Southern Graves

William Mattox, born 1836 in Elbert County, Georgia to Henry Page and Sophia N. Mattox, was a lot of things.  He was a son, a brother, a husband, and a father.  He was also a large landowner, a shrewd businessman, a soldier, and a statesman. But was William Mattox the meanest man in Georgia ? Those who labored for him might argue he was. A great-great grandson of Col. Mattox, Mr. Ray Chandler, penned an article about his notable ancestor.  It was published in the Summer 2011 edition of Georgia Backroads magazine.  In detailing the life of Mattox, Mr. Chandler described the acquisition of land which began after his great-great grandfather's 1856 graduation from college.  By 1860, W. H. Mattox owned more than 1,000 acres in Elbert County, much of it along the Savannah River.  To go with that property was 79 slaves. Mattox believed in bringing industry to the South, but had to wait until after the Civil War to put his plan into practice.  After a couple of years of service, Mattox re

Houston Home Journal (Georgia) 18 September 1913 – pg. 7 Death of Mrs. J. N. Barker Last Tuesday afternoon, the 9th inst, just as the sun was sinking in the west and the shades of night had began to fall, Mrs. Lizzie Pollock Barker, wife of Mr. James N. Barker, departed this life at her home in Bonaire.  She had been sick for several weeks, but paralysis was the immediate cause for her death. Mrs. Barker was the daughter of the late Mrs. Annie M. Baskin of this county and was born Dec. 5th, 1854.  She was married to Mr. J. N. Barker Sept. 16, 1869, having been companions for 44 years.  Of this union there were born eleven children, five of which preceded her to the grave. The children, who were with her during her last days are, Mr. B. B. Barker of Unadilla, Mrs. R. S. Woodard and Mrs. W. A. King, of Macon, Mrs. S. H. Sasser, Mrs. J. H. Watson and Mrs. J. R. Hunt of Bonaire. She was an excellent and benevolent woman, a noble wife, a devoted mother to her now sorrowing children and a