Cryptures by Thom McCague April 2017

Cryptures

April 2017

The Wynne family originally came from England and the family patriarch John Wynne fought heroically in the Revolutionary War in many battles.  In some of those battles, the Colonials were far outnumbered by the British. The Wynnes went south from Virginia in the migration to new lands in Georgia.  This migration was largely due to the depletion of the soil by the tobacco crops. They first settled in Wilkes County then on to Oglethorpe County.  John Wynne became a member of the 1st Provincial Congress of Georgia in 1775. John’s wife  Susannah Owen, was from a prominent family.  Finally, they settled in Coweta County in 1841. 
 
Glenn Owen Wynne, son of John and Susannah Wynne,  was born in Virginia August 3, 1817, and died August 27, 1890.  When Glenn was only 19 he went off to the Indian Wars of 1836.  He became a member of the Georgia Legislature in 1837 while in Oglethorpe County, later becoming a State Senator in 1851-2. The Wynne property was just across Line Creek from the Ware family lands.  Out of dense forest near an Indian

village they established their plantation, a store, and probably a mill.  The plantation house was a typical one as you can see throughout the area.  It was two story with a beautiful spiral staircase.  Unfortunately, the home burned sometime in the 1900’s.Some of his property may have been on the opposite side of the creek in Fayette County.  By this time he was one of the wealthiest men in Coweta County.  The Wynnes would have seen the last corn dance of the Indians just before they began their journey on the trail of tears.

Glenn had little schooling but he was a voracious reader and diligently acquired extensive general knowledge.  People thought of him as one who had a broad and thoughtful mind.

By 1856 Glenn was elected as a Georgia Representative to the U.S. Congress and in 1858 he was elected U.S. Senator for Georgia.  He was probably a member of that august body in Milledgeville that debated whether Georgia should secede from the Union. Even though he was a staunch Democrat he was liked and respected by many and received a great number of votes from the Whig party.  The election was notable since it was the largest turnout for an election in the history of the state.  Glenn was also a prominent judge.

Glenn married Sarah Pope Lumpkin.  Sarah was the niece of Governor Wilson Lumpkin and Chief Justice Joseph Henry Lumpkin.  Glenn and Sarah had twelve children: Obadiah (married Ann Eliza Ware who was a cousin of Dr. Crawford Long), Joseph (married Ann “Sallie” Glass), John Faver, Willie Glenn, Mary Susan, Sarah Catherine (grandmother of Governor Ellis Arnall), Martha Antoinette (married Edward Manson-Smith son of Coke’s Chapel member Reverend George Edward Smith), Elizabeth (Edward Manson Smith’s second wife) Dora (who donated the altar Bible to Cokes Chapel in 1920) Francis, Stonewall, and Emma.

The 1850 census shows that Glenn was 32 years old and owned $7,000 in real estate.  By 1860 he had $30,000 in real estate and $85,040 in personal wealth.  Today that would amount to about $3,138,291.  After the Civil War in the 1870 census, his real estate was worth $8,000 and his personal value was only $7,000.  The war devastated the entire South for decades.

During a time of particular hardship and famine, the both the Wynn family and Ware family fed the local Indians. During the Civil War years, Glenn Wynne opened his home to all soldiers who were sick or wounded.  He and his family took in widows and orphans as well. 

I haven’t been able to establish what year it was but on a bright Christmas day, there was an altercation in the Wynne store between John Bishop and John Chandler.  They were both well-known young men of the community.  For unknown reasons, Bishop was brutally stabbed by Chandler and later died of his wounds.  Chandler ran off and was never arrested and it doesn’t appear that he ever showed his face in the area again.

At some point, Glenn dropped the “e” from the name Wynn.  This was not an uncommon practice. The Wynns were faithful members of Cokes Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church.  Their last resting place is in our cemetery. 



Cryptures Blog March 2017

Cryptures by Thom McCague

March, 2017

The temperatures in July, 1864 were in the high seventies to mid-eighties and it was humid when Union Brigadier General Edward M. McCook and about 2,400 cavalrymen crossed the Chattahoochee River heading to Lovejoy to destroy and disrupt the Macon and Western Railroad lines.

