MESSER FAMILY CEMETERY, Dellwood, Jackson County, FL File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Wayne N. Carpenter, (now deceased). USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages cannot be reproduced in any format for profit or other presentation. This file may not be removed from this server or altered in any way for placement on another server without the consent of the State and USGenWeb Project coordinators and the contributor. *********************************************************************** Surveyed: July 30, 1999 Directions: In Dellwood, FL, turn off Hwy 69 onto C-164 south. Go .5 mile. Turn left and cross ditch, drive .5 mile around edge of field and follow road along fence and back into woods. A large granite stone has been put at the front of the cemetery with these words on it: "Messer Cemetery - In Memory of the Known and Unknown Buried Here." There are two graves with no headstones and no information on who these people were. JACKSON, R A, , C A Vols. Creek War McDANIEL, James D, b. 8 May 1846 d. 1 Dec 1907 MESSER, "Martha, JARMAN", b. 25 Nov 1811 d. 1 Dec 1889 MESSER, , d. 15 Feb 1908, Infant son of B E and PE Messer MESSER, , d. 18 Dec 1908, Infant of C W and Olive Messer MESSER, Bryant Edward, b. 2 May 1809 d. 18 Aug 1886 MESSER, Timothy N, b. 9 Apr 1976, d. 24 Jul 1999, "Born in Stuttgart, Germany" MESSER, William F, b. 10 Aug 1883 d. 8 Mar 1884 NICHOLS, E F, b. 13 Oct 1848 d. 15 Jul 1913, Born in Pike Co GA **************************************************************************** IN REMEMBERANCE OF BRYANT EDWARD 'B.E.' MESSER, JR. 1910-1999 And TIMOTHY MOORE TAYLOR 1976-1999 TRIBUTE TO BRYANT EDWARD 'B.E.' MESSER, JR. 1910-1999 ANCESTORS OF B.E. MESSER, Jr. Bryant Messer, born on March 2, 1809 in North Carolina, married (date unknown) to Martha German, (Marthey German was her given birth name), (name changed to Jarman). She was born on November 25, 1811 in North Carolina. Moving from Decatur County, Georgia between 1861 and 1865 to Dellwood, Jackson County, Florida. In 1866, Bryant purchased 520 acres (more or less) from Mr. Joseph Hinson, later he purchased another 180 acres. Subsequently, in later years, he donated the land where the Dellwood school was built. Being of strong German Baptist faith, Bryant donated the land for the Dellwood Baptist church and cemetery. A few years later, George Washington Messer (son of Bryant) and other members of the church, refurbished the church. Unto this union were born 15 children, Hardy, Margaret, William Frank(lin), Sarah, David, George Washington, Harvey (Henry), Ferney Simmons, Zachariah Taylor, Charles, Lewis (Louis) Cass, Pierce Franklin, Council M., Louisa (Luella) and John. Their youngest son, John Messer was born on June 19, 1858 in a settlement near Scott Ferry, (Flint River) in Georgia. His first marriage was to Irene (Rainey) Nichols (abt. 1860/1880) on January 14, 1880, she is buried in the Old Messer cemetery with no marker. On December 22, 1881, he married Ida Viola Rodgers. She was born on June 16,1860 in Georgia. Unto this union were born 10 children, Wesley Lewis, Bryant Edward, Cleveland William, Lola Louise (Doris), (she is buried to the left side of Pearl E.), Gordon Earnest, Eva Viola and Bertha Lee. Eva and Bertha are buried in the Old Messer cemetery with no markers. The oldest infant and last infant twin boys died at birth. Their son, Bryant Edward Messer, Sr., was born on January 6, 1884 in Dellwood Florida. On December 11, 1904, he married Pearl Elizabeth Hart. She was born on May 25, 1886 in Florida. Unto this union were born four children, Bryant Edward, Jr., Loran Adolphus (1912/1973) and Helen Elaine, born in 1919. Their oldest infant son died at birth on February 15, 1908. BRYANT EDWARD 'B.E.' MESSER, JR. Bryant Edward 'B.E.' Messer, Jr. was born on March 22, 1910 in the original home of Bryant and Marthey, located on Blue Springs Hwy. in Dellwood Florida, still standing today, the home is being refurbished the the present owners. The original two rooms were moved closer to the road by Papa John, added to and remodeled. B.E. was 10 years old when his mother became sick and was taken to Marianna, by horse and wagon. He said, "I already knew mama had died before, they came to tell me". His sister, Helen was a breastfeeding infant and hearing her moan for her mother was etched in his memory. At the time they lived across the road from the church cemetery where his mother, Pearl E. was laid to rest. After the death of their mother, Helen went to live with her Aunt Ida