Literary Festival: Event in Blue Ridge to Memorialize Byron Herbert Reece

Poet Byron Herbert Reece (1917-1958) working on his writing at his home on Wolf Creek, Union County, GA. (about 1947)

Had he lived, Union County poet and author Byron Herbert Reece (1917-1958) would have turned ninety years of age on September 17 this year. His brief life and his notable works will be the theme of the Georgia Center for the Book annual Georgia Literary Festival to be held at Blue Ridge this coming weekend, September 28-30.

Citizens of this mountain area will rarely have the privilege this close at hand to participate in such an extravaganza of celebration for writers and the written word. I hope I can convey to you some of the excitement and enthusiasm generated by a chockfull program and the privilege to meet some of Georgia's best-known present day writers as well as paying tribute to Union County's own Byron Herbert Reece, poet extraordinary.

First, let me give a little history of the Georgia Literary Festival. The current event is the ninth consecutive year the festival has been held. An event such as this often gains momentum as it proceeds year by year. The first was more local in nature, held in Eatonton, Georgia in 1999. Dr. Glenn T. Eskew, professor in the history department of Georgia State University who lived in nearby Madison, GA, conceived and put together the first festival, inviting notable writers from around Georgia. It was so enjoyable and successful that Eatonton again hosted the 2000 and the 2001 festivals. In 2002, another middle Georgia town, Sparta, was the site. Then to Madison, Dr. Eskew's hometown, for 2003. By 2004, the Georgia Center for the Book voted to be one of the main promoters, and with Dr. Eskew as consultant, the Center has continued until this ninth venue to lead in scheduling and advising local towns on conducting the festival. In 2004, Columbus hosted the event, in 2005 it went to Elberton, and in 2006 to Macon.

Blue Ridge had an active committee vying for the 2007 venue, and their proposals and tentative program were accepted. Bill Starr, director of the Georgia Center for the Book, has this to say about the 2007 Blue Ridge Festival: "Blue Ridge is a beautiful town that draws many visitors throughout the year, and we know that the festival is going to be very, very popular, with so many outstanding writers taking part and so much going on. And almost everything is free." (In Sept. Georgia Public Library Newsletter, page 1.)

As another accolade to Reece and his life, a brand new book entitled "Faithfully Yours," compiled and edited by Dr. Raymond Cook and Dr. Alan Jackson, will be presented at the festival and available for sale. Reece was known for his copious correspondence, and this book collects his letters- to friends, his publisher, to literary associates- and gives insight into the mind and character of Reece previously unavailable to the public.

Recently, Rev. Keith Jones (who is my son and the local chairman of this year's Georgia Literary Festival) has professionally recorded on CDs the poems of Reece through the auspices of National Recording Company of Rome, Georgia. A limited number of the tapes will be available for sale at the festival, and information for ordering will be at the Byron Herbert Reece Society Booth.

All the Literary Festival events are free to the public. An auxiliary event, such as a Mark Twain impersonation by actor Kurt Sutton at the Blue Ridge Community Theater, has a ticket price ($15 - 7:30 Friday). The Blue Ridge Scenic Train Ride is also an auxiliary event with a cost. The Reece Society has prepared a "Reece Ramble" brochure that takes the sightseer on a guided tour of places dear to Reece. This "ramble" can be made after the festival is over.

I must admit that I've been looking forward to this literary festival for over a year now. I've heard about meetings to plan it. I've been privy to how the money to sponsor it was received gratefully. I know most of the people who have worked extremely hard to put together a weekend highlight of major proportions. Then came my unexpected heart surgery on August 30. I had a strong incentive to recuperate. Would the doctors even think of allowing me to go to Blue Ridge? Imagine my joy when Dr. Wanna told me: "With these limitations, you may go!" I agreed to his directions gladly. I look forward to as much of the festival as I can "take in" without getting unduly tired. I even plan to fulfill my segments on the program at 7:30 Friday night, at 11:20 Saturday, and at 2:00 p. m. Saturday. I hope to see many of you there!

