Margaret Mitchell’s
forefathers inspire her novel “Gone with the Wind”
The Fitzgerald
Plantation of Clayton County was the inspiration for “Tara”.
Philip Fitzgerald was born 1798 in Lagistown, Tipperary,
Ireland and died 5/12/1880
in Clayton County,
buried on his plantation in Clayton
County. The 1853 tax records of 1853, Fitzgerald
owned 2,375 acres and 35 slaves and by 1861 his holdings were larger.
Today, the old manor house is in
need of repairs but still stands on the corner of Folsom and Tara Road. During the Civil War the home was a refuge
for many nieces, nephews and cousins orphaned by the war. According to a hand
written document in the family, the home was raided by Union.
After the war Philip Fitzgerald, despite after having freed his slaves,
suffered from the Yankees burning his corn and cotton crops and the severe decline
in land values, built another fortune.
He was a man who refused to accept failure. Philip Fitzgerald was
married in December of 1837 in Harris County, Georgia to Eleanor Avaline McGhan
(1818-1893), a daughter of James McGhan and his wife, Eleanor O’Reilly McGhan
of Morgan County.
The
Fitzgeralds were known to be the only Catholic family residing in south Clayton County
and worshipped in the Immaculate Conception Church in Atlanta.
Two of the seven children were educated at the convent in Charleston, South
Carolina. Sis and Mamie Fitzgerald taught in the one
room rural school which was on the plantation. The character in the book,
Scarlett O’Hara. was no doubt patterned after the personality of his daughter,
Annie Elizabeth Fitzgerald (1844-1934) who was known to have plenty of
gumption.
She was
married to John Stephens, an Irish immigrant, in the Immaculate Conception Church.
Stephens was an accountant and captain on the staff of the Commissary
General in Atlanta
when he met Miss Fitzgerald. According
to family lore, John Stephens had been the beau of Annie’s sister, Sarah
Fitzgerald. Mrs. Stephens helped to care
for the wounded Confederate soldiers during the war. Many things about Annie’s life resemble
Scarlett O’Hara. Her first child,
Philip Stephens, was born and died during the siege of Atlanta
and she left Atlanta
on the last train before the yankees burned the city. John Stephens owned a successful grocery
store in Atlanta
but ultimately prospered in real estate, his home being located in the Jackson
Hill area. He owned the entire block on North Jackson Street between Cain and
North Highland Avenues. The couple had
twelve children. A daughter, May Belle
Stephens, was married to Atlanta
lawyer, Eugene Muse Mitchell and was residing in her mother’s home on Jackson
Hill when Margaret Mitchell (left), author of “Gone with the Wind” was born in
1900. More interesting tidbits on this
family and the Fitzgerald genealogy is found on www.georgiapioneers.com
The Battle of Kettle Creek
The
frontier land of Wilkes
County was settled during the 1770’s by families from Virginia
and North Carolina,
viz: Clarke, Dooly, Murray, Walton, and many other planters taking up the
Cherokee Ceded Lands. They were in
constant danger of being attacked by the Indians, and later British. Thus forts were erected
in1774, 1778 and 1781. In 1774, most of
the residents signed the petition against Great Britain’s oppressive tax
acts. Jesse Gordon described like in Wilkes County
as having the Indians on two sides and the British and Tories on the other side.
The settlers were constantly engaged in various expeditions. In February of 1779 when the British captured
Augusta and were approximately thirty miles from
the Wilkes County
homes so many of the residents fled into South
Carolina.
There were at least one hundred of these refugees organized under John
Dooly and Lt. Colonel Elijah Clarke who gathered in South
Carolina on the Savannah River near Augusta and watched for the chance to cross
the river. Simultaneously Daniel McGirth
was encamped about five miles away on the Kiokee
River with 300 men to prevent Dooly
from crossing into Georgia. The skirmishes which ensued forced Dooly back
into South Carolina.
Meanwhile, Colonel Andrew Pickens with a force of 250 men (Upper 96 Militia
Regiment of S. C.), decided to attack the Loyalists and join Dooly on the Savannah River.
Pickens proceeded to capture the
British defenders of Carr’s Fort. On
February 14th, after much skirmishing, Pickens attacked the British
camp on the north side of Kettle Creek. Lt. Colonel Elijah Clarke crossed the
creek and attacked on the left while Colonel Dooly attacked on the right. Each commander had about one hundred men. The
British commander Colonel Boyd climbed a hill and hid behind an old fence and
trees. Micajah Williamson of Georgia
distinguished himself that day when he and two other men found themselves near
Boyd. They fired their muskets and
mortally wounded Colonel Boyd. We know so little about the frontier skirmishes
in Wilkes County and surrounding areas. Many of those who served were militia men –
the true frontiersmen protecting their homes and when they later applied for
pensions, were rejected because no service record could be found. When reading the pensions, one becomes
familiar with the unwritten history. Colonels Clarke, Pickens and Dooly were
commanders of frontier fighting in Georgia
and South Carolina.
New Additions
Genealogies – Blalock of Clayton Co.;
Chastain of Rabun & Cobb Counties; Dorsey of Clayton
County; Fitzgerald of Clayton County.
Books
Online – 1888-1889
Georgia State Gazetteer, Business and Planters
Directory
Masters
of the Low Country, a novel by Jeannette Holland Austin
Cobb
Citizens by Jeannette Holland Austin
Old Atlanta by Jeannette Holland
Austin
Revolutionary
War Pensions (images of full pension):
Henry
Holland
Hugh
Holland
Littleberry
Shields
Alexander
Smith