and Adrian "Ada" Belle Vardaman |
Updated 3 Jun 2009
21.00--Richard Gwin; lived near Jamestown, Virginia, said to be of Scotch Irish descent; m. Sarah Chesley; at least one son:
22.00--Isham Gwin, b. ca. 1770 in VA; d. ca. 1833 in IN; m. ca. 1788 in VA to Mary Canterbury; 10 ch.:
23.04--John Gwin (middle name unk.)--b. in what was then Greene or Sevier Co., NC (later TN) 7 Nov 1792; d. 7 Mar 1877 at Wilsonville, AL; m. 8 Apr 1812 in Blount Co., TN, by Joseph Walker to Jane Walker, d.o. Thomas Walker, Sr., and Elizabeth Magill, both of VA; 9 (10?) ch.;
24.04--William Gwin (middle name unk.)--b. 18 Dec 1820 at Cahaba, AL; d. 29 Apr 1889 at Wilsonville, AL, bd. there also; m. 12 May 1842 to Roseann Carlisle Jones Wilson (b. 22 Aug 1822; d. 29 Mar 1907 at Tampa, FL; bd. at Wilsonville, AL). [October 1999--Barbara Ward wrote: Found a marriage record Dallas County (AL) for a Wm. Guin and Rosa Ann Wilson 13 May 1842.]
25.03--William Sutton Gwin --my great-grandfather, b. 5 Jun 1848 at Cahaba, AL; d. 11 Sep 1916; m. 2 Dec 1868 to Ida Eliza Basset (b. 5 May 1845 in Worthing, Sussex Co., England; d. 8 Dec 1907; 12 children
26.01--Ida M. Gwin b. 5 Jul 1869; d. as infant 25 Jul 1870
26.02--William Bassett Gwin --b. 12 Dec 1870; d. as infant 30 Nov 1871.
26.03--James Bassett Gwin I--(see below)
26.04--Kate Lula Gwin b. 4 Jul 1874; d. 22 Aug 1953; never married
26.05--William Sutton Gwin, Jr. (called "Duck") b. 25 Dec 1875; d. 1956 (?); m. 18 May 1909 to Georgia Craft
26.06--John Louis Gwin b. 30 Sep 1877; d. 18 May 1942 in Arizona; m. 19 May 1906 to Ruth Irwin
26.07--Lucy Jane Gwin b. 13 Jan 1879; d. 18 Nov (1957?) in Prescott, AZ; m. 18 May 1898 to Lawson Rochester Hebb
26.08--George Henry Gwin b. 10 Feb 1882 at Wilsonville, AL, d. 8 Aug 1953; m. 27 Dec 1908 to Valera L. Riddle; 7 ch.
26.09--Maggie Bassett Gwin b. 14 May 1882; d. 1 Aug 1882--- died as infant
26.10--Unk. Gwin d. as infant
26.11--Nellie Densler Gwin b. 2 Apr 1887; d. 24 Oct 1948; m. George Marshal Marable; 1 ch.
26.12--Peter King Gwin, Sr. b. 17 Oct 1888; d. 30 Jun 1956; m. 3 May 1911 to Betty Kate Cartwright; 3 ch.
Jim
and
Ada
Left: Adabelle; her mother, Julia Ann Flynn Vardaman; and Jim and Ada's first two children, James (J.B. Gwin II), top left, and J.V. "Vardaman".
Right: L-R: Julia, J.V., James Bassett "Jim" Gwin, Sr., and James.
These must have been taken about 1914, as Julia Ida is not yet born. It is not clear whether the family had traveled back to Coosa Co. to visit with Ada's mother or if her mom was visiting with them in Anniston. (It is clearly too early for them to be living in Selma, as this move did not occur until Julia was born.) James appears to be a little older in the second picture and with shorter hair than in the first, suggesting that these photos were taken on different visits.
Funeral services for Conductor J. B. Gwin, who lost his life in the wreck of the Akron train Sunday evening near Greensboro, were held at 2 o'clock this afternoon from the Gwin residence, 2101 Broad Street, by Dr. John A. Davison, pastor of the First Baptist Church, and the Rev. E. W. Gamble, rector of St. Paul's Episcopal Church.Many sorrowing friends crowded the home and stood with bared heads about the porch and in the yard, paying their tribute of respect to a man who in life had commanded esteem and a full mead of friendship from his fellow workers and acquaintances.
Words of comfort for the stricken widow and four small children were spoken in the beautiful funeral service, and masses of beautiful flowers bore silent testimony to the sympathy of hundreds of friends here and in other parts of Alabama.
