Part I
By John Harvey
This week we're featuring the Jordan - Bellew house, one of the major attractions on the third Jasper Jubilee Tour of Homes next week, on Saturday, May 21.
This house has been on the tour each year and helps to "make" the tour - we appreciate Mr. and Mrs. Robert Bellew for inviting us again. Until recently, we did not know that the house had an official name. "Exeter", for the original Jordan home site which stood by the famous "Jordan Gate" in Wales. Much of the information about the house came from Mrs. Gladys (Jordan) Bell, a great granddaughter of the builder.
Mrs. Bell says there are so many Flemming Jordans in the family that it is easy to get confused about which one is being traced at a given time. We will try to keep them straight.
Samuel Jordan came to Virginia in the mid 1600s and established his home in the Piedmont area of that colony. He brought with him cuttings of shrubbery from his home in Wales and as each of his children grew up and established their own homes, they were given cuttings of the original plants. When "Exeter" was built much of its shrubbery was from cuttings of the Jordan family shrubbery. Mr. and Mrs. Bellew are hoping to secure cuttings and seed stock from much of this original shrubbery.
When John Flemming Jordan moved to Oglethorpe County, Georgia, after the Revolution, he brought shrubbery cuttings with him and when he moved to Jasper Count in 1820.
On April 4 1811, John Flemming Jordan married Ann Meriwether, a native of Virginia. Her father, Thomas Meriwether, was a soldier of the Revolution. He mother was a daughter of George Mathews, a soldier of the Revolution and Governor of Georgia.
On January 18 1820, John Flemming Jordan bought 300 acres in the 14th district of Jasper County (the Smithboro area) for $4,500 from William Gill. On November 5, 1820, James Griggs sold to Flemming Jordan, Land Lots 54 and 75 in the said 14th district containing 165 acres more or less for $2,080. This indicates that John Flemming and Ann (Meriwether) Jordan moved to Jasper County during the year 1820. The children of John Flemming Jordan and Ann Meriwether Jordan were: Sarah M., born in 1812, Ruben H., born 1814; Rebecca, born 1817 and Thomas Meriwether born 1826.
On May 23 1831, John Flemming Jordan made an important purchase. He bought Land Lots No. 65 and 84, and 85 and that part of 96 not already occupied by the Female Academy from Welcome Parks. Part of Lot No. 65 is the land on which the Jordan-Bellew house was built.
Drawing on information from Harvey Powell, we next find John Flemming Jordan living at the "Globe Tavern" in 1842. (This from an ad in the Macon Telegraph). His three older children had established homes of their own and Thomas Meriwether, the youngest, was spending most of his time out at the family farm. The "Globe Tavern" was located where the Post Office is today. John Flemming Jordan was staying at the "Globe" and participating in state and local politics.
Jordan - Bellew Home
Part II
The census of 1850 shows that Thomas Meriwether Jordan and his wife, Frances Caroline (Burney) Jordan, were living on the family homestead in Jasper County, with their two daughters. Caroline Burney Jordan was the daughter of Gen. John W. Burney. She had grown up in the Burney Home on Hillsboro Street, now the home of Mrs. E. G. Jordan, Sr. Caroline was a popular young belle of the town and her parents and the Jordans were long time friends. It is said that the Jordans considered her almost one of their own.
In 1853, Ann Meriwether Jordan died and was buried in the "Jordan graveyard" in the county. Also buried there are her father, Thomas, brother, George M., and daughter, Rebecca. It was probably after Ann's death that John Flemming Jordan planned and began building "Exeter" as a gift for his son, Thomas and daughter in law Caroline. Though Thomas loved the farm, Caroline wanted to move into town where the children would have more advantages.
Materials for the house were brought from Savannah and some local materials came from the family farm. Mrs. Bell remembers hearing her father tell of being allowed to make one of the trips with his grandfather to Savannah as a small boy to bring back materials for the house.
The house was finished and the family was living in it before the Civil War. The house was furnished with furniture belonging to the family, some of which had been brought from England to Virginia and from there to Georgia.
Thomas M. Jordan and Caroline Burney Jordan had nine children. They were: Elizabeth, Mary Burney, Sarah Jeanette, Thomas M., Jr., John Flemming (whom I shall refer to as John Flemming II), Annie Katherine, Fannie Rebecca, Mattie Lucie (born 1863 and first child born in the house) and Rubie.
The census of 1860 lists the names of every person living in an abode in Jasper County as of the first of June. Listed as living at "Exeter" were Thomas M. Jordan, age 33, his wife Caroline, age 31 and their six then living children, from two to eleven years old. Listed as living in the next abode was Col. Flemming Jordan, age 69, living alone, who listed his occupation as "farmer"
In Jasper County Deed Book E, page 570 is recorded a
significant deed, stating that Flemming Jordan, Sr., had
sold for $2,500 that tract of land containing 165 acres in the town of
Monticello to Thomas M. Jordan, the same being on which he now
lives". This would place the building of the house between 1853 and
1860.
Between November 18-20, 1864, three fourth of Gen. Sherman's Army passed through Jasper County in it's "March to the Sea". In the weeks that followed, a company of Union soldiers camped in the side yard of the house. Through they stole corn, pigs, chickens and other food they did not otherwise bother the family.
So long as they were fed they left the family alone. Caroline Jordan, to be on the safe side, hid her silverware in the hollowed out newell post of the back stairs and her daughters in the cellar basement. This cellar basement was about fifty feet behind the house and connected to it by an underground passage.
Food was smuggled to the girls late at night by their young brothers and the house servants. The passageway was filled in the 1880s when part of it collapsed and it was considered too dangerous.
Gladys Bell remembers when she was a child looking down into the hollow newell post on the backstairs and seeing something shiny. When it was pulled up it was a silver teaspoon that had been missed when the silverware was removed after the Union soldiers left.
John Flemming Jordan died December 12, 1864 at age 73. He left his estate to his three surviving children, each one to get one third. He was buried in the "Jordan graveyard" between wife, Ann, and daughter, Rebecca. The occupants of "Exeter" were his son Thomas M. and his wife, Caroline and their nine children.
Thomas Meriwether Jordan died intestate in July 1872. His was was appointed administrator of his estate. Caroline Burney Jordan served in that capacity until her death on April 15 1907. Upon her death, the children asked for a distribution of the estate.
County Surveyor, M. C. Hill was engaged to survey and sub-divide the property. An agreement among the children gave the house to Mrs. Annie Kate (Jordan) Gray with a lot of 2.19 acres. Mrs. Gray lived there until her death on Jan 3 1941.
After Mrs. Gray's death, the house was sold to Col. Towns and after his death it was sold to its presents owners, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Bellew who began their restoration.
We wish to thank those who contributed information through letters and other information. Mrs. Harvey (Gladys) Bell, Mrs. Evelyn Bullard Tabor, Mrs. G. B. Turner, Jr., through letters written to Mr. Bellew and to Harvey Powell through his diligent search through the records of Jasper County.
Additional Comments:
Transcribed by Suzanne Forte (suzanneforte@bellsouth.net)
April 2005, from copies of articles contained in the Monticello News. There articles were prepared by Mr.
John Harvey and published in this newspaper during the 1970's and 1980's time frame.
Some were under the title "Jasper Reflections", others
"Bicentennial Bits".
Permission has been granted by Mr. Harvey for use of these very valuable and informative articles.
Copies of articles provided by Benny Hawthorne.