Polks, Conways and the Hapeville ice plant

By Judy Fowler Kilgore

Before I launch into the Polks, I want to correct an error I made in last week’s column. I stated that Cecil Shipley questioned the parents of “Owen Glenn Arnold.” Cecil did no such thing. He questioned the parents of “William Glenn Arnold,” said by other Arnold researchers to be Owen Arnold and Louvisa Pollard. The name “Owen Glenn Arnold” came from somewhere inside my frazzled brain — not from Cecil or anybody else. I do apologize for the error. We are still awaiting a response on this questionable link.

Now, for the Polks. This is the family of my brother-in-law, Bobby Polk, who lives in Hollonville, Pike Co., and we still have a lot of research to do. Queries on Genforum, Rootsweb and other Internet resources have gone without response, although this family does appear to be included on Rootsweb’s WorldConnect Project. However, without sources or references and with few dates and locations in this file, it is questionable at best. We are only using it as a starting point, verifying for ourselves as we go.

Bobby is the son of Robert Eugene Polk Sr. and Lois Bohannon, and the grandson of Robert Henry Polk and Roberta Conway. Roberta was Robert Henry’s second wife, we learned recently, and that was one of the problems we encountered when we were trying to gather the facts. Roberta refused to discuss her husband with her children or grandchildren, so he remains sort of shrouded in mystery.

Roberta Conway Polk was the daughter of Eugene and Elizabeth Conway, who hailed from Mississippi and moved to Lakeland, Polk Co., Fla., sometime after 1880.

Robert Henry Polk was born in Virginia about 1866, and also came to Lakeland sometime after 1880. We believe we have found Robert Henry, along with his brother, William R. Polk, in Henrico Co., Va. in 1880. Family stories say he was born in Richmond, so that information fits.

The next census we could find Robert in was 1920 in Polk Co., Fla., where he and Roberta were married and living with her brother and her mother “in the woods” outside Lakeland. (No kidding ... that’s what the census taker wrote in the margin.) Robert Henry and Roberta had one son at that time, Robert E. (Bobby’s father), who was born about 1914, according to the census information in 1920.

In 1930, the two families were still in the Lakeland area but were living next door to each other. Robert Henry and Roberta had another son, Rothwell, age 9 but Robert Eugene was not listed. This mystery was cleared up when Bobby said his father attended the Florida School for the Deaf in St. Augustine and we assumed that, at age 16, he was probably living there instead of with his parents. The deafness, Bobby said, was caused by disease when Robert was very young.

Sometime around 1933, Robert Henry and Roberta Polk moved to Georgia, settling in Hapeville near the airport. Family information from Bobby’s uncle says that Robert Henry moved there from Lakeland to help his brother, “Will” Polk, with his business. Will was owner of the Hapeville ice plant. Bobby remembered also that his father had something to do with an electric company and, as it turns out, that may have been Will’s business also.

In 1920 and 1930, William R. Polk, b. abt 1862 in Va., was living on Druid Place in DeKalb Co., Ga. His occupation was given as “proprietor of an electric company.” Bobby thinks the electric company may have been in East Point, but he’s not sure. We believe this is Bobby’s Uncle Will. His wife’s name was given as “Kate” (1920) and “Cathrine,” (1930) and this information fits with what we found on Rootsweb. Her name was given there as “Katerina Henry.” Not conclusive proof, but leading in the right direction. We do not know if Will and Kate had any children.

We are not certain when William Polk died, but Robert Henry Polk died in 1939, probably in Hapeville. His burial place is unknown. Roberta continued to live in the home in Hapeville until her death in 1966. Her body was taken back to Lakeland for burial in Oak Hill Cemetery, where her parents and her brother (John Eugene Conway) also are buried.

When Bobby’s father, Robert Eugene Polk, died in 1979, he also was returned to Lakeland and is buried at Oak Hill. There are many Polks and Conways buried in this cemetery but, as of right now, we don’t have a clue as to who they might be.

Going back to the file on Rootsweb, if it is true and accurate, it appears this Polk family originated as “de Pollock” in Ireland. The name was shortened first to “Pollock,” and later to “Polk.”

This family line appears to have come to America in the mid-1600s and settled first in Maryland, later branching out into Delaware and Virginia, with many branches migrating southward into Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia. One branch even seems to have settled in Campbell and Douglas counties in Georgia. Others continued on to Arkansas and other points west.

One good lead we received from this file was that Robert Henry Polk’s mother was said to have been a Kate Rothwell. With the Rothwell name in Bobby’s family, this information looks promising.

We have yet to come across anyone connected to this Polk line. We are hoping that, since so many people on the south side of Atlanta came to Fayette, Coweta and South Fulton, someone might remember the ice plant and its owners back in the 1930s. Any information on this Polk family will be appreciated.

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.)