1

An Atlanta First
Family: the White Family
of DeKalb and Fulton Counties, Georgia








by T.J. White
July, 2013









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Contents

Introduction 8
Part I Historical and Genetic Origins in Chatham County, North Carolina
Jacob Jake White: Our Earliest Proven Ancestor 10

The early documentary evidence 11

Some Data on Jacob White Sr. (Ostensible father of
Jacob Jake White) 18
Evidence that Jacob Jake White was our ancestor 24
The Children of Jacob Jake White 27
Closely-related to the Brewers, according to DNA Testing 28
DNA detective work helps resolve the parentage of
Jacob Jake White) 30
So, just who WAS Jacob Jake Whites Brewer father? 32
Yet another documented historical Brewer/White interaction 38
Conclusion 41









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Part II Jacob Jake White: a Biography
The White Generation History 43

What of the information itself? 45

Residence in Pendleton District, South Carolina 49

The early settlement of Franklin County
and the Wofford Settlement 52

Tallassee Mico, King of the Creeks 56

What was Jacob Jake White like? 62

What was North Georgia like at this time (the land itself)? 69

Jacob Jake White arrives in Franklin County, Georgia 74

Jacob Jake White, War of 1812 Soldier 78

The Creek War 80

The First Seminole War 83

The Negro Fort 85

Fort Scott and the Fowltown Massacre 87

War-weary Jake White returns home to Franklin County 90

The White Family relocates to DeKalb County, Georgia 98

An Interesting 1839 Court Case in DeKalb County 116

The Monroe Railroad 119

The Panic of 1837 120

Social Life in Early DeKalb County 127

Militia Muster Day in the Blackhall District 130

The 1840s, and the arrival of the Industrial Revolution to this
part of Georgia 134

Charged with Assault and Battery (at the age of Seventy!) 143
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When did Jacob Jake White die? 160

What might Jacob Jake Whites final home have looked like? 163























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Part III The Known or Believed Children of Jacob Jake White, Jr.
Obedience Biddy White Green (b.1799) 187

William Wilson White (1800-1895) 190

Andrew Jackson White (b.1802) 217

James V. White (1804-1892) 224

Wright White (1807-1893) 242

Sarah Sally White (b.1808) 255

Nathaniel White (b.1809) 256

Samuel Isaiah White (1810-1893) 263

Elizabeth Isabel White Sewell (1811-1866) 268

Martha E. White (b.1813) 273

Mary Ann Polly Ann White Rainey (1815-1899) 276

James Jacob Jim Jacob White 282






















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Part IV Selected grandchildren of Jacob Jake White, Jr.
Photo comparison of several grandchildren of Jake White 284
Jacob James Jim Jacob White (1824-1884) 285
Francis Marion White (1827-1925) 288
Eliza Ann White (1830-1909) 301
Daniel Andrew White (1840-1911) 303
John Andrew White (1835-1933) 308
Francis Marion Frank White (1840-1933) 310
Camilla White Bentley (1852-1943) 316
William Henry White (1853-1907) 317
Wright R. White (1836-1917) 318
Joshua J. Rainey (b. Jan. 1842) 321
Josiah Timothy Rainey (1843-1902) 324






















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Part V Other notable descendants of Jacob Jake White, Jr.
William Cornelius Green Cap White (1858-1942) 327

Ferman Davis White (1905-1973) 339

Homer Spence White Jr. (1936-2006) 342

Dr. Homer Spence White III (born 1963) 348

Hon. Haley Reeves Barbour (b.1947), Governor of Mississippi 350




Appendices 351
Notes 446






























8

I ntroduction

Why write a history of Jacob Jake White? Why write a history of such a person? He
was, after all, a fairly unremarkable human being, seemingly little more than a simple
farmer for almost his entire life, leaving scant traces of his existence for future ages to
ponder. He accomplished no great task in life that we know of; he wrote no great or
influential book (he could not even write, period); few of his contemporaries remembered
anything particularly significant about him (if they remembered him at all). Other than
the fact that he served as a private on two occasions during the War of 1812, and the fact
that he managed to get himself charged in DeKalb County (Georgia) Superior Court with
assault and battery (at the remarkable age of seventy-plus), he seems all in all to have
been a remarkably unprepossessing personas quiet and unobtrusive as humanly
possible. His own descendants barely even remembered his namelet alone anything
noteworthy about him. Over the course of the hundred and fifty odd years since he lived,
he has been very nearly forgotten completely. (Most of his descendants in fact did forget
him completelyeven his very name.) So why bother with him?

Well, first of all, he was the direct male ancestor of the present writer (who would thus
not be alive without him).

Secondly, he was also an ancestor, in the female line, of the much more remarkable
recent governor of the State of Mississippi, the Honorable Haley Reeves Barbour. That
fact alone should be sufficient motivation to investigate the life of Jacob Jake White.

Thirdly, and finally, an investigation into his life will reveal much about the very
fascinating (and poorly-documented) time and place in which he lived and movedearly
frontier Franklin County (and later, early, frontier DeKalb County), Georgia.

The basic outline of the discussion to follow can be summed up with the following short
description:

Although at first seeming to be plausibly descended in the male line from a man named
Ulrich Weys (a.k.a. Woolrick White) and his father-in-law Friedrich Herzog (a.k.a.
Frederick Hartsough, Hartsoe, etc.), two Palatine German immigrants to Philadelphia
(1741) who later relocated in Augusta County, Virginia and Orange and Chatham
Counties, North Carolina, Jacob Jake White, whoalong with his descendants in
Georgia, Mississippi, Texas and elsewhereis the subject of much of this paper, was in
point of fact fathered by an as yet undetermined man named Brewer. This fact is now
known from several pertinent y-DNA tests. This unknown Brewer male was almost
certainly either a son or (more likely) a grandson of a couple named George Brewer (died
1744) and his wife Sarah Lanier, of Brunswick County, Virginia. This fact is known from
the nearly identical DNA matches between living male descendants of Jacob Jake
White and several living Brewer males who are either known or believed to be descended
from the said George and Sarah Lanier Brewer.

So let us now investigate this man:
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Part I:
Historical and Genetic
Origins in Chatham
County, North Carolina


































10

Jacob Jake White: Our Earliest Proven Ancestor

As mentioned above, our family of Whites are proven to have descended from a man
named Jacob Jake White, who lived in Chatham County, North Carolina, Franklin
County, Georgia (from about 1799 to 1829), and DeKalb/Fulton Counties, Georgia (from
1830 through at least 1860). The evidence proving that Jacob Jake White was in fact
our earliest proven ancestor will be shown below.

The census evidence on his date of birth is unfortunately conflicting, the 1850 census
saying he was 78 years old (thus born circa 1772), while the 1860 census says he was
104 years old (thus born circa 1756). However, those were demonstrably not two
separate men with the same name, since the censuses in Georgia uniformly show that,
from 1830 to 1860, there was only oneadult man named Jacob White in the entirety of
DeKalb/Fulton Counties, and practically only one in the entire state. One of those stated
ages, therefore, was clearly wrong. This writer cannot now state for a certainty just which
of those ages (and therefore birthdates) was correct. One fact would seem to argue
strongly for the earlier age/date: no fewer than four separate branches of Jacob Whites
descendants, who lost contact with each other for over 150 years, each maintained solid
separate traditions that Jacob Jake White lived to be over 100 years old: around 105
years old, according to two branches (Georgia and Alabama), and around 111 years
old, according to the other two branches (Mississippi). These traditions would certainly
seem to confirm the accuracy of the stated age of 104 in 1860. They may very well be
correct. However, notwithstanding this otherwise convincing evidence, this writer does
not think Jake White was actually that old when he died; the age of 78 in 1850 was
probably correct (since that age agrees with the 1830 and 1840 censuses). Further reasons
for this writers belief will be explained below.

Both censuses agree, however, in naming North Carolina as his birthplace. At least one
of Jacob Whites adult children in 1880 also reported his fathers birthplace as North
Carolina. Regardless of his actual age at the time of his death, though, it is now proven
that Jacob Jake White in fact came from Chatham County, North Carolina. The
evidence for this will be discussed below.














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The early documentary evidence:

There were only three men named "Jacob White" in the 1790 census of North Carolina;
one in Perquimans County, one in Edgecombe County, and one in Chatham County.

The Jacob White of Chatham County is now solidly proven to have been the Jacob White
Sr. who later resided in Franklin County, Georgia, and we may therefore completely
discount both the Jacob White of Perquimans County, and the Jacob White of
Edgecombe County.

We are able to say this by virtue of two major pieces of evidence:

One: There was a deposition in the year 1811 in Franklin County, Georgia, by "Jacob
White Sr.," in which deposition he stated the names of three of his neighbors in the year
1788. All three of those neighbors are now known and proven to have resided in Chatham
County before and during the American Revolution (see later). This therefore proves that
Jacob White Sr. came from that county and state before moving to Franklin County,
Georgia. This important deposition by Jacob White Sr. will be referred to hereafter as the
"1811 Deposition". It will be discussed in more detail below, and will also be shown
below, along with a transcription thereof.

From other Franklin County records of that time period, we see that Jacob White Sr.'s
wife was named "Mary". By the time of the 1850 census of DeKalb County, Georgia,
however, Jacob Jake White was shown with a wife named Sarah. This would also
seem to indicate that we are here dealing with two separate men (even though it is
possible for one man to have two or more successive wives). Given the fact in the
Franklin County tax records of contemporaneous men named Jacob White Sr. and Jacob
White Jr., this appears highly likely.

Two: the second piece of evidence proving that the Jacob White Sr. of Franklin County,
Georgia was one and the same man as the Jacob White of Chatham County, North
Carolina, is a deed from the year 1789 in Chatham County, North Carolina, in which
"Jacob White and Mary his wife" sold part of their property (see later). This in itself
would, of course, prove absolutely nothing, but taken in conjunction with the evidence
laid out in the previous paragraph, it does indeed prove to be additional solid evidence.
This deed is also shown below, along with the earlier 1782 deed by which Jacob White
[Sr.] obtained that property from the State of North Carolina.

The tax records of Franklin County, Georgia, where he lived (as mentioned above) from
circa 1799 to circa 1813, do indeed show two men named "Jacob White," one notated as
"Sr." and one as "Jr." And yet, as also mentioned above, by the time our ancestor Jacob
Jake White moved to DeKalb County (later to become Fulton County) Georgia, around
the year 1830, there was only one man by that name in those two counties (and none in
Franklin County, or even nearby). Clearly, therefore, one of those menprobably the
elder of the two, Jacob White Sr..had either died or moved out of state after the year
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1813 (the last year in which both men show up in the records together). This, too, will be
discussed below.

Our proven ancestor Jacob "Jake" White is now solidly proven to have been that Jacob
White J r., both for the reasons mentioned above, and in addition to (and especially
because of) the fact that up until 1852, Jacob Jake White of DeKalb and Fulton
Counties is proven to have owned the same 470-acre Leatherwood Creek Franklin
County property which that Jacob White Jr. had owned since 1810.



Below: Earliest presently-known deed record for J acob White [Sr.], showing that on 23
October, 1779, he was issued a warrant for 300 acres in Chatham County, NC near
Zachariah Martins line . These lands would therefore have been in precisely the
same neighborhood as his later, 1782 grant from the State of North Carolina. (See map
on page 39.) (Georgia Archives)
















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The 1811 Deposition by Jacob White Sr., in Franklin County, Georgia (Bk.TT, p34-5):













































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Transcript of the "1811 Deposition" by Jacob White Sr. of Franklin County, Georgia:

The original is found in Superior Court Deed Book TT (Franklin County, Georgia), pages 34-35.
Transcribed by T.J. (Terry) White on July 1st, 2010. Spelling and punctuation are rendered here exactly as
in the original.

Georgia } Personally before me appeared
Franklin County } Jacob White Senr. & after being
duly Sworn Deposeth and
Saith on oath on a matter of Controversy
between James Brooks of Said County and
William Stanton of South Carolina in which
Said White Sayeth on his Oath that Some
time in the year 1788 the month he doth
not recollect but this deponent Sayeth
that he was at the house of Thomas Stanton
Sometime in the date above & he said to me
to come next morning that he had it in
temptation to Get Mr. Simond Thomason -

__________ __[page break]______________________

to give him a deed of Gift to a certain negro Woman
Dinah by name & her increase from that time forth
also told your deponent how he meant to Contrive
it he said that he would draw an Article of
Agreement to live with him the Ensuing year
and that he would draw them nearly alike
so that the Old man would not know the ods
between the two we both went down next
morning your deponent and Thomas Stanton
to see Simond Thomason the old man was of
Sound mind Thomas Stanton gave him the
articles to read and asked him if it would do
the answer was yes with that Stanton took the
paper out of his hand but that Instant your
deponent further Sayeth that the dogs fell on
Some hogs in the yard your Father meaning
Thomas Stanton Run out to relieve the hogs
puts the agreement in his Bosom Coming
back Puls out the Deed of Gift comes in gives
it to mr. Thomason and mr. Thomason he
thinking it was the agreement Sets his name
to it & your deponent further Sayeth on Oath
that he was a Subscribing witnes to Said Deed
of Gift & that he verily believes that Said Simond
Thomason believed that it to be the articles
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of agreement which he asigned the Same
Sworn to & Subscribed before me this 14th day
of December 1811---
the above Interlined before asigned --
Test Jacob White Senr.
Thomas Hollingsworth, JP

Recorded the 14th December 1811
__________________________

Here follows an edited version, with modern spelling, punctuation, and commentary,
of that same 1811 deposition. This should make it much easier to read and understand:

Georgia } Personally appeared before me Jacob White, Sr., and after being duly
Franklin County} sworn, deposeth and saith on oath, on a matter of controversy between

James Brooks of said county, and William Stanton of South Carolina, in [the] which said
White saith on his oath that

Sometime in the year 1788 (the month he doth not recollect), but this deponent saith that
he was at the house of Thomas Stanton, sometime on the date above-written, and that the
said Thomas Stanton said to me to come [to his house the] next morning, that he had it
in temptation to get Mr. Simond Thomason to give him a Deed of Gift to a certain Negro
woman, Dinah by name (and her increase), from that time forth.

He (Stanton) also told your deponent how he meant to contrive it:

He said that he would draw an Article of Agreement to live with him [Thomason]
the Ensuing year, and that he would draw them [the two deeds] nearly alike, so that
the old man [Thomason] would not know the odds between the two.

We both went down [the] next morningyour deponent and Thomas Stanton
to see Simond Thomason. The old man was of sound mind. Thomas Stanton gave him
the Articles [of Agreement] to read, and asked him if it would do. The answer was yes.

With that, Stanton took the paper out of his [Thomasons] hand, but [in] that [very]
instant (your deponent further saith), the dogs fell on some hogs in the yard.

Your fathermeaning Thomas Stantonruns out to relieve the hogs, puts the
agreement
in his bosom, [and,] coming back, pulls out the Deed of Gift [instead,] comes in [to the
house and] gives it [the agreement] to Mr. Thomason, and Mr. Thomasonhe thinking it
was the Agreement [to Cohabitate]sets his name to it.

And your deponent further saith on oath that he was a subscribing witness to said Deed
of
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Gift, and that he verily believes that said Simond Thomason believed it to be the
Articles
of Agreement which he [had] [signed].

The same sworn to and subscribed before me, this 14th day of December, 1811.

(The above was fully read and reviewed before being signed.)

(Signed) Jacob White Sr.

Attest: Thomas Hollingsworth, J.P.

[NOTE: it is humorous to notice that Jacob White Sr., having been a witness to a swindle
in 1788, whereby an old man was cheated out of a female slave (because he wasnt
careful to read what he was signing his name to), was very careful to read what he
himself was signing as an old man!]

In passing, it is surely also worth noting that one of the great-grandchildren of the above-
mentioned James Brooks (1724-post 1812) was none other than infamous South Carolina
U.S. Representative Preston Smith Brooks (1819-1857), whose savage beating (in 1856)
with a gutta percha cane, on the floor of the Senate, of abolitionist Massachusetts
Senator Charles Sumner, was a bellwether of the sectional hostility leading up to the
Civil War. (Senator Sumner was severely wounded in that attack.) Along with the equally
galvanizing John Brown/Harpers Ferry rebellion, this unfortunate action by Preston
Smith Brooks (applauded by many in the slave-holding South, who gratefully sent him
literally hundreds of replacement canes) helped precipitate the American Civil War. This
fact, while seemingly meaning nothing in and of itself, as regards these Jacob Whites of
Pendleton District, South Carolina, and Franklin County, Georgia, nonetheless may serve
to illustrate the social class among which they moved and were comfortable (Preston
Smith Brooks having been widely acknowledged to represent the Southern slave-holding
aristocracy).















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Some data on J acob White Sr. (ostensible father of Jacob Jake White):

A "Jacob Whit" [sic], probably this man, was one of the "Regulators" who, in May, 1768,
signed his name to a "Petition from the Regulators Concerning Public Fees". (Colonial
and State Records of North Carolina, Vol. 07, Pages 733-737.) (See later.) The fact that
the name is slightly misspelled appears to derive from the fact that this was a document,
several of whose signatories signed it in Dutch (i.e., Deutsch or German) script,
and the colonial transcribers of the document then misspelled those same names.
The Regulators were a loosely-allied group of Colonial North and South Carolina back-
country farmers who were often cheated out of their lands by corrupt Colonial
administrators. Having finally had enough, these farmers then took matters into their own
hands, in the late 1760s and early 1770s, by revolting against what they felt were unfair
and corrupt practices and administrators. This revolt will be mentioned in greater detail
below. These particular "Regulators" who signed the above-mentioned document were
then residents of Orange County, North Carolina, whose county seat was Hillsborough.
If it can be reasonably assumed that this Jacob White was at least 21 years old in May
1768, then he had to have been born on or before May 1747. The Jacob White who
signed his name to the "Petition from the Regulators" in May, 1768, cannot, therefore,
have been the Jacob White who was alive in Fulton County, Georgia, in 1860, as that
would have made him at least 113 years old in 1860 (if not even older). He had to have
been the elder of the two men, Jacob Sr. (and not Jacob Jr.).
In the American Revolution, a "Jacob White Sr." enlisted on 21 April, 1777, for a period
of three years, in Lt. Col. Selby Harney's Company of the Second North Carolina
Regiment (Battalion) of the Continental Army. This unit was commanded by Col. John
Patton. A "Jacob White Jr." (probably that mans son, although this is not proven)
enlisted in the same unit on 27 April, 1777. A "Jacob White Jr." was also listed as a
"musician" in Stevenson's Company of the 10th North Carolina Regiment of the
Continental Army. He is shown as having enlisted (again) on 21 April 1777, for a term of
three years. The only other reference for him with this record says that he was "mustered
for war, January, 1782." This writer has as yet seen no reference which would indicate
where these units were located, or where they served, or (indeed) from what counties the
men forming them were drawn. Although it is tempting to speculate that these men could
have been our ancestors, it must be stressed that this has not been proven yet.
As mentioned above, in the 1790 Federal census, Jacob White [Sr.] was recorded in
Chatham County (part of the Hillsborough [Military] District), which county had been
formed from Orange County in 1771. As also mentioned above, Jacob White purchased
some 260 acres in Chatham County from the State of North Carolina in 1782. Along with
his wife Mary, he sold this property to a Wiley Estes in 1789.
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State of North Carolina deed to Jacob White [Sr.], 1782 (top half) (Bk. C, page 512):













































20

Deed from Jacob White and Mary his wife to Wiley Estes (1789), Chatham County,
NC (Bk. E, page 147):












































21












































(Notice that one of the witnesses to this 1789 deed was Thomas Stanton, whom Jacob
White Sr. in his 1811 Deposition in Franklin County, Georgia, said was one of his
neighbors in 1788. Notice also that another neighbor was [his brother?] Philip White.)
22

Significantly, for what we shall later say about the relationship of the White descendants
of Jacob Jake White Jr. to members of the Brewer family, in the year 1784, one of
these two Jacob Whites found himself in the Chatham County Court of Common Pleas
and Quarter Sessions, charged with "harbouring Henry Blalock, a person of ill fame."
Being adjudged guilty as charged by the lesser court, he (White) was ordered bound over
to the Superior Court for disposition. (This writer has not yet found out how this case was
resolved). The two sureties for Jacob White were John Poe and his neighbor Capt.
Zachariah Martin. Capt. Martin evidently was not pleased with the outcome of the case,
because on the same page as the foregoing, we find that Zachariah Martin was "fined 10
shillings for profane swearing in open court"!
This mention of Jacob White in connection with a man named Henry Blalock turns out
to be an important clue: for that same "Henry Blalock", it now turns out, was George
Henry Blaylock, the husband of Patty Brewer, who was a daughter of Oliver Brewer Sr.
(a son of George and Sarah Lanier Brewer). (See later)
On August 9
th
, 1787, one of these Jacob Whites witnessed a deed in Chatham County
between Henry Bray and Mathias Bray. In either 1793 or 1794 (the records are not clear
just which year it was) one of these Jacob Whites was one of several men requisitioned as
road constructors in Chatham County, with William Moody Sr. as overseer, to construct a
road across the Rocky River. These particular Jacob Whites could have been either Jacob
Sr. or Jacob Jr. Besides Jacob White, those men also included a Philip White and an
Andrew White. (That Philip White was probably Jacob Sr.s brother. The location at the
Rocky River will also figure prominently in the story of this family. That Andrew White
will also be mentioned in this paper. See later.)
"Jacob White Sr. and his wife Mary" were residents of Franklin County, Georgia, from
1799 to at least 1813, as reflected by tax and deed records there. Neither is recorded after
the year 1813, although a man named "Jacob White" (probably their putative son,
Jacob White Jr.) continued to be documented in Franklin County until about 1829, and
then documented in DeKalb and Fulton Counties, Georgia, from 1830 to 1860. Jacob
Jake White Jr. is known to have had a son and grandson both named Andrew
Whiteperhaps after that man who was recorded in Chatham County, North Carolina
(his putative uncle?).
The above-mentioned 1811 Deposition in Franklin County, Georgia by Jacob White
Sr., leaves no doubt that he was in fact the same man as the earlier Jacob White from
Chatham County, North Carolina, as in said deposition, White named three of his
neighbors in the year 1788, all three of which neighbors have been shown to have been
resident in Chatham County in the 1780s. Those neighbors' names were: Thomas Stanton
(who witnessed the 1789 deed by which Jacob White Sr. and his wife Mary sold their
Chatham County lands), Simon Thomason, and his son-in-law James Brooks. Even more
23

telling than this, however, is the known fact that several families who were close
neighbors in Chatham County, North Carolina (and whose descendants intermarried in
subsequent decades), migrated en masse, first, to Pendleton District, South Carolina
(where, indeed, one of these Jacob Whites witnessed a deed record in the year 1794), and
then farther along, to Franklin County, Georgia. Several of the same family names and
even same individuals can be followed from pre-Revolutionary Chatham County, North
Carolina, right up to the early decades of the Nineteenth Century in Georgias Franklin
County. Practically the entire Rocky River community of Chatham County seems to
have decamped, after the Revolution, for newly-opened lands for settlement in Franklin
County, Georgia.
According to this 1811 Deposition in Franklin County, Georgia, by Jacob White Sr.,
said Thomas Stanton (his neighbor) in 1788 swindled an elderly man named "Simond"
Thomason [sic] out of a female slave. Many years later, when the son-in-law James
Brooks (who had married Thomason's daughter Margaret) attempted to take rightful
possession of the slave in question (and/or her increase), a full-fledged court battle
erupted, Stanton's son William Stanton having assumed that the slave he had inherited
from his late father Thomas Stanton was in fact rightfully his (when it was not). The by
then elderly himself Jacob White Sr., who had been a subscribing witness to the 1788
swindle, was called upon to testify, and at long last set the matter straight, once and for
all. It is to his credit that he did so. Better late to be honest, than not at all.
It should be pointed out here, however, that Jacob White Sr., probably due to a faulty
memory caused by old age, was mistaken as to the precise year in which those events
involving Thomas Stanton and Simon Thomason occurred. Jacob White Sr. had said that
they happened sometime in the year 1788; in point of fact, said Stanton was the
executor of the estate of Simon Thomason (in Chatham County) as early as 1786, and
several online family trees claim that Thomason had in fact died in 1784. The events
recounted by White in that 1811 Deposition, then, must have actually occurred
sometime prior to the year 1784, not in 1788.
The tax digests of Franklin County, Georgia, indicate that this Jacob White Sr. continued
to reside there and pay taxes on his lands through the year 1813. No further record of him
there has yet been found, and no estate administration of any kind has yet been located. It
is presumed that he must have died about that time (1813). It is unlikely (at his advanced
age) that he would have moved elsewhere. This is also not impossible, however, and
should not be ruled out.




24

Evidence that Jacob Jake White was our ancestor:

Moving along, we will now examine in some detail the evidence that Jacob Jake White
was our ancestor. In a 1936 Atlanta Journal
article mainly about his railroading exploits,
William Cornelius Green Cap White (1858-
1942), was quoted as saying that his great-
grandfather had been named Jake White. This
article will also be reproduced below as an
additional appendix, but a close-up of the relevant
part of the article is shown at right:


This statement was repeated almost verbatim
in another similar article from the year 1938.
Additionally, Cap Whites August 1942
obituary, written by the same reporter as the
earlier articles, repeated the same exact
statement. Moreover, a circa 1940s family
history of these Whites, put together by Cap
Whites nephew Howard Franklin White
(1895-1953) (see right), who had been a clerk
of court in Judge Jesse Woods criminal court
(Fulton County), also named the original
founding ancestor of this family as Jacob
White. This writer once met Madelyn White
Baker (b.1921), the only child of Howard F.
White. She confirmed for him that her father
did indeed write that family history, as did Howards brother Roy Enoch White, when
this writer also met him in the 1980s. A scan of a 1954 version of this history (the earliest
manuscript version we now possess) will be shown on the following page. Another piece
of relevant evidence tying our ancestors to their father Jacob Jake White is the fact that
the 1822 tax digest for Franklin County, Georgia showed that William White (who only
the year before had turned twenty-one) had paid a poll tax for himself (meaning he was
old enough to vote, but did not yet own any real estate), and that he also paid the
property tax on behalf of a man who can only have been his fatherJ acob White [J r.]





25

Page from the 1954 version of Howard F. Whites manuscript history of the White family
of DeKalb/Fulton County, Georgia, showing Jacob White and seven of his children:

26

(Note: We now know that the part about Jacob White Jr. having come from I reland with
his parents at the age of 12 years wasnt quite the case, although one or more of Jacob
White Jr.s maternal ancestors may well have come from Ireland. This writer was
repeatedly told by his older relatives, after all, that our White family were Scots-Irish.
Jacob White Sr.s paternal ancestors, as has been shown above, however, may have been
originally Germans named Wei, (Weiss), and Jacob White J r. (if not his father Jacob
Sr.) was apparently fathered by a man named Brewer, of the line connected with George
Brewer of Brunswick County, Virginia (died 1744) and his first wife Sarah Lanier. Since
that family of Brewers has been much written-about elsewhere, this writer will not here
take the time to repeat all of that information.)
































27

The children of Jacob Jake White:

The different versions of this family history which appeared over the years after Howard
Whites untimely death in 1953, unfortunately gave differing versions of the names of
Jacob Jake Whites children. The 1954 version reproduced above only named seven
such children, viz., William W., Sallie, Andrew, Wright, Elizabeth, Pollyana, and J im
J acob. Subsequent versions, apparently produced with the input of Cap Whites son
Frank M. White (1886-1950), and grandson Ferman Davis White (1905-1973) (since
these versions now reside with Fermans heirs), named several additional children of
Jacob Jake White. These were I sabel, wife of Pleasant Sewell, Virgil, I saiah, and
Martha, wife of Henry M. White. (These, and several additional likely children will be
discussed extensively in Part III.)

In the late 1970s, when this writer first began his own foray into the tantalizing and
frustrating world of genealogical research, he was given a copy of this manuscript history
originally written by Howard F. White. The relative who handed it to him was his Dads
Aunt Bess White Parker (1923-2000), who was the youngest sibling of Ferman Davis
White. It was undoubtedly from him that she obtained her copy.

So now to sum up: the manuscript tradition of family history in our family states that
William Wilson White, Wright White, and Isaiah White were brothers. Genetic testing
(see below) now confirms that male descendants of those three men are indeed extremely
closely-related genetically. Taken as a whole, all of this evidence seems to leave us in no
doubt that the father of William Wilson White, Wright White, and Samuel Isaiah White
was indeed a man named Jacob Jake White. Though not quite absolute proof, this is
nonetheless tantamount to proof that those three men were in fact brothers, and sons of a
man named Jacob Jake White. The case appears to be firmly closed.













28

Closely-related to the Brewers, according to DNA testing

Interestingly enough, recent y-DNA tests (mentioned just now) have shown that this
Jacob Jake White is extremely closely related to a family surnamed "Brewer." His
closest living male relatives--besides his descendants named "White"--are mostly males
known or believed to be descended from a man named George Brewer and his wife Sarah
Lanier of Brunswick County, Virginia. (Those close Brewer relatives also later lived,
interestingly enough, in Orange, Chatham, and Moore Counties, North Carolina
precisely the same area in which Jacob White Sr. is known to have lived.) Jacob White's
genetic Brewer relatives (for the most part) are now referred to as the "Lanier-Brewers,"
because of their presumed descent from that couple. Needless to say, this news was quite
a surprise when the genetic test results first began to come back from the lab at the
University of Arizona (which lab performed the testing).

Three known male descendants of this Jacob White submitted 67-marker y-DNA test kits
to Family Tree DNA (FTDNA), a respected genetic testing company, during the year
2010. In 2012, they were joined by a fourth and a fifth descendants. Identified here only
by kit numbers (for privacy reasons), they were:

Kit #177950, descended from William Wilson White (1800-1895),
Kit # 288617, descended from Andrew Jackson White (1802-c.1870)
Kit # 251406, descended from James V. White (1804-1892)
Kit #177962, descended from Wright White (1807-1893), and
Kit # 188597, descended from Samuel Isaiah White (1810-1893).

All five men are known (or believed) to be
fourth cousins to each other (twice removed, in
the case of Kit # 177950). All five are
descended from known (or believed) sons of
Jacob Jake White. A photograph of Samuel
Isaiah White is shown at right (and again
later). It may be safely assumed that his father
Jacob "Jake" White probably resembled him to
a fair degree. This is the oldest-known
photograph of any member of our family. It is
therefore of paramount importance. Thanks to
our cousins Monty White and Ed Hutchison,
both of Mississippi, for providing this writer
with copies of this photograph.
29

All five men, it turns out, match each other exactly on the first 12 markers tested, thus
proving their relationship to one another. Moreover, not only did Kit Numbers 177950
and 177962 match each other exactly at the full 67 markers, thus establishing and proving
the 'haplotype' (genetic blueprint or 'signature') of their ancestor Jacob Jake White, but
this Jacob White's 'haplotype' also exactly matches (at 37 out of 67 markers) the 'modal
haplotype' of the so-called "Lanier-Brewer" group of descendants of that above-
mentioned George and Sarah Lanier Brewer. At the full 67 marker level, Jacob Jake
Whites haplotype is only off from the "Lanier-Brewer" modal haplotype by one genetic
step (or mutation). This indicates an extremely close genetic relationship to those living
Brewer menperhaps as recently as within the last 250 years.

(That term 'modal haplotype' means the most common tested genetic values for
individual alleles--or genes --within any one particular group of related individuals--in
our case, the "Lanier-Brewers".)

An Excel Spreadsheet chart is available, made by this writer, showing our genetic values
in comparison to those of our other Brewer relatives (and others, like ourselves, who do
not carry the Brewer surname). It is hoped that this chart will be of some interest.

So we now know that we Whites who are proven descendants of Jacob Jake White
have a very close genetic relationship to a bunch of living men named Brewer. So just
how does this unyielding biological/genetic fact correlate with the presumed relationship
of Jacob Jake White to his supposed father Jacob Weiss/White Sr., and his possible
grandfather Ulrich Weiss/Woolrick White?

In light of this hard, unavoidable fact, we must (at the very least) ask ourselves the
following question: Was Jacob Jake White J r. actually the biological relative of
Ulrich Weiss/Woolrick White? The simple fact is that until quite recently--we just did
not know the answer to this question.











30

DNA detective work helps resolve the parentage of Jacob Jake White Jr.

What was necessary in order to solve this quandary? We needed to locate one or more
living males descended from Ulrich Wei/Woolrick White, but through another son
(probably John White Sr.), not through Jacob White Sr. This writer did just that, and
early in the year 2011, with the help of Weiss/White researcher and descendant Lucy
McCoy (a nom de plume), found a living male descendant of John Weiss/White Sr.,
through a son from his second marriagea son named Andrew Jackson White. This
living Mr. White (FTDNA Kit # 199082), whose full name is here withheld for privacy
reasons, graciously agreed to participate in DNA testing to help answer this question. For
this signal service on our behalf, he (and Mrs. McCoy) will forever be due our
profoundest thanks.

Two possible, diametrically-opposed results could have obtained from Mr. Whites new
test: either he would be closely related to those of us who had already tested (and who
were known descendants of Jacob Jake White), or, conversely, he would not be related
to us at all. If his test results came back as more or less an exact match to the results from
our specific White line (descended from Jacob Jr.), then we would know that his
ancestor John Wei /White Sr. was indeed the biological uncleof Jacob Jake White,
and that therefore, the said Jacob White Jr. was indeed the biological grandson of
Ulrich Wei /Woolrick White, and therefore the biological son of Jacob White Sr.

If the results were to differ dramatically, however, then we would be fairly certain at that
point that the biological grandfather/relative of Jacob Jake White Jr. was not Ulrich
Wei /White, but was probably a man named Brewer. We would then have achieved
the astounding resultat an astonishing remove of more than two hundred years--of
having isolated the likely single generation in which the real change of surname
occurred, and we would then be able to state several good possible reasons for why it
changed.

This important and nagging question both required and deserved careful scrutiny.

On March 31
st
, 2011, Family Tree DNA (our testing company, again) released the 12-
marker y-DNA results for Kit # 199082 (our newest test candidate, descended from John
Wei/White Sr.). The results were clear and unequivocal, and could lead to only one
conclusion:

Kit # 199082, descended from John Wei/White Sr., is not even remotely related to us
"Whites" who are descendants of Jacob "Jake" White Jr..

31

Kit # 199082s y-DNA results place him in what is called Haplogroup "L" (originally
from southern Asia--including India and Pakistan, but with significant percentages also in
southern Europe--especially Hungary). This is significant, because his one and only exact
12-marker match is with a man named "Gergely Mszros," a man whose name definitely
appears to be Hungarian.

We five men who are descendants of Jacob "Jake" White Jr., on the other hand, are from
a completely different haplogroup, one known as Haplogroup I 1d. This group is
originally from southern Scandinavia. This is the Haplogroup of the so-called Brewer-
Laniers with whom we are so closely related.

What all of this means, is this:

Our ancestor Jacob "Jake" White Jr. definitely appears to have been fathered by a man
named "Brewer," not the man we had thought was his father (Jacob White Sr.). (Unless,
that is, it was in fact Jacob White Sr. who had been fathered by a Brewer. )

We know and can say this for three reasons:

1. As mentioned, our own DNA results very closely match a whole bunch of
living men named "Brewer" (not anybody named "White").

2. Our DNA results are completely different from those of Kit # 199082 (a
descendant of John Wei/White Sr., who is believed to have been a son of Ulrich
Wei/Woolrick White).

3. Given that it is strongly believed by most Wei/White researchers (including
the late Charles E. Caldwell, who wrote extensively and expertly on the subject)
that Jacob White Sr. was indeed a biological brother to John Wei/White Sr., and
that both men were biological sons of Ulrich Wei/Woolrick White, and since
Kit # 199082s results are completely at odds with the practically identical results
of Kit Numbers 177950, 177962, and 188597 (all descended from Jacob Jake
White Jr.), he cannot be related to those three men, and thus, their respective
direct male ancestors cannot have been related to each other. (It should be
stressed, however, that it has not been proven without a doubt that Jacob White
Sr. was, in fact, biologically related to his supposed brother Johann Wei/John
White Sr. Further evidence may yet prove this supposition to have been
mistaken.)


To sum this up: Kit # 199082 is definitely a "White" (Wei). We other five men (Kit
Numbers 177950, 177962, 288617, 251406, and 188597), however, are definitely
Brewers, not "Whites".


32

So, just who WAS J acob Jake Whites Brewer father?


There are several valid possible theories for what may have happened back in Eighteenth
Century Chatham County, North Carolina, to change this familys surname from
"Brewer" to "White". Of course, we cannot yet rule out a NPE (non-parental event)--
meaning "hanky-panky"; but this writer suspects that the other scenarios he will outline
here are perhaps a little more likely.

The second possible scenario was a situation very similar to what happened to his own
father, when he (the father) was five years old: his own birth father, Homer Spence White
Sr. (born 1915) died at the age of twenty-seven, from a rare genetically-inherited disease,
leaving his three small children (including this writers father) to be raised by a widow
who soon remarried to the childrens' step-father, a Mr. Ralph C. Bunn. Had Mr. Bunn
then adopted the three children (he did not), they would have been raised as "Bunns," not
as "Whites".

The proven historical connection (see above, page 19) between one of these two Jacob
Whites with Henry Blaylock, whose wife was Patty Brewer, daughter of Oliver Brewer
Sr., makes his hypothesis all the more plausible and even probable, he thinks. Why, for
example, would any good citizen, with a reputation to protect, knowingly harbor a
"person of ill fame" (as Blaylock was then known), unless there was a familial
relationship of some kind? Absent a blood relationship, most people would probably have
quickly dumped a person or family who had "worn out their welcome."

According to this hypothesis, Jacob White Sr. had merely married a Brewer widow (circa
1775?), named Mary, and she already had one or more children by her first Brewer
husband. This would have happened most likely in Orange County, North Carolina (out
of which Chatham County was formed in 1771). Given the proven 1784 connection
between one of these Jacob Whites and Henry Blaylock (who was a son-in-law of Oliver
Brewer Sr.), this writer also suspects that (if the Jacob White involved was Senior and
not Junior) said White may have agreed to take said Blaylock and wife Patty into his
(Whites) household merely because of a former "in-law" relationship between White's
wife Mary and Patty Brewer Blaylock. Two women who had formerly been sisters-in-
law (and had probably become fast friends) would have been a hard obstacle for any man
to say "no" to.

And this may well be why Jacob White (if he was in fact Jacob Sr.) found himself in
court in 1784 charged with "harbouring Henry Blalock [sic], a person of ill fame." Of
course, this hypothesis has yet to be thoroughly tested against the weight of historical
evidence, and should be treated as tentative.

This would mean that White's wife Mary may have had a first husband named Brewer,
and that he was most probably an older son or other close relative of Oliver Brewer Sr.
(given that said Brewer's younger sons' children are known to have not been born until
the later 1780s or even the 1790s.) Jacob "Jake White Jr. was born in 1772, according to
33

the 1850 census of DeKalb County, Georgia. Only one of Oliver's oldest sons could have
qualified, therefore, to have been his father (or perhaps even Oliver Sr. himself ).

Oliver Brewer Sr.'s oldest son was apparently named William; he had a wife named
Phanah Resden or Risdin whom he married in Wilkes County, North Carolina in 1781.
Foy Varner's voluminous and exhaustive treatment of these Brewers (Brewer Families of
Southeast America), mentions this William Brewer and his known children, but that 1781
marriage (if correctly reported) seems to rule out William as the father of Jacob Jake
White Jr. , unless there was indeed a late-Eighteenth-Century case of infidelity or pre-
marital sex going on, or a prior, unreported marriage of William which ended in divorce.

The third possible scenario which could explain how an individual born as a Brewer (and
his numerous descendants) could have ended up with the White surname is as follows:
Among these closely-related Brewers was a man named "Lanier Brewer Jr." (nephew of
the above Oliver Brewer Sr.) who was born in 1746, and who is reputed--according to
family tradition--to have fathered no less than thirty (30) sons and three daughters by two
wives and an Indian concubine of the 'Tucky-hoe' (Tuckahoe) tribe (now known as
'Lumbee').
If Jacob Jake White Junior was actually born in 1772 as the 1850 census says,
instead of 1756 as the 1860 census says, then he could well have been yet another son of
that Lanier Brewer Jr., possibly by that Indian concubine (or either of his other reputed
partners). This factif fact it is--of a man who simply produced far too many children
for any one man to support, would easily and tidily account for why Jake White (n
Brewer) could have been farmed out to an adoptive family (the Wei/Whites). (It
should be recalled that this sort of thing was all-too-common back then!) It would also
partly help to explain why Jake White moved to a different state (Georgia) along with his
step-father Jacob White Sr. and most of their Rocky River neighbors, instead of
westward to Tennessee, whence most of his genetic Brewer siblings instead appear to
have moved. It is entirely possible that this Jacob "Jake" White could have been adopted,
at a very young age, by a man in Chatham County, North Carolina named "Jacob White
(Wei?)," and that this is how "Jacob White Jr." came to bear that particular name and
surname, instead of his birth surname of "Brewer". If Jake White had been raised more
or less in ignorance of his true family, he could have therefore had no desire to follow
them in their migrations. He would instead have followed his adoptive family. And this is
indeed exactly what happened.
A fourth possible cause for the change of surname can be summarized as follows:
Jacob White "junior" could well have been an illegitimate son of Oliver Brewer Sr.
himself (born circa 1715-1720), and thus a half-brother of the Patty Brewer Blalock who
(probably), along with her wayward husband Henry Blalock, was an odious houseguest in
34

the household of "Jacob White". At least one fact which (this writer thinks) is significant,
lends itself to this interpretation:
The documentation does not specify which Jacob White (senior or junior) was in fact
the man in court in 1784 for "harbouring Henry Blalock, a person of ill repute". It could
have been either man--"senior" or "junior". If Blalock was in fact Jake White's brother-in-
law, and his wife Patty Brewer Blalock Jake's sister, this would all make perfect sense.
This writer now strongly believes that Jake White did not, in fact, live to be over 104
years old, as the 1860 census recorded. Notwithstanding the fact that four separate
branches of his descendants, one in Georgia, one in Alabama, and another two in
Mississippi/Texas (descended from his son Samuel Isaiah White) each maintained
separate, solid traditions that Jake White in fact lived to be over 104 ("around 105 years
old," according to the Georgia and Alabama branches, and "around 111 years old,"
according to the Samuel Isaiah branches), this stated age of 104 in the 1860 census is at
complete odds with the 1830, 1840, and 1850 censuses of Jacob Jake White (which are
all in agreement with each other, and reflect his stated ages, given at times when he was
much younger (and his memory therefore probably more reliable). One would think that
these traditions of his living past the age of 100 would be given considerable weight,
when one considers that those four family branches lost contact with each other in the
Nineteenth Century, and did not re-establish contact until this writer corresponded in
2010 with his cousins Monty White and Ed Hutchison (also a White descendant), and in
2012 with his cousin Randy White. However, this writer does not believe that tradition to
be accurate. Perhaps the children and grandchildren of Jake White truly believed he was
over a hundred years old at the time of his death. Such a belief, however (if true), would
not automatically make Jake White be 100 years old or more, at the time of his death, if
that were not, in fact, the case.
That being so, Jake White was probably born about 1772, as the 1850 census said. One
can only speculate why he fibbed about his age in 1860 (old age senility?).
The same holds true for the idea that he could indeed have served in the American
Revolution, having mustered from Salisbury (the location from whence at least one of the
regiments mustered). We do know that at least one of the Jacob Whites from Chatham
County did indeed serve in the Revolution: the pension application papers of Isaac
Brewer (mentioned below) say that Isaac remembered having served with several men
during his service, among whom were several close relatives named Brewer, and "Jacob
and Andy White". As this writer will also be at pains to show in this paper, those men
were all clearly from Chatham County, and were mostly near neighbors.
35

The upshot of all this, as far as the Revolution is concerned, is that we are so close to
being able to prove that one of the Jacob Whites served in the American Revolution! We
just aren't quite there yet.
As regards the possible reason(s) for the surname change, what is needed is this: one
must research the superior court (or the higher court than the "Court of Common Pleas
and Quarter Sessions"--whatever it may have been called back then) to see if any records
have survived regarding the disposition of the case of "Jacob" White having "harboured
Henry Blalock, a person of ill repute". This writer says this in view of the fact that the
lower court record (which we do have) mentions only that the case was bound over to the
higher court for disposition. We do not yet know how this case was resolved. It could
well be, should any records of the higher courts have survived for this time period, that
they might just tell us why Jacob White was harboring a person of ill repute. (For
example, was it because he was White's brother-in-law?)
This writer should think that if and when Jacob White found himself in court on this
question, the Justices would almost certainly have demanded some kind of accounting of
the matter--for example: "Now, just what do you have to say for yourself, young man?"
"Why did you do this thing?" That is the sort of thing we need to findsome document
which might contain Jacob Whites replies to his charges.
Being able to prove that Blalock was White's brother-in-law, and that it was Jacob Junior
who was the one in court, would prove beyond all doubt that White was in fact a son of
Oliver Brewer Sr. (Blalock's father-in-law). That, of course, would still not quite explain
why the surname got changed, however.
A "George Blalock" was mentioned in 1792 as one of the executors of the estate of the
late Oliver Brewer Sr. (his father-in-law). This George Blalock was in fact the same
person as the "Henry Blalock" one of the Jacob Whites got in trouble over in 1784. His
full name was "George Henry Blalock". (Chatham County has been pretty good about
getting most of their county records digitized and put online. That being said, this writer
does not seem to be able to find any of their historical court records online. The very
ones we need, in fact.)
After handling Oliver's estate in 1792, George Henry Blalock and his wife Patty
eventually evidently had enough of dealing with a bad reputation in Chatham
County, and decamped for Logan County, Ohio, where they both later lived and died.
(According to George Henrys 1829 pension papers, it was circa 1803 when he and his
wife left Chatham County and headed to Ohio.) They have living descendants to this day
who have kept track of George Henry and Patty's descendants. See (for example):
A. http://www.southerncampaign.org/pen/r20206.pdf
36

B. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=67960378
C. http://www.chathamhistory.net/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=118
D. http://www.pcez.com/~glennab/blalockfamilyhistory.htm
E. http://www.amazon.com/George-Henry-Blaylock-Virginia-Chatham/dp/B0006RT5R6
This writer has seen several references which indicate that Lanier Brewer Sr. died about
1757--only a year after the supposed birth of Jacob White Jr. Lanier Brewer Sr. could
thus easily have been Jacob's birth father also (and Oliver Sr. therefore his uncle, and
Patty Blalock his first cousin). Given Jacob's hypothesized birth date of 1756, however,
this writer seriously doubts that the admittedly profligate Lanier Junior could have been
his father (even with all those kids whoas rightly pointed out by some friendly critics--
probably indeed got "farmed out"). This is because Lanier Jr. is usually said to have been
born about 1746. That would make him only 10 years old when Jacob Jr. was born. Not
impossible, sure, but not likely, either. Given that most of these Brewer men were still
living in Brunswick County, Virginia throughout the 1750s, perhaps it is in that county
and state where we should be looking for bastardy records showing the birth of a "Jacob
White" in or about 1756. The Brunswick County, Virginia Court of Common Pleas and
Quarter Sessions would be the place to look, because that is the usual court which
handled bastardy cases back then.
This writer looked up some relevant online information on the colonial courts and it
would appear that the colonial supreme courts were the courts of last resort (as are
supreme courts to this day). Those were the courts to which "appeals from the lower
courts" were sent--not necessarily cases of original jurisdiction (handled by courts such
as a county court). Admittedly, the present superior court system did not yet exist back
then (the new system began in the year 1868, as part of Reconstruction), so clearly,
more research is needed on this point.
It was very apparent to this writer as well that Jacob White Jr. did indeed follow Jacob Sr.
everywhere he went. But could this also be because Jacob Sr.'s wife Mary was indeed the
biological mother of Jacob Jr.? That would also explain why Jacob Jr. followed them
both everywhere they went. Another thing which was also equally apparent (as
mentioned above) was that both Jacobs followed their neighbors everywhere they
moved! As already discussed, practically the entire "Rocky River" community of colonial
Chatham County, NC eventually packed up and moved, first to Pendleton District SC
(where one of the Jacob Whites--for once, not described as either Sr. or Jr.--witnessed a
deed in the year 1794), and then, by the year 1800, to Franklin County, Georgia. This last
fact is confirmed for us in the so-called "White Generation History" which was written in
the 1940s by our late cousin Howard Franklin White (1895-1953), wherein he claimed
that "Jacob" White (he did not know there were two of them) married a South Carolina
37

girl of Scots ancestry named "Williams," about 1800, and then (subsequent to the
marriage--note the time sequence here) moved to Franklin County, Georgia.
And indeed, the tax digests and deed records of Franklin County, Georgia do not show
either Jacob White present in Franklin County until the year 1799, when Jacob Sr. first
shows up there. His putative "son" Jacob Jr. did indeed first show up there the following
year, 1800--just as we had been told all along. So that part (at least) of Howard White's
story appears to have been based in fact.
Finally, another important thing to consider is that from the late Charles Caldwell's
research (he was descended from Jacob Sr.'s possible brother John White Sr.), we see that
Jacob White Sr. was probably born (in Pennsylvania?) about the year 1746--only about
ten years prior to the birth (probably in Brunswick County, Virginia) of Jacob White
"Jr.". So those two men--Sr. and Jr.--were apparently rather close in age to be calling one
another "father" and "son.
What gives here? This writer frankly admits that he is stymied, and cannot resolve these
questions to his own satisfaction. Perhaps on considerable reflection, and with better
evidence, other researchers may be able to do so, where this writer cannot.





















38

Yet another documented historical Brewer/White interaction:

As mentioned above, while carefully studying the pension application papers recently of
Revolutionary Veteran Isaac Brewer (1763-1852), who died in Talladega County,
Alabama, this writer literally stumbled across yet another documented interaction
between the colonial Orange/Chatham County, North Carolina Brewers and his early
White ancestors who were also residing there. This particular Isaac Brewer was a son
of Howell Brewer (himself another son of George Brewer and Sarah Lanier, and a
brother of Oliver Sr. and Lanier Sr.). This documented interaction (also briefly described
above) consisted of a mention in one of the aforementioned pension application affidavits
by Isaac Brewer, of several men with whom he served during the Revolution. From page
five of the pdf of the transcribed documents, it is recorded that

He [Isaac Brewer] remembers the name of persons who were in the same services
with him. Some of whom were 1. his father Howell Brewer 2. his Uncle Bill
Brewer 3. Uncle John 4. Henry Bagly 5. Bill Buckhannon 6.Nat. Powell 7.J acob
and Andy White8. Joe [could be Jas. or Jos.] Kirk & all these are dead...

The complete pdf of these transcribed documents can be found here:
http://www.southerncampaign.org/pen/r1185.pdf

A little explanation of this brief and otherwise enigmatic passage will help to clarify its
importance:

That Henry "Bagly" mentioned by Isaac Brewer was fellow-Chathamite Henry Bagley
Sr., who fortunately left a will in that county in the year 1801 (see:
http://files.usgwarchives.net/nc/chatham/wills/bagley01.txt). In that will, Bagley
mentioned three of his "Estis" grandsons, who were by Bagley's daughter Millie, who
was the wife of Wiley Estis (Estridge, Eastis, Estes, etc.) (died 1805). That Wiley "Estis"
was the same man who in 1789 purchased Jacob White Sr.'s 260 acres of land in
Chatham County. That Jacob White Sr. (c.1747-c.1813) is most likely the same man
mentioned here by Isaac Brewer, as Whites step-son Jacob "Jake" White Jr. (as we
now know from DNA testing) was in all probability too young to have taken part in the
Revolution (having been born about 1772).

That Henry Bagley, in his 1801 will, mentioned that his lands lay along the "Anson
Road," and along "Meadow Creek," two locations also known to this writer, from his
researches, to have been the exact same neighborhood where his White ancestors--
Jacob White Sr. and Jr. then lived. Jacob White Sr.'s lands also were bisected by that
same "Anson Road," and also lay within a mile or two of that same "Meadow Creek".
39

This writer knows this, because he recently carefully and painstakingly plotted these
Colonial Chatham County land locations:

Map drawn up by this writer, showing some relevant Eighteenth-Century Chatham County
properties in the Rocky River community, superimposed over present-day (2011) property
boundaries. This will enable the reader to form an accurate idea of who lived near to whom,
and when. This map, while not the work of a professional draftsman or surveyor, is
nonetheless reasonably accurate

Clearly, these men mentioned by Isaac Brewer as having served with him during the
Revolution were the same men connected with this writers "White/Brewer" branch of
the "Lanier-Brewer" genetic family, since they were clearly living in the same exact
location within Chatham County where this writers relatives and neighbors are known to
have lived. (This was the so-called "Rocky River" community, which later became
known as "Siler City".) This is curious, however, because most of the Brewers of
Chatham County lived along the Haw River, much closer to Orange County--several
miles northeast of the Rocky River community. Indeed, Isaac Brewer himself mentions
40

having lived there (the Haw River). He also says at one point, however, that during the
Revolution "these families" were pretty fluid, that is, they were semi-nomadic and moved
around a lot. This would explain a great deal here about how these people from opposite
corners of the county could have been associated.

