A Tribute to Congressman Edgar Lanier Jenkins

Union County, Georgia can be justifiably proud of one of her native sons, Congressman Edgar Lanier Jenkins. He grew up in the county, was educated in the elementary and high schools at Blairsville, and went out to make his mark in the world. We salute him, pay tribute to his memory, and extend condolences to his family.

Congressman Edgar Lanier Jenkins who served as the United States Representative from the Ninth US Congressional District, Georgia, passed away Sunday, January 1, 2012, three days shy of his seventy-ninth birthday. He was born in Young Harris, Georgia on January 4, 1933, the second son of six children born to Charles Swinfield Jenkins and Evia Mae Souther Jenkins. He served in the United States House of Representatives for sixteen years, from 1976 through 1992 when he retired.

He and I were, as we say in genealogical terms, double-first cousins twice (or thrice) removed. We both descend from stalwart early settlers to Union County, Georgia (where Ed and I both grew up). As John Donne so aptly stated in one of his poems, Ed’s death “diminished me.” I was deeply saddened that he could not recover from the cancer he so bravely fought and that took his life three days before he reached his seventy-ninth birthday.

I will miss his presence at our annual Dyer-Souther Reunions in July. I will miss sending him “The Chronicle,” the newsletter I write and send out to about 300 descendants of Ed and my common ancestors, John and Mary Combs Souther and Bluford Elisha and Elizabeth Clark Dyer. Edgar’s connection back to them is through his mother, Evia Souther Jenkins, the granddaughter of William Albert and Elizabeth “Hon” Dyer Souther. This couple’s first-born son, Frank Loransey Souther (1881-1937) who married Nancy Elizabeth Johnson (1886-1967) was Edgar’s grandfather, his mother Evia’s parents. Edgar’s great, great grandparents were John Combs Hayes Souther (1827-1891) and Nancy Collins Souther (1829-1888)—and through the Collins line Edgar and I pick up still another relationship, for we share the same Collins ancestors as well. But all these ancestral connections get to be a bit confusing, especially if you don’t deal with them on a regular basis. Suffice it to say that the family connections are back there, strong and with definite influence upon both of us.

Edgar Lanier Jenkins perhaps got his penchant for public service in an “honest” way, as we say in the mountains. His grandfather, Frank Loransey Souther (1881-1937) was what we call in Appalachia a “revenooer.” That is, he worked for the U. S. Government to find, break up, and arrest perpetrators of the law who made “moonshine liquor” in the coves and hollows of this mountain region. When Edgar was a slip of a boy only four years old, his grandfather Ransey (as we called him) was killed in the line of duty. Maybe that Grandfather’s death made such an impression on Edgar that he resolved at an early age to do what he could in future to treat people well and to make a difference with his own life.

Ed graduated from Union County High School and then attended and graduated from Young Harris College in 1951. His faithfulness to his junior college Alma Mater led him in later years to set up a scholarship fund there which has assisted many with tuition. His first job out of Young Harris was with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (was this in remembrance of his late grandfather, Ransey Souther?). He then joined the U. S. Coast Guard and served ably from 1952 through 1955. Following his honorable discharge, he entered the University of Georgia to receive his bachelor’s degree and then his law degree in 1959.

From 1959 through 1962 he served on the staff of U. S. Congressman Phillip M. Landrum of the Ninth Congressional District. That experience helped the young Jenkins get a feel for serving in our U. S. capitol and set the stage for his later direction in life. From 1962 through 1964, Edgar Jenkins was Assistant District Attorney for Georgia’s Northern District, and he practiced law in Pickens County, Georgia, where he and his wife, Bennie Jo Thomasson Jenkins made their home at Jasper. Their two daughters, Janice Kristin and Amy Lynn came along in the 1960’s to give them much joy and grace their home. Later he would rejoice in two grandsons, Sam and Drew Dotson, sons of his daughter, Amy Jenkins Dotson.

Ed Jenkins was elected as the Ninth District U. S. Congressman in 1976, the same year another Georgian, Jimmy Carter, was elected President of the United States. Since Ed had the experience of being on the staff of Congressman Landrum, he was not to be considered a rookie in Washington politics. His sixteen year tenure (he did not run for reelection in 1992) saw many achievements by this legislator from Georgia who served a total of eight terms. It is interesting that “The Almanac of American Politics” in 1990 described Jenkins as “one of the smartest operators on Capitol Hill.”

This article could not possibly enumerate all the bills he sponsored or the legislative committees on which he served. Some of his major roles in Congress were serving on the House Ways and Means Committee, on the very volatile Joint Committee on the Iran-Contra which had the task of investigating and dealing with trading weapons to Iran. Ed Jenkins’ main value to the area he served was his strong stands for the textile industries within the Ninth District, holding that these jobs should not be parceled out to other countries. This had to do not only with the carpet industry of Dalton, but all the once-profitable sewing shops that made clothing throughout the mountain region. What do we see now on labels? “Made in-----” with the name of another country named.

Jenkins likewise stood up for conservation in supporting our National Forest bills, and for the farmer and small business owner. He authored bills for soil and water conservation and wilderness areas. Having come from salt-of-the-earth ancestors, he recognized the value of hard work and of holding on to ideals of integrity and fairness. He also worked hard to bring about tax revisions to give more equity in the tax structure. He believed in education and in his retirement served on the Board of Regents of the University of Georgia and as a trustee (emeritus) of Young Harris College. He and his family demonstrated as well their Christian influence and were active in First Baptist Church, Jasper, where his memorial service was held on January 7, 2011. His body was returned to Union County where he was interred at the Antioch Baptist Church Cemetery.

To honor this long-time member of Congress, a bill passed on December 11, 1991 to name an area of the Chattahoochee National Forest the “Ed Jenkins National Recreation Area.” This 23,166 acre spread of north Georgia forest is a tribute to an humble man who studied hard, set goals and reached them, and lived nobly. In researching for this article, I accessed a beautiful photograph taken by Alan Cressler (photostream) of the Lovinggood Creek Falls in Fannin County, Georgia. This is one of the beautiful, sparkling falls in the Ed Jenkins National Recreation Area that lies generally within the Blood Mountain Wilderness area and the Blue Ridge Wildlife Management area. As I saw the image of the tumbling water, I thought of how Ed Jenkins’ influence is still flowing on, still making a difference now and into the future. He made “footsteps in the sands of time” and in our hearts.

My condolences go out to his beloved wife, Jo, children Janice Anderson and Amy Dotson, grandsons Sam and Drew Dotson, brothers Charles and Kenneth Jenkins, sisters Ella Battle, Marilyn Thomasson and Patti Chambers. I thought of nephew Rick Jenkins (Charles’s son) and his wife, Cindy Epperson Jenkins (of Epworth, Ga—one of “my” children whom I taught) serving as missionaries in Panama who could not attend the memorial service because of the distance. I thought of all of us many cousins—twice, thrice removed—who people this planet. We will miss you, Ed, but we salute you for the life you lived.

