A history of Savannah and South Georgia, Volume II, Part 51

Author: Harden, William, 1844-1936
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago, Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1208

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Mr. Phillips married Miss Tommy Smith, the daughter of Thomas Smith, of Americus, Georgia. One child has been born of this union: Wendle Councile, Jr., born October 16, 1911.

CHARLES PAINE HANSELL. For nearly half a century a member of the Georgia bar and prominent in the civic life of Thomasville, Charles P. Hansell has himself been a successful lawyer and represents a name and family which have been notable in the law and public affairs of Georgia for fully a century. Mr. Hansell was born at Milledgeville on the 14th of September, 1844. A brief outline of his family antecedents is as follows :

South Carolina was the home of the Hansells previous to their removal to Georgia, and the great-grandparents were, so far as can be ascer- tained, lifelong residents of the Greenville district in that colony. The grandfather of Charles P. Hansell was William Young Hansell, a native of the Greenville distriet. When he was a child he lost his father, and at the age of twelve came to Georgia to make his home with his uncle. William Young. Making the best of his opportunities he acquired a common school education and then studied law in Milledgeville, and after admission to the bar engaged in practice there. He was one of the eminent attorneys of his time, and his name appears in the Georgia supreme court reports. His active practice continued until 1860, and he then lived retired until his death in 1867. The maiden name of his wife was Susan Byne Harris, representing another prominent family of this state. She was born on a plantation abont two miles from Milledge- ville, and her father, Augustin Harris, a native of Burke county, was directly descended from one of four brothers who came to America dur.

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ing early colonial times and settled in Virginia. Augustin Harris was a Baldwin county planter, having numerons slaves and being one of the prosperous men of his section. Susan ( Harris) Hansell survived her husband until 1874. and she reared two sons, Andrew J. and Augustin H., and five daughters.

Augustin Harris Hansell, father of Charles P., was born at Milledge- ville, August 17, 1817, and being reared in one of the prosperous homes of Georgia, was given excellent advantages. Prof. Carlisle Beaman was one of his tutors in general subjects, and he studied law under R. K. Hines and Iverson L. Harris. After admission to the bar he began practice at Milledgeville, and for a time served as private secretary for Governor Gihner. In 1847 he was elected solicitor general, and two years later judge of the southern circuit, then embracing the greater part of south Georgia. Railroads had not yet penetrated to this region, and he journeyed from court to court in his private carriage. He re- signed as judge in 1853 but was again elected to the same office in 1859. For some years, until 1850, lie was a resident of Hawkinsville, then in Scottsboro two years, and in 1852 came to Thomasville, being one of the most prominent among the early settlers of this locality. During the war he served on the relief committee, and in 1864 spent three months distributing supplies to the soldiers around Atlanta and Marietta. In 1868 he left the beneli, resuming private practice for four years, but in 1872 was again appointed judge of the southern circuit and continued in this office until 1903. For more than forty years he honored the bench with his character and ability, and his is one of the foremost names in the Georgia judiciary during the last half of the nineteenth century. On retiring from the bench he lived retired until his death in 1907.

Judge Hansell married Miss Mary Ann Baillie Paine, who was born in Milledgeville. Her father was Charles J. Paine, a native of Peters- burg, Virginia, and a physician. As a young man he came to Georgia and was engaged in practice at Milledgeville until his death in 1857. Dr. Paine married Ann Baillie Davies, the daughter of William Davies, a native of Savannah, and granddaughter of Edward Davies. a native of Wales, who was one of the early settlers of Georgia. William Davies also conferred honor upon the legal profession of Georgia, and served as judge of the superior court and was mayor of the city of Savannah during the War of 1812. William Davies married Mary Ann Baillie, the maiden name of whose mother was Ann McIntosh. a daughter of John Mohr McIntosh, the immigrant ancestor of the noted McIntosh family. Judge Hansell's wife died in 1906. and her five children were as follows : Susan V., Charles Paine, Mary H., Frances B., and Sally H.