There are three other connections worth mentioning here:

One was that another Estis grandson of that Henry Bagley Sr. was William W. Estis
(1797-1865), whose wife Sarah White (born about 1799) was a granddaughter of John
White Sr. (1744-1824), and therefore an apparent grand-niece of that same Jacob White
Sr. already mentioned.

Another was that "Andy" White mentioned by Isaac Brewer; he was surely the "Andrew
White" who was the husband of Mary Cheek, who in 1798 was re-granted the same 253
acres which had formerly belonged to Philip White, presumptive brother to that Jacob
White Sr., and which land lay exactly adjacent to Jacob Sr.'s aforementioned 260 acres,
which he sold in 1789 to Wiley "Estis". That Andrew White was surely either a son (or
brother) of Philip White, or (less likely) a son of Jacob White Sr. Apparently this
same_Andrew White (at leastand this one we can document with certainty) did father
an illegitimate child named Sarah in 1796.
i
This writer agrees that he was probably the
same Andrew White named as "Andy" in Isaac Brewer's pension papers several decades
later. Since this Andrew White is shown in the Chatham County deed records in 1798 as
having been granted property that only a few years earlier had belonged to a Philip White
(usually said by the late researcher Charles Caldwell to have been a brother of Jacob Sr.
and another son of Ulrich/Woolrick), this Andrew White clearly was residing next door
to Jacob White Sr. for a time (possibly also to Jacob Jr.?). Note again here the fact that
Jacob White Jr. had a son (and grandson) both named Andrew White. Coincidence?
Hardly, thinks this writer. The later whereabouts and descendants of this first Andrew
White of the 1790s have proven problematic to trace (alas)--by this writer, at any rate.

Still another is the fact that a son of the Henry Bagley Sr. mentioned just now was Isaiah
Bagley who later (1810), in Franklin County, Georgia, would sell his 470-acre tract to
Jacob Jake White Jr. (See below, in Part II.) Interestingly, the wife of that Isaiah
Bagley was an Elizabeth White, who may well have been a sister of Jacob White Jr.

And finally, a reminder that we now know from DNA testing that Jacob "Jake" White
Jr. was almost certainly not the biological relative of Ulrich Weiss/Woolrick White.
Jacob White Jr. had to have been fathered, therefore, by one of the Brewers. The above
is yet one more piece to the puzzle, now put into its place.


41

Conclusion:

Needless to say, extensive further research is needed to try to figure out just which
colonial Brewer male could have been the biological father of Jacob Jake White Jr.
One thing is now known for certain, though, thanks to the miracle of modern DNA
testing: Jacob Jake White Jr., born most likely in 1772, along with all of his
descendants, was not in any way related to or descended from the German immigrants
earlier discussed in this paper. He and his descendants were/are Brewers, not
Weisses or Whites.

May future generations of researchers succeed at unraveling this mystery, where this
present poor writer has mostly failed.































42

Part II:
Jacob Jake White:
a Biography





































43

The White Generation History


As mentioned in Part I of this work, a brief, bare-bones history of this particular family
was compiled in the 1940s, apparently mainly from oral tradition, by Howard Franklin
White. He (or his editor) entitled the work simply White Generation History. A
reproduction of part of the first page of the earliest manuscript copy we presently possess
is shown below. It has the date 1954 written at the top. This was one year after Howard
Whites death in 1953, and is therefore by another, probably editorial, hand. This family
history is probably the best place to begin in a discussion of Jacob Jake White and his
descendants. This work, while invaluable, and made with the best of all possible
intentions, is nonetheless riddled with errors. It has taken this writer the better part of his
lifetime to unravel fact from fiction, reality from supposition, in this priceless though
flawed work.



















Howard Franklin White had, in fact earlier completed a similar work on his Bryant
ancestors of Bibb and Fulton Counties in Georgia (it is on microfilm at the Georgia
Archives), and that work is much more finished and polished, and apparently contains far
fewer errors, than this work on the White Family, so it is assumed that this work on the
Whites was a later work, made shortly before Howard Whites death, since he apparently
never had the chance to get it into proper shape. It was, in fact, turned over to an editor
shortly after his death, and it was in fact she who put the paper into the form in which we
now see it. (Her name was Miss Claire Maffett, of the Georgia Baptist Convention,
Department of Sunday Schools.)

Who could have been among the likely sources for Howard Whites information? The
present writer has struggled with this question for years. Two clear, indisputable facts
have emerged, however: Howard Franklin White (1895-1953) would have been
44

acquainted with his fathers aunt Eliza Ann White (1830-1909), who resided in her later
years in Howards fathers household. Howard would have thus had a close, firsthand
knowledge of her, and whatever she might have had to say, for the first fourteen years of
his life. Howard also would have been acquainted with his grandfather, Francis Marion
White (1827-1925) (the brother of Eliza Ann White). Howard and his father Harrison
Bryant White (1861-1936) lived successively in the same house, on Gordon Street SW in
Atlanta (sadly, the house has since been demolished), only a few blocks from the
residence of Francis Marion White on Lawton Street SW. Howard had a longer period of
time to get to know his grandfather, since he was thirty years old when his grandfather
finally passed at the age of 98. Although, naturally, Howard F. White may indeed have
known of still other older members of his fathers family, these twoFrancis Marion
White and Eliza Ann Whiteare his two most likely sources for the information he
presented in the 1940s. Francis M. and Eliza A. White were, of course, children of
William Wilson White (1800-1895), and thus grandchildren of Jacob Jake White.
































45

What of the information itself?

Let us now closely examine the claims in Howard F. Whites White Generation History
concerning Jacob Jake White, and attempt, as best we can, to separate fact from
supposition, and fact from outright mistaken error.

Howard F. White stated that Jacob Jake White had come from Ireland. This writer,
despite years attempting to do so, and despite the fact that he was always told by the
oldest relatives whom he personally knew, that his family was Scots-Irish in origin, has
so far been unable to prove that claim. The genetic evidence aside for the moment (see
Part I of this discussion), there is thus far only one real possibility that this writer has
discovered: it is entirely possible that Jacob Jake White, did not personally come from
Ireland, but rather, that one of his remote ancestors, may have come from Ireland:

In Eighteenth-Century Chatham County, North Carolina (whence this Jacob White is
known to have come), there was indeed another family by the name of White. This
family was separate and distinct from the Palatine German Wei/White family which
may have been Jacob Jake Whites adoptive family. That other family, surnamed
White, was represented in Chatham County in the person of Carolus (Charles) White
Sr. (1727-1807) and his children. (Stephanus White, a brother of Carolus, lived in nearby
Orange County.) The family of this Carolus White was indeed partly Scots-I rish in
origin, his father David White (1703-1767) having been born in County Donegal,
Ireland, of Scots parentage. (The paternal grandfather of this David White had apparently
been the dissenting Presbyterian minister, Reverend Adam White, formerly of Inveraray,
on Loch Fyne, Argyll, Scotland, who died in 1708 in Bushmills, County Antrim, Ireland,
and who lies buried in the Presbyterian Cemetery there.) Both Carolus White and his
father David White, however, appear to have intermarried with ladies of Dutch
extraction, David to a Gierke Cornelius at Wilmington, Delaware on the 17th of
September, 1724, and Carolus to a Margareta van Culen, at the Old Swedes
Church in Wilmington on 25 February, 1753. This would probably account for the
Latinized versions of the names Charles and Stephen, the Dutchand German
peoples almost always preferring in that Age to express their given names in Latinate
form.)

If there was some connection to that Scots-Irish White family of Colonial Chatham
County, North Carolina, then that possible fact would go a long way toward accounting
for this tradition of Scots-Irish origin in the family and descendants of Jacob Jake
White. If, for example, Mary White, the presumed mother of Jacob Jake White (and
wife of his apparent step-father, Jacob White Sr.) had been a member of that same Scots-
Irish family of David and Carolus White, and their ilk, then it would have been natural
and logical for her son to then say that he was Scots-Irish in origin, because he in fact
would have been. Such a connection would also explain the tradition in the John Andrew
White branch of descendants of Jacob Jake White that one of their White ancestors had
married a Dutch girl, and had come to America because of religious persecution which
had prevented the marriage. This tradition, moreover, is a living one, having been
46

reported directly to the present author by Mrs. Margie White Day, who, at age 90, is one
of the last living grandchildren of that same John Andrew White (see later).

There is another fact which may play into this scenario: the laws of England and her
colonies in the Eighteenth Century (and earlier) required that, in cases of illegitimate
births, the child in question had to take, by law, the maiden surname of his mother, not
the surname of the birth father. If, as now appears probable from the genetic evidence
discussed in Part I, Jacob Jake White had in fact been fathered by a man from the
family of George and Sarah Lanier Brewer (of Brunswick County, Virginia), and if his
mother had in fact been a White by birth, the colonial laws would have required that
Jacob White take the surname of his birth mother.

Cold, hard facts here. But do they apply to this man, Jacob Jake White, and his
descendants? At the moment, extrapolating and applying these facts of history to this man
remains only a supposition, a reasonable hypothesis, one which has yet to be fully proven
by historical documentation.

What is necessary in order to have any chance of proving this hypothesis? One must
locate and examine (assuming they still exist) the records of the Colonial Court of
Common Pleas and Quarter Sessions for Brunswick County, Virginia, and/or Orange or
Chatham Counties, North Carolina, to see if there is some record of an illegitimate child
born around 1772 to a young lady possibly named White, with a man named Brewer
listed as the birth father. (The records of the said Court of Common Pleas and Quarter
Sessions would in fact have been where such illegitimate births would have been
recorded; this writer has in fact already seen numerous such births recorded in some of
the same court records for early Chatham County, North Carolina, including one where
an Andrew White was the birth father of an illegitimate baby girl named Sarah in
1796.)

One additional fact is apparent here, however, and this fact may call the above theory into
some question: Jacob Jake White in fact appears to have taken as his own surname, not
the maiden surname of his birth mother, but the surname of his presumed adoptive step-
father, Jacob Wei/White Sr. (He even went so far as to take his given name Jacob as
well.) What could this mean? Was he a biological son of Jacob Sr., after all? Was it in
fact Jacob White Sr. who was genetically a Brewer?

As discussed in the previous section of this work (Part I), it has now been definitively
proven with hard, unyielding genetic evidence that Jacob Jake White sprang from a
separate and distinct genetic family than the Wei/Whites who apparently raised him as a
child, and who gave him his names. But was his presumed step-father Jacob White Sr.
genetically linked to the Brewers also, or was he genetically linked to the family of
Ulrich Weiss (Woolrick White), two of whose living male descendants have since
undergone genetic testing, and who do not at all match the four White descendants of
Jacob Jake White (who do, nonetheless, match each other)? Until and unless we are
able to find and prove a separate line of male descendants of Jacob White Sr., we will
47

simply not know the answer to this question. (And it could well be that Jacob Jake
White Jr. was his only surviving male heir.)

The White Generation History also says that Jacob Jake White left wherever it was
he was living as a child (almost certainly Chatham County, North Carolina, as appears
from the historical record, and not Ireland), and moved with his parents at the age of
12 years and settled in South Carolina. This much appears to be based in fact, although
we may never know if, in fact, Jake White was 12 years old or not, when the family
made the move. One of these Jacob Whites (it is not clear yet whether it was the step-
father or the step-son) indeed witnessed a deed record in Pendleton District, South
Carolina, in the year 1794 (4 December).
ii


How can we say for certain that it was one of these two men? Quite simply, because these
Whites had in fact been following several of their former neighbors (and possible
relatives?) from Colonial Chatham County, North Carolinaneighbors who also later
showed up in both Pendleton District, South Carolina, and in Franklin County, Georgia at
the same time that Jacob White Sr. and Jacob White Jr.clearly our menalso showed
up there. Those other families included the Brooks, Hollingsworth, Martin, Stanton,
Terrell, and Thomason families (most of which appear to have intermarried and to have
been related to one another, in one way or another). Jacob White Sr., for example,
purchased land from members of the Terrell family in Franklin County, Georgia, and the
above-mentioned 1811 Deposition showed that Jacob White Sr. had in fact been having
dealings with members of both the Thomason and Stanton families in Chatham County,
North Carolina, in the 1780s. Jacob Jake White Jr. was a near neighbor of the
Hollingsworth and Terrell Families in Franklin County in the early decades of the
Nineteenth Century.

If Jacob Jake White Jr. was indeed 12 years old when he left Chatham County, North
Carolina with his parents and headed for Pendleton District, South Carolina, and if the
1850 Federal Census of DeKalb County, Georgia correctly reported his age as 78 in
that year, then it would have been around the year 1784 when these Whites arrived in
Pendleton District. That cannot have been the case, however, because Jacob White
(probably Sr.) was still residing in Chatham County, North Carolina for the 1790 Federal
Census (as mentioned above in Part I), and one of these two Jacob Whites (as also
mentioned in Part I) was requisitioned as a member of a road-building crew in Chatham
County around the year 1793 or 1794. It would appear, then, based on the historical
record, that these Whites made the journey from Chatham County, North Carolina to
Pendleton District, South Carolina sometime during the years 1793-1794.

The White Generation History claims that Jacob Jake White Jr. married a girl by the
surname Williams, sometime before the year 1800, which is about the time when the
said source claims that he first moved to Franklin County, Georgia. Again, the facts show
that this source was apparently correct concerning the time frame for the move from
Pendleton District, South Carolina to Franklin County, Georgia: Jacob White Jr. in fact
does not show up in any tax digest or deed record of Franklin County any earlier than
1800 (see later).
48


There was, in fact a family named Williams which was then resident in Pendleton
District, South Carolina. That family may well have been the family whose daughter
married Jacob Jake White, but (again), we simply have no other evidence of such a
marriage (alas). Jacob White Jr., of course (as mentioned above in Part I) had a wife
named Sarah, born in South Carolina circa 1778, with him in the 1850 census of
DeKalb County, Georgia. Ten years later, when that part of DeKalb in which White
resided had been renamed Fulton County, Sarah White had apparently died. Her
widower husband lived on, with an unmarried daughter by the same name as her apparent
mother.

That Pendleton District Williams family of which this writer speaks was represented
(among others) in the person of one Jeremiah Williams IV (1787-1855), whose wife,
incidentally enough, was Charity Elizabeth Stanton (1796-1873), whose father William
Stanton Sr. (1763-1832) and grandfather Thomas Stanton Jr. (c.1717-c.1790) had been
the self-same individuals named in the aforementioned 1811 Deposition as
friends/associates of Jacob White Sr. in Chatham County, North Carolina, in the 1780s.
Moreover, Jacob Jake White Jr. would later, in Franklin County, Georgia, be neighbors
to two additional menNathaniel and Robert Williams, J.P.who show even greater
evidence to have also been among his probable in-laws:

That Nathaniel Williams, who appears to have been the elder of the two men, first shows
up in Pendleton District in a Survey for 200 acres on Austins Creek, waters of
Connoross, [now Coneross Creek] of the Keowee River. That survey was made on the
27
th
of September, 1790, and was granted to Nathaniel Williams on 4 October, 1790.
iii
On
the 6
th
of December, 1791, Nathaniel Williams of Pendleton District, South Carolina
purchased 100 acres on the north side of Leatherwood Creek in Franklin County, Georgia
(the exact same neighborhood where, in 1800, Jacob Jake White Jr. would also
purchase land).
iv
On the 27
th
of April, 1793, Nathaniel Williams and Elizabeth his wife
sold that earlier 200 acres (granted in 1790) to a Samuel Burton.
v


By 1807, it would appear that Nathaniel Williams wife Elizabeth had died, because we
find that on October 20
th
, 1807, Nathaniel Williams and wife Hannah sold 350 acres on
Leatherwood Creek, Franklin County, to Samuel Boling (the same man who, on 7 April,
1818, purchased the 100 acre tract from Jacob Jake White Jr. which White had
purchased from Moses Terrell in 1800). The witnesses included Thomas Hollingsworth,
J.P., who also witnessed several deeds involving these Jacob Whites.
vi


As will be shown below in Part III, it appears highly probable that one of the children of
Jacob Jake White and his wife Sarah Williams was a son named Nathaniel White,
leading this writer to strongly suspect that the above Nathaniel Williams and wife
Elizabeth of Pendleton District, South Carolina and Leatherwood Creek, Franklin
County, Georgia, may well have been relatives of Jake Whites wife Sarah Williams. At
least two of the grandchildren of Jake and Sarah also appear to have borne the given
name Nathaniel. A birth date of 14 August 1768 (Orange County, North Carolina) is
given online for that Nathaniel Williams (with no hard proof which this writer has yet
49

seen). If that date is correct, and applies to this individual, then he may have been Sarahs
brother. This possibility deserves greater scrutiny. It is this writers hope that sufficient
evidence to confirm this educated guess may one day surface.


Residence in Pendleton District, South Carolina


What part of Pendleton District did Jacob Jake White Jr. call home, during the time in
which he lived there? Unfortunately, this information, too, is unknown at present, since
neither Jacob White apparently resided long enough in Pendleton District to wish to
actually purchase any land there; but a few clues to his whereabouts during this time,
however, can be gleaned from a few known records, from other people, with whom
Jacob White was associated. (It must be remembered that in the early years of the
Nineteenth Century, Pendleton District was huge, later being subdivided into no fewer
than three separate counties. It should also be remembered that historical records from
this early period in Pendleton District are unfortunately rare and hard to come by; sadly,
not many of them have survived the vicissitudes of the Ages.)

Besides Austins Creek, waters of Connoross [now Coneross] Creek, of the Keowee
River, mentioned just now (which is one very likely place where these Whites may have
resided), we can also turn to the 1794 Pendleton District deed mentioned above on page
44. That deed, found in Book 1790-1806, pages 339-340, was between Ambrose
Fitzgerrald and Sarah [Brown] his wife, and his brother-in-law Richard Brown [Jr.] of
Pittsylvania County, Virginia, and concerned land in Pittsylvania County which was his
wife Sarahs legacy from the estate of her late father, Richard Brown Sr. This deed, in
and of itself, thus does not help us determine where in Pendleton District Jacob Jake
White (or his step-father) might have been living. This deed, however, was also
witnessed by a man named Lewis Ralston, in addition to Jacob White.

Other Pendleton deeds involving these same men, Ambrose FitzGerald and Lewis
Ralston, however, will provide us some context, in which to place the Jacob White who
was the other witness to that first (1794) deed (for those who are not genealogical
researchers, it should perhaps be pointed out that if these men were close enough to serve
as ready witnesses to a deed record, then they most likely lived nearby):

The 1789 will of R. Ralston, the father of the above Lewis Ralston, mentioned his
lands along the Tugalooe River, in Pendleton District, South Carolina (pages 178-179).
In the map shown below, it can be observed that the modern-day Tugaloo River is part
of the border separating South Carolina from Georgia. Old Pendleton District consisted
of what is now both Oconee and Anderson Counties in this map (plus Pickens County),
and old Franklin County included both modern Hart and Franklin Counties in this map.
So the Tugaloo River basically was part of the border between Pendleton District and
Franklin County, Georgia. How convenient, then, it must have been for these two Jacob
Whites (Sr. and Jr.) to simply hop across a river (probably via a now long-vanished
ferry), when they decided it was time to relocate to Franklin County, Georgia.
50


















The above-mentioned Ambrose FitzGerald, moreover, purchased 200 acres on the same
Tugaloo River in 1789 (page 3), and a further deed to which he was a subscribing witness
in 1792 (between Col. Benjamin Cleveland and Little Berry Toney, Blacksmith)
concerned 650 acres on both sides of Mill Creek, waters of Chaughe Creek. A further
1793 deed of the same Col. Cleveland concerned lands on Toxaway Creek, on the
waters of Chaugee Creek, of the Tugaloo River. The modern-day Chauga River can
be seen on the below map (which shows lands immediately to the west of the lands in the
above map):





















51

(Toxaway Creek and the Chauga River can be observed in the above right corner.) The
area that is now Toccoa and Stephens County was, in the late Eighteenth Century, yet
another part of the vast original Franklin County, Georgia. The part of Franklin County in
which Jacob Jake Whites properties lay was just to the south and east of the modern-
day town of Hollingsworth, shown on this map (in the southwestern corner), along the
Middle Fork of the Broad River, which can also be observed in this map. From this, and
knowing the scale of the map, it can be determined that Jacob Jake White apparently
only travelled about twenty-six (26) miles, in order to relocate from Pendleton District,
South Carolina, to Franklin County, Georgia, circa 1799.





































52

The early settlers of Franklin County
and the Wofford Settlement



It cannot be overstressed just how wild and primitive the area now comprising Franklin
County and neighboring Jackson County (formed from Franklin in 1796) was in the
1780s and 1790s. It was very much on the edge of the early American frontier. Because
Franklin County lay on the border separating the Cherokee and Muscogee (or Creek)
nations, contacts and dealings with both groups were frequent, and usually not for the
better. Indian raids, the theft of horses and farm animals, and the burning of crops and
settlements (on both sides) were all-too-common. Settlers regularly complained about
depredations by the Indian savages (as they called them). One of the very early
settlements in what was then Franklin County, long before other Anglo settlers began to
pour into this area, was the so-called Wofford Settlement. Some account of this
settlement was given in the late Nineteenth Century by local Jackson County historian
and writer General Gustavus James Nash Wilson (1827-1909). We can do no better
than to quote him, since he lived so close to the events in question, and may perhaps have
had access to original, primary source documents no longer available to the modern
historian:

In 1785, Col. Hawkins, the United States agent for Indian affairs, was ordered to run the Franklin
line from the Currahee to the head of the Appalachee river, which is to this day known as the
Hawkins line. However, the Georgia legislature of 1812 decided that Col. Hawkins did not run the
line agreeably to the true spirit and interest of the treaty held at Augusta on the 31st of May,
1783, and confirmed by the treaty at Shoulderbone, in 1786; but left on the Indian side certain
lands, which, by the 3rd Section of the 4th Article of the Federal constitution, belonged to the
State of Georgia. In pursuance of this decision Gov. Rabun, on the 7th of December, 1812,
signed a bill adding to Jackson County, all the land lying west and northwest of the Hawkins
line, and on the waters of the Oconee, up the ridge dividing the waters of said Oconee from the
waters of Chattahoochee river, commencing at a point on the line run by Hugh Montgomery,
where the same crosses the dividing ridge, between Oconee and Broad rivers; thence along said
ridge a southwest direction to the intersection of the Hawkins line. This act, which is hard to
understand, while greatly increasing the territory and Indian population of Jackson, added but
few whites, most of whom belonged to the celebrated Wofford Settlement, now in Hall [County].
This colony of pioneers had been added to Jackson two years before; but it seems that the State
government did not reach them, and was repealed before the Act of 1812.

The Augusta treaty which finally gave the Wofford Settlement to Jackson, was signed, with a
cross, by fourteen Indians; and as four of them lived within the present limits of the county, their
names are here given as a matter of curiosity: Talasee King, for whom the Talasee Shoals are
named. He lived on the road leading from the shoals to Athens, and about midway between
Prospect Church and the large blackgum tree which marks the line between Jackson and Clarke
Counties. Okolegee, a prominent friend of the white settlers. His wigwam stood on top of Tiptoe,
now known as Prices Mountain, several miles above the present Price bridge, and where a battle
was fought between Confederate and Federal troops in 1864. Inomatuhata, whose home was on
Pea Ridge, north of Winder. He lived in a picturesque house made of the branches of hickory
trees, carefully intertwined and neatly plastered both inside and out, with a light, brick-colored
mortar, the mixture of which, the writer believes, is now unknown. The roof was of moss, evidently
taken from the swamps a few miles to the south, and growing, soon became impervious to water.
Inomatawtunsigna, who affixed to his name the characteristic title of Head Warrior, lived near
Arnolds old mill on Bear creek. His wigwam was of the common form, but unusually substantial.
53

Though not an avowed friend to the whites, he was conservative, brave and intellectual. I-no-ma-
tu-ha-ta and I-no-ma-taw tun-sig-na were brothers, and claimed to be descendants of Mispenthe,
an illustrious warrior of a former age, and his Queen, Lutro, the Moon Spirit. It is not known
that either of the brothers left a namesake to try the jaw-breaking power of their pale-faced
successors. Of the five distinguished white men who signed the treaty, two of them, Andrew Burns
and John Lamar, afterwards became citizens of this county [Jackson] and some of their
descendants still live in it.* This treaty covered practically all of the old County of Franklin. (The
Acts of the General Assembly of Georgia, 1783, approving this treaty, states in Article III, that the
Savanah river was considered the eastern line and Beginning at a stream known as the Keowee
and running in a westerly direction to the Currahee mountain; thence southwest to the head
waters of the most southern branch of the Oconee river [Appalachee], including all the waters of
the same; thence down the river to the old line.)
vii


Part of this Wofford Settlement was what is known today as Fort Hollingsworth, a
structure that was built in the early 1790s. It was built by Jacob Hollingsworth Sr.
(c.1743-c.1822), who lived and died in Franklin County. The fort he built (see below)
for the protection of the settlers from Indian attacks is now on the National Registry of
Historic Places. (Only take away the modern telephone pole and line, and it almost seems
as though one has stepped back in time. )











Fort Hollingsworth is located in the present-day Hollingsworth Community of Banks
(formerly part of Franklin) County, near the town of Alto, Georgia. It was first shown on
a map of the Defensive Plan Western Frontier of Franklin County, in the year 1793.













Fort Hollingsworth, near Alto, Georgia, and some of the farm outbuildings at the
site. (See later.)
54

Col. William Wofford and Jacob Hollingsworth Sr. had relocated to Franklin County,
Georgia from Chatham County, North Carolina in 1792. The area where they settled was
known as Woffords Settlement.

Hollingsworths daughter Mary was the wife of Benjamin Wofford, a son of the man for
whom the settlement was named (William Wofford). The wife of Jacob Hollingsworth
was Mary Brooks, of the same Brooks family of Chatham County, North Carolina we
have already mentioned as being connected with Jacob White Sr. And indeed, in 1812,
Jacob White Jr.s neighbors included Jacob [Jr.] and Thomas Hollingsworth, J.P., both
sons of this Jacob Hollingsworth Sr. From 1808 through at least 1810, Jacob Jake
White Jr. resided in Captain Thomas Hollingsworths District of Franklin County,
indicating a close neighborly relationship to these men.

The wife of Captain Thomas Hollingsworth, J.P. was Amelia Terrell, apparently from the
same Terrell family with which Jacob White Sr. had several land transactions in Franklin
County.

As mentioned above by General Nash Wilson, the lands of these first settlers of
Franklin County, due to a surveyors accident, lay north of the Indian Boundary fixed
by the treaty of 1785. These lands were granted for settlement, under the impression that
they lay south of the agreed boundary line. When this line was actually correctly
surveyed, however, it was found that these lands the Wofford Settlers had taken lay
north of the surveyed boundary linein the Cherokee Nation. The Cherokee, naturally,
immediately demanded the immediate removal of the trespassing settler families.

The Wofford Settlement and Fort Hollingsworth were thus in fact in the Cherokee
Nation.
When Col. Wofford learned that their settlement was considered to be in Cherokee
Territory, he along with other settlers in the area, petitioned Georgia Governor James
Jackson to have the line re-drawn, or to take such action as would be necessary to protect
them and their possessions from Indian raids. Legend says that Col. Wofford mounted
his horse and rode all the way to the seat of government for the purpose of getting the
authorities there to decide his Georgia land claims in his favor.

His journey apparently being successful, the result was the so-called Four Mile
Purchase of 1804, in which the Cherokee ceded a strip of land four miles wide to the
State of Georgia. This newly-ceded land ran from the Habersham-Banks County line on
Baldwin Mountain in the north, to the Line Baptist Church on old Hwy. 441, in the south.
It was twenty-three miles long, extending from Currahee Mountain in the northeast, to
the headwaters of the South Oconee River in the southwest. A clearing at least twenty
feet wide, constructed of felled trees, originally marked the line. This line became for a
while a virtual no mans land. The United States agreed to pay the Cherokee $5,000,
and $1,000 thereafter (per annum) for the property rights to this strip of land.

55

After the Four Mile Purchase, the Indian troubles were largely over (in this area), and
the string of frontier forts were deemed no longer necessary. The former forts soon
became no more than ordinary log farmhouses.

Thanks to a particularly enlightened owner in the late Nineteenth Century (who
recognized the historical value of the building, and refused to allow it to be demolished or
significantly altered, Fort Hollingsworth-White House (as it is known today) looks very
much today as it did in the Eighteen-Sixties.

Springtime woodland scene with dogwood at Utoy Primitive Baptist Church, Atlanta.
(Author photo)









56

Tallassee Mico, King of the Creeks

The above-mentioned Tallassee King
(see right) was one of fourteen Creek
Indian chiefs who signed the Treaty of
Augusta of 1783, which treaty gave the
State of Georgia the land from which
Franklin County (and later Jackson,
Clarke and other counties) were created.
Today, Tallassee Shoals and
Tallassee Road bear his name.

When the English settlers first arrived
in the area that was original Franklin
County, it was in fact the Muscogee (or
Creek) Indian tribes who lived in the
southwestern portion of this area. (The
Cherokees lived just to the north and
west of Franklin County.) Because the
Muscogee villages were usually along
ridge-tops above creeks and other
streams where they hunted (and grew corn and squash), the English settlers came to call
these tribes Creeks. Although the so-called Creek Indians did not have a centralized
government, they did have chiefs, and the young Tallassee King was one of them. His
Muscogee name was Hopoithle Mico (literally meaning Tame King).

He originally lived in what is now Jackson County. Local history there says that he lived
halfway between Prospect Church and Gum Corner (the corner of John Collier Road).

Tallassee King placed his X upon a number of treaties giving land first to the British
and then to the State of Georgia and the United States. During the Revolutionary War, he
sided with the United States. But the new nation continued to need more land, and in
1783, with the Treaty of Augusta, Tallassee King was one of the leading chiefs who
signed away the very land upon which he lived. In 1786, settlers established the
Tallassee Colony on a bend of what is now called the Middle Oconee River.

The Treaty of Augusta was immediately disputed, and thus, the United States negotiated
the new Treaty of New York in 1790. Tallassee King, who by that time lived in Alabama,
was among the delegation of chiefs and warriors who traveled by wagon to New York.
They were received with much pomp and ceremony, and met with President Washington
and other Federal officials to negotiate the new treaty. The painter John Trumbull, who
was doing his portrait of Washington at the time, sketched several of the Creeks,
including Tallassee King [see above].

Tallassee King participated in later treaties, ceding further lands to the United States
government. Already, though, he was rapidly becoming contrary, resentful of the
57

governments efforts to civilize his people, and was finally opposed to giving up more
land at all. The Creek Nation became divided between the peaceful Lower Creeks (who
didnt mind giving up more land) and the now hostile Upper Creeks, who wanted to
call an immediate halt to any more land giveaways. By August, 1813, the so-called
Creek War (a by-product of the larger War of 1812) had erupted in Alabama, with
Tallassee King as one of the main chiefs of the Red Sticks, or Upper Creeks, who were
being supplied with arms by the British, and incited to fight against the Georgians and
Alabamians. The Creek War ended in 1814, but Tallassee King had earlier been killed in
November, 1813, in a battle known as the Battle of Calabe Creek, in Alabama.
viii


Meanwhile, a quite valuable (and lengthy) reminiscence was given of their more
northerly Cherokee brethren at about this same time, by the Rev. William Jasper Cotter,
in his much-quoted My Autobiography.
ix
We can surely do no great harm to also quote it
at length, both here, and subsequently, because it seems so ready-tailored to our purpose
of illustrating the land, state, and peoples into which and among whom Jacob Jake
White brought himself and his young family in the early Eighteen-Thirties:

When about thirteen years old I carried the mail on horseback from Rock Spring to Spring Place, a
distance of about twelve miles. Returning one evening through a thick forest, I met a body of United
States infantry in blue uniform. I had never seen the like before. The officer in command halted me and
asked me to let him open the mail. I told him that I was under oath not to allow any one that privilege.
He told me very politely that he had the right to do so. I dismounted, and he opened the mail bag,
examining every piece. Of course the people were in dread of the dangers [from the Indians], and for
this reason there were bodies of soldiers stationed at different places to intimidate the Indians. Many
people had already come, and by 1836 there were thousands of the best families that had already moved
in.

What has been said about Murray County applies to other counties in that part of the State. We
welcomed every newcomer, and the friendship and strong attachment felt can be appreciated only by
going through the same experience. It makes the best of neighbors.

A MILE above the crossing, in the first of the Indian homes I visited, lived an old Indian with some
white blood in him. It was said that his father was an old Tory who had been killed by a white man with
a long knife. Although more than eighty years ago, I distinctly recall the visit and most of the objects I
saw the ten-toed speckled chickens, the numerous cur dogs, the beautiful black-and-white-spotted
cows, and the active ponies. Note the Indian names: Chicken, "shetaugee"; dog, "keetler"; hog, "sequan";
cow, "walker"; horse, "sequilla." The old Indian could speak a few English words. He was a peaceable
neighbor and sometimes took a meal with us, sitting at arm's length from the table and holding the knife
and fork with the ends of his fingers. His wife had the Indian reticence among strangers and never
opened her mouth to a white visitor. With a woman's curiosity, my mother called to see them one
evening. They were cooking tripe, and she asked: "Uncle Will, what do you call this?" He answered:
"We call it squaller." An appropriate name, for one might squall with pain after eating it.

What the Indians called a town was nothing like our idea. It was a section of eight or ten miles of country
with few houses or settlements. Each town had its name. Rabbit Trap was the name of one on the
Cussawattee [Coosawattee] River, Cussawattee Old Town another, and others were Owl Town and
Turnip Town. Their homes were bare of all comforts. In bitter cold weather they slept in large pits called
hothouses. Hothouse Creek, in Gilmer County, takes its name from these Indian warming places. There
were no family dining tables. Next to the wall stood a table three feet long and two feet wide, on which
were two cedar keelers, the capacity of each being about two gallons. In one was a stiff mush of corn
meal made largely of parched corn. The mush was carried to the mouth with the fore and middle fingers
and was, therefore, called two-fingered mush. Soup was drunk out of a large wooden spoon. These two
58




























Above: Fall colors in the North Georgia Mountains near Tennessee (Cherokee Territory).
Below: New Echota, the former Cherokee capital in Georgia. (Author photos)



























59

vessels were kept full, and any one coming in was free to partake of soup or mush or both. The Cherokee
name for the soup was "connahanee," and the Creeks called it "sofkee." Somewhere in Georgia there is a
town called Sofkee.

The Indians lived much on game. When a deer or cow or any other fresh meat was brought in, it was
boiled or roasted and eaten late in the afternoon, all the family being present. They would tear off a slice
of the flesh and eat to their fill. There were many fallen trees, and they picked up much of their firewood.
They cut down the smallest trees and cut the sticks for the fireplace six or eight feet long. These they
would put in the fire and push up as they were burned. They were neither fond of nor fit for house or
field work. I spent but one night in any of their cabins, and this cabin was in a dark section called
Mountain Town. The fare was boiled eggs and boiled sweet potatoes for supper and breakfast. They slept
on deerskin spread on the floor, and some hard substance answered for a pillow. I left as soon as I could
the next morning, with due courtesy to my host, and was hardly out of sight before I dismounted from
my horse and vomited. After lying on the ground a half hour or so, I remounted my horse and reached
home in safety.

The Indians did not marry young, nor did they wait until they were old. Boys and girls usually stayed at
home until they were fully grown. There was not much ceremony at a marriage, but they lived together.
Few couples parted. Only a few of the rich chiefs had two wives. As a rule, they all married. The women
wanted a home and a protector and the men a wife to do the work. Usually there were not many children
in a family, and the little Indians took to the water and could swim like ducks. The ambition of a boy was
to shoot with his bow and arrows, and he soon became an archer. I have seen them shoot a squirrel out of
the top of a tall tree. Their bows were made of sycamore, and the arrows of reeds. They were great ball
players. Crowds went for miles to see a ball game. It lasted several days. I remember the stick with
which they caught the ball, but no one would understand it if described. They were rough players. There
were many bruised bodies and broken bones, and almost at every ball game there was one or more killed.
Annually they had a green corn dance after roasting ears were fully matured. They tied terrapin shells,
with something to make them rattle, to their ankles and moved arotmd in a large circle quite slowly,
making a grunting noise. They held on till late in the night, then tumbled down and slept almost
anywhere. There was solemnity in the green-corn dance. When traveling they walked or rode one after
another. If the road was ever so wide, they went in single file. The sober Indians would give anything for
whisky. They would give corn for it; and if the measure was heaped, they would say: "You don't heap the
whisky." They would get drunk the quickest and the drunkest of any people I ever saw. But there was
always one sober Indian. If two or ten were together, one was sober and took care of all the knives and
pocketbooks and had a sad face all the time ; but the next time he was the first man to get drunk. I don't
remember to have seen a drunken woman. The wife had whatever property she brought into the family.

When marauding parties went to the white settlements and carried off boys and girls, they put plaited
strings around the necks of the captives that were not to be killed and to signify whose property each
captive was. They were afraid of an angry cloud, and the women would hold up a dog to turn away
the thunderbolt. Hume, in his "History of the Ancient Irish," says they did the same things put plaited
strings upon captives, and the women held up a dog before the angry cloud to turn away the lightning.
Who can explain it? No such occurrence took place in my day, but I heard it from the lips of the honored
grandmother of the late Rev. A. J. Deavors. She herself was a captive for nearly a year and saw the
strings and the dogs. Her story was a thrilling one. It was in South Carolina, in the locality of Lossen's
Fork. It was a bright, moonlight night. Quite a number of friends were at a neighbor's house. Two girls
were walking to the spring, and one said: "What if the Indians were to come?" In a moment all the men
were shot down, the house plundered, the horses taken, and she and her little brother and sister were
carried away as captives. The account of the captives I had from the lips of the old lady. They were taken
from the western part of South Carolina, then a frontier. Their raid was at the full of the moon in the fall
of the year, and they got away as fast as they could. They traveled by night and hid away in the dark
forests all day, going and coming. Their trail was by Reinhardt, across Pine Log Mountain, to Pine Log
Valley. Friendly Indians told where they were. A band of white soldiers rescued them.

I attended only one Indian service. The weather on this occasion was cold and damp. The arbor under
which the meeting was held was covered with brush, and the seats were comfortable. The attendance was
60


This page: a snow-covered woodland hill in North Georgia, such as would have been familiar to the
Cherokee in Winter time. (Author photo)


fairly good. The minister and the hearers seemed quite devout. The meeting continued for six or seven
days, six or eight members being added to the Church. An Indian named Watt Foster could speak
English fairly well, and I think he could also write it. He was always a welcome visitor at our home.
After the meeting he came and reported the names of the newly added members. He said that Aunt Katie
Falon was one. When asked if she was baptized, he answered, "Yes." "Had she not been baptized
before?" "Yes." "Why did they baptize her again?" "To make her stronger." There had been a Baptist
mission that they had attended, but I am unable to give the location of this work.

The Rev. Jesse Bushyhead, a half Indian, preached once in our house. In the course of his sermon he
said: "Some one said, 'Indians have no souls.' Do you think I have only half a soul? I think I have a
whole soul that is full of the love of God, and I live to preach that love."

George Tassels, the first Indian hanged under the law of Georgia, was executed at Gainesville on a cold,
sleety day. I remember it well. We had not moved from Hall County then. Twenty years afterwards I saw
his skeleton with coagulated blood about his neck. Tassels had killed Andrew Falon, a good Indian, the
son, I think, of Aunt Katie Falon.

61

About ten miles from New Echota we called at an Indian house and asked for sweet potatoes and boiled
eggs, as we were hungry. The squaw removed the shells from the eggs until she came to the last one,
which had a chick in it about ready to hatch. She ate the wings and legs of this unhatched fledgling
before us without seeming at all abashed. She was a fair sample of ninety-five per cent of the Indians of
that day. The quickening touch of trade and commerce beginning to move the people of the wild tribes,
hundreds of Indians went to the rich coves of the mountains to dig gentian and pinkroot for their
medicinal properties. They packed great loads upon their ponies and delivered them where they could be
carried off in wagons. In the fall of the year they went to the mountains for chestnuts and gathered large
quantities for the market. Often some of the party ate too many and died from it.


It was into this rough-and-tumble, frontier-America milieu that Jacob White Sr., and his
apparent stepson Jacob Jake White Jr. first appeared, in the later years of the 1790s,
along with the first really large wave of Anglo-American immigration into this area.





























Above: Vann House, home of Cherokee Chief J ames Vann, Spring Place, Ga. (Author
photo)



62

What was Jacob Jake White like?

Before diving into the mundane details of the few legal transactions we still have which
involve Jacob Jake White Jr., it might be useful to attempt to sketch out a little of what
sort of person he might have been. Sadly, we have very few clues to lead us on, in this
lonely and nearly hopeless task. Taking those few clues which we do possess, though, we
can draw his profile in a very broad outline:

It is known, for example, that he could not read or write (he signed his name with an X
in two DeKalb County, Georgia deeds of 1839 and 1842 [see later]). It is known that he
was not a particularly religious man (he never joined or attended any church that we
know of, and regularly drank liquors), and perhaps it is this fact which has helped
contribute to his present obscurity (his pious grandchildren and great-grandchildren
apparently not thinking too highly of him for that reason ). It is known that he was a
soldier of the War of 1812, and of the Creek War of the latter part of the same decade,
apparently using as his base the neighborhood of the Pulaski County, Georgia property
his stepfather, Jacob White Sr. sold in 1809 (the units in which he served were raised
from Pulaski County, yet included men from other counties, including Jake White, and
the Hollingsworths from Franklin County). It is known that he owned and managed two
separate farm properties in extreme South Georgia (in addition to his lands in Franklin
County)one in Irwin (now Berrien) County, and another in Early (later Baker, but now
Mitchell) County. It is known that in both Franklin and DeKalb Counties, he chose to
reside in areas which were at that time very much on the frontier of America, and in
constant, almost daily contact with Native Americans (often hostile ones, at that), and
that these were thus areas requiring a crude, rough, hardscrabble manner of living. Jacob
Jake White was likely reasonably intelligent, however, for at least two of his
grandchildren became schoolteachers, and others were known for being particularly
enlightened, even ingenious, farmers or carpenters. Taking these few broad facts, and
comparing them with the accounts of other similar men from that time and place, we can
at last put Jacob Jake White into a somewhat meaningful perspective:

The good Reverend Cotter, quoted just now and again afterward, provided a faithful
description of his father, a man who seems to resemble our Jake White in many
respects:

After the War of 1812, my father drifted to Georgia and embarked in trading with the Indians with
some success. He and his partner were neighbor boys; different in almost every respect, except
David and Jonathan were not better friends. My father had great powers of endurance and
complete control of his appetites. I never saw him the least intoxicated. He could sleep anywhere
and eat almost anything. Smith was the opposite, dainty in his eating and particular about his
sleeping. At one time the fare was too bad for him. There was a place where the prospect was
better. He said: "Cotter, things look better at [ ]. Let us call for a nice piece of meat and cabbage
and a chicken. I intend to watch how it is prepared." The meat and cabbage were nicely washed
and put into the dinner pot; and so was the chicken dressed, and all started off cooking nicely. He
took his partner out to tell him how well everything was going on and said he could hardly wait
for it to get done. Back he went; and the two women with a stick made hair and dust fly from the
dog's back, saying, "Skeener!" (their word for "Get out!") and then stirred the cabbage with the
stick. It nearly killed Smith. Again he said to his friend: "Did you see that dirty thing hit the dog
and stir the cabbage? I couldn't eat a mouthful." He declined meat and cabbage, but did his duty
63

to the chicken. Though he was doing well, there was one back at home in his mind and heart. She
afterwards became his life partner. The time came when Smith and my father separated. They shed
tears then and remained dear friends as long as they lived, and a hundred miles was a short
distance to go to visit each other. Smith settled in Middle Tennessee, was a captain in the war of
Texas in 1836 and, I think, was a prisoner in a dungeon in the City of Mexico when the war ended.
The authorities at Washington sent Gen. Waddie Thompson, of South Carolina, with papers of
authority to have the prisoners liberated. I heard him say that before going to a hotel or looking
after baggage he went at once and saw the iron bolts drawn and the doors opened and grasped
the hands of his dear countrymen, saying to them: "I have passports for you to go home with me."
He said it was the gladdest hour of his life, and it made every one glad to hear him tell it. I may
allude to Captain Smith again.

Cotter continued and extended the business. At that time there was a great trade center at
Grayson Bend, on the Chattahoochee River, fifteen miles above LaGrange. From the mouth of
Peachtree Creek, near where the city of Atlanta is, he shipped in large canoes a cargo of goods.
The canoes were worked by strong negroes and Indians. The river was at flood tide, out of banks,
which were bordered with cane-brakes, a home for wild beasts. Great gangs of wild turkeys flew
over their heads, filling the air with the whir of their wings. The dangerous voyage was safely
made, but a great calamity came at the last moment. In turning the canoes in the bend of the river
to land, the whole cargo capsized, and everything was lost. The crew escaped safely and, in the
best way they could, made their way back home, going pretty much over what is now the line of
the West Point Railroad [i.e., along present-day U.S. Highway 29].
Grayson's Bend had its name from Sam Grayson, the most widely known man in all that part of
the country up and down the Chattahoochee and then to the white settlements in the eastern part
of the State. Grayson's trails led out in every direction and are still spoken of by the old people of
Troup and other counties. I don't know that Sam Grayson had Indian blood in him. I think not. But
he had great influence over them and over the whites also. He was a man of honor, most
hospitable, and kept an open and orderly house. My father had great respect for Sam Grayson.
After the country was settled, the place was known as the Colonel Townes place, named for the
father of George W. B. Townes, Georgia's Chesterfieldian Governor.
x


Researcher James W. Johnson (now deceased) recorded the following invaluable
personal reminiscences concerning Jacob Jake White (although this particular branch
of his descendants had forgotten his very name):

[Samuel Isaiah Whites] granddaughter, Lucille McCool Johnsons records have only
the note: Great Grandpa White [Jacob Jake White], I remember mother (Nancy
Catherine White) saying, was 110 years old when he died. He never took any medicine,
only a toddy before breakfast. From Margaret White, wife of Green Berry [Whites]
grandson, Johnnie White, an interested researcher of family genealogy, we have another,
only slightly different version of the same story. The variation of detail indicates a
different source and adds confidence in the tradition[:] Johnnys father told him that
Isaiahs father [Jacob Jake White] lived to be 111 years old and could crack hickory
nuts with his natural teeth at the time he died.

(Remember that yet a third sourcethe above-mentioned White Generation History
said that Jacob Jake White had lived to be around 105 years old.)

Yet another unforeseen reference, only recently brought to light, mentions Jacob White,
not by name, but obliquely: it is the March 1st, 1933 obituary of his apparent grandson,
John Andrew White (1835-1933). This is a very valuable document, a copy of which was
64

sent to this writer by a Mr. Douglass Brandon, the county historian for DeKalb County,
Alabama. (This is where John Andrew White lived and died after leaving Atlanta in
1884). It is shown below in full, but here we will start by mentioning that John Andrew
White was apparently often known to recount to his friends and family how, as a youth,
he used to accompany his grandfather (Jacob White) while squirrel hunting in the
woods where the great City of Atlanta now stands. What a story! This briefest of
mentions only whets our appetite for more details which we will probably never hear.
The father of that John Andrew White was James V. White (1804-1892, mentioned
extensively in Part III of this series), a presumed son of Jacob Jake White Jr.











































65

Sowe can now say for certain that Jacob Jake White apparently drank a toddy before
every mornings breakfast, as an old man, never would let any doctor-prescribed
medicine pass his lips, and that he also kept his natural teeth to the day he died, and in
fact could crack hickory nuts with them. We also know that he apparently was fond of
hunting squirrels with his grandson, John Andrew White. This writer imagines that Jake
White probably also did not set too much store by the (then current) medical practice of
using leeches to cure fever (they sometimes cured the fevers in question by killing the
patient. ). If his son Samuel Isaiah White and several grandsons are any indication,
Jacob Jake White very likely wore a long, white beard as an old man (see photo, next
page). He sounds very much in keeping with Rev. Cotters florid description of his plain,
home-spun, but enterprising father. Note the Rev. Cotters use of the word drifted, in
the above excerpt, as used to describe his father. It is an epithet which seems to have
equally well applied to Jacob Jake White, based on his many wanderings, and apparent
aloofness from religion and society.

(More will be said about Jacob Jake Whites possible character below, at pages 133-
134.)





























66










































Samuel I saiah White (1810-1893), a son of Jacob Jake White.

This, and the photo shown on the next page, are the only known photos we have at
present of any of Jake Whites children.

67










































Photo of Elizabeth Isabel White (1811-1866) a daughter of Jacob Jake White, and
the first wife of Pleasant Sewell.



68



Springtime woodland scene with dogwood, at Utoy Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery.


69

What was North Georgia like at this time (the land itself)?


For this question, the above-quoted Rev. Cotter again comes to our aid:

I saw that interesting part of the State when all was newwaters in the creeks and rivers as clear
as crystal; rich valleys, hills, and mountains covered with a thick forest; a land of beautiful
flowerswhite, pink, yellow, and red honey-suckles, redwood and dogwood blossoms, wild roses,
and others. The ground was covered with violets, sweet williams, and other beauties. There was
plenty of wild game deer, turkey, and other varieties. When first seen, all was in lovely, beautiful
spring, and I was nine years old.
xi


























To which the opinion of the Atlantan, the Rev. George Gilman Smith, D.D., published
between 1909 and 1910, also assents:

I never saw more beauty than there was in the springtime in the groves all over Atlanta. All the
undergrowth except the azalias [sic] and dogwoods had been cut out. The sward was covered with
the fairest woodland flowers, floxes, lilies, trilliums, violets, pink roots, primrosesa fairer vision
than any garden of exotics show now. Honeysuckles of every beautiful hue, deep red, pink, golden,
white, were in lavish luxuriance. The white dogwood was everywhere; the red woodbine and now
and then a yellow jessamine climbed on the trees. When a stream was found it was clear as
crystal. I have seen few things so fair in this world of beauty, as were the Atlanta woods in 1848.
xii


But to return to the Rev. Cotters description of this wild land, so foreign to most of us
now:

Many and varied were the troubles encountered with the wild animals, bears, panthers, and
wolves, and the smaller ones, wildcats, coons, and foxes. I never saw a bear in the woods; but they
were numerous, and many were killed. I saw a panther three hundred yards from the house. The
cattle in the lane scented it and were excited. Panthers killed colts, springing from the limb of a
70

tree. I have often seen the prints of their claws on a colt's back and sometimes on grown horses.
Wolves howled in hearing on the mountain, but never did much mischief. The smaller animals
gave the trouble. Standing in the yard, we could hear the foxes barking; and coons were nearly as
bad as hogs in destroying corn. They began on it before it was in roasting ear. The Indians had no
dogs, but small curs, which were of little account. There were no hounds. Colonel Carter's
overseer brought two from Milledgeville, and Mr. Black got some from Buncombe, North
Carolina.





























We soon trained them to hunt together; and in the winter and spring we caught twenty-seven
foxes, four wildcats, and quite a number of coons. It was the gray fox, and usually the chase was
fun. If started by eight o'clock, it was caught by twelve; if at four o'clock in the morning, it was
caught a little after sunup. We never saw a red fox there. Once in a while the dogs were out all
night, and we did not know what they were after. When they caught a fox they would lie down
around it for several hours, then one after another would leave. Old Buncombe was the last to go
in the afternoon. Walking around the fox, he would howl as loud as he could and start for home
with a look of disappointment. He was a large, leopard-colored dog and was the leader of the
pack. While the others stayed, he was always nearest the dead fox. Only hunters know the meaning
of "as cunning as a fox," when, far ahead of the dogs, he runs back on logs, runs a little way up
trees and from log to log, then jumps as far as he can and often eludes his pursuers. The chase
was hard on horses. Wildcats can run up a tree and are usually shot. Coon-hunting involves hard
work as well as lots of fun. Late one fall, while gathering corn about dark, a company of boys
came for a coon hunt; and, grabbing a handful of bread and meat, I went with them. Early in the
night we treed a coon up one of the largest poplars on the creek. It would never do to give up. The
tree had to come down. We sent home for help. White boys and Negroes came with axes and
supper. It was about daylight when the tree fell. We held the dogs, that they might not be killed by
the tree. The coon escaped, crossed the creek, and ran up a small tree. We cut it down in twenty
minutes and got the coon. It was sunup then. An old coon can easily whip a young dog and is a full
match for an old dog.
71
















































On that spot I had a most fearful encounter with a large rattlesnake, alone with a good dog that
killed nearly every snake that he found. He seized them with his teeth and shook them to death in a
little time. It was a sand bar barren of weeds. The rattler was coiled ready to strike. I saw his eyes
and realized the expression, "as mad as a rattlesnake." Had he not been in his coil, the dog would
have seized him, but he knew the snake could strike first and so held off. It would never do for a
boy to let such a snake live, and with a ten-foot fence rail the blow was struck that turned the tide
of battle.