Interment was made in Live Oak cemetery, pall bearers being Southern Railway conductors who had been closely associated with Mr. Gwin in his long years of service on the railroad and including, besides Capt. J. D. Riggs, whose place Conductor Gwin was supplying when he met his death, S.T. Walker, J. A. Freeman, S. E. Farrington, D. G. Mott, H. H. Hillman.
Gathered here for the last services were relatives from several distant points in Alabama and Georgia, among these being Mrs. Julia Vardaman, mother of Mrs. Gwin, and Mr. and Mrs. T. J. Webb, the latter a sister of Mrs. Gwin, all of Alexander City; Miss Kate Gwin and W. S. Gwin of Birmingham, George H. Gwin of Manchester, Ga., T. K. Gwin of Tuscaloosa, and Mrs. G. M. Marable of Talladega, all brothers and sisters of the deceased. A cousin, Emmett Gwin of Mississippi, arrived Tuesday morning in time to attend the funeral.
26.03--James Bassett Gwin I, b. 21 Apr 1872 at Frog Level, AL, near Bellevue, in Dallas Co.; d. 21 Oct 1921 under the wreck of Southern Railway #17 near Greensboro, AL, as conductor of the train; bd. Tues, 23 Oct, in the Live Oak Cemetery, Selma, AL; m. 22 Feb 1909 in Birmingham, AL, to Adrian ("Ada") Belle Vardaman (b. 3 Feb. 1877 in Coosa Co., AL; d. 26 Feb 1954 in New Orleans, LA; bd. at Smyrna Primitive Baptist Ch. Cem., 2-3 mi. ese of Goodwater, AL); four children; ten grandchildren (2 of these adopted);
(28.01) Rose Elizabeth White (Betty), b. 22 Aug 1935, adopted at about age 20; m. 11 Sep 1961 to James (Jimmy) Stewart(29.01) James Reese Stewart, b.3 Nov 1962
(29.02) William Mark Stewart, b. 24 Nov 1964
(29.03) Martence Renae Stewart, b. 19 May 1969(28.02) Juanita Ann Brister, b. 23 Nov 1955 in Pike Co., MS; legally adopted 18 Mar 59, name changed to Juanita Kate Gwin; m1. 12 Aug 1972 to Christopher Lyn Engelbracht, Sr.; m2. Scott Russell; stepson Alex Russell (b. ca. 1991); they currently live in Mereaux, LA, southeast of New Orleans; (family photos);(29.01) Christopher Lyn Engelbracht, Jr. , b. 17 Feb 1973; m.
28.01--John Vardaman Gwin, Jr., b. 27 Feb 43; m. 24 Sep 1966 to Mildred Keron Maner (b. 19 Jan 1947)m2. on 14 Dec 1946 to Marian Sue McQuiddy, no children; (div.)29.01--Bryan Vardaman Gwin, b. 7 Oct 1967;
29.02--Owen Gwin,
29.03--(daughter) Gwin,
27.03--Julia Ida Gwin, b. 12 Dec 1914 at (Selma? Anniston?), AL; d. 8 Feb 1993 and bd. in Hilo, HI; m. 29 Mar 1937 to Dr. Walter Sun Look Loo of Hilo, HI, while he was living in the Gwin home as a student at Tulane Med. School; div. 19(45?); Julia played concert piano and violin, taught school, served as an independent missionary; 2 children;28.02--Sheila Adrian Gwin, b. 23 Aug 1951 in Laurel, MS; (family photos);28.03--Eileen Larkin Gwin, b. 17 Oct 1952 in Laurel, MS; m. Jay Austin (family photos); listen to
29.01--Jay Austin, Jr., b. 2 Oct 1995 in McCook, NE;28.04--Daniel Vardaman Gwin, b. 8 Mar 1955 at Laurel, MS; m. 30 Sep 1977 at Immaculate Conception Church, Laurel, by Fr. Charles Seater to Brenda Diane Thames, d/o Elton A. and Eilane Thames, gd/o M&M Walter Hughes of Magee, MS, and L. D. Thames of Mendenhall and Mrs. Wade Grice of Laurel; Dan is a ham radio operator in Laurel at; one son; (family photos);29.01--Jason Hughes Gwin, b. 16 Aug 1982 at Laurel, MS;
