William Spencer Douglas
(4/3/1860 - 6/26/1937)
Spencer and Mozelle Douglas
circa 1910
William Spencer Douglas was born on April 3, 1860 to David Daniel and Nancy Kea Douglas. Named after his paternal great uncle, William Douglas, and his maternal grandfather, Spencer Kea, "Spence," as he was known by those closest to him, was born into one of the founding families of Emanuel County, Georgia. The death of David Daniel Douglas during the Civil War left Spencer and his siblings without a father to carry them through the hardships of life in late 19th century rural Georgia.
Spencer's mother, Nancy, married Archibald "Archie" Woods--a fellow soldier in David Daniel Douglas' unit, Company C, 38th Georgia Infantry--at the close of the Civil War. Spencer first appears in the historical record in the 1870 Emanuel County census (listed as 10 years old). Archibald provided a more typical family structure for the Douglas children, who had previously been accustomed to residing under the exclusive care of their mother while their father was away at war. Archibald sought guardianship of the Douglas children as evidenced by a letter from Elisha Coleman (husband of Spencer's aunt, Lavina "Winey") to the Reverend Lawson Smith (husband of Spencer's aunt, Malissa Ann) dated April 3, 1874, as follows:
...Archibald Woods...says that as soon as he can run a notice and get the guardianship of David Douglas' children...he shall sell his part (of David Douglas' remaining holdings) to me...
While seemingly callous at first glance, Archibald's actions are in accordance with the standard practices of the time as he would have been responsible for any financial responsibilities associated with rearing the Douglas children. The unfortunate result, however, was that Spencer would no longer have access to his father's remaining holdings once he reached adulthood. Nonetheless, those descendants that knew Spencer were in agreement that he never resented his personal "lot" in life.
Spencer next appeared in the 1880 Emanuel County census, still in the household of Archibald Woods. Spencer is listed as 20 years old in this record.
Spencer, like his father before him, was reared to be a farmer (near the land has father, grandfather, and great grandfather had tilled over the years prior to his birth). He maintained a reputation as a physically strong man with a tenacious work ethic. As he grew into adulthood, he soon developed a fervent desire to move out on his own and establish a family.
The old "Spencer Douglas Place." Original one-room cabin constructed
by Spencer for his new family. Photo taken in 1997.
Sardis Primitive Baptist Church
Kite, Georgia
Spencer had developed a relationship, through his involvement with the Primitive Baptist Church, with Mary Mozelle Lamb (10/22/1863 - 11/16/1915), a highly religious descendant of a family deeply supportive of the Primitive Baptist Church in and around Emanuel County. David Lamb (a relative of Mozelle's), for example, was an active Primitive Baptist preacher in Emanuel County during the late 1800s. Mozelle was the daughter of Isaac Brinson Lamb (ca. 1826 - 1905) and Keziah McLendon (1/1835 - 1914).
Spencer and Mozelle were married in Emanuel County on January 14, 1883, by Isaac Woods when Spencer was almost 23 years old and Mozelle was almost 20 years old. Like his ancestors before him, Spencer would reside near the Mule Pen Creek area. Spencer and Mozelle were members of and regularly attended Sardis Primitive
Baptist Church. Spencer was highly active in the congregation, and even worked on the team that constructed the church.
Spencer immediately undertook the construction of a small pine board cabin near the property that his great grandfather, Edward Douglas, obtained during the late 1700s. Spencer's and Mozelle's first two sons, Gordon Brown and William Clinton (Clint), were soon born in this cabin. As the family began to grow, Spencer and Mozelle realized that the one-room cabin would not meet the ever-growing needs of their rapidly expanding family. Spencer, therefore, began laying plans for a new home near the cabin. The cabin would later serve the family as a corn crib and shed for storing various farm implements.
