The Cemetery at Six Oaks

It was on May 13, 1983, my birthday. Six Oaks Restaurant was then in operation near Alexander’s Store on Upper Choestoe. My husband treated me to a delightful meal at the restaurant in celebration of my birthday.

When we finished dinner, the late afternoon sun cast pleasant shadows and we decided to explore the old Six Oaks Cemetery adjacent to the restaurant. It got its name from the stately sentinel oaks that shaded the graves, a few marked with name stones but most with only field stones.

Birthdays tend to bring on reflection of the brevity of life. As we examined the gravestones at Six Oaks, only three had legible names and dates: Mrs. M. Jane E. Jackson (Nov. 26, 1863-Jan. 17, 1887); Elmer Jackson (Aug. 1, 1895 - Oct. 1, 1895); and Esley Souther (April 4, 1885 – Dec. 15, 1885).

A faint stirring of kinship and the recognition of surnames familiar to me made me want to learn more about those buried there.

I thought of lines from Thomas Gray’s “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard.” Perhaps that English poet had visited a cemetery similar to Six Oaks when he penned:

Perhaps in this neglected spot is laid
Some heart once pregnant with celestial fire;
Hands that the rod of empire might have swayed,
Or waked to ecstasy the living lyre.

But “Death, the Great Leveler” is no respecter of persons. Whether prominent or inconspicuous, each person must meet an inexorable appointment. Gray’s elegy continues:

The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power,
All that beauty, all that wealth e’er gave,
Await alike the inevitable hour:
The paths of glory lead but to the grave.

Since that visit to Six Oaks Cemetery in 1983, I have learned that the marked and known graves in the cemetery are of the following people. You can read the list in the Union County Cemeteries book published in 1990. In addition to Mrs. M. Jane Jackson, Elmer Jackson and Esley Souther, these were buried there, too:

Jonathan Cook, 1815-1861 and his wife, Rebecca Jackson Cook, 1816-1860. She was a daughter of William and Nancy Ownbey Stanley Jackson.

Several children’s graves are in the cemetery, some marked and most not. Among the marked ones are Esley Souther, April 4, 1885-December 15, 1885. He was a son of Rebecca LaVerne Jackson who married James Francis Souther. Rebecca LaVerne was a daughter of Johile and Jane Duckworth Jackson. Rebecca and James Francis Souther moved to Taos, New Mexico, leaving behind the grave of their infant son in Old Six Oaks Cemetery.

William Jackson (1798-1859) and his wife Nancy Ownbey Stanley Jackson (1793-1861), subjects of last week’s column, were buried at Six Oaks. Another Nancy Jackson and another William Jackson (no dates) were also buried there.

Under the shadow of Brasstown Bald Mountain, these descendants of William and Nancy Jackson sleep. Several infant graves brought speculation about what caused their mortality. Some resting there may have endured ravages of the Civil War, torn between loyalty to their nation and to their region. Others, barely tasting life, met death before their dreams took substance or were ever formed.

Again, Gray’s “Elegy…” came to mind:
For them no more the blazing hearth shall burn,
Or busy housewife ply her evening care;
No children run to lisp their sire’s return,
Or climb his knee, the envied kiss to share.

That evening in 1983 we drove through Choestoe’s winding roads back to our home at Epworth, Georgia. The setting sun shed a reflective glow on hills and valleys. The poignant message of the wayside cemetery and its three marked graves among the dozen or more unmarked ones kept tugging at my mind. I composed this poem as a result of that birthday experience:

The Cemetery at Six Oaks
by Ethelene Dyer Jones
Were those oaks to speak,
Those stones their muteness break,
The unmarked graves yield forth
The knowledge of their dead,
Then we could know the truth
Of those who lived and died,
And glimpse the lofty dreams
That flowered for awhile.
But time and muteness hold
The secrets of this place,
And buried ‘neath these stones
Are stories never told.
Enotah towers above
These dozen solemn graves;
And Six Oaks branches whisper
No answers to our quest.

c2004 by Ethelene Dyer Jones; published Apr. 8, 2004 in The Union Sentinel, Blairsville, GA. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

William Jackson - Early Union Settler

Last week's column presented Andrew William Jackson and his wife, Minerva Goforth Jackson, their hardships during and after the Civil War and their move west to California. Today's column will go back a generation in time and explore the life of William Jackson, father of Andrew. He and his wife Nancy were in Union County when it was formed in 1832, having been first in Habersham County, going there about 1827 from Rutherford County, NC.

