It seems I have added 1/2 pound…
The two orange siblings passed away not long after I got this group one week ago. Their body temperatures never reached a level that was high enough to register on the thermometer. This can mean that their vital organs are impaired and will shut down.
In the meantime…
This guy can drink from a bowl, which makes my life infinitely simpler.
Lawton was the 4th child born to Mary Robert Lawton Garrard and William Garrard, and the second to die in childhood. The first child, Bessie, died at 1 year when her mother was about 6 months pregnant with the 2nd child William. William lived to adulthood and married and had children.
Lawton did not.
FUNERAL INVITATIONS. GARRARD. – The relatives and friends of Mr. and Mrs. William Garrard are invited to attend the funeral of their son, Lawton, at 11 o’clock this morning from their residence, 202 Gwinnett street, east. (Newspaper article courtesy of Emily Garrard from the Savannah Morning News, April 21, 1899.)
Image courtesy of Emily Garrard.
He was 6 years and 6 months old when he died of dysentery. He left behind his parents, and his siblings, William Jr., Gulielma, Emily, and Cecelia.
ADOPTED BY THE GUARDS.
*****
Little Bessie Garrard, daughter of Col. and Mrs. William Garrard, was the recipient last night of a delightful serenade, a magnificent gift and a christening as “The Daughter of the Battalion.” The Guards, to the number of 100, marched from the arsenal to the residence of Dr. W. S. Lawton on Lafayette Square by arrangement. The battalion formed in line on Abercorn street fronting the residence, the right resting on Macon street and the left on Harris street. The Union Cornet band rendered the serenade “Lullaby,” from “Erminie,” “Rock a Bye Baby,” “Bye Bye Baby, Bye Bye,” and ended with “George, Dear, Baby’s Got a Tooth.”
The battalion then marched by twos into the spacious parlors, where Col. and Mrs. Garrard gave each member a warm clasp of the hand and a hearty welcome. Hardly had the Guards been welcomed when Lieut. John M. Bryan disappeared and shortly after reappeared with little Bessie, the Col. and Mrs. Garrard’s infant, not quite 5 months old, in his arms, whom he introduced as “the daughter of the battalion.” She was rapturously cheered, and seemed to enjoy it, and during the speech making and cheers which followed she clung close to the lieutenant, alternately laughing or curiously examining the gay uniforms of the soldiery.
When quiet had been restored Gazaway Hartridge, Esq., stepped forward with a handsome cup, the gift of the battalion and said:
Colonel, the members of your corps wish to bestow upon your daughter a loving gift. If in the mysterious and oft-times disappointing movements of an all-wise providence your daughter had had the misfortune to be born a son, we would have taken no further interest in her beyond the mere fact of her nativity. Certainly we would not, as we have done, select a cup as our affectionate testimonial. We would not encourage those inherited instincts which might beset and betray the infant in his majority. But we feel safe in presenting this drinking vessel to your daughter. We are assured that it will never contain anything more injurious than cold, clammy ice water, and, perhaps, nothing less beneficial than five drops of paregoric, or six tablespoons of ipecac, administered every half hour, during that period of life when impositions are endured in unrelenting helplessness.
Colonel, we trust your fair daughter will treasure this gift as a precious memorial of the attachment which all her father’s command felt for herself and her parents. We hope she will not hoard it as a suggestion of her father’s unfortunate habits. If ever she is deprived of a parent’s affection, let her survey the corps and pick her choice. Certainly her option will range unconfined. What manner of man is not to be found in our ranks? From bristly Cyclops to downy dudes, what specimen is there missing from the cabinet? No man can tell you of the love we bear you and yours. If, in the course of eternal years, you should pass away, we solemnly pledge ourselves never to forget those whom you woke have us to remember. The arms of this corps are upon this richly chased vessel, but about the objects of your dearest concern the arms of every Guard will be stretched in time of emergency, waving wide, like the Cherub’s flaming sword, to bar access of every approaching evil, and strained to their utmost tension to uplift tenderly and sustain firmly those beloved beings whom you have most reason to surround with the comforting assurances and wasting anxieties of an everlasting love and affection.
