Baldwin County GaArchives History .....History of Baldwin County - Myrick Biography 1925 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 October 7, 2004, 5:34 pm p. 413-418 THE MYRICKS Goodwin Myrick, son of John Myrick, was born in Virginia, before his father's removal to Wilkes county, Ga., October 3, 1779. Later, the famfly moved to the new country across the Oconee, on a large body of oak and hickory land, in the upper part of Baldwin county. This magnificent body of land was soon taken up by well-to-do farmers, the Barksdales, the Hurts, Parhams, Sanfords, Jordans, and others. Goodwin Myrick married Martha Parham, whose twin sister was the mother of our illustrious statesman, Benjamin Harvey Hill. He was an industrious planter, bought land and negroes. His sons were Stith Parham, Benjamin Harvey, Goodwin, William, and John. The eldest son, Stith Parham, was born March 7, 1815, in Baldwin county, on his father's plantation, a dozen miles or more from Milledgeville. He acquired a good common school education, and on the death of his father, at the age of sixteen years, began his business career. To his land and negroes in Georgia, he added railroads in Louisiana. He was appointed Brigadier-General of the Georgia militia by Governor Crawford, on August 26, 1844. During the Civil War he raised and equipped a company of his fellow county people, known as the Myriek Volunteers. At the close of the war, he found his property swept from him by adversities and endorsements of notes and only his ancestral acres were left of a large fortune. He was a Methodist and a liberal supporter of the church of his fathers. He died at his home in Midway, January 20, 1885. He married twice—his first wife was Miss Peebles, of Baldwin county. She died early, leaving only one child, Mary Elizabeth, who graduated from Wesleyan college, and married H. K. Daniel, of Americus. The only grandchild by this marriage was Lila Daniel, who married Dr. L. M. Jones, and was the mother of L. M. Jones and Miss Elizabeth Jones of Milledgeville, and Dr. W. O. D. Jones of New Orleans. His second wife was Miss Elizabeth Dowdell, of Alabama. She also was a graduate of Wesleyan College. Her sons were James Dowdell and Goodwin Dow-dell. James, the elder, was born at Riverside Plantation, in Baldwin county, January 15, 1846. He entered the Confederate Army with the Georgia Cadets from Marietta, fought under Capt. Manget, Capers Batallion, Smith's div. Johnson's Army. He remained in service until the close of the war. After the war he studied under William J. Northern, at Mt. Zion, in Hancock county, and graduated from East Alabama College, Auburn, Alabama. He married Miss Thulia Kate Whitehurst, of Wilkinson county. He died at his home, Dovedale, in Baldwin county, November 8, 1910. The younger son, Goodwin, joined the army when a mere youth, was captured in December, 1864, and was confined, at Point Lookout, until 1865. He married Miss Elizabeth Hawkins, of Milledgeville. Benjamin Harvey Myrick, second son of Goodwin and Martha Parham Myrick, was born November 24, 1820. He suffered great financial losses after the war, and though he was unable to regain his financial standing, he was always cheerful under these changed conditions, and remained all his life, a splendid type of the gentleman of the old school. His first wife was Miss Edmondson, of Eatonton; his last wife, Miss Fanny Sanford, of Auburn, Alabama. He died December 10, 1901. The third son, William, married Miss Lucretia Edmondson, of Putnam County. He was a young man at the close of the war, and more nearly regained his business prosperity. His daughter, Mrs. Mark Johnson, and his son, William, of Atlanta, are the only descendants. Benjamin Harvey Myrick, (second son) was born in Baldwin County, near Milledgeville, Georgia., November 24, 1820. His mother's twin sister, Henrieta, married Benjamin Hill, of Georgia, and bore a son, Benjamin Harvey Hill, of the same age as Benjamin Harvey Myrick. Benjamin Harvey Myrick received his education from the country school near his home. His father, dying when Benjamin was a lad of fifteen, he assumed control of his mother's plantation. He married at the age of twenty-one, October 19, 1841, Miss Mary Ann Edmondson, of Putnam County, a very lovely and gifted daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Edmondson, of a distinguished family and a planter of influence and wealth. To Mr. and Mrs. B. H. Myrick were born four children: John E. Myrick, Sarah E. Myrick, James G. Myrick, (dying at the age of five years) and Mary L. Myrick. Mr. B. H. Myrick was an influential man of means and greatly beloved in his home county. During the War of the States, he remained at home providing foodstuffs for the soldiers and those around him. His eldest son, John E. Myrick, was in the army