Memoirs of Georgia; containing historical accounts of the state's civil, military, industrial and professional interests, and personal sketches of many of its people. Vol. II, Part 97

Author:
Publication date: 1859
Publisher: Atlanta, Ga., The Southern historicl association
Number of Pages: 1166


USA > Georgia > Memoirs of Georgia; containing historical accounts of the state's civil, military, industrial and professional interests, and personal sketches of many of its people. Vol. II > Part 97


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119 | Part 120 | Part 121 | Part 122 | Part 123 | Part 124 | Part 125 | Part 126 | Part 127 | Part 128 | Part 129 | Part 130 | Part 131 | Part 132 | Part 133 | Part 134 | Part 135 | Part 136 | Part 137 | Part 138 | Part 139 | Part 140 | Part 141 | Part 142 | Part 143 | Part 144 | Part 145 | Part 146 | Part 147 | Part 148 | Part 149 | Part 150 | Part 151 | Part 152 | Part 153 | Part 154 | Part 155 | Part 156


HENRY BONE, farmer, Dallas, Paulding Co., Ga., son of Bailey and Nancy (Evans) Bone, was born in Madison county, Ga., in 1834. His grandfather, George Bone, was a native of Ireland, and migrated to this country about 1770. He was a soldier in the patriot army during the revolutionary war, and after peace was proclaimed settled in South Carolina, but soon afterward migrated to Georgia


660


MEMOIRS OF GEORGIA.


and settled in what is now Madison county, where Mr. Bone's father was born in 1800. He was reared on the farm there, received a limited education at the "old field" schools common at the time, and remained in the county until 1835, when he moved to Carroll county to engage in gold-mining, in which he was quite successful. Ten years later he moved to Paulding county, where he farmed until his death, 1859. Mr. Bone's mother was a daughter of William and Celia Evans. and born in what is now Madison county in 1802. In 1822 she was married to Mr. Bone, and in 1889 died, aged eighty-seven years, the mother of eight children: William, John, Henry, Mrs. Celia Abliss, Mrs. Mary Owens, Atlanta, Mrs .. Nancy Owens, Mrs. Elizabeth Collins and Mrs. Addie Drake. Mr. Bone was reared a farmer, received a very limited education and worked on his farm until Georgia seceded. Enlisting in Company K, Sixtieth Georgia regiment, he went to the front, and with it participated in the important battles of Gettysburg, second Manassas, Wilderness and minor engagements. At Staunton, Va., he was pros- trated by measles, with which he suffered some time very severely. He was captured at Winchester, Va., but escaped within an hour afterward. He was never wounded, but on one occasion a ball struck his canteen and passing through one side glanced from the other. He was sent home a few days before the sur- render, and never returned to the army. Returning to his farm he re-habilitated it, and has enjoyed the prosperity due to hard work and good management. He owns and operates a fine, well-stocked farm just outside the corporate limits of Dallas, and is regarded as one of the best farmers in the county. Mr. Bone was married in 1869 to Miss Ella, daughter of Adam and Maria (Martin) Summers, formerly of South Carolina, and of the children born to them six are living: Katie M., Bertie, Mattie, Warner, Clyde and Raymond. Since 1866 Mr. Bone has been a member of the masonic fraternity.


JAMES T. CARTER, JR., farmer, Dallas, Paulding Co., Ga., son of James T. and Lucinda (Harris) Carter, was born in Paulding county in 1849. His paternal grandfather, Robert Carter, was a native of South Carolina, was a farmer, served as a soldier through the war of 1812, and in 1835 migrated to Georgia, where he lived to the extreme age of 104 years. Mr. Carter's father was born in South Carolina in 1814, and was educated in the common schools of the locality. He came to Georgia by ox-cart conveyance in 1835 and settled in Gwinnett county, where he remained until 1840, when he moved to Cobb (now Paulding) county, where he accumulated a comfortable fortune as a farmer. His mother was born in South Carolina in 1816, and was a daughter of Charles and Jane (Cannon) Harris. Her parents, when she was a girl, moved to Georgia, where she grew to womanhood and was married in 1834. To them were born four children: Joseph A., James T., the subject of this sketch, Mrs. Emeline Bates and Mrs. Elizabeth Adair. She died in 1859, and three years later Mr. Carter married Miss Betsey Jones, and hand in hand this worthy old couple are still "keeping step together" on life's rough roadway. Mr. Carter was reared on the farm and received a common school education. He enlisted Sept. 15, 1864, in Company D, First Alabama Federal cavalry, and served on the advance of Gen. Sherman's army as scout and guide, rendering valuable service. After the war he returned home and began farming, which he has followed successfully and prosperously since. In 1880 he attended school in Dallas, and afterward taught school six years, at the same time managing his farm profitably. He is progressive and eminently practical in all he does-solid and unostentatious. Mr. Carter was married Dec. 23, 1867, to Miss Martha, daughter of Henry and Ann McGill, of Cherokee county, Ala., by whom he has had six children: Mary, Amanda,