Miss Bessie fastened her little fingers in the handle of the cup and carried it to her lips, but was most too young to speak for herself, and Col. Garrard taking the gift in his hand responded for her, for her mother and for himself. It was the second time, he said, that the battalion had shown its kindness for himself and family. When returning a year ago from a tour of travel, it welcomed them home; now it had seen fit to show its affection for his little daughter. He accepted the christening – she should be the daughter of the battalion – and among the first endearing names she will be taught to lisp, the colonel said, will be that of the battalion.
In conclusion, the colonel on behalf of himself, his wife and daughter, welcomed the battalion and invited the members to partake of their hospitality. The popping of champagne followed the speech-making, and to the music of the band the hospitalities were enjoyed amid general congratulations and well wishes for the hosts.
The cup is worthy to be called a “magnificent gift.” It is solid silver, gold-lined, elegantly frosted and chased with the coat of arms of the battalion on the cup which is shaped to resemble a snare drum. The handle is an infantry bugle, and the drum cords are of solid gold. On the bottom of the cup is the inscription,”Bessie Garrard, from Savannah Volunteer Guards, June 13, 1888,” the date of her birth. The design is by Lieut. Bryan and Sergt. Burdell, and the cup was made by the Gorham Manufacturing Company of New York. The serenade and reception of course were anticipated by Col. and Mrs. Garrard, but the presentation was a genuine surprise. There was quite a number of the lady friends of the family and the battalion present, and the occasion was an enjoyable one.
Little Bessie Garrard, named for her grandmother Elizabeth “Bessie” Jones Lawton, died the following year at age one. The cause of death was teething.
It’s too cold for kittens. We had a cold snap a few nights ago.
A woman called me because she was monitoring a nest of kittens born to a feral mother, and suddenly, the morning after the cold night, the kits weren’t moving.
They were basically so cold that the thermometer could not get a reading. Today, they are on soft bedding in a crate on a heating pad. They have been fed and rehydrated and dewormed and de-fleaed. Which is not a word except in my world.
If you would like to donate a dollar or two, there’s a “Hep a Kitten Out” button on the main page.
Or just send happy thoughts our way!
I feel badly about poor Mary Robert Lawton Garrard. I can’t stop thinking about her.
She was probably about 37 years old when she died. She had lost her first child, Bessie Garrard, when Bessie was one year old. She lost a son, Lawton Garrard, when he was six years old.
According to her obituary, which was provided to me by her great-granddaughter Emily, Mary had had an operation following 8 weeks of lingering illness.
So now I need to know more. I found her will and two codicils on ancestry dot com.
Most of the will is legalese about dispensing monies, real property, and personal property to the surviving four children. Perhaps her husband prepared this section since he was an attorney.
The sections that you and I might find most interesting are the ones where she dispenses personal items to the children, Giulie, William, Emily, and Cecelia. It is in the 2nd codicil that she distributes silver, China, glassware, and jewelry. A diamond pin here, a ruby ring there. Mary accounts for everything beautifully.
It occurs to me that the will is dated the 30th day of March, 1901, almost 115 years ago. Yet she doesn’t die until October 11, 1902, a full year and a half later. The obit says she has had a lingering illness of 8 weeks.
What causes a young woman in her 30s to write at least one will? Because she does mention that all other wills would be made null and void. Perhaps she was ill for a long time.
She could not know that two more of her daughters, Giulie and Emily, would die in childhood after she herself passed away.
Good-night, Mary. Rest well from your worldly cares.
Sugar’s cousin Emily has a collection of research about the Lawton and Garrard connection. She loaned me a BOX of stuff. (Should I tell you that she gave me this box a year ago Christmas? Probably not. You might think I’m a slacker, but I’m merely a proCRAFTinator.)
So here we have 4 pages of newspaper articles. The first three are from the same article that wouldn’t fit onto one sheet, which reports her wedding on Thursday, July 14, 1887. The newspaper is The Morning News: Friday, July 15, 1887.
The fourth is her death notice, also from The Morning News: Saturday, October 11, 1902.
