Transcribed by Janette West Grimes

 

                                               December 17, 1953 - Reprinted May 25, 1978

 

* CAL’S COLUMN *

 

   We resume our story of two weeks ago based on a trip we recently made from Lafayette to a funeral service at Mt. Tabor, near Pleasant Shade, and the trip to the family burial ground where the  dead man was laid to rest. The man who had passed away was our friend for many years, Walter Chambers, commonly called "Big Walter" Chambers. We closed with some account of the first time we ever heard the name Ebenezer, which is the name of a Baptist Church located on the extreme upper waters of Little Peyton's Creek, which empties into the main stream at the Kittrell or old Ballou farm, about a mile and a quarter above Pleasant Shade.

 

   Passing on down the valley, we came to the cemetery in which are buried various members of the Cleveland family which is now nearly extinct in Macon County. In fact we do not recall at this time a single man or woman bearing the name of Cleveland. On this point we would like to give some account of the Clevelands in Smith County, of whom we have any information, was William, who, in 1820, had the following family: Four males under 10, and one male over 45, no doubt William himself. There was only one female in the family, and she was between 16 and 26, supposedly his wife, although she was much younger than her husband.

 

   Joseph Cleveland lived in Smith County in the year 1820, and might have been a son of William by a former marriage. Anyway, he was then between 18 and 26, and his wife was in the age group between 16 and 25. There were no children in the family.

 

   William Cleveland is listed in the census of 1830 as follows: Head of family, William Cleveland; male under 10, one; one from 10 to 15 years old, one from 20 to 30 years of age; and one male from 50 to 60. Females, three under five, one from 5 to 10, one from 20 to 30, and one, supposedly the wife, from 30 to 40 years of age. His nearest neighbors were William Evetts and Joseph Evetts and other neighbors included Elias Johns and Sam W. McMurry, who so far as we can learn, lived in the long ago Dixon's Creek. Readers may not know that prior to 1850, the census taker did not give the name of any member of the family except the head of the family. Beginning in 1850, the various members of the family were enrolled, together with their ages and places of birth.

 

   Joseph Cleveland, presumably the same one listed in 1820, as above set out, had in the year 1830 the following family: Joseph Cleveland, head of the family, males, one from 5 to 10, one from 30 to 40, and this was no doubt Joseph himself; and one female under five, one from 5 to 10, and one from 20 to 30, Mrs. Cleveland no doubt. From the names of his neighbors, whose places of residence are fairly well known today, we would judge that Joseph lived in the year 1830 on Dixon's Creek. His neighbors were Thomas Porter, George Wright, William Bransford, Isaac Wiseman, John Shrum, Womack Parker, Nicholas Shrum and others.

 

   These two Cleveland families are all that lived in Smith County in the year 1830. In the census of 1850 we find the name is spelled there "Cleaveland," which is incorrect. Listed on Peyton's Creek in that year we find: Martha Cleveland, 54, evidently a widow and born in North Carolina; and two other members of the family, Sarah S. Cleveland, 23, and born in Tennessee; and William N. Cleveland, 15, and born in Tennessee. Her neighbors were: James Eden, Nancy Richardson, John Hiett and Joseph Hiett, the grandfather of Luid Hiett, of our town. Living not very far from Martha Cleveland was Joseph B. Gregory, whose wife, Harriet, was a Miss Cleveland prior to her marriage. She was a relative of the Clevelands of Smith  County 100 years ago. She was also the great-great-grandmother of the late Fred D. Gregory, who died in Lafayette some months ago.

 

   Another Cleveland family listed as being in Smith County in the year 1850 was that of Elizabeth Cleveland, evidently a widow also. She was 47 years of age in that year; 1850, and had the following members of her family: Francis M., 17; Lucinda I., 14; and Sarah D., 10. Her nearest neighbors included: Matthew Anderson, Moses Abbitts, supposed to have been Evetts; William B. Weatherford, John H. Ligon, all of whom lived, from the best information obtainable now at a period more than 100 years removed, on the waters of Dixon's Creek

 

   The last listed Cleveland family in the census of Smith County in the year 1850 was that of Jacob Martin Cleveland, 29 years old and born in Tennessee. Other members of the family were his wife, Amanda, 23 years of age and a native of Tennessee; and their one son, Robert Hatton Cleveland, for many years a merchant at Pleasant Shade and a very fine man. He married Maggie Wilkerson, or Wilkinson as some spelled the name. The writer held the funeral of both Bob Cleveland and his wife in the years gone by. Bob was born in the year 1849.