Edgar Lanier Jenkins, our ancestors would be proud of how you carried on the tradition of serving others. You “preached your funeral while you lived,” as our great grandparents liked to say as they sought to teach us how to live. I thought of Ed’s father, Charlie Jenkins, the barber of Blairsville for so many years, talking politics and expressing his wisdom to customers on the country’s situation as Edgar probably played quietly in the barber shop. I thought of Edgar’s grandfather, Ransey Souther, and his unselfish giving in the line of duty as a federal agent. So many influences combined to make Ed what he was. I thought of our wonderful mutual teacher, Mrs. Dora Hunter Alison Spiva, at Union County High School—and so many more people, kin and friends, who wielded their influence. Now we will look back on Edgar Jenkins’s life and say, with poet William Winter:

“On wings of deeds the soul must mount!

When we are summoned from afar,

Ourselves, and not our words will count—

Not what we said, but what we are!”

cJanuary 19, 2012 by Ethelene Dyer Jones; Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Kizziah Souther Humphries and Her Family (Part 2)

Last week’s column began the story of Kizziah Souther Humphries and her husband John. This couple came to Union County to settle in the mid- to late-1830’s, and remained here until the 1850’s (exact time of departure unknown to this writer). By 1860 the family was recorded in the Monroe County, TN census, and later in Blount County, TN. In their life story, we observe the strong influence of family upon migration patterns. Kizziah’s brother, Joseph, had preceded her family’s move to Union County. Her brothers John, Jesse and Hix would also make the move from North Carolina to the 16th District of Union County. But it seems that Kizziah and John’s move to Tennessee was not precipitated by other family moves prior to theirs that we can pinpoint.

Kizziah was the mother of thirteen children. Part One of their family saga traced her children through the first four, and their marriages, namely Jesse who married Charlotte Duckworth, Jane who married Wiley Dean, Catherine, nicknamed “Katie”, who married John Hix, and Willis who married Mary Johnson. We saw how Humphries had various spellings in official records, mainly with the “H” (so often a silent initial letter) omitted, so that to find these children of Kizziah and John, I had to search not only the “H” section of copied records, but also the “U” section. We can get an approximate date of Kizziah and John Humphries’ move to Union by the births of their children. The first two, Jesse (b. 1833) and Jane (b. 1835) were born in North Carolina; the third, Catherine, was born in Georgia about 1837, which dates their move to Union prior to that date. The last three were born after their move to Tennessee.

Continuing with Kizziah and John’s children (the fifth through the thirteenth) in this Part 2 of their family saga, we will give highlights and where they scattered geographically.

James Humphries (1840-?) married Sarah Ann Alman. They lived in McMinn County, TN, moved to Cherokee County, NC for a period, where Sarah Ann died, and then James returned to McMinn County. When James’s next-to-youngest brother, Joseph, was interviewed in 1931 by Tennessee genealogist Will Parham of Blount County, TN, he told the historian that the family Bible in which Kizziah and John had recorded births and deaths of family members was in possession of his brother James in McMinn County, TN. It would be interesting to know if the family pages of this Bible have been preserved. James and Sarah Ann had children J.Harve, Jesse, Hugh, Georgia, Lillie and Paralee.

Phillip Humphries (1841-?) married Cordie Parker. He had an interesting life to say the least. A soldier (in the Confederate Army) during the Civil War, it is believed that the traumatic experiences there left him nervous and restless. He became an itinerant preacher and went from Arkaquah District in Union County all the way to Texas, returning on the long trek periodically to warn any who would listen along the way to the “coming catastrophe,” the end-times and the hardships to be endured. He was finally placed in a Soldiers’ Home in North Carolina where he died. Known children of Phillip and Cordie Parker Humphries were Joseph, James, Louise and Maggie, and perhaps others whose names were not known by his brother Joseph in 1931.

John Humphries (1843-1862?) remained single. Joseph stated this brother died in 1862. However, Mrs. Don (Ruth) Carroll, wife of one of Nancy Ann Humphries Carroll’s grandchildren who submitted Chapter 10 in Watson Dyer’s “Souther Family History” (1988) stated that she found a record of a John Humphries with wife Mary, and an eleven-month old son, Robert, in the 1870 Blount County, TN census. The age of this John would have about matched the age of Kizziah and John’s son, named for his father. Joseph Humphries was giving the family information when he was 80, and without benefit of written records. There is, therefore, a question about the John Humphries found in that 1870 census, with Joseph’s remembrance of his brother dying in 1862. Mysteries are rampant in the search for family history.

Noah, eighth child of Kizziah and John, (b. 1845) married first to Jane Wilkins and second to Rebecca Wilhoit. Joseph stated in 1931: “Noah’s two boys are working near the Pendergrass Marble Quarry near Knoxville, TN. He had five girls; one lives near Neubert’s Springs in Knox County.” (p. 289, Souther book). However, the Georgia Southers have a little different story. They say Noah went west to Texas and bought land for a farm there. Later, oil was discovered on Noah’s property, thus making him a rich man. He had at least five daughters, names unknown, by his first wife Jane Wilkins, and two sons, John and Benjamin, born to his second wife, Rebecca Wilhoit.

Sarah, ninth child of Kizziah and John, (b. 1847-?) married James Gooden on February 21 in Blount County, TN. They had known children, John, Thomas and Joseph. In the 1880 Blount County census, the Gooden family lived four houses from her brother, Joseph. In 1931 Joseph stated that Sarah and James Gooden moved later to Walker County, Georgia where they remained the rest of their lives.

Mary, known as “Polly” (b. 1848-?) married Tillman Walker Davis on February 14, 1873 in Sevier County, Tn. They had two known children, Theodore and Thomas. They may have moved to Missouri, because her brother Joseph stated in 1931 that Mary’s children lived in that state.

Nancy Ann Humphries (1851-1882) married William Pinkney Willis Carroll on September 17, 1874 in Sevier County, TN. Willis joined the Union Army during the Civil War. After Nancy’s death Willis married again. Nancy Ann and Willis had two sons, William Joseph and John Houston Carroll.

Joseph F. Humphries (1852-1936) married twice. His first bride was Mary Ann Carroll (1849-1910) whom he married January 6, 1872 in Blount County, Tn. He married, second, Rachel Walker. This is the son of Kizziah and John who gave an account of the family in 1931 to Will Parham, genealogist, and to whom we owe much credit for family tree information. With him, he and his descendants changed the spelling of their surname to the more-commonly used form, Humphrey. Joseph and Mary Ann had these eleven children: George, Sarah, John, Jacob Houston, James, Mary Belle, Samuel Henry, Josiah, Richard, William C., and Brown Melton. Joseph or his descendants did a masterful job listing Joseph’s family. Pages 296 through 304 of Dyer’s “Souther Family History” are replete with a listing of Joseph’s descendants.

