yesterday's tennessee

TRAIL BLAZERS OF YESTERDAY

Our ancestors are important to all of us What we've achieved has been because of the heritage they have left us. Because of this act, we choose to write a little about each one who would be a centenarian at this time, if they were living. We went back only one generation in selecting these persons. This includes all we could remember who lived within a two-mile radius of Sardis -- just away of giving a capsule picture of a host of wonderful people.

Mr. Bob Chalk was a farmer, a store owner. and a peddler. He married Ella Fussoll and they were Baptists. Their children are: Leo. Buford, Mrs. Ruby Russ and Cleadis Chalk [deceased].

Mr. George Dyer was a farmer and he also bought form products and hauled them to Jackson. He married Mary Medlin. They attended the Church of Christ. Their children: Adam. Earl, Guy and the following are deceased: Clyde and Miss Vida Dyer.

Mr. William Holland, better known as Mr. Billy, was a teacher and farmer, He wont to Oklahoma to teach Agriculture to the Cherokee Indians on their reservation, and returned to Sardis in l904. He married Sarah Creasy and they attended the Methodist Church. Their children are: Mrs. Allie Pitt, Mrs. Beulah Durnas. Mrs. Ruth Vandyke, Tom and the following who era deceased: Ophia. Mrs. Lorena Holland. Misses Kayla and Garti. Holland.

Mr. Sherman Johnson was a business man in Sardis for. a long time.. He had a general merchandise store and was also the undertaker at or,. tin,.. He served as a school board member for several years. He married Callie. Medlm and they attended the Baptist Church.

Mr. John Johnson was a farmer. He married Mattie Allen and they attended the Methodist Church. Their children: Miss Pearl Johnson and the following are deceased: Mrs. Bertha McGee, Mrs. Dora Goff, Register and Tom.

Mr. Isaac Kennedy was a farmer. He married Bessie Johnson and they attended the Baptist Church. Their children are Mrs. Velma Rhea Baker and the following who are deceased: Ernest and Mrs. Vida Chalk.

Mr. Charlie Martin was a farmer and operated a cotton gin. He married Martha Short and they attended the Methodist Church. Their children are Threet, Mrs. Carra Holland, Marvin Neal, Lon C., Wayne and the following who are deceased: Hassell, Haggard, and Ward.

Mr. Drew McCawley was a farmer. He married Josie Medlin and they attended the Baptist Church. Their children are Mrs. Flora Little, Mrs. Mary Stanfill, Mrs. Vera Nash and one is deceased, Mrs. Beulah Bradfield.

Mr. John Montgomery was a farmer. He married Missy Clark and they attended the Methodist Church. Their children are Mrs. Reba Clenney, Mrs. Ruby Jones, Mrs. Alla Mae Goodwin, Mrs. Anna Lee Creasy, Howard, and the following who are deceased: Mrs. Eva Blankenship, Buford, Purvis, and Norman.

Mr. Will Montgomery was a farmer and a blacksmith. He married Clemmie Craig and they attended the Methodist Church. Their children are Curtis and these are deceased: Edgar and Connie.

Mr. Edd Mitchell is one whom most of us remember. He was a farmer and hauled freight. He married Nellie Allen and they attended the Methodist Church. Their children are Mrs. Beulah Parker, Edward, Mark, Johnny, Ray, and the following who are deceased: Mrs. Annie Blankenship, Ernest, and Jesse.

Mr. Mac Roberts was a farmer. He married Eliza Moore and their children are Dewey, and the following who are deceased: Miss Josie Roberts, Mrs. Anna Medlin, Jim, Walter, and Homer.

Mr. D. L. Story was a teacher for many years and a lay preacher. He married Mae Ricketts, who was also a teacher and they attended the Methodist Church.

Mr. Jim Sheppard was a farmer. He married Deena Reddin and they attended the Baptist Church. Their children are Mrs. Maerene Ross, and Terry who is deceased.

Mr. John Story was a farmer and a county road commissioner. He married Lily Stanfill and they attended the Methodist Church. Their children are Mrs. Ethel Phillips, Earl, and Perry who is deceased.

Mrs. Flora Tenry Shirley was married to Mr. Ed Tenry and later to Mr. Edward "Pebe" Shirley. She was a Methodist. Their children are Mrs. Louise Story and Earl Tenry who is deceased.