661


PAULDING COUNTY SKETCHES.


Elizabeth, Savannah, Josephine and Ula. Himself and wife are prominent and influential members of the Baptist church.


JASPER L. CLAY, farmer, Nebo, Paulding Co., Ga., son of Thomas and


Rosanna (Molroise) Clay, was born in Cobb county, Ga., in 1837. His grand- father, John Clay, was a North Carolinian, was a soldier in the war of 1812, and lived to the extreme age of ninety-three. Mr. Clay's father was born in North Caro- lina in 1816, was reared on a farm, came to Georgia in an ox-cart in 1830, and settled in Newton county, living in a tent until a house could be built. Subse- quently he moved to Campbell county, and thence to Cobb county, where he still lives. His mother was a daughter of Jesse and Elizabeth (Love) Molroise, and was born in what is now Troup county, Ga., in 1818, was married to Mr. Clay in 1836, and is still living. Of the children born to this worthy aged couple eight survive: Jasper L., the subject of this sketch; James N., William P., Jesse T., Henry H., Horace G., Mrs. Melissa Adams and Mrs. Casseldra Barnes. Mr. Clay was reared on a farm, his school advantages being very meager-what edu- cation he has was mostly acquired at night and on Sundays. In 1861 he enlisted for a year in Company D, Seventh Georgia regiment. When the term of his enlistment expired he was pressed into the Confederate service for the war, and was made orderly sergeant. His command was engaged in the battle at York - town, in which he was slightly wounded. He afterward participated in the battles of Seven Pines, Malvern Hill, Wilderness, Rappahannock, Fredericksburg, Chan- cellorsville, Knoxville and Sharpsburg. At this last-named battle he was cap- tured and kept a prisoner twenty days. Besides having been engaged in these many hard-fought battles, he was in thirty-eight minor engagements; was wounded twice, but not seriously, and never obtained a furlough. In October, 1864, he left the service to care for his aged parents, who were in destitute cir- cumstances. In 1868 he moved to Paulding county, where he bought 100 acres of land on a credit; he has since increased his holding to 745 acres. He farms on scientific principles, has his farm under improved cultivation, and besides general farming has been a very successful fruit-grower. Progressive and public- spirited, he is considered one of the foremost citizens of the county. In 1890 he was elected to represent Paulding county in the general assembly. Mr. Clay was married in July, 1866, to Miss Martha, daughter of Russell and Mary (Hill) Pace, and their union has been blessed with ten children: Mrs. Ella Knox, Mrs. Alice Barber, Warner, Bessie, Henry, Thomas, Rosa, Minnie, Beulah and Margaret Q. Mr. Clay is a Methodist and has been a member of the church twelve years.


[ EVI COOPER, farmer, New Hope, Paulding Co., Ga., son of Jesse and Rebecca (Darby) Cooper, was born in Union district, S. C., in 1837. His paternal grandfather, Stacey Cooper, was a soldier in the war of 1812-14, and died in 1821. Mr. Cooper's father was born in South Carolina in 1800, was reared on a farm and educated in the common schools of the country. About 1822 he was married to Miss Rebecca, daughter of Benjamin and Mary (Rey- nolds) Darby, by whom he had eight children: William D., deceased; Levi, the subject of this sketch; Mrs. Rachel Brown, deceased; Mrs. Anna Harris, de- ceased; Mrs. Mary Babb, Mrs. Barbara L. Dunn, Delila and Lucy. In 1847 he moved from South Carolina to Cobb (now Paulding) county, Ga., where he died twenty years later. His wife was born in South Carolina in 1800 and died in Paulding county in 1872. Mr. Cooper was reared on a farm, and educated in the common schools of South Carolina and Georgia. When he was ten years