David Humphries (1854-?) married but did not have children. In Joseph’s account of the thirteen children of his parents, John and Kizziah Souther Humphries, he did not elaborate on this youngest of their large family.

We can only imagine the uncertainties John and Kizziah Humphries faced in their multiple moves from North Carolina to North Georgia to the Monroe and Blount County, Tennessee area, and the hardships of survival, feeding, caring for and schooling a large family during the trying times of the Civil War and its aftermath. We salute them and their hardiness, a tribute to many like them who paved paths through the wilderness in the nineteenth century.

c2011 by Ethelene Dyer Jones; published Sept. 1, 2011 in The Union Sentinel, Blairsville, GA. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Kizziah Souther Humphries and Her Family

The name Kizziah given to my great, great aunt has fascinated me since I first heard it. Kizziah Souther was born at Old Fort, McDowell County, North Carolina on March 27, 1811. She was the sixth child of fourteen born to Jesse Souther (1774-1858) and Jane Combs Souther (1782-1858). I began to wonder where Jesse and Jane Souther came up with the name “Kizziah” to give to their baby in 1811.

Searching for the name Kizziah, I found that it was a surname, not usually a given name. I thought that perhaps someone in either Jesse or Jane’s family might have had the name Kizziah. My search did not reveal an ancestor with the name, but I did learn that Kizziah seems to be a Tuscarora Indian name, and that there were families in the area of North Carolina where the Southers lived that had the Kizziah surname. My search did not reveal why the name Kizziah for the new baby born to the Southers in 1811, but it sounds pretty, and still holds a fascination even now. Maybe the beauty of the name also fascinated my great, great, great grandparents.

Kizziah Souther married John Humphries (b. 1810) on December 27, 1831 in Burke County, North Carolina. She was 20 and John was 21. He no doubt was a farmer, and perhaps a trapper and timber cutter. Four of the thirteen children who were born to this couple were born before Kizziah’s brothers who had already migrated to Union County in North Georgia enticed John and Kizziah to leave Burke County and find their fortunes on land available in Union County after the exodus of the Cherokees. Her brothers, Joseph and John Souther, had already secured land holdings in District 16 (Choestoe).

By the time of the 1840 Union County census, John and Kizziah Humphries were living in their adopted county. In their household in 1840 were 3 male children under 10 and 2 female children under 10. A next-door neighbor to John and Kizziah were her brother Joseph Souther, and a little farther away, her brother John Souther (my great, great grandfather).

By 1850 we learn in the census the names of the children born to John and Kizziah Humphries, and their ages. Jesse, 17 (named for Kizziah’s father Jesse Souther), Jane, 15 (named for Kizziah’s mother, Jane Combs Souther), Catherine, 14, and Willis, 11, had all been born in North Carolina. Since Willis was born in 1839, this gives us a date of their leaving North Carolina, after Willis’s birth, but before the census enumeration in Union County in 1840. Other children in the Humphries’ household, all born in Georgia, were James, 10; Philip, 9; John, 7; Noah, 5; Sarah 3; and Mary, 2.

Whether the farm in Union County could not yield enough to support his growing family, or whether the desire to go to other more promising places hit John Humphries, sometime before the 1860 census they had departed from Union County. By 1860 John and Kizziah Humphries and the children remaining at home were in Monroe County, Tennessee. Three other children, bringing the total to 13, had been born to Kizziah; these were Nancy Ann, Joseph F. and David.

They moved on from Monroe County to Blount County in Tennessee where some of the family lived. By the 1880 census, Kizziah had died (her death date is unknown to this writer), and her husband John was listed as a widower, living in the household of his next-to-youngest son, Joseph. However, before John Humphries died, he moved to Cherokee County, NC to live with one of his children there, and died in Cherokee County.

We will trace what we know of Kizziah and John Humphries’ thirteen children. The oldest, Jesse (b. 1833, NC) served in the Civil War. He married Charlotte, known as “Lottie” Duckworth. This marriage record is entered for this couple in Union County marriages: Charlotty Duckworth to Jessee Umphris, March 11, 1855, performed by H. J. Scruggs, minister. The 1910 census shows that they were living in Union County then. Later Jesse moved to Walker County, Georgia. He and Lottie had four known children: Rosetta who married a Martin; their marriage is entered, with this spelling in Union records: Roseta Umphas to T.H. Martin, by C. N. Davis, JP, on May 6, 1878. Ellen, their second child, married Juan Jones on November 17, 1882, with A. B. Harkins, JP, performing the ceremony. Her last name in the record was spelled Umphres. The other two children of Jessie and Lottie were Sarah and John E.

Catherine, nicknamed “Katie” Humphries was born in 1837. Katie married John Hix, their ceremony performed by William Pruitt, minister, in Union County on November 2, 1854. In the record, Catherine’s surname was spelled Umphris. As Katie’s next-to-youngest brother, Joseph, recalled his memories of his family and gave information to Tennessee genealogist, Mr. Will Parham, in 1931, he noted that Katie and John Hix moved from Union County to White County, Georgia. They had several children.

John and Kizziah Souther Humphries’ fourth child, Willis, born in 1839 in North Carolina, married May Johnson on October 14, 1866 in Union County, with Thompson Collins, Justice of the Peace, performing the ceremony. By 1870, this young couple had moved to Cherokee County, North Carolina, where they were recorded as having two children, but the children’s ages indicate that Mary may have been married before she and Willis married, and she had two children, Elizabeth, 11 in 1870, and Hugh, 9. They were listed, however, under the last name Humphries. Joseph Humphries in 1931 stated that his brother Willis moved west to Arkansas where he “was killed” (no indication of whether his death was by accident or confrontation). Willis Humphries’ wife and children moved on to Texas after his death and settled there.

We will continue the account of John and Kizziah Humphries’ remaining nine children in a subsequent article. This family provided an example of the migrations that occurred in the mountain regions of North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee in the 1800’s. Nearly always, moves came because the head-of-household was looking for better opportunities for his family. It is interesting that the surname Humphries (with its various spellings, Humphreys, Humphrey, Humfries, Umphries, Umphres) is Welch in origin and is from “Hun” meaning “bear cub,” plus the suffix “frid” meaning peace. In the 9th century, the Bishop of Therouanne, named Hunfrid, was named a saint, known for his peace-keeping skills. He was very popular among the Norman settlers of England. In 1854, Blanche and Edward Humphries settled in Virginia. They may have been ancestors of John Humphries who married Kizziah Souther in Burke County, NC in 1831. The Humphries coat-of-arms motto is “L’homme vrai aime sons pays,” and, translated, means “The true man loves his country.”

c2011 by Ethelene Dyer Jones; published August 25, 2011 in The Union Sentinel, Blairsville, GA. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Christopher Columbus Moore Served the Confederacy and the Union (Moore Family, Part 4)

With a name like Christopher Columbus Moore, the third child of nine born to Albert and Sarah McClure Moore must have been destined for a noticeable life in his future. Perhaps like his namesake, who discovered America in 1492, Christopher Columbus Moore (born May 2, 1843 in North Carolina, died September 26, 1920 in Towns County, Georgia) would lead a life worth notice.

