Person Page - 429

James Lemon Smith

• Birth*: He was born on 30 September 1883.^1,2
• Marriage*: He married Monnie Azzilee Turner.¹
• Death*: He died on 25 September 1958 at age 74.^1,2
• Burial*: Interment was in Mars Hill Cemetery, Acworth, Cobb County, Georgia.³

• Military*: Private, U.S. Marine Corps.³
• Note*: He served as a private in the U.S. Marine Corps.³

• Last Edited: 25 Feb 2015

Monnie Azzilee Turner

• Birth*: She was born on 7 October 1891.^1,2
• Marriage*: She married James Lemon Smith.¹
• Death*: She died in 1983.³
• Burial*: Interment was in Mars Hill Cemetery, Acworth, Cobb County, Georgia.³

• Note*: A family history spells her middle name as Uzzilee.¹

• Last Edited: 25 Feb 2015

Lynwood Trent Foster

• Birth*: He was born in 1880.¹
• Marriage*: He married Eliza Henry Long.^2,1,3
• Death*: He died in 1958.¹
• Burial*: Interment was in Montlawn Memorial Park, 2911 S. Wilmington, Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina.¹

• Note*: He was from Louisa County, Virginia.²

• Last Edited: 25 Feb 2015

Eliza Henry Long

• Birth*: She was born in 1882.¹
• Marriage*: She married Lynwood Trent Foster.^2,3,1
• Death*: She died in 1975.¹
• Burial*: Interment was in Montlawn Memorial Park, 2911 S. Wilmington, Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina.¹

• Note*: She was from King William County, Virginia.²

• Last Edited: 25 Feb 2015

Alix Madge Hawkins

• Father: Stuart Frear Hawkins¹ b. 12 Jun 1910

• Birth*: She was born on 12 March 1935 in Hampton, Virginia.^2,3
• Death*: She died on 7 February 2022 at age 86.⁴

• Biography*: From a Fortson family history: "Alix is a graduate of Duke University, with her major in English, studied music at the Longine Music School. She is also member of the Thalia Symphony Orchestra and plays in a Woodwind Quintet; teaches both Piano and Flute and is a writer of short stories. Her sorority was Delta Delta Delta. Alix and Norval are enthusiastic skiers."⁵

• Last Edited: 1 Nov 2025

Stuart Frear Hawkins

• Birth*: He was born on 12 June 1910 in Sioux City, Woodbury County, Iowa.¹

• Last Edited: 9 Jan 2021

Laura Blackshear Rogers

Laura Blackshear Rogers Fortson from Boyd's 1973 Fortson family history.

• Birth*: She was born on 15 September 1915 in Demorest, Habersham County, Georgia.^1,2
• Marriage*: She married Edwin Bugg Fortson, son of Benjamin Wynn Fortson Sr. and Lillie Elder Wellborn, on 23 January 1943 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois.^3,4,5
• Death*: She died on 26 April 2017 in her home, Athens, Clarke County, Georgia, at age 101.⁶
• Burial*: Interment was in Oconee Hill Cemetery, 297 Cemetery Street, Athens, Clarke County, Georgia.⁷

• Biography*: From a Fortson family history: "Laura received her education at Piedmont College, the University of Georgia, Julliard School of Music, with graduate study at Teacher's College, Columbia University and the University of Georgia from which she received her Masters in Education in 1957, and Doctorate in Early Childhood Education in 1969. Laura taught for 9 years in kindergarten and elementary grades, and did volunteer work in creative activities with mentally retarded children. She established and directed The Children's Studio for Creative Activities in the Arts and taught the Saturday Class for Children in the Arts at the University of Georgia in 1956. She was Research Assistant for the Research and Development Center for Educational Stimulation, University of Georgia, from 1965 through 1968, and designer and director of Research and Development Center project "A Creative-Aesthetic Approach to Readiness and Beginning Reading and Modern Mathematics in the Kindergarten"—a two-year study involving three experimental kindergarten classes and comparable control groups—1966-68. Laura frequently leads workshops on early childhood education.
     "Her publications are: Chapter 8, "Art for Young Children" in Nursery-Kindergarten Education, Leavitt, J. (ed.) New York, McGraw-Hill Co., 1958; "Creative-Aesthetic Ways of Developing Intellectual Skills among Five-Year Olds," E. Paul Torrence, Laura R. Fortson and Carolyn Diener, in Journal of Research and Development, Spring, 1968; "Creativity among Young Children and the Creative-Aesthetic Approach," E. Paul Torrence, and Laura R. Fortson, in Education, September-October, 1968. A textbook for college students and teachers in the field of early childhood education is in process of publication.
     "Laura is a Sustaining Member of the Athens Junior Assembly, member of the Athens League of Women Voters, has been a Cub Scout Den Mother, and Girl Scout Assistant Leader. She is a member of the Athens First Presbyterian Church and the University-Civic Symphony Orchestra."¹

