|
|
Finding Your Folks: Joseph T. Kirby family Bible By JUDY FOWLER KILGORE One of the small pleasures I really enjoy is browsing through antique shops. I don’t always buy, but I am always on the lookout for old books, particularly Bibles. And so it was last Friday when I was browsing through the Newnan Antique Market on Bullsboro and came across a real treasure: the family Bible of Joseph Tolleson Kirby and his family. The Bible dates to the 1870s, I would imagine and is huge — at least seven or eight inches thick — is ornately decorated, and has many family mementos tucked inside. There are pressed flowers and ribbons, newspaper clippings — all the memories and records of a family line which came to an abrupt end when Joseph and his second wife passed away. According to the Bible, he had only one child, Joseph Tolleson Kirby Jr., who died when he was only 22. The Bible was a little pricey at $98, and it wasn’t my family, so I couldn’t justify the purchase in any way. Had it been half that price, I probably would have purchased it and donated it to the Newnan-Coweta Historical Society. The Kirby family was quite prominent in Newnan, I found out after doing a little research. Although Joseph left no descendants to carry on the Kirby name himself, he had brothers who did have sons. So the Kirby name goes on in Coweta County. I jotted down the family information and decided I would let others know about the Bible, in case anyone from the family might want to purchase it. This is the family story as far as I have been able to research it. My sources are many and include the records in the Bible itself, marriage records, census records, cemetery records, and information from The History of Coweta County, Coweta Chronicles, and W.U. Anderson’s History of Coweta County. It was interesting to note that the several Kirby family trees online had no record of Joseph’s first wife, Lou Walker. I couldn’t find a marriage record either, but it was in the family Bible. Here is Joseph’s story: Joseph Tolleson Kirby was born 3 March, 1856, probably in Coweta County, the son of John Terrell Kirby and Lavana Bohannon. He was named after both his grandfathers, Tolleson Kirby and Joseph Bohannon. Joseph’s father, John Terrell Kirby, was the son of Tolleson Kirby and Terisa Wilkins, and the grandson of Richard Kirby and Lovicey (cemetery book says Louise) Tolleson, who both are said to have died in South Carolina. Terisa Wilkins was the daughter of Moses Wilkins and Sarah Lipscomb. The Kirby family migrated from Maryland and Virginia and into Georgia by the 1850s, settling in Coweta County where they became strong supporting members of the community. Joseph had six brothers and sisters: Eugene Terrell Kirby, May Kirby, Ina Kirby, William Wilkins Kirby, Benjamin H. Kirby and Bettie Lou Kirby. All grew up in Newnan and married well, except Ina, who remained single. Ina distinguished herself by being instrumental in starting the United Daughters of the Confederacy, Newnan Chapter, No. 599, chartered August 7, 1902. On Dec. 18, 1878, Joseph married Lou E. Walker, the daughter of Meriwether T. and Julia Walker of Chambers Co., Ala. (The Bible refers to him as “M.T.”) Meriwether and Julia moved to Newnan between 1870 and 1880. The original marriage certificate is included in the Bible. Joseph and Lou were married at the home of her father with the ceremony conducted by S.B. Callaway. Joseph and Lou had no children and she died tragically on New Year’s Day, 1898, at the age of 39. The family Bible records the dates and one can only wonder how painful it was for Joseph to write the date of his wife’s death. Tucked into the pages of the Bible are memorials to Lou, published in the Newnan newspaper. As did many widowers in those days, Joseph remarried quickly and, on Jan. 26, 1899, he married Lillian Virginia Dent, the daughter of Joseph Ephraim Dent and his second wife, Elizabeth Steagall. Lillian was 16 years younger than Joseph and bore him a child, Joseph Tolleson Kirby Jr., born Sept. 21, 1901. According to the Bible, Joseph Jr. died Dec. 30, 1923. "age 22 years, 3 months, 9 days." No other children were recorded in the Bible and I assume Joseph was the only child they had. However, I did find something odd when I was trying to find Joseph and Lillian in the 1920 census (they were not listed in Coweta). In Randolph County, Ala, there is a Kirby family with the father named Joseph, wife named Lillian, son named Joe T., and two other children, daughters Lou E. and Lucy Ann. The problem is, the ages of Joseph and Lillian are off about 20 years. The children’s ages are nine, eight and six, respectively but fit within the marriage date, and Joe T. would be 19, not 9, if he was born in 1901 (and the Bible says he was). The daughter named Lou E., matches the name of Joseph’s first wife. However, Joseph is listed as age 39 (he would be 56) and Lillian’s age is given as 28 (she would be 48). This is really a strange coincidence (if that’s what it is) but there are no daughters listed in the Bible. Joseph died in 1928 and Lillian died in 1962. Most of these Kirby family members are buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Newnan, including Joseph himself, Lou Walker Kirby and her parents, Joseph’s parents and grandparents, his second wife, Lillian Dent, his son, Joseph T. Jr., and many of his brothers and sisters. If you would like to inquire about the Kirby Bible, contact Newnan Antique Market, 678-423-8774. If it’s still there the next time I go, I may try to bargain them down a little. I welcome your letters about genealogy and info on south metro Atlanta 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.)
|