Keynote speaker Cathy Cox, President of Young Harris College, will address the festival attendees in the Old Courthouse, now home of the Blue Ridge Mountain Arts Association. Her topic will be "Byron Herbert Reece's Intellectual Home, Young Harris College.” Several noted authors will lecture on appropriate topics of Appalachian life and culture.

The program is too long to list completely. But think of how you can honor one of Union County's most noble literary figures by just attending. An opportunity like this comes but once in a lifetime to most of us.

c 2007 by Ethelene Dyer Jones; published Sept. 27, 2007 in The Union Sentinel, Blairsville, GA. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Welcome Back

The phrase "time-out" according to Webster's Dictionary was coined in 1926 and is a noun meaning a brief suspension of activity; a break; and especially a suspension of play in an athletic game.

Time Outs, according to the definition, are usually planned periods in which, in a football game or other sport, for example, a team reconsiders maneuvers and talks about alternate plans that might thwart the opponent's play.

When my children were young and being disciplined for some infraction of the rules of good behavior, they didn't like "time out." It kept them from interesting activities they wanted to continue. But the time out proved worthy as a means of teaching discipline and thinking before overtly acting.

There is another kind of "time out"- unplanned and unexpected--that occurs without warning or preparation. I've come trough several weeks of time out because of the necessity for five coronary bypasses heart surgery on August 30. I was given little notice to prepare for the time out or to make arrangements. These major "time-outs," or interruptions to the usual life schedule, can be a catastrophe or a challenge, depending largely on the patient's attitude.

In the many cards from friends and relatives was one recurring theme, "You shocked us! We didn't know you had heart difficulties!" Imagine how the "shock" hit me when the cardiologist made arrangements for me to enter the hospital on August 28 and I was not released until after the whole process was over (except the recuperation) on September 6.

Members of my family were away on vacation. I have my wonderful granddaughter Crystal Berenguer Diaz to thank for taking charge like a responsible adult (which she is) and doing what had to be done to get me to the hospital, get papers signed, and keeping vigil until some of the other family members returned from far-flung places.

To her I am most grateful. I don't remember a lot of what happened for several days. I know I had great faith and I was unafraid. I knew, like the Apostle Paul, whether I lived or died, it would be gain.

The timing was good, even though some family members were not present for the big surgery. My husband, Grover, was in good hands at the Georgia War Veterans' Home Memory Support Unit in Milledgeville, and I knew he was being well cared for while I was in the hospital and incapacitated. Even a small challenge with his health a few days after I returned home from the hospital when I was still not able to visit him was handled with finesse. He had some sort of attack which the doctor and nurse thought might be a stroke, so he was taken by ambulance to Oconee Medical Center's Emergency Room for extensive tests. But no stroke or major malady other than his usual Alzheimer's progression was found. He was given two days of bed rest back at the Memory Support Unit, and was then eating, laughing and talking as is his fashion.

The hardest thing during my own recuperation period was not being able to be by his side or help him. "Time out" covers many aspects of life and caregiving and we must be willing to go with the punches.

One of the things I've missed during this almost four weeks "time out" has been writing my weekly column. Several have begged me to give this up completely, saying "think about yourself and your health." But actually, I enjoy doing this column. It is a bright spot in my week, a means of therapy, of challenge. Please excuse this feeble attempt to talk about taking unexpected time out from regular routines. But there's something to be said of resiliency, of looking forward to what one likes to do, of being restored to health. And that's the journey I'm on. I'm making remarkable progress. So said Dr. Wanna in my postoperative examination on September 18!

Know that I appreciate deeply all your expressions of concern, your sincere prayers on my behalf, and your statements of "missing the Jones column." My illness has not been a time out from words; just a time to recover enough to be able to sit before a computer screen and let thoughts flow. Thank you. And whatever is a challenge to you, don't be afraid of a time out. Sometimes your body demands it…and needs it!

