THE
EPHRAIM BYERS FAMILY
IN TOWNS
and UNION COUNTIES, GA
Two
of the first Byers
families to live in what is now Towns County, GA, were
the families of Robert Byers and his
brother, James Kuykendall Byers. They
were sons of the well known minister, the Rev. Joseph Judson Byers. James K. Byers had moved to Alabama along
with his father, and Robert Byers was moving to Fannin County just
before their
cousin, Ephraim Byers, was moving into Towns County.
Ephraim
Byers was born in Rutherford county, NC,
on August
21, 1806, the son of David Byers and Rebecca McClain Byers. He was named for his uncle, the Rev. Ephraim
McClain, who performed the wedding ceremony of his parents. Sometime before 1830 the family moved to what
is now Haywood county, NC, and Ephraim grew up in the Jonathan's Creek
area. On November 11th,
1830, Ephraim Byers married Milly(Mily,
Millie) Ratcliff. Milly was born September
18, 1810, the daughter of Abraham Ratcliff. Ephraim and Milly had the following children: Telitha C. Byers(2/06/1832-11/06/1887,
Lucinda A. Byers(10/13/1833-10/23/1907, David A.
Byers(5/20/1835-7/22/1915),
Lucille A. Byers(11/17/1836-4/21/1859), Elizabeth A.
Byers(4/12/1838-4/30/1867,
Francis Marion Byers(12/12/1839-2/20/1885,Ephraim Asbury
Byers(12/02/1841-12/12/1876),
Jasper D. Byers(1843-5/09/1863), Phidela Cebrum
Byers(10/27/1845-3/29/1929,
Merzie Ann Byers(8/04/1848-10/01/1910), Joseph B.
Byers(7/20/1850-5/22/1878),
and Samuel Virgil Byers(1853-1930).
By
the 1860 US
Census, Ephraim Byers and family were at
Ft. Hembree, now Hayesville, NC. Lucille
had died in 1859 and is buried at Old Scrougetown Ledford Cemetery near
Hayesville, NC. The family was still at
Ft. Hembree in 1870. Elizabeth had died
in 1867 and is buried beside her sister, Lucille. By
the
1880 census they had arrived in
Towns County GA, and lived on a farm at the head of what is now Byers
Creek. The family all lived and worked on
the farm
until starting their own families, except for Telitha and Lucinda, who
never
married.
Ephraim
and Milly moved
to Union County, GA, sometime after 1880.
They possibly lived with their son, David A. Byers.
Ephraim and Milly are buried at Mt. Zion(The
Glade) Cemetery in the Dooley District of Union County, GA. Ephraim died 12/19/1892 and Milly died
1/19/1896.
Telitha
C Byers,
(2/06/1832-11/061887), sometimes spelled Talitha,
was the eldest child of Ephraim and Milly.
She never married and continued to work on the farm. Telitha died in 1887 and is buried at
Old
Union Cemetery, Towns County, GA. Buried
beside her is sister Lucinda Byers and brother Joseph B. Byers.
Lucinda
A. Byers,
(10/13/1833-10/23/1907),the next child of Ephraim
and Milly, never married and continued
to live on the farm until she died in 1907.
She is buried beside her sister, Telitha, at Old Union Cemetery,
Towns
County, GA.
David
A. Byers,
(5/20/1835-7/22/1915), son of Ephraim and
Milly, married Martha Jane Nichols. They had the following children: Fitzhugh
Byers, William J. (Jape) Byers, Merzie Byers(named for her aunt Merzie
Ann),
Frank Byers(died young), Robert F. Byers, Laura Byers, Taylor Byers,
Mary Byers
and Joe Byers(died young). David A.
Byers and Martha Jane moved with their children to the Dooley District,
Union
County, GA, between 1880 and 1890. They
are buried at Mt. Zion(The Glade) Cemetery near Nottely Dam, Union
County
GA. Most of their children except
Fitzhugh are buried at Mt. Zion also.
Fitzhugh is buried at Toccoa Cemetery, Fannin County, GA, with
his wife
and some of their children.
Lucille
A. Byers,
(11/17/1836-4/21/1859), daughter of Ephraim and
Milly, died young and is buried beside her sister Elizabeth Byers at
Old
Ledford Cemetery at Scrougetown, Clay County, NC.
