Georgia: Putnam County: Concord United Methodist Church History, Cemetery, Register of Members, Ministers ==================================================================== 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: Suellen Clopton Blanton bblanton@fast.net ==================================================================== A BRIEF HISTORY OF CONCORD UNITED METHODIST CHURCH EATONTON, PUTNAM COUNTY, GEORGIA Including Register of Members and The Cemetery Listing of Ministers This brief history of Concord United Methodist Church has been contributed by The Clopton Family Association, http://www.seanet.com/~clopton/, and The Eatonton-Putnam County Historical Society. If you have any additions or corrections, please contact Suellen Clopton Blanton, bblanton@fast.net. The oldest Methodist Church west of the Oconee River, Concord is located in Putnam County (Eatonton) Georgia, on Pea Ridge Road in the eastern portion of the county. In the fall of 1810, Thomas Johnston and William B. Pritchard began building a house of worship. The little log cabin, when finished, was named Victory, but a few years later, the name was changed to Concord. At that time, it was a Methodist Episcopal Church on the Sparta Circuit. The land was donated by John Robertson. The first Trustees were Thomas Jefferson Johnston, Richard Burt, Joseph Turner, James Burt, and Josiah Flournoy. In 1825 a frame structure was built. The present church building was built in 1886 by Thomas J. Winslette. Resting on rock pillars, the floor joists are pine logs hewn flat on the top for stable flooring. The framework is of rough lumber just as it came from the sawmill. Beginning in 1987 an addition was built at the rear of the church. The pews were moved forward, the aisle, widened. Great pains were taken to match the interior and exterior architectures as closely as possible with the older section. A favorite story recounts the congregations experience at the time of the great Charleston earthquake. There was a revival in progress in a church on each of the two circuits. The time was August, 1886 … at Concord the pastor, the Reverend Parks, had just reproached his congregation for its lack of interest and lukewarm reception of his message, declaring, "It would take something that would shake this church to its foundations to bring you to a realization of your condition." Soon after this the church began to tremble as the quake increased, and people became panic stricken, rushing over one another to get the children outside. Young girls were screaming and the pastor was unable to quiet them. In the midst of it all Mr. Jesse T. Batchelor arose and with his arms uplifted, he begged the people to calm themselves, assuring them that it was only a slight earthquake and would soon be over. After a little they were quieted and there was a great revival. IN THE BEGINNING Benjamin Arnold Bustin was a frequent contributor to area newspapers. He often wrote of Concord. The following text represents excerpts from his scrapbook of clippings: "Putnam has always been strong in Methodism. In fact, we are told that the first white minister of the Gospel was a Methodist preacher on the Sparta Circuit who first began to preach two or three miles south of Hillsboro, which was somewhere in the vicinity of Concord church. This was not a regular appointment, however. Probably it is not generally known that in its early days the Methodist church was not called a church at all but a Methodist Society. The little band of settlers around Concord about the year 1804 formed one of these societies. All the country between the Oconee and Ocmulgee was divided between the Sparta and Milledgeville Circuits. The little Society near Concord was placed on the Sparta Circuit and named Victory. There were no published records of the Methodist church in those days. The Minutes of the Conference was not even published until the year 1836. Previously the minutes of the Conference were written down in long hand with pen and ink and some of them hardly legible even when written. Many of them are lost and we can only get appointments by searching the personal sketches of the lives of the ministers as they appeared in the obituary columns of the church papers. There has recently come to light data which makes it a little clearer to me the early history of some of these Methodist societies in Putnam. … Victory had its first log meeting house in 1811 and the name was changed to Concord. … The next question was what kind of buildings were these log churches? How were they constructed and how was the interior furnished. All these