David Jackson Rigell | Ray City History Blog

An old tintype of Walter Howard Knight

July 25, 2014 at 12:21 am (Knight Family, Lamb Family)
Tags: Adrian Knight, Barney B. Chism, Berrien County GA, Berrien Minute Men, bullard, David Jackson Rigell, Dollie Howard Knight, Dougherty County GA, Dr. William David Sloan, Effie Guthrie, Elizabeth E. Knight, George M. Gullett, Green Bullard, Henry Bullard, Horace Webb, James Murray Sloan, James Randall Johnson, Jimmie Gardener Gullette, Joseph E Langford, Julia Elizabeth Knight, Julia Knight, Julia Lindsey, Laurie Inez Knight, Lillian Melissa Knight, Louis Malone Bullard, Margaret Ann Knight, Maria Antonieta Poblete, Mary Ann Knight, Mary E. Carroll, Mary Virginia Knight, Milltown GA, Owen Adrian Knight, Owen Adrian Knight Jr, Paul Knight, Ralph Knight, Ray's Mill GA, Ruby Texas Knight, tintype, Walter Howard Knight, Walter Raleigh Knight, William E. Langford, William J. Lamb, William Washington Knight

Walter Howard Knight (1859-1934)

Tintype photograph of Walter Howard Knight, Rays Mill, Berrien County, GA. Image Courtesy of Jimmie Mobley.

Walter Howard Knight, a son of William Washington Knight (1829 – 1863) and Mary Elizabeth Carroll (1839 – 1906) was born November 28, 1859 in Berrien County, GA. The tintype photograph above depicts him in his senior years, perhaps in the 1920s.

Tintype photographs such as this were made by creating a direct positive on a thin sheet of iron coated with a dark lacquer or enamel and used as the support for the photographic emulsion. Since the image is produced directly on the medium, tintype photographs normally appear as a mirror image, reversed left to right. Each tintype is usually a camera original – one of a kind. Compared to other early photographs, tintypes were very inexpensive and relatively easy to make. A photographer could prepare, expose, develop and varnish a tintype plate and have it ready for the customer in a few minutes. Tintypes became very popular during the Civil War, and enjoyed their widest use during the 1860s and 1870s. Although prints on paper soon displaced them as the most common type of photograph, the tintype process continued to enjoy considerable use throughout the 19th century and beyond, especially for casual portraiture by novelty and street photographers.

Historical records of Walter Howard Knight first appear in the Census of 1860 when he was enumerated in his father’s household in Berrien County, GA.

1860 census enumeration of Mary Elizabeth Carroll and William Washington Knight, Berrien County, GA.

1860 census enumeration of Walter Howard Knight in the household of his parents, Mary Elizabeth Carroll and William Washington Knight, Berrien County, GA.

1860 Census https://archive.org/stream/populationschedu111unit#page/n403/mode/1up

Walter Howard Knight had little chance to know his father who went off to fight in 1861 as a Sergeant in the company of Berrien Minute Men. The Civil War letters of William Washington Knight spoke tenderly of his children as he wrote from the camps and battlefields, but he was not to see them grow to adulthood. Illness was rampant among the Confederate regiments, and Knight was furloughed home sick in 1863. He died of chronic diarrhea at Milltown, GA December 27, 1863, one month after Walter Howard Knight’s fourth birthday.

After the War, Walter’s mother married William Joseph Lamb who was also a veteran of the Berrien Minutemen (see William J. Lamb ~ Confederate Veteran). The census of 1870 shows Walter Howard Knight was living with his mother, step-father and sisters (Mary Virginia and Lillian Melissa) in the 1144th Georgia Militia District, later known as the Ray’s Mill District. (A third sister, Margaret Ann, had died during the Civil War).

1870 census enumeration of the household of Mary Elizabeth Carroll and William Lamb, Berrien County, GA.

http://archive.org/stream/populationschedu0135unit#page/n439/mode/1up

At age 19, Walter Howard Knight married Jimmie Gullett in Dougherty County, GA. She was the 14 year old daughter of George M. Gullett and Julia Lindsey. Her father was an insurance agent in Daugherty County.

Marriage Certificate of Jimmie Gullett and Walter Howard Knight

According to the Census of 1880, Walter and Jimmie Gullett Knight made their home in the Rays Mill District, near the farm of his step-father, William J. Lamb. Walter, like his neighbors, was engaged in farming. Property tax records from 1884 show Walter H. Knight did not own the land he farmed, but did own $60 in livestock, $5 in tools and books, and $25 in household furnishings.

1880 enumeration of Jimmie Gullett and Walter Howard Knight, 1144 GMD Rays Mill District.

By 1890 Walter had acquired 490 acres consisting of lot 426 in the 10th Land District. The land was valued at $1 per acre. At the time taxes were assessed he had the farm, $75 in household furnishings, and no other taxable property. Among the property owners on adjacent land lots were James M Sloan, Elizabeth E. Knight ( portions of Lot 450), Joseph E. Langford (portions of Lot 450), and Barney B. Chism on Lot 427.

Partial map of the 10th Land District, showing location of Lot 426.

By 1900 Walter H. Knight was farming land on the Valdosta Road near Rays Mill, GA. The Census of 1900 shows Walter H. Knight owned a farm free and clear of debt, which he occupied with his wife Jimmie, and eight children. His brother-in-law William E. Langford, husband of Mary Virginia Knight, was farming nearby. Among his other neighbors were Greene Bullard, and Henry Bullard.

