The Rev. John Corn, Another Son of Elder Rev. Adam Corn

We’ve traced the story of Elder Adam Corn who moved to Union County from North Carolina as early as 1839 and of his second son, the Rev. Alfred E. Corn, both of whom were noted as missionaries to the Indians and were instrumental in planting churches in the new settlements to which they moved. The first son of Adam and Hannah Heatherly Corn was John who was born October 18, 1813 near Cullowhee in what was then Buncombe County, North Carolina, now Jackson County. John was already married when his father Adam and the rest of his siblings relocated to Union County, Georgia. John and his wife and one child under five were listed in the 1840 census of Union, but the census taker mistakenly spelled John’s last name as Carne instead of Corn.

John Corn’s marriage to Mary Wade (known as “Polly”) Carter was recorded in Rabun County, Georgia as occurring on November 10, 1836 with the Rev. Robert Wood, also a Justice of the Peace, performing their marriage ceremony. Polly’s parents were Jesse Carter and Lavina Sams Carter. The Carter line went back to Edward Carter from Oxfordshire, England who settled in Pennsylvaniaabout 1682. Before Jesse and Lavina Carter moved to Rabun County, they had lived in Buncombe County near Cullowhee and their daughter Polly and John Corn knew each other then, and probably fell in love. He went to Rabun County to court and marry her in 1836. Polly was about three years older than John, having been born September 20, 1810 on the farm where her parents then lived at the Atkins Branch of the Big Ivy River near Cullowhee, NC. The young couple made their home at first at Cullowhee, but then when Adam Corn, John’s father, decided to migrate to Union County, Georgia to secure land available for settlement there, John and Polly decided to move, too.

We have seen from previous stories about Adam and Alfred that Rev. Adam Corn baptized his two older sons in the Hiawasee River near Macedonia Baptist Church in 1841. John Corn’s license to preach was issued by Macedonia Church on December 17, 1842. Two years later, on November 16, 1844, John Corn was ordained to the gospel ministry by that same Macedonia Church. Serving on the presbytery and ordaining council to question John were his father, Rev. Adam Corn, and neighboring pastors Rev. James Kimsey and Rev. Singleton Sisk.

A very significant event took place in Augusta, Georgia in May of 1845. Messengers gathered from states having Baptist Conventions and cooperating Baptist churches to discuss and act upon the proposal to form the convention and establish a Board of Domestic Missions, of Foreign Missions, of Education and other benevolent entities. Four friends discussed the importance of the meeting in advance, and they were made messengers from their respective churches in Union County to attend the organizational meeting. They had been given credentials for voting on proposals presented at the Augusta meeting. The men rode in Major Josiah Carter’s carriage drawn by two fine horses. With the routes available then from Blairsville to Augusta, we can imagine they went provisioned to camp out along the way since it would have been a several-days journey. In the group were the Rev. John Corn, the Rev. Elisha Hedden, the Rev. Elijah Kimsey and Major Josiah Carter. Major Carter was a brother-in-law to Rev. John Corn, the brother of John’s wife, Polly Carter Corn. Not only did these four men from Union County vote to form the Southern Baptist Convention, but Major Carter himself pledged there to contribute to foreign missions. Not only would he hold true to his pledge, but three of his granddaughters and one great grandson later became appointed foreign missionaries. The long trip to Augusta for these three ministers and one layman had far-reaching effects.

Rev. John and Mary Carter Corn lived in the Upper Hightower section of Towns County, a portion taken in when Towns was formed from Union in 1856. There they had a farm and reared their family: Lucinda Caroline who married Lafayette McKinney and Rev. Will Eller; Hannah Lavina who married Marion Stonecypher; John Heatherly who married Sarah Elizabeth Dillard; Mary Adeline (an invalid) who never married; and Nancy Elizabeth who married Ransom Smith.

Rev. John Corn was pastor of the Upper Hightower Baptist Church in his community for many years. It was said that, because that church was in his home district, he would never accept money for his services. Other churches he pastored were Old Union and Bell Creek in Towns County, and at Franklin and Valley River in North Carolina. He was listed as the first moderator of the Hiawassee Baptist Association when it was organized in 1849.

But farming and preaching were not the only two interests of the Rev. John Corn. When the Civil War was looming and the secession of Georgia from the Union seemed eminent, Rev. John Corn and Rev. Elijah Kimsey were elected representatives from Towns County to attend the secession convention held at the state capitol, then located at Milledgeville, Georgia, a four-hundred miles round trip by horseback from Hiawassee. Each of these representatives voted against Georgia’s seceding from the Union.

Rev. John Corn was a slave owner. He bought two young slave girls from his brother-in-law Major Josiah Carter. Harriet, a slave girl, age 7 was purchased for $750 in 1861, and Susan, age 14, for $1,600 in 1863. He purchased a 17 year old slave lad at a slave auction in South Carolina for $850 in 1862.

When he was 48, Rev. John Corn was drafted into the Confederate Army and served, according to his pension record, as Captain of Company D, 24th Regiment of the Georgia Volunteers. His service lasted from June 21, 1861 through May 22, 1862. When the elder Rev. John Corn resigned his commission, his son John Heatherly Corn enlisted in the Georgia Cavalry, Company A of the Sixth Regiment and served until the end of the war.

In 1874, Rev. Corn was elected as Towns County’s representative to the Georgia Legislature. By then, the state capitol had been relocated from Milledgeville to Atlanta. While inroute to his legislative duties, he became ill and had to return home. He died from complications with pneumonia at his home at Upper Hightower on January 2, 1875. He was interred in the Corn family cemetery at Upper Hightower near his home. Mary Polly Corn died January 14, 1879 and was also laid to rest in the family cemetery.

A special election was held through orders of Georgia Governor James Smith, and Samuel Y. Jameson, the great-uncle of Dr. S. Y. Jameson, President of Mercer University, Macon, was elected as Rev. John Corn’s successor to represent Towns County in the Georgia Legislature. Just as John Corn’s son, John Heatherly Corn, followed his father’s example and served in the Civil War, so he entered politics, becoming Towns County legislator for the 1884-1885 term. John Heatherly Corn also served as postmaster of the Visage post office in Towns County from 1875 through 1913, the entire life of that post office. The Corn families contributed much to early development of both Union and Towns Counties.

c2012 by Ethelene Dyer Jones. Published March 29, 2012 online with permission of the author at the GaGenWebProject. All rights reserved.

Tracing the Souther Genertions ~ Those Who Remained Behind in North Carolina: Jesse Souther’s Will and His Children

I ended last week’s article by promising a look at the will of Jesse Souther (1784-1858), whose children Joseph, John Jesse, Kizziah Souther Humphries, Jesse and Hix moved to Union County, Georgia in the mid-1830’s. What about their father and other children who remained in North Carolina? His will reads:

Fall Term 1858
State of North Carolina

This the twenty-second day of December, One Thousand Eight Hundred and Fifty-Seven

McDowell County

I, Jesse Souther, of the county and state aforesaid, Being of sound mind and Memory, Thanks to God for His mercy, do make and ordain this my last Will and Testament in manner and form as follows:

First of all, I will my soul to God who first gave it to me. Then I will that my just debts be punctually paid with all burial expenses first.

Then I will to my son James Souther to have all the notes I hold against him together with all the notes and judgements where I am security for him.

I do will to my three daughters to wit: Nancy and Lucinda and Rosa J. Hogan all my perishable property, only Rosa J. Hogan to pay Nancy and Lucinda thirty dollars out of her part of the property.

Further, I will that Lydia Jane Justice have one cow and calf, one bed and furniture. I further will that Hix Souther’s three children, to wit: Catherine Saphronia, Jesse William, and John Jefferson have thirty dollars each when they arrive at the age of twenty-one, to be paid out of my perishable property.

I also will to Jesse Souther and Nancy and Noah and Lucinda Souther and Rosa J. Hogan all my lands to be equally divided between the five above-named.

Further, that my daughter Mary Elliott is to have one hundred dollars out of my estate.

Also, my daughter Kizziah Humphrey to have thirty dollars to be paid out of my estate.

All the above property to be paid over to my Executor and also applied my two sons Jesse Souther and Noah Souther Executors to this my last will and testament.

I set my hand and seal in the presence of:
Jesse (X) Souther, Seal
Testators:
John Ross, Juratt
John P. Fortune, Juratt Court of pleas, Quarter Session, Fall Term, 1858.

The foregoing Will and Testament was presented
To open court for probation in due execution.
These were proven in solemn form by the oath of
John P. Fortune and John Ross, Executors.

Subscribing openly these and ordered to be recorded and registered together with the certificate. J. M. Finley, Clerk

Some observations about the will of Jesse Souther will be made while listing his known fourteen children:

1. Joseph Souther (1802-died in Stone County, Missouri, married Sarah Davis.
2. John Jesse Souther (1803-1889) married Mary Combs. He died in Union County, Georgia. He is not mentioned in his father’s will; could he have given John his inheritance before he moved to
Georgia?
3. Mary Souther (1805-?) married an Elliott; she was mentioned in her father’s wil to receive $100. Had he given her property already at the time of her marriage? Or perhaps at that time that amount of money was equal to several acres of land.
4. Elizabeth Souther (1805), is believed to have died young; she is not listed in her father’s will.
5. James Souther (1809-?) married a Logan. According to the will, James owed his father money, and therefore his inheritance was the money he had not repaid. Two of James’s sons, James Logan and John “Rink” Souther moved to Union County, Georgia, married there, then moved to St. Charles Mesa, Pueblo, Colorado.
6. Kizziah Souther (1811-?) married John Humphries. They moved to Union County, Georgia between 1840 and 1850. They had thirteen children and lived awhile in Blount County, TN. Kizziah died in Cherokee County, NC. See their story in a separate “Through Mountain Mists” article.
7. Jesse Souther (1830-1869) moved to Union County, Georgia and established the Souther Mill in Choestoe. He married Malinda Nix (1829-1894), daughter of William Nix and Susannah Stonecypher Nix. They had eight children. Their stories are traced in previous “Through Mountain Mists” articles. Note that Jesse Souther (the elder) appointed son Jesse and son Noah to be Executors of his will. His second son (my great, great grandfather) was named John Jesse. It was not unusual in those days for two children to have one of the names of their father or their mother.
8. Hix Souther (1815-1840?) married Caroline Burgess. They, too, settled in Union County, Georgia. Hix died, leaving a wife and three children. Notice that Jesse Souther was thinking of his three minor grandchildren, Hix’s children, and gave them $30 each. Later, Caroline married Roland (or Rollin) Wimpey. Their story is in a previous “Through Mountain Mists” article.