and Uncle Bob Dickson in Bascom Florida. A cousin once told how they would be playing in the yard and B.E. would want to play near her grave. B.E. and Loran lived with their Papa in Dellwood and went to school there until, Bryant, Sr., moved to Detroit, Michigan after their house burned. Then, they also went to live with their aunt and uncle in Bascom. B.E. went to school though the 9th grade in Bascom. He received his first pair of long pants at the age of 16. Until then he wore kneeknockers (pants that came below the knees). At the age of 12 to 16 he worked at the Sawmill in Bascom. At 17, he worked at Daffin Wholesale, for three weeks and also had a paper route. In 1928, he worked as a stockboy for the "Jitney Jungle" food store in Marianna. The Fall of 1928, he took the job of driving for Mr. Kilpatrick who worked for the Department of F.D.A.. During the Depression he fished, traded and had a paper route. In 1935, he worked for Mr. C. A. Grambiling on his farm. May 1935, he went to work at Arnold's Diner "Otto's". On October 1, 1936, he went to work at the Railway Express Agency, "R.E.A.", in Marianna. The office was located across the road from the Train Station. The R.E.A. would receive shipments and deliver to the businesses in Jackson and surrounding counties. Retiring from there in September, 1973. On September 9, 1932 he married his first wife, Robbie Clark from Alabama. He met Robbie when she came to Marianna to visit her brother and sister-in- law. Unto this union were born two children. Their infant son died at birth on the June 6, 1933. Their daughter, Shirley Pearl, was born in 1935. For, a short period of time his nephew's, Bobby and Glen Dixon lived with them. B.E. purchased 80 acres of land from Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wandeck on January 13, 1941. Off and on over the years he and his families lived and worked the land. During WW II, B.E. was ordered to report for Induction on 5 May 1945. He spent 2 1/2 years overseas. Leaving the service because of family hardship. Coming out of the Army, he joined the Florida National Guard, where he Retired on March 22, 1970. Not long after coming home B.E. and Robbie divorced. On May 19, 1949 he married Annie 'Irene' Brogdon. He had seen her one day while he was sitting on a street bench with some buddies and asked, "who was she"? She was walking by with her daughter, Natina Ann, age 5 and a friend, Ms. Bennett. He was working as the Manager of the Horne's Café and she became a waitress there. Unto this union were born 5 children, four daughters, Mary Sue, Nora Marcellia, Betty Jo and Martha Marie, the last being a stillborn baby boy in 1957/58. B.E. and Irene moved to Wyoming and Colordo for a short period of time, then returning to Marianna. During the Berlin Crisis, the National Guard was sent to Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, on Standby, where they lived for a short time, then returning to Marianna. B.E. and Irene divorced in 1968. Over the years he farmed, raised cows and hogs, but found he enjoyed raising goats the most, for the goats' milk. His grandson, Anthony had an allergy to cows' milk, so he was raised on the goats' milk. During this time he learned that he had Angina, a problem with his heart and needed to change his way of life. On the June 12, 1971, he received the news that his 17- year old daughter, Nora, had been killed in a car accident. So he stopped reading his Bible and blamed the Lord for taking her from him, this weighed heavy on his heart. Then in a dream one night, he was walking back from the branch on his land and a man appeared to him. The man had been a friend of his and at the time of this man's death, they were not speaking to each other. When he turned to talk to the man, he seen Nora standing in front of him. He said, "Nora told me she was o.k". When he awoke, the burden had been lifted from his heart. In 1973, his brother, Loran passed away. He said, "after going to these two funeral services, I can not go to anymore". He spent the next few years raising goats. An article was printed in the "Floridan", on January 15, 1980 about him, "Sure Cure For Ulcer?, Try Goat's Milk". He gave up the goat business in the late 1980's. After fully retiring, he spent his days with his grandchildren and visiting relatives. Visiting the "Chipola Retirement" and "Convalescent Centers", at times taking his grandchildren with him. Asking, why would he go to visit them?, he would say, "because they are lonely and need someone to visit them". His thoughts were that, he