THE GOLLADAY FAMILY IN MISSISSIPPI
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Golladay Hall in Grenada was built circa
1850 |
The Golladay family in Mississippi was established when two sons
of Isaac Golladay and Elizabeth Shall of Lebanon, Tennessee moved to
Grenada. Robert H. Golladay
and
George Shall
Golladay both were lawyers.
Before the Civil War, Robert moved to Coffeeville in Yalobusha County.
THE GOLLADAY PLANTATION AT GRENADA
BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR
George owned a cotton plantation with 350 acres of improved land
and 1200 acres of unimproved land. While the Golladay family was away visiting
Tennessee, letters written to them from Grenada give some information about this
plantation:
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Grenada, 06 Jul 1858 "I rode
over your plantation on yesterday. I had been over parts of the crop
before. But not over the whole until yesterday evening. I think your
prospects for both corn and cotton is as fine as you could wish for. We
have had very warm weather - hot nights - which has improved the cotton
very much. We have had plenty of rain.."
- from letter written by C. H. Guy (Martha Golladay's stepfather) |
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The majority of
African-Americans with a Golladay/Golliday surname can trace their roots back to
this plantation.
Slaves
in 1860 working for George S. Golladay
Mr. Dougherty was the overseer of Golladay plantation in 1858.
The 1860 census shows a young man named James in this role on 21 Jul 1860. But
he may have been a temporary fill-in. George's brother Sam had visited Grenada
earlier in the summer. Sam remembered that George had been going down to the
farm to check on things during Sam's visit because there was no manager. Sam
inquired in a letter (dated 06 Aug 1860) as to whether or not George had found a
new overseer for the plantation.
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GOLLADAY HALL The plantation house
where George and Martha Golladay lived still exists and is a
historic attraction of Grenada. It is located at 501 Margin Street and is not
far from the Yalobusha River. It can be viewed from the road, but it is
privately owned and is not open to the public. The house has been
called different names by the town locals over the years based on the
family that was living in the house. So at different times, it has been
called the Lake house or Barbee house, who were descendants of the
Golladay family. After the house was sold out of the Golladay family in
the1950's, it was called the Townes House for a while. Next it was
called the Bondurant house. The Mississippi Architect referred to the
house in 1976 as the Townes-Golladay House.
When the King family purchased this house, Laurie King
decided to formally name the house in the tradition of the houses in
Natchez, Mississippi, where the houses are named for the original owners
or called the name that the house was originally named . So the name
Golladay Hall was chosen to establish the historical significance of
this grand antebellum home that was built by the Golladay family and who
entertained such visitors as U. S. President James K. Polk and
Confederate President Jefferson Davis in this house. |
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In 1854, George purchased twenty apple trees and five pear
trees for his farm. The apples were of the following varieties: (1) Red June (2) Early Pennock
(3) Gravenstein (4) Hop (4) Lucy's Russet and (5) Clark's Pearmain. Vegetables
were grown in a garden at the house in town and watermelons as well:
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Grenada, 20 Aug 1858 "Your
sage, pepper, butterbeans, and snaps have been gathered sometime. I had
your turnips and radishes sown in the garden last week."
- from letter written by Eliza Guy (Martha Golladay's mother) |
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George showed his wisdom by getting out of debt early in 1860 and owning his
plantation outright. During the war and aftermath, no doubt he was very
fortunate to be in a debt-free position and able to keep Golladay Hall in the
family.
Death of beloved little Medora Golladay
DURING THE WAR:
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Among the interesting items told to us by Miss Lida Owens about the
Lakes and Golladays were these: that Jefferson Davis, President of the
Confederate States of America, standing on the balcony of the Golladay
(later Lake) mansion in 1862 reviewed the troops passing thru Grenada
going west.
The Grenada County Weekly
(Thursday, March 18, 1954) |
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There was one deadly incident at Golladay Hall that apparently happened while
George was away:
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Sam Golladay, then a 13 year old boy, killed a Yankee
prowler thru the door, and that the bullet hole is still there in the
door.
The Grenada County Weekly (Thursday, March 18, 1954) |
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George had health problems during the war. This letter written
from Jackson asks about George. Apparently he stopped to see his cousin while heading south on a trip, but did not make a stop on his
return trip:
Letter written in 1864 to Martha Golladay
AFTER THE WAR:The old way of life was "gone with the wind."
Martha died in 1866 and George then moved away from Grenada.
George died in 1872.
The mystery
of the Golladay graves in Grenada
George and Martha's daughter
Davidella and her husband George Lake remained to live in Golladay Hall. George Lake earned his living as a dry goods merchant.
Many years later, a tragedy occurred when Davidella's daughter Minnie
was savagely attacked in Golladay Hall.
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The Murder of
Minnie Barbee in GOLLADAY HALL Minnie
Barbee was the last descendant of George Shall Golladay to live in
Golladay Hall. Her husband H. B. Barbee had died and she lived alone in
the house when she was brutally murdered in 1932. Her death is the
subject of a book published in 2004 called "Golladay Hall, The
Barbee/Lake Family Murder" by Betty A. Hinson. |
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In 1954, Golladay Hall was sold out of the family when
Golladay Lake, the grandson of George Shall Golladay, died.
This page last updated on
February 18, 2008
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