When the Civil War broke out, Christopher Columbus Moore was still at home with his parents in the Woods Grove Community of Towns County. He helped his father work on the farm. The political climate in this northern county was both pro-South and pro-Union, with sentiments largely favoring the latter. Few slaves were owned by farmers who, at best, had only small holdings in cultivated acreage.

Christopher Columbus Moore probably walked from his home at Woods Grove to the county seat town of Hiawassee. There, on March 1, 1862, he enlisted in the Confederate Army, joining Company E, 52nd Regiment, Georgia Infantry. For whatever reasons, whether his political leanings or dissatisfaction that he might have been defending slavery, “Lum” Moore (as he was known) was found to be away-without-leave from his regiment several times. Not so good a record, especially for anyone who might have thought of receiving a good conduct medal.

He was at the Battle of Vicksburg, Mississippi, and there he was taken a prisoner of war by the Union on July 4, 1863, along with others in the command of Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton, Confederate States of America. Evidently plans were in the works to allow any of the imprisoned Southern soldiers who would do so sign an oath of allegiance not to take up arms again against the United States, and thus be released from prison. Christopher Columbus Moore signed the vow of allegiance and was released as a prisoner of war on July 6, 1863, only two days after his capture. He was no doubt still in pain at the time he was imprisoned and released. Lum Moore lost his right forefinger in fighting at Vicksburg—a very useful finger to lose.

Following his release at Vicksburg, he probably returned home to Woods Grove for awhile. But then, whether because of his loyalty to the Union or because he could be paid for his services if he enlisted, Christopher Columbus Moore journeyed to Cleveland, Tennessee where he signed up for a year in the U. S. Army on August 5, 1864. Where he served and in what battles is unknown to this writer, but before his year of enlistment was up, the war had ended. Christopher Columbus Moore was discharged from the Union Army at Nashville, Tennessee on July 16, 1865. Evidently his two enlistments were not something he wanted to discuss. Descendants note that their grandfather was silent about the war for the rest of his life.

The same year as his discharge from the Union Army, Christopher Columbus Moore and Mary Elizabeth Swanson were married on December 14, 1865. Her parents were Anderson Clifton and Mary Brown Swanson. She had been born June 29, 1840, the eldest of the Swanson children. Her parents had migrated from Wilkes County, NC to Union County, Georgia in 1849. Lum Moore’s father-in-law had also served as a blacksmith in the Confederacy during the Civil War.

Christopher Columbus Moore and Mary Elizabeth Swanson Moore had eight children:

(1) James (01/07/1867) married Sadie Boyd and Sallie Williams
(2) William Hannibal (04/10/1868) married Jennie Wood
(3) Laveda (04/06/1870) married Albert Welborn
(4) John Andrew (12/25/1871) married Emily E. Teem
(5) Lillie (10/25/1873) married William Nicholson
(6) Lola (10/20/1875) married John Philyaw;
(7) George (04/21/1879) married Pearl Parker
(8) Thomas Arthur (04/09/1882) married Mae Johnson

As we learned from Part 3 of this Moore Family story, Christopher Columbus Moore and his wife Emily looked after his parents in the declining years of their lives, as Lum’s father had specified when he deeded him land along Long Bullet Creek, Towns County, “for taking care of Albert Moore and his wife Sarah and keeping as part of the family during their natural life.” This contract Lum and Emily Moore faithfully kept until Albert died in 1897 and Sarah died in 1899.

The old Civil War veteran of two sides, Lum Moore, lived mainly in Towns County for the remainder of his life, engaging in farming and perhaps harvesting timber from some of his acreage. But there were two brief periods when this couple lived elsewhere. For five years they lived in Habersham County, Georgia at a place called Arnold’s Mill. They also lived briefly in Macon County, North Carolina. Each move may have been because of living nearer some of their married children.

But they moved back to Woods Grove to live out their days. It is interesting that a post office once operated from the old homestead of Lum Moore’s father, and this post office was not called Moore—after the people who lived on that land—and not Woods Grove, as the community then and since has been known, but the post office that operated there for a decade from 1890-1900 was Campagne, Georgia.

Christopher Columbus Moore and Mary Elizabeth Swanson Moore died two months apart—he on September 26, 1920 and she on December 29, 1920. Their marked graves are in the Woods Grove Cemetery, Towns County, Georgia.

c2011 by Ethelene Dyer Jones; published Feb. 24, 2011 in The Union Sentinel, Blairsville, GA. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Honoring an Ancestor--Bluford Elisha Dyer, Jr.

The designation “Jr.” was not attached to Bluford Elisha Dyer’s name when he came into Union County, Georgia to settle in the early 1830’s. We who are descendants of his added the “Jr.” to show that his father before him had the same name. To our knowledge, Bluford Elisha Dyer and his wife, together with the children still living at home at the time, were the first Dyer settlers along Cane Creek, Choestoe, in Union County. In the especially-ordered 1834 census, the first of the county, his household was made up of five males and four females. Those, in 1834, to the best knowledge we have, would have been Elisha, Jr. and Elizabeth and sons Elisha, James Marion, Bluford Lumpkin, and grandson Micajah Clark and daughters Lucinda, Malinda and Matilda.

We’ve finally located a place we are fairly certain Bluford Elisha Dyer, Jr. was buried. Thanks to Harold Dyer who explored the land and remembered what his father and grandfather told him, the knoll on which we firmly believe Bluford Elisha Dyer, Jr. was buried has been identified. The land has a long record of being “passed down” through the generations. Harold received it from his father, William Edward. Before him James C. Dyer, Harold’s grandfather, owned it. It came to him from James Marion Dyer, who was one of the sons living at home away back in 1834, when the household of Elisha (Jr.) was listed in Union County.

We’re erecting a monument to mark the “spot near where” the burial took place. We will remember this ancestor and his beginnings in Union County in our annual Dyer-Souther Heritage Association Reunion on July 17, 2010.

