Christopher Columbus Walker

Christopher Columbus Walker, son of John Thomas Walker and Emily Caroline White, was born in Anderson County, South Carolina on February 9, 1840. There were at least five other children in this family—Chester Milton Walker, Benjamin Franklin Walker, Cynthia Caroline Walker, Isaac Newton Walker, and Emily Caroline Walker. Christopher was the husband of my 2nd great grand aunt Miranda Elizabeth Holland, sister of my 2nd great grandfather Leroy Thomas Holland. We have no common relatives.

On September 4, 1850, Christopher and his family lived in the Eastern Subdivision of Anderson County, South Carolina. His father was a farmer. 

I have been unable to find Christopher in the 1860 census but pick up the paper trail the following year. The Civil War began on April 12, 1861 when life changed for many people. Men lined up to enlist but Christopher held off. On December 29, 1861, he married Miranda Elizabeth Holland, daughter of John Holland and Elizabeth Hutchinson Majors, in Pickens County, South Carolina. By February 1862, it appears that Miranda was pregnant. On July 1, 1862, he was enlisted as a Private by Lt. Calhoun at the Pickens District to serve in Capt. Rene T. Beauregard’s Company of the South Carolina Light Artillery under Capt. Thomas B. Ferguson. Company Muster Rolls show that he was present for the months November and December 1862 which means he missed the birth of his first child, a daughter they named Louette Elizabeth Walker, born on November 1, 1862. The few records I found documenting his service show he also appeared on the Company Muster Roll January to June 1863 and November to December 1863. He was paid on October 31, 1862, December 31, 1862 ($50), February 28, 1863, April 30, 1863, and June 30, 1863 and issued clothing on March 21, May 7, June 24, July 27, and August 8, all in the year 1864. According to the National Park Service, Beauregard’s Company, South Carolina Light Artillery aka “Ferguson’s Battery was organized in April, 1862, at Charleston, South Carolina. After serving in South Carolina, the unit moved to Mississippi and fought under General Gist at Jackson. Later it joined the Army of Tennessee and was assigned to Palmer’s, R. Martin’s, and R. Cobb’s Battalion of Artillery. Not engaged at Chickamauga, the battery served with the army from Chattanooga to Nashville. However, most of the men and all of its guns were captured at Nashville. Captains R. T. Beauregard and T. B. Ferguson were in command.” The Company was armed with “two 6-pound smoothbores and two 12-pound Napoleons” according to the web page South Carolina Artillery Units in the War of the Rebellion. Fold3 records show the Regiment mustered out of service on December 16, 1864. The Application for Headstone for Christopher submitted by his daughter Betty in 1936 records his discharge date as April 8, 1865, the end of the war. Which is the correct date? 

After Christopher returned to South Carolina, whenever that was, the family began to grow. He and Miranda would go on to have 14 children—Louette (Lulah or Lula) Elizabeth Walker (1862), Jesse (or Jessie) Robert Walker (1866), John Christopher Walker (1868), E. Fannie Walker (1870), Mamie Princess Walker (1872), Samuel Moore Walker (1873), James Berry Walker (1874-twin), William Perry Walker (1874-twin), Lena Maranda Walker (1879), Charles C. Walker (1881), Betty Maybelle Walker (1883), and three that did not survive. A militia enrollment taken in 1869 showed that Christopher was a 29-year-old farmer living in Belton, Anderson County, South Carolina.

On July 12, 1870, Christopher, Miranda, Louette, Jessie, and John lived in the Broadway Township of Anderson County, South Carolina. Christopher worked as a farm laborer and had a personal estate valued at $105. Miranda, enumerated as Malinda, stayed at home “keeping house.”

On June 8, 1880, Christopher and his family, now with eight children, lived in Belton. He worked as a farmer, Miranda was keeping house, and sons Jesse and John were farm laborers. Lula, Jesse, and John all attended school. On June 30, 1887, it appears Christopher nearly lost his home to a fire. The Intelligencer, Anderson’s local newspaper, reported the following:

The dwelling house and kitchen of Mr. C. C. Walker, who resides on Mr. W. W. Smith’s plantation, in Garvin Township, were destroyed by fire on last Friday night about 12 o’clock. The fire originated in the kitchen, which was almost consumed before Mr. Walker was awakened. The kitchen was only a few feet from the house, and it was impossible to keep the latter from burning. Mr. Walker succeeded in saving nearly all of his household furniture. The cause of the fire is not known.