too, might live there one day and would want someone to visit him. He would go to the Senior Citizens Club dances' in Dothan on Saturday night. He knew them all by name and who their relatives were. He would go to the local "Senior Citizen Center" to socialize, play cards and dominos. He would go to the local churches to receive commodities and help pass them out to people that were in need. There is a committee that is improving the Old Messer cemetery in Dellwood. He helped with the clean-up, until he could no longer do the Physical labor, due to his health problems. He continued to go to the Cemetery to meet with other relatives to share stories and information about their ancestors' buried there. They enjoyed his company, as much as he enjoyed theirs. For a time, he would go to church on Saturday mornings. Then on Sunday, he would visit different churches in town, mostly finding himself going back to Dellwood Baptist church. On November 10, 1996, the "Floridan" wrote another article, "All gave some, some gave all". The article was honoring him as a Veteran, for Veteran's Day. He was proud to be a Veteran. In November of 1998, his health started failing him. And, in March of 1999, he went to stay for a short time at the "Chipola Retirement Center". While living there, he loved for his family to visit. He would take them around to visit everyone, introducing them to his first sweetheart and others. And, he would fuss for being there, having to give up so much of his independents. To say the least, he was a very strong will and independent person. His health improved so he decided it was time to return to his old home place on May 13, 1999. The following article was written by his granddaughter, Sonya 'Stransky' Calloway, daughter of Natina 'Freeman' Sullivan, while Daddy was staying at the retirement center. She interviewed him for a paper that she was writing for a college course, April 1999. Not knowing this would be the last time to visit him or have the chance to learn so much more about his life. As a tribute to her grandfather, she allowed her paper to be read at his funeral service. We all owe her our sincere appreciation for giving us this opportunity to honor him in such a deserving way. August 1999 TRIBUTE TO GRANDPA WHAT I WANTED TO LEARN WHEN I STARTED For as long as I can remember I used to always visit my grandfather's goat farm during the summer. There really wasn't much to my grandfather, or so it seemed. Whenever we went to town I remember a lot of people always speaking to him and shaking his hand, especially people who were in the Military. I remember his delivering newspapers and goat milk. Every morning before starting his paper route he would milk the goats. My grandfather was not a very materialistic person. He was not fascinated with material things. He was not rich, and sometimes he had trouble making ends meet until the first of the month. The first of the monthis when his check came. I wasn't sure what check it was. I just knew that is how my grandfather survived. After taking his check to the bank we would always drive to Ft. Rucker, Alabama. That is where the Commissary was. I wasn't sure why we had to go all the way to the Commissary when we had plenty of grocery stories in town. It was a place where there were always a lot of military people. My grandfather knew many people there too. He was always friendly and spoke to everyone. So what was it about him? How did my grandfather know so many people and shop at the Commissary? Had he been in the Army or something? What about this goat milk? The milkman quit delivering a long time ago. I decided to start asking some questions. NARRATIVE OF THE SEARCH I first started talking to my mother and found out that my grandfather was in World War II. She told me about his traveling to many far away places. Just how far away? "Overseas," she said. She told me he also started the National Guard Armory in Marianna, Florida. I then talked to my Aunt Betty. She is the historian of the family. She is always visiting cemeteries trying to find out about people and dates. She told me about the countries my grandfather visited. Places like Africa, Iran, Iraq and Egypt. She let me look at the many photos she had acquired of my Grandfather in his younger years. He was a quite handsome man. I spoke to the National Guard Armory's home office regarding archives for the Armory in Marianna, Florida. I spoke to Sergeant Max Thomas at the National Guard Armory in Marianna, Florida, regarding archives. I went online and looked up the