Ellis Chapel Baptist Church was established by freedmen in 1883. It is variously identified as being in both Ethridge and Haddock, so I’ll just say it’s in Jones County for simplicity’s sake. I don’t have a date for the present brick-clad structure, but would guess 1930s-1950s for the building and a bit later for the commercial brick siding.
Front
Of particular interest and concern is the collapsing structure across the road. It has been identified in resource surveys as a lodge and former schoolhouse, and was still in good condition as recently as 1988.
Side
The cornerstone of the church notes a Prince Hall affiliation. While most Prince Hall lodges I’ve documented have been in towns and cities, it’s not unusual to find them in rural locales, as well. It’s also possible that the Prince Hall affiliation is more recent and the lodge was a church benevolent society lodge.
White Chapel AME is an historic congregation near Round Oak. The present building dates to 1957. Though I haven’t been able to locate much history, the church was likely organized by freedmen of the White Plantation in the years following the Civil War. The plantation was established between 1800-1810 by Virginia-born Thomas White, Jr. (1781-1830), and the area, near the Jasper County line, was historically known as White’s District. White’s son, Joseph Clark White (1810-1887) inherited the estate and owned over 3000 acres and 120 enslaved people.
One of those slaves was Caroline “Aunt Ca’line” White (c.1848-1948). My purpose of visiting White Chapel was to document her burial place, but I was unable to locate it. She was well-known by all the people of the Round Oak community and a local newspaper reported at her death: “She was a slave girl on the plantation of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Clark White at the “old White place,” north of Round Oak before the War Between the States. Her husband, Tillman White, died several years ago. She leaves children, Jackson, 83; Mary, 81; Tom, 80; John, 78; Henry, 72; and also seventy grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Her oldest grandchild is 68.
The day before her death Aunt Ca’line threaded her needle, without the aid of glasses, and quilted; she also helped whitewash the fireplace. She always claimed to be part Indian and certainly had many of the characteristics of the Indian, and so do her children. Henry is known as “Red Man,” and although he is 72, is as agile as most men of 58. Aunt Ca’line was thrifty, and always had a garden, chickens and many quilts pieced up.
She became rather deaf in the last few years and her grandchildren persuaded her to stay off the highway, but before that she came to town every day and was as chipper as could be, liked by all, white and colored.“
Her obituary also noted that “…she was as much a “rebel” as any southerner could ever be. She always spoke of the “good old days” and says that they were well treated, had everything they needed, and they were all happy, before the Yankees came…” Such statements must be viewed with suspicion today, considering their sources in white-owned newspapers which worked overtime to promote the “happy slaves” narrative, to which few Blacks in the Jim Crow era would have ever disputed to any White person at the time.
Vernacular Headstones of White Chapel AME
Though I couldn’t locate Mrs. White’s gravestone, I did document a few vernacular memorials, all of relatively recent vintage.
Annie Hutchings (1908-1986)
A family member or someone in the community made this headstone, with a deeply incised cross.
This is one of several headstones with decorative motifs incised on the back side.
These designs may have been made with metal or plastic strips or even fencing. If I recall correctly they date mostly to the 1980s.
Most of the slabs and headstones feature stenciled names, as seen below.
Lue Ella Odom – Better known as Mrs. Doll
No birth or death dates were given on Mrs. Doll’s memorial.
I have been unable to locate any history related to Saint Paul AME Church but it dates to at least the 1920s, when Lou Ellen Seabrooks (1841-1921) and Henry Seabrooks (1885-1928) were buried in the small adjacent cemetery. Records indicate that at the time of the Seabrooks’s burials, the cemetery was known as the Morton or Martin graveyard. Since there were once many plantations in this area, between Clinton and Wayside, perhaps that was a reference to an early landowner and, possibly, an earlier slave cemetery.
Ruby Ware Graham (1906-1966) was a prominent member of Saint Paul. She served as a teacher at Macon’s Green Street Elementary School for over 40 years and was very active in professional associations throughout this time. She was also a member of the local Phyllis Wheatley Literary Society.
A 1988 survey of historic resources in Jones County documented this structure as part of the Lamar Farm, which at the time included a farmhouse and three outbuildings. The survey also noted the Bateman Company had owned the property since circa 1953 and been involved in the peach business.
Though no determination was made in 1988 as to the function of this structure, its location along the rail line, the shed doors, and the loading platform suggest a freight warehouse. This may have been a modification for the Bateman peach business or may have been an original use. The lack of windows in the structure also indicates a warehouse usage.
It’s not a stretch to call houses of this type landmarks today. Utilitarian dwellings were common throughout rural Georgia from its founding well into the middle of the 20th century. Many began life as tenant housing and were later rental properties. This evolution often led to expansions and modifications, as a matter of practicality.
This example is to me a good illustration of the difficulty I often face in identifying specific types, without benefit of a floor plan. This appears to have started as a single-pen cottage. At some point a shed room was added to the back and a wing was added to the left side. However, if it was originally two rooms deep, it could be called a Georgian cottage. That doesn’t seem likely, but since these structures were ultimately an expression of their builder’s skill and preferences, one cannot be sure without further investigation. They are all worthy of documentation.
The History of Twiggs County, Georgia by J. Lanette O’Neal Faulk and Billy Walker Jones (Major General John Twiggs Chapter, D.A.R., Jeffersonville, 1960) notes: “This house was built by Dr. Beniah Carswell at Jeffersonville, Georgia about 1850. The original structure had five rooms and a hall downstairs with two rooms and a hall upstairs. The house was later owned by Nelson Carswell, a grandson of Dr. Carswell. In 1948 Mr. and Mrs. James Edward Beck bought the house from Nelson Carswell which they later remodeled, the timbers used in the renovation having come from Todd Hall”, later known as the Wall Place in Wilkinson County.”
