Meriwether County GaArchives Biographies.....W.F. Gay  1850 -  Unknown
************************************************
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:
Carla Miles captbluegrass@mchsi.com July 17, 2003, 1:19 pm

Author: Memoirs of Georgia, Vol. II, Atlanta, Ga., 1895

Memoirs of Georgia, Vol. II, Atlanta, Ga., 
Published by The Southern Historical Association in 1895
Pages 508-509

W. F. Gay

W. F. Gay, is one of those citizens of Meriwether county who may point with 
pride to patriotic ancestry, two of his great-grandfathers having served with 
valor in the revolutionary struggle. Some time after the war the son of one of 
these men, Benjamin Gay, brought his wife, Mrs. Ann (Gay) Gay, from their 
native state, North Carolina, to settle in Georgia. Their son, Columbus Gay, 
married Miss Martha Sasser, a daughter of William and Elizabeth (Beverly) 
Sasser. The father of the former served throughout the revolution under Gen. 
Washington and to the day of his death bore on his head the scars of several 
wounds received in that war. This family was also of North Carolina nativity, 
but William Sasser came to Georgia early in the century and settled in Monroe 
county. The move being made in mid-winter, with the ground frozen, and the 
settlement in the woods, much suffering and privation was entailed upon the 
settlers while, with the aid of kind neighbors, they constructed a home. Mr. 
Sasser served in the war of 1812, and in 1829 transferred his family to 
Meriwether county and again created a home in the wilderness. In these days of 
comfort, with the countless conveniences of modern life, it is hard to realize 
what our predecessors of one or two generations had to endure. Around this 
lonely home towered the primeval forest, in whose shadows lurked the timid 
deer and the ravenous wolf. Many a night were the slumbers of the pioneer 
family broken, and their hearts filled with far, by the hideous and terrifying 
howls of the wolves. Many a morning saw their stock of sheep, pigs or calves 
diminished as the result of these marauding visits. Neighbors were distant and 
privileges few. For years they rode fifteen miles for the purpose of attending 
church. Mr. Sasser, desiring to increase the educational facilities for his 
own and his neighbor’s children, gave two acres of land for the purpose of 
erecting an academy. The son of Columbus and Martha (Sasser) Gay, W.F. Gay, 
was born here in 1850. He passed his early years on the farm, but received a 
good education, and has developed a very fine business talent, as well as 
cultivating his farm with great success. For twelve years he has resided at 
Gay, carrying on a thriving mercantile trade. The respect in which he is held 
by his fellow-citizens is evinced by the responsibilities they have laid upon 
him. He has been county bailiff, justice of the peace, and for the last six 
years county commissioner. His wife was Miss Anna Culpepper, daughter of 
Charles and Jane (English) Culpepper, old settlers of Coweta county, and 
natives of South Carolina. Mr. Culpepper was a soldier in the late war. Mrs. 
Gay was born in Coweta county in 1849, and is a member of the Primitive 
Baptist church. Mr. and Mrs. Gay were married in 1869, and their union has 
been blessed with eleven children: John, Emma, Lula, Mattie, Henry, Leila, 
Joe, Dallie, Ben, Bessie and Iva.




This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/gafiles/

File size: 3.6 Kb