The lineage of Choestoe Dyers is a bit hard to trace. But some facts are rather well established. John Dyer (Sr. ca. 1710 – 1773) was first in Virginia, having come from the Somersetshire vicinity of England. There is evidence that he was married twice, first to Elizabeth Bluford (or Bleufort) [ca. 1712-ca. 1750] and second to a Dinah, last name unknown. It is important to note the last name of John Dyer’s first wife, anglicized to Bluford, for this name was passed down in the family through many generations.

John Dyer moved from Caroline County, Virginia to Halifax County Virginia where he died in 1773. His known children were James Dyer, John Dyer, Jr., Joshua Dyer, Nancy Dyer and Elisha Dyer, Sr. (ca. 1745-1816) who married Amey (or Amy) Laws (ca 1748-1812).

Elisha, Sr. was our ancestor. He migrated from Caroline County, Virginia to Wilkes County, North Carolina, next moving to Pendleton District, SC, and then finally to Warren County, Kentucky, where he died in 1816.

We wonder why Elisha Dyer, Sr. moved so much. He and his wife, Amey Laws Dyer, were patriots in the American Revolution. We do not have a record of his serving as a soldier, but this couple is recognized as rendering “material aid” during the war. This may mean that they provided horses or mules for soldiers, provisions of food, clothing and “provender” for animals, or other significant aid to further the effort to win America’s independence. At any rate, they were not Tories (faithful to the British), and they probably were strongly involved in the Over Mountain Men movement that helped to win the battle at King’s Mountain and other significant victories that saw the eventual defeat of British General Cornwallis. Elisha, Sr. and Amey’s moves may have been due to his being rewarded with grants of land for his Revolutionary War service. A more thorough examination of land deeds is needed for authentication of this theory. Or maybe a new location and the spirit of adventure called the Dyers to locate in new and untrammeled areas.

Elisha Dyer, Sr. and Amey Laws Dyer had ten known children, a daughter (name unknown who married a Barber), Josiah who married Sarah Whittingdon, Rosannah who married Benjamin Hubbard, Anna who married William Johnson, Abner who married Nancy Jane Moore, Manoah who married Rebecca Tremble, Caleb who married Rebecca Howard, Elizabeth who married Bollin Clark, Bluford Elisha, Jr. who married Elizabeth Clark and John who married Sophia Young. We will concentrate on Bluford Elisha, Jr., our ancestor, who moved with his father from Wilkes County, NC to Pendleton District, SC. Elisha, Jr.’s next move was to Habersham County, Georgia and on into what became Union County, GA in 1832.

Bluford Elisha Dyer, Jr. was born about 1785 in Wilkes County, NC. After he had moved to Pendleton District, SC with his mother and father and siblings, he met a young lady there whom he married in 1802. Her name was Elizabeth Clark (ca. 1787 - June 1861). She was a daughter of Micajah Clark and wife, Lurinna Johnson Clark. The Micajah Clark name was passed down to generations of Dyer descendants.

To Elisha and Elizabeth were born these children: Mary Elizabeth (called Sallie) Dyer (1803 – ca. 1860) who married Eli Townsend; two or three girls, first names unknown; Lucinda Dyer (1811-1870) [note this name may have been Lurrina, not Lucinda, as Watson B. Dyer listed it in his Dyer Family history book] married William Crow; Joseph Dyer (1814-1874) married Narcissa Crow; Elisha Dyer (1816-1870) married Mary Jane Younce; Micajah Clark Dyer (1817-1889) married Harriet Logan Hall; Elijah Dyer (1819-1870) married Mary “Polly” Kettle; James Marion Dyer (12 Oct. 1823-27 Apr. 1904) married Eliza Ingraham (5 Mar. 1827 – 7 Mar. 1907); Lucinda Dyer (1826-1902) [note possible error—it is not likely they named two daughters Lucinda] married James Monroe Crow; Malinda Dyer (ca. 1827-?) married William B. Harkins; Matilda Dyer (ca. 1830 - ?) married Francis M. Swain; and Bluford Lumpkin Dyer (1832-1907) married Ruthie Turner.

Note that eldest daughter Sallie had a son, also named Micajah Clark Dyer (13 July, 1822 – 26 Jan. 1891) who married Morena Elizabeth Owenby (24 Dec. 1819-25 Sept. 1892). Elisha, Jr. and Elizabeth reared Sallie’s son, their grandson, as their own. He grew up in the household with his uncle, five years younger than he, having the same name. We believe the son was called Micajah (or Cajer) and the grandson Clark. The grandson became the inventor of “The Apparatus for Navigating the Air.”

After living in Habersham County for awhile, Bluford Elisha, Jr. and his family moved across the mountain and took up residence at a homestead along Cane Creek in the Choestoe District of Union County and carved out a good life there, entering into the development of the community. Since they were in Union before the major exodus of Cherokee in 1838, they probably still had Cherokee Indian neighbors and perhaps traded with them and learned secrets of growing maize and other crops along the cleared bottom lands. The first of Elisha, Jr. and Elizabeth’s children to marry in Union County was son Micajah Clark whose wedding to Harriet Logan Hall took place on June 25, 1832. Daughter Lucinda (or Lurinna?) married James Crow when the family still lived in Habersham County.

It is good, finally, to identify a spot where Bluford Elisha Dyer, Jr. was buried. It is believed his wife, Elizabeth, was interred in the Old Choestoe Cemetery, but that gravesite, too, has been lost to the ravages of time, even though it may once have been marked by a field stone. A brief tribute program and dedication of the new stones followed by a tour of the gravesite will occur at the reunion on July 17, 2010.

c2010 by Ethelene Dyer Jones; published July 15, 2010 in The Union Sentinel, Blairsville, GA. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

A Correction, A Thanksgiving Wish, and Another Brown Family

First, a correction from last week’s column. Thanks to Wanda Brown Gibson of Blairsville who knows much more about the many Brown family lines in Union and Towns Counties than I could ever hope to uncover, I have this glaring error to correct from last week’s column (November 19), last paragraph.

I wrote that Smith and Mary Brown’s eighth child, Henry Franklin Brown, became a Baptist minister. Actually, this Henry Brown, son of Smith and Mary, became a deacon at New Liberty Baptist Church—not a minister. The Rev. Henry Brown was a descendent of Ezekiel Brown through Walter Brown. Ezekiel Brown had large holdings along the Hiawassee River in Towns County and before the Emancipation Proclamation, owned a number of slaves. This line of Browns made bricks from clay and Ezekiel Brown built an imposing brick house for his family. Rev. Henry Jud Brown was born February 28, 1880 and died March 20, 1968 at age 88. At age 21, he was the first pastor of West Union Baptist Church in Towns County when it was organized in 1901. Other known pastorates were Mt. Pisgah in North Carolina, and in Georgia Old Brasstown, Old Union, Liberty, Zebulon, Harmony Grove, Ebenezer, Antioch, Blairsville and Choestoe. I’m sorry for any confusion my error caused researchers.

