Union County, Georgia                                                                      The GAGenWeb Project

In these brief biographical sketches of those individuals of yesterday who made Union County memories, author Martha Clement has combined her love of the area with meticulous historical research. In some cases, she has not been able to obtain full names, dates, or locations, especially when they involve places outside of Union County. If you have any genealogical information about these prominent people, please contact me and we will work it into the article.

We'd also like to encourage all of our visitors to contribute biographies of their ancestors--we'll gladly edit all submissions, so you don't have to worry about grammar and spelling. All articles should be no more than 600 words in length, and only deceased individuals should be profiled.

Did you ever stop to think of the magnitude of birthing a baby in the rural back road areas of our beloved Blue Ridge Mountains? Especially when doctors were few and far between and hospitals were unheard of until the latter part of the 20th century? For many babies, their entrance into the world was aided by old fashioned midwives. One such memorable midwife was Union County’s Amanda (Mandy) “Granny” Foster.

Granny, as she was called, was still helping to birth babies as late as 1940, when she was 83 years old. In the forty to fifty years that she was a midwife, she speculated that she had delivered nearly 500 babies. During all that time, she had not once lost a mother or a baby and she attended the birthings without the help of a medical doctor, with the exception of one time. The most children she ever had to deliver in one family were eleven babies in the John Dockery family.

Because she was not licensed to practice medicine, her only tools to aid in comforting the laboring mother-to-be was genuine “mountain medicine” such as “mebbe some black pepper tea, or ginger tea, or sometimes weed tea” as she was quoted as saying. Granny delivered babies from all over Union and Fannin counties, being called out in all hours of the day and in all kinds of weather. Long before the first automobile came to Union County, many of the fathers-to-be would come to fetch her on mule or horseback. In the year 1943, during a big snow and freeze, 78 year old Granny rode a horse one last time to attend a birthing.

Granny married JOHN FOSTER in 1888; she was 23, he was 22. They went on to have eight children of their own. One of the hardest tasks that Granny had to do as a midwife was to birth her own baby, without the help of anyone. Granny and John, married for 61 years, lived in a four room cottage on Upper Dooly Creek Road in the Dooly district. John died November 3, 1949. Granny died on September 24, 1953, at the age of 87.

What a legacy that Granny left behind! She presided over the births of a considerable portion of Union County’s population through the years. It is probably safe to say that she even brought into the world the children and grandchildren of the first babies that she helped birth. It is fitting that Granny Foster is the first of our Union County mountain folks to be profiled in “Biography Corner.”

Sources: “The Atlanta Journal” article, January 9, 1949
Union County website graves database
U. S. census, Union County, GA, 1870 through 1930

Grady Henry Hood was born August 27, 1895 in Union Co., GA to Benjamin Franklin Hood and Mary A. “Mollie” Fields. He passed away December 15, 1929 in Union Co., GA and is buried in the Duncan Cemetery.

Grady grew up around Hoods Chapel in Estatoe, Union Co., GA with 4 other brothers and 5 sisters. They went to school at Pleasant Grove, which was up on the hill behind Hoods Chapel. It was a one-room schoolhouse with 2 teachers, grouped in sections by grade. One teacher was more or less the principal who was the disciplinarian and the other was a regular teacher.

Grady Henry Hood was a carpenter and a farmer. He was frequently asked to make the caskets in town out of wood when someone passed away. Grady was married to Jane Mae Reece on Feb. 6, 1916. In the early years, they took over the old Pouper’s Home for the elderly and ran the place. Jane cooked the meals and took care of the housecleaning. They got a small farm near to Pouper’s and Grady took care of 1/3 of the Roger’s big farm along with it and gave them 1/3 of what they grew on the land. There was an old broken down log home that they tore down and built a house further up on a hill. Th! ey built a barn next to where the old log home was. They used a wagon and a mule to haul the crops.

Abt. 1939, they moved 2 miles east to a 160-acre farm in the Coosa District. The Pouper’s home just got too much for them to run. Grady took contracts building the Three C’s Tops (Army Barracks) to buy the 160 acre farm for $1900. They farmed 24 acres of the 160. There was a log house covered in planks of wood over the logs and it had a tin roof. The Coosa Creek came through their land. After a few years, Grady (without telling Jane) sold the 160 acres and they moved to some land with a rock house, 2 miles west again from the other. Jane was very upset about it but went along. They lived in the rock house for a while until Grady and the family built a new one next to it, then used the rock house for storage.

Thomas Kimsey Jackson was born December 17, 1867 Choestoe, Union County, Georgia, son of William Marion and Rebecca Jane Goforth Jackson. He married first, December 13, 1885, Mary Jane Collins, born November 26, 1869 and died January 17, 1887. They had one child born January 15, 1887 and died January 19, 1922. Thomas Kimsey Jackson married second, January 13, 1889, Mary Caroline Collins born April 9, 1872 and died July 3, 1952. They were the parents of fifteen children. Five children died young. He died February 2, 1951. She died July 3, 1952. 

