Chattahoochee-Putnam-Harris County GaArchives Biographies.....Castleberry, James 1824 - 1894 ************************************************ 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 November 4, 2004, 10:24 pm Author: N. K. Rogers JUDGE JAMES CASTLEBERRY Data furnished by Judge J. V. Castleberry of Lumpkin and Mrs. Meta Castleberry Cooksey of Omega, Ga. Judge Castleberry, youngest child of Jeremiah Castleberry (b. 1765) and his second wife Mary Vineyard, was born in Putnam Co. Nov. 8, 1824. When he was a boy his parents moved to the new county of Talbot which was laid out in December 1827 from original Muscogee Co. as surveyed in 1826. In this new county there were no educational advantages, so he attended school for only about three months. But having a desire to learn he studied at home and secured an education by hard work before the fireside. When about grown he taught his first school at Tazewell, Marion Co., Ga. His son, Judge J. V. Castleberry recalls his father saying that when school closed on a Friday afternoon, he called on all his patrons the following Saturday morning, collected all tuition due him and walked back to his home in Talbot Co. that night. Mrs. Cooksey says he taught in Harris Co. and then in Chattahoochee (while it was yet part of Muscogee) where he met Susan Jane Cobb whom he married January 11, 1852. Of the four children born to this union, viz: Mary Fredonia, b. 1852, Laura McLester, b. 1854, Homer b. 1855 and Meta Lillian b. 1859, only the youngest, Mrs. Meta Cooksey is living. She has often been called one of the most remarkable women who has ever lived in this county. Her courage, patience and piety make her a worthy representative of any family. After the death of her mother when she was ten years of age, the household was under the care of faithful old Mammy Kitty until her father married second in 1863 Mrs. Addie Robinson (b. Aug. 16, 1842; d. June 11, 1911) the daughter of R. C. Patterson, who at the age of fourteen had married Alex Robinson who died a few months after this marriage. When her first trousseau was being made she was busily engaged in playing with her dolls between fittings. After she became the wife of Judge Castleberry a friend of the family describes her queenly appearance in any assemblage. One of her daughters, (she was the mother of twelve children, eight of them living to maturity—their names in Castleberry genealogy) Mrs. Nicholson, who recalls the story about her mother's beloved dolls, says she was always regarded as a queen in her home and that her father required all members of the family to treat her with the homage due her. Judge Castleberry was elected ordinary of Chattahoochee Co. in the fall of 1860 and served until Jan. 1, 1873, having been defeated in the fall of 1872 by Win. A. Farley, who served until Jan. 1, 1877. The offices of Ordinary and Clerk of Superior Court having been combined, Judge Castleberry was elected to fill both in fall of 1876 and remained in office until his death, Dec. 31, 1894, when his son, J. V. Castleberry finished his unexpired term. In addition to the duties of this office, he served part of the time as county school superintendent; also looked after the roads and bridges, there being no county commissioners in his day. As he was Ordinary when the War Between the States began, he did not serve as a soldier, but had charge of a commissary and served by attending to his civil duties. During the incumbency of Mr. Farley he taught school and, while teaching at Cusseta before he held political office, it is said he carried a class (one of them the late Dr. C. N. Howard C. S. Superintendent for about half a century) higher than any other class was carried outside of a college. He was a hard student and had the reputation of being the best educated man at that time in Chattahoochee Co., for he could read Greek, Latin and other foreign languages as well as a graduate of any college. Mrs. H. V. Miller has a letter written by her grandfather, Judge Castleberry to Mr. James VanHorn, elucidating the fine points in a mathematical problem which quite a number of educated men were discussing about that time. This letter displays that same perfect penmanship which added lucidity to the records copied through a long period of years by him while an official of Chattahoochee county. Judge Castleberry was a deep thinker, a man of a quiet, unassuming disposition and of sterling qualities of character. He was a loyal member of the Baptist Church, as have been the majority of his descendants. His son, Judge James Vineyard Castleberry of Lumpkin, who has been Ordinary of Stewart Co. since Jan. 1920 (he has been re-elected, his term to end Jan. 1, 1937) has followed in his father's footsteps in the care with which he discharges the duties of his office. Only one member of this large family, Mrs. Cordie Castleberry Miller, now resides in this county. Her versatility of gifts and efficiency in managing the affairs of life are part of her inheritance from this1 talented ancestry. This family is said to be of Dutch-Irish descent and that the first emigrant of the name who came to this country settled in Pennsylvania and bought a tract of land where the city of Philadelphia now stands. Descendants moved south through Virginia, and Mrs. Emma Nicholson says the three cornered cupboard which was in their home in Cusseta, was brought from Virginia, when the family came to Georgia. In 1830 the census returns show Jeremiah Castleberry and his family living in Putnam Co., Ga. They moved to Talbot Co., soon afterwards, where he died in 1837, and from thence came James Castleberry to found this family of such exceptional merit in Chattahoochee. The numerous descendants scattered throughout the South display the same fine traits of character worthy of commendation wherever found. Additional Comments: From: HISTORY OF CHATTAHOOCHEE COUNTY, GEORGIA By N. K. Rogers Dedicated to KASIHITA CHAPTER U. D. C. and all worthy descendants of the County's first settlers. Copyright 1933 by N. K. ROGERS PRINTED BY COLUMBUS OFFICE SUPPLY CO. COLUMBUS, GA. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/chattahoochee/bios/gbs562castlebe.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/gafiles/ File size: 6.5 Kb