Children

9. Martha Souther (1817-?),
10. Nancy Souther (1818-?) and
11. Sarah Souther (1820) never married and continued to live in the old Souther homeplace in North Carolina. Nancy was the only one of these three mentioned in Jesse’s will. Martha and Sarah had perhaps died before 1858, the date of the will.
12. Noah Souther (1821-1883) married Sarah Gilliam, a daughter of Maynard Gilliam. In the will, he was to receive land, which was to be equally divided between Noah, Jesse, Nancy, Lucinda and Rosa J. Souther Hogan. He also was named one of the executors.
13. Lucinda Souther (1824-1875) never married. She, too, continued to live in McDowell County. She received equal parts of Jesse’s lands with sisters Nancy and Rosa and brothers Jesse and Noah.
14. Rose Jane Souther (1828-?) married William C. Hogan. I have no record of her family. She received a five-way division of Jesse’s land with two sisters and two brothers.

Who was Lydia Jane Justice mentioned in the will as receiving a cow and calf, a bed and furniture? Was she a married granddaughter, or was she someone who lived with and took care of Jesse Souther after his wife Jane Combs died? Were the heirs of Jesse Souther pleased with his distribution of property or were some offended and complained? Family records available do not show this aspect of his descendants’ reactions.

[Resource: Dyer, Watson Benjamin. Souther Family History. Self-published. 1988. Pp. 52-53.]

cFebruary 9, 2012 by Ethelene Dyer Jones; published online by permission of author at GaGenWebProject All rights reserved.

A Heritage of Patriotism

Our nation’s birthday is July 4. This year, 2010, marks the 234th year since our forefathers signed the Declaration of Independence and continued the struggle to gain freedom from England. Since that time more than two centuries ago, our nation has seen multiple threats to the freedoms we hold dear. We have a heritage of patriotism. We are wrapped in colors of red, white and blue, but the symbolism and the price of these colors is almost beyond imagination. We hear it over and over: “Freedom is never free.”

As we see “Old Glory” wave on the 4th of July and raise our voices in strains of “The Star Spangled Banner,” may the colors of red, white and blue bring to remembrance the sacrifices of many for the cost of freedom. Long ago a wise man named Thomas Campbell wrote: “The Patriots’ blood is the seed of Freedom’s tree.”

Several of those who had relatives that later came to Union County to settle engaged the enemy at the Battle of King’s Mountain during the Revolutionary War. This decisive fray occurred on October 7, 1780. The battle was a definite turning point for the American Continental Army. After defeats to the British and Tories (Americans loyal to the British Crown) at the fall of Charleston, the Battle of Waxhaws, and Camden, all occurring in South Carolina in the summer of 1780, the Overmountain Men entered the picture. Mountain militia men made up of settlers west of the mountains in Virginia, Tennessee and North Carolina rallied a group that marched “over the mountains” (hence the name “Overmountain Men”) to Major Patrick Ferguson’s stronghold at King’s Mountain. Ferguson, a Tory leader, directed by British General Charles, Earl of Cornwallis, had made the threat that they would “lay waste the countryside (of the frontier settlers) with fire and sword.”

The Overmountain Men would not give in to such a threat from Ferguson and Cornwallis. Instead of that prediction coming true, the wiry mountain men made plans to thwart the enemy. The patriots made a U-shaped entrenchment around the mountain where the Tory and British forces were ensconced. About 3 p. m. on October 7, 1780, William Campbell told his mountain men to attack. Other flanks were led by John Sevier, Isaac Shelby, Benjamin Cleveland and other notable patriots under whom our ancestors served nobly.

At the end of the Battle of King’s Mountain, 28 of the Patriots had been killed and 62 wounded. The battle’s toll on the Tory and British side numbered 157 killed, 163 severely wounded and left on the field to die, and 698 captured. The King’s Mountain Battle was a prelude to the final victory at Yorktown a year later on October 17, 1781.

Revolutionary War soldier, John Nicholson, whose grave is in the Pleasant Grove Baptist Church Cemetery in Union County, fought at one of the battles before King’s Mountain. He was at the Battle of Camden where General Gates of the British Army was defeated. His second major battle was at Guilford Court House. Later he was with Colonel Sevier, and may have been at King’s Mountain, although his record does not so indicate.

Revolutionary War soldier Michael Tanner, whose grave is in the Old Choestoe Cemetery, Union County, had the signal honor of being at Yorktown when General George Washington engineered the surrender of British General Cornwallis. To have stood among the American allied forces there, composed of 8,000 Continental Army troops, 3,000 militiamen (of which Michael Tanner was one) and augmented by the 15,000 French sailors who blocked Cornwallis’s escape in the harbor, victory after long years of struggle became a reality.

Another ancestor to many of us, John Henry Stonecypher, Jr., whose grave is at the Stonecypher Family Cemetery, Eastanollee, Georgia, was a soldier at the famous battle of King’s Mountain. He also fought at the Battle of Okimish at Beattie’s Ford on the Catawba River, at the Battle of Camden under General Gates, and at Guilford Court House. His three years of Revolutionary War service were fraught with dangers, near-death, and bravery that we can hardly imagine.

We could multiply stories such as these for any war for freedom in which America has engaged since that day of declaring America’s independence in 1776. Today our battles are more subtle and insidious. Just yesterday I read a speech of a Dutch patriot who warned present-day Americans and Europeans of the creeping “take-over” by powerful forces that work in underhanded ways to malign freedom. Edward R. Murrow, that famed American newscaster of the twentieth century stated, “We cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home.”

The adage often attributed to George Washington, but stated also, in slightly different words by Thomas Paine, John Philpot Curran, Plato and others holds very true: “Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom.”

In this season of our nation’s birthday, I plan to think deeply and gratefully about the freedoms I enjoy as an American. I will not take freedom for granted. My brother, Eugene Dyer, did not take it for granted when he served as a gunner over Europe during World War II and earned the purple heart and other distinguished service awards.

We are often more prone to criticize America than to stand firm for its principles of freedom and harmony. Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche made a notable observation when he stated “Freedom is the will to be responsible to ourselves.”

When we salute our flag may we know that the red represents the blood, war, love, power, intensity, energy, passion and strength it has taken to make and keep America free. The blue represents peace, stability, harmony, unity, trust, truth, order, loyalty and security of a strong nation. The white stands for reverence, purity, humility and innocence America had at the birth of our nation 234 years ago. May we recognize, too, that it will take far more than the idea to keep winning and maintaining freedom. Freedom must become a way of life for all of us, responsible, wise and in-depth freedom not couched in selfishness but in harmony and giving, in vigilance and gratitude.

c 2010 by Ethelene Dyer Jones; published July 1, 2010 in The Union Sentinel, Blairsville, GA. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Reunion Reflections and Revolutionary Remembrances

Pardon my very personal and proud approach to reporting on our annual Dyer-Souther Heritage Association Reunion held Saturday, July 18, 2009 at Choestoe Baptist Church Family Life Center. We gathered some 213 strong (according to registration count) for a day of reflecting upon the past, greeting people both new to us and regular attendees, and hearing the accounts of some of our ancestors who fought to gain freedom from Great Britain during the American Revolution.

I thank all who worked hard to set up for the day and plan and implement the program. These events do not just happen. The trustees and officers of the association are Bill Collins, president, Reid Dyer, vice-president, Janice Lance, secretary, Marie Knight, treasurer of the Old Liberty Cemetery Fund, assisted by Lee Knight, Ethelene Jones, historian and newsletter editor, Keith Jones, Trustee, and Joe Dyer, Trustee emeritus. This group carries on the work of the association between reunions, plans for and advertises the reunion, and, with the help of others, sets up the meeting place for the anticipated crowd of attendees. Bill Collins concluded his long term as president at the end of this reunion. Reid Dyer became the new president and Bill will remain on the Board as a Trustee.

Andrew Turnage announced plans to further promote the work of inventor Micajah Clark Dyer (1822-1891) who received a patent (# 154,654) in 1874 for his "Apparatus for Navigating the Air." A foundation has been set up to receive funds for upgrading his gravestone in the Old Choestoe Cemetery. Plans are also under way to get his invention listed in the Aviation Hall of Fame and to build a working model of his invention according to specifications and drawings he set forth in his application for the patent. For more information, interested persons may go to this website www.MicajahClarkDyer.org or e-mail for information at MicajahClarkDyer@gmail. com.

A drawing for the proposed grave marker for Bluford Elisha Dyer, Jr. (ca 1785-1847) was presented by Keith Jones, Trustee. The approximate location of the grave, unmarked, has been found on property where Dyer settled when he and his wife, Elizabeth Clark Dyer, moved to the Choestoe Valley along Cane Creek in the early 1830's, becoming the first Dyer settlers in the area. Another historical preservation project is to locate the old Souther Family Cemetery near New Liberty Baptist Church where John and Mary Combs Souther buried some of their children who died prior to the establishment and development of the church and cemetery on land John Souther gave for that purpose. The Heritage Association aims to locate, if possible, this burial site and mark it.