As a descendant of these conspicuous citizens and families of Geor- gians, Charles P. Hansell has himself borne a not inconspicuous part as a man and citizen. His early education was obtained in the common schools and in Fletcher Institute, and later in the Georgia Military Insti- tute at Marietta. He was a young man of about eighteen when the Civil war came on, and on the 15th of May, 1862, he enlisted in Company B of the Twentieth Georgia Battalion of Cavalry. After two years en- gaged in the coast defense of Georgia and South Carolina, his command joined Lee's army in northern Virginia and served with Young's Brigade in Wade Hampton's division. He saw arduous service in the campaigns, marches and battles until the close of the war. and was paroled at Greensboro and returned home. In 1865 he was admitted to the bar, and has been continuously engaged in the practice of his pro- fession from that time to the present, having won many honors in this long career. He has served as judge of both the county and city courts,

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and for two terms was mayor of the city of Thomasville. In politics he is a Democrat, and he and his family are members of the Presbyterian church.

Mr. Hansell was married in 1869 to Miss Margaret Charlton, who died October 5, 1889. She was born in Savannah, a daughter of Robert and Margaret Charlton (see sketch of Walter G. Charlton elsewhere in this work). Mr. Hansell's present wife is Mary (Glover) Hansell, who was born in Marietta, a daughter of John H. and Sarah E. ( Brumby) Glover. Mr. Hansell has two daughters, Mary H., by his first wife, and Sarah G., by the second marriage.

COL. WILLIAM A. McDONALD, deceased, was one of the gallant sons of the South that served in its defense as a soldier of the Confederacy in the great struggle of 1861-65, and during his lifetime was one of Georgia's prominent and worthy citizens, for many years a resident of Ware county.

Born in Bulloch county, Georgia, in 1817, he was a son of Dr. Randall McDonald, whose nativity had occurred on the Isle of Skye, Scotland. Donald McDonald. the father of Dr. McDonald, also was a native of Scotland, but in 1805 brought his family to America and became an early settler in Bulloch county, Georgia. There he purchased a tract of land and began its improvement, but a few years later was bitten by a rattlesnake and died from the effects. He left a widow and two chil- dren, a son and a daughter. The son Randall finally became an overseer. Through the large acquaintance he formed in this manner with wealthy planters he gained access to books and by self-instruction acquired a good general education and a practicing knowledge of medicine and surgery. Later he bought land in Ware county- and became a successful planter, operating with slave labor. In those days there were no railroads in Georgia and the country was sparsely settled. Centreville was the prin- cipal market and depot for supplies. Indians were numerous and oft- times troublesome. so that each settlement had a fort to which the women and children could repair for safety. Dr. McDonald continued a resident of his plantation until his death at the age of sixty-eight years. His wife was a Miss Catherine Miller before her marriage, a native of Bul- loch county, Georgia, and a daughter of Henry Miller. Her grandfather was William Miller, one of the first settlers in Georgia, and her great- grandfather was D. J. Miller. She survived her husband several years and both are buried in the Kettle Creek cemetery in Ware county.

Col. William A. McDonald was largely reared in his native county but was still a boy when he accompanied his parents to Ware county. After he had begun his independent career he purchased large tracts of land there which he operated with slave labor. Upon the breaking out of the war between the states he entered the Confederate service and was commissioned captain of Company HI of the Twenty-sixth Regi- ment of Georgia Volunteers, which was organized with C. W. Styles as colonel, and W. A. Lane as lieutenant colonel. This regiment was for a time on the Georgia coast under Lawton, accompanied that officer to Richmond, Virginia, in time to share in the seven days' battles, thence- forward serving in the army of northern Virginia until Appomattox. where, in the division commanded by Gen. Clement A. Evans and the corps of John B. Gordon. it shared in the last charge of that illustrions army. During this long and honorable service E. N. Atkinson sue- ceeded Colonel Styles in the command of the regiment and William A. MeDonald was a brave and able successor of Lieutenant Colonel Lane. Colonel MeDonald remained in the service until the close of the war. His slaves were faithful and cultivated his land until his return from

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the conflict. ITis estate three miles from Waresboro, Ware county, re- mained his home until his death in his eightieth year. He was thrice married. His first wife was Tabitha Sweat, a native of Ware county and a daughter of Capt. James A. and Elizabeth (Newburn) Sweat, and to their union were born ten children. His second marriage was to Mary Ann Deeu, who bore him seven children. The maiden name of his third wife was Rebecca Thompson and five children were reared from this marriage. Colonel MeDonald left to his descendants the record of a brave soldier, a loyal son of the South and a citizen of worth, integ- rity and high respect.

Colonel McDonald served his district several terms in the state senate, and he was also a representative of his county in the legislature of his state. He was a member of the state senate at the time of his death, and served in all about forty years in the senate and in the house.