They first came to Palmetto where they burned the town and destroyed some of the Atlanta and West Point rail lines. Moving on they followed what is today Palmetto-Tyrone Rd. and were headed to Fayetteville. They swept into Fayetteville with no one knowing. They burned 1,100 Confederate supply wagons, they took their sabers to the mules and captured about 400 men. They even surprised Confederate officers who were sleeping in their homes. Fayetteville was in flames.

They rapidly swooped into Lovejoy on 29 July, 1864 to meet with Major General George Stoneman to disrupt the Macon and Western railroad lines. Stoneman was nowhere in sight. McCook sent out scouts to see if they could find him. It was to no avail. The dream of marching on south to free the Union boys from Andersonville was not going to materialize.

After consulting with his officers McCook decided to try and make it back to the Chattahoochee River, so they headed back to Palmetto only to find out that Confederate Major General Joseph Wheeler was now in hot pursuit. McCook picked up an old Black man as a guide hoping that they could out run Wheeler. Now forced to run down the Fayetteville Rd. they encountered skirmishes at Whitewater Creek and at Shakerag.

Shakerag was on the west side of Ebenezer Rd. at Davis Rd. (the same Davis family that owns Smith and Davis Clothing). This skirmish is considered a pivotal conflict and the most important in the Fayetteville area. It was at the home of Asa Mitchell that McCook halted. This was not for a rest but to barricade the road behind them. Lieutenant Colonel Robert Kelly was in command of the rear guard. During this rear guard action, Kelly and his men repulsed the rebels five times and the casualties were high on both sides. Finally, old Joe Wheeler ordered a headlong charge into the ranks of the Union troops. This broke the rear guard. Kelly and 200 of his men were captured while the rest of the force were routed.

Both Confederate Wheeler and Union McCook left their wounded with local families while the rest of the troops moved on down Lower Fayetteville Rd. McCook was held up at Line Creek since the Wynn(e) family (members of Cokes Chapel) burned the bridge. This gave Wheeler time to catch up and skirmish again. They were doing their best to keep the Union troops from entering Coweta County. McCook and his men had been in the saddle for three days and nights. They were sleepless and exhausted. Again the wounded were taken to local plantation owners. Reverend George Edward Smith is documented as taking them in. His plantation is still standing on Bob Smith Rd. not too far from Cokes Chapel. Others like Bird Parks and J E P Hunnicutt probably took in the wounded in also. All of them were members of Cokes Chapel. Those who weren’t lucky enough to survive their wounds were buried hastily in Cokes Chapel cemetery. There are at least 177 unknown graves in the cemetery at Cokes Chapel. Many are just marked with a large stone. Some have disappeared completely.

General McCook marched on bypassing Newnan. He was marching on to defeat at Brown’s Mill which was at the intersection of Ricketyback Rd. and Corinth Rd. But McCook escaped total defeat as he led 1,200 of his men back across the Chattahoochee river about 8 ½ miles below Franklin. They were still shuttling men and horses across the river when Wheeler’s 5th Georgia Cavalry appeared on the hills above the river at dawn. Shots rang out and the Union troopers, still on the wrong side of the river, stampeded to the water’s edge. Within minutes the stranded raiders were captured along with several hundred horses and mules. Those on the other side took a circuitous path through Alabama to meet up with other Union forces in Marietta, Georgia.



Cryptures February 2017

 

CRYPTURES

February 2017

I constantly find stones protruding up through the turf, many of which I have exposed buy digging around them.  Some are grave markers and some outline family plots.  As you already know I unearthed the foundation stones of the rear wall of the old log cabin.  I’ve also located several of the foundation stones throughout the cemetery that were used as grave markers after the log cabin was torn down.

Last year I began a small project in our cemetery which has turned into a mystery.  As I cut away the turf and exposed more mortar encrusted stones I realized I had found a circle.  It is in the northwest quadrant of the cemetery directly behind Katie Clifton Lee’s grave.  I probed the soil within the circle and didn’t locate anything.  The soil was hard so I was unable to probe very deeply.  Now since we’ve had quite a bit of rain I was able to probe more deeply.  I located what felt like stone about a foot and a half deep.

With all the dirt removed you can see below what I found.  There were no artifacts other than a piece of broken glass. This is somewhat of a cauldron shape and appears to be mortar over stone.  It is not smooth by any means.

