HISTORICAL SUMMARY
Vanik S. Eaddy, Ph. D.
Grave
Marker Story
Grave Marker Picture Gallery
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 on
February
2, 1863. 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.
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 the Kearney/Thomas
Cemetery (aka: 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. A grave
marker on this site identifies the burial place of Rev. John Girault
Andrews, Sr. and his son John Girault Andrews, Jr., 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 second generation preacher having been preceded in the ministry by
his father, Rev. John Girault Andrews. His family was
frequently visited by Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate
States
of America. The natural grandparents of Charles Green Andrews were
James Andrews and his wife Helen (Girault) Andrews. Upon the
death of James
Andrews, Helen (Girault) Andrews married Major Charles B. Green.
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.
Previous articles have been published indicating that Robert James
Eaddy,
Sr. was buried in the Kearney/Thomas Cemetery (aka: 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; but no details of the exact location were given.
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 Mt. 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 Mt. 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 B. Green was the step
grandfather
and the namesake for Charles Green Andrews. Major
Green
was a wealthy landowner in Madison County when he married Helen
(Girault) Andrews
who
was the widow of James Andrews, the natural grandfather of Charles
Green Andrews. Major Green once owned some of the land around Mt.
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 Kearney/Thomas Cemetery (aka: 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 theKearney/Thomas Cemetery (aka: Vernon
Methodist Church Cemetery). The
initial choice of the Kearney/Thomas Cemetery (aka: 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.
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 first 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.
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.
