My Grandma Boreman (Evelyn, who my book is centered around) had a lot of family from Georgia. Both her father and her mother were born there and many family members are still there today—maybe some of you second, third, and forth cousins are reading this! Her aunts and uncles called her “LaRue” which was her middle name. Her grandparents were William Bowers and Sarah “Sallie” Elizabeth Gillespie. Something special for Grandma (LaRue) was that she and her Grandma Bowers (Sallie) shared a birthday on January 24th.

In light of my parents anniversary this past Thursday, and a few of you sharing stories of how your folks met in the comments of my social posts, I wanted to share a tiny snippet of a century old “how they met” kind of story. I wish I had the letter from William (Bill) she refers to, but I think Sallie’s letter is sweet, a little entertaining in modern terms, and kind of an Americanized, run-on-sentence-happy Jane Austen character. Regardless, it gives a little insight into what life was like in rural Northern Georgia at the turn of the (20th) century.

Somewhere in my mess I have a photocopied version of this letter with her actual handwriting. Until then, my transcribed version will suffice.

Coosa Creek, GA January 16, 1898

“Mr. William Bowers,
My dear friend I now attempt to answer your most kind and highly appreciated letter of January 8. I was truly glad to hear you were well and enjoying life, oh how bad I want to see you. I could answer all your questions much better than I can by letter and would enjoy talking so much better than trying to write. You have in your last letter forced me to confess love to you, no doubt, but you are aware that I have always felt great pleasure in your company indeed, that I prefer you to any other of my acquaintance among your sex, but the reason I have been slow to answer your questions-one thing is because I have been in delicate health for the last two years but you knew I was not enjoying good health when you left old Georgia but our acquaintances have been of long standing and I think we know each others dispositions and my affections have grown warmer toward you for some length of time and it would be false modesty of me now to disclaim a feeling of the sincerest and most affectionate regard for you after such undoubted proofs of your attachments.”

*inhales*

You surely have known for some length of time that I cared for you. You say you know there is other men I rather correspond with than you. If there is I know them not. I had your fortune told yesterday and she told me you were true to me. She said you had a good fortune but you had a few jealous thoughts is all she disliked about your fortune. Well, must I tell you? Chastain was here today. He spent last night at J.M Addington’s. Sallie is spending tonight with us. Your brother-in-law was here today. He said your folks were well.

Well, I will finish my letter this morning. It is very cold and I think will snow I guess. My folks will start for home this month. They have been gone 8 days. Cousin Eugenia Rider’s husband died the 6th of this month. I suppose Sallie will leave for Elijay to spend the summer. She wants to start in about two weeks. I suppose Rufe will go back with John, I don’t feel like I can bear to give them up. I don’t have much idea of going with them. If I was ready I would go with them. You please tell me what you think of me going to (Calo??). I know you will give me good advice just tell me your thoughts I will not get offended- let your answer be what it may. Charlie aims to go back with the boys also. (?? Ledford?) well as I have failed to interest you I will close hoping to hear from you by return mail.

Take good care of your health. Write soon and a long letter. This leaves me in common health and truly hope this will find you well, I wish you were here to help me eat my birthday dinner next Sunday, provided I shall live to see that day. Cromley (Crawley?) and Della will start school this morning. Dove and Virgil has been going two weeks to Mt. Pleasant. (Ida Earney?) will be teaching at Coosa this morning. Write soon.

Yours very sincerely,
Sallie Gillespie”

At the time of this letter, she was 24, and William was 27. By November of the same year, on the 23rd of the month they were married.

Sallie (Sarah Elizabeth Gillespie) was the 5th born and 1st daughter of Mirah/Mariah Caroline Boling/Bowling (sp?) and the Reverend William Samuel Gillespie. Caroline (Mariah) was from South Carolina originally and the Reverend was born in Georgia, with parents from North Carolina. They were a farming family and would end up with eight children.

Bill (William Bowers) was also from a farming family, the son of Simpson Lee Bowers (Georgia native) and Lydia Curtis (born in North Carolina). The Simpson & Lydia Bowers family would have five children. From the census records the Gillespies and Bowers, all seemed to live in Union County, especially the districts of Owltown, Coosa, and Blairsville. Union is in the very north part of the state, sharing a border with North Carolina (it’s southwest edge). Just a few miles west is the southeast corner of Tennessee. Sadly, in the early 1800s, “The Union Party” a political group that supported removing Native Americans and opening the area to white settlers, is the probable inspiration for the county’s name. (info from datausa.io)

There is an older blog, but pretty informative about the Union County area families from Ethelene Dyer Jones. On one particular post, I learned that a cousin of ours somewhere down the line has a “hog” rifle that was once Bill Bowers’ (his relation to him is grandson) and was most likely made by an ancestor of his wife Sallie’s, named Harvey Gillespie.

Bill and Sallie were of course married in November of 1898 and would sadly lose their first child within their first year of marriage but go on to have six children together that would live to adulthood, one of whom was my Great Grandpa Bowers (Frank). Mary in 1902, Joab (Joe) in 1903, Frank in 1904, Mabel Edna in 1906, Bessie Caroline in 1908, and Howard Lincoln in 1909.

Now, back to the letter.

I need to explore this some more, but she names a lot of people in her letter. I wanted to see who I had info for and who I needed to check out. Here’s what I have so far:

What about the other people mentioned in the letter?

For people that don’t come up in the family tree I’ve already had compiled from the older generation of my family, this is where simple searching Google helps a ton. Once you have some more hints about people you only know a tiny bit about, you can start searching the larger databases like Ancestry.com or FamilySearch.org. Fortunately in this case the website I saw about Bill Bowers and the Gillespie made rifles, had a ton of family surnames mentioned that I recognize in my tree, AND that I recognize just by the mentions in other places, such as Sallie’s letter.

Google Maps is also incredibly helpful (at times). I typed in Union County, in particular Owltown and Blairsville districts and saw names jump out at me that are all in that letter: Crawley, Mt. Pleasant, Bowers, & Gillespie. She writes: “Chastain was here.” Oscar Fitzallen Chastain was a minister in the area, maybe chatting with fellow clergyman Wm. Samuel Gillespie (her father)? Oscar’s wife was an Addington with an amazing first name. Zenobia. Someone please name their baby Zenobia. Somehow this family in the northern Georgia mountains named their daughter after the Ancient Rebel Queen of Syria. Sounds pretty badass. Zenobia was a third-century queen of the Palmyrene Empire.

I heard Queen Zenobia may have lost her head, but this Zenobia of Union County kept hers. She was one of the most educated women in the area during the mid-late 1800s. She attended an academy in Elijay (Ellijay) and even went on to open her own school

Sallie mentions a J.M. Addington in her letter, and I’m guessing he is somehow connected with the Addington family mentioned above. Obviously just like any small town or village, everyone knew everyone and she knew Bill would know who she was referring to.

Lastly, I saw the name Ledford pop up in one of Ms. Dyer’s blog posts. They married into the Boling/Bowling family, so again, I’m assuming it’s all in the family.

I found this poem about old Bill Bowers.

Plenty of rabbit trails to go down.

See how that happens? It was just an innocent little love letter. What I’m really interested in is who in the world is this fortune teller the ministers daughter, my Great-Great-Grandmother Sallie mentioned?

I thought they were Methodist. 😂

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