ALFRED JACKSON POWELL. An industrious and prosperous tiller of the soil, Alfred Jackson Powell, living in the Dixie district, owns and occupies a well-managed farm, on which he has a substantial set of farm buildings, located just outside the corporate limits of the town of Dixie, these with their surroundings having an air of neatness and prosperity that never fails to attract the attention of the passing traveler. He was born September 23, 1856, in Arkansas, where his father, Dr. Alfred Jackson Powell, was then engaged in the practice of his profession.

Dr. Powell was born in North Georgia, his parents having been farm- ers, who spent the later years of their lives in Wilkes county, Georgia. After his graduation from the Jefferson Medical College, in Philadel- phia, Dr. Powell took a special course of study in the Baltimore hos- pitals, acquiring knowledge and experience of great value to him in his work. Returning then to his native state, he practiced medicine for awhile in Worth county, and then located in Arkansas, about twenty- five miles from Little Rock. Soon after the outbreak of the Civil war, the doctor came back to Georgia, settling his family in Dougherty county, and enlisted in the Confederate service as hospital surgeon, a position which he filled acceptably until the war was ended. Going then to Chihuahua, Mexico, Dr. Powell learned the language of the natives, and there continued his residence as a physician and surgeon until his death.

The maiden name of the wife of Dr. Powell was Georgiana Elizabeth Jordan. She was born in Bibb county, Georgia, a daughter of Joshua and Elizabeth (Hays) Jordan, being of Scotch-Irish descent. Remov- ing from Bibb county to Worth county, Georgia, Joshua Jordan bought land on the Flint river, twenty-two miles from Albany, and was there extensively engaged in agricultural pursuits, operating his large plan- tation with slave labor, both he and his wife spending their last days there. For some time after the close of the war Dr. Powell's wife re- sided on her farm in Dougherty county, Georgia, but her later years were spent in Moultrie. Colquitt county, where her death occurred when she was about seventy-five years of age. She reared five children. as follows: Mary, Cynthia, Elizabeth. Alfred Jackson, and Florence, all of whom, with the exception of Elizabeth, are now living.

Acquiring his early education in the rural schools, Alfred Jackson Powell began when young to perform his full share of the manual labor incidental to life on a farm, becoming familiar with the theory and prac- tice of agriculture. When twenty-two years of age he began work as a woodsman, and for twelve years was engaged in the turpentine busi- ness. Investing then his money in land, Mr. Powell bought sixty-five acres in the Dixie district of Brooks county, the improvements on the place consisting of a elcared and improved plot of a little more than

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twenty acres, on which stood a small board house. Beginning farming on a modest scale, Mr. Powell met with very encouraging success from the first. From time to time lie has purchased other tracts lying near by, and now has a fine farm of three hundred and twenty-five acres, which he devotes to mixed husbandry, his land being under a good state of tillage, and yielding profitable harvests each season.

Mr. Powell married Alice MeKinnon, who was born in Brooks county, Georgia, a daughter of William G. and Mary Jane ( Groover) Mckinnon, and a granddaughter of James Groover, one of the first settlers of Brooks county. Two children have been born of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Powell, Wallace and Mary E. Both Mr. Powell and his wife are identi- fied by membership with the Missionary Baptist church.

REV. WILLIAM R. TALLEY. A fine representative of the professional and agricultural circles of Brooks county, Rev. William R. Talley, of Dixie, has gained distinction not only for the honorable ancestry from which lie traces his descent, but for his industry, ability and integrity of purpose. He was born at Mount Zion, Hancock county, Georgia, February 16, 1844, a son of Rev. Jolin Wesley Talley.

His grandfather. Caleb Talley, a native of Hanover county, Virginia. was a descendant of one of three brothers who came to America in colonial days, one of whom located in North Carolina, on the Roanoke river, one settling in Hanover county, Virginia, while the other took up his resi- dence on the Susquehanna river, in Pennsylvania. Leaving Virginia in 1797, Caleb Talley traveled across the country by private conveyance to Georgia. He bought land in Lincoln county, but as it proved impos- sible to raise tobacco there at an advantage he moved to Greene county,. leased manual labor school lands, and there raised tobacco on an exten- sive scale. Packing his tobacco when harvested into hogsheads through which he had drawn an axle, he attached shafts, and drew his entire crop to Augusta, seventy-five miles distant, where he received top prices for his loads. While yet a young man he served as a soldier in the Rev- olutionary war. He married Elizabeth Stuart, who was born in Vir- ginia, of Scotch-Irish ancestry. She passed away at the age of seventy- five years, while his death occurred when he was but fifty-five years old. They were both members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Walker, Greene county, it being one of the oldest churches of that denomination in the state. They reared one daughter and five sons, the sons being named William, Nicholas, Alexander. Caleb, Elkanah, Nathan. and John Wesley. Caleb and Elkanah became farmers. and the other five became preachers in the Methodist Episcopal church.

