. Elmo Lee Was a Blessing to FFA

September 8, 2012 at 12:10 am (Education In the Wiregrass, Lee Family, WWII)
Tags: Cairo GA, Cairo High School, Future Farmers of America, GAFFAU, Georgia Future Farmers of America University Chapter, Grady County GA, John Henry Lee, New Lois School, Ray City GA, Ray City School, Reno Grammar School, South Georgia College, St. Elmo Lee, University of Georgia, Willie Myrtice Rehberg

In the summer of 1940, St. Elmo Lee arrived in Ray City, GA. That fall he began his teaching career as the Vocational Agriculture teacher at Ray City School.

St. Elmo Lee, 1940, Senior Photo, University of Georgia.

The Nashville Herald
August 8, 1940, front page

New Agriculture Teacher For New Lois and Ray City

      S.E. Lee of Cairo arrived in Berrien county this week to assume his duties as agriculture instructor in the Ray City and New Lois schools for this year.
      Mr. Lee is a graduate of the University of Georgia the past June, and comes highly recommended for the work he is to do. He is making his home in Ray City.
      J.G. Tatum handled the Ray City agriculture classes last year, while E.R. Fowler had the New Lois classes.

^{Transcription courtesy of Skeeter Parker}

In the summer of 1940 St. Elmo Lee was a young man of 22, a fresh graduate of the University of Georgia. He was a son of John Henry Lee and Willie Myrtice Rehberg, born in the midst of World War I on March 17, 1918. A product of Grady County, Georgia, he had attended Reno Grammar school, and graduated Cairo High School with the class of 1936. Afterward he attended South Georgia College before transfering to the University of Georgia.

At UGA he studied agricultural education, and was Secretary of Gaffau.

The name of Gaffau Club comes from the initials of Georgia Future Farmers of America, University Chapter, a national organization. Its purpose is to promote guidance as a basis of choice for vocational teaching, and to provide recreation and fraternal relationships for students preparing to teach vocational agriculture and to perform duties of advisors of high school F. F. A. chapters. Any student who is regularly enrolled in agricultural courses at the University of Georgia and who has been a member of a local Future Farmers of America chapter or is specializing in teacher training in the Division of Vocational Education is eligible to active membership.

World War II intervened in Mr. Lee’s tenure at the Ray City School. On October 24, 1942 St. Elmo Lee gave up the classroom for enlistment. Mr. Lee served his country for three years as a Sergeant in the United States Army, 77th Division.

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The Ray’s Mill District

September 4, 2012 at 12:03 am (Ray Family, Uncategorized)
Tags: Berrien County GA, Cat Creek District, Connell's Mill District, Georgia Militia District 1144, Georgia Militia District 1300, Georgia Militia District 1307, Ray City GA, Ray's Mill District

Georgia Militia Districts

Many census records, land records, genealogies and histories refer to historical locations in terms of militia districts. The districts defined areas of military and civil authority. Each district provided for the leadership and organization of a militia company, and also for one Notary Public and one Justice of the Peace. An examination of the history and function of Georgia Militia Districts is provided by the Georgia Bar Journal.

Historically, the counties of Georgia were divided into Georgia Militia Districts (GMD) for the purpose of organizing local militia companies to defend against Indian raids or other threats. With the formation of new counties in Wiregrass Georgia, new Militia Districts were organized as required by law. Every able-bodied man between the ages of 15 and 50 who lived within the district was required to serve in the militia, and the company of men in each district elected a captain by whose name the district and company was known, e.g. Captain Knight’s District. Although since 1804, all militia districts in Georgia were assigned a number, the practice of referring to the districts by the captain’s name persisted for quite some time.

Here is a detail of Georgia Militia Districts showing the Ray’s Mill District, which includes Ray City, GA, and the surrounding districts. Considering the shape of the 1144th district, it is easy to understand why nearby citizens in the 1329 (Connell’s Mill), 1307 (Cat Creek), and 1300 districts considered themselves residents of Ray City.

Georgia Militia Districts, circa 1950

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Possums Wanted

August 14, 2012 at 12:46 am (Society and Leisure)
Tags: A.L. Johnston, Annie Daniels, Frank Park, Harry Fisher, J. B. Watkins & Co., John Blocoki, Levi Colbert, Mahala Bennett, Mashburn Drug Company, Persimmon Beer, Piedmont Hotel, Possum Dinner, Ray City GA, Thomasville GA, William Howard Taft

An advertisement in The Thomasville Times-Enterprise, December 23, 1919, Thomasville, GA says something interesting about life in this region in the early 1900s.

