Covington County AlArchives Biographies.....Gantt, Russell Ravenel 1828 - living in 1893
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Ann Anderson alabammygrammy@aol.com May 17, 2004, 5:17 pm

Author: Brant & Fuller (1893)
    RUSSELL RAVENEL GANTT, farmer and timberman, of Beat No. 1, and was born in
Lexington, S. C., in 1828. He is a son of Elijah and Elizabeth (Gunter) Gantt,
the former born in Newberry district, S. C., in 1802, and the latter in
Lexington district, S. C., in 1806. They spent all of their lives in South
Carolina, the former dying in 1877, and the latter in 1887. He was a farmer and
a lumberman, was industrious and prosperous, and accumulated considerable
property. He was in early life a militia officer, served in the Florida war, and
took some active part in the late war, but did not go into the field. He was in
religion, a Universalist. His father was Joseph Gantt, a native of Newberry
district, where he died. He had one son in the Revolutionary war. His father was
of Scotch-Irish origin, but came from Germany to America in colonial times.
Russell Gunter, the maternal grandfather of our subject, was a native of one of
the Carolinas, was a farmer by occupation, was in the war of 1812, was of German
ancestry, served for some years as justice of the peace, raised a large family
of daughters, only one son, and died in Lexington district at a very advanced
age. Russell R. Gantt, was the third in a family of seven sons and six
daughters. He was the only one who came to Covington county, but all of the sons
but one were in the late war: Caswell, who was in company C, Twentieth South
Carolina infantry, was captured in Virginia and confined a time as prisoner of
war; Russell R.; Ulysses G., served in the artillery and was captured near
Atlanta, and was in Camp Chase until after the surrender; Elijah Monroe, was in
a South Carolina regiment and served in South Carolina most of the war;
Adolphus, was in company I, Twentieth South Carolina infantry, a short time,
serving in South Carolina; Israel, was in company I, and afterward in company F,
First South Carolina, and served in the army in Virginia, Virginia, dying during
the early part of the war; Joseph, died young. R. R. Gantt, in March, 1861,
joined the Twenty-second South Carolina, was crippled on James Island, and spent
the summer at home, on furlough. In the fall he rejoined his company in
Virginia, and fought at Kingston, N. C., also at the siege of Petersburg, at
Cold Harbor, and was in many minor engagements. He was wounded in the head by a
shell at Bermuda Hundred, and his life was nearly despaired of for fifteen days,
but in July he rejoined his company, and in the explosion at Petersburg he was
again wounded by a minie ball, which disabled him for the rest of the war. In
June, 1863, his brigade, under Gen. Evans, was sent to reinforce Gen. Pemberton,
at Vicksburg, but reached there just before the city fell, and then retreated to
Jackson, fought there and afterward returned to Georgia, and then to Charleston,
spent the winter on Sullivan Island, and in the spring went to Virginia. After
the war had ended, he returned to farming and milling, and in 1872 moved to
Covington county, where he has since lived, engaged in farming, and to some
extent in milling. He has lived on his present farm ten years, six miles
northeast of Andalusia, where he owns eight hundred acres of land, besides
which, he also owns several hundred acres in several small tracts. While he has
always been a democrat, he has never been a politician nor office seeker. He is
one of the leading farmers of the county, and is industrious, honest and
popular. In 1858, he married Elizabeth Gantt, daughter of Israel Gantt, our
subject's father and Israel Gantt being cousins. Israel and Martha Gantt were
also natives of South Carolina, but came to Covington county about 1870 and
there lie buried. Mrs. Gantt was born in Lexington district, S. C., and died
June 11, 1892. She was a Missionary Baptist, and was the mother of five
children, four of whom are living, viz.: Pollard, Joanna, wife of Wesley Garvin;
Pickens and Burnett.




Additional Comments:
from "Memorial Record of Alabama", Vol. I, p. 750-751



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