Notes:

NOTE 1./ JAMES AND MARY ELLEN LEWIS

Reproduced from Crisp County's History in Pictures and Stories published 1978 by Cordele-Crisp County Historical Society, Inc - pages 211-214.

James Lewis and Mary Ellen Hutto Lewis were pioneers of this country. Three sons were born to this couple. They are: J. Bennie Lewis, Henry Lewis and Floyd Jackson Lewis.
J. Bennie (1881-1954) married Daisy McAfee (1885-1948), daughter of Robert and Jo Ann McAfee. They resided in Longview, Texas. Six children blessed this home: L. C. (died on October 1974); J. B., Jr. (died in 1976); Herman (1905-1953); Ester Ruth; Lois; and Juanita.
Henry Lewis had five children: Tom, Dorsey Lewis, Felton, Grady, and Lucilla Lewis Philmon.
Floyd Jackson Lewis (December 11, 1885-March 31, 1960) married Lydia Arnold (August 18, 1886-November 30, 1960). Lydia is the daughter of Charles L. Arnold (1861-1915) and Minerah Hudson Arnold (1869-1911). Floyd and Lydia came to Crisp County by train from Crawford County to farm near Arabi, Georgia. They had a baby daughter, Myrtice. An infant boy, Jones Lee, was buried in 1908 in Crawford County. After leaving the Hamilton farm, they moved to the Clements Community. While there, they bought their first car, a Model T Ford, and didn't even know how to drive. Around 1926, they moved back to the Hamilton farm. While living there, the new Highway 33 was built.
The older children helped with the farming and earned some spending money. They helped neighbors hoe crops, pick cotton and shake peanuts. At that time, everything was done by mules or by hand. In 1937 they bought the Surge farm near Wenona. In June of 1957, Floyd and Lydia celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary at this home. They were blessed with twelve children: Jones Lee, Myrtice, Clarence, Clenton, Mary Emma, Susie, Irene, Elene, James, F.J., Jr., W.H., and Gladys.
Myrtice was born on September 10, 1909, in Crawford County. She married George A. White on January 21, 1929. George A. (born April 25, 1904) was the son of Wesley A. White (born on October 9, 1858-1939), and Sara Tina Foster White (1888-1955). George came to Crisp County in 1937 from South Carolina to farm with A.J. Clary. Myrtice and George settled on a farm near East Crisp Community. Their three children are: Wesley L., Linda Faye, and Grady. In 1958, they bought the Cross farm in Dooly County where they now live.
Wesley L. was born on January 25, 1942. He married Linda Brown on August 8, 1964. Linda, born on April 16, 1946, was the daughter of S.D. Brown (born in 1919), and Sara Culpepper Brown, born on March 16, 1920. Three children blessed this home: Matthew, born on October 15, 1969; Susan, born on September 19, 1972; and John, born on April 2, 1974.
Grady A., born on April 22, 1945, in Crisp County served in the U.S. Army in the Vietnamese War from 1968-1970. He served one year in Vietnam and was commissioned a First Lieutenant. He received a Masters Degree from the University of Georgia in Pharmacy and Chemistry. On January 26, 1976, he married Ellen Sims, born on July 19, 1952. Ellen is the daughter of Robert K. and Carene Taden Sims of Tucker, Georgia. Grady and Ellen live in Columbia, South Carolina, where he is Pharmacist at the Veterans Hospital.
Linda Faye White born January 11, 1949, in Crisp County, received her master's degree from Georgia Southern College at Statesboro on September 8, 1976. She married Richard Burman born August 12, 1952, son of Thomas J. and Helen Lauranze Burman. They reside in Warner Robins where Linda is employed with the Board of Education.
Clarence A. Lewis was born October 2, 1911, in Crisp County. He is a retired farmer and the third child. Clarence married on December 11, 1932, to Stella Posey. Stella was born May 16, 1910. Youngest daughter of Frank and Sallie Posey. They have two children: Larry Posey Lewis, Marjorie Larue.
Larry P. Lewis was born on April 29, 1937, in Crisp County. He received a B.S. degree from Georgia Tech in mechanical engineering. On June 14, 1959, he married Betty Lou Moore, born February 26, 1939, daughter of Leon Moore and Faye Wade Moore. They now reside in Warner Robins where Larry is employed with Civil Service. They have three sons. Toby Lewis, born November 15, 1960, Mark Lewis, born March 23, 1963, and Darrell Lewis, born April 30, 1966.
Larue Lewis born March 18, 1940, in Crisp County received a B.S. degree from Georgia Southwestern in Americus on June 12, 1960. She married H.J. Williams born on November 6, 1936, son of Jewel and Henry Williams of Albany. Larue and H.J. live in Albany where H J. is an Electric Contractor and they have two daughters: Angie Williams, born November 22, 1965, and Pam Williams, born December 17, 1967.
Mary Emma Lewis born 1913, the fourth child, died an infant.
Clinton Lewis born September 15, 1914, the fifth child, farmed until his return from serving in the United States Army in World War II. He served from February 1943 until February 1945. He married Gladys Goodman on October 9, 1921, daughter of Ady C. Goodman born 1893, died September 3, 1960, and Mary Bullington Goodman born March 13, 1895, died January 29, 1975. Clinton and Gladys live in the Penia Community. Clinton is retired from Harris Machine Shop of Cordele, Georgia. They have two children, James Clinton Lewis and Gwen Lewis.
James Clinton Lewis born May 7, 1947, received a B.S. degree in industrial engineering from Auburn University of Alabama. July 14, 1968, he married Brenda Summer, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Lenard Summer, of Sylvester. They resided in Albany where he is employed with Firestone Tire and Rubber Company. They have two sons, Jason Kyle Lewis, born January 14, 1972, and Joseph Blake, born September 17, 1976.
Gwen, born on December 6, 1951, is employed with Cordele Banking Company of Cordele. On June 9, 1972, she married Jerry L. Bush, born on January 3, 1948. Jerry is the son of Mr. and Mrs. J.L. Bush. They reside in Unadilla and have one daughter. Jennifer, born on April 22, 1976.