Mr. John Willis was a farmer. He married Dora Stanfill and they attended the Methodist Church. Their children are Mrs. Mildred Schwartz, Mrs. Oren Benson, Richie, Paul, and Mrs. Ruby Hanna who is deceased.

Mr. Tom Benson was a farmer. He married Hattie Record. Their children are Flake, and the following who are deceased: Buford, Ray, and Roy.

Mr. Charlie Moore was a farmer. He married Etta Mitchell and they were Methodist. Their children are Mrs. Roxie Crider, June Numnely, and those who are deceased: Mrs. Edna Johnson, and Will.

Mr. Mark Wade was a farmer. He married Lector Stanfill and they attended the Pentecostal Church. Their children are Mrs. Flora Stanfill, Mrs. Clyde Thompson, Mrs. Gertrue Montgomery, Mrs. Maleria Bancom, Albert, Cleatus and the following who are deceased: Mrs. Flossie Ellis, Mrs. Vergie Pierce, Mrs. Sinda McBride and Miss Jewel Wade.

Mr. Oliver Holland was a farmer here and in Decatur County. He married Cynthia Scott and they were Freewill Baptists. Their children are Mrs. Floasie Wylie, Mrs. Flora Bivens, Mrs. Lorene Lumpkin, Willie, Erin, and Mrs. Artie Scott who is deceased.

Mr. Thomas L. Perkins was a farmer. He married Ida Bivens. They were Baptist. Their one child is Lelon Perkins.

Mr. T. J. Kirk was a dredge boat and drag line operator. He was Baptist and married Mae Rice. Their children are Mrs. Alma Lee Redding, Mrs. Maribel Tapp and one who is deceased: Keith.

Mrs. Zora Saint Adams came to Sardis when she was three years old and lived here all her life. She married Mr. Earl Adams and they attended the Methodist Church. Their children are Mrs. Willie Mae Haggard and the following who are deceased: Lee, Noah, and Earl.

Mr. Joe Medlin was a farmer. He married Lula Moffett and they attended the Baptist Church. Their children are Mrs. Mildred Presley, Roy and Thomas Ray.

Miss Nora Steel was never married and was the daughter of Rev. W. J. and Nancy Bivens Steel. She attended the Methodist Church and taught a children's Sunday school class for many years. Many recall the influence she had on their lives.

Mr. Charlie Little, a rural mail carrier for many years, married Mrs. Maud Guernsey and they had a family of eight. They are Edgar and Mrs. Linnie Hopper (both deceased), Ray, Jack, Mrs. Irene Stewart, Mrs. Doris Ross, Mrs. Edith Taylor, and Mrs. Norma Willis. They were members of the Church of Christ.

Mr. Jim England was a farmer. He married Miss Mary McKinny and they had two boys and four girls. Those deceased are Mrs. Opal Little, Mrs. Ruth Rice, Billy A. and Robert. The other children are Mrs. Jimmie Little and Mrs. Irene Holt. They were Methodists.

Mr. Scott Little was a rural mail carrier for many years. He married Miss Imogene Carter and they had a family of four: Mrs. Mabel Gilbert, Mrs. Fay Shirley, Clyde (deceased), and Auburt. They attended the Church of Christ.

Mr. Elvis Hanna, who was a farmer, married Miss Lizzie Phillips. They were Baptists. Six children were born to them: Knox, Aubry, Mrs. Vera Bailey (all deceased), Otha, Mrs. Ruby Williams, and Eather.

Mrs. Maud Willis married John Willis who was a farmer. They were Primitive Baptists. They had a family of seven: Ernest (deceased), Mrs. Opal Shands, Mrs. Mabel Johnson, Linnie, L. M., Defaris and Mrs. Marine Mitchell.

Mr. John Mc Bride married Miss Elizabeth Johnson. They were United Primitive Baptists. They had a family of five: Mrs. Julia Newman, Hughie, Ella, John (all deceased), and Mrs. Mallie Corbitt. Mr. McBride was a farmer.

