Thursday, August 6, 2015

52 Ancestors Week 32-George David Eargle

  It's week 32 of the blog prompt series by Amy Johnson Crow-52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks and 32 is the topic.
 Why 32? Because we all have 32  3rd Great Grandparents.
My chosen ancestor is George David Eargle (1827 -1886), my maternal 3rd Great Grandfather.
  David, as he was known, was born in the Edgefield District of South Carolina to Frederick Solomon Eagle (1788-1870) and Mary Ann (Huet) Eargle (born about 1793).

Eargle Cabin
Childhood home of George David Eargle
©Cheri Hudson Passey

   He and wife Elvira America (Booth) Eargle (1834-1898) were married in the late 1840's and were the parents of 9 children. They raised them on the family farm not far from the Edisto River.  The 1860 Agricultural Census of Edisto Hills, Edgefield District shows that David was growing potatoes, sweet potatoes, and grapes. He was producing honey, butter, and other homemade items. His livestock included cows and pigs.
 George David Eargle served in the Civil War as part of Company E 2nd South Carolina Artillery. 
 One of his daughter's,  Emma Janette (Eargle) Williamson (1866-1958), was interviewed several times by Aiken, South Carolina and Augusta, Georgia newspapers.
 She tells of her father's service by saying that he had a small Testament that he took with him. He told her that he had read from it every day of the war. In it he had written that he left for war on 20 Nov. 1861 and returned 1 April 1864. She said that David had walked back home to South Carolina from Gettysburg.
  One newspaper article reported:
"She often tells of the time when her father, David Ergle, made all the foods and medicines. together with the clothes and shoes on the farm. The best-known iron tonic was anvil dust, gathered from the anvil in the blacksmith's shop and mixed with honey.
  The spring tonic was mostly sassafras. mullen and pip-sis-oway along with many other home remedies. Doctors were scarce and hard to find. and the usual broken bones and other injuries were taken care of by home folks and neighbors."

David died in about in June of 1886 and is buried in the Eargle-Sanders Cemetery in Aiken County, South Carolina.

George David Eargle. A very interesting part of my 32.

Are we kin? Please contact me. Together we can find our people.
Thanks so much for stopping by!








7 comments:

  1. Very interesting. While I am lucky enough to know a number of my 3rd great-grandparents' names, I don't know that I could put this much information together about any of them. Maybe one.

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    1. Thanks, Anna. Newspapers were a great help in learning about him as well as the census records. I appreciate you reading and commenting on my post!

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  2. Wonderful story, Cheri. Imagine WALKING from Gettysburg to South Carolina. Driving it today is hard enough.

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    1. Wendy, I thought the same thing when I read that he had walked. Such a different way of life. Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  3. Cheri, I love the Agricultural Census when it give details like you have written about: honey, butter, cows & pigs! Delightful! It helps paint a clear picture of our ancestors.

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  4. Cheri, I thought I had posted a comment here but I guess not. I wanted to say that I love the Agricultural Census Reports! Little details like the making of butter and collecting paint a clear picture of our ancestors' lives. When I find a report I get very excited,

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    1. I love them too. They really help to get a feel of how our ancestors lived. Thanks so much for reading and commenting, Colleen!

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