Taliaferro County GaArchives Bios Edwards, Thomas J and Mary Jane Portwood Jarrett Edwards ************************************************ 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: Dr. Rem B. Edwards remb@utk.edu THOMAS J. and MARY JANE EDWARDS by Rem B. Edwards (Jr.) Thomas J. Edwards was the second child and the first of two sons born to Etheldred and Julia Ann Ogletree Edwards of Taliaferro County, Ga. They had a total of ten children. Thomas J. was born on February 10, 1828 and was murdered on July 24, 1869. I have not been able to confirm what the "J." stood for, but I suspect that it is "Jefferson." Thomas was born about a year and a half after the third President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, died at Monticello on July 4, 1826 - fifty years to the day after the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. At the time of his death, Thomas Jefferson was the most famous and respected man in the world. Etheldred Edwards was probably just the kind of independent and freedom-loving citizen farmer who formed the base of Jefferson's political strength and popularity. Thomas J. Edwards must have received some education, but just how much we don't know. In the 1850 census, his occupation is listed as "School Teacher." (Alvin Mell Lunceford, Jr., Taliaferro County Georgia Records and Notes, Spartanburg, S.C., The Reprint Co., 1988, p. 90). He taught for a time in a school that had been founded by his father, Etheldred. In the 1860 census, Thomas J. is listed as a "Farmer," so his career as a school teacher was not permanent. On April 22, 1858, Thomas J. Edwards married a girl from the Portwood farm next door, Mary Jane Portwood Jarrett. Mary Jane was born on March 18, 1832 and died on October 3, 1916. She had been married previously to George W. Jarrett, who, according to the family Bible, "departed this life on Nov. the 14, A. D. 1857." Thomas J. married Mary Jane a little more than five months later, so he didn't waste much time. The record of their marriage, performed by Justice of the Peace Littleton B. Taylor,is in Marriage Book A, p. 214. I have their wedding day photograph from my cousin David Edwards. Thomas J. Edwards and Mary Jane Portwood Jarrett Edwards had eight children, the oldest being my grandfather, George Thomas Edwards, who, for some odd reason that I have never understood, was called "Bob." Here are the sons and daughters of Thomas J. and Mary Jane Edwards, plus the dates of their birth. George Thomas ("Bob"), born Feb. 11, 1859 Etheldred ("Dred"), born Nov. 16, 1860 John William ("William"), born Oct.16, 1862 Sara, born Feb. 3, 1865 Benjamin Lee ("Uncle Teet"), born Aug. 18, 1867 Mary Thomas ("Aunt Mae"), born Dec. 11, 1869 Mary Jane was four months pregnant with "Aunt Mae" when her husband, Thomas J., was murdered on July 24, 1869. The masculine "Thomas" in her name was doubtless given in his honor. Returning now to Thomas J., I have long been fascinated by the effects of the Civil War on the children of Etheldred Edwards, including Thomas J. The list of above children shows that during "The War" Thomas J. was busy at home having children! Some of the husbands of Thomas J.'s sisters fought in the Civil War, and one, Wilie Bird, Harriet's husband, was mortally wounded during the battle for Missionary Ridge, just outside Chattanooga, Tenn., on Nov. 25, 1863. He died from his wounds in a hospital in Nashville, Tenn. in January 1864. I believe that during the Civil War, the Edwards family was torn if not sharply divided over the legitimacy of "The Cause." Some members of the family, specifically the father and the two sons, did not seem to support it, or at least they took advantage of every available loophole in order to avoid fighting in it. The most dramatic instance of this is Thomas J.'s younger brother, William Cosby Edwards. Very few records from The War have survived in the Taliaferro County Courthouse, but I stumbled over one such record which shows that William C. was arrested in July, 1864 by the Sub- Enrolling Officer (the conscription enforcer) of the county for resisting conscription into the Confederate Army. Here is the record; I wish I knew more about what was behind this, but William C. apparently claimed to be exempt from the draft because he was "Constable in and for the 606th District of - M - [Militia] in said County and consequently he is not subject to conscription." He was jailed, nonetheless, as recorded on p. 170 of Court Records, Book E. Apparently, William C. won his appeal, however, and was eventually released. He and his father apparently fought an ongoing battle to keep him out of the army, mainly by paying substitutes to take his place, as we shall see. Etheldred also used a great deal of political influence to get his two sons, Thomas J. and William C., into positions that were exempt from the draft. Georgia { Taliaferro County { To the Honorable Benjamin F. Moore one of the Justices of the Superior Court of said County The Complaint and petition of William C. Edwards of said County shows to your Honor that he is illegally held in custody in said County by William T. Woodruff sub-enrolling officer of said county - that said sub-enrolling officer has arrested your petitioner as a conscript and is about to take him by force to Camp Randolph to be put into the Army of the Confederate States - . Your petitioner states as he is prepared to show now is and was previous to his seizure and enrollment by the said sub enrolling officer, Constable in and for the 606th District of - M - [Militia?] in said County and consequently he is not subject to conscription. - Wherefore