Perhaps it was the fire that brought a move to the Storeville section of Anderson County which is where Christopher lived on July 7, 1892 when The Intelligencer reported on his cotton crop:

The first cotton bloom that has been shown us this season comes from Mr. C. C. Walker’s plantation, in the Storeville section. It made its appearance on Sunday, June 27th. Mr. Walker also exhibited to us a sample stalk of his cotton crop, which measured nearly four feet in height. He has only twenty acres in cotton, and this stalk, which is well fruited, is an average one from his fields. Mr. Walker is a practical farmer, and advocates raising home supplies and making cotton a surplus crop.

In 1893, Christopher and Miranda sent son John off to Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. John would go on to become a dentist. On March 15, 1893, The Intelligencer reported that a “quilting and sociable” had been held at the Walker home and “was very much enjoyed by the young people.” A church going man, Christopher was a delegate to the first Saluda Association of the Baptist Church that met with Rocky River Church in July 1894. The Intelligencer reported that Christopher was visited by “Mr. Silas Kay and family, of Belton …” in August 1894. His daughter Louette married Silas Kay about 1881. By 1894, she and Silas had at least seven children.

On June 18, 1900, Christopher and his family lived in a rental home on F Street in Anderson, Anderson County, South Carolina. Christopher was enumerated as Columbus C. Walker and worked as a furniture sealer. Miranda was enumerated as having had 14 children, 9 of which were living. Three adult children remained at home. Son Jesse was enumerated as 33 years old and married 10 years, however, there was no sign of a wife living in the home. Jesse worked as a day laborer. Lena, age 21, worked as a weaver in a cotton mill, and Charlie, age 19, worked as a slubber hand in the cotton mill, someone who removed the bobbins from the spindles in the mill. Christopher’s son Jesse died in Pelzer, Anderson County, South Carolina on February 6, 1908. He was buried at Cedar Grove Baptist Church Cemetery in Belton.

On April 20, 1910, Christopher, again enumerated as Columbus, lived in a rental home on Catlett Street in Varennes, Anderson County, South Carolina. At age 70, Christopher had retired. There was a boarder named John Hanna, an 80-year-old widower, living in the home. 

Christopher died in Anderson County on January 19, 1913. He was buried at Silver Brook Cemetery (aka Old Silver Brook Cemetery) in Anderson. 

A year after his death, Miranda filed for a widow’s pension but needed witnesses from other men who served in Beauregard’s Artillery with Christopher. To find them, an article was published in The Intelligencer on February 17, 1914:

Survivors Wanted of Beauregard Company. Are there any survivors in Anderson or among the readers of The Intelligencer of the Beauregard Artillery? Information to this effect will be received very gratefully by Mrs. C. C. Walker, relict of the late C. C. or “Lum” Walker, who served in that command. It will be necessary in getting some important matters settled for Mrs. Walker to have two of his comrades to state as witnesses that they knew the deceased and that he was a member of that command. Unfortunately the military history of Anderson county is in such poor shape that it is difficult to get information of this kind. Some old comrades please let Mrs. Walker hear from them. Mr. Walker enlisted in the Beauregard Artillery on the 6th of July, 1863 and served until the surrender. The captain of his battery was named Ferguson. Mr. Walker died on the 19th of January, 1913.

His daughter Betty (Mrs. W. H. Moore) applied to the War Department for a military headstone on September 4, 1936. The application recorded Beauregard’s regiment as Company F, the only record I’ve seen that shows that. As noted above, the record provides a different enlistment year, 1861 vs. 1862 on the Company Muster Rolls. It also provides a discharge date, but is it correct?  

click to enlarge

References

• Battle Unit Details, Confederate South Carolina Troops, Beauregard's Company, South Carolina Light Artillery (Ferguson’s), The Civil War, National Park Service; https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-battle-units-detail.htm?battleUnitCode=CSCBEAUCAL.
• Christopher Columbus Walker, U.S., Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1925–1970.
• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/19749534/christopher-columbus-walker: accessed 01 January 2022), memorial page for Christopher Columbus “Lum” Walker (9 Feb 1840–19 Jan 1913), Find a Grave Memorial ID 19749534, citing Silver Brook Cemetery, Anderson, Anderson County, South Carolina, USA; maintained by Gale and David Moore (contributor 46910034).
• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/48777468/jessie-robert-walker: accessed 01 January 2022), memorial page for Jessie Robert Walker (26 Aug 1866–6 Feb 1908), Find a Grave Memorial ID 48777468, citing Cedar Grove Baptist Church Cemetery, Belton, Anderson County, South Carolina, USA; maintained by Cousins by the Dozens (contributor 46904925).
• Local News, The Intelligencer, Anderson, South Carolina, June 30, 1887, July 7, 1892, March 15, 1893, October 25, 1893, and August 29, 1894.
• Personal visit to Old Silverbrook Cemetery, Anderson, South Carolina.
• Roll of Citizens, Militia Enrollments, 1869.
• Saluda Association, The Intelligencer, Anderson, South Carolina, July 25, 1894.
• South Carolina Artillery Units in the War of the Rebellion; https://corktree.tripod.com/South_Carolina_Artillery_Units_in_the_War_of_the_Rebellion.
• South Carolina Ferguson’s Light Artillery (Confederate); https://www.fold3.com/regiment/14704/south-carolina-fergusons-light-artillery-confederate-civil-war-stories. 
• Survivors Wanted of Beauregard Company, The Intelligencer, Anderson, South Carolina, February 17, 1914.
• U.S. Federal Census, Anderson, Anderson County, South Carolina, 1900.
• U.S. Federal Census, Belton, Anderson County, South Carolina, 1880.
• U.S. Federal Census, Broadway Township, Anderson County, South Carolina, 1870.
• U.S. Federal Census, Eastern Subdivision, Anderson County, South Carolina, 1850.
• U.S. Federal Census, Varennes, Anderson County, South Carolina, 1910.
• Weaste Cemetery Heritage Trail, Some Old Job Titles from the Textile Industries; http://www.weasteheritagetrail.co.uk/Resources/some-old-job-titles-from-the-textile-industries/index.htm. 

