Calhoun Family | Ray City History Blog

James Dewey Calhoun and Mary Elizabeth Brogdon

September 15, 2014 at 12:49 am (Calhoun Family)
Tags: Alapaha GA, Beaver Dam Cemetery, Blancett Swilley, Buck Sutton, Densil Calhoun, Dewey Calhoun, Elias Moore Knight, First Baptist Church of Ray City, Howard Vinson Calhoun, James Dewey "J.D." Calhoun, James Dewey Calhoun, John G. Hall, John Levi Allen, Lois GA, Luvelia Luvenia Ray, Mack Bullard, Martha Virginia Calhoun, Mary Elizabeth Brogdon, Minerva Futch, Nashville Elementary School, Nashville Public School, Perry Lee Pittman, Rachel Bullard, Ray City GA, Rex Calhoun, Samuel Augustus Calhoun, Thomas Brogdon, Work Projects Administration, WPA

James Dewey Calhoun was born about 1904 near Ray City, GA. His grave marker in Beaver Dam Cemetery, Ray City, GA gives his birth date as June 22, 1904, but his Social Security records listed his date of birth as June 22, 1901. Census records place his date of birth variously at about 1902, 1904, or 1907. Based on the research of family members, the 1901 date is probably the most accurate. He was a son of Samuel Augustus Calhoun and Rachel Bullard, and a brother of Joseph Burton Calhoun. The image detail below, of James Dewey Calhoun and his father, is believed to date from around 1907.

James Dewey Calhoun as a young boy with his father, Samuel Augustus “Gus” Calhoun. Image detail courtesy of Mitchell Calhoun.

James Dewey Calhoun first appears in the census records in 1910, enumerated as “Dewey.” He was one of nine children in his parent’s household at Ray City, GA. Samuel’s mother was Rachel Bullard Calhoun, a daughter of Luvellia Ray and Mack Bullard.

1910 census enumeration of James Dewey Calhoun

https://archive.org/stream/13thcensus1910po172unit#page/n640/mode/1up

In the 1920s the Calhouns were living at Ray City, GA where Dewey’s father rented a place on the Valdosta & Ray City Road. Dewey had a common school education, but by age 12 he was working on the Calhoun farm assisting his father with farm labor along with his brothers. Just around the corner from the Calhoun place was the farm of Elias M. “Hun” Knight, businessman of Ray City and owner of the Mayhaw Lake Resort.

https://archive.org/stream/14thcensusofpopu235unit#page/n312/mode/1up

James Dewey Calhoun married Mary Elizabeth Brogdon on Saturday, November 24, 1928 in Berrien County, GA. The ceremony was performed by John G. Hall, Justice of the Peace. Dewey was 21 and Mary was 18 at the time of their marriage. She was a daughter of Thomas Brogdon and Blancett Swilley. Like Dewey, she had a common school education through 7th grade.

Marriage certificate of J. D. Calhoun and Mary Brogdon, November 24, 1928, Berrien County, Georgia

After marriage Dewey and Mary Calhoun made their home in the Lois precinct of the 1329 Georgia Militia District (Connell’s Mill District), where they began raising crops and children. Dewey rented a farm next door to the 260 acre farm of Minerva Futch and John L. Allen. The Allen place (formerly the farm of Jehu Patten) was on land Lot 454 of the 10th land district (see map), located just southwest of Ray City, near the farms of Francis Marion Shaw, Lacy Shaw, and Jesse Shelby Shaw (see http://www.audubon4tet.com/FMS/21_John_Levi_Allen.pdf). Lon Fender, one of the big timber men and turpentine operators of the Wiregrass, was also renting a farm nearby. The census taker who visited the Calhoun family to take their enumeration in 1930 was Perry Lee Pittman.

1930 census enumeration of James Dewey Calhoun

https://archive.org/stream/georgiacensus00reel338#page/n512/mode/1up

By the 1940s Dewey and Mary had moved their family to Alapha, GA where they rented a home on “Nashville and Nashville” road for $5.00 a month.

1940 census enumeration of James Dewey Calhoun

The employment data from the 1940 census shows Dewey was working 24 hours a week for the WPA while Mary kept home and the children attended school. In late 1938 the Work Projects Administration (WPA) began construction of a gymnasium for the public school in Alapaha, GA.