Susie Lewis, born on January 5, 1917, died March 30, 1951. She married L.B. Whittington, son of Ella Posey Whittington and the late Lunn Whittington. L.B. served in World War II. Their children are: Marsha Sue, born on September 1, 1946. She married George Matthews, born in 1950. They have three children: Benjie, born on March 4, 1969; Sue, born on October 11, 1972; and George, Jr., born on November 29, 1976; Laura Jewel, born on January 5, 1948, was married on November 15, 1966, to Barney Hughes, born on November 10, 1947. He was the son of Mrs. Lena Hughes. They reside in Cordele. Jewel is employed by Cordele Uniform Company. Their children are Michelle, born on October 31, 1966, and Trina, born on July 2, 1968. Eulene, born on March 14, 1950, married Buddy Burge, born on February 22, 1950. He was the son of Tom and Agnes Burge. They have three children: Stanley, born on October 5, 1969; Shea, born on June 20, 1971 and Shawn, born on October 20, 1973.
Irene Lewis, born on April 8, 1919, was married on November 14, 1943, to Hoke S. Spence born on August 18, 1907. He was the son of Joseph and Cammie Spence. They owned and operated the Cordele Motor Court. Their home is on 27th Avenue. Irene is employed at Cordele Uniform Company. Hoke is retired. Their daughter, Janie, born on December 27, 1945, married Johnny B. Oliver, born on August 27, 1943. He was from Pitts, Georgia. Johnny served in the Vietnamese War. They have a son, Johnny Oliver, Jr., born on February 15, 1975.
Elene Lewis was born on March 21, 1921. She attended Pateville School and is a member of the Warwick United Methodist Church. She married Carlos Lamar Johnson on December 24, 1939. Carlos Lamar, son of James Reuben and Susie Pate Johnson, born November 23, 1919, and died October 25, 1974. While farming the Reynold's place about 16 miles from town, they had no way of travel except mule and wagon. Elene walked about 3 miles to Marshal to catch the "Dummy" to carry butter and eggs to market. The train stayed in Cordele for one hour. So she had to hurry to catch the train back and walk three miles home before dark. Later they bought their first car. It was small with a rumble seat. In 1945 Carlos was drafted into the Army. He sailed on the Sea Cat to Okinawa and served with the 282 Coast Artillery Battalion. He received the Pacific Good Conduct Medal, Meritorius Unit Award, Army Occupation Ribbon (Japan), Victory Ribbon and two overseas service bars. In 1946, he bought the Johnson farm. Later he worked at Robins Air Force Base at Warner Robins, Georgia. Then they bought a lot in the Fans Bridge Subdivision. Elene still lives there and works at Cordele Uniform Company. Carlos and Elene had three children.
Brenda Phyllis Johnson, born on August 23, 1944, graduated from Crisp County High School. Later she attended Georgia Southern College. On June 7, 1964, she married Floyd Thomas Williams, born on March 2, 1941. He was the son of Thomas J. and Adelicia Page Williams. They lived at Norman Park, Georgia. Floyd served in the United States Air Force. When John F. Kennedy was assassinated, he marched with the United States Air Force Band from the Capitol to the Arlington Cemetery. They now reside in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Brenda is the marketing support for Computer Manufacturing. Floyd is a Professor of Music at the New Mexico University. They have one son, Carlos Thomas Williams, born on April 6, 1968.
Roy Floyd Johnson, born on August 12, 1947, graduated from Crisp County High School. He served in the United States Army during the Vietnamese War from 1966-69. After a visit home, he returned to Vietnam as a civilian and worked with the Alaska Barge Transport Company. Later he returned to the States and married Lyn Grimes, daughter of Buddy and Pearl Grimes of Colquitt, Georgia. Roy has a son, Mark Cray, born on February 14, 1976. They reside in Albany where he is employed with Johnson Controls.
Gary Carlos Johnson, born on November 1, 1950, graduated from Crisp County High School and Georgia Southwestern College. He served in the Vietnamese War from 1971 to 1973. At present, he is employed with the Best Western Motel.
James Lewis, born on August 2, 1923, was a Veteran of World War II. He married Vernette Sheffield, born on September 13, 1924. She was the daughter of Donzelle and Myrtle Sheffield. James is a farmer and lives at the Lewis homeplace. They have two children.
Karron Donzelle Lewis, born on February 25, 1955, graduated from Crisp County High School and the University of Georgia.
Karlene Lewis, born on December 2, 1958, followed in her brothers' footsteps, attending the same schools.
Floyd Jackson Lewis, Jr., born on September 17, 1925, is a farmer and assistant manager of the Coca Cola Bottling Company. He married Louella Hobbs, daughter of Willie and Annie Tharpe Hobbs. In 1962, they adopted two brothers, Mike, born July 13, 1956, and Don, born January 10, 1958. F.J. and Louella reside in the Tremont Community.
William Hugh Lewis, born June 20, 1928, served in the Korean War from 1949-1951. He married Nettie Maude Chandler, born on November 1, 1936. She was the daughter of Tommy and Janie Wade Chandler. They reside in Cordele. W. H. is manager of the Coca Cola Bottling Company. He is also chairman of the City Commissioners. They have three children.
Vickie Lewis, born October 21, 1954, graduated from Crisp County High School. She married Allen Peters, son of James and Martha Williford Peters. They reside in Cordele and have one son, Matthew.
Michael Lewis, born October 2, 1956, is now serving in the United States Air Force. He married Shirlyn Mann, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Mann of Wilmington, North Carolina. They have one daughter, Michelle.
Tony Lewis was born March 18, 1969.
Gladys Lewis, born August 27, 1931, graduated from Arabi High School. She married Calvin Farmer. They have four children: Kathy, Greg, Jeff and Patti.
Kathy Farmer, born September 15, 1951, graduated from Crisp County High School. She married David Reed, son of Mr. and Mrs. Dean Reed of Pinehurst. David farms in Dooly County. They have two children: Tiffany Elisha and Christopher David.
Greg was born on October 17, 1956, and graduated in 1974. He is in the sign painting business in Cordele.
Jeff, born on October 31, 1961, is presently attending Crisp County High School.
Patti, born on September 4, 1964, is attending A. S. Clark School in Crisp County.
Elene Johnson

