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GW Hardison is mentioned in the Transcription of a taped 1998 conversation with his daughter, Mary Lou.

George Washington Hardison

4-26-1860 to Sept. 1935

Siblings

 

 

1844-Mary Ann Hardison

1845-Sally Clark

1846-Noah T. Hardison

1848-Sophie Elizabeth

1849-James H. Hardison

1851-Asa Biggs Hardison

1852-Jessie Hyman Hardison

1854-Louisa Robertson

1856-John Franklin Hardison

1858-Fannie Harwell

1863-Alonzo Edwin Hardison

married 9-1-1892

to

Ida Tennessee Avery

1876-1965

 

Children

 

1893-Sally Hooper Mecklin

 

1895-William Leland Hardison

 

1896-Hyman Franklin Hardison (died 1897)

 

1900-Noah Thomas Hardison

 

1904-Mary Lou Cyril Barnett Foutch

 

1906-Vinas Rosamon Hardison

 

1909-Paul Craig Hardison

 

 

parents:

 

Asa Hardison

&

Clara Robeson

spouse's parents:

William A.G. Avery

&

Sarah Rosamon

maternal grandparents:

John Robeson & Winnefred (Wollard?)

 

paternal grandparents:

Jesse Hardison & Anna (Leggett?)

maternal aunts & uncles:

1805-Asa; 1806-Sintha Stallings; 1810-Sopha; 181?-Hyman; 1817-Matilda/Tillie Biggs; 1818-Sally

 

paternal aunts & uncles:

1814-James; 1816-Noah; 1820-Dave; 1829-Mary Ann

 

 Click on image to enlarge. Once enlarged, to zoom, move cursor to right of image, back onto image, and click again.

copy of Mary Lou's original tintype labeled George Hardison and Maggie Nash (see info on Maggie below). Note portrait he holds.

zooming on the portrait. Perhaps his mother, Clara Robeson Hardison, who died in 1875

cleaned up & lightened, courtesy of Natalie Huntley

George Washington Hardison. Had to take a photo of Mary Lou's original because it was too big to scan

George with his father and brothers in front of the home place, click to see labels

zoom on George only

GW, Ida T and Sally, photocopy sent by Mary Lou

Leland, GW, Noah, Sally, Ida T.

George Washington Hardison and family (labeled when you click on it)

George W and Ida T stone at Mount Moriah Cemetery

1998 photo of the grove of pecan trees Mary Lou said that GW planted

Regarding Maggie Nash (in photo above): She was the daughter of William B. Nash and first wife Marina, and was born in 1859. Her father's second wife was Lydia Ann Stallings (called Ann), the daughter of GW's aunt, Cynthy Robeson Stallings. In other words, she is the step-daughter of his cousin. I am researching Maggie's mother, Marina, on the theory that she may have been Marina Robeson (daughter of Risdom Robeson).

Transcription of taped conversation with GW's daughter Mary Lou (and several of her letters) still to be added.

Transcription from Hardison family Bible (with some added info) by Mary Lou Hardison Barnett Foutch (George's daughter): "George Washington Hardison borned Dyer County April 26, 1860. Ida Tennessee Avery borned Missoura Jan. 15 1876. Married Sept. 1 1892 by Elder D.P. Leggett at the residence of C.B. Avery in the presence of J.W. Clark, W.H. Phillips, Frank Shelton and others in the county of Dyer, State of TN. They had 7 children." Note: C.B. Avery was Ida's brother, Charlie. J.W. Clark was the husband of George's sister Sally, and after Sally died, the husband of George's sister, Sophie Elizabeth (Lizzie). Elder D.P. Leggett may have been related to George's grandmother, who was believed to be Anna Leggett Hardison. And to find out who Frank Shelton was, click here: Shelton.

Notes on a conversation with Mary Lou, Sept. 1998:

    She remembered that her grandfather, Asa, had a brother Dave Hardison who stayed in NC when Asa moved to TN. She said Dave visited them once from NC. Her grandparents, Asa and Clara, she said, came by wagon from NC to TN, camping en route, washing clothes in rivers. A black man, Al Cox (she pronounced his name as "Owl" Cox), accompanied Asa and helped him clear the land.

    Mr. Duffy had a farm on Christmasville Road. He also had a farm 2 miles south of Friendship on the road to Crockett Mills. In the fall of 1917 the GW Hardison family moved to Mr. Duffy's farm on Christmasville Road, having traded their place in Friendship for it, a place they were only renting. Noah was in the service; Leland was in the service. Mr. Foutch lived next door. He made pictures (photos). After Noah came home from the service, he married and lived on the Duffy place.

    GW's sister, Lizzie Clark (Sophia Elizabeth), had a lot of money. She willed him money, according to Mary Lou, "so he bought the farm from Goodrich out here in Medina." But Ida Tennessee talked Herschel Barnett (Mary Lou's husband) into buying a different place, building a new house, on what would come to be called Barnett Road. Herschel Barnett and his father built the new homeplace on Barnett Road on the site of the old homeplace. The house the Barnetts built was occupied by Mary Lou's parents in one half, and by her brother, Paul Craig & his wife Eva Mae in the other half (before Paul Craig built his own place).

    She recalled that her father, GW, had a heart attack when the new homeplace was recently finished. He was walking around, picking up nails and cleaning up, circa 1935, when he had the heart attack. At this point in the conversation, Paul Craig's daughter (who was present both in 1998 as I spoke to Mary Lou and in 1935, since her family lived on the other side of the house) said she remembered it, though she was only four. She was on the porch, crying over him and, "He said, 'she thinks I'm going to die,' and he did die, that night."