William was a very common first name among the Jacksons. The father of William Jackson has not been firmly established because of the frequent use of William as a given name. He could have been the son of Amos, of William, of Stephen, of John, of Joseph...the list goes on of men in the 1800 census of North Carolina with Jackson as the last name. Of Scotch descent and migrating to America from Northern Ireland, these early settlers were a hardy breed known to us as Scots-Irish.

William Jackson was born in North Carolina about 1798. He married in Rutherford County, NC on December 14, 1814 to Nancy Owenby Stanley, a widow with two sons, one of whom was named William and called Bill. She was born about 1793 and was five or more years older than her husband William who was only sixteen when he married.

About 1827 four Jackson brothers, William, Amos, Jehile and Joseph with their families migrated from North Carolina to Habersham County, Georgia. Were they caught up in the "gold fever" when gold was discovered there in 1828? Perhaps so, but no documentation is available to this writer about their prospecting. Settling in the beautiful Nacoochee Valley, they could look out daily and see the rocky face of Mt. Yonah where, legend held, the young Indian lovers, the fair maiden Nacoochee and the warrior brave Yonah, plunged to their deaths because they were from warring tribes and their parents would never approve their union.

When land lots became available in what was mapped as Union County in 1832, carved out of the old Cherokee lands, William secured land and settled in the shadow of the highest peak in Georgia, Bald Mountain, Choestoe District. William and Nancy Jackson and William's brother Joseph were all listed as members of Choestoe Baptist Church in 1834, the first year of extant minutes, although it is believed the church was organized in 1832. William Jackson cleared more land on his farm, adding to the acreage once tended by the Cherokee before they were driven from the property he purchased.

Besides Nancy Jackson's two sons by her first marriage, she had seven known children by her second husband, William Jackson. These were as follows: Rebecca Jackson (1816-1860) who married Jonathan Cook (1815-1861). They lived in the Arkaquah District of Union County and reared two sons and four daughters. Rebecca and Jonathan Cook were buried in the Six Oaks Cemetery near Old Liberty Church, Choestoe.

Armelia Jackson (1820-?) married William Neeley (1808-?). This couple moved to Tennessee and no information is known on their children.

Johile Jackson (1822-?), named for his uncle, married Jane Duckworth (1823-1896). They lived in the Arkaquah District and reared a family of four sons and five daughters. Johile and Jane Jackson were buried in the Jackson Family Cemetery on the Abercrombie Farm in Arkaquah District.

Susanna Jackson (1826-1889) married John W. Duckworth (1821-1913). They settled near Old Liberty Church on his father David Duckworth's property. They had a family of twelve children. Susie, as she was known, and John were interred in the Old Choestoe Cemetery but their gravestones have long ago disappeared.

Mira Jackson (1827-1902) married Jehu Wimpey (1829-1899). They had thirteen children, five sons and eight daughters. Their large family has many descendants still living in Union County. They were buried at Old Liberty Baptist Church Cemetery.

Kimsey Jackson (1828-1869) married Lucinda "Cindy" Thomas (1828-1909). At age 41, Kimsey had an unfortunate accident that took his life. He was driving a wagon pulled by oxen loaded with 300 feet of green oak lumber. On a hill near Old Liberty Church the brakes gave way and the wagon turned over, pinning Kimsey underneath it. Kimsey and Cindy had three sons.

William Marion Jackson (1829-1912) married Rebecca Goforth (1833-1901). Marion Jackson liked to tell that he was born near Yonah Mountain in what was then Habersham (now White) County, Georgia. He was the first of William and Nancy Jackson's children born after they moved to Georgia. During the Civil War, Marion joined the U. S. Army. He and Rebecca lived on Town Creek, Choestoe District, and reared six daughters and two sons. William and Rebecca were buried at Old Liberty Baptist Church Cemetery.

The youngest child of William and Nancy Jackson was Andrew William ((1835-1917) who married Minerva Goforth (1840-1915). Their story was recounted in last week's column. They went to California after the Civil War and never returned to Georgia.

William Jackson (1798-1859) and his wife Nancy (1793-1861) were both interred at the Six Oaks Cemetery near Old Liberty Baptist Church.

