Schley-Sumter County GaArchives Biographies.....Womack, William Gaddis unk - unk ************************************************ 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: Jim Harrison harrisonjim@bellsouth.net September 3, 2010, 7:41 pm Source: Private writing of W.W. Massey Author: W.W. Massey A LITTLE BIT OF FAMLY HISTORY By: W.W. MASSEY My mother’s father was William Gaddis Womack and he was born and lived his whole life in Schley County about 3 miles west of Pontown (Pondtown, now Ellaville, Ga.). His home was located about ½ mile north of Ebenezer Baptist Church and Cemetery but he is buried in Ellaville, ga. Cemetery. He was a short built, blonde man and was about 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighed about 175 to 180 pounds. He was a very religious man and was a Major in the Civil War. He was a big land owner of about 1200 acres of land in Schley County and owned cows, horses, sheep and goats. He had a good many settlers on his farm, a gin, and water mill to grind wheat and corn. He lived to be about 80 or 90 years old and was married twice. His fist marriage was to Miss Bivens, my grandmother, and she was known to be of Indian type, a brunette, and about ½ inch taller than grandfather. She weighed about 160 to 170 pounds. She was also a Schley County woman and lived near Pontown (now Ellaville) but north of Ellaville about 3 miles. She is also buried in Ellaville cemetery, I think. She had some land that adjoined Grandpa, about 500 acres, all in Schley County. She lived to be about 60 years old and soon thereafter she died. Grandpa married a widow, Mrs. Dixon, and they lived together for several years and had a girl, Ela, who married Uncle Ed Williamson, and two boys, Coot and Bunk. They all moved to Americus, Ga. after Grandpa died and I don’t know much about them. My mother, Luella Womack Massey had the following sisters: Sally, and she married Bob Allen. Her daughter, Willie, was Mr. Wyatt Bridges first wife. Other children include Susie Allen Johnson, Robert Allen, Lou Allen McLendon Luke and John Allen. Willie Allen Bridges was the mother of Rose BRIDGES Miller, Flynn Bridges, Chester Bridges and Charlie bridges. Susie’s children are all dead, I think. Lou’s living children are Eva Clair McLendon Brim and Milton McLendon. Julia, and she married Jim Woods. Her children include Jack, Rodolph, Elia and Louella. Rodolph married Lucy Baldwin. Ed Woods was a step son of Aunt Julia. Fannie, and she married Edgar Williamson. Their children include Theo, bertha, Sam, Hugh and Henry. Theo and Bertha and I think Sam live in St. Petersburg, Fla. Stella Williams was later married to Mr. Williamson. Carrie, and she married Goode Green. They had two children Allen and Bernice. My mother had a half brother called Coot and a half brother named Eugene (previously mentioned). Other brothers include: Charlie who married Phoebe and lived in Desoto, Georgia. They had three children. Helen, who resides at Bethany Home, Vidalia, ga., and Charles and Julia, who live in Florence. S.C. Another brother was named Zack and he left Georgia for Winkler, Texas. He had two daughters, Mattie and Willie. Mattie married a Mr. Marbury and they had a son who played major league baseball. Willie married a Walters and I have corresponded with her. She is about my age. Her brother Joe, lived last I heard in Dallas, Texas. Her brother Bob also went to Texas to live and his children include two doctors, a nurse and a lawyer, all professional folks. She had a brother Billy that went to New York to live. He was a lawyer. Mother had a brother named Jimpsey who married Clara Snelling and lived in Ellaville. Their children include Marvin Womack of Atlanta, Owen Womack, Jim Womack, Joe Womack and Ethel Tyson of Albany. Owen’s son, W.G., lives in Preston, and daughter, Sara Smith , at pine Mountain, Ga. Owen’s children include a Mrs. Rhodes and Mrs. Stocks of Lee Co., Ga. Father, George LaFayette Massey, was one of two children born to Wesley Newton and Obedia Barnes Massey. Grandfather Massey’s name is shown on tombstone as William Wesley Massey, but marking was done in this century and name in error, I think. He was a saddle maker in the Civil War. He died about 1866 and was about 50 years old. He died from pneumonia and was buried in Ellaville cemetery. You remember the story my brother, Ed, told you about the family coming to Georgia from S.C. and how they crossed the river by holding on to their cows’ tails. My father’s only sister was Emma Massey who married Joe Strange of Ellaville. They had three children; Charlie, Lula and Susie Strange. Charlie was killed in a hunting accident in Worth Co., Ga. he married Lillie Fenderland and they had three girls and two boys. The girls now live near Alapaha, Ga. The boys went out west. Susie Strange married Mr. Bickley of Meigs, Ga. Lula married Robert Greene and they had one daughter, Winifred Green, who married Turner Williams. They reside south of Ellaville, near Andrew Chapel Church, on the old Grandpa Strange farm. Children of George LaFayette Massey and Louella Womack Massey include: Minnie Ola, Callie (Dovie), William, Roy, Ed, Grady, Clyde and Susie. Ola married Bruce Hall of Sumter co. and they had two daughters, Louise (Mrs. Mercer Henry) and Myrlee (Mrs. Hoyt Hearn), and a son, George Eshton. Callie (Dovie) married Mack McLendon and had one daughter, frances, (Mrs. Cranford Turner) and five sons, Burtus, Fred, Marvin, George and Johnny. Will married Claude Harris of Terrell County and has two children, William, Jr. and Annette (Mrs. Murray heath). Ed married Myra Summer and had three daughters and one son: Eleanor (Mrs. Clarence W. Ketchum), Marion (Mrs. Sam McGill), Juanita (Mrs. J.R. Stott) and Ed L. Massey, Jr. Grady Massey married Yeta Harris and they had one son, Charles Harris Massey. Clyde married Willie Johnson of Lee County and they had two sons, Bob and Ray. Susie married Jesse Chambless of Terrell County and they had two sons, Bill and Dan. Additional Comments: About a month ago I was helping my mother move and found a typed document titled "A Little Bit of Family History". It was written by W.W. Massey. It lists the children and grandchildren of Wesley Newton and Obedia Barnes Massey and William Gaddis Womack and his wives, Ms Bivens and the widow Dixon. It states they all lived near Elaville in Schley County. One of their shared Grandsons was Henry Grady Massey, my grandfather's father. The other inconsistencies involve Civil War service for W.G. Womack and W.N. Massey. The document states W.N. Massey was a saddle maker during the war. However, I have found his name on rolls from 5th Georgia and 2nd Battalion Sharpshooters. I also found on your website an Application for Widow's Pension from Ms. G.O. Pilcher, widow of W.N. Massey, who died in Marietta, GA in 1862. The 1860 census shows West N. Massey married to GO Massey with children Mary E and George L (both children named in the document), so I am lead to believe this is the same GO Massey (Pilcher) who filed for a Pension. The document also states W.G. Womack was a major in the Civil War. I have not been able to find a Major Womack on any rolls, except an 1864 Military Census found on your website. Comments by H.H.ll) I have been unable to find a first marriage connection between W.G.Womack and a Miss Bivens. There is substantial evidence that the first marriage was to a Caroline J. Ward. Could this have been the Bivens lady? Most of the other aspects of this writing seem to bear true with the exception of W.G. Massey's rank during the Civil War. The documents available today indicate that he was a dedicted soldier who attained the rank of private. Also, war records which leave a lot to be filled in make no mention of W. N. Massy being a saddle maker during the war, however in the 1860 Schley census, his occupation was listed as harness maker. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/schley/bios/womack371bs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/gafiles/ File size: 8.3 Kb