Nathan Augustus Hobbs Sr.

Nathan Augustus Hobbs Sr., son of Joel Garner Hobbs and Louisa Frances Escoe, was born in Jackson County, Georgia on January 3, 1867. There were eight children in the Hobbs family—Patrick Henry Hobbs, Nancy E. Hobbs, Missouri Letitia Hobbs, Malicia Crawford Hobbs, Rebecca Frances Hobbs, Mary C. Hobbs, Nathan Augustine Hobbs, and Castilla Tiller Hobbs. Nathan is my 1st cousin 4x removed with our nearest common relatives being Nathan Augustus Hobbs Sr. and Mary Elizabeth Lankford who married 1812 in Greene County, Georgia.

At least eight other men in the Hobbs family line carried the name Nathan Augustus Hobbs.

On August 2, 1870, Nathan and his family lived in Maxeys, Oglethorpe County, Georgia. His father worked as a farmer, had real estate valued at $1000, and a personal estate worth $450. His mother Louisa kept house while sisters Nancy and Letitia were “at home.” The census enumerator noted that Nathan’s parents and siblings Henry and Nancy could read but not write. Letitia and Crawford were unable to read or write. Neither box was checked for Mary (7), Rebecca (6), and Nathan (3) but all were too young at that point in time. The family suffered a loss in 1878 when Nathan’s sister Nancy died of typhoid fever in Oglethorpe County at the age of 22. The Oglethorpe Echo published a death announcement on January 25, 1878:

A Sad Death. We regret to announce the death of Miss Nannie Hobbs, a most estimable young lady, which occurred on Friday night last. She had been quite ill for several weeks with typhoid fever. Her bereaved family have our sympathy.

On June 4, 1880, the Hobbs family lived in the Simston District of Oglethorpe County, Georgia. At age 12, Nathan was working on the farm. His father was a farmer and mother kept house. Two male boarders lived in the home with the family, a 52-year-old named Peter Cauble who worked as a blacksmith and a 50-year-old named Robert Tyake who worked as a miner.

Nathan married Mary Elizabeth Pitts, daughter of Drewry Young Pitts and Isabela Bolt, in a ceremony performed by Justice of the Peace J. W. Jarrell on Christmas Day, 1887. 

Fourteen children were blessed to this union—John “Henry” Hobbs, George Hobbs, Nathan Augustus Hobbs Jr., Joel Garland Hobbs, Robert Lee Hobbs, William “Willie” Drew Hobbs, Eula Bell Hobbs, Reuben Hobbs, Mary Lou Hobbs, Nancy Harriet (or Hart) Hobbs, Edna Elizabeth Hobbs, Twin Hobbs, Charles Belton Hobbs (twin), and another infant that did not survive. A word of caution though as I have no documentation for the two infants that did not survive. The information regarding the twins and infants was obtained from other researchers. If you have documentation and would be willing to share, I would love to hear from you.

The 1890s decade was a busy time for Nathan, growing his family and business. We learn a lot about him from the bits of information often published in the local news section of The Oglethorpe Echo. Nathan was apparently a good turkey hunter and was the “go to” person if you wanted lessons. He also hunted raccoons and was known to catch one every night. His son Nathan Jr. was born in Point Peter, Oglethorpe County, Georgia on October 14, 1892. The Oglethorpe Echo reported it on October 21:

White Oak Pickings. Nathan Hobbs is all smiles now. It’s a fine boy.