The Work Projects Administration was one of FDR’s New Deal programs, and the census asked if anyone in the household during the week of March 24–30, 1940, was at work on, or assigned to, public emergency work projects conducted by the WPA, the NYA, the CCC, or state or local work relief agencies. The WPA, established May 6, 1935, developed programs to move unemployed workers from relief to jobs. The WPA workers, among other things, rebuilt the national infrastructure, wrote guides to the 48 states, worked in the arts and theater, and assisted with disaster relief. The NYA, established under the WPA, gave part-time jobs to high school and college students to earn money to continue their education. The CCC, created March 31, 1933, employed men aged 18–25 in conservation work in the national parks and forests. http://1940census.archives.gov/about/

Other Work Projects Administration (WPA) projects in Berrien county include an annex added to the west side of the Berrien County Courthouse in 1938. In 1940, WPA workers assisted with the construction of the lunchroom at the Ray City School. Bill Outlaw described a WPA project digging a ditch in Buck Bay, then called Beaver Dam Bay, on the W.H. Outlaw farm previously known as the Jerry S. “Buck” Sutton Old Home place (See Bill Outlaw’s Georgia Centennial Farm application for the W. H. Outlaw farm for interesting commentary on Berrien County farm life over the last 150 years). WPA instructors were also involved with the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp at Homerville, GA where Ray City and Berrien County men were working.

Later the Calhouns were back at Nashville, GA. Census data beyond 1940 has not yet been released, but school photos from the 1950s show Mary and Dewey Calhoun’s children continued to attend at the Nashville public schools.

Children of Mary Elizabeth Brogdon 1909 – 2002 and James Dewey Calhoun (1901-1980)

Charles Rex Calhoun 1929 – 2000
Martha Virginia Calhoun 1933 – 2005
James Dewey “J.D.” Calhoun 1937 – 2013
Howard Vinson Calhoun 1939 – 1979
Densil Calhoun 1944 – 2008

Rex Calhoun, son of Dewey Calhoun, attended 1st grade at Nashville Public School, 1936-37. Image detail courtesy of www.berriencountyga.com

Rex Calhoun, son of Dewey Calhoun, attended 1st grade at Nashville Public School, 1936-37. Image detail courtesy of http://www.berriencountyga.com

Class photos from 1954 show Densil Calhoun was attending school at Nashville Elementary.

Densil Calhoun, son of Dewey Calhoun, 4th grade school photo, 1954, Nashville Elementary School.

http://berriencounty.smugmug.com/Schools/Nashville-Elementary/1954-Classrooms/17024719_X46qXD#!i=1288624316&k=fHz4KBF

The 1972 obituary of Joe B. Calhoun mentions that his brother, Dewey Calhoun was still residing in Nashville, GA.

James Dewey Calhoun died November 3, 1980. He was buried at Beaver Dam Cemetery, Ray City, GA. His widow, Mary Brogdon Calhoun, continued to reside at Nashville, GA but was a member of the Baptist Church in Ray City. Mary died in 2002 and was buried next to her husband at Beaver Dam Cemetery.

for May 6, 2002

Mary Calhoun

NASHVILLE — Mary Calhoun, 96, of Nashville, died May 5, 2002, in the Memorial Convalescent Center of Adel. Born on Aug. 26, 1905, to the late Thomas Brogdon and Blancett Swilley, she was a homemaker and member of First Baptist Church of Ray City. She was preceded in death by her husband, Dewey Calhoun, who died in 1980, and two sons, Howard and Rex Calhoun. Survivors include one daughter, Martha Gurganious of Nashville; two sons, Densol Calhoun of Nashville and J. D. Calhoun of Jackson; 11 grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren. Funeral services are scheduled for 11 a.m. Tuesday, May 7, 2002, in the chapel of Lovein Funeral Home with the Rev. Clarence Luke and the Rev. Fred Hesters officiating. Burial will follow in Beaver Dam Cemetery. Visitation is today after 4 p.m. with the family receiving friends from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. — Lovein Funeral Home.

Graves of James Dewey Calhoun and Mary Elizabeth Brogdon, Beaver Dam Cemetery, Ray City, GA

Calhoun Obituaries

November 4, 2011 at 12:55 am (Calhoun Family, Uncategorized)
Tags: Alberta Calhoun, Alberta Courson, Allen Bates, Beaver Dam Cemetery, C.B. Calhoun, Donald Courson, James Dewey Calhoun, Joe Boyett, John Berton Calhoun, John W. Harrell, John Wesley Calhoun, John Wesley Calhoun Jr., Joseph Burton Calhoun, Lue Annie Boyett, Lula Anglin, Marvin Courson, Melton Courson, Mitchell Courson, Ray City Baptist Church, Robert Wayne Courson

Joseph Burton Calhoun and Lueannie Boyett Calhoun, long time residents of the Ray City, GA area are buried at Beaver Dam Cemetery, Ray City.