72

That year's hunting thinned out the wildcats, coons, foxes, minks, skunks, opossums, and other
varmints that troubled us. A traveler told us how to catch wild turkeys. Next day we followed
instructions. With an ax and a hoe we cut down some little pines, dug a trench, and made a pen so
that a turkey would come up in the middle of the pen and have to look down in order to get out.
This the frightened bird would not do, but would hold his head high. I baited the trench with corn
and soon caught two large turkeys and proudly carried them home. Squirrels and opossums were
in great abundance. Great fat opossums were dressed, put on the roof of the smokehouse during a
frosty night, and the next day cooked with potatoes, making a dish fit for a king or an American
sovereign.
xiii




























Above: snowy woodland scene within a few miles of where J acob
Jake White lived (near Atlanta). (Author photo)












73























This page: native azaleas and sweetshrub, within a few miles of where Jacob Jake
White lived (near Atlanta). (Author photos)






















74

Jacob Jake White arrives in Franklin County, Georgia

On the 11th of October, in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred, Jacob
Jake White Jr. purchased one hundred acres of land on Leatherwood Creek (a branch of
the Middle Fork of the Broad River), from a man named Moses Terrell (1757-1831), a
former Revolutionary War soldier. There was a connection with Mr. Terrell, he having
been the husband of Nancy Ann Martin, a daughter of Captain Zachariah Martin (1729-
c.1805) of Chatham County, North Carolinathe same man, in fact, who has earlier been
mentioned (in Part I) as having been fined 10 shillings for profane swearing in open
court at the 1784 Chatham County arraignment of Jacob White (Sr.?) for harbouring
Henry Blalock, a person of ill fame (an apparent Brewer in-law, the reader will recall,
to Whites apparent stepson Jacob Jake White Jr.). Jacob Jake White, Jr., by virtue of
his father or stepfather Jacob White Sr. having been a neighbor and close associate of
Captain Zachariah Martin in
Chatham County, was thus
almost certainly already well-
acquainted with both Moses
Terrell and his Martin wife.


Sketch of the lot
purchased by J acob White in
1800, using the property
descriptions in the several
deeds.

There was a further
connection, however: the wife
of Captain Martin was Rebecca Brooks, of the same family which produced James
Brooks (1724-post 1812), whose second wife was Margaret Thomason, the daughter of
Simon Thomason. Both James Brooks and Simon Thomason were, of course, mentioned
in Jacob White Sr.s already-discussed 1811 Deposition in Franklin County, Georgia,
and were among his neighbors and associates in Chatham County, North Carolina, prior
to the move to Pendleton District, South Carolina, and Franklin County, Georgia.

Jake White had to have already purchased a separate fifty-acre plot of land in Franklin
County, however, because the tax digest for the year 1800 (the first year in which he
shows up in the tax digests) shows him owning a total of 150 acres of landthe above
100 acre purchase from the year 1800, plus this missing 50 acre purchase, at an earlier,
unknown date (probably circa late 1799). Why this earlier land transaction has not yet
been located is something of a mystery.

The tax digests for the succeeding years of 1801, 1802, 1803, 1805, 1806, and 1808,
continue to show Jacob Jake White Jr. owning this same 150 acres of land on
Leatherwood Creek (Middle Fork of the Broad River). His neighbors about that time
included the said Moses Terrell, Owen Andrews, and Thomas Dunningham (from whom
75

Terrell himself had obtained his and Whites properties). Part of Jake Whites 150 acres
of land also lay adjacent to Nails Creek. These facts place Jake Whites properties
squarely in the vicinity of the present-day towns of Odis Crossroads, Jewelville, and
Plainviewright on the present-day county line dividing Franklin County from modern
Banks County. Jake Whites properties would have thus been no more than three miles,
as the crow flies, from the aforementioned Fort Hollingsworth:
















His two properties do not appear to have been contiguous; the 1800 purchase clearly was
on Leatherwood Creek, whereas it was the earlier, as yet unidentified purchase of fifty
acres which was probably along Nails Creek. Nevertheless, his two properties would
have been only about a mile or so apart from each other.

Shortly after 16 June, 1802 (the document is unfortunately not dated), one of these two
Jacob Whites signed a Petition and Remonstrancexiv from the people of Franklin
County, addressed to the then Georgia Governor, John Milledge (for whom the later state
capital Milledgeville would be named):


76









































(There are a total of eight pages to this documentmost taken up with the attached
signatures. Among the signatories were Jake Whites neighbors Owen Andrews, Robert
Williams, and several of the Terrells and Hollingsworths. It can be observed that a single
person apparently wrote down all of the names seen here, probably since most of them
could not themselves read or write.)

77

It is not yet clear just which Jacob White it was who signed this document, since he
(unfortunately) did not append a senior or junior to his name (as they both usually
did elsewhere).

Both Jacob Whites (senior and junior) registered for the 1805 Georgia Land Lottery, and
each man received two draws, indicating that both were married, with wife and child (or
children), and that both men had at least one years residence in the State of Georgia.
Neither man drew any land.

Jacob Jake White Jr. was mentioned as an adjacent land owner in an 1808 deed
(October 11th) between a James Garner and his wife Sarah, and a Richard White. (That
Richard White [1778-1860] was a son of William White and Mary Hooper of Franklin
County, an apparently unrelated family.) The reason we can state that this was Jacob
White junior, and not senior, is because the names of the other men who were also
adjacent landowners were clearly neighbors of Jacob juniornot neighbors of Jacob
senior.

In the 1810 Franklin County tax digest, Jacob Jake White Jr. still owned his 150 acres
which he had owned since at least 1800, but later that same year (1810), he purchased an
additional 470 acre tract from an Isaiah Bagley. This tract lay on the South Fork of
Leatherwood Creek (and thus near his existing properties). A few years later, this tract
would be listed as being adjacent to a man named Hardin, as well as to the Middle Fork
of the Broad River. Later still (1822), this tract would be listed as being adjacent to men
named Pendleton and Williams. Incredibly, Jake White would continue to pay taxes on
this 470 acre tract through the year 1852, after which he sold it via his presumed son,
James V. White (as attorney-in-fact).

Jake White continued to hold all three tracts of land, the 50 acre tract purchased before
1800, the 100 acre tract purchased in 1800 from Moses Terrell, and the 470 acre tract
purchased in 1810 from Isaiah Bagley, through at least the year 1813, when he was listed
with all three tracts in the tax digest that year.

Interestingly enough, that Isaiah Bagley, from whom Jacob Jake White purchased his
470-acre Franklin County tract in November of 1810, was also a fellow-Chathamite,
having been the son of the same Henry Bagley Sr. of Chatham County, North Carolina
(died 1802) who was mentioned above in Part I. But what is even more interesting is the
fact that several online family trees list the wife of that Isaiah Bagley as having been
Elizabeth White before her marriage to Bagley. She is reported to have been born
around 1780, as was her husband. Whether or not she was any relation to either of the
Jacob Whites under discussion here, is anyones guess. This writer has yet to find any
substantial documentation on her, beyond the mere hearsay which so far rules the day.

An image of this 470-acre tract purchased in November 1810 from Isaiah Bagley is
shown on the following page:


78


1801 survey map of the 470-acre tract on Leatherwood Creek later purchased in
November, 1810 by Jacob Jake White Jr. from Isaiah Bagley. (North is
approximately in the direction of the bottom right corner, from the middle right of the
image.) This propertyas can be seen herewas originally surveyed for and owned by
a man named William Allred. Although the acreage listed here is 498 instead of the
470 acres which we know it to have contained, we can be certain that this is in fact the
correct parcel, for the reason that the written (legal) description of the property
boundaries is identical to that of the I saiah Bagley property purchased by J acob White.
Note that one of Allreds (and Whites) neighbors from 1801 through at least 1810 was
the same Nathaniel Williams mentioned elsewhere in this book, as a likely brother-in-
law to J acob White J r. Another interesting side note is the fact that after leaving
Franklin County, Georgia, this William Allred settled in Bedford County, Tennessee,
from whence, in the early 1830s, his children set out once again, this time for central
Missouri, where they were converted to the L.D.S. or Mormon faith. Religious
persecutions there and later in Nauvoo, I llinois in 1844-1846 (whence they had been
driven by their persecutors) caused them finally to relocate with the majority of the
Mormons to Salt Lake City, Utah, where numerous Allred descendants live to this
day. This image is from Georgia, Surveyor General. Plats, Colonial and Headright,
Book AD, 1836-1841, page 258 (on microfilm at the Georgia State Archives).

79

Jacob Jake White, War of 1812 Soldier

Jacob Jake White Jr. does not appear in any Franklin County tax digest for the years
1814 through 1817, indicating that he almost certainly resided elsewhere during these
years. But where was he?

Curiously enough, an 1809 deed from Pulaski County, Georgia, between his parents
(for lack of a better term) Jacob White Sr. and Mary his wife, and Dudley Jones, also of
Franklin County*, provides the beginning of the answer.

Jacob White Sr. had obtained this particular property from the State of Georgia, courtesy
of a lucky draw in the 1807 Land Lottery. As can be seen, though, he only held onto the
property for some two years. Undoubtedly, being by that point a very old man, he must
have felt that it was too much trouble to manage from his existing home in faraway
Franklin County. It was (apparently) his stepson Jake White Jr., however, who managed
this Pulaski County property. How do we know this? Because of two additional facts:

One, the 1832 Cherokee Land Lottery of Georgia, in which Jacob Jake White
participated (see later), described him as S.L.W., meaning, a Soldier of the Late War.
Since the American Civil War was still many years in the future, this particular war in
question could only have been either the First Seminole War of 1817-1819, or the still
earlier War of 1812. Professional archivists at the Georgia Archives informed this
writer a few years back that this designation, in all probability, referred to the War of
1812. The question really is academic, because at the time, the two wars were thought
to be merely different aspects of one and the same conflict with Great Britain. The
slightly later First Seminole War developed because the British, during the earlier 1812
conflict, had armed the Creeks (or Muscogees), and had incited them to take up arms
against the Anglo-Americans.

Two, records indeed exist which show that a Jacob White, had served in both wars
(see momentarily). Given the reference to a soldier of this name from the late war in
the 1832 Cherokee Land Lottery, and Jacob White Sr.s presence in Pulaski County, and
given the additional fact that the regiments from which Jacob Jake White served in
both wars were organized in Pulaski County, Georgia, we then have our answer: The
reason Jacob Jake White does not show up in any tax digest in Franklin County,
Georgia, between 1813 and 1817, is because he was apparently residing at or near his
stepfathers old property in Pulaski County!

(There is one extant Pulaski County tax digest for this periodfor the year 1816which
does indeed confirm this supposition, for in it Jacob White was listed as a defaulter
in that county. See later.)

Jacob Jake Whites specific service details in both wars were as follows:
___________________
*a William Malone of Washington County, Mississippi Territory (it was not yet a state
in 1809) was the other grantee of this indenture, along with the aforesaid Dudley Jones.
80


War of 1812: He served as a private in Captain Allen Tookes Company, 4th Regiment,
Georgia Militia (under the command of Col. David S. Booth), from 14 August 1813, to
23 August, 1813, and again as a private in Captain Gideon Kellams Company, 4th
Regiment, Georgia Militia, from 9 September 1814, to 18 September, 1814. His duties
included service at Forts Pike, Lawrence, Green, and Mitchell (see momentarily).
xv


First Seminole War of 1817-1819: He served in Col. Ezekiel Wimberlys 1st Regiment of
Georgia Militia, from 1 December, 1817, to 31 January, 1818.xvi Wimberly (1781-1825)
then lived in Twiggs County (next to Pulaski). Several of Jake Whites Franklin County
Hollingsworth neighbors also served in this same unit, thus helping to solidify our
identification of Jacob Jake White Jr. (of Franklin and DeKalb Counties, Georgia) as
the man who in fact served in these units.

Those are the bare facts. A short description of the actions in Georgia and Alabama
during this mostly forgotten war, however, will help to put these bare facts into some
perspective:

(Above) Portion of the muster roll for Capt. Gideon Kellams company of militia from
Pulaski County, Georgia, showing that J acob White [J r.] was indeed part of this unit.
Notice that half of his pay of $2.66 for helping to construct Fort Mitchell in ten days
was in fact docked for an [unspecified] offense.



81

The Creek War of 1813-1814

Early in the war [of 1812] British officials began arming many allied Native American
tribes along the frontier. On August 30, 1813, a strong force of Creeks attacked and
destroyed Fort Mims, an American post on the Alabama River, north of Mobile. Georgia
figured prominently in the campaign to eliminate the threat posed by the warring Creek
tribes. General John Floyd was given command of troops operating from Georgia.

Floyd, who later became a U.S. congressman, was ordered to establish several forts and
to destroy all the Creek villages and their crops in his line of march. These actions were
intended to culminate in the establishment of a continuous supply line of fortified posts
from which the American forces could operate freely against the Creeks without fear of
loss of war materiel. In September 1813 Floyd mustered a 2,000-man to 3,000-man army
and gathered supplies for his campaign at Fort Hawkins, in present-day Macon. He
deemed his force ready to undertake the operation by November. Floyd established Fort
Mitchell, just across the Chattahoochee River, and marched steadily toward the Creek-
held territory deeper in present-day Alabama. Floyd's army, bolstered by a friendly
Indian contingent, fell upon the Native Americans at the Creek town of Autosse on
November 29, 1813. In a desperately fought action, Floyd's men forced the Creeks to
retreat after a bayonet charge. This allowed Floyd to destroy Autosse and a second town
nearby. Lacking proper supplies, Floyd returned to Fort Mitchell. A long-range effect of
the defeat at Autosse was that many of the Creek survivors made their way to the
Horseshoe Bend area, where General Andrew Jackson would decisively defeat the Creek
Nation the following year.

Floyd suffered from chronic supply problems but decided to take the field once again in
January 1814. Floyd's Georgians and their Native American allies began construction of
Fort Hull, some forty miles west of Fort Mitchell. Floyd continued advancing farther into
Creek territory. Thirteen hundred Creek warriors mounted a surprise attack against the
encamped army on the banks of Calabee Creek on January 27, 1814. The assault was
blunted by the Georgians' use of artillery and superior fire. Nevertheless, the attack
succeeded in dispiriting the Georgians, and Floyd retired to Fort Hull. Soon afterward,
Floyd was forced by his army's enlistment expirations to return to Fort Mitchell, leaving a
small garrison at Fort Hull.

The new commander at Fort Hull, Colonel Homer Milton, was reinforced and spent the
next several months continuing to harry the Creeks. He established the fortified posts of
Fort Bainbridge and Fort Decatur in the disputed areas. Floyd's and Milton's activities
ensured supplies that aided in Jackson's successful battle at Horseshoe Bend, which in
turn culminated in the defeat of the hostile Creeks on March 27, 1814.
xvii


According to the muster roll, Captain (later Lt. Col.) Allen Tooke from Pulaski County
served from 14 August, 1813, to 20 September, 1813, under General David Blackshear,
at Forts Pike, Mitchell, Green, and Lawrence. During that period, he had several sub-
units working under his command, for periods of either a week, or eight or nine days at a
time, led by lieutenants (sub-alterns).
xviii

82


In 1813, four forts were built on the western border of Pulaski County by order of the
Governor. General David Blackshear supervised the building of these forts, established
10 miles apart, to protect the frontier. These four forts, along the Blackshear Trail
between Fort Hartford at Hawkinsville to Fort Early on the Flint River, included Forts
Green, and Pike. Fort Lawrence was more to the northwest, by some fifteen or so miles:

Roberts writes, "The government's old Indian reservation occupying a tract of land about
five miles square spanning the Flint River in present Crawford and Taylor counties was
protected by Fort Lawrence, which was built by United States Indian Agent Benjamin
Hawkins, who took charge of the agency there about the year 1800. The fort, often
garrisoned by U.S. troops, was described as 180 feet square palisaded, with two
blockhouses, two hospitals, two storehouses, barracks, and other auxiliary structures.
Several important treaties with the Indians were concluded at the agency.
xix


Since it is clear from the foregoing that Jacob Jake Whites service during the War of
1812 proper never did involve seeing any action against the British (or even against the
Muscogee/Creeks), it seems apparent that the extent of his service as such was
probably limited merely to assisting in the construction of these various forts. He and
some of his compatriots were then (apparently) sent home. This would seem to be
confirmed by the very short durations of his terms of enlistment, compared with the
known dates of active engagements by these troops against the Indians.






















Above: the site of Tohopeka, the Red Stick or Upper Creek (Muscogee) village destroyed and burned,
with nearly all of its 350 inhabitants (mostly women and children) killed by the U.S. Army and Cherokee
and Lower Creek allies, at the tragic Battle of Horseshoe Bend, on 27 March, 1814. (Author photo)
83

The First Seminole War of 1817-1819

As shown by the following Wikipedia article on the subject (just one source chosen out
of many possible ones), the dates given for this conflict differ:

The beginning and ending dates for the First Seminole War are not firmly established.
The U.S. Army Infantry indicates that it lasted from 1814 until 1819. The U.S. Navy
Naval Historical Center gives dates of 1816-1818. Another Army site dates the war as
1817-1818. Finally, the unit history of the 1st Battalion, 5th Field Artillery describes the
war as occurring solely in 1818.
xx


We will dispense here with much of the very interesting background colonial history to
this conflict, preferring instead to refer our readers to the same Wikipedia article
(Seminole Wars). The immediate lead-up to events of the first phase of that conflict,
however (the First Seminole War), since our Jacob Jake White appears to have
participated in it (to what extent we know not at present), is worthy of recalling in some
detail, so as to hopefully illustrate somewhat of yet another phase in his difficult-to-
document life:

(This writer has taken the liberty to slightly edit the following, mainly for style.)

During the American Revolution, the Britishwho controlled Floridarecruited Seminoles to
raid frontier settlements in Georgia. The confusion of war allowed more slaves to escape to
Florida. The British promised slaves freedom for fighting with them. These events thus made the
Seminoles enemies of the new United States. In 1783, as part of the treaty ending
the Revolutionary War, Florida was returned to Spain. Spain's grip on Florida was light, as it
maintained only small garrisons at St. Augustine, St. Marks and Pensacola. They did not control
the border between Florida and the United States at all. Mikasukis and other Seminole groups still
occupied towns on the United States side of the border, while American squatters moved into
Spanish Florida.

The British had divided Florida into East Florida and West Florida in 1763, a division retained by
the Spanish when they regained Florida in 1783. West Florida extended from the Apalachicola
River to the Mississippi. Together with their possession of Louisiana, the Spanish controlled the
lower reaches of all of the rivers draining the United States west of the Appalachian Mountains.
This fact prohibited transport and trade on the lower Mississippi by the United States. In addition
to its desire to expand west of the mountains, the United States wanted to acquire Florida. It
wanted to gain free commerce on western rivers, and to prevent Florida from being used a base
for possible invasion of the U.S. by a European power.

The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 placed the mouth of the Mississippi River in American hands.
But, much of Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee were drained by rivers that passed
through East or West Florida to reach the Gulf of Mexico. The United States claimed that the
Louisiana Purchase had included West Florida west of the Perdido River, whereas Spain claimed
that West Florida extended all the way to the Mississippi River.

In 1810, residents of Baton Rouge formed a new government, seized the local Spanish fort, and
immediately requested protection by the United States.

President James Madison authorized William C.C. Claiborne, governor of the Territory of
Orleans, to seize West Florida from the Mississippi River, to as far east as the Perdido River.
Claiborne in the event only ended up occupying the area west of the Pearl River (the current
84

eastern boundary of Louisiana). Madison then sent George Mathews to deal with Florida. When
an offer to cede the remainder of West Florida to the United States was rescinded by the governor
of West Florida, Mathews quickly went to East Florida to incite a rebellion similar to the one in
Baton Rouge.

The residents of East Florida, however, were happy enough with the status quo, so the Americans
raised a force of volunteers in Georgia, with a promise of free land for their service. In March
1812, this force of "Patriots", with the aid of some United States Navy gunboats, seized the town
of Fernandina. The seizure of Fernandina was at first authorized by President James Madison,
but he later disavowed it. The Patriots were unable to take the more heavily-fortified Castillo de
San Marcos in St. Augustine. The increasing tensions and approach of war with Great Britain led
to an end of the U.S. incursion into East Florida. In 1813, an American force succeeded, however,
in seizing Mobile, Alabama from the Spanish.

Before the Patriot army could withdraw from Florida, however, the Seminole, as allies of the
Spanish, had already begun to attack them.

In this conflict, Jacob Jake White served as a private in the First Regiment of Georgia
Militia, commanded by Col. Ezekiel Wimberly, from 1817 to 1818. Col. Ezekiel
Wimberly (1781-1825) lived in Twiggs County at about that time.
xxi






















Right: War of 1812 officers
uniform, and Muscogee
(Creek) costume. Exhibit
at Horseshoe Bend
National Monument, in
Alabama. (Author photo)



85

The Creek War and the Negro Fort

During the Creek War (1813-1814), Colonel Andrew Jackson became a national hero
after his victory over the Creek Red Sticks at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. After his
victory, Jackson forced the Treaty of Fort Jackson on the Creeks, resulting in the loss of
much Creek territory in southern Georgia and central and southern Alabama. As a result,
many Creeks left Alabama and Georgia, and moved to Florida. Those Creek refugees
joined the Seminoles of Florida.

Also in 1814, Britain, still at war with the United States, landed forces in Pensacola and
other places in West Florida. They began to recruit Indian allies. In May, 1814, a British
force entered the mouth of the Apalachicola River, and distributed arms to the Seminole
and Creek warriors, and fugitive slaves. The British moved up river and began building a
fort at Prospect Bluff. After the British and their Indian allies were beaten back from an
attack on Mobile, a U.S. force led by General Jackson drove the British out of Pensacola.
The British, however, managed to continue work on the fort at Prospect Bluff.

When the War of 1812 ended, all British forces left West Florida except for
Major Edward Nicolls of the Royal Marines, who was charged with directing the
provisioning of Fort Gadsden with cannon, muskets and ammunition. He told the Indians
that the Treaty of Ghent guaranteed the return of all Indian lands lost during the War of
1812, including the Creek lands in Georgia and Alabama. As the Seminole were not
interested in holding a fort, they thus returned to their villages. Before Nicholls left in the
summer of 1815, he offered Fort Gadsden to the fugitive slaves in the area. As word
spread in the American Southeast about the fort, now occupied by the fugitive slaves,
whites began calling it the "Negro Fort." They worried that it would inspire their slaves to
escape to Florida, or (worse still) to revolt.

After a garrison at the Negro Fort killed a group of American sailors, General Jackson
decided to destroy the fort. In April, 1816, acknowledging that the fort was in Spanish
territory, Jackson informed Governor Jos Masot of West Florida that if the Spanish did
not eliminate the fort, he would. The governor replied that he did not have the forces to
take the fort.

Jackson assigned Brigadier General Edmund Pendleton Gaines to take control of the fort.
Gaines directed Colonel Duncan Lamont Clinch to build Fort Scott on the Flint River just
north of the Florida border. Gaines said he intended to supply Fort Scott from New
Orleans via the Apalachicola River. As this would mean passing through Spanish
territory and past the Negro Fort, it would allow the U.S. Army to keep an eye on the
Seminole and the Negro Fort. If the fort fired on the supply boats, the Americans would
then have an excuse to destroy it.

In July, 1816, a supply fleet for Fort Scott reached the Apalachicola River. Clinch took a
force of more than 100 American soldiers and about 150 Lower Creek warriors, including
the chief Tustunnugee Hutkee (White Warrior), to protect their passage. The supply fleet
met Clinch at the Negro Fort, and the fleets two gunboats took positions across the river
86

from the fort. The fugitive slaves in the fort fired their cannon at the U.S. soldiers and the
Creeks, but having had no training in aiming the weapon, their shot went wildly askew.
The Americans promptly fired back, repeatedly. The gunboats' ninth shot, a so-called
"hot shot" (a cannon ball heated to a red glow), landed in the fort's powder magazine,
causing a tremendous explosion which completely leveled the fort, and was heard more
than 100 miles (160 km) away in Pensacola. Of the 320 people known to be in the fort,
including women and children, more than 250 died instantly, and many more died from
their injuries soon after. Once the U.S. Army had destroyed the fort, having no other
immediate reason to be in Spanish Florida, they withdrew from it.

American squatters and outlaws raided the Seminoles, killing villagers and stealing their
cattle. The resentment of the Seminoles grew, and they retaliated by stealing back the
cattle. On February 24, 1817, a raiding party killed a Mrs. Garrett, a woman living
in Camden County, Georgia, and her two young children.
































87

Fowltown and the Scott Massacre

Fowltown was a Mikasuki village in southwestern Georgia, about 15 miles (24 km) east
of Fort Scott. Chief Neamathla of Fowltown got into a dispute with the commander of
Fort Scott over the use of land on the eastern side of the Flint River, essentially claiming
Mikasuki sovereignty over the area. The land in southern Georgia had been ceded by the
Creeks in the Treaty of Fort Jackson, but the Mikasukis did not consider themselves
Creek, did not feel bound by the treaty, and did not accept that the Creeks had any right
to cede Mikasuki land. In November 1817, General Gaines sent a force of 250 men to
seize Neamathla. The first attempt was beaten off by the Mikasukis. The next day,
November 22, 1817, the Mikasukis were driven from their village. Some historians date
the start of the war to this attack on Fowltown. David Brydie Mitchell, former governor
of Georgia and Creek Indian agent at the time, stated in a report to Congress that the
attack on Fowltown was the start of the First Seminole War.

A week later, a boat carrying supplies for Fort Scott, under the command of Lt. R. W.
Scott, was attacked on the Apalachicola River. There were forty to fifty people on the
boat, including twenty sick soldiers, seven wives of soldiers, and possibly some children.
(While there are reports of four children being killed by the Seminoles, they were not
mentioned in early reports of the massacre, and their presence has not been confirmed.)
Most of the boat's passengers were killed by the Indians. One woman was taken prisoner,
and six survivors made it to the fort.

General Gaines had been under orders not to invade Florida, but these orders were later
amended to allow short intrusions into Florida. When news of the Scott Massacre on the
Apalachicola reached Washington, D.C., Gaines was quickly ordered to invade Florida
and pursue the Indians, but not to attack any Spanish installations. However, Gaines had
already left for East Florida, to deal with pirates who had occupied Fernandina. Secretary
of War John C. Calhoun then ordered General Andrew Jackson to lead the invasion of
Florida.

Jackson gathered his forces at Fort Scott in March, 1818, including 800 U.S.
Army regulars, 1,000 Tennessee volunteers, 1,000 Georgia militia, and about 1,400
friendly Lower Creek warriors. On March 15, Jackson's army entered Florida, marching
down the Apalachicola River. When they reached the site of the Negro Fort, Jackson had
his men construct a new fort, Fort Gadsden. The army then set out for the Mikasuki
villages around Lake Miccosukee. The Indian town of Tallahassee was burned on March
31, and the town of Miccosukee was taken the next day. More than 300 Indian homes
were destroyed. Jackson then turned south, reaching St. Marks on April 6.

It is at this point that we will leave the fascinating narrative of this conflict, since Jacob
Jake Whites part in it seems to have been over by this point (White was back in
Franklin County by 7 April, 1818, which was when he sold some of his land in Franklin
County).

88

As mentioned above, Jacob White (interestingly, with what appears to be a smudged
Jr. after his name) did indeed appear in the 1816 Pulaski County tax digest, confirming
our suspicion that our Jacob Jake White of Franklin County was residing there during
the years 1813-1817. Here is a close-up of that particular page (the pages are not
numbered); the full image will be shown on the following page. From this record, we can
see that Jake White could sometimes be a little careless about the payment of his taxes:












89















































90

War-weary J ake White returns home to Franklin County

Having evidently tired of living in faraway Pulaski County, Jake White was back home in
Franklin County by 7 April, 1818. The Franklin County property Jake White sold on that
date was the 100 acre tract he had purchased in 1800 from Moses Terrell. It was sold by
White to his neighbor Samuel Boling (Bowling, etc.).

Jacob Jake White must have sold the other 50 acre tract at some earlier period (between
1813 and 1818), because he was again residing (as mentioned) in Franklin County by
1818, and was listed in the tax digest there with only his remaining 470-acre tract which
he had purchased in 1810 from Isaiah Bagley. This writer has not yet managed to locate
the deed records by which Jacob Jake White either purchased or sold that other,
mysterious 50-acre tract. By 1818, then, Jake White was cash-rich for the moment, but
land poor. We do not know what his motivations for selling these tracts might have been,
and could only speculate.

In the 1819 tax digest, Captain Vaughns District, Jake White was a neighbor to
Micagah Settels (Suttles), whose niece Elizabeth Betsy Willis (1801-1883) would
wed Jakes son William in December of 1821. He still owned his 470-acre tract, in that
year adjacent to Alred, Harden, Leatherwood Creek, and others. (Suttles was taxed for
200 acres.)

In the 1820 tax digest, nothing much had changed, except that another of the adjoining
landowners was identified as Green. That man may well have been Tandy Holman
Green, who married one of Jake Whites apparent daughters in 1824 in Franklin County,
and who is knownper the same 1820 tax digestto have been a resident of Franklin
County that yearand even in the same militia district (Capt. Greens District) as Jake
White. (See Part III for more information on this Tandy H. Green and his White wife.)
Also in the same militia district in 1820 were two men named John and Robert
Williams, either or both of whom may well have been among Jake Whites in-laws. In
both 1819 and 1820, Jake White had been engaged in the breeding of horses, as in 1819
he was taxed for one stud horse season, and in 1820 for one covering horse season.

Also in 1820, Jacob Jake White participated in the 1820 Georgia Land Lottery. This
lottery was held to distribute lands recently ceded by the Creek Nation, due to their
disastrous defeat at the hands of Gen. Andrew Jackson and his United States Army, and
included much of what is now South Georgia. Since Jake White was married and had
children, he was entitled to two draws. This time, his luck changed significantly: he won
on both draws. His first lucky draw brought him Lot 213 of District 11 in Early County,
and his second lucky draw brought him Lot 35 in District 10 of Irwin County. He
apparently claimed and recorded these draws, because he continued to hold and pay taxes
on these additional properties through at least the year 1855 (even after moving to
DeKalb/Fulton County). It should be pointed out that the county names have changed
since Jake White first obtained those Early County and Irwin County properties: the
Early County lot (No. 213) is now in Mitchell County, near the county seat of Camilla,
91

and the Irwin County lot (No.35) is now in Berrien County, near the county seat of
Nashville:



























Both properties (in Early and Irwin Counties) lay in extreme southern Georgia, and were
a considerable distance from Franklin County (in the extreme northeastern part of the
state), and even from Pulaski County, where Jake White had apparently resided from
roughly 1813 to 1817. Notwithstanding this distance factor, though, Jake White doggedly
continued to hold these two properties right up to the end of his days. (Frustratingly, the
early deed records for Early and Baker counties are now non-existent, so we have no way
of determining when, how, or to whom that tract was eventually sold or otherwise
disposed.)

Below is shown a close-up of an early map of Berrien County (formerly Irwin County),
Georgia, showing the land lot Jake White owned there:






92

























Since the deed records for Berrien County, Georgia (formed in 1856 from Irwin County),
in addition to the tax digests of Fulton County, have fortunately survived, the history of
Jacob Whites involvement with this property can be told in at least bare outline,
thoughas the reader will see--the surviving records raise more questions than they
answer:

Jacob White, to judge by one of these surviving deeds (that of 10 June, 1846Berrien
County, Georgia Deed Book H, Page 283), although having won this property in the
1820 Georgia Land Lottery, was, in the event, not actually awarded possession of the
property until 20 February, 1837some seventeen years after the fact. Why this
happened is unknown at present, although it is known that the awarding of lots in these
land lotteries to the fortunate drawers could, sometimes, take a considerable amount of
time.

Jacob White, who in said deed of 1846 described himself as being of Franklin County,
notwithstanding that he had (apparently), to judge by the census and tax records, been
residing in DeKalb County since at least 1830, then promptly turned around and seemed
to have sold this property, on 4 October, 1837, to a man named John S. Martin, also
described as being of Franklin County. In this earlier, 1837 deed, Jacob White, too,
described himself again as being of Franklin County. This may well be because Jacob
White did, in fact, maintain ownership of that earlier 470-acre tract on Leatherwood
93

Creek in Franklin County until December, 1852 [see later], long after other records show
him in DeKalb. Here is an image of that 1837 transaction:











































Deed of 4 October, 1837, from Jacob White to John S. Martin.
94


But did Jacob White in fact actually sell that property to Martin? For as mentioned just
now, on 10 June, 1846, he in fact seemed to sell the exact same 490 acre property to a
different man, named Benjamin Lang! If that werent enough, earlier in 1846 (7 January),
Jake White had again sold that same property to a man named James Carter! What on
earth was going on here? Short of outright fraud, how could any man maintain possession
of a piece of property he had already twice before sold?

The answer, this writer thinks, probably lies in the likelihood that, far from actually
selling this piece of property, Jacob White Jr. probably only had used it as collateral on
several different loans, much in the way some people nowadays will put their car titles up
as collateral on loans. The car may appear, on the surface of things, to have changed
hands, but in actual fact, this is not the case. Only a loan has occurred, with the stated
property as collateral. This is the only thing that makes any sense of the data before us.

The fact that these several deeds involving this 490 acre lot, one and all, did not bother to
get recorded until years after the fact (even decades in most cases), is yet more evidence
that the buyers were in no hurry to record the deeds, because, in fact, they never had
taken actual possession of this property! Of the five warranty deeds, and one power-of-
attorney involving this property and Jacob White which appear in the deed index of
Berrien County deeds, five out of the six, in actual fact, were not recorded until the year
1905, at which point Jacob White had been well and truly dead for over forty years!

The deed book containing the majority of these transactions (Book Y) is unfortunately
not among the microfilmed deed books at the Georgia Archives, and so cannot at the
moment be obtained for reference. (The microfilmed deed books there stop with Book
T, 1900-1901.)

On the following page is an image of the only other currently-available image of these
deed records (the above-mentioned transaction of 10 June, 1846).














95











































Deed record of 10 J une, 1846 between J acob White and Benjamin Lang.



96

In the 1821 Franklin County tax digest, Jake White, still breeding his horses (taxed for
one stud horse season), paid property tax on his 470-acre Franklin County tract
(adjacent to Pendleton, R. Williams [Robert Williamsa brother-in-law?], and
Leatherwood Creek, plus his two new South Georgia properties.

In the 1822 tax digest, the then fifty-year old Jake White (if the 1850 census is to be
credited) was evidently away on business when tax time came around, for it was his son
William (Wilson) White (who had only achieved his majority age that previous
December of 1821) who paid both a poll tax for himself, and the property taxes on the
three above-described properties, on behalf of his father, Jacob Jake White. In this year
of 1822, Jake White was again residing adjacent to Pendleton, Williams, and others, in
addition to Leatherwood Creek. His lands that year lay in Captain Williams District
(possibly a relative to Jake Whites Williams wife). One possible reason for Jake Whites
absence at tax time could well have been the fact that he was drawn for jury duty (petit
jury) for March Term, 1822 (Franklin County Superior Court).
























Right: Springtime
native azaleas, within
a few miles of where
Jacob Jake White
lived (in Atlanta).
(Author photo)

97


The glorious Springtime beauty of the forested Wilderness these Whites would soon call home: this is a
view of part of the W.H. Reynolds Memorial Nature Preserve in what was then Henry County, Georgia
(now Clayton County), just a few miles to the south of the area which J acob White and his family came
to call home. (Author photo)
98

The White Family relocates to DeKalb County, Georgia

In the Spring of 1824, this same son William Wilson White travelled to the newly-opened
DeKalb County, Georgia, for the purpose of staking out a new homestead for himself and
his young bride (they had married in Franklin County in December, 1822). This journey
apparently set a new trend for this entire extended family, for very soon, most (if not all)
of them soon followed William White to this new location.

That area had been first organized by Act of the State Legislature as Henry County, and
opened for settlement, in the year 1821, along with four other (rather large) counties:
Fayette, Monroe, Houston, and Dooly. With the foundation of the town of Decatur in
early 1822, and recognizing the great difficulty in reaching the county seat of
McDonough from so great a distance as Decatur (some twenty-five miles), over roads
that (back then) were either rude Indian trails, or were otherwise non-existent, the
citizens of Decatur soon petitioned the state legislature for the creation of yet another
county, with Decatur as the new county seat, and, accordingly, in December, 1822, the
legislature authorized the creation of the new county of DeKalb, created from the
northernmost portions of Fayette and Henry Counties.
xxii
These six new counties, as with
much of the rest of middle and southern Georgia, had been obtained through a cession of
the Creek (Muscogee) Indians, from one of their many treaties signed at the famous
Indian Springs. These land cessions, of course, were the direct and inevitable (though
unfortunate) consequences of their having supported the British during the Revolutionary
and 1812 Wars (against the United States), and of their disastrous military defeat (some
would say massacre) at the hands of Jacksons United States Army at Horseshoe Bend
in 1814.

The portion of DeKalb County into which the White Family and many others soon
poured consisted of part of what had originally been the Fourteenth or Black Hall
District of Henry County. It would remain part of the new county of DeKalb until the
creation of Fulton County, from the 14th and 17th (western) Districts of what had been
DeKalb, in 1853.
xxiii
By that point, however, many of Jacob Jake Whites children and
grandchildren had already left this part of Georgia, either for parts of Alabama, or
Mississippi. So it is with DeKalb County that our story is mainly concerned at this point.

What was it like, to enter this primitive, uncultivated, heavily-forested Wilderness
recently vacated by the Creek Indians (of whom some, indeed, had not quite left yet at
this early date)? What was it like to clear a forest of very large and ancient trees, and
plant new crops? To help answer these compelling questions, the above-quoted Rev.
Cotter again serves us well, in his description of his fathers family moving into and
settling the former Cherokee territory around what is now Gainesville, Georgia:

I was born in Hall County, at Cotter's Store, November 16, 1823. My parents settled in Hall County,
Georgia, at a place known for years as Cotter's Store, now Gillsville. Pioneers had located thirty years
before in this eastern part of the county, on a section of fine farming land between the Oconee and Grove
Rivers. Our old home originally called for eight hundred and eight acres of land, but had been divided
into three parts, called the Garrison, Cotter, and Peeples places.

99

The time came for us to leave our beautiful home. We disposed of most of our live stock, prepared
provisions for the journey, loaded the wagons, and started on April 3, 1832. Every place and object we
passed was new. On the eleventh day we stopped at the James Monroe place, on the old Federal Road,
about two miles north of what was then known as the Harlen place, now the Carter place. We were in the
midst of the Cherokee Nation. The country was a wilderness, and the Indians were about us. It was a
lovely country, shaded with great trees and brightened with pinks and roses. We had a cold and living
well of water and a garden fertile with the vegetables of that time. In the spring the sunshine was made
more beautiful by the glittering wings of butterflies, and bird choristers made the trees vocal with their
songs of praise. On Sunday mornings mother would say: "Go down to the washing place and gather
some flowers." Swiftly we gathered honeysuckle and sweet shrub. As we returned mother would say:
"You didn't stay long, and you kept your clothes so nice. Now I will read to you." We gathered about her
knees, and she read the Bible and told us that God made all things and that Jesus Christ was our only
Saviour. The third Sunday after we had been in our new home the Rev. Mr, McDowell preached for
us. He was then surveying that district. He was a good man, and all the people I have known of that
name honored it. I cannot tell how long it was before we heard another sermon.

MR. WILLIAM MAY was living at the Monroe place. He was a nice old gentleman of seventy years, and
his wife was about the same age. He owned negroes and was well off. He had brought up a large family,
equally divided in sons and daughters, all well educated. One daughter married George Harlan, a rich
half Indian. I heard Harlan say that if Mr. May had said "No" when he asked for Ann he would have
knocked him into the Chattahoochee. They were on the bank of the river near Winn's Ferry. That knock
was a joke, for her father and brothers were strong men. Mrs. Harlan was an estimable woman. They
lived in a two-story frame house painted white. She painted the stair steps. At the end of our journey I
spent my first night in that house. He owned a large plantation on the Coosawattee. What crops of corn,
three or more stalks to the hill, yielding sixty or more bushels to the acre! Woe to the hands that
gathered it, for their clothes were as thickly covered with cockleburs and Spanish needles as the hairs on
a dog's back ! He had a large orchard of apples, peaches, and other fruits. Better fruit it would be hard
to find. They were the best of neighbors, but they left for the West in 1834.

James Monroe was a skilled mechanic, millwright, etc., and held a permit from the government and the
Indians to live there and be protected. He went in 1816 and built the only grist and saw mills. Monroe
was a nephew of the late Rev. W. M. Crumley. Monroe's death was tragic. Riding in a gallop, his horse
threw him against a tree and killed him, This was before we went; but the tree was pointed out, and
I saw it many a time. The tree died; and some years after, on a still day, it fell and killed a yoke of oxen,
the driver narrowly escaping. His grave was inclosed, and when we children went to it on Sunday
mornings we talked low and walked lightly. We did not see as many graves then as we do now.

The surveyors were there. I saw them running the [boundary] lines, marking the station trees and corner
posts, shaving off the outside bark of the trees, and making the figures telling the number of the lot of
land. Where one of those trees is now alive, the figures are to be plainly seen to this day.

These men had a hard time getting on in the wildwoods. On the side of a mountain a rattlesnake in his
coil ready to strike looked them in the face. They reported that three days after the full moon in May and
August was the best time to kill trees. A lick with a hatchet sometimes killed a chestnut tree. A month had
gone, and there was no home to buy nor one to rent. The State owned all the land. Father was
disappointed in his plans. Three miles away there was a nice new cabin which had never been occupied.
He bought it and moved it on the road between the Monroe and Harlan places, a lovely locality, with one
of the best springs of good water, all in the woods. We cleared a place and planted a little garden. How
we crowded so many things in the little cabin it would be hard to explain. The cabin was made of small
logs nicely notched down at the corners and squared at the ends, with joists and a loft. First the trees
had to be cut down and cleared away. Hence rails and boards were in demand. Some tall oaks leaning
the
other way had to come town too. Mother said we did not know which way the wind might blow. A forest
is a dark and lonely place, and we were cheered by the light the little opening gave us. Nature's
surroundings were grand. On the east nearby was a ledge of mountains, in all other directions a rich
and beautiful country. As time offered we fenced lots, built stables, and opened land. We bought chickens
100

and a cow from an Indian who lived on Chicken Creek. He was well-to-do and had a large house with a
hall, piazza, and dining room. He took in travelers. At a supper there we had bear meat, clabber, and
honey. He had about a hundred bee stands. The gums were of hollow trees set on rocks or pieces of
boards, two or three by a tree. The old people understood but could not speak a word of English. The
younger ones could talk. His name was Calarxee and his wife's Takee, and we named the cow Takee.
When they left, mother bought her large washpot, a good article of English castings. I don't know how
long it had been used by old Takee ; but it rendered good service in our family for many years, not only
for washing and scrubbing, but in general cleaning up. The old-time housekeepers knew the worth of a
big pot of hot water. Then, at the right time of the moon, stirring the right way with a sassafras stick, it
was used for soap-making, also for making lye hominy and the cooking of a big gobbler that was too
large for any oven on the place. Fifty years ago I fell heir to that useful relic, and I prize it highly for its
age and associations with the long, long ago. It is well taken care of now.

It was not long until we had a log house, which was followed by a good frame house. We built good
stables and cribs, planted fruit trees and a garden, and in time cleared a large body of good land. So I
know by experience what it means to make a string of fence half a mile long with heavy new rails. We
had fine geese, ducks, turkeys, hogs, and cows. At one time we milked nine cows. I had good experience
in slaughtering and putting away meat. We all fell in love with our new home. In the spring we had boxes
and gourds hung up for the martins. One came early and selected his gourd or hole in the box. The next
time he brought his bride. Then ever so many came, and how they did sing and fight the hawks! Before
long we had bee gums and plenty of honey. The place where we built is known now, I think, as the Joe
Mclntyre place. We left no relatives there. When we first went, the wealthy mixed bloods received us
cordially ; but they were all gone by 1835, and we felt our loss.

The year 1835 was the most trying year with the newcomers there. We suffered more from the bad
Indians and white outlaws; for instance, the killing of the Bowman family, which consisted of Bowman,
his wife and little girl, and an old blind aunt. Having a grudge against him, George Tooke, a bad Indian,
and five or six more went to the house. Bowman fought them bravely, wounding one of them. Overpow-
ering him, they split his head open with an ax, then did the same to his wife. They left the old aunt in the
house to be burned. The Indians set the house on fire and stood around to see it burn. The little girl ran
out. They saw the little girl, and Tooke snatched her up in his arms. She clinched his shirt sleeves in her
hands. He then threw her into the flames, she with part of his shirt still in her hands. The whole family
suffered death in the burning house. Tooke and his men remained in the neighborhood for some days.
Creek Ben, the one whom Bowman had wounded, was thrown in a deep creek and drowned. Tooke fled
to Cherokee County. Upon being arrested, he was severely wounded by a gunshot. He lay in jail at
Canton until he was able to be carried to Cassville, where he was hanged. I had a thrilling account of
Tooke's arrest and talked with the sheriff who was in charge of the execution. The locality is in Gordon
County and is, I suppose, kept fresh in the traditions of the county.

The same conditions entered into the courts. This rougher element violated their oaths without a qualm
of conscience, especially where the rights of the better classes were involved. My father was deeply
interested in public affairs and did what he could to have good men elected to office. He himself was a
judicial officer. He suffered dearly for his efforts in behalf of the general welfare and the office he held,
on one occasion barely escaping with his life. One evening he was sitting quietly in his house when one
of the outlaws forced his way through the door. He was a large white man, and before we were hardly
aware of his intentions he had given my father some heavy blows with a club. Father sprang from his
seat and grappled with the ruffian for the club. My brave little mother seized the assailant around the
waist and cried to me: "William, get the ax." This I did and began to use the blade with all my might on
the man's legs. When I began this attack, the man hastily retreated. It was not our custom to leave the ax
at the woodpile, and it was fortunate that in this case we had it readily accessible. The rascal left the
county and was never afterwards seen in those parts. He reported to some of his friends that I was a
dangerous boy with a sharp ax. The reader must not conclude from this that I was a "game" boy, for I
have never had a fight nor even a quarrel with anybody in my life.
xxiv


101

Some verbal description of this general area having been provided, we will thus content
ourselves with a few additional photographs, as further illustration of just how
indescribably beautiful a place it was which these members of Jacob Jake Whites
family now called home. All of the following photographs were taken within a few
miles of the area in which these Whites settled:







































This page: Cascade Springs Nature Preserve, approximately two miles from where
Jacob Jake White lived.
102























Above: Outdoor Activity Center Nature Preserve, immediately adjacent to
Jacob Whites lands. Below: Cascade Springs Nature Preserve.






















103












































This page: the Outdoor Activity Center Nature Preserve, in Land Lot 138, which had at one time been
owned by Daniel P. White, husband of Jacob Whites granddaughter Arminda Emeline White (1822-
1903). This tract is notable for its large stand of mature, centenarian Beech treesindicative of never
having been significantly logged, due to the hilly terrain. A farmers nightmare thenour boon now.
104










































This and following two pages: Cascade Springs Nature Preserve.

105





106















































107












































This page: W. H. Reynolds Memorial Nature Preserve, in Clayton County. Following
page: Cascade Springs Nature Preserve.
108


























Looking at this incredible natural beauty, it is easy to see part of the reason why the
Creek (Muscogee) Natives were so upset about being forced to leave their ancestral
homeland.

Jacob Jake White continued to reside and pay property taxes in Franklin County,
however, at least through the year 1829, but by the time of the Federal Census of 1830,
he, too, was then already residing in DeKalb County, along with his son William, and
several other family members. In 1830, Jacob White was enumerated with one male aged
50-60 (himself), one female aged 40-50 (his wife?), plus four males aged 20-30, three
females aged 15-20, and one female (perhaps a granddaughter?), aged 10-15. It is
anybodys guess as to the identity of these children: sons William W., Andrew, and
Wright White, and presumed daughter Obedience Biddy White Green, were already
living on their own by 1830, and were enumerated separately (though nearby). Only his
son Samuel Isaiah White (along with several of the younger siblings) is believed to have
not yet left the parental nest by 1830, since he apparently did not marry until about 1833
(his oldest child, Green Berry White, was born in January, 1835).

We unfortunately have no definite record of Jake Whites first land purchases in DeKalb
County, since the early records of that county mostly perished in a disastrous courthouse
fire in January, 1842. However, we do have the following original deed, which was
formerly in the possession of the late Roberta White Brisendine (1913-2006). It was she
109

herself who allowed this writer to make a copy of the deed. This original deed, however it
might or might not be connected to our family, is priceless: attached to the deed itself, at
the bottom, and dangling by an old piece of ribbon, is an original, round leather seal,
embossed with the official seal of the State of Georgia! Mrs. Brisendine, a 3rd-great-
granddaughter of Jacob Jake White, and a valuable repository of family lore, told this
writer back in the 1980s that this deed had been the instrument whereby Jacob Jake
White obtained his land from the State of Georgia when he first settled DeKalb
County:






































110

The intent observer can immediately note that this property was not deeded directly to
Jacob White by the State of Georgia, but rather, to a man named Bernard G. Thomas.
One can also note that Thomas place of residence in 1822 (the year in which this deed
was executed) was none other than Pulaski County. This makes enormous sense,
because we have already noted Jake Whites residence there while fulfilling his military
duties, during the years 1813 to 1817. This must have been the time when Jake White
became acquainted with this Bernard G. Thomas. Thomas had obtained this particular
piece of property in the 1821 land lottery, which (as described above) resulted in the
creation of Fayette, Henry, DeKalb, Houston, Monroe, and Dooly Counties. Evidently
not wishing to move or settle there, he had apparently agreed to sell the property to Jake
White, his (apparent) old associate from Pulaski County.

One can note one other fact about this deed: the lot number in question can be read either
of two ways: either it reads as lot number one hundred thirty seven, or else it can read
as lot number one hundred & ninety seven. It is exceptionally difficult to decide which
number was meant here (and this is very frustrating for the modern researcher!)

Here is a 1911 land lot map of this part of what was then DeKalb County:

























Lot No. 137 can be seen just above the words Fort McPherson U.S. Barracks, in the
middle of the page. It contained (then as well as now) the Oakland City Park where this
writers father used to go swimming as a youth. Lot 137 was diagonally adjacent to Lot
111

119, which is known to have been owned by Jake Whites son William, and immediately
adjacent to the Lot Number 120 which was later definitely owned by Jacob White
himself; it is also directly below lot 138, which is known to have been owned by likely
relative Henry P. White, until his death in 1838. (See page 322, below.) Moreover, a
reliable family tradition reported that the last residence of Jacob Jake White had been
in a house in Land Lot 120, at the corner of Lee Street SW and Campbellton Road SW
(observable on this map). (See later regarding Jake Whites residence in Land Lot 120.)
Finally, the 1870s Official Military Atlas of the Civil War map of the Atlanta Campaign
area (see below), made by Federal Army engineers from captured circa 1864 Confederate
maps made during the Civil War Battle of Atlanta, shows not only the roads and other
features in this entire area, but also the name and location of every homeowner during
this crucial and ill-documented period! Shown on this map at the corner of Lee Street and
Campbellton Road is a vacant house (one of two labeled with a V), and this is exactly
what should have been there by the time of the 1870s, considering that Jacob Jake
White would have been deceased by then. Taking all of this circumstantial evidence into
consideration, it thus makes enormous sense to believe that the lot number on that
questionable deed was actually 137, and not 197. It simply fits too well with all the
rest of the known information we presently possess.

Lot number 197, on the other hand, was in a completely different part of the county (the
southwestern portion), and appears to have originally been owned by the same William
Bryant who was a member of Utoy Primitive Baptist Church (as was Jake Whites son
William, and other family members). But that is the only logical connection yet found,
between lot number 197, and Jacob Jake White (so far). It would appear, then, that the
lot number should be read as 137, instead of 197.



