Wooden Peg From Spencer's Original Cabin
From the Collection of S.C. Douglas
With the construction of the new and much larger home, Spencer's family grew quickly. Together, Spencer and Mozelle had issue:
a) Minnie L. (10/24/1883 - 10/10/1961); married James "Jim" L. Hopkins (1877-1946)
b) Gordon Brown (8/19/1885 - 7/31/1967); married Pearl McBride (1894-1921).
c) Nancy M. (11/18/1887 - 2/28/1969); married Walter E. Stephens (1886-1958)
d) William Clinton (9/23/1889 - 2/7/1936); married Georgia Belle Tapley (1897-1967)
e) Emmie Catherine (11/7/1893 - 5/22/1948); married Louis Lee McBride (1890-1927)
f) Wyly Littleton (2/13/1897 - 11/19/1976); married Ida Mae Walden (1901-1974)
g) Mary Elizabeth "Lizzie" (6/18/1899 - 10/12/1987); married Charles A. Stephens (1895-1946)
h) Ada (1903 - 1927); married John Boyce Griffith (1901-1929)
i) Lou Ella (b. circa 1908 - after 1940); married Emit Edward Grant (1902-1973)
Brick From Spencer's Family Home
From the Collection of S.C. Douglas
Spencer and Mozelle were noted for their dedication to Christian principles and strong emphasis on the family. It was this fortitude of character that prompted the local minister to make a request of Spencer. Apparently in dire need of a loan, the minister asked Spencer to co-sign a note with him for a somewhat large sum of money. Spencer, a long-time friend of the minister, signed the note without hesitation. Sometime thereafter, the minister's son fell ill, and the child's treatment cost the minister everything he owned, thereby causing him to default on his bank loan. As co-signer, much of Spencer's livestock and land were seized in order to compensate the bank for its losses. This, in turn, caused the Douglas family great hardship for a period of years.
As is true of most members of this tenacious family, Spencer slowly recovered from the loss. He made his living primarily through farming, but possessed carpentry skills that enabled him to fashion tools and make the necessary repairs on structures around the family farm.
Spencer, Mozelle, and family circa 1910 at their home near Norristown Junction.
Front Row: Mary Elizabeth "Lizzie", Ada, and Lou. Back Row: Wylie, Clint,
Gordon, Spencer, Mozelle, Minnie, Nancy, and Emmie.
In 1886, the Emanuel-Johnson County area experienced a rare earthquake. Spencer was a witness to the event, which was documented via family lore and local newspapers operating during the period.
Spencer and family appeared in the 1900 Emanuel County census residing in the tiny village of Lide, Georgia, which was located in the western portion of the county. On the census, Spencer stated that he was a farmer, and that he owned his property outright.
Little remains of Lide, Georgia, today, and few individuals even recall that such a village even existed in Emanuel County. The village was located off of Sardis Creek north of Highway 57. It was about seven miles west of the city of Swainsboro. Perhaps one of the earliest residents of the area was Jordan Flanders, whose family was well connected with the Douglases of early Emanuel County. During the period that Spencer and his family resided in Lide, the village bustled with a number of homes, a local physician, various commercial stores, a cotton gin, and a livestock processing facility.
During the late 1930s and early 1940s, Highway 57 was constructed which bypassed Lide. Consequently, with reduced traffic through the village, it slowly faded from prominence, and eventually, from memory.
The 1900 census provides researchers with a bit of a mystery as an individual appears in Spencer's household who has not yet been clearly identified. According to the census, an individual by the name of Sydney Douglas, age 24, was residing in Spencer's home during this period. Sydney is listed as Spencer's nephew, but Spencer's only known brother is Elisha Douglas, who died in infancy. Researchers continue to investigate Sydney's actual identity.
