Mary Whelchel stares straight into the camera, her wide eyes revealing only innocence. In the same photo are her father, Bart, her mother, Fannie and her grandfather, John Littleton Smith. The picture, now more than 100 years old, provides a brief glimpse into the family that was a full half of my father and a sure fourth of me.Mary was my grandmother, my father’s mother. She was born August 6, 1903. She’s probably about 3 years old in the picture. The presence of Littleton Smith and Fannie Whelchel reveal that the picture predates 1907, for that is the year that Littleton died.
Within the next three years, her world would be turned upside down. Maybe the people in the picture knew that. Maybe that’s why they decided to pose for a family photo. People were aging. With everyone together, a family portrait would preserve a couple of memories for them.
My great-grandmother, Harriett Frances Smith Griffin Whelchel, died when little Mary was just 5 years old. It had been a difficult few years for Frances, or Fannie, as most people knew her.
Fannie and my great-grandfather, George Bartow Whelchel, also had a son, Hyram. There’s no record of Hyram’s birth or death, but we know he died very young, on September 8, 1906. Grieving the loss of her son, Fannie put pen to paper and wrote these heart-wrenching words:
Hyram L. Welcher
Died September the 8, 1906
He’s asleep in Jesus. Blessed sleep from which he’ll never wake to weep. I wish I was with him. I’ll do God’s will and go to him someday. Oh, won’t that be a happy meeting when I meet my Savior and my darling little son in heaven. Remember, I mean to do this. It will not do to tell a lie on the Word of God. I love my Lord. I must do His will and I’ll meet his face someday.
Fannie Welcher
A year after Hyram died, Fannie’s father, Littleton, died. The grief was overwhelming, no doubt. There is no record of what took Fannie’s life so early–she was only 29–but I can imagine that the loss of her son followed by the loss of her father (not to the mention the loss of her first husband about a decade earlier) left her inconsolable. Fannie died in 1908. Her death left behind a motherless Mary, who, at just five years old, went to live with her grandfather, Hiram, and her grandmother, Mary Jane Wright Whelchel. The Whelchels live in Polk County, Georgia. Mary’s aunts, Lela and Eva, still lived at home, and her uncle James lived next door with his wife and sons, Hiram and William.This was my grandmother’s start in life. This is also where the water gets a little muddy. Hiram Whelchel is my great-great grandfather, but his was a popular name in the mid-19th century. Census and marriage records link to three Hiram Whelchels in northwest Georgia. Hiram was clearly a popular name among Whelchels, no doubt honoring a well-thought-of ancestor. The first Hiram Whelchel, was born in 1844, another is listed as being born in 1846, and third is listed as being born in 1855. Knowing that recordkeeping was not particularly accurate, it is within the realm of possibility that these three Hirams are the same man, but more work is needed to sort that out.
One possibility lives with the Hiram Whelchel born in 1855. In 1860, a 5-year-old Hiram was living with his grandfather, possibly great-grandfather, 74-year-old Francis Whelchel in Waleska, Georgia with 8 other Whelchels, all likely the grandchildren or great grandchildren of Francis: Abey, 30; Amanda C., 18; Mary J., 13; James, 18; John, 16; Willis A., 14; Hiram, 5, and Willis A, 24.
Families often lived nearby. So, it’s highly likely that the Whelchels who lived next door to Francis and his grandchildren, are related, perhaps even his son. That family was headed by Mager (Major?) Whelchel, 38 and his wife Milley, 35. Living with them were their children, John A. 15; Judith 18, Martha J. 11; William W. 9; and Nancy A., 7. Also living in the home was Rebecca Worley, 68.
Nearby were Hiram Whelchel, 46, and his wife, Ann, 41, with their children William; Mary, 18; Martha, 15; Panthenis, 14; Sarah, 12; Nancy, 9; Daniel, 6; Ruth, 4; and Francis 1.
Daniel Whelchel, 32, lived a little further down the road with his son, James D. Whelchel, 7.