(Thank you for allowing me to indulge in this personal account that has been so much a part of my life for four weeks now.)

c 2007 by Ethelene Dyer Jones; published Sept. 20, 2007 in The Union Sentinel, Blairsville, GA. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

'Through Mountain Mists' on hold

Due to a recent health issue, the weekly column by Ethelene Dyer-Jones will not appear in the Union Sentinel until further notice.

We at the Union Sentinel wish Ethelene all the best and a speedy recovery.

c 2007 by Ethelene Dyer Jones; published Aug. 30, 2007 in The Union Sentinel, Blairsville, GA. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Some Nix connections (part 5 Serving in the War Between the States

Before I launch on this week's topic of Nix men (and boys) who served in the War Between the States, I want to clarify items from last week's article on Aunt Jane Nix Wilson Hood.

Betty Jane Shuler called my attention to the caption under the picture. Thanks to her keen observations, the caption should have identified the picture as taken in 1905 (the year Jane's husband Isaac Thornton Wilson died). The baby Sophronia Jane Nix Wilson holds on her lap is Estelle, last born of her children, not Garnie, who lived only about two years and died in 1900.

Seven children of Jane Nix Wilson and Isaac Thornton Wilson are shown in the picture. The second girl from the left, standing, is a neighbor and friend who was visiting in the Wilson home and wanted to "get in" on the picture (Callie Clark?).

To properly identify the Wilson children in the 1905 photograph, they are Tom (1902), Estelle (1904) in Jane's lap, Benjamin (1894), Granny Evaline Duckworth Nix, James Isaac "Jim" (1896); second row: Verdie (1887), friend (Callie Clark ?), Hattie (1889) and Gertrude (1892). Who would know better how to identify these than history buff Betty Jane Shuler? Sophronia Jane Nix Wilson Hood was her grandmother, and the one for whom she was given her middle name, Jane.

Another item to clarify is the statement about Jane Wilson not joining Union Church when it was constituted in October, 1897, although she gave the land on which the church building was erected. She wished to remain a member of the New Liberty Baptist Church where she was a member from her youth. This was not uncommon in those days, to keep one's membership with relatives and friends in the church where one had grown up.

With those items clarified, we move to today's topic in the Nix saga. We trace briefly six sons of James "Jimmy" Nix and Elizabeth "Betsy" Collins Nix who served in the War Between the States. Five of them enlisted in the 23rd Georgia Regiment, Infantry, enlisting at Camp McDonald. The sixth, Jasper, enlisted in Ben Ledford's Regiment. Their father, James, himself enlisted on December 14, 1863 in the Georgia State Militia, Company 2. Betsy Nix therefore had six sons and a husband to be concerned about as they actively upheld the Confederate cause. What happened to these Nix men?

Jimmy Nix may not have left Union County for his service, as the Georgia Militia was charged with protection of home territory. Not much that I can find was written about his service other than his date of enlistment, December 14, 1863.

The sons, in order of age, served as follows: Thompson Nix was born in 1838 and named for his grandfather, Thompson Collins. He married Mary C. Hix in 1860 and they had one son, James Bly Nix, born June 1, 1861. This son was given the same name as Thompson Nix's brother. Thompson was a private in Company K of the 23rd Regiment, Georgia Infantry, enrolling on November 9, 1861. He became ill with a fever and was hospitalized in the "New Hospital" in Yorktown, Virginia, where he died March 4, 1862. It is reported that his body was returned home to Choestoe by W. L. Howard. I found no gravestone for him listed in the Cemeteries of Union County book.

John Nix, the fourth child of Jimmy and Betsy Collins Nix was born in 1840. He, too, was in the 23rd Georgia Regiment, enlisting August 31, 1861 at Camp McDonald. He was killed in battle at Sharpsburg, Maryland in September, 1862. His father filed for death benefits, but it is not known whether his applications were rewarded.