1900-walter-h-knight-enumeration https://archive.org/stream/12thcensusofpopu179unit#page/n776/mode/1up

In October of 1900, Walter’s daughter Dollie married “the boy next door,” Louis Malone Bullard , a son of Mary Ann and Green Bullard, and moved with her husband to Valdosta, GA. In 1901 his daughter Julia married David Jackson Rigell, merchant of Ray’s Mill, GA. (She later married W. D. Sloan, son of her parent’s neighbor, James M. Sloan).

Walter H. Knight and Jimmie Gullett Knight continued farming land near Ray City into the following decades. In the spring of 1910, their daughter Ruby Texas Knight was married to James Randall Johnson and the couple made their home next door to her father’s place on the Valdosta Road, Ray City, Georgia. Walter’s eldest son, Paul Knight, was farming nearby. The Langfords farmed neighboring land, but both Mary Ann and Green Bullard had passed away.

1910 census enumeration of the household of Walter Howard Knight and Jimmy Gullette, Berrien County, GA.

https://archive.org/stream/13thcensus1910po172unit#page/n635/mode/1up

It was a terrible blow to Walter and Jimmie Knight when their son Ralph was lost in the sinking of the HMS Otranto in the closing days of World War I. They carried on working their farm through the 1920s. Their daughter Laurie remained at the old home place, but the rest of their children had moved on to their own lives. In 1919, their daughter-in-law Marie “Toni” Poblete Knight, wife of Owen “Adrian” Knight, came to live with them on the farm with her two children Owen, Jr and Ralph. Toni had married Adrian while he was serving in the Army at Ft. Bliss, El Paso, TX. But at the end of WWI, Adrian had abandoned his young family and disappeared (see Ray City Love Story Told by Betty M. Williams.)

1920 enumeration of Jimmie Gullett and Walter Howard Knight, 1144 GMD Rays Mill District.

http://archive.org/stream/14thcensusofpopu235unit#page/n319/mode/1up

Walter and Jimmie kept their daughter-in-law, Toni Poblete Knight and grandchildren with them on the farm for four years, until Toni lost any hope that Adrian would return to his family. Toni returned west and obtained a divorce.

Laurie Inez Knight, the youngest Knight daughter married Horace Webb in 1928. They made a home on Charlton Street in Valdosta, GA

Adrian Knight eventually did return to Ray City and his parent’s farm. He married his brother’s widow, Effie Guthrie Knight. In the census of 1930, the enumeration of Walter H. Knight’s place shows Owen A “Adrian” Knight and Mary E. “Effie” Knight had a home on the Knight farm.

Children of Jimmie Gardener Gullett and Walter Howard Knight:

Julia Elizabeth Knight, born August 9, 1880; died September 10, 1955
Dollie Howard Knight, born April 12, 1882; died March 26, 1956
Paul Knight, born July 22, 1884; died 1949
Walter Raleigh Knight, born November 14, 1886,
Ralph Knight, born 19 Apr 1889; died in the Otranto disaster October 6, 1918
Ruby Texas Knight, born October 11, 1891; died June 17 1977
Laurie Inez Knight, born April 9 1894; died April 1, 1974
Owen Adrian Knight, born October 7, 1896; died September 25, 1972

Walter Howard Knight died June 13, 1934.


The Nashville Herald, 
June 21, 1934

MR. KNIGHT DIED AT RAY CITY HOME

	Many friends here of Mr. Raleigh Knight sympathize with him deeply in the death of his father, Mr. Walter Howard Knight, which occurred at his home 
in Ray City last Wednesday.  Mr. Knight was seventy-four years of age and was a well-known and highly respected citizen of his community.  He was a native of 
that section and had lived there all his life.
	He is survived by his wife, four daughters and three sons.  His wife was before her marriage Miss Jimmie Guelette of Albany.  The daughters are Mrs. 
W.D. Sloan of Stockton; Mrs. L.M. Bullard and Mrs. Horace Webb of Valdosta; and Mrs. J.R. Johnson of Ray City.  The sons are Paul Knight and Owen Knight of Ray 
City and Raleigh Knight of Adel.
	There are also 12 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren among the survivors.
	The funeral services were held at the Baptist church at Ray City Thursday afternoon. – Adel News.

^{Transcription courtesy of Skeeter Parker}

Jimmie Gullett Knight died three years later, August 3, 1937. Husband and wife are buried at Beaver Dam Cemetery, Ray City, GA.

Graves of Jimmie Gullett and Walter Howard Knight, Beaver Dam Cemetery, Ray City, GA.

