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.
Related Posts:
- John Boyett (1865-1938) ~ Ray City Farmer
- The Marriage of Joe Calhoun and Lue Annie Boyett
- The Calhoun Farm
- Family of Gus Calhoun, Berrien County, GA
- Early School House
- Wed under the Great Comet of 1882
- Moving on Up: John and Mary Jane Boyett’s Retouched Portrait
- Calhoun Obituaries
- Joseph Burton Calhoun ~ WWI Soldier
- Ruth Boyette Married Dillard Markham During WWII
- Green Bullard
Ray City History Blog 