Still another project is to mark in a more appropriate manner the family burial site of the Rev. John M. Dyer, and the gravesites of his wife, Elizabeth Sullivan Dyer and their daughter, Martha Dyer. This year's reunion saw first-time attendees from many places with ties to the Dyer-Souther and collateral families of Choestoe. From Louisiana came Ida Nix Reed and her husband Charles and daughters, Ashleigh Smith of Mississippi and Leslie Doucette of Atlanta, and granddaughter Caroline Smith. From Louisiana came Royce and Velma Dyer, descendants of Jefferson Beauregard and Rhoda Souther Dyer. From Athens, Georgia came Eva Leach Banks who descends from Samantha Dyer Alexander, and others of Eva's kin. From Warrenton, VA came Margaret Harkins Patterson, a great, great, granddaughter of Micajah Clark Dyer. From Cleveland, TN came Ed (and Dortha) Townsend. Ed descends from Sarah Elizabeth (Sally) Dyer and Eli Townsend. Ed has written a valuable family history book entitled Some Townsends of North Georgia. From Brasstown, NC came Tipper Pressley, author and presenter of “Blind Pig and the Acorn,” an on-line newsletter with the purpose of documenting and publishing information about mountain people and ways that are fast vanishing with our modern-day development. These are but a few of the "first time" attendees whom we welcomed warmly. Space precludes my listing them all here, but they, too, are important. Their names will be in the next Chronicle newsletter of the Association. We hope they will return, year after year, as do the scores of "regular" attendees, all of whom, by their presence and support, assist the Trustees to have a wonderful reunion that focuses on family solidarity and honoring the contributions of our ancestors to the American way of life.

The program for the 2009 Reunion was about our ancestors who were soldiers and patriots in the American Revolution. Brief biographical sketches were given about two James Collins soldiers who may be tied to Thompson Collins, first Collins settler in Choestoe Valley. We heard about Elisha and Amey Laws Dyer, assisting with material aid to the Revolution, as did William and Daniel England with their iron forge on Hunting Creek in North Carolina. John Ingraham, Stephen and William Souther, Michael Tanner, John Henry Stonecypher, William Jones, the two named John Nix, and the four sons of Repentance Townsend, all soldiers in the "Overmountain Men," were all briefly eulogized in the program to honor our Revolutionary War patriots. Each deserves his own story, and many have already been written about in this column in years past. Look online to see their biographies. Others will be featured in future columns.

A solemn part of the reunion program is the "In Memoriam" time. This year, we honored the memory of twenty-three of our kin who had passed away since the last reunion. We especially missed the physical presence of our beloved Dora Hunter Allison Spiva who passed away February 24, 2009, and who loved attending the reunions and contributing her sparkling wit and personality to all who came.

We honored our youngest present, little Kaitlyn Girardot from Hoschton, GA, daughter of Kari Bardenwerper Girardot, granddaughter of Judy Dyer Bardenwerper, and great granddaughter of Wilonell Collins Dyer. Our eldest one present for the second year in a row was Mrs. Irene Coker Brown, widow of Emory Brown, who at the wonderful age of 100 enjoyed the reunion and the people. The one who traveled farthest was a brand-new attendee, Simon Napoli from Australia, who was the guest of Dr. Eva Nell Mull Wike and Jim Wike of Oak Ridge, TN. Eva Nell taught Simon's mother in the 1980's as an exchange student, and now the student's son is here visiting the Wikes. He was "awed" by our reunion, and said he had never attended anything like it before in Australia. And from beautiful Hawaii, second in the "farthest distance" traveled were Linda Nahser Beadle and her husband Wes. Linda's mother is Kathleen Dyer Nahser, her grandparents were Franklin Hedden and Dora Nix Dyer, and her great grandparents were Bluford Elisha (III) and Sarah Evaline Souther Dyer. Thanks, Wes and Linda, for traveling so far, and for making sure Linda's mother gets to attend the reunion.

As I reflect back upon the Reunion of 2009, my very subjective evaluation is "wonderful, marvelous!" If you missed it this year, perhaps you will consider setting aside the third Saturday in July, 2010 to be a part of our gathering. You will find a warm welcome, good food, an enlightening program, and southern hospitality at its height. And you will learn something, too. This year, I took displays of several genealogy and other books and found people with notebook and pen in hand gleaning information on their family lines from the materials. Overall, it was a beautiful, exciting and rewarding day!

c 2009 by Ethelene Dyer Jones; published July 23, 2009 in The Union Sentinel, Blairsville, GA. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

John Henry Stonecypher, Jr. - Revolutionary War Soldier

John Henry Stonecypher, Jr., Revolutionary War soldier, did not ever live in Union County, Georgia. In fact, after the war, he settled on a large grant of land in what became Franklin and later Stephens counties. But his descendants people the mountain areas across North Georgia, including Union. We turn our focus on this mover and shaker of colonial America.

John Henry Stonecypher, Jr. was born in Culpepper County, Virginia in 1756, the son of German immigrant Johann Heinricus Steinseiffer who came to America in 1753, and the grandson of Johannes Steinseiffer who immigrated to America in 1749. John Henry, Jr. lived in Virginia until his family moved to Wilkes County, North Carolina in 1763.

John Henry Stonecypher, Jr. enlisted in the United States Army in June, 1776 as a private in the North Carolina Militia under Colonel Cleveland and Captain Shepherd. He entered the service at the Wilkes County Court House and was made a guard over some prisoners-of-war at Salisbury under Captain Gordon Shepherd. This was a three months tour of duty.

He returned to Wilkes County Court House and was reassigned to a battalion at the Crew River where they sought to stop the Tories led by a Captain Roberts. At King's Creek they also warded off Tories. That ended his second three-month's enlistment.

He rejoined the service in June, 1780 at Wilkes County Court House under the leadership of Captain Rutledge in the regiment commanded by Colonels Loches and Isaacs. Commander in Chief was General Gates. He also served under General Rutherford. That term of service was three months. His fourth term of duty in the North Carolina Militia began at Salisbury. The regiment was marched to Charlotte Court House and then to Camden, South Carolina where he again fought under the command of General Gates. Life was not easy. His militia was defeated. Stonecypher escaped and returned home to Wilkes County. After a few days of rest, he went again to Wilkes County Court House and signed for the North Carolina Militia under Colonel Cleveland with whom he continued in service and fought in the famous Battle of King's Mountain in October, 1780.

He was then placed under the command of General Davidson and engaged in the Battle of Okimish at Beatty's Ford on the Catawba River. There they were trying to prevent the British under General Cornwallis from crossing the river. General Davidson was killed in the battle. The militia was defeated and retreated to the Widow Torrance's house. There they were attacked the next morning in her Lane and again defeated. He went home for a brief furlough.

Stonecypher returned to Wilkes Court House, again joining with Colonel Cleveland. He remained with Cleveland until the latter was assigned to the Lejis Catuce. Stonecypher was then placed under the command of Colonel Hearne with whom he continued to serve until the Battle of Guilford Court House in March, 1781. At Guilford he was placed among the riflemen under Colonel Campbell. He was wounded in that battle. He returned home for his wound to heal.

In October 1781 he reentered service under the command of Captain Keys, Colonel Hearne and General U. Lowell. They marched to Pleasant Gardens on the Catawba River. From thence they engaged against the Indians who were siding with the British in Cherokee territory. The militia engaged in burning Indian villages at Wautauga, Cowee and Sugar Creek. He served until December, 1781. He was honorably discharged at Wilkes County Court House by Colonel Cleveland. Altogether, John Henry Stonecypher served three years as a private soldier in the Revolutionary War.

He married in Wilkes County, NC to Nancy Ann Curtis, daughter of Joshua Curtis, a lieutenant in the Revolutionary Army. Stonecypher was granted 20,000 acres of land in Rabun and Franklin Counties in Georgia in payment for his service in the Revolutionary War. He and Nancy moved first to Hart County, Georgia in 1784. In 1786 they moved again to what was then Franklin County, Georgia (now Stephens) and located on Eastanollee Creek where he built a dam and a water-operated grist mill. In 1790 he built a stately two-story house, hiring the services of an architect to plan and erect the dwelling.

After moving to Georgia, he continued to fight the Indians, serving as Captain of the militia.

He and Nancy had nine children:

Benjamin, b. 1787, Franklin County, GA, married Elizabeth Collins.
Susannah, b. 1790, Franklin County, GA, married William Nix.
James Thomas, b. 1793, Franklin County, GA, married Martha Ruth Camp.
Fannie, b. 1797, Franklin County, GA, married a Cannon.
Mary, b. 1799. Never married.
Nancy, b. Nov. 11, 1800, d. March, 1854. Never married.
Lucy, b. ca 1801, married Anderson Moseley.
Amy, b. 1803. Married Cooper B. Fuller.
Phoebe, b. April 16, 1807, d. May 10, 1865, married Daniel Moseley who operated the old Stonecypher Mill.

John Henry Stonecypher, Jr. died at age 96 on December 15, 1850 from injuries sustained in a fall from his mill house steps. Nancy Curtis Stonecypher, who was born about 1760, died July 12, 1852 (?). Both are buried in the Stonecypher Family Cemetery near the house he built at Eastanollee near Toccoa, GA. Those interested can see both the cemetery and house. GPS location 34 32 03 N - 83 17 08 W should guide you there.

On July 16, 1994, descendants and admirers gathered for a service of dedication at the cemetery. An historical marker was placed and a patriotic program was conducted recounting Stonecypher's service in the Revolutionary War. Descendant and SAR member John Paul Souther (late) of Gainesville led the effort to erect the fence, place the memorial, and plan and implement the impressive program.

c 2009 by Ethelene Dyer Jones; published July 9, 2009 in The Union Sentinel, Blairsville, GA. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Charles Collins, lover of country

On the 4th of July we all summon our highest degree of patriotism. We listen to speeches calling forth our best American spirit. We find ourselves following the beat of the drum and the blare of the trumpet from patriotic parades. We revel in the red, white and blue of our flag, symbol of freedom. And so we should. All are part of our proud heritage as citizens of the "land of the free and the home of the brave." A late citizen of Union County, Charles Roscoe Collins, was an often-invited speaker at patriotic occasions. And, as we who loved and remember him know, he always "rose to the occasion" with his wit and wisdom, his quotation of appropriate memorized poetry, his sincerity and oratory.