Left to Right:
Gordon B., Wyly, & Clint
Spencer's land transactions were many and regular--occurring on an almost annual basis in many cases. A roster of Spencer's land transactions are as follows:
7/21/1882 - 150 acres from Joseph Kersey on Flat Creek
2/5/1884 - 149 acres from H.H. Flanders on Flat Creek
12/2/1891 - 58 acres from John M. Hall in the 1452nd District
7/16/1904 - 100 acres from Archibald Woods in the 1452nd District
9/14/1906 - 258 acres from T.B. Kersey in the 1452nd District
1/26/1907 - 84.5 acres from Nisey Meeks in the 1452nd District
5/26/1909 - 252 and 84.5 acres from S.J. Kersey in the 1452nd District
12/14/1909 - 7.66 acres from A.B. Kersey in the 1452nd District
11/1/1910 - 180 acres from J.J. Kersey in the 1452nd District
2/5/1912 - 200 and 190 acres from A.G. Braswell in Emanuel County
10/13/1913 - 52 acres to Gordon B. Douglas in the 1452nd District
4/13/1914 - 200 acres to A.G. Braswell in the 1452nd District
10/9/1920 - 52 acres to Clint Douglas on Mule Pen Creek
10/28/1920 - 99.5 acres from Gordon B. Douglas on Mule Pen Creek
3/6/1922 - 180 acres to J.B. Beasley in the 1748th District
6/17/1922 - 206 acres to the Federal Land Bank in the 1748th District
9/5/1922 - 384 acres to Carr & Howard in the 1448th District
12/22/1923 - 49.5 acres to J.B. Beasley in the 1748th District
4/8/1925 - 180 acres to J.E. Clark in the 1452nd District
7/22/1925 - 49.5 acres to L.A. Lovett in the 1748th District
12/21/1925 - 49.5 acres to Gordon B. Douglas in the 1748th District
1/8/1927 - 180 acres to J.E. Clark in the 1748th District
1/15/1927 - 204 and 180 acres to J.P. Snooks in the 1748th District
12/16/1927 - 206 acres to Citizens Bank in the 1748th District
1/25/1930 - 180 acres to the Central Bank in the 1748th District
1/6/1934 - 180 acres to Virginia Douglas in the 1748th District
Gordon B. & Pearl Douglas
circa 1913
Roy Clifton Douglas
circa 1943
Spencer was among many early Douglases who cultivated grapevines -- a tradition continued within the Douglas family to the present day. It is not believed that Spencer cultivated grapes for use in wine (as was the custom of some later Douglases), primarily due to the fact that his staunch Primitive Baptist religious beliefs did not include the use of alcoholic beverages (though Spencer was not averse to the occasional "taste" of wine). The original purpose for starting the grapevine tradition was for the production of preserves, desserts, and juices.
Life on the Spencer Douglas farm was undeniably difficult at times, but there were many joyful and celebratory occasions. Spencer was a man who loved to laugh, and joked quite often with both family and friends. Many of Spencer's children and grandchildren recall a distinctive "giggle," which he displayed on an almost constant basis. He was known to possess a bit of a "wild side," and on occasion, stood up while riding his horse-drawn wagon at full speed.
Beamus Douglas
circa 1937
Spencer and Mozelle were members of the Sardis Primitive Baptist Church in Kite, Georgia (Emanuel County). The church was built on land donated by Henry Neal and constituted on May 7, 1853.
Physically, Spencer was of average height, had dark hair, and alternated between having a mustache and beard or a mustache alone. His skin was of a slight reddish hue.
November 16, 1915 proved most difficult for Spencer's family as Mozelle died of causes unknown to contemporary researchers. Following a service at Sardis Primitive Baptist Church, Mozelle was buried in the church cemetery. Spencer was fifty-five years old at his wife's passing.
Spencer would later marry Elizabeth "Lizzie" Virginia Powell (7/25/1891 - 11/26/1985) of Emanuel County on July 5, 1916, with whom he began a new family. Spencer and Virginia had issue:
a) James "Jake" David (6/17/1917 - 10/9/1994); married Mary Alice Love (1925-1990)
b) Roy Clifton (5/20/1919 - 2/7/2008); married Maggie Lee Powell (b. 8/30/1927)
c) Spencer Allen (5/30/1921 - 4/19/1985); married Ola Auline Hooks (1926-2005)
d) Benjamin "Beamus" (10/21/1923 - 7/15/2003); married Elizabeth Poole (1930-2007)
e) Zack "Zackie" (11/12/1925 - 11/4/1992)
f) Katie Ruth (11/20/1927 - 5/27/2007); married Byron Clifford Glisson (1924-2007)
Spencer died on June 26, 1937 at the age of seventy-seven. He passed away quietly at home in his bed while in the company of friends and family. A grandson of Spencer's, Elton Douglas, recalls that members of the family gave Spencer an orange soda to quench his thirst as he lay dying. This was Elton's last memory of his grandfather.
Katie Ruth Douglas Glisson
circa 1945