112































(Above) the 1830 Federal Census for DeKalb County, Georgia, showing J acob White.



In the year 1832, Jacob Jake White participated in the Cherokee Land Lottery, and
again experienced what seemed (at first) to be some further good fortune: Jacob White
soldier in the late war of Mobleys District, DeKalb County, drew Lot 238 of the
Seventh District, First Section, of what was originally Cherokee County. The source for
this information does not record an exact date on which this property was transferred to
said White, but it was prior to January 1st, 1838. In 1854, this property fell into the
newly-created Fannin County. We say that Jake White seemed to have experienced
some additional good fortune due to this lucky draw in the 1832 land lottery; in actual
fact, his fortune was anything but good, because this property in question turned out to
be on the side of a heavily-forested mountain, squarely in the middle of the North
Georgia mountains. In other words, it was basically worthless land back then (being
wholly unsuitable for farming, the only use to which any man in his right mind would
113

have put any real estate, in the centuries prior to the Twentieth). Amazingly, however,
Jacob White not only claimed this land, but continued to hold it and pay taxes on it
(unproductive land though it was) at least through 1856. To this day, however, the land in
question gives every evidence of having never been farmed (or even cleared) by any
person of European descent, and today is part of the Cohutta Wilderness (part of the
larger Chattahoochee National Forest). (A map of this area is shown below.)








































114

Poor Jacob White of DeKalb County probably cursed his bad luck because of this event,
but for us, it was a very good thing, because it proved for us, once and for all, that he
was, in fact, identical to the Jacob White who had earlier served in the War of 1812 and
the First Seminole War. This was the one demonstrably good outcome of this event.

Here is a page from an April 1
st
, 1834 issue of the Milledgeville, Georgia The Federal
Union newspaper, showing that Jacob White [Jr.] of DeKalb County had an unclaimed
letter at the post office in Decatur:






































115

It is unclear just how a man who could not read or write was expected to take notice of
this event (word of mouth, from someone who could read, and who knew him?). This
legal notice would have been copied verbatim from the local DeKalb County newspaper
of the time. (Below is an enlargement of the relevant portion):






































Jacob Whites name can be
observed just to the left.


116

An I nteresting 1839 Court Case in DeKalb County


Jacob Jake White, and several of his relatives and neighbors were among the named
defendants in a rather strange court case which is recorded in the Minutes of DeKalb
County Superior Court, for September Term, 1839:
xxv


Stephen Terry } Libel &c
vs. }
} I confes Judgement
Henry M. White } to the Defendants for cost
Andrew White } of Suit with the liberty of
Augustus Sewell } appeal 17 Sept 1839
William W. White } C. Murphy & Cathey
David Winburn } & Anderson
Pleasant Sewell } Ptffs Atty
Stephen Herring }
Christopher Sewell }
Andrew Caldwell }
George Rainey }
Wright White }
Richardson Tuck }
Warren A. Belk }
Daniel P. White }
Robert Orr }
Henry H. Keller }
John B. Smith }
Martin Crow }
Thomas J. Perkerson }
Giles H. Weaver }
Jacob White }



Since none of the specifics of this court case have been preserved, we do not know what
this case was about, beyond what is stated above in the styling of the case itself. Libel,
of course, is maliciously defamatory speech in print, as opposed to slander, which is
verbal defamatory speech. Perhaps the defendants had jointly taken out some sort of
defamatory article or advertisement in one of the local newspapers of the day (for some
unknown reason). The Plaintiff Stephen Terry was a prominent man in early DeKalb
County, so he would surely have been an easy target. Moreover, his frequent work as a
surveyor for both the county and a prominent railroad company had probably caused him
to gain a few enemies (people dissatisfied with the boundaries he drew). Moreover, it is
known that the teamsters and suppliers who carried on the not inconsiderable wagon train
trade with Alabama were highly upset that the arrival of the railroads was putting them
out of business. This, too, would have been another reason for Terrys unpopularity.
117








































Actual image from DeKalb County Superior Court Book A, 1836-1843 (page 179),
showing the Libel case between Stephen Terry and all those defendants.

Most of the defendants (oddly, as it turns out) seem to have been connected in one way or
another with Utoy Primitive Baptist Church in DeKalb (later Fulton) County. Given that
the plaintiff was a staunch Methodist, however, it seems highly unlikely that he would
have been called out during a church service at Utoy (a Baptist Church). (Nor does that
118

conform to the legal definition of libel.) This writer suspects that the early (and now
probably non-existent) newspapers of DeKalb County may well have once contained the
answer to this mysterious case. Clearly, the Plaintiff had a sterling reputation (and social
and business standing) to protect, which is probably why he brought this suit forward.
This case is especially puzzling, though, in that several of the defendants also seem to
have been equally esteemed (and influential) in the community (and/or connected with
families which were). This case seemed to have been resolved in March Term, 1841, by
the jury finding for the Plaintiff in the sum of Five Dollars, with cost of suit. However, by
March Term, 1842, the court had declared that the previous ruling in this case had
proceeded illegally. The case, frustratingly, continued on. It has not yet been
discovered exactly how it eventually got resolved.

A few further discoverable facts, however, are also worth mentioning here, as a cautious
analysis thereof may shed some brief rays of light on this otherwise dimly-lit court case:
































119

The Monroe Railroad

The Monroe Railroad, which was chartered in 1833, was, along with the Georgia
Railroad and the Western and Atlantic, one of Georgias earliest railroads. Like any
modern corporation, it too would have had its shareholders who expected returns on their
investments. It was initially constructed to link the city of Macon with the nearby town of
Forsyth, in Monroe County (whence the name of the railroad). Its directors and investors
soon realized its potential for linking up with other parts of Georgia (and even other
states), and so the line was soon extended far beyond its original destination, with the
eventual intention of linking up with the Western and Atlantic at the newly-formed
shanty-town of Terminus (later to be named Marthasville, and then Atlanta). The
first train ran between Macon and Forsyth in December, 1838, and by late 1839 the line
had reached the vicinity of Griffin. Due to the disastrous Panic of 1837 and its
aftermath (a Nineteenth-Century mini Great Depression, discussed below), however,
the rail line did not actually reach Griffin until 1842. It was too little, too late, however,
to save the company: insufficient capital and the economic depression resulting from the
above-mentioned panic eventually bankrupted the company, and it was sold in 1845 to
a Daniel Tyler, who promptly renamed it as the Macon and Western Railroad. Under
this new name, it would complete the line to Atlanta, and survive for some years.
xxvi


During the fall of 1839, says esteemed Atlanta Historian, the late Franklin M. Garrett,

the Monroe Railroad opened for bids, the construction of an embankment for future use in
carrying its track across the low ground between the present north end of the Terminal Station
[now demolished]and its proposed junction with the W. & A. at what is now Foundry Street. Its
main line was building toward Terminus and was then in the neighborhood of Griffin. The
successful bidder for this piece of earthwork was a youth of twenty-one, John J. Thrasher, known
far and wide in later years as Cousin John. He was then a resident of Newton County, having
been born there in 1818. Thrasher and his partner Johnson received $25,000 for grading the
embankment,--Thrashers net share was $10,000 after he paid all claims, debts, etc. The exact
date upon which the Monroe embankment was finished is not of record. Work probably continued
through 1840 and possibly into early 1841. It remains, however, the oldest man-made
construction in downtown Atlanta; it extends from the north end of the Terminal Station in a
northerly direction just east of the [now-vanished] gas storage tanks, forms a junction with the W.
& A. tracks at Foundry Street. The embankment forms the western base of the downtown
railroad triangle. [emphasis added]
xxvii


Garrett goes on to relate some interesting and colorful accounts from the pen of that same
John J. Thrasher, a man who also served as the town of Terminus (now Atlantas)
earliest grocer, but those stories need not concern us here. We will proceed to a brief
description of the above-mentioned Panic of 1837, and then some analysis of these
facts, relative to this 1839 DeKalb court case.







120

The Panic of 1837

The so-called panic of the year 1837 was a financial crisis or market correction in the
United States built on a speculative fever.
xxviii


The end of the Second Bank of the United States had produced a period of runaway
inflation, but on May 10, 1837 in New York City, every bank began to accept payment
only in specie (gold and silver coinage), forcing a dramatic, deflationary backlash. This
was based on the assumption by former president, Andrew Jackson, that the government
was selling land for state bank notes of questionable value. The Panic was followed by a
five-year depression, with the failure of banks and then-record-high unemployment
levels
.xxix


































121

What could all of this mean?

There are several possibilities as to how the above-described facts of history could relate
to the above-described 1839 DeKalb court case:

The defendants in that case could have been among the losing bidders for the above-
described 1839 Monroe Railroad embankment contract in what is now Atlanta. If so, they
could possibly have felt cheated by the company, and have lashed out in particular (and
in print) against that companys local representative (and surveyor), Stephen Terry (who
at that point resided on his farm in the Lakewood area, only a few miles from most of
these defendants). Far more likely in this writers opinion, however, was the possibility
that their lands may have lain along the surveyed railroad right-of-way, and they may
have felt that they were unfairly compensated, or that Terry had unfairly or inaccurately
drawn his survey lines through their properties, and thereby cheated them out of monies
they might otherwise have received. (Several of these defendants, are, in fact, known to
have owned lands which were bisected by that railroad right-of-way, lending credence to
this theory, and the below-mentioned Major Alexander Ratteree maintained lawsuits
against the railroad and its successors for several succeeding decadesover this very
issue.) Lending still greater weight to this theory is the fact that at least one branch of
Jake Whites descendantsa branch located today mostly in Randolph and Chambers
Counties Alabama, has preserved a tradition to the effect that their White ancestors left
DeKalb County, Georgia because the State of Georgia took their land, for the building
of a railroad.
xxx
If, as this writer suspects, these Whites were (as they apparently felt)
unfairly compensated by the state for those portions of their lands which were seized
under the laws of eminent domain, for the use of the soon-to-arrive railroads, then this
likelihood would indeed have been a very good, plausible reason both for this 1839 libel
suit, and for several of Jake Whites children and grandchildren to have left DeKalb
County, for other, less controversial parts of the country. The branch of Jake Whites
descendants referred to here, were the descendants of Daniel Columbus White (1843-
1929), a son of Daniel P. and Arminda Emeline White (see below and Part III of this
series).

Whatever the cause or causes of this 1839 court case might have been, though, the Panic
of 1837 and the resulting five-year economic depression certainly would have given
these men a financial motive to seek redress of wrongs, whether through the newspapers
or in the courts. The reader should not fail to note, moreover, that the Monroe
Embankment in what is now Atlanta was constructed starting in the Fall of 1839,
precisely the same time in which this court case was instituted in DeKalb County. Was it
merely a coincidence? Or was it in some way connected?

Lacking any other relevant information concerning this case or its outcome, then, we will
proceed with short biographies of the people involved, such as is presently available from
the historical record. It is one of the minor tragedies of history that we know so little
about this interesting court case, since the list of names therein reads like a Whos Who
of Atlantas elite society of the 1840s.

122

The People I nvolved

Maj. Stephen Terry (1788-1866): Influential, and
highly-esteemed early settler of DeKalb (later
Fulton) County. A surveyor by trade, he arrived
in 1826 from Chester District, South Carolina,
establishing a farm where the Lakewood
Fairgrounds (now Amphitheatre) is, before
relocating to the town of Marthasville (now
Atlanta) in 1843. He served on the DeKalb Grand
Jury in March, 1839, assisted in the construction
of the Monroe Railroad, became a Commissioner
of Marthasville in 1845, and then became
Surveyor of DeKalb County in 1846. A
prominent Methodist, Maj. Terry was a member
of the first board of trustees of Wesley Chapel
Methodist Church in Atlanta in 1848 (Atlantas
first Methodist church), and commanded the
respect and esteem of all by his straightforward
and independent spirit and unbending integrity,
in an obituary quoted by Franklin M. Garrett.
Maj. Terry also laid a fair claim to having been
the first active real estate agent in Atlanta. Maj. Stephen Terry
(1788-1866)

Warren A. Belk (1810-1890): Early settler of the 14th (or Blackhall) District of
originally DeKalb (later Fulton) County, Georgia, and an early member of Utoy Primitive
Baptist Church, where he and his family lie buried.

J acob White (the subject of this history).

William [Wilson] White (1800-1895). Highly esteemed early settler of DeKalb
(according to Franklin M. Garrett), arriving in 1824, he was a member of Utoy Primitive
Baptist Church from 1828 to his death, and also served on the DeKalb County Grand Jury
in March, 1841. He lies buried with his wife and family at Utoy. He was a son of Jacob
White (see Part III of this series), and a brother of:

Andrew [J ackson] White. He was born 10 December, 1802, probably in Franklin
County, Georgia. His wife Jane Stone White (1807-1876) was a member of Utoy Baptist
Church. He was said to have been a soldier of the Mexican War (1846-1848), and he also
apparently participated in the earlier Cherokee Removal of 1838 (the infamous Trail of
Tears). He moved to Attala County, Mississippi before 1860 (the same place to which
his apparent brother Samuel Isaiah White had also moved), and his descendants mostly
live in or near Comanche County, Texas. He was a son of Jacob White (see Part III of
this series).
123

Henry M. White (born 1814). A likely relative of Jacob White (said by one source to
have married Jake Whites daughter Martha). A prominent man in early DeKalb County
politics, Henry M. White served as a Justice of the Peace, and as a road commissioner,
helping to supervise and organize the countys road construction (in days when roads
were few in this area, and therefore new roads of great importance to commercial
activity). Henry M. White was also the official who performed the 1846 marriage
between Samuel Isaiah White (son of Jacob) and hisIsaiahssecond wife, Elizabeth
Letitia Harden (see Part III of this series). Henry M. White, along with several of his
relatives, moved to Randolph County, Alabama, arriving there about 1848. His son
Daniel Jacob White (undoubtedly named after his presumed grandfather) lived there until
his death on December 27
th
, 1935.

Daniel P. White (1814-circa 1864). Husband of Arminda Emeline White (1822-1903), a
daughter of William Wilson White, early member of Utoy Church (and son of Jacob
Jake White). Daniel P. White also moved to Randolph County, Alabama, where he
died around the time of the Civil War. His widow then removed back to her parents
home in Fulton County, Georgia, where she later died. Arminda (Amanda) E. White lies
buried at Utoy, along with several of her and Daniels descendants (see Part III of this
series).

George W. Rainey (1806-1864). Husband of Mary Ann Polly Ann White, a daughter of
Jacob Jake White, and another early Utoy Church member. George W. Rainey also
moved to Randolph County, Alabama, although he died in Atlanta during the Civil War
(see Part III of this series).

Wright White (1807-1893). Son of Jacob Jake White, Wright White also moved to
Randolph County, Alabama (about March 1845), where he lived and died. His wife
Margaret Peggy Crow was also from a family connected with Utoy Primitive Baptist
Church (the same family as Martin Crow, below, who was her brother). In September
Term, 1844, Wright White, along with several of his Crow in-laws, once again found
himself in the DeKalb Superior Court, this time involved in a dispute over the estate of
his late father-in-law Joshua Crow. This latest suit was instigated by the guardians of
Young Crow, apparently Whites youngest brother-in-law. By March Term, 1845, Wright
White had already relocated to Alabama, and was no longer to be found to answer this
latest case (see Part III of this series).

Martin Crow (born 1817): son of Joshua Crow and Annis Browning Crow (1785-1835),
an early member of Utoy Primitive Baptist Church. Joshua Crow was the brother of
another Martin Crow (1777-1845), who was the ancestor in the female line of the
noteworthy Judge John D. Humphries (born 1873), who fortunately chronicled so much
of DeKalb and Fultons early history (mainly for the Atlanta Historical Bulletin).

Thomas J efferson Perkerson (1804-1878): First Sheriff of Fulton County in 1853. His
daughter Sarah Matilda Till Perkerson became the wife of Jeremiah Silas Gilbert
(1839-1932), son of DeKalb Countys first physician, Dr. William Gilbert, in 1861.
Thomas J. Perkersons fine antebellum home (photo, shown afterward), which had
124

miraculously survived even Gen. Shermans fiery blast in 1864, nonetheless was
demolished in 1968, in favor of a grocery store and parking lot (in an area now
thoroughly decayed and unfortunately part of Southwest Atlantas urban ghetto).
Perkersons lands included land lots 103 and 104 of the 14th (Blackhall) District of
DeKalb (now Fulton) County. Part of this land is now known as Perkerson Park (owned
by the City of Atlanta). Thomas J. Perkerson was one of the few people in this law suit
not obviously connected with Utoy Primitive Baptist Church.

Stephen Herring (born 7 J anuary, 1768): founder of a prominent Atlanta family, and
father of Joel Herring (1801-1877), an early member of Utoy Primitive Baptist Church,
and for decades its primary church clerk. Stephen Herring was connected, via his son
Joel, with the Willis Family of Utoy Church and Willis Mill Road SW in Atlanta.
Stephen Herring was also the father of Keziah Herring (born 1807), the wife of David
Winburn [q.v.], and of William Herring (1799-1868), a prominent Atlanta haberdasher
and merchant, whose magnificent, columned mansion house once graced Atlantas
Peachtree Street, and whose daughter Rhoda Catherine Herring (born 1826) was the wife
of prominent Atlanta merchant Austin Leyden. The Austin Leyden House (formerly the
William Herring home) was once a celebrated Atlanta fixture, and figured prominently in
Atlantas participation in the events of the Civil War, having been used (no less) as the
headquarters of Union General George H. Thomas, during the disastrous destruction of
Atlanta in September, 1864. The Leyden House was well-known enough to have been
mentioned by name twice in Margaret Mitchells famous novel, Gone With the Wind.
Another daughter of Stephen Herring (Elizabeth Angeline) married (in 1843) to
prominent Atlanta physician, Dr. Nedom L. Angier. Dr. Angier was also elected as
Atlantas mayor during the Reconstruction presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes.








(Right) The Austin
Leyden House






David Winburn (1800-1879): son-in-law of the above Stephen Herring (being husband
of Herrings daughter Keziah). After the War, Winburn moved to Conyers, in Rockdale
County. David Winburn and his wife Keziah were also members of Utoy Primitive
Baptist Church. They were dismissed by letter from said church on 3 December, 1859.

125

Robert Orr (1789-1867): A Trustee of Utoy Primitive Baptist Church in January, 1833,
when it was engaged in an unfortunate court case in DeKalb County (Archibald Boggs
vs. James M. Holley). In said case, Robert Orr was served as a garnishee of said Holley,
with regard to some work done on Utoy Church for which work Holley claimed he had
never been paid. A son of Robert Orr named Matthew J. Orr had served in DeKalbs
Cavalry Company in the Creek War of 1836, where he was killed. Robert and Mary Orr
were dismissed by letter from Utoy Primitive Baptist Church on 7 September, 1844.
After the Civil War (apparently), they moved to Carroll County, Georgia.

Christopher Sewell (born 1785), father of Augustus Willis Sewell, and Pleasant Sewell,
whose wife Elizabeth Isabel White (1811-1866) was another daughter of Jacob White.
Christopher Sewells mother had been a Willisperhaps from the same family as the
Willises of Utoy Church (given that both the Sewells and Willises originated in Franklin
County, Georgia, prior to arriving in DeKalb). Christopher Sewell is listed in the Minute
Books of Utoy Primitive Baptist Church as a member.

Augustus Willis Sewell (1818-1892), son of Christopher Sewell. (Note the middle name
Willis.) Evidently, he had had enough of these shenanigans in DeKalb County, for he
soon relocated to Ellis County, Texas, where he died.

Pleasant Sewell (1811-1885), son of Christopher Sewell and son-in-law of Jacob White.
Also brother-in-law to William Wilson White, Andrew White, Wright White, Henry M.
White, and George W. Rainey, all also defendants in this case.

Richardson Tuck (born 1801, Halifax County, Virginia): Married on 28 September,
1825, in Clarke County, Georgia, to Martha M Embry. He was yet another early member
of Utoy (Primitive) Baptist Church, but was (temporarily) excluded from that church
on 12 September, 1840, along with Noah Hornsby. Richardson Tuck, his wife Martha,
and an Anney Tuck were all eventually dismissed by letter from said church on 19
January, 1850.

Giles H. Weaver: He may possibly be the same man by this name who resided in
Gwinnett County, Georgia in 1860, in Atlanta in 1889, and whose Indigent Pension
Application as a former Confederate Soldier is on file at the Georgia Archives. Said
Weaver was a resident of DeKalb County at the time of that application, and the year was
1898. If this later Confederate Veteran is not the same man mentioned in this 1839 court
case, then perhaps he is his son or some other relative.

J ohn B. Smith (1800-1850): He married in Jasper County, Georgia, on 22 August, 1830,
to Sarah F. Phelps. He, too, was an early member of Utoy Church. Nothing further is
known at present.

Andrew Caldwell (possibly Culwell). An Andrew Culwell showed up in the 1830
Federal Census of DeKalb County, Georgia. However, this writer has not yet been able to
discover any facts concerning him. He may, however, have been related to the J.M.
Caldwell and R.H. Caldwell who were subscribing witnesses to the 1884 last will and
126

testament of Utoy Church member William Wilson White [q.v.], a party to this 1839 libel
suit. Because of the fact that they were handy to witness the signing of a will, these later
Caldwell men were probably neighbors to said White.

Henry H. Keller. This writer has not yet been able to discover any facts concerning him.

Maj. Stephen Terry also brought suit in DeKalb Superior Court (September Term, 1839)
against none other than Charner Humphries (1795-1855), also originally from Chester
District, South Carolina, and the celebrated proprietor of the White Hall Tavern of
West End, for which Atlantas Whitehall Street SW was named.
xxxi
It is worth noting
here that the renowned Charner Humphries himself did not escape a charge of assault
in those unsettled, rowdy, frontier times (March Term, 1842; guilty plea, March Term,
1844).
xxxii
Assault and battery seems to have been the standard meansshort of
duelingby which most disagreements got settled back then, in Atlantas early rough-
and-ready, Wild West era.

(Below) Two rare and very interesting surviving examples of the currency issued by the
short-lived Monroe Railroad and Banking Company. It should probably be pointed out
that although such bills of credit as these bank notes indeed circulated and were traded
hand-to-hand as if they were regular, government-issued legal tender currency, in point of
fact, they were really more akin to corporate-issued bonds (or even to modern bank
cheques).
























127

Social Life in Early DeKalb County

It is surely worth taking some time to illustrate how Jacob Jake White and his DeKalb
County neighbors lived, during the decades of the Eighteen-Thirties and Eighteen-
Forties. Garrett fortunately records for us some of this detail:

Articles used in everyday life, with the exceptions of coffee, salt and sugar, were made at home.
The early settlers wove and dyed the cloth from which they made their clothes; they tanned leather
and made their own shoes. For the most part they made their own tools, wagons and harness,
while itinerant hatters
supplied most of the
headgear. Cooking was
done in pots, ovens and
skillets before large open
fireplaces, wide and high
enough to receive large
logs. The water supply came
chiefly from springs [see
right], sometimes quite a
distance from the house. The
digging of wells was rarely
attempted until later years.

Light was made by torch
pine or from homemade
tallow candles. There were
no friction matches and
people borrowed fire
from each other or
produced it by means of
flint, steel and punk.

Travel, by foot, horseback,
or wagon, was slow and
laborious over the trails that
served for roads.
Amusements were confined
mostly to dancing, quiltings,
log rollings, shooting
matches, gander pulling and
horse racing.
xxxiii



Most of these forms of entertainment will be of at least some level of familiarity to most
modern readers, except for the gander pulling, and so perhaps a little explanation is in
order.

A recently dispatched gander was suspended from a wooden bar, supported by two
upright wooden poles about eight or nine feet high. This gander would have had the
feathers plucked from his head and neck, which were then thoroughly greased. After
paying a small fee, each contestant, who was mounted on his horse, galloped at full speed
between the upright poles, and endeavored to grasp the gander's head and pluck it from
128

the body. Because of the rapid rate of travel, and the slick head of the animal, this was no
easy feat. The fortunate contestant had the gander for his reward. This writer understands
that the winner was usually expected to offer his prize to the assembled crowd, who
would then barbecue the gander, and so most everyone present would have at least a
small piece of the deliciously cooked bird.

In 1924, when he was a very old man, Francis Marion White (1827-1925), a grandson of
Jake White, was fortunately interviewed by a newspaper reporter with the Atlanta Journal
regarding his (Whites) early experiences in Atlanta as a young man. Francis M. White
(below), a son of William Wilson and Elizabeth Willis White (mentioned above),
described for the newspaper reporter an instance of the gander pulling contest:

"Oh yes we used to have road
tournaments down Marietta Street.
One of the stunts was to hang a
gander head-down on a pole, with his
neck and head picked and greased.
Then we young men would line up on
horseback. Somebody stood near the
starting line and whacked each horse
good and hearty as it went by, so by
the time we reached the gander, we
were going 'lickety-split'! Then we
reached out and grabbed for his
head." The narrator chuckled as he
told of the ruse of the successful
competitor.

"He just started, and said, 'I'll get him
this time!'--and he did. He took an
underhand grip and broke the
gander's neck, and the head came
away." [emphasis supplied]
xxxiv


The first settlers of DeKalb County,
including that portion which became
Fulton in 1853, were (as Garrett
informs us) a plain people, primarily
of English, Scotch and Irish descent.

They came mostly from Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, particularly the
latter. Some of the older northeastern counties of Georgia sent fairly large contingents of
pioneers. Franklin County [see above] was quite prolific in this respect, furnishing many
of the first families to settle in southwestern De Kalb, now southwestern Fulton
County.
xxxv


For the most part, Garrett says, continuing, the pioneers were poor and meagerly
educated, but were generally industrious and temperate, qualities needed in the
wilderness they sought to conquer.

129

Their original homes were usually log cabins, owner built and occupied. The unit of land
ownership was, primarily, one land lot of 202 acres, although holdings of two to five land lots
were not rare and fractional holdings were numerous. The individual ownership of slaves was
small. Possession of a dozen or more was the exception rather than the rule and the majority of
the early citizens, down to the time of the Emancipation Proclamation, owned none, or at the
most, one or two house servants. Large plantations, such as were known in the older East and
Middle Georgia counties, did not exist in early De Kalb.
xxxvi


The newly-arrived settlers, being mostly a God-fearing, highly moral people, quickly
established several churches in this area: Macedonia Primitive Baptist in southeastern
DeKalb County, on July 30th 1823; Nancy Creek Primitive Baptist, Mt. Gilead
Methodist, and the above-mentioned Utoy Primitive Baptist in 1824, also in DeKalb
County, though the latter two were in that portion which later became Fulton;
Philadelphia Presbyterian, in what was then Fayette Countynow Clayton County, in
1825; and Mt. Zion Methodist in what is now Fulton County in 1828. Many more soon
followed.
xxxvii

































130

Militia Muster Day in the Blackhall District


One man who, although much younger than Jake
White, was still nonetheless his contemporary by
some twenty or more years, lived within a mile or
so of Mr. White, and probably knew old Jake
White quite well, by name and reputation, if not
personally, was Jeremiah Silas Gilbert (1839-
1932). Mr. Gilbert was the son of DeKalb
Countys first practicing physician (Dr. William
Gilbert, 1807-1864), a nephew of Marthasvilles
(Atlantas) first physician (Dr. Joshua Gilbert,
1815-1889), and a grandson through his mother of
Charner Humphries (mentioned above), the
proprietor of the celebrated Whitehall Tavern
an edifice which once functioned informally in
many respects as a combination family residence,
inn, stagecoach stop, post office, city hall, and
sole source of local, state, and national news and
gossip, for what was then this very sparsely-
populated (and heavily-forested and wilderness)
area of DeKalb. In 1931, above-quoted Atlanta
historian Franklin M. Garrett and artist and writer
Wilbur G. Kurtz together paid a prescient visit J eremiah Silas Gilbert
to the aged Mr. Gilbert at his Atlanta home, and fortunately recorded much of what Mr.
Gilbert had to say about the Whitehall Tavern, and about his grandfather Charner
Humphries. Particularly worth quoting here are Mr. Gilberts comments (as filtered
through Mr. Kurtzs florid pen) about daily life at the Tavern and vicinity (in the 1840s
and 1850s):

Muster day [of the local militia] was the big event at the tavern. This was an annual affair, where
the yokelry of all the county districts were called together by the major commanding the militia.
The functionary who held the county muster at Whitehall was Major Alexander Ratteree. The
summons having been issued, the able bodied male citizens came trooping in, with their flint lock
fowling pieces, and [were] usually primed for a frolic [i.e., slightly inebriated]. Many horses
decorated the rack in front of the big white tavern. Actual drill in the manual of arms lasted about
two hours, but this was only a beginning. Trials of marksmanship were then held, with a prize of a
yearling cow to the winner. The cowwhoever won itwas then offered up as a sacrifice to the
collective appetites of the assemblage, for it was straightway slaughtered, cooked and served,
together with the accompanying comestibles [foods], all washed down by copious potations
[beverages], not so poetic but more potent than brown October ale. Indeed the whiskey barrel
was a common institution at such places. Charner [Humphries] kept one on tap in the rear of the
store, where cash customers were entitled to drinks on the house, but it was considered good
etiquette for strangers or occasional visitors, to leave a nickel or dime on the barrel head after
imbibing.

Drilling, marksmanship and feasting were followed by more diverting entertainment. Most
districts had a bully, or one gifted with alleged fistic prowess, and the day was counted lost if
131

somebody didnt get well pounded and bruised up in the ringwhich was literally a ring of
cheering and betting spectators, and not a squared circle of rope. Most everybody had a dog, and
when all the pugilistic entries were either victors or vanquished, the canine belligerents were
cheered on by the owners or partisans. That these dog battles were often extemporaneous
detracted not one whit from the enjoyment of the crowd. The militia officers did not at all times
retain the respect of the rural soldiery; Mr. Gilbert recalled that at one of the musterings the
assembled militiamen, having taken umbrage at something said or done by Major Ratteree, ran
him off the place.

On ordinary days the chief event was the arrival of the mail coach from Lawrenceville or Newnan.
The tavern was a famous stop on this route. The four-horse team would dash up to the tavern; the
driver would heave overboard the mail bags, and descend from his high seat, and impart the latest
news to the foregathered denizens of the locality. Fresh horses were brought up from the stable to
replace the tired animals that knew where the watering trough was located.
xxxviii


That Major Alexander Colquitt Ratteree (c.1811-c.1899) was at that time one of the
wealthiest (and later, litigious) citizens of DeKalb (later Fulton) County, owning several
entire and partial land lots all the way from Jacob Whites properties along the Newnan
Road, on the north, down to where the City of College Parks central downtown region
now sits. The closer truth to the above story of his having been run off at one of the
early militia musters was reported in an Atlanta Constitution news article dated January
the 26
th
, 1898:



























132
























(Above, and previous page) the circa 1865 farmhouse of J eremiah Silas Gilbert. This
rare and priceless house is one of the last-surviving farmhouses still standing inside
the city limits of Atlanta, at its original location. This home replaced an earlier home
on the same site which was burned by Shermans troops in the Summer of 1864. It was
about a mile and a half from the house of Jacob Jake White. (Notice also the giant
ancient oak trees, which probably were alive when J ake White walked this earth.)

In the early forties Alec Ratterree, who is at present in the county poor house, was elected major
of the military [i.e., the militia]. In honor of this he called the people out for a battalion muster.
The muster ground was where fire station No. 7 now stands [on Whitehall Street at Oak Street].
The muster was one of the grandest events in the early history of the city, and the new major
displayed his knowledge of military tactics by throwing the battalion into companies and drilling
them. When the order of 'fire!' was given only a portion of the battalion discharged their guns, and
when the major retired from the field the others began to shoot and yell. The major's horse
became frightened and ran away, followed by about fifty dogs and the whole battalion. The
battalion then recovered its formation, and whooping and yelling while fifes and drums kept up a
lively tune, marched back to the Whitehall house. Later the crowd gathered at the storehouse and
the remainder of the day was spent in celebrating the occasion in a right royal manner.
xxxix


This once fabulously wealthy man, who ended his life in the county poor house, circa
1899, had earlier, in 1850, reported the value of his real estate as $20,000, an
astronomical sum for the time. He was quite a colorful character, too, as the following
short article from the Atlanta Historical Bulletin, will show:

The next morning a horse and buggy were procured from Nath. Heggie's livery stable and we took
Mr. Mitchell with us and went to East Point to see Col. Ratteree's place. The colonel had on two
133

pepper-box revolvers and a big
knife and looked very dangerous
and talked so. Father looked at
some of the land and pronounced it
the poorest land he ever saw.
xl


Major Ratteree arrived in DeKalb
County from Chester District, South
Carolina, circa 1835, and with his
evident training in military tactics,
soon established himself as a force to
be reckoned with in DeKalb politics,
as the following article from the
November 21
st
, 1909 Atlanta
Constitution will show. This article
also tells us more about the infamous
Murrell gang of outlaws which so
terrorized (and titillated) early
Nineteenth-Century Southerners:




























134

The 1840s, and the arrival of the I ndustrial Revolution to this part of Georgia


In the 1840 Federal Census for DeKalb County, Jacob Jake White appeared with
himself (aged 70-80), then with either his wife or a much older daughter (aged 40-50).
(Either that, or her age as given there was wrong.) Additional persons in the household
consisted of two females aged 20-30, and two males (probably grandsons) aged 5-10:

























It is important to remind the reader that Jake Whites stated ages in the 1830 and 1840
Federal Censuses (when he was younger, and his memory undoubtedly better) more or
less agree with his stated age in the 1850 census, but wildly disagree with his stated age
of 104 in the 1860 census (he should have been 88 years old that year, according to the
1830 and 1840 censuses, and especially according to the 1850 census). Even though we
possess no fewer than four separate, independent traditions to the effect that Jake White
lived to be more than 100 years old, it must be pointed out that the earlier censuses
simply do not support this tradition! (It may still be true, nonetheless, just not supported
by these three earlier censuses.)

Jacob Jake White purchased 202 1/2 acres from the above-mentioned Martin Crow
(born 1817)(again) a man who was the brother of Jacob White's daughter-in-law
Margaret Crow White--the wife of Wright White. That purchase of Lot 88 was on
January 25th, 1842. The deed is recorded in DeKalb County, Georgia Book H, Page
135

126. This Lot 88 which was purchased by Jacob White in 1842 is a little more to the east
from his existing (presumed) properties, but still not far away at all. Lot 117 which had
been purchased by Wright White in 1839 from his brother Andrew (see Part III) is just
past the northern border of the above-mentioned 1911 map. It is in the area just north of
what used to be Gordon Street in Atlanta (now Ralph David Abernathy Blvd. SW) Lot
119 which was purchased by William Wilson White in 1830 is just to the northeast of Lot
137, and due east and adjacent to Lot 138 which had been the place of residence of
Henry P. White until his death in 1838.





























(Above: the original 1842 deed whereby Jacob Jake White purchased Lot 88 from
Martin Crow. Notice that the ubiquitous Henry M. White was a subscribing witness to
this deed, as was Jake Whites son-in-law George W. Rainey.)

Also in 1842, in the month of December, an event occurred in the newly-founded town of
Marthasville (soon to be renamed Atlanta), about two miles from Jake Whites home,
an event whichthough the residents of DeKalb surely would not have remotely
fathomed it at the time, would forever alter their lives: the railroads, and with them, the
136

Industrial Revolution (long-delayed in arriving to this remote area), finally came to this
part of Georgia.

Railroads first began building toward the DeKalb area in the early part of 1837. We have
already mentioned the Monroe Railroad (later re-named the Macon and Western).
Besides this road, there were also the Georgia Railroad building toward Atlanta from the
Augusta area, and the Western and Atlantic Railroad, building toward Atlanta from
Chattanooga. In that year of 1837, Western and Atlantic Railroad Chief Engineer Stephen
A. Long had approved the location of the southern terminus of that line, on property then
owned by a farmer named Hardy Ivy in what would eventually become downtown
Atlanta, in what was then DeKalb County (this terminus was located at present-day
Courtland, near International). One of Long's employees, with the approval of Mr. Ivy,
placed a zero mile marker on Ivys property to indicate the site where the Western &
Atlantic Railroad and the Georgia Railroad would soon meet. A man named John J.
Thrasher soon purchased some land near the zero-mile marker (indicating the location of
the terminus), and built a grocery store. Montgomery's Ferry, Walton's Ferry, and the
towns of Decatur and Whitehall, formed the constellation surrounding this new town
formed by the terminus of the oncoming railroads.
xli


From the east, the Georgia Railroad pushed ahead, grading and laying track in a
continuous operation. Meanwhile, work began on the roadbed of the Western and
Atlantic. In 1838, the bridge over the Chattahoochee at Boltonville was completed. By
1840, grading had been completed through much of the corridor from Chattanooga to the
terminus in DeKalb County; when suddenly, Chief Engineer Long quit. For two years
thereafter, the line would remain stagnant, but not the new town that would develop at the
end of the rail line.
xlii


Col. Lemuel P. Grant, a civil engineer for the Georgia Railroad, could not convince a
local citizen to sell the railroad a right-of-way through his property west of Decatur. Col.
Grant, who was twenty-four at the time, therefore purchased the land out-of-pocket, and
then gave the railroad the right-of-way. It was the first of many land purchases made by
Grant in the future city he soon called home. In spite of the presence of Grant, Ivy,
Thrasher and other respectable citizens, the new town, which was at first ingloriously
called Terminus, because it was initially where the first railroad simply dead-ended,
was a rowdy area, filled with railhands and prostitutes who lived in nearby shanties.
xliii


In 1842, the terminus of the Western & Atlantic Railroad moved east about a quarter
mile, to its present location at Underground Atlanta, on land donated to the city by
Samuel Mitchell. Additional land in this area was owned by Mitchell, Grant, and Grant's
father-in-law, Ami Williams. Thrasher, disgusted with the move, which deprived him of
much of his business, packed up his store and left.

As mentioned above, in December of 1842, the locomotive Florida made the first run to
Marietta from the town of Terminus, providing much excitement for the local citizens.
xliv

Since the Georgia railroad had not yet been fully completed all the way to Marthasville
(now Atlanta), the huge locomotive had to be hauled over dirt roads for scores of miles,
137

from Covington to DeKalb, by several teams of mules and drivers. The news of its arrival
having preceded it, the local farmers and their families were drawn to the momentous
event from miles around, to see the arrival of the new technology to their part of Georgia.
A carnival-like atmosphere prevailed in the brash young town of Marthasville on the day
of the locomotives arrival. Wagon after wagon of farm families crowded the small town,
waiting to see the new locomotive.
xlv
We may be sure that Jacob Jake White, although
by 1842 already an old man, was probably like most, if not all of his neighbors-- on
hand for the event as well, if for no other reason than to take his grandchildren to a really
fine entertainment.

In passing, it is worth noting that the new locomotive represented a technology which
was so new-fangled and untried, that when the passenger train made it to the bridge
crossing the Chattahoochee at Boltonville (on its way to Marietta, its destination), the
wary passengers insisted on the train being stopped, so that they could walk across the
new bridge, rather than trust the bridge to support the weight of the huge iron beast which
had taken them that far! Times and attitudes about locomotive travel would soon change,
however, and several of Jake Whites own descendants would end up working on the
railroad to support their families.

Quoting again from the same Francis M. White, grandson of Jake White, we learn that

Atlanta was a lively little place even under those other names [Terminus and Marthasville],"
this old settler assures us. "Right around where the big post office is now was a great spring
called Walton Springs, and we used to have barbecues there." "Yes," he went on, in answer to a
question, "the big men came and frolicked there with us youngsters--the mayor and the governor
too."
xlvi


The occasion for these grand community barbecues would have been the fact that they
occurred near to or during the momentous election year of 1848, when war-hero General
Zachary Taylor and his running-mate Millard Fillmore were competing for the
presidency of the United States against Democrat Lewis Cass and Free Soil Party
candidate Martin Van Buren (the former president). Closer to home, the newly renamed
city of Atlanta had held its first-ever municipal elections the previous Fall (of 1847), and
Moses Formwalt, Jonathan Norcross, and Major Stephen Terry (mentioned above), were
among the candidates for mayor of the new town. Says our above-referenced Rev.
George Gilman Smith, who also witnessed these events,

[Exactly w]hen the first election took place, I cannot say, but sometime during that year Jonathan
Norcross and Moses Formwalt were candidates. Jonathan was known to be uncompromising in
his hatred to liquor and disorder, [but] Formwalt was one of the boys [i.e., a rowdy] [and
h]e was elected. It was said that day there were 60 fights. I remember when Stephen Terry, who
was also a candidate, standing by me, was being soundly berated by old Painter [Smith]. His
[Terrys] patience ceased to be a virtue, and good Methodist as he was, he seized old Painter by
the collar and wore [his walking] stick to a frazzle on his back.

That was a year of conventions. The Temperance people, the Old Washingtonians had one. The
arbor [for the conventions/barbecues] was at Walton Spring.

138

This was [near] the year of the great Taylor and Fillmore campaign and there was great
excitement, and a mass meeting and barbecue was held at Walton Spring. I recall little save about
the great barbecue, where whole hogs and oxen were roasted, and the viands spread on long
tables, and the wild rush of the hungry crowd to snatch the smoking food. I remember the
torchlight procession and the transparencies [?] and the great crowds of strangers.
xlvii



Above: Original, contemporary election ribbons from the 1848 presidential campaign.

Succeeding page: General Zachary Taylor (1784-1850), circa 1843-1844 (half-plate
daguerreotype).

139


140








































Above: Former Atlanta Mayor J onathan Norcross in 1891.




141

As alluded to above, life in early Atlanta could be rough. Prior to this 1847 municipal
election, in most respects it resembled a lawless wild West mining town, replete with
saloons, brothels, and gaming and cock-fighting establishments:

Taming the town was not going to be easy for Mayor Formwalt and the other new officials [who
took office on 29 January, 1848]. Atlanta was described as tough. Drinking and gambling
houses and brothels were operated with impunity. Headquarters of the rowdy element was the
block of Decatur Street beginning back of Colliers grocery and Formwalts tin shop and running
east to Pryor Street. The locality was known as Murrels Row, as a salute to the notorious outlaw
John A. Murrel, whose exploits were a favorite theme of conversation among the semi-outlaws of
that quarter. Their chief amusement was cock-fighting. There were several cock-pits in the rear of
the block, and some of the fights therein attracted hundreds of spectators. The low wooden
shanties of the quarter, many of them built of rough slabs, harbored all kinds of games of chance,
and some of them were downright robbers dens. Nearly every other building was a groggery, in
which drunken rows were of almost hourly occurrence. On Saturday nights it was common to have
free-for-all fights that assumed the proportion of riots. Meanwhile, two other tenderloin districts
had developed on the outskirts of town. One of these was the nondescript cluster of bark-covered
cabins around the present intersection of Decatur and Pratt streets, [which] came to be
known as Slabtown. The other was on a par with Murrels Row and was, if anything, more
degraded. Known as Snake Nation, it was a settlement devoted almost entirely to the criminal and
immoral element, and was sprawled along the old Whitehall Road (later Peters Street) from the
railroad crossing to about where Fair Street now crosses. Several murders occurred in the Snake
Nation before the section was cleaned out by the law-abiding element in the early 1850s.
xlviii


Says our informant Gilman Smith again,

All along what is now Peters Street were small log and frame houses, with now and then one of
greater pretensions. This was Snake Nation, and was the tenderloin district of the young town
for many years. I was taught to give it a wide berth when I went out to my grandmothers who
lived beyond [the] Whitehall [Tavern].

Old Painter Smith came from his cabin on McDonough Street, neatly dressed by his good old wife,
and proceeded at once to tank up and make things lively. Smell of my neck, he used to shout out
defiantly. I haint afraid of nobody sens I killed them two men. You are a fool and I am a fool; I
am a fool to do as I do; you are a fool for want of sense. One day I saw John White, who was
being cussed out by Cole Brown, leap off Claiborn Powells porch on[to] his vituperator and
hurl him to the earth, and heard Brown say just as he fell, Nuff, nuff, take him off.

The most popular place on [Whitehall S]treet [in early 1849] was a little house next door to the
store in which I clerked [as a young thirteen-year-old], the drinking house of Dock Hightower.
Dock was a very popular man, especially with the country folk [of whom Jacob White was one].
[Dock Hightower] generally managed to have a country fiddler on hand, and Billy In the Low
Grounds and the Arkansas Traveler, and such like melodies, with now and then a country jig
thrown in, made our neighborhood lively enough.
xlix


It should be pointed out for the modern reader that this so-called Snake Nation area of
such rowdy lawlessness and crime was barely one mile from where Jacob Jake White
and his sons then lived. It would have been within easy walking distance. Many, though
not all, of the rowdy element then consisted of Irish railroad laborers. That Jake White
apparently self-identified as Irish, then (to judge by what his later descendants
remembered about him), at a time when the term Irish more often than not carried
connotations of lower-class drunkenness, sexual licentiousness, and utter lack of
respectability, may possibly indicate a great deal about his overall outlook on life. It may
142

also very well explain why his more pious and respectability-seeking grandchildren so
studiously overlooked his very existence as to fail to record his dates of birth or death, for
example, or anything else about him, and also in most cases to forget even his very name.

It is a fact that several of Jake Whites grandchildren did indeed seek social respectability
and inclusion: as mentioned above, at least two of them became schoolteachers, others
are known to have learned how to read and write, one of them (William Henry White, son
of Wright White) became a sheriff, no less (see below), and another of them, Francis M.
White (see above and later) also got into local politics as a young man, becoming
successively DeKalb Countys tax collector and a much-respected justice of the peace.
(His father Williamson of Jacobwas also a widely-respected man whose memory
was revered, in stark contrast to the memory of Jacob himself.) Notice that in his
published reminiscence of his youth in early Atlanta, Francis M. White glibly glosses
over and completely ignores the unsavory reputation which Atlanta had back then (and
continued to have, well into the Twentieth Century), among pious Christian rural
Georgians.

Does all of this mean what we are thinking it might mean? Consider that at least one of
Jake Whites grandsons (a namesake, too, no less), died in a tragic railroad accident in
1884, due primarily to the fact that he had been drunk on whiskey which he had imbibed
in that same exact part of Atlanta which had formerly been called the Snake Nation
(Whitehall/Peters Streets), some thirty-six years later. (See below, Part IV.) The area
would seem, then, based on this sole piece of evidence, to have not been cleaned out
quite as thoroughly as the law-abiding element would have us believe.

Consider also that one of Jake Whites own daughters (Polly Rainey) is known for a fact
to have been guilty of adultery. (See Part III below.) Consider also that Jake White
himself was arrested and charged with assault and battery in 1842! (See following page.)
Recall also that son Wright White, too, got into an affray of fighting in 1837 (See
below), as did son-in-law Henry M. White, also in 1842 (see following page).

It would certainly seem, then, based on the evidence we have, thatmuch as in families
todayJacob Jake White and his family consisted of both individuals who sought (and
in some cases gloriously achieved) social respectability, but also individuals who found
the temptations of liquor, easy, free, and relaxed sexual mores, and gambling and
spectator fighting too much to resist. If what we are believing to be true is in fact true,
then it merely suggests that Jacob Jake White and his family were fully, resoundingly
human, and no more. It will also show that the rough-and-tumble ways of early frontier
Georgia apparently died hard in this particular family.







143

Charged with Assault and Battery (at the age of Seventy!)


As mentioned just now, Jacob White was charged by the Grand Jury in De Kalb
County Superior Court, also in September Term, 1842, with assault and battery.
l
(See
image, below.) We do not know who the object of his wrath was. However, he was then
at least seventy (70) years old (if he was the same man as the founder of this family).
What could possibly have caused a man of his age to commit such an act? Or was he (and
his sons/relatives Wright and Henry, see momentarily) merely reacting out of frustration
at this other interminable 1839 libel suit brought by Maj. Stephen Terry? (The above-
mentioned Henry M. White was charged by the Grand Jury in De Kalb County Superior
Court, in September Term, 1842, with assault and battery,
li
and the above-mentioned
Wright White was charged by the Grand Jury in De Kalb County Superior Court, in
September Term, 1839, with assault and battery.
lii
) This assault and battery case
continued until March Term, 1844, when both Jacob White and his likely relative Henry
M. White withdrew their not guilty pleas, and substituted them with guilty pleas.
They were both then heavily fined: Henry M. White, $10.00, and his presumed relative
Jacob White $30.00 (a hefty sum of money back then). In terms of the value of todays
dollar, that sum of $30.00 would be more like $300.00

The irony here is that at this same time (the mid-1840s), Henry M. White was an elected
Justice of the Peace! (Back then, such officials had far greater powers than we would now
thinkthey functioned much as lower court judges now function.)

These assault and battery cases are, if anything, an even greater mystery than the earlier
1839 libel suit! It is a real shame that we know so little about them.

Below is an actual image of the court docket mentioning these assault cases:
















144

(Right) An early photograph of the post-
1842 DeKalb County Courthouse,
replacing the structure which had
burned in J anuary, 1842 (probably as
the result of arson). This later
courthouse was built on essentially the
same plan as the building it replaced,
save that the earlier building lacked the
porch with columns. This fine building,
of which the citizens of Decatur were
proud, stood in the central square of the
city.








The only other logical possibility for explaining why Jacob White might have
committed the offense of assault and battery at the age of seventy-plus might be the
equally-valid possibility that it was not him who was arrested and charged with this act,
bur rather, his then seventeen-year-old namesake grandson, Jacob James Jim Jacob
White (born November, 1824). Because we lack any other identifying data concerning
the Jacob White involved with this case, the most we can say about the identity of the
man is that it could have been either the elder man or his grandson. (See below).

On the 30
th
of July, 1846, Jacob Jake White Jr. again managed to get mentioned
(obliquely) in the Minutes of the Inferior Court of De Kalb County, Georgia (pages 333-
334). Over a hundred years later, this oblique reference would again be mentioned,
somewhat more publicly, but with a similar obliqueness, by the above-mentioned Atlanta
historian Franklin M. Garrett, in his justly-celebrated Atlanta and Its Environs:

The near completion, wrote Garrett, of the Macon & Western, originally Monroe, now
Central of Georgia Railroad, into Atlanta during the summer of 1846, called for a
relocation of part of the Newnan Road [now essentially parts of Lee Street SW and
Murphy Avenue SW] from White Hall to near the present site of East Point. The report of
the commissioners charged with this responsibility is interesting. It follows:

We the commissioners appointed by the Inferior Court of De Kalb County to locate a portion of
the Newnan Road to commence at White Hall, respectfully report as follows viz.:

Commencing at White Hall & running along the way it now runs on the West Side of the Rail
Road, entirely until it passes Mr. Jacob Whites House, running some 150 yards beyond the end
of said Whites Lane to the Post-Oak (Marked) then across the Rail Road, thence on the East Side
of the R. Road as the Road now runs to where Howells Ferry Road crosses the R. Road, then
across the R. Road, thence on the West Side as the Road now runs to near the 11 mile Branch
145

and leaving the old Road at a Red Oak (Marked) and marked out about 150 yards intersecting the
old Road near the said 11 mile Branch, thence along the old Road to Alexr. Ratterees, then on the
right side of the old Road but very near the same, intersecting the old Road at a Chestnut tree
near the South corner of Mr. A. [Abner] Connallys fence (according to the marks). Then along
the old Road without any other alteration.

William Willis }
Aaron B. Knight } Commissioners.
liii

Robert Orr }
Noah Hornsby }

Here follow photographic images of these long lost pages from the De Kalb Inferior
Court Minutes:


146


(We say with a similar obliqueness, because neither the De Kalb Inferior Court
Minutes, nor the normally careful Garrett, bothered to index Jacob Whites name, in
either work! This unfortunate oversight resulted in this invaluable reference remaining
hidden, buried, and thus unknown to this present writer for over three decades, until he
literally stumbled upon the reference in Garretts work, quite by unintendedthough
certainly fortuitousaccident.)