I hope that one of our congregation who has been a lifelong member can identify what this may have been.  There was mention of a spring on the original deed.  Could this be the cap for the spring or a well.  Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.



Cryptures April 2016

George Edward Smith traveled to the 6th District of Coweta County (the 6th district was considered the garden spot of the county) in 1829 by wagon from Oglethorpe County. George was only 15 years old at the time. He brought with him several men to help clear land and build cabins for his uncle Dr. Ira Ellis Smith who won the land in the Land Grant Lottery of 1828. Dr. Smith’s plantation house was built seven miles east of Newnan close to the Thomas’ Crossroads on the old Wynn’s Pond road. It would later be named Shoal Creek and is still standing today according to one report.

George returned with the hands to Oglethorpe County only to come back to Coweta on foot driving cattle for two well to do men. He received twenty-five cent a day for his labors. This might not sound like more than a very long walk but he was walking through primal forest where lurked puma, wolf, bear and any number of other varmints and Indians. Can you imagine anyone doing that today for those wages!

George was a hard worker and very industrious. He was well educated and became a highly respected Methodist Episcopal preacher in Coweta County. His home church was Cokes Chapel, however there is no evidence that he every preached there. He was well loved but was also known for being puritanical and insisting that the women folk refer to their husbands as Mr. or My Lord. The Methodists of the time believed in austerity and were known for expelling women wearing jewelry to church.

Two of George’s sons built the pulpit in Cokes Chapel around the middle post. It was later removed to the Fellowship Hall but has since gone missing.

Reverend George Edward Smith was buried in the Cokes Chapel cemetery January 05, 1883. He was only sixty-nine years old.
 
Thom McCague, thommc49@gmail.com


Cryptures May 2016

Aquilla Hardy was born March 10th, 1794 in Bertie County, North Carolina. He was the youngest of 13 children born to Jesse and Elizabeth Hardy. At the age of 19 he joined Captain Richard Park’s Company of the Georgia Militia Regiment as a private. The War of 1812 had already been going on for a year by then. He was one of the many who “took a little trip” but for Aquilla he probably never went any further than Alabama. The British had enlisted the help of the Indians to fight the Americans in 1812 and because of this Aquilla probably fought in the Creek War which was also known as the Red Stick War. However, after further research it appears he may have been a member of the Harris Regiment Georgia Militia which was attached to General Andrew Jackson.

Aquilla came marching home to Lincoln County, Georgia in March of 1814 and married his sweetheart Mary Polly Steward in May. Evidently Polly was the girl he left behind in order to serve his country. Over the years they had twelve children; 5 boys and 7 girls. By 1824 or 1825 at the age of 31 Aquilla and his family moved west to Coweta County. He leased some land from an Indian who was a member of the Coweta tribe of the Cherokee. This was just prior to Coweta actually being organized into a county and the first land lottery. Aquilla is believed to have been the first white settler in the county. He later purchased land and established a trading post near Line Creek close to the junction of Georgia Highway 34 and Georgia Highway 54. Whether it was the same land he leased from the Indian is unknown. The town of Kidron (Kedron) grew from that trading post.

Aqiuilla’s father, Jesse Hardy, died in December of 1828 and left his son $67.10. Today that would amount to $1,675.00. A nice sum for a growing family when the average weekly wage for 1828 was fifty-cents.

In 1869 his wife Polly passed away. Her father, William had left her some property which then passed to Aquilla. They had been married 55 years, but Aquilla found a new love interest in the widow Nancy T. (Harris) Bolar. They were married in 1873. Nancy had dark hair, brown eyes, and a dark complexion and was five feet six inches tall. By this time Aquilla was 79 and Nancy was 58.
Over the years Aquilla Hardy had been a postmaster for 40 years, a justice of the peace for Fayette County from 1820 to 1869 and a Coweta County Grand Juror in 1835, 1849, and 1853.