• Last Edited: 6 Feb 2020

Jonathan Clark Rogers Fortson

Jonathan Clark Rogers Fortson, from an online obituary.

• Father: Edwin Bugg Fortson^1,2 b. 25 Jun 1913, d. 10 Jan 2007
• Mother: Laura Blackshear Rogers^3,4 b. 15 Sep 1915, d. 26 Apr 2017

• Birth*: He was born on 12 July 1952 in Athens, Clarke County, Georgia.^5,6
• Death*: He died on 4 February 2019 in his home, Athens, Clarke County, Georgia, at age 66.⁷
• Burial*: Interment was in Oconee Hill Cemetery, 297 Cemetery Street, Athens, Clarke County, Georgia.⁶

• Biography*: From a family history: He "graduated from Athens High School in 1970, where he was a member of the National Honor Society, Quill and Scroll, co-editor of the Thumb Tack Tribune, Beta Club, Band, and Choraliers, a select choral ensemble. Clark sang the role of Mr. Snow in the High School production of "Carousel." He received the Good citizenship Award, and a scholarship to the Georgia High School Music Workshop, as well as attending a high school journalism workshop at the University of Minnesota where he won an award for scholastic achievement. Clark has been in the all-State Chorus for 3 years, is soloist in the First Presbyterian Church Choir, and placed first in the Governor's Honors Program, attending a special six-weeks music school at Wesleyan College, Macon during the summer of 1969. He is an Eagle Scout, Junior Assistant Scoutmaster and attended the 1967 Boy Scout World Jamboree in Idaho; member of Order of the Arrow and has been made Chief of Ani-Gatogewi Chapter. In fall 1970 Clark entered Duke University, Durham, N.C. as a freshman."⁸
• Note*: • From a family history: He "graduated from Athens High School in 1970, where he was a member of the National Honor Society, Quill and Scroll, co-editor of the Thumb Tack Tribune, Beta Club, Band, and Choraliers, a select choral ensemble. . . . He received the Good citizenship Award, and a scholarship to the Georgia High School Music Workshop, as well as attending a high school journalism workshop at the University of Minnesota where he won an award for scholastic achievement. Clark [was] . . . an Eagle Scout, Junior Assistant Scoutmaster and attended the 1967 Boy Scout World Jamboree in Idaho; [and a] member of Order of the Arrow."
  • From his obituary: He attended Duke University and graduated from the University of Georgia with a bachelor of fine arts in music. After college he enjoyed conducting local church choirs in Athens. Friends remember him as kind-hearted, thoughtful, and generous. He was a life-long member of the First Presbyterian Church in Athens and "a staunch member of the Democratic Party."^9,10

• Last Edited: 11 Feb 2020

Gail Wilson Fortson

Gail Wilson Fortson from Boyd's 1973 Fortson family history.

• Father: Frederick Ogilvie Fortson¹ b. 24 Jul 1917, d. 4 Sep 2003

• Birth*: She was born on 13 November 1944 in New York, New York.²
• Death*: She died on 29 June 2014 at age 69.