 

   Since the above Cleveland data was written, we have found among our old papers the following information furnished us by Elder Bud Beal, who tells us that his mother, Mrs. Letitia Gregory Beal, gave him these facts on the history of the family more than 20 years ago. She is now dead. The information given by Mrs. Beal follows.

 

   Billie Cleveland must have first married a Burris or a Martin. No further back is known on his line. Mrs. Letitia Beal's mother was Sarah Susan Cleveland, daughter of Billie Cleveland. By the first marriage, either to Burris or Martin, Billie Cleveland was the father of five children: Perry Cleveland, Sookie (Susan) Cleveland, Jack Cleveland, Emmett Cleveland, Harriet Cleveland. Harriet married Joe B. Gregory.

 

   Billie Cleveland later married Patsy Burris, by whom he had six children: Martin Cleveland, Nancy Cleveland, married Alfred Richardson; Matilda Cleveland, married William Taylor; Sarah Susan, married Ambrose David Gregory, son of Big Tom and Bettie Gregory; and Letitia Cleveland, married Billie Smith. Martin Cleveland married Amanda Parker Wright, by whom he had three children, Robert Hatton (Bob), Campbell and Scott Cleveland. Nancy had no children and neither did Matilda. Sarah Susan and Ambrose Gregory we the parents of: three, died in infancy; and Letitia, married Dixon Beal and had four children two who died in infancy; and Bud Beal and Georgia Beal, who married Isham Earps and had eight children, and Palmyra Cleveland, married Rufus Beasley. Bud has but one son. Letitia Cleveland Smith was the mother of two children, one of whom died about 1900 and nothing is known of the other. Billie, Jr., who makes out the number of six children by the Burris woman of the second marriage, married Edith, daughter of Dobb Gregory, by whom he had two children, Monk or William and Addie. Addie married a Godfrey. Billie Jr., married Cattie Lester, by whom he had one son, Fred Cleveland, at present owner of a drug business in Carthage. Still later he married Melvina Hooper.

 

   Proceeding southeastward in our journey to the funeral, we came to the Brown place. Here living in the years gone by Lee Brown, who married a Miss Andrews, Emily by name, the daughter of Drury and Jane Cartwright Andrews. Drury Andrews was the son of John Andrews, commonly called Jack Andrews, and his wife, Matilda Willis. John Andrews was the son of Drury Andrews, who is the ancestor of every Andrews of whom we have any knowledge in North Middle Tennessee.

 

   We drove further southeastward and passed the old home of Billie Gregory, son of Jesse Gregory, son of Curtis Gregory, son of Smith Gregory, son of Squire William H. Gregory, a soldier of the American Revolution, and a brother of the writer's great-great-grandfather, Bry Gregory. Not far from the Billie Gregory home place John B. McDuffee, who is now in his ninties at his home at Hillsdale, this county, was born and grew to manhood. Uncle John is a most remarkably preserved man for his many years, still being able to drive his own car, to mount a horse with the agility of many men 40 years younger than he.

 

   We came later to the Cartwright place near the forks of the upper part of Little Peyton's Creek, but we do not have the name of the first Cartwright who lived there at hand. However, he was a relative of Richardson Cartwright, a pioneer Defeated Creek citizen, perhaps a brother.

 

   Down past the Luster Jones farm, the G. O. Richmond place, the Horace Dickerson farm, we came to the Henry Oldham place. Here lived in the years gone by Elder Henry Calvert Oldham, a Baptist minister, who had the care of quite a number of county congregations and who was quite active in his work as a preacher. He was the son of James Oldham, the son of James Oldham and his wife, Mary Perkins Oldham. James Oldham was the son of George Oldham, and his wife, Celia Sutherland Oldham, who came out of Virginia in the autumn of 1805 and settled at the present Herbert Sloan home. George and Celia are the ancestors of every Oldham of whom we have any information here in North Middle Tennessee except for Reeder Oldham, Gainesboro Church of Christ minister.