Aquilla passed away on April, 29 1884. He was 91 years old in an age where life expectancy was somewhere between 35 and 55. The Turin correspondent for “The Newnan Herald” reported that Aquilla Hardy was an exemplary member of the Methodist Episcopal Church (Cokes Chapel) for 50 years and he was esteemed by everyone who knew him. He was laid to rest in the Cokes Chapel Cemetery, in the vicinity of the Magnolia tree. The large stone with no inscription next to his is probably Polly’s.
His wife Nancy would go on to claim his pension from the War of 1812. This amounted to $8 per month or an equivalent of $228.57 today. She would later pass in 1901 in Kedron, Coweta, Georgia.
 
Thom McCague, thommc49@gmail.com


Cryptures June 2016

Dr. James Edward Petaway Hunnicutt was born in Petersburg, Virginia May 28th, 1805. His mother was Polly Petaway who was Methodist and his father was a Quaker. He married Martha Lundie Atkinson. Martha’s grandfather John Pepper Atkinson was a clergyman of the Church of England. Martha was said to have an exceptional strength of mind and sweetness of nature. Martha’s mother was Elizabeth Bland Lundie Atkinson. They all migrated to Coweta County, Georgia in 1833. This was a time when many extended families migrated all along the east coast of the United States. Some went directly west while others traveled south and then west. The country was growing rapidly and people were looking for more space in new lands away from the coastal areas.

James and Martha had three boys and two girls. As the children grew they worked the farm. James and Martha made sure that religion was put first in the life of the family. They were strict though loving parents.

James Hunnicutt was a Trustee and founding member of Cokes Chapel in 1843 and was one of the signatories when Mark Smith deeded the 600’X600’ property to Cokes Chapel for $25 or about $806.45 today. This was the present site of the church and was a log structure in front of the current church building. James was also the superintendent of the Sunday school for 54 years.

Because of the itinerant preachers, weekdays were frequently days of services. On these days all work was stopped on the farm and everyone attended church including the slaves.

James was physically weak and suffered from profound depression but his habit of godliness remained intact. He was a practicing physician and was in high demand in a large territory. But James never took a fee for his medical services on Sundays.

In 1850 he and Thomas D. Goodwin, Miles Jones, Rev. George Edward Smith, William Overby, Isham Smith founded the Longstreet Academy in February of 1850. James was the class leader, steward, and trustee of the Academy.

Martha died in 1851 and James then married her sister Clara Ann Atkinson Parks in 1858. She was the widow of Thomas H. Parks. Clara passed in 1875.

When James was on his death bed on March 6th, 1884 his last words were an evening benediction upon his little grandchild. J. E. P. Hunnicutt passed at midnight without pain in his sleep. He was so loved that all the Hunnicutt slaves and their 40 descendants attended his funeral.

James’ two wives, Martha and Clara are buried in Cokes Chapel Cemetery along with their parents and Thomas H. Parks.
 
Thom McCague, thommc49@gmail.com
 


Cryptures July 2016

Cokes Chapel had its beginnings in 1833 under a muscadine grape arbor at Burt Hill farm, located at Vineyard crossing better known today as the intersection of Lower Fayetteville Road and Georgia Highway 154. Pioneers held church here for about nine years when on April 6th, 1842 Mark Smith offered a 200 square yard patch of land just down the road to the east. It is uncertain if Mark was a member of the congregation and not clear why Stephen Howard was mentioned in the deed, but the “Cokesberry Chappel” was to be the center of the land with privileges to a spring that was there.

Mark Smith was a relative of Nathaniel Smith who was apparently a wealthy land owner in Coweta County, Nathaniel passed in 1831 and Mark may have been his son. Mark inherited a fair amount of money and possibly some land. Some of this land was that small patch in the 1842 deed sold for $25 or an equivalent of $735.25 today.

On the land that Mark Smith sold to the congregation there was a log cabin. No one is quite sure who introduced the log cabin to America but evidence points to either Scandinavians or Germans. They were widely spread all across the country and varied greatly.