Elizabeth
A. Byers,
(4/12/1838-4/30/1867), daughter of Ephraim and
Milly, also died young and is buried beside Lucille at Old Ledford
Cemetery at
Scrougetown, Clay County, NC.
Francis
Marion Byers,
(12/12/1839-2/20/1885), son of Ephraim and Milly,
known as"Marion", was a Confederate veteran, 39th Reg Co E, North
Carolina Troops, who was captured by
Union forces and held prisoner at Louisville, Kentucky.
He was released about May 1865 at
Chattanooga, TN. He had been home on
sick leave and never made it back to his unit.(Nick Byers passed on the
story
of his Uncle Marion walking home from Chattanooga after the war ended). Marion married Mary Loggins and reared the
following children: Sarah L. Byers,
Milly L. Byers, Mary A. Byers, John Cebarn Byers, Caroline Byers,
Angeline
Byers, Adaline Byers, Iva A. Byers, Georgia Byers and Ephraim A.
Byers(not to
be confused with his uncle, Ephraim Asbury Byers).
There
was a Ketty and
Lula, we don't know if they were alternate names for the girls already
listed
or if they were additional children and died between censuses.
Francis
Marion and his
wife are buried at Old Brasstown Cemetery, Towns County, GA. Ketty, Caroline, Lula and Georgia(Georgie)
are buried alongside their parents at old Brasstown Cemetery.
Angeline
married a
Truelove. She died young and she is
buried just west of the rest of the family at Old Brasstown Cemetery.
According
to the late
Ella Faye Byers, one of the girls was known as "Lou".
This may have been Sarah, but we don't know
for sure. She married Elisha(Luce)
Groves and had the following children; Virge, Lee, Ross, and Lilly Mae.
Another
was known as
"Laura". She married Fate
Groves and moved to Texas, no further info.
Adaline
married a Brown
and had no children.
John
Cebarn Byers went
to Texas with a man named William Harrison "Uncle Billy" Lance. He married Amanda Lance, daughter of
"Uncle Billy". Descendants of
John C. Byers and Amanda Lance still own 68 acres of the old
Byers-Lance Ranch
in Texas. John and Amanda are buried in Texas.
In her Byers Family History, the late Ella Faye Byers says that
John
Cebarn visited the Towns area when he was 91 years of age and told her,
"I
won't see you here again, but I will meet you in Heaven".
John Cebarn lived to be 96.
Ephraim
A. Byers(named
for his uncle, Ephraim Asbury Byers), known as "Eph", married first Carrie Curtis who died in
childbirth. This child was named J.
Hicks Byers and was reared by his grandmother, Mary Loggins Byers. Hicks became a minister and was known as
"Preacher Hicks". Eph then
married Mary Keys and had the following children; Pauline Byers(not to
be
confused with her cousin Pauline, Nick's daughter), Corrine Byers,
Irene Byers,
Edna Mae Byers, Neva Byers, Frank Byers(not to be confused with
Frank,of Union
County) John Byers(known as "Little John Byers") and Gladys Byers. Eph and family eventually moved to Clay
County, NC. He and Mary are buried at
the Baptist/Presbyterian Cemetery at Hayesville, NC, along with some of
their
children and grandchildren.
Ephraim
Asbury
Byers(named for his father),
(12/02/1841-12/12/1876), son of Ephraim and Milly, know as "Asbury",
married Melissa Charrity McClure.
They worked on the farm and had two children, Lilly A. Byers and
Vienna(Viny) A. Byers.
Asbury and
family are shown on the 1870 census for Towns County. Charitty and the children are shown without
Asbury on the 1880 census. Asbury had
died in 1876. He is buried at Old
Brasstown Cemetery in the southwest corner .
Charitty was shown living alone in Towns county in 1900. According to the late Ella Faye Byers, Lilly
Byers married John Truelove and they had one child, Randall Truelove,
no
further info. No further information on
Vienna Byers.
Jasper
D. Byers,
(1843-5/09/1863), son of Ephraim and Milly, was
member of the Confederate States Army and died in a hospital at
Atlanta, GA, in
1863. To our knowledge, he never married
nor had any children.