Posting Mail at Ray City

December 14, 2012 at 12:59 am (Fountain Family, Governance & Civics, Knight Family, Ray City Georgia)
Tags: Beaverdam Creek, Billy R. Cromer, Charles H. Anderson, Charles Hamilton Anderson, Chloe Gardner, Daniel McCranie, David Jackson Rigell, David Rigell, Eugene Ray, Flora Parker, Florence V. Garner, Garth L. Webb, Green Bullard, Guy Selman, Henry Harrison Knight, James A. Grissett, James F. Fountain, Jeane U. Camp, Joel F. Fountain, Joseph O Sirmans, Josiah S. Rigell, Knight's Mill GA, Knight's Mill Post Office, Lacy A. McDonald, Levi J. Knight, Lossie Hansell Webb, Mamie E. Fountain, Mary Susan Ray, Muriel S. Privett, Namcy Deloras Courson, Ray's Mill GA, Ray's Mill Post Station, Thomas M. Ray, Timothy R. McLeod, Ulysses A. Knight, William A. Garner, William C, William Cauley Johnson, yeggmen

Post marked Ray’s Mills, GA

Levi J. Knight and the first Wiregrass Pioneers to settle on Beaverdam Creek in the area of present day Ray City, GA arrived here about 185 years ago, in the 1820s. At first these settlers had no mail service at all, but within a year or two a post office was established at Daniel “Big Thumb” McCranie’s place on the Coffee Road. That was a 50 mile round trip for the settlers at Beaverdam Creek to fetch their mail. Other post offices sprang up to serve the pioneers of Old Berrien County, but no post office was established closer than 10 or 12 miles to Ray City until after the Civil War.

KNIGHT’S MILL POST OFFICE
After the end of the Civil War, the grist mill that General Levi J. Knight and his son-in-law Thomas M. Ray had established on Beaverdam Creek became the site of the first post station serving the present day area of Ray City, GA. This mill was originally known as “Knight and Ray’s Mill” and in 1867 a post office established here was simply referred to as “Knight’s Mill.” In 1870 the United States Postal Service Guide indicated that the postmaster of Knight’s Mill received an annual salary of $12. The Post Office Department Record of Appointment of Postmasters shows that Green Bullard was appointed postmaster of Knight’s Mill (later known as Rays Mill) on August 3, 1868. Bullard held the position until June 29, 1871 when the Knight’s Mill post office was discontinued.

RAY’S MILL POST STATION
In 1870, after the death of General Knight, Thomas M. Ray bought out complete ownership of the mill from his father-in-law’s estate. Thereafter the mill and the surrounding community became known as Ray’s Mill. Apparently from 1871 and 1875 there was no post office in operation at Ray’s Mill, and residents were again compelled to take their mail at Nashville or Milltown. In 1876 a local post office resumed operation and according to the Post Office Department Record of Appointment of Postmasters, Henry Harrison Knight was appointed on June 6, 1876. The United States Official Postal Guide of July, 1879 lists the post office at “Ray’s Mills,” Berrien County, Georgia, but the postmaster’s name is not given. The Georgia State Gazetteer, Business and Planter’s Directory for 1881-82 also lists the the Ray’s Mill post office. In the 1885 Official Register of the United States, H.H. Knight was again listed as Postmaster of Ray’s Mill, Berrien County, Georgia. His compensation for this service was $36.25. Post Office Dept records appear to indicate that H.H. Knight was reappointed as Postmaster on May 22, 1886. His wife, Mary Susan Ray Knight, was officially appointed Postmaster on November 1, 1892. Joseph O. Sirmans was appointed on October 2, 1899 and served for about a year. On September 1, 1900 the appointment was given to William C. Johnson (Johnson married H.H. Knight’s daughter in 1907). The Post Office Department Record of Appointment of Postmasters documents that David J. Rigell was appointed Postmaster of Rays Mill on March 8, 1901. Ulysses A. Knight took over on August 12, 1902 and was later confirmed as postmaster. Josiah S. Rigell took the position on April 28, 1903. Post office records seem to indicate that the post office at Ray’s Mill was discontinued effective March 31, 1904 and for a while the mail was sent to Milltown (now Lakeland).

Some local histories say David Rigell, a merchant of Berrien County, was the first postmaster at Ray’s Mill. The primary sources, timing and other factors indicate that this was not the case (see David Jackson Rigell ~ First Postmaster of Ray’s Mill? Maybe Not!), but that Rigell served as postmaster in the 1901. It is speculated that the death of General Knight left the position vacant until Henry H. Knight, son-in-law of Thomas M. Ray and nephew of General Knight took an interest in civil service.

In 1909, Eugene Ray reported that “Charles H. Anderson and Dr. Guy Selman, young men, are putting up a drug store. Mr. Anderson is postmaster and Dr. Selman practices his profession here,” in Ray City, GA. The Post Office Department Record of Appointment of Postmasters shows that Charles Anderson was officially appointed Postmaster of Rays Mill on February 6, 1909, and the Official Register of the United States shows in 1909, Chas Anderson was earning, $82 a month or $984 a year as Postmaster of Ray’s Mill. That sum might have been comparable to an annual salary of about $35,000 a year in 2007 dollars.

On April 1, 1920, James “Joel” F. Fountain became the Acting Postmaster. His appointment as Postmaster was confirmed in the U.S. Senate on June 5th of that year. The following year the Ray City Post Office made the state news when it was dynamited by “Yeggmen“.

The census of 1930 shows James F. Fountain continued as the Ray City postmaster. James Arthur Grissett and Lacy Albert McDonald were employed as rural mail carriers at Ray City.

By 1934, Mamie E. Fountain, wife of J. F. Fountain, took over as Postmaster at Ray City.

In 1939, the Nashville Herald announced a vacancy in the postmaster position at Ray City:

The Nashville Herald,
February 2, 1939 Pg 1

Postmaster’s Exam Called for Ray City

An open competitive examination will be held shortly to fill the position of postmaster of Ray City, according to an announcement from the Civil Service Commission, Washington, D.C.
Applications for the examination will close on February 10^th. All who desire to take the examination for this place must file their application by that date.
The place and date of examination will be announced after the date for making applications is closed.
Complete information may be obtained by applying at the post office in Ray City.