In 1830 the population of Coweta County was around 5,000 people and by 1840 the population doubled. Typically the log cabins in that era were either 20 feet by 20 feet or 20 feet by 16 feet. The logs in the south were typically squared and set upon stone foundations or stone pilings. A cabin could be built in a day or two by 20 to 30 men from all over the county, and it would have been a great social event like a barn raising. The sills would have been massive oak logs which could have been felled and hewn then brought to the site by oxen. The walls would have been pine because pine grows straight as an arrow. In all likelihood, the cabin would have had a door in the front and one in the back with leather strap latches and a window or two. It could have had a hard pack floor or a wood floor. The logs would probably have had dovetail ends and mud and moss to chink between the logs. The roof would have been wooden shakes of oak, chestnut or cedar. There is currently no mention of the details of the Cokes Chapel cabin. You’ll have to use your imagination to picture it.
It has been said in a poem about Cokes Chapel that the cabin was dark and damp. It was lit by an oil lamp or two and may have been heated by an iron stove or a hearth. The congregation met in this log cabin for eight years when they decided to build our beloved old chapel in 1850.
 
In June, 2016 I became very curious about some apparent stones or bricks extending from the western front corner of the church to the area of the cemetery, so curious, that I decided to unearth them. To my surprise, I found what appears to be the foundation stones for the back wall of our old log cabin. The length of the stone foundation is 20 feet and they are good sized stone which would have borne the weight of the log wall.
 
This fall when it is cooler I will be probing the soil to try to find the other foundation stones and the hearth. If I do find them they will be unearthed so everyone can see where our log cabin church was. Please be sure to stop by the site and take a look at our archaeological dig. I would also be happy to walk you through the cemetery and introduce you to past members of our congregation.
 
Thom McCague , thommc49@gmail.com 
 


Cryptures August 2016

Thomas Dance Goodwyn was born February 27th, 1813 in Dinwiddie County, Virginia.

His father, Burwell Goodwyn, was a well to do Virginia planter and also a Lieutenant in the War of 1812 and most likely helped to defend Washington, D.C. Upon his death in 1834, Thomas, his mother, Nancy Anne Dance and his siblings moved to Coweta County, Georgia as so many other Virginians were doing at that time.

They participated in the land lottery which was selling off the Indian lands in Coweta. These lots were either 202.5 acres or 490 acres and went for an average price of 7 cents per acre. They acquired lots 1, 17, 32 and bought lot 16 from Elijah Bailey sometime between 1834 and 1840.

They built some cabins on the property to live in while their Greek revival Catalpa Plantation was built on lot 16. Nancy signed her name on the rafters of the plantation house. After Thomas was married she lived on lot 32. Thomas brought his bride home in March of 1838. Her name was Mary A. C. Griffin from Henry County, Georgia. When their first child was
due Mary, travelled to Virginia to have the baby probably because they were still living in a cabin while the plantation was being completed. During those early years, folks would think nothing of walking 5 miles to attend a party and return home the same day. After Mary’s return
I’m certain they had a party.
 
The first two children were John Burwell and Thomas Dance, Jr. There would be 12 more over the years. By the 1850’s Thomas Sr. had become a prosperous cotton planter like so many others in the area and the economy of the 
county
was booming. The railroad had come to Newnan, there was a cotton warehouse and seminary schools were built. The Girl’s College was built and so was the College Temple.
 
The circus, concerts, astronomical viewing, and bear shows came to Newnan. The Newnan market was bustling selling a bushel of corn for 30 – 40 cents, pork for 7 cents a pound, lard for 15 cents a pound, flour for 3 cents a pound and a gallon of whiskey went for 30 cents. Country butter was
scarce
though. A dollar today was worth about 3 cents in 1853. Times were so prosperous many folks were worried about the moral fabric being torn asunder. Newnan would frequently erupt in pistol and gun firing, whooping, and hollering. The southern cotton crop was projected to reach as high as 3 million bales as reported in the “Nashville Union.”

Many a plantation was being used for church services with itinerant pastors. The Goodwyn plantation could well have hosted services. They also served as hospitals during the Civil War for both Union and Confederate men and it is known that the Goodwyn plantation and Rev. George Edward Smith plantation were two of the many.

When the war broke out Thomas Sr. joined the 36th Military District Reserve and Police Force of Coweta County as the 1st Lieutenant. Son John joined the 1st Ga. Vol. Inf. then the 12th Ga. Vol. Inf. as a 1st Sargent. He was wounded in the right leg and left chest at the battle of Cold Harbor then he was trapped in a train wreck near Ringgold, Ga. Both legs and an arm were pinned. He was scalded by steam and was among the dead and dying men and horses. The car caught fire but he was saved as a bucket brigade extinguished the flames in time. He was captured near Appomattox at the time Lee was surrendering to Grant.

