Cecelia "Granny Cil" Arrowood Barrett(1835-1917)

Cecelia "Granny Cil" Arrowood Barrett

(1835-1917)

Cecelia Arrowood Barrett or "Granny Cil" as she is known to her descendants, is a unique woman who is very well known in the local genealogical community as being a common progenitor for several of the modern family lines in the Towns County, Georgia area. Down through the years she has been the subject of many family conversations ranging from humorous anecdotes to controversies that made the self sensitive older women reach for their smelling salts.....of course this is somewhat exaggerated, but not by a whole lot! If we set aside the generational small talk and examine her closer, we find that in reality she is a true testament to the rawbone grit and toughness of the English/Scots-Irish/German pioneers who settled the Appalachian Mountains throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. We also find her to be something of a tragic figure whose life was scarred by bad circumstances and choices that ultimately over time left her mentally and physically bereft. The weight of a life stricken with heaviness and hardship is best viewed through the 2 or 3 photographs of her taken about 1915.... just a couple years before her death. In them, we see her wearing a long black dress with a safety latch pin securing the top of the collar which almost seems to put forth a sense of longsuffered mourning. Her tightly pulled hair is faded to an iron gray with age and her face is hard weathered, pocked and marked with deeply cut wrinkles and sunken sockets from which her tired and hazy grey eyes stare out far beyond the camera lens to some distant point. It makes the imagination stir to think about what those eyes must have seen and experienced during the 82 years of her life in the rugged western North Carolina and northeast Georgia mountain frontier of the mid and late 19th century. It is interesting to note that nearly everything which is known about her is primarily from the early part and the last 10 years of her life whereas a substantial portion of her middle years, ranging from 1880 to about 1910 has largely been a mystery. In this biograph, we will attempt to use various records coupled with old family stories and to some degree, deductive speculation to piece together a timeline for the woman known as Cecelia "Granny Cil" Arrowood Barrett in the hopes of giving a new dimension and perspective on her life.

There is no exact date of when Cecelia was born and she did not actually know the birth date herself bu whenever queried of her age during her later years, she would always give a toothless grin and reply with,"Honey, Ah don't rightly know how old Ah am.....jes' know that Ah's 2 weeks old on that cold,cold Saturday". The "Cold Saturday" she was referring to was an event which occurred about the middle of February 1835 when the temperature dropped so much and so fast that the old timers said a bucket of water thrown into the air would freeze before it hit the ground. Supercentenarian, Frederick "Uncle Fed" Messer(1790-1909) of Haywood County, NC, allowed in a 1901 interview that he was married on the "Cold Saturday" and "it was so cold that your spit would freeze as soon as it hit the ground". The infamously cold day was actually the result of several factors converging around the same time. The earth was still in the 500 year cooling period known as the "Little Ice Age", a massive eruption from the Cosigüina volcano in Nicaragua occurred about 3 weeks earlier resulting in a 1 degree drop in the earth's temperature and a large powerful arctic weather front came blasting southward, all mixing and amassing together the ingredients that would make up the "Cold Saturday"! Cecelia was by her own admission 2 weeks old on that day, which would have placed her birth around the first few days of February 1835.