James Bly Nix was the fifth son and seventh child of Jimmy and Betsy Collins. Born June 2, 1844, he was a twin to Isabella, who may have died as an infant. At the age of 17, James Bly Nix joined Company K, 23 Georgia Regiment on August 31, 1861 at Camp McDonald. He was in the Battle of Frericksburg, VA, where he was wounded. He was treated at the Jackson Hospital in Richmond for a wound in his right leg on October 1, 1864. He saw much action during the war and was captured by the enemy and exchanged for a Union prisoner. James Bly returned from the war and married Millie J. "Polly" Henson on November 5, 1865. He was a farmer in the Owltown District. He also had gold mining rights on Coosa Creek and pursued mining with a passion. He and Mollie had nine children.

Jeffie Nix was born in 1846. It has been hard to trace his history, but it is believed that he also enlisted in Company K when his brothers did. Since he is not shown in subsequent census records after 1860, he may have died in the Civil War.

Jasper "Grancer" Nix, ninth child of Jimmy and Betsy Collins Nix, was born in 1847, a twin to Newton. He departed the tradition his older brothers had set and joined Colonel Ben Ledford's Regiment, John Souther's Company, from September, 1864 through May, 1865. His enlistment and discharge papers are not in the National or Atlanta Archives, but a soldier's pension application was found in the Atlanta Archives. He married Harriet Carolina "Tina" Duckworth and they had twelve children. After "Tina's" death, Jasper married Margaret Ballew.

Newton Nix, twin to Jasper, and tenth child of Jimmy and Betsy Collins Nix, joined Company K, 23rd Georgia Regiment at Camp McDonald on August 31, 1861. At the age of fifteen, he died of erysipelas and fever in Richmond, Virginia.

From the military records of these six sons of Jimmy and Betsy Collins Nix, we can imagine the impact of enlistment practices to get young men to join the Confederacy.

Of the six, we know that Thompson, John, and Newton died in the War. It may be that Jeffrie also lost his life during the war, for no further record has been found of him. Six sons fighting, and four lost is a heavy price to pay for war. What grief that mother bore.

c 2007 by Ethelene Dyer Jones. Published August 23, 2007 in The Sentinel, Blairsville, GA. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

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.

Nix Connections (part 3 in a series on the Nix family of Union County, GA and surrounding counties)

Columbus Hannibal Nix (1874-1950)

The sixth of eight children born to Archibald Carr Nix (1842-1906) and Sarah Ann Williamson Nix (1842-1927) was given the name Columbus Hannibal Nix when he was born April 1, 1874. His name shows the parents' interest in history. Perhaps they did not dream at the time of this sixth child's birth how adventuresome the life of their sixth child would be, prophetic of the name they gave him. It was soon shortened to "Lum" by which he was known the rest of his life.

An unusually bright lad, Lum Nix received what education was available in his home community of Choestoe, showing keen ability in history, geography, and mathematics. At age 17, equipped with the ability to sharpen saws and other handicrafts, like caning straight chairs with oak strips, Columbus Hannibal Nix set out on his life of adventure beyond the mountains of Choestoe Valley. In 1891, it was not easy to "go west, young man," but that was exactly the direction he headed. This was about the time that several in Choestoe Valley heeded the urge to find their livelihood beyond the mountains.

His exact journey and mode of travel are not known to this writer, but he probably went to Gainesville to board a train for his westward journey. Before leaving he would have saved up enough money for his train fare and upkeep along the way. Or, being an enterprising young man, he could have earned money at temporary stops as he sharpened saws or caned chairs.