log churches were constructed on the same plan. A large log house with cracks daubed with mud with a clapboard roof, sometimes held in place with pine poles laid on each course but nailed on with nails made in a blacksmith shop when they could be procured. … The earliest churches had only mother earth for a floor with a large rock chimney at one end in which fires were built sometimes with lightwood logs placed with one end in the fireplace and the other extending out on the floor. … The pews were split logs with the split side hewn smooth with an ax holes bored with an augur with legs inserted, making a bench without back. The pulpit was made in the same way only a little higher so the Bible could be placed on it. These benches must have been extremely uncomfortable for the sermons were nearly always from one and a half to two hours in length. … My grandmother went to school in this building, that is why I am so familiar with its structure. It stood just back of the cemetery and near what is now the Melton (family) lot. A frame structure was erected in 1825 just back of what is now the Knight cemetery. … On April 21, I attended quarterly conference at Old Concord church in Putnam County. I was a member of that church for almost thirty years. I even occupied the same old pew that was mine in the long ago, and I want to chronicle some things that I heard and felt. And even some memories of childhood days that cluster around this sacred old edifice. In the afternoon the business session was held, and I heard again the voices that fell pleasantly on my ears, and reminded me of the days when I was a Methodist steward on the Eat Putnam circuit. … Of course there were the Cloptons who answered for Concord. Of course there would not be very much left of Concord without "Boo" (William Thomas Clopton) and Uncle "Johnnie" (John Godkin Clopton). There was another Clopton there, G. H. (Gabriel Harrison Clopton) by name; and yes, perhaps there was a little twitching of the heart strings as our hands clasped, for we are both handicapped by the same physical disability (blind). (Concord) with its hallowed grounds and sacred traditions is still the mother church, and long may she remain a beacon light to guide the rest of the churches into the paths of righteousness." by Benjamin Arnold March 22, 1874- Son of Thomas Christopher Bustin & Mary Elizabeth Arnold (1850- ); Husband of Alice Virginia Adams (December 23, 1902-), Daughter of James Adams & Susan Bearden THE MINISTERS Benjamin Arnold Bustin recalled, "There were no church buildings in all of the territory for many years but there were regular appointments at private dwellings, (and) Lewis Myers, a full blooded German, as preacher in charge and Stith Mead, presiding elder. The first regular appointed preachers on the Sparta Circuit were Jesse Lee and James Russell. This was for the year 1807. Lee seems to have been a roving evangelist and a great organized of new churches. So James Russell filled the regular appointments at Victory. He was one of the most celebrated preachers who ever graced a Georgia pulpit and became one of the most eloquent, although he was taught to read and write by his children. … Abdo Christian was sent as junior preacher. The two preachers appointed on the Sparta Circuit and incidentally were the Methodist pastors at Victory for the year 1808 were Wm. Arnold (my great- grandfather) and Joseph Trouse. There were always a senior and junior preacher because there were thirty or forty appointments and often both preachers preached as many as twenty sermons on these circuits each month. … Frances T. Wood, author of "Faith of Our Fathers, A History of the United Methodist Church, Eatonton, Georgia, noted, "It has been said that William Arnold was one of the most celebrated preachers in the old Methodist Conference, often preaching at the old Putnam Camp Ground. He was admitted to the South Carolina Conference in 1807 and appointed to the Sparta Circuit. As with so many others, Arnold’s health failed, but in 1815 he recovered to return to the Sparta Circuit as preacher in charge. As he traveled from place to place, he as easily recognized by two distinctive features – his horse and his clothes. The garb of the Methodist itinerant, according to Elizabeth R. Nottingham’s Methodist and the Frontier, amounted to a uniform of sorts. It was marked first by a black roundbreasted coat, a long vest with corners cut off, short breeches and long stockings. Later, the straight-breasted black coast came in with full-length trousers. The broad-brimmed and low-crowned felt hat marked him to quick