Joe B. Calhoun rites held
Thursday, March 2, 1972

Joe B. Calhoun, 79, of Rte. 1 Lakeland, died early Wednesday in the Smith Nursing Home after a long illness.
A native of Lowndes County, he had lived in Lanier County about 31 years.
He was a retired farmer, a member of Lakeland Lodge 434 F&AM and the Ray City Baptist Church.
Survivors include his wife, the former Miss Louannie Boyette of Lakeland; a daughter, Mrs. Alberta Calhoun Courson of Lakeland, Fla.; two sons, J.B. Calhoun Jr., of Winter Garden, Fla.; and John Calhoun of Monroe, La.; a sister, Mrs. Lula Anglin of Adel; two brothers, Dewey Calhoun of Nashville, Ga., and C. B. Calhoun of Jacksonville, Fla. 12 grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren. Funeral services were held at 3 p.m. Friday at the Ray City Baptist Church with burial in the Beaver Dam Cemetery here.
The Rev. Allen Bates, pastor, conducted the services, assisted by the Rev. John W. Harrell. Burial followed in Beaver Dam Cemetery.
Active pallbearers were Robert Wayne Courson, Donald Courson, Marvin Corson, Mitchell Calhoun, Melton Calhoun and John Wesley Calhoun, Jr.
Music Funeral Home of Lakeland was in charge of arrangements.

The Valdosta Times
Sunday, April 11, 1993

Obituaries
LUEANNIE B. CALHOUN

Lueannie Boyett Calhoun, 93, of Winter Garden, Fla., passed away Friday morning at Quality Health Care in Winter Garden.
She was born and lived in what was then Berrien County and later changed to Lanier County most of her life, moving to Winter Garden in 1987. She was a member of First Baptist Church in Ray City.
She was preceded in death by her husband Joe Calhoun and one son, Burton Calhoun.
Survivors include: one daughter, Alberta Courson of Lakeland, Fla., one son, John Wesley Calhoun of Ft. McCoy, Fla., one brother, Joe Boyett of Peach County; 11 grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be held at 3 p.m. Monday at Ray City First Baptist Church with burial at Beaver Dam Cemetery, Ray City. The family will receive friends at the funeral home tonight from 7-9 p.m. Mrs. Calhoun will be placed in the church one hour prior to services.
Music Funeral Home, Lakeland, is in charge of arrangements.

4 Comments

The Calhoun Farm

October 29, 2011 at 12:39 am (Calhoun Family, Uncategorized)
Tags: Jemima Taylor, John Boyett, Joseph Berton Calhoun, Joseph Burton Calhoun, Lue Annie Boyett, Mary Jane Sirmans, Ray's Mill GA, William Hill Boyette

The Calhoun Farm, near Ray City, GA, 1955.

The Calhoun Farm, situated southeast of Ray City on the shore of Banks Lake, originally made up a part of the Boyett family land.

John Boyette (1865-1938) and Mary Jane Sirmans Boyett (1867-1946). John Boyett’s land consisted of more than 1000 acres situated in present day western Lanier County, GA. (Image courtesy of http://berriencountyga.com/)

When John Boyett died in 1938, his estate was divided among his six sons and three daughters. Born near Rays Mill, GA in 1865, John Boyett was a son of William Hill Boyett and Jemima Taylor Boyett. By the time of his demise he had acquired 1,016 acres of land in land lots 496, 497, 516 and 517 in the 10th District. (see John Boyett (1865-1938) ~ Ray City Farmer)

His daughter, Lue Annie Boyett Calhoun, inherited just over 100 acres of the family farm and a little cash.