James married Mary E. CRANFORD on 03 Aug 1874 in Crawford County, Georgia. Mary was born in 1856 in Georgia; died after 12 Jun 1900 in Crawford County, Georgia. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. James Ben LEWIS was born in Mar 1881 in Crawford County, Georgia; died in 1954 in Longview, Texas.
2. Henry LEWIS was born about 1882 in Crawford County, Georgia.
3. Floyd Jackson LEWIS was born on 11 Dec 1885 in Crawford County, Georgia; died on 31 Mar 1960 in Crisp County, Georgia.

Notes:

NOTE 1./ Reproduced from Crisp County's History in Pictures and Stories published 1978 by Cordele-Crisp County Historical Society, Inc - pages 86-87

Zack Lewis was married to Mary Jane Moncrief, and later, to Sarah Anne, her younger sister. Zack and Sarah Anne had nine children: Soloman (Sol), Nancy Childers, Jackson (Jack), Rufus (Ruf), Edna Bagwell, Ella Mae (Dolly), Annie Posey, Isabelle (Issie) Stevens, and Bessie Eaves.
Lucius and Nancy Childers lived on Zack Lewis's place and farmed from 1894 until they moved to Crisp County in December of 1912. They and their 7 children moved on a wagon with a cow and calf tied behind it. The trip took three days and 2 nights. Their children played along the way, walking part of the time to rest from riding in the jolting wagon which was loaded with all their possessions. The older boys rode along the side and helped drive the wagon. The nights were spent under and around the wagon with a camp fire providing warmth and protection. The second night, they stayed at Dooly County Camp Grounds. The third day, they arrived in Crisp County about sundown at Sol Lewis's Nancy's older brother's home. This farm is still intact today about 10 miles south of Cordele on Hwy. 33 and remains in the Lewis family. Sol and Ellen Lewis's daughter, Josie (Lewis) Sego, live there in the old home.