of Virginia, and was wounded in one of the battles. Benjamin Myrick was in charge of Militia and received his title of Colonel. When Sherman made his famous raid through Georgia, Col Myrick's home was sacked, and his furniture, books, silver, pictures, and piano were destroyed. Col. Myrick had gathered a number of John Brown's pikes to make into plows to cultivate the farms, to make food for the Southern soldiers. No doubt the Northern soldiers thought they were gathered for other purposes. Col. Myrick's wife died January 4, 1864, in Putnam county. Col. Myrick was not demonstrative, but strong and unyielding, his sense of rectitude was deep and unswerving, and he proclaimed his beliefs in his life by the untiring acts of his life for the good of his fellow-men. He was greatly concerned for the welfare of the youth of the land. His wealth was spent in doing good, educating the orphan, and supplying servants and means to those less fortunate than himself. During the raid of the Northern Army in Mil-ledgeville, Col. Myrick was instrumental in transferring the funds of the state to a place of safety, and was commended by the Governor, for this act. After the war, with his brother, Dr. John Myrick, he came to Alabama and brought his daughter. His son having married Miss Julia E. Peeples, of Columbus, Mississippi, remained in Georgia at the old homestead. While in Alabama, December 14, 1869, Col. Myrick married the second daughter of Dr. W. L. Sanford, L. L. D., and Mrs. Susan L. Dowdell, a family of distinction. His brother-in-law, W. J. Sanford, afterwards became governor of Alabama. In 1872, he returned to Georgia and remained until his death, December 10, 1901. He was agent of the Central Railroad, and postmaster of Meriwether, Baldwin County. In November, 1901, he visited his wife's relatives in Louisiana, spending six weeks. On his return, he stopped at the home of his son-in-law and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Barnes, and died, in the night, of heart failure, December 10. He was buried from his son's residence, in the cemetery at Milledgeville, by the side of his first wife and by his grandsons. A year later, his daughter, Miss Sallie E. Myrick, was buried by his side. His wife, Mrs. K. F. S. Myrick, remained in Georgia a year, acting as agent of the Central Railroad and Postmaster at Meriwether, and building the steel bridge over Little River, by the request of the General Manager—Col. Haft, of Philadelphia, sending fifteen gentlemanly workers to do the work. Col. Myrick's grandson, Harvey John Myrick, remained in his grandmother's home and assisted her with all the devotion of a son. GOODWIN MYRICK My great-grandfather was John Myrick; my grandfather was Goodwin Myrick, born October 23, 1779. His wife, Martha Parham, daughter of Stith Parham, was born December 19, 1790. They were married November 9, 1809. The children born to Goodwin Myrick and Martha Parham Myrick were: Elizabeth I. Myrick, August 21, 1810; Nancy S. Myrick, Oct. 2, 1811; John T. Myrick, August 18, 1813; Stith P. Myrick, March 7, 1815; Mary P. Myrick, June 14, 1817; Sara A. Myrick, Feb. 21, 1819; Benjamin Harvey Myrick, Nov. 24, 1820; Martha F. Myrick; Feb. 3, 1823; Goodwin T. W. Myrick, May 18, 1824; William I. Myrick, Feb. 28, 1826; and John W. Myrick, March 23, 1828. Deaths of the children of Goodwin and Martha Myrick: Nancy S. Myrick, died Oct. 13, 1812; Martha F. Myrick, died June 20, 1823; John F. Myrick, Aug. 27, 1824; Mary P. Myrick, Oct. 27, 1825; Sarah A. Myrick McGhee, Dec. 5, 1835; Stith P. Myrick, Oct. 8, 1885; John W. Myrick, Jan. 3, 1872; William J. Myrick, Jan. 2, 1875; Goodwin T. Myrick, Dec. 18, 1879; Ben. Harvey Myrick, Dec. 10, 1901. The father of all these ehildren, Goodwin Myrick, died March 11, 1831. The mother, Martha Parham Myrick, died May 13, 1862. Goodwin D. Myrick and Lizzie P. Hawkins were married December 16, 1869. The children born to them are: Eugene H. Myrick, Feb. 27, 1871; Caro Stith Myrick, April 2, 1873; Mattie P. Myrick, 1874; Stith P. Myrick, July 21, 1876; Sallie H. Myrick, Dec. 1, 1878; Goodwin D. Myrick, Jr., June 11, 1880; Mary Elizabeth Myriek, July 21, 1881; Delia Lillian Myrick, December 18, 1883. Deaths of children: Caro Stith Myrick, June 23, 1873; Goodwin D. Myrick, Jr., Oct. 4, 1881; Mary E. Myrick, Aug. 8, 1882; Eugene H. Myrick, June 29, 1908; Mattie P. Myrick Stafford, June 2, 1910. The mother of these children, Lizzie Hawkins Myrick, died Nov. 6,1922. (-Goodwin Myrick). Additional Comments: From: Part V HISTORY of BALDWIN COUNTY GEORGIA BY MRS. ANNA MARIA GREEN COOK ILLUSTRATED ANDERSON. S. C. Keys-Hearn Printing Co. -1925— File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/baldwin/history/other/gms311historyo.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/gafiles/ File size: 9.9 Kb