Old New Orleans

My G-Grandfather’s Attic

When I was a child, there was no place more magical to me than the treasure-filled attic of my g-grandfather,
Josiah Garrett. The house was located between the villages of Perth and Union Church, in Jefferson County,
MS, about three hours north of New Orleans, Louisiana, where I grew up. Josiah was no longer living by then,
but his two daughters, Lola Gibson and Flora Dawkins, were in residence. Even as a child, I wouldn’t have
traded a day in that wonderful old house for a week at Disney World.

It was built in 1847 by my 2-g-grandparents, Isaac and Abba Ann Warren Garrett, who raised their family and
lived out their lives there, as did Josiah and Flora Carmichael Garrett. The house had once been used as
a post office and stopping point for mail riders, who sometimes stayed overnight in the attic. It was called
Scotland Post Office, in honor of the many citizens of Scottish ancestry who’d settled in the area in the early
1800’s.

The attic was still filled with remnants of the exciting days when the early Mississippi Territory was just
opening up. Trunks overflowed with 100-year-old clothing. My cousins and I would go through the trunks, try
on the clothes, look through the old books and newspapers. When we were finally persuaded to join the
family downstairs, everyone would gather and listen to Aunt Lola talk about times long past. She would show
us the small holes in the exterior walls, left open so that rifles could be inserted in case of attack. She would
tell us stories about her childhood, the all-day camp meetings and how young people courted by going on a
buggy ride, chaperoned by one of their parents. Her stories were as magical as the attic. Sadly, the old
home is no longer there, the treasures in the attic either scattered or discarded. The walls that reverberated
with the laughter of five generations of Garrett children have been torn down. The old floorboards, where
Abba Ann paced and prayed—for the children when they were ill, for strength when Isaac died and for a way
to feed her family when times grew hard—the floorboards are gone, they no longer echo with the long-ago
sounds of Abba Ann’s steps.

My great-aunts, Lola and Flora, passed away years ago, but when I see the
land now, I can almost smell the biscuits baking and the coffee brewing. I
could swear I hear Aunt Lola calling out a greeting from the front porch,
“Come on in and put your feet up for a spell, the dumplings are cooking and
Flora’s about to make a blackberry pie.” It’s my imagination, of course. Or
maybe, it’s the soft breeze, carrying long-ago voices through the tall pines
and over the tops of the magnolia trees…through the open doors of a house
that’s no longer there.

But I can go back. And I do. Time after time. In my mind and in my heart…in
my memories of those lovely family get-togethers and those magical
afternoons spent in my g-grandfather’s attic. — Nancy Brister

Pages are cross-indexed under names and locations below.
Click on the name for the main page concerning that line.

Old New Orleans

Nancy’s Journal

G-Grandfather’s Attic (Genealogy Site)

My Other Sites

Old New Orleans
Whispers

Places

GEORGIA:
Vintage Photos of Schools in Gwinnett County

ILLINOIS:
CW 10th IL Cavalry, Roster of Company L
Histories of Illinois Civil War Regiments & Units

LOUISIANA:

New Orleans, WWII: Story of 73rd Bombardment Wing
When Time Stood Still: My Katrina Retrospective

MARYLAND
William Cook’s Will, Baltimore County,1739

MISSISSIPPI

ADAMS COUNTY, MS:
Old Images of Natchez
Historic King’s Tavern, Natchez
Historic Jefferson College, Washington
~&~
Historic Jefferson College, Page 2
Historic Assembly Hall, Washington
The Old Methodist Church, Washington
Concordia, Home: Gov. Manuel Gayoso de Lima
Brandon Hall, near Washington
Cowles-Mead House, Washington
James Foster House, near Washington
William Foster House, near Washington
Propinquity, near Washington
Selma, near Washington
Antebellum Homes, Natchez

JEFFERSON COUNTY, MS:
Union Church Presbyterian: C.W. Grafton:
“43 Year Pastorate in a Country Church”
Scotland Post Office
Ghosts of Old Rodney
Last Inn on the Natchez Trace: Mt. Locust
Vintage Views of Fayette
Union Church Presbyterian Church Records
Photos: Union Church Cemetery
Survey: Union Church Cemetery
History of the Old Scotch Settlement
“The Old Store,” Jefferson County
Reminiscences of Jefferson County
Warren Family Cemetery Photos
Goodwin Family Graveyard Photo
Davis Family Tombstones
Photo of Old Barn in Jefferson County
Extinct Towns of Jefferson County
Jefferson Co. Records Description, 1902
1843 Yellow Fever Epidemic, Rodney
Early Days of Rodney

LINCOLN COUNTY, MS:
Vintage Photos of Lincoln County
Residences of Old Brookhaven
Vintage Views of Brookhaven
Whitworth College, Brookhaven
Caseyville Cemetery

PEARL RIVER COUNTY, MS:
Vintage Photos Pearl River County
Old Thigpen Cemetery
Historic Byrd’s Chapel
House of Ruth Cemetery
Turtleskin Cemetery
Palestine Cemetery
Veterans Memorial, Picayune
Vintage Photo Poplarville High School
“Granny” Bounds Cabin
Logging in Pearl River County
Old Images of MS & LA Turpentine Stills

VARIOUS COUNTIES in MS:
Vintage Photos of Camp Shelby, Forrest County
Vintage Photos of Wesson, Copiah County
History of Protestantism in MS, pub. 1865
The Road Gen. Jackson Built
The House Where Gen. Jackson Stopped
A Buggy Ride, Franklin County
Riddle Log House, Tishimongo County
Vintage Photo of Tylertown, Walthall County
Vintage VIews of Port Gibson, Claiborne County
Vintage Images of Crystal Springs

MISSOURI:
Taney County
The Hills Sing: Taney County
Images from Taney County
Bradleyville Cemetery, Taney County
Bradleyville Cemetery, Taney County, Set 2

NORTH CAROLINA:
18 Pages of Research for Orange County, NC
John Baldridge’s Bible, Lincoln/Orange Co.
Petition on Behalf of Orange County Regulators
“Old Town Clock” of Hillsborough
Little River, Orange County Landowners Map
Stewartsville Cemetery, Scotland Co.
McCormick Family Photos, Richmond Co.
“Highland Scots & Scotch-Irish” 1939 Book: North
Carolina: Old State & New”
Map: Early Settlement in NC
Richmond County History and Images
Vintage Photos: Richmond / Scotland Counties

PENNSYLVANIA:
Lancaster County Will Index
Little Britain & Marctic Township Histories, 1883
Turrentine Family History, Mifflin County
John Baldridge’s Bible, Lancaster County
William Baldridge’s Will, Lancaster County, 1767
History of Lancaster County; Histories of Little Britain &
Marctic Townships; Index to Will Books
Old Pennsylvania Postcards

TEXAS
Dallas Vintage Postcards
Gillett Cemetery, Karnes County

VIRGINIA:
Richmond Blues, 46th VA Inf Regiment
“Old Virginia and her Neighbors,” pub. 1897

WEST VIRGINIA
Jacob Garrett’s Family Photos

LISMORE, APPIN, ARGYLL, SCOTLAND:
Tribute to the Isle of Lismore
Lismore: “A Fine Light”
Brief History of the Lismore Lighthouse
Across the Sound to Jura

OTHER
Genealogy Poems
The Story of Flanders Fields
The Story of the 73rd Bomdbardment Wing, WWII
Oradour-sur-Glane, The Silent Village

These pages are dedicated to the many family
researchers whose kindness and generosity have
helped me knock down so many brick walls.