^{Transcription courtesy of Skeeter Parker}

National Archives Record of Appointment of Postmasters, Ray City, GA

The U. S. Postal service and census records provide the following on subsequent Postal employees at Ray City.

Name	Title	Date Appointed

James Arthur Grissett	Mail Carrier	prior to 4/04/1940
Chloe Ann Johnson	Asst Postmaster	prior to 4/04/1940
Garth L. Webb	Postmaster	prior to 4/04/1940
William A. Garner	Acting Postmaster	04/02/1955
William A. Garner	Postmaster	08/06/1957
Mrs. Florence V. Garner	Officer-In-Charge	05/08/1970
Timothy R. McLeod	Postmaster	11/27/1971
Jeane U. Camp	Officer-In-Charge	06/04/1987
Billy R. Cromer	Officer-In-Charge	07/30/1987
Muriel S. Privett	Officer-In-Charge	11/05/1987
Jeane U. Camp	Postmaster	01/30/1988
Nancy Deloras Courson	Officer-In-Charge	01/08/2003
Nancy D. Courson	Postmaster	05/17/2003
Flora Parker	Officer-In-Charge	07/26/2012

Wayne Putnal and Lawson Fountain at the Ray City, GA Post Office shortly after it opened.

-30-

More on the 1887 Family Feud at Rays Mill, GA

September 24, 2011 at 12:32 am (Biggles/Beagles Family, Law and Order)
Tags: Augustin Harris Hansell, Berrien County GA, Brunswick & Western Railroad, Catherine Wright Biggles, Cauley Johnson, Court House at Ray’s Mill, David Jackson Rigell, Dog Branch, Dr. Guy Selman, E. M. Giddens, Fargo Convict Camp, H. L. Kelly, Henry Harrison Knight, James Johnson, James Thomas Beagles, James Thomas Beigles, James Thomas Biggles, John Jefferson Beagles, Jonathan D. Knight, Joseph A. Alexander, M. E. Patten, M. W. Bargeron, Madison G. Pearson, Margaret Horsby, Mary Elizabeth Biggles, Mary Elizabeth Pearson, Milltown GA, Ray City GA, Robert L. Patten, Union Church, W. H. Griffin, W. M. Hammond

James Thomas Biggles

In the winter of 1887, a family feud at Rays Mill, Georgia turned deadly when J.T. Biggles gunned down Madison Pearson from the porch of Henry Harrison Knight’s store.

At that time Knight’s store was one of the few commercial establishments at Rays Mill and was a community meeting place. The store was situated on present day Pauline Street, approximately opposite from the Ray City School. In front of the store was an area known as the “court ground” and the building served as the court house when there was need. Knight’s store was also occupied by Dr. Guy Selman, one of the first doctors in the area, and after David Ridgell departed in 1905 it was the location of the Ray’s Mill Post Office. Henry Knight’s son-in-law, Cauley Johnson was postmaster. The building was destroyed by fire, probably in the 1940’s.

James Thomas Biggles was born in Georgia in October, 1860, a son of John Jefferson Beagles and Catherine Wright Biggles. (There was obviously some confusion over the spelling of the family name.)

Mary Elizabeth Pearson

J.T. married Mary Elizabeth Pearson on July 26, 1879. The ceremony was performed by Jonathan D. Knight, Notary Public. James Thomas Biggles appeared in the census of 1880 in District 5 of GMD#1144 as Thomas Beagle, farm laborer, age 19, with wife, Elizabeth, age 21. In the cemetery of Union Church (aka Burnt Church), next to the grave of Mary E. Biggles, stands a small headstone with the inscription “Infant of Mr. & Mrs. J.T. Biggles, Born and Died Apr. 15, 1879.”

J.T Biggles had a running feud with his brother-in-law, Madison G. Pearson. At first Biggles tried to work through the court, but he soon took the law into his own hands and murdered Pearson before a crowd of citizens. Biggles became a fugitive for twelve years before returning to stand trial.

The state press reported on the Murder in Berrien:

The Columbus Enquirer-Sun
Nov. 11, 1887 — page 3

Terrible Result of an Old Feud.
Nashville, Ga., Nov. 9. – At Ray’s mill in this county, on Tuesday evening last, a dreadful encounter occurred in which M. G. Pearson was shot and instantly killed by J. T. Beagly, the cause being a family feud. It appears the parties had met to amicably settle the trouble if possible, but soon engaged in some hot words, when Pearson said to Beagly:
“Come out in the sand and we will settle the trouble.”
They started out. Beagly drew his pistol and fired upon him as he went out, and shot him dead the first fire, then took to the swamp and has not yet been captured.

The Valdosta Times provided additional details:

The Valdosta Times
November 12, 1887

MURDER IN BERRIEN

J. T. Beigles Kills Madison G. Pearson at Ray’s Mill – A Family Feud which ends in the murder of a Brother – in- law.

Madison G. Pearson was killed by his brother-in-law, J. T. Beigles, at Ray’s Mill, in Berrien County, last Friday, the 4th, inst. A Family feud was at the bottom of the difficulty.