Nathan “made a flying trip to Athens” in January 1893. Whatever that means, it was apparently cold. A favorite food of Nathan’s was roasted potatoes. In August 1893, one of the Hobbs children had “been quite sick for the past day or two.” The article did not specify which child though. In March 1894, Nathan and J. W. Baughn helped Gus Stevens do some carpenter work near Indian Creek Church. His wife Mary was “quite sick” in April 1894. Nathan again worked with J. W. Baughn in 1894 to build a new house for the Hobbs family in the Prospect Academy community. It was nearly completed by Christmas 1894. Nathan “and two other members of the family” were sick for close to 10 days in September 1895. He was sick again in January 1896 with a severe case of the measles. The measles hit the Hobbs home again in June 1896 when a man living in their home named Wiley Baughn died from an intermittent fever following a case of the measles. More than likely, this was J. W. Baughn who Nathan often did carpentry work with. Nathan apparently was a very social person and often hosted barbecues at his home. In August 1898, friends “enjoyed a royal feast of mutton.” Nathan was sick again in May 1899. He had recovered enough by June 1899 and was able to go on a camp fish with friends on Broad River. It was reported they caught “some fine fish, among them a gar-fish three feet long.” Nathan apparently caught an eel as well. He hosted another barbecue in June 1899, again serving mutton. The Oglethorpe Echo reported the event as “a day long to be remembered and never to be forgotten.” November 1899 was a busy month for Nathan, making a trip to Madison and Elbert counties, taking a crop of cotton to Comer with a man named A. L. Clark, and a business trip to Athens with Mack Esco. John Pitts, Nathan’s brother-in-law, also visited the home for several days. Nathan spent part of December 1899 “building a carriage house in Lexington for Mr. T. W. Crawford.” 

Life for Nathan and his family continued to be busy during the next decade. In January 1900, he visited relatives in Penfield, Greene County, Georgia and made a business trip to Washington, Wilkes County, Georgia. By this time in his life, he was apparently enjoying being a father. On January 19, 1900, The Oglethorpe Echo reported “If you want to know what Nathan Hobbs is looking so pleasant about just ask him and he will say that he is the father of six boys.” March 1900 was another busy month with Nathan making business trips to Salem in Upson County and Comer in Madison County, Georgia. Nathan and Mack Esco hauled guano to Crawford in Oglethorpe County. Of course, I had to look up the definition for guano, a fertilizer made from the excrement of seabirds and bats. He and A. L. Clark traveled to Washington, Georgia to attend the Gulley trial. The State vs. Robert Gulley, who was on trial for the killing of George Bolton, was an important case before the Superior Court at the time. On June 26, 1900, Nathan and his family lived in Simston where he was working as a farmer. He and Mary had been married for 12 years. Mary was enumerated as having had six children, all of which were living. Three of the children—John, George, and Nathan—were attending school. Only John was able to read and write. A June 1900 article published in The Oglethorpe Echo referred to Nathan as “a prosperous Flatwoods farmer.” In this article, Nathan disagreed with the weather bureau after a heavy rainfall that lasted five hours. It was his opinion that they did not measure the rain correctly. In August 1900, Nathan built a buggy house for Dan Lumpkin. In late October, he killed a rattlesnake in his field. As often done in November, families spent time together. Nathan’s nephew Joe Esco and brother-in-law Dave Pitts visited, Nathan and Mary traveled to Penfield to visit relatives, and Nathan visited Mary’s family, only to find them sick in bed with fever. Mid-November, “the little babe,” was sick. That was probably the youngest of the Hobbs children, William. Nathan’s wife Mary was sick mid-April 1901. In July 1901, Nathan appeared before the courts on a charge of disturbing the peace. According to The Oglethorpe Echo, during “some disagreements concerning who should be teacher at Prospect academy and the running of the school,” several “patrons became divided” and said Nathan “threatened to shoot them.” With no evidence to prove the charge, Nathan was cleared and the case dismissed. Nathan hosted another barbecue in late July, perhaps to celebrate the court dismissal. In August 1901, Nathan visited friends and relatives near the Glade. He was also involved in “a very painful accident” involving a horse. The harness broke and the horse began to kick. Nathan “got between the crosspiece and axle and was kicked several times.” He was more worried about “his only Sunday coat” getting “torn to pieces” than he was any injuries to himself. About October 1901, Nathan and his family moved to a farm in the Wesley Chapel community of Oglethorpe County. The farm had been in the J. O. Crawford family for 79 years. Nathan came down with a case of “grippe,” commonly known as the flu, in February 1902. Later that month, two “newsworthy” events took place—the purchase of a new mule and the birth of his seventh child. Eula, finally a daughter for the couple, had six big brothers to look after her as she grew up. In April 1902, Nathan traveled to Watson Springs, about 10 miles from Greensboro, Greene County, Georgia, “and carried Mr. J. O. Crawford’s goats.” In July 1902, Nathan and Dozier Johnson spent a morning in Watson Springs building a cottage. I wonder if this was for J. O. Crawford as well. In late July 1902, Nathan attended a church revival in the Wesley Chapel community and was moved enough to join the church. In September 1902, Nathan made a business trip to Athens, Clarke County, Georgia, bringing Dozier Johnson back with him to look after his farm while Nathan did some carpentry work in Lexington, Oglethorpe County, Georgia. Sometime in early- to mid-December, Nathan and Mary traveled to the Glade to visit his sister Rebecca Hobbs Bell and her family. Two of Rebecca’s children were extremely ill and one, Hopie (or Hoppie), was not expected to survive. Hopie did in fact pass away on December 10. In February 1903, despite suffering from a cluster of boils in his left hip, Nathan was able to make a train trip to Athens, Georgia. He recovered enough by mid-March 1903 to take an unsuccessful fishing trip with friends Mr. and Mrs. Webb and Dozier Johnson. Nathan was sick again in early June 1903, having to spend some time in bed. His daughter Eula must have caught whatever Nathan had and she was sick in late June 1903. Nathan made a “trade for the place on which Mr. Tom Graham now lives” in August 1903, staying in the same community. He was “under the weather for some time” in mid-September 1903. In October 1903, Nathan visited his sister Rebecca in the Glade, and then went to the fair in Athens. Nathan made another trip to Penfield in December 1903 to visit his sister Malicia.