Thomas, Jr. joined the Ga. 1st Vol. Inf., 53rd Ga. Vol. Inf. and Ga. 12th Bttn. Light Artillery as a Private. He was wounded at the battle of Knoxville, Tn. and lost a finger as a result. He too was captured near Appomattox at the time of Lee’s surrender.

Thomas, Sr. died September 24, 
1866
and his mother Nancy died January 5th, 1867 only a year or two after the war. Thomas, Mary, and Nancy can be found in our cemetery.
 
Catalpa Plantation stayed in the family until the early 1900’s. The house still stands today at 2295 Old Poplar Road.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Thom McCague,


Cryptures September 2016

Doctor Robert Littleton Smith was born May 5, 1853, and was a son of Reverend George Edward Smith and Martha Pinkard. His great grandfather was John Smith who was born in London, England and immigrated to the colony of Virginia. John had fought with the Colonial forces as a captain during the American Revolution.

Robert’s grandfather was Captain George Smith who fought in the War of 1812 in Virginia and his grandmother was Caroline Manson Hunnicutt, a sister of J.E.P. Hunnicutt.

It is believed that the extended Smith family moved to Oglethorpe County, Georgia in the early 1800’s and then on to Coweta County to take advantage of the Land Lottery. You will recall that Reverend George Edward Smith brought men to Coweta County to clear land and built cabins for his uncle Dr. Ira Ellis Smith. This land belonged to Mark Smith and possibly Nathaniel Smith. They were older than Ira so he was probably an uncle.

The plantation house was built about 1835 on 640 acres of land between two branches of the McIntosh Trail. Very little is known of Mark Smith but he may have never lived in the possibly using it as a travelers rest. I’m sure you remember that Mark sold some property to Cokes Chapel in 1842. When Mark Smith died in 1844 the property was deeded to his wife and children and shortly thereafter was bought by Dr. Ira Ellis Smith.

The house was and “I” design and in a Federal style which is one of the few left in Georgia. It was built on single block granite foundations. The framing was massive hewn pine timbers that were inscribed with Roman numerals indicating the order and location of assembly. They had a smokehouse, a well, a grain building, a mule building and several others.

In those early days, it was difficult for the pioneers. It came down to “root, hog or die.” The woods though were teeming with game and they certainly shot squirrels, rabbit, deer, and turkey from their front porch.

Families were large in those days as it was a farming was a labor-intensive occupation. It took time  to get to the fields with the mules, then periodic resting for the animals and men and then the return home. It would take horses or mules sixteen 10 hour days to plow just forty acres with a 12” furrow. With oxen, it took twenty-five 10 hour days. The total distance walked would be 330 miles. Now multiply that out for 640 acres. No wonder you never saw fat farmers.

Captain George Smith and his brother Littleton were in the cavalry in 1836 Indian Wars fighting in Florida and the Creeks in Alabama under General Scott. In that year Georgia George Gilmer was traveling from Alabama to his home in Oglethorpe County along the McIntosh Trail. He stopped his carriage at a house near the road to get some water and to his surprise met an old friend, the “gallant” Captain George Smith. They had known each other in Oglethorpe County.

Dr. Ira Ellis Smith was becoming a notable politician in Coweta County and was elected several times as a State Representative and State Senator. By 1847 he thought it was time to build his own place at Thomas’ Crossroads. Things were getting a bit crowded so he deeded the property to Reverend George Edward Smith and had the Cole brothers build him a mansion. These were the same Coles who built Cokes Chapel in 1850.

The home was never harmed during the Civil War. The family took in both Union and Confederate troops who had been wounded as Brig. Gen. McCook advanced on Newnan along the Lower Fayetteville road. Reverend George Edward Smith made sure those who died got a decent burial at Cokes Chapel where he was a member.

Robert Littleton Smith married Sarah A. Carmichael on June 1, 1884. They had four sons and four daughters. Robert became a dentist and continued farming until he had a heart attack. At that point, he gave up dentistry but continued to farm. But his descendants say he never completed medical school.