662


MEMOIRS OF GEORGIA.


old he came with his father to Georgia, the family traveling the distance in wagons. In March, 1862, he enlisted in Company D, First Georgia cavalry, and served with it in the Kentucky and east Tennessee campaigns, his command participating in the battles of Somerset and Danville, Ky., Rocky Ridge, both battles of Mur- freesboro and numerous minor engagements. Sept. 23, 1863, he was sent from Camp Cumberland, Tenn., to the hospital at Knoxville, and remained on the sick list there until 1865, when he returned to the army as second sergeant and re- mained until the close of the war. When he returned home he found his farm a desolate waste and his family scattered. For six weeks he lived on corn bread and sorghum syrup. He went resolutely to work to restore his home, which, by well-directed efforts and the blessing of a kind Providence, he has succeeded in doing. He struggled hard to make a crop that year, but has never wanted for one since. From 1871 to 1876 he exercised his ingenuity and mechanical talent as wagon-repairer and wagon-maker for neighboring farmers, to their satisfac- tion and his profit. Mr. Cooper was married in 1855 to Miss Emily, daughter of Joseph and Lucinda (Carter) Ragsdale. To them nine children were born, of whom seven are living: A. J., physician, Brownsville, Ga .; J. J., physician, Dallas, Ga .; Thomas F., Joseph, Ella J., Alice Miller and Henry L. Mr. Cooper has been a master Mason thirty years, and is a devoted and active member of the Missionary Baptist church.


FLIJAH W. DEAN, physician and surgeon, Hiram, Paulding Co., Ga., son of Elijah and Eliza (Fowler) Dean, was born in Cherokee county, Ga., in 1861. His grandfather Dean was born in Virginia, and came to Georgia soon after the revolutionary war. His father was born in Gwinnett county, Ga., in 1819, and being left an orphan at the age of ten, was reared by an uncle. In 1830 the family moved to what is now Cherokee county, where he was reared and educated, and spent the greater part of his life. He was bred a farmer, but he supplemented his farming by engaging in the tannery business. He served for many years as a justice of the peace. In 1893 he moved to Paulding county, where he is now living. Being exempt by age he did not enlist in the regular service during the late civil war, but he served several months with the state troops. Dr. Dean's mother was born in South Carolina in 1825, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Fowler. When she was twelve years old her parents moved to Cherokee county, where she received a common school education and was married in 1842. To Elijah and Eliza Dean nine children were born: Thompson, killed in battle during the war; John, died in 1863; Elijah W., the subject of this sketch; Susannah, Mrs. Abbott; Jennie, Mrs. Saye; Lavinia, Mrs. Hill; Mary, Mrs. Spears; Hattie, Mrs. Brasselton; Dialphia, Mrs. Benson, all living. Dr. Dean was reared on the farm, educated in the common schools of the county of his birth: with a short course at the military school of Dahlonega. He began the study of medicine under Drs. W. H. and W. L. Dean, Woodstock, Ga., and then at- tended a course of lectures at the Southern Medical college, Atlanta. He next entered the medical college of Georgia, Augusta, from which he graduated in 1883. He immediately located at Hiram, and entered upon the practice of his profession, and was successful from the start. In 1888 he took a post-graduate course at Atlanta Medical college, thus thoroughly equipping himself for every emergency in his practice. He has built up a good and extensive practice, which is still increasing as a consequence of the enivable reputation he has established. Dr. Dean was married in May, 1886, to Miss Carrie, daughter of William and Elizabeth (Denton) Gray, of Paulding county. They have no chil- dren. He is a master Mason, and himself and wife are members of the Baptist church.


663


PAULDING COUNTY SKETCHES.