identification. In March, 1863, the editor of The Countryman, Joseph Addison Turner, remembered Reverend Arnold as a man who "had more mildness of manner – more kindness in expression. He was fond of quoting poetry and fine sentiment." Reverend Arnold had a special place in the Turner family for he had performed the marriage ceremony of the editor and his wife." Concord was originally placed on the Alcovy Circuit in the Methodist Episcopal Church’s South Carolina Conference. Reddick Pierce, M.Div., was assigned to Victory to preach, and his brother Lovick Pierce, I, D.Div, was the first Presiding Elder (District Superintendent). Lovick’s eldest son, George Foster Pierce, D.Div., became a Methodist Bishop and the first President of Wesleyn College at the age of 28. Another son, The Reverend Lovick Pierce, III., D.Div., married Sara Clopton, the daughter of Dr. Alford Clopton and Sarah "Sallie" Kendrick Clopton. He was called to the Presidency of the Methodist Female College in Madison, Georgia. The concept of Sunday School evolved from the mutual concern of the preachers and their flock for the need to continually reinforce the Christians teachings, especially in those churches which saw their minister only once a month, at best. The Georgia Annual Conference of the Methodist Church established the Sunday School Society in 1851. These Sunday Schools provided theological instructions, and by their very nature, encouraged the furtherance of literacy skills. Women dominated those Sabbath School classes of children and thus began to become more and more active in the overall decisions making process, however, it would be many years before women were permitted to hold any official offices within the Methodist Church. Several future ministers came from this country church family. James A. Baugh was ordained a Methodist minister in 1863 and became a missionary to isolated portions of the North Georgia mountains. He later devoted himself to ministering to the black population of Putnam County. Wallace Theodore Jones became a Presbyterian minister and retired as Regional Director of Christian Education for the South Carolina Synod of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Although the earliest records are missing, it is known that Drury Powell was Concord’s first minister. And while no records have been found to confirm the identifies of Concord’s ministers for the years 1902 through 1906, the personal correspondence of members indicates J. H. Pace and Thomas Luke may have been the ministers at that time." THE ROLL OF PASTORS 1876 THROUGH 1996 W T Cardwell - 1876, T P Brown - 1878, L M Wooten - 1879, W T Cardwell - 1881, T A Seals - 1885, W A Parks - 1886, W T Hamilton - 1887, H M Quillian - 1892, S B Ledbetter - 1893, W T Cardwell - 1896, Crawford Jackson - 1900, T S Edwards - 1901, No Records for 1902 - 1906, A C Cantrell - 1907, Lewis B. Linn - 1909, G Turner - 1913, J L Hall - 1914, M B Wentaker - 1920, W R England - 1922, J G Davis - 1923, V B Hamrick - 1926, W B Hughes - 1927, R E Lyle - 1928, W H Boring 1932, L P Huckaby - H O Greene - 1935, H B Landrum - 1938, G C Knowles - 1941, J G Lupo - 1942, Z V Hawkes - 1944, S D Cherry, Jr. - 1946, F C Hicks - 1947, B B Berry - 1953, W Marvin Poe - 1954, F E Jenkins, Sr. - 1956, Charles G. Johnson - 1957, W E Grimes - 1960, W C Flurry - 1964, J L Harrell - 1968, M L Willard - 1974, Ben Strength 1981 - PRECIOUS MEMORIES Many people have written through the years of Concord. The following selections represent just a few. "It is remarkable that a church as old as Concord should have had only two marriages (by 1990), of which we have any record, solemnized within its doors. When Joseph E. Brown was Governor of Georgia, he had a young secretary by the name of E. T. Putnam, who met, wooed, and won Miss Mary Harton. The ceremony took place in Concord Church while the Governor’s carriage stood at the door to carry the young people away. Then in 1903, Mr. Tracy King Callaway (Calloway) Lucy Jones (daughter of Lucius Marshall Jones and Mary Brooks [Bearden] Jones) were united in marriage there. During the "bad years" when World War I was being fought, there was small chance of church improvements. Then the boll weevil began his work, followed by the depression of 1929, but the people of Concord have at last restored it to a good condition by their own efforts, with the assistance of a few absent members. Among them was Miss Sarah (Elizabeth) Callaway of Atlanta, daughter of (James Willis Callaway and Caroline Louise Clopton Callaway), (he) was Sunday School Superintendent at Concord for a score or more