Cecelia Arrowood Barrett was born in Buncombe County, NC near the generational family settlement on the Paint Fork of Ivy River about 4 Feb 1835 and was the eldest child of Nathaniel "Big Nate"(1810-abt.1905) and Sarah Barrett Arrowood(1813-1893). Her family lived beside her maternal grandfather, David Barrett(1785-1850), who owned a large spread of land in the Paint Fork area as shown in the 1840 census. When Cecelia was around 10 years old, her grandfather sold the properties and much of the family moved from Buncombe County southeastward to Cherokee(Clay) County, NC, settling in the upper Bethabara section of Geisky Creek where they were enumerated in the 1850 census with Cecelia's family again living beside her grandfather there. Two of her uncles, Andrew(1805-1892) and John Edward(1819-1904) Barrett had moved with their families on to Union(Towns) County and were enumerated in the 1850 census there. By the mid to late 1850's, Cecelia's family would also follow suit by moving from Bethabara to Towns County settling around the Osborn section just outside the town of Hiawassee where they were living at the time of their enumeration in the 1860 census. At the time they moved to Union(Towns) County, Cecelia was around 20 years old and had 7 younger siblings by then. In the traditionally large families of the time, the eldest children were tasked with helping the mother to care for and raise the younger children and it is no doubt that Cecelia and the next two eldest sisters had assumed that role. The last move they would make together as a family came during the period between 1860 to 1863 when Nathaniel moved from near Hiawassee to the Upper Hightower section of Towns County. His name appeared on the 1864 list for the re-organized districting of the militias, as he was mustered into the 1133rd militia(CSA) of the 40th Senatorial District where he served for the duration of the Civil War. Cecelia's younger brother, Edward "Ned" Arrowood(1843-1864) would die from brain fever while serving in the CS army. Around the time the Arrowoods had made(or were making) their final move to Upper Hightower, the family had a new generational addition courtesy of Cecelia!

In 1860, Cecelia's first cousin, William Godfrey Barrett(1827-1924), had come down from Buncombe County to visit his father, Andrew Barrett who lived in the nearby area. Within a short time, William began calling on her and they soon became much more than cousins. The couple were married around the latter part of 1860 and Cecelia became with child at or before their marriage. Their son, James Marion Barrett(1861-1948), was born on June 1861 and within just a couple months after his birth, William left the family without returning. The old family stories tell of how he left to go to the mill never returning, and in the search for him all they could find was his empty mill sack hanging on a nail. Another version of the story is that he left to go fishing and when he didn't return, the search for him only turned up his can of worms and cane pole leaning against a tree. Though neither versions are true, the latter story is how William got the infamous nickname of "Fishing Bill" Barrett. So far, there has not been any official documentations found showing William and Cecelia's marriage, but she did take the Barrett name as her own and due to William's enlistment in the Confederate army, she was placed on the "Georgia Salt List" where she was able to receive a ration of salt from the state. This could only have been done by providing actual proof of her marriage to William. Most likely, the couple were married by a circuit riding preacher who filled out their certificate which has been lost over time. From this, we can see that the "going to the mill" and "going fishing" stories are just humorous tales to entertain curious inquirers over the years, but the disappearance of Fishing Bill is most likely due to the fact that at the time of his leaving, the Civil War had been ongoing for a few months and his intent was to enlist in the army in Buncombe County with those men that he knew and grew up with. He was mustered into the 60th Infantry Regiment, NC(CSA) and served in the unit with his brother-in-law, Jonathan Alexander Wilson(1838-1914). Cecelia would have obviously known of his intentions as she had later applied for the salt ration list from the state, it is just that Fishing Bill was by nature something of a nomadic, free-spirited scoundrel who happened to have another wife and child in Buncombe County at the same time. He went back to his other wife there and had gotten her pregnant with their second child just before leaving to enlist in the army. It is really a matter of putting together the "2 plus 2" pieces of the puzzle to get a picture of what happened!