Now for a Thanksgiving wish. Our American holiday which we call Thanksgiving dates back to November 21, 1621 when the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony and their neighbors, the Wampanoag Indians with Chief Massasoit as their leader, gathered for a feast of Thanksgiving. The Mayflower Compact governed the Plymouth Colony in those early years. The friendly Indians lent help to the brave band of Pilgrims as they planted their first crops and survived the rigors of their first year in a strange land.

The stories of how they built their government, settled into village life, and made friends with the Indians has inspired generations since 1620. As we gather with families on this Thanksgiving, may we consider the principles upon which America was founded. The Pilgrims made a solemn covenant to treat one another with brotherly love, to seek to supply one another’s needs, to live together in peace and harmony, to share each other’s joys and sorrows, and to work for the greater good of their community. My wish for you is a solemn and grateful Thanksgiving and a return to principles that served our forebears well in the early years of this nation.

Today’s focus on another Brown family will be that of Martha Clementine Brown (05/02/1861-09/05/1933), the eleventh child of twelve born to Harmon and Sarah Brown. On February 12, 1878, Martha Clementine, called “Tina” and John Padgett Souther (09/12/1858 -3/04/1959) spoke their wedding vows. Tina’s husband was the fifth child of ten born to his parents, John Combs Hayes Souther (10/22/1827-01/04/1891) and Nancy Collins Souther (02/13/1829-07/22/1888). Recall, please, from last week’s article that Mary Elizabeth Souther (04/07/1853-01/11/1929), John Padgett’s Souther’s oldest sister, married the Rev. Smith Loransey Brown (01/20;1850-05/16/1932), the sixth child of Harmon and Sarah Brown. The children of these couples, being double-first cousins, would have much in common, living rather close together on farms in the Choestoe District. Rev. Smith Brown and Mary Elizabeth Brown had nine children (see last week’s article for that list). John Padgett Souther and Martha Clementine “Tina” Brown Souther had sixteen children:

1. Jasper Gilliam Souther (11/29/1878-07/24/1943) married first, Nancy Collins (1876-1907) and second, Estella Mae Cole (1888-1978). Gilliam was an ordained Baptist minister. He died in the pulpit while conducting revival meeting at New Liberty Baptist Church. He had expressed a desire to die while preaching, and his wish was fulfilled. He was buried in Clermont, Georgia.

2. Sarah J. Souther (10/18/1880-02/15/1881)
3. Homer H. Souther (12/24/1881-1946) married Lizzie Plott.
4. Oria C. Souther (12/23/1883-12/29/1965) married Edward Collins.
5. Infant (b/d 03/14/1884).
6. Nora E. Souther (10/12/1887-10/17/1919) married LaFayette Jackson.
7. Maria Souther (08/02/1886-05/30/1950).
8. William H. Souther (07/17/1889-?), married twice; spouses’ names unknown.
9. Joseph Thompson Souther (02/22/1893-05/14/1983) married Bertha Pruitt.
10. Martha D. Souther (02/11/1891-07/03/1893)
11. Grady G. Souther (01/05/1895-09/25/1970) married Mary Johnson
12. Mary Souther (08/02/1897-05/30/1950).
13. Lydia Souther (09/22/1899 - ?).
14. Emily Rose Souther (10/26/1901 - ?) married John Rice.
15. Johnnie P. Souther (01/15/1905-01/06/1929).
16. Cora Souther (07/27/1903-11/09/1903).

We can imagine the heartache Martha Clementine “Tina” Brown Souther endured with four of her sixteen children dying as infants and one young son, Johnnie, at age 24. Tina died ten years before her preacher son, Jasper Gilliam, died at New Liberty Church in 1943, but his father, John Padgett Souther, who lived to be 99, was still living when his son, Rev. Gilliam Souther, died at age sixty-seven.

c2009 by Ethelene Dyer Jones; published Nov. 26, 2009 in The Union Sentinel, Blairsville, GA. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Rev. John Monroe Brown and Rev. Smith Loransey Brown, Sons of Harmon Brown (part 4 of Series)

In last week’s column we looked at the life of Harmon and Sarah Clonginger Brown who were in Union County until where they lived became Towns County in 1856. They had a large family of twelve, eleven of whom grew to adulthood and married. Two of his sons became ordained Baptist ministers. These two, John Monroe and Smith Loransey, will be the focus of today’s Brown story.

Firstborn of Harmon and Sarah Brown, John Monroe Brown, was born July 31, 1838 and lived until March 8, 1932. On December 23, 1856 he married Emmaline Garrett (01-27-1840 – 03-27-1927). Her parents were H. Posie and Louisa Hogan Garrett.

The six children born to John Monroe Brown and Emmaline Garrett Brown were:

Sarah (07-29-1858) married Julius Tipton;
Haseltine (10-19-1860) never married;
Lucinda (02-16-1863) married Washington Pierce;
George Sherman (1866) married Sarah Alice Berry;
Zoa (02-27-1869) married Fidell Davis;
Julia (07-13-1872) married Levi Reed; and
Martha Elizabeth (07-25-1875).

Just when John Monroe Brown was ordained to the gospel ministry is not known to this writer, nor the churches he served. But when the Civil War came, John Monroe enlisted in 1862 as a private. While in Kentucky he developed a serious case of rheumatism and spent time in Chango Hospital. He was sent back to Georgia and at Tunnel Hill, Georgia got typhoid fever. He was in a hospital there until he was sent home on January 3, 1863 to recover further. He had a relapse of the fever in 1863 and was hospitalized at Catoosa Springs. When able, he was sent home again in March of 1863. After the spring and summer at home, he reenlisted with the North Carolina 6th Infantry Regiment in November, 1863. He was captured in battle and sent to prison at Fort Delaware. Following the end of the war, he was released from prison in May of 1865. He returned to his home, farmed, and preached, probably without much pay for his ministerial services unless it was a small amount of offerings taken, a little for weddings performed, and payment in grain or other farm products.

Smith Loransey Brown (01-20-1850 – 05-16-1923), the sixth child of Harmon and Sarah Clonginger Brown, was also an ordained Baptist minister. That two of their children, the first-born and the sixth-born, became ministers, speaks well of the home and religious training Harmon and Sarah provided for their children. The date of Smith’s ordination to the gospel ministry is not known by this writer. He married Mary Elizabeth Souther (07-07-1853 – 01-11-1929) in 1870. He most likely met Mary Elizabeth as he went to preach at the country church she attended near her home.

Mary Elizabeth Souther was the oldest child of John Combs Hayes Souther and Nancy Collins Souther. Her marriage to the Rev. Smith Loransey Brown brought together two stalwart pioneer families.

