Notes for Robert James EADDY, SR

JAMES EADDY FAMILY

AND COLLATERAL FAMILIES OF SOUTH CAROLINA

CONTACT US FOR ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS
VERIFY THAT YOUR FAMILY HISTORY IS CORRECTLY RECORDED
See our Recommended Collateral Family Links
Personal Notes and Dates Removed for Living Individuals

Notes for Robert James EADDY, SR

   ROBERT JAMES EADDY, Sr.
   HISTORICAL SUMMARY
    Vanik S. Eaddy, Ph. D.

Robert James Eaddy, Sr. (b. October 25, 1825 d. July 10, 1863) was the son of Edward Drake Eaddy and Mary Bartell of Williamsburg County, South Carolina. He was a farmer who lived on land, originally homesteaded by his ancestors, near the Lynches River in South Carolina. He was a school teacher at Indiantown Academy, Deep Creek, and Prospect where he also taught Sunday school. He also served as Williamsburg County Commissioner of Roads.

He died "at his post" as a confederate soldier in Company G of the 26th Infantry Regiment from South Carolina, CSA, near the little town of Vernon in Madison County, Mississippi following surrender at the Siege of Vicksburg. Gregory Eaddy was a younger brother of Robert James Eaddy, Sr. who served in Company I 10th Infantry Regiment, CSA and also died of disease July 1862 in Northeast Mississippi or Middle Tennessee. The place of his burial is unknown; but, believed to be near Tupelo or Corinth, Mississippi. A third CSA veteran of this family was Clark Eaddy who was wounded at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in 1863 and died in 1865 as a result of his injuries.

Robert James Eaddy, Sr., combined occupations of farming, teaching, and lay ministry, as have many other members of his family. Records of his years in the classroom were once owned by the family (Dewey P. Eaddy, Indiantown, South Carolina) in the form of attendance registers and a math book he developed for student use. He taught at Indiantown Academy, one of the earliest schools in the county and at Deep Creek. He was known to have written a mathematics textbook which he "tailored" to his students' needs. In this age, this would be called applied academics.

The textbook contained math problems with rules for solution. The problems were graduated from the simple to a more difficult level. The problems dealt with practical examples drawn from the everyday life of his time. He wrote with a quill pen and brown ink which remained legible. Paper was scarce and the writing covered all available space, even into the margin. The sheets were hand sewn into a linen cover to protect their edges.

Boddie states, (History of South Carolina, p. 397) that Robert James Eaddy was elected as Commissioner of Roads and Waterways in 1863. At thirty-eight years of age, he was too old for the draft. When attending a patriotic parade, with especially moving music, in Georgetown, South Carolina, he was seized with a passion of Southern pride and volunteered for service. Private Robert James Eaddy, Sr. served in Company G., 26th Infantry Regiment, South Carolina, CSA. He died at Mt. Ida Plantation in Vernon Community, Madison County, Mississippi, July 10, 1863 and was buried there in the Andrews Family Cemetery.

Robert James Eaddy, Sr. was married to Mary Camellia Owens. They were the parents of Sarah Eleanor Eaddy (1853-1855), John Jay Eaddy (1856-1920), and Robert James Eaddy, Jr. (1861-1934). John Jay Eaddy and Robert James Eaddy, Jr. both had large families, were farmers, and produced many descendants who can trace their origin to the James Eaddy Family of South Carolina.

LETTER FROM ROBERT JAMES EADDY, Sr.
TO HIS WIFE, MARY CAMELLIA OWENS EADDY

Robert James Eaddy, Sr. died on July 10, 1863 under the loving care of the Rev. Dr. Charles Green Andrews, D. D. and his mother Mrs. Martha D. (Lindsay) Andrews. He was buried in an unmarked grave in the Andrews Family Cemetery in the Vernon Community in Madison County, Mississippi. Confederate States of America war records indicate that he served as a Private in Company G, 26th Infantry Regiment (SC Volunteers). Military muster records reveal that he became ill and was "Left beyond Jackson," following surrender after the Siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi on July 4, 1863. His unit was not informed of his death until October 26, 1863.

Following is a letter he dictated to his wife and a note which was attached by Rev. Charles Green Andrews.

Vernon, Madison County, Mississippi
July 8th, 1863

My Dear Wife,

I was taken sick on the same evening that I wrote a letter to you, and have been sick ever since, but still I was on duty several days. It has been near or quite two weeks since I have had the fever, and still have the same. My Dear Wife, I hope to see you very soon, but it is a question if I'll ever see you soon, if at all.