LIVE POSSUMS
We are in the market for live possums and
PAY 15c. A POUND for them
in any number

Live Possums Wanted. The Thomasville Times-Enterprise, December 23, 1919.

According to numerous South Georgia newspaper accounts, possum hunting was very popular in the early 1900s, and possum was considered excellent fare for special occasions, entertaining guests, or even Christmas dinner.

In December of 1913, a “Possum Supper” was put on by the Mashburn Drug Company of Valdosta, for local doctors and drug company representatives. One attendee of the special event was Dr. A. L. Johnston of Valdosta, who also provided services for Ray City residents.

And the Valdosta Times declared when President-elect William Howard Taft visited Atlanta in 1909, “The great feature of the banquet [was] one hundred fat South Georgia possums, garnished with South Georgia potatoes.”

South Georgia possum was a feast for presidents. Valdosta Times, January 16, 1909.

“Possum” dinner tendered to President-elect William Howard Taft by the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, January 15, 1909. Image source: Library of Congress, http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3c01551

From History of Worth county, Georgia: for the first eighty years, 1854-1934 comes the following information on what was perhaps the greatest possum dinner of all time.

‘SIMMON BEER, ‘POSSUM AND “TATERS” A RESOURCE OF WORTH
WORTH FURNISHED “POSSUMS AND TATERS” FOR THE BANQUET OF PRESIDENT TAFT IN ATLANTA
(Worth County Local, Jan. 8th, 1909.)
The County of Worth has volunteered-nay, has asked the honor-of furnishing, free of charge, the one hundred fat ‘possums necessary for the great supper to be given President-elect Taft on the occasion of his visit to Atlanta, the aforementioned animals to be served in accordance with the expressed wish of his Honor.
The following telegrams speak for themselves:

“Sylvester, Ga., Jan. 2nd, 1909.-E. C. Caverly and Mr. Wilkerson, ‘Possum Committee, Atlanta: Worth County asks the honor of being allowed to furnish free to the ‘possum and ‘tater supper, the one hundred fat ‘possums required. Answer promptly, so we can unloose the ‘possum dogs.
“Frank Park.”

“Frank Park, Sylvester, Ga.: We accept with pleasure and gratitude your offer to furnish ’possum and ‘taters. Unleash your discriminating ‘possum dogs.
“C. E. Caverly, chairman ’Possum committee,”

‘taters, ‘possums, and simmon beer.

“Atlanta. Jan 4th,-Not only has the committee been assured on the personal honor of Harry Fisher of Newnan, Judge Frank Park of Sylvester, and others, that all the ‘possums desired will be in attendance, even to the elimination of this product from the Georgia woods, but assurance came today from a lady admirer of Mr. Taft, that ‘simmon beer will not be lacking. She is now making first preparations for brewing a barrel of this exhilerating Georgia drink, for exclusive use of the Taft banquet. There’ll be no champagne or other liquid from foreign vineyard-the Georgia prohibition law forbids.”

“The deed is done! The suspense is over! The slaughter of the innocents is accomplished! The largest and most varied collection of ‘possums ever accumulated in the ‘possum state of the South, went to their fate Wednesday morning, not exactly like lambs led to the slaughter, because they were ‘possums ; and a ‘possum is not like anything else under the sun, except another ‘possum. Neither is there any other creature whose execution is along such utterly original and outlandish lines.

“No stately guillotine towers above the prospective victim-no dangling noose awaits his cringing neck-just a broom-stick and a colored gen’man.

“How the deed was done. The ‘possum, grasped firmly by his rat-like tail, is flopped with some enthusiasm, upon the ground chin down. Across the nape of his neck, is placed a broom-stick, upon either end of which the executioner places a number 11 foot (the number is important). Without delay (for the ‘possum does not take kindly to this procedure) the southern extremity of the animal is smartly elevated by means of that convenient handle, his tail, and-”snick !” It is all over. Another ‘possum has been gathered to his fathers in the great beyond, where perennial persimmon trees flourish, and there is no happy hunting ground.

“Such is the manner of his taking off by Levi Colbert, imported for the purpose from Worth County and retained at the Piedmont, as consulting cook, to assist in the post mortem preparation of a hundred ‘possums for the table of the great. With Levi came Annie Daniels and Mahala Bennett, all of them from the Worth County plantation of Judge Frank Park.