years, sent a landscape gardener to put out a lot of beautiful evergreen shubbery, which adds a great deal to the attractiveness of the place." annie kate bustin 1883-march 16, 1962 "In the summer of 1903 a handsome young man, age 27, drove up to our house with horse and buggy rented from the livery stable. No one recognized him but he explained that he was King Calloway (Callaway) had left home ten years previously and had been working in his uncle’s grocery store in Temple, Texas. He wanted Sister (Lucy Jones) to go for a ride. She did, and he lost no time in proposing marriage, and insisted that the marriage take place without delay, since he was on a two-week vacation. Sister, age 24, protested: "Why, King, I don’t really know you. I remember you only as ‘one of the big boys in Union School’ when I was, I believe, in the fifth grade!" He told her he was desperately in love with her then but too bashful to say or do anything to let her know. He vowed then he was going to marry her if possible as soon as he was old enough and able to support her. She asked why in all those ten years he had never once written to her, and didn’t even write before making the long trip. He said he started many letters but just couldn’t make himself write the way he felt. He had written someone else to inquire whether Sister was already married. Well, the more he stammered out his love for her and how all those ten years he had worked and saved with that one single purpose, Sister increasingly realized she was falling in love with him. So within hours she happily agreed to the marriage, but it must be a church wedding, and it would require at least a week to make all the preparations … So the church wedding was held (at Concord) just as Sister planned it, and off they went to Temple, Texas. Concord is where I "joined the church" at about age 9, in a revival, with The Reverend Thomas Luke, a young man who preached in words and spirit that appealed to children. I’ll never forget "Brother Luke," who at our home peeled off his coat and tie and rolled up his sleeves and played catch ball with us boys. Oh boy, what a nice way for a preacher to act! Now Sunday, even though cows, horses, mules, pigs, and chickens required the same attention as on every other day - well, Sunday was a welcome relief! We only had preaching one Sunday per month, for our church, Concord Methodist, was one of four churches on a "circuit" with one preacher for all four. But we had Sunday School every Sunday, and it was a pleasure to "dress up in Sunday clothes’ and see the girls all dressed up pretty. There were two entrances from the porch to the church. Women and girls sat in the right half and men and boys in the left. Down the middle atop the pews a railing was nailed. For regular courting couples seats on either side of, and next to, the railing were always available by common courtesy. Mama (Mary Bearden Jones) was familiar with the Bible, taught in the Sunday School for many years, kept posted on missionaries and their activities, hoped at least one of her children would receive and accept a call of God to be a ‘foreign’ missionary; she was also thoroughly familiar with the history and polity of the Methodist Church and, if they had had women officers in those days, I’m confident she would have been one. She made the Communion wine from our grapes, prepared the elements, and kept the cups and plates and cloths clean and ready for use. Also she saw that her sons cleaned the Church regularly, including muddauber nests. I shall always treasure the memory of her singing hymns while working. She memorized the music and words of more hymns than anyone else I’ve ever known." (the rev.) wallace theodore april 3, 1899-august 19, 1980 "There were no railroads in Putnam at this time, but there were two stagecoach lines. One of these came from Washington, Wilkes County, by Crawfordville, Greensboro, Hillsboro in Putnam … on by (the) W. Frank Baugh home in east Putnam on through the Bearden place to Concord Methodist Church, on to Milledgeville." James Earl THE EATONTON october 31, 1985 November 3, 1907 My dear Jim (her brother James Brown Clopton): … The last third Sunday Bro. And Sister Pace came home with us to dinner. I had a nice fat possum for dinner and when I began to put the dinner on the table I told Lucius (her son Lucius DuBose Callaway) to stay and keep the kittens. I was in the kitchen and heard such a commotion in the dining room I rushed in an Aunt Lou (Lucius’ kitten) had jumped on the table and garbed the possum leg and Lucius had her by the tail and pulling. They were making an awful