your petitioner prays your Honor to issue the State's writ of habeas corpus ad subjiciendum that your petitioner together with the cause of his caption and detainer may be brought before your Honor to the end that appertains So Justice may be done. - And your petitioner will ever pray etc. This February 11th, 1864 { George F. Bristow Petr's. Attn. A clear majority of the soldiers who fought for the Confederacy were volunteers, but the Confederacy enacted several conscription laws, the first ever legislated on this continent, beginning on April 16, 1862. At first men between 18 and 35 were drafted, then up to 45 by September 1862. Finally, by February 1864 everyone between 17 and 50 years of age was susceptible to conscription. When the age was pushed up to 45 in September, 1862, Thomas J. was 34 years of age, and William C., who was born in 1842, was 20; so both were qualified by age to be drafted. However, Confederate draft laws allowed many legitimate exceptions. Draftees could pay substitutes to serve in their place, and a broad range of legalized exemptions allowed vast numbers to avoid service. Exemptions were allowed for many categories, including, at the county level, Clerks of Court, Justices of the Peace, Ordinaries, Deputy Ordinaries, Sheriffs, Deputy Sheriffs, Constables, Tax Collectors, Tax Receivers, Jailors, County Treasurers, Coroners, County Surveyors, and Militia Officers. Both William C. and Thomas J. seem to have taken full advantage of these exceptions. William C. became a Constable and Thomas J. a Justice of the Peace. The political clout of Etheldred, their father, a close friend of Alexander H. Stephens, the Vice President of the Confederacy, probably helped them obtain these exempting positions, and they took advantage of them for as long as they could. Thomas J. probably became a Justice of the Peace in order to avoid the draft! One of the two weddings he performed as a Justice of the Peace was during The War, and the other was shortly after it ended. His first wedding was that of Benjamin F. Arnold and Sara J. Ragsdel on Nov. 9, 1864 (Marriage Book A, p. 299), and the second was that of James T. Wilder and Mary M. Darden on Oct. 31, 1866 (Marriage book A, p. 317). He also witnessed a deed as a JP on June 12, 1867 (Lunceford, p. 598); but there is no evidence of his functioning as a JP prior to the Civil War. His younger brother, William C., also took advantage of the provision that allowed payment of substitutes to go in one's place, and he did so more than once. The evidence for this comes from the Will of his father, Etheldred, signed and witnessed on March 3rd, 1864. In this Will, Etheldred left William a substantial amount of real estate, including the plantation on which he was then living, and a great deal of other property. Etheldred also noted that he had already paid out a substantial amount of money on William for "substitutes." Here are the words from his Will: I also have paid out for my son William C. for Substitutes etc about twenty five hundred dollars which I do not wish him to account for in the Settlement of my estate as he was at the time I paid it and is now over Seeing for me - In that era, "overseer" meant something like "slave supervisor" or perhaps "slave driver." Someone had to oversee and direct the work of the slaves, and William C. was greatly needed at home for this purpose. That the Edwards family placed this sort of work so emphatically ahead of fighting in the Civil War shows perhaps both how much they valued the work of overseer, and, correspondingly, how little they valued fighting in the Civil War! Neither William C. nor Thomas J. had any inclination to serve in the regular Confederate army! At one point near the end of the Civil War, Thomas Edwards seems to have made some effort to participate actively. He joined a local "State Guard" militia unit as a Private on August 4, 1863, the date it was organized for purposes of "local defense." This was a Taliaferro County cavalry unit, the "Tilly Rangers," commanded by Edmund N. Beazley, belonging to Company D of the 3rd Regiment, Georgia Cavalry (State Guards). Members of the 3rd State Guard Regiment actually saw some action, but it is doubtful that Thomas J. Edwards was involved in very much of it. According to military records, members of this unit participated in, among other campaigns, the defenses of Atlanta and Savannah in 1864 and in the final retreat of what was left of that Confederate army from Savannah back up through the Carolinas in early 1865. This army surrendered some time after the Battle of Bentonville, N.C., fought March 19-21, 1865, the last full-scale military action of the Civil War. Note below the controversy over whether Thomas J. was present at the final surrender of his unit on April 15th, 1865, following the battle of Bentonville. Where was Thomas J. during all of this? Well, he seems to have been with his military unit part of the time, but just how much is somewhat uncertain. The evidence is ambiguous, but most of the time he clearly was at home. His "Military Service Records" that I obtained from the National Archives in Washington tell us almost nothing. They contain only two information slips, one of which says that he was present, the other that he was absent, but no specific dates are given, and they tell us nothing else. We have to turn to another source, Mary Jane's applications for a Confederate widow's pension, to get much information, but even then it will be sparse, ambiguous, and conflicting. Some years after the Civil War ended, many states gave their Confederate soldiers and their widows