Russell & Bass Families, Copiah & Lawrence Counties, MS

standing, first woman from left, is Sarah Elizabeth (Bass) Russell, wife of Fletcher Russell. Next to her are 3 of her daughters, Mattie, Ella and Babe. On right end is Claude H. Bass.  In front left is Pearl Bass, then another daughter, Cola, and Sarah's only son, George Washington Russell, who served as a state representative. Uncle George Russell lived in the Shady Grove community east of Hazlehurst. Seated behind Uncle George is his wife, Lena.

Fletcher Russell and wife, Sarah Elizabeth

(Bass) Russell. Sarah Elizabeth was a daughter

of James Albert Bass of Lawrence and Copiah Counties, MS

Sarah Elizabeth and Fletcher at home

Uncle George Russell's home at

Shady Grove

1916 obituary of Fletcher Russell

Carroll Stevens' Gas Station, Hazlehurst, Mississippi

Mr. Carroll Stevens (left), operated a gas station in Hazlehurst, Mississippi. He also ran some cattle. Pictured with him here is his nephew, Glyn Stevens Slay, son of Carroll's sister, Beulah Stevens Slay.

Carroll Stevens is the largest cash benefactor in the history of Sardis Baptist Church, near Hazlehurst, Mississippi.

Letter from G V Massey to Emma B Reeves 1964

A wonderful letter from G. V. Massey, II - a Slay

descendant and genealogist - detailing some of

his understanding of early generations of the

Slay family in America. Where he refers to the

early William Slay, alias Lloyd, I believe that the

alias was not of "Lloyd" but of "Slayd". This can be seen as a mis-reading of the variant cursive

of SL and LL. I reviewed the document and

feel sure that it was Slayd, a mis-spelling of Slay.

Young's School, Copiah County, circa 1915

P. J. Young's School, Northeastern Copiah County, circa 1915front row, left to right: Mary Ann Barron, Eula Barron, Edward Bridges, Sadie Slay, Murl Bridges, Susie Bridges, Hazel Barron, T.J. Slay, Floyd Young.

second row, left to rt: Hance Barron, Odele Bridges, Esther Sojourner, Clark Sojourner, Dan Sojourner, Berry Young, Bessie Mae Williams, Blanche Young, Leroy Williams, Theodosia Bridges. Teacher: Dot Nichols, who married Clifton Young

Rev. Carney Slay, son of Nathan Slay

Gravestone of Rev. Carney Slay

and wife Elisabeth (Shoemaker) Slay

in Mt. Zion Cemetery in Wayne

County, Mississippi

Ophelia Slay Hamilton

A photo of Ophelia "Ophie" Slay, a daughter of Capt. Nathan W. Slay and wife Ella Young, of Hazlehurst. Ophelia was later Mrs. C. F. Hamilton.

Alexander Slay Homestead, Copiah County

The homestead of Alexander Slay

located in extreme NE corner of

Copiah County, Mississippi near

the Pearl River.

side/rear view of the homestead

of Alexander Slay, Sr., and his wife

Elizabeth (McLean) Slay

Grave marker of Alexander Slay, Sr. in

County Line Baptist Church cemetery on

the Hinds / Copiah County line.

One of Alexander and Elizabeth's sons was

Capt. Elijah Slay, Co. C, 16th Mississippi

Infantry. Elijah Slay was killed by a yankee

sharpshooter at Cold Harbor, Virginia. The Slay

homestead became the property of Elijah's

widow, Lucy (Pierce) Slay, after her marriage

to Elijah's good friend, Arthur Matthews.

graves marker for Elizabeth (McLean) Slay and some of her children, Elijah, Cincinatus, Mary and Elizabeth, at County Line Baptist Church, Copiah County, Mississippi

David Slay Family - unpublished draft from 30 years ago

Simply click on a page to enlarge it ~

DAVID SLAY, SR. of Hinds County, Mississippi

David Slay, son of Nathan Slay and Martha Sumrall, was born April 5, 1788 in Richmond County, North Carolina. He married Mary Sumrall, a daughter of Thomas Sumrall and Elizabeth Newton. David and Mary Slay had at least ten children: Lawrence, Moses, Daniel, City, Martha, David, Jr., Mary, Nancy and Eliza Slay.

On March 14, 1980 I met Mr. J.B. White ( a Slay descendant and owner of the David Slay homestead in Hinds County ) on the farm and copied all of the names we could discover from tombstones in the Slay Family Cemetery. Mr. White recalled that the last burial to have taken place was that of Mr. Dan Bowering.