After moving to Upper Hightower in the early 1860's, Cecelia's life would soon become caught up in the turmoil of fighting for survival and out of desparation having to make some of the very tough decisions that would ultimately set the rudder for the course of her life. She had no education whatsoever and from the accounts of those who knew her, there is the hint that she also may have been somewhat simpleminded. Beyond her perspective mental faculties, there was also the fact that she had no husband and was left with a young child to feed and care for. With little or no hope and her options depleted, she turned to prostituting herself out in an effort to make the ends somewhat meet. When her son, James was only about 3 years old, Cecelia had gotten pregnant by [possibly] a Moss gentleman living in the area and on Apr. 1864 gave birth to a daughter, Mary Ann [Moss]Barrett(1864-1910). The following year, she would once again become pregnant by a gentleman named Thomas B. Potter(1842-1924) who was only just recently home from his service in the U.S. cavalry in Tennessee and on 14 June 1866, she gave birth to her third child, Thomas [Potter]Barrett(1866-1954). It was somewhere around this point in time that she left her parents home, for whatever reason, be it that her lifestyle was deemed unacceptable by her immediate family and she was "blacklisted" or that her parents were becoming aged and still with a house full of the younger brothers and sisters. For one reason or another, Cecelia left home taking her young children and moved to the rugged Hall Creek section of Upper Hightower where she lived beside her aunt, Fannie Barrett Edmonds(1817-1880) and uncle, David Barrett(1832-1897) with their respective families sometime in the mid to late 1860's. The 1870 census showed her as living beside her aunt and uncle with her 3 children, and also living near to William(1843-1926) and Malinda Catherine Eller Hall(1827-1919), who owned and operated a gristmill close to the head of Hall Creek. By the early 1870's, young James was coming into his teenage years and was periodically left alone to care for his younger brother and sister while Cecelia would leave home for the stretch of a few days at a time. Their situation had been getting progressively tougher at this time because where before they could have gotten possible help from her aunt and uncle, they had all moved away to nearby Clay County, NC leaving Cecelia and her children effectively alone. In late 1873, she had gotten pregnant by a Maney man, possibly from Shooting Creek,NC, giving birth in mid-1874 to another son, Nathaniel Andrew "Nate" [Maney]Arrowood(1874-1950) and just a handful of months later, she would once again become impregnated by a Maney gentleman from [possibly] Shooting Creek giving birth in 1875 to her last child, Nancy [Maney]Arrowood(1875-1961). It has been suggested a few times before by the old timers that out of Cecelia's children, Nate and Nancy are the only "full" brother and sister.

In 1876, at the age of just 15 years, James married his 14 year old sweetheart, Mary Marinda "Rindie" Hooper(1862-1933) and in a bold move for full independence and assuming the distinguished position of "paterfamilius", James and his young wife decided to move the family to another location. The overall choice for the location of their new home was somewhat questionable because they decided to move high up on the mountain overlooking the deep cut valley from whence they came and rather than moving closer to civilization, they chose to settle at the top of a steep high mountain ridge that spurred off of the Shooting Creek Bald portion of Hightower Bald, which would eventually become known as "Barrett Mountain". There were no actual roads in this section of the county, only well worn trails previously used by the Cherokee Indians a few years before that criss-crossed through the mountains and connected the Barrett clan to the Hall Creek section below, and through Lemons Gap back into the Giesky Creek section of Bethabara,NC where some of the Barrett family still lived. A visual of the location of their homeplace may be seen on the 1903 revision of the 1897 edition topographical map for the Dahlonega,Ga. Quadrangle, as 1903 was the year that structural details were added to maps. The map shows the location as being at approximately 4,100 ft. in elevation beside the main trail just to the south and east of Lemons Gap and at a point that is pretty much equidistant from the settlements of Hall Creek in Georgia and Giesky Creek in North Carolina. The lay of the land in that immediate area along the top of the ridge was somewhat level to a slight and gradual grade, turning to very steep and near vertical on the outer sides......extremely rugged country! The structure they lived in was basically a dirt floor log cabin with no windows and only rudimentary shutters that covered the window holes. An old family story goes that the family moved into the cabin when it was completed just enough to shelter them from the weather. Rindie had only recently given birth to their first child, Haseltine Barrett Chastain(1877-1951), and during the nights, James, Rindie and Cecelia would have to take turns standing guard over the children because wolves would hear the baby crying and come around. When the cabin was finished, everyone settled in and began their new life on the mountain. The growing season was short at that altitude but they managed to grow some crops there, especially corn. James would load the sacks of corn on his back and carry them to mill. Because of the isolated location and the elevation of their homeplace, the winters could be cold and brutal with deep snows and heavy summer rains sometimes washed out the trails making it hard to get the corn to the mills on Hall Creek or Giesky Creek. Livestock would range freely on the mountain living on the abundance of chestnuts and whatever grasses were available. Another old family story about the family's early days with their new home goes that on one very cold winter day, James was splitting rails to bundle up and sale for fencing. He didn't have any shoes and could only protect his feet by wrapping them in rags. The rags would become wet and freeze to his feet and ankles, and every so often he would have to go inside to warm them by the fireplace. Cecelia would keep the fire going, unwrapping and changing the rags each time which would often be soaked in blood from his feet. She would hang them near the fireplace attempting to dry them or at least keep them warm for the next change. The pioneer life on Barrett Mountain was indeed very tough and it was at its best hardscrabble for survival!