• Note*: She was a graduate of Dobbs Ferry High School in Dobbs Ferry, New York and Farleigh Dickenson College of New Jersey. In the late 1960s or early 1970s she was teaching grade school in Saugus, California.²

• Last Edited: 15 Mar 2020

Hardy Walter Warnock

• Birth*: He was born on 26 November 1881.^1,2
• Marriage*: He married Lyda Annie Gillis on 2 April 1914.^3,4,5
• Death*: He died on 15 October 1950 at age 68.^1,2
• Burial*: Interment was in Tarrytown Cemetery, Tarrytown, Montgomery County, Georgia.²

• Last Edited: 19 Mar 2015

Lyda Annie Gillis

• Birth*: She was born on 25 September 1894 in Georgia.^1,2
• Marriage*: She married Hardy Walter Warnock on 2 April 1914.^3,4,2
• Death*: She died on 31 December 1971 at age 77.²
• Burial*: Interment was in Gillis Cemetery, Treutlen County, Georgia.²

• Biography*: From a Fortson family history: "Betty was high school Valedictorian and received a B.S. in Music Education from Georgia State Woman's College at Milledgeville. She did graduate work in music at Emory University and attended Emory University Law School. She began teaching in the City of Atlanta schools, and after her marriage, continued teaching piano and voice. She is now [ca. 1969] in the real estate business, connected with Jim Royer Realty Company in Atlanta, and in 1969 resides with her children at 2786 Harron Drive, Surrey Place, Atlanta."⁵
• Note*: She was from Soperton, Georgia.⁵

• Last Edited: 19 Mar 2015

Eve Heinemann M.D.

Eve Heinemann Fortson, from an online obituary.

• Birth*: She was born in Frankfurt-on-Main, Germany.¹
• Marriage*: She married Warren Candler Fortson, son of Benjamin Wynn Fortson Sr. and Lillie Elder Wellborn, on 9 September 1966 in New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana.¹
• Death*: She died on 8 April 2020.²

• Note*: • From a Fortson family history: "Graduated Valedictorian from Eleanor McMain High School, New Orleans, La. Eve received here B.A. degree from H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College, New Orleans; her M.D. from Tulane University School of Medicine in 1955. She completed her internship and specialty study in psychiatry and has practiced as a physician since 1959, specializing in psychiatry and psychoanalysis. She is a graduate of New Orleans Psychoanalytic Institute in 1964. She has taught psychiatry at Louisiana State University Medical School, and Emory University Medical School. In 1969 she is a member of the faculty of New Orleans Psychoanalytic Institute as a teaching analyst. Phi Beta Kappa, Beta Beta Beta."
  • She served on the boards of Family Service of Greater New Orleans, United Cerebral Palsy of New Orleans, the YMCA Crisis Care Canter, the New Orleans Friends of Music, and St. George's Episcopal School.
  • Soon after her retirement, she moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she was living when she died.^3,4

• Last Edited: 26 Apr 2020

Annie Elizabeth Fortson

• Father: Charles John Fortson¹ b. 24 Oct 1856, d. 10 Jul 1935
• Mother: Iola Leola Sturgis² b. 21 May 1854, d. 12 Apr 1905

• Birth*: She was born on 18 March 1882 in Wilkes County, Georgia.^3,4
• Marriage*: She married Byron Jackson Eccles, son of Thomas Edward Eccles and Elizabeth Burdick Ouans, on 5 November 1908 in the home of her aunt, Mrs. Augustus A. Neal (Frances Scott Fortson), Thomson, McDuffie County, Georgia.⁵
• Death*: She died on 27 February 1948 in Greensboro, Guilford County, North Carolina, at age 65.^6,4
• Burial*: Interment was in plot B, Oakdale Cemetery, DeLand, Volusia County, Florida.^7,8

• Biography*: From a family history: "She attended private school in Thomson, McDuffie Co., Ga., and high school in Washington, Wilkes Co., Ga. Member of Eastern Star and United Daughters of the Confederacy.
     "The eldest of the sisters of her brother, Benjamin Wynn Fortson, she was called 'Big Auntie' by his children. She was a warm, vital and energetic personality, cherished by her family for her generosity and loving interest in them, and in no small measure is she due their lasting gratitude for her preservation of much of the family's history, pictures, letters and mementoes. Nothing about her people escaped her attention and her letters were often filled with descriptions of her own efforts to learn all she could about the history of all of them. It is a tragedy that so much of what she preserved and of what she had learned was burned accidentally some years ago, but much remains that is testimony of her interest and care."⁵
• Note*: She and Byron were married in a double ceremony with her cousin, Sara Rebecca Neal, to Moses Wright Turner, with Rev. Thomas H. Timmons officiating.⁵