The only extant tax digests for DeKalb County at this early period are partial records for
the years 1846 and 1847, and complete records for the years 1848 through 1850. A search
of these digests reveals that in addition to his 470-acre Franklin County property on
Leatherwood Creek (which he held, as shown momentarily, until 1852), Jacob Jake
White Jr. also owned 160 acres (Lot 238, 7th District, 1st Section), and 40 acres (Lot 396,
19th District, 2nd Section) both in former Cherokee County. By 1854, however, that first-
named lot of 160 acres lay in Fannin County (near the North Carolina state line, as
mentioned above), and the last-named lot of 40 acres lay in Cobb County. The DeKalb
tax digests, however, confusingly describe the latter of those properties as being in
Lumpkin County (instead of Cobb). Either the numbering in the DeKalb digest is
147

wrong, or the name of the county given there is wrong: both cannot be correct. It is not
yet clear when Jacob White obtained the latter of these properties, or when and how he
disposed of either of them. Below is an image of the 1848 digest (the clearest and best of
the available images):
































A map of Fannin County, Georgia, showing the land which Jacob White would have
owned, has already been shown above, at page 104. That property, as mentioned, is now
part of the Chattahoochee National Forest, and is not too many miles from Brasstown
Bald, Georgias highest mountain. A photo taken by the author at the top of Brasstown
Bald in the Fall of 2011 is shown on the following page (the view is looking due north,
toward North Carolina, which in fact can be seen in the distance, on the horizon):




148





























View from the summit of Brasstown Bald, Georgias highest peak, looking north
toward the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina. I n the far distance, on the horizon,
and just to the right of center, can be seen the faint image of Clingmans Dome, the
highest peak in the Smokies (and in Tennessee). Jacob Whites north Georgia property
(some 160 acres) was a few miles to the left of this image (westerly). I t is doubtful
whether he ever cleared or farmed it, since it was in fact on the side of a heavily-
forested mountain.




On the following page is a map of that part of Cobb County (evidently mistakenly labeled
as Lumpkin County in the 1848 tax digest) which belonged to Jacob White for a few
years. It is now right along Barrett Parkway, and just north of the intersection of that road
with Macland Road:



149









Jacob Jake White was shown in the 1848 through 1850 DeKalb County, Georgia tax
digests as owning 40 acres out of Lot 396 of the 19th District, 2nd Section, of original
Cherokee County. Although the tax digest in question labels this land as lying and being
in Lumpkin County, in fact, it lay in Cobb County, as this map shows.

In the 1850 Federal Census of DeKalb County, Georgia, Jacob Jake White (apparently)
correctly reported his age as 78, and birthplace as NC, meaning that he had been
born in (Chatham County, we presume) North Carolina, about the year 1772. The
apparent spouse shown with him (who may or may not have been surnamed Williams
before marriage) was named Sarah, and gave her age as 75 (thus born circa 1775),
and birthplace as SC. Also shown with them were an apparent daughter also named
Sarah (age 39) and an apparent grandson named Andrew, aged 12 years (he is
discussed above and at some length in Parts III and IV):
150








































Notice that (again), that same Henry M. White (born circa 1814) is shown as a next-door
neighbor to Jake White. Although it has not yet been proven, this writer firmly believes
that he was somehow related to Jake White (perhaps a son-in-law or a grandson?). This
Henry M. White is discussed again in Part III of this work.

On December the 17th, 1852, Jacob Jake White Jr. finally decided it was time to part
with his long-held Franklin County property, his 470-acre tract along Leatherwood
151

Creek. The reader may recall that he had purchased that property in 1810 from an Isaiah
Bagley. On the date in question in 1852, James V. White, a presumed son of Jacob
White, as attorney-in-fact for Jacob White, sold that tract to a David Kesler, as the
following image will show:




























(Perhaps the date of this sale is an indication of the approximate time period when Jacob
White Jr.s wife Sarah had passed away. )






The earliest tax digests for Fulton County are fortunately still extant. In the 1854 digest,
Jacob Jake White reported only one property, Land Lot 120, in the 14th or Black
Hall District of said county. As mentioned above, this property was immediately
adjacent to the same Lot 137 which White is presumed to have owned when he first
arrived in this area (when it was still part of DeKalb County). Here is a portion of that tax
digest:
152



(Above:) Portion of the 1854 Fulton County, Georgia tax digest for J acob White.

By the following year (1855), Jacob White for some reason decided to fess up and
admit ownership of his other properties in Irwin, Early (by then Baker), and Cherokee
Counties:









(Above:) Portion of the 1855 Fulton County, Georgia tax digest for J acob White.

What is surely most noteworthy about these tax digest entries for 1848 and 1855 is that
they provide solid, incontrovertible, documentary proof that the man named Jacob
White Jr. of Franklin County, Georgia who obtained those Early and Irwin County
properties via the 1820 land lottery was, in fact, the same person by that name in DeKalb
and Fulton Counties, some thirty years later, since he clearly owned the exact same
properties all those years later.

Jacob Jake White continued to show up in the Fulton County tax digests for the
succeeding years 1856 and 1857, after which he simply vanished until the 1860 Federal
Census. Evidently, the county officials must have felt that by that point, Jake White
was simply too old to be bothered with property taxes (and by that point, especially after
the age of sixty, he should have been exempt, anyway). It is not yet known at present just
how or when those various properties were disposed of (save for Lots 120 and 88 of
Fulton County, which are mentioned below), nor is it known at present how or when
Jacob Jake Whites estate got administered or settled. Clearly, as a very old man, he
was still a man of considerable real property, and the courts (and surely his heirs) would
not have left a matter of that level of importance to mere chance! A future project is to
thoroughly scour the remaining estate records of Fulton County (and Early, Baker, and
Cherokee/Fannin Counties), to see whatif anyestate records pertaining to Jacob
Jake White may remain.

153

The early deed records of Berrien County (formed in 1856 from Irwin County)
fortunately still exist, and since it was in Berrien County in which Jake Whites former
490-acre Irwin County tract lay, we are at last able to say with some degree of confidence
just what became of that particular tract of land:

As mentioned above, Jake White seems, on more than one occasion, to have used this
particular Irwin/Berrien County tract as collateral on several loans. By the 21st of
December, 1855, however (probably shortly after the death of his wife Sarah?), Jacob
Jake White apparently decided to finally sell the property once and for all. (By that
date, after all, he would have been around eighty-three years old!) On that date, Jacob
White wrote out a power-of-attorney, naming his previously suspected son-in-law Henry
M. White (see above, and also Part III of this series) as his attorney-in-fact, apparently for
the express purpose of selling this Irwin/Berrien County property of 490 acres (Lot 35,
10th District), for on the immediately following 10th of April, 1856, this very tract was
apparently finally sold for good, either jointly to, or divided among, two men named
John H. Johnson, and William H. Ferguson (and other parties connected with them).
(This fact raises the distinct and very interesting possibility that it may have been that
same Henry M. Whitewho after all was a Justice of the Peace, and therefore used to
handling legal matterswho was in charge of handling the affairs and estate of the soon-
to-be-deceased Jacob Whiteif only we can ever locate any such records!)

Below is that part of the Grantor deed index for Berrien County, Georgia which relates
to Jacob White and his land transactions there:















It is an unfortunate fact that the microfilmed deed records from this county which the
Georgia Archives presently possess, end with Book T (1900-1901)! We thus have no
way at present, short of a physical trip to Nashville, Georgia (to personally inspect the
original deed book Y), to see the actual deeds from that Book Y!

By the time the 1860 Federal Census rolled around, the Nation was slowly, inexorably
hastening toward an open conflict over the momentous issue of civil war, as Lincoln
would phrase it the following March as he took office, and Jacob Jake White was a
154

very old man, by any standardwhether one takes his stated age that year of 104
seriously or not.

One thing is immediately clear regarding that claim of being 104 years old in 1860:
either Jake White for some unknown reason finally decided to tell everyone the truth
about his age (remember, his own descendants, too, believed he lived to be more than
100), or, his mind was so far gone at the age of 88 that he no longer remembered his true
age. One of those propositions has to be true, given the facts of the case. But both are not
likely to be true.

The only real question for us, given the family tradition that he lived to be well over 100
years old, is: if he didnt live that long, why did his family and descendants uniformly
report that he did? Didnt they know when his true birth date even was? Or, were they
somehow kept in the dark by him?

One thing worth pointing out here is that in no branch of his descendants (that we know
of), was knowledge of Jake Whites full birth date (or even year of birth) preserved. So
perhaps even his own children did not know when their father had been born That
would explain, after all, why we have full birth and death data for many of his children
and grandchildren, and practically nothing, beyond his bare name for Jake White himself
(and sometimes not even that much).

All in all, he seems very much to have been a man of mystery, and to have desired to
keep his own counsels. Was he perhaps hiding the fact of his illegitimate birth? That, too,
would explain a great deal of Jake Whites otherwise odd behavior.

At some unknown point after this 1860 census, Jacob Jake Whitewhatever his true
age might have beenfinally left this earth for good. This writer has diligently searched
all the surviving records of Fulton County, Georgia (county seat: Atlanta), and only one
record can be found from the period of the 1860s and 1870s dealing in any way with
anyone named Jacob White: it is a mention in the deed index there for the years 1854-
1871, to the effect that Jacob White sold (or more likely, gave) his final real property to
his unmarried daughter Sarah (who, we will remember, was living with him and keeping
house for him in that 1860 census entry). That land turns out to have consisted of all 202
acres of Land Lot Number 120. That property is right at the intersection of the Newnan
and Campbellton Roadsnow Lee Street SW and Campbellton Road SWjust as we
had always been told by family tradition. That property is also right next to, and on the
east side of, that Land Lot Number 137 which we had earlier mentioned, and which we
strongly suspected had been Jacob Whites first land acquisition in this area. Land Lot
120 is also bisected, roughly southwest to northeast, by the Macon and Western Railroad
(formerly the above-mentioned Monroe Railroad).

Unfortunately, however, we will probably never know the precise date on which Jacob
White gave this property to his daughter Sarah, since the book in which the deed was
recorded (Book B) has unfortunately been either missing or stolen, since circa 1880!
Based on the extant Fulton County tax digests, however, we are fortunately able to
155

provide a rough window of when this land transfer occurred: since Jacob White was
listed with the property in the 1855 tax digest, and given that Sarah owned it in the 1856
digest, the transfer probably took place either in the latter part of 1855, or the early part
of 1856. (This date also provides a likely rough estimate of when Jake Whites wife
Sarah died, since Jake White apparently gave away the property as payment for his
daughter Sarah staying on with him after her mothers passing, to keep house for him.)

As often happens to the very old in this life, as they age ever more and more, the world
and events move increasingly beyond their feeble ability to keep up (or to even care any
longer). This writer imagines that Jacob Jake White, his remote direct male ancestor,
much like the expressed wish of this writers own aged father, undoubtedly would have
been glad to leave this world and its travails behind, when his time to leave came at last.

Jacob Jake White cannot have been a bad person. We know and can extrapolate this,
because he went to especial lengths to provide for his unmarried daughter, Sarah, and
also because of the known qualities of several of the children and grandchildren he left
behind. As has been said before, no really bad person ever raises good-quality offspring.
Jake Whites descendants, then, are and remain perhaps his greatest legacy. He himself
would no doubt have approved of this notion.

Jacob Jake White, according to the above-mentioned family tradition, was originally
buried on his property, at the intersection of what are now Lee Street SW and
Campbellton Road SW, in Atlanta (in that same Land Lot 120). At some later (unknown)
date, however, his remains were exhumed and reinterred among his family in Utoy
Primitive Baptist Churchs burying ground (in an unmarked grave, alas).

Peace to his eternal Soul!

Probably the most colorful, if not most historically accurate, description of an early
Nineteenth-Century funeral, is given in Mark Twains The Adventures of Huckleberry
Finn, justly called by Ernest Hemingway the source of all modern American Literature,
and from which we will now quote (with apologies to Twain for deleting some of his
distracting humorous anecdotes and side-comments):

When we got to the house, the street in front of it was packed, and the three girls was standing in
the door. Mary Jane was red-headed, but that dont make no difference, she was most awful
beautiful, and her face and her eyes was all lit up like glory, she was so glad her uncles was come.
[One uncle] he spread his arms, and Mary Jane she jumped for them, and [her sister] jumped for
the [other uncle], and there they had it! Everybody most, leastways women, cried for joy to see
them meet again at last and have such good times.

Then ... [the first uncle] looked around and see the coffin, over in the corner on two chairs; so
then, him and [the other uncle] with a hand across each others shoulder, and tother hand to
their eyes, walked slow and solemn over there, everybody dropping back to give them room, and
all the talk and noise stopping, people saying Sh! and all the men taking their hats off and
drooping their heads, so you could hear a pin fall. And when they got there, they bent over and
looked in the coffin, and took one sight, and then they bust out a crying so you could a heard them
to Orleans, most; and then they put their arms around each others shoulders; And mind you,
everybody was doing the same; and the place was that damp I never see anything like it. Then one
156

of them got on one side of the coffin, and tother on tother side, and they kneeled down and rested
their foreheads on the coffin, to pray all to theirselves. Well, when it come to that, it worked the
crowd like you never see anything like it, and so everybody broke down and went to sobbing right
out loudthe poor girls, too; and every woman, nearly, went up to the girls, without saying a
word, and kissed them, solemn, on the forehead, and then put their hand on their head, and looked
up towards the sky, with the tears running down, and then busted out and went off sobbing and
swabbing, and give the next woman a show.

Well, by-and-by the [first uncle] he gets up and comes forward a little [to make] a speech.
And the minute the words was out of his mouth somebody over in the crowd struck up the
doxolojer, and everybody joined in with all their might, and it just warmed you up and made you
feel as good as church letting out.

Then the [first uncle] begins to [speak] again, and says how him and his nieces would be glad if a
few of the main principle friends of the family would take supper here with them this evening, and
help set up with the ashes of the [deceased].

[Later, that evening] I peeped through a crack in the dining-room door, and see the men that was
watching the corpse all sound asleep on their chairs. The door was open into the parlor, where the
corpse was laying, and there was a candle in both rooms. I passed along, and the parlor door was
open; but I see there warnt nobody in there but the remainders of [the deceased]; so I shoved on
by. I run in the parlor, and took a swift look around, and [I saw] the coffin. The lid was
shoved along about a foot, showing the dead mans face down in there, with a wet cloth over it,
and his shroud on.























Photograph of a group of Nineteenth-Century mourners in Carroll County, Georgia,
beside a newly-opened grave, illustrating a scene much like that described by Twain.
This was a scene which must have been very common in the South in that period.
157




Final 1860 Federal Census entry for Jacob Jake White, Fulton County, Georgia.




















158

Right: A rare
September, 1864
Barnard photo
of Confederate
Fort A
(Federal Fort
No.9), near the
intersection of
todays Lee
Street SW and
Campbellton
Road SW
almost precisely
the exact spot
where, only three
years earlier,
Jacob Whites
home had stood
(probably near
the line of trees
on the left
horizon).

Below right is a
modern view of
the same area,
almost from the
exact same
vantage point:

(Then as now,
trains would
have rumbled
past J ake
Whites home.)











159

Below: Close-up photo of the exact spot (more or less) where Jacob Whites final home
once stood. I t is in the block bounded on the south by Campbellton Road SW, on the
east by Lee Street SW, on the west by Dorsey Street SW, and on the north by Oakland
Terrace SW (at the time of his death in 1861, only Campbellton Road and Lee Street
would have existed, and Lee Street was then known as the Newnan Road.):

























As part of the construction of the new Oakland City MARTA station in 1983-1984, the
intersection of Lee Street SW and Campbellton Road SW was moved a few hundred
yards west, and the ground level of the entire intersection was excavated and lowered
by some 30-40 feet, so as to allow for the construction of a railroad underpass to
connect Campbellton Road with Dill Avenue, on the opposite side of the railroad tracks
(and new MARTA station). This action almost certainly obliterated forever the actual
site of the J acob White home in the process. The site of his home, relative to the above
photo, would have been somewhat to the right of the photo (out of the field of view
here), and along the top of the small hill which once overlooked the intersection of
Campbellton and Lee, from its northwestern corner.






160

When did Jacob Jake White die?

Since no direct evidence apparently survives, we must unfortunately extrapolate, based
on the few records which do survive, in order to answer this question. Certainly, Jacob
White was alive in 1860, but not in 1870, so that narrows the time period down to ten
years. We can do better, however: the above-referenced Fulton County deed index
containing the one enigmatic reference to Jake Whites having deeded his final property
to his daughter Sarah, as mentioned, contains no date, since the book having the original
deed record was missing at the time the index was made. But that same index, on the
following page, fortunately does, however, also contain a reference to Sarah Whites sale
of that property (Land Lot 120) to a Charles W. Dill, on May 23rd, 1862, and this is how
we were able to identify where that property was. So it would appear that Jacob Jake
White was dead by that date, since it appears, in all likelihood that his unmarried
daughter Sarah had pulled up stakes, sold the old family homestead, and moved away.
Since she was taking care of her elderly father up till the time of his death, she would not
have been free to move away while he was still alive (still less to sell away his land while
he still lived on it!). Jacob Jake White, then, probably died sometime in the year 1861.
That would allow enough time for his daughter Sarah and his other heirs to settle his
affairs, and that would then allow Sarah sufficient time to decide to relocate and pack up
everything by May 23rd, 1862. (And remember that the above-mentioned White
Generation History did indeed say that Jake White died about the age of 105. If the
1860 censuss claim that Jake White was 104 years old that year is to be credited, then
Jake White would, indeed, have died at the age of 105 in 1861, the following year.)

By the time of the 1870 census, in any case, the unmarried and by then aged Sarah White
had indeed relocated from Fulton County to Randolph County, Alabama (undoubtedly to
be near her relatives who lived there), just as we had been told by the same White
Generation History. Although the 1850 census had reported her age as 42 (making her
birth year circa 1808), her age in the 1870 census was reported as 70, making her year
of birth circa 1800the year in which her brother William Wilson White had been born--
so she apparently was fibbing about her age that year. (She apparently also did so in the
1860 census, reporting her age as 49, thus making her year of birth circa 1811!) It was
only by comparing the birth years of her many siblings that this writer was able to
determine that it was probably that original birth year of 1808 which was probably closer
to being correct.

(The only other DeKalb/Fulton property known to have been owned by Jake White---
Land Lot 88, was in the hands of a man named Robert J. Massey by August 8th, 1863, for
on that date, he sold it to a man named L. D. Queen. [By 12 June, 1876, it had ended up
in the ownership of the Freedmans Aid Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church of
Cincinnati, Ohio, who were the owners of record when the 1911 Hudgens Map of Fulton
County was made, showing this and neighboring land lots with the owners names.] At
least one of the intermediate owners of that property, in between Jacob White and
Massey, was Whites presumed son James V. White [see Part III of this work]. Said
James V. White was taxed for half of Land Lot 88 in 1854, indicating that he had
purchased the land prior to that date, and by 1857, he owned both halves. Very likely, he
161

had been gradually working to earn the monies with which to purchase the other half. By
1863, as mentioned, he, too, had pulled up his stakes and relocated to Carroll (later
Haralson) County. It would seem that Jacob Jake White had been the glue which had
held several of his children to this area, and that after his death, they no longer desired to
remain here.)

The Official Military Atlas of the Civil War map of the Atlanta campaign (mentioned
above), prepared in the 1870s from captured Confederate maps, is remarkably detailed,
and even shows known property owners names. This is most fortunate for us, since
many important deed records which would have established ownership of several of the
land lots in this area are unfortunately lost or missing. At the intersection of the Newnan
and Campbellton Roads (now Lee Street SW and Campbellton Road SW), two vacant
houses, as mentioned above, can indeed be observed. They are here shown inside the
black circle, with the red arrow pointing toward it:























This makes enormous sense, and fits right in with the evidence just now mentioned, since
it is known that Jacob Jake White lived precisely at that location immediately prior to
May 23rd, 1862, and that his daughter Sarah had moved away from that same location on
or shortly after that date. Notice that two other White households are shown in this
map: the one closest to the former home of Jake White, and just up the Newnan Road a
ways, was probably his eldest son William Wilson White, who is known to have more or
less lived in that location. The other one, along what was, until the 1980s, Gordon Street
SW (now MLK Blvd.), could have been either Williams son Francis Marion White
(who is known to have lived more or less near that location; or, it could have been Henry
162

M. White, a local Justice of the Peace, who is said to have married Jake Whites daughter
Martha White, and who is also known to have resided in that same general area. (See Part
III of this same series.)

Portion of the 1872 Phillips Map of Fulton County, showing the Black Hall District
and the local landowners, a decade after Jacob Jake Whites death. Many of the
parcels will no doubt have remained in the same hands in that ten-year period. Note
that William W. White owned Land Lot 119, and most of the area surrounding what
would later be named White Street SW (in West End) in his honor. Notice also that
Charles W. Dill, who had purchased Land Lot 120 from Jake Whites unmarried
daughter Sarah, still owned that lot intact (before it became subdivided). (Photo
courtesy of Charles W. Strickland and the East Point Historical Society.)











163

What might J acob Jake Whites final home have looked like?

Jacob Jake White, for much of his life, seems to have been a man of mostly modest
means and ambition, though he did seem to have enjoyed the ability to purchase the
occasional tract of land when required. Although he does seem to have been able to
adequately provide for his several children (in terms of real estate), and though it is true
that he did possess, and maintain ownership of several properties in more distant parts of
Georgia, he nonetheless seems, like a lot of men of his day and time, to have depended to
a great extent on his luck in the land lotteries to help build his fortune. His home(s),
whatever they may have looked like, were probably nothing like the magnificent Austin
Leyden House mentioned and shown above. In contrast, Jake Whites homes were
almost certainly much plainer and simpler, andlike most homes constructed in that
Ageprobably hand-built by himself, with the possible aid of one or more male family
members. The first home built whenever any man moved into an area recently taken from
the Native Americans (and which was therefore still largely a forested wilderness) was a
rude log cabin:























(This page: an early log cabin at the site of Fort Hollingsworth-White House, near
Alto, Georgia. The tin roof is modern, of course. Succeeding pages: the log cabin
kitchen interior at Stately Oaks Plantation, J onesboro, Georgia.)
164















































165















































166


(This page:) Three views of Atlanta in October, 1864, showing several homesteads.






















167

Once that home had been built, and the first crops successfully brought in, to feed himself
and his growing family, the next project (usually at the wifes insistence, we are sure)
was to build a somewhat more commodious house:

























If Jake White was anything like the master carpenter which at least one grandson and
several of his great-grandsons were, then undoubtedly he built for himself and his family
a house which looked much like this one, the Robert Smith House at the Atlanta History
Center (this, and succeeding pages). It is a fine representative of Plantation Plain Style,
a very common type of house in Piedmont Georgia in the early Nineteenth Century. Even
if Jake Whites home actually looked somewhat different from this house, he still would
have been very familiar with homes that looked like this one.











168















































169















































170
























(Above: newly-planted fieldsa common sight for J ake White. Below: the antebellum
Thomas J . Perkerson house, within about a mile from where J ake White lived. J ake
White would have actually seen this house, during his lifetime. Sadly, though, this
house was demolished in 1968, in favor of a FAR more important grocery store.)



















171












































(This and succeeding pages: the 1847 J arrell Plantation farmhouse and outbuildings,
at J arrell Plantation State Park, near J uliette, Georgia. This house is another fine
example of how Jacob Jake Whites final home probably appeared.)
172












































A window on the side of the rear kitchen building, now attached to the rear of the main
house. I n the Nineteenth Century, these kitchens were wholly independent buildings,
constructed a good distance away from the main house, in case of fire.
173

























Above: main 1847 house with rear kitchen. Below: the well.





















174




























Above: rear kitchen with smokehouse behind. Below: front view of main house.
175










































Main living room of the 1847 J arrell farmhouse, showing the fireplace, cradle and
rockers, spinning wheel, and the staircase to the attic bedrooms which would have
housed the familys numerous boys. About the only authentic things missing from this
view would have been the family bible and the residents themselves.

176










































Dining room at the rear of the 1847 J arrell farmhouse. I n the distance can be seen the
same living room just seen in the previous photo. J ust about everything seen here,
including most of the furniture and household furnishings, was handmade by Mr.
J arrell himself. (That was quite normal for that time period.)

177























Above: beds in the 1895 J arrell farmhouse. Below: Living room in the same 1895
farmhouse. Even though the date of this house is several decades after the death of
Jacob Jake White, this house and how it looks today is still fully representative of
how the interior of his home might have looked.




















178























Above: interior of the 1895 kitchen. Below: Chicken house, smokehouse, and the 1895
farmhouse in the distance.






















179

And (lest we forget) the privy for the 1847 main house:













































180





















The usual sad fate for most historic homes from the early Nineteenth Century. This
one is near the town of Eastaboga, in Calhoun County, Alabama. I t has an abandoned
family graveyard in the rear of the house, facing a beautiful, idyllic pasture. The scene,
save for the roadway in front of the house, has probably not changed much since the
house was built. (This house, too, will probably go the way of the Perkerson House.)





















181























(This page: pictures of Atlantas historic Utoy Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery,
where Jacob Jake White lies buried in an unmarked grave.)






















182


Very likely, we will never know the exact resting place of Jacob Jake White Jr. and his wife Sarah
Williams White; however, as good a guess as any would be the above plot at Utoy Churchyard,
which contains the marked grave of a great-great-grandson of Jacob and Sarah White, Claude
Murray (1877-1902). Because Mr. Murray was a great-grandson of James V. White (son of Jacob),
and because said James V. White and wife Martha are known to be buried at Utoy (in unmarked
graves), it makes enormous sense to believe that they lie buried in the same plot as their great-
grandson. Could Jacob and Sarah White also lie buried here?



183


Notwithstanding that Jacob White Jr.s final resting place is unknown (within the confines of Utoy
Churchyard, however), in April, 2013, this V.A.-issued marble grave marker in his honor was
installed at Utoy by descendants and cousins Gary White and T. J. White (the author), along with
Win Gasperson, a friend. It is hoped that it does Jacob White proper honor, at last.
184


185

Part III:
The known or believed children of
Jacob Jake White Jr.













186

Below: Map drawn up by the present writer, showing the locations in the Black Hall
District of De Kalb/Fulton County where some of the children of Jacob Jake White
Jr. lived, in relation to their fathers properties:

























Key:

Modern-day downtown Atlanta is centered mainly around land lots 77 and 78.
Land lot 88 was purchased by Jacob Jake White from Martin Crow in January, 1842. By 1857, Jacobs presumed son James V.
White owned the entire lot, which he then sold prior to May, 1862, moving to Carroll County (later to Haralson County), Georgia.
Land lot 105 was purchased in April, 1835 by James V. White from a John Beard. White then sold this lot to his presumed brother
Wright Whites brother-in-law Martin Crow in December, 1842.
The western half of land lot 117 was sold to Wright White from his presumed brother Andrew White in December, 1839. Wright
White himself sold the property to James McCaffery in May, 1843, and then moved to Randolph County, Alabama. Andrew White,
meantime, had moved, first to Cherokee County, Alabama, and then to Yalobusha and Attala Counties, Mississippi.
Land lot 118 was owned by Tandy Holman Green (wife Obedience Biddy White) until he sold it in 1849. He too then moved to
Randolph County, Alabama.
Land lot 119 was purchased in 1830 by William Wilson White, who lived thereon for the remainder of his long life.
Land lot120 was owned by Jacob Jake White Jr. until about late 1856, when he either sold or gave it to his unmarried daughter
Sarah, who then sold it to Charles W. Dill in early May, 1862. She, too, then moved to Randolph County, Alabama.
Land lot 138 was owned by Henry P. White (presumed father of Daniel P. White and Henry M. White) until his death in August,
1838. It was then purchased by Daniel P. White (wife Arminda White, daughter of William Wilson White) in 1850. Daniel P. White
then sold the property prior to 1855, having relocated also to Randolph County, Alabama.
Historic Utoy (Primitive) Baptist Church, with which so many members of this family were connected (and where several of them lie
buried to this day), originally consisted of four acres on the line of land lots 168 and 169.
Francis M. White, a son of William Wilson White, is known to have lived in the northeastern portion of his maternal uncle Joseph
Willis Jr.s land lot 200. White resided there until the massive disruptions of the Civil War forced him to have to relocate (his home
there having been burned to the ground). He later lived on his father Williams lands in land lot 119, dying there in December, 1925.
(The stars in land lots 137 and 170 indicate where Jacob White Jr. and his son William, respectively, are believed to have first settled
in this area in the early 1820s.)

187

Obedience Biddy White Green
(born circa 1799)


A marriage is recorded in Franklin County, Georgia from the year 1824 (26 July)
between an Obedience White (1799-post 1870) and a Tandy Holman Green Sr. (1795-
post 1870). (They were married by R. Williams, J.P. a likely cousin.) They later lived
in Dekalb County, Georgia, where Tandy was a member of Utoy Church in the 1830s,
then they moved (post 1849) to Randolph County, Alabama, which (the reader will
recall) is where a whole bunch of our other relatives also moved about that time. Later
still, they both moved to Talladega and Clay Counties, Alabama, which may be where
they died. (See below.) It is still not yet solidly proven that Obedience was a sister of
William Wilson White (and his other proven siblings), and a daughter of Jacob Jake
White, but this writer believes the circumstantial evidence is very good to say that she
was. That "Green" name that apparently married into our Whites would go a long way
indeed toward explaining why "Cap" White (1858-1942, grandson of William Wilson
White) had the name "Green" as one of his two middle names. (His full name, of course,
was "William Cornelius Green White.") See Part V, below (pages 313-324).

(His sister Sarah who died as an infant probably also had it as well--her name was "Sarah
M. G. White"--could it have been "Sarah M. Green White"? Perhaps so.)



















Excerpt from the Utoy Primitive Baptist Church Minute Books, showing that Tandy
Holman Green Sr. had been a member. Note that he was excommunicated on 17
August, 1832.



188

This writer had known about the existence of Tandy H. Green for some time, but just
didn't try to connect the dots until recently. And when he found that 1824 Franklin
County marriage to a woman named "White," he experienced one of the few times in his
professional career as a historian when he was astounded.

One additional relevant fact (which, in this writers professional opinion, just about
clinches the case here) is the fact that the White Generation History by Howard F.
White (again) claimed that one of the daughters of Jacob Jake White had, in fact,
married a man named Green. The only caveat here is that Howard White (and/or his
source or sources) got her first name wrong, confusing her with one of her apparent
sisters, who in fact married someone else (see the excerpt, below):



















The astute reader will undoubtedly note that this source claims that Mr. Green and his
White wife who was a daughter of Jacob White moved to Texas, where they died. This
writer has not yet found them in the records there, but that does not mean they werent
actually there. Daniel Andrew White (1840-1911), a son of Andrew White (mentioned
below), did, in fact, move to Comanche County, Texas, sometime in the 1880s or 1890s,
so perhaps this fact was the true source of the family tradition Howard White reported in
the 1940s. (Other members of this same White family also later moved to parts of Texas.)

Moreover, there was Jane (Sewell) Green, who was the widow of a man named William
J. Green. Jane was buried at Paran Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery, near Rock
Mills, in Randolph County, Alabama, along with most of her children with her late
husband. That William J. Green was a probable son of Tandy H. Green and Obedience
Biddy White. (He was born in Georgia in 1828, and died at Fort Delaware, Delaware,
during the Civil War.) Paran Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery is where Wright White
happens to also be buried. The reader will recall that Wright White (1807-1893) was yet
189

another son of Jacob Jake White, and almost certainly a probable brother of Obedience
Biddy White Green.

As discussed below, one of the children of Mary Ann Polly Ann White Rainey (a
presumed sister of Obedience White Green) turns out to have been named Tandy H.
Rainey, thus providing additional circumstantial evidence helping to prove a
relationship here to the other children of Jacob White.

As this writer says, all of this is still not yet solidly proven, but he believes the
circumstantial evidence is very, very good. Add up the circumstantial evidence, this
writer believes, and the cumulative weight thereof all but proves the relationship as
outlined here.
Above: A pastoral scene in present-day Randolph County, near the settlement of Delta
and the county line with nearby Clay County. Randolph County has fortunately not
changed much in the last two hundred years. (Author photo)





190

William Wilson White
(1800-1895)


According to the above-mentioned White Generation History (and other original source
records), William Wilson White was born on the 22nd of December, 1800, on the
plantation of a Mr. Harbin in Franklin County, Georgia. Unfortunately, we are not told
what (if any) relationship may have existed between said Mr. Harbin and Williams
parents. (There were, in fact, several adult men named Harbin living in the area in
1800, any one of whom could have been this Mr. Harbin.)


William Wilson White had arrived in the area of De Kalb County that later became
Fulton, in the year 1824, probably in early Spring, so as to begin the years plowing. He
arrived riding a lank horse, with his plow-gear on the animal, and a side of meat and his
plowing utensils tied up in a sack behind him. He originally settled in the area that later
became John A. White Park, now in southwest Atlanta, where he cleared enough land to
plant a crop and to build a log house for his family
liv
. Given the literal wilderness this
area was back then, this would have been an enormous task for just one man. He would
have had to personally fell and split every single tree, large or small, plus pull up and
burn away all the root systems of the felled trees, in order to produce arable land from
what had been virgin forest. Very probably, though, he had some help in this task,
because it is a known historical fact that his in-laws, the members of the Willis and
Suttles families, already had resided in this area for some two years, and were probably
on hand to help him in his task.





















191

(Previous page, and below: ) Photos of the 1839 log cabin kitchen at Jonesboros
Stately Oaks Plantation, showing detail of the original hand-hewn log beams. The
axe-marks dating from 1839 can still be seen. Notice the dried mud used to fill the
spaces between the logs. Sometimes, wood planking was used instead. Many such
kitchens were converted from earlier residences, after the more civilized frame main
house had been built to replace the original crude cabin. (Author photos)








































192
























This is undoubtedly how William W. Whites first fields would have looked. This is a
newly-cleared and planted field of corn (maize), at the recreated 1840s Smith Farm, at
the Atlanta History Center in Atlanta. The makeshift gate here may have kept the
cattle out, but would have been of little use in keeping out the hogs and other small
varmits, who would have delighted in rooting up (and destroying) the carefully-
cultivated crops. Our settlers who worshipped at Utoy Church would have used sturdier
gates than this one, because their livestock are known to have been given free rein of
the entire land. The only thing that tied the animals to home was the promise of being
fed. Other than that, they were free to wander whithersoever they wished. (Author
photo)

He was in such a hurry to finish the job, however, (as we are informed by Historian Sarah
T. Huff)so anxious to be able to rush back to Franklin County to pick up his wife and
children, that he built the cabin too hastily, and failed to take the time to board up the
cracks between the logs. The result was that when his good wife finally arrived, and saw
the air blowing through the cracks in her new home, she utterly refused to sleep on the
side of the bed nearest the wall, for fear that wild animals such as bears, wolves, and
panthers, would poke their noses through the openings and bite her during the night.
William W. White (we may readily believe, to keep the peace) soon fixed the problem
with the cabin, and later built additions to accommodate his growing family. In 1828 he
exchanged the Carroll County lot he had drawn in the 1827 Land Lottery for a lot nearer
to his then-present home. This new lot was Land Lot 119, in the 14th or Blackhall
District of originally Henry, then De Kalb, and finally Fulton County, Georgia.lv
193



























Interior of the 1850s Corn Crib at the Tullie Smith Farm. The cracks between the
logs in the wall allowed the breeze to blow through. I n the Summer, this feature would
have been highly desirable, as it would have helped to keep the building cool, but in the
Winter, the hardy farmers would have boarded up these cracks, or daubed them with
mud, to insulate the building against the freezing winds.

On July 12th, 1828, William Wilson White became a member of Utoy Baptist (later
Primitive Baptist) Church by experience. lvi This means that he was accepted into
church membership based on a public confession of faith, followed by a baptism by
immersion. He lived in the church longer than any other member, and, since he died in
1895, his fellowship with Utoy Church was over sixty-seven years. Elizabeth Willis
White, his faithful spouse (and sister of Joseph Willis Jr.), lived longer in the church than
any other female, her time of membership being over fifty-three years.lvii

William W. Whites name is mentioned several times in the records of Utoy Church as
having been a true and faithful member. The late esteemed Atlanta historian Franklin M.
Garrett, moreover, quoting earlier Atlanta historian Sarah T. Huff, recounts that William
W. White bore the name of a respected and highly esteemed pioneer citizen of Atlanta,
in honor of whom Atlantas White Street SW was named.lviii

194

It would seem probable, moreover, based on the presence in the Utoy community of a
highly-esteemed man named William Wilson who had earlier resided in Franklin
County, Georgia (whence this William Wilson White had also come), that said White
was most likely named after this De Kalb County man William Wilson, or own
namesake father, who had been a veteran of the American Revolution.

Given that Utoy was a Baptist church, and given that the churchs initial acreage did not
include any streams, creeks, or springs in which immersion baptisms could take place, an
adjoining parcel of land was purchased on behalf of the church by William W. White in
1826. This additional parcel of land had a natural spring within its bounds suitable for
outdoor water baptisms. The story of this spring purchase was colorfully recounted in
the Centennial History of the Church, written in 1924 by Elder S.C. Huff:


























Crystal-clear water bubbling up out of the ground to form a watercress-covered spring.
This particular spring is at the Reynolds Memorial Nature Preserve in Clayton County,
but is fully representative of how most natural springs used to look. The presence of
the bright green watercress indicates the purity of the water. (Author photo)


The land that was given to the church did not reach to the spring the use of which the church very
much desired. The man that owned the property on which the spring was located was opposed to
the church, although his wife was a member of Utoy Church. They well knew that if any of the
195

members went to see him about getting water from the spring, he would get mad and not let them
have any water at all. Utoy Church and the Primitive Baptists cant live and thrive without water,
because they are not dry-cleaned or a dry-cleaner. The church sent Brother William W. White to
see the owner about buying the spring. He went and conferred with the owner and asked for a
price on a small angular tract including the spring. The price asked was ten dollars, which was
promptly paid by Brother White, and a deed was requested and delivered to Brother White. At the
next meeting of the Utoy Church Brother White gave the deed to the church, which refunded the
ten dollars. This explains the history of the angular tract of ground now owned by the church and
includes the spring.lix

































Rev. William Wright Roop (1841-1922) of Central Baptist Church in Carroll County,
Georgia, conducting an outdoor baptism ceremony in 1907.




196













































Original 1830 deed whereby Wm. W. White obtained Land Lot 119 from Royal Clay.
(Fulton County Deed Book Q3, Page 671.)
197

According to a family tradition of long standing, William Wilson White, upon first
arriving in DeKalb County, Georgia, settled in the area which later became known as the
John A. White Park and Golf Course (owned by the City of Atlanta). This was where he
built his log cabin, in which his wife refused to sleep on the side of the bed nearest the
wall, for fear that the wild animals would poke their noses through the cracks at night,
and bite her. [See above.] The fact that this property became known as the John A.
White Park ironically has nothing to do with either William Wilson White, or this
particular White family: it was instead named after an unrelated prominent Atlanta
businessman (from a northern state, and not originally from Georgia). The fact that is has
the name White attached to it today is simply one of the strange, ironic twists of fate!

The main reason why William Wilson White settled on that particular piece of property is
probably because it was owned by his wifes mother, Margaret Settles Willis (the widow
of Capt. Joseph Willis Sr., formerly of Franklin County, Georgia, who died in 1812).
Margaret in fact is shown in the DeKalb and Fulton tax digests as owning all or part of
the land lot number 170 which comprised both most of todays Greenwood Cemetery,
and the majority of present-day John A. White Park and Golf Course, during the late
1840s and early 1850s. Here is an aerial photograph of this area:
























(The line separating the land lots can be seen in this photo. It runs N/S, and is just to
the right of center, adjacent and parallel to some of the golf course greens. The land
owned by William W. Whites mother-in-law was just to the left [West] of that line.)
198

The main reason why William W. White did not stay on that land is probably that he did
not actually own it! When, in 1827, due to the land lottery that year, William White
actually became a property owner, he traded his Carroll County lot for a lot nearer to
where he then lived, and thus became the owner of Land Lot 119, as per above. He then
moved to his new propertya distance of about half a mile.





























1830 Federal census of DeKalb County, Georgia, showing the William W. White
family. Note also that the Tandy Green family lived nearby.

On 7 January 1837, while in a church service at Utoy, Bro. Wm White made an
acknowledgment for drinking too much[,] which was received.

William Wilson White was among the twenty-one named defendants in the above-
mentioned court case recorded in the Minutes of De Kalb County Superior Court, for
September Term, 1839.lx Unfortunately, it is not known at present just when or how this
case got resolved. (See above, in Part One.)

199

Below: the 1840 Federal census of DeKalb County, showing William White, along with
his father J acob White, and several other relatives:






















Continuing a tradition begun by his father Jacob White, William Wilson White served on
the De Kalb County Grand Jury in 1841.

Next, is a close-up of the 1850 Federal census for William Wilson White and family. Due
to the very poor quality of the image scanned by Ancestry.com, the present writer has
unfortunately found it necessary to slightly edit this image, to make it more legible:









By December, 1852, son Francis M. had married, and he too was on his own. Already by
1850, though, the reader can see that he indeed had a job, working as DeKalb Countys
tax collector. He would keep that job until the creation of Fulton County, in 1853-4.

An image of the 1860 Federal census for the William W. White family will be shown on
the following page:

200














































201

During the Civil War Battle of Utoy Creek, William Wilson White, along with his wife
and several adult children and their families, refugeed from their old home place, and
spent six weeks in a so-called bombproof shelter at the residence of his brother-in-law
Joseph Willis Jr., proprietor of the Willis Mill:

Sherman's troops were reported everywhere around the city, says historian and writer
Samuel Carter III, and the ubiquitous sound of guns and rifle fire up and down the
Chattahoochee gave credence to these alarms.lxi

In anticipation of the city being shelled, which now seemed likely, citizens began building bomb
shelters in their yards, not unlike the hurricane cellars in the Plains states. Called variously
"bombproofs" and more derisively, "gopher holes," these were generally excavations of from six
to eight feet deep, and eight to twelve feet square--but might be larger according to the size and
collective muscle of the family. Stout planks were laid over the subterranean chamber, covered
with three or four feet of earth. The entrance was always on the south side, the only direction from
which enemy missiles were not likely to arrive.

Between the Chattahoochee River and Atlanta many such shelters had already been prepared.
Southwest of the city an area pioneer, Joseph Willis, owned extensive land and a grist mill on
Utoy Creek. With Confederate troops now south of the Chattahoochee, he saw the handwriting on
the wall and constructed, with the help of two neighbors, Laban Helms and William White [his
brother-in-law], a bombproof behind his home large enough to accommodate the twenty-six
members of their families.

It was an ambitious enterprise, for citizen Willis had no intention of quitting his property whatever
came. The room was sixteen feet square, excavated from a hillside, with a roof of timbers covered
with several feet of turf and overlaid with evergreen boughs to keep the earth in place.
Nonperishable foods and containers of drinking water were stowed in the compartment to provide,
if need be, for a lengthy siege.lxii

All twenty-six members of the Willis, White, and Helms families crawled into the
excavated bombproof behind Willis' mill, says Carter, not to see fresh air and freedom for
some weeks to come. Some seemed hardly fit for the ordeal of this entombment, says
Carter, continuing. One woman, probably Sarah A. White, daughter of William (and who
is known to have been bedridden for several years), had to be carried into the shelter. One
of the men, Francis M. White, son of William (already quoted above) was crippled and
walked only with the aid of crutches. Fully half of the occupants were old and feeble. The
remainder were small children, too young to join the war and fight. Their beds, says
Carter, were mattresses of straw; the only illumination came from precious candles;
there was little ventilation. lxiii

This was a cramped and most uncomfortable existence. Carter informs us that Willis and
his neighbors and relatives scarcely dared to open the doorway to their sixteen-foot
square subterranean chamber, other than to get some fresh air now and then:

Blackberries grew within a few feet of the entrance, and though they were well supplied
with water and nonperishable staples, these were the only fresh foods they enjoyed
throughout these early weeks of long confinement.lxiv

202

It was the aforementioned Brigadier-General Jacob Dolson Coxs
Division, which had taken a position (Aug. 5th) close to Utoy
Creek on the property of Joseph Willis, far to the right or south
end of the Federal line. General Cox did feel some sympathy for
the non-combatant civilians, such as Willis, Helms, and White,
who found themselves caught between the two warring armies.
After the War had been long past, Cox wrote with commiseration
of their sufferings and hardships, brought about in part by their
unwillingness to leave their much-loved homes and lands. lxv

General Cox himself (see photo, at right) paid a visit in person on
one occasion to citizen Willis and his fellow-sufferers, peering
down into the entrance of what seemed to be a massive bombproof
in the hillside near Willis home. As he later wrote (Aug. 11th): B.-G. J acob D. Cox

In this bomb-proof four families are now living, and I never felt more pity than when, day before
yesterday [Aug. 9th], I looked down into the pit, and saw there, in the gloom made visible by a
candle burning while it was broad day above, women sitting on the floor of loose boards, resting
against each other, haggard and wan, trying to sleep away the days of terror, while innocent-
looking children, four or five years old, clustered around the air-hole, looking up with pale faces
and great staring eyes as they heard the singing of the bullets that were flying thick above their
sheltering place.lxvi

Since there was a lull in the fighting at that section of the line, and since Joseph Willis
had come forth to ask for food, said Cox, the General ordered crude tables prepared
outside their shelter and summoned the earth dwellers from their temporary tomb to eat
their fill.

One by one all twenty-six emerged like woodchucks from their underground home: women,
children, white-haired men, blinking their eyes at the sudden glare of sunlight, staring with
disbelief at the war-shattered countryside they had not seen for three weeks. They wolfed down
army rations of hardtack, beef, and Yankee coffee with the avid hunger of the starving, and then
crawled back into their burrow to wait in blind faith for the war to end or leave their part of
Georgia.lxvii

The temporary lull in the fighting at Willis Mill, however, which had allowed the tomb-
dwellers to emerge from their premature burial to eat, did not last long. Almost literally
on top of the starving non-combatants, the Confederates apparently made a counter-attack
(unless, that is, the Zouaves mentioned below were actually Federal troops). The story
of this counter-attack was related many years later by William Cornelius Green Cap
White (1858-1942), who had been one of the innocent-looking children, four or five
years old who were mentioned by Brigadier-General Cox, as residing in the
bombproof at the Joseph Willis home. Cap White was, in fact, a grandson of William
Wilson White. Atlanta Journal staff writer Herbert Monroe, in an article of around
December 1938, quoted Mr. White regarding this story. Joseph Willis Jr. was Mr.
Whites great-uncle, being the younger brother of the aforementioned Elizabeth Willis
White (1801-1883), Mr. Whites paternal grandmother. As Mr. Monroe put it in 1938:

203

When the Battle of Atlanta was fought in 1864, Cap was only 6 years old, but he recalls many
incidents of the war. He remembers the Federals threw up breastworks just across the road from
their house, and the captain warned his father [Francis M. White], who was a cripple all his life,
that the house would be in the line of fire when the Confederates attacked. He advised them to
move away. In those days, Cap said, the cook house of the old southern home was built a short
distance from the big house. After the warning from the captain, Pappy had a huge pit dug
between the house and the kitchen. It had double doors over it, like many flower pits of
today. There was a dense pine thicket back of the house, which was [on] the east side, and across
a clearing from the Yankee breastworks. It seemed impossible for anyone to run through the
young trees, which had grown up during the four years of war. But one day, the Federal captain
[probably the above-quoted Brigadier-General Jacob D. Cox] paid us a visit, and while Pappy
talked to him, we boys clung to his coattails. Suddenly, like a clap of thunder, a company of
Louisiana Zouaves in their brilliant uniforms dashed from the thicket yelling like wild Indians. I
remember seeing a drummer [boy], beating his drum furiously, leap from the trees in the lead of
his company. He was crippled, one leg being shorter than the other, and as he ran over the
clearing which had been our garden, he swayed like an old gander. We just had time to race to
the pit before the rifle fire began, but I saw the drummer [boy] double up and fall to the
ground. The whole company was either shot or cut to pieces almost in front of our eyes.lxviii

And this from the eyes of a six-year-old boy, one of the innocent victims of war.

In 1932, again just in the nick of time, the aforementioned Wilbur G. Kurtz interviewed
another of the survivors of this bombproof episode, and wrote about the conversation.
This then-living witness was the elderly Mrs. David Elbert Herren (ne Elizabeth Willis,
daughter of the above-mentioned Squire Joseph Willis Jr.). We say just in the nick of
time, because Mrs. Herren would die by September 11th of that same year, 1932. Mrs.
Herren would have been a first cousin, once removed, of the above-quoted Cap White.
Wrote Kurtz of the conversation:

Mrs. D.E. Herren says that her father [Joseph Willis Jr.] and some of the neighbors decided that
to refugee before the advance of military operations would entail great hardshipscertainly a
loss of property, and the question of where to go and what to do when they got there, seemed
unanswerable. Deciding to weather the storm, they thought of the bombproof cellar, and built
this shelter some days before the fiery blasts began sweeping across the fields.lxix

Aforementioned historian Sarah T. Huff, in her priceless recollection known as My 80
Years in Atlanta, again had occasion to mention William Wilson White (whom her
mother apparently knew personally):

Conditions grew so unbearable that mother decided to try to get back home, but everything was
against that. The enemy was in possession. Turning southwest, she planned to go to some of her
Utoy Church friends. She made her way to the old home of Mr. and Mrs. William White. They
were gone and the officer who was staying in their house insisted on her coming in out of the
rainstorm, but she sat in her buggy the [w]hole night long, her children and Charlotte's little
darkey asleep around her. Older brother minded the horse and the mules. John and Charlotte
were in charge of the cows. Getting frightened at the picket firing close by, the cows both broke
loose and ran away. Mother thought them gone forever, but [by a] strange freak of good fortune
she recovered one of them. From a distance of not less than seven miles the wise, home loving
bovine found her way back to her own green pasture on Woodall Creek.lxx

Here is an image of part of the 1870 Federal census for William W. White and family:
204



















It can be observed that his elder daughter Arminda (Amanda) had moved back to be
with her parents after the untimely death of her husband Daniel P. White in Randolph
County (Alabama) during the War. The collapse of the southern economy after the
disastrous defeat in 1865 caused many a similar family to circle the wagons around the
parental family farm. This was necessary in order to merely survive.

Here is a partial image of the 1880 Federal census for the William W. White family:








Either the census-taker or the family member who reported this information got lazy,
because Williams parents are known to have been born in North Carolina and South
Carolina, respectively, and his wife Elizabeth is known to have also been born in South
Carolina, with her mother having been born in North Carolina.

In 1884, after the death of his wife, William Wilson White wrote out his will (the
handwriting is actually that of his son Francis, who had been a schoolteacher, and could
read and write well). Here, in the succeeding pages, are images of that original will, on
file in the Fulton County Court of Probate. (Please note that because of the legal size of
the paper on which this document was written, none of the pages can be scanned
complete at one time; one has to scan half of the page, and then scan the bottom half, thus
repeating part of the text which had already been scanned.)

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212

After a lifetime of toil and trouble, William Wilson White died on 17 November, 1895, at
the unusual age of 94. He was thought of highly enough by the membership of Utoy
Primitive Baptist Church, that upon his passing, they memorialized his memory by
recording his obituary and a brief biography in the minute books of the church. It must be
emphasized that this was an extraordinary measure; this writer has yet to discover a
single other member of Utoy Church who was similarly memorialized in the minute
books! Here is the obituary which the church recorded (modern spelling and punctuation
added, for clarity):

In memory of our dearly beloved Bro. Wm. W. White, who was born in Franklin Co., Ga., Dec. 22,
1800. He was married to Miss Elizabeth Willis Dec. 6, 1821. She was born Dec. 16, 1801, in the
same Co. There were born unto them two sons and three daughters. Their oldest son and youngest
daughter died before he did.
He joined the Primitive Baptist Church at Utoy July 12, 1828. He was a member of that church 67
years, 4 months, and 5 days. And his wife joined the same church July 11, 1829. She was a
member of that church 53 years, 8 months, and 22 days. She died April 3, 1883. She was 81 years,
3 months, and 17 days old when she died. He died Nov. 17, 1895, which made his stay on Earth 94
years, 10 months, and 25 days. Nov. 18th, the remains of Bro. White were carried to Utoy Church
by six of his grandsons, who were pallbearers. His funeral sermon was preached by Eld. S. H.
Whatley to a large congregation of people. Then his remains were buried in the church yard, in
his family lot, to await the Second Coming of Christ, to awake his sleeping dust, and form it like
His own glorious body. Bro. White moved to Henry Co. Ga. [actually DeKalb at that point] in
1825, near Utoy Creek and near the Sandtown Road, 4 miles from [what is] now Atlanta, Ga. In
1828, he moved to a house, and lived and died in ithe lived in it about 66 years. His home was
near the city limits of West End, of Atlanta, Ga. He has lived in three counties [actually two], and
has lived in the same house all the time. It was first Henry [1821-1822], then DeKalb [1822-
1853], and now Fulton Co. Ga. [1853-present]. Bro. and Sis. White were true and faithful
members of Utoy Churchthey were never absent from their church meetings unless Providence
hindered them. If there was ever aught against them in Utoy, it is not known. In July, 1826,
Brother White, for the love and respect he had for Utoy Church, he [sic] went to Gwinnett Co. Ga.
after Eld. James Hail [sic], to come and be the pastor of that church. He also about the same time
bought a strip of land the Spring was in, for the church. Bro. White lived to have great-great
grandchildren. In attempting to write this brief notice of the life and death of our dear Bro. and
Sis. White, I frankly confess my inability to speak of their true worth to their family, to their
church, and to the whole community. They were not very rich in gold, but were vastly rich in the
Faith of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, which alone is the gift of God. Tribute to the memory
of Bro. Wm. W. and Sister Elizabeth White. Resolved, that Utoy Church express her sorrows,
which she has sustained by the death[s] of Bro. and Sister White; but while we mourn our loss, we
recognize the hand of an all-wise God; yet we mourn not for them as those without hope: we bow
with humble submission, knowing that God is too wise, err [sic], and too good to be unjust.
Knowing that all things work together for good, to them who love God, to them who are called
according to His purpose, they have gone to their long rest, after a well-spent life in the cause of
their Master and Lord, leaving behind them memories, which, in warm and loving hearts will be
their best and most fitting monuments. May the sorrowing hearts of those who loved them be
comforted with the thought that death is swallowed up of life, and the dear, aged Saints are
gone to rest in the bosom of their God. Resolved, that we extend to the bereaved family our
heartfelt sympathies, and commend them to that God whose grace is sufficient for them. Resolved,
that a copy of this obituary be sent to Zions Landmark, The Gospel Messenger, and to the
family, and that it shall be written in the church [minute] book. Done, by order of Utoy Church, in
conference, Nov. 30, 1895. Eld. S.H. Whatley, Mod., S.C. Huff, C. Clk.