Beigles had married Pearson’s sister. The mother of the latter lived for sometime with her son, but a family quarrel, it seems, drove her to her daughter’s home. After she took up her abode with the Beigles family, some questions arose about the division of her small property. One report says that she willed all she had to Mrs. Beigles, and thus aroused her son’s indignation, and another rumor says that Beigles killed a beef which belonged to the Pearson estate, and that this was the cause of the trouble between the two men. At any rate there was trouble between them, and the old lady took the side of her son-in-law. Pearson, it seems, made some threats, and Beigles had him arrested under a peace warrant. Friday, the day of the tragedy, was set for a hearing before the Justice of the district, and Beigles and his wife and old Mrs. Pearson appeared at the Court ground at Ray’s Mill as witnesses. The bailiff had Madison Pearson under arrest, and the parties at interest, and about forty interested neighbors, all met at Mr. H. H. Knight’s store. Beigles’ father was among those present, and he approached Pearson about a compromise, but Pearson thought he had been greatly outraged, and freely expressed his indignation. He refused to accept the proposals made by the elder Beigles. A witness to the whole affair at the Court grounds informs us that the elder Beigles’ attitude and manner was not such as indicated any real desire for a fair compromise, and that his actions and his words were the immediate cause of the conflict, if it can be called a conflict. In reviewing the difficulty, the elder Beigles, who was standing between his son and Pearson, made some assertions which the latter vehemently denied or disputed, and the younger Beigles shouted to Pearson that he was a liar. At this Pearson, replied hotly that if Beigles would step with him to the ground from the porch upon which they stood, he would whip him, and as he spoke he sprang off at right angles from Beigles, but he struck the ground a dead man. Beigles fired at him on the spring, and the ball entered the side of the head near the left temple. Pearson doubled up as he lie fell and his head hit the ground first. He never spoke a word, and died in a few moments. Pearson had two brothers on the spot, and one ran to the dying man and the other started upon Beigles, but he met a cocked pistol in his face, and was warned to stand back, or else share the fate of his brother. Beigles kept his face to the awe-stricken crowd, pistol drawn, while his father pushed him backward some thirty feet, then he turned and they both fled. There was not a gun or pistol on the hill that could be found, and the two Beigles escaped. A pursuit was quickly organized, but they had gotten out of sight, and are yet at large. Pearson was not armed.

Pearson’s mother and sister witnessed the murder of their son and brother, so an eye witness informs us, without shedding a tear. After some little time Mrs. Pearson walked up to the dead man laying upon the ground, and stooped down and kissed him. She then rose calmly and walked away without any signs of emotion.

Thus a Justice’s court was sadly and suddenly transformed into an inquest court. The coroner lived forty miles away, and the bailiff, who held Pearson in custody as a prisoner when he was killed, summoned a jury, and the Justice, who was about to convene his court to try Pearson on a peace warrant, instead of proceeding with the trial, swore in an inquest jury to sit upon the dead body.

After swearing numerous eye witnesses the jury found that the killing was done as outlined above, that the same was willful murder; also that the elder Beigles was an accessory to the dead.

We are indebted to a neighbor of the parties, and an eyewitness to the tragedy, for the above statement of the circumstances connected directly and indirectly to the killing. All the parties were sober.

In 1899 the Valdosta reported the follow up on the trial of the Biggles case.

The Valdosta Times
October 17, 1899

BERRIEN SUPERIOR COURT. CONCLUSION OF THE BEAGLES-PEARSON CASE.

Berrien Superior Court after a four days’ session adjourned Thursday afternoon. The session was devoted entirely to criminal business, no civil cases being called. The principal case of importance was the trial of Madison G. Pearson, Nov. 4, 1887, twelve years ago as was stated in Friday’s Times.

Beagles was married to Pearson’s sister, and there had been considerable bad blood between them, culminating when Mrs. Pearson left the home of her son and went to live with her daughter, Beagles’ wife.

Pearson threatened to kill Beagles on several occasions and a few days before his death went to Beagles’ house and cursed his wife and children.

Beagles then swore out a peace warrant for Pearson, and he was arrested under it and carried to the Court House at Ray’s Mill for trial. A large crowd was on the court ground, among them Beagles, and Pearson challenged him for a fight, pulling off his coat and starting out the door as he did so. Beagles was standing on the porch of the house, within a few feet, and as Beagles stepped out fired at him, shooting him through the head, the ball entering just in front of the right ear and coming out behind the left ear, producing instant death.

Beagles skipped the country, and spent several years in Florida, returning just before his arrest. He was admitted to the bail, and staid under bond until two months ago, when his bondsman gave him up, and since that time he has remained in jail.

At his trial he was represented by Col. Joseph A. Alexander of Nashville and W. H. Griffin of Valdosta, while the state was represented by Col. W. M. Hammond of Thomasville and Solicitor General Thomas. The trial lasted a day and a half, and every inch of ground was stubbornly fought. The principal evidence against the dead man was the ante-mortem statement of his own mother, made four years ago, which was exceedingly bitter in denunciation of her son.

Six hours were spent by Cols. Griffin and Hammond in their strong and eloquent arguments of the case, and he jury remained out on it seven hours before returning a verdict of manslaughter with recommendation to mercy. Col. Griffin made a touching appeal to the court for mercy, and Judge Hansell fixed the sentence at two years in the state penitentiary.

In the U.S Census of 1900 James T. Biggles was enumerated on June 23, 1900 as a convict in the Fargo Convict Camp in the Jones Creek District of Clinch County, GA.