Phidela(sometimes
spelled Phidella or Fidela) Cebrum, (10/27/1845-3/29/1829), son of Ephraim
and Milly,
was knowm as "P. C.", or as "Cebe". "Cebe"
was a member of Col.
Benjamin Ledford's GA Militia, Co E, CSA.
He married Sarah Jane Coffey, and they settled in the Brasstown
district
of Towns County, GA. "Cebe"
was a member of Stephens
Lodge #414, F & AM, at Young Harris, GA.
He and Sarah Jane had the following children: Alfred
Pinkney(known as
"Pink") Byers, Dillard Agnew(Agnew) Byers, Nicholas(Nick) Asbury
Byers, Joseph Jasper(known as Jasper) Byers, Luther(Lute) Athan Byers,
Waco(Wake) Smith Byers, Mary Ella(known as Ella) Byers, Florence Emma
Byers,
Lawrence(Hutch) Byers, and Hobart(Hobe) Byers.
"Cebe" and Sarah moved to the Ivy Log District of Union County
in their later years and are buried at Ivy Log Cemetery, Union County,
GA.
"Pink"
Byers
married Arkie Bruce and had the following children; Jack Byers(not to
be
confused with distant cousin, Jack, of Hayesville)Fred Byersnot to be
confused
with distant cousin Fred,of Hayesville) Florence Byers, Flossie Byers,
Lora
Byers, Valley Byers and Bonnie Byers.
"Pink" and family migrated to Union County, GA, then to
Whitfield County, GA. "Pink"
is buried in Dalton at Welcome Hill Cemetery.
Agnew Byers married Ida Ditmore
and they had one son, Claud Sr. Agnew's
family lived in Towns County, GA, until
Claude was a
young man. Agnew, Ida and Claude settled
in Whitfield County, GA. and are buried at Welcome Hill Cemetery,
Whitfield
County, GA.
"Nick" Byers married Nancy Bryson
and they had the following children; Lela
Byers, Viola Byers, Pauline Byers(not to be confused with Eph's
daughter, Pauline), Ralph C. Byers(not to be confused with Eph's
grandson,
Ralph), and twins, Ella Faye and Ruel Ray Byers(died at birth). Nick,
Nancy and
the family moved to the Ivy Log District of Union County sometime after
1920. Nick and Nancy's daughter, Pauline
Byers Moss, is still living at this writing and turned 100 years of age
in
March, 2006. Nick and Nancy, and
daughters Viola Byers and Ella Faye Byers, are buried at Old Brasstown
Cemetery, Towns County, GA.
Joseph
Jasper Byers,
known as "Jasper", left Georgia as a young man and went to Oklahoma
and then Arizona. No more information
except that some family members went to Arizona and brought Jasper back
to
Dalton as an old man. He soon died there
at his sister Ella's home and is buried at Welcome Hill Cemetery.
Luther
Athan Byers
married Allie Thomas and had the following children; Ray Byers, May
Byers, Ferd
Byers, Grady Byers, Ruth Byers, Wayne Byers, Roy Byers and Beatrice
Byers.(Wayne and Roy are not to be confused with distant relatives
Wayne and
Roy of Clay County, N. C)
"Lute" and Allie moved to Whitfield County, GA, and reared the
family there. They are buried at Dalton,
GA.
Waco(Wake)
married
Hattie Hampton. They lived for a while
in western Towns County and had the following children; Toy Byers(died
at age
of 3, buried at Many Forks Cemetery), Pearl Byers, Ruby Byers, Eunice
Byers,
and Johnny Byers. "Wake" and
family moved to Ivy Log and eventually settled in Whitfield County, GA. At this writing(2006), Eunice is still living
at 91 years of age. Waco and Hattie are
buried at Welcome Hill Cemetery, Dalton, GA.
Mary
Ella Byers married
Robert(Bob) Hampton, brother to Hattie.
Bob and Ella had twins who died at birth. Bob
and Ella finally settled in Whitfield
County, GA. They are buried at Sunset
Memorial Gardens in Dalton, GA.
Lawrence(Hutch)
Byers
married Lillian Hyatt. They had two or
three children who died from whooping cough.
They adopted a son, Cecil Byers.
Hutch and Lillian settled in Ivy Log, Union County, sometime in
the
1920's. They are buried at Ivy Log
Cemetery, Union County GA.
