|
FINCHERVILLE FINCHERS
The Butts County community of Fincherville, at the intersection of Island
Shoals/Fincherville, and Keys Ferry Roads, was named after John Lumpkin Fincher
who settled there during the Civil War. John L. Fincher was born September 1
1843 in Jasper County. Evidently orphaned at a tender age, his parents(to
date)are unknown. He and(perhaps-a sister?)Margaret J. Fincher, were raised by
relatives, John J. and Mary A. Fincher. They are found in their household on the
1850 and 1860 Jasper Co. censuses. [Margaret was divorced or widowed by 1860, as
her son Pleasant W. Warren was also listed. She had married Edwin Warren in
1856]. In Jasper Co. on February 27 1862, John L. Fincher married Arra
A.("Annie")Dearing, daughter of Thomas J. and Matilda(Kitchens)Dearing. In May
that year, John and(perhaps-a cousin?)Simeon C. Fincher(with whom he had grown
up)joined Anderson's Guards in Newton County. Nothing is known of their early
Army service. Did John's wife Arra move to Butts County with her parents, while
John was away in the war? Had his enlistment ended, when she gave birth to a
son, March 13 1864? The child died the same day. Was John there when Arra died a
week later? Arra, and son, are buried in the family cemetery, on Fincherville
Road, 1/4 mile south of the Keys Ferry junction. In Butts County on May 15 1864,
John L. Fincher married Arra's sister, Sarah Adaline Dearing. Earlier that year,
their father, Thomas J. Dearing, had been killed in the War.
Cousin "Sim" Fincher was captured at Sharpsburg Maryland, September 14 1862-and
was "exchanged" at Aiken's Landing Virginia in October. He also surrendered at
Appomattox, April 9 1865. John L. Fincher was captured at Richmond Virginia,
April 3 1865. After an oath of allegiance, he was released at Camp Lookout,
Maryland on June 27 1865. He came home to Butts Co. to rebuild his life and
family. During reconstruction, the family grew and became relatively prosperous.
Between July 1866 and February 1873, the couple had four children: Ella Frances,
Edward Alfred(Sept.-1869), Atticus Clark(Jan.-1871), and John Thomas. By the
early 1880s, John L. Fincher had ventured into several business opportunities.
Georgia gazetteers for the Worthville P.O. show him in partnership with John H.
Pope in a cotton gin. He was probably involved in a general store, Welch &
Fincher(1883-1887). Also noted, are interests in a grist mill and
sawmill(1881-1896). It is likely that some of these businesses were near his
home at Fincherville. Early this century, the family ran a cotton gin on the
N.W. corner of the Fincherville crossroads. On the N.E. corner there was an old
store building which housed the short-lived Fincherville Post Office. John L.
Fincher was its Postmaster(1895-1898). By 1900, John L. and Sarah Fincher had
moved to Clinch County with son, Alfred E. Fincher. But, before 1910, both
families had returned to Butts Co. John L. Fincher was a very religious man, and
is prominently noted in the early minutes of Sardis Baptist Church. However,
during a schism, he left the home church, and started a new one, across from the
family cemetery, on the westside of Fincherville Rd. On July 16 19ll, John L.
Fincher died. Perhaps, without his leadership, the young church failed. Its
building-near a small cotton house, stood vacant for many years. Sarah Fincher
died November 27 1923. John L. Fincher, wives-Sarah & Arra(and her infant
son)-and their mother, Matilda Dearing(see Note #1)are buried in the family
cemetery. Fincher siblings; Ella F. Wilson, Alfred E. Fincher, and John
T.("Scrub")Fincher are buried in Sardis Baptist Church Cemetery. Their brother;
Atticus Clark Fincher, who had a deaf-mute child, had moved to Floyd County
before 1920. He is buried in Cave Springs Cemetery. In the Floyd Co. History,
A.C. Fincher, in an undated photo, is noted as the mayor of Cave Springs.
______________________________
Footnote:
#1) Matilda was the daughter of Charles Kitchens of Jasper County, who died in
January 1864. His will was contested there, and proven in Superior Court-Oct.
Term 1867. The decision was affirmed in the Georgia Supreme Court-Jun. Term
1869.
___________________________________________________
Note: This summary, with minor revisions and additions, has been reformatted in
"plain text".
Larry C. Knowles, March 26, 2002
e-mail: knonga@bellsouth.net
|