In 1910, the Biggles were back together in Rays Mill, GA where they were enumerated with several boarders living in their household.

James Thomas Biggles died May 11, 1911 in Ray City, Berrien County, Georgia. He was buried at Union Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery, Lakeland, GA. On his tombstone his name appears as J.T. Biggles.

Grave Marker of James Thomas Biggles, Union Church Cemetery, Lanier County, GA

Reports on the disposition of his estate were reported in the Nashville Herald:

Nashville Herald
Aug 7, 1911

Administrators Sale

Pursuant to an order of the Court of Ordinary, will be sold before the court house door in Berrien County, all the real estate belonging to J.T. Biggles, deceased, to wit: one lot in the town of Milltown, on Howell Ave., known as the H.L. Kelly lot; also ten acres of lot No. 473 in the 10th district in the southeast corner of said lot; also, 36 acres in the ? district, the last two tracts known as the Margaret Horsby lands; also, 100 acres, bounded on the west by Milltown and Nashville public road, east by Dog Branch, and lands of Jas. Johnson and Banks lands, on the north by lands of Mary E. Biggles, said tract known as land sold by E.M. Giddens to J.T. Biggles; also, lot 6 in block 32, lot 8 in block 73, lot 1 in block 69, lot 6 in block 59, lot 10 in block 48, all in the new survey in Milltown, Ga., also, one-half acre in town of Milltown bounded east by lands of M.E. Patten, south and west by lands of R.L. Patten, north by old Brunswick & Western right-of-way; also lot No. 3 in block No. 29, Roberts survey of Milltown, Ga., Sold as the property of the estate of J.T. Biggles, deceased, to pay debts and for distribution. August 7, 1911

Nashville Herald
Sept 5, 1911

Administrator’s Sale

Georgia, Berrien County. Will be sold before the court house door on the first Tuesday in October the following land: 1/2 acre of land in the town of Milltown bounded east by lands of M.E. Patten, south and west by lands of R.L. Patten, north by old Brunswick & Western right-of-way on which is situated one gin house and one barn, five double Foss gins, one short cotton gin, one conveyor, one double Monger box press, one seed conveyor and all belts and pulleys now used in the gin house. Terms cash. Sept 5, 1911. M.W. Bargeron, W.A. Biggles, Administrators of Estate of J.T. Biggles.

Mary Elizabeth Biggles died May 7, 1923. She was also buried at Union Primitive Baptist Church. Her tombstone reads, ” Mary Elizabeth Biggles, May 7, 1923, Aged 70 Yrs., A loving mother and grandmother.”

Gravemarker of Mary Elizabeth Pearson Biggles, Union Church Cemetery, Lanier County, Georgia

11 Comments

Knight Sisters of Ray City

June 22, 2011 at 12:00 am (Knight Family, Sloan Family, Uncategorized)
Tags: Beaver Dam Cemetery, Berrien County GA, David Jackson Rigell, Dollie Howard Knight, Dr. William David Sloan, Horace Webb, James Randall Johnson, Jimmie Gardener Gullette, Julia Elizabeth Knight, Julia Knight, Laurie Inez Knight, Louis Bullard, Malone Bullard, Ray City GA, Ruby Texas Knight, Walter Howard Knight

Laurie Inez Knight (left) and Ruby Texas Knight (right), of Ray City, GA.

Jimmie Gullette and Walter Howard Knight, subjects of previous posts, had four daughters: Julia Elizabeth Knight, Dollie Howard Knight, Ruby Texas Knight, and Laurie Inez Knight.

Grave of Julia Rigell Sloan, City Cemetery, Lakeland, Lanier County, GA

Julia Elizabeth Knight (1880 – 1955)
Julia Elizabeth Knight was born August 09, 1880 in Georgia. She married twice. Her first husband, David Jackson Rigell, was an early merchant of Ray’s Mill, GA (now Ray City, GA.) They were married on March 19, 1901. Sometime after Mr. Rigell’s death in 1911, she married Dr. William David “Will” Sloan. Julia Elizabeth Knight died September 10, 1955.

Grave of Dollie Howard Knight (1882 – 1956), Beaver Dam Cemetery, Ray City, GA.

Dollie Howard Knight (1882 – 1956)
Dollie Howard Knight was born April 12, 1882. On October 28, 1900 she married “the boy next door,” Louis Malone Bullard , a son of Mary Ann and Green Bullard. The Bullards lived on the east side of the Valdosta Road, in present day Lanier County. Dollie Knight Bullard died March 26, 1956, and was buried at Beaver Dam Cemetery, Ray City, GA.

Grave of Ruby Knight Johnson (1891 – 1977), Beaver Dam Cemetery, Ray City, GA.

Ruby Texas Knight (1891 – 1977)
Ruby Texas Knight entered this world on October 11, 1891. She was married to James Randall Johnson on April 21, 1910 and the couple made their home next door to her father’s place on the Valdosta Road, Ray City, Georgia. Ruby Knight Johnson died June 17, 1977 and was interred at Beaver Dam Cemetery, Ray City, Berrien County, Georgia.

Grave of Laurie Knight Webb (1894 – 1974), Beaver Dam Cemetery, Ray City, GA.