Your affectionate husband,
R. J. Eaddy

Mrs. Eaddy,

I have written the above at the request of your husband, and add that when his brigade moved from the encampment in the neighborhood, he was left with over a hundred sick men in a school house near here, when I found him and brought him to my mother's. We will try to wait on him well and do the best we can for him. He is quite sick, and will have a long spell of it, but he is better than when first came, and I trust and believe that he will get better through the blessing of God.

He tells me that he is a Methodist and has two brothers who are Methodist preachers. I, myself, am a Methodist preacher, and our family are all Methodists, and I trust that through your prayers, and his and ours, he will soon be well. He begs me to tell you that his trust is still in the Lord, and whenever he does die it will be at his post. He wishes you to write to him, immediately to my care.

Yours respectfully,
C. G. Andrews

Rev. Andrews notified Mrs. Eaddy by letter that Robert James Eaddy, Sr. had died on July 10, 1863 and was buried in the Andrews Family Cemetery. We do not have access to the full text of that final letter.

The following notes tell the story of how he "Died at His Post" following the Siege and Surrender of Vicksburg, Mississippi in the Civil War:

1. From Vernon, Madison County, Mississippi, July 8th, 1863. He dictated a letter to his wife, advising her of his illness with the fever which he had endured for about two weeks. He expressed some reservations that he would ever see her again.

2. Reverend C. G. Andrews, a Methodist Minister in Vernon, Mississippi sent his letter to Mrs. Mary Camellia (Owens) Eaddy along with an explanation of how he came to befriend Robert James Eaddy, Sr. He reported that Eaddy was found among a hundred other sick soldiers at a local school house. Rev. Andrews indicated that he had taken Eaddy to his mother's house and would attempt to nurse him to health. Moreover, Eaddy confessed to Andrews that his trust was still in the Lord and declared that whenever he should die, "... it would be at his post...", rather than desert. He reported that Eaddy was quite sick; but, expressed some hope for a recovery.

3. Robert James Eaddy, Sr. died July 10, 1863 and was buried in the Andrews Family Cemetery. We now believe this cemetery was located on the eastern slope of Mt. Olympus south of Flora in Madison County, Mississippi. Vanik S. Eaddy traveled to Vernon Community in 1991-92, along with Bernadine (his wife), and with the help of a local citizen, Mr. Charles Bowering, learned more about the final days and resting site of his great grandfather. At that time it was believed the burial site to be at Vernon Methodist Church Cemetery in Vernon; but, additional findings have cause us to reject this theory in favor of the Mt. Olympus site. No grave marker can be found there to verify his burial place. There are many depressions in the forest floor which orient east to west and give evidence of unmarked sunken graves.* There is no doubt that Robert James Eaddy, Sr. is buried somewhere in Vernon Community. The evidence now points to the eastern slope of Mt. Olympus as the very site where Charles Green Andrews and his mother Martha D. (Lindsay) Andrews interred him with loving care somewhere near the father and son of this great family, both of whom died and were buried here in 1841.

* It should be noted that Jewish and Christian burials have traditionally placed their dead lying on their back with their feet facing toward the east. The explanation given for this traditional orientation is to ensure that in the resurrection the first thing the redeemed will see upon rising from the grave is the face of the Messiah who has promised to come again and take them away with him. The Bible says, “For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” Matthew 24:27.

4. Mt. Ida and Mt. Olympus are sometimes considered the same. Mt. Ida Plantation had a loessial ridge named Mt. Olympus which ran generally east to west and was the highest point in Madison County. This property was originally owned by Major Charles B. Green who sold the plantation in 1844-45, probably to Colonel Guston Kearney who then gave the home and property to Martha D. (Lindsay) Andrews, widow of John Girault Andrews, Sr. and their son, James Lindsay Andrews.

5. Reverend Dr. Charles Green Andrews, D. D. (1830-1900), was indeed a Methodist preacher of international reputation who attended conferences on Methodism throughout the United States and abroad. He was extremely well known as a minister and educator in the Methodist Church. He was a third generation preacher having been preceded in the ministry by Rev. James Girault Andrews, and Rev. John Girault Andrews. His family was frequently visited by Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America.

