Georgia: Morgan County: Dedication of the William West DAR Grave Marker, 2 November 1962 ==================================================================== 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 may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store this file permanently for free access. This file was contributed by: Barbara Walker Winge Barbarawinge@yahoo.com ==================================================================== This is a copy of the paper read by Nele Walker Freeman (Mrs. Charles F.) of Chattanooga, Tennessee, at the time the Henry Walton Chapter, NSDAR, unveiled the marker honoring William West, November 02, 1962. See the DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION MAGAZINE, DEC. '70, p. 916. "WILLIAM WEST William West, Revolutionary Soldier, whose grave is being marked on November 2, 1962, in the West Family Burial Ground near Madison, Georgia, is one of the pioneer settlers of Morgan County. Born November 11, 1762, in Virginia, William West served in the American Revolution with troops from Chesterfield County, Virginia, where he entered service January 1, 1780. On January 22, 1790, he married Alice Lawrence Egmon, who is said to have been a favorite cousin of George Washington. Shortly after the marriage the young couple removed to Georgia and established their home in Wilkes County where many other Virginians were settling about this time. Later, upon the opening up of lands acquired from the Indians, William West in 1810 bought a plantation in Morgan County and removed with his family to it. There his children were reared and there he and his wife spent the remainder of their lives. The old two-storied home which he built was burned some years ago. Alice West died March 8, 1821, and was buried in the West Family graveyard on the plantation. William West died April 27, 1830, and was buried beside his wife. Near them are buried some of their children, including William Lawrence West, Mariah (West) Skidmore and many descendants. William and Alice West had the following children whose descendants are widely scattered throughtout the South. Elizabeth T. West, the oldest child was born about 1791 and married James Battle Cain, son of Jacob and Sarah (Battle) Cain of Wilkes County, Georgia. It is from her that Mrs. Nell (Walker) Freeman of Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, who has been active in placing this special marker at William West's grave, is descended. Mariah West, the second daughter, was born March 31, 1795. She became the second wife of Dr. Samuel Skidmore. They had seven children. Louisa West, the third daughter, married first Peter Campbell and second Benjamin Russell. She was the ancestress of Nanaline Holt, of Macon, Georgia, who became the wife of James B. Duke, President of the American Tobacco Company, and was the mother of the heiress Doris Duke. Mary West, the next daughter of William and Alice West, married John Cauthen, an early settler of Morgan County and left descendants in this locality. Wilmoth Marston West, another daughter, married Benjamin Franklin McCoy, and left descendants through Mrs. Susie McCoy Myers, (Mrs. David J. B. Myers) of Washington, D. C. Frances C. West, called Fanny, married Richard W. Fox. William Lawrence West, son of William and Alice West, was born January 8, 1801, and married Sarah Parthenia Skidmore, daughter of Dr. Samuel Skidmore, and step- daughter of William Lawrence West's sister Miariah. He left many descendants in this state. One, Mrs. Rosa Walker Mayne Lowe, called Rose, of Columbia, South Carolina, is present owner of the West Family Burial Ground. She is a daughter of the late Mrs. Rosa Montgomery West Walker Mayne of Athens, Georgia. Mrs. Mayne, known to Madisonians as "Miss Rosa" was born in Morgan County, two and one half miles from Madison in the William West plantation home. Five generations of Mrs. Lowe's family are buried here as she is twice descended from William West. "Miss Rosa's" mother, Emma Louise West was a daughter of William Lawrence West and his wife Sarah Parthenia Skidmore West. Her father, Dr. Thomas Jefferson Walker, was descended from William West's daughter Elizabeth T. West who married James Battle Cain. "Miss Rosa's" brother and sister are Sidney Percy Walker and Mrs. Stella Walker Salisbury of Waycross. Also twice descended is her daughter, Mrs. Stella Salisbury Jones, wife of Bannon Jones of Athens. Her daughters include Sally Maud and Delevan Jones of Athens. And as is Samuel West Walker Jr. of Waycross, his daughters are Barbara Walker Winge and Jeanne Walker. J. W. Ainslie of Madison is descended through Sarah Parthenia West, daughter of William West's son, William Lawrence West. Mrs. J. W. Ainslie, the former Mary Muriel Smith, is a descendant through William Lawrence West's daughter, Nancy Mariah West, who married Plena Brawner. Children of Mr. and Mrs. Ainslie include Josephine ainslie Sims, wife of Truitt C. Sims of Morgansville, William and Andrew Ainsile of Madison. Miranda Fitztatum West, youngest daughter of William and Alice West, married first William S. Meadows and after his death she married second Asa Brawner. They were the grandparents of Mrs. Kate Walker Lamb, of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Other descendants also include Roy, Henry, Alton and Thomas Manning of Atlanta, Georgia. Peter Milton West, youngest child of William and Alice West, married first Miss Meadows by whom he had three children. His second wife was Mrs. Matthews. (Submitted by Barbara Walker Winge, barbarawinge@yahoo.com)