Here follow scanned images of the relevant pages of the William Wilson White family
bible (courtesy of Dan and Melanie White):
213















































214













































215





216


217

Andrew J ackson White
(born 10 December 1802)


According to the so-called White Generation History written in the 1940s by Howard
Franklin White (see above), Andrew White was yet another one of the sons of Jacob
"Jake" White, and one of the brothers of William Wilson White (b.1800), Wright
White (b.1807), and Samuel Isaiah White (b.1810), whose descendants, as mentioned,
have undergone y-DNA testing. Our written family tradition had claimed that this
relative, Andrew White, had never married, and had died due to wounds received
during the Mexican War (circa 1847). These statements, however, turned out to be
wrong. (Let this be a lesson ...)

Andrew White (apparently the same man), in fact, shows up in the 1860 and 1870
censuses of Attala County, Mississippi. This was exactly the same area whence his
presumed brother Samuel Isaiah White had moved:

























(Below is the upper half of this same census image, showing that this Andrew White did
indeed reside in Attala County, Mississippi in 1870.)



218




























Moreover, sons of both Samuel Isaiah White and Andrew Jackson White later ended up
serving in the same company and regiment in the Civil War from Attala County,
Mississippi. They would have been 1st cousins to each other.

Andrew White also shows up in an online family tree on Ancestry.com, the
"White/Tucker Family Tree,"here:
http://trees.ancestryinstitution.com/tree/16492433/person/382019287 .

The owner of that tree is identified there as "Pwhite88." Her husband is now known to be
a living descendant of that Andrew White (listed on that tree as Andrew Jackson
White, born 10 December 1802). This writer has since been in contact with him (see
momentarily).

Although that online family tree gives a different name for the father of that Andrew
Jackson White (Joseph Daniel White), the present writer believes that statement to be
in error (much as a lot of the information in Howard F. Whites 1940s-era White
Generation History was also mistaken). The present writer instead believes that this
man, Andrew Jackson White, born in Georgia on 10 December, 1802, probably was a
brother to his ancestor William Wilson White, born in Franklin County Georgia on 22
219

December 1800 (he died in Atlanta on 17 Nov 1895), and another son to Jacob Jake
White.

Four compelling reasons lead him to think this:

One, the early-20th century history of this family (White Generation History,
referenced above) named a brother of William Wilson White as "Andrew" White.

Two, another brother named in that same history was "Isaiah" White. He turns out to
have been the above-mentioned "Samuel Isaiah White," who was born in Georgia on 1
November, 1810. He married his 2nd wife Elizabeth Hardin in DeKalb County, Ga. in
1846. He died on 31 August, 1893 in Attala County, Mississippi (near Kosciusko)--
precisely the same area where Andrew Jackson White lived! Samuel Isaiah White,
through a living male descendant (FTDNA Kit # 188597), has now been proven through
y-DNA testing to have definitely been a relative to this writers ancestor William Wilson
White. This definitely links this writers Georgia family with the Whites of Attala
County, Mississippi!

Three, there was an 1839 deed in DeKalb County, Georgia (17 December) between
Andrew White and his brother Wright White. (See below.) Wright White was born on 7
June 1807 in Franklin County, Georgia, and died in Randolph County, Alabama, on 26
July, 1893. This 1839 deed between Andrew White and his brother Wright White in
DeKalb County, Georgia, was witnessed by Jacob White (the father of Wright, William,
and Samuel Isaiah, and Andrew), and this deed also mentioned that Andrew White was
then living in Cherokee County, Alabama. Now, when you look at a map, you will see
that Cherokee County, Alabama is right next to Chattooga County, Georgia, where this
Andrew White was living only one year later (1840). Same man? Probably.

Below is shown that same deed:

















220









































(Above) 1839 deed between brothers Andrew and Wright White, from DeKalb County,
Georgia Deed Book H, page 189.

Note also that the same White Generation History also mentioned that Andrew White
had deeded his land to his brother, Wright White. This statement is, in fact, now
confirmed by the historical record.
221


The fourth reason why this writer believes that this Andrew Jackson White was a member
of our DeKalb County, Georgia family is as follows: Andrew White's wife (as given in
the above-mentioned online family tree) whom he married on October 25th, 1825, was
Jane Stone. She was born in North Carolina on 11 November 1807. Another early
member of Utoy Primitive Baptist Church (and clerk of court for DeKalb County) was
Daniel Stone, born in Cumberland County, NC on 18 Feb 1801. Was he a brother to Jane
Stone White? Very possibly. If so, this would be yet another link tying Andrew White of
Mississippi to our family of Whites of DeKalb/Fulton Counties, Georgia. (No location is
given in any online tree for that marriage in 1825. This writer is still trying to locate it. It
wasn't Franklin County--he checked--and DeKalb's marriage records don't begin until
1842, due to the disastrous 1842 courthouse fire that destroyed most previous records.)

This proposed linkage is given added weight when we consider that Jane White was
herself yet another member of Utoy Baptist Church (she was dismissed by letter on
March 9th, 1839):












[Note: a new Y-DNA 12 marker test from Family Tree DNA, of the above-mentioned
proven living male descendant of that Andrew Jackson White, identified here, for privacy
reasons, only by his kit number of 288617, has recently proven, beyond any shadow of a
doubt, the bona-fide relationship of that Andrew Jackson White with his presumed
brothers, William Wilson White, Wright White, and Samuel Isaiah White. They all
indeed came from one and the same genetic family. That they were all probably brothers
is the most plausible scenario, based on the historical evidence outlined above.]

Andrew White obtained Land Lot 129, of the 1st District, 4th Section, of Coweta County,
Georgia, in the 1827 Land Lottery. Since he showed up in the 1830 DeKalb County,
Georgia Federal census (and not in Coweta County), we may safely presume that, like his
presumed brother William Wilson White, he too apparently traded that lot for the land in
DeKalb on which he resided. Moreover, since his presumed brother James V. White (see
later) did in fact reside in Coweta County in the 1840 Federal census, we may surmise
that he may have purchased this particular property from his brother. We need to check
the Coweta County deed records, to confirm this guess! Here is that 1830 census:

222
































Since his neighbor that year was Isham Hendon, who is believed to have resided on
Land Lot 153 of the 530th or Black Hall District, Andrew White is thus shown to have
resided very close to his presumed father Jacob White, and other White relatives.

On the following page is shown the deed of September 5
th
, 1831, whereby Andrew White
of DeKalb County sold that Lot Number 129, of the 1st District, 4th Section, of Coweta
County (whichas stated in this deed--he had won in the 1827 Georgia Land Lottery).
He sold the property to a man named John Lee, of Coweta County. The original deed
record is found in the Coweta Superior Court Deed Book D, page 306.

Finally, Andrew White, just before the time when he left Georgia for good, served in
Glasscocks Company of Norwoods Battalion of Alabama Militia, in the infamous
Cherokee Removal of 1838 (the so-called Trail of Tears.). This is probably a large
part of why he ended up moving to the area of Ft. Payne a year later. (Ft. Payne had been
a collection point for Cherokees during the removal process.)
lxxi

223




224

J ames V. White
(1804--4 April, 1892)

Yet another probable brother of William W., Andrew, Wright, and Samuel Isaiah White
was a man named "James V. White" who lived from about 1804 to 4 April, 1892 (he died
in Tallapoosa, Haralson County, Georgia). That same early family history of our family
(White Generation History) also listed another brother of William, Andrew, Wright,
and Samuel Isaiah as "Virgil" White. Another son was named as Jim Jacob White.
Were they both the same man as "James V. White"? Several additional facts lead this
writer to say "probably." Besides the now irrefutable genetic evidence linking James V.
White to these other men (mentioned momentarily), this writer will lay out below, in
considerable detail, his documentary evidence for believing that our lines are related.

Several online trees have mistakenly placed this James V. White as a "son" of a couple
from Guilford County, North Carolina named Joseph White and Ann Clarke. However,
this writer has to date seen no good evidence to support that assumption. He thinks that
previous researchers have simply placed James V. White with the wrong parents (as often
happens in genealogical research done by amateurs). The present writer has basically cut
the "Gordian knot" by going straight for the simplest and most elegant explanation: he is
absolutely confident that the evidence will show that this James V. White (born 1804)
was in fact yet another son of Jacob "Jake" White, and that John Andrew White (as
aforesaid) was a son of James V. White and his wife Martha M. Weaver.

"James V. White" was a long-time member of Utoy Primitive Baptist Church in DeKalb
and Fulton Counties (before he moved into West Georgia). As the reader may recall, that
was the same church that several of these other Whites attended. James V. White
also showed up in the 1850 census of DeKalb County, and the 1860 census of Fulton
County (both times in the same "Blackhall" District in which his probable brother
William Wilson White then lived). (As mentioned above, he was in Coweta County,
Georgia in the 1840 Federal census, possibly tying him to his presumed brother Andrew
Jackson White, who had obtained, but not resided on, land there in 1827.)

A son of James V. White was named "Francis Marion White," the same name as one of
the sons of William Wilson White (this writers ancestor as well, who was born in 1827);
this other man by the same name (his first cousin) was born in 1840, and died in 1933 in
Mount Pleasant, Titus County, Texas.

Samuel Isaiah White (another presumed brother of this James V. White) himself had a
son named James Vandiver White, who was born in November, 1853. He was almost
certainly named after his uncle, James V. White. (Another son of Isaiahs, Wright R.
White, is in fact known to have been named after yet another uncle.) The above-
mentioned name Virgil White was probably only yet another garbling of the original
probable form, Vandiver.

This Francis M. White (born 1840) and his brother John Andrew White (see photo
comparison, below) clearly looked exactly like the known Whites from our part of the
225

family--so much so, that this writer thinks there can be no doubt that they were related to
us!

James V. White is shown on the 1854 through 1858 Fulton County tax digests owning
part (later, by 1857, all) of Land Lot 88 in the 14th District of that countythe same land
which was previously owned by his presumed father, Jacob White.

On the 17th of December, 1852, James V. White, as attorney-in-fact for his presumed
father, Jacob White, sold Jacobs final Franklin County, Georgia property, some 470
acres on Leatherwood Creek [see later].

A living great-granddaughter of this James V. White provides information to the effect
that her Whites "were from Sheffield, England." That person is Ninety year old Mrs.
Margie White Day, of Clinton, Mississippi. Mrs. Day had much more to say when this
writer contacted her in early July, 2012 [see momentarily]. Another descendant, Pat
(Sapp) Mims, however, says that John Andrew White gave a different middle name for
James V. White, and a different first name for his mother, Martha M. Weaver:

John A. White is the source for the names of his parents. He lived with his son Robert Lee White in
DeKalb County, Alabama when he [John] and his wife Susan could no longer live alone. One
of John A's daughters told me James M. White [i.e., James V. White] and Dorcas [i.e., Martha
Weaver White] might be buried in the County Line Cemetery in Carroll Co. GA.

This writers thorough and painstaking research, however, shows that John Andrew
White was, without question, a son of a couple named James V. White (born 1804) and
Martha M. Weaver," (both of whom were members of Utoy Church, as mentioned
above) and this writer has solid proof for this statement (see later). John Andrew White
showed up in several censuses with his parents, for example (see later). This John
Andrew White whom this writer discusses here was born in DeKalb County, Georgia on
28 August, 1835, and died in Collbran, DeKalb County, Alabama on 23 February, 1933.
His wife was Susan Catherine Davenport, whom he wed in Carroll County, Georgia
(where his parents James V. and Martha Weaver White were then residing) on 16 April,
1865. The irony there is that DeKalb County, Alabama is right next door to Cherokee
County, Alabama, where the Andrew White (mentioned above, as a likely son of Jacob
Jake White) was living in 1839. Coincidence?

In the 1850 census of DeKalb County (Georgia), along with the elderly Jacob White and
wife Sarah, in addition to the unmarried daughter Sarah who we knew was with them,
there also appeared a person who was in all probability a grandson, and his name and age
(Andrew, age 17 [or 12, depending on how one reads the nearly illegible script]), make
him an almost perfect fit to be this John Andrew White, born 1835 and son of James V.
White. This John Andrew White, although he did also show up in his parents' household
in that same census would indeed have been about fifteen years old in 1850. This
scenario is not at all impossible or even improbable, and--if true--would just about prove
that James V. White was in fact a son of Jacob. (How many other examples of double-
enumeration in census records has the reader seen? This writer has seen many.)

226

As mentioned above, there is the matter of the common membership at Utoy Church.
James V. White and his wife were, in fact, long-time members (for several decades) of
Atlanta's oldest Baptist Church, Utoy Primitive Baptist:












(Above and below: relevant pages from the Utoy Church Minutes, showing J ames V.
White and his wife Martha M. Weaver as members of that church.)























(See this writers history of this church, here:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/53140777/Utoy-Primitive-Baptist-Church)

As mentioned above, several members of this writers own family (including the above
William Wilson White, who lies buried there), were also members of this same church.
These two families at least knew each other--that much we can safely assume. They also
227

clearly named their respective children after one another. And then there is the genetic
evidence (see momentarily).

The November, 1931 death certificate for Susan Elizabeth White Bentley, daughter of
this James V. White, names her mothers maiden name as Weaver, and the February,
1922 death record of
daughter Savannah E.
White Crooker, also
names her parents as
J.V. White and
Martha Weaver. On
the right is the 1931
death certificate for
Susan Elizabeth:

As mentioned above,
James V. White is
shown on the 1854
through 1858 Fulton
County tax digests
owning part (later, by
1857, all) of Land Lot
88 in the 14th District
of that countyland
which was previously owned by his presumed father, Jacob White. As shown in Part II of
this work, Jacob White had purchased Lot 88 from a man named Martin Crow on January
25th, 1842. We do not know at what point Jacob White sold this land to James V. White
(his presumed son), but we do know that it was sold in two stages: the first half was sold
to James V. White prior to the creation of Fulton County out of the western half of
DeKalb in 1853 (because James V. White was already shown as owning it in the first, or
1854, tax digest for Fulton County), and the second half was sold to James V. White
sometime in either late 1856 or early 1857. We know and can say this because James V.
White was shown as owning the complete land lot in the 1857 tax digest (whereas the
previous year he only owned half).

Here, in the following pages, is some of the photographic documentation of these land
transfers. We are at pains to show this, simply to drive home our point of a relationship
between these two men, father and son, and to leave no wiggle room for doubt or dissent.

On the following page is the original 1842 deed from Martin Crow to Jacob White
(presumed father of James V. White):
228






























And here is the first, or 1854 tax digest of Fulton County, Georgia, showing that J ames
V. White did, in fact, own half of this same property by that date:





And now (finally), here is the 1857 tax digest for Fulton County, showing that by that
year, J ames V. White did indeed own the entire land lot (Lot Number 88):

229


Those other Whites shown there will have been related to James V. White as follows:

Sarah White was his sister (she had their aged father, Jacob White, living with
her);
William [Wilson] White was his brother.
Jacob J. [James] White was his nephew (son of William);
John A. [Andrew] White was, of course, his son!

























Above is a portion of the December 17th, 1852 Franklin County deed, showing that it
was indeed James V. White who was attorney-in-fact for his presumed father, Jacob
230

White, who sold Jacobs final 470-acre Leatherwood Creek property which he had owned
since the year 1810 (remember, it was purchased from an Isaiah Bagley).

As mentioned above, we know that John Andrew White married Susan Catherine
Davenport in Carroll County, Georgia in 1865. This writer checked the Georgia Archives
(Carroll County marriage records) and that much is indeed correct. Carroll County is
adjacent to Haralson County in Georgia. It was in Bowdon, Carroll County, Georgia in
which his father James V. White enlisted in the State Guards as a cavalryman during
the Civil War (see later), so this family definitely lived there at that time.

In the 1870 census of Haralson County, Georgia (see below), John A. White with his wife
Susan was still residing in his parents' household. His father was clearly James V.
White born 1804 and his mother was clearly Martha M.". This census image is very
faint and hard to read, but if one uses photoshop or another similar program to darken the
exposure of the image, these names are indeed what you find written there. This writer
did just that:













In the 1880 census of Haralson County, Georgia (see following page), John A. White
and his wife Susan were only four houses away from his parents, James V. White (born
1804, Ga.) and his wife Martha. John A. White was also next-door to his sister
Camilla White Bentley, who later lived in Muscadine, Cleburne County, Alabamajust
over the state line from Haralson County, Georgia. This writer exchanged emails with
one of her descendants a few years ago. Note that in this 1880 census, James V. White
(the father of John A.) said that his parents had been born in "NC". That grandfather
of John A. White, and father of James V. (this writer now believes) was none other than
this writers own ancestor, Jacob "Jake" White, who was, in fact, born in Chatham
County, North Carolina in 1772.







231







(Above: the 1880 census of Haralson County, Georgia, showing the J ames V. White
and J ohn A. White families.)



















232


Even earlier, in the 1860 census, before they had moved westward to Carroll and
Haralson Counties, these Whites (James V. and family, including his son John A. White)
had lived in Blackhall District, Fulton County, Georgia--exactly where this writers own
family of Whites then lived (see below).









































233


(Note that the occupation of two of their neighbors was listed as Prostitute!)


As mentioned above, aside from the genetic evidence we now have, the most convincing
piece of evidence (for this writer) is the fact that John Andrew White (son of James V.)
looks like the twin brother of this writers ancestor Francis Marion White (1827-
1925). This writer thinks that the photographic evidence is overwhelming and almost
incontrovertible. Pay particular attention to those protruding ears. That seems to have
been a distinguishing White Family" feature, for several generations. John Andrew
Whites brother Francis M. White, and sister Camilla White Bentley (for whom we also
possess photographs) also clearly resemble their cousins from this writers part of the
family.

What we needed to do, at that point, in order to confirm this writers educated guesses,
was to seek genetic evidence, in the form of yet another y-DNA test; to find a living male
descendant of John Andrew White, and test him. This writer did just that, in September of
2012, and the resultsan exact 12-marker Y-DNA match with this writer (and others)
from Kit # 251406, a living descendant of father and son James V. White and John
Andrew Whitenow prove without any doubt that James V. White and his son John
Andrew White indeed were biologically related to the rest of this family, including Jacob
Jake White. This is another excellent example of the utility of DNA testing.

Francis M. White J ohn Andrew White Wright R. White
(1827-1925) (1835-1933) (1836-1917)
son of Wm. Wilson White son of J ames V. White son of Samuel I saiah White

Remember that this Wright R. White (who is known to have been named after his
uncle, Wright White), had a brother named James Vandiver White. It now seems
probable and more than likely that that brother James Vandiver Van White had also
been named after an unclethe same James V. White who is the subject of so much of
this discussion.
234


There is one final piece to this jigsaw puzzle which should be discussed here. It is the
March 1st, 1933 obituary of John Andrew White, (also shown above, in Part II) which
was recently sent to this writer, courtesy of a Mr. Douglas Brandon, the county historian
of DeKalb County, Alabama. As will be seen from this priceless piece of documentary
evidence, John Andrew White not only was born and raised in the Atlanta area, but he
used to go squirrel-hunting as a youth with his elderly grandfather (Jacob White, of
course). Below is an image of this valuable document:



































March 1st, 1933 obituary for Uncle John Andrew White.

235

The above-mentioned Margie White Day, granddaughter of John Andrew White, and
great-granddaughter of James V. and Martha M. (Weaver) White, also said several other
very interesting things about her family history:

In addition to claiming that the White family had originated from Sheffield, England,
Mrs. Day also said that one of the early White ancestors had fallen in love with, and
wanted to marry, a girl from Holland, and that, since the family would not sanction a
marriage to a foreigner, the couple decided to up and relocate to America, where such a
prohibition would not be in effect. [Very likely, it was religious intolerance, not family
frowning, which stood in the way of the marriage, and it is also likely that they settled
first in either Pennsylvania, Delaware, or Maryland, which colonies afforded a
considerable degree of religious tolerance in the Eighteenth Century.]

Mrs. Day said that the sea voyage to America took 80 days.

Mrs. Day furthermore said that when she was a small girl, her grandparents (John
Andrew White and Susan Davenport White) lived in the same house with her fathers
family. She said that her grandfather John Andrew White used to sit with her and tell her
all sorts of stories of how his life was as a boy, growing up in what later became Atlanta.
Mrs. Day said that her grandfather lived to be 97 years old, and every morning, past the
age of 97, until the day his wife died (November, 1932), he would arise and go outside to
chop the days firewood for his wife to cook with. The day after her death, which was the
day of her funeral, he said to the family, Everybody else has someone to look after; now,
shes gone, and nobody needs me any more. I think Ill just go to bed. And so, he
basically lay down to die, and never got back out of the bed. Three months later, after
some terrible suffering, he was finally dead himself.

Mrs. Day said that her great-grandparents (James V. and Martha Weaver White) were in
fact buried in Atlanta, and that the small cemetery was near a small, forsaken
crossroads, and that nothing else was present for a good distance around (at that time).
An Elizabeth Ivie of Utah, who describes herself on the internet as being a descendant
of James V. White, says that he and his wife in fact lie buried at Utoy Church Cemetery.

Randy White, Mrs. Days nephew, added to all this the story that when the family (James
V. White and wife Martha) left Atlanta, they sold their 212 acres of land, and out of the
proceeds purchased a wagon and a Shetland Pony to pull it, and headed westward to
Arkansas. Since the family are known to have in fact settled in nearby Carroll and
Haralson Counties, they clearly never made it quite that far. Randy said that the source
for this tradition was his father, John Aster White (1921-1994), a son of Robert Lee
White (1890-1968), and a grandson of John Andrew White. Randy White, moreover,
without prior knowledge from this writer, volunteered the information that the
[grand]father of John Andrew White lived to be 105 years old, again confirming this
family legend, and providing yet a fourth independent source for this persistent tradition.
(He had actually said the word father, but since the known father of John Andrew
White, James V. White, only lived from 1804 to 1892, thus living only 88 years, the
236

reference was thus almost certainly really to John Andrew Whites grandfather, Jacob
Jake White, who was said to have been 105 when he died.)

Next are images of the deed of December 10
th
, 1838, whereby James V. White purchased
portions of Lots 114 and 126 in the 3
rd
District of Coweta County, from a John Simms,
administrator of the estate
of Abram Crowley,
deceased. James V. White
was described in this deed
as already being of Coweta
County. From the
contemporary Utoy Church
Minutes, it is apparent that
James V. White resided in
Coweta County from about
1837 to about 1845, after
which he returned to
DeKalb/Fulton County.
This writer has not yet been
able to find any deed(s) in
Coweta County whereby
James V. White sold these
particular properties.

In the 1832 Cherokee Land
Lottery of Georgia, this
James V. White won Lot
308 of the 11
th
District, 2
nd

Section, of original
Cherokee County. By the
time White actually took
possession of the 160-acre
property, the portion of the
county in which it lay had
been renamed Gilmer
County. On the following
page is an image of the
deed dated 26 January,
1847, whereby James V.
White of DeKalb County
finally sold that property, to
a man named Jeremiah
Lambert. The deed is found
in Gilmer County Deed
Book J 1848-1851, page
496:
237




238

Here is one of the service
record cards for James V.
Whites service in the
Confederate State Guards
Cavalry during the Civil War,
showing that he served at the
astonishing age of fifty-nine:







































239

Below are pages from the Haralson County, Georgia Court of Ordinary, Annual Returns
1884-1902 (pages 235-237), showing the estate settlement of James V. White in 1892-
1893:











































240















































241















































242

Wright White
(1807-1893)


Wright White, according to the above-mentioned White Generation History was yet
another son of Jacob Jake White:



















Wright White was born, according to
his tombstone, on the 1st of June,
1807, probably in Franklin County,
Georgia. He died, probably in Rock
Mills, Randolph County, Alabama, on
the 26th of July, 1893. That tombstone
is found in Paran Missionary Baptist
Church in Rock Mills:













243

The earliest Federal census in which Wright White shows up was the 1830 census. For
some unknown reason, Wright White was then apparently residing in Savannah, Chatham
County, Georgia. (Perhaps this was connected with either education, business, or military
training.) Here is that census:































It can be noted that (if this is indeed the same Wright White who was a member of this
family) that he was residing with another male of roughly the same age, together with an
adult female also of roughly the same age, and that the household contained two females
under the age of five. Since our Wright White is known to have married in the year 1839,
and to have had no children of his own (apparently, to judge by later census records) until
the birth of daughter Sarah Ann Elizabeth in 1840, the presence of this adult female born
roughly 1800-1810 and the two young female children is quite a mystery. Perhaps they
were simply the wife and children of the other unidentified male also in the household.
(That other adult male is unlikely to have been Wright Whites future brother-in-law
Martin Crow, because he was too youngborn 1817to fit the age bracket shown here,
and whose earliest known child was not born until 1849.) One other possibility is that the
244

adult female could have been an earlier wife (with children), but it should be stressed that
there is no other evidence to support such a guess (and it also does not explain the
presence of the other adult male). The simplest explanation is that Wright White may
have had another couple with their own two children residing with him that year (perhaps
his presumed brother Nathaniel and wife?).

On the 7th of April, 1839, probably in DeKalb County, Georgia, Wright White married a
Miss Margaret Peggy Crow, who was born on 30 March, 1819, and who died on 28
January, 1901. She lies buried beside her husband in the same cemetery, which is within
sight of, and only a stones throw from, the Georgia state line:




































245

Margaret Crow White was an early member of Utoy Baptist (later Primitive Baptist)
Church, where so many of her White in-laws were also members, as this entry from the
minute books will show:





























As can be seen from this reference, Margaret was dismissed from the church by letter on
the 9th of December, 1843. We will discuss momentarily why she left.

Wright White himself, while not an official member of this church, nonetheless managed
to get mentioned in the minutes of the church, by virtue of the fact that he somehow got
into an affray of fighting with a church member named Hiram H. Embry, who then
confessed his misdeed to the church body. This confession was recorded on 9 December,
1837. The unlettered church clerk then promptly misspelled Wright Whites name as
Rite White. It is perfectly clear, though, just who it was being mentioned there:





246

(Below) Page from the Utoy Church minutes, under date of 9 December, 1837,
mentioning the affray into which Wright (Rite) White got himself, along with
church member Hiram H. Embry:























Somewhat earlier, Wright White had enlisted as a private in Capt. James M. Calhouns
company (the DeKalb Georgia Guards) of Alfords Battalion of Georgia Militia
Volunteers in the Creek War of 1836.lxxii Calhoun, as mentioned earlier, later became
Atlantas mayor during the Civil War, and in fact was the mayor who handed the city
over to Sherman in early September, 1864. Another reference (the card file at the Georgia
Archives) provides a little more detail about Wright Whites service: Wright White is
shown as a First Lieutenant in that same company of militia, from 31 July, 1834, until 12
April, 1836. The source given in that card file for this reference is the Georgia Militia
Records, 1829-1841, page 69. We would not know very much at all about this militia
service during the Creek War of 1836, but for one very fortunate pension application,
from the aforementioned Martin Crow (Wright Whites brother-in-law).

That source containing the pension affidavits says that Martin Crow volunteered in the
company commanded by Capt. James M. Calhoun, called the Dekalb Georgia Guard[s],
in the war with the Creek Indians, & was honorably discharged on the 2nd day of Sept in
the year 1836, that while in this service & in the line of his duty, he received the
following wound, to wit: on the 24th day of July in the year 1836, while engaged in a
battle with the Creek Indians in Stewart County, State of Georgia, he received a ball fired
by the Indians in his knee, that said ball is still in his knee, near the knee joint, & [that no
effort has been] made to have it extracted for fear that it would stiffen his knee, that it is
247

frequently very painful to him so that he can scarcely walk, & that he is thereby not only
incapacitated for military duty, but is to a great extent disabled from obtaining his
subsistence from manual labor, as he is acquainted with no trade by which he could make
a subsistence without standing or walking

An additional medical certificate of disability is appended, and was signed by Doctors
William Gilbert, M.D. and John S. Wilson, M.D. (Gilberts son-in-law), the two
preeminent local physicians in the Black Hall District of DeKalb County at that time.
Several further affidavits are also appended: one from T.L. Thomas, J.P., attesting to the
reliability of the testimony of the above-named physicians; two from James M. Calhoun
himself, dated November 5th, 1854 and March 14th, 1855 respectively, and finally, an
affidavit from an Andrew S. Smith, J.P., regarding the mislaying of the original Invalid
Pension of the said Martin Crow; and an Oath of Allegiance of the said Martin Crow,
dated 23 July, 1872.

A summary of facts attached to the same pension application by some unknown later
author says that Martin Crow enlisted as a private in Calhouns Company on the 9th of
June, 1836. (Interestingly, this was two months after his brother-in-law Wright White is
suggested to have been discharged.)lxxiii

Wright White, like his brother Andrew (see above), appears to have been more or less a
professional soldier while a young man. (Then, as now, that was a good way for any
enterprising young man to build a career and bring in a reliable income to sustain a
family.)

In September Term, 1839, Wright White was a party to the above-mentioned libel suit
instigated by Stephen Terry. (See Part II, above, pages 106 through 108.) Also in the
same court term, Wright White was charged by the Grand Jury in De Kalb County
Superior Court with assault and battery.lxxiv One can only wonder, over a hundred and
seventy years after the fact, whether or not those two events were connected in some
way.

In the 1840 Federal census, Wright White was residing in the 530th or Black Hall
Militia District of DeKalb County, Georgia, along with his parents and siblings, as the
following image will show:

248

























Since Wright Whites immediate neighbor in this census is shown to have been Thomas
J. Perkerson (later Sheriff of DeKalb County), whose residence is known to have been
Land Lots 103 and 104 of that same district (part of which is to this very day known as
Perkerson Park), the general location of Wright Whites residence that year can be
estimated.

By 1840, of course, Wright White had been married for one year, and already had the
above-mentioned daughter Sarah Ann Elizabeth (though born on February 15th of that
year, she nonetheless somehow got overlooked when this 1840 census was taken).

Below is an early land-lot map (dated 1911) of this area (it is also shown above in Part
II):










249


























In September Term, 1844, Wright White, along with several of his Crow in-laws, once
again found himself in the De Kalb Superior Court, this time involved in a dispute over
the estate of his late father-in-law Joshua Crow. This latest suit was instigated by the
guardians of Young Crow, apparently Whites youngest brother-in-law.

By March Term, 1845, however, Wright White had already relocated to Randolph
County, Alabama, and was no longer to be found to answer this latest case. (This removal
to Randolph County apparently set a new pattern for the entire extended family, for many
of Wright Whites relatives soon followed him there.)

Having already been a resident of Randolph County for several years (and probably
already having purchased acreage there the usual way (via warranty deed), Wright White
acquired an additional forty acres directly from the United States Government, on the 1st
of September, 1849, as the following image will show. It is signed by Zachary Taylor, as
President of the United States. It is assumed that this land, too, lay in Randolph County:




250


251

In the 1850 Federal census of Randolph County, Alabama, Wright White, aged 45, born
in Georgia [circa 1805], was shown with his wife Margaret, aged 31, born in Georgia
[circa 1819], and with children named Amos (aged 10, born in Georgia, circa 1840),
Mary (aged 8, born in Georgia, circa 1842), Matilda (aged 6, born in Alabama, circa
1844), Edmund (aged 4, born in Alabama, circa 1846), and Martha (aged one year, born
in Alabama, circa 1849). That child Edmund apparently died young, because he shows up
in no later censuses. Here is the image of that census:







































252


In that 1850 census, the reader can see that Wright White was listed as a farmer and
with a real estate value of $800.00, indicating he was a modest-sized farmer, and no
more.

By 1860, Wright White, evidently having provided for some by-then adult children, was
somewhat reduced in circumstances: his personal worth was listed as $200.00, whereas
his real estate value only amounted to $300.00. His occupation was listed as Miller,
while his wifes was given as Tailoress. The children living with them were Annie H.
(18), Matilda J. (15), Elmira J. (12), Martha A. (10), and William H. (7):




































253

Despite Wright Whites continuous residence in Randolph County, Alabama from at least
1845 through 1860, by 1864, he seems to have been back in Atlanta, for the 1864 Census
for Reorganizing the State Militia lists him as a resident of Fulton County.lxxv How long
he stayed there is not known at present, nor do we know why he might have been there
again (other than the continued presence there of his brother William and family).
Perhaps he had gone there for the circa 1861-1862 estate settlement of his father, Jacob
White.

By the time of the 1870 census, he had again left Atlanta, and was residing in Troup
County, Georgia, near LaGrange:




































254

In 1880, Wright White was again residing in Rock Mills, Randolph County, Alabama,
and was enumerated (not for the first time) as Right White, with wife Peggy, and
daughters Hulda and Mandy:











































255

Sarah Sally White
(1808-post 1870)

Not much is known about Sarah Sally White, beyond what is stated about her in the
above-mentioned White Generation History, with the addition of a few census records,
and the one deed transaction, all mentioned in Part II. Of course, she is known to have
never married, and to have kept house for her father Jacob until he died. Here is the 1870
Randolph County, Alabama census showing that, after her father Jacob had died, she had
indeed moved away from Atlanta:




















Somewhat earlier, as Federal
troops under Sherman were
evacuating Atlanta at the
beginning of their infamous
March to the Sea, Sally
White managed to get
mentioned in a letter, dated
December 2
nd
, 1864. The letter was written by her near neighbor Elizabeth Lizzie
Perkerson (daughter of the above-mentioned Thomas J. Perkerson), who in describing a
few parting shots from Confederate troops, aimed at the departing Yankees, mentioned
that our soldiers were firing [at the Yankees] from the hill at Sally Whits place [sic].
lxxvi
By this point, of course, Sally White had resided in Randolph County, Alabama, for
over two years. Her memory, though, clearly remained. (In passing, we should probably
note that this Sally Whits place was in fact the same land recently owned by her father,
Jacob White Jr.) Sally White is said to have died in Wedowee; nothing further is known
of her.

256

Nathaniel White
(c.1809-post 1860)


Although no Nathaniel White was ever mentioned in the White Generation History
record of the children and descendants of Jacob Jake White, several compelling
circumstantial facts do indeed (somehow) tie this man to the rest of this family:

The earliest reference which may pertain to him is a listing of a Nathaniel White as a
defaulter in the 1820 tax list for Franklin County, Georgia. We must treat all of these
early references with caution, however, because also residing in that county at that time
was an unrelated Nathaniel Hunt White (1793-1853).

In the 1822 tax digest, Nathaniel White was residing in Capt. Harris District, Franklin
County, Georgia, and was taxed for 250 acres, adjacent to himself. He was also taxed for
Lot 6, Dist. 28, in Early County, Georgia.

In the 1827 Georgia Land Lottery, Nathaniel White drew land Land Lot 79 of the 10
th

District, 5
th
Section in Carroll County, Georgia. He was residing at that time in Andrews
District, Franklin County, Georgia. This is definitely the earliest proven reference
pertaining to the Nathaniel White who is believed to belong to this family, and who later
resided in Randolph County, Alabama.

In the 1830 tax list of Franklin County, Georgia, a Nathaniel White was listed, though
with no description of his acreage.

The same was true of the 1833 tax list of Franklin County, Georgia.

On January 3
rd
, 1848, Nathaniel White sold that Land Lot 79 in Carroll County to Henry
M. White, described in the deed as being of the same county. (That deed was recorded on
30 January, 1854.) Clearly, though, this Henry M. White was the same man discussed
above and below (the husband of Martha E. White, an apparent daughter, according to
the White Generation History, of Jacob Jake White).

Below and on the following page are images of that deed:











257














That deed is found in Carroll County, Georgia Deed Book G 1852-1855, at pages 394-
395. The astute observer will note that one of the witnesses was none other than the
ubiquitous James V. White, presumed brother to just about all of the people mentioned in
this history (including Nathaniel).

Henry M. White himself later sold half of that Lot 79 on 17 January, 1852, to William J.
Green. (That deed was also recorded on 30 January, 1854.) That William J. Green is
believed to have been a son of Tandy Holman Green and Obedience White Green
(presumed sister of Nathaniel White). William J. Green later died during the Civil War,
leaving a widow, who, as mentioned below, was buried with her children in the same
cemetery as Wright White, a presumed brother to this Nathaniel White (and to Greens
mother Obedience White Green). Here is an image of that deed (found on the same page
as the above deed). The fact that Henry M. White and Green were described as residing
in Randolph County, Alabama proves that the Nathaniel White of Franklin and Carroll
Counties, Georgia was the same man as the Nathaniel White in Randolph County,
Alabama later, in 1850 and 1860 (see the deed on page 221):


258


Henry M. White and William J. Green, jointly, then sold the entire Land Lot 79 on 1
February, 1853, to James W. Roberts. (That deed, too, was recorded on 30 January,
1854.) Here is an image of that deed (also found on the same page as the above deeds):

Because these men were involved in buying and selling this land, and witnessing the
same, they can be safely presumed to be likely to be related somehow. The fact that
Henry M. White and William J. Green were joint owners of that land is an even stronger
indication of relatedness, in this authors professional opinion. We shall have more to say
on this momentarily.

This same Nathaniel White was in 1850 Federal census of Randolph County, Alabama.
An image of this census will be shown on the following page. (Strangely, though, the
census-taker did not make it to them until December 16
th
of that year.) In this census
year, Nathaniel White was one page away from his presumed brother, Wright White
(1807-1893). In the 1860 census, Nathaniel White was living next door to the same
Henry M. White previously mentioned (who had purchased Nathaniels Carroll County,
Georgia property in 1848). It is facts like these which lead this writer to believe that some
sort of relationship existed between these people! (It is surely interesting to note that
Nathaniels son Homer V. Whites eldest daughter Mary Mattie married her apparent
second cousin Kenneth Franklin Bentley (1875-1917), whose mother Susan Elizabeth
259

White (1848-1931) was a daughter of James V. White, presumed brother to Nathaniel
[q.v.].)











































260

Nathaniel Whites given name may well have derived from a man named Nathaniel
Williams, resident in Franklin County, Georgia, at the time of his birth (his uncle?). Nathaniel
White was granted 40 acres in Randolph County, Alabama in 1854:










































261

Nathaniel White was granted another 40 acres in Randolph County, Alabama in 1859:













































262

Nathaniel White was in 1860 Federal census of Randolph County, Alabama. This is the
last record we possess for him at the moment (his son Homer V., however, has living
descendants in and around Cedartown, Polk County, Georgia):











































263

Samuel I saiah White
(1810-1893)











































264

For Samuel Isaiah White, the present writer is indebted to the earlier efforts of several
people, living and deceased, without whose work he would know next to nothing about
their ancestor Samuel Isaiah White. Those people include the late James W. Johnson
(born 1901) formerly of Huron, South Dakota (whose wife had been Lettie Lucille
McCool, a granddaughter of Samuel Isaiah White). Mr. Johnson wrote his extensive
history of the McCool and White families sometime after his wifes passing in 1978, as a
way to memorialize her. His research was thorough and professional. The present writer
is also indebted to Dr. Edward R. Ed Hutchison Sr., of Jackson, Mississippi (whose
maternal grandmother Ida Virginia White Clifton [1892-1949] was herself a great-
granddaughter of Samuel Isaiah White. Finally, the present writer is also greatly indebted
to Monty B. White, of Madison, Mississippi, a direct 5th generation male descendant of
Samuel Isaiah White. Ed and Monty were both exceptionally generous and helpful to the
present writer, in bringing to his awareness the existence and relationship of Samuel
Isaiah White, and in providing to this writer much valuable research (including a copy of
the above history by Mr. Johnson) in addition to copies of several priceless old family
photographs.

What, then, can be said about Samuel Isaiah White without the input of all three
individuals? Not much. Other than adding a few census images and photographs, about
all this writer can do is paraphrase the earlier work of James W. Johnson. The reader is
here referred to that other, quite comprehensive work.

Samuel Isaiah White was born on November the 1
st
, 1810, probably in Franklin County,
Georgia (where his presumed parents were then residing). He married his first wife,
whose complete name has unfortunately not survived with exact certitude, sometime
around the year 1834, probably in DeKalb County, Georgia. His parents would have been
residing there at that time. Her name is reported to us as Miss Baker, and her first name
may have been Martha. There was indeed a family named Baker then resident in
DeKalb County, and they in fact had intermarried with the Suttles relatives of Samuel
Isaiah Whites older presumed brother, William Wilson White [q.v.] The oldest child of
Samuel Isaiah White and Miss Baker was Green Berry White, who was born on
January 20
th
, 1835, in DeKalb County, Georgia.

Samuel Isaiah White, to judge by the census evidence and other records, apparently went
by his middle name Isaiah as an adult, and this is therefore what we will call him here.
Isaiah White, too, served as a militia soldier as a young man: he was a member of
Captain Charles D. Parrs militia company of Light Cavalry from DeKalb County as of
29 January, 1836. This was the same company in which Isaiahs brother Wright White
served that same year, under a change of command, Capt. James M. Calhoun having
replaced Parr, on 18 May 1836.
lxxvii
(See above, pages 222-223.)

Isaiah White married as his second wife, Elizabeth Letitia Hardin, in DeKalb County,
Georgia, on the 12
th
of July, 1846. Shortly afterward (probably about 1848-49, according
to the birthplaces of their children in the censuses), they moved to Tuscaloosa County,
Alabama (then the capital of the state). Amazingly for the day and time, Isaiah Whites
second wife Elizabeth could both read and write. Several letters written by her to
265

relatives back in Georgia survive to this day, providing a rare glimpse into their personal
lives. (These letters are quoted in the work of the above-mentioned James W. Johnson.)

It was while residing in Tuscaloosa County that Isaiah White and his young family were
first recorded in any Federal census:









































266












































(Above) 1860 Federal Census for I saiah White and family, then resident in Center,
Attala County, Mississippi. The reader may recall that living in that same county in
that year was his presumed older brother Andrew J ackson White, and his family.
267












































(Above) 1880 Federal Census image for I saiah White and family. This census
accurately shows that his father [Jacob White] was born in N.C., but then
mistakenly transfers this same information to his mother as well.
268

Elizabeth I sabel White Sewell
(1811-1866)












































269

Later versions of the White Generation History list a daughter of Jacob Jake White as
Isabel White, who was the wife of Pleasant Sewell. This is remarkably specific
information. Pleasant Sewell, as it turns out, can only be found in the census records
with a (first) wife named Elizabeth, leading this writer to suspect initially that Isabel
Whites first name might have been Elizabeth. Upon consultation with at least one
genealogist/researcher, who happened to have been a descendant/relative of Isabel
White and her husband Pleasant Sewell, we find that this was in fact a correct surmise:
for Elizabeth Isabel White was indeed her full name prior to marriage. (After her
untimely death in 1866, her husband did in fact remarry.)

Following are the known census records for Pleasant Sewell (also mentioned above) and
his wife Elizabeth Isabel White:



Above is the 1840 Federal Census for the 479
th
or Stones District, DeKalb County,
Georgia, showing Pleasant Sewell and family. His neighbors that year included J esse
Childress, Daniel Stone, Dr. William Gilbert, J oseph Willis, J ohn Bankston, and
J ames Donehooall names clearly associated with Utoy Baptist Church and related
families who worshipped there (including the Whites).
270

By 1850, the Pleasant Sewell family had relocated to Cobb County, Georgia. This should
not be wondered at, since at least one other Utoy Church family (the Maners) had also
moved there, about the same time:











































271











































By 1860, the Pleasant Sewell family, along with his brother Augustus Willis Sewells
family, was residing near Jacksonville, in Calhoun County, Alabama, as the above census
image shows. Pleasant and Elizabeth Isabel White Sewell had, among others, children
272

named Mary Ann, William W., Nathaniel Timothy, Arminda Jane, and Nancy
Camilla, all possibly named after White relatives.

Below is an image of the 1866 Alabama State Census showing the Pleasant Sewell
family; it was about this time that Elizabeth Isabel White Sewell is said to have died:

























The female over age 20 shown there may or may not have been wife Elizabeth Isabel,
though it cannot have been Pleasant Sewells second wife Lucinda J. Lou Nix, because
he did not wed her until 8 June, 1869 (Etowah County, Alabama).

Other than records of some of her descendants, nothing further is known about Elizabeth
Isabel White Sewell. As can be seen above, however, we are extraordinarily fortunate to
possess an original photograph of her! (Courtesy of one of those same living
descendants.)








273

Martha E. White
(December 1813-post 1900)


Henry M. White (born 1814) was somehow a relative of Jacob White. A good guess
would be his son-in-law, especially since Henrys wife Martha is listed in later editions of
the above-mentioned White Generation History as Jacobs daughter (and Henry
specifically as her husband).

A prominent man in early DeKalb County politics, Henry M. White served as a road
commissioner, helping to supervise and organize the countys road construction, and
also as a Justice of the Peace (he married a few of his relatives). Henry M. White, along
with several of his relatives, moved to Randolph County, Alabama, arriving there about
1851. His son Daniel Jacob White (born September, 1852, and undoubtedly named after
his grandfather) lived there until his death on December 27
th
, 1935.

Since Henry has been mentioned so much throughout the rest of this work, we will forego
any further mention of him here, save for including a few census records for him not
already shown. Here is the 1840 DeKalb County, Georgia Federal Census for Henry M.
White and family:
























The names of his neighbors read like a Whos Who of Utoy Baptist Church members!
274











































(Above) The 1850 DeKalb County, Georgia Federal Census showing Henry M. White
and his wife Martha and family, residing next door to J acob White.

275

The 1880 Federal Census for Randolph County, Alabama, showing the Henry M.
White family. It can be seen here that his youngest daughter indeed went by the
nickname Beedy (Jane Beatrice White Gamble, 1856-1915).


276

Mary Ann Polly Ann White Rainey
(1815--28 September, 1899)


Mary Ann Polly Ann White Rainey was received by experience into the membership
of Utoy Baptist Church on 15 September 1832. She was dismissed by letter on 8
February 1834, but re-received on 10 June, 1837. On 10 February, 1838, however,
Brother Robert Orr reported to the church that Mary Ann Rainey was in disorder due to
fornication. She was cited to appear at the next months church conference, when (on
10 March, 1838) it was recorded that the Brethr. appointed to cite her reported that she
was undeniably guilty of the sin of fornication, and upon this charge, she was excluded
from this church. (Her pregnancy was evidently already showing.) The unfortunate
Mary Ann Polly Ann White Rainey in fact had a child born in 1838 (the next nearest
children were born on 9 February 1837 and 5 October 1839 respectively), and this
childa sonwas named William W. Rainey, apparently after his uncle, William
Wilson White, also a Utoy member [q.v.]. (Another son, born about 1846, was named
after his uncle by marriage, Tandy Holman Green Sr. )













(Right) The
Utoy Church
Minutes,
showing how
Mary Ann
Rainey was
excluded for
the sin of
fornication:


Mary Ann Polly Ann White Rainey was apparently forgiven (1841) by Utoy Church
(to their great credit) even for the sin of fornication, for we find her again dismissed by
letter from said church on 12 December, 1846. She was the wife of George W. Rainey
(1806--1864). George W. Rainey also moved with his wife and children to Randolph
County, Alabama, but apparently died in Atlanta during the Civil War. The birthplaces of
277

their children, as reported to the census-takers, indicates that this move took place
sometime between 1846 and 1849. (Based on the date on which she was dismissed from
Utoy Church, the date of the move was probably around 1847.) After the early death of
her husband, Mary Rainey and her children quietly lived out the remainder of their lives
in Randolph County, Alabama.

Martha Patsy Rainey was probably a sister-in-law to the above Mary Ann Polly Ann
White Rainey, as she was also dismissed by letter on 8 February, 1834, but was re-
received on 10 June, 1837 (the same dates on which Mary Ann Rainey was dismissed and
re-received).

In passing, it should be noted that although the White Generation History does indeed
list a daughter of Jacob Jake White as Pollyann, and although the said work does
indeed say that one of Jake Whites daughters indeed married a man named Rainey, the
said work unfortunately mistakenly says that Pollyann White and Mrs. Rainey were
two separate individuals, and this is clearly wrong!

The earliest meaningful Federal censusthat of 1850 in Randolph County, Alabama
has the Raineys as follows:

George W. Rainey, aged 44 [born circa 1806], farmer, real estate worth $200.00, born in
Georgia; wife Mary, aged 37, born [circa 1813] in Georgia; children Martha, aged 15,
born [circa 1835] in Georgia, Jane, aged 13, born [circa 1837] in Georgia, William, aged
12, born [circa 1838] in Georgia, Louisa, aged 10, born [circa 1840] in Georgia, Joshua,
aged 8, born [circa 1842] in Georgia, Josiah, aged 7, born [circa 1843] in Georgia, James,
aged 6, born [circa 1844] in Georgia, Chana (this was actually Tandy H. Rainey, as
shown in the 1860 census), aged 3, born [circa 1847] in Georgia, and John, aged 1 year,
born in Alabama. All but the last named were probably born in DeKalb County, Georgia.

On the following page is an image of that 1850 Federal census:



278













































The 1860 Federal census of Randolph County explicitly lists the above mentioned male
child Chana as Tandy H. Rainey, thus solidifying the previously suspected sibling
279

relationship between Mary Ann Polly Ann White Rainey and her presumed sister
Obedience Biddy White Green, the wife of Tandy Holman Green Sr.:












































280











































(Above) Second page of the 1860 Federal census showing the George W. Rainey
family.


281

Neither Mary Ann White Rainey nor any of her children have yet been located in the
1870 Federal Census, but here is the 1880 census of Randolph County, Alabama,
showing the widowed Mary Ann Rainey with her unmarried daughter Jane, in the
household of daughter Mary E. and her husband James L. Gibson:








































As of this writing, no further record of Mary Ann Polly Ann White Rainey has been
found.
282

Jim Jacob White
(dates unknown)

The only record we have at present of any son of Jacob Jake White named Jim Jacob
White is the aforementioned White Generation History (which obviously cannot be
trusted). Jim Jacob White may therefore only be a mistaken conflation of several other
individuals, and not a real person. (Although there was indeed a son of William Wilson
White with this exact name.)




































Above: present-day view of Rock Mills, Randolph County, Alabama, where so many of
our Whites once lived. (Author photo)
283

Part IV:
Selected Grandchildren
of
Jacob Jake White, Jr.



















284

Below is a photo comparison of several grandchildren of Jacob Jake White Jr. (primarily those
for whom known likenesses exist). The main reason for showing them all on a single page is to
illustrate the extraordinary degree to which these first cousins all resembled one another.