racket. I took the kitten by the neck and threw her out of the door but she never turned the possum loose. Caroline Louise Clopton December 17, 1865-February 27, 1918 "In sunny Florida, sits a Georgia Pine tree - or rather, a part of one - its birthplace, the original forests around Pea Ridge community in Putnam County, many, many generations ago - its home now, the residence of the President of the University of Miami, Dr. Henry King Stanford and his family … As you enter their front door there sits the old pine - in the form of a church pew - its broad back, one slab of wood, shows its antiquity - for one doesn’t see lumber that width - in this day and time … Dignified, and apparently content to be a part of the busy, modern whirl that necessarily much be doing on around it - I wonder if it could talk would it sigh and wish for the days when it sat in the quiet of Old Concord Church and each Sabbath held the members whose fathers before them started in 1811 to worship as Methodists at the same spot - holding their children, then their grandchildren and so on down the years until a few years ago, when modern pews replaced the old hand made ones and Dr. Stanford’s mother and aunt - members of Old Concord - made him a present of the old pew. Dr. Stanford likes to think this was the one where his grandfather Callaway (James Willis Callaway) sat - front row on the left, by the window … I feel sure when the Pea Ridge kin met (for) a reunion at the president’s home this month that the old pew put our loving shadowy arms about each member as they sat in its lap!" Charlotte THE EATONTON circa 1968 "James Gabriel Callaway died on May 21, 1971, after a long illness while living in Miami, Florida. He had never married. He had no will. The court appointed me executor of the estate. He never mentioned where he wanted to be buried during the years we lived in Miami. We had the body cremated because that is what Ruth and I want done at our deaths. Some time later one of the McLeroys from Pea Ridge who were living in Miami at the time, Ibby McLeroy Bittner, told me that he had wanted to be buried in the Concord cemetery. I decided to fly up to Georgia with the ashes and bury them at Concord. The ceremony took place following a regular Sunday morning church service. My youngest son, Peyton, flew with me when I took the ashes to Concord. I was concerned about the effect Peyton’s long hair would have upon the people attending the church service. His hair was down to his shoulders as was the custom of the late 1960’s and early 1970’s among many young men. Several years before that I had given to the church a copy of a painting of Jesus with long hair in honor of my mother’s Clopton uncles. My concern abated when a woman walked up to me just before the burial service started and said: "Henry, your son looks just like Jesus!" When I first started going to homecomings at Concord the food was laid out on tables behind the church. People ate standing up at the long tables. They were then replaced with smaller tables and folding chairs. Finally, when the Sunday School building was completed, a number of people ate sitting down at long tables in the building. And it was air-conditioned! My favorite dish at Concord homecomings was sweet potato casserole." Henry King Stanford, Ph.D. April 22, 1916- "I still like to go to Concord’s homecomings each June, but the people I know get smaller and smaller. Even in childhood, I always liked the good cakes brought by Pea Ridge’s excellent bakers. "Miss Mae" Clements’ had a marvelous one!" Annabel Clopton (Stanford) March 29, 1923- REGISTER OF MEMBERS The first membership list has disappeared. Through other documents, oral tradition, and personal memories the names of some of the early members have been preserved and are listed below. This list is far from complete. Families would move from church to church as new congregations were started closer to their homes, resulting in more than one church claiming families as their own, thus making the task of accurate identification more difficult. In his wonderful scrapbook Benjamin Arnold Bustin mentions some of those who made up the Methodist Society which eventually became Concord. These names have also been included below. Daniel Baugh, Kate Baugh, Mae Baugh, Richard Burt, James Burt, Benjamin F. Bustin married ----, Christopher "Kit" Bustin married ----Hays, James Claiborne married Sarah Brooking, Lucy Wright Claiborne married Alexander Brown Harrison, Mary Claiborne married Blumer White, Sarah P. Claiborne married John C. Bearden, Harriet Isabel "Hattie Belle" Clopton married William