The Jackson name is still common in Union County among descendants of William and Nancy. The name means "Jack's Son". Jack was a nickname for John. Centuries ago in England, Scotland and Ireland John's Son and Jack's Son were common designations and from them the family name derived. The two first Jacksons registered in America were Isaac and John. Isaac Jackson was born in Ireland in 1664 and died at Londongrove, Chester County, Pennsylvania in 1750. His wife was Anna Evans and they had ten children. John Jackson was born in 1766 in Tipperary, Ireland and died in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1826. John Jackson's ancestors have been traced back to Sir John Jackson, made a baron by King Charles II in 1660.


c2004 by Ethelene Dyer Jones; published Apr. 1, 2004 in The Union Sentinel, Blairsville, GA. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Andrew William Jackson

At times we read accounts of early settlers in Union County and learn of their subsequent adventures. We wonder how they lived through some of their exploits. Truth often looms larger than fiction. The story of Andrew William Jackson and his wife Margaret Minerva Goforth Jackson falls into the category of "truth stranger than fiction." I am grateful to Watson Benjamin Dyer and Belle Jackson Maury (she was a granddaughter of Andrew William Jackson) for this account of Andrew William Jackson. I have edited the account for structure, chronology and flow, but have kept to the facts as presented by Belle Jackson Maury.

Andrew William Jackson was born in 1835 in Choestoe District, Union County. His father was William Jackson (b. abt. 1798 in NC, died July 27, 1859, Choestoe, GA) and Nancy Owenby Stanley Jackson (b. ca 1793 in NC, died 1861, Choestoe, GA). They were in Union County when it was formed in 1832.

Andrew was the youngest of eight known children. The others were Rebecca who married Jonathan Cook; Armelia who married William Neely; Johile who married Jane Duckworth; Susan who married John W. Duckworth; Kimsey who married Lucinda Thomas; Mira who married Jehu Wimpey; and William Marion who married Minerva Goforth.

William and Nancy Jackson moved from Rutherford County, NC where they were married December 14, 1814. From there they went to Habersham County, Georgia and then to Union County near Bald Mountain. William and Nancy Jackson were early members--perhaps charter members--of Choestoe Baptist Church. Seeing the list of their children and their spouses indicates that there is a rich family history in each of the children and their descendants, many of whom still live in the vicinity. But the focus of this article will be upon Andrew William Jackson, the youngest of the children.

When the Jacksons were settling onto their Choestoe acres, there was much unrest in the nation. The majority of settlers in Union County were not slave holders and they did not want to participate in the Civil War. Many had Union leanings and went to Tennessee to join the U. S. (Northern) Army. Among these were Marion Jackson (Andrew's brother) and John Hunter, a Choestoe neighbor. Some in opposition to the South hid out in the mountains evading conscription. In the daytime deep caves were their hiding places. They ventured out at night and by the light of the moon worked their crops. Times were hard and fear was rampant.

Andrew William Jackson and Margaret Minerva Goforth were married on November 9, 1855, with the Rev. William Pruitt, Minister of the Gospel, performing the ceremony. When the war was declared, Andrew was in the vicinity of Atlanta. He was conscripted for the Confederate Army but did not like it and deserted.

The story is told that at one time when his pursuers were looking for him, he climbed up into the chimney of their home to hide. Minerva and her little children tried to be calm while the search went on. The men left the home and Andrew stayed several hours in the chimney before he came down. He and sixteen other deserters were captured and sent to a jail in Birmingham, Alabama.

Evidently Andrew found a way to get a message to Minerva. He asked her to visit him at the Birmingham jail and to bring the horses, hiding them out near the jail. The men planned to escape that night. Imagine the bravery of this young woman (about 23 at the time--she was born in 1840) to go across the mountains of Georgia into Alabama to a Confederate prison to assist her husband to escape.

One of the men imprisoned with Andrew Jackson had lost a leg and walked with a wooden leg. Andrew asked him for his wooden leg so he could fashion a key to unlock the jail. The man, at first reluctant, said, "If I don't have my leg, I can't walk out."

The story goes that Andrew Jackson told him, "It's either your wooden leg or we'll be shot to death in the morning." How he had that knowledge is an untold part of the story. Andrew did take the wooden leg and carved a sort of key that worked to open the lock. Evidently the guards were asleep or not aware of what was going on within the jail. Andrew was successful with springing the lock and the men walked out. They set fire to the stockade and burned it down, escaping through the woods.

There in the woods was Minerva with the two horses and their children, waiting for her husband. They made their way from Birmingham northward to the old Jackson homeplace in Choestoe. Minerva and the children rode the horses and Andrew walked in the woods, trying to keep himself hidden. They miraculously made the long trip to Choestoe safely.

