Richard Albert Bedgood (13 August 1847-4 February 1904) was the founder and namesake of Arabi, Georgia. Bedgood enlisted in July 1864 in Company G of the 7th Georgia Infantry, Wilcox County. A life-size marble monument marks his gravesite in historic Arabi-Antioch Cemetery.
From Historical and Genealogical Collections of Dooly County Georgia Vol. III : Richmond A. Bedgood, an enterprising business man of Arabi, was born Aug 3, 1847 in Washington County, Ga. He was the son of a farmer, Henry Bedgood, from whom he was separated by death in 1856. The boy received a very limited education, enlisting in the seventh Georgia Militia in 1864, when he had scarcely completed his seventeenth year. Since the war closed, Mr. Bedgood has engaged in farming and has a large sawmill and a successful business in Arabi. He is a respected member of the masonic fraternity. The first wife of Mr. Bedgood was Elizabeth Brown, whose father was the well-known Maj. Brown of Cordele. Mr. Bedgood’s second wife was Susan Clements, daughter of J. J. Clements of Dooly County. He is the father of four sons and five daughters, one of his sons, John H., being his father’s partner in business.
Vanishing Georgia: Photographs by Brian Brown 
I just found this site. I am a great granddaughter of RA Bedgood. I have a picture of the house in its original appearance. I could send it to you.Frances Fisher is my cousin. I live in Florida but spent time visiting Arabi with my mother. Her mother was Fannie Begood, a daughter of RA.
Please share at my email! wbrianbrownATgmailDOTcom I will happily share with full credit to you. This is so exciting!
My niece is a Bedgood.You may have already written to her as she is doing research on the Bedgood Family.I know she would love to have a picture of the Bedgood house as it was originally.Her dad was Harris Jennings Bedgood.
My Grandfather was Thomas Asbury Bedgood and received his dental surgery degree from what is now Emory. They lived in Flomaton, AL in the late 1800’S. I have heard of Bedgoods in south GA but we have never connected. My Dad was born in 1893. Powell Morris Bedgood and had a brother named John. There has to be a relation somewhere!
does anyone know if they had decendents named Harris,Ed,Hanson maybe Hansel who lived in Macon,Ga?My sister married a Harris Jennings Bedgood.
Ed Bedgood was my great grandfather, and Harris Bedgood was his brother…
Was Mr. Bedgood in the Confederate army?
Many of my relatives are buried at buried at the Arabi cemetary. Moores, Kings, Worleys, Olivers
Does anyone know if R. A. Bedgood and his wife were Jewish. Does anyone know his wife’s name?
Wife’s name is Susan Clements King at the time she married Richmond. I am named for her. She is my great grandmother. They were not Jewish.
Grew up maybe 6-7 miles from Arabi but never heard the R-A-B name story, but it all makes sense. Thanks for that.
Bedgood was shot in the chest, and there is a bullet hole made into the statue. It’s in the left lapel of his coat.
Thanks for the information, Blake. Very interesting…
It is a flaw in the marble of statue not a bullet hole. There are buckshot holes in the stature where people have shot the statue. He died in 1904 of natural causes in his late 50’s. The statue was made in Italy from pictures of Grandpapa and his clothing.
I had the statue cleaned last year, I wish an updated picture could be placed on this site.
The statue is of Richmond Albert Bedgood who was my grandfather. I am the last of his grandchildren.
Thanks so much for clearing this up, Frances! Interesting story; he was certainly a prominent gentleman of the area in his time. How foolish of people to shoot at someone’s headstone!
My name is Fred Wiggins, My Aunt, Hattie Pearl Thomas was the cook for Mrs. Lucille Bedgood in the 40’s. My grandmother, Sarah, My uncle Lenbell “Little Buddy” & Aunt Hattie Pearl lived across the road in the sharecroppers houses. I was about 10 at the time. I believe there were two daughters at the time are you one of the daughters?
Frances, I stop by the old home place and the cemetery almost every time I head for NC. Fond memories of visiting with Aunt Lucille. RA statue looks great every time I see it. Now I know why.
R. A. Bedgood is the man that Arabi was named after. He had such a large farm that when the train stopped on its regular stop nearby, they’d ask if they had any “R-A-Bs”—i.e., packages for R. A. Bedgood. The slang “R-A-Bs” got turned into Arrowbye, and then to Arabi. (If you say “R-A-B” fast enough, you can get where they got the name from.)
Thanks, Bradley. I’ve always wondered about the origin of the Arabi name. This is the first time I’ve ever heard it.
My older brother lives in the bedgood house and they recently shot a few scenes for the movie ‘Exit 101’ in the part of the house they use for the garage.
I bet they had fun with that…
No one lives in the Bedgood house which is pictured. He may be living in the John Bedgood house which is in downtown Arabi across from the McKinney house.
Would love to chat with you about the Bedgood house and catch up on your family for genealogy purposes. I was fortunate enough to get a newspaper clipping from your parents on the death of Susan Clements Bedgood which was my namesake many years ago. They had a scrapbook that I was intrigued with. I think you lived close to them when I visited. Your father was quite ill at the time.
I am so glad that someone is preserving the past of Crisp county. There are also some old places leaving Arabi and heading down HawPond Road toward Turner county. My mother grew up in this area. You will find the old HawPond school as well as HawPond Church. Thanks, Pam Sutton
Thanks so much for your comments and shared interest in our region’s history, Pamela!
This man is the great great grandfather of my friend Rusty Henderson. He relates that he owned a lot of land around Arabi and a big house that is still standing in Arabi. He was very tall, maybe one of the biggest men around at the time. He was a civil war veteran. Good pic! keep up the work of preservation of the images of the past.
Glad you like the site, and thanks for the information about R. A. Bedgood!