On December 6, 1800. the birth of Rev. John Wesley Talley occurred in Greene county, Georgia, where he was reared. There having been in that early day no free educational institutions. he had bnt little oppor- tunity to attend school, but through his own efforts he secured a fair education, and began life for himself as a merchant in Washington, Georgia. A man of deep religious convictions. he entered the ministry in 1827, and in 1828 joined the South Carolina Conference, which em- braced the western part of North Carolina, and all of South Carolina, Florida, and Alabama. His first two appointments were in North Caro- lina, and his third was at Pensacola, Florida. There were then neither railways nor public roads of any account in this section of the country, and he made his rounds on horseback, following Indian trails, mostly. and preaching, generally, in log houses. In 1835 he was assigned to Macon, Georgia. A man of advanced ideas, broad-minded and liberal in his views, fully appreciating the value of a good education for girls as well as boys, he was one of the leaders in the movement of offering the

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girls the same facilities for acquiring knowledge that was as a matter of course afforded the boys. During his pastorate in Macon he agitated the subject, and, supported by Elijah Smelair, proposed the establish- ment of a female college in that city, and the two leaders in the move- nient worked to such good purpose that the Wesleyan College, for which they selected the site, was established in Macon. It was at first called the Georgia Female College, but was later changed to the Wesleyan Female College, a name which it still bears. During the Civil war he. served as chaplain of the First Georgia Hospital, in Richmond, Virginia.

Being superannuated in 1871, Rev. Mr. Talley spent a few years with his son William, but in 1878 removed to Corsicana, Texas, where he resided until his death in 1885. He married Rosetta Ralston, who was born in Savannah, Georgia, a daughter of Jolm Ralston, who came from Ireland with two of his brothers just after the close of the Revolu- tionary war. She died at the home of her daughter in Corsicana, Texas, at the advanced age of eighty-five years. They reared four children, namely : Elizabeth Stuart ; John Shellman, a soldier in the Confederate army, died from the effect of wounds received at the second battle of Manassas; William R., the subject of this brief biographical record; and Sally C.

Completing his early education at Emory College, in Oxford, Georgia, Rev. William R. Talley began his professional career, at the age of twenty-two years, as a teacher in the Hancock county schools. Licensed as a local preacher in 1876, he preached in different places in Georgia, in addition to teaching and preaching turned his attention to farming. In December, 1880, Mr. Talley purchased his present farm in Dixie, where he has since resided. ITis one hundred and forty acres of land are under a high state of cultivation, and he has a substantial set of buildings, his house being most pleasantly located on a knoll overlook- ing Dixie valley. As a farmer and stock raiser he is meeting with well merited success, and as a man and a citizen he is held in high regard throughout the community.

Mr. Talley married, in 1872, Carrie Harvey, who was born in Marion county, Georgia, a daughter of Benjamin and Mary Harvey. Seven children have blessed their marriage, namely: Lizzie, John S., Eunice S., Ben H., Charles R., Sally Lee. and Elmer. Lizzie, wife of L. L. Stevenson, has two children, William and Shellman. Eunice, wife of W. L. Watkins, has three children. William Talley. Ruth, and Harrison. Ben married Mattie Stuart, and they have two children, Ben Harvey and Martha. Charles married Luella Hurt.

JOHN OBED STANALAND. A skilful and practical agriculturist. sys- tematic and thorough in his methods. John Obed Stanaland is meeting with notable success in his pleasant and profitable calling, his farm, which is located in the Dixie district. having excellent improvements, the build- ings being conveniently arranged, while his machinery is of the latest approved manufacture. He was born April 1. 1868. in Thomas county, Georgia, a son of Daniel B. Stanaland, and grandson of John Obed Stanaland, the first.