Somewhere in the tangle of Hirams and Francises is my great-great grandfather Hiram Whelchel (often written Welchan, Whelcher, Welchel and Welcher).
By 1878, my great-great grandfather Hiram emerged from the shadows to marry Mary Jane Wright on July 25 in Cherokee County, Georgia. Three years later Hiram and Mary Jane had their first son, George Bartow Whelchel, born August 26, 1881, a time when America was growing following the end of the Civil War. George is my great-grandfather, Mary’s father.
This was the Gilded Age, the 1880s were a time of economic growth. Immigrants were moving to America to earn better wages and live a free life. At the same time, the Industrial Revolution was creating a great divide between America’s poor and the wealthy elite like the Vanderbilts, Rockefellers and Carnegies.
Meanwhile, the Wild West was truly wild the year my Bart Whelchel was born. People began to settle the American West. Billy the Kid was on the run and later killed that year. President James A. Garfield was assassinated, and the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral happened in Tombstone, Arizona.
Bart was the oldest of six Whelchel kids:
· James, born in 1886
· Lela, born in March of 1889
· Emma Louise, born in June of 1891
· Abbigail, born in April 1893
· Evie, the baby of the family, was born in November of 1895
In 1900, Hiram and Mary Jane were living in the Youngs community of Polk County with Bart, who was 18 at the time, his siblings, and Evie Lawson, who is identified as Hiram’s mother.
Bart was a handsome man with thick dark hair and a thick, dark mustache. His good looks no doubt attracted the attention of the widow Fannie Griffin.
Fannie had been married before, to a man with the last name of Griffin. Her husband, with whom she had a daughter, named Harriett, had died young.
That same year, the widow Griffin was living back at home with her father, Littleton, who was 86, and his wife, Mary, who was 56. Fannie’s 4-year-old daughter, Harriett, also lived with the Smiths.
Fannie and Bart married on February 28, 1901. Mary, my grandmother, was born a year-and-a half later, on August 6, 1903.
One of the sad truths of 10-year censuses is that they reveal just how quickly life can change. In 1900 Bart and Fannie weren’t married and had not children. By 1910, Bart was a widower, living with his sister, Emma, and her husband, William Danial Whelchel. Mary was being raised by her grandparents, Hiram and Mary Jane.
But it would not be long before Bart married again. He and his second wife, Katie Rosa Lee, married on July 17, 1910
Bart supported his family by working in the iron mines of Polk County for the Alabama and Georgia Iron Company. And, with America heavily involved in World War I, fighting with the Allies against the German and Ottoman Empires, Bulgaria, Austria and Hungary, a man never knew when he might be called up to fight for his country. Bart registered for the draft on September 12, 1918. He was 37 years old. Perhaps lucky for him, the war ended in November of that year, saving Bart from the horrors of war.
Interestingly, just 15 days after Bart registered for the draft, Mary married the man who was to become my grandfather, Jim Fortenberry. They were married September 27, 1918.
By 1920, Bart and Rosie Lee were living in Paulding County, Georgia, next door to Mary and Jim and their boys Charlie and Bart. My great-grandfather, Charley, also lived with them.
Bart’s father, Hiram, died in 1921, the same year he and Rosie had their only child, James Tucker Whelchel. Bart and Rosie returned to Polk County and continued to live there throughout the 1930s and into the 1940s.
Bart died on Dec. 6, 1946. He was 65 years old. He is buried in Sanders Cemetery in Polk County in a family plot near Francis. Bart’s sister, Emma, and her husband, William Danial Whelchel, are also buried there.
Mary was 43 years old when her father died. By this time, she and Jim were living in Polk County with their large family: Mattie, Floyd, Louis, Selton, Odis, Connie, Marvin, Garvin, Tressie and Margie. Lois (Loyce) Stonewall Fortenberry was not at home when his grandfather died. He had served in World War II, and, no doubt, had returned home to start his family. Charlie had already married to start his own family.
