The Echols family of Coweta and Heard counties

A few weeks ago, I mentioned Anderson's "History of Coweta County, 1825-1880" and noted that there was no index for the book.

Well, guess what? Last week I was browsing through Scott's Bookstore in Newnan and found that the Coweta Historical Society has done one. You may purchase it there for $10. I'm sure the historical society is offering it too. Needless to say, I didn't waste any time picking up my copy.

With that said, I'd like to get on to the topic of this week's column, the Echols family. This is actually a continuation of the children of Richard Wood and Tabitha Glass Wood which I started some weeks ago. I will do this in two or three parts, since there is a lot of information and I don't want to leave anything out. Much of the information was obtained from "The History of Heard County," published by the Heard County Historical Society. Other items were taken from census records, cemetery records, and various online sources.

Why am I dwelling on this family? Well, as I have said before, sometimes it's fun to develop a family which is not directly related to your own, but which may have connections. In this case, my connection comes through the Blakes. Richard and Tabitha Wood's grandson married Nancy Blake, my great-grandfather's sister.

When I was researching my own family connections, I found this family so utterly fascinating that I just couldn't stop. Sort of like eating potato chips ... you can't eat just one.

When I first came across my relationship to this family, I asked my aunt (who has since passed on) if she remembered her great-aunt Nancy Blake Wood, who married Winston Wood's son, William Thomas Wood. I showed her the photo from the Blake book, which shows Nancy about 40-ish, with her niece Ettie Blake. My aunt thought a bit, then answered, "Oh yes. I remember. I think she was sort of snooty." I laughed. Given the status of her family, perhaps she had reason to be. I looked at the picture and saw a rather stern, thin, unsmiling woman who looked as if she certainly could have been a no-nonsense kind of person.

Other inquiries of the family from those still living in the Cleburne-Randolph County area of Alabama described Nancy's family as "well-to-do" and one said "I think they had a lot of money."

Nancy, the daughter of Delaney Young and Thomas Blake, the first representative from Randolph County, Ala. to the state legislature, certainly married into a good family.

Richard and Tabitha Glass Wood had only four children ... a small number in those days when 12 to 16 children per family was not an unusual number. And, of the four, three sons and one daughter, all three sons (William, Willis and Winston) distinguished themselves with outstanding lives of public service in some form or other. They were law enforcement officers, military officers, state senators, state representatives, and generally outstanding citizens in their communities.

Richard and Tabitha's daughter, Elizabeth Wood, didn't let the grass grow under her feet either. She married Samuel Dorrell Echols who went right along with his brothers-in-law in the field of public service.

I have learned so much about this family and found so many helpful resources, both on and off the Internet. My favorite Internet resource is the story of the Echols family as told by Milner Echols in 1850. You can find it on the Echols Genforum message boards.

The best offline resource (besides census and cemetery records) is information written by Ruth Wilson in "The History of Heard County, Georgia."

Samuel Dorrell Echols was born in Wilkes Co., Ga. on 27 April 1782 and died 14 June 1869 in Heard County, Ga. He is said to be buried on property now owned by the Wanesley Power Plant, along with his wife, Elizabeth Wood Echols, b. 17 May 1793 in Greene Co., Ga., d. 9 April 1867 in Heard Co., Ga.

Samuel's parents were Milner Echols and Susannah Samson, both born in Virginia. Milner's parents were James Echols and Elizabeth Milner. When she married James, Elizabeth Milner was the widow of a Palmer.

James and Elizabeth, along with their children, Milner Echols, Robert E. Echols, Absolom Echols, Leah Echols, Mary Echols, and Elizabeth Echols, were said to have come to Wilkes Co., Ga. in 1785. Another child, Obadiah, was born after their arrival.

Milner Echols, son of James and Elizabeth Echols, married Susannah Samson and had the following children: Samuel Dorrell Echols, James Echols (died in infancy), Richard Echols (died in infancy), Robert Milner Echols, Thomas J. Echols, William Sampson Echols, Obedia Echols, Leah Echols (died in infancy), Patsy Echols, and Nancy Echols.

Samuel Dorrell Echols, son of Milner and Susannah Echols, married Elizabeth Wood in 1808 in Clarke County, Ga. and moved to Newton Co., where all their children are said to have been born. These children included Wood Echols (abt. 1809), Alfred M. Echols (1810), Mahala Echols (abt. 1812), Mary A. Echols (abt. 1816), Susannah Echols (1818), Richard Echols, Winston Milner Echols (abt. 1821), and Elizabeth Ann Echols (abt 1826).

Samuel's family traveled through Coweta County into Heard County and were settled there by 1850. Along the way, Samuel served as a state senator and started a church in Coweta that today is known as the Newnan First Baptist Church. But more about that next week.

If you have an interesting story about your early southside Atlanta family, I'd love to hear it. Send stories 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.)

Back to the Citizen Home Page