The House was a Home!

It's not just the old house that inspires us to restore, but the history of the people that lived there. We continue to explore the families that made the Ledford-Colley House a home.

George Newton and Lenora Colley    

GN "Newt" Colley (1858-1917) married Lenora Edwards (1865-1942) in 1881.  According to the book, A History of White County, 1857-1980 ( pub. 2003), in the 1880s , Newt was a teacher in White County, but later became a farmer.  In 1895, he was the County Tax Collector, and also served a 4 year term as Clerk of  the County Court (sometime around or after 1910).  As a member of the Blue Creek Baptist Church, he was a deacon and clerk until his death in 1917. Both he and Lenora are buried at the Blue Creek Church Cemetery.

We discussed in an older post from Aug. 28, 2012, History Mystery and the house gets a new name!, Colley bought the Blue Creek property from JF Ledford in 1896. Newt and Lenora had 7 children at that time. The 1900 Blue Creek census shows all of their children living at home.  Flora, the youngest, not listed, was born in 1900.

1900 Census White Co. Ga Blue Creek District (names as they appeared in the census)

George N. Colley Head b. 1858 Farmer

Lenora Colley b. 1865

Clarence son b 1882

Lillie dau b. 1884

Zeleire dau b. 1884

Ernest M. son b. 1888

Homer v. son b. 1891

Eugene Parks son b. 1893

Lou Ada dau b. 1895

Bonnie dau b. 1899

Without construction documents or records, we can only surmise the state of the house during this time.  The materials in the front part of the house indicate earlier construction, and is most likely what Colley purchased in 1896.  At some point, the house was expanded with a 2 story addition in the back, creating an L shape. The materials used in this section indicate construction around 1900.  Most likely, this was built by the Colleys before Newt's death in 1917.

I'm grateful to the Colley family descendants for the pictures in this post, in particular, to Jerry Colley, the great-grandson of George Newton and Lenora.*

Below is a picture of George Newton and Lenora with 4 of their children, probably around 1910.
Pictured are Bonnie, Eugene, Louada and Flora in front.

Below, a picture of Lenora.



Below, the house in 1942 (possibly the funeral of Lenora).

I love the details seen here, AND we learned a few things!

Details:
The 1940s clothing and hairstyles. 
The dress hanging on the front porch.
The chickens scattered on the left side. 
The hunting dog next to the young girl.  
The man in overalls on the right.
The electric lines running to the front (electricity came to White County in 1937).

Learned:
The barn behind the house.
The trim detail in the front gable was a half-circle.
The trim was painted dark. 
The long front porch.
The back porch wrapped around the back of the house (our contractor was right!).  

Mostly, what I love, is seeing the house lived in.

Below, pictures of the house in 1978.
We see the barn, which today is a pile of wood and metal under vegetation.

Below, the back of the house.

Below, the front.  Those 2 chairs were still on the front porch when we purchased the house in 2011.  To us, that says something wonderful about White County, Georgia!

 

  *Photos courtesy of Jerry Colley.