After inheriting land from her father, Lue Annie and her husband, Joseph Burton Calhoun, moved from their place in Florida back to the farm at Ray City, GA. (see The Marriage of Joe Calhoun and Lue Annie Boyett)

I. Mitchell Calhoun, grandson of Lue Annie and Joseph Burton Calhoun, recalls,

“Grandma always said that as a girl she got a little less than the boys. Granddaddy [Joseph Burton] Calhoun was an auto mechanic at the time and he and his family lived down in Florida, but he had been raised on a farm. My father [Joseph Berton Calhoun, Jr.] was around 20 at the time. So my grandparents moved back to the farm. A good part of the land Grandma inherited was wooded land so she traded some of her land with one of her brothers for cleared land so the final farm they had was around 80 acres. So that became the ‘Joe and Lue Annie Calhoun’ farm for the next 50 plus years. Granddaddy Calhoun died in 1972 and Grandma Calhoun died in 1993. The farm was passed on to their heirs and then was sold by them in the mid 1990s. I have many wonderful memories of the farm as a boy and as an adult. “

“Granddaddy Calhoun told me many times how they moved to the farm in 1938 and had to clear the trees to make a lane (about 100 yards) from Boyett Road up to the house site. Then he took the trees, that he cut down to clear the lane and the home site, to the saw mill and cut into boards and he used these boards to help build the house. It was a simple house but I spent many a night in it as a boy and as an adult. A few years after the land was sold (early 2000s) the house was torn down.”

Joseph Burton Calhoun was a civic minded farmer, a member of the Lakeland Masonic Lodge, and the Parent-Teacher Association. In the 1940s, the school lunchroom in Lakeland was supported by donations, and vegetables contributed from the Calhoun farm were among the lunchroom fare.

Joseph Burton Calhoun at work on the farm near Ray City, GA, circa 1955. (Image courtesy of I. Mitchell Calhoun)

I. Mitchell Calhoun, grandson of Joseph Burton Calhoun recalls his grandfather at work in the barnyard out back of the farmhouse.

“I used to like to watch him use the farm equipment. He had a big John Deere tractor that he was very proud of. It had a drum on the side that turned. Some of the equipment (such as a corn grinder) had a similar drum. He would line the tractor up with the equipment, place a wide leather belt that formed a circle around the two drums, then he would back up the tractor until the belt was tight. He would then engage the drum on the tractor and through the belt this would engage the drum on the corn grinder, etc. and off everything went. He would pour corn in the top and corn meal would come out one end.”

Joseph Burton Calhoun at work on the farm, circa 1955. (Image courtesy of I. Mitchell Calhoun.A

Joseph Burton Calhoun at work on the farm, circa 1955. Situated near Ray City, the farm was located within the boundaries of Lanier County, with the county seat at Lakeland, GA. (Image courtesy of I. Mitchell Calhoun.)

Ford automobile owned by Lue Annie and Joseph Burton Calhoun, on the Calhoun Farm, 1955. (Image courtesy of I. Mitchell Calhoun)

Calhoun Farm, aerial view. (Image courtesy of I. Mitchell Calhoun)

Special thanks to Mitchell Calhoun for the contribution of images and content for this post, and to Wilburn Thomas (Tom) Boyette for additional input.

2 Comments

The Marriage of Joe Calhoun and Lue Annie Boyett

October 26, 2011 at 12:12 am (Boyett Family, Bullard Family, Calhoun Family)
Tags: Alberta Calhoun, Berrien County GA, J. M. Bryan, John Boyett, John W. Calhoun, Joseph Berton Calhoun, Joseph Burton Calhoun, Lakeland Georgia, Luannie Boyette, Lue Annie Boyett, Mary Jane Sirmans, Rachel Bullard, Ray City Baptist Church, Ray City GA, Samuel Augustus Calhoun

Lue Annie Boyette, born May 27, 1899 was the only daughter of Mary Jane Sirmans and John Boyett, subject of previous posts. Her father was a large landowner with a farm near Ray City in Berrien County.

Luannie Boyette & Joseph Burton Calhoun of Ray City, GA, 1919. Image courtesy of I. Mitcchell Calhoun.

Lue Annie Boyett & Joseph Burton Calhoun of Ray City, GA, 1919. Image courtesy of I. Mitchell Calhoun.

Lue Annie married Joseph Burton Calhoun on March 4, 1918 in Berrien County, GA. She was a bride of 19; he was a 26 year-old groom, of medium height and build, blue eyed and blond haired.

http://cdm.sos.state.ga.us/u?/countyfilm,190170

Joseph Burton Calhoun, in army uniform, 1819. Image courtesy of I. Mitchell Calhoun.

Joseph Burton Calhoun was a son of Samuel Augustus “Gus” Calhoun and Rachel B. Bullard, born and raised in Rays Mill, GA (nka Ray City). Prior to marriage he had been living in Moultrie, GA where in 1917, he was employed by J.M. Bryan as a mechanic.