CALVIN S. ELLIS, farmer-mechanic, Oval, Paulding Co., Ga., son of Isaac C. and Elizabeth (Smith) Ellis, was born in Cass (now Bartow) county, in 1841. His grandfather, Calvin Ellis, was a North Carolinian, a soldier in the early Indian wars, and the son of a soldier in the revolutionary army. Mr. Ellis' father was born in North Carolina in 1812, raised on a farm and educated in the common schools of North Carolina and Georgia. His parents migrated from North Carolina to Georgia when he was lad, and settled in Cass (now Bar- tow) county, and soon afterward apprenticed him to a blacksmith to learn the trade. Some time after this he went to Carroll county, but in 1845, moved to Marion county, Ala., where he lived until he died, Feb. 5, 1892. His mother, daughter of Simeon and Eleanor Smith, was born in North Carolina in 1814, and came to Georgia when a child, with her parents, who settled in Gwinnett county, and afterward moved to Cass county, where, in 1832, she married Mr. Ellis. She died in 1855. Mr. Ellis was raised on the farm, and educated in the "old-field" school, common to that locality and period. In 1861 he enlisted for twelve months in Company C, Seventh Georgia regiment, and the next year re-enlisted in Company I, Nineteenth Georgia regiment, with which he was in the seven-days' fight around Richmond, and the battles at Gaines' mills, Cold Harbor and Chancellorsville. May 3, 1863, Mr. Ellis was shot entirely through the body and sent to the hospital at Richmond, from there to Atlanta, and afterward to his home. He so far recovered by February, 1864, as to be able to rejoin his command at Charleston, S. C., which he did, and was with it in the famous charge on Fort Fisher. Soon after this his wound broke out afresh, and he was again sent to the hospital. After remaining there four months, he rejoined his regiment, then in North Carolina, having had the ball extracted from his back only six days before the surrender of Gen. Johnston. The wound troubles him now at times; and he still has in his possession the ball which came so near ending his life. Returning from the war, his first work was splitting 1,000 rails for a pair of trousers. He next went into a shop and made spinning wheels and chairs, which he sold to pay for making his first crop. The next year he worked on the telegraph line and worked his farm. In 1868 he resumed blacksmithing, in connection with his farming, and has conducted both successfully since. A good farmer and mechanic, industrious and thoroughly practical, his precept and example make him a useful citizen, and one highly esteemed. Mr. Ellis was married April II, 1869, to Mrs. Lydia (Clinton) Roberts, daughter of John and Elizabeth Clinton-a union unblessed by children; two children of Mrs. Ellis, however, by her first marriage, are members of the household.


THOMAS J. FOSTER, physician and surgeon, Dallas, Paulding Co., Ga., son of Joel and Anna B. (Bomar) Foster, was born in Spartanburg, S. C., in 1833. His grandfather, John Foster, was a soldier in the patriot army during the revo- lutionary war. His father was born in 1802, was raised a farmer, and was educated in the common schools of his time and state. He was married in 1822, and in 1835 he moved into Georgia-coming in wagons-and settled in the virgin forest of Campbell county. There he felled the timber, built a house, opened a farm, and became one of the most successful planters in the county-dying in 1846. His mother was a daughter of William and Barbara (Powell) Bomar, was born in South Carolina in 1807, and received her education in the common school. She married at the age of fifteen, was the mother of eleven children, and lived to be eighty-one years old. Dr. Foster was raised on the farm, and was educated in the common schools of Campbell county, and at the academy of Fairburn, same county. In 1858 he read medicine under Dr. P. M. Tidwell, Fairburn, and in 1859 entered Atlanta Medical college. So thorough had been his preparation that he


664


MEMOIRS OF GEORGIA.


