The Wood family of Fayette and Heard counties

One of the perks that goes along with this genealogy stuff is getting to meet relatives you didn't know you had ... the ones you probably never would have met had you not gotten into this fascinating hobby. Most people go through life knowing their first and second cousins ... maybe even some thirds. But I know I never would have known a fourth or fifth ... especially if they were "removed" a generation or two.

Well, last Wednesday, I had the opportunity to meet and spend part of the day with the Rogers family of North Carolina and New York City, (my third and third-once-removed cousins) and show them the graves of our common ancestors in Heard County.

I don't know if I've ever related the story of exactly what finally pushed me over the edge into genealogy full time, but the cemetery we visited Wednesday had a lot to do with it. It was the Wood Cemetery in Franklin and the family buried there touched many lives on the south side of Atlanta and in eastern Alabama.

I usually precede this story with a statement which always causes people to look at me with a puzzled expression, since the first part of the statement seemingly has nothing to do with the second. I say, "If my husband hadn't bought me a German Shepherd for my 22nd birthday, I never would have found the grave of my great-great-aunt Nancy."

See what I mean? A typical crazy-Judy statement.

But this is the way it plays out: If my husband had not bought me a German Shepherd, I never would have become interested in showing them, joined the German Shepherd Dog Club of Atlanta, met Margaret and Ivan Allen, been invited to their farm in Heard County for a "doggie" outing, visited the old cemetery on the back of their property, and discovered the grave of Nancy Blake Wood, wife of William Thomas Wood and sister of my great-grandfather, Isaac Blake. Weird coincidence, huh? Of course, the events took place over a 30-year period. The Shepherd was purchased in 1963 and the grave wasn't found until 1993.

Starting with my Blake book which was given to me after my uncle's death in 1988, I soon became totally taken in by this Wood family and the way its members played out their lives in the southside community. I transcribed the cemetery for the Heard County GenWeb Archives page on the Internet and have met many relatives and friends because of it.

The Winston Wood I mentioned last week as being one of the first sheriffs of Fayette County, was a member of this family.

Most of my information on this family is taken from a series of stories done for "The History of Heard County, Georgia" by Mrs. Jenny Futral and Eleanor Wilson Parker, who also was the author of the Wilson book I wrote about several months ago. Hmmm. Are my Wilsons perhaps related to this Wood family too?

The stories state that the Wood family came to Georgia from Warren County, N.C., in the 1780s and settled in Greene, Hancock and Jackson counties. Richard Wood served in the Revolutionary War from Washington County, married Tabitha Glass in 1790 in Greene County, had four children, and died intestate in 1803 in Clarke County. His brother, Ethelred Wood, applied for letters of administration on his estate, but this was disputed by Richard's wife, Tabitha, who filed a protest. Ethelred resigned and Tabitha was appointed to administer the estate.

Of the children, Elizabeth Wood, b. 1793, married Samuel Echols, her distant cousin; William Wood, b. 1797, married Martha Durbin; Winston Wood, b. 1800, married Dicey Gay in Fayette County; and Willis Wood, b. 1802, married Elizabeth Cochran.

Tabitha Glass Wood and her family moved through Fayette and settled in Heard County on land she drew for her husband's war service. This land was originally in Carroll County, according to the Heard history book. We visited what we believe to be the remains of the old Wood home, across the road (and I use the term loosely) from the cemetery. The only things that even remotely lead us to believe it was a home site are two piles of dirt-covered mounds on either end of a flat, raised dirt bed, underneath which are found piles and piles of bricks. These we believe to be the remains of chimneys on either end of the house. In talking with Lynda Eller, former Heard County Historian, I learned that it was said that Dicey Wood used to sit on her front porch and look at her children and grandchildren across the road in the cemetery. This crude homesite is, indeed, in view of the cemetery.

Willis Wood and William Wood, sons of Tabitha Glass and Richard Wood, both moved into Randolph County, Alabama and are buried there with their families. Winston remained in Heard County and is buried in the Wood Cemetery, along with his mother and many other members of the Wood family. Elizabeth Wood Echols is buried on property now owned by the Wanesley Power Plant in Heard County.

Much has been written about this interesting family. I will try to give you more details on each family group in future issues. The men distinguished themselves with much public service, serving as law enforcement officers, statesmen and judges, as well as serving in military capacities.

The above mentioned book on Heard County can be found at the Heard County Historical Society Library in Franklin and in the Coweta County Genealogy Library in Grantville.

Send stories about your southside Atlanta ancestors to The Citizen, Drawer 1719, Fayetteville, GA 30214; E-mail jkilgore@thecitizennews.com or jodiek444@aol.com.

Until next week, happy hunting!

(Judy regrets that time does not permit her to do personal research for others. She will willingly share research information on her own family lines, including collateral and allied lines.)

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