Thomas Kimsey Jackson was a man with many talents. He no doubt was most noted for his school teaching which he followed for seventeen years at Old Baptist Church in Choestoe. Some of his students became of note, Ministers, Doctors, Dentists, Lawyers, Teachers, Business Men, and others. The Atlanta Constitution had an article in the 1930's about the number of College Graduates in Choestoe. Many were former students of Thomas Kimsey Jackson. Jane Hancock in her "Choestoe" published 1984 says Tom Jackson became a fine school master. 

He also was a merchant, operating a general merchandise store which was located adjacent his home which was at the top of the hill above Town Creek. He was also a carpenter and constructed well planned homes over Lower Choestoe, some of which are standing today. He along with other men read the Law Books of Col. Virgal Waldrop which prepared them to be able to write deeds, settle estates, etc. Thomas Kimsey Jackson was a very religious man. He attended Church and took a big hand in the Church Services. He was always present at Association Meetings. 

After some seventeen years teaching school at Old Liberty he sold his home and moved to Young Harris so his children could attend schools of higher education. Here he became involved in politics and was elected Towns County Representative to the Georgia Legislature. 

In later years he sold his property in Young Harris and removed to Danielsville, Georgia where he died February 21, 1951 and is buried at Old Union Baptist Church in Young Harris, Georgia.

William R. Logan was the second child of Drury Logan, born 1800, and Mary "Polly" Addington Logan, born December 23, 1808. William R. was born in Tennessee about 1831. He died April 21, 1876, age 43, in the Georgia State Sanitarium in Milledgeville, Georgia.

The Drury Logan family lived in Tennessee for only a short time, about 1831 until about 1833. William's exact Tennessee birthplace is unknown, but the most likely counties are those closest to point where North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee come together. The family moved back to Macon County, North Carolina for about three years, then moved to Union County, Georgia about 1836. The Drury Logan family first appears in a Union County census in 1840. The somewhat wealthy Drury Logan settled in Union County on the south side of the Nottely River on land lot fifty in the Owltown District where they had nine other children. They built a two-story log cabin which still stands today. It is presently occupied by their great-great-granddaughter, Fran Kirkland, and her husband, Keith.

The 1840 Census lists the Drury Logan family as having five females and three males.

The 1850 Census lists William Logan as eighteen years old.

William R. is nowhere to be found in the 1860 Union County Census. By this time he has married and has evidently moved elsewhere. He was married twice. His first wife was Mary F. Reid, born about 1834. They were married January, 15, 1852 in Union County. They had three children. Mary died in 1859; family tradition holds that she died in childbirth with her third child, John Drury Logan, born March 22, 1859. William R.'s second wife was Martha Jane Hughes Addington, born 1832. This was her second marriage. Her first husband was Joab Addington. William and Martha were married in Union County on November 18, 1860 and had three children.

These are the children:

To Mary Reid Logan, 1. Joseph Reid Logan, born Nov 10, 1853; married Mrs. Julia K. Butler 2. Nancy Delilah Logan, born March 11, 1855; married Marcus Lafayette "Bud" Fortenberry 3. John Drury Logan, born March 22, 1859; married Margarette Evaline Martin To Martha Jane Hughes Addington Logan 4. Mary Jane "Molly" Logan, born 1863; married Andy Ledford 5. William H. "Will" Logan, born March 1868; married Ada Botts, then Georgia Weaver 6. Walter Logan, died young, never married, was killed by lightening

Though both of William R's marriages, 1852 and 1860, were in Union County, Georgia; it is not at all certain that he lived in Union County during all those years. He is not found in the 1860 Census, and could have been living elsewhere. Strong evidence indicates that he lived in Cleveland, Bradley County, Tennessee from before1862 until at least 1865.

The Civil War Years

Records show that Captain William R. Logan, of Tennessee, was the commander of Company "G", in Col Isaac Avery's 4th Regiment Georgia Volunteer Cavalry, Confederate Army. He joined in 1862, but the exact date is unknown. This regiment was originally formed as the 23rd Battalion Georgia Cavalry, Georgia Dragoons on 20 September 1862 with three companies. Three more companies were added on 4 October 1862 and a fourth on 1 November 1862. The battalion was increased to regimental strength on 5 January 1863, and became the 4th (Avery's) Regiment Georgia Volunteer Cavalry. Later 10 of 11 companies from the 4th Regiment Georgia Cavalry were formed into the 12th (Avery's) Regiment Georgia Volunteer Cavalry by S.O.#8 A&IGO (ll January 1865).

