BRANTLEY COUNTY, GEORGIA - HISTORY

RAFTING TIMBER DOWN THE SATILLA RIVER LED TO A "LOVE AFFAIR IN HICKOX"!!



A story told by Joe R. Dixon  (Nov. 1985) in "Memories of Buffalo Creek",

by Marilee Godwin Faranda

 

James Jefferson Dixon came to Ware, now Pierce Co., Ga., in the early 1800s from Bullock Co., Ga. He met and married Isabell Lewis, daughter of James Bryant Lewis. Ancestors of both families were from North Carolina. They settled on a large farm near Patterson, Ga., They had a family of 16 children, three daughters, and thirteen sons; the oldest being our father, Barney Clinton Dixon.

In those days, floating rafts of pine timber down the Satilla River to a sawmill located at a place call Burnt Fort was one of the sources of cash income, so Barney and others in his community floated rafts (of timber) to this mill. Their return home would be by horseback, or by walking, and took about two days.

At the mill Barney met one Everett Jones, who lived on a farm near the town of Hickox.. Everett invited Barney to stop at his home overnight. There he could rest and feed his horse. (SPRING 1895). Now the distance from Burnt Fort to Patterson being about forty miles, and a two day ride on horseback, Everett lived about half way between, so Barney accepted.

Now it so happens that Everett had a sister named Mary Isabell Jones. She was a beautiful young lady, so naturally Barney (Dixon) fell in love with her and they were married on February 10, 1897, after a short courtship. Barney built a home on land given to him by his father near Patterson, Georgia, still standing as of 1988.

Barney and Belle became members of the Shiloh Primitive Baptist Church, and while living in their new house, Belle gave birth to three daughters, Wilma Blanch (married (1) Fred Penton of Ohio, (2) Fred Miles of Ohio, and (3) Melvin Depratter of Nahunta, Ga.; Clara Jane (married J. V. Ryals, of Florida), and Cecil Myrtis (married William Charles Smith of Nahunta).

At this time Barney gave up farming and became employed by the owner of a sawmill as a lumber inspector and grader in the town of Offerman, Ga. (Pierce Co.)

There a fourth daughter was born, named Mary Grace (married (1) John ruble of Mayport, Fl., (2) Richard Crozier Brand, of Pensylvania; (3) Lee "Champ" Godwin of Raybon, Ga.).

 

The family followed the sawmill business for a number of years. Finally, in Ruskin, Ga. (Ware Co.), their first son was born on Oct. 17, 1904. He was named Joseph Roosevelt (Dixon).

Shortly afterwards they moved to Waycross where their second son, Edward Jefferson Dixon was born.

 

In about 1906, Barney bought half-interest in the Coca Cola Bottling works in Waycross, which he operated until he died in 1908 of typhoid fever in King Daughter’s Hospital in Waycross.

After Barney’s death, Belle, now age 29, and with no business training was left with six minor children, a limited income and no apparent solution to her problems. At this point, her father Edward Benjamin Jones prevailed upon her to sell her holdings in Waycross and move back to a home that was previously owned by her brother Eustace Jones, near Hickox. (Note: This old homestead stands next door to the home of Edward and Janie Brand.)

Written by Joseph R. Dixon on November 1985.

 

Barney Clinton Dixon was born on Nov. 5, 1869, and died on June 9, 1908. Mary Isabelle Jones Dixon, born Feb. 6, 1879, was the daughter of the Hon. Edward Benjamin Jones and Rebecca Jane Tucker Jones of the Hickox community. She was nine months old when her parents moved into their home on the Buffalo Creek.

 

After the early death of Belle’s husband, she remained steadfast and strong in a time of depression, raising her six children by the "peachtree switch philosophy". It was a fun loving family, known for child-hood pranks, and social parties. A favorite game at cane grindings, and other parties was a dance, and the song went like this "Sweet Pinks and Roses, Strawberries on the Vine, Come and Choose your Partner, The Sweetest You Can Find".

 

Belle’s "family rearing methods" must have been successful. who can argue with the results and character of her children? Belle passed away on Friday night, October 5th, 1973. She was buried next to the "love of her life", Barney Clinton Dixon in the Shiloh Cemetery near Blackshear, Ga.

 

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