Maybe the young preacher was attracted to Mary Elizabeth by her clear, strong voice as a singer. In the days before hymn books were available to all in the congregation, the song leader would “line out” the words and the congregation would sing. It is said that Mary’s strong voice stood out above the others in a harmonizing alto. Mary Elizabeth was supportive of her husband’s ministry and would ride with him to his church charges for Saturday and Sunday meetings, every Sunday for them, but only once a month to the churches as they made their rounds to his charges. Their home was near her parents on the north side of Town Creek in Choestoe District. There they farmed and went out to his churches on weekends.

The Rev. Smith Loransey Brown and Mary Elizabeth Souther Brown had nine children: John Brown (09-28-1871) married Lillie Woodring; Sarah Brown (02-18-1875) married Benson Hudson; James A. Brown (08-29-1877) died young; Joseph L. Brown (07-27-1879) married Ida Logan; Daniel Brown (07-02-1881) married Fannie Turner; Arvil Brown (04-03-1884) married Mary Nix; Ellen Brown (07-08-1886) married Joseph Johnson; Henry Brown (04-20-1891) married Myrtle Collesta Thomaston; and Mary Evelyn Brown (12-21-1895) married Avery Woodring.

At their deaths, the Rev. Smith Loransey Brown and his beloved wife, Mary Elizabeth Souther Brown, were interred at the New Liberty Baptist Church Cemetery, Choestoe. Rev. Brown had been pastor of that church. Mary’s grandfather, John Souther, had given land for the church and cemetery. Smith and Mary Brown’s eighth child, Henry Brown, became a Baptist minister, and served many churches in Union and Towns Counties, including First Baptist Church, Blairsville.

c 2009 by Ethelene Dyer Jones; published Nov. 19, 2009 in The Union Sentinel, Blairsville, GA. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

The Harvey Alfonso "Bud" Twiggs Family

Harvey Alfonso, better known as “Bud” Twiggs, was the youngest of six children born to the early Union County settlers, Willis (1804-1880) and Margaret England Twiggs (1812-1886). Harvey A. was born at Choestoe, Union County, Georgia on June 1, 1848 and died there March 6, 1932. He married Elizabeth Johnson on July 21, 1876, and to “Bud” and “Lizzie” Twiggs were born five children reared on the farm, part of which was inherited from Bud’s father, Willis.

Margaret M. Twiggs (August 2, 1871-May 28, 1949) married Mancil Pruitt Dyer, a son of Choestoe’s inventor of the “Apparatus for Navigating the Air,” Micajah Clark Dyer and his wife, Morena Ownbey Dyer. Mancil Pruitt had the nickname “Mant”. He and Margaret had seven children: Nellie Naomi who married Dallas Nix; Herbert Carter who married Pearl Duckworth; Patrick Henry Lee Dyer who married Cleo Hix; Celia Wilhemina “Minnie” Dyer who married Marshall J. Nix; Harriet who died at nine years of age; and Chartiers McMillan Dyer who married Pearl Parker and Sibyl Franks. When Margaret died in 1949, she was at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Marshall Nix, in Waverly, Colorado where she had lived during a period of ill health. Her body was returned for burial at Pine Top Cemetery, Choestoe, where her husband was buried in 1916.

Bud and Lizzie Twiggs’ second child was James Willis Twiggs (June 15, 1879 – February 1, 1966) known as Jim, this son had a distinctive career as a teacher, public servant, educator and benefactor. He married on December 28, 1910 to Helen Cordelia Collins (March 1, 1886-December 10, 1981), daughter of Dallas and Rosannah Souther Collins. The Rev. Charlie Rich performed their wedding ceremony at the home of the bride’s parents near New Liberty Baptist Church. They had one daughter, Clarice Lorraine Twiggs who married Thomas Jefferson Stephens. Helen Collins was a teacher when she and Jim Twiggs married. During the first years of their marriage both taught school at Talmo, Georgia (Jackson County) for three years, then to South Georgia for three years, and northward to Gwinnett County for three more years. Then they returned to Union County. In 1920 Jim Twiggs was elected County School Superintendent in Union County where he served two four-year terms (1920-1928). He next was with the sales tax unit of the Department of Revenue. He was elected state senator from the ninth congressional district for one term. Following that service he was a supervisor with the Georgia Department of Education until his retirement at age 72. Jim and Helen Twiggs were known for their Christian compassion and community spirit. I personally will ever be grateful to Mr. Jim Twiggs for loaning me the money to complete my AA degree at Truett McConnell College in 1948-1949 at a time when my father had a not-so-good crop year and did not have the money, even with my working at a campus job, to pay my college tuition. Mr. Jim Twiggs came to my rescue with a loan which I repaid during my first year of teaching.

Bud and Lizzie Twiggs’ third child was John Milford Twiggs (June 9, 1881-September 5, 1960). John married Celia Sarah “Sallie” Collins (October 8, 1884 – October 4, 1972), daughter of Ivan Kimsey and Martha J. Hunter Collins on March 1, 1908. John was a farmer on Choestoe, tilling the land settled by his grandfather Willis Twiggs and passed on to him by his father Bud Twiggs. John and Sallie had two sons, Roy Willis Twiggs (1909-1987) and Mercer Franklin Twiggs (1912-1990). Educated at Young Harris and North Georgia Colleges and Oglethorpe University, Roy taught school for several years. Roy became director of Union County’s Department of Family and Children’s Services (then called the Welfare Department) in 1938. World War II came and he served for four years in the U. S. Army. Following military service, he again assumed directorship of the Department of Family and Children’s Services from 1946 through his retirement in 1971. He was named to the Georgia Welfare Hall of Fame in 1985. Quiet, efficient and unassuming, Roy Twiggs is remembered as a compassionate social worker who sincerely had the welfare of his clients uppermost as he sought to help those who really needed aid. Mercer Twiggs had a career of thirty-seven years with the Georgia Highway Department. He married Ruby June Little in 1942 and they had one child, Sarah Rebecca Twiggs who married James Matthew Thompson. John and Sallie Twiggs were buried in the Old Choestoe Cemetery and Roy Twiggs and Mercer Twiggs in the New Choestoe Baptist Church Cemetery.

Fourth child of Bud and Lizzie Twiggs was Naomi Belle Twiggs (May 17, 1886-August 14, 1941). She married Fulton Huey Gaddis and they lived to Barrow County, Georgia.

The fifth and youngest child of Bud and Lizzie Twiggs was Frank Densmore Twiggs (January 10, 1889-July 4, 1979) who married Margaret Lea Self on October 28, 1934. She was a daughter of Willis C. and Mollie Dyer Self. Lea and Frank lived in the Twiggs house that his father, Bud, built. The house is still standing on Collins Road just off Highway 80 and is now owned and maintained by Frank and Lea’s son, Ralph.