6. The Vernon Community fell into poverty after the Civil War, the original residents moved away to find a better life, and others have moved into the area. The showplace
Andrews family home at Mt. Ida Plantation was destroyed. Mt. Olympus with the cemetery and property surrounding Vernon Community was bought by the U. S. Army to manufacture ammunition for World War II. It was later sold to private owners who converted the land to cattle pasture. The cemetery has undergone some vandalism and neglect over the years and is now abandoned.

7. Indiantown Academy was located at Indiantown Presbyterian Church (Established 1757 and is still active) in the Indiantown Community, Williamsburg County, South Carolina.

8. Prospect Methodist Church (Established about 1835 and closed during the middle to late 20th century) was located near the crossing of the Indiantown/Lynches Creek road and the highway between Lake City/Johnsonville, South Carolina. This church became the nucleus of the community in which the Eaddy Family lived and developed well into the middle of the 20th century.

9. Deep Creek was referenced by William Bartell in his diaries and identified as the site of an academy where Robert James Eaddy, Sr. taught school, probably in Marion County, SC.

RATIONALE FOR THE LOCATION OF ANDREWS CEMETERY ON MT. OLYMPUS

Previous articles have been published indicating that Robert James Eaddy, Sr. was buried in the Vernon Methodist Church Cemetery located near Vernon in Madison County, Mississippi. This assumption was based upon the knowledge that he had become extremely ill from disease following surrender of his unit at the Siege of Vicksburg on July 4, 1863. He was rescued by Rev. C. G. Andrews from a local school house where over 100 sick soldiers had taken refuge when their unit moved on and left them behind. He was taken to the home of the mother of Rev. C. G. Andrews and attended there until he died on July 10, 1863. Rev. Andrews notified Mrs. Eaddy by letter that Robert James Eaddy, Sr. had died and was buried in the Andrews Family Cemetery.

The exact location of that cemetery has been in question for more than 140 years. We now believe that the Andrews Family Cemetery was located on Mr. Olympus, a small mountain or loessial ridge found on the Mt. Ida Plantation which was owned by the prominent Andrews Family. The Mt. Ida Plantation home was located about one half mile west of the peak of Mt. Olympus. It is also believed that Mt. Olympus School, which was located on or near Mt. Olympus, was the place from which Robert James Eaddy, Sr. was rescued by Rev. Andrews. There was a spring of water located conveniently near the Mt. Olympus School site. The road passing the school would have been the most direct route from Vicksburg to Canton, Mississippi where the soldiers could then travel by train back to South Carolina or to another destination.

An article found in the “Canton Creole Newspaper” in the August 31, 1844 issue provides some insight regarding the existence of Mt. Olympus School. Jacob L. Mitchell, Esquire wrote, “The school opened with 10 scholars, and closed with 35 regular attendants.” The first term of the Mt. Olympus School appeared to have been in 1843-44. He went on to state that this reflected the “... talent of the instructors and indication of the prosperity of the institution”. Tuition for a session of ten months duration was stated to be $30. Mitchell also cited the location of the school. “The school is located near Major C. B. Green’s, on the road leading from Canton to Vicksburg via Livingston, in a delightful situation, convenient to a never-failing spring of fine water.” This description places the school location on or near the Mt. Ida Plantation home of the Andrews family who owned this property during the period of the Civil War.

Recently discovered information has revealed that Reverend Dr. Charles Green Andrews, D. D. (b. 1830 d. 1900) was the son of Rev. John Girault Andrews, Sr. and Martha D. (Lindsay) Andrews. John Girault Andrews, Sr. (d. April 21, 1841, 33 years old) and his son John Girault Andrews, Jr. (d. March 27, 1841, four months old) were buried in the Andrews Family Cemetery on the eastern slope of Mt. Olympus. They were the only members of the Andrews Family to be buried at this site who can be identified by grave markers.

After the Civil War, the Andrews Family left Madison County, Mississippi; the Mt. Ida Plantation was sold; and the Hammack Family was the next to use this burial site which is today named the Hammack Family Cemetery because of the large number of family burials at this location. Mt. Olympus was excavated and the soil was used to make roadbeds for the Mississippi Ordinance Plant which was located in Kearney Park near Vernon. The quarry is now an ugly gully to the west of old Mt. Olympus Road, currently named Mr. Leopard Road. It is believed that the term Mt. Leopard is the crude transliteration for Mt. Olympus, a word the local citizens could not spell and whose origin in ancient Greece they did not appreciate. The eastern slope of Mt. Olympus remains in forested land, the cemetery is abandoned, and the lavish home which was half destroyed in the Civil War has now been torn down.

