My name is Betty Bolin Brown and I am from Shreveport, Louisiana, but I am working on a project in Marshall, Texas. My ggg grandfather and many others who moved through Limestone/Madison counties and then Tennessee founded a Cumberland Presbyterian Church about eight miles south of Marshall, in Harrison County, Texas. My ggg grandfather gave land for a cemetery and I am a member of a committee for the Cemetery that is attempting to develop a general history for the area and specific genealogy for each individual buried � which is somewhere between 150 � 200. (Ground penetrating radar and old records indicate more burials than markers.)
Some of my ancestors moved from Caswell County, NC to Limestone/Madison Counties in Alabama (Jones, Adair, Wilder � info attached above "Druid's Grove") and Collier, Craig, Yancey through Giles/Fayette Counties in Tennessee. (William Craig, the youngest of several children remained in Giles County, Alabama). My direct ancestors moved on to Harrison County, Texas. (See Limestone County Alabama Cemeteries Jones-Donnell Cemetery on this site)
During the Civil War, several of the units from Harrison County were at Fort Donelson. One of the units had many Cumberland Presbyterians, including two Craig brothers and Christopher Columbus Ellis, whose mother was an Alexander who had lived in Giles County. Official records indicate Christopher Columbus Ellis was killed during the battle at Ft. Donelson, but family records show he died in Giles County two weeks later. I found Christopher Columbus buried in the Yokley Cemetery, with his marker still standing a few years ago when pictures in the website here below were made. (Christopher Columbus� mother was an Alexander and I recognize names of her relatives in this cemetery.)
I believe that James Marion Craig, or his brother Thomas Hatley Craig escaped and brought Christopher Columbus back to his mother�s family. I am hoping that someone in Giles County may know what happened. Maybe someone associated with the Cemetery or the Cumberland Presbyterian Church may remember this interesting story? Any help you can provide in solving this mystery would be appreciated!
Betty Bolin Brown 1-318-459-6480 BettyBBBrown@gmail.com 12 Nov 2012