Just what year Andrew and Minerva and their by then four children decided to leave Choestoe is not certain. But evidently the unrest of the war years was still upon the land. They packed up their meager belongings and set out with their young family heading west. They had great difficulties along the way. Andrew still had to hide out because he was wanted for having escaped the Confederate jail. When they crossed the Mississippi River and arrived in Kansas, they felt safer because they were again among Union sympathizers who helped the young family to find food and provisions and temporary work for Andrew.

It was a sad journey. The two middle children died on the journey and were buried along the route. Their names are unknown to this writer. Milton Bert and Dicie survived the trip. The Jackson family arrived at the San Louis Obispo Valley, sometimes called the Creasy Plains, of California, and there they began farming. They were ready for a new life and gave themselves to it with a passion. There Minnie Matilda, their last child, was born on August 7, 1879.

Milton Bert was given the responsibility of herding sheep. He took the sheep to open range on the mountains near where they lived. The lad was only fourteen when he began this herdsman's job. Andrew went every week to take Bert food and to check on him. The lad did a good job of warding off wild animals and caring for the sheep.

Andrew liked seclusion. When other settlers began to move onto the Creasy Plains and get too close, Andrew would stake out another claim in a less-populated area. He did not like to talk of his Civil War experiences or of the hardships the family endured. One day Bert saw a large scar on his father's side and asked how he got it. Andrew told his son, "It's none of your business."

One day a group of men with winded, exhausted horses rode onto the Jackson ranch. They asked Andrew for his horses, as theirs were spent. He knew they would take them by force if he did not let them go willingly. They promised to send his horses back in a few days and quickly rode away.

Soon afterward, a sheriff's posse came by looking for the men. Noticing the many horse tracks near Andrew's barn, they wanted to know why. Ever the man of few words, Andrew told the sheriff that a lot of riding had been going on there the last few days. The sheriff explained that the Dalton Gang had robbed the bank the day before and the posse was trailing them.

A few days later, Andrew's tired horses reappeared at the ranch. He took off their saddles, and there under the blanket were fastened several $50 gold pieces. Whether Andrew kept the gold or turned it over to the authorities is unknown. Maybe he went by the old adage, "Finders, keepers."

Andrew and Minerva Goforth Jackson did not return to Georgia. They remained in California where their last place of residence was at Cholame. Andrew died there in 1917 and Minerva died in 1915. They were buried at San Louis Obisbo. Their adventures bespeak the independent spirit and work ethic so tightly woven into the character of early Union County, Georgia people.

c2004 by Ethelene Dyer Jones; published March 25, 2004 in The Union Sentinel, Blairsville, GA. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Union County’s Claim to Governor Joseph Emerson Brown

Joseph Emerson Brown (1821-1894) 27th Governor of Georgia

Driving along Georgia Highway 60 near Woody Gap School, you see a Georgia Historical Marker announcing “Homesite of Joseph Emerson Brown.” Stopping to read it, you find that Joseph Emerson Brown, four-time governor of Georgia, lived with his parents at about the same location where the school is today.

We like to take pride in claiming that famous people lived here—or, for that matter, “slept here.” Once a citizen of Union County, Brown sat in the state’s highest seat from 1857 through 1865 when Georgia’s capitol was located at Milledgeville, Georgia. He served as governor during the turbulent years of secession and the Civil War.

What can we learn about this tall, lanky man whose pictures remind us somewhat of Abraham Lincoln, except that Brown’s beard was white?

He was not born in Union County, Georgia. Instead, his birth state was South Carolina, in the Pickens District, where he was born April 15, 1821. His parents were Mackey and Sally Brown. As with most who left one area and went to another in those years, the Browns moved to what we know as Suches, Georgia and settled at Woody Gap. There the family farmed. Few educational opportunities existed there for the young Brown beyond the one-teacher school that was held for a few months a year. We can imagine, with his bent for learning, he longed to have a better education.

That opportunity came when Joseph Emerson Brown was nineteen. In 1840, his father gave him two oxen that evidently had been yoked together and trained for work on the farm. Brown took the oxen and his meager belongings and left, dressed in a suit his mother made for him from wool from the Brown’s own sheep. He made his way over the mountains to South Carolina where he sold the oxen to gain money for room and board. He entered Camden Academy. The administrator must have seen promise in the young Brown, for he went to school there on credit, promising to repay the loan after graduation.