Earlier reports identified Dr. Charles Green Andrews as a Medical Doctor (M. D.) His educational credentials were instead Doctor of Divinity (D. D.), an honorary degree. He earned a Bachelor of Arts (B. A.) Degree in 1850 at Centenary College in Jackson, Louisiana and returned twenty one years later as its President. He was the Pastor of the Vernon Methodist Church in 1863-1864 and became a famous Methodist clergyman of his time. In 1865, he was elected Secretary of the Mississippi Annual Conference, a post he held for 34 years and he was chosen as President of the Annual Conference in 1880 as a result of the absence of the bishop. He was instrumental in the establishment of Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi where he served as a member of its Board of Trustees. Andrews served as a delegate to the first Methodist Ecumenical Conference at City Road Chapel, London, England in 1881 and delivered an address on education. He also attended the Methodist Ecumenical Conference of 1891 in Washington, D. C. He died January 7, 1900 and was buried in Rose Hill Cemetery, Meridian, Mississippi where he had held appointment in the Meridian District of the Methodist Church from 1897-1900. Reverend Charles Betts Galloway was one of those he baptized and received into the Methodist Church and who later became Bishop of the Mississippi Methodist Conference. Bishop Galloway once remarked in an address, “Charles Green Andrews was the holiest man I ever knew.”

Moreover, we have determined that Major Charles Green was the step grandfather and may have been the namesake for Charles Green Andrews. Major Green was a wealthy landowner in Madison County when he married Helen Girault who was the widow of Rev. James Girault Andrews, the natural grandfather of Charles Green Andrews. Major Green once owned some of the land around Mr. Olympus until he sold it in 1844-1845. Major Green had served as guardian of President Jefferson Davis when he was a boy in Kentucky.

The mother of Reverend Charles Green Andrews was Martha D. (Lindsay) Andrews (d. January 14, 1878 in Jackson, Mississippi) whose showplace home was at Mt. Ida Plantation. This home and some land had been given her as a gift by her grandfather, Colonel Guston Kearney of Vernon. It was known to be a popular retreat for Jefferson Davis the future President of the Confederate States of America. She shared the home with another of her sons, James Lindsay Andrews who was a soldier in the CSA. He died in 1863 in a train wreck while enroute to the Siege of Vicksburg. A bridge broke in which caused the train to derail and killed him. He was buried in the Vernon Methodist Church Cemetery by his wife, Caroline Thomas, whose prominent family is represented by many burials there.

It has been determined that Octavia Kearney (aka: Octavine or Octaviene) was the wife of Rev. Charles Green Andrews and not his mother, as previously reported. They were the parents of six children. Their daughter, Martha Andrews is buried in the Vernon Methodist Church Cemetery. The choice of the Vernon Methodist Church Cemetery seemed a logical one when this site was first visited in 1991-92. Reverend Charles Green Andrews was the pastor of the church during 1863-64 and many of his relatives were buried there. The lingering problem was simply that it was never named “The Andrews Family Cemetery” and was not the burial place of the earlier Andrews generations. This distinction does apply to the Hammack Family Cemetery located on the eastern slope of Mt. Olympus about three miles south of Flora and Vernon in Madison County, Mississippi.

Research continues for any written memoirs, diaries, or accounts of the events described herein by Reverend Dr. Charles Green Andrews, D. D. This may prove to be a difficult assignment. His home in Vicksburg, Mississippi burned in 1884 destroying everything the family owned including his personal items, books, and certain records of the Mississippi Methodist Conference. He served at this post in the Methodist Church, Vicksburg District during 1883-1884.

HAMMACK FAMILY CEMETERY
(aka: Andrews Family Cemetery and/or Mt. Olympus Cemetery)

Coordinates:
SW1/4 of NE1/4 Sec 22 T8N R1W

Location:
From Flora, Mississippi at the intersection of Hwy 22 and SE Railroad Avenue go south on Railroad Avenue (aka: Pocahontas Road) 2.1 miles to Mt. Leopard Road and turn left. Travel generally in a northerly direction until the quarry appears on the left and a bluff on the right. The cemetery is on the right up an embankment about 150 feet off the road. If you continue north on Mt. Leopard Road, the road curves right and intersects the Intergy, Inc. (Mississippi Power and Light Company) electrical power transmission line. At this location, you may turn south and follow the power line right of way until reaching the second set of poles where a right turn to the west will bring you directly into the cemetery.