28.01--Walter Sai Pung Loo, b. 22 Nov 1939 at Hilo, HI; (family photos);27.04--Adrian Sutton Gwin b. 12 Sep 1916 at Selma, AL; d. 7 May 2001 in Las Cruces, NM, after a long bout with heart disease; m. 11 Aug 1942 at New Orleans to Dorothy Lee Keeney(b. 10 Feb 1915 near Belle, WV; d. 31 May 2005 in Las Cruces, NM, age 90 years, 3 months, and 21 days) when she was a summer boarder at the Gwin home; they lived in St. Albans, WV, from WW2 to November 1999; Adrian honorably served with the US Army in Europe, WWII; active charter member, Sunday School teacher, and BSA Institutional Representative at Highlawn Baptist Church, St. Albans; semi-retired feature writer for the Charleston Daily Mail (wrote daily to semi-monthly columns from the mid 1940's until his death--click here for some reprints of a few of those columns) and author of four books; Eagle Scout and Lifetime member of the BSA since about 1932; loving husband and companion for almost 59 years; pace-setting and loving father for almost 54; Dot taught high school, elementary, and junior high school students in a West Virginia teaching career that spanned some three decades; served as art supervisor for Kanawha Co. Schools; coached girls' softball and basketball, sang in the choir, and taught Special Ed Sunday School class for years at Highlawn Baptist Ch.; designed and [had] built her 9-room dream home at 7 Keiffer Drive, St. Albans, where they lived from 1960 to 1999; loving wife and companion for almost 59 years; pace-setting and loving mother for 57; Adrian and Dot have two sons, five grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, and just under a billion others who have lovingly called them Uncle, Aunt, Cousin, or Friend;
28.02--Michael Kai On Loo, b. 31 Oct 1942; d. 30 Jan 1945
28.01--John McDonald Gwin b. 29 Oct 1947 at Charleston, WV, near their home in St. Albans; m. 24 Jul 1976, in St. Albans, WV, to Sharon Lynn Hamrick (b. 28 Sep 1951) both currently teaching school (with over 60 years' experience between them!) in Las Cruces, NM; e.mail jmcdgwin@zianet.com; (family photos);29.01--Jeremiah Scott Gwin b. 3 Oct 1978 in Las Cruces, NM; m. 9 Jun 2006 in Las Cruces to Dr. Kara Marie Douglas, M. D. of Las Cruces; live in El Paso, TX;28.02--Patrick Forsythe Gwin b.14 Feb 1951 at South Charleston, WV, near the home in St. Albans; d. Feb 2008 in Witcher, Kanawha Co., WV; m1. summer 1970 in St. Albans, WV, to Sheryl Ruffner (div. 198?); (family photos); m2. Vonda Kay Sigmon Mitchell; 2 ch.29.02--Charity Elizabeth Gwin b. 11 May 1980 in Las Cruces, NM; m. 19 Jul 2002 in Las Cruces, NM, to Beau Scott Pihlaja; live in Deerfield, IL;
30.01--Asher Samuel Neeraj Pihlaja, b. Sep 2008 in Bangalore, India;
29.03--Sarah Joy Gwin b. 9 May 1981 in Las Cruces, NM; m. 30 Dec 2002 in Las Cruces, NM, to Jason Deane Johnson, Sr.; live in Las Cruces, NM;
30.01--Jason Deane "J. D." Johnson, Jr., b. 7 Feb 2003 in Las Cruces, NM;
30.02--Ryan Jonathan Johnson, b. 4 Sep 2004 in Las Cruces, NM;
30.03--Tate Austin Johnson, b. 21 Apr 2006 in Las Cruces, NM;
30.04--Zachary Jacob Johnson, b. 2008 in Las Cruces, NM;29.01--Courtney Elaine Gwin b. 1 Sep 1976 in Charleston, near St. Albans, WV; m. Nov 2000 to Neal Schott in Knoxville, TN;PFG m2. on 22 Jul 1989 in Nitro, WV, near home, St. Albans, WV, to Vonda Kay Sigmon Mitchell (b. 5 Aug 1951); div. 2001;29.02--Lauren Elissa Gwin b. 10 Oct 1980 in Charleston, near St. Albans, WV; m. Oct 2001 to Charles Spurlock in South Point, OH; lived at Camp Lejeune, NC; div. 2007
This is the last known photo of the four children of Jim and Ada Vardaman Gwin together:
L-r: Dr. John Vardaman "J.V." Gwin, Adrian Sutton Gwin, James Basset Gwin II, and Julia Ida Gwin Loo.
They had gathered in Laurel, Mississippi, to celebrate the wedding of
J.V.'s younger daughter, Eileen Larkin Gwin, to Jay Austin, on 28 Jan 1984.
James would die only a few weeks later on 1 Mar 1984.