Laurie Inez Knight (1894 – 1974)
Laurie Inez Knight was born April 9, 1894. She married Horace Webb in 1928. They had a home on Charlton Street in Valdosta, GA where her husband worked as a furniture repair man. Laurie Knight Webb died April 1, 1974 and was buried next to her sister, Ruby, at Beaver Dam Cemetery, Ray City, GA

Knight Sisters of Ray City, GA. (L to R) Dollie Howard Knight, Julia Elizabeth Knight, Laurie Inez Knight, and Ruby Texas Knight.

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Dr. Sloan Had Ray City Roots

June 20, 2011 at 12:28 am (Knight Family, Remedies and Medicine, WWI)
Tags: Augusta GA, Charles Conner, Charlie Weaver, David Jackson Rigell, David Rigell, David Sloan, Diadema Sloan, Dr. William David Sloan, Georgia Regents University, James Murray Sloan, Jimmie Gardener Gullette, Julia Knight, Lane Young, Martha Susan Gordon, Merle Elizabeth Langford, Ray's Mill GA, Stanley's Business College, Stockton GA, Walter Howard Knight, Wayfare Primitive Baptist Church

Dr. William David Sloan (image courtesy of http://berriencountyga.com/)

Dr. William David Sloan (1879 – 1935) (image courtesy of http://berriencountyga.com/)

William David Sloan was born March 12, 1879 in the 1144 Georgia Militia District, the “Rays Mill District.” He was one of 11 children born to Martha Susan Gordon and James Murray Sloan.

William David Sloan’s parents came from North Carolina. His father moved the family from North Carolina to Mississippi for a brief stay, then to Echols Co., Ga.; thence to Berrien County, GA in 1871 where he engaged in farming. His father, James M. Sloan, a son of David and Diadema Sloan, was born January 18, 1833 in Duplin County, N.C., and died November 20, 1894.

In 1897, W. D. Sloan went with Lane Young to Thomasville, GA to study at Stanley’s Business College. The census of 1900 shows 21-year-old William back in the Rays Mill District living in the household of his widowed mother . She owned the family farm, free and clear of mortgage, which she worked on her own account, with the assistance of farm laborer Charlie Weaver. William’s mother, Mrs. Martha Susannah Gordon Sloan, died Oct. 25, 1908.

Julia Elizabeth Knight Ridgell, widow of David Rigell, married Dr. William Sloan.

Julia Elizabeth Knight Ridgell (photo circa 1910), widow of David Rigell, married Dr. William Sloan.

In 1907 William received a scholarship from the Governor. The August 28, 1907 issue of the Atlanta Constitution noted that W. D. Sloan, of Milltown, had been appointed by the governor to receive a scholarship at the Medical College of Georgia.

He moved to Augusta, GA where he studied medicine at the University of Georgia’s Medical Department, now known as Georgia Regents University. He graduated from UGA with a medical degree in 1910 and went into general practice, working on his own account. At the time he was boarding in the household of Charles Conner, of Watkins Street, Augusta, GA.

William David Sloan returned to Berrien County, GA and sometime after 1911 married Julia Elizabeth Knight Rigell. She was the widow of David Rigell, an early merchant of Rays Mill, GA. She was born August 9, 1880, a daughter of Walter Knight and Jimmie Gullette.

Dr. William David Sloan and Julia Knight Rigell Sloan. (Image courtesy of http://berriencountyga.com/)

William David Sloan enlisted in the Army Medical Service in 1917, and served during World War I.

Dr. William David Sloan, Army Medical Service, WWI. (image courtesy of http://berriencountyga.com/)

Dr. Sloan later made his home in Stockton, GA but often visited his many family connections in the Ray City area. In September 1925, he happened to be on hand when little Merle Elizabeth Langford suffered a fatal rattlesnake bite. (Ray City Child Dies From Bite Of Rattle Snake, 1925)

Dr. William David Sloan and his automobile. Dr. Sloan was born and raised in the Rays Mill, GA vicinity.

In his later years Dr. Sloan suffered from kidney and heart disease.

The Journal of the American Medical Association, March 2, 1935 issue reported the obituary of William David Sloan.

William David Sloan, Stockton, Ga. ; University of Georgia
Medical Department, Augusta, 1910; served during the World
War ; aged 55 ; died, January 10, in a hospital at Atlanta, of
chronic nephritis and heart disease.

He was buried at Wayfare Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery, in Echols County, Georgia.

Grave of William David Stone (1879-1935, Wayfare Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery, Echols County, GA.

Grave of William David Sloan, M.D. (1879-1935), Wayfare Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery, Echols County, GA.

Julia Rigell Sloan died September 10, 1955. She was buried at the City Cemetery in Lakeland, GA next to the grave of her infant daughter, born February 3, 1907.

Grave of Julia Rigell Sloan, City Cemetery, Lakeland, Lanier County, GA

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Luelle Giddens and the Euclidian Club at G.S.W.C.

March 25, 2011 at 11:20 pm (Georgia State Womans College, Giddens Family, Uncategorized)
Tags: Berrien County GA, David Jackson Rigell, Euclidian Club, Eugene Madison Giddens, Georgia Ida Rigell, Georgia State Womans College, Lanier County Georgia, Mary Luelle Giddens, Ray City GA, Ray's Mill, Robert Harold Ogburn, Valdosta GA

Louelle Giddens, 1933, Georgia State Womans College, Valdosta, GA

Mary Luelle Giddens was born at Ray City, GA on November 22, 1915, one of thirteen children born to Eugene Madison Giddens and Georgia Ida Rigell. The Giddens home was located near Ray City on the Milltown & Ray City road and was cut into Lanier County when it was created in 1920.