graduated in September, 1860. He located at Buchanan, Haralson county, and commenced practice under the most promising auspices-to be dispelled by the war. In 1861 Dr. Foster enlisted in Company A, Capt. W. J. Head-of which he was made surgeon-Thirty-fifth Georgia regiment, with which he served in the campaign about Richmond. In 1862 he returned home and raised Company G, Fortieth Georgia regiment, of which he was elected captain. With this command he served with distinction in some of the most trying campaigns, and was engaged in some of the bloodiest battles of the war-having been with Gen, Bragg, in Tennessee, and with Gen. Kirby Smith, in Kentucky. June 19, 1863, while defending Vicksburg, he was severely wounded by a minie ball piercing his left side-where it remains to this day. After this he was assigned to provost marshal duty, and sent to the salt works, McIntosh county, Ga., where he remained until driven away by Gen. Sherman, on his march to the sea. Returning home, he (levoted his attention and labors to the alleviation of the distresses of his impov- erished neighbors, in which, it is but just to him to say, he did more than any other person in the immediate section. In 1866 he moved to Paulding county, where he resumed the practice of his profession, soon establishing a large and profitable patronage, and achieving a distinction which has resulted in the accumulation of a well-earned and well-merited supply of this world's goods. He visited Nashville, Louisville, and St. Louis, and obtained from the generous citizens of those cities car-loads of meat and flour, and other provisions, which he assisted in distribution of in his neighborhood. In addition to his professional duties, Dr. Foster conducts large farming interests and a general merchandise store. In 1867-8 he was a member of the constitutional convention from Paulding county, and was mayor of Dallas one term. Dr. Foster's life has been an active and useful one, governed by noble and humane impulses and purposes. His manifold deeds of charity and philanthropy make a monument to his memory grander and more enduring than marble or brass. Dr. Foster was married in 1857 to Miss Missouri, daughter of Carey S. and Ann (Sharp) Lesueur, of Monroe county, who died Aug. 28, 1884, having borne him ten children, of whom only four-Mrs. Carey Ann Sanders, William A., James B., and Imogene, are now living. In January, 1887, Dr. Foster married Miss Florence A., daughter of William and Mary Jordan, of Tunnell Hill, Ga., by whom he had three children, two of whom- Irma May and Thomas J .- are living. Dr. Foster has been a member of the masonic fraternity forty years, and is an influential and exemplary Baptist, having been a life-long member of that church.


JAMES B. FOOTE, hotel-man and merchant-farmer, Dallas, Paulding Co., Ga., son of George W. and Amanda (Greenwood) Foote, was born at Powder Springs, Cobb Co., Ga., Jan. 5, 1843. His father, James Foote, of English descent, was born in Union district, S. C., in 1814, came to Georgia with the family when a boy, in an ox-cart, and settled near Powder Springs. His father was educated in the schools at that place, and while yet a young man began his career as a merchant there, and was very successful. In 1853 he moved to Dallas, where he continued his merchandising with even greater success, and built the Foote hotel. Mr. Foote's exceeding geniality, good humor, and large-hearted hospitality made his hostelry one of the best-known and best-patronized of any in this part of the state. He died March 22, 1892, sincerely mourned by a wide circle of appreciative friends who had been cared for and entertained by him. Mr. Foote's mother was born in 1816, in Lawrenceville, Gwinnett Co., Ga., where she was raised and educated. She was married to Mr. Foote in 1834, and died in her seventy-seventh year. Mr. Foote was raised and educated at Powder Springs and Dallas, and received an excellent business training in his father's store. In his


665


PAULDING COUNTY SKETCHES.


eighteenth year he enlisted in Company C, Seventh Georgia regiment, served faith- fully and suffered bravely to the end. He was in the battles of Yorktown, Fort McClellan, and Knoxville, Tenn. At this last-named battle, Nov. 23, 1863, he was shot through the thigh, and was soon afterward captured and sent to Fort Delaware, was kept a prisoner sixteen months, suffering untold hardships. He was exchanged in 1865; but such a short time before the surrender that he could not re-enter the army. He walked much of the way home from Richmond, and when he reached home he found himself impoverished by the combined ravages of the Confederate and Union armies. With the $4 of available capital he had, he engaged in the liquor business, which he followed one year, and then began farm- ing. In 1870 he embarked in a general merchandise business, and prospered, as he had done in his other undertakings. In 1877 he assumed the management of the Foote hotel, and has fully sustained the wide-spread reputation and popularity gained for it by his lamented father. Mr. Foote's uniform success in all his enter- prises marks him as a man of more than usual business sagacity and financial ability; while his high standing socially, commercially, and as a citizen, indicates that he possesses to the fullest extent the confidence of his fellow-citizens. Mr. Foote was married in 1866 to Miss Rebecca J., daughter of Simeon J. and Matilda (Mayo) Tidwell, of Coweta county, Ga., formerly of South Carolina, who bore him five children: Lelia, Homer, James, Hattie, and Harry. Their mother died Nov. 20, 1890. Mr. Foote was made a master Mason in 1865. He has been a leading citizen of Dallas for years, and is favorably known throughout Paulding and adjoining counties.