In 1918, the newlyweds were separated by the Great War, as Joe entered service in the U.S. Army. (Joseph Burton Calhoun ~ WWI Soldier)

Lue Annie and Joseph first made their home in Ray City, where they were enumerated in the 1920 census. Joseph continued his trade as an auto mechanic, now working on his own account. They had a house right on Main Street, where Lue Annie cared for their children, Alberta and Joseph B., Jr.

Enumeration of Luannie Boyette and Joseph Burton Calhoun, 1920, Ray City, GA

Enumeration of Lou Annie Boyette and Joseph Burton Calhoun, 1920, Ray City, GA

By the Census of 1930, Joseph and Lue Annie Calhoun had moved to Orlando, FL. There, Joseph Burton Calhoun continued his profession as an automobile mechanic. Lue Annie kept house and raised their three children.

Enumeration of Joseph and Luannie Calhoun, 1930 Census, 1403 South Division St., Orlando, FL

Enumeration of Joseph and Lou Annie Calhoun, 1930 Census, 1403 South Division St., Orlando, FL

http://www.archive.org/stream/15thcensuspopula326unit#page/n1083/mode/1up

In 1935, the Calhoun’s owned a home at 4074 35th Ave N. in St. Petersburg, FL. Joseph worked as a service station attendant.

Enumeration of Joseph B. and Luannie Boyette Calhoun, 1935 Florida State Census, St. Petersburg, FL.

Enumeration of Joseph B. and Lue Annie Boyette Calhoun, 1935 Florida State Census, St. Petersburg, FL.

When Lue Annie’s father, John Boyett, died in 1938, his estate was divided among his nine children. His only daughter, Lue Annie Boyett Calhoun, inherited just over 100 acres of the family farm. Lue Annie and her husband moved from Florida back to the farm near Ray City, GA.

For the next 3o years, Lue Annie and Joe raised their children and crops on the Calhoun farm. They were well known citizens of the Ray City and Lakeland area. They were members of the Ray City Baptist Church and the Lakeland Parent-Teacher Association. Joe was a member of Masonic Lodge #434, and a member of the committee that oversaw the construction of a new Lodge Hall at Lakeland, GA in the 1940s.

Joseph Burton Calhoun died in 1972 and was buried at Beaver Dam Cemetery in Ray City. For fifteen more years Lue Annie continued to live on the Calhoun Farm, but 1987 she returned to Florida to live out her final years. She died in 1993 in Winter Garden, FL. She was laid to rest at Beaver Dam Cemetery next to her husband.

2 Comments

Joseph Burton Calhoun ~ WWI Soldier

October 21, 2011 at 12:39 am (Calhoun Family, Uncategorized, WWI)
Tags: Berrien County GA, J. M. Bryan, Joseph Burton Calhoun, Luannie Boyette, Rachel Bullard, Ray City GA, Ray's Mill GA, Samuel Augustus Calhoun

Joseph Burton Calhoun, 1918, in WWI army uniform, probably taken in Atlanta, GA. Image courtesy of I. Mitchell Calhoun.

Joseph Burton Calhoun was a son of Samuel Augustus “Gus” Calhoun and Rachel B. Bullard, born December 10, 1892 and raised in Rays Mill, GA (now Ray City). In WWI he served in the U.S. Army.

Prior to WWI Joseph Burton Calhoun had been living in Moultrie, GA where in 1917, he was employed by J.M. Bryan as a mechanic. On June 5, 1917 he registered for the draft for WWI in Colquitt County. His draft card gave his physical description as medium in height and build, with light hair and blue eyes.

Nine months later, Joseph Burton Calhoun was back in Berrien County, GA where he married Louannie Boyette on March 4, 1918.

Joseph Burton Calhoun was inducted into the Army on December 18, 1917 in Moultrie, GA. He was photographed in uniform along with a fellow soldier, in what appears to be a souvenir post card print. After training with the Machine Gun company of the 328th Infantry, Joseph Burton Calhoun served in the Military Police. Throughout WWI he was stationed with the Provost Guard Company at Camp Gordon, GA. Calhoun apparently obtained a WWI souvenir from a returning soldier who had served overseas. A family heirloom is a bolt action .41 caliber Swiss rifle brought back from the war.

