Contributed 4 May 1997 by Bill Snipes

The following appeared in the June 22, 1852 issue of the Marion (SC) Star:

Died in Clark county, Miss., on the 26th of May, 1852, Mrs. Mary BETHEA, wife of W.W. BETHEA, after an illness of two weeks. The deceased became a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1838.... She was at the time of her death 38 years, 5 months, and 26 days old. She leaves a husband and six children.... emigrated with her husband from Marion District, SC, to Clark county, MS, in December, 1850. 

Contributed 20 Jan 1998 by Pauline Hallett

From Marriages & Deaths from MS Newspapers, V.IV: 1850-1861

April 4, 1861
Departed this life on the morning of the 16th of Feburary, Edgar E., infant son of Dr. W. J. and Cassandra K. (R.) Morris, late of Clark Co., Miss. Little Edgar was born in Clark county on the 5th of September last. 

Contributed 25 Mar 1998 by Julie O. Perkins

James Joseph O'Neil
b. June 26, 1845, Charleston,SC (?)
d. July 29, 1926 Meridian, MS
resident of Quitman, MS

Mr. James Joseph O'Neil was born in Charleston, South Carolina, June 26, 1845. He was of Irish extraction, his father and mother both having been born in Dublin, Ireland. His early life was not as pleasant as that enjoyed by some, for his mother died when he was but three years of age, and his father died when he was twelve years old. He and one sister constituted the sole of spring of their parents.

 His parents being Roman Catholics, he was christened in infancy, and as early as he was able, he entered a Catholic Sunday School, and adhered to the Catholic faith till death, though for fifty years, he was denied the privilege of attending a Catholic Church.

 He received an elemental education in the Parochial Schools of Charleston, and in youth served an apprenticeship in a Railroad Blacksmith shop owned and operated by Burns and Taylor, which made him self-sustaining quite early in life.

 When the War of the Sixties broke out, he was too young to enlist, but fired by the spirit of patriotism, he could be held out of the service only the first two years of the struggle. In January of 1863, he enlisted with Company 27, Haygood's Brigade, of the South Carolina Infantry, and followed the fortunes of the Confederacy till he surrendered with General Johnson, at Wilmington, North Carolina, in April of 1865.

With his discharge in his pocket, and accompanied only by a negro boy, he trudged the rugged roads from Wilmington to Charleston, often hungry and foot-sore, to join with his surviving comrades, in building on smoking heaps of ashes, what was destined to be one of the greatest civilizations known to man.

Being young, ambitious, and possessed of wander lust, he was content in his hometown but a little less than two years. In 1867, he began to roam, and in two years he had traveled through practically every state of the Union East of the Mississippi River.

In the autumn of 1869, he met and married Miss Lucinda Algiers in Clarke County, Mississippi, and settled down to quiet farm life. The first two years of his married life, he farmed with his father-in-law, Mr. T.D. Algiers. He then purchased a farm of his own, ten miles east of Quitman, where he and his wife reared their family of eight children, four sons and four daughters, all of whom except the youngest, Mrs. J.C. Norris, survive him.

April 5, 1910 his wife died. The children having all married and gone away to build homes of their own, he was left alone, but he chose to remain on the old homestead which had become very dear to him, and to live alone the remainder of his days on earth. Having developed blood poison from a minor wound in one of his toes, he was carried to Rush's Infirmary in Meridian, July 1, 1926. There all that medical skill, and scientific nursing could do was done for him, but the fiat of relentless disease had gone forth, and science could but stand aside and look on with awe while the death angel reaped. At eleven o'clock Thursday night, July 29, 1926, he passed from earth to Heaven at the ripe age of eighty one years.

Thus closes the early career of one of the South's noblest sons, and in memory's urn he will be greatly treasured, for many were the beneficiaries of his beneficent and sacrificing spirit. While he labored hard, and economized to build a home, and make it comfortable for his family, he always found time to nurse the sick, comfort the sorrowing, and help those who were in trouble. Now he rests from his labors and his Christly life bespeaks his future abode, but to this is added the testimony of his own words. Before he died, he told his oldest son, Rev. T. J.O'Neil, that he was fully prepared to go and was anxious to go on and join his companion in Heaven. So the loved ones weep not as those who weep without hope, for they know where to find him.

 .....................................................................................Rev. T.J. O'Neil
.....................................................................................Methodist minister in the Mississippi Conference

Parents: Thomas and Mollie (Reid) O'Neill
In-laws: Thomas Dawson and Martha Ann (Barr) Algiers
Children:
Mary Margaret "Mollie" (1870 [twin]-1931) m. John Wesley Hinson
Martha Ann "Mattie" (1870 [twin] - 1959) m. Charles T. Fontaine
Thomas Joseph (Rev.) (1872-1960) m. Rosa Anna Allen
Charlotte Elizabeth "Betty" (1876 - 1957) m. Ira J. Riley
William Dawson (1876-1930) m.
James Frank (1878 - 1955) m.
George Patrick (1880 - ?) m.
Sarah Lougenia "Genie" (1882 - 1919) m. Carlos Norris