small pensions on which to live. Mary Jane, Thomas's widow, applied for a widow's pension at least three times, but each time her application was denied. Apparently, no state official was ever convinced that Thomas J. actually served long enough for her to be eligible. I obtained several documents pertaining to her applications from the State Archives in Atlanta. Unfortunately historical "facts" are sometimes difficult to determine, and documents hard to read. Mary Jane's first application for a pension, filed in 1902, testified that Thomas J. did serve actively for six or seven months in his cavalry unit, but she admitted that he was not with his unit when it surrendered. On her first "Questions for Applicant" document, signed with her "X mark" and dated August 12, 1902, Mary Jane testified that Thomas's unit surrendered "At Augusta, Ga. after surrender of Southern Army," and that "He was not" present because "He was at home on furlough granted by (unreadable) enrolling officer." She further affirmed that she had been blind for about "Ten years," that she had "No occupation; I have been living with my daughter," that she earned "Nothing" and owned "Nothing." She says, "I have been supported by my children" and affirmed that she had not previously applied for a pension. Mary Jane told a very different story in her second application for a Confederate pension. In her second "Questions for Applicant" document, dated Sept 30,1904, she still attested that Thomas J. actually served in his Company "from Sept.3, 1864 to the surrender-seven months," but here we get the very different claim that when his company surrendered on "April 15th, 1865 at Raleigh, N.C.," "He was present in command at surrender." Mary Jane also signed this document with an "X mark," indicating either that she could not read or that by this time she was too blind to see to write her name. She was probably illiterate and also blind by this point. That Thomas J. did actually serve in the Confederate military seems to be supported by another document titled "Questions for Witness," in which J. M. Matlock, a resident of Wilkes County, answered the question, "Were you a member of the same Company and Regiment?" with the reply, "I was not. I was a member of 1st Arkansas Battery and in some contact with him." He affirmed that Thomas "performed regular military duty" for "Seven months," that his regiment surrendered on "April 15th at Raleigh, NC," and that Thomas himself "left his command" on that date because he "surrendered." He admits, however, that he was not present for the surrender. In response to "How did you know all this?" he answered, "Because I was often with him in the army, being in the same command, and met him at Crawfordville, Ga. when he came home." Apparently, the pension officials did not find this sufficiently convincing. Nearby neighbor John W. Swann's view about where Thomas J. was at the final surrender of his unit agreed with Mary Jane's first application: he was not there at the end, but he was present earlier for military duty. Swann was very sympathetic with Mary Jane's plight, and he offered believable first-hand knowledge of Thomas J.'s actual participation in military operations. Two relevant documents exist, signed by John W. Swann. John W. Swann's first document, "Questions for Witnesses," signed Aug. 19, 1902, was submitted in connection with Mary Jane's first pension application. Swann testified that Mary Jane was being supported "By a single daughter who is hardly able to support herself" and that "She is old, nearly blind. Makes her way with a cane - is a general physical breakdown. Hardly able to go at all." The "single daughter" with whom she was living was "Aunt Mae," (Mary Thomas), who married later in life. Swann further attested that he was a member of the same Company and Regiment with Thomas J., who performed "regular military duty" for "about 6 mos. Perhaps 8 months." His Company was "Discharged at Augusta...After the Surrender of the Southern Army." Swan himself was "with the Command when it surrendered," but Thomas J. "was absent on sick furlough." In response to "When and where did he leave his command?," Swann replied that Thomas J. left his command "After battle [at] Jonesboro. Left at Griffin" because he was "sick" "By authority of his officer." In response to "How do you know all of this?" Swan answered, "After we left Atlanta we moved in direction of Griffin. At this place comrade Edwards, a gallant soldier, being sick, rec'd (received) a furlough." Swann's "Questions for Witnesses" document of Aug. 19, 1902 will be given next. Then his difficult to read deposition of May 25, 1903 will be given . Next, Swann's deposition on May 25, 1903 State of Georgia Personally appeared before me: Taliaferro County Wm. B. Andrews, Ordinary In and for said county. John W. Swann in Crawfordville says that Thomas J. Edwards was granted a furlough at Griffin Georgia in September 1864 on account of sickness and sent to him home in Taliaferro County. - Defendant further avows that the said furlough granted to said Thomas J. Edwards was from the proper officers and was for not less than thirty days; and defendant further avows that said Thomas J. Edwards was prevented from returning to his command by reason of Sherman's army having gotten between himself and his command - cutting himself off from his command until the surrender. John W. Swann Sworn and subscribed before me this 25th day of May 1903 Wm. B. Andrews Mary Jane applied for a Confederate pension for a third time on January 5, 1906, but none of her applications were successful. Though the preceding