Swiss .41 WAFFENFABRIK-BERN-M78, serial # 187500. This rifle, pictured above, was acquired by Joseph Burton Calhoun during his service in WWI. The gun was manufactured circa 1885, one of a total of 228,000 ordered by the Swiss government. At the time of introduction, this rifle was one of the most advanced military rifles in Europe, but by WWI it was completely out-dated. (Image and information courtesy of Mitchell Calhoun)

After the war Joseph Burton Calhoun returned to his wife and family in Ray City, GA.

(Special thanks to I. Mitchell Calhoun for contributions to this post.)

Updated 2/27/2016

Family of Gus Calhoun, Berrien County, GA

October 6, 2011 at 10:24 pm (Bullard Family, Calhoun Family)
Tags: Allenville Georgia, Berrien County GA, C.B. Calhoun, Cat Creek GA, Charles Birch Calhoun, Cola Calhoun, Effie Knight, Elizabeth Bell, G. C. Tuten, Gussie Calhoun, Irvin Mitchell Calhoun, J. S. Gaskins, James Dewey Calhoun, Joseph Burton Calhoun, Lizzie Bell Calhoun, Lucinda Elizabeth Guthrie, Lue Annie Boyett, Lula Calhoun, Luvelia Luvenia Ray, Mack Bullard, Mack Calhoun, Max Nathan Calhoun, Rachel Bullard, Ray City Baptist Church, Ray City GA, Robert Lee Calhoun, Samuel Augustus Calhoun

Ray City farmer Samuel Augustus “Gus” Calhoun, subject of previous post (Gus Calhoun, Ray City Farmer), was from boyhood a lifelong resident of the Ray City area. He was born May 25, 1868, a son of Elizabeth Bell and Joseph Calhoun.

Gus Calhoun married Rachel Bullard on May 19, 1891 in Lowndes County, GA. She was a daughter of Mack Bullard and Luvellia Ray, and a niece of Green Bullard. The Calhouns made their home in the Cat Creek community, located about 10 miles southeast of Ray City in Lowndes County, GA (Census of 1900.)

Samuel Augustus Calhoun and Rachel Bullard, circa 1907. Image courtesy of Irvin Mitchell Calhoun.

By 1910 Gus Calhoun had moved his wife and children a few miles north to Ray’s Mill (nka Ray City), Berrien County, GA where he rented a farm next to his father-in-law, Mack Bullard.

Children of Samuel Augustus Calhoun and Rachel Bullard:

Joseph Burton Calhoun (December 10, 1892 – February 23, 1972) married Lue Annie Boyette
Lizzie Bell Calhoun (1895 – )
Mack Calhoun (1897 – )
Robert Lee Calhoun (1899 – )
Gussie Calhoun (1900 – )
James Dewey Calhoun (June 22, 1904 – November 3, 1980) married Mary Elizabeth Brogdon
Lula Calhoun (1904 – )
Cola L. Calhoun (1906 – )
Max Nathan Calhoun (1910-1970)
Charles Birch Calhoun (1913-1995)

Rachel Bullard and Samuel Augustus Calhoun family, circa 1907. The 1910 census records show the Calhouns living at Ray City, Berrien County, GA during this time. The original photo was discovered in the attic of James Dewey Calhoun, Sr. and Mary Elizabeth Brogdon. About 1996, Irvin Mitchell Calhoun, great grandson of Samuel Augustus Calhoun had the photo professionally restored.

Rachel Bullard Calhoun died in 1935 and was buried at Beaver Dam Cemetery, Ray City, GA. Shortly thereafter, Gus Calhoun retired from active farming and for a while lived with his grandson, Philip Burkhalter, at Ray City. They were neighbors of Effie Knight and Lucy Guthrie. Later Gus moved to the property of his son, Joseph Burton Calhoun, near Ray City.

The family photo above brings family memories to Irvin Mitchell Calhoun, great grandson of Samuel Augustus Calhoun:

My grandfather (Joseph Burton Calhoun, Sr.) is the teenage boy standing up the center of the photo. .. I remember Grandpa Gus living with my grandparents (Joseph Burton Calhoun, Sr. & Lue Annie Boyett) on their farm on Boyett Road in the latter years of his life. I was born in 1941 so this must have been in the early to mid 1940s.

They built a small one room shack out back of the house and he lived out there. We boys use to visit him often out there. He was always doing things with us.