18
Charleston Daily Mail Monday,
March 8, 1954
Roving the Valley By ADRIAN GWIN She went to work in 1901 as a telegraph
operator. |
At the little station in Brierfield where
she was
agent-telegrapher, she would stand before the bay window of the office
when a certain freight train went by. Big Jim Gwin would be
standing
atop a box car. His good left hand would be twirling up a Bull Durham cigarette while he waved to her with his thumbless right hand as he passed the station riding the roof of his train. He was a conductor, a handsome, big man. They were married on Feb. 22, 1909, in Birmingham. On the train going up, Miss Adrian was wearing her bridal dress of dusty rose, a nice color to be married in. Conductor Voltz stopped by her seat as the train pulled into the station. All his life he had worn a fresh red rose in the lapel of his uniform, every day. Now he took his red rose and pinned it to Miss Adrian's dress. "Wear it, sis, for luck," he said. She loved flowers, and especially roses. So when Adrian Vardaman became Mrs. James B. Gwin that Washington's birthday in 1909, she wore a red rose on her dusty pink dress. As Jim started in the coach to take up the passenger's ticket, he felt a disturbance from the engine. Thirty-five years on trains told him something was wrong, bad wrong. He reached for the emergency cord as the coach hit the broken rail, and Jim went out the window, pinned from the waist down. Mrs.
Adrian Vardaman Gwin returned to her telegraphy
for the railroad. The four small
|
children became "railroad
gypsies,"
as their mother "traipsed around all over the country," going where her
telegraphy took her. Mrs. Gwin shipped hay from the prairie town of Browns; loaded cattle and gum logs from the swamp-town of McDowell; billed out more than a hundred cars of coal a day from the mining town of Aldrich; worked with the men at the smaller coal community of Straven; shipped turkeys and wool and milk from Gallion. Everywhere she went, she had flowers. She raised the best roses in any neighborhood. She always planted sweet peas, and her flower yards were wonderful to behold. She received citations from the railroad for the cleanliness of her depots wherever she worked. And she made gardens of flowers around some of them, wherever a seed would sprout into blossom. Then the depression hit the railroads. Her last regular station was a little cross-roads agency out in the Black Belt--Scotts Station. The children were nearly grown when the railroad put her on the "extra board." She returned to Anniston where she and Jim had bought a home 20 years before. Roomers helped out a bit. With a son in medical school and the money gone, she struck out for New Orleans, La., to open a boarding house. Her boundless energy, her unfailing spirit, and her determination that working wins everything, saw her through. She put four children through college. And she enjoyed every |
minute of it. She worked like a
section
hand every day of her life. She laughed easily, and made friends
quickly. She had "beaus" every year of her life while she worked
for the railroad, and in her later years she often went to see her old
friends. She drove a car for years, sold it in 1934. Then in 1950, past 70 years old, she bought for cash a big Buick that she had wanted for 16 years. She drove it through New Orleans whenever she wished, and she drove it back to Alabama any number of times. After a heart attack in 1950 she slowed down a bit. She quit painting the house each summer. She hired a part-time maid to look after the eight rooms of her rooming house. She quit papering the walls of the rooms each year, and she began to call the plumber instead of fixing the leaky commode herself. After all, she was 75 and more, and a person could afford to slow down a little. But she still drove her car, still dug in her flower yard to plant sweet peas on the first full moon in October. She continued to wash two dozen sheets from her bedrooms each week. But she had an automatic washer, so that wasn't too much trouble. She took flowers to her neighbors almost every day, big bunches of nasturtiums and sweet peas and African daisies. |
that
sunny
afternoon last month. Her nitroglycerin pills were spilled across
the floor. It was Feb. 22, 1954. Forty-five years to the day since she was married. They took her to Touro infirmary and made her comfortable. When her youngest son flew in from West Virginia a couple of days later, she was alert and cross. "Why does a person have to be in bed! There's so much to be done!" she said. Two days later she was sleeping peacefully when the magnificent heart of hers gave out. The chief dispatcher was calling and her head went up as she heard her name. Then she was gone. She took the night train out of New Orleans for her last trip back to Alabama. They lifted her annual pass as she started the familiar overnight journey to Birmingham. The railrod she had lived for from 1901 to 1936 took her home. Redbirds and mockingbirds were singing in the woods near the little church as she was laid to rest in the old Smyrna cemetery near Kelleyton, two miles from her native home. And she wore at her breast a big red sweet pea from her yard, one of the flowers she loved. (EDITOR'S NOTE: Daily Mail columnist Adrian Gwin resumes his writing with the above column after a week's absence in the south during the illness and death of his mother.) |
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From the 1 Jun 1870 census of Wilsonville, Beat
#9, Shelby Co., AL
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From the 19 Jun 1880 Census of Wilsonville,
Shelby Co., AL
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From the 1 Jun 1900 census of Selma, Dallas Co.,
AL
From the 18 Jun 1900 census of Pct. 3, Sacofotay,
Coosa Co., AL
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From the 5 Jan 1920 census of Beat 15, Anniston,
Calhoun Co., AL
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Dear John,
Sharing! You may Post or delete or save for yourself! I will send several of these analysis`~~~~Wanda Lou
Chapter II
Coosa heritage
July 1981
Mr. JAMES B. GWIN of Metairie, LA, one of our newest members, writes that he is a descendant of Coosa County pioneers and has in his possession some memorabilia pertaining to our county's history that he wishes to donate to our museum. Mr. Gwin states that his mother was raised on the Vardaman farm near Goodwater, Alabama, and relatives are still residing in that area. We very much appreciate Mr. Gwin and look forward to hearing from him again. He also states that among his many relics are some records pertaining to the Vardaman family and many names on papers which might be of value to our society. Mr. Gwin hopes to be able to attend the official opening of our museum. We trust this date will soon be forthcoming. Mr. Gwin has prepared a cabinet of artifacts owned by his Confederate grandfather which contains scraps of Confederate history that he brought back from the War. THANK YOU, MR. GWIN!