Horne Girtman, Josh Flournoy, Mary Ann Clopton married Green B. Wynn, James Thomas Clopton, Waldegrave Clopton, (Dr.) Thomas B. Clopton married (1) Martha Harvell, (2) Harriet B. Claiborne, and (3) Cornelia A. H. Palmer, Benjamin Gilbert married Nancy Gilbert, Patsy Gilbert married Coleman Pendleton, Nathaniel Harrison married Martha Kennon Brodnax, Nathaniel Claiborne Harrison married (1) Mary Emily Baugh and (2) Sarah Edna Waller, Mary Frances Harrison married James Pinkerton, Sarah Evalina Harrison married (2) Henry J. Butts, Lucy Alexander Harrison, Martha Rebecca Harrison, James Gabriel Harrison, James B. Holt, Bushrod Johnston married Lucy Marshall, Thomas Johnston married (2) Mary "Polly" Gilbert, Lucius Marshall Jones married Mary Brooks Bearden, Lucy "Sister" Jones married Tracy King Callaway, Estelle Jones married Clyde Maxwell, William Jones, Lucinda Louisa King, William L. King, Rebecca King married Robert Hutchings, Patty Harris King, Lueinen(?) Judson King, Elisha King, Sr., married (1) Mary --, (2) Kesiah Sanders, and (3) Margaret Hall, Elisha King, Jr., married Elizabeth Ann Johnston, Mary A. King married (Dr.) James Knight, Campbell T. King married Stella Odille Hunt, William H. King, Annie T. King married James Callaway, Sarah B. King, Cuyler E. King, Edmund Johnston King married Rosa Harper, Fannie Fletcher King, Lemuel Lancaster married Isabel Stinson, Martha Isabel "Mattie" Lancaster married William Henry Harrison "Billy" Clopton, Annie McLeroy married W. Edgar Lewis, Presley Pritchard, William B. Pritchard, Peter Roquemore, Joseph Turner, John H. Walker, Warren West, Sarah M. White, Stephen White, William R. White married Sallie –, Mary T. White married – Holloman, Robert D. White, William Worthy. THE CEMETERY Information printed below appearing in BOLD ITALICS represents the names as they appear on the tombstones in the cemetery located directly behind the church, additional information added for clarification. Nell Gilmer Clopton: Nell Cowan Gilmer Clopton; October 9, 1898-March 30, 1965; Daughter of William Alford Gilmer & Mary E. Bell Gilmer; Wife of Lemuel Thomas Clopton Lemuel Thomas Clopton: Lemuel Thomas Clopton; January 25 1898-September 5, 1977; Son of William Thomas Clopton & Minnie Flora King Clopton; Husband of Nell Cowan Gilmer Clopton Minnie Julia Clopton: Minnie Julia Clopton; November 4, 1920-March 24, 1924; Infant daughter of Lemuel Thomas Clopton & Nell Cowan Gilmer Clopton William Purcell Clopton: World War II November 27, 1918-January 23, 1998; Son of Lemuel Thomas Clopton & Nell Cowan Gilmer Clopton; Husband of Peggy Charlotte Schleucher Clopton William Thomas Clopton: William Thomas "Boo" Clopton; April 25, 1863-September 6, 1955; Son of William Henry Harrison Clopton & Martha Isabel Lancaster Clopton; Husband of Minnie Flora King Clopton Minnie King Clopton: Minnie Flora King Clopton; January 7, 1869-April 10, 1942; Daughter of Elisha King, Jr., & Elizabeth Ann Johnston King; Wife of William Thomas Clopton Walter J. Clopton: World War II Walter Johnston Clopton; October 1, 1902-April 26, 1989; Son of William Thomas Clopton & Minnie Flora King Clopton William King Clopton: "King" William King Clopton; July 21, 1901 -December 24, 1990; Son of William Thomas Clopton & Minnie Flora King Clopton; Husband of Ada Lucille Knight Clopton Lucille Knight Clopton: "Pink" Ada Lucille "Pink" Knight Clopton; September 6, 1902-April 13, 1983; Daughter of Will Knight & Annie Holloman Knight; Wife of William King Clopton Rufus Terrell Clopton, Sr. "Papason" World War II Veteran (POW) Rufus Terrell Clopton; January 21, 1907-September 9, 1992; Son of William Thomas Clopton & Minnie Flora King Clopton; Husband of Martha Alice Bailey Clopton Julia Clyde King: Julia Clyde King; September 8, 1899-August 24, 1901; Infant daughter of Edmund Johnston King & Rosa Harper King Cuyler King: Cuyler E. King; August 31, 1865-May 9, 1940; Son of Elisha King, Jr. & Elizabeth Ann Johnston King Elisha King: Elisha King, Jr.; 1829-1911; Son of Elisha King, Sr. & Margaret Hall King; Husband of Elizabeth Ann Johnston King Elizabeth Johnston King: Elizabeth Ann Johnston King; 1824-1901; Daughter of Thomas Johnston & Mary Gilbert Johnston; Wife of Elisha King, Jr. Lizzie King Pinkerton: Sarah Elizabeth King Pinkerton; October 3, 1861-August 7, 1943; Daughter of Elisha King, Jr. & Elizabeth Ann Johnston King; Wife of Henry R. Pinkerton No Marker: Fannie Fletcher; -June 25, 1871; Infant daughter of Elisha King, Jr. & Elizabeth Ann Johnston King Annie Lula Morris: Annie Lula Morris; September 15, 1879-May 5, 1911 James A. Knight: James