Henry and Elizabeth Johnson Callis, and Mary War Nan Johnson
Early Settlers of Obion County
Biography by Lynn Laster, 1998

Henry Callis was born in North Carolina on April 4, 1818 and died in Obion County on May 30, 1879. His first wife was Elizabeth “Eliza” Johnson was born in New Iberia, Lousiana on July 1, 1817 and died in Obion County on May 1, 1859. Henry met and married Eliza about 1844 in New Orleans. Eliza was a widow of a physician and of Creole, French, and Indian descent. She had a daughter, Mary War Nan Johnson, who also was born in New Iberia, Lousiana on March 9, 1837. Henry, Eliza, and Mary were living in Obion County by 1850 according to the 1850 U.S. census and may have been in the county as early as 1844. All three lived the rest of their lives in Obion County after settling in the county.

Mary married Elias Laster of Decatur County, TN on November 1, 1854. Henry and Eliza made their home on a farm in the Pleasant Hill area east of Troy. Henry was a farmer and a loom maker during the winter months. He floated his newly built looms on a raft down the Mississippi River to New Orleans where they were sold.

Henry and Eliza were the parents of seven children not counting Mary: Frances Emeline (bc 1845), S. E. (bc 1847), David D. (bc 1849), Heneritta (bc 1851), Elias (1853-1939), Margaret W. (bc 1858), and Charlotte A. (1855-1859). After Eliza’s death, Henry married Sabra (1830-1891). They had no children. Henry, Eliza, and Sabra are buried in the Pleasant Hill Cemetery west of Rives.

Many of Henry and Eliza’s descendants live in Obion County today. Eliza’s daughter, Mary, married Elias Laster (1831-1899) of Decatur County, TN on November 4, 1854 near Troy. After marriage, Mary and Elias made their home in Obion County for the rest of their lives. They had fourteen children of which thirteen lived to be grown. Elias served as a Confederate Soldier in Barteau’s 22nd TN Calvary. Elias and Mary also farmed for a living. They first lived in the Pleasant Hill area until about 1870. Then they lived on a farm about a mile west of Rives until about 1880, and then moved to Crockett Station south of Rives. Around 1892 they moved to live with their son, James Thomas, on a farm in District 7 near the Weakley-Obion County line. Elias and Mary have over 450 descendants with many still living in Obion County. Elias and Mary, as well as several of their children, are buried in the Pleasant Hill Cemetery. They were charter members of the Rives Church of Christ that was formed around 1890.