Mr. Gwin is the son of Adrian "Ada" Belle Vardaman who was the daughter of John Forsythe Vardaman, who was the son of Edwy and Lucinda Mauk, early settlers of Coosa County, Alabama. John Forsythe Vardaman is Mielda Vardaman's brother and great granduncle to the Ralph and Myrtle Kilpatric children.
THE VARDAMAN FAMILY MUSEUM COLLECTION, A HISTORICAL TREASURE
A veritable treasure chest is found when you peer into the drawers and behind the doors of the Vardaman family's memorial chest at the Old Rock Jail Museum. You are swept back back over 140 years in time to the era of the War Between the States, which spanned from 1861 through 1865. You can also hear the bugles and see the gleaming sabers being unsheathed and held aloft. You can literally look into the tin-type photographed faces of the men and women who lived in a time, the tales of which still leave us spellbound.
A beautiful, elaborately scrolled, wooden chest holds the Vardaman family's richly documented contribution to history. Inscribed in the wood, on the board across the bottom of the chest are the words "This 18"-wide board was cut from the Vardaman plantation around 1920 by Webb Lumber Co., A specimen of the majestic pine timber of Coosa County." At the top of the chest sets a painting of the Vardaman homestead.
The information collected within the treasure chest of Vardaman history was taken from the analyses written by the late James Bassett Gwin, Jr. He chronicled 112 documents, many of then preserved by his mother, who saved pictures and letters, songs, etc. brought home by John Forsythe Vardaman from the Civil War. Gwin also built the beautiful chest that stores the Vardaman family collection. He came to Rockford in 1981 for an Arts and Crafts Festival in a Confederate uniform he had made himself, recalled Mary G. Teel, a member of the Coosa County Historical Society. At that time, he donated the chest and the collection to the Old Rock Jail Museum.
J. H. ("Jack") Vardaman, Jr., was also, a source of information on the history of his family and their donation to the museum. He is the great-grandson of Marshall E. and Clara O. ("Odie") Carlisle Vardaman; she was of Mt. Olive. His parents were Jesse Harris and Elsie Bell Vardaman. Jack resides in Alpharetta, Georgia, and is a researcher of genealogy.
This summer (2000) Jack met with the great-great granddaughter of Mielda Vardaman Killpatrick, Wanda Lou Kilpatrick Slack, and her husband Robert, spending three days with them and introducing Wanda Lou to her relatives of the 19th and 20th centuries. Wanda Lou is writing the history that follows:
Jack Vardaman met with us in Alexander City, Alabama.
Bob
and Wanda travel in an RV and stayed in a campground near
Alexander
City, Alabama. They would meet up with Jack those next three
mornings
at the Hotel Jamison in Alexander City, Alabama. The three,
Bob, Wanda, and Jack, no longer "Strangers in a Box", departed daily
for
a wild, historical adventure back into the past.
The first day was spent in Rockford, Alabama, at the Old Rock Jail Museum. The following information was gleaned from this adventure.
Ambrotypes of Sergeant John Forsythe Vardaman and other Confederate soldiers were used in a 1978 Confederate Calendar. Wanda adds, "I do not have a copy of the calendar." Vardaman's picture was featured in the month of March. His final service with the Confederacy was in Company G, 2nd. Engineer Regiment, with the Army of Northern Virginia, C.S.A.