Note: Research cannot confirm James O'Neil's early life in Charleston, SC. Orphan records are found in 1860 for a "Mary Ann O'Neill", b. 1849 in NY, with a brother aged 15 years, working as a blacksmith's apprentice and living in a boardinghouse with railroad men. Their mother died when the girl was an infant and the father - an Irishman who worked for the Northeastern Railroad - brought the children to Charleston where he remarried and then disappeared. The step-mother turned the children out into the streets. The girl was "delivered out" of the orphanage in 1863 to Mr. and Mrs. Pierre V. Brandt of Charleston. She then disappears from record. Any information on this, please send to Julie O'Neil Perkins jperkins@mindspring.com

Lucinda Lougenia Algiers O'Neil
b. March 25, 1849 Covington Co. (?), Alabama
d. April 5, 1910 Quitman, MS

Lucinda L. O'Neil, the second daughter of T.D. and Mrs. Martha A. Algiers was born in Covington County, Ala., March 25, 1849. She moved with her parents to Clark County, Miss. in 1853 where she spent the days of her childhood and young womanhood. On Sept. 12, 1869, she was happily married to Mr. James J. O'Neil. The matrimonial joys of this young couple increased with the passing years until death called the wife away. To this union were born four sons and four daughters. The eldest son, Rev. T.J. O'Neil, is now presiding elder of the Newton District. Just ten minutes after the clock struck 12, announcing the passing away of April 4, 1910, Sister O'Neil peacefully fell on sleep, and on April 6 her mortal remains were laid to rest in the family burying ground Rev. M.R.Jones, her pastor, officiating. In May 1869, Sister O'Neil joined the Baptist Church, there being no other church near her home. In this church she lived about five years, when the Methodist Church was pioneered into the community in which she lived. The she, her father, and mother, and two sisters joined the Methodist Church. Later, he three sisters joined the same church. She had four brothers but they all died in infancy. Sister O'Neil lived a faithful, consistent life in the church of her choice, till God called her to join the Church triumphant. Her home was the preacher's home and oft times the resting place of the traveler and shelter of the homeless. She was a devoted wife, a loving mother, and a good neighbor. She was a great pacificator in time of trouble; an efficient nurse in time of sickness, the sunshine of any company in which she appeared, and no doubt in the resurrection many will rise up to call her blessed. In her later years she was a great sufferer, but she bore it all with that fortitude that characterized the true child of God. A short time before her departure she, realizing the end was near, exclaimed, "All is well"; then, her pain becoming great, she prayed to the Father for relief and she soon fell into a stupor and in a few hours breathed her life out without a struggle. (...long paragraph of "preaching"...)
On the fifth day of April, 1910, she took her departure from friends and kindred of earth to the heavenly paradise, and on the next day we gathered with sad hearts at the old home place, where she and her beloved companion had entered life together in their youthful days, and we were invited to the room where was placed the casket. Then, after a prayer was offered, I witnessed one of the most pathetic scenes of my life. Her oldest son, "Tommy" (our Rev. Thomas J. O'Neil of the Mississippi Conference), requested that all be asked to retire from the room for a few moments, except her relatives and pastor, and the door was closed. He then asked that all gather around the casket, and as they did so he said, :Mother is gone' she cannot come back to us but we can go to her; now if you will all enter a covenant with me to meet mother in heaven, please join hands", and while hands of father held hands of children, and hands of children held the hands of grandchildren, "Tommy" asked God to help them to keep their vow after which we repaired to the old family cemetery near Middleton, in Clark County, Miss. where assembled a large congregation, and we laid the body of this godly woman in its last resting place.
Sister O'Neil was a good wife. I shall not soon forget with what kindness she spoke to her husband the last time that I was at their home, and one could not associate with the children without being fully persuaded that they had a good Christian mother. She lived to see them all grown and married, and all settled in life. She was a joyful Christian, happiest when busy in the home, or looking after the sick of the community, or engaged in the worship of God. She had the spirit of service, and "she hath done what she could."

 ....................................................................................M.R.Jones

Children:
Mary Margaret "Mollie" (1870 [twin]-1931) m. John Wesley Hinson
Martha Ann "Mattie" (1870 [twin] - 1959) m. Charles T. Fontaine
Thomas Joseph (Rev.) (1872-1960) m. Rosa Anna Allen
Charlotte Elizabeth "Betty" (1876 - 1957) m. Ira J. Riley
William Dawson (1876-1930) m.
James Frank (1878 - 1955) m.
George Patrick (1880 - ?) m.
Sarah Lougenia "Genie" (1882 - 1919) m. Carlos Norris

Note: The family cemetery, located towards the Energy Community of Quitman, GA, was the original resting place for Lucinda Algiers O'Neil, her husband James J.O'Neil, her parents Thomas D. and Martha Ann Algiers, her daughter Mollie O'Neil Hinson, and an infant son of Mollie's. The remains of James J. and Lucinda Algiers O'Neil were moved during the 1960's from the family cemetery to the newer Magnolia Cemetery in Meridian, MS where they lie with their son, Rev. T.J. O'Neil and his family. 