I kept thinking about this influential man who was born in Union County over a century ago. He never served in any branch of our armed forces, but his patriotism was unparalleled. His name was Charles Roscoe Collins, born September 20, 1907. He died January 29, 2000 at age 92. I count it a great privilege that I knew him and had the opportunity to be taught by him, not in formal classroom settings, but as we traveled to places my husband and I took him and visited on many occasions.

Someone has written about the dash- the period between birth and death- and how meaningful that is in a life well lived. "Ros," or C. R., as he was lovingly known, filled that dash with fruitful living. He was a patriot par-excellence and educator-extraordinary. At this 4th of July, 2008, let us recall and honor him as a giant among us.

One of the characteristics of a genuine patriot is the respect and love a person bears for his ancestral roots. Charles Roscoe Collins did much research on his family lines "on both sides" of his early-settlers families.

C. R.'s father was James Johnson Collins (1868-1967). Ros's paternal grandparents were Ivan Kinsey Collins (1835-1901) and Martha Jane Hunter Collins (1840-1920). His Collins great grandparents were first Collins settlers Thompson Collins (ca. 1785-ca. 1858) and Celia Self Collins (ca. 1787-1880). He could link these ancestors up to their kin on the "Hunter" and "Self" sides. Celia Self Collins's father was Francis Self. Martha Jane Hunter Collins was a daughter of William Jonathan Hunter (1813-1893) and Margaret Elizabeth (called "Peggy") England Hunter (1819-1894). And that marriage joined another early-settler family. Peggy England was a daughter of William Richard England and Martha "Patsy" Montgomery England, and her grandparents were Daniel England and Margaret Gwinn/Gwynn England. Daniel England and his father were patriots of the American Revolution in that their iron forge in North Carolina produced metal for arms in America's War for Independence. These links to a patriotic past did not escape C. R. Collins's notice and appreciation. His stories of the brave exploits of his ancestors, and their opening up new areas for settlement, were dear to him.

C. R.'s mother was Margaret Ann Nix Collins (1871-1927) who had the nickname "Babe." She was a daughter of Thomas J. Nix (1848-1902) and Martha Jane "Sis" Ballew Nix (1852- 1951). Margaret Ann and James Johnson Collins were married at Choestoe, Union County, Georgia on March 6, 1890 by W. C. Hughes, Justice of the Peace. Margaret's grandparents were James "Jimmy" Nix (1812- 1882) and Elizabeth "Betsy" Collins Nix (1814-1859). Have you guessed yet? Elizabeth's parents were Thompson Collins and Celia Self Collins. Margaret Nix Collins and her husband, James Johnson Collins, had the same grandparents, early settlers Thompson and Celia Collins. And on Margaret's Nix side of the family, her father James's parents were William Nix (1788-1874) and Susannah Stonecypher Nix (1788-1870?). Susannah's parents were John Henry Stonecypher (1756- 1850), soldier in the American Revolution, and Nancy Ann Curtis (ca. 1760-1849), whose father was a Revolutionary patriot (not a soldier).

With a knowledge of his ancestry, Charles Roscoe Collins had a life-long interest in history, and contributed much to preserving it. He was a founder of the Union County Historical Society and served as its president. He and Jan H. Devereaux compiled the first Sketches of Union County History and published it in 1976. C. R. wrote in the preface of that book: "Our heritage is a good heritage, and we have much of which to be proud - not ourselves so much as those who went before, those who settled this land with little more than the strength of their bodies, minds and souls." He continued to contribute to that heritage until his death, speaking at organizations, schools and churches, using his keen mind and willingly sharing knowledge of "how life was" when his ancestors settled in the wilderness prior to Indian removal and carved out homes and a county for posterity. He added to that heritage by his own outstanding contributions in education, leadership and preservation efforts.

This is the first in a continuing series. Stay tuned. Next week, we will continue with the life and work of Charles Roscoe Collins. In the meantime, enjoy a safe and meaningful 4th of July. Remember an axiom that carries much weight: "Freedom is not free."

c 2008 by Ethelene Dyer Jones; published July 3, 2008 in The Union Sentinel, Blairsville, GA. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Nix connections (part 4 Aunt Jane Nix Wilson Hood)

Sophronia Jane Nix Wilson

This 1905 picture shows Sophronia Jane Nix Wilson with seven of ther children and Granny Evaline Duckworth Nix.

First row: Tom (1902), Estelle (1904) in jane's lap, benjamin (1894), Granny Nix, James Isaac "Jim" (1896)

Second row: Verdie (1887), friend of family (Callie Clark?), Hattie (1889) and Gertrude (1892)

The determination and bravery of some women could be the subject of a book of virtues. The life of Jane Nix Wilson Hood would fall into this category.

Sophronia Jane Nix was born October 20, 1867 in Union County, Georgia to James "Jimmy" Nix and his second wife, Carolina Elizabeth Duckworth Nix. From past articles in this series, you will remember that Jimmy Nix was a son of William and Susannah Stonecypher Nix. Jimmy married first Elizabeth "Betsy" Collins. They had fifteen children. Betsy died in November of 1859. When the Civil War was raging, Jimmy married Carolina Elizabeth Duckworth, who became a loving stepmother to his children. Jimmy enlisted on December 14, 1863 in Company 2 of the Georgia State Militia. To Carolina and Jimmy, four children were born: Mary Eveline, Nancy, Buddy and Sophronia Jane. She would be the youngest to live of Jimmy's twenty children. Her mother died before 1870 when Sophronia Jane was a little over two years old. Jimmy Nix, Jane's father, married the third time to her aunt, her mother's younger sister, Rebecca Evaline Duckworth, in 1872. Jimmy and Evaline's one child was stillborn.

Now we come to the story of Sophronia Jane Nix, and how she came to incorporate the attributes of a sturdy, determined mountain woman.

The Nix homestead, on which James Nix had settled on the 160 acres of land he had secured in the land lottery when Union County was new, was in the area of Choestoe where the present-day Richard Russell Scenic Highway intersects with Fisher Field Road. Here the Nix children grew up, going to the local one-room school at Hood's Chapel for their education. Being the youngest of nineteen children, Jane would have had as much fellowship growing up with her nieces and nephews, being about their same age, as with her own siblings. That's how life was back in the mountains of that era.

At age 18, three months before she reached her 19th birthday, Sophronia Jane married Isaac Thornton Wilson on July 27, 1886. Isaac and Jane had the following children: Verdie (1887), Hattie (1889), Gertrude (1892), Benjamin (1894), James Isaac (1896), Thomas (1902), Estelle (1904) and Garnie (1898). Garnie died in 1900 at age two. Seven of their children grew to adulthood.

Times were hard and work scarce. Isaac Thornton Wilson sought employment in the Copper Mines of Copperhill and Ducktown, Tennessee. He found a place to board there, and would return to his wife and children on weekends. He was a miner, going deep within the rich veins bearing copper and other ores around Isabella, Ducktown and Copperhill. But as was common, Isaac developed a serious lung condition from his work in the mines. He died of what was commonly called consumption on June 3, 1905. His birthdate was February 22, 1858. He was interred in what is now called the "Upper" Cemetery of Union Baptist Church.

While Isaac Wilson was away working in the mines, his wife, Sophronia Jane, managed their farm. She continued this work after the death of her husband. She added acreage by buying land from some of her brothers who decided to go west.

She had learned much about farming from her father, Jimmy Nix. She had apple trees and the bottom lands along the river yielded good crops. The family survived and managed due to Jane's industriousness. Not only was she a good farmer, she was skilled in the mountain household crafts of spinning, weaving, making quilts and "making do" with whatever was available. She worked with a will.

A family portrait which has survived shows Jane Nix Wilson, seated, with her eight children about her, and "Granny" Rebecca Evaline Duckworth Nix (Jane's aunt and her step-mother), in her bonnet seated on the front with Jane. On her lap Jane holds little Garnie, her last baby, who died very young. Having Granny Nix in her household was a big help to Jane as she adjusted to widowhood and had Granny's help in rearing her children.

Union Baptist Church was constituted on "the fourth Saturday in October, 1897" as stated in the church's constitution. Why Jane Sophronia Nix Wilson was not listed as a charter member is not known, for she gave the land on which the church building was erected. Granny Rebecca Evaline Duckworth Nix was one of the founding members. In the community and in the church, Evaline and Jane were stalwart leaders. The women hosted "quilting bees" in their home, and the ladies of the community would "quilt out" a new quilt for a needy family or a new bride in one day of work, sharing a country mid-day meal, and catching up on news. Though work, the quilting bees were also a common form of entertainment and relief from harder work.

Jane Nix Wilson was determined that her children have the best education she could possibly provide for them. In the wintertime, she would actually move the family to Young Harris, rent a place for them to live there, and put the children in school at the academy or in the college. At crop-planting time, the family moved back to their farm near Union Church in Choestoe and began the work required for the year's crops.

Jane's determination yielded from her children a dedicated homemaker, a nurse, a farmer who moved to Colorado to purchase land and become successful, a mechanic and three teachers. One of her daughters, Gertrude (1892-1980), who married Benjamin Franklin Shuler, better known as Frank (188-1978), was an excellent teacher at Union County High School. In my high school years, I was fortunate to have instruction from this gentle, compassionate lady whose mother, Sophronia Jane Nix Wilson, had worked so hard to see that her children were well-educated. Gertrude's husband, Frank, served as Union County School Superintendent for twenty years during a period of change and challenge in the system's schools.