Florence
Emma Byers
died as a child and is buried at Old Brasstown Cemetery.
Hobart(Hobe)
Byers
married Ella Stephens. Hobe and Ella
lived in western Towns County. They had
two children, Robert and Troy. Hobe and
family moved to Whitfield County, GA, sometime in the 1920's. Hobe and Ella are buried at Many Forks
Cemetery.
Merzie
Ann Byers,
(8/04/1848-10/01/1910), daughter of Ephraim and
Milly, married John Stephens of the Young Harris area of Towns County,
GA. They had the following children; Sam
Stephens, Exie(female, never married) Stephens, Julius(died 6 weeks
old), and
Arrie Stephens(female, never married).
John Stephens died young and Merzie reared the children with the
help of
the family. Merzie never remarried and
Exie never married. Sam Stephens married
Mollie Franks and settled in Union County.
Exie and Merzie eventually went to live with Sam and Mollie.
John,
Merzie, Julius
and Arrie are buried just a few feet from Merzie's siblings, Telitha,
Lucinda
and Joseph Byers at Old Union Cemetery at Young Harris, GA. Exie, Sam and Mollie are buried at Antioch
Cemetery, Union County, GA.
Joseph
B. Byers,
(7/20/1850-5/22/1878), son of Ephraim and Milly,
married Roxanna Coffey. Roxanna's
sister, Sarah Jane, married Joseph's brother, "Cebe" Byers. Their sister, Mary Coffey, married Joseph's
and "Cebe"s cousin, Thad Byers. Joseph and Roxanna had two sons,
Ephraim Smith Byers(known as "Smith" Byers), and Joseph B. Byers(known
as "Joe"). Joseph Byers Sr.
died young and is buried at Old Union Cemetery with his sisters,
Telitha and
Lucinda. Roxanna Coffey Byers then
married Jim Evans and moved to Texas where they reared a family. "Smith" and "Joe" stayed
behind and were reared by their maternal grandparents, Athan and
Mary(Polly)
Coffey.
"Smith"
Byers
married Ida Kimsey and they had the following children; Ephraim Glenn
Byers,
Effie Mae Byers, Christine Byers, Zanna Byers, and Myrtle Lou Byers. "Smith" and Ida settled on a farm on
the GA/NC border at Warne, NC, just west of Mt. Pisgah Church. They are buried along with some of their
children at Mt. Pisgah Cemetery, Clay County, NC.
"Joe"
Byers
married Ida Long and had the following children; Roscoe Byers, Roxanna
Byers,
Aubrey Byers, and Carl Byers. They
eventually settled in the Ogden district of Clay County NC. Joe and Ida are are buried at along with some
of their children at Hickory Stand Cemetery, Clay County, NC.
Samuel
Virgil Byers,
(1853-1930), son of Ephraim and Milly, known as
"Uncle Sam", first married Eviline Hyatt, daughter of Shadrick and
Barbara Hyatt. She died in
childbirth. We do not have any
information on the child. Eviline is
buried at Old Brasstown Cemetery just to the
west of her brother-in-law, Ephraim Asbury Byers, in the
southwest
corner of the cemetery. Sam then married
Laura Erwin and had the following children; Ora Byers, Will Byers,
Georgie
Byers(not to be confused with her cousin Georgie, daughter of Francis
Marion
Byers), Kate Byers, Nellie Byers, Eula Byers and Frank Byers(Not to be
confused
with Frank Byers of Clay county). Sam
and Laura moved to Colorado where they reared their family. Some of their children went to Idaho and some
went to Alaska and reared families.
"Uncle Sam" and Laura are buried in Colorado.
Compiled
by Donald Ralph Byers from the following sources:
The
late Ralph C. Byers, the late Nick Byers, the late Ella Faye Byers,
Pauline
Byers Moss, Zadie Cunningham McCall, Barbara Byers, Claude Byers, Jr.,
Raymond
Byers, Ron Byers, Clinton Moore, Eunice Byers Parks, Sharon Tucker,
Bill
Ledford, Mary Grace Hemphill, Gertrude McClain Dodson, Dale Elliott,
Union
County Historical Society, US Census, Civil War Troop Roster, and
Certificate
of Dimit for P. C. Byers, Stephens Lodge #414, F & AM, Young Harris
GA.
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