    Mary Lou's mother, Ida Tennessee, also died of a heart attack. She was living with Sally, who had cooked fish from the freezer. Ida ate a big supper and got sick in the night. Dr. Morrison gave her something for the pain. That night it sleeted. They phoned the doctor, who told them to take her to the hospital in the morning. Next morning Sally knew she was dying, she was so bad. According to Mary Lou, Sally called the doctor who said, "She's passing away; she won't last an hour." And sure enough, she didn't.

    Mary Lou herself was a telephone operator in the 1920s, a "telephone pioneer" (more on that on her page). She worked in Miami, and also at one point went up to Chicago for about half a year, coming back in October of 1924 or 25. While in Chicago she stayed in the apartment shared by her brothers Leland and Paul (she said Paul, but it might've been an error. Vinas was known to have lived in Chicago. If Paul did so too, it was only briefly. Whichever brother it was, she said he worked for Sears at that time.) Mary Lou married Herschell Barnett about three months after returning to TN. Not long after (actually it was 1928) William Leland married Lyda Sue Sims without their parents' permission (that's how Mary Lou phrased it, implying that a couple aged 33 and 28 should get parental consent). They stayed overnight with her (she and Herschel were living in Jackson) and she remembers they phoned Friendship (Lyda's parents) from her place to break the news.

   

1900 census, Crockett County TN, Civil District 10:

George W. Hardison, 40, born Apr 1860 in TN of parents born in NC, married 7 years, farmer.

Wife Ida T. 24, born Jan 1876 in Missouri of parents born in TN, married 7 years, mother of four of whom three are living.

Daughter Sallie J. 6, born Oct. 1893 in TN.

Son William L. 4, born Aug 1895 in TN.

Son Noah, two months, born March 1900 in TN.

Brother-in-law Joseph T. Avery, 19, born July 1880 in TN of parents born in TN, single, farm labor.

 

1910 census, Lauderdale County TN, Halls:

Geo Hardison, farmer, age 49, born in TN of parents born in NC, married 17 years.

Wife Ida, 34, born in Missouri of parents born in TN (column for kids born/kids surviving is blank).

Son Leland, age 14.

Son Noah, age 10.

Daughter Mary L, age 6.

Son "Minas" (Vinas), age 3.

Son Paul C, age one month.

 

1920 census, Madison County, civil district 3, Christmasville Road:

George Hardison, age 59, married, born TN of parents born NC, farmer.

Wife Ida T, age 44, born in MO, etc, married.

Son Noah T, married, age 19.

Daughter Mary L., age 15, single.

Son Vinas, age 13.

Son Paul, age 10.

Neighbors are Sam & Ida Foutch, and then another two houses away, Laz Foutch (Lazarus) age 54, widower, born in TN of parents born in TN, and son Alma L, 18. Son Frank C., age 13. Also in household, John H. Carter, brother-in-law, age 66, born in TN of a father born in NC and a mother born in TN. Martha Carter, sister, age 56, born in TN of a father born in NC and a mother born in TN. The next house down is another Foutch household (John P and wife Sallie both 27, etc) and the next house is William and Birdie McFarlin with daughters Eunice 13 and Laura 6. These are mentioned because George's daughter, Mary Lou, will wed Alma Foutch as her second husband in 1975 and because Mary Lou is pictured in a photograph with someone she identified as Garnet "Mack" McFarland. (The last family on the page is the Duffy family, and I recall Mary Lou talking about the Duffy family as well. Need to transcribe tape recordings of conversations with her).

 

Note regarding witness Frank Shelton at GW & Ida T's wedding in 1892:

I got several emails in late 2007 from Dorothy Storms, great-granddaughter of W.F. Shelton. She said in part, "The Frank Shelton mentioned as witness was my great-grandfather, full name William Frank (possibly Franklin) Shelton. He was married (at least) 3 times that I've found, his third wife being my great-grandmother. W.F.'s first wife was Sallie Dollar. They were married 4-14-1884 in Dyer County, TN. According to her gravestone, she was born 12-2-1865 and died 2-11-1890. He remarried the following November to Elizabeth "Bettie" Evans (married 11-16-1890, Crockett County).

    My grandmother made notes about the Shelton family around 1938 (presumably for the obituary of her father-in-law, W.F. Shelton) that included Katie L. listed as my grandfather's half sister, age 46--Bells TN--deceased; married an Agee, adopted by another family, "given away." She never knew anything else about Katie, and I only located her while searching census records and piecing information together. We know from the 1900 census that Katie was born Feb. 1890. The presumption that our family has since made is that her mother (Sallie) died either during or very shortly after Katie's birth. William Frank had 2 other very young children at the time, which would seem to explain his second marriage just a few months after burying his first wife. I've never been able to figure out why Katie was listed in the 1920 census as married with the AVERY name. Upon discovering that he was a witness at the AVERY wedding, I'm fascinated. Since he was still in (or close to) Dyer County in 1892 (to witness the wedding), his first child with Bettie (b. 1891) would have been born there. I know they were in Texas by 1893 for the birth of their second child."

    Note: Katie L. who was given away by Frank Shelton is apparently the same Katie L raised as foster daughter of GW's brother, John Franklin Hardison, so her further information is on her foster father's page.