“Immediately after the execution, the ‘possums are plunged in boiling water to remove the hair, dressed and placed in a cold salt water bath for twelve hours, “to kill de animal taste, and bring out de ‘possum taste,” says Levi. Then they are parboiled ’twel day is f’ree thirds done,” (some authority), after which they are baked with the time-honored sweet potatoes; being basted during this process, with a special sauce prepared after a formula newly invented by Signor John Blocoki, chief cook at the Piedmont Hotel.”

(Note:-”Possums and Taters” are a real resource of Worth County. They are most delicious when cooked together and are the finest in the fall and winter months, persimmon beer comes along with ‘possums and taters in the fall months. What better feast could any one ask?)

You can see more about Taft’s possum dinner at the Georgia On My Mind Blog .

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Jasper Giddens Caught

August 10, 2012 at 12:18 am (Giddens Family, Law and Order)
Tags: Brookfield FL, Calvin Hightower, Cat Creek GA, Duncan Giddens, Isaac Jasper Giddens, Ray City GA, William Roberts of Ray City Georgia

Jasper Giddens, who killed Calvin Hightower at Cat Creek,GA was finally captured at Brookfield, FL in 1887. The story of the killing was told in previous posts Cat Creek Knife & Gun Club and Jasper Giddens ‘Settles’ Knife Fight.

He was born as Isaac Jasper Giddens in 1844 at Cat Creek, Lowndes County, a son of Duncan Giddens. The Giddens’ place was just a little southwest of the homestead of Levi J. Knight, original settler of Ray City, GA. His father, Duncan Giddens, had served with Levi J. Knight in the Indian Wars of 1838, and a brother, John Mathis Giddens, served during the Civil War with the 50th Georgia Infantry, Company B and died about 1862 in a military hospital. (See Marrying Cousins: Letitia Giddens and John Mathis Giddens.)

As a young man, Jasper Giddens had lived in Ware and Clinch counties, but eventually returned to the general region of Cat Creek and present day Ray City, GA. He took a job as a farm laborer at a plantation on the Lowndes/Berrien county line owned by William Roberts, who at that time was also part owner of the land now occupied by the city of Ray City. (See Ray City Land Passed Through Many Hands)

After the 1879 killing, Giddens had eluded authorities for seven years. But The Atlanta Constitution reported his capture in 1887:

The Atlanta Constitution
March 14, 1887, Pg 2

Jasper Giddens, who killed Calvin Hightower in the fall of 1880, in the upper part of Lowndes county, was captured several days ago at Brooksfield, Florida and is now awaiting his trial. The account of the killing was published in the Valdosta Times soon after it occurred. Giddens and Hightower met a a country frolic. There were several of the Hightowers, male and female, and they were all at enmity with Giddens for some cause, and they warned him not to enter the house where the dancing was progressing. He hesitated some time, but backed by some friends, finally entered when a row at once occurred in which Giddens was severely cut. At first he did not know that he was cut, and he left the house, but returned immediately when he discovered his bleeding wounds and drew a pistol and fired the fatal shot which took the life of Calvin Hightower – the bullet taking effect in the abdomen. He dodged the sheriff for some weeks and finally arrange a $500 bond, on which were the names of about fifteen of the best men in that portion of Lowndes and the lower part of Berrien. But before court, when he was to have been tried, he jumped his bond, and his bondsmen were forced to pay the amount. Since that time, those injured gentlemen have been busying themselves to find him, and they have at last succeeded. A detective was employed ans several days ago he landed Jasper Giddens in the Brookfield jail, and Sheriff Harrell, of Lowndes county, went after him. His trial will likely take place at the May term of Lowndes Superior court. There is also a bill against Giddens for bigamy.

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Whangdoodled on Panama Canal Contract, Billy Oliver put in a Bid to Construct G & F Railroad Through Ray City

August 1, 2012 at 12:38 am (Georgia & Florida Railroad, Uncategorized)
Tags: Army Corps of Engineering, Augusta GA, Berrien County GA, Georgia and Florida railroad, Lowndes County GA, Madison FL, Nashville GA, Panama Canal, Ray City GA, Sanford FL, Schofield & Sons, Valdosta GA, William J. Oliver

The contract to build the railroad line connecting Nashville, GA by way of Rays Mill (now Ray City) to Valdosta, GA, might not seem like a project that would attract one of the largest construction companies in America, but the 1907 call for bids for construction of the Georgia and Florida Railroad did just that. To be fair, the total contract concerned not just the 30 mile stretch of railroad from Berrien to Lowndes county, but about 70 additional miles of track to connect the various shortlines that comprised the Georgia and Florida railroad.