A 2006 historic resources survey conducted by the state of Georgia adds that the house was remodeled circa 1948. Renovations included the replacement of the south end chimney, addition of new piers and asbestos siding, and the addition of a one-story wing on the north side of the house.
Dr. Beniah S. Carswell (1830-1895) was a native of Telfair County, the son of Alexander Carswell and Elizabeth W. Ashley Carswell. He served in Co. A, 22nd Batallion State Guard Cavalry during the Civil War. His first wife and the mother of his children was Caroline Julia Matilda “Carrie” Sears. He later married Mattie R. Harrell (1851-1914).
Note: This replaces and expands a post originally published on 31 March 2018.
These saddlebag cottages are great examples of this widespread vernacular house type and are largely unmodified, with the exception of the partial wraparound porch on the example above. They are located on adjacent lots.
Cottage No. 2
Most saddlebags I’ve documented have two doors on the front, but each of these examples feature a central doorway. My best guess as to a date of construction would be 1900-1920.
Bethel Christian Church in Eastman was a Disciples of Christ congregation. I believe the church was built circa 1925. Tax records date it to 1940, but since the Dodge County Courthouse burned in 1939, 1940 is just a referential date, and not the correct date for construction. Thanks to Sue Williamson for sharing the following history, which I have abridged. I believe it was written for one of the last church Homecoming events and am unsure as to its author, though it was likely Willie Jane Simmons (1928-2020).
During the early 1900s, a small band of Christian believers joined in faith and organized the Bethel Christian Church in the Shiloh community…The membership was made up of the Summer Family, Jim Thomas Family, Sherman Price Family, and the Heath Family. They were a small group meeting in an old house, but they kept the faith.
A few years later, Mr. Jay Williamson erected a church building here in Eastman for the group and the membership began to grow. Elder Jim Thomas kept records of all church activities. The other ministers were Rev. Yapp and Deacon Sherman Price. Later, Elder Jim Thomas was ordained as minister and he served several years. Mrs. Martha Thomas was designated “Mother” of the church. Other ministers were Rev. Still and Rev. Coney. They also served several years.
During the early 1930s there was a great drop in membership due to members moving to other states, but Rev. Thomas kept the doors of Bethel open...
During the 1950s, the church began to grow. Members from the Christian Hope Christian Church in the northern section of the community connected with Bethel after their church burned down. Brother Elijah Goolsby, Brother Elo Whiting, Deacon Frank King, Brother Mathis Power, Brother Flanles King, Brother Seabon King, and Brother Charles Simmons and others joined here at Bethel. Brother Ed Simmons’s family connected after returning from West Palm Beach, Florida. Elder Simmons walked many Sundays to help Elder Thomas to conduct service…
Elder Ed Simmons worked with the State and National convention. He was able to get representatives to come and conduct meetings with us…Elder Simmons was always concerned with our basic mission, known today as Disciples’ Mission which included Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving, among others…
In 1990 we observed a special Homecoming. We celebrated and paid tribute to the “Mother of the Church”, Mother Rosebud Simmons, who was 93 years old. We enjoyed the churches who celebrated this occasion with us…
From reading the history, other pastors were Rev. D. T. Williams, Rev. R. H. Mitchell, Rev. L. C. Hunter, and Rev. Al Whiting. The church was still active as late as 2011, but the congregation disbanded some time after that.
Beulah Lodge #37, Prince Hall Masons, is typical of Black Masonic lodges found throughout Georgia and is still active. It is also home to the Rose of Beulah Chapter #251, Order of the Eastern Star. According to tax records, it was built in 1958. Historically, the Prince Hall Masons and the Order of the Eastern Star have been anchors of Black communities, and are often found in central locations in their neighborhoods. Beulah is no exception, with both Shorter’s Chapel and Bethel Christian Church in view of the property.
5304 1st Avenue, Eastman, 1927. Collection of Brian Brown.
This was the last Eastman home of my great-grandparents, Burt Herman Browning (1892-1951) and Sadie Harrell Browning (1902-1986), before they moved to Fitzgerald. They married in 1920. My great-grandfather was a World War I veteran, a member of the large Browning family around Scotland, and my great-grandmother was one of hundreds of Harrells in Dodge County. My great-grandmother loved this little house and kept this photograph her whole life. Perhaps she had sad memories here, too, because this was where the horrible effects of my great-grandfather’s being gassed and shell-shocked in France during the war were first noticed, and where she lost a baby girl, Mary Elizabeth, to fever in 1926. She’s buried just down the street in Woodlawn Cemetery. All that said, I imagine many happy hours were spent on that front porch. It’s neat to see the swing, because my great-grandmother had a swing on her front porch throughout my life and believed in the healing power of time spent on the porch. It was a place to tell stories, catch up on gossip, and of course, to shell peas. Lots of peas.
The little girl with the Buster Brown haircut sitting barefoot on the front porch and sucking her thumb is my grandmother, Thelma Browning Bussell (1921-2003). She was six years old when the photograph was made. She also had fond memories of the house.
When my family lived here it was a gable front cottage, very typical of the working class of the era. It’s still standing, though you’d hardly recognize it today. It’s located at 5304 1st Avenue and has been expanded and is now sided with brick. Tax records state the house was built in 1939, but that is incorrect. I believe the Dodge County Courthouse burned in 1939, so many houses may have been assigned that date of construction. I imagine it was fairly new when this photograph was made, but it was definitely built before 1939.