Information:
The cemetery is located in a wooded area and is abandoned. In 2004, there was evidence that some limited restoration had occurred. Some fallen grave markers had been erected and cleaning of other burial plots attempted.

When standing in the center of the cemetery and facing back to the power line, one is looking due east and will see the hillside slope down to the power line. When standing in the center of the cemetery and looking due west, the slope of the mountain rises until reaching the Mt. Leopard Road cut. Across the road from the cemetery is the quarry left from the excavation of the soil of Mt. Olympus (Mt. Leopard). This loessial ridge continues westward until it crosses U. S. Hwy 49 near the location of the Mississippi Petrified Forest west of Flora, Mississippi.

   KEEPING A PROMISE
   by
   Vanik S. Eaddy, Ph. D.

Dewey P. Eaddy, my father, was an avid amateur genealogist and historian with a memory for narratives and details which escaped me as being important in my youth. He related this story to me many times and caused me to pledge that if I ever visited Mississippi that I would locate this cemetery, the burial place of Robert James Eaddy, Sr. When an honest promise is made to someone, God will make a way for its fulfillment, even when our actions are sometimes incorrect.

I moved to Mississippi in 1989 to work at Mississippi State University. I began to inquire about the location of Vernon in Madison County and determined it was about 20 miles north of Jackson, Mississippi. In 1991-92, I was introduced to Mr. Charles E. Bowering, a local historian who had made records and assisted in renovation of some of the old cemeteries in Madison County. This kindly man welcomed us into his home, shared his records with us, and took us on a tour of the area to visit several of the local cemeteries. Mr. Bowering led Bernadine and me into a cattle pasture and down an old abandoned paved road. We crossed an old fence row and entered the abandoned cemetery which showed some vandalism and neglect; but, still provided some evidence of loving care. There were walkways still framed by daffodils which outlined paths, grave plots, and possible memorials. These beautiful flowers had faithfully produced their yellow blossoms and green stems each Spring for over 130 years. Wrought iron fences still surrounded the family plots of those buried there many years ago by mourning friends and relatives.

On a beautiful Spring day, the soft breezes blew, the leaves rustled, and cattle grazed beside a small lake outside the grove of trees where rested the remains of many persons long since deceased. It occurred to me that this would be the ideal resting place for a sick and weary soldier to whom draft dodging and desertion were not acceptable alternatives. He was a farmer at heart, a pioneer school teacher, a Sunday school teacher, a soldier by choice, and he loved Jesus until the very end of his life. He believed so strongly in keeping his oath of enlistment promises that he died in service to the CSA "at his post". I offered thanks to God for allowing me to fulfill a pledge made to my father. Dewey P. Eaddy would have been so very happy to walk there with me and feel the presence of the Holy Spirit. He would have never ceased to repeat his favorite story to everyone he met until the last day of his life.

Recent burial site research conducted by Mr. Charles E. Bowering has caused us to adjust our original theory of the burial location of Robert James Eaddy, Sr. The availability of the “The Flora Book: A History of the Town of Flora and Southwest Madison County, Mississippi,” written by Henry Presley Posey and published in 2002 provided valuable background information to make this possible. In our search, we have relied heavily upon their immense knowledge of the history of Flora, Vernon Community, and Madison County Mississippi. The Eaddy Family is deeply indebted to Rev. Dr. Charles Green Andrews, D. D., for his “Good Samaritan Act”. We are appreciative of Henry Presley Posey, and Charles E. Bowering for helping the promise to be kept. The experience of keeping a promise made many years before has truly been an awesome event. God will make a way, even when we make mistakes, if we will trust him and obey his word.

The persons named here were builders of a civilization unknown prior to that time. Their life stories have been lived, accounts told, and now they belong to the ages. The Bible informs us that a time will come when each of us will be called to answer for our deeds done during tenure on Earth. Some will receive a commendation and others a rebuke. How will you be received on that awesome day? Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, John 14:6. Find him and all his blessings will come your way.

| HOME | EMAIL | SURNAMES |

CONTACT US FOR ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS
VERIFY THAT YOUR FAMILY HISTORY IS CORRECTLY RECORDED
This page is dedicated to the men and women who braved great danger to establish and defend the freedoms we enjoy as Americans. To all of them we are deeply indebted and especially those who died for this cause.