Perhaps the most prominent bidder for constructing the connecting lines of the G & F was William J. Oliver, the Tennessee contractor who earlier that year had submitted the lowest bid for the immensely huge task of constructing the Panama Canal. Oliver expected that the South Georgia cotton shipped over the Georgia and Florida Railroad would eventually find its way through the Panama Canal to meet the demand in Asian markets. When completed, the G & F line would certainly open the way for economic development in Berrien County, GA and fuel the growth of firms such as the Luckie Lumber Company at Ray City, GA.

William Jesse Oliver (1867-1925) was a prominent bidder for the contract to construct the Georgia and Florida Railroad.

In 1907, the early accounts indicated Oliver had a lock on the canal contract.

January 28, 1907, William J. Oliver to build the Panama Canal.

The first week of February, 1907, Harper’s Weekly Magazine gave a short sketch on William J. Oliver and his bid for the Panama Canal.

William J. Oliver, Harper’s Weekly, Feb 2, 1907

Harpers Weekly
Feb 2, 1907

THE MAN WHO BID LOWEST FOR THE PANAMA CANAL CONTRACT

      William J. Oliver, in association with Anson J. Bangs, has made a proposition to build the Panama Canal for 6.75 percent, of total cost, and this bid, at the time of writing, is under favorable consideration by the government. In the combination which made this bid, Mr. Oliver has the dominant interest. Other bids were for 7.19, 12.50, and 28 per cent.
      Mr. Oliver is thirty nine years of age. He was born in Mishawauka, a suburb of South Bend, Indiana. When he was sisteen years of age he started out on the Cotton Belt railroad with s fifteen team outfit as a railroad contractor. He has gradually progressed from one branch of railroad contracting to another, and owns one of the largest manufacturing plants in the United States for the building of contractors’ machinery.
       Mr. Oliver has also made a specialty of what contractors call “concrete work,” and has built a number of concrete buildings, viaducts, and river bridges for railroads. He has over $30,000,000 of contracts now under way including the tunnelling of Lookout Mountain for the Southern Railway company, concrete buildings in Louisville and Nashville, a concrete dam at Chattanooga, sixty five feet high,in which there will be 50,000 cubic yards of reinforced concrete work. He is also laying double tracks and building extensions for various railroads.
      In view of the announcement that Mr. Oliver purposes to use negroes from the West Indies as laborers on the canal, under the superintendence of white men from the South, it is interesting to recall the report that Governor Swettenham of Jamaica is opposed to the use of negroes from that island as foreign laborers, and has imposed a prohibitive emigration head tax to prevent the natives from leaving the island for America or Panama.
      In the case of an award, Mr.Oliver will go to the isthmus to superintend personally the work of construction; he will take over the entire plant owned by the government, and will at once proceed to ship additional materials to the Zone.

Ultimately, the contract for construction of the Panama Canal went to the Army Corps of Engineers. Oliver said he had been “whangdoodled” by President Teddy Roosevelt, but his manufacturing company did end up supplying some of the construction equipment. The completed canal is still regarded as one of the greatest engineering achievements of the modern world.

May of 1907 found Oliver not in the Canal Zone but in Augusta, GA to bid on the G & F construction project. In the May 20, 1907 edition of The Atlanta Georgian and News, he was still protesting the politicized award of the Panama Canal contract, but the paper also reported his comments on the global impact of the opening of the Georgia and Florida Railroad. “When this line is completed,”he said, “it will largely solve the problem involved in the big suits now before the interstate commerce commission in the matter of rates from the South to Oriental ports. All the cotton goods and other freight that must cross the Pacific will go over this line and through the Panama Canal when it is finished,” he said.

The Atlanta Georgian and News reports William J. Oliver will bid on the construction of the Georgia and Florida Railroad.

Within a few weeks, The Atlanta Georgian and News reported that The Georgia and Florida Railroad was ready to select a contractor.

By June of 1907, the selection of a contractor for construction of the Georgia and Florida Railroad was imminent.

But the bids came in too high and on June 22,1907 the railroad announced it would hold off on awarding a contract.

June 22, 1907 The Atlanta Georgian and News announcemed that the Georgia and Florida Railroad would not be letting a constrruction contract for some time.

June 22, 1907 The Atlanta Georgian and News announced that the Georgia and Florida Railroad would not be letting a construction contract for some time.