Her father, E.M. Giddens, was a farmer in the Rays Mill district for many years. He was also active in the politics of Lanier county, serving as Ordinary in 1923, and as a Lanier County Commissioner in 1927. Her uncle, David Jackson Rigell, was a well known merchant who operated one of the earliest stores at Rays Mill (nka Ray City) and later operated a mercantile in Lakeland, GA.

From 1933 to 1935 Luelle Giddens attended Georgia State Womans College in Valdosta, GA (now known as Valdosta State University.)

She apparently excelled in the study of mathematics at G.S.W.C., for she joined the Euclidean Club, an honors society for math students.

EUCLIDIAN CLUB

For the Greek mathematician Euclid the club was named when it was organized in the spring of 1930. At that time the club consisted of only a small number of students most of whom were underclassmen, there being only two majors in the math department.

The requirements have been raised from a grade of B honors in two courses and Juniors and Seniors constitute a majority of the membership.

The idea of the club is to create more interest in mathematics and encourage scholarship by having qualifications for membership.

The monthly program consists of modern trends in mathematics and current topics.

Louelle Giddens, 1934, Georgia State Womans College, Valdosta, GA

Louelle Giddens, 1935, Georgia State Womans College, Valdosta, GA

After college, Luelle Giddens married Robert Harold Ogburn (1910-1987), of Atlanta.

Harold Ogburn died February 16, 1987. Luelle Giddens Ogburn died January 17, 1999. Both were buried at buried at Arlington Memorial Park, Sandy Springs, Fulton County, Georgia.

Gravemarker, Luelle Giddens Ogburn.

Gravemarker, Robert Harold Ogburn. http://www.findagrave.com

David Jackson Rigell ~ First Postmaster of Ray’s Mill? Maybe Not!

November 7, 2010 at 1:21 am (Governance & Civics, Knight Family, Ray City Georgia, Uncategorized)
Tags: David Jackson Rigell, General Levi J. Knight, Henry Harrison Knight, Knight and Ray's Mill, Knight's Mill GA, Levi J. Knight, Ray's Mill GA

Some local histories say David Rigell was the first postmaster of Ray’s Mill, but even in 1885 he wouldn’t have been old enough for the job. It is more likely that Rigell served as postmaster some time after Postmaster Henry H. Knight, probably in the late 1890s. Rigell’s general merchandise store, the first in the community, was located in a building near Ray’s Mill and reportedly also served as the post office of that time. (This “post office” building has since been moved about ½ mile east of its original location at the mill site and has been remodeled as a house.) Given the facts that there was already an official post office at “Knight’s Mill” (nka Ray’s Mill) by 1867, that General Levi Knight was a part owner of the mill with a long and distinguished career in civil service, and that cessation of the Knight’s Mill post office corresponds with the death of Levi J. Knight in 1870, in all likelihood it was the General himself that first drew the postmaster’s salary in this community.

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David Jackson Rigell ~ Merchant of Ray’s Mill, GA

November 6, 2010 at 1:08 am (Historic Businesses)
Tags: David Jackson Rigell, Julia Elizabeth Knight, Lakeland GA, Milltown GA, Ray City GA, Ray's Mill, W. D. Brown Naval Stores, Walter D. Brown

Berrien County News
December 5, 1898
Mr. D.J. Rigell, a popular and industrious young man of the Milltown district, has engaged in the mercantile business at Ray’s Mill. The News wishes him all the business he anticipates.

David Jackson Rigell – photo detail.

David Jackson Rigell was born March 16, 1872 in Clinch County, Georgia. The 1900 Census shows that David Rigell was living in Ray’s Mill (Militia District 1144) on June 13th of that year. He was the head of household, a single white male, age 28. He could read and write, and gave his occupation as Merchandising. He owned his home. His neighbors were the widow Jemimah Boyd who was farming her own place with her son & daughters, and Elias Harnage & family who were renting a farm. Living in David Rigell’s household was his brother, Bryant Rigell, age 25, who was also occupied in General Merchandise.

Rigell’s general merchandise store, one of the historic businesses of Ray City, was located near the old mill at Ray’s millpond. The 1904 state publication Advantages of Georgia for those desiring homes in a genial climate, lists Rigell’s general store among the businesses at Ray’s Mill. The post office of that era was in the same building, and Rigell may have served as Ray’s Mill postmaster then. This building has since been moved about ½ mile east of its original location to the edge of the town of Ray City, GA and has been remodeled as a house. Also listed in the 1904 directory for Ray’s Mill was W. D. Brown’s Naval Stores.

About 1905, Mr. Rigell moved to Milltown, GA. (Lakeland) where he operated a store until his death.

Rigell Mercantile, Milltown, Georgia. Left to right: Fannie Rigell, Julia Rigell, David Jackson Rigell. Image courtesy of Berrien County Historical Society http://berriencounty.smugmug.com

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Ray City History Blog

An old tintype of Walter Howard Knight

Posting Mail at Ray City

More on the 1887 Family Feud at Rays Mill, GA

Knight Sisters of Ray City

Dr. Sloan Had Ray City Roots

Luelle Giddens and the Euclidian Club at G.S.W.C.

David Jackson Rigell ~ First Postmaster of Ray’s Mill? Maybe Not!

David Jackson Rigell ~ Merchant of Ray’s Mill, GA

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