I have gathered me a posy of other men’s thoughts, only the thread that holds them together is mine. Some stories have even been told before, but they belong to me by right of Inheritance and Love, so may I not tell them again?

~ Elizabeth Paschal, My Beloved South

Elizabeth’s Husband was Tay Pay O’Connor

He was the first Irish Nationalist in the British Parliament. He served in the House of Commons for Fifty Years and was the Founder-Editor of The Star and The Sun Newspapers

Her Father was Chief Justice Lorenzo Columbus “George” Washington Paschal

George started his Legal Career in Wilkes County Georgia 1832-1836

Her mother, George’s second Wife, was Marcia Duval who was the

Daughter of Florida Governor William Pope Duval

Her Stepmother was George’s first wife, Sollee Ridge, who was the daughter of Ca-Nun-Tah-Cla-Kee Second in Command of the Cherokee Nation. George represented Stand Watie who was the first Indian cleared of white man murder in white man court.

George’s Third Wife was Mary Harper Scoville who encouraged George to write:

The Constitution of the United States Defined and Clearly Annotated which made George prominent in establishing the Law Department of Georgetown University

Mary’s previous husband was John Randolph Harper

George was second cousin to Nancy Elizabeth Paschal of Lincoln County Georgia

Nancy married Dr. John B. Bentley of Leathersville Georgia

Nancy and John were my great-great grandparents

This book is about Genealogy with passed down and newly discovered short stories. Thank you for allowing me to share my Ancestors and that charming region of Georgia from whence they came.

The Ghosts of Lincoln County is Dedicated to the Phantom Hawk of Lincoln County

Grave Huntin’ Petunia and the Extraordinary Aunt Donn

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                       

The Ghosts of Lincoln County

Front Cover: Ghost Dog, Tom Poland Photographer

Dedication

 Word from Writer, page 5

My Father and I Photograph

1. Opening: Lincoln County Lost, 6

Clarks Hill Lake Photograph

1. Ancestral Hunt: The Journey Long, 8

Tom Story with Daughters Photograph

Clarks Hill Lake * The Window * Phantom Hawk of Lincoln County

 Turning Point * Mountain Climber * Around the Bend

III. The Foundation: Samuel Gaines Story and Stacy Duckworth, 21

Brother Perryman and Miss Jane * Ancestors and Heirs of Samuel Gaines Story

The Mystery of Chief Sam

1. Henry Allen Story Leaves Warren County, 29

The Legend of Moontown * Buck Story Tales * The Widow * Old Decatur Cemetery

1. Lawton’s Great Sorrow

* No Longer a Child  *  The Old Man on the Porch * Christmas after 1904 * Thomson Train Station

 Arimathea * Curse of the Firefly Dance

1. The Generations: Montgomery, 47

Rachel

VII. Aw Fin means To the End, 59

 Aunt Wilanty   

VIII. Thomson and Wrightsboro, 62

Thomson – Way Back When * Wrightsboro Village and the Rock House

Styr

1. The Generations: Gunby, 68

The Cripple Boy * Ride on Judge * Apple Orchard Wisdom

* Aurelius and Selina Gunby’s Home

 

1. The Generations: O’Neal, 75

 Questions So Many Questions * Soldier of 1776 * Cousin Rebel Rose

1. The Extraordinary Aunt Donn, 79

Teatime in Leathersville * Brightest Star in Heaven * Suppertime

Little Crooked House * Pot Stirrer * Lawton’s Great Joy * Postmark Leathersville 1951

XII. The Generations: Bentley, 102

Where the Bent Grass Blows * O Pomfret! * The Colony of Georgia

Wilkes and Lincoln County * Leathersville * Site of Old Tannery * Bentley and Story Unite

XIII. The Generations: Hardin, 112

 The Grace Line

XIV. The Generations: Paschal, 116

Knights, Soldiers and Nancy Paschal * A Soldier Falls * Much Baddow * Paschali

 Lt. George Washington Paschal

1. Atlanta, 124

Lost Confederate Gold * Way to a Man’s Heart * Brothers

Well-Spoken Robert Randolph Story * Not One for Totin’ Tales * The Guitar * Tom Story

Black Eyed Pea Breakfast * The Wardrobe * The Tobacco Incident * Banny

 Nancy Junior * Remember When * Rise and Shine

XVI. My Garden Gate, 151

The Gast of Lincolnshire * Something Blue on Me Garden Geat

XVII. Talk Soon at the Window, 153

Mary’s Window * Elizabeth’s Window * Window of Time

20^th Century Atlanta Georgia * The Broken Windowpane

XVIII. Closing: Plumnelly Horseback Ride, 160

XIX. Bonus, 165

Watercolor History * The Ringleader * Written in 1787 – Ratified in 1788

Thank You! 172

About the Writer, 163

More Photographs, 174-212

Back Cover: The Rock House Built by Thomas Ansley in 1785

 Liberty Hill School

Word from the Writer

All my life I’ve heard about Lincoln County kin. I wrote about them in a short story collection entitled, All Roads Lead to Southern Charm. One day while working on that book in my upstairs office, I heard footsteps. Knowing it had to be one of my sons, I hollered, “I’m up here!” No answer. Heard it again. Shaken, I left the house. Upon return, found no forced entry. So creeped out, I put the book away. Three years later my older sister informed me of a newly released book, Georgialina: A Southland As We Knew It, by Tom Poland. Mr. Poland’s memoirs awakened interest in my Lincoln County roots. I unpacked Southern Charm. Wrong title – struck through it and wrote The Ghosts of Lincoln County. Did footsteps return to the empty hallway? Yes.

This book contains a tad of genealogy. Painstaking detail has been made to present correct information, though imperfection surely exists for genealogy is an on-going discovery. Creative license has been used to round out the short stories, particularly with The Legend of Moontown. The Ghosts of Lincoln County provides just enough history to create a setting for real people – my father’s people.