testimonials are ambiguous, the weight of the evidence suggests that Thomas J. Edwards did actually participate in the defense of Atlanta during the summer of 1864. The exact duration of his participation is uncertain, but it may have been for 6 or 7 months. Here is the case for this conclusion. On December 14th, 1863, the Georgia State Legislature passed the "Act for Re-organizing the Militia of the State of Georgia." It required that a census be taken of each militia district in each county. From the Georgia State Archives, I obtained a copy of the physically large (14 in by 18 in) page on which Thomas J. Edwards was listed. The Roll of his 604th Militia District shows that early in 1864 Thomas J. Edwards was enroled as a militiaman. The census taker apparently arrived at the Edwards residence in February, 1864, the month of Thomas J.'s birth. Age in both years and additional months had to be given. Thomas J. gave his age as 38, but no additional months were listed. The Roll gives his occupation as "Farmer" and shows that he did not own a gun (unlike most of his neighbors). However, he did own one horse, one saddle, and one bridle. Maybe that's all it takes to make a cavalryman! By this time he was a member of Company D, 3rd Regiment, Georgia Cavalry (State Guards). They were probably little more than just a bunch of local guys who liked to ride horses! Major-General Gustavus W. Smith commanded the Georgia Militia. According to him, in late May, 1864, Governor Joseph E. Brown ordered the militia and the civil officers of the state of Georgia to assemble at Atlanta. These two classes of State officers were, by act of the Confederate Congress, exempt from conscription. Governor Brown's order was promptly obeyed, and these officers - about three thousand in number - were organized into two companies, regiments, and two brigades... (Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, Vol. IV, p. 331). These militia units included cavalry (p. 332). As Sherman approached Atlanta, "Governor Brown called into service the old men of the State up to the age of fifty-five, and the boys down to sixteen years of age, armed in great part with flint-lock muskets, ordinary rifles, and shot-guns..." (p. 332) General Hood's Confederate army held out for 75 days defending Atlanta , but the city finally fell to General Sherman's army on Sept. 2, 1864 after the loss of Jonesboro on Aug. 31 cut off the last remaining rail line into Atlanta. That is when the rear guard of General Hood's forces marched out of the city and retreated toward the south. Most of his army had evacuated the city on Sept. 1st. Sherman began his infamous march from Atlanta to Savannah about 6 weeks later - on Nov. 15th, at which time Confederate General Smith withdrew his command of "Georgia State troops," "home guards," and "local reserve cavalry" from Lovejoy's Station "to the intrenchments at Griffin." (Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, Vol. IV, p. 667) Exact dates are very hard if not impossible to come by in Mary Jane's application for pension records. Her supporter, John W. Swann, seems to have the most intimate and accurate knowledge of relevant events. He gives us the location of the one battle in which we know that Thomas J. participated - the battle for Jonesboro, August 31, 1864. Suffering 1400 casualties, the Confederates lost this battle, along with many boxcars of supplies. Because the critical rail line between Atlanta and Macon - the last line into Atlanta, was then severed, most of Hood's army left the city on the following day, Sept. 1st. With no remaining supply lines, the position of the Army in Atlanta was untenable and indefensible. Sherman then occupied Atlanta after the last of Hood's his rear guard marched out of the city on Sept. 2nd. (On the Jonesboro battle, see Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, Vol. 4, pp. 321-322, 343-344) . Thomas J. left his command, says Swann, "After battle [at] Jonesboro. Left at Griffin" because he was "sick." Swann also gives us strong indication that Thomas Edwards was earlier involved in the defense of Atlanta. He wrote, "After we left Atlanta we moved in direction of Griffin. At this place comrade Edwards, a gallant soldier, being sick rec'd (received) a furlough," and "Thomas J. Edwards was granted a furlough at Griffin Georgia in September 1864 on account of sickness and sent to him home in Taliaferro County." Moving from Atlanta in the direction of Griffin by way of Jonesboro presuppose a prior presence in Atlanta, so it appears that Thomas J. Edwards was there before the fall, but for just how long we will probably never know - perhaps for some months, even if not for the 6 to 8 months conjectured by Swann. After the battle at Jonesboro and the fall of Atlanta, he returned to his home in Taliaferro County. There he presumably recovered from his illness, but he did not return to active duty. As Swann indicated, "Thomas J. Edwards was prevented from returning to his command by reason of Sherman's army having gotten between himself and his command - cutting himself off from his command until the surrender." Thus, he was clearly inactive from early Sept., 1864 until what was left of his unit surrendered on April 15, 1865. This is the best sense I can make of Thomas's military career, given all the ambiguous and conflicting information available to us. Like Etheldred, his father, Thomas J. Edwards was probably a slave owner, though not on such a grand scale; and after The War he, like so many others, including his brother, William C., had to make the trying transition from farming with slave