• Farley Brookshire was born in 1795 in Randolph County, North Carolina.
• John Mackie was born in 1804.

Deaths

• William Miles Boggs died in 1862 while serving in the Civil War.
• William Marion West died in 1959 in Chatsworth, Georgia.

Marriages

• Jane Bane and Jonas Chamberlain were married in 1734.
• Joseph Garrett and Sarah Stroud were married in 1810 in Burke County, North Carolina (my 4th great-grandparents).

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• Magdalene Cunningham was born in 1764 in Rowan County, North Carolina.

Deaths

• Margaret Garrett died in 1881 in Fannin County, Georgia.
• Ora (Shields) Kendrick died in 1947.
• Edna Josephine Butler died in 2000 in Dalton, Georgia.

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• John Garrett died in 1757 in New Castle County, Delaware (currently believed to be my 6th great-grandfather).
• Jesse Langston died in 1888 in Texas.

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• William Garrett was born in 1643 in Leicestershire, England (currently believed to be my 7th great-grandfather).
• Richard Searcy was born in 1738 in Granville County, North Carolina.

Deaths

• Samuel D. P. Hemphill died in 1864.
• Millie Elmina (Searcy) Miller died in 1893 in Ellijay, Georgia.

Marriages

• James Brookshire and Elizabeth Tilley were married in 1827 in Wilkes County, North Carolina (my 4th great-grandparents).
• John Childers and Mary Polly Ellis were married in 1850 in Murray County, Georgia.
• Clarissa Jane Lytle and William A. Morris were married in 1862 in McDowell County, North Carolina.

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1892 – Rachel Louisa was born on August 9, the 7th (and next-to-last) child of Reuben Johnson and Martha Garrett.  She was probably born in Fannin County, Georgia; her parents appeared on the census there beginning in 1880.

1909 – On June 27, she married my great-grandfather, Newton Coleman Ward, in Fannin County.

1910 – Almost exactly one year later, Rachel gave birth to her first child, Nellie, who was 1 month old in the 1910 census enumeration.  The family lived in Fannin County.

1911 – Rachel lost her father on April 15th.

1912 – Rachel’s second daughter, Ruby, was born on February 26.

1914 – Rachel and Newt had their only son, Worth, who was born in June 3.

1917 - A third daughter, Ellerie, was born.

1918 – Rachel gave birth to her fifth child, Bondell, on November 27.

abt 1922 – Rachel and Newt had another daughter, Thelma.

abt 1923 – Their next-to-last child, Pearl was born.

______ – Rachel gave birth to her last child, my grandmother.

1929 – Rachel’s mother, Martha Garrett, died on October 26.

1939 - Tragedy struck when her son, Worth, was stabbed and killed by a jealous husband (who also happened to be his uncle – I don’t know if this was Rachel’s brother or Newt’s brother).

Shortly after Worth’s death, the family moved to Murray County, Georgia, where Rachel lived the rest of her life.

1974 – Rachel became a widow when Newt died on August 1.

1980 – She died on February 16 in Chatsworth, Georgia and was buried on February 18 at Stock Hill Cemetery in Fannin County, where her husband, son, and parents are also buried.

Rachel  – or Memaw Ward as I always called her – is the only one of my great-grandmothers that I knew personally.  I feel like I know quite a lot about her life, but in writing this timeline, I realize that I have little that is documented and can be attached to a specific date.   When the family lived in Fannin County, she was a midwife and was often called out in all kinds of weather to deliver babies.  After moving to Murray County, she cooked lunch every day at the Cohutta Talc Mill where Newt worked, and according to my grandmother, “everyone from town came to eat because her cooking was so good.”  At some point, she was also a pencil packer at the talc mill; that is the occupation reported on her death certificate.  She also made quilts and sold them for extra money.  That is the memory I associate most strongly with her.  When we visited, she was always working at her sewing machine or quilting machine and there were many, many quilts in various stages of completion all around the house.

Next steps for research include:

• Order a copy of her SS-5.
• I vaguely remember articles about her quilting being published in newspapers and possibly a regional magazine.  I need to ask my mother about this and try to locate copies.
• Take pictures of the quilts she made.  I have pictures of the one that I have, but my mother has some also.  Most importantly, I need to go to my grandmother’s house and take pictures of the quilts that are still there.
• Lastly, I need to take a photo of her quilting machine, which she left to me when she died, but which is still at my mother’s house.

To see other articles in the Women’s Timeline Series, click here.

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• William Bane was born in 1717.
• John Taylor Butler was born in 1918 in Ramhurst, Georgia.

Deaths

• William Garrett died in 1798.
• Nancy Patterson died in 1919 in Hall County, Georgia.
• Frances Malissa (Hannan) Scott died in 1948.

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• Betty Ann Ellis was born in 1890 in Gilmer County, Georgia.
• Ottis Headrick was born in 1897.

Deaths

• Horatio Gates Garrett died in 1832 in Steubenville, Ohio.
• James Garrett died in 1951 in Cobb County, Georgia.

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• John Garrett was born in 1818.
• Mattie Lytle (Butler) Sampler was born in 1879.
• Myrtle R. Patterson was born in 1897.

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• Joshua Burgin was born in 1746.
• Joseph Garrett was born in 1822.

Deaths

• Thomas “Boot Tom” Hemphill died in 1864.

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• Leaty Caroline (Lankford) West was born in 1848 (my great-great-grandmother).

Deaths

• Sarah (Whitener) Sietz died in 1871.
• Dovey (Garrett) Mooney died in 1922.

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