 

   We knew Henry Oldham perhaps as well as any other minister. We knew his problems, his fears, his hard trials and his dread of the work of a preacher as intimately as any other man perhaps. He has been gone since July 16, 1943.

 

   He was not a perfect man but neither are our readers and the editor certainly is far from perfect. But Brother Oldham did a lot of good. In fact he was one of the very best preachers we ever knew, to go into the homes of his members and there talk with them over their problems, their sorrows and their worries. The writer has not had time for many years  to do even half as much on this line as he desired to do and felt in his heart he ought to do. Brother Oldham was, at the time of his death, even younger than the writer is today. By this fact we are reminded that our race will soon be run and that we are destined to " go the way of all the earth" at no distant time in the future.

 

   Henry and the writer held many meetings together and enjoyed a fellowship not often found between preachers. We knew each other's faults and short comings perhaps as few ministers do. We had many good times together. We recall his extreme fondness for certain foods and our "razzing" him about how much he could eat. He also had some fun at the expense of the writer. While we were engaged in preaching in the mountains of southwest Virginia, near the big Stone Gap about 30 years ago, he had a lot of fun out of Gregory over the fact that we took refuge in a home near a highway during a shower while we were waiting for a bus to carry us to Middlesboro in the extreme southeast corner of Kentucky, not many miles away. We rushed into the strange home, to find the occupant, a Methodist minister, about to engage in the morning prayer. We apologized for intruding and were then welcomed into the midst of the family of the mountain preacher, who already had his Bible in his hand from which to read a lesson. He looked at the two strange ministers and then handed the book to the writer saying, "You are the older. Take charge of the devotional period." We were some five years younger than Oldham, but we took the Bible, read a lesson and then led in prayer. Oldham got a "laugh" out of the strange preacher's thinking that Gregory was the older of the two.

 

   We recall another episode in which Oldham was the "goat" instead of Gregory. We were with Elder C. B. Massey in a little Bible school at Gladdice Baptist Church, in Jackson County, Tenn. It was the noon hour and dinner was to be spread in the church house. Oldham said to Gregory. "Let us take a walk." We accepted his invitation and went outside where we found the temperature far below freezing. After we had almost frozen, we said, "Lets go back into the house. I am about to freeze." Oldham refused, saying that he did not wish to go back just then. We went anyway, with Oldham some distance behind. Just as the writer entered the church house, Elder Massey, who was pastor, asked, "Brother Gregory, where is Brother Oldham ?" We replied, "He is about to come into the church house. I think he is trying to get out of offering thanks." At this point Massey said, "Bow your heads while Brother Oldham offers thanks." Poor Brother Oldham, who had a dread of offering thanks, finally managed to begin his "grace." After a few words, he said, "O Lord, we thank thee for this food that we are about to .. here he faltered for want of the correct word, "receive." He finally said the word, "enter" and shortly afterward terminated his thanks with "A-men." Massey whispered to the writer in a voice loud enough for Oldham to hear it, "Gregory, I've got a good joke on Oldham." We said, "What is it, Henry ?" He replied, "That fool blunder I just now made in offering thanks." It makes me think of ....." He named another preacher who was as full of blunders perhaps as any man we ever saw. Oldham was then told by Massey, "Brother Oldham, you should have said this food that is about to enter us, instead of the food we are "about to enter," unless you are planning to dive right into the good things to eat on this table." Oldham became terribly blue and said to the writer privately, "I have a good mind to go home and never try to preach again." He was very easily discouraged and we sought to minimize the blunder he had made, although we did have a lot of fun about it.

 

   C. B. Massey, who preached a sermon for criticism some later, made a remark in his sermon about Jonah and the ground vine, which came up in a night and of which he was very proud. He then stated that the worm cut down Jonah's ground vine. The writer could not resist saying to Oldham, who was sitting by his side, "Henry, didn't a worm cut down your vine this morning ?" At this remark Oldham laughed a great deal and the writer almost disturbed the service. Massey thought that he had made some sort of "slip" and that we were laughing about his break. When we told him what had happened, he joined in the fun and Oldham soon forgot the feeling of giving up and going home and leaving the work of the ministry once and for all.

(To be continued)

 

 

 

MRS. WEAVER WRITES

 

                                                              212 Tenn. Ave.,

                                                              Bremen, Ga.