Matilda Armathine Holland

Matilda Armathine Holland, daughter of Elijah Major Holland and Jemima Kay, was born in Anderson County, South Carolina on September 25, 1865. Most records list her as Armathine, so I believe that’s the name she went by most of her life. There were seven children in Armathine’s family—Elizabeth Holland, Sarah Ann Elzira Holland, Doctor Carroll Holland, William Perry Holland, Matilda Armathine Holland, Robert E. Lee Holland, and Anda Holland. She is my 1st cousin 3x removed. Our nearest common relatives are John Holland and Elizabeth H. Majors. Her father Elijah was the brother of Leroy Thomas Holland, my 2nd great grandfather.

On August 16, 1870, Armathine and her family lived in the Belton Township of Anderson County. Her father was working as a farm laborer and had a personal estate valued at $745. Her brothers, Doctor (age 13) and Perry (11), were both working as day laborers. There is a male named Perry Holland, age 20, living in the home. I believe this may be Armathine’s uncle. My records show that her father had a brother that I list as George W. P. Holland, born about 1849 so the age would be right. I have no other information on him at this time but will certainly add him to my list to research. The family lived two houses from Rev. Robert and Frances (Holland) King, great grand uncle and aunt of Armathine. Rev. King was the 2nd pastor of Neals Creek Baptist Church in Anderson. Frances was the daughter of the Rev. Moses Holland, a drummer during the Revolutionary war and present at the surrender of Lord Cornwallis. He was Armathine’s 2nd great grandfather and my 5th great grandfather.

On June 28, 1880, Armathine and her family lived in the Broadway Township of Anderson County. Her father was farming with her brother Perry, enumerated as William, working on the farm. Armathine’s brother Doctor had married and was living next door with his wife Christianna and daughter Effa.

Sometime after the 1880 census was taken and by early 1883, Armathine married James Monroe Geer, son of James Geer and Martha Emeline Vandiver. They had two children together—James Furman Geer, born on September 12, 1883 in Anderson County and a second son, born on March 18, 1885. The unnamed son only lived for one day and was buried at Neals Creek Baptist Church Cemetery.

From what I gather, the Geer family were very involved in the church. On April 29, 1888, Armathine played the organ for the church choir at a Sunday School Union meeting held at Neals Creek. The church was filled to capacity, including many who listened from outside the church after being unable to get a seat inside. “The Rev. Mr. Whilden, an ex-missionary to China, and now pastor of the Williamston Baptist Church, addressed the Union on missionary work and exhibited two Chinese Idols.” Following the event, the congregation gathered outside for dinner furnished by some of the attendees.

The 1890’s were hard on Armathine. Just before Christmas 1891 (December 18), her husband came down with what was described as “a short but painful illness with pneumonia.” He died on December 18 at the home of Col. J. P. McGee in Hall Township in Anderson County at the age of 30 years. The notice published in the Anderson Intelligencer on December 24 noted that he “was an industrious, upright young man.” He was buried at Neals Creek Baptist Church Cemetery in Anderson. The decade ended with the death of Armathine’s mother on June 9, 1899 “at her home in Broadway Township” after being “an invalid for several years.” Her obituary, published in The Intelligencer, noted that her death “came as a relief to her sufferings.” At the age of 70, Jemima Holland was laid to rest at Neals Creek Church Cemetery in Anderson where she “had been a devoted member” for many years. Jemima’s obituary noted that she had six surviving children at the time of her death. I haven’t been able to document it yet, but I believe it was Armathine’s older sister Elizabeth that had died.