Signature of David Slay

12 March, 1867

on his Last Will & Testament

Mary Dawson, Consort of William A. Dawson

Daughter of David and Mary Slay

Died March 14, 1853

Aged 26 years, 3 months, 2 weeks and 1 day

Eliza, wife of John Leavell

May 23, 1830 - August 21, 1886

Gone but not forgotten

ALLEN FAMILY OF COPIAH COUNTY

Robert Allen

April 15, 1803

April 1, 1843

Dicy Allen

daughter of Robert & Susan Allen, wife of J. F. Vance

(1827-1851)

Robert Allen

April 15, 1803 - April 1, 1843

On March 13, 1823 Robert Allen, a Kentucky native, married Miss Susannah "Susan" Calcote, a daughter of John Calcote, Sr. They were married in Franklin County, Mississippi by James Calcote, Justice of the Peace. John Calcote, Sr., a native of Isle of Wight County, Virginia, was a very early settler of Franklin County, Mississippi.

Robert and Susan (Calcote) Allen were the parents of at least seven children:

Eugenia Allen, died before 1852

Dicy Allen, 1827-1851, was the wife of J. F. Vance, publisher/editor of The Copiahan newspaper.

Susan Allen, born in 1825, married Daniel K. Coor in 1847.

William H. Allen, born in 1829, married Mary Jane McRae. Mary Jane died in 1859 and is buried in the Robert Allen Family Cemetery.

Stephen J. Allen, Jr. was named for his uncle, Stephen J. Allen. Stephen J. Allen, Jr. was born on August 7, 1832 and died April 5, 1896.

Washington C. Allen, became a medical doctor, and died unmarried about December 23, 1859.

Robert K. Allen was born about 1836 and died before 1862.

After the death of Robert Allen, his widow Susan married John C. Morton.  John C. Morton died in December 1862.  Susannah (Calcote) Allen Morton died the 2nd of December, 1869.  At her death she was survived by two of her seven children: Susan Coor and Stephen J. Allen; as well as three grandchildren: Robert J. Allen, William L. Allen and Eliza E. Allen.

The Robert Allen Family Cemetery - almost completely destroyed by the ravages of time - was copied by me in the summer of 1987. At that time it was on property owned by Theron and Ilene Carraway in Section 11, Township 2 North, Range 4 West. Cattle were grazing and walking over the graves.

This is Stephen J. Allen, Jr., a son of Robert and Susan Allen, and named for his father's brother, Stephen J. Allen, Sr. Stephen J. Allen, Jr. first married Margaret M. Fulgham, and after her death, married Mrs. Nancy E. Brown.

One of the markers in Allen Cemetery:

Sacred to the memory

JAMES FRANKLIN _________

son of

John & Charity ________

HENRY FULGHAM, 1772 - 1840

Henry Fulgham was born on the 20th of November, 1772 in Craven County, South Carolina and died August 26, 1840 in White Oak community, Copiah County, Mississippi. His wife was Patience Sherrard, and together they were parents of six children. One of their sons, Taliaferro Fulgham, was my ancestor. Taliaferro's daughter, Margaret M. Fulgham, married Stephen J. Allen, Jr., a son of Robert Allen.

Henry Fulgham served as Sheriff of Montgomery County, Georgia around 1800. He settled in Mississippi, first in Lawrence County, where he acquired land. He was appointed Chief Justice of the Quorum, for Lawrence County on October 2, 1821.

Henry moved to Copiah County, and in 1826 donated four acres of land for the site of White Oak Baptist Church and Cemetery, where he is buried. His home was on the hill opposite and southerly of the White Oak Church.

Slay Settlers, Chesapeake Bay area, 18th Century

Former home of George Slay

town of Wyoming, Delaware

The earliest records of our Slay ancestors in the US appear in the Chesapeake Bay area in the early 18th Century. The late Emma Barrett Reeves of Nacogdoches, Texas published a book, Keahey Clansmen and Their Kin, many years ago, which included a chapter on the Slay family.

Mrs. Reeves turned over all of her Slay files to me when I was doing my research on the Slay family. Included in these files were several interesting letters from 1960s and 1970s from Mr. George Valentine Massey, II, a Slay descendant and genealogist of Dover, Delaware.   I then corresponded with Mr. Massey in the 1980s.  See sample of letters below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moses Slay of Choctaw County, Alabama

The grave marker of Moses Slay (1860-1949)

Letter received by Moses Slay informing him of the death of his son, Corporal Auburn Slay. 309th Infantry, Machine Gun Company, 1918

The home of Moses Slay in Silas, Choctaw County, Alabama