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Boyds,
Sassers, McCrarys of Coweta
By JUDY FOWLER KILGORE Sometime last spring, when they announced the upcoming production of the Meriwether Heritage Book, I started on a determined search for my Boyds. I made many trips to the Meriwether County Courthouse and the Coweta Genealogy Library, seeking all the official records I could find. I made many copies of biographies. I probably spent hundreds of hours online browsing censuses and searching for more official records. The more I gathered, the more passionate I became about getting my information together accurately and trying to compose the stories in my mind. But, somewhere along the way, it turned into much more than that. There were Boyds there who didn’t belong to my family. I knew some of them belonged to the Boyds who ended up in Fayette, but who were all these others? I studied land records, probate records, censuses, calculated ages, noted the number of children and their approximate ages. When I came to the 1850 census, I noted places of birth, continuing through 1880 when all the Boyds disappeared from Meriwether. Where did they all go? They weren’t even mentioned in Regina Pinkston’s “Historical Account of Meriwether County.” Did everybody just forget about them after they all left? It was then that I decided to do an actual “study” of all the Boyds in Meriwether — not just mine, but all of them. I worked for hours, even after I had completed my own stories, matched up those I could, then rounded up the “strays,” those who didn’t seem to connect anywhere except in their places of birth — and they all came from South Carolina. One of those “strays” was Milton Boyd — not even remotely connected to my Boyds, at least as far as I could determine — but, for some reason, I became intent on putting his story together too. Oh, not for the book, the deadline had already passed. But just to settle my own curiosity. And I made a strange discovery. Two of Milton’s daughters ended up in my own back yard — buried in the Senoia City Cemetery. Imagine that! Perhaps there may be some descendants out there who can help me complete Milton’s story. Milton was born 7 April 1804, possibly in Chester District, S.C., and married Jane Douglass, “an excellent lady with whom he lived happily during a long life,” according to his biography in an old issue of the “Meriwether Vindicator.” Milton and Jane had two daughters in South Carolina, Margaret Catherine and Keziah, then struck out for Georgia, settling in Meriwether County about 1834. On Sept. 8 of that year, he purchased land in the 8th District from William Moore and settled in with his family. Three more children came along, Mary E., in 1835, John William in 1838, and Joseph David in 1841. In 1851, Milton purchased more land — much more — 352 acres in the upper 9th district (where all of the other Boyds were) from W.R. Favor. Milton’s biography speaks well of him as a farmer, “... he was a careful tiller of the soil ... had a competency and looked well after his household. His farm was a model of neatness. All his buildings were snug but not costly ...” So, there on his farm Milton stayed, through the turmoil of the Civil War, through reconstruction, and remained there until his death, long after all the other Boyds had gone to greener pastures. Milton’s children grew up and married: Margaret Catherine married William R. Edge, son of Joseph Edge and Margaret Flynt. William’s biography said he had a “well-kept plantation on the Flint River.” He and Catherine remained in Meriwether until their deaths and probably attended Mt. Carmel Methodist Church, as that is where William is buried. William and Catherine had one daughter, Emma Edge, who married W.P. Lovelace. Keziah married William W. Sasser, son of William Sasser and Elizabeth Beverly. Keziah and William moved to Coweta County and settled in Senoia. They had eight children: Charles Franklin, Milton J., Joseph Arthur, Emma Lula, Wilbur John, Hugh Boyd, Mary M. (possibly called Eunice), and James Edward Sasser. Keziah died in 1901 and William died in 1902. They are both buried in the Senoia City Cemetery. Mary E. Boyd married John Matthew McCrary, son of Robert McCrary and Nancy Coggin, and also moved to Senoia. They had three children: William Rufus, Joseph, and Alvah McCrary. William Rufus had a successful medical practice in Coweta. Mary died in 1907 and John Matthew died in 1910. They also are buried in the Senoia City Cemetery. Milton’s two boys went the other direction and headed for Griffin. John William was clerk of superior court in Meriwether for many years, then took a job as a cashier at a bank in Griffin. He married Eliza Williams. John died in 1888 and Eliza in 1899. Joseph David, a colonel during the Civil War, embarked on several business ventures including owning a cotton warehouse and commissioning business, banking, and fertilizer manufacturing, then decided to go into politics, serving eight years as alderman and four years as mayor of Griffin. Joseph married Emily Alford, the daughter of J.Q.A. Alford, a lawyer and minister. Joseph died in 1898. Milton Boyd died on 30 Sept. 1875, “... suddenly at his residence near Jones Mill ...” and is buried in the Griffin City Cemetery. Jane Douglas Boyd died 10 March 1878, and also is buried in Griffin. I am really curious as to just who Milton’s parents were and where they lived in South Carolina. If you are descended from any of these families, or have any further information, I’d love to hear from you. I welcome your letters about genealogy and info on your Atlanta metro families. Send them 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.)
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