On August 24 the contract was finally awarded, but went to Schofield & Sons of Philadelphia.

August 24, 1907, the Georgia and Florida Railroad contracts for construction of new line.

-So in the end, the man who famously did not get the Panama Canal contract, also did not get the Georgia & Florida railroad contract.

-30-

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Luckie Stop at Ray City

July 27, 2012 at 12:04 am (Georgia & Florida Railroad, Historic Businesses, Luckie Family)
Tags: Andrew Turner, Anita Inez Parks, Annie Lee Dudley, Annie Mae Carter, Annie Mae Luckie, C.B. Shaw, Cairo GA, Candler C. Luckie, Delaney Sayers, Elizabeth Susan Luckie, F.D. Ratcliff, Fannie C. Luckie, Fulton Woodard Luckie, GA, George Norton, Georgia and Florida railroad, Gordon Vancie Hardie, Hortense GA, James Luckie, James Martin Sayers, John Parks Luckie, Julia Dudley, Levi J. Clements, Luckie Lumber Company, Margie Dasher, Marie Dudley, Mary Luckie, McRae Georgia, Nebbie Luckie, Nida Inez Parks, Oak Hill Cemetery, Pearl Hardie Knight, Penfield, Quitman GA, Ray City GA, Ray City Methodist Church, Remerton GA, Rosa Kate Luckie, Spence GA, Tabbie Luckie, W.E. Hightower, W.H.E. Terry, Will Clements, William F. Luckie, William H. Luckie, William M Luckie, William Sayers, Willis Heard Luckie

Luckie Lumber Company

In the early 1900s there were at least 86 lumber mills situated on the line of the Georgia & Florida railroad running from Augusta, GA to Madison, FL, some 250 odd miles. A big sawmill was situated on the railroad at a stop known as Luckie, just above Ray City. First operated under the name Luckie Lumber Company, it was owned by William F. Luckie. About 1911, W.F. Luckie sold out to Levi J. Clements and his sons. It appears that the Clements may have continued to operate under the name Luckie Lumber Company for several years, for the business was still listed under this name in the March 15, 1915 edition of the Lumber Trade Journal. (see also November 6, 1923 ~ Big Fire Loss at the Ray City Sawmill)

William Floyd Luckie, 1858-1937, operated the Luckie Lumber Company at Ray City, GA

William Floyd Luckie

William Floyd Luckie, Jr. was born on October 15, 1858 in Greene County, Georgia. He was a son of William F. Luckie and Delaney Sayers, but was orphaned at an early age. His father was killed in 1859.

“In 1859, a runaway slave of William Luckey’s was captured. While attempting to punish him, the slave grabbed a knife and stabbed Luckey to death.” http://www.inheritage.org/almanack/c_greene_03.html

In 1861, his mother followed in death.

Afterward, William Floyd Luckie and his sisters, Tabbie and Mary were raised by their grandfather, James Martin Sayers, on his farm near Penfield, GA. William Floyd Luckie was enumerated there in 1870 as William Sayers. At the time, he was assisting his grandfather with farm labor.

On March 20, 1887 William Floyd Luckie married Anita Inez Parks in Dodge County, GA. She was born in 1863 in Georgia.

Anita Inez Parks, first wife of William Floyd Luckie.

By the census of 1900 the couple had seven children and made their home in Hortense, GA in Wayne County, GA (now Brantley Co.) William was working as a merchant. Hortense is situated on the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, which ran the fast mail train through the town, from New York to Jacksonville. But the town generated such little traffic that it wasn’t even a flag stop for the railroad.

Children of Anita “Nida” Inez Parks and William Floyd Luckie:

Fulton Woodard Luckie (1880-)
Annie Mae Luckie (1891-1971)
Nebbie I or J Luckie (1892-1977)
Willis Heard Luckie (1894- abt 1984)
Fannie C Luckie (1895- )
Rosa Kate Luckie (1897- )
Candler C Luckie (1899)
William M Luckie (1902-1931)
John Parks Luckie

It appears that the Luckies moved about 85 miles from Hortense to McRae, GA sometime before 1903. Anita Inez Parks died May 5, 1906 and was buried there at Oak Grove Cemetery. William was left a widower with eight minor children to raise.

About 1907 William F. Luckie married a second time. In 1908 a son was born to this union, James Luckie (1908-1974). Elizabeth Susan and William Floyd Luckie were enumerated in McRae, GA with their children in 1910. William was working as a sawmill superintendent; Elizabeth was keeping house. In McRae, the Luckies owned a home on Huckabee Street, named in honor of William Allen Huckabee. Huckabee was first president of South Georgia College, a school which had been founded at McRae about 1885.