When he finished at Camden, he must have returned to visit with his parents at Suches. But soon he made his way to Canton, Georgia where he got a job teaching school. In whatever time he could spare, he studied law (it was called “reading law” then). He passed the Georgia bar examination in 1845.

Then came the next lap in his educational journey. He went to Yale University School of Law, graduating in 1846 with a Bachelor of Law degree. He had borrowed money to attend Yale from a friend and physician in Canton whom Brown would later appoint to the Georgia-owned railroad, the Western and Atlantic.

He opened his law practice in Canton and soon began earning a sizeable annual salary for 1846—up to $3,000 per year. He also served as a tutor to certain young men whom he encouraged. A shrewd businessman as well as a lawyer, he was able to make investments that later would make him one of the wealthiest men in Georgia.

His courtship with Elizabeth Grisham began. She was a daughter of a Baptist minister. They were married in 1847. To them were born eight children: Julius, Mary, Joseph, Franklin, Elijah, Charles, Sally and George. Their son, Joseph Mackey Brown, would later follow in his father’s footsteps and serve as Governor of Georgia (1909-1911 and 1912-1913).

Joseph Emerson Brown’s political career began actively when he was elected to the Georgia senate from his district in 1849. In the 1852 national election, he was the presidential elector on the Democratic ticket of Pierce and King. He was appointed as judge of the Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit in 1855.

His next big political move came when he was elected governor of Georgia in 1857. His opponents among the landed large plantation owners called him “The Ploughboy.” They sought to discredit him because he had grown up on a poor mountain farm in North Georgia. The man who had taken his education and career into his own hands was not to be dismissed with such an epithet. His political leanings up until 1865 were more like those of President Andrew Jackson. In fact, he was labeled by historians as a “Jacksonian Democrat.” He held firmly to states’ rights. He appealed to and upheld the common man. As Georgia’s 27th governor, and elected for four terms (1857, 1859, 1861, and 1863), he served during one of Georgia’s most turbulent periods.

Vital to the economy prior to the Civil War and essential to the war effort during the conflict, the railroad was one of Governor Brown’s chief projects. He replaced top management positions in the Western & Atlantic Railroad as well as minor officials. Many who received railroad jobs were his staunch supporters. He advised the superintendent to “cut all unnecessary expenses, but to keep the railroad in good repair.” He also wanted unnecessary employees dismissed and to pay salaries commensurate to those paid by other railroads. Intoxicating beverages were not allowed. Strict obedience to the rules concerning operation of the railroad was to be followed. The rules were printed, posted and also delivered to all employees.

Next: More on Governor Brown and on his post-war political career.

c2004 by Ethelene Dyer Jones; published March 11, 2004 in The Union Sentinel, Blairsville, GA. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

John Nicholson, Revolutionary War Soldier (Part 2)

In October, 2000, the Blue Ridge Mountains Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution, held a ceremony at the Pleasant Grove Cemetery in memory of John Nicholson, Sr., Revolutionary patriot. Last week’s column recounted his four terms of Revolutionary service, each of three months, making a total time of one year as a soldier.

Patriot John Nicholson had an interesting life after his Revolutionary War experiences.

An article by historian Robert S. Davis, a descendant of Patriot Nicholson, recounts incidents involving John Nicholson, Sr. that took place in a disputed area sometimes known as Old Walton County. He, along with some other settlers, took out a land grant and settled in the area of the French Broad River Valley in Cherokee Indian Territory sometime before 1786. The land grant was possibly a reward for service in the Revolution.

The frontiersmen believed these were western lands belonging to South Carolina. However, that state had the grants annulled and withdrew claims to these “western” settlements. The grantees petitioned Congress for annexation to South Carolina. When their appeals failed, the settlers formed their own government in 1793. The area– much like the State of Franklin in Tennessee that John Sevier had settled–became known as “The Orphan Strip” because it was not claimed by South or North Carolina or Georgia.

In 1798, the Federal Government secured The Orphan Strip officially from the Cherokees, and, believing it to be below the boundary of the 35th parallel separating North Carolina from Georgia, ceded it to Georgia in 1802.

Settlers in The Orphan Strip had kept minutes of their official meetings. These were signed and submitted to Governor John Milledge of Georgia, together with a petition that their settlement be recognized. The Georgia Legislature acted on the Governor’s recommendation, and on December 10, 1803, the “Orphan Strip” became Walton County, named for George Walton who was then the last one living of Georgia’s signers of the Declaration of Independence, had been a Congressman, and was a former Georgia Governor.