labor to doing so with hired labor. Many if not most of the Edwards's slaves probably remained after the war to work for them, if for no other reason that they had no education, knew nothing besides farming and house work, and had no other place to go. But for the Civil War, Thomas J. and William C. would have inherited additional slaves from their father. The Taliaferro County Tax Digest, 1862-1864, shows that in 1862, near the beginning of the Civil War, Etheldred owned 43 slaves valued at $14,600.00. This was not very many by Virginia standards, but by Taliaferro County, Ga. standards, Etheldred was one of the largest slave-owners in that part of Georgia. In his Will, he left both slaves, plantations, and a great deal of other property to Thomas J., as well as providing handsomely for all his other children (except for one wayward daughter). Here is the section of Etheldred's will dealing with Thomas J. Item 1st I will and bequeath to my son Thomas Edwards for and during his natural life only and for the Support and maintenance of himself and family and not otherwise, the following property to wit My tract of land Known as the Colelough place deeded to me by Alexander Colelough whereon my Said Son now lives. Also my tract of land known as the Pittman place deeded to me by Alexander H. Stephens and my tract of land Known as the Guest place deeded to me by Jeper Guest and a Small tract of land deeded to me by James Lyle. I also give to him in like manner two Negroes one a boy named Stephen and the other a girl named Sallie both now in his possession - Said property to be in no wise Subject too the debts or contracts of my Son Thomas and after his death Said lands and Negroes together with their increase to go to Such lawful child or children as he may leave living at the time of his death and the representatives of Such of his children as may be dead at that time leaving representatives - Said representatives taking by representation The property given to my Son Thomas in this the first item of my will in addition to Such household and kitchen furniture, horses, cattle hogs and agricultural instruments which I have heretofore given and delivered to him is all that I intend for him to have out of my estate- The most startling thing about Etheldred's bequest is that nothing whatsoever was directly left to Thomas J.'s wife! No wonder Mary Jane was destitute in her old age! After Thomas was murdered, her children got everything, and she got nothing, by decree of her conniving father-in-law! Etheldred had a well-earned reputation for being ruthless. Mary Jane was at best only their "representative." To have any access to her husband's property, even for the purpose of taking care of her children, she had to obtain permission from the children through legal petitions. In February, 1884, the following petitions to be her children's legal guardians were filed with and accepted by Ordinary of Taliaferro County, Charles A. Beazley, as recorded in Minutes B. Court of Ordinary, 1879 to 1889, pp. 244-245. When in 1904 the Taliaferro County Ordinary, M. B. Andrews, disputed the assertion on Mary Jane's pension applications that she owned no property, my Grandfather, George Thomas Edwards, set him straight with the following affidavit. Apparently, he was then paying the taxes on the home place property, and he was the person who helped Mary Jane, his mother, with her applications for a Confederate pension. After her unmarried daughter, Mary Thomas, "Aunt Mae," came of age and inherited the Edwards home place as her part of Thomas J.'s legacy, her mother, Mary Jane, continued to live with her until she died in 1916. At age 46, Aunt Mae married R. T. Jones less than a month after her mother's death. In their last years, Aunt Mae lived in the old home place together with her brother,"Uncle Teet" - Benjamin Lee Edwards, and his wife, Aunt Jessie. After Uncle Teet died in 1937, the two women lived there together. Aunt Mae died in 1947, and Aunt Jessie died in 1948. As a boy, I remember visiting them both at the Edwards home place with my Aunt Vash and her son Courtney Phelps - probably around 1946 or 1947. I remember that they had just made some divinity candy. They offered some to all of us, though they had little of anything to give to anyone. It was the best divinity candy I ever tasted! After Etheldred's death on August 18, 1866, Thomas J. Edwards came into full possession of all the property granted to him in Etheldred's Will, including the land on which he had been living and working for many years. The Taliaferro County Tax Digest, 1866-1868, shows that Thomas J. had 3 children between 6 and 18 years of age, that he owned 700 acres of land valued at $2,100.00, and that his "other property" was worth $300.00, for a total economic net worth of $2,400.00. At this point, Thomas did not have much longer to live and enjoy the peace and prosperity into which he settled after The War. Thomas J. Edwards was murdered in a barroom brawl on July 17, 1869, just over 4 years after the Civil War ended. I have collected several versions of this story that were handed down through the Edwards families over the years by "oral tradition." To illustrate the degree to which oral traditions may be distorted, I will next give some very garbled versions of the story of the murder. The first is that of John Stone, a descendant of the second (see p. 2) Etheldred Edwards, Thomas J.'s second son, sent to me on Sept. 5, 2002. John knew that his version was not entirely accurate. The second, that of Myra Edwards Maxwell, the daughter of Glenn Y. Edwards, was transmitted to me by Terri