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Showing posts from January, 2020

James A. Everett: Houston County's First White Settler and the Father of Fort Valley

James Abbington Everett and second wife Mary Beaufort Greene were, upon their deaths, buried in Oaklawn Cemetery at Fort Valley, Georgia. Though the county the cemetery is in is now called Peach, it was called Houston at the time of death for James (1848) and Mary (1852). According to a biographical sketch submitted by Eddie Clark in The Heritage of Houston County, GA: 1821-2001 , "No history of either Houston County or Peach County[,] Georgia could be complete without remembering James Abbington Everett...Historical accounts hold that [he] was both Houston County's first white settler and the Father of Fort Valley." The sketch continues as follows: Mr. Everett's earlier life was spent in the pursuit of worldly wealth. He was known as an intelligent person who could spot opportunities and capitalize on them. At an early age of just 22 years, James Everett left his NC home and ventured into the North Georgia wilderness as an Indian trader. ...In 1818, James becam...

Henderson Walker and Lula Watson English at Magnolia Park Cemetery

Henderson Walker "Henry" English, born 13 May 1860, was a son of Irvin and Joanna Howell English. Henry was married first to Eva Brantley in 1889, and this union produced three sons: Havis, Fenton, and Ray/Roy. About six years later, on 25 September 1895 in Houston County, Georgia, Henry married Lula Watson. She was born 26 April 1873, a daughter of Richmond H. and Fannie C. White Watson. Henry and Lula had three children: Fannie, Maud, and Irving Brown. Their son, who was orphaned about age five, was the only child from that union to survive to adulthood. Henry died 16 December 1903, and Lula died 25 January 1907. Both were buried in Magnolia Park Cemetery at Warner Robins, Houston County, Georgia. At the time of their deaths, however, the burial sites were in Watson Cemetery at Wellston, GA. (Wellston became Warner Robins in 1942, and Watson Cemetery became Magnolia Park in 1949.) Houston Home Journal (Perry, Georgia) 24 December 1903 - pg. 6 [via Georgia Historic New...

An Additional Sorrow: Death of Mrs. Sarah Margaret Baskin Holmes Clark (1836-1892)

Born in 1836. Baptized in 1846. Married first in 1855. Birthed a daughter in 1858. Widowed in 1863. Married another in 1867. Buried daughter and father in 1873. Died in 1892. Sarah Margaret Baskin was one of at least seven daughters born to Robert Wellborn Baskin (1803-1873) and Temperance Mariah Hargrove (d. 1847). Not mentioned in Sarah's obituary (transcribed below) was she was first married to Lieut. William H. Holmes. He died of pneumonia at Richmond, Virginia while soldiering during the Civil War. Houston Home Journal (Perry, Georgia) 4 February 1892 - pg. 3 [via Georgia Historic Newspapers ] DEATH OF MRS. S. M. CLARK. Again Perry suffers from an additional burden of sorrow. Last Friday night Mrs. Sarah Margaret Clark, wife of Mr. J. W. Clark, died in Perry at the residence of Mr. T. M. Killen, where she and her husband were boarding. For many years Mrs. Clark had been in feeble health, and about six years ago she approached very near unto death, and it was ...