Cecelia is not listed in any census enumerations from 1880 through 1900 which suggests that this period may have been the pinnacle of her "3 Penny-upright" days. It is known that from 1861 to 1875, she had 5 children, most(or all) by different men. It is not really known if there were other children that were either miscarried or stillborn, only that those 5 were the living, surviving children. It was said that she left home often and would stay gone, coming back a few days to a couple weeks later and it was this extended period of wandering from "pillar to post" through the rugged mountains that would leave her in a feral state and take its toll on her faculties. The last major account of her during the 19th century was that she had spent some time staying with her son, Thomas [Potter]Barrett, who in 1889 had married Henrietta Dover(1873-1948) and moved off of Barrett Mountain down to the Upper Hightower valley. About 1896, an unfortunate incident happened of Thomas killing a local drunken man with a knife which forced him and his family to quickly leave the area moving to near Mt. Currahee outside of Toccoa, Ga. It was not faring well for Cecelia after this as James had sold the land on Barrett Mountain a year before moving his family near to Hiawassee on Sunnyside while Mary Ann, Nathaniel and Nancy had all prior married and moved to other sections of the county as well, leaving Cecelia essentially alone!

After the mid-1890's, nothing is really known at all of her whereabouts or of her situation over the next 10 to nearly 15 years. It can only be figured that it was back to "business as usual" for her.....offering her body in exchange for food, shelter and other needs. James and Rindie's cabin on Barrett Mountain remained in existence for around a couple of decades after the turn of the century(as shown on the topographical maps of the period) and it is well within reason that she could have continued living there for a number of years after her children had all left. She does show up again in the Hog Creek area sometime before 1910, living near Thomas and Henrietta. Thomas and his family had moved back to Towns County from Toccoa around 1900 settling near Hiawassee. About 1905, he had bought land in the upper Hog Creek area and moved his family there. From this, the question remains of how did Cecelia manage to get from the isolated part of Upper Hightower, located near the eastern end of the county to Hog Creek which is in the north central section of the county, several miles from her former home[?]. One can speculate over the many ways and means that she could have accomplished it, but it may have been that Thomas had brought her to Hog Creek himself. It is a fact that though he was illegitimate, he did maintain an ongoing relationship with his father, who was still living on Upper Hightower and once a year, Thomas would load his family into the wagon and visit with his father for a week or longer. Most likely while visiting his father, he could have happened across Cecelia...who had been living in a wild, almost feral state for several years and being in a poor physical and mental condition by this time decided to bring her home with him. That is conjectural, of course, but it is a very likely scenario of how she made her trip across the county and was living near Thomas just before 1910.