National Guard Armory and World War II. There were only about 589,614 listings. Last, but not least, I talked to my grandfather. What a talk it was. WHAT I LEARNED My grandfather was born on March 22, 1910, in Dellwood, Florida, at the Old Messer home place. His name was Bryant Edward Messer,Jr., 'B.E.' for short. He lost his mother at the young age of 10. His father had taken her to the doctor by horse and wagon. He said he knew his mother would not make the trip back. At the age of twelve he started delivering newspapers in Dellwood and the surrounding communities. He worked at various odd jobs. He married his first wife on September 9, 1932. Two children were born of this union. The infant son was stillborn, and a daughter was born on March 17, 1935. She resides in Marianna, Florida, today. On May 24, 1945, grandfather left for Camp Blanding in Florida. He signed up to be one of the ones to go to South Africa. He went to basic training in Camp Claiborne in Louisiana. In October of the same year he left for North Africa. He was responsible for the dismantling of Army camps scattered across the region. "A private first class when he took on the assignment, he was promoted to acting staff sergeant in order to meet the security clearance level required to carry out his mission" (Buckhalter 1). They were closing the bases in North Africa because the Germans had been backed up into Italy. From there he went to Iran. After dismantling the camps in Iran his next assignment would be in Kartun, Sudan. He spent two and one half years in Kartun and says he enjoyed it. He visited the school children and told them of the life in America. He also taught them that they could all pray together. Just because they prayed to different Gods didn't mean that they could not pray together in the same room. He spoke of one of the most beautiful sights he had seen. He talked of a bridge on the Nile River. You could look down the Nile River and on one side it was blue, while on the other side it was white. "You could tell where they joined", he said. The Nile River ran north. While he was stationed in Kartun, a man was assigned to take care of him. His name was Abdullah Ili. He was responsible for shining my grandfather's shoes and making his bed. Abdullah Ili did not like the Germans. He also figured out that my grandfather was of German descent. When asked why he fought on the American side, my grandfather replied by saying he didn't want to get killed. Abdullah Ili liked grandfather even if he was of German descent. They have pictures together. He left Kartun, Sudan and went to Cairo, Egypt. His assignment in Cairo was supplying the Egyptian camps with food. He said, the rich were selfish. Always taking the poor people's rations. He also was responsible for managing the PX (Post Exchange) at Camp Huckstep in Cairo, Egypt. Upon leaving Cairo he was headed home for the States. A Captain bumped him from his place on the plane. He had to wait for the next one. My grandfather says luck was with him that day. The Captain's plane went down in the Mediterranean. No survivors. Upon returning to the States he found that his wife had left him and took their daughter. He had no home and no family. He said, he wished he had stayed in Kartun, Sudan. In 1948 he found himself doing something of a different nature. Instead of Dismantling camps for the Army he was trying to build one. He didn't want to lose his service (retirement) time. He had heard of the National Guard and began to rally support for one. He rounded up volunteers from the ranks of ex-soldiers who had retired from the regular army and others who wanted to join the forces for domestic security. He also had a County Commissioner backing him, a State Representative, and a Colonel by the name of John Carter, Jr. The businessmen of Jackson and surrounding counties did not want the National Guard to come to their area. They felt that they shouldn't have to let their employees off for one weekend a month or two weeks during the summer. After a long hard struggle, my grandfather's dream became reality. They won a appropriation of money to build the existing National Guard Armory. My grandfather retired after 20 years of service with the National Guard. Today, there are still newspaper articles written about him. He still receives invitations from the Armory to visit and speak to the new soldiers. And he still waits on his check to come on the first of the month. A few weeks ago, grandfather was put into a retirement home. It is hard to see him there with so little