• Last Edited: 22 Mar 2015

Byron Jackson Eccles

• Father: Thomas Edward Eccles¹
• Mother: Elizabeth Burdick Ouans²

• Birth*: He was born on 5 March 1878 in Providence, Providence County, Rhode Island.^3,4
• Marriage*: He married Annie Elizabeth Fortson, daughter of Charles John Fortson and Iola Leola Sturgis, on 5 November 1908 in the home of her aunt, Mrs. Augustus A. Neal (Frances Scott Fortson), Thomson, McDuffie County, Georgia.³
• Death*: He died on 23 May 1928 at age 50.⁵
• Burial*: Interment was in plot B, Oakdale Cemetery, DeLand, Volusia County, Florida.⁵

• Biography*: He graduated from Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and was a druggest in DeLand, Jacksonville, and Daytona Beach, Florida. He was a Baptist and a Mason.³
• Note*: He and Annie were married in a double ceremony with her cousin, Sara Rebecca Neal, to Moses Wright Turner, with Rev. Thomas H. Timmons officiating.³

• Last Edited: 19 Mar 2015

Thomas Edward Eccles

• Birth*: He was born in Township of Boland, England.¹
• Marriage*: He married Elizabeth Burdick Ouans.

• Last Edited: 19 Mar 2015

Elizabeth Burdick Ouans

• Marriage*: She married Thomas Edward Eccles.

• Note*: She was from Newport, Rhode Island.¹

• Last Edited: 19 Mar 2015

Byron Jackson Eccles Jr.

• Father: Byron Jackson Eccles¹ b. 5 Mar 1878, d. 23 May 1928
• Mother: Annie Elizabeth Fortson² b. 18 Mar 1882, d. 27 Feb 1948

• Birth*: He was born on 5 December 1909 in DeLand, Volusia County, Florida.^3,4
• Death*: He died on 6 June 1946 at age 36.⁵
• Burial*: Interment was in plot B, Oakdale Cemetery, DeLand, Volusia County, Florida.⁵

• Military*: U.S. Army in World War II.⁴
• Biography*: From a family history: "Attended Daytona Beach, Fla., schools and worked in the family drugstore. Served during World War II in the U.S. Army, and while on leave, was severely burned in an explosion while using gasoline to clean his wife's bicycle. He died as a result of those burns . . . ."⁴

• Last Edited: 19 Mar 2015

Bugg Sturgis ('Sam') Fortson

• Father: Charles John Fortson¹ b. 24 Oct 1856, d. 10 Jul 1935
• Mother: Iola Leola Sturgis² b. 21 May 1854, d. 12 Apr 1905

• Birth*: He was born on 24 November 1883 in Wilkes County, Georgia.^3,4
• Marriage*: He married Esther Martin on 29 December 1915.⁵
• Marriage*: He married Gertrude _____ on 16 December 1935 in Camilla, Georgia.⁵
• Death*: He died on 17 April 1949 in Albany, Dougherty County, Georgia, at age 65.⁶
• Burial*: Interment was in Arlington, Calhoun County, Georgia.⁶

• Biography*: From a family history: He "attended private school in Thomson, Ga., and public school in Wilkes Co., Ga., and Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. He worked for the U.S. Postal Service [then the U.S. Post Office Department] as a Rural Carrier in Arlington, Ga., until his retirement when he moved to Albany, Ga., where he died on Easter Sunday. He was buried in Arlington, with a Masonic service. He was active in the Methodist Church, Boy Scouts, Masons and Eastern Star.
     "When he entered school he was teased by the other children because of his name, Bugg, and decided to change it. After trying several names (which his teacher, Miss Laura Jones, and the family faithfully called him), he chose 'Sam' when the Rev. Sam Jones, a Methodist revivalist, was a guest in his home. His name was never changed legally and two great-aunts continued to call him 'Bugg' but others forgot or never knew that his real name was not 'Sam.' He had no children of his own so became the 'grand' uncle of all children. He was never without a supply of candy on his mail route and children soon learned the true purpose of a mailbox. He was a true woodsman who would have been perfectly at home in the forests of his forebears and he passed his love of the outdoors on to his nephews, with whom he spent many hours teaching them to fish and hunt rabbit, squirrel, dove, and turkey, while he 'spun tales' that put Daniel Boone to shame. They adored him and his independence, self-reliance and resourcefulness were quickly woven into their character."⁷

