Hansons, McLeans, Roberts in Fayette

It is always a pleasure to receive your letters and I apologize for being remiss at answering some of them.

Those who give e-mail addresses I try to answer promptly. Those who do not have computers have to wait a little longer as the only way I can answer you is in this column or in a personal letter. Since your topics pertain to genealogy, I would rather answer you here, as my answer may contain a valuable piece of information someone else can use.

I'd like to thank Johnnye Moore Clements for sending me McWhorter information she had come across in her research, and Grady Stone for sending me a map of the location of Boyd's Mountain in Cleburne County. Your letters are always so interesting and helpful.

I also received a letter from Bobby Jackson, who sent an article on the McGraw family of Coweta County and "the year there was no summer," (referencing the part of Mr. Hamrick's article about the frost of 1849). However, the article came from another newspaper and we can't run it unless we know which paper it came from. Proper credit must be given. Mr. Jackson did not give his phone number and the envelope his letter came in somehow got misplaced. I would appreciate it if he would call the office at 770-719-1880 and let me know how I can contact him. The alternative is to paraphrase the article, which I would rather not do as it loses its original charm.

I also heard recently from Linda Blum-Barton who coordinates the Fayette County Genweb page. Linda had mentioned her Fayette County roots to me when she first contacted me and asked to link our paper to her Web site. Since we have been talking about families in counties other than Fayette, I thought I would use her letter this week to "bring us home," so to speak. Linda writes:

"Dear Judy, "I have read with interest your articles on genealogy and have corresponded with you before about my interest in the articles on the Hanson family. I have been trying to find the parents of my gggreat grandmother, Hanie Hanson. She married Samson W. Roberts in Walton County, Ga. in 1832. They moved to Fayette County at some time after that and had six children, William H. Roberts, Mary A. Roberts, Sarah T. Roberts, Lewis H. G. Roberts, Griffin A. Roberts and James S. Roberts, before Samson Roberts died in Fayette County before 1850. I am descended from their daughter, Mary A. Roberts and Oliver Perry McLean.

"Hanie Hanson Roberts married Hugh Porter in Fayette County in 1853 and they had three children together. She and Hugh Porter are buried at Antioch Church Cemetery. She remarried after Hugh Porter's death to Edmond Seagraves who, I believe, had died by 1870. I would love to hear from anyone who is descended from either of Hanie Hanson's marriages.

"I have recently found that her first husband, Samson W. Roberts, is buried on private property off of Old Greenville Road in southern Fayette County. On a recent hot, humid day I coaxed an uncle into climbing through overgrown woods to show me where the grave was that everyone kept telling me about but nobody knew whose grave it was. My uncle remembered my grandfather saying there were also slaves buried around the grave.

"There are other stones in the area that could be markers for graves. Samson W. Roberts' grave is marked with three stones, the headstone being hand carved and still partially readable. I did not take anything with me but a camera and am hoping that the photographs will enable me to read all of the information on the headstone. I could read enough in the woods to make out his name but not everything. I have found in the past that photographs I have taken of headstones that I was not able to read in person are clearer and I have been able to make out what is there ... sometimes with the use of a scanner and magnification.

"While on the subject of discovering lost burial sites, I would recommend to anyone thinking about doing this not to pick August to look for them in Fayette County. I guess I have been in the mountains too long but I was determined to find these places while I was there because I never know how long it will be before I have a chance to come back. I was able to find a dear man in Woolsey willing to show me where the Whitaker Cemetery is. I had been there once before with my uncle and we had not located it but on this trip, I struck gold once again.

"It was wonderful to find it but sad to see the shape the low stone wall built around the two or three graves that are there were in. Also the headstone for Simon T. Whitaker and his wife, Mary Elizabeth Irwin, daughter of former Governor of Georgia Jared Irwin, is in deplorable condition. It is still very readable and once again I took plenty of pictures. Their headstone is two-sided with a lot of important information on both sides but is broken into numerous pieces and has been put together on the ground with most pieces still there.

"My third quest was to visit Whitewater Baptist Church Cemetery ... this was an easy one, of course, because it is located at an active church and is very well maintained. I have several ancestors buried here and have only recently discovered that fact.

"Now, my fourth wish for this trip was to find the old Whitewater Cemetery. I followed the directions I had and turned on Morgan's Mill Road but, much to my daughter's relief, I had not brought my map showing land lot numbers on it so I did not attempt to find it. If anyone out there has a better description of how to find it than the line between land lot numbers 100 & 101 ... I would love to hear from you. For instance, is it close to Morgan's Mill Road or deep in the woods? Or is it in a pasture full of cattle with a high-spirited bull? These are things I don't think of until I am on my way but could prove to be important knowledge to have beforehand.

"In closing, if anyone out there has any information about old White Plains Cemetery off of Old Hwy. 92, I would like to hear from you. I visited it a couple of years ago with my sister. It is also in deplorable condition with extensive vandalism having taken its toll on most of the headstones. Someone told me they thought it was being relocated. Is this true? "I look forward to more of your columns.

"Linda Blum-Barton, Boone, N.C., lab@boone.net."

Thanks, Linda. I have been thinking about doing an article on cemeteries, which are fascinating places to genealogists. If you can connect to Linda's family, please drop her an e-mail or write me at the paper.

We want to hear stories about your ancestors and genealogy adventures, too. Send them to The Citizen, Drawer 1719, Fayetteville, GA 30214; e-mail jkilgore@thecitizennews.com or jodiek444@aol.com.

Until next week, happy hunting!