A family story relates of how Cecelia had been living in a little place that Thomas had made for her and was in a very bad state of health. The minister from Young Harris College walked through the Crow Gap into Hog Creek one day and stopped by to see her. Upon seeing her deteriorated condition, the preacher walked down the road about a mile to the home of James and Rindie, who had also moved to Hog Creek by this time. The preacher informed James of her condition and said that something needed to be done for her. She was soon moved from the upper Hog Creek area to her daughter Nancy's house, located just across the road and fields, less than a 1/4 mile from James. After her move, her new guardians applied to the county to get her a position on the "pauper's list" which meant she could draw around 2 dollars a month.The Pauper's List petition for Cecelia was endorsed by Montraville "Mont" Burch(1837-1918), Lucius Calvin McClure(1844-1910) and Elbert Witcher Mathis(1858-1922) to the Ordinary(similar to commissioner) of the county for his approval. The petition read as follows:

~Georgia Towns County - To the Hon. Ordinary of said County. We the undersigned petitioners most respectfully petition your honor to place Sceillie("Celia") Barrett on the pauper List of said County and allow her $2.00 per month. She is not able to perfom any manual labor and there is no one to look after and care for her who is able to do so. Therefore we ask you in behalf of suffering humanity and as tax payers of said county to favorably consider this petition.

<signed>

M. Burch

L.C. McClure

E.W. Mathis

Over a short period of time, her health condition began declining to the point that she could not walk, mostly due to a measure of neglect and the decision was made to move her over to James' home. Her condition could best be described as basically being underfed, atrophied and mentally confused. James and Thomas went to their sister's home to get her after having fashioned together a type of stretcher using quilts sewn around wooden poles to carry her in. Once at James' home, the family began caring for her and nursing her back to better health. James and Thomas built her a "pole-pen" house, which is a small one room cabin using interlocking stacked wooden poles for walls and had a small porch all covered with a board shingle roof. This little house became known as the "Granny House" by everyone in the family. It was big enough for a bed with a few necessary pieces for her to live there, and being located just across the road from James, the family members could keep check on her at any given time. After a lifetime of wandering around, she finally had a little place of her own to call home.

It is at this point in this biography which we will refer to Cecelia as "Granny Cil", the name that not only her children and grandchildren, but everyone in the community came to call her as well. The period after 1910 would be her final, or "twilight" years as she was well into her 70's and physically quite frail and bent from the years of hard living, and mentally was tired and spent for the most part but was of a kind and pleasant demeanor, by the accounts of those who knew her. She would wake early every morning as one or more of her grandchildren would bring her a plate of food and build a fire for her to warm by. Being so frail and on a walking stick, she could not walk far by herself and would need someone to help lead her to and from the outhouse. With everything that she had been through in her life, she still managed to keep a sense of humor as another story tells of how a neighbor was taking his young son squirrel hunting one day. They were walking up the road and came upon Granny Cil standing in the middle of the road in front of her house, so they stopped to say hello and ask if she needed anything. One of the few pleasures she still had left in her life was that of tobacco.....both in chewing it and smoking it in her corncob pipe. She asked if he had any tobacco on him, to which he acknowledged that he did. She said to him, "Ah'll let'che grind on it fer a while if ye'll give me some t'baccer!" Apparently, "grinding" was a local(or regional) 19th century slang word for "sex", as taken from the process of grinding grist at a mill. The gentleman was taken aback by her overt proposition but calmly replied, "No, no,....hit's all right, Cil. Ah'll jest give ye some t'baccer!". After they had left her, the son asked, " Warn't 'che gonna grind on it Pap?", to which his father quickly snapped back, "Hell no! Ah'd a given her all my t'baccer first!!!!". Granny Cil lived out her final days at her little house, surrounded by family, sitting on the porch with her tobacco close at hand and greeting visitors until her death in 1917 at the age of 82 years. She was laid to rest in the original Burch Cemetery, which was located on the present day small island across from "Anderson Bridge" near Hiawassee. In 1941, The TVA began clearing the area for what would be Lake Chatuge and Cecelia, with most of the other cemetery occupants were exhumed and moved to the new Burch Cemetery on Sunnyside, Towns County, Georgia.

