Pictures From the 2003 Georgia / Virginia Trip

Intrepid explorers, we set out for an adventure.

Cherokee County, Alabama, where Linda's Milsteads lived in the mid-1800's. Cedar Bluff is in the distance.

This lake covers Franklin Milstead's ferry crossing between Centre and Cedar Bluff.

Ann Jones, a Rankin cousin, at her home in Calhoun, Georgia.

Sandra Mealor is also a cousin. Here she is showing us a treasured family heirloom. The inscription says, "To the Speaker Pro Tem / Hon. Wm. R. Rankin / from the House of Representatives 1882-1883." Sandra reports it's the dickens to polish.

This portrait of W. R. Rankin is one of Ann's heirlooms. W. R. was the great-grandfather of the three cousins.

A painting of the old Gordon County Courthouse where W. R., and later his son "Billie Boy" served as the "Ordinary" (probate judge).

Rankin family plot in Chandler Cemetery, atop a hill in Calhoun.

A statue of a Confederate soldier can be found in many Southern towns. This one and a statue of a World War I soldier stand watch at a monument on the north side of Calhoun.

Resaca's oldest brick home was built by Sandra and Ann's great-grandfather Norton around 1850. It deteriorated while the residence of an eccentric called "Junkie Jones" but is now being slowly restored by its new owner.

Starr's Mill is about 25 miles southwest of Atlanta. Built in the 1840's, it acquired its name from the second proprietor, Hilliard Starr, Jerry's distant uncle.

Spalding County, Ga. land once owned by Benjamin Starr. When he lived there, the area was within Fayette County.

At County Line Methodist Church near Griffin, we met Betty Elder and Mildred Elder, cousins of Jerry. Starrs and Elders were among the founders of the church about 150 years ago.

Absalom Ogletree, tentatively identified as Jerry's fourth-great-grandfather, is buried in County Line's graveyard.

Athaliza (Carrol) Pinkston Jarret's stone at County Line. As the stone indicates, one of her husbands was Jerry's fourth-great-grandfather Shadrack Pinkston, who served in Washington's elite Commander-in-Chief's Guard.

"Sacred to the Memory of Benjamin Starr," the tombstone says. He was such a staunch Methodist, his monument even records the name of the clergyman who preached the funeral and the Bible text on which the sermon was based.

John Henry Starr, son of Benjamin and Jerry's second-great-grandfather, is buried at County Line. Apparently no relation to that Steel Drivin' Man.

The Elder Plot, wherein Jerry's third-great-grandparents are buried, at County Line's cemetery. Obviously a prominent family in the church's history.

Site of the home of Joshua Elder about a century ago.

Sunnyside United Methodist Church. Jerry's grandfather Harry Starr was born in this small Georgia community.

John P. Starr's grave at Sunnyside. We assume Harry's half-brother, Henry, had the the new stone added.

Starrsville United Methodist Church. This is an imposing structure for Starrsville, which is now just a hamlet. The community is about 50 miles east of Atlanta.

This sign is now the only reminder of the "Old Starrsville Store," once owned by a Starr and a prominent part of the community for 156 years.

The Starr Cemetery near the Starrsville store dates back to the mid-1800's.

Silas Starr, a brother of Benjamin, rests forever at Starrsville. The "perfect man and Christian" must have been an okay guy.

Just north of Oxford, Georgia is the tiny Dover cemetery, where the family of Samuel Starr are buried. Samuel was a younger brother of Benjamin and Silas.

Another view of the Dover cemetery. It appears to have benefitted from some maintenance work after years of neglect.

King's Mountain battlefield, which is on the North Carolina / South Carolina border, was the site of an important American victory. It was a battle between South Carolina "Loyalists" led by one Scottish-born British officer, and various "Patriot" militia groups from South Carolina, North Carolina and, most notably, the "over the mountain men" of Tennesssee.

Key to the victory at King's Mountain was the difference in battle formation. The Loyalists stood at the top of the ridge, fully expecting to fire down upon an unobstructed line of men hampered by their uphill climb. Instead, the Patriots used warfare tactics learned from the native Americans--relying on trees and rocks for cover as they darted to and fro, but steadily upward.

Hurricane Isabel swept through eastern Virginia a couple of weeks before we arrived, leaving these trees at a 45 degree angle. Many fared worse.

Blandford Church at Petersburg dates back to the early 1700's. No longer used for religious services, it is notable for the stained glass windows by Tiffany that were contributed by the sourthern states as memorials to their Confederate soldiers.

Cold Harbor was the site of Grant's last attempt to defeat Lee's army by frontal assault. The rebs got there first and hurriedly dug earthworks. The result was a terrible slaughter for Union troops as they marched three hundred yards across a field toward the Confederate lines. W. R. Rankin's unit was at the north end, some distance from the worst fighting.

A picnic at Cold Harbor. A light lunch, but still equivalent to four months' rations for Lee's entire army.

At the Petersburg battlefield, one can see a number of these cannon emplacements. For nine and a half months the Union artillery kept Petersburg and its defenders under steady fire.

Positions at Petersburg became firmly fortified during the long siege.

Formidable defenses, such as these menacing stakes and deep trench, helped keep the northern forces at bay during the Petersburg siege.

At Surry, Virginia we visited the Edwards company from which we've ordered sausage and bacon. Boo was put out. "Humph," she said, "All that great stuff to eat and I all I get is this stupid cap."

The James River -- an estuary at this point-- is an impressive body of water. This view looks east.

Jamestown was founded in 1607 along this shoreline. It exists now only as the site of archeological research.

Jamestown Settlement is a re-creation of the pioneer community. Replicas of the ships that brought the adventurers to Virginia are on display.

Spaniards beat the English to Virginia, by about thirty years, but their attempt to establish a settlement met with disaster.

This bridge across the James east of Richmond has an eye-catching design.

Yorktown, where Cornwallis was forced to surrender by a squeeze play executed by Washington's army, supplemented by French troops, facing the British and a French fleet in the York River that prevented either retreat or reinforcement. Jerry's fourth-great-grandfather Captain Thomas Rankin was at Yorktown.

A British redoubt's capture allowed American and French forces to come within mortar and cannon range of British forces at Yorktown.

In North Carolina we came across the RayLen winery. Prohibition devastated the great wine-making industry in North Carolina; now it is returning. Some serious money has been invested here.

Gaffney, South Carolina is very proud of the peaches raised in that area. But where do you buy a water tower like this?

Home again, where Jerry admires the Civil War journal kept by W. R. Rankin (that's him in the portrait on the wall). We'll always be grateful to Ann Jones for this precious gift.