Frank taught school in one-teacher schools for a few years, among which was Pine Top. He became a full-time farmer, saying he “liked to be his own boss.” He and Lea had two children, Ralph (born in 1936) and Opal (1937-1944). Frank and Lea Twiggs were wonderful neighbors and extended such kindness to my younger brother, Blueford, and me after our mother died in 1945 when we were young.

Some interesting stories have been passed down in the Twiggs family about the escapades of Harvey Alfonso “Bud” Twiggs. A favorite is how he “broke” a new horse for his son Jim to ride. Determined to tame the horse, he bridled it up and took it into the field. The horse bucked and reared, but Bud held on for dear life. Finally, the horse reared and fell, with Bud Twiggs still holding on. Those who were watching feared that Mr. Twiggs was badly injured, but he got up and refused help in taking the horse back to the barn. A few days later, Bud Twiggs saddled up the horse and came out riding him, with the animal behaving, well-broken and taken to the saddle, ready for his Jim Twiggs to ride. Bud Twiggs was at the ripe age of 80 when he broke the untamed horse. He lived four more years after the horse-breaking incident.

c2004 by Ethelene Dyer Jones; published October 28, 2004 in The Union Sentinel, Blairsville, GA. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Federal Investigator Frank Loransey Souther

Frank Loransey Souther
(04/30/1881 - 07/13/1937)
U. S. Marshall - 1920-1937

The career Frank Loransey Souther chose was fraught with danger and he eventually lost his life in the line of duty. Maybe he thought, “Somebody has to do this; why not I?” He no doubt was propelled by a sense of duty to stop some of the illicit manufacture and trade of alcohol in the mountain counties of Georgia and thereby prevent some of the suffering alcoholism brought to innocent victims.

He was an investigator from 1920 until his death in 1937 for the U. S. Treasury Department’s Alcohol and Tax Unit. The common name mountaineers used for Ransey Souther’s job was “Revenue Officer,” and his aim was to find moonshine stills and bring their owners to justice.

Born April 30, 1881 and reared in the Choestoe District of Union County, Frank Loransey Souther was the first child of seven born to William Albert Souther (1856-1945) and Elizabeth Dyer Souther (1859-1902). Soon this son’s name was shortened to Ransey. The family lived in the Town Creek section of Choestoe District. The highest mountain in Georgia, Brasstown Bald, towered in the distance above the “Bill Albert” Souther family farm where Ransey grew up. As a lad, he would have learned of the moonshine stills hidden away in coves and hollows beside mountain creeks. He could have seen the smoke rising slowly from a hidden still as the moonshiners plied their trade. But a sad impression grew as he saw the devastation that over-use of the moonshine could bring to families as men became addicted to its use and women and children suffered abuse.

On December 15, 1904, Frank Loransey Souther married Nancy Elizabeth Johnson (1886-1969). To them were born three children. Ethel Lee Souther (1907-1998) married John Prescott Davenport (1901-1949); Evia Mae Souther (1911-1997) married Charles Swinfield Jenkins (1904-1993); and Rudolph Souther who lived only from October 15, 1915 to January 16, 1916.

Frank Loransey Souther, US Marshall, is pictured front center beside a copper moonshine still he took as evidence in a case against "moonshiners." To his right is Jake Burton Kelly, a deputy marshall, and seated at the wheel of the car is Grayson Souther, brother to Frank Loransey Souther. The other men in the picture are unidentified. Frank Loransey Souther was a revenue officer from 1920 until his death in 1937.

Frank Loransey Souther began his work with the U. S. Treasury’s Department Alcohol and Tax Unit on December 20, 1920. Before he took the job, he knew that he might have to report some neighbors or even kin who plied their trade deep within the ivy hollows of the north Georgia mountains. He soon gained the reputation of being a “fearless, fair and square lawman,” Well known over the counties assigned to him, he had an easy, friendly way with people and soon gained their confidence. It was said that he never carried a gun on his raids of a moonshine still. Strong and agile, he depended on his physical prowess to out-run and catch the distiller as he tried to escape through the mountains. Had he kept a journal or if the records of his “finds” and “break-ups” could be added to this story, it would give insight into his seventeen years as a respected lawman. He met his death in the line of duty on July 13, 1937. His wife, daughters, their families, his father William Albert and scores of relatives and friends were left to mourn his passing.

A resolution by the Federal Grand Jury in Atlanta on August 23, 1937, Honorable Marvin Underwood, Judge, was passed and a copy sent to the family. The statement shows the regard in which Mr. Souther was held:

“We have learned of the passing of Mr. F. L. Souther, investigator of the Tax Alcohol Unit.

“Whereas: By his great courage, his clear wisdom and his remarkable patience and unusual thoroughness, he established a fine reputation among his fellow officers and was held in high esteem by the citizens of Union and surrounding counties. Those whom he arrested respected him and placed implicit confidence in his statements to them concerning their guilt or innocence.

“He died in the line of duty.

“Therefore, be it resolved, that the deepest sympathy of every member of the Federal Grand Jury be extended to his family.”

The document was signed by George West, Foreman, Benjamin S. Barker, Secretary, and eighteen members of the Federal Grand Jury.

Another letter of significance was from R. E. Tuttle of the U. S. Treasury Department, addressed to the Honorable Tom Candler, U. S. Commissioner at Blairsville, (later judge) dated July 14, 1937 and shared with the family. This letter is reproduced on page 56 of The Heritage of Union County, 1832-1994. Those with the county history book may read the letter in its entirety there. I quote from the letter:

“The nemesis of the moonshiner and a friend of all law-abiding people who knew him, he cannot be replaced in the territory which he served. The hills and valleys of White, Rabun and Habersham will see his coming no more and be the sadder for his absence. His feet have trod every path known to the human habitants of that section. He had explored every branch from mouth to source until he knew his bearings in the night time as well as in the day - could sense the location of a moonshine still with greater ease than any officer I ever saw in action.”

The letter also noted: “Souther derived his greatest pleasure in the performance of his duty and did not relinquish the pursuit of that duty as long as his body held out. I know, of my personal knowledge, that for the last year of his service his fast-weakening body was driven and motivated by an untiring and unrelenting spirit.”

Frank Loransey Souther was buried at Old Liberty Baptist Church Cemetery, Town Creek, in the community he called home during his earthly life. His beloved wife, Nancy Elizabeth, better known as “Doan”, lived for thirty-two more years after Ransey’s death. She died June 4, 1969 and was interred beside her husband. Descendants of this couple are still making their distinctive contributions as solid, contributing citizens, “motivated by an untiring and unrelenting spirit” as was their ancestor, Frank Loransey Souther.

The life and times of Ransey Souther who died at age 56 were challenging. He bravely did his part to implement law and order and bring justice to those whose way of life infringed upon the laws of the land.

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