Shortly after the 1910 census William F. Luckie came to the newly incorporated town of Ray City, GA. Mr. Luckie founded the Luckie Lumber Company, a business that within a decade would grow to be one of the largest employers in the area. The big sawmill was located on the tracks of the Georgia and Florida about a mile north of town.

Mr. and Mrs. W. F. Luckie were among the first members of the Ray City Methodist Church, along with Will Terry, Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Turner, Mrs. Julia Dudley, Annie Lee Dudley, and Marie Dudley. The Church was organized by brother F.D. Ratcliff on October 29, 1910. The Rev. W.E. Hightower of Remerton, Georgia served as the first pastor. Originally the services were held in a tent on the north side of town near the homestead of Mr. and Mrs. Will Clements.

The business and social activities of the newcomers were newsworthy. The Valdosta Times, Saturday, November 26, 1910, noted:

Mrs. B.W. Boyd and Mrs. W.F. Luckie, of Ray’s Mill came down yesterday and spent the day in this city on a shopping trip.

and in January 19, 1911 The Valdosta Times reported from Rays Mill:

Mr. W. F. Luckie made a business trip to McRae last Saturday returning Monday.

In time, the Luckie children were on the social scene in Berrien county. The Atlanta Constitution noted Willis Heard Luckie among the Ray City young people at the Nashville, GA carnival in 1914.

Atlanta Constitution, Feb 8, 1914, pg 8 M

Nashville (news items)

Rays Mill was well represented at the carnival last week. Misses Annie Mae Carter, Margie Dasher, Pearl Hardie Knight, Mr. and Mrs. G. V. Harvie, W. H. Luckie, George Norton, J. J. and J. S. Clements and C.B . Shaw were among the visitors.

Some time between 1914 and 1920, William F. Luckie had moved his family to Spence, GA in Grady County where he was operating a sawmill at the time of the 1920 census. But by 1921, the Luckies moved to Cairo, GA.

By the time of the 1930 census, William and Elizabeth Luckie had returned to Ray City. They lived in town in a rented house; William Luckie engaged in truck farming.

William Floyd Luckie died on 16 Aug 1937 in Quitman, Brooks, Georgia. He was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery, Quitman, Georgia.

William Floid Luckie (1858-1937), Oak Hill Cemetery, Quitman, GA.

After his death, Elizabeth S. Luckie went to live in the home of her daughter Nebbie and son-in-law William H. Terry, on South Broad Street in Quitman, GA. She died on May 1, 1953 and is buried at Oak Hill Cemetery, Quitman, GA.

Elizabeth Susan Luckie, (1876-1953), Oak Hill Cemetery, Quitman, GA.

-30-

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July 17, 1914 Lightning Strikes Ray City Home of Johnnie Clements

July 17, 2012 at 12:08 am (Clements Family, Uncategorized)
Tags: Johnnie Clements, Ray City GA

Lightning was always a threat for those who live and work in the country. Previous posts on Ray City victims of lightning strikes have included The Misadventures of Mr. Stewart and Death of Catherine Ardella Swindle, May 11, 1882.

In the summer of 1914 it was Johnnie Clements of Ray City, GA who took a hit.

The Nashville Herald, Friday, July 17, 1914

Lightning Strikes a House at Ray’s Mill

Lightning struck the home of Mr. Johnnie Clements Thursday afternoon, practically destroying the house and rendering Mr. Clements unconscious for some time, though did not seriously injure him. There were other occupants of the house who were badly shocked. It was a miracle that Mr. Clements missed death, as the screen door he was holding at half open when the explosion came was torn loose from the house and thrown into the yard. – Milltown Advocate.

The article does not provide sufficient detail to identify which of several John Clements who were residing in the Ray City area was the victim. Perhaps a reader can provide more details.

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Ray City History Blog

Samuel Register and the East Florida Militia

Hosea Peeples “Hod” Clements

Ag Teachers go to War

St. Elmo Lee Was a Blessing to FFA

The Ray’s Mill District

Possums Wanted

‘taters, ‘possums, and simmon beer.

Jasper Giddens Caught

Whangdoodled on Panama Canal Contract, Billy Oliver put in a Bid to Construct G & F Railroad Through Ray City

Luckie Stop at Ray City

July 17, 1914 Lightning Strikes Ray City Home of Johnnie Clements

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