In looking at her life in more detail and really seeing the scope of her toughness and resolve coupled with all the tragedy, one word can be used more than any other to sum her up......."survivor". She had no education and no real working knowledge of anything in the outside world, but did whatever it took for however long in order to survive. Her life story here has been pieced together by using the concrete facts from census enumerations, tax digests and other written records, along with the many oral accounts from those people who knew her personally and a measure of deductive speculation carefully weighed from both to hammer out a timeline of her life. There is no romantic or "rose colored" portrayal here but only that which in reality makes up one's life.....the good,the bad and the ugly! You the reader may be able to speculate an even clearer picture of her life's actions and reactions as well, and are encouraged to do so but whatever your feelings are toward her, be it pride or be it shame, there is no denying that either way you will feel respect for her!

Further readings that provide excellent addendums to this piece are the detailed biographies on Cecelia Arrowood Barrett, James Marion Barrett and Nathaniel "Big Nate" Arrowood by Jerry A. Taylor in "Hearthstones of Home,Foundations of Towns County,Vol.1".

--- Marriage ---

Cecelia "Granny Cil" Arrowood(1835-1917) married William Godfrey "Fishing Bill" Barrett(1827-1924) abt. Oct. 1860 in Towns County,Ga. Cecelia is buried in the Burch Cemetery, Sunnyside, Towns County,Ga.; William is buried

in the Leicester Episcopal Church Yard Cemetery,Buncombe County,NC.

Children of William and Cecelia Barrett are:

1. James Marion Barrett was born in June 1861 in Towns County,Ga. and married Mary Marinda "Rindie" Hooper in 1876 in Towns County, Ga. He died in 1949 and is buried in Burch Cemetery,Sunnyside,Ga.

Children of James Marion and Mary Marinda Hooper are:

(1).Haseltine Barrett was born in Towns Co,GA 24 Aug 1877.She married Nelson Govan Chastain.Nelson was born 17 Jan 1870 in Towns Co, GA.

(2).Lillie Barrett was born in Towns Co, GA 8 Feb 1880.She married Jewell Victor Burch.Jewell was born 1 Mar 1873 in Towns Co, GA.

(3).James Virgil Barrett was born in Towns Co, GA 8 June 1882.He married Etta Kirby.Etta was born 29 Sept 1885 in Towns Co, GA.

(4).John H. Barrett was in Towns Co,GA in 1885. He died in 1900 in Towns Co,GA.

(5).Harrison S. Barrett was born in Towns Co, GA 8 June 1888.He married Lizzie Powell.Lizzie was born 26 Aug 1890 in Hiwassee, Towns Co, GA.

(6).Oren L. Barrett was born in Towns Co, GA 30 Sept 1889. He married Ora Burch. Ora was born 27 Feb 1895 in Towns Co, GA.

(7).Celia Barrett was born in Towns Co, GA 30 Oct 1893.She married Oren Burch. Oren was born 27 Sep 1885 in Towns Co, GA.

(8).Avery E. Barrett was born in Towns Co, GA 27 Jan 1894.He married Tassie May Sims.Tassie was born 10 May 1896 in Towns Co, GA.;He married Ola Shook on 21 Mar 1929. Ola was born 21 Feb 1912 in Towns Co,GA.

(9).Nola Jane Barrett was born in Towns Co, GA 5 April 1897.

(10).Robert Barrett was born in Towns Co, GA 28 July 1899.He married Carrie Bryson.Carrie was born 19 March 1902.

(11).William Duquesne Barrett was born in Towns Co, GA 27 Sept 1902.He married Estella Gertrude (Stella) Burch. Stella was born 2 Dec 1905 in Sunnyside,Towns Co, GA.

(12).Cicero Barrett was born in Towns County,Ga 21 Jan 1905.He married Pauline Burch on 20 Aug 1929. Pauline

was born 25 Dec 1910 in Towns Co.,Ga.

Children of Cecelia Arrowood Barrett and unknown [Moss]:

1). Mary Ann [Moss]Barrett was born in Towns County,Ga in 1864. She married John Chastain(1844-1921) on 8 Dec 1881 in Towns County, Ga. She died in 1910 in Towns County,Ga. and they are buried in Burch Cemetery on Sunnyside, Towns County,Ga.