On June 1, 1900, a widowed Armathine and her son Furman were living with Jesse McGee, a 74-year-old widowed farmer and the same person whose home her husband died in at the beginning of the decade in the Hall Township of Anderson County. Armathine was enumerated as a housekeeper and the mother of two children, one of which was living. Furman was enumerated as a 16-year-old servant and farm laborer. Armathine’s son Furman married Beulah C. Poore, daughter of Thomas Drayton Poore and Nancy Louise Martin, on January 15, 1908. At the time Furman was a “popular driver of the Ligon hose wagon of the fire department.”

On April 22, 1910, Armathine continued to live with Jesse McGee in the Hall Township. She was enumerated as Mrs. M. A. Geer, widowed, and a maid/servant/housekeeper for Jesse. I believe that Jessie McGee died in 1911 at which time Armathine would have had to find a place to live. From at least 1915 to 1917, she was living at 108 East Market Street in Anderson.

On January 13, 1920, Armathine lived with her son Furman and his family on Jefferson Avenue in the city of Anderson. The Anderson city directory shows that she was living at 406 Jefferson Avenue in 1922, 1931, 1934, and 1936.Furman was a mechanic for a motor company and his wife Beulah was a saleslady at a dry goods store. Armathine had four grandchildren—James, Frances, Louis, and John Geer.

On April 11, 1930, Armathine still lived with Furman and his family on Jefferson Avenue. Furman was now a proprietor for an auto body shop. Beulah was no longer working, instead the grandchildren had started working. At 18, Frances was now working as a saleslady in a department store, 16-year-old Louis was working as a salesman at a drug store, and 12-year-old John was a newspaper delivery boy.

On April 16, 1940, Armathine was still living with Furman, however, they had moved to West Market Street. This was the first time Armathine was enumerated by her first name, Matilda. Furman was now working as a produce salesman. Her grandson John and his wife Edith were living in the home. John was now a cake mixer in a bakery and Edith was a waitress in a tea room.

Armathine died on October 9, 1950 at Six Mile Hospital in Six Mile, Pickens County, South Carolina. At the time of her death, she lived on Pine Street in Westminster, Oconee County, South Carolina. It appears that as a child, she went by Armathine. However, her death certificate, with son J. F. Geer as the informant, listed her as Matilda Holland Geer. Her obituary, which also listed her a Matilda, noted that “she was an invalid for the past fifteen years and a patient in the hospital for the past four months. Her husband, James M. Geer, died sixty-one years ago. She was a native of Neal's Creek Community in Anderson County and was a faithful member of Neal’s Creek Baptist Church.  She came to Westminster to live several years ago.” Armathine was survived by her son Furman, four grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. Her funeral was held at Neals Creek Baptist Church with the Rev. M. J. Stancell officiating. Armathine was buried at Neals Creek Baptist Church Cemetery in Anderson. She was 85 years old.

What an unusual name she had. I wonder if she liked or hated it.

Geer plot, Neals Creek Baptist Church Cemetery, Anderson, South Carolina

References

• Anderson, South Carolina, City Directory, 1909, 1915, 1917, 1922, 1931, 1934, 1936.
• Case of Absentmindedness, The Intelligencer, Anderson, South Carolina, April 5, 1877.
• Comes to Oconee for Bride, Keowee Courier, Pickens, South Carolina, January 22, 1908.
• James M. Geer death notice, The Anderson Intelligencer, Anderson, South Carolina, December 24, 1891.
• Matilda Holland Geer, Standard Certificate of Death (number unreadable), Division of Vital Statistics—State Board of Health, State of South Carolina.
• Obituary, Jemima Holland, The Intelligencer, Anderson, South Carolina, June 14, 1899.
• Obituary, Matilda H. Geer, Anderson Daily Mail, Anderson, South Carolina, October 10, 1950.
• Sunday School Union, The Anderson Intelligencer, Anderson, South Carolina, May 3, 1888.
• The Historical Marker Database, Big Creek Baptist Church; https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=8441.
• Tombstone, Matilda Armathine Holland Geer, Neals Creek Baptist Church Cemetery, Anderson, South Carolina.
• Tombstone, Son Geer, Neals Creek Baptist Church Cemetery, Anderson, South Carolina. 
• U.S. Federal Census, Anderson Ward 2, Anderson County, South Carolina, 1920, 1930.
• U.S. Federal Census, Anderson, Anderson County, South Carolina, 1940.
• U.S. Federal Census, Belton, Anderson County, South Carolina, 1870.
• U.S. Federal Census, Broadway, Anderson County, South Carolina, 1880.
• U.S. Federal Census, Hall Township, Anderson County, South Carolina, 1900, 1910.