The pioneer ancestor of the Staualand family in Georgia was Buz Stanaland, Mr. Stanaland's great-grandfather, who was born. it is thought, in South Carolina. Migrating to Georgia in early life, Buz Stanaland lived for awhile in Bulloch county. Later he came to south- west Georgia, making the removal with teams of his own, bringing his cattle and household goods with him, and settling on the old county road, ten miles north of Thomasville. Purchasing a tract of timbered land, he erected a log cabin in the wilderness, and began in reality to hew a

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homestead from the forest. He was the first to raise stock in this sec- tion of the state, and found the industry quite profitable. Sueeessful in his work, he cleared a large part of his land, and in due course of time built a good hewed log house, sealing it inside and out, and there resided until his death, in the seventy-fifth year of his age. His wife, whose maiden name was Dolly Hollingsworth, survived him, being up- wards of eighty years old at the time of her death. They. with one son and one daughter, lie buried in the family lot, on the old homestead. They were typical southerners in their generous hospitality, their latch string being always out. They reared five children: John Obed, Prissy, Zebulon, Thomas, and Amy.

Jolin Obed Stanaland, the first, was born during the residence of his parents in Bulloch county, and with them eame to the southwestern part of the state. He was early drilled in the branches of agriculture, and began farming for himself by renting a piece of land lying one mile from Thomasville. on the old Coffee road. Thomasville had then but one dwelling, a log house owned by James Kirksey, who was the only inerehant in that vicinity, his store being also in a log building. While living on that land, he dug for Mr. Kirksey, the first well dug in Thomas- ville. After renting for a year, he bought land in Jefferson county, Florida, where he tilled the soil several years. Returning, however, to Georgia, he located in Thomas county, about a mile from the town of Boston, and in the log cabin which he erected lived a few years. He not only tilled the land, but he kept the family larder well supplied with the fruits of the chase, deer, bear, and wild game of all kinds being plenti- ful, and made all the shoes worn by his family, tanning all the leather used himself. His wife, who was a true helpmeet. used to card, spin and weave, and make all the clothing worn by her household. There being no railroads in those early days he used to market all of his sur- plus produce either in Tallahassee or in Newport, Florida, with teams, the round trip to the first mentioned place taking, if the roads were very good, three days, while a trip to Newport and back. under the same con- ditions, required a full week. He continued a resident of that farm until his death. at the advaneed age of seventy-eight years. John O. Stana- land, the first, married Susan Melton, who was born in Bulloeh county, where her father spent his entire life. The maiden name of the mother of Susan Melton was Davis. She survived Mr. Melton, and after his death came from Bulloch county to Thomas county, locating in the south part, where she bonght a farm which she operated with slave labor, living upon it until her death, when over one hundred years of age. Both Mr. and Mrs. Melton were of New England ancestry. Of the union of John O. and Susan Stanaland. seven children were born and reared, as follows: James Alfred, John H., Benjamin, Daniel B., Jephtha C., Simeon, and Julia. All of these sons took an active part in the war between the states, Benjamin dying while in the service.

Daniel B. Stanaland was born in Thomas county, Georgia, near Bos- ton, October 15. 1839, and there grew to man's estate. In 1861 he enlisted in the company known as the Dixie Boys, which was attached to the Fifty-seventh Georgia Regiment of Vohinter Infantry, which became a part of the Western army. With his command he participated in many important battles, and when Vicksburg surrendered was captured by the enemy. Exchanged about three weeks later he rejoined his regi- ment, and with it took part in various campaigns, continning with his command until the close of the war. He served under Generals Joseph E. Johnston and J. B. Hood, toward the close of the conflict, being sent with his regiment to Virginia, marching through Georgia and the Caro- linas to Virginia, and then fell back to Greensboro, North Carolina.

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where he surrendered. After returning home, he farmed for a number of years in Thomas connty, and then came to Brooks county, to the home of his son, John Obed Stanaland. He married Elizabeth Mountain, who was born near Tallahassee, Florida, in 1845, a daughter of Jonathan and Martha (Lively) Mountain, natives, respectively, of Georgia and South Carolina. Three children were born of their marriage, namely: John Obed; William Henry, who died in the eighteenth year of his age; and Walter. The mother was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and in her daily life exemplified its teachings.

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A history of Savannah and South Georgia, Volume II, Part 51

Author: Harden, William, 1844-1936 Publication date: 1913 Publisher: Chicago, Lewis Publishing Company Number of Pages: 1208

Author: Harden, William, 1844-1936
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago, Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1208