Children of John and Mary Ann [Moss]Barrett Chastain are:

(1). Henry Burton Chastain was born in Towns County,Ga. on 4 Feb 1884. He married Ora Bessie Stockton(1884-1960) on 15 Oct 1905 in Towns County,Ga. He died on 16 May 1963 and they are buried in Belmont Cemetery,Gaston,NC.

(2). Alfred Harrison Chastain was born in Towns County,Ga. on 27 Nov 1885, He married Lula Devotion Nation(1892-1965) in 1908. He died in Towns County,Ga on 29 Nov 1948.

(3). Mary Francis "Fannie" Chastain was born in Towns County in 1888. She Married William Lester "Bill" Ferguson(1879-1962) on 7 Dec 1903 in Towns County,Ga. She died in 1909 in Towns County,Ga. and they are buried in Burch Cemetery, Sunnyside, Towns County, Ga.

(4). Lola Mae Chastain was born in Towns County, Ga. in 1891. She Married William Jasper "Jack" Nation(1882-1946) on 23 May 1905 in Towns County, Ga. She died in 1941. They are buried in Towns County,Ga.

(5). Dorah H. Chastain was born in Towns County, Ga. on 18 Feb 1892. She married Esker John Thomas(1900-1958) on 25 Dec 1918 in Towns County, Ga. She died 20 Mar 1966 and they are buried in Old Union Cemetery, Young Harris, Ga.

(6). Louvenia Chastain was born in Towns County, Ga. on 31 Mar 1896. She married George Washington McClure(1881-1959) in 1905. She died 10 Feb 1986 in Towns County, Ga. They are buried in Old Union Cemetery, Young Harris, Ga.

Children of Cecelia Arrowood Barrett and Thomas B. Potter(1842-1924) are:

1). Thomas [Potter]Barrett was born in Towns County, Ga, on 14 Jun 1866. He married Henrietta Dover(1873-1948) in Towns County, Ga. on 24 Nov 1889. He died 8 Feb 1954 in Towns County, Ga. and they are buried in Burch Cemetery, Sunnyside, Towns County, Ga.

Children of Thomas [Potter]Barrett and Henrietta Dover Barrett are:

(1). Harrison "Big Harris" Barrett was born in Towns County, Ga. on 15 Jul 1893. He married Elizabeth "Lizzie" Chastain(1892-1973) in Towns County, Ga. He died on 13 Oct 1970 in Towns County, Ga. They are buried in Burch Cemetery, Sunnyside, Towns County, Ga.

(2). Jesse L. Barrett was born in Stephens County on July 1898. He died in 1910 in Towns County, Ga. He is buried in Burch Cemetery, Sunnyside, Towns County, Ga.

(3). Viola Cuie Barrett was born in Towns County in 1901. She married Harvey Monroe Edwards(1898-1980) on 8 Sep 1918 in Towns County, Ga. She died in Monticello, Jaspar County, Ga. 27 Aug 1992. They are buried in Burch Cemetery, Sunnyside, Towns County, Ga.

(4). Nancy Barrett was born in Towns County, Ga. on 15 Apr 1906. She married John Chastain(1892-1962) in 1924 in Towns County, Ga. She died 22 Oct 1990 in Towns County, Ga. and they are buried in Burch Cemetery, Sunnyside, Towns County, Ga.

(5). Mary Ann Missouri "Zuria" Barrett was born in Towns County on 8 May 1908. She Married Garland Shook(1904-1986) in 1926. She died on 16 Jan 1973 in Towns County,Ga. and they are buried in Burch Cemetery, Sunnyside, Towns County, Ga.

(6). James Alfred Barrett was born in Towns County on 31 Jul 1910. He married Mae Canup(1914-2005) on 29 Mar 1931 in Towns County, Ga. He died on 7 Apr 2005 and they are buried in Burch Cemetery, Sunnyside, Towns County, Ga.

