The Lacy

I went to the Lacy Hotel last week. Only it’s not a hotel any more. It’s a gift, antique, and home furnishing shop. 

I wasn’t shopping. I have a #CousinNotCousin whose grandmother and aunt worked at the Lacy, back in the day when it was an actual hotel. They cooked there for many years, and their cooking was legendary. One friend said she could still taste the rolls, warm from the oven, even though the Lacy as a hotel has been out of business for many years. 

It opened during the 1920s. It was a place where you could get a meal, book a room, or attend a meeting. Ladies’ society clubs met there. Men’s business groups met there. Families went for a meal. 

My family went the same places over and over, and the Lacy wasn’t one of them. I don’t know why. 

So that made my visit extra-interesting. My goal was to snap a few shots for my #CousinNotCousin Beth in Illinois. The Lacy was so beautiful that I got carried away. 

Walk straight through the front door to the room behind, turn around, and you see this room…

Then across the room at a diagonal to the doorway beyond which is the old dining room. 

I made myself stop taking photos of the stairs. It was an unusual layout. 

There are 6 rooms upstairs. Nooks and crannies are full of wonderful things. 

T

I’m rather astonished that a gift shop is alive and well in my hometown. 

I bought some mulling spices and also a heritage book “Windows to the Past”, which was published in 1982 as part of Lenoir City’s Diamond Jubilee. 

I got the book with the thought that I would send it to Beth in Illinois as a token of remembrance from the Lacy. Much later, I was looking through it, and I saw a photo of the graduating class of 1938. Y’all? There was my mother. 

I hope Beth enjoys her mulling spices. 

More Than One Hundred and Thirty-Eight Years Later: the Bateson Brothers at Laurel Grove

I’ve written about Christopher Henry Bateson and his brother Thomas quite a bit. They both served together during the Civil War. They lived to return to Savannah, but both died young. 

And a strange turn of events happened. 

Julie in Brussels found their death records in the City of Savannah Cemetery database. She contacted me online using the ancestry.com messaging system. 

I contacted Sugar, and we went to Laurel Grove where we found that the graves were not marked. Sugar ordered a marker for the whole family which was placed in 2014. 

Another cousin found the blog, and he and his wife came to see us and visit the Bateson plot in January of 2015. Almost a year later, that same cousin contacted the president of the local chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy to see if she had any info about these brothers.

She located their records, and ordered a military marked for each man. 

This past week, those stones were set. 

Today we find…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
I’m actually quite speechless. 

2016 Reunion: The Vote

So the discussion was finished. One family member, an attorney, states that DNA was admissible in a court of law. Never mind that the type of DNA testing for court purposes is different from the type of DNA test used for genealogical purposes.

The vote was called: there were no “nays” heard. The president called for a secret ballot. Pre-prepared ballots were produced for only the blood descendants who were members of the association. Keep in mind that there is no standard for determining who is blood or not, except that everybody knew who everybody else was.

The vote passed 20-6 to allow DNA membership.

Then the discussion turned to the restoration project at the Lawton-Seabrook Cemetery on Edisto Island, where the brick wall surrounding the cemetery is being historically repaired.

Things suddenly took a turn into the Twilight Zone.

One woman said that she would not contribute to the project because Ruth (clearly meaning me) was taking bricks and shipping them to California.  Another woman gasped in mock horror: “Yoo ah STEALING bricks from a CEMETERY?” No, not from a cemetery on Edisto, I said, I did take one lying on the ground in the bamboo underbrush at Black Swamp Plantation (2 hours from Edisto).” The first lady pointed dramatically at one of our DNA guests and said, “You are shipping them to him!!”

I cannot use enough exclamation points after that last statement to convey the proper level of drama.

I have been to Edisto cemetery twice, and I documented them both here on the blog. The second time was at the family reunion one year ago where there were plenty of witnesses who can confirm that I didn’t swipe a brick.

I think the meeting disbursed after that. Not sure. Sat in my chair, stunned a bit.

I do not fault the president of the association at all. It was a good point of procedure that the vote was taken on paper and recorded for posterity. There is a certain matriarch who interrupts the meeting whenever she wants to say whatever she wants to say, and I have issue with that because she is not recognized by the chair. She is the same person who pushed Sugar out of the way when she first met him. He approached her, shook her hand, introduced himself, and she shook his right hand with her right hand and put her left hand on his right shoulder and pushed him out of the way.

There was an adult gathering for adult beverages after the meeting disbursed. We solved the world’s problems. And we resolved to embrace our similarities and our differences.

Because we have no time for bricks to be thrown.

I didn’t want to go to the reunion the following day. I’m pretty sure that this would have been taken as a sign of defeat, so I went. But I was a rebel and didn’t wear a name tag in protest.

Afterwards we posed for a sweaty parking lot photo. An in-June-in-Savannah-after-a-tropical-depression kind of sweaty.

I have cried over the meanness of it all. I think I have worked through the thousand stages of grief. I can’t even imagine how hard the civil rights era was. Jordan and his great-aunt Francine never lost a moment of class and graciousness.

But I am not done talking about this.

Because this is what progress looks like:

The McKenzie Tract, Surveyed July 1893

Reader Caren McKenzie shares this plat from 1893. 

  
She also provides this information:

I am specifically interested in John R Bostick (1787-1852) son of Richard Bostick.

John married Elizabeth McKenzie (my relative), but the 1850 census seems to show his wife to be Rebecca.

I wonder if Elizabeth had died.

My relatives are buried in the Bostick Cemetery and I am thinking Elizabeth is the Bostick connection.

Does anyone know anything about these folks? Or how to find out where this bit of land might be?

The Lawton Memorial

One of Sugar’s cousins found a postcard for sale online. She wondered if anyone knew anything about the Lawton Memorial.

I know a bit, but first I’ll have to find Sarah Alexander Lawton’s will.

Here’s the postcard image.

The building is a Greek Orthodox Church now. We drove past a few weeks ago, and I snapped a photo out the passenger side of the rear of the church.

 

Large parking lot perfect for lots of parking. Family reunion perhaps?

 

Not long after I met Sugar, years ago, he took me on a little memory tour of Savannah. We went by his grandmother’s house on Taylor Street, to Laurel Grove, to Bonaventure, and to the Lawton Memorial. There’s a historical marker there, and I suppose I have a photo of it somewhere, but no worries, there are plenty of photos of the marker online. They’re just not *my* photos.

Here is Sarah Alexander Lawton’s will, with the images coming from ancestrydotcom. She addresses that she wants a portion of her wealth to go toward the construction of a memorial building, which of course became known as the Lawton Memorial.

Now to transcribe. Anyone up for the task?

The Lawton and Allied Families Association Reunion: 2016

Lawton people! Here’s your 2016 reunion!

Even if you can’t attend, send in your annual dues, which goes in part toward good works, like the repair of the cemetery wall at the Lawton-Seabrook Cemetery on Edisto.

But really? Savannah! You know you want to!

Little Lawton Garrard, 1892-1899

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.

Mary Robert Lawton Garrard

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. 

Mary Robert Lawton

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

The Bateson Brothers: Getting Headstones Because of the Internet

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 emailed the nice UDC President via the Internet, who let us know that the markers are ordered. She herself placed the blue flags to show the monument company where to place the markers. And I found out that there are still records of whom is buried where. Which means I have to know now. 

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.