A VERY PRETTY WEDDING.
Christ Church the Scene of an Interesting Social Event.
Miss Mary Robert Lawton, daughter of Dr. W. S. Lawton, and Col. William Garrard were married at Christ church at 7 o’clock last evening, by Rev. Dr. Strong. The church was brilliantly lighted and decorated with a profusion of flowers and floral ornaments. Some time before the hour for the ceremony the guests began to arrive, and within a few minutes the church was nearly filled with the friends of Miss Lawton and Col. Garrard. The bridal party assembled in the rear of the church, and as the organist began the wedding march — from Tannheuser — the ushers led the way to the altar. Messrs. Thomas Screven and Josehp (sic) Cumming in front, followed by Messrs. A. Minis, Jr., and A. Boyd. Behind them were Misses Emmie Lawton and Maud Thomas, and they were followed at regular intervals of about ten feet by Messrs. Grimes and W. W. Williamson, Misses V. Minis and Gulie Lawton, Messrs. W. Cumming and S. A. Wood, Misses Bessie Martin and LeHardy, Messrs. George W. Owen and R. L. Mercer, Misses L. N. Hill and Ruth Stewart, Messrs. T. P. Ravenel and Edward Lawton. Misses Nannie Stewart and Elise Heyward, Messrs. A.M. Martin, Jr., and H. H. Thomas, Misses Viva Taylor and Clelia Elliott, and Messrs. W. N. Pratt and John S. Schley. Col. Garrard and Miss Lawton came last. As the bridesmaids reached the steps of the choir floor they separated, standing on either side, and the groomsmen continued on and formed a semi-circle around the outer edge of the choir floor. After the bride and groom had reached the altar the bridesmaids followed, and formed another semi-circle between the bridal pair and the groomsmen..Dr. Strong then proceeded with the ceremony, and Dr. Lawton gave away the bride. The ceremony being concluded, Col. and Mrs. Garrard led the way down the aisle, and the bridesmaids and groomsmen followed, the bridesmaids walking with their respective groomsmen instead of together as they entered.
“Midsummer’s Night Dream” was played as the party moved from the church and entered the carriages. The programme was beautifully arranged and successfully carried out. The bride’s dress was of white silk, trimmed with pearls and lace. On her head she wore a wreath of orange blossoms and in her hand she carried a magnificent bouquet of white rosebuds. The bridesmaids were all in white, their dresses being of mull and their sashes of watered silk.
At the residence of the bride’s parents, Dr. and Mrs. W. S. Lawton, on Lafayette square, the reception was held. The parlors were filled with friends and a delightful evening was spent. Many elegant toilets were noticeable. The wedding presents were numerous and exquisite, and many of them very costly. The most beautiful of them all, perhaps, was the punch bowl, waiter and ladle, presented by the Savannah Volunteer Guards. The set is of sterling silver, from original designs of the most elegant and artistic character. The bowl, holding two gallons, stands upon a convoluted base, the graceful outline continuing to its edge, a graceful curve, meeting a frieze four inches wide, the surface of which was worked up by hand into a procession of infant Bacchuses celebrating a vineyard feast. The beautifully turned edge of oxidized silver meets the lining of gold.The waiter has a satin-finished surface and an oxidized silver edge two inches wide, and in the centre is the coat-of-arms of the Guards. The ladle is the crowning piece of artistic work. From the bowl springs a vine, and upon the handle sits Bacchus himself, holding this, his goblet. The gift was made here in Savannah by Theus & Co.
The bride and groom withdrew from the reception at 8:30 o’clock to prepare for their wedding tour. They will be entertained this morning by Col. Garrard’s mother, at a wedding breakfast at her home in Columbus, Ga. Their wedding tour will include Chicago, Denver and other Western cities, and may extend to California. They expect to be absent about four months.
MRS. GARRARD DEAD.
The End Came at an Early Hour This Morning.
Mrs. William Garrard died at 3 o’clock this morning at the Savannah Hospital from the result of an operation, after a lingering illness of eight weeks. The end had been expected for some time, and yesterday all hopes for her recovery were lost, when, in the morning, she began to sink rapidly.