I have only vague memories of my grandmother. I remember her high cheek bones, her straight nose and her coarse gray hair. I was in the third grade when she died. My closest association to her is the cedar wardrobe in our home. I vividly remember the day my dad and his siblings went to my grandmother’s house a few weeks after her death. They each bought the items that had been my grandmother’s, probably to pay for her funeral. We brought home deer antlers that had hung over a doorway and the wardrobe.
The antlers are long gone, but the wardrobe sits proudly in our guest bedroom. It’s a connection to the past and a reminder that, although my last name is Fortenberry, I have the blood of Fortenberrys, Whelchels, Smiths, Wrights, Bates, Hutchins, Almarodes and Formbys flowing through my veins.
Died September the 8, 1906
He’s asleep in Jesus. Blessed sleep from which he’ll never wake to weep. I wish I was with him. I’ll do God’s will and go to him someday. Oh, won’t that be a happy meeting when I meet my Savior and my darling little son in heaven. Remember, I mean to do this. It will not do to tell a lie on the Word of God. I love my Lord. I must do His will and I’ll meet his face someday.
Fannie Welcher
A year after Hyram died, Fannie’s father, Littleton, died. The grief was overwhelming, no doubt. There is no record of what took Fannie’s life so early–she was only 29–but I can imagine that the loss of her son followed by the loss of her father (not to the mention the loss of her first husband about a decade earlier) left her inconsolable. Fannie died in 1908. Her death left behind a motherless Mary, who, at just five years old, went to live with her grandfather, Hiram, and her grandmother, Mary Jane Wright Whelchel. The Whelchels live in Polk County, Georgia. Mary’s aunts, Lela and Eva, still lived at home, and her uncle James lived next door with his wife and sons, Hiram and William.This was my grandmother’s start in life. This is also where the water gets a little muddy. Hiram Whelchel is my great-great grandfather, but his was a popular name in the mid-19th century. Census and marriage records link to three Hiram Whelchels in northwest Georgia. Hiram was clearly a popular name among Whelchels, no doubt honoring a well-thought-of ancestor. The first Hiram Whelchel, was born in 1844, another is listed as being born in 1846, and third is listed as being born in 1855. Knowing that recordkeeping was not particularly accurate, it is within the realm of possibility that these three Hirams are the same man, but more work is needed to sort that out.
One possibility lives with the Hiram Whelchel born in 1855. In 1860, a 5-year-old Hiram was living with his grandfather, possibly great-grandfather, 74-year-old Francis Whelchel in Waleska, Georgia with 8 other Whelchels, all likely the grandchildren or great grandchildren of Francis: Abey, 30; Amanda C., 18; Mary J., 13; James, 18; John, 16; Willis A., 14; Hiram, 5, and Willis A, 24.
Families often lived nearby. So, it’s highly likely that the Whelchels who lived next door to Francis and his grandchildren, are related, perhaps even his son. That family was headed by Mager (Major?) Whelchel, 38 and his wife Milley, 35. Living with them were their children, John A. 15; Judith 18, Martha J. 11; William W. 9; and Nancy A., 7. Also living in the home was Rebecca Worley, 68.
Nearby were Hiram Whelchel, 46, and his wife, Ann, 41, with their children William; Mary, 18; Martha, 15; Panthenis, 14; Sarah, 12; Nancy, 9; Daniel, 6; Ruth, 4; and Francis 1.
Daniel Whelchel, 32, lived a little further down the road with his son, James D. Whelchel, 7.
Somewhere in the tangle of Hirams and Francises is my great-great grandfather Hiram Whelchel (often written Welchan, Whelcher, Welchel and Welcher).
By 1878, my great-great grandfather Hiram emerged from the shadows to marry Mary Jane Wright on July 25 in Cherokee County, Georgia. Three years later Hiram and Mary Jane had their first son, George Bartow Whelchel, born August 26, 1881, a time when America was growing following the end of the Civil War. George is my great-grandfather, Mary’s father.
This was the Gilded Age, the 1880s were a time of economic growth. Immigrants were moving to America to earn better wages and live a free life. At the same time, the Industrial Revolution was creating a great divide between America’s poor and the wealthy elite like the Vanderbilts, Rockefellers and Carnegies.