After several years of widowhood, and after her children were grown, Sophronia Jane Nix Wilson married Enoch Chapman Hood, a widower and a neighbor. The marriage was short-lived, not because of any problems between the two, but due to his death. His tombstone in Union Baptist Church Cemetery shows his birth as September 1, 1855 and his death as April 10, 1932. Jane Nix Wilson Hood died August 15, 1956, and was laid to rest in the Union "Upper" Cemetery beside her first husband, Isaac Thornton Wilson. Dying two months shy of her 89th birthday, this noble mountain lady could well be called a heroine of her time.

c 2007 by Ethelene Dyer Jones. Published August 16, 2007 in The Sentinel, Blairsville, GA. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Continuing with some Nix connections (part 2 in a Series on the Nix Family of Union County, GA and surrounding counties)

Sarah Elvira Williamson Nix (12 Dec 1842 - 01 Jun 1927),

wife of Archibald Carr Nix (07 May 1842 - 25 Sep 1906)

Last week’s column began a series which I am calling “Nix Connections.” James “Glancer” Nix (1812-1882), son of William Nix and Susannah Stonecypher Nix, had twenty children and three wives as you saw from last week’s column. Many descendents have continued to live in Union County, Georgia, and many moved elsewhere. It would require several books of genealogy to trace this large family line. My intention is to be selective and give information on some of Jimmy Nix’s descendants.

Our focus today is on the fifth child of James “Glancer” and Elizabeth “Betsy” Collins Nix, Archibald Carr Nix, born in Union County May 7, 1842 who lived here all his life, a farmer, dying September 26, 1906. Archibald married Sarah Ann Elvira Williamson, born December 26, 1842. The marriage was performed on April 4, 1862 by Thompson Collins (a son of Thompson and Celia Self Collins) who was a Justice of the Peace for the Choestoe District. Sarah Ann Elvira Williamson was the youngest of seven children born to John Wesley Williamson, Sr. (abt. 1800-abt. 1880) and his first wife, Sarah Elvira Curtis Williamson (1801-1871).

Archibald Carr Nix and his beautiful wife, Sarah Ann Elvira Williamson Nix, made their home in Choestoe, Union County, Georgia. There they reared a family of eight children, all of whom grew up to be stalwart citizens. The children and their spouses are listed as follows:

1. John Wesley Nix (1-5-1863 – 10-13-1896) married Minty Lavada Reece (2-12-1863 – 8-6-1933). Their children were Izabeth and Lizabeth (twins, b/d 1885); Mary Ann (1886-1956) married Arvel Hayes Brown; Arie (1888-1890); Emma Lena (1889-1955) married David Markus Dyer; Callie (1891-1893); David (b/d 1894); Aaron Jacob (1895-1969) married (1) Ethel Elizabeth Ensley and (2) Annie Lucille Johnston.
2. Laura J. Nix (3-30-1864 – 3-23-1892) married Joseph Brown Reece (6-1-1860 – 2-24-1930) on September 25, 1879. They had a family of ten children.
3. Ruth Alice Nix, called “Nelle” (3-19-1866 – 3-24-1898) married in January, 1889 to Joseph Denson “Doss” Henson (6-26-1856 – 11-9-1926).
4. Adeline E. “Addie” or “Naomi” Nix (4-8-1868 – 2-?-1907) married on August 30, 1891 to Frank L. “Will” Prater.
5. Ariete “Etta” V. Nix (2-17- 1872 – 4-1-1936) married on December 7, 1890 to Amicus N. Miller.
6. Columbus Hannibal “Lum” Nix (4-1-1874 – 9-22-1950) married Lillie Henson (12-15-1881 – 1973) in Union County, GA on January 28, 1912. Lillie was Lum’s niece, a daughter of his sister, Ruth Alice Nix and Joseph Denson Henson. Lum and Lillie had the following children: Alice Pearl, Roy Carl, Corene Etta, Nellie, and Jack Columbus. Each of the five children were brilliant, earning degrees in education and/or engineering.
7. Arthur H. Nix (6-25-1877 – 5-24-1898) died at age 20 and was interred in the Old Choestoe Cemetery. He did not marry.
8. Minnie M. Nix (5-1-1881 - 1-28-1954) married Juan Dupree Miller (1-21-1883 – 5-23-1955).

I can remember visiting in the Miller’s home when I was a child. I did not know then Mrs. Minnie’s connection to me through our common ancestors, William and Susannah Nix Stonecypher and James “Grancer” Nix and Elizabeth “Betsy” Collins Nix. Years later, when I became interested in genealogy, she was no longer alive for me to ask her questions about her parents, Archibald Carr Nix and Sarah Ann Elvira Williamson Nix. Mrs. Minnie always had home-baked cookies for my brother Bluford and me when we visited as children. It is little wonder that we went as often as we dared. Another fond memory of Mr. Dupree Miller is his active role in Salem Methodist Church. He served as Sunday School Superintendent and song leader. We attended Choestoe Baptist Church, but were only “part time,” having services on the second and fourth Sundays. Salem Methodist, also “part time” had services on the first and third Sundays. I remember walking the trail through the woods from Choestoe Church to Salem after Sunday School and arriving at Salem Church in time for the church service on the Sundays Choestoe did not have preaching. Several of Salem’s members did the same, attending Choestoe on the 2nd and 4th Sundays. Mr. Dupree Miller had a mustache. As a child, I was fascinated by his debonair looks and his ability in leading congregational singing. Both Minnie Nix Miller and Juan Dupree Miller were buried in the New Choestoe Baptist Church Cemetery.

Archibald Carr Nix and his wife, Sarah Elvira Williamson Nix were buried in Old Choestoe Cemetery where their faded tombstones can be found today. If I did not list children born to any of the seven married children above, I did not have available to me in the resources I used for this article the names of all of Archibald and Sarah’s grandchildren. Next week we will explore another branch of the large Nix family of Union County. Stay tuned.

c 2007 by Ethelene Dyer Jones. Published Aug. 2, 2007 in The Sentinel, Blairsville, GA. All rights reserved.

Some Nix connections (part 1 in a Series on the Nix Family of Union County, GA and surrounding counties)

In tracing Nix family lines, we find that the last name was spelled Nicks, Knix and Nix (our present day spelling). The origin seems to be from the old English surname Nichollas, Nicoles, and Nichols, meaning "victory of the people." In the United States, the surnames Nixon and Nickson (both meaning "son of Nick" and "victory of the people") was eventually shortened to Nix by some branches of the family.

William Nix was born about 1788 in South Carolina. His parents were John and Sarah Nix. In Franklin County, Georgia, on September 3, 1809, William Nix married Susannah Stonecypher, a daughter of John Henry, Jr. and Nancy Curtis Stonecypher. Susannah's father fought in the American Revolution.

William and Susannah Nix lived in Franklin County, Georgia for a while after their marriage. In 1822 they bought land in Habersham County, When White County was formed, some of the land holdings of William Nix were incorporated into the new county. They made their home near present-day Tesnatee Baptist Church. In the 1860 census of White County, William Nix's worth was listed at $3,000. The Nix cabin was still standing as late as 1990. Known for their hospitality, it has been said that William "Grancer" and Susannah Stonecypher Nix never turned anyone away from their home. They were buried in the Nix Family Cemetery a little south of the old homeplace. In 1985, grave markers were erected by a descendant, Wanda West Gregory.

Of the eleven children born to William and Susannah Nix, four of them married persons with Union County, Georgia roots, and settled here. James Nix married (1) Elizabeth Collins, daughter of Thompson and Celia Self Collins; (2) Carolina Duckworth, daughter of David and Mary Williamson Duckworth; and (3) Rebecca Evaline Duckworth, a sister of Carolina. Mary Nix, known as Polly, married Archibald Collins. Ruthia Nix married Francis Collins. Malinda Nix married William Jesse Souther.

Let us trace first some of the descendants of James Nix, who more often than not was listed as Jimmy Nix. The second-born child of eleven born to William and Susannah Nix, he made his appearance into the world in Franklin County, Georgia in July of 1812 in the farmhouse owned by his parents on Eastanollee Creek. When he was about ten years of age, his family moved to Habersham County. It was there he met and married Elizabeth Collins, lovingly called "Betsy" by her family and by her husband, Jimmy Nix.

She was born in North Carolina on August 24, 1814. She was nineteen when they married on March 12, 1834. To Jimmy and Betsy were born fifteen children as follows: William (1836), Susannah (1837), Thompson (1838), John (1840, died in the Civil War at Sharpsburg, Maryland in 1862), Archibald Carr (1842), Isabella (1844 - twin), James Bly (1844 - twin), Jeffrie (1846), Jasper (known as "Grancer," 1847 - twin), Newton (1847 - twin, died at age 15 in the Civil War in Virginia), Thomas Jefferson (1848 - enlisted in Civil War at age 13), Ivan (1849), Benjamin Stonecypher (1851), Celia (1852), and Sarah, known as "Sally" (1854).

At the young age of 45, after bearing fifteen children and looking after them diligently, Elizabeth Collins Nix died in 1859. She was buried in the Old Choestoe Cemetery.

Jimmy Nix began to look for a good woman who could help him with his many children. He found her in Carolina Elizabeth Duckworth (b. 1815), daughter of David and Mary Williamson Duckworth. They were wed on January 3, 1863 after the Civil War was well under way. Four children were born to this union. Mary Evaline (10-23-1863), Nancy (1864), Buddy (1865), and Sophronia Jane (1867).

Jimmy Nix enlisted in the Georgia State Militia, Company 2, on December 14, 1863, and apparently served with the Militia until the end of the Civil War. The cause of his second wife's death is not known, but she died before the 1870 census.

For his third wife, James "Grancer" Nix courted and married a younger sister of his second wife. Her name was Rebecca Evaline Duckworth (b. 1828). The Duckworth sisters were born in North Carolina near the headwaters of the French Broad River in Henderson County. Their parents migrated to Union County and became prominent early settlers there. Jimmy and Rebecca had one child, stillborn, who was not named.

He and his third wife had ten years together before his death on October 2, 1882. She lived to be 86 and died June 14, 1914. Both were buried in the Old Choestoe Cemetery.