independence. An independence that helped him serve his country, that helped him fight for his fellow soldiers and community and that taught foreign children that if was OK to pray together. The 144th Transportation Unit is operated out of the National Guard Armory in Marianna, Florida. They were called upon during the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Gulf War. They came to the aid of people when disaster struck our homelands. Hurricanes, floods, and riots. Today they are on standby for the Kosovo Crisis. When I started out on this adventure of finding out who my grandfather was, I wasn't sure of what to expect. I stated that he wasn't rich, but he was. My grandfather is rich in history. Rich in life. I am very proud of my grandfather and his accomplishments and the trials and tribulations that he over came. I only hope that my grandchildren can find the riches in me that I have found in my grandfather. Basalami, Grandpa (love you) Penned by granddaughter, Sonya M. 'Stransky' Calloway April 1999 On July 2, 1999, B.E., age 89, died at the Jackson County Hospital of Cardiac Arrest, at 8 a.m.. On the 3rd and final try to revise him, the Lord called him home. What a rejoicing there was in Heaven!! To finally see all the loved ones that has gone on before him. Daddy was never on time. We learned early on in life, we would always be late. But thought he would be on time for his final service. Then, it seemed appropriate for him, passing on the 4th of July holiday week-end, knowing how proud he was of his country, heritage and family. He laid in State an hour before the family arrived at the Dellwood Baptist Church. His grandson's honoring him as his Pall Bearers. He was laid to rest by his Great Grandfather Bryant Messer. His grandson-in- law, Mark Youngblood sang Amazing Grace. He was given Full Military Honors' by the American Legion Post, # 241 of Sneads Florida, including a 21 gun Salute with Taps. Vice Commander Harrison presented the American Flag to his oldest attending grandson, Christopher Bryant Taylor. Upon asking his grandson, Timothy Moore Taylor what would you most remember about your Grandpa? He said, "A verse from the Bible," "Love thy neighbour, as thineself". ST. MATTHEW 19: 19 "Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." POEM FOR GRANDPA Timothy wrote the following on July 4, 1999 in Honor of his Grandpa. In Honor of Timothy M. Taylor 1976 to 1999 GRANDPA Grandpa, Where are you? To lift me up when I'm down Where are you? To make me smile when I frown Where are you? When I'm all alone Where are you? To buy me an ice cream cone Times are hard when you're Not around But I know you're in Heaven Smiling down I hope to give this world A little more of you I only pray God will see me through Now I can only bow My knees and pray To be with you in Heaven someday Yes, Heaven That's where you are Shining down like the Morning star You taught this world A better way To get along Yes, there was always Love in your song In heaven is where Your face is I long to see Yes, heaven is where You deserve to be Shining down with love So true Where you deserve To be If I take your advice I know my life I would have to Sacrifice I know you're up there Shining down with a Love so true But sometimes I wonder Where are you? There are times when You consume my thoughts To make it through I must do What you taught Love my neighbor As myself And don't put my heart On a shelf That was something You never did And because of that We'll always grin... author.....Tim Taylor Timothy Moore Taylor is the son of Mary Sue 'Messer' Wagner and General Haralson Taylor. He was born on April 9, 1976 in Ft. Stuttgart, Germany. He passed away on July 24, 1999 in Homassassa Springs, Florida from injuries received in a Pedestrian / Vehicle accident. He was laid to rest on July 30, 1999, by his grandfather, Bryant Edward 'B.E.' Messer in the Old Messer cemetery, Dellwood Florida. I would like to thank all my family and friends for all of your kind words and love that you've shone for daddy and Timothy. Yes, each and everyone of you are very special and dear to me. Daddy and Timothy has gone on to meet our loved ones!! They left us here only for a short while, because our work is not done. We'll always have their memories to keep them near and dear to our hearts. We won't say good-bye to them, just Basalami and see you in the sky. Betty Jo 'Messer' Hegarty Daughter of B.E. Messer August 1999 INFORMATION: Betty J. Hegarty 7700 E. Davis Blvd. Naples, Fla. 34104 941/ 732-9267 e-mail / fam7ger@aol.com