A. Knight; June 5, 1849-May 10, 1900; Husband of Mary A. King Knight Mary A. Knight: Mary A. King Knight; February 25, 1851-August 23, 1891; Daughter of Elisha King, Jr. & Elizabeth Ann Johnston King; Wife of James A. Knight James A. Knight: James A. Knight; August 30, 1906-July 24, 1907 James Curry James Curry Knight; December 14, 1895-July 10, 1907 Glynn Knight: Glynn Knight; December 1904-February 23, 1970; Son of Thomas Pierce Knight & Carrie Lucy Holloman Knight Marshall Lynn McLeroy, Sr. Marshall Lynn McLeroy, Sr.; June 23, 1909-July 30, 1986; Son of Ed Brown McLeroy & Annie Kate Bustin McLeroy; Husband of Mildred Knight McLeroy Thomas Pierce Knight: Thomas Pierce Knight; February 5, 1874-October 27, 1930; Son of James A. Knight & Mary A. King Knight; Husband of Carrie Lucy Holloman Knight Carrie Lucy Knight: Carrie Lucy Holloman Knight; June 23, 1876-June 26, 1918; Daughter of William Joseph Holloman & Lucy C. White Holloman; Wife of Thomas Pierce Knight Dorothy Knight Smith: Dorothy Knight Smith; Daughter of Thomas Pierce Knight & Carrie Holloman Knight; Wife of Robert Clinton Smith, Sr. Philip Andrew Coleman: Philip Andrew Coleman; November 18, 1917-February 16, 1989; Husband of Thelma Coleman Ed Bedgood: December 21, 1917-July 19, 1987 Eunice Wagner Bustin: May 11, 1920-May 12, 1965 Percy Bustin: September 5, 1918-December 24, 1988; son of Benjamin Arnold Bustin & Alice Virginia Adams William A. Black: July 19, 1904-June 20, 1920 Charlie Grimes: Charlie October 20, 1870-November 20, 1920 Mae Baugh: April 30, 1828-December 12, 1904 Kate Baugh: 1829-1902 Lizzie Clopton Godkin: Sarah Elizabeth "Lizzie" Clopton Godkin; September 5, 1837-1924; Daughter of Thomas B. Clopton & Harriet B. Claiborne Clopton; Wife of John R. Godkin Esther D. Callaway: Esther Dearman Callaway; July 2, 1926-April 23, 1929; Infant daughter of Thomas Wooten Callaway & Esther Lee Dearman Callaway Gabe Callaway: James Gabriel Callaway; May 11, 1901-May 21, 1971; Son of James Willis Callaway & Caroline Louise Clopton Callaway Lucy Clopton Callaway: Caroline Louise "Lucie" Clopton Callaway; December 17, 1865-February 27, 1918; Daughter of William Henry Harrison Clopton & Martha Isabel Lancaster; Clopton; Wife of James Willis Callaway Jim Callaway: James Willis Callaway; January 12, 1851-June 14, 1920; Husband of (1) Caroline Louise Clopton Callaway (2) Annie T. King Robert Clopton: Confederate War Robert Emmett "Shug" Clopton; February 10, 1844- ; Son of Thomas B. Clopton & Harriet B. Claiborne Clopton; Husband of Corrine Grimes Clopton John Godkin Clopton: John Godkin "Uncle Johnnie" Clopton; August 3, 1867-April 18, 1947; Son of William Henry Harrison Clopton & Martha Isabel Lancaster Clopton Gabe Clopton: Gabriel Harrison Clopton; September 14, 1870-October 1, 1950; Son of William Henry Harrison Clopton & Martha Isabel Lancaster Clopton; Husband of Elizabeth Celine Girtman Clopton J. B. Clopton: "Boss" James Brown "Boss" Clopton; February 14, 1876-February 6, 1956; Son of William Henry Harrison Clopton & Martha Isabel Lancaster Clopton Harvey Clopton: Harvey Gordon Clopton; August 9, 1886-January 27, 1952; Son of William Henry Harrison Clopton & Martha Isabel Lancaster Clopton; Husband of Mildred Lucille Chandler Clopton Mildred Clopton: Mildred Lucille Chandler Clopton; October 24, 1899-March 11, 1983; Daughter of William H. Chandler & Eudora G. Brand Chandler; Wife of Harvey Gordon Clopton William H. Clopton: Confederate War William Henry Harrison Clopton; March 4, 1839-October 14, 1916; Son of Thomas B. Clopton & Harriet B. Claiborne Clopton; Husband of Martha Isabel Lancaster Clopton Martha Isabel Clopton: Martha Isabel Lancaster Clopton; 1845-October 26, 1895; Daughter of Lemuel Lancaster & Isabel Stinson Lancaster; Wife of William Henry Harrison Clopton James Cuyler Clopton: James Cuyler Clopton; August 30, 1903-September 25, 1995; Son of William Thomas Clopton & Minnie Flora King Clopton; Husband of Petrona Gillian Hawkins Clopton Hattie Belle Clopton, Wife of W. H. Girtman: Harriet Isabel "Hattie Belle" Clopton Girtman; December 7, 1860-October 21, 1891; Daughter of William Henry Harrison Clopton & Martha Isabel Lancaster Clopton; Wife of William Horne Girtman Lem Lancaster: Lemuel Lancaster; February 12, 1795-March 8, 1873; Husband of Isabel Stinson Lancaster Isabel Stinson Lancaster: Isabel Stinson Lancaster; 1800-June 22, 1871; Wife of Lemuel Lancaster Mae Pinkerton: Mary Francis Pinkerton; May 19, 1837-1907; Daughter of Alexander Brown Harrison & Lucy Wright Claiborne Harrison; Wife of James Pinkerton Jessie Melton: Jessie Melton; March 28, 1866-December 8, 