Meanwhile, the Wild West was truly wild the year my Bart Whelchel was born. People began to settle the American West. Billy the Kid was on the run and later killed that year. President James A. Garfield was assassinated, and the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral happened in Tombstone, Arizona.
Bart was the oldest of six Whelchel kids:
· James, born in 1886
· Lela, born in March of 1889
· Emma Louise, born in June of 1891
· Abbigail, born in April 1893
· Evie, the baby of the family, was born in November of 1895
In 1900, Hiram and Mary Jane were living in the Youngs community of Polk County with Bart, who was 18 at the time, his siblings, and Evie Lawson, who is identified as Hiram’s mother.
Bart was a handsome man with thick dark hair and a thick, dark mustache. His good looks no doubt attracted the attention of the widow Fannie Griffin.
Fannie had been married before, to a man with the last name of Griffin. Her husband, with whom she had a daughter, named Harriett, had died young.
That same year, the widow Griffin was living back at home with her father, Littleton, who was 86, and his wife, Mary, who was 56. Fannie’s 4-year-old daughter, Harriett, also lived with the Smiths.
Fannie and Bart married on February 28, 1901. Mary, my grandmother, was born a year-and-a half later, on August 6, 1903.
One of the sad truths of 10-year censuses is that they reveal just how quickly life can change. In 1900 Bart and Fannie weren’t married and had not children. By 1910, Bart was a widower, living with his sister, Emma, and her husband, William Danial Whelchel. Mary was being raised by her grandparents, Hiram and Mary Jane.
But it would not be long before Bart married again. He and his second wife, Katie Rosa Lee, married on July 17, 1910
Bart supported his family by working in the iron mines of Polk County for the Alabama and Georgia Iron Company. And, with America heavily involved in World War I, fighting with the Allies against the German and Ottoman Empires, Bulgaria, Austria and Hungary, a man never knew when he might be called up to fight for his country. Bart registered for the draft on September 12, 1918. He was 37 years old. Perhaps lucky for him, the war ended in November of that year, saving Bart from the horrors of war.
Interestingly, just 15 days after Bart registered for the draft, Mary married the man who was to become my grandfather, Jim Fortenberry. They were married September 27, 1918.
By 1920, Bart and Rosie Lee were living in Paulding County, Georgia, next door to Mary and Jim and their boys Charlie and Bart. My great-grandfather, Charley, also lived with them.
Bart’s father, Hiram, died in 1921, the same year he and Rosie had their only child, James Tucker Whelchel. Bart and Rosie returned to Polk County and continued to live there throughout the 1930s and into the 1940s.
Bart died on Dec. 6, 1946. He was 65 years old. He is buried in Sanders Cemetery in Polk County in a family plot near Francis. Bart’s sister, Emma, and her husband, William Danial Whelchel, are also buried there.
Mary was 43 years old when her father died. By this time, she and Jim were living in Polk County with their large family: Mattie, Floyd, Louis, Selton, Odis, Connie, Marvin, Garvin, Tressie and Margie. Lois (Loyce) Stonewall Fortenberry was not at home when his grandfather died. He had served in World War II, and, no doubt, had returned home to start his family. Charlie had already married to start his own family.
I have only vague memories of my grandmother. I remember her high cheek bones, her straight nose and her coarse gray hair. I was in the third grade when she died. My closest association to her is the cedar wardrobe in our home. I vividly remember the day my dad and his siblings went to my grandmother’s house a few weeks after her death. They each bought the items that had been my grandmother’s, probably to pay for her funeral. We brought home deer antlers that had hung over a doorway and the wardrobe.
The antlers are long gone, but the wardrobe sits proudly in our guest bedroom. It’s a connection to the past and a reminder that, although my last name is Fortenberry, I have the blood of Fortenberrys, Whelchels, Smiths, Wrights, Bates, Hutchins, Almarodes and Formbys flowing through my veins.
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