MISS SARAH JANE FOOTE, educator, Dallas, Paulding Co., Ga., daughter of Reuben T. and Sarah E. (Daniel) Foote, was born in Powder Springs, Cobb Co., Ga., in 1846. Her father, son of James Foote, was born in Union district, S. C., in 1826. The family migrated to Georgia, making the journey in an ox-wagon, and settled near Powder Springs, in what is now Cobb county, in 1830. There Miss Foote's father studied medicine under Dr. J. K. Cotton, and, in 1844, entered the medical college of Georgia, Augusta. He did not graduate until some years later. In 1850 Dr. Foote moved to Macon county, Ala., where he practiced his profession, building up a large and profitable patronage, conducted a general merchandising business and an extensive plantation, and traded in live stock, and accumulated a quite large fortune, which in 1860 he died and left. Miss Foote's mother was a daughter of Jolin and Sarah E. (Durden) Daniel, a North Carolina family of Dutch ancestry, and was born in Madison, Morgan Co., Ga., in 1828. While she was quite young her parents moved to Powder Springs. At the schools there and at Salem, N. C., she received an excellent education, and when only fourteen years of age was married to Joseph Coleman, who died within a year. By him she had one child, a daughter, Mrs. Josephine Sistrunk, deceased. In 1845 she was married to Dr. Foote, by whom she had six children: Miss Sarah Jane, the subject of this sketch; Mrs. Georgie B. Sistrunk; Mrs. Beatrice \. Nelins, deceased; Alexander M .; William R., and Reuben T. She died in 1873. Miss Foote was educated in the common schools of Macon County, Ala. Left an orphan by the death of her father when fourteen, she undertook the education of her younger sister and brothers, and how well she performed her self-imposed duty is attested by their success and social standing to-day. Adopting teaching as a profession, Miss Foote taught school in Macon county, Ala., until 1867, since which time she has alternated between that county and Dallas. Excellently well equipped by superior intellectual endowment and literary attainment, a mild yet firm disciplinarian, and a sympathetic nature which draws children to her as to a loving sister, and possessing with all this eminent practicality of mind, she has


666


MEMOIRS OF GEORGIA.


established an enviable reputation as an educator, and is loved by hundreds who have passed from under her instruction to household duties and the business affairs of the outer world. In 1881 she organized the Methodist Sabbath school in Dallas, with which she has since been usefully and influentially identified, and made it a potent power for good.


WILLIAM J. GRAY, farmer and miller, Hiram, Paulding Co., Ga., son of Garrett and Jane (Jenkins) Gray, was born in Franklin county, Ga., in 1829. His paternal grandfather, Isaac Gray, was born in South Carolina in 1750; was a soldier in the patriot army through the revolutionary war, and after the war came to Georgia and settled in Franklin county, where he died, aged eighty-one years. Mr. Gray's father was born in South Carolina Sept. 23, 1802, where he was reared on the farm and educated in the common country schools. In 1828 he came to Georgia and settled in Franklin county, where he successfully farmed until 1835, when he moved to Cobb county, whence, in 1841, he moved to Paulding county. He represented Cobb county and afterward Paulding county in the general assembly. Later he was elected to represent his senatorial district in the general assembly. During the unpleasantness he enlisted in the state service, but was discharged on account of age. Mr. Gray's mother was born in South Carolina in 1802, was left an orphan when a small child, and was reared and provided for by her brother, with whom she came to Georgia in 1825. In 1828 she was married to Mr. Gray, and of the children born to them five are living: William J., the subject of this sketch; Thomas F .; Isaac N .; Charles MI., and Sarah, Mrs. Denson. The mother died in 1879, and the father in 1886. Mr. Gray was reared on the farm and was educated at the common schools of the locality and period. In 1849 he began farming in Paulding county, and was prosperous from the start; in 1854 he added milling to his farming, and has successfully conducted both since. From 1858 to 1868 he served as a justice of the peace, and again from 1878 to 1882. In 1876 he was elected to represent Paulding county in the general assembly, and was elected again in 1894 as a populist. Mr. Gray, besides being a good farmer, is a stirring man of business, enterprising and persevering, and his election to important public positions indicates unusual popu- larity. Mr. Gray was married in 1849 to Miss Elizabeth, daughter of Samuel and Jane (Carter) Denton, of a family of early settlers from South Carolina to Georgia. Of ten children born to them five are living: Demerris, Mrs. Mack; Katharine, Mrs. Moon; Margaret, Mrs. Vaughn; Carrie, Mrs. Dean, and Bird. He is a master Mason, and a member of the Missionary Baptist church.




Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.