Mrs. Garrard was a daughter of the late Dr. W. S. Lawton, her maiden name being Mary Lawton. Fifteen years ago, in Christ Church, then 22 years of age, she was married to Col. William Garrard. She was a devoted member of Christ Church. She manifested deep interest in patriotic societies, being a daughter of the American Revolution and a Colonial Dame.
Mrs. Garrard was a woman whose lovable disposition made her near and dear to all who knew her. Of sound sense and judgment, and possessing great energy, she won friends by her true heartedness and genial disposition wherever she moved. She was generally loved by all who knew her, and her death is a sad shock to the entire community.
Mrs. Garrard leaves a husband and four children. She also has living a brother, Capt. Ed. Lawton, U. S. A., who is at present detailed to military duty at one of the military schools in Pennsylvania, and two sisters, Mrs. Thomas Screven and Mrs. Carrington Reed of Nashville.
Mary Lawton – 20 years old. Most probably taken about 1885. Photo courtesy of Sugar’s Gold Mine in the Closet
Once upon a time, say about 175 years ago, give or take a few, Christopher Remington Bateson moved from Lancashire, England to New York City. He married a woman named Mary.
They moved to Savannah, Georgia, and operated a toy store. They had 4 children, Christopher Henry, Thomas A., Alice, and Mary Jane. Alice died in 1853 at 8 years and 9 months, while her mother Mary was pregnant with Mary Jane. Mary Jane was born and died at the age of 12 hours, 2 months after Alice.
The 2 boys Christopher and Thomas were in the Civil War. Christopher died in 1870. Thomas died in 1877.
The last Bateson person to be buried in this plot was Thomas’s son, Thomas Remington Bateson, who died in 1879 at age 7.
This plot was unmarked for 135 YEARS until it was located by Julie in Brussels via the Internet. She got in touch with me via the Internet. Sugar determined that he would purchase a marker for the family.
His cousin Walter in Canada found us through the blog via the Internet. He and his wife visited us last year. This year, I suppose because he is snowed in and has time for research, Walter emailed the President of the Savannah Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, simply to inquire if she had information about these brothers.
She researched them via the Internet, and determined that they were eligible for government markers.
She ordered the markers, and after they are placed, she will arrange a formal ceremony to honor these fellows.
While we wait, Sugar wants to go back to the cemetery and collect the flower pots left over from the poinsettias that we presented at Christmas.
*****
We pull up to #322, and this is what we see.
And Sugar, being a good spotter, spots 2 blue flags.
My heart, be still.
Christopher H. Bateson
Thomas A. Bateson
I find this all a remarkable chain of events, which would not have been possible. Without. The Internet.
And if you want to attend the ceremony but can’t? I’ll let you know, via the Internet.
Sugar and I had a simple errand involving a cat.
Poor Gerald had a squinty eye condition that was causing his third eye lids to cover almost two-thirds of his eyes to protect them. The veterinarian called in a prescription of neo/poly/bac drops, which was called in to the local pharmacy in our little town.
When we went to pick it up, I asked to see the med before Sugar paid for it. It was wrong. They had substituted an eyedrop with a steroid, and if his cornea had an ulcer or a scratch, the steroid would cause his cornea to melt.
That’s right. MELT.
After much discussion and determination that the pharmacy did not carry this simple drug, I sent a text to the vet (it’s handy to have a vet friend). She called in another med to a pharmacy in Savannah. We had planned on going on a cemetery errand the next day anyway.
*****
As luck would have it, Savannah was crowded, and Sugar muttered a bit while looking for a parking place. He finally found one in front of Corinne Elliott Lawton’s house where she died in 1877.
Good-night, Corinne. We’re thinking of you.
Any Maner people out there? You already know that he mentions the Lawtons.
These images are from a self-published book. The author is deceased, but I’ve written to a relative to see if there are more books available in a stash somewhere. If not, maybe we can get permission to reprint.
Good-night, Mr. Lawton, and thank you for publishing your book.
Ruthrawls’s BlogIn which there are cats and yarn. Oh, and dead people.
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