His westward adventure took him to Colorado, to Idaho, to Oregon, and on to Alaska. At these places he pursued what has sometimes been called "gold fever," seeking that ever-elusive metal in various quick-claim mines in three states. Alaska beckoned him, and he moved northward. Records show that he got a grant in the Yukon on September 2, 1897 for a placer mine. His life as a miner would be the fabric of the stories he told later when he returned to Georgia. Lum Nix was a great storyteller. His life was one great tale of adventure, lived out in his travels and undergirded by his ability to fascinate his listeners by the places he had seen, the work he had done, the people he had met. He would come by our home when I was a child and young teenager and spend two weeks or more with us. Our home was his "base" of work as he sharpened saws for farmers in our community, or caned Reed-made chairs that had worn out with so much use. Now I wish I had listened more carefully to his true tales of adventure and how he overcame great difficulties in his search for treasure.

After twenty years of the adventuresome life, Columbus Hannibal Nix returned to Choestoe in 1911. His father, Archibald Carr Nix, had died in 1906. It is doubtful that Lum returned from Alaska for his father's funeral. But he had other aims upon his return to Georgia. He began to court beautiful Lillie Henson, born December 15, 1881 to Lum's sister, Ruth Alice "Nelle" Nix Henson (1866-1898) and Joseph Denson "Doss" Henson (1856-1926). On the Henson side of the family, Lillie was descended from her grandfather, James Madison Henson, great grandfather, Joseph Henson, Jr., and great, great grandfather, Joseph Henson, Sr. Like members of the Nix family, the Hensons had been early settlers in Union County and Choestoe District. A school named Henson operated for many years in the district, named for this family who had established it.

Lillie Henson and Lum Nix were married January 28, 1912 in Union County. Their children were Alice Pearl, born December 12, 1912; Roy Carl, born October 12, 1914; Corene Etta, born September 10, 1916, Nellie, born July 4, 1918 and Jack Columbus, born July 22, 1921.

The west still held a fascination for Lum Nix, so he packed up his young wife and their firstborn Pearl and headed west in 1913. This trek saw them living in Oregon and Idaho, where children Roy, Corene and Nellie were born. In 1919 they returned to Choestoe, then moved to Blairsville before Jack's birth in 1921.

In 1925 Lum Nix bought land in White County, Georgia and moved his family there where he and Lillie lived out their lives, except for the intermittent journeys Lum made to places he had lived, making his way by his well-honed crafts. Everywhere he went, he was known for his adventurous tales, made even more fascinating by the fact that he was the main character in them.

A great niece of Columbus Hannibal Nix tells the true story of his expertise at setting broken bones. Doris Elizabeth Nix (daughter of Aaron Jacob Nix and Ethel Elizabeth Ensley Nix, and granddaughter of John Wesley Nix and Minty Lavada Reece Nix), was four years old when she fell and broke her leg with a double compound fracture. This happened August 20, 1923, for, as Doris remembers, "my mother was in labor with my sister, Wilda Ruth", who was born on that date. Her Great Uncle Lum came walking up the road shortly after the terrible accident happened and Doris was in great pain with her broken leg. He said that he could set the leg. Doris remembers the excruciating pain, but is grateful that she never had any trouble with the bones knitting back properly. She remembers that Lum had Aunt Lena (Emma Lena Nix Dyer) gather up wool rags she could find to wrap around the broken leg. He then directed her to pour hot water over the woolen rags to bring the swelling down in the leg. With this done, he made a splint from wood, pulled the broken leg into place and set it. The procedure must have been traumatic for the four-year old child, with nothing to lessen the pain. "I sure remember screaming," says Doris Nix Bigger of this experience from her early childhood.

I count myself fortunate to have known this unusual man of the mountains. When I entered Truett McConnell College in 1947 as a charter student, one of my excellent professors there was his first-born child, Alice Pearl Nix, who later became the head of the psychology department at West Georgia College, Carrollton.

Columbus Hannibal Nix died in 1950 and Lillie Henson Nix died in 1973. They were interred in the Friendship Church Cemetery near Cleveland, White County, Georgia.

c 2007 by Ethelene DyerJones. Published August 9, 2007 in The Sentinel, Blairsville, GA. All rights reserved.

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.