This “old’ Walton County is not to be confused with the present-day Walton County, with Monroe as its capital, founded from a portion of Jackson County on December 15, 1818. The “Old Walton” was right along the North Carolina and Georgia border, and extended over to the South Carolina line.

Elected to represent Walton County in the Georgia Legislature were two citizens, John Nicholson, Sr. and John Akins. The county was described as very mountainous and “inhabited by an orderly and industrious people” numbering about 800. In the state census soon after Walton County was formed, the John Nicholson family was listed with eleven whites in the household.

We may not have read about “The Walton War” in the history books, but it was fought because of the confusion over who owned the Orphan Strip--North Carolina or Georgia. The two states could not agree with reports of the surveying team. Buncombe County claimed the land. The “bandittery” of the area had “taken arms” and were committing “depredations on the honest civil citizens of the county.” The citizens retaliated, and several skirmishes ensued.

John Nicholson himself was taken prisoner and put in jail in the Morgan District. When he came to trial, charges against him were that he refused to accept North Carolina’s claim to the contested Walton County.

In 1807, both the North Carolina and the Georgia Legislatures agreed to a new survey. That team found that Walton County was well above the 35th parallel. But Georgia did not want to relinquish claim so easily and so in 1811 hired a nationally-known surveyor, Andrew Ellicott, to run the disputed line. He found that the line extended even farther south than the 1807 team had determined. John Nicholson, who had served in the Georgia Legislature from Old Walton County in 1806, 1808 and 1809 had to give up his political representation by virtue of finding himself again a citizen of Buncombe County, NC. The “Orphan Strip” became a part of both Buncombe and Transylvania Counties in North Carolina.

In 1820, John Nicholson was enumerated in Buncombe County with his wife (both he and she above 45 years of age), and one son and one daughter, each between 10 and 16.

His next move evidently was to Habersham County, Georgia, where, in 1833, he sold 468 acres of his Buncombe County, NC land for $600 to Benjamin Wilson. A witness to the deed was John Erwin who married Nicholson’s daughter Sarah in 1823.

By 1830, John Nicholson, Sr. was in Hall County, Georgia with his son, John, Jr. (1802-1884). It was while in Hall County he applied for and received a Revolutionary War pension of $40 per year.

As an old man, he moved to Union County, Georgia, although, as we saw in last week’s account, he already owned land and paid taxes in Union in 1850. On March 26, 1855, records show that he applied for bounty lands in Union County available to Revolutionary War veterans. He was then living in the home of his son, Alfred Nicholson (1799-1874, who had married Mary “Polly” Chastain), in the Harmony Grove community, Arkaquah District. From there he went to live with his daughter, Vica Nicholson Akins, near Pleasant Grove, where he died December 10, 1858.

A landed gentleman, a patriot, a legislator, a farmer, a mover-and-shaker of his time, this 96-year old man had lived through almost a century of upheaval and change in America.

So far as is known , his children were: (1) James Nicholson; (2) Mary “Polly” Nicholson (1791-1868) who married Rene Chastain; (3) Walter Nicholson (1795-1859) who married Dorcas Hogsed; (4) Elizabeth “Betty” Nicholson who married Benjamin Burke; (5) William Harrison Nicholson (1797-1864) who married Jane Duckworth and Jane Blocker; (6) Alfred Nicholson (1799-1874) who married Mary “Polly” Chastain; (7) Daughter who married Porter Owenby and moved to Union County; (8) Luvicia Nicholson (1802-?), who married Lewis Akins; (9) John Nicholson, Jr. (1802-1884), who married Elizabeth Allred; and (10) Sarah Nicholson (1803-1882), who married John Erwin.

Genealogists who puzzle over how some of Nicholson’s children were listed on census records as having been born in Georgia and others in South Carolina or North Carolina can now know that it hinged on that Old Walton County dispute as to which state owned the “Orphan Strip.”

c2004 by Ethelene Dyer Jones; published Mar. 4, 2004 in The Union Sentinel, Blairsville, GA. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

John Nicholson, Revolutionary War Soldier (Part 1)

Last week we looked at the life and service of Revolutionary War soldier, Michael Tanner, who was buried in the Old Choestoe Cemetery.

