It is generally agreed upon that John Lott was the first settler at the place we know today as Birdsville. There was a grist mill located there aptly named “Lott’s Mill”. Family records indicate that John Lott transferred the deed to that property to Francis Jones, Sr. Over the years it was owned by several family members.
In my lifetime it was owned by John Renfroe who was the son of Ida Sidney Jones. Mr. John was quite a character to say the least. As a very young boy I was enamored with him because he was an old bird hunter. Mr. John had an old house that he stayed in that was on the property at Lott’s Mill.
Mr. John slept in an old casket and a number of birddogs roamed freely about. My great uncle, Virgil Black, rented the farming rights at Lott’s Mill for many years. I remember the old house because my daddy took me there to see that casket that Mr. John slept in. Mr. John’s wife, Janice, was one of my Bigma’s best friends.
Our families were intertwined long before I was old enough to recognize that fact. Eventually my great uncle, Virgil Black, bought the land from John Renfroe and farmed it until his death. It is still owned and farmed by the Black family today. I have another Black family cousin that owns the land where Walker’s Spring is located.
Now that I am older, I fully recognize the connection our families have always had. John Renfroe had two daughters that I have had a lifelong relationship with. His oldest daughter, Rosalyn, along with her husband Jim Stroud, were just like another set of parents to me. It would take pages for me to fully tell about the wonderful relationship that we shared for almost 50 years.
John Renfroe’s youngest daughter, Sylvia, has been a fixture in my life for as long as I can remember. My beloved father, Ray Womack, graduated from high school with Phillip Jones who was a member of the Birdsville Jones family. They were best friends and joined the Air Force together.
Sadly, Phillip was killed in a car crash, and he left behind two children and a widow. His widow remarried and had two more children. I spent my childhood with the family he left behind. I think back on it now and I realize that was my daddy’s way of looking after his best friend’s widow.
So, throughout all these years, my family, the Womack’s and the Blacks, have been connected to the Jones family. About six weeks ago, I found out where my fourth great grandfather, Thomas Han Womack was buried. Myself, along with my dear friend, John Cleve Newton, went to find his grave.
It was in Bulloch County on private property, but through friends, I gained access to that cemetery. At the time the only name for that cemetery I could find was the Young-Blitch Cemetery. I scratched my head trying to figure out why my grandfather was buried in a young family cemetery.
I have a cousin who has done much research on our family history, and she gave me the answer I was looking for. Thomas Han Womack was married to Eleanor Jones. Eleanor was the daughter of Francis Jones, Jr. I also discovered that Benjamin Womack, who was my fourth great uncle, was married to Nancy Jones, who was the sister of Eleanor Jones. Did y’all get all that?
After much consternation a light went off in my head. Mary Young who was Francis Jones, Sr’s great granddaughter lived at a place called Cameron Station on the south end of Screven County very near The Mighty Ogeechee River. The cemetery where my grandparents are buried is less than a mile from The Mighty Ogeechee. I’d ridden by there all of my life and never had a clue.
I’m enamored to say the least. I’m directly related to some of the very first settlers in our area. I am immensely proud of the fact. I am truly honored. My connection to Birdsville, to that river that I love so much and to several members of the Jones family, well it all makes perfect sense now.
I have always been drawn to Birdsville and the black water of my beloved river. There’s no way I could escape that pull because it has been hard-wired in my DNA. The relationship that I have had with the Jones family, the relationship my daddy had with the Jones family, all of that is crystal clear to me now. There was a much bigger hand at play that had been orchestrating those relationships the whole time.