Brandishing his sword, he is pictured wearing a homemade plaid shirt. Over his left shoulder he wears a wide-strap leather satchel, possibly his courier pouch. Over his right shoulder is a saber strap that was used to counterbalance the weight of the sword. He holds the family Bible in his left hand.
John Forsythe Vardaman, born May 19, 1835, had two brothers, James Mathis Vardaman and William Sanford Vardaman. They were the children of Edwy Liles Vardaman and Lucinda Mauk Vardaman. James Mathis served as second musician in Coosa County, M.G. Slaughter's Company, Hilliard's Legion, Company C., Cavalry Batallion. Sadly, he died in battle ten days before the end of the war. Only 20 and never married, he died below Petersburg, VA, March 30, 1965, and is assumed to be buried somewhere in that area of Virginia.
William Sanford was a Private in Company G (Hillebee Blues), 14th Alabama Infantry Regiment. He died early in the war, May 5, 1862, at the Battle of Williamsburg. It is assumed he is buried in one of the battlefield cemeteries in the Petersburg/Richmond area.
John Forsythe Vardaman joined the Confederate Army in Rockford, enlisting in the 5th Batallion of Hilliard's Legion as a scribe, secretary, bookkeeper, as a recruiting officer, and as a courier during General Braggs' invasion of Kentucky.
Later he saw service in Tennessee. He was at Chickamauga, Knoxville, Bean Station, and Strawberry Plains. Before the Georgia Campaign, he was ordered to Virginia and to Captain John Howard's 2nd Engineer Regiment and served until the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox. Under John F. Vardaman's photograph on display in the museum collection, it is written of him: "Early planter, schoolmaster, Christian layman, Justice of the Peace, Notary Public, and county superintendent of education. (John was a well-read man).
Colonel John Hunt Morgan, who was killed by the Union Troops while resting in a house in 1864, was the subject of inspiration in a poem likely written by John F. Vardaman. At the top of the page the words "Camp Enginr. Troops, Blandfort, VA., 1864" are written. The last verse of this tribute is:
"Morgan! What a hero!
How fearless, and yet how benevolent!
How dashing and yet how firm!
Cautious but adventuresome!!
Deceiving, but always gentleman and a star in the 'Lincoln War.'
Alas he is gone. Death seeks its victims where e'er they be,
It matters not on land or sea.
Other songs or poems brought home by John depict characteristics of the human spirit; they reflect shifting emotions, which will draw a smile or, perhaps, a tear.
The Sonnets include: "Root Hog or Die" and "The Southern Wagon". There are also handwritten lyrics, complete with musical notes of a song about the state of Maryland, "The Bonnie Blue Flags"; a poem regarding the European conflict; and original notes of a song "Good News From Home," dated Feb. 26, 1860. There are many more songs and poems in the treasure chest of the Vardaman family in the Old Rock Jail Museum, Rockford, Alabama. The museum is open to the public. If you are interested in some history of the old south, put this museum on your list of must stop and visit.
Chapter III
From Mieldah Vardaman Killpatrick's Memories, a letter she had written to her brother John Forsythe in the 1860's, is as follows. Wanda Lou Kilpatric Slack has a copy of Mieldah's letter which is safeguarded in the Old Rock Jail Museum in the Vardaman family memorial chest donated to the museum in preservation of history during that period of time. The chest also contains documents related to the Civil War, brought home by Confederate Sergeant John Forsythe Vardaman, brother of Mieldah. These documents were preserved by his daughter Ada (Adrian) Vardaman Gwin, and donated by her son James Bassett Gwin, Jr., to the Old Rock Jail Museum located in Rockford, Alabama. The Coosa County News of Coosa County, Alabama published 3 Volumes of the Vardaman memories: Volume 8, No. 39, dated October 1, 1999; Volume 8, No. 41 dated October 15, 1999; and Vol. 8, No. 42, dated October 22, 1999.
A part of Mieldah's letter - all that was found was two pages. Most importantly, it was written and signed by her hand. Mieldah is the great-great grandmother of the editor of the Kilpatric Happenings document of family genealogy by Wanda Lou Kilpatric Slack. Mieldah is also great-great grandmother to the 10 children of Ralph Weatherford and Myrtle Florence Sass Kilpatric.
The following script is similar to Mieldah's handwriting as closely as could be matched from Word Processing fonts.
