Civil War Articles by Julian WilliamsFour Family Reunions Reveal Rich And Interesting Histories
This article was compiled by Julian Williams.
I never thought about family reunions being fun. They are. Recently I have been invited to four family reunions - the Boneys, the Tanners, the Swains, and the Willcoxes. These people care for their families and their ancestors.
Several weeks ago, I attended the Boney Reunion at China Hill, a few miles west of Jacksonville, Georgia. Arriving at Bethel Church, I saw a lot of Boneys gathered. Guy Durward Bland led me through the food line and the nice ladies offered me pork or "kid;" I ate the goat. Like the other family reunions I attended, the Boneys were having fun and tending to business. They also had a commemorative service for Cullen Cravey, one of their kin who was wounded in the Civil War. He is buried in the Boney family cemetery. We will tell that story when we get to it in the Civil War. Out in the cemetery at Bethel, is another interesting person of their line - George F. Boney, Sr. He was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Alaska. We will also tell that story later. I even got to drink some of that good water from the Boney flowing well down near the river. I got to wishing I would get other invitations to family reunions. I did.
Next, Mr. Ralph Tanner asked me to attend their family reunion. It was being held at the old Stokesville Baptist Church social hall. The old social hall is interesting to me because part of it used to be where they made Tanners Eye Water. As a boy in my father's general store in Jacksonville, Georgia, I sold a lot of Tanners Eye Water. It was the favorite among the people of the area. The Tanner folks also had fun and took care of business. Materials containing family folks and events told you that they cared about their family's history. Mr. Ralph and some of the others showed me how the old cabin, which is now the kitchen, was put together with pegs. I hope they take a lot of pictures of the old place.
You might be surprised to know that many of our landmarks are not documented on film. I also enjoyed showing them my presentation on the "Lighterd Knot" days of Telfair and other counties when the settlers had all the trouble with the Dodge Company. Those were rough times but we will tell of that later. I appreciate the invitation from Mr. Ralph and his folks to attend their gathering. Joanne and I really enjoyed the day and learned a lot. I certainly won't attempt to say anything else about the family history because Lillian H. Williams is doing a superb job on that. I think we all appreciate her and her work.
Next, I was invited by my friend, Bob Swain, to attend the Swain Reunion at the Little Ocmulgee State Park near McRae. I had not met Bob but had swapped letters with him concerning the early happenings around the area. I found him to be as interesting to talk with and because of this forgot to eat lunch. I was so excited about taking down all he was telling me. Thomas Swain, one of his ancestors, had a ferry near Jacksonville, Georgia, and helped General John Coffee build the Coffee Road from Jacksonville, Georgia, to Tallahassee, Florida. Thomas's daughter, Elizabeth, married John Coffee Willcox, son of General Mark Willcox, and grandson of General John Coffee. They are buried atop Dopson Hill about a mile from Jacksonville. Bob has done a great job in recording the history of not only his folks, but many others. He did one book on listing and giving information on the Civil War soldiers of the area. That work has been most helpful.
About the time I was getting good at accepting invitations to family reunions, I got one from the Willcoxes. Theirs was also at the Little Ocmulgee State Park. The park is well kept, the setting is beautiful, the family shelters are clean and inviting, and all in all, it is just a nice place to have a family reunion.
Now, the Willcoxes are also a special bunch of folks. Today, we will begin to focus on these talented people who came to this country many years ago. They trace their ancestry way back to Ivy Mills, Pennsylvania, where Thomas Willcox was a friend of Benjamin Franklin and made paper and other things for him. Their signatures are on some of the same documents as witnesses to some of the business of the day. I understand the old ancestral home is still there and some relatives are still there. Some of the Willcoxes still visit the old place.
Willcox and Wilcox. They are the same folks. One group just decided to drop one of the "l's" - I don't which "l' was dropped - the first or the second. I sometimes kid my Aunt Gertrude Wilcox Williams about that. They even dropped it (one of them) when they named Wilcox County for Mark or John or both (historians seem to be a little uncertain on that one).
Being interested in history, I was visiting, along with some of the Willcox/Wilcox family, the old cemetery between Jacksonville and Rhine where lie the remains of General Mark Willcox and others. Now, he was one more interesting fellow, along with his father-in-law, General John Coffee, for whom Coffee County is named.
Knowing of General Mark's civic and military contributions to his county and state, I was surprised, when I got my copy of the latest Telfair History Book, that it did not have in it a picture of him on its pages. It had his father, John, and his brother, John. So I figured there just wasn't one.
Back to the old cemetery. Clint Rogers, son of my first cousin, Diane Williams Rogers, asked me if I had a picture of General Mark Willcox. Clint will be president of the Willcoxes for the coming year. They attend to business, believe me. I replied that I didn't know a photograph existed. He said there was one. Naturally, I became excited over the prospects of seeing an image of someone I thought was lost in 200 years of way back then. That's about when I got an invitation to The Reunion. And that's about the same time I decided I was going to The Reunion unless some dire circumstances circumvented my good intentions.
Arriving at the reunion, I met some friendly folks from Maryland and other places. They were having a big time and enjoying themselves. Many reunions are not like that. People do not mix and mingle much. These people mix and mingle a whole bunch.
Then my eyes came into contact with "The Books." The Books are those scrapbooks, histories, novels, and other reading items where the Willcoxes have recorded their family history. Talk about interesting - yes!
Of course, I could not wait to seek out the image of General Mark Willcox, that Indian fighter who left a trail a mile wide, but no image - no picture. And, now there was one. One of the Willcoxes, looking through some old stuff, had found the picture and it was even labeled "Mark Lea Willcox." I think that was a very fortunate event for our history.
As I gazed at the photograph, I could see the excitement, the resolution, the determination, the will and the expectancy of a man who had led his fellows through thick and thin. The Willcoxes have a rich and interesting history. We will continue with it next week.
Credits:
Telfair History 1807-1987;
Telfair Soldiers In The Civil War by Robert H. (Bob) Swain;
Boney, Tanner, Swain, and Willcox info from various family members;
various other sources.