Children of Cecelia Arrowood Barrett and unknown [Maney] are:

1. Nathaniel Andrew "Nate" Arrowood was born in Towns County, Ga. on 5 Mar 1874. He married (1) Magnolia "Nola" Sanders(1874-1898) on 17 Jul 1892 in Towns County,Ga.; He married (2) Melvina "Vina" Mathis(1881-1960) on 9 Jan 1898 in Towns County, Ga.

Children of Nathaniel Andrew "Nate" Arrowood and Magnolia "Nola" Sanders are:

(1). Virda Lee "Verdie" Arrowood was born in Towns County, Ga. on 12 Apr 1896. She married Caleb Harrison Shook(1888-1947) abt. 1913. She died on on 19 Aug 1988 in Towns County, Ga. and they are buried in Old Union Cemetery, Young Harris, Ga.

Children of Nathaniel Andrew "Nate" Arrowood and Melvina "Vina" Mathis are:

(1). Infant Arrowood(1901-1901)

(2). Nathaniel Turner "Turn" Arrowood was born in Towns County,Ga. on 8 Aug 1903. He married Della Mae Nicholson(b.1919) on 28 Jun 1942. He died 21 Jan 1998 and is buried in Burch Cemetery,Sunnyside,Towns County, Ga.

(3). Infant Arrowood(1905-1905)

(4). James Lewis "Dode" Arrowood was born in Towns County,Ga. on 30 Oct 1906. He married Bessie Bates(1903-1975). He died on 9 Sep 1981 in Towns County,Ga. and they are buried in Burch Cemetery, Sunnyside,Towns County,Ga.

(5). Joseph Garland Arrowood was born in Towns County on 12 Aug 1912. He married Mildred Marie Ledford(1920-2005) in Towns County,Ga. He died 25 Oct 1989 in Winder, Barrow County,Ga. and they are buried in Macon County,NC.

Children of Cecelia Arrowood Barrett and unknown [Maney] are:

1. Nancy [Maney]Arrowood was born in Towns County,Ga. on 14 May 1875. She married William Isaac "Ike" Ramey(1876-1944) on 21 Dec 1898 in Towns County,Ga. She died on 3 Feb 1961 in Towns County,Ga. and they are buried in Burch Cemetery, Sunnyside,Towns County, Ga.

Children of William Isaac and Nancy [Maney]Arrowood Ramey are:

(1). Infant Ramey(1899-1899)

(2). Lillie Ramey was born in Towns County,Ga. on 1 Jul 1903. She married James Marion "Jim" Edwards(1897-1947) on 12 May 1917 in Towns County,Ga. She died on 9 Dec 1919 in Towns County, Ga. They are buried in Burch Cemetery, Sunnyside, Towns County, Ga.

(3). Lela M. Ramey(1904-1904) - died at 1 month old.

(4). Ida Ramey was born in Towns County,Ga. on 31 Aug 1905. She married William Roosevelt Shook(1907-2004) in 1929 in Towns County,Ga. She died on 21 Feb 1978 in Towns County,Ga. and they are buried in Burch Cemetery, Sunnyside,Towns County, Ga.

(5). Boyd Ramey(1910-1910) - died at 3 months old.

(6). Claudine Ramey was born in Towns County,Ga. on 17 Oct 1912. She married Marlor Garrett(1903-1985) on 12 Mar 1930 in Towns County,Ga. She died on 2 Nov 1995 in Towns County,Ga. and they are buried in Burch Cemetery, Sunnyside,Towns County, Ga.

(7). Zema Mae Ramey was born in Towns County,Ga. on 24 Mar 1914 in Towns County,Ga. She married Boyd Mathis(1912-2003) on 30 Jan 1935 in Towns County,Ga. She died on 4 Oct 1998 and they are buried in Enotah Cemetery, Fodder Creek, Towns County, Georgia.

by Thomas W. Barrett