Readers might like to keep this column for reference. Future columns will expand on names of some of the children and grandchildren, descendants of James "Grancer" Nix. There are more stories to tell of these hardy early settlers.

c 2007 by Ethelene Dyer Jones. Published July 26, 2007 in The Sentinel, Blairsville, GA. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Going home A tribute to Virginia Parks Souther

Lt. Col. John Paul Souther (1915-2006) and Virginia Parks Souther (1919-2007)

On August 24, 2006 this paper published my column entitled "Going Home - A Tribute to John Paul Souther (1915-2006)”. Lt. Colonel (Retired) Souther entitled Chapter 11 in his memorable book, War Not Forgotten, "Going Home." As he returned from rigorous service in World War II in the North African and Italian Campaigns, he was finally "going home" to see his wife, Virginia Parks Souther and his thirty-month old son, Billy, whom he had not seen before.

Then on Friday, August 18, 2006, Lt. Colonel Souther had his final "Going Home" as he crossed quietly into the Great Beyond after several months of illness.

On Wednesday, January 3, 2007 my telephone rang. The call was from Lynn Souther Godshall, daughter of Lt. Souther and Virginia Parks Souther.

I heard the tears in Lynn's voice as she said, "Ethelene, Mamma died yesterday" (Tuesday, January 2, 2007). I could hardly believe Lynn's report. I had a strong impression to telephone Virginia on Tuesday. When I told Lynn, she said, "But it would have been too late!"

Virginia's grandson Mark went to tell her a final goodbye before leaving for Cincinnati after being home for the holidays, and he could not get her to the door. Going inside, Mark Souther and his wife, Stacy Sue, found Virginia Souther as though she were peacefully asleep on her bed--no apparent struggle, just a "gentle passing on." Four and one-half months before, Virginia's beloved husband had "passed quietly" about 3:00 a. m. on August 18. He had been extremely ill and his death was expected. Virginia, however, had enjoyed this past Christmas and New Year's with her family. She was tired, of course, after a long period of care-giving for her beloved "Bill" (John Paul). But none in her family expected her death so soon after her husband's.

I thought about this gentle, genteel lady. She always had a smile and kind words for everyone she met. She and John Paul had sixty-five years of a very strong marriage before his death. I could imagine that, even though she was bravely "carrying on" following his demise, enjoying family and friends, she still longed to be "going home" to join John Paul in that "place prepared" for the blessed. She had told me how much she missed him and how lonely her life was without him.

The lines of William Cullen Bryant's poem, "Thanatopsis" ran through my mind as I thought of her sudden and unexpected death:

So live that when thy summons comes to join
The innumerable caravan, which moves
To that mysterious realm where each shall take
His chamber in the silent halls of death,
Thou go not like the quarry-slave at night,
Scourged to his dungeon, but, sustained and soothed
By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave
Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch
About him and lies down to pleasant dreams.

Lt. Colonel Souther left his mark as one of "The Greatest Generation," a brave and much-decorated participant in World War II. But on the home front, his beloved wife, Virginia Parks Souther, was making her own mark, as she continued to do through the sixty-five years of their marriage.

I love the romantic story of how this young couple met. On June 23, 1938, John Paul Souther and some fellow forestry students from the University of Georgia were at a forestry camp near Lake Burton at Clayton, Georgia. They had a few hours free from camp duty, and went fishing at the lake. John Paul got his first glimpse of Virginia Parks who was with her uncle, aunt and cousin from Gainesville, looking for an available place on the lake to build a cabin. Even though Virginia and her cousin Elizabeth Parks had their boyfriends along on that trip to Lake Burton, that did not deter John Paul from determining to get in touch with "the vivacious young girl Virginia" whom he saw for the first time that day. Learning where she lived, the young forester penned a letter to her that night, addressing it just with her name and Gainesville, Georgia. In those days before zip codes and exact addresses were required, the letter reached Virginia in Gainesville at the home of her parents, Roy Webb Parks and Edith Garrett Parks because they were well-known Gainesville residents and Virginia was their only daughter. With that letter, their courtship began. Virginia transferred from Georgia State College for Women in Milledgeville to the University of Georgia. That way, the young couple could "court" without so much distance separating them.

She continued college, earning a bachelor of science in home economics in 1941 with honors. While she studied there, and during John Paul's senior year (he graduated with a degree in forestry in May, 1940), Virginia lived in Soule Hall, a part of the Home Economics Department. The house mother, Mrs. Myers, "took a liking" to John Paul Souther, and allowed him to come and eat the "goodies" the home economics students had cooked that day. Mrs. Myers also allowed him and Virginia to use the parlor for dates. He writes in his book, Between the Blood and the Bald, (2000, p. 124): "I cannot imagine anyone enjoying college more than I in his senior year."

Virginia Parks and John Paul Souther were married June 8, 1941 in Gainesville in what the groom termed "a quiet home wedding…on a hot Sunday afternoon." They spent their first months of marriage at Ft. Knox, KY, where he was stationed in the army.

After maneuvers in Louisiana and a period of intensive war preparation at Ft. Dix, New Jersey, Lt. Souther was shipped out to Europe on May 11, 1942 on the Queen Mary with his 1st Armored Division.

Virginia returned to her parents' home in Gainesville to wait and pray for thirty-seven months for the return of her husband. On December 7, 1942, their first child, William Parks Souther (Billy) was born in Gainesville. Because Virginia often showed their son pictures of his father, when Lt. Col. Souther returned from war on June 10, 1945, his little son ran to him with his arms outstretched, saying "Hello, Daddy!" That first meeting of father and son happened in a happy way because the child's mother had prepared him well for his first meeting with his dad.

Virginia Parks Souther was an exemplary military wife and civilian wife of a returning hero. In addition to being wife and mother (the couple's second child, Virginia Lynn, was born August 6, 1946), she was a career woman. She served in the Hall County Department of Family and Children's Services as a caseworker and as director. She was actively involved in community service through the Garden Club, Tallulah Falls School Study Club, Gainesville Federated Music Club, the Northeast Georgia History Center, and the Northeast Georgia Medical Auxiliary. She and her husband were active members of Gainesville First United Methodist Church.

Virginia Parks Souther supported her husband in his work and in his community service. If he had a project going, like getting the bust of Georgia Washington erected in Gainesville (December 14, 1999) in the bicentennial year of Washington's death, or having a permanent marker placed at the grave of Revolutionary War ancestor John Henry Stonecypher, Jr. at Estanollee, GA, or going with him on booksigning and speaking engagements to promote his two books, War Not Forgotten (1995) and Between the Blood and the Bald (2000), or placing an historical marker at the site of the Old Souther Mill, Choestoe, Virginia Parks Souther was ever the thoughtful, polite, sweet supporter and helpmeet of this man born in Choestoe, Union County, Georgia on May 4, 1915 to Jeptha and Mintie Dyer Souther. And although she was a "city" girl, born and bred in Gainesville (b. December 19, 1919), far from the mountains and valleys where John Paul grew up, she always enjoyed visiting in the mountains with him.

In her quiet and unassuming way, she endeared herself to family and friends.

At the Dyer-Souther Heritage Association July 21, 2007, we will pay tribute to these two staunch genealogical supporters, as well as several others, whose "going home" since our last reunion have left us with many precious memories but with feelings of loss and vacancy because we will miss their physical presence with us.
Virginia Parks Souther, in life, was one who lived exemplarily; and in death, one who "wrapped the drapery of (her) couch/About (her), and lay down to pleasant dreams."

c 2007 by Ethelene Dyer Jones; published Jan. 11, 2007 in The Union Sentinel, Blairsville, GA. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Going home, A tribute to John Paul Souther (1915-2006)

Lt. Col. (Retired) John Paul Souther and wife, Virginia Parks Souther September 23, 2000.

In his book War Not Forgotten: A Frontline Officer's Eyewitness Account - World War II - North Africa and Italy (Wolfe Publishing Co., 1995) Lt. Colonel John Paul Souther entitled Chapter 11 "Going Home." After three years of rigorous service in the First U.S. Armored Division in the North African and Italian Campaigns, he was finally going home to Gainesville, Ga., to see his wife, Virginia Parks Souther, and his 37-months old son, Billy, whom he had never seen.

Virginia had met her returning war hero in Atlanta, leaving their son in Gainesville with her parents. When John Paul and Virginia arrived home, young Billy ran from the porch with his hands outstretched, saying the wonderful words, "Hello, Daddy!" He had seen pictures of his daddy and greeted him for the first time in his young life, not with shyness, but with excitement. John Paul Souther wrote: "There could be only a few such joyous occasions as this in a lifetime" (War not Forgotten. Page 224).

Friday, August 18, 2006 was "Going Home" time again for John Paul Souther.

When his daughter, Lynn Souther Godshall, called to tell me of her father's death, she said: "He died quietly and peacefully about 3 a. m." He had shed the bonds of earth and illness, and with a transition not unlike the end of the war and returning home to family, he was welcomed to his eternal home by the Lord he loved.

On earth he had earned many medals and commendations for his bravery and excellency in battle. I imagined the Lord's welcome to this trustworthy soldier and follower: "Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful...enter into the joy of the Lord" (Matthew 25: 2, 23).

"Going Home" had much meaning for World War II veteran, Lt. Colonel, retired, John Paul Souther. He was a decorated soldier returning after rigorous years during World War II. He was one of those we now term "the greatest generation." But he had another love for home, and "going home," back to his roots in Union County, GA.

He was born May 4, 1915 to Jeptha Freeman Souther (1865-1953) and Mintie Iva Ann Dyer Souther (1876-1937). He was the eighth of nine children born to this couple. In a tribute lauding the attributes of his mother written March 16, 1987, John Paul said of her: "Today, there are eight of these nine children living between the ages of 68 to 89. This being very extraordinary has to reflect her ability on how to raise a large family...My brothers and sisters... think of our mother in this great accomplishment." (p. 332, Souther Family History by Watson B. Dyer, 1988).

Seeking to pay even greater respect to his mother and father and his upbringing on a dirt farm in Choestoe, Union County, Ga., Lt. Col. Souther wrote a book-length tribute to them and to their way of life. Between the Blood and the Bald, Choestoe, Georgia, 1915-1940 (c2000) is a look at 25 years of life there. Taken together, both this book and War Not Forgotten comprise a chronological account of life from strong family roots in Choestoe to a valiant (though humble) hero's part in World War II. At the same time biographical and memoirs, his widely received books added greatly to the history of an era from 1915 through 1946.

