Peter Beauford

 
The Cartersville News
Cartersville, Georgia
October 1, 1908 , Page 1
 
Transcribed by:  
 

Oldest Georgian Dies.
Peter Beauford, Said to be 115 Passes Away.
[A photograph accompanies this article]

This part of Georgia, and especially Bartow county has been known for the longevity of its people.  In the county there are a number of nonagenarians and octogenarians are quite numerous.  There have been in our knowledge three centenarians that have passed away in the last fifteen years.  Mr. Kilpatrick was 108 years old and Thomas Leachman was 107.  Last month Peter Beauford died at his home near Ford and it is said that he was 115 years old.  He was doubtless the oldest citizen in Georgia and also the oldest Confederate soldier.

The News is indebted to Mr. J. M. Arnold, of Ford, for the following splendid sketch of Mr. Beauford:

The subject of this sketch, Peter Beauford, the youngest of seven children of Daniel and Sallie Beauford, was born in Virginia in 1706 (sic), and while an infant of only a few weeks old his parents moved from Virginia to Richland district, South Carolina, where they again went to tilling the ground for sustenance of life.

Here young Peter was trained to be a farmer, an occupation he followed on up until he reached the 100 mile post of life.  During the years of his apprenticeship on the farm he grew and waxed strong in bodily strength, and thinking it unwise to remain alone, married Miss Caroline Peek.  Two children were born unto them and she died. Shortly thereafter he married Miss Sallie Cooper and from this union 10 children were born.

The father and mother of Peter died shortly after his second marriage, the former at the age of 88 and the latter at 78.  This put the young man to thinking, and finally he concluded that a new field would be better adapted to his needs than where he grew up, so it was but a short period of time before he landed in the vicinity of Kingston, Ga., where he was living when the war broke out between the states.  He being too old to enter the service, substituted himself to Mr. Silas Seay for the sum of $1500.00 in confederate money and shortly thereafter joined company I 65th Georgia, Captain Wallace Howard's company, Colonel John Gordon's regiment and General Mercer's brigade.

This was the middle of 1861 when he entered service and from then on this fine brigade did coast duty up to the New Hope battle when they were ordered up to strengthen General Johnson's brave but weak lines, and on arriving in Marietta some 500 or more of them were captured and among the number was comrade Beauford.  These prisoners as Mr. Beauford said were carried to Camp Moden, Indiana, and held as prisoners to the close of the war.

Comrade Beauford said to us that the cup was bitter, the law rigid; rations scant, only one meal a day, all of which made life miserable beyond description.  He was never in a regular engagement but was in several skirmishes and slightly wounded in one of them.

He was said by those who knew him to be a brave, good soldier and had he not been captured just as he was entering into regular field service would have crowned himself with as great honor as his son did, who died some two years ago.  He was the type of man to make a brave soldier.  His grandfather before him served through the war of the revolution with marks of distinction for bravery and patriotism.

His mother's maiden name was Miss Sallie Hightower.

He never liked a city life, never used tobacco and was never confined to his bed from sickness.

Half of his Christian life was spent with the Methodist and the other half with the Baptist church.

At 103 he cast his last vote and was always a democrat.  He leaves behind him 50 grandchildren, 26 great-grandchildren and 10 great great-grandchildren.

We were told and in fact he spoke to us about his age, that it was 115 years, but being in some doubt about the exact time he was born said that he would be on the safe side by putting it at 112 years.

 

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