• Last Edited: 22 Mar 2015

Esther Martin

• Marriage*: She married Bugg Sturgis ('Sam') Fortson, son of Charles John Fortson and Iola Leola Sturgis, on 29 December 1915.¹
• Death*: She died on 5 November 1931.¹

• Note*: She was from Cuthbert, Georgia and was a school teacher. She and Sam did not have any children.¹

• Last Edited: 19 Mar 2015

Gertrude _____

• Birth*: She was born in 1892.¹
• Marriage*: She married Bugg Sturgis ('Sam') Fortson, son of Charles John Fortson and Iola Leola Sturgis, on 16 December 1935 in Camilla, Georgia.²
• Death*: She died in 1969.¹
• Burial*: Interment was in Royal Palm South Cemetery, 101 55th Street South, Saint Petersburg, Pinellas County, Florida.¹

• Note*: She was from Ohio and served as a nurse overseas with the U.S. Army Nurses Corps during World War I. The family history gives her name as Mrs. Gertrude Johnson, suggesting she earlier had been married to Mr. Johnson. She and Sam did not have any children. In 1969 she was living in St. Petersburg, Florida.²

• Last Edited: 19 Mar 2015

Mary Iola Fortson

• Father: Charles John Fortson¹ b. 24 Oct 1856, d. 10 Jul 1935
• Mother: Iola Leola Sturgis² b. 21 May 1854, d. 12 Apr 1905

• Birth*: She was born on 3 June 1886 in Cobbham, Columbia County, Georgia.^3,4
• Death*: She died on 16 October 1905 at age 19.^5,6
• Burial*: Interment was in Pope's Chapel Cemetery, Wilkes County, Georgia.⁶

• Biography*: From a family history: "She attended public school in Tignall and Washington, Ga. She was her father's favorite child, a frail, shy girl, who died six months after her mother's death with her father at her bedside. She was nineteen years old."⁵

• Last Edited: 22 Mar 2015

Rebecca Ogilvie Fortson

• Father: Charles John Fortson¹ b. 24 Oct 1856, d. 10 Jul 1935
• Mother: Iola Leola Sturgis² b. 21 May 1854, d. 12 Apr 1905

• Birth*: She was born on 16 January 1894 in Thomson, McDuffie County, Georgia.^3,4
• Marriage*: She married J. Raymond Boyst, son of Charles Henry Boyst and Lizzie Vance Monroe, on 28 April 1921 in Park Place Methodist Church, Greensboro, Guilford County, North Carolina.⁵
• Burial*: Interment was in section 6, lot 164, grave 6, Forest Lawn Cemetery, Greensboro, Guilford County, North Carolina.⁶

• Biography*: From a Fortson family history: She "attended high school in DeLand, Fla., and Daytona Beach, Fla. Worked for Western Union Telegraph Company in Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina; Jefferson Life Insurance Company, Greensboro, N.C. (1921-25); N.C. Employment Security Comm., Greensboro, N.C. (1933-68). Methodist, and active in Eastern Star.
     "The youngest of her father's children by his first wife, Rebecca was called 'Little Auntie" by the children of her brother Benjamin Wynn Fortson, Sr. The fact that, although all are now grown men and women, they use the names 'Big Auntie' and "Little Auntie' easily and without the slightest embarrassment, and are somewhat startled that others do not recognize them immediately. However, these two remarkable women had a profound influence on their lives, due to their active interest in and care for their happiness as children and as adults, which will last a lifetime. Rebecca, no less than her sister anne, has treasured her family and its history and worked for years to amplify and preserve the records. Since her retirement, she has spent much time researching the Bugg-Sturgis-Ogilvie lines."⁷
• Note*: Her Find A Grave memorial gives October 21 as her death date, without the year or place.⁶

• Last Edited: 22 Mar 2015