Zachariah married Torvesa NELSON on 11 May 1839 in Crawford County, Georgia. Torvesa (daughter of John NELSON?) was born in 1818 in South Carolina; died about 1860 in Crawford County, Georgia. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Birth:
Rowan

Jonathan married Nancy ALBRITTON on 10 Aug 1809 in Columbia County, Georgia. Nancy (daughter of Richard ALBRITTON and Mary HART) was born in 1778 in Pitt County, North Carolina; died after 1850 in Crawford County, Georgia. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

NOTE 1./ Historical Reference: The Year Was 1780
The year was 1780 and the American Revolution wasn't going well for the Americans in the South. British forces captured Charleston and 5,400 American troops garrisoned there. During the siege, South Carolina Governor John Rutledge managed to escape and when word reached the British General Cornwallis, he sent Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton to chase Rutledge and troops under Colonel Abraham Buford who were escorting him to North Carolina. Tarleton's men caught up with Buford's troops near the Waxhaws District six miles south of the North Carolina state line, as Governor Rutledge continued north. Buford's men put up a brief fight during which Tarleton's horse was shot from under him. As the American troops began to surrender, Tarleton's men, thinking he had been killed began renewed their attack on the surrendering Americans. More than one hundred men were killed outright and perhaps another hundred died of their wounds shortly after.

Up to that point, most thought that the South was going to remain loyal to Britain, but the Waxhaws Massacre became a rallying point for the rebels, with "Tarleton's Quarter" becoming synonymous with "no mercy."

The divisions in the South were apparent in the Battle of King's Mountain, which was fought between two American forces--Tories under the command of Major Patrick Ferguson, and the "Overmountain Men," American frontiersmen from what is now Tennessee and parts of Virginia. The Americans surrounded the Tories and this time it was they who gave "no quarter" to the surrendering Tory troops. Eventually American officers were able to reign in the troops and the battle was over. The defeat was a turning point in the Revolution in the South and forced General Cornwallis to retreat further south.

To the north, a British spy was captured with correspondence revealing that Benedict Arnold, who had recently been given command of West Point, planned to surrender it to the British. When news that the spy had been caught reached Arnold, he fled to the safety of a British ship and became a brigadier-general for the British, siding with them for the remainder of the war.

There was trouble in England as well. In 1778 a Catholic Relief Act had been passed, which reversed some of the Penal Laws of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. It allowed Roman Catholics to join the armed forces with an oath amenable to Catholics and gave them the ability to hold longer leases on land. It also ended the requirement that a Catholic distribute his lands evenly among his sons upon his death. The Catholic Relief Acts weren't popular with some Protestants though and in 1780 Lord George Gordon established the Protestant Association in 1780. In June of that year an estimated 60,000 people marched on the House of Commons demanding the Relief Acts be repealed. The huge crowd turned violent and a week of rioting left two hundred and ninety people dead, and devasted Roman Catholic churches and related buildings, as well as the homes of prominent Catholics and supporters of the legislation. Troops had to be called in to end the rioting. Twenty-five of the leaders of the riot were hanged, but Gordon was found "not guilty" of treason.

May 19th was a dark day in New England--literally. A low-lying dark cloud that at times had a yellow and at times reddish hue descended on New England and was noted from Maine to as far south as New Jersey. It was darkest around northeastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire and Maine, where it became so dark that candles needed to be lit to see. The cause is thought to have been a combination of low clouds that mixed with smoke and ash from a forest fire, but at the time it wasn't known and the event caused panic for many.

New England's dark day was a minor event though in comparison to the hurricane season of 1780. Eight storms struck in various parts of America and the Caribbean. British fleets off American shores took heavy hits during several storms. (Hurricanes in the 1780s were the cause of more British Naval losses than battle.) The worst storm struck on October 10th devastating Barbados and the Windward Islands, and claiming an estimated 22,000 lives.


Birth:
Randolph

RS married Lydia FIELD in 1783 in Rowan County, North Carolina. Lydia (daughter of WilliamJr FIELD) was born on 19 Jun 1762 in Rowan County, North Carolina; died on 09 Jan 1852 in New Albany, Floyd County, Indiana; was buried in Scott Cemetery, Floyd County, Indiana. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Richard married Mary HART about 1774 in Pitt County, North Carolina. Mary was born in in Pitt County, North Carolina. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]