Contributed 15 Aug 1998 by Lisa Maness

W. G. EDWARDS
Comrade W. G. Edwards died suddenly in November, 1916, at his home in Enterprise, Miss., where his life had been spent. He had reached the age of seventy-four years. In May, 1861, he enlisted in Company B, 14th Mississippi Regiment, serving his country gallantly until the battle of Nashville, Tenn., in December, 1864, where he lost his left arm. I had been wounded at Franklin, and we were in the prison hospital at Nashville, which was known as the Zollicoffer Gun Factory. Comrade Edwards had been postmaster at Enterprise for twenty years, holding that office to the time of his death. His wife died many years ago, and he is survived by one son, who is the county attorney for Clarke County, Miss. He numbered his friends by his acquaintances.

From Confederate Veteran Magazine, Vol. XX5, July, 1917

Capt. C. A. LYERLY
Capt. Charles A. Lyerly, one of the best known citizens of Chattanooga, Tenn., and a leading financier, died in that city on August 9, 1925, after some years of failing health. He was seventy-eight years old, one of the youngest of Confederate veterans.
Charles Abner Lyerly was born in Enterprise, Miss., on March 29, 1847, and enlisted from that place in the Confederate army on April 16, 1864, becoming a member of Company A, Captain Berry, 1st Mississippi Battalion Infantry Reserve forces, and he was made ordnance sergeant of his company. This battalion, which was to have been the 1st Mississippi Regiment but was put into action before the regiment was formed, was intended for provost duty, such as patrolling the trains, guarding military stores and Federal prisoners, and was made up mainly of youngsters who could not be kept out of the war. It was under Gens. S. D. Lee and Forrest in the battle of Harrisburg, Miss., July 14, 15, 1864, and was later sent to Memphis to meet the Federal forces under Canby. It was also in skirmishes during Wilson's raid on Selma and later was paroled at Meridian on May 11, 1865.
Sergeant Lyerly was a member of the Mississippi State Guard in the seventies, and was captain of the company.
Comrade Lyerly was educated in the schools of his native place, but at the age of fifteen went into business in order to help the family. He was a merchant at Enterprise until 1880, when he removed to New Orleans, then to Jackson, Miss., in 1884, where he organized the First National Bank of that city and was also interested in the cotton business. He located in Chattanooga in 1887 and organized the First National Bank there, serving as president of that and the First Trust and Savings Bank and was also prominently connected with other banking interests there and in Alabama, cotton mills, express company, and a director in the Alabama Great Southern Railway and the Tennessee Electric Power Company. He was also interested in agriculture, owning a large fruit farm in Georgia and had invested in real estate at Chattanooga. He took a keen interest in political and civic affairs, and was actively interested in the advancement of his adopted city. He served as president of the Chamber of Commerce and was a member of the Mountain City Club. He and his family were communicants of the Episcopal Church, and he was a beloved member of N. B. Forrest Camp, U. C. V.
With many enduring monuments to his work at Chattanooga in a material way, Captain Lyerly will also be remembered for his understanding sympathy and the little acts of kindness which reflected the heart of the man. He is survived by two daughters and two sons, four grandchildren, also a sister and brother living in Mississippi.

From Confederate Veteran Magazine, Vol. XXXIV, March, 1926

Contributed 09/09/2013 by Jimmy Mobley

William A Lane, 84, of Shubuta, died Sept. 3. He is survived by two sons, W.J. Lane of Shubuta and Henry Lane of Gilbertown, Ala.; two daughters, Mrs. S.L.Bonner of Gilbertown, Ala., and Miss Geina Lane of Shubuta; one brother, Kenneth Lane of Laurel; one sister, Mrs. Annie Kirby of Bryan, Texas; eight grandhildren and 11 great grandchildren.
Funeral services were held at Mt. Pisgah Sept. 4 at 4:00 p.m., with the Rev. T.E. Fant officiating. Interment followed in the church cemetery.
Pallbearers were Bobby Lane, James Pepper, Urban McKenzie, Murford Merritt, S.W. Morris and Frank Young.
Honorary: A.L Pepper, Freeman Owen, G. F. Dabbs, Bruno Riley, Parker Harris and G. A. Rentz.
McClellan – Walters Funeral Home in charge.

Published CCT

SHUBUTA-Mrs. W. A. Lane, 65, Shubuta, R.F.D., died suddenly of heart attack at her home.
Services were conducted at Mt. Pisgah Baptist church, where she had been a consistent member for a number of years, by the Rev. Chester Mason.
She is survived by her husband; three daughters, Mrs. Walter Morris and Mrs. O.L. Bonner of Gilbertown, Ala; Miss Genia Lane of Shubuta; two sons, Hill, Gilbertown, Ala., and Henry of Shubuta; father, D.F. Bonner; four brothers, B.F.,W.J.,A,J., and W.C Bonner; one sister, Mrs. R. J. Mocheney, Waynesboro. She is also survived by eight grand-children and one great grandchild.

Published CCT