Mr. "Babe" John Wesley Newman was a cotton gin operator. He married Mrs. Estelee Hanna and they had a family of four: Bob, Mrs. Ethel McNatt, Mrs. Mallie Brooks (all deceased), and Mrs. Millye Blackshear. Mr. Newman taught "singing" schools. He and his family were Methodists.

Mr. T. J. Moffett married Miss Ann Lane. They were farmers and members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. In order to have a better school for his children, he moved his family of nine to Sardis in 1911. The children are Ervin, Otis (known as Oce), Ceaf, Mrs. Goldie Phillips. Mrs. Tress Ross, Mrs. Duluth Brandon, and Miss Gaither Moffett. These seven are deceased. Other children are Mrs. Mattie Ford and Mrs. Mary Rice.

Mrs. Hattie Hanna was a teacher and a very active person in the Methodist Church. She never married but she adopted and raised a girl. The adopted daughter is Mrs. Clara Mae Smith.

Mr. Alfred Oldham married Miss Fanny Hanna. They were Methodists. He was a farmer and was mayor of Sardis a few years. They had a family of five: Mrs. Beulah Hanna, Mrs. Ruby Rogers (deceased), Mrs. Alleene Meadors, Ray, and Roland.

Mr. William Henry "Bill" McBride married Miss Mattie Moore. They had eight children: Jess, Melburn, Sherman, Mrs. Artie Dyer, Mrs. Ida Benson, Mrs. Lessie Brown (all deceased), Mrs. Pearl Landry, and Mrs. Ethel Sipes. Mr. McBride was a farmer and was also a Henderson County Sheriff. He died while on duty. They attended the Baptist Church.

Mr. Mack Delaney married a Miss Stevenson. They were the parents of the late Elbert Delaney. After Mrs. Delaney died lie married Miss Nora Stanfill and they had one son, Curtis Delaney. The Delaneys were farmers.

Mr. Bob Totty was a business man, a nurseryman, and officer of the Sardis Bank. He was considered an authority on how to care for fruit trees, grape vines, etc.

Mr. Joe Stanfill, a farmer, married Miss Audry Duck. They had three sons: Gordon, Riley, and Golie. They also had two daughters: Mrs. Mamie Baker and Mrs. Mabel Crook. The Stanfills were Methodists.

Mr. Logan Medlin married Miss Izella Bailey. They were Baptists. They had a family of five: Mrs. Mae Crouch, Arthur, Jack, Mrs. Mabel Campbell, and Mrs. Ruby Holland. Mr. Medlin was a farmer and a well digger. They attended the Baptist Church.

Mr. Tom Johnson married Miss Bert Lane. Mr. Johnson was a farmer and a Justice of the Peace. They had two sons: Elger (deceased) and Maynard. They also had three daughters: Mrs. Ethel Phillips, Mrs. Lura Jordon, and Mrs. Odessa Smith (deceased). They attended the Church of Christ.

Mr. Henry Ross married Miss Liza Vandyke and they had three sons: Argil, Virgil, and Cardgel (all deceased). After Mrs. Ross died he married Miss Jocie Dickson. They had three sons and two daughters: Hershel, Seamon, Harold, Mrs. Myrtle Tucker, and Mrs. Ethel Benson. The Rosses were farmers.

Mr. Houston Creasy married Miss Dora Anglin. He was a merchant and a farmer. He also attended Sardis Normal College, became qualified to teach, and taught for several years. He also served as a member of the Henderson County Board of Education after he had quit teaching for some time. Mr. and Mrs. Creasy had a family of four: Mrs. Avis Scott, Manuel, Mrs. Junita Ross and Mrs. Dorothy McBride. They attended the Church of Christ.

Mr. John Delaney married Miss Fanny Smith. They had four daughters: Mrs. Annie Douglas Haggard, Mrs. Bessie Moore, Mrs. Myrtle Brandon (all deceased), and Mrs. Ethel Conoway. Mr. Delaney was a farmer. They attended the Methodist Church.

Mr. Andy Blevins was a merchant. He married Miss Ollie Newman. Their children are Mrs. Mary Powers and the following who are deceased: Miss Nellie Blevins, Mrs. Bill Blevins, and Miss Mabel Tripp.

Mr. Filmore Pierce owned and operated a hotel and he was the town policeman. He married Rena Holley. They had one son, Frank. They attended the Church of Christ.