                                                               December 8, 1953

 

Mr. Calvin Gregory,

Lafayette, Tenn.

 

 Dear Mr. Gregory:

 

   I am enclosing herewith check for six months' subscription to the Macon County Times. We find it a very interesting and wholesome newspaper. Your Column is just splendid. I thought, perhaps, there may be some information gleaned on the McDonald clan, too. I am still eager to locate Jane McDonald Halliburton's father and the dates of her birth and death. Have you any response from your advertisements asking for the history books, Sisco's Historic Sumner County and Goodspeed's History of Tennessee, with special account of Macon, Sumner, Smith and Trousdale Counties?

 

   I wonder if the bond issue passed. As I see it from here, it looks like it would be a good thing. Thank you so much for the copies of the Macon County Times. We shall look forward to enjoying them in the future.

 

   With best wishes to you and yours for the Christmas season, I am

 

                                                     Sincerly yours,

                                                     Mrs. W. H. Weaver

 

   ( Editor's note.We appreciate this communication from Mrs. Weaver and thank her for her good words about the paper. We hope that we may "live up to them." As to the success of our efforts to obtain the two histories above mentioned, we are sorry to report that we have no success. However, it should be added that we already had Goodspeed's History but wanted a second copy. Sisco's Historic Sumner County is still missing.

 

   Since we prepared the article on the McDonald family for Mrs. Weaver and others, we have discovered the following facts about the Halliburtons which may give some light on Mrs. Weaver's search for Jane McDonald Halliburton's record: On Sept. 29, 1839, James M. Albright was married to Margaret S. Halliburton, the ceremony being performed by Thomas Janiagin, J. P. This record is found in the marriage records of Dickson County, Tenn. On Jan. 11, 1840, in the same county, Edward M. Rogers was married to Lucy L. Halliburton, the ceremony being performed by W. H. Turner, J. P. In the same county, on Nov. 21, 1840, Allen Halliburton and Susan Rainey were married.

 

   On Oct. 2, 1842, in the same county, John D. Halliburton and Julia Anne Parrott were married, with James Daniel, J. P. officiating. On Jan. 5, 1843, in the same county, Robert Halliburton and Lucretia Tilly were married, but the officiant is not named. On April 20, 1843, in the same county, R. P. Halliburton, J. P., officiated in the marriage of Joseph Shelton to Susan Rice. The same Magistrate officiated in the marriage of John S. Whitsitt to Rizbah Waynick on Feb. 23, 1844.

 

   On Sept. 20, 1845, in Dickson County, Tenn., Humphries Halliburton and Mary E. Humphries were married, but the officiant is not named in the records I have. On March 10, 1846, Charles Halliburton and Nancy Ragon were married by J. G. Hinson, J. P. On Jan. 21, 1847, William Humphries and Arrabella Halliburton were married, but the officiant is not given. On Jan. 12, 1847, Thomas W. Halliburton and Martha E. Ragon were married, with no record given of the officiant. On Dec. 30, 1847, Squire R. P. Halliburton officiated in the marriage of Issah Bagett and Harriet A. Suggs. On March 24th, same year, the same man officiated in the marriage of Jesse Steeley to Aney Jordan. These records are still on file in Dickson County, Tenn. They show that quite a large number of Halliburtons once lived in that county.

 

   In Woodlawn Cemetery, near Knox County, Tenn., is buried La Venia Halliburton, born March 24, 1847, and died Aug. 4, 1926.

 

   Perhaps you glean a bit of information from the above items which I have among my old records. We have here in Macon County a few members of the Halliburton family, but they know almost nothing of their line of descent beyond two or three generations. Perhaps you might be interested in knowing that the writer's father's first sweetheart, away back in the late eighties, was Miss Alice Halliburton. Whose daughter she was we do not know, although we are of the opinion that this could be ascertained.

 

   I find that a small reference is made to one McDonald in Ramsey's Annuals of Tennessee, in the following words, found on page 188 in the year 1779: "Another party took Little Owl's Town, and others were in like manner taken and burned. Besides the other spoils, Shelby took 150 horses, 100 cattle and great quantities of deer skins, owned in part by a trader named McDonald."

 

   If we can be of further service to you, please let us know and we will make an effort to secure the line of descent of the Macon and Smith County Halliburtons.)