A sad event occurred on October 12, 1907 when Nathan’s son Reuben died from a membraneous croup. The Oglethorpe Echo reported his death on October 18, 1907:

After a short illness, with, the death angel came Saturday night to relieve the suffering of Reuben, the sweet little son of Mr. and Mrs. N. A. Hobbs. Although less than four years old, little Reuben possessed the intelligence of a much older person and by his sweet winning ways won the hearts of all who knew him. On Monday afternoon the funeral services were conducted by Rev. M. S. Weaver and the remains laid to rest in the Colquitt burying ground.

They buried Reuben at Colquitt Cemetery in Sandy Cross, Oglethorpe County, Georgia. The epitaph inscribed on the back of his tombstone reads:

We had a little treasure once
He was our joy and pride
We loved him oh perhaps too well
For soon he slept and died

On April 20, 1910, Nathan and his family lived on Plantation Road in Simston. Nathan was farming on a general farm and the marriage was now in its 22nd year. Mary was enumerated as having had 10 children, 9 of which were living. Sadly, we know that accounts for the death of Reuben. George, Joe, Robert, and Willie are all farm laborers on the home farm. The baby, born in 1909, was Nancy. If the researchers mentioned earlier are correct about the twin sons, they were born on April 24, 1915 in Point Peter, Oglethorpe County, Georgia. One was named Charles and the other (name unknown) did not survive. Since Nathan was living in Point Peter when his son Robert registered for the World War I draft in September 1918, the second infant, born/died 1917, would have been born there as well.

On January 22, 1920, the Hobbs family lived in the Glade District of Oglethorpe County, Georgia. Nathan worked as a machinist at a saw mill. Six children were still living at home—Nathan, Eula, Mary, Nancy, Edna, and Charles. Nathan Jr.’s wife, Lethia Ollie Kendall, was also living in the home. Nathan Jr. worked as a farmer on a general farm. Nathan’s son Henry, a veteran of World War I, died from pulmonary tuberculosis in Oglethorpe County on June 21, 1922. He was buried at Glade Baptist Church Cemetery on June 22. Henry was survived by his wife and two small children. Nathan lived in Point Peter at the time. 

On April 4, 1930, Nathan and his family lived at Vesta and Glade Roads in the Glade community of Oglethorpe County. He worked as a farmer on a general farm and was the only person in the home working. Four of his children were still at home—Mary Lou (age 22), Nancy (age 20), Edna (age 17), and Charles (enumerated as Charlie, age 15). Edna and Charles were both attending school. Nathan, his wife Mary, and daughter Mary Lou still lived in the Glade community in 1935. 