Saturday on August 31, 2003. After presenting each, I will try to correct their inaccuracies. Finally, I will provide two complementary versions that are probably fairly accurate. First version, by John Stone: "You are quite prudent to ask me to relate what I "know" concerning the c.1866? shooting in Crawfordville. My "knowledge" is strictly hearsay, which as you are well aware is highly suspect, constantly evolving, and subject to inaccurate additions every time relatives revive the topic. You can never be certain if what you are hearing is an actual recount of previous stories, or is already being modified with the information you just provided. Since you are aware of this concern, I don't mind forwarding this blind [account?] on my side, as you obviously have a healthy respect for accuracy. Here is my hearsay: Etheldred Edwards, father of Thomas Edwards, and childhood friend of Alexander Stephens, was shopping at the mercantile store on Main Street in Crawfordville, the year after the War Between the States ended, supposedly 1866. A former Confederate soldier, who had been released from Confederate military prison by the Union Army at the close of the war, was tormenting a young black man in the street outside the store by shooting a pistol into the ground by the man's feet, to "watch him dance." The perpetrator had supposedly been incarcerated by the CSA for murdering another black(s) while the war was still in progress, only to be released when the Confederacy fell. "Dred" confronted the man, by holding open his own coat and telling the tormentor "if you want to shoot somebody, shoot me!", and the man obliged him, killing him in the street. The shooter fled, and was sought by law enforcement statewide before being captured. There was supposedly an article in the Atlanta paper about the incident and manhunt, though I have not seen it, nor had time to search the archives. "Dred" was supposedly buried in the Stephens family plot. I have heard nothing about the final disposition of his killer. This is what I have heard. What portions are correct I have no idea, and I have suspicions as to many parts of the story based on conflicting knowledge. I have seen Etheldred Edwards' grave in the old family farm cemetery in rural Greene County, but I am not sure if it is the same Etheldred, or perhaps his father. If it is the same, then this portion of the story is obviously inaccurate. I have also received info that there is no Edwards grave in the Stephens family plot, which again casts doubt. What have you heard, and do you have any documents on the matter?" This is a great story, but, as John understood, it contains a significant number of inaccuracies. Here is the essence of my reply to him. First of all, neither Etheldred the father of Thomas J. Edwards nor Etheldred his grandson, the brother of George Thomas, was involved in the murder incident. It was Thomas J. who was murdered, not one of the Etheldreds. Next, neither of the Etheldreds nor any of the above persons are buried in the Alexander Stephens family cemetery. Etheldred the father is buried in a family plot in a grove of trees on the road leading from Lyneville toward Daniel Springs, about a fourth of a mile from the Greene County Line. A very nice black man (with a vicious dog!) now owns the property, but he will gladly grant permission to visit the family graves. This is probably the grave site that John Stone says he visited. It is in Taliaferro County, near but not in Greene County. "Dred," or Etheldred the grandson, who died in 1938, is buried in the Sandy Cross Baptist Church Cemetery, and so is Thomas J. Edwards. Their wives are also there. But they are not buried in the plot near the Greene County line in which the first Etheldred is buried. (More about grave sites later). Interestingly enough, there is just a shred of truth in John's family tradition that an Edwards is buried in the Stephens family cemetery. Actually, the Stephens "family cemetery" (Alexander's ancestors) is not at Liberty Hall but out in the country between Crawfordville and Sandy Cross. Alexander and his brother, Linton, are buried in the front yard of Liberty Hall in Crawfordville. But behind Liberty Hall there is another small graveyard that contains one of the daughters of Etheldred (the father) Edwards. His daughter Sara (or Sallie) married Clinton Bell. These two parents and their three infants are buried on the rear left lawn of Liberty Hall behind the Confederate Museum. The small cemetery is enclosed by an iron fence. Tragedy seems to have struck the Bells. Their three infants died either at birth or lived only a few months; and the two parents died about 5 weeks apart in the fall of 1857, probably from some epidemic. Just exactly what their relationship was with Alexander Stephens, I do not know; but it must have been close. Their property adjoined that of Stephens, and both properties are now parts of Alexander Stephens State Park. Most importantly, it was Thomas, not one of the Etheldreds, who was murdered in Crawfordville while defending a black man from abuse. And it was not on the street but in a saloon. Yes, Crawfordville once had at least one saloon, located on the back side of what, in my day, was the Hotel. And the murder was not in 1866 but in 1869, specifically on July 24, 1869. Second version, as told by Myra Edwards Maxwell to Terri Saturday: "All I ever heard from any of the older people, my Daddy included, was that he [Thomas J.] was shot on the street. The man had the negro's hat and was picking at him, and Thomas just said, "Aw give the darkie his hat back;" and the guy said, "I will shoot