Samuel Augustus “Gus” Calhoun died January 5, 1957. The funeral services were held at Ray City Baptist Church and was buried at Beaver Dam Cemetery.

Obituary of Samuel Augustus Calhoun (1868-1957) of Berrien County, GA. Image courtesy of I. Mitchell Calhoun.

Lakeland, Lanier County, GA
Jan 9, 1957
S.A. Calhoun Dies at 89 in Lakeland

    S.A. (Gus) Calhoun, 89, died Sunday afternoon at the home of his grandson, J.S. Gaskins, in the Allenville community of Berrien County after being in declining health for several weeks.
    He was a native of North Carolina, but came to South Georgia as a boy and lived here all of his life. Until his retirement some 20 years ago, he farmed in this area. He was a member at the Ray City Baptist Church.
    Survivors include three daughters, Mrs. Lizzie Brantley of Nashville, Mrs. Gussie Clark of Eloise, Fla. and Mrs. Lula Gaskins of Nashville; six sons C. B. Calhoun of Jacksonville, Fla. J. B. Calhoun of Lakeland, J. D. Calhoun and Mack Calhoun, both of Nashville, M. N. Calhoun of Winterhaven, Fla., and R. L. Calhoun of Jacksonville; 32 grand children; 50 great-grandchildren; and a number of nieces and nephews.
    Funeral services were held Tuesday afternoon at 3:00 at the Ray City Baptist Church with Rev. G. C. Tuten officiating.

Special thanks to I. Mitch Calhoun for his research on Calhoun Family history , and for contributing images and content to this post.

1 Comment

Gus Calhoun, Ray City Farmer

December 18, 2010 at 12:58 am (Beaver Dam Cemetery, Calhoun Family)
Tags: Beaver Dam Cemetery, Berrien County GA, Gussie Clark, Lowndes County GA, Luv, Luvelia Luvenia Ray, M.N. Calhoun, Mack Bullard, Max Nathan Calhoun, Rachel Bullard, Ray City GA, Ray's Mill, Samuel Augustus Calhoun, Thomas Brantley

Samuel Augustus Calhoun, circa 1907. By 1910 he was farming at Ray City, GA

Gus Calhoun was one of the stalwart farmers of Ray City, GA. (see Family of Gus Calhoun, Berrien County, GA)

Samuel Augustus Calhoun was born May 25, 1868 in Georgia, probably in the community of Colquitt. He was the son of Elizabeth and Joseph Calhoun. His father was a farmer, and Gus followed in the same tradition.

Samuel Augustus Calhoun married Rachel Bullard on May 19, 1891 in Lowndes County, GA. She was born in 1874. Her parents were Mack Bullard and Luvellia Ray. The ceremony was conducted by John G. Hall, Justice of the Peace. The couple made their home in the Cat Creek community, Lowndes County. They appear there in the Census of 1900.

By 1910 Gus Calhoun had moved his wife and nine children a few miles north to Ray’s Mill (now known as Ray City), Berrien County, GA where he rented a farm next to his father-in-law, Mack Bullard.

Samuel Augustus Calhoun and Rachel Bullard marriage certificate, 1891, Lowndes County, GA.

In the 1920s the Calhouns were living in Ray City, GA renting a place on the Valdosta & Ray City Road. With the help of his sons, Gus farmed the place on his own account. Thomas Brantley was farming the place next door.

Rachel Bullard and Samuel Augustus Calhoun family, circa 1913. The Calhouns were living in Ray City, Berrien County, GA during this time.

The 1930s found Gus and Rachel still on the farm in Ray City, renting for $15 a month. At 60, Gus continued to farm, with the help of his sons, Collie and C.B. Also in the Calhoun household was their daughter, Gussie Clark, and her two children, Mildred and Charles. Gussie assisted with the farm labor. Their son, Max Nathan Calhoun, was renting the house next door with his wife and young child.

Samuel Augustus Calhoun died on January 5, 1957 and is buried in Beaver Dam Cemetery in Ray City, Georgia in Berrien County.

Rachel Bullard Calhoun is also buried in Beaver Dam cemetery.

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Ray City History Blog

James Dewey Calhoun and Mary Elizabeth Brogdon

Calhoun Obituaries

The Calhoun Farm

The Marriage of Joe Calhoun and Lue Annie Boyett

Joseph Burton Calhoun ~ WWI Soldier

Updated 2/27/2016

Family of Gus Calhoun, Berrien County, GA

Gus Calhoun, Ray City Farmer

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