(one side of sheet)
And go subbing and scrubing about get and old hag wife and washing and go through the motion and say we have scourd
brother my garden has bin like yours not much the ground was good but it was all planted to late for the spring season and dry weather cut every thing off in it I have a few cabage and toberlele good turnips patch we have no sweet potatoes we could not get no seed in the spring so I will have to come to see you to eat sweet potatoes my health is about like it was when I wrote to you last not good but so much better than when I saw you I can tell just how I am when I don't do nothing but sit and sew ar knit I feel very well I feel like I could do any thing most of the time but I dare not do no hevy work at all it will put me in the bed quick I can go to see sis every two or three days by taking my time walking slow and teston the way but feel which I start like I could walk it in a few minutes but I do not she lives a little over hald mile if you was to see me to day you would not think but what I could do anything I wanted to I feel well and am hatry and look as well as you have seen me in years and feel to the rest has all had good health except the whooping cough the five youngest children all had it some then had dangerisly bad but have all got about well Ma Carter and sis was here last night they are well they said they would write to you as soon we are all out of paper here
(other side of sheet)
and the cholery is raging in all of our inland town such as Huntsville Fayetsville nashville and we country crackers don't visit then at this time so when we get out of anything we do with our and expect to until that disease leaves our there has bin a great dal of sickness here more than has bin in years fore so the old settlers say but very few deaths but sickness very hard I was sorry to here of the death of Mrs burns sis has had very bad heald all of this year every since about six weeks after she was married she was takeing very singerles she walked our one day in her garden to pick some sallet for dinner and was struck with blindness pain in the back and hips and something like gravel and could not stand on her feet a minute and remained in that situation for several weeks her husband brought her home we had to work with her to save her she was long time I thought she wood never get well no more but she is so she can spin some and I am in hopes after a few months she will have her health again but I am afraid that she never will but don't let on to her she has bin very low spirited all the year but one consolation she has as good husband as ever lived I recon so far as bing kind to her he could not be no more so if he just can see her on her feet or out of bed he is all right he is all right any how it has bin bad on him I love him he bears his trials with so much patients be sure to write Miedla v Kilpatric, to J. F Vardaman's wife
Mieldah's letter written in more readable Font------
(one side of sheet)
This is the way that Great-great-grandmother Mieldah Vardaman wrote; no punctuation, no paragraphs and spelling like it sounds! God Bless her!
And go subbing and scrubing about get and old hag wife and washing and go through the motion and say we have scourd brother my garden has bin like yours not much the ground was good but it was all planted to late for the spring season and dry weather cut every thing off in it I have a few cabage and toberlele good turnips patch we have no sweet potatoes we could not get no seed in the spring so I will have to come to see you to eat sweet potatoes my health is about like it was when I wrote to you last not good but so much better than when I saw you I can tell just how I am when I don't do nothing but sit and sew or knit I feel very well I feel like I could do any thing most of the time but I dare not do no hevy work at all it will put me in the bed quick I can go to see sis every two or three days by taking my time walking slow and rest on the way but feel which I start like I could walk it in a few minutes but I do not she lives a little over half mile if you was to see me to day you would not think by what I could do anything I wanted to I feel well and am harty and look as well as you have seen min in years and feel to the rest has all had good health except the whooping cough the five youngest children all had it some then had dangerisly bad but have all got about well Ma Carter and sis was here last night they are well they said they would write to you as soon we are all out of paper here
(other side of sheet)
and the cholery is raging in all of our inland town such as Huntsville Fayetsville nashville and we country crackers don't visit then at this time so when we get out of anything we do with our and expect to until that disease leaves our there has bin a great deal of sickness here more than has bin in years fore so the old settlers say but very few deaths but sickness very hard I was sorry to here of the death of Mrs burns sis has had very bad health all of this year every since about six weeks after she was married she was takeing it very gingerly she walked out one day in her garden to pick some sallet for dinner and was struck with blindness pain in the back and hips and something like gravel and could not stand on her feet a minute and remained in that situation for several weeks her husband brought her home we had to work with her to save her she was long time I thought she wood never get well no more but she is so she can spin some and I am in hopes after a few months she will have her health again but I am afraid that she never will but don't let on to her she has bin very low spirited all the year but one consolation she has as good husband as ever lived I recon so far as bing kind to her he could not be no more so if he just can see her on her feet or out of bed he is all right he is all right any how it has bin bad on him I love him he bears his trials with so much patients be sure to write (Mielda V. Kilpatric to J. F. Vardaman's wife (This is the way it ended)
#John B. Gwin analyzed Mieldah's handwriting as being traditional old south talk. He pointed out the fact that she did not use punctuation. Her writing indicates that she did receive schooling. He also made note that he thought that Mieldah was one of John Forsythe's favorite sisters. She was the eldest child of Edwy and Lucinda Mauk Vardaman. Mielda married Israel Thomas Kilpatric when she was only 16 years of age. Israel was 24 years old. Mieldah and Israel had 12 children. Mielda died in January of 1884. She was 58 years of age at death. Israel was still living in 1900 according to the Madison County Census. I have not traced down his exact date of death to date. Mieldah and Israel are both buried in the Concord Presbyterian Church yard Cemetery in Hazel Green, Alabama. There are headstones. Israel's headstone is in error. It read Issac T. Kilpatric (d) 1898), I am still searching for date of death. According to the 1900 Census of Madison County, Israel was living with his son-in-law James M. Carter and daughter Minerva Carolina Killpatrick near New Market, Alabama. (Wanda Lou)
This picture is of Mielda's 6 sisters. It is thought that this picture was taken perhaps at the funeral of their older sister, our great-great grandmother Mielda Vardaman Killpatrick. Mielda died in January of 1884 in Madison County, Alabama.