you," and Thomas pulled his coat open and said, "Go ahead," not thinking the guy had a gun, and the man shot him out in the street. He was caught on Old Mr. Mead Hillman's place and arrested while he was lying in the bed sleeping." Again, the murder took place in a saloon, not in the street, and the object at issue was not the murderer's hat, but some candy, as later explained. Myra ends with the valuable insight, new to me, that the murderer was caught in bed at Old Mr. Mead Hillman's place. [I (Rem) went to school at A.S.I. with a young Meade Hillman, who was a year or two younger than I]. The murderer was not caught for some time, but when he was he had spent the night at Mr. Hillman's, who handcuffed him to the bedstead while he was asleep and then called the Sheriff. Two complementary final versions: The two complementary versions of the murder story given next are probably much more accurate than above oral tradition versions, which contained elements of truth, but not the whole truth. The first is the newspaper story about the murder that was published in the Macon Messenger on August 3, 1869. It had been printed previously in the Augusta Constitutionalist. It says, A MAN SHOT AND KILLED AT CRAWFORDVILLE We are advised by a special correspondent that a most unfortunate occurrence took place in Crawfordville on Saturday. The facts, as detailed by our correspondent, are: Mr. Columbus Reese came to the village in the afternoon, (the same man who was tried soon after the war at Washington, Wilkes county, by a court martial, for killing a negro,) and began to drink, as is his custom. It was not long before he began a quarrel with Mr. Thos. Edwards, a quiet, peaceable man, though in the habit of drinking sometimes; yet he was never known to injure any one, and was much thought of in the community. The quarrel continued for a few moments, when Edwards, turning to walk away, Reese threatened to shoot him, having drawn a pistol in his hand. Edwards was unarmed and had made no threats or any demonstrations. When the threat was made he (Edwards) fronted Reese, opening his shirt, and, as a brave man will do, told him to shoot. Reese, standing on his feet (unclear), shot, the ball entering Edwards' breast near the heart. Edwards fell upon the ground, and in a few moments had breathed his last. Reese remained in town for some hours, walking the streets and threatening to kill any man who attempted to arrest him. He is still at large, and up to this hour no efforts have been made for his arrest. [Augusta Constitutionalist] I am indebted to my cousin, Charlotte Vaughn, another descendant of the second "Dred" Edwards, for this article and for the reward poster below. This news article makes no mention of the cause of the quarrel, but John Stone's oral tradition was at least partly correct: It was over Thomas's kindness to and defense of a young black man. We have already seen some evidence that the Edwards family did not enthusiastically support the Civil War, even though, like Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, they were slave holders. This may seem too idealistic, but perhaps our Thomas J. Edwards understood the wrongness of treating blacks as they were treated in the South, both during slavery and after it ended. After all, what was he doing going into a saloon in Crawfordville, Ga., the Vice- Capitol of the South, with a young black man as a friend and buying him some candy just over four years after the Civil War ended? Now I will give a complementary perspective on Thomas J.'s murder from a different source. In the mid 1990's, Charlotte Vaughn, I, and my wife Louise, went to Nashville, Tenn. to interview Neva Portwood Patrick, then in her mid 90s, about our ancestors, all of whom (back to, but not including, Thomas) she knew personally. According to the notes I made at the time on what she said about Thomas and his murder, Neva told us, "Thomas drank like everything. He had a colored boy with him in the tavern. He bought the boy some candy. Reese called him a 'Nigger lover,' and said 'I could just shoot your heart out.' At that point, Thomas opened his shirt and was shot." The Governor of Georgia was so outraged over the murder of Thomas J. Edwards that he offered the following thousand dollar reward, the second listed below, for the capture of his killer: Monday August 2nd 1869 Executive Department Atlanta Georgia August 2nd, 1869 Ordered: That the Secretary of State record and issue a Proclamation offering a Reward of One Thousand Dollars for the apprehension of and delivery to any Sheriff of this State, with proof sufficient to convict C. C. Reese, charged with the murder of Thomas Edwards, of the county of Taliaferro, on the 24th day of July 1869 Rufus B. Bullock Governor By the Governor R. Paul Lester } Secy. Ex. Dept Columbus "Lum" Reese, Thomas's murderer, was eventually captured, tried, and convicted. From Neva Portwood Patrick I learned that this trial was in Hancock County (Sparta), Ga., and that none other than Alexander H. Stephens himself, who was indeed a close friend of the Edwards family, was the prosecuting attorney. Lum Reese seems to have been a very bitter Confederate veteran from Warren County, Ga. In the 1860 Census, a C. C. Reese, age 23, was listed as living in Warren County. He served as an infantryman, a Private in Company B of Georgia's 48th Regiment. My cousin, "Coot" Johnson, told me that Lum Reese and Thomas J. Edwards actually were very close personal friends, and that after he shot Thomas, Lum said, "My God, I have just killed my best friend." In September 2003 I finally obtained a short answer to the