Another Revolutionary War soldier’s grave is that of John Nicholson who was buried at the Pleasant Grove Baptist Church Cemetery in Coosa District. To access the cemetery and see this grave marker, travel from the square in Blairsville west on (old) Highway 76 for about 7.8 miles. The church was founded in 1842. Although the old gravestone shows neither a birth date nor a death date for John Nicholson, family records attest to his birth being on May 1, 1762 or 1763 in Old Bute County, NC (present-day Warren County). Family history also indicates that John Nicholson died December 20, 1858 at age 96. If he did live to this ripe old age, his birth date then would have been in the year 1762.

John Nicholson had moved from Hall County, Georgia to Union County, Georgia to live with his son Alfred whose farm was in the Harmony Grove section of Arkaquah District. Another son, Walter, lived in the Fodder Creek section of Towns County, Georgia. In 1858, John Nicholson was at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Lewis Akins in the Coosa District near Pleasant Grove Church. This daughter’s name was Luvicia, b. 1802 and called Vica. The family buried their father in the nearby church cemetery. Travel arrangements were not conducive then to transporting the body to Hall or Habersham County where one of his spouses had been buried in the many moves of the family.

John Nicholson (May 1, 1762 or 1763-December 20, 1858), was a son of William Nicholson. The Nicholsons had first settled in Virginia prior to the Revolution and had large land holdings there. The family migrated to North Carolina prior to the Revolution. It was in Bute County (later named Warren County), N. C. where John was born.

John Nicholson, Sr. enlisted in the Revolution from Bute County, NC. His first term of enlistment began in 1780 and lasted for three months. He was under the command of Captain John White and in Colonel Eaton’s North Carolina Regiment, with General Caswell. This Regiment was at the Battle of Camden when General Gates was defeated. This first three-month term was as a substitute for someone else. He mustered out on the Adkin River.

His second enlistment of three months was in 1781 as a private under General Greene, in the N. C. Regiment commanded by Captains Flewallen and Norsworthy. The Regiment was in the Battle of Guilford Courthouse. After this three-month service, he was discharged at Ramey’s Mill.

His third three-month enlistment was under Colonel Linton in the North Carolina Troops. He was discharged at Tarborough.

For the fourth enlistment, again of three months in 1782, he served in Captain Cox’s Company of the North Carolina Regiment under Colonel Sevier. His honorable discharge came on the Tennessee River in North Carolina. Altogether, Private Nicholson served a year during the Revolution.

John Nicholson made application for a Revolutionary War pension on November 2, 1832. He was then a resident of Hall County, Georgia. He had been counted in the 1830 census of Hall County, along with his son, John Nicholson, Jr. (1802-1884). The pension was granted and Private John Nicholson received $40.00 per year until his death for his Revolutionary War service. By the 1850 census, John, Sr. was living in Cherokee County, Georgia in the household of his youngest son, John Nicholson, Jr. who had married Elizabeth Allred in 1827. That same year, 1850, John Nicholson, Sr. paid taxes in Union County, Georgia on land he owned, with his son-in-law, Lewis Akin, making the tax payment for him.

From the records, it would seem that John Nicholson, Sr. traveled about a lot. The aged soldier was probably moved from one child’s home to another to be cared for by them in his dotage. Reaching age 96 in those years was an accomplishment within itself. We can imagine that he had colorful stories to tell his children and grandchildren as he re-lived his four-term enlistment in the Revolution. The battles of Camden and Guilford Courthouse no doubt loomed large in his memory as he recalled the North Carolina farmers mustered out to protect their freedom and to win independence.

[Next week: More on the life and times of John Nicholson, Sr.]

c2004 by Ethelene Dyer Jones; published Feb. 26, 2004 in The Union Sentinel, Blairsville, GA. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Private Michael Tanner, Revolutionary War Soldier

The marker for a Revolutionary War soldier, Private Michael Tanner, stands about in the middle of the Old Choestoe Cemetery. This simple marble monument, typical of war memorials dotting old cemeteries in various locations, is unpretentious. One might pass it by, not recognizing its significance or the contribution the soldier made to the freedom of America.

The Blue Ridge Mountains Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution, seeking to make a more lasting memorial, held a commemoration service at Private Michael Tanner’s grave on November 3, 2001. As a member of the Old Unicoi Trail Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, I was invited, along with other members of my chapter. It was a distinct privilege, toward the end of the memorial service, for fellow chapter member Carole Thompson and me to place a wreath to honor the service of Private Michael Tanner.

