52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #28 William M. Hairston, Son of #26 James M. Hairston

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William McCauley Hairston, son of Matilda McCauley and James M. Hairston, was born in 1846 and grew up along the banks of the Chattahooche River between LaGrange and West Point in Georgia.

No Story Too Small

As a 17 year old student, William joined Fannin's First Georgia Infantry Reserves when it was organized in 1864. He was one of many young boys and old men assigned to perform guard duty at Andersonville Prison from June to October 1864.

William's Confederate Service Record describes him as 5'6" tall with black eyes, a dark complexion, and sandy hair. A photograph of an older William M. Hairston, supplied by Carolyn Hairston Danforth, can be seen in the book Confederate Soldiers from Chambers County, Alabama and Thereabouts.

William McCauley Hairston married Callie S. Harris on November 15, 1879. They had five children - Addie, James Tyre, Oscar, Ernest, and William Harris.

Census and tax records indicate that William owned a substantial amount of property in Troup County, Georgia and my have spent his entire life living in that county. Headlines tell of a cyclone that swept across Georgia in April of 1893. Many buildings on the property of William M. Hairston were destroyed or damaged.

William McCauley Hairston died on April 1, 1915 at his home. He is buried in Long Cane Cemetery, Troup County, Georgia. 

Diana

© 2014

Sources

Dodd, Jordan, Liahona Research, comp. Georgia Marriages, 1851-1900[database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000.

Hairston, William M., no. S.12960 (Pvt., Fannin's First Georgia Infantry Reserves, Company C.); Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Georgia, microfilm publication M266 (Washington, D.C. : National Archives and Records Service, 1974); digital images, Fold3 (http://www.Fold3.com : accessed 16 July 2014).

Summers, Carl. Confederate soldiers from Chambers County, Alabama and thereabouts. West Point, Ga. Chattahoochee Valley Historical Society, 1993. Print.

Unknown Author (1893, March 15). Troup County's Visitation. The Atlanta Constitution (Atlanta, Georgia), page 15; digital images, Newspapers.com (http://www.newspapers.com/ : accessed 12 July 2014).

Unknown Author (1915, April 4). W. M'C. Hairston Found Dead From Apoplexy. The Atlanta Constitution (Atlanta, Georgia), page 10; digital images, Newspapers.com (http://www.newspapers.com/ : accessed 12 July 2014).

Year: 1850; Census Place: District 735, Troup, Georgia; Roll: M432_84; Page: 96A; Image: 79.

Year: 1860; Census Place: West Vernon, Troup, Georgia; Roll: M653_138; Page: 244; Image: 247; Family History Library Film: 803138.

Year: 1870; Census Place:  , Troup, Georgia; Roll: M593_178; Page: 398A; Image: 357; Family History Library Film: 545677.

Year: 1900; Census Place: East Vernon, Troup, Georgia; Roll: 225; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 0063; FHL microfilm: 1240225.

Year: 1910; Census Place: East Vernon, Troup, Georgia; Roll: T624_217; Page: 9A; Enumeration District: 0134; FHL microfilm: 1374230.