Francis Marion White Eliza Ann White Daniel Andrew White John Andrew White
(1827-1925) (1830-1909) (1840-1911) (1835-1933)
s/o Wm. Wilson White d/o Wm. W. White s/o of Andrew J. White s/o James V. White

Camilla White Bentley William Henry White Joshua J. Rainey Josiah Timothy Rainey
(1852-1943) (1853-1907) (b.1842) (1843-1902)
d/o James V. White s/o Wright White s/o Mary A. Rainey s/o Mary A. Rainey

(left:
Wright R. White
[1836-1917] Please note
s/o Samuel Isaiah that DNA
White) evidence
now proves
(right: Francis that most
Marion Frank of these
White [1840- persons
1933] s/o James are indeed
V. White. related.
285

Jacob James Jim Jacob
White (1824-1884)
Jim Jacob White, the eldest of the two sons of
William Wilson White and his wife Elizabeth
Betsy Willis, was evidently named after
both his grandfather Jacob Jake White Jr.
and his (Jim Jacobs) uncle, James V. White.
Jim Jacob White, according to both the
above-mentioned White Generation
History and his parents family bible, was
born on the 27
th
of November, 1824,
probably shortly after his parents arrived in
DeKalb (now Fulton) County, Georgia, and
died prematurely, at the age of fifty-nine, on
the 2
nd
of October, 1884. Like his sons, and
several nephews and grandsons, Jim Jacob
White was a carpenter and house builder. He
is mentioned here, not because any
photograph of him is known to exist, but
rather mainly because he left this earthly life
in such a sudden, tragic, and even horrific
manner, that the local Atlanta Constitution
newspaper took note of his passing, and
(fortunately) recorded the sad story for
posterity (see right, and below):






286

(Middle section of same article:) (Bottom half of same article:)



The above article dates from October the 3
rd
, 1884, the day after the tragic accident. On the
following morning, October 4
th
, a coroners inquest was held, and the results of said inquest
appeared in that same days Atlanta Constitution newspaper (following page). This writer believes
that when the word bale is used in the above article, and the word working used twice in the
below article, the words hale and walking respectively were probably actually intended.
Jacob James Jim Jacob White and his widow Rachel M. Patrick White, whom he married in
DeKalb County on 17 September, 1845, probably lie buried in Utoy Primitive Baptist
Churchyard, in unmarked graves. (This is where his parents and at least two sons and their wives
also lie buried.)
287



















288

Francis Marion White (1827-1925)























289


Francis Marion White, apparently the first in his family to bear this name, was born on January 1
st
,
1827, on his fathers farm in DeKalb County, Georgia (it is now part of Atlanta in Fulton County).
As mentioned above, his parents were William Wilson White and Elizabeth Betsy Willis. As a
small child, perhaps at around the age of three years, he was afflicted with infantile paralysis
(probably polio), as a result of which he never walked without the aid of crutches. His youthful
affliction, however, in no way prevented him from fathering and successfully raising eleven
children, nor from pursuing an active, beneficial and highly respected public life, both as
schoolteacher, as county tax collector, and as Justice of the Peacea position which had much
greater powers in his day than it would now. (Until the reforms of 1868, that office functioned
much as a lower court judge does today, and was an elected position showing that its holder was
held in high esteem by his neighbors and community.)
In order to more successfully support himself and to court a young bride, Francis Marion White
diligently pursued employment as a young man of seventeen, first with the local Connally family
plantation (in what is now East Point, Georgia), as their plantation schoolteacher, and then, four
years later, as the new tax collector for the county. Before moving on to that fact, however, it is
worth mentioning that one of his first students (and undoubtedly the best and brightest of them)
was once-famed Atlanta physician, Dr. E. L. Connally, for whom the elementary school in West
End is named. Dr. Connally thought enough of his old teacher that, upon hearing that Mr. White
lay on his deathbed in December, 1925, he paid him one final visit at his home. Dr. Connally is on
record (fortunately) as giving us a glimpse of how Francis M. White was as a teacher, and how
profound his influence on his young students must have been:
Said Dr. Connally: I remember how, as but a youth, I would sit in utter amazement in
class, as the wonders of the solar system were unfolded before my eyes.
Francis M. White taught school from 1844 to 1855, according to his 1925 obituary (see
momentarily). Since Francis M. Whites father William did not know how to read or write (and we
do not know whether or not his mother knew how), it appears likely that Francis M. White
probably obtained at least some of his education from his maternal uncle, William Willis, who
appears, from the list of books sold upon his death at his estate sale, to have been an attorney. (We
do know that he, too, along with his brother Joseph Jr., was another Justice of the Peace.)





290














(Above) Thomas Whipple Connally (1809-1884) and his
wife Temperance Arnold Peacock Connally, circa 1850s.
Mr. Connally was the first employer of Francis Marion
White, from 1844 until 1855. (Below right) Col. Elijah
Lewis Lou Connally, M.D., son of the above couple,
and the best and brightest of the students of Francis M.
White. Dr. Connally paid a final visit to his old teacher as
he (Mr. White) lay dying in late December, 1925.

On May 25
th
, 1848, four years after he started teaching
school, Francis M. White was also elected tax collector
for DeKalb County, Georgia, as the following reference
from page 383 of Dekalb County Inferior Court
[Ordinary] records will show:
[In] Chambers, May 25th 1848:
291

Ordered by the [Inferior] Court that F. M. White, Tax Collector of Dekalb County for the
present year, be & you are required to levy and collect 25 per cent on the general State tax
and to pay over, one half of the same to the County Treasurer, and the other Moity [i.e.,
part] to the overseer of the poor. Also, 12 1/2 per cent on the general State tax for the
purpose of paying to Jurors, and pay the same over to the County Treasurer, after
dedicating Collecting Commissioners agreeably to Law in such cases made and provided.
John N. Bellenger, J.I.C., Wm. Hairston, J.I.C., E. A. Davis, J.I.C., Locklin Johnson, J.I.C.
From pages 487 and 540 of the same, it can be seen that F. M. White continued to function as the
county tax collector in the years 1850 and 1851. He served in that capacity until shortly before his
marriage in December of 1852. It is surely a sign of the esteem in which he was held in his
community that he was elected as tax collector for the entire county at barely twenty-one years of
age. (Back then, any honest young man who knew how to read and write could expect to go far.)
This and succeeding pages: This is more or less what the
$5.00 gold piece would have looked like which Francis
Marion White took in as part of his duties as tax collector,
1848 to 1852. We know this both because of an oral
family tradition to that effect, and also because of the
documentation in the handwriting of his son, Dr. John
Wilson White, shown on the following page. This gold
coin was carefully treasured and handed down in the
White family; first in the person of Francis M. White
himself, then by his son Dr. White, then by Dr. Whites
nephew Howard Franklin White, and then by Howards
daughter Madelyn White Baker, who owned it when this
writer met her in the 1980s. For obvious safety reasons,
she housed it in a safe-deposit box in a local bank. Alas,
however, it is not now known what became of this priceless
heirloom, or whether or not Mrs. Baker is even still living
(she was born in 1921). Her only child, a son named
Rees H. Trammell, (born 25 November, 1943) has
unfortunately proven difficult to trace, and this writer
never met him. This coin, alas, may no longer belong to
any member of our family. Also, this writer never actually
saw the coin in question, but was only told about it, and
shown (and given) the note which came with it.
On the following page is both sides of the handwritten note penned by Dr. John Wilson White
(1863-1951), son of Francis M. White, explaining the provenance of this gold piece. This writer
obtained this original document directly from Mrs. Baker herself, with her blessing.
292


Handwritten note penned by Dr. John Wilson
White explaining the provenance of the $5.00
gold piece inherited from his father, Francis M.
White.
Note that Dr. White says that during the [Civil]
War, it was buried in a stable on Squire Willis
place on Willis Mill Road, and that the
Yankees slept over it for about 15 days without
realizing what lay under their feet.
This Squire Willis place he mentions would
have been the same house which stood in the
line of fire during the Battle of Utoy Creek, and
which was where the White, Willis, and Helms
families sought shelter in the above-mentioned
bombproof dugout shelter for six weeks in
August, 1864. (See above, at pages 179-180)













293

Four years later, as a young man of twenty-five years, Francis Marion White met and fell in love
with a neighbors daughter, Elizabeth Frances Marchman, the eldest of the fourteen children of
Wiley George Marchman (1810-1883) and his wife Sarah Sally Moore (1814-1890), whom he
dutifully wed on the 14
th
of December, 1852, in DeKalb County. This was shortly before that
county was divided into the present DeKalb and Fulton Counties (1854).
During the Civil War, Francis M. White participated in the adventures of his family (parents, uncle
Joseph Willis Jr., and others) in the Battle of Utoy Creek. Since those events have been more fully
recounted above, however, we will here pass over them, and conclude with a newspaper article
from the year 1924, when Francis M. White was ninety-seven years old:
"When Whitehall was called Peters Street"
The Atlanta Journal newspaper, Sunday morning, 13 January, 1924 , Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia
"There were just four roads in Marthasville when I was a boy," said F. M. White of 25
White Oak Avenue, Oakland City, on his 97th birthday, January 1, 1924. [Marthasville is
now known as "Atlanta".] "There was the road through the woods on the west that led to
Marietta, and of course was called the Marietta Road, then the one on the east to Decatur,
that is now called Decatur Street. There wasn't any Whitehall; that was called 'Peters Street'
after Richard Peters, and Peachtree was called Peachtree--well, just because, I guess."
Mr. White had never heard of the legend of the Indian town of 'Standing Peachtree,' the
small Indian settlement near the junction of Peachtree Creek and the Chattahoochee which
was overlooked by a bluff on which stood an immense peach tree, from which many trees
have descended.
Mr. White, while helpless bodily, is wonderfully alert mentally and makes quaint apologies
for not "recollecting" better when it comes to the rival candidates for justice of the peace
some sixty years ago. Growing up with the little settlement that was 'Terminus' and then
'Marthasville' and finally 'Atlanta,' Francis M. White got into politics very early, becoming
tax collector at barely twenty-one, and not long afterward being made justice of the peace.
"Atlanta was a lively little place even under those other names," this old settler assures us.
"Right around where the big post office is now was a great spring called Walton Springs,
and we used to have barbecues there." "Yes," he went on, in answer to a question, "the big
men came and frolicked there with us youngsters--the mayor and the governor too."
"Oh yes--besides the barbecues, we used to have road tournaments down Marietta Street.
One of the stunts was to hang a gander head-down on a pole, with his neck and head
picked and greased. Then we young men would line up on horseback. Somebody stood
near the starting line and whacked each horse good and hearty as it went by, so by the time
we reached the gander, we were going 'lickety-split'! Then we reached out and grabbed for
his head." The narrator chuckled as he told of the ruse of the successful competitor.
294

"He just started, and said, 'I'll get him this time!'--and he did. He took an underhand grip
and broke the gander's neck, and the head came away."
"We had one hotel then--Thompson's, down about where the old Union Station is now. It
seems strange to think how things have changed. ... Out near where Fair and Castleberry
cross Forsyth, there was a sawmill. It was run by a treadmill, and the old horse tramped on
all day without getting anywhere, but he cut the lumber. These things are all gone now, and
I doubt there are many who remember them. As far as I can find out, I am the only man of
my age left living that was born within five miles of Atlanta."
"In these days I am talking about, 'long about the '40s, the place had about a thousand
people, I guess--or maybe two thousand, I recollect. There was a big store (for those days)
down on Marietta; just one--a general store we called 'Connally's Store'."
"Railroads? Well, there was only one--the Georgia Road. The Central had gone broke.
Then came in the Western and Atlantic. I saw the first cars pull in on this road. It was a
great day!"
Mr. White was tax collector for four years [1848-1852], and gave a naive reason for quitting
the job: "Besides the Walton Springs, there were springs and branches and even creeks all
over the woods around here. I had to ride all about and around and collect (names meant
something in those days), and then ride to Decatur to turn in the funds. Wild or mild, I
had to go. So one time, a big rain caught me. I was going over a little bridge, and my mare--
she was fiery--tried to break away. I held her back, and we got over, but no sooner did I top
a rise than that bridge just turned around and went on down the creek! I knew then that my
mare had sensed the danger and tried to save me. I had had enough risk by that time, so I
wouldn't run again. Old Joseph E. Brown, the 'war governor,' was in office then, and
Jonathan B. Wilson was judge."
Mr. White was justice of the peace from 1861 to 1871. He resigned that job because,
fearful of his own judgment, he turned a case involving two friends over to a jury, and one
of his friends "got his feelings hurt."
"I recollect there were three candidates to follow me--a one-armed negro put up
by the Republicans, and two white men, and one of them was the son of Governor
Connally--John L.--that we called "Lou." I wouldn't run, as I told you. I am ashamed that I
can't recollect the name of the other white man."
"Sherman?" The name started a new train of thought. "Hurt by him? Well, I guess I
was! I'd been married about six years, and had worked hard to get my little house and the
fifty acres around it. The war kept getting closer and closer, and our men told me I'd be
ruined [if I stayed where I was], so they moved me over to my father's--where Atlanta
Milling Company now stands. Then it got too hot there, and we had to move again [this
time to the Joseph Willis place]. Finally, I didn't have enough left [with which] to load my
two-mule wagon, and I started back to my home, only to find it a ruin. And then they took
my mules and wagon! He did me up, Sherman did!"
295

The old gentleman is cheerful now, just as he has been all through a long life of handicaps.
He has never walked without crutches, owing to what was no doubt infantile paralysis, and
his education was obtained under the most strenuous difficulties; yet he has raised seven
children, and has twenty-five grandchildren, seventeen great-grandchildren, and two great-
great-grandchildren.
Those "seventeen great-grandchildren" referred to above included all seven of the living children of
Frank and Bessie White, at that time living at 27 Christman Street SW, Atlanta (the great-
grandparents of the present writer).
A separate reference this writer found many years ago, when he was just a teenager, and didn't yet
know he was supposed to record the sources for all his cited references, had the following to say
about the "gander-pulling" contest mentioned above by Mr. White:
"The Gander Pulling. A gander with the feathers plucked from his head and neck, which
were then thoroughly greased, was suspended from a bar supported by two upright poles
about 8 or 9 feet high. After paying a small fee, each contestant, mounted, galloped at full
speed between the upright poles, and endeavored to grasp the gander's head and pluck it
from the body. Because of the rapid rate of travel, and the slick head of the animal, this
was no easy feat. The fortunate contestant had the gander for his reward. (Note:
possibly this old pastime of our forebears explains the origin of the expression, "All is lovely
and the goose hangs high.")
This writer apologizes for not having the citation for this reference, but wanted to include it
anyway, as it is of some value still. (It may be from Garretts justly famed Atlanta and Its Environs.)
Francis Marion White eventually passed from this earthly life on December 25
th
, 1925, at the
home of his daughter Mary Etta Mollie White (1872-1955) in the Oakland City section of
Atlanta. His wife Elizabeth Frances Marchman White predeceased him on August 9
th
, 1911. Both
lie buried side by side in Atlantas historic Utoy Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery, to await the
resurrection of their Lord and Saviour. (Elizabeth was a member of that church from 1889
onwards; her husband was not.)

[Following pages: Francis Marion White and his wife Elizabeth Frances Marchman White.]
296

An early White home, on Lawton Street SW (Atlanta), circa 1895. (L-R:) Robert Marion White,
Elizabeth Marchman White, Francis M. White, Dr. John Wilson White, Mary Etta Mollie
White, Charley Lee White. This home, amazingly, is still standing today.
297

















Francis Marion White
circa January, 1924

298


This is a remarkable five-generation photograph. Left to right are: Francis Marion White (seated),
his son William Cornelius Green Cap White (see later), grandson Henry Guy White (son of
Cap), great-granddaughter Willie Mae White
Pickett (daughter of Guy), and her child (almost
certainly Willie Mae Billie Pickett Gray, born in
1921). This photograph, if the identification of the
baby is correct, was thus made around 1921-1922.


(Right) A rare example of the handwriting of Francis
Marion White, dating from the year 1888:

299

Below is the December 1925 obituary of Francis Marion White, from the Atlanta Constitution:


300

Below: Some of the worthless Confederate bills saved by Francis Marion White, and found in
his wallet upon his death in 1925. (The wallet and contents were donated to the Atlanta History
Center in the 1980s by his granddaughter Mrs. J. Wesley [Roberta White] Brisendine.)
















301

Eliza Ann White (1830-1909)
302

Eliza Ann White, daughter of William Wilson White and his wife Elizabeth Betsy Willis, was
born on the 8
th
of March, 1830, in De Kalb County, Georgia, and died at the residence of her
nephew Harrison B. White on Gordon Street SW Atlanta (now MLK Drive SW) on the 6
th
of
August, 1909. She, like her Aunt Sarah White, also never married, but was well-provided for both
in her fathers 1884 Last Will and Testament, and by her brother Francis and nephew Harrison
(son of Francis).
Not much more is known of the life or personality of Eliza Ann White, save for the one
photograph we have of her which still exists. It is known, however, that in her will, dated 7
December, 1908 (probated 4 October, 1909), she bequeathed the sum of One Hundred Dollars
(a huge sum back then) to Utoy Church to be used by my Executors for repairs and painting said
Church as they see proper. [emphasis supplied] Eliza Ann White also requested (in her will) that
her nephew, Dr. John W. White of Oakland City (now part of Atlanta), look after and care for
my grave yard lot during his natural life.
Eliza Ann White lies buried next to her parents and sister Sarah in Utoys Churchyard, inside a
rusted Victorian-style iron fence:
303

Daniel Andrew White (1840-1911)

304

[Previous page: Daniel Andrew White, as photographed at the age of forty-nine on the 9
th
of June,
1890, probably near his home in Round Rock, Williamson County, Texas. Photo courtesy of Gary
and Tricia White. Evidently, either the year given is wrong, or Daniel had prematurely aged due to
his lack of teeth, his white hair, and the stresses and ravages of the Civil War.]
Daniel Andrew White, son of Andrew Jackson White and his wife Jane Stone, was born in
Alabama (probably Cherokee County, where his parents were residing that year) on the 11
th
of July,
1840. He was moved to Yalobusha and later to Attala County, Mississippi by his parents when a
small boy, where he grew up. Attala County, it will be recalled, is also where his uncle Samuel
Isaiah White resided, after he, too, left Georgia for greener pastures.
Daniel Andrew White, along with his brothers
William and Joseph, and two cousins (Green Berry
and Wright R.) who were sons of his uncle Samuel
Isaiah White, served as a private in Company D,
of the 30
th
Regiment, Mississippi Volunteer
Infantry, during the Civil War:












(Right:) one of five
muster roll cards on file
for Daniel A. White.
(Fold3.com)
305

Daniel Andrew White, after returning home from the Civil War (evidently with a left ear which
had been partially shot off, to judge by the one photo we have of him) married Beatrice Edla
Cates, probably in Attala County, on 27 July, 1869. She was born on 21 December, 1851, in Attala
County, Mississippi. They would eventually raise seven children.
In 1873, shortly after the birth of his second son Daniel Granville, Daniel Andrew White and his
wife packed up their belongings and left Mississippi for good, heading in a covered wagon, first to
Comanche County, Texas (where he left numerous descendants), and thence to Round Rock,
Williamson County, Texas, where he would live out the remainder of his days, and where he
would eventually die, on the 9
th
of September, 1911, at the premature age of seventy-one. His wife
Beatrice had predeceased him at the even younger age of forty-seven, on 16 June, 1899, in
Comanche County, Texas. It is an understatement to say that life was hard and rough back then,
especially on the Great Plains, and exacted an often terrible toll on the poor people called to
endure its travails. Peace to their eternal souls!












306

John Andrew White (1835-1933)

















307

(Left: John Andrew White
with his faithful and beloved
wife Susan Catherine
Davenport.)












Since John Andrew White has already been discussed in great detail above (pages 200-211), we will
not here add anything more, save to include (again) his 1933 obituary, and one of his Civil War
service record cards. The least we can say about John Andrew White is that we sure do wish we
knew more about the volumes of tales he had to tell about his experiences in early Atlanta, when it
was called Terminus and Marthasville!

308


Civil War Confederate service record
card for John Andrew White,
showing that he was indeed wounded
on 24 August, 1864, as was stated in
his obituary in 1933.














309















(Above) The 1933 obituary of John Andrew White.



310

Francis Marion Frank White (1840-1933)
Francis Marion Frank White, another son of James V. White and Martha M. Weaver, and thus
a brother of John Andrew White and Camilla White Bentley, was born in Atlanta on 15
November, 1840, and died in Mount Pleasant, Titus County, Texas (whence he had moved in
1893) on 12 June, 1933.

Above: Thomas Jefferson White (1875-1954), his daughter Jeffie White Mosier (1909-1994), her
daughter Catherine (born 1929), and Thomas father, Francis Marion Frank White. To date,
this is the only known photograph of Frank.
Francis Marion Frank White, undoubtedly named after his older cousin by the same name (son
of his uncle William Wilson White of Atlanta), was a Confederate soldier, like his father James V.
and brother John Andrew, having enlisted in Carrollton, Georgia, on 5 May, 1862, in Company
B of the 56
th
(Stephens) Regiment, Georgia Volunteer Infantry. Frank White led a colorful
career whilst in the Confederate service, being captured by the Yankees twice: he was captured
first at Vicksburg, Mississippi on 4 July, 1863, and (after having been paroled four days afterward
on 8 July on his promise to never again take up arms against the United States), he immediately
311

rejoined his former regiment, and resumed the battle. His second capture occurred at Jonesboro,
Georgia, on 2 September, 1864 (the day after the fall and surrender of Atlanta). This time, the
Federal military authorities were not so forgiving: after sending him to the military prison at
Louisville, Kentucky, he was soon transferred to the infamous Camp Douglas (the Norths
version of Andersonville) on 29 October,
1864, as the following document will show:


Fortunately for him, Frank White did not
have to endure more than a few months in
that awful hell-hole, where so many of his
compatriots gave their lives in miserable
disease-ridden squalor: he was released on 17
June, 1865, after the surrender of Johnston at
Durham, North Carolina finally put an end to
the Southern rebellion for good. He thus
spent almost eight months there.




In 1907, Frank White fortunately began the
process of applying for a Confederate pension
from his new residence of Mount Pleasant,
Titus County, Texas. His initial application, in
the event, was rejected, not for lack of
evidence, but simply because he had at that
point not resided long enough in the State of
Texas to qualify for receiving a pension in that
state. By 1913, having resided long enough in
his adopted state, and therefore qualifying, he
once again went through the no doubt arduous
312

process of applying. This time, his efforts were rewarded with a full pension. The great fortune for
the genealogist and historian from these pension applications, is the wealth of personal data they
tell us about Frank White. Unbelievably, one document found there (see below) is his death
certificate, which has his complete birth and death dates:

Another crucially-important document found there is an affidavit from his brother John A(ndrew)
White of Loveless [District], DeKalb County, Alabama, stating (twice) that this Francis Marion
White of Titus County, Texas was in fact his brother. This single statement finally enabled
researchers to prove, without question, once and for all, that this Francis Marion White was indeed
a son of James V. and Martha Weaver White, formerly of Atlanta. This two-page affidavit will be
shown in its entirety on the following pages:

313


















314



















315

It is right curious and strange that in the
above affidavit, John Andrew White
merely signed his name with a mark,
since from his 1933 DeKalb County
obituary (see above), it is known that he
could at least read, for the said obituary
reported that he eagerly looked forward
to every day reading the daily newspaper
(which was delivered to him free of
charge, out of respect for his old age).
Another document connected with
Francis Marion Frank White which is
surely worth noting here is one of his
Confederate service cards (right), which
card gives a remarkable physical
description of the man, at approximately
the age of twenty-five (the card is
unfortunately undated, but appears to
have been produced at the Wars end in
1865):
This reference is curious for two
reasons, however: one, in that his place
of residence had formerly been
DeKalb County, but in fact had been
known as Fulton County since 1854;
two, in that the place to which he was
released on parole was Newnan,
Georgia, which in fact is in Coweta
County, and not very close at all to
Fulton (or even DeKalb) County. Yet
another puzzle to ponder.
Francis Marion Frank White married
Annie Elizabeth Ray (said to have been
of Cherokee origin), probably in
Georgia in late 1865, and left a large
family of descendants, both in Titus
County, Texas, and in DeKalb County,
Alabama.
316

Camilla White Bentley (1852-1943)
Camilla White Bentley, the thirteenth of
the fourteen children of James V. White
and his wife Martha M. Weaver, was
born in the Black Hall District of DeKalb
(later Fulton) County, Georgia, in July,
1852. She married James Isaac Bentley
(brother of Robert Greer Bentley, who
married Camillas sister Susan Elizabeth)
about the year 1872, probably in
Haralson County, Georgia. Camilla and
Isaac were the parents of eight children,
of whom the youngest, Mabel Vida
Bentley Groover, only died as recently as
the 6
th
of May, 1997, in Smyrna, Cobb
County, Georgia, at the remarkable age
of one hundred years. Camilla White
Bentley herself was the last-surviving
grandchild of Jacob Jake White Jr. for
whom we have any reliable record, dying
at the age of ninety in Macon, Bibb
County, Georgia, on the 22
nd
of May,
1943.







317

William Henry White (1853-1907)
William Henry White, the youngest
surviving child of Wright White and his wife
Margaret Peggy Crow White, was born in
Randolph County, Alabama on the 9
th
of
August, 1853. A farmer and--toward the end
of his short life--also Sheriff of Heard
County, Georgia (just over the state line from
Randolph County, Alabama), William
Henry White died at his home near the town
of Texas, Heard County, Georgia, on the
17
th
of June, 1907. With his wife Josephine
Elizabeth Josie Patterson, whom he wed in
Troup County, Georgia on the 18
th
of
February, 1873, he was the father of seven
children (below, l-r): Martha V. White (and
her two children), Homer William White
Sr., Henry Clarence White, Maggie White,
Arthur J. White, and Minnie White.
(Daughter Annis B. White was deceased.)





(Photo
courtesy of
Roger
White.)

318

Wright R. White (1836-1917)

(This and following page: wedding photos of Wright R. White and his bride Virginia Clementine
Clemmie Ayers, taken on their wedding day, 29 December, 1859, in Winston County,
Mississippi. Photos courtesy of Monty B. White.)
319


Virginia Clementine Clemmie Ayers White



320

(Left) Close-up of Wright R. White and his wife
Clemmie, from the photograph shown below.
Wright R. White, named for his uncle Wright
White, was born in the Black Hall District of
DeKalb County, Georgia, on the 4
th
of October,
1836. He died at the age of eighty on the 8
th
of May,
1917, at his home in Attala County, Mississippi. He
and his wife Clemmie were the parents of ten
children of whom the eighth, Hattie Clementine
White, died as recently as 25 June, 1970. The two
eldest sons of Wright and Clemmie (John Isaiah and
James Thomas White) moved to Texas to live, and
left a large family of descendants who live there to
this day. Virginia Clementine Ayers White was born
on 12 January, 1844, and died on 21 February, 1900
(both in Attala County, Mississippi).
The family of Wright R. White and Virginia Clementine Ayers White, in front of the family
home, circa the late 1890s. The story goes that the fence was torn down in order to allow for the
photograph to be taken. (Notice some of the black sharecropper farmhands who got included in
the picture.) (Photo courtesy of Dr. Edward R. Ed Hutchison Sr..)
321

Joshua J. Rainey (b. Jan. 1842)


Joshua J. Rainey, son of George W.
Rainey and his wife Mary Ann Polly
White Rainey, was born in January, 1842,
in the Black Hall District of DeKalb
County, Georgia. Not much is known
about him beyond that, save for his Civil
War record which he left behind (see
succeeding page).





322


















323

Josiah Timothy Rainey (1843-1902)







































A photo of J osiah Timothy Rainey (1843-1902), son of Mary Ann White Rainey. Like
most young men of his generation, he, too, was a Confederate soldier (and one of the
fortunate few who survived).

324









































Josiah Timothy Rainey with his wife Amanda Margaret Manda Rhodes. (She was
apparently a relative of Wiley Thomas Henrywhose mother was a Rhodeswho was
the husband of Luticia Gratitude Rainey, Josiahs sister. Moreover, Wileys sister
Charlotte Matilda Henry was the wife of Daniel Columbus White, a maternal grandson
of William Wilson White, an uncle of J osiah T. Rainey.)

325











(Left) One of the Civil War
Confederate service record cards
for J osiah Timothy Rainey.




















326

Part V:
Other Notable Descendants
of
Jacob Jake White, Jr.

































327

William Cornelius Green Cap White (1858-1942)

Here are several articles about William Cornelius Green Cap White (1858-1942),
mentioning, among other things, the fact that his great-grandfather had been named
Jake White. Note that one of these articles (the one dating from 1938) mistakenly says
that Jake White had been Caps grandfather. This was not the case: Caps grandfather
was William Wilson White (1800-1895), a son of Jacob Jake White.


















(The above article dates from May 1936.)
William Cornelius Green Cap White, as can be seen from this and subsequent newspaper
articles published mostly during his lifetime, led an interesting and colorful life.



328


(The article on this page dates from 1938, after Cap had been forced to retire by Southern
Railway.)





(The text of this article continues on the succeeding page.)
329


























330








(Left:) August, 1942 obituary of
William Cornelius Green Cap
White. This writer personally knew
and often spoke with several of
Caps grandchildren (this writers
great-aunts and great-uncles), who
told him many stories about Cap and
his wife. In other words, this writer
knew people who knew Cap
White, and hewas alive when his
great-grandfather Jacob Jake
White was still alive, although a
very old man. What an improbable
chain of connections that isfrom
this present writer, all the way back
to a man who apparently was born in
the year 1772and that covered by
the space of only three generations!






331






















Earliest-known photograph of William Cornelius Green Cap White, made circa 1871.







332

A vivid (and priceless) description of William Cornelius Green "Cap" White and his wife Mary
Jane "Jennie" Gravitt, was provided for posterity by their granddaughter Mary Frances White
Lawrence, recorded via cassette tape on the 15th day of September, 1985. It is here faithfully
excerpted and transcribed verbatim from the tape recording as per the 6th of June, 1995,
by Mrs. Lawrence's grandnephew, the present writer:
Of the Whites ... the closest to me was my grandmother and granddaddy White, 'Mammy'
and 'Pappy' [William Cornelius Green "Cap" White, and his wife Mary Jane "Jennie"
Gravitt]. I don't know where they got those names, to be called 'Mammy' and 'Pappy'--I
don't know where they came from. ... But that's all we ever knew, was to call them 'Mammy'
and 'Pappy', you know,
And Pappy, of course, he worked on the 'Wrecker' with Southern Railroad; he was gone an
awful lot, and Mammy used to call me and want me to come up and spend the night with
her, you know, when Pappy was going to be gone. And she was a lot of fun--she'd play with
you, and take up time with you. She'd tell you stories--you could say, "Mammy, tell me a
story about that picture up there," and she'd look at that picture and she could come out
with a different story if you asked her a hundred times; she could tell you a different story
about that picture. And I got a vase up there [points up to a shelf], that's got some cherries
on the front of it, and I'll bet you she's told me a hundred stories about that vase--you
know, just make up stories to tell you. ... She was lots of fun. ... She'd play hiding with you
in the house, and everything. ...
But one thing that sticks out in my mind most is ... if she called me on Friday wanting me
to spend the night with her Friday night 'cause Pappy was going to be out of town, well,
Saturday afternoon, around three or three-thirty or so, she'd go to the front door, and she'd
hang on the side of the door, and she'd say, "Oh, Lord, don't let Will come home tonight!"-
-thinking it up for me, you know, 'cause she wanted me to still stay with her, you know, and
spend the night. And just things like that--she always made you feel like you was somebody.
...
And then, I'd go up there, and I'd say, "Mammy," [smacking lips] "Whatcha got good to
eat?"
She'd say, "Honey, I just don't have a thing!" "I haven't baked a thing, or cooked a thing
today," said, "I just don't have a thing in the house to eat!"
And so, of course, I'd get a long face, you know, and I'd say, "okay ..."
And in about thirty minutes, she'd say, "How would you like to have a lemon pie?"
And I'd say, "Oooh--lemon pie!"
And she'd get up and drag pies and cakes out of the funniest places--sometimes she hid
them under the bed; she'd hide them in the closet, and under the stair-steps that went
upstairs, there was a place under there that was open, where you had your gas meters, and
things, and that was her regular hiding-place. She'd hide things in there, and then she'd
333

come draggin' 'em out--you know--just to see me grin, and say, "Oh, I knew you had
something!"
[T.J. White comments, "She must have enjoyed that!"]
[Mrs. Lawrence responds,] "Oh, she did! She was a real doll!"
And I remember [Mrs. Lawrence continues], she was very, very prissy, and very neat in
particular. And every morning, as soon as 'Will' left (that she called him), to go to work,
she'd get out her brown paper sack, and she'd cut strips of brown paper, and she'd roll her
hair up in those brown strips of paper, and leave 'em up all day, and just before time for
'Will' to come home, she'd take those brown strips of paper out of her hair, and have little
curls all over her head. And she'd fix herself up, and she'd always put on a clean apron--
just before 'Will' came home. I believe I never saw her in my life--unless she was going off
somewhere--which was very rare--that she didn't have on an apron. She had aprons that
she'd put on over her dress, you know, to keep from getting them soiled. But she was
always primped and prissed up when time for 'Will' to come home.
One of the highlights of when I'd spend the night up there with 'em--when Pappy was at
home: she couldn't read, and Pappy would sit down and read the paper from cover to
cover to her, and tell her all about what was happening, and events, and everything, you
know, he would sit there and read the paper to her. And she'd sit there, and she enjoyed it;
and he'd read the 'funnies', and he'd just laugh! You know how big and fat he was--he'd just
laugh, and he'd shake all over, when he read the 'funnies' and read something that was
funny. And he'd sit there for an hour or two, and read the paper to her. ... I always loved
to go up there--that was the highlight of my life!
I know one time, back in the early nineteen hundreds--I don't remember just what year it
was--we had a big epidemic of 'flu' [it was the winter of 1917-1918]; I was about nine or ten
years old then, and we lived up on Christman Street, which was just a few blocks up Stewart
Avenue from where Mammy and Pappy lived, and everybody in my house was in bed sick
with the 'flu'. And of course, I could manage to open a can of soup, or fix 'em something
once in a while. But about three times a day, I had me a market basket, and I'd stick it on
my arm, and I'd walk up Stewart Avenue to Mammy's, and she'd fill it up with food that she
had cooked for the family, for me to take it back to them. And I never did catch the 'flu'--
everybody had it but me, and I never did take it. So I guess the Lord let me live to feed the
rest of 'em. [She was the oldest daughter in a family of five boys and (later) two girls.] But I
never will forget that.
And then I remember one year, Mammy had a goiter in her throat, and she was in surgery-
-had to go to the hospital to have the goiter taken out, and I went up there and stayed with
Pappy. I was a little older then--I guess I was in my early teens, and I could cook, and
everything. And I went up there and cooked and kept his house, and took care of him, and
everything. And so, when Mammy got home, and she was able to fend for herself, and I
went back home, and I know, 'fore I went back home, Pappy said, "Now, Mary Frances--"
334

(Now, they all called me 'Mary Frances', until I changed my name; when I changed schools,
I was in the seventh grade. So when I changed schools, where everybody didn't know me as
'Mary Frances', I told 'em my name was 'Frances White'--and so, that's when I started being
called 'Frances' instead of 'Mary Frances'.)
But he said, "Now, Mary Frances, I want to get you something nice. Now, what would you
like to have? For helping with Mammy and doing for her."
And so, of course, being a teenager then, you know, and in high school--starting in high
school, I wanted one of these football players' sweaters--you know, like they have these
letters on the sweaters, and everything. And I never will forget, he bought me a "Georgia
Tech" sweater, like that, and I was the proudest thing with that sweater--I thought that was
the greatest thing under the sun--to get that sweater.
So, I couldn't begin to tell all of the wonderful experiences that I had--just with them. ...
[T.J. White interjects, asking, "What about the time you went down to see the 'Gypsies',
and Pappy had to come get you?"]
[Mrs. Lawrence responds:] Oh yeah, next door to Mammy and Pappy's there was a big
vacant lot, and one time I was up there [at their house], and there was a band of Gypsies
that was camped out over there on the vacant lot, and Pappy says, "Now Mary Frances, you
don't go over there in that lot--don't go near those people, now--they have a habit of stealing
little girls, and taking 'em off. Now, don't go over there!"
Well, that was all he needed to say to me: "Well, don't," you know, [or] "You're not
supposed to do that," and that made me [even] more anxious to see what they was doing,
and see if they'd really steal me, or something.
So I took off over there to the Gypsies, and they missed me [Mammy and Pappy], and
Pappy got to looking around, and man, I thought a tiger was coming after me, when he got
over there! [laughing to herself]
He was furious! He picked me up with those big ol' arms, and he shook me like that, and
he said, "Didn't I tell you not to come over here? Now, MARCH!" [laughing again]
And I marched right back across there, and went back home.
But I had to see what the Gypsies would do. ... But they didn't try to bother me. ... But that
was just one of the experiences I had to experience, to find out if he was right, or if he was
wrong.
But I know Mammy and Pappy had a big back porch, that came out of their kitchen, and
in the real hot Summertime, you know, when it was too hot to sit out on the front porch,
and anything, this [back porch] was screened in, and had big trees all around it, and was
shady and everything, and they had these big porch rockers ... out there, and I used to love
335

to sit out there with them ...on the back porch. ... Pappy would tell us about wrecks he had
picked up, and things that would happen when he'd go out to pick up a wreck. ...
Of course, that was big fun for me.
'Course, I didn't know what he was talking about--I mean, he was talking about 'hooking on
the Derrick', and he'd do this, and that, and the other. ...
And several times, while I was visiting up there with them (and also, my Daddy, you know,
worked on the Wrecker, too), [I was able to visit the shop where Pappy worked, and see
the inside of his Wrecker, and the inside of his private dining car, that went with him and
his crew, everywhere they went, and once] I had the privilege of going over to the shop, and
going in the wrecking car, and eating in the dining room, and going up in the caboose ... on
the train, and see all those things.
I don't know why he never did take the boys over there, but--I guess because I was the only
one roaming around up there. I was a 'tom boy', with those five boys, you know [her
brothers], and I had to stand my ground with them, so I went over to the shop, and got to
go through the cars, and see the bunks where they slept. ...
So that was a big treat for me, to do that. ...















336

[Previous page: Cap and his wife Mary Jane Jennie Gravitt White on the occasion of
their 57
th
wedding anniversary, December the 25
th
, 1935.]


Above: Cap White with his sons, on the job at Southern Railway in 1918. This writers
great-grandfather Frank M. White is the second from right in this photo.








337

Above: Cap White and his son Frank (on the left), with the wrecking crew, circa 1918.
Note the crews personal cook, on the far right in the white jacket (with the large ham in his
grasp!). As mentioned above by Caps granddaughter, the wrecking crew had their own
personal dining car and cook which travelled behind the wrecker, wherever it went, to cook
meals for the men of the crew, who would often be kept away from home for days at a
time.







[Following page: Cap and Jennie White, circa 1900.]


338


339

Ferman Davis White (1905-1973)
























Ferman Davis White, the eldest son of Francis Marion Frank White (1886-1950) and his
wife Bessie May Davis (1888-1973), was born in Atlanta on the 11
th
of November, 1905,
and died in Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, on the 14
th
of August, 1973. He married
the former Leona Louise Early of Roanoke, Virginia, on the 22
nd
of December, 1926 (in
Atlanta). He and his wife Louise were the parents of one child, a son, Ferman Early White.
340

Ferman Davis White, a grandson of the above-mentioned William Cornelius Green Cap
White (pages 291-302), was a locomotive engineer with Southern Railway by profession.
He is mentioned here primarily because, as such, in April, 1945, he forever distinguished
himself, and brought enduring honor to this entire family, by being selected to be the
engineer of the locomotive (Number 1393) which pulled the famous funeral train of
deceased President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, on the first leg of its sad journey from
Warm Springs, Georgia, to Hyde Park, New York. Ferman single-handedly drove the said
funeral train from Warm Springs to its first stop in Atlanta (whereupon a different engineer
and locomotive took over). Shortly after this historic event, Ferman, his wife and son,
together with the crew of the locomotive and train, posed beside the locomotive which had
pulled the funeral train:




































341


Atlanta, Georgia, April, 1945: the engineer and crew of the Warm Springs to Atlanta leg of
the journey of the FDR funeral train, with some of their family members, posing beside the
locomotive which pulled the funeral train. As mentioned just now, the engineer of this
historic funeral train, on the leg of its journey from Warm Springs to Atlanta, was none
other than Ferman Davis White. Below is a photograph of some of the mourning citizens
of Clemson, South Carolina, as the same funeral train passed by:














342

Homer Spence White, Jr. (1936-2006)


Homer Spence White Jr., nephew of the above-mentioned Ferman Davis White, and
eldest son and namesake of Homer Spence White Sr. (1915-1943) and his wife Martha
Darthula Kelly (1915-2008), was born in Atlanta on the 4
th
of July, 1936. He attended
343

Sylvan Hills Elementary School and Sylvan High School, where he mostly excelled. While
still in high school, he was given a standard I.Q. test, and was found to have a genius-level
I.Q. While also still in high school, he enrolled in the Army R.O.T.C. program at Sylvan
High. Upon his high school graduation in 1954, he immediately enrolled in the physics
program at the Georgia Institute of Technology. While a student at Tech, the following
newspaper article about him appeared in the local Atlanta Journal-Constitution paper:



(This article is continued on the following page.)




344

It should be pointed out that Homer had taught himself both how to play this mightiest of
musical instruments, and how to safely deconstruct, clean, and properly rebuild them. This
feat, in and of itself, would have been remarkable enough in any adult, let alone in a
nineteen to twenty-year-old!


























345

Around the time he graduated from Georgia Tech with his physics degree, he married his
girlfriend, whose name (since she is still living) will not be given here, and then took
employment with a company in New Jersey. He and his new wife did not stay there very
long, however, but were soon back in Atlanta, where he became employed, first as an
electronic organ repairman with the Cecil White and Son Piano and Organ Company (his
distant cousins), and then as a repairman for a vending-machine company.

After the births of his two children in the Nineteen-Sixties, he took employment in the
Durham, North Carolina area, and by the early Nineteen-Seventies, had begun
construction on a new home in the Durham areaa home which he himself built largely
with the labor of his own two hands and the use of his savvy brain.

By the mid-1980s, he and his wife had founded Myrick-White, Inc., an industrial controls
company providing custom-designed engineering and technology products (including
software) for the textile industry. Homer was the brains behind this firm.

Meanwhile, Homer had continued his sideline of building pipe organs. Below is a photo of
one he constructed and sold via Ebay sometime in the 1990s:


















346

Homer Spence White Jr., an atypical Christian (Unitarian-Universalist) who, if anything,
was as much interested in Buddhism as he was Christianity, eventually succumbed to
diabetic heart failure at the somewhat premature age of seventy, at his home in Durham,
North Carolina, on the morning of the 9
th
of November, 2006. At his funeral, besides the
impressive number of tributes from family, business associates, and friends, his
mathematician son Dr. Homer White (III) (see momentarily), in delivering the eulogy, told
a very interesting true story about his father, Homer Spence White Jr.:

It seems that father and son enjoyed teasing each other with seemingly unsolvable
mathematical problems, to see who could out-stump the other. On one occasion,
the mathematician son, upon arriving at the parental home with his wife and
children (for a visit to their grandparents), presented his Dad with an especially
intractable problem, a problem which even he, the mathematician son, had found
unsolvable. Homer Jr. (his father) took the gist of the problem in his head, and
then proceeded to go out to cut the front lawn (on a hot Summers day no less).
This task took him about a whole hour, we are told. Upon completing the lawn, he
returned to the cool interior of the house, called for his son, and said, I think Ive
solved your problem. And indeed he had! He had worked out the solution to an
equation, entirely in his head, which had stumped even his mathematician son!

Such were the mental powers of our relative, Homer Spence White Jr., which, in addition
to his many other gifts (such as artistic ability, which he also possessed), is why he is
mentioned here. Despite such incredible talents, we are also assured, says his son Dr.
White, that (his father) Homer Spence White Jr. was also one of the most self-effacing and
humble men he had ever known. We could all aspire to such a beautiful tribute.















(Right) Homer Spence White Jr. not
many years before his untimely
passing.




347

Dr. Homer Spence White, III (born 1963)

As mentioned just now, the son and namesake of the above Homer Spence White Jr., is a
noted mathematician, currently located at Georgetown College in Kentucky. One of his
former students has called him brilliant and an amazing professor.
lxxviii
Other students
(perhaps understandably, from having been forced to deal with genius) call him difficult
and a hard task-master. A colleague is on record (and in print) as saying that Dr. White is
a philosophical mathematician beyond compare.
lxxix


We will here provide only those
source details which are readily
available to the general public on
open websites. Probably the most
informative of these is Dr. Whites
curriculum vitae, found at the
Georgetown College website. We
will not quote the entire article, since
it is quite lengthy, but mainly enough
of it to get a fair picture of the man.

But first, the basics:

B.A., Princeton (philosophy)
M.S. and Ph.D., UNC Chapel Hill
(mathematics)








Since when he has taught as follows:

Pikeville College, 1991-1996. Assistant Professor of Mathematics.
Georgetown College, 1996-2000. Assistant Professor of Mathematics.
Georgetown College, 2000-2002. Associate Professor of Mathematics.
Cornell University (sabbatical leave from Georgetown), 2002-2003. Visiting Associate
Professor and Teaching Fellow, Department of Mathematics.
Georgetown College, 2003-2007. Associate Professor of Mathematics.
Georgetown College, 2007-present. Professor of Mathematics.

In his vita, Dr. White sums up his lifes work and its aims with the following words:


348

A Brief Guide to Homer (In Case You Have to Talk to Him)

Im interested in a great many things, but all of them stem from one or both of the
following two questionsthe only questions Ive ever really asked.

1. How does the world work, at its most fundamental level? Many
mathematicians, and most analytic philosophers, work on this one.
Sorry, no final answers to report here.
2. How can we find God,
in immediate, concrete individual experience?
and in community?

For more on Question One, which first engaged my attention and which led me to
my current profession, see further down. Since my early twenties, however, my
focus has shifted gradually toward Question Two. Work on the latter question, in
both of its parts, is ongoing. In fact, if we take seriously the thought of the great
Cappadocian Church Father Gregory of Nyssa on epektasis, no final answers are
forthcoming here, either.
Dr. White further describes his interests and commitments in the following words:
The Roman Catholic Church. My familys parish: the Newman Center at
the University of Kentucky.
The great Trappist monk and author Thomas Merton, whose monastery
Gethsemani is an hours drive west of the college. An interest in Merton
entails an interest in just about anything that interested him, including:

peace and justice concerns, especially as expressed in the
Catholic Worker Movement;
the Church Fathers;
monastic spirituality and the contemplative prayer tradition;
interreligious dialogue.

- Buddhism. I am a student at the Furnace Mountain Zen Retreat Center,
about an hours drive east of the College.
- Ashtanga Yoga. Sometimes I teach it as a PE class at the College.
- Classical Indian philosophy, and to some extent contemporary Indian
thought, e.g., that of Aurobindo Ghose.
- My wife, and subsequently our three children.

Dr. White says that he speaks or reads the following languages (in decreasing order of
competency, as he says):

Sanskrit, Latin, Greek, French, and German.
349

His teaching areas of interest, he says, besides the standard undergraduate curriculum,
include probability and statistics, especially as applied to actuarial science; also geometry
and the history of mathematics. (He is particularly noted for being an expert on the
mathematics of classical India, for which his knowledge of Sanskrit was a prerequisite.) His
areas of competence in philosophy include logic and classical Indian philosophy (both
Hindu and Buddhist). He also designed and co-taught the inaugural Interdisciplinary
Seminar of the Honors Program at Georgetown, on the philosophical and theological
ramifications of cosmic evolution and evolutionary biology.
His Ph.D. work, he informs us, focused on ergodic theory and dynamical systems, with
special emphasis on the applications of Kolmogorov complexity to these areas. More
recently, he has worked in the history of mathematics, especially with a view to
pedagogical applications. He has special interests in [Sixteenth-Century mathematician]
Leonhard Euler and in the mathematics of classical India, and in non-Western
mathematics generally. His current projects, he says, consist of editing the
Ishtankapancavimshatika of Tejasimha, a Sanskrit manuscript on recreational mathematics
in a religious (Jaina) setting; [and] study of the concept of upapatti (proof) in classical
Indian mathematics, especially in the Kerala School.
We get the picture by now, this writer is sure (the concept of recreational mathematics in a
religious setting is what threw him a monkey-wrench).
Dr. White has numerous publications and even mathematical textbooks which either
mention him and his work, or include contributions by him. He is regularly invited to give
presentations and lectures (and not always on mathematical subjects), and in 2012, as part
of his continuous social activism, motivated out of his philosophical and theological beliefs,
even testified before a Kentucky State Senate committee on behalf of Kentuckians for the
Commonwealth. All in all, he has an impressive resum indeed, and has thus far led a
most impressive and noteworthy life. The average reader can surely respect Dr. White and
his work, even if he or she may not understand all or most of what he might have to say.













350

Hon. Haley Reeves Barbour (b.1947) 63
rd
Governor
of the State of Mississippi


















(Photo credit: Lori Waselchuk for The New York Times)
Below is a chart showing how Governor Barbour is related to us:




















A
p
351

Appendices

Here follows a series of facts/documents deemed too large, or too interruptive of the flow
of the narrative, to fit into the above text.










































352

Appendix A:

Henry P. White
(born circa 1775-1794)


Daniel P. White (1814-circa 1864), as mentioned in the White Generation History,
was the husband of Arminda Emeline White (1822-1903), a daughter of William Wilson
White (and thus a granddaughter of Jacob Jake White). Daniel P. White was always
listed as "of unknown parentage." Based on newly-discovered evidence, however, this
writer now thinks that the father of Daniel P. White may have been Henry P. White, who
was briefly one of the church clerks of Utoy Primitive Baptist Church in the late 1830s.
It turns out that Daniel P. White was the highest bidder at the public estate sale in DeKalb
County in 1849 of the estate of Henry P. White. Mary "Polly" White, the widow of Henry
P. White, and the above-mentioned Henry M. White were the two administrators of the
estate of the late Henry P. White. (Henry P. White died precisely on August 14th,1838,
according to the Utoy Church Minutes. This makes this writer wonder why the family
waited more than a full ten years before disposing of his estate ...) Henry M. White, as
mentioned above, was a man who was also closely associated with Jacob White, Andrew
White, Wright White, and William Wilson White--Henry M. White himself had
a son named "Jacob White," for example. Henry M. White was also the DeKalb County
Justice of the Peace who, in 1846, performed the marriage ceremony between Samuel
Isaiah White (his uncle?) and hisIsaiahssecond wife, Elizabeth Hardin. (See later.)























353

Above is part of the deed record from Henry M. and Polly White, Administrators, to
Daniel P. White. Daniel purchased Land Lot 138 of the Fourteenth or Black Hall District
of DeKalb (now Fulton County). Within this land lot today, on the northwestern corner
thereof, and on Richland Road SW, is the Outdoor Activity Center and Nature Preserve,
owned by the City of Atlanta.

Note two interesting things about this deed: one, they advertised the estate sale in
the Cherokee Advocate (an early newspaper for and about the Cherokee Indians), and
two, the land in question was Land Lot 138 in the 14th (Blackhall) District of DeKalb
(later Fulton) County, Georgia. This lot was right next-door (on the west side) to Land
Lot 119, which is where William Wilson White lived. That tells us that the late Henry P.
White had lived right next door to William Wilson White! (Not only did they attend the
same church, and have the same surname, but they also chose to live adjacent to one
another ... And they also lived adjacent to Jacob Jake White [the father of both men?],
who apparently owned adjacent Land Lot 137, and later Land Lot 120.)

Below is another image of the 1911 land-lot map of this area:



























Lot 88 which was purchased by Jacob White in 1842 is a little more to the east, but still
not far away at all. Lot 117 which had been purchased by Wright White in 1839 from his
354

brother Andrew (see below) is just past the northern border of this map. It is in the area
just north of what used to be Gordon Street in Atlanta (now Ralph David Abernathy
Blvd. SW)

That purchase of Lot 88 by Jacob White was from an 1842 deed in DeKalb County,
Georgia (Book H, Page 126), wherein said White purchased 202 1/2 acres from a man
named Martin Crow (b.1817)--a man who was the brother of Jacob White's daughter-in-
law Margaret Crow White--the wife of Wright White. Interestingly, Martin Crow (1777-
1845), the uncle of the Martin Crow just mentioned--also came from Chatham County,
NC--the same place from whence our ancestor Jacob White is known to have come. Did
they know each other prior to their departure from North Carolina? Who knows ... But
the evidence is very intriguing, and suggests that they may well have known each other
way back then.

And here is a link about the Cherokee Advocate:
http://anpa.ualr.edu/indexes/cherokee_advocate_index/cherokee_advocate.htm

Question: why on earth would any relative of ours choose to advertise an estate sale in a
Cherokee-owned and run newspaper? Did we have Cherokee blood, and never know it?



