1928 Mattie Melton: Mattie Melton; November 7, 1880-May 20, 1900 Mary Melton Haley: May 26, 1896-1944 Luella Hunnicutt: March 15, 1886-1918 James A. Melton: James A. Melton; July 4, 1882-1901 Mae Melton: Mae Melton; April 7, 1887-1922 J. J. Melton: J.J. Melton; July 26, 1882-1924 Martha Melton: Martha Melton; November 5, 1905-1982 No Marker: Confederate War Veteran (POW) Thomas Alexander Clopton; August 25, 1841- ; Son of Thomas B. Clopton & Harriet B. Claiborne Clopton; Husband of Sarah Fannie Melton Clopton No Marker: Sarah Fannie Melton Wife of Thomas Alexander Clopton No Marker: John Melton No Marker: Tom Hart Sara P. Harrison: Sara P. October 8, 1825-December 9, 1898 Mary Bearden Jones: Mary Brooks Bearden Jones; 1861-1927; Daughter of James C. Bearden & Sarah Claiborne Bearden; Wife of (1) Lucius Marshall Jones (2) R. B. Harrison Lucius Jones: Lucius Marshall Jones; February 14, 1858-February 10, 1902; Husband of Mary Brooks Bearden Jones William Jones: William Jones; March 26, 1888-July 4, 1904; Son of Lucius Marshall Jones & Mary Brooks Bearden Jones ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: Thad L. Aycock, Retired Senior Consultant, Northwestern University Traffic Institute, Northbrook, Illinois, Suellen (Clopton) DeLoach Blanton , Martha Alice Bailey Clopton , (The Rev.) David Allen Clopton , James Stanley Clopton , Morris L. Clopton, Ida Mae Brake Crane, Ann Corn Felton, Jean Holloman Daniels, Alice James, Georgia Department of Archives and History, 330 Capitol Avenue, S. E., Atlanta, Georgia 30334, Mildred Knight McLeory, Annabel Clopton (Stanford) Nickel, James P. Marshall, Jr., President, Eatonton-Putnam County Historical Society, Carole Scott, Ph.D, Henry King Stanford, Ph.D., Morgan Callaway Stanford, Isabel Lancaster (Clopton) Steiner, Stella Hutoka (Richardson) Thomas, Vonnie S. Zullo, The Horse Soldier Research Service, 3506 Majestic Pine Lane, Fairfax, Virginia 22033. BOOKS: Clopton, Gene Carlton, The Ancestors and Descendants of William Clopton of York County, Virginia. Privately Printed - Limited Edition, Phoenix Printing, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia, 1984. Dorman, John Frederick and Clairborne T. Smith, Jr., MD, Claiborne of Virginia, Descendants of Colonel William Claiborne, The First Eight Generations, Gateway Press, Inc., Baltimore, Maryland 1995. Erwin, Lucy Lane (Mrs. William Whitehead Erwin), The Ancestry of William Clopton of York County, Virginia. Privately Printed - Limited Edition, The Tuttle Publishing Co., Inc., Rutland, Vermont, 1939. Jones, Tommy H., The Johnstons, Feltons & Hays. Macon, Georgia: The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, 1993. Lamar, Dolly Blount, When All Is Said and Done. The University of Georgia Press, Athens, Georgia, 1952. Owen, Thomas McAdory, History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography. The Reprint Company, Spartanburg, South Carolina, 1978. Pierce, Lovick Wilson and Esther Pierce Maxwell, Jane Maxwell Cram, Editor, Two brothers: Reddick and Lovick Pierce, Privately Published, Cherokee Publishing Company, Atlanta, Georgia, 1981. Walters, Katherine Bowman, Oconee River Tales to Tell, Eatonton- Putnam County Historical Society, The Reprint Company, Spartanburg, South Carolina, 1995. Wiley, Bell Irvin, Confederate Women, Greenwood Press, 1975. Wood, Frances T., Faith of Our Fathers: A History of the United Methodist Church, Eatonton, Georgia. Boyd Publishing Company, Milledgeville, Georgia, 1995. OTHER SOURCES: Bustin, Benjamin Arnold (1874-1938), Private Scrapbook Clopton Family Newsletter, Privately Printed by the Clopton Family Association. Clopton, Thomas B. (Dr.) (May 17, 1798-December 7, 1874), The Holy Bible. Daniel D. Smith, New York, 1828. Eatonton Messenger, Putnam Printing Company, Inc., 111 N. Jefferson Avenue, Putnam County (Eatonton) Georgia 31024. Eatonton-Putnam County Historical Society, 114 North Madison Avenue, Eatonton, Georgia 31024. The Georgia Historical Quarterly, Volume LXXIX, Winter 1995, Number 4. A Common Sphere: White Evangelicals and Gender in Antebellum Georgia, by Fredrick A. Bode. Georgia State Census Index Jones, Wallace Theodore (The Rev.) (April 3, 1899-August 19, 1980), Memoirs of W. Ted Jones, Typescript of Personal Memoirs. Macon Heritage Foundation, Post Office Box 6092, Macon, Georgia 31208. McLeory, Annie Kate Bustin (1883-), History of Methodism in Putnam County, Privately Printed, Concord United Methodist Church, Putnam County (Eatonton) Georgia. Nineteen Ninety Director of Concord United Methodist Church, Eatonton, Georgia. Olan Mills, Chattanooga, Tennessee, 1990.