Nathan, Mary, and Mary Lou were living in the same Glade house on May 8, 1940. Nathan continued to work full time as a farmer. Nathan’s wife Mary died in Oglethorpe County, Georgia on March 31, 1941 at the age of 69. She was buried at the Hobbs Family Cemetery in Oglethorpe County. When Nathan’s son William Drew Hobbs registered for the World War II draft on February 15, 1942, he listed his father as the person who would always know his address. Nathan still lived in Point Peter at the time.

On April 11, 1950, a widowed Nathan and his daughter Mary Lou lived on a farm located on Millstone Road in the Glade community. Neither had an occupation listed on the census record so must have retired.

At the age of 94, Nathan died at his home in Oglethorpe County (near the Glade) on July 10, 1961 following an extended illness. He was survived by four daughters, six sons, one sister, and many grandchildren, great, and great-great grandchildren. Nathan was buried in the Hobbs Family Cemetery in Oglethorpe County following a service at the Glade Methodist Church officiated by Revs. Gordon Fincher and C. W. Davis. His obituary stated “he always radiated sunshine everywhere he went with his cheerful disposition and ready wit.”

Photo from Allen Hobbs

References

• A Sad Death, The Oglethorpe Echo, Crawford, Oglethorpe County, Georgia, January 25, 1878; https://gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/lccn/sn85027057/1878-01-25/ed-1/seq-3/. 
• Buffalo Valley, The Oglethorpe Echo, Crawford, Georgia, May 9, 1890.
• Guano; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guano.
• Gully Case Postponed, The Macon Telegraph, Macon, Georgia, November 11, 1901.
• Hobbs Family Cemetery photo from Allen Hobbs.
• John Henry Hobbs Standard Certificate of Death no. 15812, Georgia State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, 1922.
• Mary E. Hobbs, Georgia, U.S., Death Index, 1919–1998.
• Mr. Henry Hobbs obituary, Oglethorpe Echo, Oglethorpe County, Georgia, June 1922.
• Nathan Augustus Hobbs Sr. obituary, Oglethorpe Echo, Oglethorpe County, Georgia, July 13, 1961.
• Nathan Hobbs and Mary Pitts, Georgia, Marriage Records from Select Counties, 1828–1978.
• Nathan Hobbs obituary, The Atlanta Journal, Atlanta, Georgia, July 11, 1961.
• Prospect Academy, The Oglethorpe Echo, Crawford, Georgia, September 20, 1895.
• Prospect, The Oglethorpe Echo, Crawford, Georgia, May 26, June 9, June 23, November 17, and December 15, 1899; January 12, March 19, August 24, November 2, and November 16, 1900; April 19, July 19, August 2, August 9, and October 25, 1901; January 10, February 14, February 28, April 4, July 25, August 1, September 19, and December 12, 1902; February 13, March 20, June 5, June 26, August 7, September 11, October 9, and December 4, 1903. 
• Purely Personal, The Oglethorpe Echo, Crawford, Georgia, June 29, 1900.
• Reuben Hobbs obituary, The Oglethorpe Echo, Crawford, Georgia, October 18, 1907.
• Robert Lee Hobbs, World War I draft registration card, September 12, 1918.
• U.S. Federal Census, District 145, Greene County, Georgia, 1850.
• U.S. Federal Census, District 230, Oglethorpe County, Georgia 1880.
• U.S. Federal Census, Glade, Oglethorpe County, Georgia, 1920, 1930, 1940, 1950.
• U.S. Federal Census, Greensboro, Greene County, Georgia, 1860.
• U.S. Federal Census, Maxeys, Oglethorpe County, Georgia, 1870.
• U.S. Federal Census, Simston, Oglethorpe County, Georgia, 1880, 1900, 1910.
• Wesley Chapel, The Oglethorpe Echo, Crawford, Georgia, June 19, 1896; August 26, 1898; and June 2, 1899.
• White Oak Pickings, The Oglethorpe Echo, Crawford, Georgia, October 21, November 4, 1892; January 13, January 20, August 11, 1893; March 2, April 27, and December 21, 1894.
• William Drew Hobbs, U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940–1947.
• Wise, The Oglethorpe Echo, Crawford, Georgia, January 31, 1896.