The 4th Georgia Cavalry saw action in the Middle Tennessee campaigns, and was at Chickamauga, Chattanooga and Knoxville. Cpt Logan lost his right leg in a skirmish six miles below Resaca near Col. Johnsons base and reserves on May 14, 1864. Quoting from Col Avery's book on the History of Georgia, "The Oostanaula runs by Calhoun down to within a mile of Calhoun, when it turns and goes in the direction of Rome. At Tanner's Ferry, 2 1/2 miles, a near point of the bend to Calhoun, Col. I. W. Avary of the 4th Georgia Cavalry was stationed with a brigade of cavalry and a battery of artillary defending 2 miles of river. On the afternoon of 14 May 1864, Sherman made a general attack on Johnston's army at Resaca, and simultaneously threw a heavy force at Tanner's Ferry to drive a crossing. The crossing was forced after several hours of fighting, in which 1/2 the brigade was destroyed." William R.'s leg was amputated above the knee on May 15, 1864. W. L. Stanton, the soldier who saved CPT Logan's life on the battlefield on that terrible day, wrote a letter in 1895 to William R.'s son, William H. Logan. In that beautifully written letter Mr. Stanton detailed the tragic events of the day his CPT Logan was wounded. The following information was provided to the Reece family by Mrs. Vestie (Logan) Ledford, whose mother, Mollie (Mary), kept her father's leg. Mollie was William R. Logan's daughter. They knew the enemy was near. He asked the men in his company to go down to the river to meet the enemy with him. Although he knew it would be certain death. He told them he would not ask them to go where he himself would not go. Ten men volunteered to go with him. They hid their horses and crawled. But, found they were closer then they expected to the enemy. The enemy fired and William Logan was hit with a "Minnie Ball" (small cannon) in the thigh or just above the knee. They had to amputate.

Post Civil War Years

After his discharge from the service CPT Logan went back to his family, probably still in Cleveland, Tennessee. He requested, in November of 1864, that an artificial limb be furnished by the Federal Government. The stump of the amputated leg did not heal properly and gave William much stress and pain for the rest of his life.

In a book of Georgia State Papers (of the Civil War), it is recorded, "William R. Logan of Union County, age 33, dark hair, dark complexion, dark eyes, 5 ft. 11 in. tall, right leg amputated above the knee." It is dated 2 Nov 1866. This probably means that he is in Union County, Georgia by that date.

By 1870 William R. and his family are back in Blairsville, Union County, Georgia. The census lists:

5 LOGAN WILLIAM R. 37 M FARMER 300/200 GA MARTHA 39 F KEEPING HOUSE GA JOSEPH R 17 M FARM LABORER SCHOOL GA NANCY 14 F SCHOOL GA JOHN 10 M FARM LABORER GA MARY 7 F GA WILLIAM 1 M GA

In the same census, John D. age 10 and his sister Nancy are listed as part of the Drury Logan household. Family tradition holds that John D. and Nancy Logan were raised (at least partly) by their grandparents. This could be because of family problems stemming from the stepmother; or it could be because of CPT William R. Logan's failing health and his inability to care for the children.

Family lore tells that following his amputation, William got a colored woman to take his leg and bury it. Of course the flesh rotted off. When the war ended, he got the same woman to take his leg up, wash it and he carried it home with him. When his mother died they buried his leg bone with her in Shady Grove Cemetery in Union County.

For a year after his amputation, his leg would not heal. He got a wooden leg but could not wear it. Finally, it is said, some man told him of something that would, and did, heal his leg. He suffered so much pain that he tried to get it to drain again but could not. His suffering was so great that he finally lost his mind.

From about 1868 until late December of 1875 William R. was working as an ordinary of the court in Union County. He could read and write well and had a good command of the English language.

In the years following the war, until his death in April 1876, CPT William R.'s mental and physical health steadily deteriorated. By about June 1875 it became evident that his mind was affected by the loss of his leg and the trauma of the war. His mental illness was first manifested by incoherent talk and reckless conduct, particularly in making fires. His most prominent delusions were that his best friends were his enemies and were constantly plotting his serious injury. He was admitted to the Georgia State Sanitarium on December 18, 1875. There his general health usually seemed good but he occasionally complained of pain in his chest. He became quite feeble. He began to eat and sleep very irregularly. He died in the hospital, on April 21, 1876. There is no record of his having been buried there, but no burial site is found in Union County. Patients who died at the hospital were usually buried there; and most of the early patients were buried in unmarked graves. Information passed down through the Reece family, from Mrs. Vestie (Logan) Ledford, asserts that he is buried in the Milledgeville State Cemetery. According to one modern-day doctor who read the doctor's report the deterioration of William R.'s mental and physical condition probably resulted from both post-traumatic stress and a biological reaction to pain and stress.

Large charcoal renderings of William R. Logan and Martha Jane Hughes Logan are in the home of David Boehmer in Hendersonville, Tennessee. In the same home is a tin-type of William R. and Martha Logan in which it can be seen that William R. has but one leg. This dates the photo to about 1864-1875.