Lowndes-Brooks County GaArchives Biographies.....Gornto, James Everett 1854 - living in 1913
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Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 October 17, 2004, 7:33 pm

Author: William Harden
p. 745-746

   JAMES EVERETT GORNTO, now a resident of Valdosta, is a son of a soldier of
the Confederacy and a grandson of one of the earliest settlers in this section
of the state, and by these distinctions and by his own career as a worthy and
progressive citizen he is entitled to mention among the representative men of
southern Georgia. His nativity occurred June 24, 1854, in that part of Lowndes
county that is now included in Brooks county, Georgia, and he is a son of James
Gornto, who was born in Laurens county of the Empire state of the South. The
grandfather, Nathan Gornto, was a stock-raiser in Laurens county, but as the
country became more thickly settled and grazing facilities fewer he pushed on to
the frontier and located in what is now Brooks county but then was included in
Lowndes county. He purchased land there and grazed his herds on large tracts
that were vacant, for at that time all of southern Georgia was sparsely settled.
There were no railroads and no markets for produce nearer than the gulf ports,
and the few farmers here at that time took their surplus crops to St. Marks or
Newport, Florida with teams. As the land began to be taken up by settlers and
farmed, he sold his land to a Mr. Spain and took his herds of cattle into
Madison county, Florida, where he purchased land and where he continued to
reside until his death when about ninety years of age. His wife was Esther
Burnett before her marriage and she too lived to be full of years. The most of
their descendants are located in Florida. Their son James, the father of James
Everett, was but a boy when the family settled in Brooks county and was reared
amid pioneer scenes. He began his independent career by working out on a farm
and soon became an overseer, continuing thus employed several years. Later he
bought land west of Quitman, Georgia, but after operating it several years he
sold it and purchased another farm south of Quitman on which he resided
thenceforward until his death at the age of eighty. In 1864 he joined the
Georgia Reserves and went to the defense of Atlanta, serving with that command
until the close of the war. He wedded Miss Mahala Dean, a daughter of John and
Jane Dean, and she reached the age of seventy-eight years. They were the parents
of seven children, namely: Jane, James E., Lavinia, Annie, Daniel, Sally and
Elijah.

   James Everett Gornto, the second of this family in order of birth, was the
eldest son and as he grew up under the home roof his experiences were those
which naturally come to a boy commendably assisting his parents in developing a
productive farm, and while they were not notably different from those of many
others, each had its value in developing self-reliance and the habits of
industry and thrift. His earlier years of independent activity were spent as a
farmer, and though he has not been following that vocation personally in recent
years he has never ceased to be interested in agricultural pursuits and has an
estate a short distance from Valdosta which he operates by the help of tenants.
Upon leaving the farm he took up his residence in Quitman, where he clerked for
a time and where he served as marshal three years; then in 1897 he removed to
Valdosta, where he has since resided. Mr. Gornto has been thrice married. On
January 1, 1874, he was united to Miss Fannie Groover, a daughter of Henry
Groover, who at her death in 1879 left two daughters, Lavinia and Fanny. His
second marriage occurred in 1882 when he wedded Miss Fanny Lightfoot, daughter
of Dr. T. J. Lightfoot. At her death in February, 1889, there were left three
children, Katie, Beulah and
Samuel. In November, 1889, Mr. Gornto took as his third wife Miss Ella Roberts,
a daughter of Ashley G. Roberts, and to their union have been born three
children, Lorenzo, Flora and James Everett, Jr. Mr. Gornto is a Democrat in
politics and cast his first vote for Samuel J. Tilden for president. Fraternally
he is affiliated with the Valdosta Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons and with
the chapter of Royal Arch Masons in the same city and belongs to Alee Temple, A.
A. 0. N. M. S. He is also a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.



Additional Comments:
From:

A HISTORY OF SAVANNAH AND SOUTH GEORGIA
BY
WILLIAM HARDEN

VOLUME II
ILLUSTRATED
THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY
CHICAGO AND NEW YORK
1913




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