Revised:
The Talley family has a long history in Berrien County, Georgia. Reverend Nathan Talley came from Greene County, GA to Berrien County with his wife, Martha Travis, some time in the 1850s. The Methodist minister resided in the vicinity of Ray’s Mill. He was a neighbor of Keziah Knight, daughter of William Anderson Knight, and her husband Allen Jones. Also residing with the Talleys was Dr. John W. Turner.
In 1861, Reverend Talley was serving as minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Milltown (now Lakeland), GA. He gave the invocation and led hymns for the Grand Military Rally for the Berrien Minute Men at Milltown, GA on May 17, 1861.
Two of Reverend Talley’s own sons were among the medical men of Berrien County.
Dr. Hamilton McDuffie Talley (1834-1902) practiced medicine in Nashville and Valdosta, and also called on residents of Ray’s Mill (now Ray City), GA. In the Civil War, Dr. H.M. Talley served as Captain of Company E, 54th Georgia Regiment, one of the infantry units raised in Berrien County.
Dr. James W. Talley (1826-1894), had a medical practice in Milltown (now Lakeland), GA. His first wife, the former Mary Jane Little (1836-1869), was a daughter of Zabud Marion Little, Sr. (1806-1851). They were married April 21, 1853 in Fayette County, GA and together, they had two children, Statira C. Talley (1853-1926) and Mary Irvin Talley (1865-1942). Mary Jane Talley died February 9, 1869; She was buried at Old Town Cemetery, Lakeland, GA.
The following biographical sketch of James W. Talley was written just before his death:
James W. Talley, M.D., was born February 22, 1826 in Henry county, GA, not far from Atlanta, and is of English ancestry. His grandfather, with two brothers, came to this country, and the former, Caleb Talley, after serving during the revolutionary war, settled in Virginia. He was the father of seven sons, five of whom were Methodist ministers. One of these, Rev. Nathan Talley, of Green County, GA, was the father of James W. Talley. The later received a good academic education, and in 1850 began the study of medicine under Dr. William Blalock, of Fayetteville, GA. In 1851, he entered the Medical College of Georgia, at Augusta, but took his degree from Savannah Medical College.
He located in Milltown, Berrien, Co., where he has built up one of the most successful and extensive country practices in the state. During the war, Dr. Talley was exempted from military duty on account of his profession. Politically he is a democrat. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, of lodge No. 211, has been grand master, and is now past master. One of Dr. Talley’s brothers, H. M. Talley, is also a physician at Valdosta. Another, A.S. [Algernon] Talley, is a real estate agent in Atlanta. For his first wife, Dr. Talley married Miss Mary Little, daughter of Zabot Little, of Henry county. She died in 1867, and he afterward married Miss M. [Araminta Mississippi] Holzendorf, daughter of Alexander Holzendorf, of Cumberland Island, one of the best known planters in the state. [Her brother, Robert Stafford Holzendorf married Satira Lovejoy Lamb, widow of Major John C. Lamb who commanded the 29th Georgia Regiment during the War.]
Dr. Talley’s family consists of two sons and four daughters. His eldest son, Junius V., born May 8, 1872, graduated from the Louisville Medical college in June 1894; William T., born August 30, 1875, at home, attending school. The eldest daughter, born in 1854, is the wife of Huffman Harroll, a merchant of Valdosta; Mary I., born in 1864, married J.H. Bostwick [Bostic], a manufacturer of naval stores in Berrien county [and a trustee of Oaklawn Academy]; Effie C., born November 5, 1870; Lelia H., born September 6, 1873, is the wife of J.J. Knight, a merchant of Milltown.
“According to Old Times There Are Not Forgotten, he [Dr. James W. Talley] built the bungalow still standing on the northeast corner of Main and Oak Streets and raised a family…” – Nell Roquemore
Dr. J. W. Talley’s son, Dr. Junius V. “June” Talley, after graduating from Louisville Medical College returned to Milltown (now Lakeland), GA where he also took up practice.
In October 1894, Dr. J.W. Talley was elected to the executive committee of the short lived Berrien County Prohibition Association.
Dr. James W. Talley died November 25, 1895. An obituary was published in the Tifton Gazette.
Tifton Gazette
November 29, 1895Dr. J. W. Talley Dead
Death has again visited our community, and claimed as its victim Dr. J. W. Talley. Dr. Talley came to this country in the year 1856, and has been a practicing physician here ever since. He was an exemplary citizen and a Christian gentleman, having joined the Methodist church in early boyhood, and leaves a large circle of relatives, friends and acquaintances, who were present today at his burial. The funeral services were conducted by Rev. E. L. Padrick and Rev. Wm. Talley, who read a short history of the deceased’s life. The bereaved wife and children have the deepest sympathy of the entire community. BUTTERFLY.
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