But wait a minute! The same White Generation History (see above) also said that
Daniel P. White (born 1814) had been born in Bartow County, Georgia. Well, Bartow
County was not given that name until the start of the Civil War, because Lewis Cass, for
whom the same county had formerly been named, had been staunchly anti-slavery. And
the former Cass County did not even exist until 1832, when it was created out of the
former Cherokee Territorylands owned and occupied by the Cherokee Indians

355

Question: was Daniel P. White fathered by Henry P. White while he was residing among
the Cherokee Indians, in Cherokee Territory? It sure looks like it

Question: was that Henry P. White in any way related to Jacob Jake White? (Since he
clearly owned land directly adjacent to his son William, and near the land owned by
Jacob?) Henry could have been either a son or a brother to Jacob

Another question: was this Henry P. White identical with the Henry Page White Jr.
formerly of Madison County and Pike County, Georgia? If so, he may not have been
biologically related to Jacob Jake White at all, since Henry Page White Sr. (1756-1842)
is known to have been a son of Henry White and Celia Page, of Colonial Virginia (and
apparently descended paternally from a completely distinct family, going back to John
White [1663-1731] and Mary Elliot, he supposedly descended in the male line from Sir
Thomas White [1490-1556] and his wife Agnes White, both supposedly descended many
times from European Royalty.) Notwithstanding this possibility, Henry P. White was still
clearly closely-associated with the family of Jacob Jake White Jr.

Even better question: was Mary Polly White (the widow of Henry P.) actually of
Cherokee blood? .

Note that in the above 1849 deed to Daniel P. White, the estate sale was explicitly stated
to have been advertised in the Cherokee Advocate to all concerned. It is vitally
important to remember that by 1849, most of the Cherokee (and especially the ones
publishing the Cherokee Advocate!) were then residing in Indian Territory (later to be
renamed Oklahoma)! The only waythat this writer can see, at any rateby which any
Cherokee persons in Oklahoma might be concerned in the estate of the late Henry P.
White of DeKalb County, Georgia, would be if one (or both) of two things were the case:
either they were related by blood to said Henry P. White, and/or, they had had financial
dealings with him during his lifetime (and probably during his inferred early residence in
Georgias former Cherokee Territoryprior to its takeover by the State of Georgia in
1832). (Perhaps they owed money to his estate, as was common back then.) As is by now
pretty well known, the forced removal of the Cherokee from North Georgia in the bitter
and unforgettable Winter of 1838 split up many a Georgia family, with part of the family
moving to what later became Oklahoma, and part of it remaining behind in Georgia. This
writers own ancestral Gravitt family is a notable example of this sad fact. He has
innumerable cousins in both Oklahoma and in North Georgia, to this very day.

Remember also the tradition of long standing which stated that among the early members
of Utoy Baptist Church there were indeed Indians who were also members of said
church (and who were also buried in the church yard there). Could these early Whites
have been among the Indians (or half-breeds) who were in the minds of those who
originated this tradition? This is a very intriguing question which practically begs to be
answered.

This writer has not yet been able to definitively prove Henry P. Whites presence in any
census prior to his recorded presence and death in DeKalb County in 1838. The Henry
356

Page Whites in Madison County are not him (they were still living long after 1838).
There was a man by that name in the 1830 census of Pike County, Georgia, which may or
may not be this man. But no early census apparently still exists which might show our
Henry P. Whites presence in Georgias Cherokee Territory in the decade of the
Eighteen-Teens, when his presumed sons Henry M. White and Daniel P. White were
apparently born there (in what later became known as Bartow County).

Final question: Was Jacob Jake White himself of Cherokee blood? Remember the
DNA connection between Jacob Whites living male descendants and the
Brewer/Lanier family Remember also the strong family tradition which says that a
member of that family named Lanier Brewer Jr. had fathered no less than thirty (3-0)
sons by two wives and a Cherokee Indian concubine Was Lanier Brewer Jr. the father
of Jake White (and maybe Henry P. White), after all?

Curiouser and curiouser


(We need to answer these
questions. )



























357


(Above) Excerpt from the Utoy Primitive Baptist Church Minute Books, under date of
January 7th, 1837, showing the actual handwriting and original autograph signature of
Henry P. White. Given how rare it was for most people to know how to read and write
back then, it must be stressed how unusual it is to even have original documents like this!
Humorously, it can be noted that Henry recorded on this date the fact that William W.
White (his brother?) had confessed to drinking too much!



















(Above) Excerpt from the Utoy Primitive Baptist Church Minute Books, showing the
death date of Henry P. White. It also shows the date on which his widow Polly was
dismist by letter from said church (September 7th, 1844). That was about the same time
that many members of this White family began to decamp for greener pastures in nearby
Randolph County, Alabama. Mary White, howeverseemingly widowed and with three
children at homeshowed up in the Blackhall District of DeKalb County in the 1850
census, literally surrounded by all these other Whites (her deceased husbands relatives?).
She was born around 1798. Perhaps her late husband was born around the same time.
However, this writer has not found her in any later censuses. It would thus be worthwhile
to search for Mary Polly White in the subsequent censuses of Randolph County!

Also to be noted in this excerpt are fellow-parishioners Daniel Stone and his wife
Cinthy (Cynthia). Daniel Stone (mentioned below as a likely brother of Jane Stone, the
wife of Andrew White) had served De Kalb County as Clerk of the Inferior Court since
1824, and as Clerk of the Superior Court since 1826. He and his wife joined Utoy Church
in 1836 . In 1839, he became postmaster of the new Utoy Post Office when it first opened
for business. As can be seen above, he and his wife were excluded from fellowship of
the church in 1838 and 1842 respectively.

On the following page is an 1860 land grant to Daniel P. White by the State of Alabama:
358















































359

Appendix B:

Complete muster roll of Captain
Gideon Kellams Company of militia from
Pulaski County, Georgia, of the 4
th
Regiment,
under the command of Col. David S. Booth:
lxxx










































360

Appendix C:

Map showing the lands which the various members of this White family owned. Pre-Civil
War roads are in red. Modern roads are dotted lines. Downtown Atlanta is mainly in Land Lot
78.




















Lot 170 is where William W. White first settled in 1824.
Land Lot 117 (the 90-acre western half) was owned by Andrew Jackson White
(born 1802) and by him sold to his brother, Wright White, in 1839.
Land Lot 119 was purchased by William Wilson White (1800-1895) in 1830, and
by him gradually sold off, piecemeal, until at the time of his death, only a few
parcels were still owned by his children.
Land Lot 120 was purchased by Jacob Jake White at an unknown date (prior to
1848), and by him given or sold to his unmarried daughter Sarah around 1856-
1857. She, in turn, sold it (apparently after his death) in May of 1862.
Land Lot 105 was purchased in 1835 by James V. White. He then (1842) sold that
land lot to Martin Crow (his brother Wright Whites brother-in-law), apparently in
exchange for their father Jacob White Jr. having purchased Land Lot 88 (see
momentarily) from the same Martin Crow in the same year. (James V. White, on
behalf of his father Jacob, apparently traded lots with Martin Crow.)
Land Lot 88 was purchased by Jacob Jake White from the aforesaid Martin
Crow in 1842. By 1857, Whites son James V. White had somehow obtained both
halves of this land lot, where he resided until about 1862 (by the following year, it
was in different hands).
Lot 200 is where Francis M. White (son of William, grandson of Jacob) lived.
Lot 137 is apparently where Jacob Jake White first lived, after moving here.
Lot 118 was owned by Tandy H. Green (son-in-law of Jacob) until Nov. 28, 1849.
361

Appendix D:

A few interesting documents pertaining to Revolutionary Soldier Nathaniel Williams, of
Franklin County, Georgia (who may or may not be related to this family):










































362















































363

Appendix E:

Several deeds whereby Jacob White Jr. either purchased or sold land in Franklin County:

Original deed of 11 October, 1800, between Moses Terrell and Jacob White [Jr.], found
at Franklin County, Georgia Superior Court Deed Book NNN, Page 86:
364












































On the following page is an exact transcription of this deed:


365


Georgia } This Indenture made this
Franklin County } eleventh day of October one thou
-sand eight hundred & in the twenty fifth
year of american Independence. Between
Moes Terrell of the one part, and Jacob
White of the other part both of the State
and County aforesaid Witneeth that the
said Moes Terrell for and in consideration
of the sum of two hundred dollars to me
in hand paid the receipt whereof I do here-
-by acknowledge have bargained and sold
to Jacob White a tract or parcel of land
land lying on a branch of Broad River
in

-------------------[page break]--------------------------

in County aforesaid being and bounding as
follows Beginning at a pine corner thence N
70 E thirty eight chains [to] a pine corner thence
N 25 E thirteen chains to a pine corner thence
N 65 W thirty three chains to a Black Oack
corner thence S [ unreadable] thirty four chains
to a pine corner thence S 20 E ten chains to the
place of Beginning containing one hundred
acres more or le and adjoining and
Gregson conveyed to me by Tho
s
Dougnagin [Dunningham]
together with all the right title interest
claim or demand of me or my heirs to
warrant of in to or out of the same and
I do bind myself & my heirs to warrant
& defend the title of said against my-
-self and my heirs and against all & every
other Person or Persons whatsoever to the
said Jacob White his heirs & aigns for
his & their proper use & behoof in fee simple
In Witne whereof I have here unto set
my hand and seal the day & date first [written]
Signed sealed & delivered
in presence of Moes Terrell {L.S.}
Test Hugh McCracken
Sam
l.
Payne J.P.
Recorded the 14
th
day of October 1801



366


Original deed of 7 April 1818, from Franklin County, Georgia Deed Book B 1819-1826,
page 24, whereby Jacob White [Jr.] sold the above 100 acres to Samuel Bolling:
















367





On the following page is an exact transcription of this same deed:















368

State of Georgia }
Franklin County } This indenture made this seventh day of April
Eighteen hundred and Eighteen and the forty third year of american In
-dependance Between Jacob White of the one part and Samuel
Boling of the other part both of the State and County aforesaid
witneeth that the said Jacob White for and in consideration of
the sum of two hundred dollars to me in hand paid the receipt whereof
I do hereby acknowledge have bargained and sold to Samuel
Boling a tract or parcel of land lying on a [branch] of Broad
River in the County aforesaid being and bounding as follows
beginning at a pine corner thence N 70 E thirty eight chains
to a pine corner, thence N 25 E thirteen chains to a pine
Corner thence S 20 E ten Chains to the place of beginning

-------------------[page break]---------------------------------------

Containing one hundred acres more or le and adjoining
Jacob White and Enoch Anders [Andrews] Conveyed to me by Moses Terrell
Together with all the appertainences thereoff the rights title
^
or
interest and claims
demands of me or my heirs of into or out of the same and I do
Bind my self my & heirs to warrant and defend the titles of said Land
against myself and my heirs and against all and every other person or
persons whatsoever to the said Samuel Bolling his heirs and aigns
for his and their proper use and behoof in fee Simple in Witne
whereof I have hereunto Set my hand and Seal the day & date first
written Signed Sealed and delivered in pres
t
of
test John Hollingsworth }
his
John Williams } Jacob M White
Jacob Hollingsworth }
mark

} Georgia }
} Franklin County } Personally appeared
John Williams Before me & being duly sworn saith on oath that he saw
Jacob White duly aign Seal & Deliver the within written Indenture to
Samuel Boling as his act & deed also Saw John Hollingsworth aign his
name as a witne also was a Subscribing witne thereto himself & as such
for Record Sworn to & Subscribed before me this 18
th
day of Febry 1820
Th. Hollingsworth J.P.} Recorded 1
st
of April 1820) John Williams









369

Original deed of 17 November, 1810, between Isaiah Bagley and Jacob White Jr.
(Franklin County, Georgia Deed Book T 1809-1810, pages 202-203), following which are
transcriptions of that deed and the 1852 deed whereby the land was sold. The text begins at the
bottom of the page:










































370















































371













































372

Below is an exact, literal transcription of the above 1810 deed, and following that is a
similar transcription of the 1852 deed whereby the property was sold to David Kesler by James
V. White as attorney in fact for Jacob White:

Franklin County, Georgia Deed Book T, pages 202-203:

This Indenture made this Seventeenth
day of November one thousand Eight
hundred and ten & in the thirty fifth
--------------------[page break]--------------------

year of the Independence of the United
States of America, Between Isaiah Bagley
of the County of Franklin and State of
Georgia of the one part & Jacob White
Junr. of the County & State, aforesaid
of the other part, Witnesseth that the
said Isaiah Bagley for and in the con
=sideration of the Sum of four hundred
& seventy five Dollars to him in hand
well and truly paid at or before the
Sealing and Delivery of these presents
the receipt whereof is hereby acknow
=ledged hath, Bargained, Sold, Released
& Confirmed unto the said Jacob
White his heirs & aigns for ever all
that tract of land whereon the said
373

Bagley now lives containing four hun
=dred and Seventy acres be the same
more or le Situate lying and being in
the County aforesaid on the South
fork of Leatherwood Creek to wit
One tract of One hundred acres Gran
=ted to _____ Spinner [?] & conveyed from said
Spincer [?] to George Haning and from
said Haning to Wm. Allred Beginning on
a post Oak thence South 80 C 23
chains to a post Oak, thence N 10 East
46 chains to a pine thence N 80 Wt.
To a B. Oak thence to the beginning, boun
=ded on all sides by vacant Land at
the time of survey also one other
tract of Seventy acres, it being a
part of a tract of land, Granted to
Jacob Pennington conveyed from
--------------[page break]--------------------------

him to Joseph Box & from Sd. Box
to Wm. Allred bounded by Spiner [?] below and
above by Owen Andrews running parallel
with Spiners [?] line, Reference being had
to the farm [?] of Sd. Pennington also the
374

Said Allred that will more fully appea
=r on record in the clerks office for
said County which will more fully
describe the different Boundarys
of said Land also one other tract of
land supposed to contain three hun
=dred acres Surveyed in the Name
of Said Allred the said three hundred
acres bounded on N. E. by Echols Sur
=vey South by Spincers [?] and Pennington
and South East by Williams and
Hollingsworth Land and on the N. W.
by a part Laid off for James Hinson
of Sd. survey to have and to hold the
Said Tract or parcel of land Together
with all & Singular the Rights mem
=bers & appurtenances thereof to the
only Proper use benefit & behoof of
the said Jacob White his heirs
Executors administrators and aigns for
=ever the premises aforesaid and he the said
Isaiah Bagley for & against himself
his heirs Executors administrators and aigns
and against all and all Manner of
Person or persons whatsoever shall [ ? ]
375

warrant & for ever defend the premises
aforesaid In testimony of these things I the
said Isaiah Bagley hath hereunto set
his hand & affixed his seal this day & date
first above written

Signed sealed & delivered in Isaiah Bagley {L.S.}
presence of W [Z?] tLey Bank [?]
Th. Hollingsworth J.P. Recorded 28
th
August [?] 1811

Franklin County, Georgia Deed Book CD, pages 195-196:

James V. White }
to } Deed
David Kesler }

State of Georgia } This Indenture made and Entered into
Franklin County } this the Seventeenth day of December
Eighteen Hundred and fifty two
Between James V. White as Attorney in fact of Jacob White
of the County of DeKalb and aforesaid State of the one part
and David Kesler of Said State and Franklin County of
the other part Witnesseth that the Said White for and in
consideration of the Sum of Six Hundred and fifty dollars
to him in hand paid by the Said Kesler at and before
376

the Sealing and delivery of these presents the receipt
whereof is hereby acknowledged hath bargained and
sold and conveyed and doth by these presents bargain
sell and convey unto the Said David Kesler his heirs
and aigns all that tract or parcel of Land Situate
lying and being in the County of Franklin on the watters
of Leatherwood Creek Containing four hundred and
Seventy Acres more of le beginning at a Hickory thence
S 80 W 38.50 [?] [to a] Pine Thence N 4 W 102 Chains P.O. Thence N 10 W
26 [?] Ch. [to a] Pine Thence S 55 W 2.50 [to a] Dogwood Thence N 4 W 102
Chs.
[to a] P.O. Thence N 50 Chs [to a] Pine Thence West 18 Chs [to a] Pine Thence N
50 W
4.50 [to a] B.O. Thence S 40 W 26 [?] [to a] Spanish Oak Thence S 30 E to
David Keslers R.O. corner on his Survey thence with
Said Keslers line to his Black Gum thence a Strait
line with Richard Crumps Same to a W. D. Corner
made by the parties [?] on Haleys line thence with
Halies line to the beginning Corner with the Excepti
ons of Seventy four Acres of the North West Corner
of the William Alred Plat & Grant now in poeion
of Jacob Percell In Which is the Grant this Deed
Specifies. To have and to hold the Said tract or par
sel of Land unto him the Said David Kesler his
heirs and aigns, together with all and Singular
the rights members and appurtenances there unto
377

belonging or in any wise appertaining unto the Said
David Kesler his heirs and aigns in fee simple
And the Said James V. White Attorney of Jacob
White for him Self his heirs Executors and admin
istrators will warrant and forever Defend the
--------------------[page break]--------------------------------------

right and title to the Said tract or parsel of Land
from the Claim of them Selves and from the Claim or
Claims of all other persons whatsoever by virtue of these
presents In witne whereof I the Said James V. White
have hereunto Set my hand and affixed my Seal the
Date above written in James V. White {L.S.}
presents of us
Allin T. Garrison
George Kesler
Recorded on 28
th
April 1858
Georgia } In person appeared before me George
Franklin County } Kesler who being Sworn Says that he
Saw James V. White Sign Seal and
deliver this deed for the purposes therein contained &
that he Subscribed the Same as a Witne and Saw
Allin T. Garrison do So likewise Sworn unto [?] and Subscri
bed this 28
th
April 1858 George Kesler
John H. Payne Clk.
378

And now, the actual 1852 deed which was transcribed above:













































379















































380

Appendix F:

Photos and a brief description of Fort Hollingsworth-White House, near Alto, Georgia (See
above, Part II, pages 50-52):

View from front entrance.

(All photos by the author.)




381




View of right rear of house/fort.







382



View of front yard from main driveway on right of house/fort.







383
























Antebellum window on right side of house/fort.

384



Left side of front of house/fort.









385



Right side of front of house, showing the original log cabin, pre-1793 Fort Hollingsworth
(which building was later incorporated into the larger antebellum house).







386


Three-quarter view from the front of pre-1793 Fort Hollingsworth.









387


Front door and log rail facing of front wall of pre-1793 Fort Hollingsworth.









388























Dog-trot, or open breezeway between the pre-1793 fort and the later, antebellum house.


389























Detail of logs on wall of fort in the dog-trot, showing original pre-1793 axe marks.


390


Detail of front left corner of log fort, showing the pre-1793 notched-log joinery.


391


View of front left corner of original, pre-1793 fort wall, showing how the carpenters created
the supports for the upper storey, by making notches in the log wall.








392


View of front door of pre-1793 fort, showing the interior fireplace and staircase.

393


I nterior of main floor of pre-1793 Fort Hollingsworth.









394


Another view of the interior of the pre-1793 fort, showing the rear door as well. Notice that the
interior walls were originally whitewashed. (That was common practice for the period, and
was apparently done to help brighten up an otherwise dark and gloomy living space.)








395

Main floor staircase leading to the upper floor.


396


Upper floor from the staircase.


397


Upper floor showing detail of the roof (do not know what the tree is doing there ).









398























Left rear corner of main floor.


399


Right rear corner of main floor, showing the front and rear doors, which have been
temporarily taken down during renovations.

400

A separate antebellum log cabin on the same property (to the rear of the main house/fort).






401


Cotton house (left) and carriage barn (right), in rear yard of main house/fort.









402


The outhouse still works!


403


Main house/fort in the distance, with the well-house in the foreground.









404


Main house/fort, from in between two other outbuildings.

(Note: There is apparently no connection whatsoever between the Joshua White and his wife
Katharine Lane who later owned this Fort Hollingsworth-White House, and the White family
under consideration in this workthe descendants of Jacob Jake White Jr., that is. The fact
that people of the same name once owned this house and gave it their name appears to be nothing
more than a very odd coincidence.)





405


406


407

Appendix G:
The apparent (unproven) parentage and family of J acob White Sr.

Jacob White Sr. was apparently born as Jacob Weys (Wei/Weiss), a son of an
immigrant German couple named Ulrich Weys (Wei) and his wife (Catharina?)
Herzog, a daughter of a man named Friedrich Herzog. Jacob White Sr. was probably born
in Pennsylvania. At least one source has his date of birth as circa 1747 (see Notes).

According to several online sources (see Notes), Friederich Herzog, in company with
his future son-in-law Ulrich Weys (Wei) emigrated from Rotterdam, Holland to
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They arrived on the ship "St. Mark" on September the 26th,
1741. No mention is ever made of Friedrich's wife, who may have been deceased before
the family immigrated to America. Rotterdam was at that time a busy seaport and
common departure point for the American colonies. At least one online source claims that
Friedrich Herzog's daughter Elisabeth had been born in Hamburg, Preuen
(Germany) in 1727. (This writer has not yet been able to verify that claim.)

Friedrich Herzogs future son-in-law Pleickard Dietrich Sailer (a.k.a. Plickard Dederic
Siler) is on record as having been born on the 29
th
of May, 1719, in Germany, a son of
Andreas Sailer and his wife Maria Catharina. Pleickard Sailer arrived in America three
years earlier than his future father-in-law Friedrich Herzog and future brother-in-law
Ulrich Weys, having disembarked from the ship Two Sisters at Philadelphia in the
year 1738. A brother named Hans Peter Sailer came with him. They were listed as
having come from the town of Ittlingen (near Heidelberg), in the state of Baden-
Wrttemberg. This may provide an important clue as to whence these Herzog and
Weys immigrants may have originated. We do know that they were referred to, even in
their own lifetimes, as being from the Rhineland, and as being Palatines. They were
part of the great wave of emigrants to leave that part of Germany for Pennsylvania. This
writer has not yet discovered just when Friedrich Herzogs son Johann Philip and
daughters Catharina (?) and Elisabeth arrived in America.

This Friedrich Herzog may well have been the person by that name who was christened
on November the 13
th
, 1705, at Schopfheim, Lrrach, Baden-Wrttemberg (Germany), a
son of a couple named Hans Herzog and Verena Rbin (Ruebin), who were married at
the Evangelisch Kirche of Schopfheim, on March 2
nd
, 1685. That Hans Herzog may well
have been the person who was christened at Schopfheim on 7 August 1662, a son of Hans
Georg Herzog and his wife Barbara Kleinhenin. That couple were also married at the
same Evangelisch Kirche of Schopfheim, on 7 October, 1661. That Hans Georg Herzog
may well have been the son of Hans Carl Herzog and his wife Barbara, also of Baden-
Wrttemberg. That Hans Georg Herzog was christened at Ihringen, Baden-Wrttemberg,
408

however, on 17 December 1644. His spouse Barbara Kleinhenin appears to have been the
person who was christened on 15 January 1643 at Lrrach, Baden-Wrttemberg, a
daughter of Hans Kleinhenin and his wife Barbara Meier. Friedrich Herzogs apparent
mother Verena Rbin was herself christened at Schopfheim on 25 December, 1644, a
daughter of Hans Frantz Rbin and his wife Verena Sellinger. For some unknown reason,
that couple has been particularly difficult to trace (as has our ancestor Ulrich Weys).
The above information comes from the L.D.S. Churchs Germany Births and Baptisms,
1558-1898, and their Germany Marriages, 1558-1929, at their website
familysearch.org. That town of Schopfheim, whence these Herzogs apparently originated,
is along the extreme southern border of Germany with Switzerland, and is near the
famous city of Basel, Switzerland. Schopfheim is only a few miles from the larger town
of Lrrach (which is itself much closer to Basel).

Not long after his arrival in America, Friedrich Herzog apparently Anglicized his name to
"Frederick Hartsough". Later descendants were to spell the surname as "Hartsoe,"
apparently reflecting its original Low German pronunciation. Ulrich Weys also soon
Anglicized his surname to White.

From Philadelphia, these people apparently moved on to nearby Montgomery County,
Pennsylvania, where Friedrich Herzog owned and operated a grist mill for several years.
By June 1, 1750 Friedrich Hertzog was living along Ridge Valley Creek, Upper Salford
Township, Philadelphia (now Montgomery) County, Pennsylvania. This is from a
mention of him on that date in the book Abstracts from the Pennsylvanische
Geschichten-Schreiber [Pennsylvania Historical Record] (page 33). The original source
for this book was a German-language newspaper by that name, published in
Germantown, Pennsylvania (now a part of Philadelphia), by Christopher Sauer
(Saur/Sower), a man who was important enough to have been a competitor of Benjamin
Franklin. (The name of the paper was later changed to the Pennsylvanische Berichte
[Pennsylvania Reporter].)

Friedrich Herzog took an oath of supremacy (citizenship) in Philadelphia County on
September 20, 1752. He advertised his mill and farm for sale (at the same location) also
in 1752:

On June 1, 1752, Friedrich Hertzog of Upper Salford, Ridge Valley [Creek], offers to
sell a mill and farm. (ibid, page 118)

The farm and mill must have been sold before December 18, 1753, which is when he and
his son-in-law Plickard Seyler first appeared in the Augusta County, Virginia records,
where they remained between their departure from Pennsylvania and their appearance in
old Orange County, North Carolina.

The grist mill that Friedrich Herzog (Hartsough) built in Virginia was apparently the first
one built in what was then Augusta County (it is now Craig County, Virginia). The land
409

on which this mill sat included the mouth of Mill Creek, a branch of Craig's Creek, and a
small section on Craig's Creek itself. The land that Friedrich Herzog held in Augusta
County is presently in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, and close
to the Fenwick Mines Recreation area. Friedrich's son-in-law Plickard Seiler also held
land in this area. We do not find any mention of Ulrich Weiss at any point around this
time, but it is assumed that he followed in his father- and brother-in-laws footsteps, as he
too ended up in Orange County, North Carolina, along with them, around 1759/1762.

"Hartsough's Mill" is mentioned several times in early colonial public records of Augusta
County (mainly records dealing with roads through the area):

The following is from F.B. Kegleys Virginia Frontier:

(page 80) December 23, 1753. Frederick Hartsough, 284 acres on Craig's Creek (he had
recently purchased a separate 130 acre tract)

(page 89) Bond, bills, etc. due the estate [of Col. James Patton] for land purchased:
Frederick Hartsough December 18, 1753; Placard Sciler [Seiler], December 18, 1753;
Frederick Hartsough and Placard Sciler [Seiler] 18 December 1753; Frederick Hartsough
and Placard Sciler [Seiler] December 18th 1753.

(page 167) On Craig's Creek, Henry Holston Jr. was an overseer of construction of a road
from Frederick Hartsough's Mill up said creek, and then across a mountain to James
McAfee's.

(page 460) On June 20, 1771, David Potts purchased 130 acres on Craig's Creek from
Frederick Hartsough (by attorney).

These closely-related families (the Herzogs, Seilers, and Wei/Whites) then moved from
Virginia to what was then Orange County, North Carolina (remember, in 1771, the part in
which they lived became Chatham County). They settled in the area of the Rocky River, a
few miles north of what is now Siler City, probably so that their father-in-law/grandfather
"Frederick Hartsough" could build yet another grist mill. (His son John Philip also built a
mill.) The first dated mention of these families in Orange County that this writer knows
of was in October, 1759, when both "Ulrick or Woolrick White" (as he was now calling
himself) and his son John were recorded as chain-bearers on a survey for Capt. Zachariah
Martin, their neighbor along the Rocky River.

According to a deed dated 27 August, 1792, between John White Sr., heir of my father,
Woolrick White [sic], and Andrew White (probably his brother or nephew), the land
sold to that Andrew White had consisted of some 182 acres, a tract originally granted to
said Woolrick White (Ulrich Weys) by the Honorable John, Earl Granville, on the 29
th

of June, 1762. (Chatham County Deed Book F, Page 157.) The original Granville grant to
Wolrick White on the date of 29 June, 1762, does indeed confirm this information. The
property in question (182 acres) had been surveyed earlier that year, in January, 1762.
This 182 acres adjoined Captain Martins land [Zachariah Martin Sr.].
410


In 1770, Frederick Hartsough/Hartsoe, "for love and affection," gave his grandsons
Phillip Siler and John White a tract of land on the east side of the Rocky River in Orange
County (now Chatham County). In the transaction, Frederick is identified as a miller.
(Source: Charles Caldwell caldw@email.msn.com, Weiss Memories.doc. Note: Mr.
Caldwell [alas] is now deceased.)

Ulrich Weys (White) and his wife (Catharina?) Herzog (Hartsough) are said by the late
Mr. Caldwell to have had at least two other sons, Philip White and J acob White (see
Notes), both of whom are recorded as having lived in this same area of Orange/Chatham
County in the latter part of the Eighteenth Century. There definitely does not appear to be
another man named "Jacob White" in either Orange or Chatham Counties for that early
time period.
In 1768, both "Ulrick Whit" and his sons John White and Jacob Whit" (as mentioned
above) were among the signatories to that unique document, the "Petition from the
Regulators" to the then colonial governor, William Tryon, concerning abuses of local
officials and other severe hardships imposed upon the early "back-country" settlers.
Ulrich Whites brother-in-law Johann Philip Herzog (a.k.a. John Philip Hartso) was in
fact one of the leaders of the Regulator movement (see Notes). That the pleas of these
settlers went largely unheeded resulted in open insurrection by 1771, culminating in the
so-called "Battle of Alamance" on May 16th, 1771. In this two-hour battle, a battle which
clearly foreshadowed the larger full-scale American Revolution soon to come, some nine
members of the regular militia were killed outright, and another sixty or so were
wounded. In the brutal aftermath of this rebellion, Governor Tryon ordered the courts-
martial of six members of the "Regulator" movement; these were duly convicted and
hanged at Hillsborough on the 18th of June, 1771. Regulator James Few had been
summarily hanged (without trial) the very evening of the battle itself. By July, 1771, over
6,000 back-country settlers had accepted the Governor's pardon and taken the oath of
allegiance to the King. Regulator leader Harmon Husband and three other Regulator
leaders were declared outlaws by the Governor, and fled the province to avoid capture
and death.

It was about this very time that Ulrich Weys (White), the father of Jacob White Sr.,
disappeared from the colonial records. Though there is no documentary proof of this
possibility, Ulrich may have been among those who were killed (or had absconded)
during these "Regulator" uprisings. His likely sons Philip and Jacob (as already
mentioned), as well as his brother-in-law Plickard Seiler/Siler, continued to be
documented in Chatham County after its formation in 1771. Frederick Hartsough
(Friedrich Herzog) himself is said to have died in Chatham County around 1780.
Supposedly, he is among those buried at the Rocky River (Baptist) Church in Chatham
County, a few miles north of the town his Seiler descendants founded, Siler City.
411

Certainly, his daughter Elisabeth and son-in-law Plickard Seiler (Siler) do indeed lie
buried there. This fact raises the distinct possibility that these people may have already
been Protestants (Lutherans, or perhaps even German Anabaptists) before they even left
Germany, and this may account for why they might have wanted to leave Germany and
emigrate to America--they may well have experienced religious persecution. Couple that
with the fact that they joined the "Regulator" movement in 1760s back-country North
Carolina, undoubtedly due to social and political harassment and hardships, and it is easy
to see why they would have wanted to not only speak up and protest, but also join in the
revolt. These people apparently could get no peace, no matter where they went.

There was, in fact, a known family of Swiss Anabaptists/Mennonites, descended from a
man named Hans Wei, who is known to have migrated from Switzerland to the
Rhineland in Germany, where he was recorded in a Palatine Mennonite census list of the
year 1717. He may go back to the Swiss Anabaptist Martyr, Endres (Andreas) Wei, who
is recorded as having been burnt at the stake in 1528. That Hans Wei is said to have had
three sons, one of whom, Christian Wei, also immigrated to Pennsylvania (where he is
said to have died circa 1747 in Lancaster County). That Christian Wei also Anglicized
his surname to White, and his sons and later descendants included several men named
Jacob White. Christian Wei/Whites descendants are also known to have migrated
southward; in their case, to Tennessee. Strangely enough, however, at least one living
male descendant of this Christian Wei/White is known from DNA testing to belong to
Haplogroup Eoriginally from Africaand this fact, as will be seen below,
completely rules out his being in any way related to either the White descendants of
Jacob Jake White Jr.the subject of this paperor of his adoptive family, the
Weiss/White descendants of Ulrich Weiss/Woolrick White, who as we will see, also
each came from completely different haplogroups. See later.)


A brief description of J ohn White (Wei) Sr., brother of J acob White Sr.:
That John White Sr. (brother of Jacob White Sr.), who was born in 1744 in Pennsylvania,
soon after his parents arrivals in America, is said to have grown up, not so much as even
hearing the English language spoken, until he was 16 years of age. We may presume
something of the same sort for his putative brothers Philip and Jacob White Sr. John
White Sr. is also said to have kept a large copy of the Bible in Dutch (i.e., Deutsch,
or German), which he faithfully read into his old age. He was not a specially religious
man, said researcher Charles Caldwell (now deceased), quoting another source, but a
good citizen; not a church member; not a preacher.
He owned a razor hone--a piece of leather--long, narrow--which he made and had
carved on it the date 1795 with his initials. The razor hone was given to Clarence
412

White and wife (now deceased). Clarence White was a brother to Graves White,
[of] Columbus, Georgia. The Dutch Bible was given to Claude Green. He was a
first cousin of Bertha L. von Hofe.
[John White Sr.] came from the North Carolina Mountains down to Alabama and
lived near Coffeeville, Clark County, Alabama. He was 6 feet 2 inches without
shoes, had a swarthy complexion, dark hair, and dark eyes. It was not until John
Weiss [White] was 16 years old that he heard the English language spoken. He
was a big man but not fat. He was married twice. John Weiss and his [second]
wife Rebecca Dorsett had three sons: Isaac, Henry and Dorsett. There were other
descendants of John Weiss, namely, Andrew, William, Marion, Louis, Edmond,
Thomas, Josephus, and one named John Frazier. John Frazier [White] was a
Protestant, a Methodist preacher, who preached in many places in Alabama; one
place [was] Old Providence Church near Orrville, Alabama [in Dallas County].
This John Frazier White was bright and caught the fancy of a wealthy man who
had him educated.
John Weiss [White Sr.] was buried on the banks of the Alabama River [the
Tombigbee River] in West Bend, near Coffeeville, Alabama. Since there is a very
old cemetery in that section [the old Josiah White Cemetery], it is believed that he
is buried there. Some of the relatives have the Dutch Bible. Therefore, we know
little about this family. These Weiss people seem to be mostly teachers, preachers,
and some farmers.
[From http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=:2378744
&id= I512725865 ] (Rememberthis man was a brother of Jacob White Sr.)









413

Appendix H:
Deed of 27 August, 1792, Chatham County, NC (Bk. F, Pg. 157), between John White Sr., son of
Woolrick White, and Andrew White, showing that Ulrich Weys (Woolrick White) had been
granted land in Orange County, NC by Hon. John, Earl Granville, on the 29
th
of June, 1762:





















414

Appendix I :
The following deed is of great interest, as it shows a close relationship between John Philip
Hartsoe, Philip Siler, and John White. It is found in Chatham County Deed Book C, Page 2:






















415

Appendix J :
And here is a transcription of that same deed. Again, it is rendered here with the exact same
spelling and punctuation as in the original, and uncertain readings are (again) given in boldface
italics: Line breaks are indicated with the forward slash symbol (/):
This Indenture made the 11
th
day of August in the year of Our Lord one/
Thousand seven hundred and eighty three Between John Philip Hartsoe and Hannah/
Hartsoe his Wife and Philip Sayler and Mary Siler his Wife and John White and Janey/
White his Wife of the County of Chatham and State of North Carolina planters/ of the
one part and Benjamin Watts of the County of Randolph and State of North/ Carolina
planter of the other part
Witneseth that the Said Joh Philip/ Hartsoe Philip Siler and John White for and in
Consideration of the Sum of three/ hundred and Sixty pounds Specie to them in hand paid
before the ensealing and Delivery/ of these presents the Receipt whereof we the Said
John Philip Hartsoe Philip Siler/ and John White doth hereby acknowledg and thareof
and every part and parcel thareof/ doth fully Clerly and Absolutely Acquit and discharge
the Said Benjamin Watts his/ Heirs Executors and Administrators by these presents and
Diverse good Causes me/ hereunto moving have Granted Bargained Sold enfeofed and
Confirmed unto the Said/ Benjamin Watts his Heirs Executors Administrators and
Asigns a Certain Tract/ or parcel of Land lying in Chatham County aforsaid Containing
four hundred and/ twenty Acres bounded as follows
Beginning at a Red Oak then Running East 65/ Chains to a Hickory by Rocky River then
North Cros the river 54 Chains to/ a Hickory then West aCros Nicks Creek to a post
then North up the Said Creek/ 56 pole to a Goomthe[n] West 200 pole [to] a[n] Oak
the[n] South 68 Chains to the Beginning,/ Containing in the hole four hundred and
twenty Acres be the same more or les/ To have and to hold all and Singular other
premises herebefore menchend [mentioned] or/ intended to be hereby Granted with their
and every of their appertainances unto/ the Said Benjamin Watts his Heirs Executors
administrators or asigns forever/ and the Said J
o.
Philip Hartso Philip Siler and John
White for themselves and their/ heirs Executors Administrators or asigns dot[h]
Covenant to and with the Said/ Benjamin Watts his Heirs Executors Administrators or
asigns that tha[y] the/ Said John Philip Hartso Philip Siler and John White at and befor
the ensealing/ and Delivery of these presents is and Standeth Lawfully Seized of and in
the above/ demised [devised?] premises of a pure and perfect Estate in fee simple and
hath good right/ full power and Lawfull Authority to grant Sell and Convey the Same and
that the/ Said Land and premises is free and Clear from all other fifth grants titles Dowers
or/ Rents and from all manner of Cumbrances whatsoyever warranting the Same not/
o[n]ly Against thar Selves their heirs Executors and Administrators but Against all
persons/ whatsoever that hath or may Claim any Right thereto and the Said John Philip
Hartso/ Philip Siler and John White Doth further Oblige their Selve---- [selves?] their
heirs Exe
tr.
/ Administrators unto the Said Benjamin Watts his heirs Executors
Administrators / or asigns that the Said John Philip Hartso Philip Siler and John White
will make/ any Deed or Instrument in Writing for Greater or better Surety of the above
416

demised [devised?]/ premises as by the Said Benjamin Watts his heirs Executors
Administrators or/ Asigns or his or their Counsel in the Law Shall Reasonably [be]
devised or required
In Witnes whareof we the Said John Philip Hartso Philip Siler and John White
have/ hereunto Set your [i.e., our] hand and Seal the Day and year first above written.
Signed Sealed and Delivered } Philip Hartzoge[?] {Seal}
in the presents of us } Haner X
her
Hartso {Seal}
Joseph
his

Sutton
mark


mark

Thomas
his
J
Asery Philip Siler {Seal}
mark

Solomon Evans John
his
U
White {Seal}

mark

August Term 1783 Mary
her
X
Siler {Seal}
the above Deed duly proved in Open Court by the
mark

Affirmation of Joseph Sutton and Ordered to be Registered Jane
her
U
White {Seal}
Test A Clark Clk Co
mark











417

Appendix K:
Photographs of the graves and tombstones of Pleickard Dietrich Sailer (Siler) and his wife
Elisabeth Herzog (Hartsoe), at Rocky River Baptist Church, Chatham County, North Carolina:

(Top row:) The
grave of
Elisabeth
Hartsoe Siler.
The original
tombstone is on
the right, now
lying flat.


(Bottom row:)
The grave of
Pleickard
Dietrich Sailer
(Siler). Again,
the original
tombstone is now
lying flat.

Note: The spelling of their names on their tombstones by modern descendants notwithstanding,
their names were originally spelled as Pleickard Dietrich Sailer, and Elisabeth Herzog. The
reader should not be confused by these modern (incorrect) spellings.

Remember, Pleickard Sailer was a brother-in-law of Ulrich Wei (a.k.a. Woolrick White).
Elisabeth Herzog Sailer was his sister-in-law, the sister of his wife Catharina Herzog. Wouldnt
it be wonderful if we could find similar tombstones for our ancestors like these


418

Appendix L:
A researcher named Lucy McCoy has a man named Woolrick White in her online database, here:
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=ogm&id=I8294 . His name was
originally Ulrich Weys (Weiss), as he was from Germany. Ms. McCoy has him listed as ID:
I8294, and shows him with sons named John (born 1744), Philip, and J acob.

Now-deceased researcher Charles Caldwell, who seems to have really known his stuff when it
comes to genealogy, had the following to say about these Weiss/Whites on March 2
nd
, 2000:
ULRICH WEISS/WOOLRICK WHITE immigrated to America from Germany in 1743
along with his father-in-law Friedrich Hertzog and his future brother in law Plickard D.
[Dietrich] Seiler/Siler. Ulrich married CATHARINA HERTZOG, dau[ghter] of
Friedrich, c. 1743. Their first son JOHANN WEISS/JOHN WHITE SR. was born in
1744 in Pennsylvania, probably in Montgomery Co. where his grandfather Friedrich
owned a grist mill. These families moved into Virginia and then into Orange Co., NC.
Friedrich Hertzog sold his grist mill in Pennsylvania and moved to Augusta Co., VA by
1753/4 and then on to the Rocky River area of Orange Co., NC (now Chatham Co. north
of Siler City). The first mention of this White family appears in the Orange Co. records
when Woolrick White and his son John White are chain-bearers on a survey for
Zac[h]ariah Martin, their neighbors along Rocky River. Plickard Seiler/Siler has married
Elisabeth Hertzog, dau[ghter] of Friedrich and also moves to the Rocky River location.
Friedrich Hertzog gave land to his two eldest grandsons Philip Hertzog and John White in
an Orange Co. deed "for love and affection." (John White Jr.'s 1854 will in Pike Co., AL
mentions his "friend and kinsman, John Siler, thus proving the White/Siler connection).
Ulrich Weiss/White and his wife Catharina had at least two other sons: Philip White and
Jacob White who lived in Chatham Co., NC in the latter part of the 1700s in the same
area where the Hertzogs and Silers lived. In 1[7]84 John White, his wife Jane (Crabtree),
Philip Siler, his wife Mary (Crabtree) and their uncle Philip Hertzog/Hartsoe sold land in
Chatham Co., which was left to them by Friedrich Hertzog. The Sandy Creek area in
present Randolph Co., NC is near the headwaters of Rocky River not very far from the
community in Chatham Co., where the Weiss/Whites lived. John White moved to
Randolph County perhaps because of his marri[age] to Jane Crabtree, daughter of John
Crabtree. He soon purchased land (in 1776) from Semore York. After his wife Jane died
he married (2) Rebecca Dorsett of Chatham County. The Dorsett family lived near the
Whites along Rocky River from an early time. In 1810 he, his son in law Jabez York, and
his son Josiah White were living in Moore Co., NC. They left NC and moved to the West
Bend area in Clarke Co., Mississippi Territory by 1813 or so. Jabez York served in the
Mississippi Militia that year. I am of the opinion that Jabez and his wife Elizabeth White
419

likely moved to Clarke County first and then two or three years later John Weiss/White,
his father in law and Josiah White also moved. There is a little paper about JOHANN
WEISS/WHITE, written by a descendant many years ago (when memories were still
fresh) which tells a bit more.

Rocky River Baptist Church:

There is a granite stone back in the woods which says:

"Location of first church building of Rocky River Baptist Church. Organized 1756 by
Elder Shubal Starns."

There is a North Carolina Historical Marker #73 along the road in front of the present
church building which says:

"Rocky River Church. Baptist. Organized 1757. Used by Regulators for meetings after
1768. Stands 200 yards east."

Plickard Dederic Siler historical marker placed on June 19, 2010.

Photos provided by Barbara C. Pugh in June 2010.

Owner: Trustees.
Legal Description: Deed 365-236, 16 Feb 1972, 14.0 acres from R. S. and Esther Short
Pollock; Plat 91-108.
Topo Quadrant: Crutchfield Crossroads.
Church owned: Yes. Denomination: Baptist.
Used: Yes.
Number of graves: 362.
White: Yes.
Unrestricted access: Yes.
Well maintained: Yes.
Enclosed: No.
Markers: Yes.
Markers with inscriptions: Yes.
Number of readable markers: 362.
Last burial: 2000.
420

First burial: 1816.
Last canvassed by: Audrey Heiser, Rhea Worrell, Doris Flexner. Date: March 2000.






















421

Appendix M:
422



423


424


425


426


427

Appendix N:















428

Appendix O:












429

Appendix P:












430

Appendix Q:



431





432





433


434















435

Appendix R:

436


437

Appendix S:
438






439







440




441

Appendix T:

442

Appendix U:
443


444


445


446

Notes

i

ii

iii
SC State Archives: Series S213190 Volume: 0027 Page: 00123 Item: 002.
iv
Georgia, Franklin County, Deed Book K, Nov. 4, 1793Sept. 12, 1794: 42 B & 42 C (Book SSS, Folio 61, 14
th

April, 1789; Rec. 17 Feb. 1794).
v
South Carolina, Pendleton District [now Anderson County], Conveyance Book C-D, 1795-1799, pp.2-3.
vi
Georgia, Franklin County, Deed Book _______.
vii
The Early History of Jackson County, Georgia, "The Writings of the Late G.J.N. Wilson, Embracing Some of the
Early History of Jackson County". The First Settlers, 1784; Formation and Boundaries to the Present Time; Records
of the Talasee Colony; Struggles of the Colonies of Yamacutah, Groaning Rock, Fort Yargo, Stonethrow and
Thomocoggan, by Gustavus James Nash Wilson (edited and published by William E. White). (Ga. Archives Call # F
292 .J13 W7) (Also available as an e-text, online.)
viii
Adapted from http://www.kenneyridge.org/land-history/
ix
My Autobiography, Cotter, William Jasper, A.M.., ed. Charles O. Jones, D.D., II, pp. 17-22. Found at
http://www.archive.org/stream/myautobiography00cott/myautobiography00cott_djvu.txt. (I have slightly rearranged
the order of some of these excerpts, to make them better fit the sense and timeline of my own story.)
x
Op cit.
xi
My Autobiography, Cotter, William Jasper, A.M.. (op. cit.)
xii
Quoted in Garrett, Franklin Miller, Atlanta and Its Environs, Vol. I, p.291.
xiii
My Autobiography, Cotter, William Jasper, A.M.. (op. cit.)
xiv
Repository: Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, The University of Georgia Libraries, Telamon Cuyler
collection: box: 24, folder: 22, document: 02
xv
Index to Volunteer Soldiers in Indian Wars and Disturbances, 1815-1858, White, Virgil D. (tr.), Vol.II L-Z, page
1515. Waynesboro, Tennessee: National Historical Publishing Company (1994) (Georgia State Archives call # E81
.W55)
xvi
History of the Georgia Militia, 1783-1861, Smith, Gordon Burns, Vol.2, Part One, page 221. (Georgia State
Archives)
xvii
New Georgia Encyclopedia, History and Archaeology, (War of 1812 and Georgia)
http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-616
xviii
Georgia USGenWeb page (online)
xix

xx
Wikipedia, Seminole Wars
xxi
Index to Volunteer Soldiers in Indian Wars and Disturbances, 1815-1858, Vol. II, page 1515 (Waynesboro,
Tenn.: National Historical Pub. Co., 1994) 2 v. (1590p.) 29 cm. (Georgia State Archives call number E81 .W55)
xxii
New Georgia Encyclopedia,
xxiii

xxiv
My Autobiography, Cotter, William Jasper, A.M.. (op. cit.)
xxv
DeKalb County, Georgia Superior Court Minutes, Book A, p.179, et seq.
xxvi
http://railga.com/monr33.html
xxvii
Garrett, Franklin Miller, Atlanta and Its Environs, Vol. I, pp.165-167
xxviii
Wikipedia, Panic of 1837
xxix
Ibid.
xxx
In-person conversation with Phillip Henson, at Utoy Cemetery, June 23
rd
, 2012. Phillip is a descendant of Daniel
P. and Arminda E. White through his (Phillips) mother, Hazel White Henson. Phillip told this writer on that
occasion that it had been his late grandfather, Joseph Columbus White (1909-2005) who had been his source for this
information. Joseph himself had been a son of John Wesley White (1869-1949), who was a son of Daniel Columbus
White (1843-1929), who was a son of the aforementioned Daniel P. and Arminda E. White. It is also worth noting
that this was an independent tradition; for Phillip spontaneously volunteered this information to the author before
having heard any of this authors own theories or information. These Whites were evidently quite bitter about
447


having been cheated out of their lands (as they felt) by the State of Georgia, and, as a result, evidently taught their
children and grandchildren to nurse and carry on that same animosity toward Georgia. That would explain how this
tradition has survived.
xxxi
Ibid., p. 129
xxxii
DeKalb County, Georgia Superior Court Minutes, Book B, p.11
xxxiii
Garrett, op. cit., p.32
xxxiv
The Atlanta Journal, When Whitehall was called Peters Street, quoting Francis M. White. Sunday morning,
January 13, 1924
xxxv
________________________.
xxxvi
Garrett, op. cit., Vol. I, p.31
xxxvii
_______________________.
xxxviii
Atlanta Historical Bulletin, April 1931, Whitehall Tavern, by Wilbur G. Kurtz, pp.46-47
xxxix

xl
Atlanta Historical Bulletin, Vol. 1, No. 4, p. 26-27, Reminiscences of Dr. Arch Avary.
xli
helloatlanta.com
xlii
Ibid.
xliii
Ibid.
xliv
Ibid.
xlv
Garrett, Op. Cit., Vol. III, p.554
xlvi
The Atlanta Journal, When Whitehall was called Peters Street, (op. cit.).
xlvii
Garrett, Op. cit., Vol. I, pp. 291-292.
xlviii
The History of DeKalb County, Georgia, 1822-1900, Price, Vivian, Wolfe Publsihing (1997), Chapter 23, pages
273-4.
xlix
Garrett, Op. cit., Vol. I, p.288.
l
Ibid., p. 362
li
Ibid., p.377
lii
Ibid., p.199
liii
Garrett, Op. Cit., Vol. I, pp.232-233
liv
This was in Land Lot 170, which is known to have been owned at that time (circa 1822 through the 1840s) by
William W. Whites mother-in-law, Margaret Peggy Settles (Suttles) Willis, a charter member of Utoy Church.
lv
Ibid.
lvi
Huff, p.1
Atlanta Hist. Bull., #7, p.7
Cooper, pp. 36-37
lvii
Huff, p.3
Atlanta Hist. Bull., #7, p.12
Cooper, pp.36-37
lviii
Garrett, Vol. I, p.43
lix
Huff, S.C., pp. 3-4
lx
DeKalb County, Georgia Superior Court Minutes, Book A, p.179, et seq.
lxi
Ibid., p.44
lxii
Ibid.
lxiii
Ibid., p.247
lxiv
Ibid., pp.277-278
lxv
Ibid.
lxvi
Ibid. Cox mistakenly referred to the Willis family as the Wilson family--an easy mistake, since the Wilsons
indeed lived nearby. The Judge William A. Wilson home, in fact, had served as headquarters for one of the Federal
Army Divisions during the Battle of Utoy Creek, so the name would have been in Coxs mind.
lxvii
Ibid.
lxviii
The Atlanta Journal, article by staff writer Herbert Monroe, about December, 1938
lxix
Wilbur George Kurtz Notebooks and Ledger, Atlanta History Center, Atlanta, Ga.
lxx
My 80 Years in Atlanta, by Sarah T. Huff (online).
lxxi
Smith, Gordon Burns, History of the Georgia Militia,1783-1861, Vol.2, Part One, page 1514.
lxxii
Smith, Gordon Burns, History of the Georgia Militia, 1783-1861, Vol. 2, page 1518.
448


lxxiii
USGenWeb Archives: DEKALB COUNTY, GA MILITARY Indian Wars Pension Martin Crow (wid Sarah
J.) (Capt. James M. Calhoun, Dekalb Georgia Guard), available online at
http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/military/indian/pensions/crow.txt
lxxiv
Ibid., p.199
lxxv
1864 Census for Reorganizing the Georgia Militia, page 255: Wright White, 51 yrs, 7 mos, Overseer, b. Ga.
(35
th
Senatorial District, 479
th
Militia District). Note: the 479
th
Militia District was at that time also known as
Daniel Stones District.
lxxvi
Elizabeth Perkerson, A Civil War Letter on the Capture of Atlanta, ed. Medora Field Perkerson, Georgia
Historical Quarterly 28 (1944): 259
lxxvii
The History of DeKalb County, Georgia, 1822-1900, Chapter 20, page 209.
lxxviii
www.ratemyprofessors.com
lxxix
Roger A. Ward in Conversion in American Philosophy: Exploring the Practice of Transformation. (2004,
Fordham University Press), page ix (Acknowledgments).
lxxx
Militia Records of the State of Georgia, Vol. 4, pp. 185-188 (original documents); also, Georgia Military Record
Book, (Hays, 1941; W.P.A. #5993) Vol. 4, pp. 185-188.