It was my privilege to work with John Paul Souther on some major historical projects, and to participate in and observe him as he engineered several more.

On April 30, 2005, just prior to John Paul's 90th birthday, we held a program at the site of the Souther Mill on Cane Creek, Choestoe. Jesse Souther Jr. (1813-1869), grandfather of John Paul, built the grist mill in 1848 after he had migrated from North Carolina. My own great grandfather, John Souther (1803-1889), older brother to Jesse Jr., had arrived in Union County about 1836. He and another brother, Joseph Souther (1802-1937) all assisted with building and operating the mill. Following Jesse Jr.'s ill health and death, his youngest son, Jeptha Freeman Souther (1865-1953), father of John Paul, when he became old enough, and with the help of various millers, oversaw the operation of the Souther Mill until it was closed in 1937. Theodore Thomas, a great, great grandson of Jesse Souther Jr., built a shed to house the memorial plaque and pictures at the millsite. Now people who travel by where the old mill stood for almost a century can stop and read a portion of history. It was a cold, misty day, that April 30, 2005, when we met for the program to honor work of our ancestors. But the fact that John Paul Souther, at almost 90, was able to see this dream of preserving history accomplished gave all of us present a warm glow of gratitude.

Earlier, John Paul Souther had purchased and installed tombstones at the graves of his grandparents, Jesse Souther Jr. and Malinda Nix Souther at Old Choestoe Cemetery. Tracing some of the exploits of his grandfather, John Paul knew that before his move to Union County, Georgia, Jesse Souther, Jr. had served in the U. S. Army during the removal process when the Cherokees were sent to the Reservation in Oklahoma in 1838.

Another preservation effort by John Paul Souther was marking the graves of Malinda Nix Souther's grandparents at the Stonecypher Family Cemetery at Estanollee, Ga. She was a daughter of William Nix and his wife Susannah Stonecypher Nix. Susanna was a daughter of John Henry and Nancy Curtis Stonecypher.

The stately ceremony conducted in 1995 saw numerous people gathered near the two story mansion (preserved and still standing) John Henry Stonecypher built for his family about 1790. With a lofty tribute given about the Revolutionary War service of John Henry Stonecypher (1756-1850), with taps played by John Paul's grandson, young Jonathan Mark Souther, and appropriate patriotic music for the processional and memorial service by Jonathan Mark and my own son and grandsons (Keith Jones, Brian, Nathan and Matthew), we stood beneath tall trees and thought on the legacy left by John Henry Stonecypher Jr. and his wife, Nancy Curtis Stonecypher. Thanks to John Paul, the small family cemetery had been surrounded by an ornamental iron fence and gate, and a granite marker told major highlights in the lives of the Stonecypher patriot of Revolutionary War fame. Thanks to John Paul, it was a time of deep reflection and appreciation.

In John Paul's own words, he stated that "my largest project was the George Washington Bicentennial Year bust" erected at the corner of Washington and Green Streets in Gainesville and dedicated on December 14, 1999, the bicentennial of our first president's death. As chairman of the committee, John Paul Souther raised $42,975.00 for the successful project. The original bust, twice life-size, sculpted by Dr. John Lanzalotti, is mounted on an eleven-ton base of Elberton, Georgia granite. There passersby on Washington Street, Gainesville, can see the bust of George Washington and think on the contributions of the "Father of Our Country."

In 2004, although not able to attend the Dyer-Souther Heritage Association Reunion, John Paul Souther donated to the Union County Historical Society Museum the oxen yoke his grandfather, William Jesse Souther Jr. had used when he moved from Old Fort, NC to Choestoe, GA., in the 1840s. Theodore Thomas had restored the yoke and had it in tip-top shape for the presentation. That same year, Virginia Parks Souther, John Paul's beloved wife, presented a picture of her husband in his World War II uniform, and a picture of the medals and awards he earned in service. These all can be seen in the Old Courthouse Museum, Blairsville, GA.

This week a hero was laid to rest. One who loved and cherished his home on earth and contributed significantly to life and freedom here, was freed from the bonds of feeble flesh and made his last trip home. His "Going Home" was celebrated with accolades and fond remembrances. All of us who knew him have been enriched by associations with John Paul Souther, farm lad, soldier extraordinary, businessman, historian, family man, kinsman.

c2006 by Ethelene Dyer Jones; published Aug. 24, 2006 in The Union Sentinel, Blairsville, GA. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Susannah Nix, Daughter of John Henry Stonecypher, Jr.

Family legend holds that when Susannah Stonecypher married William Nix on September 9, 1809 at Carnesville, Georgia (Franklin County), her father, the inimitable John Henry Stonecypher, Jr., Revolutionary War soldier, disowned her and had nothing more to do with her or her family. However, this family story may not be true at all, since documents have been found to show that Susannah Stonecypher Nix did, indeed, receive a portion of the inheritance from the notable estate of John Henry, Jr. and Nancy Curtis Stonecypher.

Susannah (1788 – after 1870) was the second of nine documented children of John Henry Stonecypher, Jr. (1756-1850) and Nancy Curtis Stonecypher (abt. 1760-1849). Susannah’s siblings were Benjamin (1786), James (1793-1854), Nancy (1795), Frances (known as Fannie, 1797), Mary (1799), Lucy (1801), Amy (1803) and Phoebe (1807-1865).

Susannah grew up in relative prosperity for that day in Franklin County, Georgia. Her father owned large tracts of land, most of which he received in grants for his service in the American Revolution. He built a large two-story dwelling house at Eastanollee (a portion of Franklin County which became Stephens County). He had an architect named Pressnell design and build the house. As a monument to the solid building, the house, restored, still stands today near the graves of the Stonecyphers. It took ten years to complete the plantation house. Every sill, sleeper, joist and post were mortised and fitted together. The nails in the house were wrought by hand. At that house, and amidst plenty, Susannah grew up.

Using the waters of Eastanollee Creek for power, John Henry Stonecypher built a mill in the early 1800s. Millwright Thomas Sockwell was the engineer responsible for erecting the Stonecypher Mill. As with mills in every communtiy, it was a popular place for getting corn, wheat and rye ground and for keeping up with happenings of the day.

When Susannah married William Nix on September 9, 1809 and moved away to then Habersham County, later White, near Tesnatee northwest of Cleveland, her youngest sibling, Phoebe, was only two years of age. If the story has any credence that Susannah was “disowned” by her father, she was, nevertheless, named one of the legatees of the estate of John Henry Stonecypher. Also, when Nancy, Susannah’s unmarried sister, made her will, one of the legatees was “William Nix, in the right of his wife, Susannah.”

William Nix and Susannah Stonecypher Nix had seven children: John Nix (1811) married Lucinda Adams; James Nix (1812-1882) married Elizabeth Collins (1814-1856); Mary Nix (1816) married Archibald Collins (1811); Fannie Fairlena Nix (1818-1854); Rutha Nix (1822-1893) married Francis Collins (1816-1864); Susannah Nix (1827-1856) married James Cathey (1823); Malinda Nix (1829-1894) married Jesse Souther, Jr. (1813-1869); and William Carr Nix (1831-1858) married Rachel Minerva Carroll (1842-1920).

Four of Susannah Stonecypher Nix’s children played prominently in early Union County history. James Nix married Thompson Collins’ third child Elizabeth, known as Betsy. They had thirteen children. Mary Nix married Thompson Collins’ first child, Archibald. They had eleven children. Rutha Nix married Thompson Collins’ fourth child, Francis (called Frank). They had ten children. Malinda Nix married Jesse Souther, Jr., son of Jesse and Jane Combs Souther of Wilkes County, NC. Jesse, Jr. founded the Souther Mill of Choestoe. Malinda and Jesse, Jr. had eight children. The youngest of these, Jeptha Freeman Souther who married Mintie Dyer, continued to operate the Souther Mill until 1937. Books and lengthy descendancy charts are required to trace all these Stonecypher descendants from these four children of William and Susanna Stonecypher Nix. To my knowledge, no researcher to date has been able to tabulate them all.

An historical marker will be placed at the Souther mill site in a special commemorative program planned for April 30, 2005 at 2:30 p. m. Mark your calendar now. The public is invited.

Thus the Stonecypher legacy lives on in Union County.

c2005 by Ethelene Dyer Jones; published Mar. 17, 2005 in The Union Sentinel, Blairsville, GA. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Thoughts at the Grave of John Henry Stonecypher, Jr. (1756-1850)

John Henry Stonecypher, Jr. was the Revolutionary War ancestor of many descendants in Union County, Georgia and beyond. Although he never lived in Union County, many of his descendants who claim this county as home can trace a direct lineage back to him.

John Henry Stonecypher, Jr. was born in Culpeper County, Virginia, in 1756. His parents were Johannes Henrich Steinseifer, born January 10, 1724 in Eisern, Westphalia, Germany and Eleanor Dortch Steinseifer. The last name, a trade name of those who worked with stone, was anglicized to Stonecypher. John Henry, Jr. married Nancy Curtis in Wilkes County, NC in June, 1785. She was born in Maryland about 1766. After his service in the American Revolution, John Henry, Jr. and Nancy Stonecypher settled on land in Franklin County, Georgia, broad acreage he had accrued because of his service to his country.

John Henry Stonecypher died in 1850. On July 16, 1994, it was my privilege to participate in a ceremony led by the Sons of the American Revolution and descendants at the Stonecypher gravesites at Eastanolle, Georgia in Stephens County. It was a moving experience. Through mountain mists his history echoed through the years. I share here a free verse poem I wrote about the experience. In future articles I will give more history of the Stonecypher family.