Dr. J. Allen Henson, a descendant of Private Tanner, gave a brief biography of his great, great great grandfather. It is to Dr. Henson I am indebted for the following information.

Michael Tanner was born December 4, 1759 in York County, Pennsylvania. Tanner is a trade name, deriving from those who followed the profession of tanning animal hides for fine leather. The earliest-known progenitors of Michael Tanner seem to have originated in Germany, moved to Holland, and then migrated to America in 1721, settling in Pennsylvania.

When Michael Tanner was eighteen, in 1777, he enlisted in the Continental Army in Shenandoah County, Virginia. His first encounters were against the Indians of the area to protect settlers from raids. He then engaged in skirmishes with the Tories who were faithful to the British crown.

When the Revolutionary War officially began, he was ready to bear arms for his country. At first he served as a volunteer, but was drafted when fighting accelerated. He served at first under the command of Captain Raider, General Hand and Captain Mason.

His unit journeyed to Fort Wallin on the Ohio River, the first assignment after he was drafted. Then he moved with his unit to the South Branch of the Potomac River where he was under the command of Captain George Huston and Colonel Simms. From there he fought in Rockingham County, Virginia under Captain John Rush in the Virginia Regiment headed by Colonel Harris.

The highlight of Private Michael Tanner’s military service occurred at Yorktown, Virginia, when General George Washington engineered the surrender of the British Field Commander, Charles, Earl of Cornwallis. At full strength, the American allied forces brought together 8,000 Continental Army troops and 3,000 militiamen at Yorktown, augmented by 15,000 French sailors who blocked Cornwallis’ escape and prevented British reinforcements from arriving by sea. It was a tense confrontation and much hinged on General Washington’s maneuvers, with Alexander Hamilton commanding the light infantry.

Cornwallis, realizing the precarious position of the British forces, began negotiations with General Washington. On October 19, 1781 the American Revolution ended and American independence was secured. Did Private Michael Tanner hear the strains of “The World Turned Upside Down” played from the British ship in the harbor? If he did, its strains must have reverberated in his memory for years to come.

We can only imagine the relief and happiness of soldiers like Private Michael Tanner who had done their part to bring about the surrender. Although it took two more years for hostilities to completely cease, statesmen like Benjamin Franklin, John Jay and John Adams kept negotiating for terms of peace. Questions of what would become of British loyalists (Tories) after the war and the bounds of U. S. territory to extend to the Mississippi River were argued. The Treaty of Paris was signed September 3, 1783.

Private Michael Tanner returned to Virginia following Cornwallis’ surrender at Yorktown. In Rockingham County, Virginia on July 14, 1782 Tanner married Catherine Butt. They migrated from the more settled area of Virginia to the frontier counties of Rutherford and Buncombe in North Carolina. There they reared their family and he earned his living from the soil. Known children of Michael and Catherine were Michael (Jr.), Mollie Tanner Ross, Elizabeth Tanner Ellison, George Tanner, Sally Tanner, Catherine Tanner Harkins and sons Jacob, Adam and Abraham.

When Michael Tanner made application for a war pension, he used his father’s German Bible with family records to establish his birth date as December 4, 1759. From the pension application Dr. Henson learned of the war record of Private Tanner. He was still in Buncombe County, North Carolina, when he received a Revolutionary War pension in April, 1833.

By 1838, Michael and Catherine Butt Tanner had settled in the Choestoe District of Union County, Georgia, moving there to be near some of their children who had migrated before them. Catherine Butt Tanner preceded her husband in death, dying April 12, 1842. Her grave was marked by a fieldstone in Old Choestoe Cemetery. Seven years later, on August 25, 1849, Michael Tanner was laid to rest by his beloved Catherine. In 1989, one hundred and forty years later, Dr. J. Allen Henson had a military marker erected for his ancestor.

The memorial service held on November 3, 2001 was a solemn, dignified and uplifting ceremony. The strains of patriotic music from fife, drum and bagpipe echoed through the trees and hills around Old Choestoe Cemetery where this Pennsylvania-born, Virginia-bred, Yorktown patriot found his final resting place. The honor guard dressed in military regalia gave a proper twenty-one gun salute. It was a worthy tribute to an humble soldier-farmer whose ancestors had come to the shores of America in 1721 seeking freedom.

c2004 by Ethelene Dyer Jones; published Feb. 19, 2004 in The Union Sentinel, Blairsville, GA. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.