These are the Vardaman sisters, who were from Coosa County,
Alabama.
This photograph is dated around 1990, but if it were at Mielda's
funeral
it would be 1884. The sisters are not all identified, but the one
I have named them in order of their seated and standing
alignment,
(L-R)
Mary
Bruce Adair born April 18, 1832 in
Meriwether
County, GA, Died May 2, 1909,
Zilphia
"Puss" Tomme Holloway McPhail,
born
November 1, 1936 and died May 24, 1922 and is buried at Hatchet Creek
Presbyterian
Church Cemetery in Clay County, Alabama; (note) Zilphia Vardaman
was the second wife of John McLean McPhail. They were
married
at the residence of the bride's father, E. L. Vardaman. Zilphia
was
named for one of her aunts, Zilphia Vining who first married Joseph
Tomme
and, after his death, Anthony Holloway. Zilphia had no children
of
her own but raised John McPhail's 2 sons from his first
marriage;
(standing - left
Adeline
Elizabeth Vardaman born November 14, 1843 in
Meriwether,
GA, never married and died March 25, 1923. She is buried at the
Rock
Springs Baptist Church Cemetery in Clay County, Alabama.
Annie Lovedia Vardaman born October 25, 1945 in Merriwether, GA and died August 31, 1922 and is buried at Rock Springs Baptist Church Cemetery in Clay County, Alabama. (Note) Jack's Vardaman's note has Annie Lovedia married to Benjamin Franklin Luker on February 29, 1873. I need to ask Jack about that.)
Other artifacts displayed in the treasure chest are:
=A watch winding key of Edwy L. Vardaman, John's father who was born
in 1804.
=A cap box bullet from Appomattox
=A notary public seal plate of John F. Vardaman's and the
document
proclaiming him notary public, stamped March 1878, and signed by
Governor
R. K. Boyd
+The leather folder which John F. Vardaman brought back from the
war
+An ornate, polished wooden walking cane that belonged to John F.
Vardaman
and many other artifacts.
John, The part about Mieldah's letter would be great to go in the Israel Thomas and Mieldah Vardaman Kilpatrick Genealogy! Think? Wanda Lou
Analysis of Document 102 by James B. Gwin
This is a batch of photographs of Mrs. Ada Vardaman and her children. Tin type and another very old paper photo was taken when she was a girl in Coosa County, Ala. Others were taken of her when she was a young lady and after she married, old gfe, etc.
Ada was the daughter of John Forsythe Vardaman and Julia Flynn Vardaman, and she was born and raised in Coosa County, Ala. Buried in Smyrna Churchyard, Coosa County, Alabama.
Ada Vardaman Ada & Maggie 1944 Mrs. James Bassett Gwin, Jr.
Adrian ("Ada") Vardaman Gwin, daughter of John F. Vardaman and Julia Ann Flynn Vardaman. Their other children were Marshall Everett, John William Anderson, and Maggie Mae Vardaman who married Thomas Jefferson Webb. Of Kellyton, and Ada Bell (Adrian) who married James Bassett Gwin, formerly of Shelby County, Alabama. Their son James Bassett Gwin, Jr., was the benefactor for the Vardaman collection of historical artifacts at the Old Rock Jail Museum in Rockford, Alabama.
I will stop here. But these pictures just grabbed me in a strange and wonderful way. I felt as though these ancestors were with me!
I will send more - if you like - if you don't, I will send anyway! HO Hum!
Wanda Lou
Look who's talkin'
Leo's are showoffs - God loves me, too!