This Rose, This Tomb, This Wooded Dell

Struggling roses shed fragrance
In July afternoon.
Sunshine slanting through oaks and elms
Falls dappled on the soapstone tomb.
We gather at secluded gravesite, voices hushed,
Minds awash in floods of imagination
About our Revolutionary War ancestor.
Ninety-six years from womb to tomb
The gravestone tells us.
We know but sketches
Of his long and fruitful life.

A pioneer, a mountain man,
He weighed the choices given him:
Ignore the call of freedom’s price
Or go resolutely to the fray.

In North Carolina, Wilkes County,
He heeded the call to arms.
At King’s Mountain he lifted musket,
Sharp-shot at Beatty’s Ford,
At Guilford Courthouse, wounded sore,
Went home to heal, then left to fight again.
Tide turned with October’s leaves.
On to Pleasant Gardens,
In battles along Catawba’s waters,
Red with blood of patriots and royalists alike,
He tasted victory, reward for hero’s dreams.

From private to captain
Without benefit of military training,
He employed instincts, pride, love for freedom,
Marks of independent men.

Again the call to far horizons
Beyond familiar Wilkes:
He wound through mountains, forests, valleys
To claim in 1784 his 20,000 acres
In north Georgia’s wilderness.
To Nancy Curtis he pledged his troth,
She the daughter of a Revolutionary soldier,
He a veteran of that freedom war.

To their acreage they went, hopes high.
They tamed the land, cleared for a house,
The best their money and expertise could build,
A mansion with the flair and lines of architect Presnell.
John Henry joined to quell Indian uprisings,
Bring those proud and noble natives to subjection,
Helped drive them from the Tugaloo and Estanollee.

Had he no thoughts for justice,
For peace to those whose lands were taken,
Those who wanted only to be kindred
With the woods, the soil, the sky and running waters?
Or did he thinks his wounds at Guilford Courthouse
Gave him unquestioned right,
A heritage to go where adventure beckoned,
Claim as his own the valleys, hills and streams?

What thoughts propelled our ancestor?
We can but guess
In this place on Eastanollee Creek
He built a plantation, a mill,
Became a founding father in a church and started schools.
Long life was his, and children, too,
Rose up to call him blessed.
At age ninety-six he died,
Injured in a fall from steps
At his Eastanollee Stonecypher Mill.

Today, beneath this grove of trees
We gather to pay tribute to his life and deeds,
Lay claim to his kinship and his fame.
Brass music by seventh and eighth generation descendants
Sounds the strains of “America the Beautiful”
And “Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory.”
Words of adulation flow in afternoon assembly.

Beside the grave rose petals ripple in a fleeting breeze.
Thoughts unfold as blossoms, separate and confined
In some vast sea of years and deeds,
Converge on a gray soapstone monument,
A patriot and a name.

(Poem by Ethelene Dyer Jones published first in Mother and Child Reunion, EJ Productions, Epworth, GA, c1995. Used by permission.)

c2005 by Ethelene Dyer Jones; published Mar. 10, 2005 in The Union Sentinel, Blairsville, GA. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

A Mill for the Settlement - The Souther Mill (Part 2)

Jesse William Souther, Jr. was a bachelor, age 35, when he moved from Wilkes County, NC to Choestoe, Georgia in 1848. He and his two brothers, Joseph and John established the Souther Mill in that same year. It was a boon for citizens in the settlement.

Jesse Souther began to court beautiful Malinda Nix, a daughter of William and Susanna Stonecypher Nix, who lived near Cleveland, GA. We don’t know the story of their courtship, but maybe Jesse met Malinda on one of his trips across the Logan Turnpike to take goods by covered wagon to Gainesville. It was customary for the wagons to stop for the first night at a campground at Cleveland near the Nix home. Or maybe Jesse and Malinda met at the Frank Collins home. Malinda’s sister, Rutha Nix, had married Collins on January 6, 1841 and moved to Choestoe.

Malinda’s grandfather, John Henry Stonecypher, Jr. of Eastanollee near Toccoa, had figured prominently in the Revolutionary War and also in the Indian Wars. Jesse and Malinda were married January 12, 1851, two months prior to Jesse’s 39th birthday. Malinda was born in 1829 and was sixteen years younger than her husband.

Jesse Souther added to his land holdings by purchasing a tract from Ivan J. Collins, a son of Thompson Collins, first settler on Choestoe. In a note dated May 12, 1862, Jesse gave his bond to pay $125 for the Collins land along Cane Creek that adjoined the property he had secured from his brother, Joseph Souther, before he went west in 1853.

To Jesse and Malinda Nix Souther were born eight children, four sons and four daughters. Fairlena (died in infancy); Nancy Elvira (b. 1853); Joseph G. (b. 1855); John Baptist (b. 1857); Sarah (b. 1861); Mary (b. 1863); William Jesse (b. 1864); and Jeptha Freeman (b. 1865).

It was the last-born, Jeptha, who was to remain on the Souther farm and continue the milling operation started by his father and uncles.

Jesse Souther was a prominent citizen of the Choestoe District. He was official treasurer of the Militia District # 834. In records kept meticulously by him, are these notations: “In 1849, paid W. L. Howard, teacher, $22.16 for 134 children (for the Choestoe School). On January 3, 1860 paid the District Treasurer, Jesse Souther, for teachers in the district, $155.85. Various other allocations were made over the years for teachers. On record are payments to these teachers from the amount allotted to Treasurer Souther: John C. Ballew; William L. Howard; Andrew Young; S. S. Hanshaw; William Neel; F. M. Swain; H. J. Sparks; S. R. Wright; F. S. Hughes; Jacob Butt; William Rich; Davidson Crumley; W. S. Wiley; and Thomas Bull. Some of Jesse’s bookkeeping notations indicate that the teachers were paid on the basis of 4 and 1/6 cents per day per pupil.

A school term was on the average of four months per year, usually in the winter months when no crops demanded work from the pupils. A notation indicated there were, at one time, 182 school children in the district of Choestoe. Treasurer Jesse Souther paid teachers who worked at Choestoe, New Liberty, Old Liberty and Union (Hood’s Chapel) Schools in houses that served as classrooms during the week and churches on Sundays.

His brother, John Souther, served on the County School Board from Choestoe District, and was also one of the earliest teachers in the district, even before Jesse William Souther, Jr. arrived there. The teachers probably went by the Souther Mill to collect their money on days taught and records of pupils served.

The Civil War years were hard on the Jesse Souther family, as well as others in the Choestoe Settlement. So far as we know, the mill kept operating, but probably not on as big a scale as during pre-war years. Jesse’s son, Joseph, was six years old when the Civil War broke out. He wrote in his memoirs: “Thirty men from Choestoe enlisted, one-half of them never returning to once-happy and prosperous homes.” When he was nine, Joseph became a scout for one of the Home Guard units and continued until the year ended in 1865. Knowing what we know now about Home Guard members and their ruffian methods, being a scout was no easy task for a nine-year-old.

Mourning pervaded the house when Jesse William Souther, Jr. died on May 5, 1869. He was laid to rest in the old Choestoe Cemetery not far from the Souther home. His death left an invalid wife, Malinda, seven children, the oldest of whom was Nancy, age 15 at her father’s death, and the youngest, Jeptha Freeman, age four. Joseph states in his memoirs: “Nancy helped with the younger children and the housework, I, at age 13, worked on the farm. With a single old mare who knew more about keeping the rows straight than I. I plowed the rows of corn.” Malinda Nix Souther died in 1894.

Records are somewhat sketchy about the operation of Souther Mill following Jesse’s death. Various millers were employed, probably on shares, to operate the grist mill and sawmill. In his book, Between the Blood and the Bald (Matthew’s Press, 2000), John Paul Souther, grandson of Jesse and son of Jeptha, tells about how his father at a young age became the miller. Jeptha Freeman Souther was naturally skilled in technology and built a millrace thirty feet long, stretching from the millpond at a higher level to turn the turbines at the mill. The millrace, also called the penstock, was made of three-inch thick lumber a foot wide, and had no leaks. A personable and wise miller, Jeptha kept the clients entertained with his stories, his knowledge of world affairs and his ability to relate genealogical ties of the families in Choestoe District.

Edward Shuler in his memoirs, Blood Mountain (Convention Press, 1953) recalls trips to the Souther Mill when he was a child as highlights for learning about the area and its people from the miller, Jeptha Souther.

Three years after his mother’s death, Jeptha married Mintie Iva Ann Dyer in 1897, a daughter of Henderson Dyer. He brought her to the house his father Jesse had built in 1850, and there they reared their five daughters and four sons: Mae, Fannie, Viola, Mary, Eva, Theodore, John Paul and Hubert.

John Paul Souther stated that his father sold the mill in 1919. Some of the operating millers following the sale were Bud Ballew, Martin Jones, Joe Townsend, Bert Watkins, Newt Curtis, Virgil C. Collins, Jimmy Self, and Ivan Collins. Unfortunately, the mill burned in 1943. The Depression years had caused the mill to gradually fall into disrepair. Gristmills were becoming a thing of the past and the glory days of Souther Mill were no more.

On a misty morning in Choestoe, one can almost imagine the gentle splash from the waterwheel and the steady whirling drone as the millstones grind a turn of corn, wheat or rye.

Descendants related in some way to the entrepreneurs who began Souther Mill in 1848 are almost as numerous today as the turns of corn that knew the pressure from the grinding stones of Souther Mill so many years ago.

Life goes on, layer upon layer, with what is good from the past lighting the way into the future.

Note: For sources I am indebted to Watson B. Dyer’s Souther Family History, 1988; John Paul Souther’s Between the Blood and the Bald (2000); Edward Shuler’s Blood Mountain, 1953); my own childhood memories of Souther Mill when my father, J. Marion Dyer, took me there where he had his own corn ground; and an article I wrote in the Autumn, 1993 issue of North Georgia Journal (Legacy Communications) entitled “Memories of the Old Souther Mill.” The photographs are courtesy of John Paul Souther.)















c2003 by Ethelene Dyer Jones; published August 28, 2003 in The Union Sentinel, Blairsville, GA. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.