question of the outcome of Reese's trial in a volume of abstracts from a Millegeville, Ga. newspaper. The following short item or abstract from a longer article, originally published on Wed. June 14, 1871, appears in a volume of abstracts from the Baldwin County Union Recorder, 1870-1877, p. 74. TO HANG Charles C. Reese, who killed a man named Edwards in Taliaferro County last year, has been sentenced to be hung in Crawfordville on the 4th of next August. This brief news item seems to resolve the basic issue of what happened to Reese, but it raises almost as many questions as it answers. Was the sentence actually carried out? Did Crawfordville once have public hangings? Did anyone from the Edwards family attend the execution? We can be glad to know this much, but more information surely must exist somewhere. Maybe some records still exist in the Court House in Sparta. I don't know, but I would love to find out more. I heard one rumor that the Governor of Georgia finally spared Reese from hanging because of his excellent Civil War service record, but I cannot confirm this. In response to my question about public hangings in Crawfordville, Myra Edwards Maxwell responded, through Terri Saturday: "Tell Rem that they certainly did hang people in Taliaferro County. My grandfather (Sheriff William Y. Edwards) had to hang two people, and my grandmother was very very upset about it. I understand she even discussed it with the preacher. Guess she was wondering how it would affect my grandfather's after-life." (E-mail, Sept. 9, 2003) I understand that public hangings took place in Crawfordville on the lot to the north of the courthouse square in the area of or between the "Relay Building" (now the Senior Citizens Center) and "Mr. Jim Atchison's Store." Thomas J. Edwards was not buried originally where he is now buried - at the Sandy Cross Baptist Church cemetery. He was first buried in a small cemetery that must have been started originally on or near property owned by the Portwoods, for several of them are buried there. Mel Lunceford mentions "Powder Creek meeting house, a small Methodist chapel just west of the [Sandy] Crossroads at a spring then known as the Booker Spring." (Taliaferro County Georgia Records and Notes, p. 17). The cemetery was probably started in connection with this meeting house. It is now called the "Powder Creek Cemetery," or sometimes the "Edgewood Cemetery." It is a good bit off the main road between Sandy Cross Crossroads and Edgewood Crossroads - about a mile and a half from the Sandy Cross Crossroads. Thomas J. was originally buried there - wearing his Civil War uniform. The Sandy Cross Baptist Church was formed in 1875, well after Thomas J. was shot dead and buried. Mary Jane was a founding member and pillar of this church, and when she died on Oct. 3, 1916, she was buried in the church cemetery. At that time, their children decided to move Thomas J. from the Powder Creek Cemetery so they could be together. He had been "in the ground" for around 50 years, and the diggers could find very little left of him. According to my cousin David Edwards, the only things they could find were the buttons on his Civil War uniform! That is what is buried in his grave site in the Sandy Cross Baptist Church cemetery! Here are front and back photos of the graves of Thomas J. and Mary Jane Jarrett Edwards. MOTHER FATHER Front of the Sandy Cross Baptist Church is in background Mary J. Thomas Edwards Edwards Apr. 18, 1832 Feb 10, 1828 Oct. 3, 1916 July 24, 1869 Thomas Edwards and Mrs. Mary J. Jarrett were married Apr. 22, 1858 When Mary Jane died in 1916, the following obituary was published. I obtained it from David Edwards. I do not know its source, but it probably comes from the Advocate Democrat. Mrs. Mary Edwards Died Tuesday Morning [Oct 3 1916] Mrs. Mary Edwards, widow of Thos Edwards, died at 8:00 Tuesday morning, after an illness of several months. Mrs. Edwards' death was a great shock to her many friends and relatives, although it had been known fro some time that she could not very long survive. She was 84 years old, and had been a member of the Baptist church since early childhood. She was a kind Christian woman, a good neighbor and friend, and her death will be a great loss to the community in which she had lived. Mrs. Edwards is survived by four children: Messrs. G.T., B.L., and E. Edwards and Mrs. R.T. Jones, together with a large number of other relatives, all of whom have the sympathy of the entire community in their sad bereavement. The funeral and burial occurred at Sandy Cross Baptist church on Wednesday morning. Rev. George C. Steed conducting the services in the midst of a large concourse of friends and relatives. Mary Jane Edwards and her children doubtless had a much harder life after the murder of Thomas J., who was killed at the age of 41. Neva Portwood Patrick told us that Mary Jane was a "short squatty woman" who was called "Molly." She smoked a pipe and in her old age she loved to sit on her front porch and smoke. Neva had seen this herself many times. My first cousin, David Edwards, wrote that "Grandmama Mary was left with 5 children ages (approximately) 10, 9, 7, 4, 2, and was pregnant with Aunt Mae (41/2 mos. Preg.)...and only 4 years after the Civil War had ended. And she was 37 years old at that time." In writing of our Grandfather, George Thomas Edwards, David said that, "He became [the] man of the house at age 10." Mary Jane raised and provided for her children by herself after Thomas's death. For many generations, sturdy branches of the Edwards family have been held together by strong women. Thank God for them!