In the years following the Civil War, the economy in Georgia was a shambles. It was so bad that Robert had to use most of the 640 acres as collateral for the mortgage because of crop failures. Finally, in order to save the house, he deeded the remaining two acres and the house to his wife.

Robert and his brother Edward Manson built the pulpit of Cokes Chapel and moved it to the back of the sanctuary. Then in 1895, they built the altar railing which Richie Beam just recently painted.

Their daughter Mary Jennie married Samuel Luther Todd. Daughter Lou Ella married Henry Lenderman and son Andrew disappeared during WWI in 1916. He was an aviator on experimental flights in Miami.

Their neighbors were the Stewart family, the Willis family, and the North family. All just down the road toward Sharpsburg.

Robert died June 7, 1935. The Coweta Chronicles state that he died in the same bed he was born in.

Everyone mentioned is buried in Cokes Chapel cemetery except for Mark Smith, Nathaniel Smith, John Smith, and Ira Ellis Smith.
 
Thom McCague,


Cryptures Blog October 2016

Doctor Robert W. North was born 11/10/1821 from Oglethorpe County in 1824.  His father was Anthony North and his wife Mary Polly Hubbard.  One account states that Mary Polly came on horseback with a baby.  Since Robert was born in 1821 he was really a toddler and probably it was still no easy task to ride a horse with him with her.

Anthony was on the first grand jury in Coweta County in 1827 which was held in the, now lost, town of Bullsboro.  He helped to layout the town of Newnan in 1829, was elected to the state legislature in 1828, was a Judge of the Inferior Court in 1861 and had served under General Andrew Jackson as a member of the Harris Regiment Georgia Militia in 1812.  Anthony was the brother of William Buchanan “Bucky” North who is in our cemetery.
There is very little information about Robert W. North available.  Nothing is known of his education but he did become a doctor by the time of the Civil War.  He enlisted on May 31
st, 1861 as an Assistant Surgeon and commissioned into the Field & Staff of the Georgia 7th 
Volunteer Infantry.  He may have been wounded or became ill since one account shows that he resigned in December of 1861.

He married Calista Glass in 1849 and they had three children.  One son died in infancy, Alton Glass North and Edgar Means North were the sons who survived.

Robert’s brother Abraham Columbus North was also a doctor.  He enlisted as a 1
st Sergeant in May of 1861 and appointed Assistant Surgeon in January 1863.  One account states he was AWOL in February 1865 but I believe this to be false.  He was active in the 2nd 
battle of Manassas and put in charge of the CSA hospital in Warrenton, Virginia which was housed in a Baptist church.  He was captured and then paroled after which he had an opportunity to meet and speak with General Robert E. Lee. 

 Doctor Abraham C North

Alton became a noted physician and practiced in McDonough and later became clerk of the State Sanitarium in Milledgeville but later returned to Hampton in Henry County to practice medicine.  He came to a tragic end after returning home from church (he was a deacon in the church) on a dark stormy night he was cross the train tracks just as the Central of Georgia fast mail train came through running about 50 miles per hour.  Alton was thrown about 35 or 40 and almost every bone in his body was broken.  He body was taken to the old family home in Sharpsburg and then laid to rest in the Cokes Chapel cemetery.

Robert’s siblings were Benjamin W. 1825-1861 who perished in the Civil War; Mary 1828-1914 married James Bridges who died in the Civil War.  Mary was buried beside her parents in the Sharpsburg Baptist cemetery while James was buried at Cokes Chapel; Henry Anthony 1832-1909 became a Captain in the Civil War; James Marcus 1835-1912; and Abraham C North (see above).

Robert married Henrietta Bailey in 1891.  Her mother was Rebecca Jane Atkinson and daughter of John Pepper Atkinson.  One of Henrietta’s sisters was Sarah Bailey who’s grave is the oldest known (1839) in the Cokes Chapel cemetery and actually, predates the establishment of Cokes Chapel at its present site.  Another sister, Mary Yates Bailey married Robert’s brother Abraham Columbus North.

Robert died in June, 1893 and was buried beside Calista and his children.  By December 1893 his wife Henrietta died in another tragic train accident in Sharpsburg.  She is buried at Cokes Chapel but close to the front of the cemetery.
 
Thom McCague,