Ruby and Scott Bowdoin have 2 new additions to their family! David Joseph weighed in at 6 lbs 3 oz at 10:12 pm on January 11, 2005, and Steven Andrew weighed in at 5 lbs. 12oz one minute later. Congratulations!!

	Reavis Floyd Chancellor, 84, died Monday, February 19, 2007. Reavis, the son of Zebedee and Mary Ryder Chancellor was born August 7, 1922 in Butts County, Georgia. He was a World War II veteran, serving as a Corporal in the Army Air Corps and was awarded the American Service Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Medal, with one Bronze Star, the Good Conduct Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal. He was a member of North Charleston Untied Methodist Church. Surviving are his wife, Mary Sue of Hogansville, GA; three sons: Richard and wife Debbie of North Charleston, Floyd and wife Mary of Richmond, VA, Bryan and wife Jacqueline of Newnan, GA; five grandchildren: Tammy, Eric, Amanda, Stephanie, and Kimberly; four great grandchildren; siblings Lula Holley of Jackson, GA, Lomus and wife Connie of Warner Robins, GA, and Amma Crum and husband Billy of Jackson, GA; and many nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. His first wife, Leila, son, Wayne, brother, James, and sisters, Margaret Bowdoin and Cornelia "Nealie", preceded him in death.   Services were held at 4 pm Thursday at Stuhr's North Area Chapel. The Reverend Charles Yoho presided with music by Wanda Beaufort (Precious Memories), Chrissi Werner (Where We'll Never Grow Old), and eulogy by Ellen Lewin. Funeral and burial services were held at Juliette United Methodist Church, Juliette, Georgia on Saturday, February 24, at one o'clock. The Reverend Tom Cook presided with music by Elizabeth Chancellor (Life's Railway to Heaven, Where We'll Never Grow Old, and Danny Boy).
	William "Billy" Felton McCallum -LIZELLA - William "Billy" Felton McCallum, age 80, died December 15, 2005. Funeral services will be Sunday, December 18, 2005 at 3P.M. in Lizella Baptist Church with burial in the Church Cemetery. Reverend Doug Davis and Reverend David Lee Mosely will officiate. -Mr. McCallum was born in Bibb County and has lived here most of his life. He retired from Central and Southern Railroad where he worked for forty-one years as a car inspector. He also served in the U.S. Navy. He was a member of Lizella Baptist Church where he served as a deacon. -Survivors include his wife of 59 1/2 years, Justine Chancellor McCallum of Lizella, GA; sons, Mark (Denise) McCallum of Stockbridge, GA and Mickey McCallum of Lizella, GA; four granddaughters, Courtney McCallum of Macon, Mindy McCallum of Macon, Alana Meeks of Millwood, GA and Micheline Pitts of Atlanta, GA; four great grandchildren; brother, Doug (Diane) McCallum of Lizella, GA; sister, Mary (Raymond) Johnson of Lizella, GA; sister-in-law, Ada McCallum of Blue Ridge, GA and several nieces and nephews. -Visitation will be Saturday, December 17, 2005 from 5:00 until 7:00 P.M. at Crest Lawn Funeral Home and the family may be contacted at the residence. Memorials may be made to the Lizella Baptist Church Building Fund, 2950 South Lizella Road, Lizella, Georgia 31052. -Crest Lawn Funeral Home has charge of arrangements. William McCallum
	Pauline Byrd Chancellor  Pauline Byrd Chancellor -MACON - Pauline Byrd Chancellor, 89, died Sunday in a local hospital following an extended illness. Funeral services will be held at 2P.M., Wednesday at Snow's Memorial Chapel, Cherry Street with private burial in Macon Memorial Park. The Rev. Rob McDaniel and the Rev. Peter Dietsch will officiate. The family will greet friends from 1P.M. to service time on Wednesday and may be contacted at the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Cliff Donald, 206 Huntington Court, Macon, GA 31210. They suggest that memorial contributions be made to Lizella United Methodist Church, P. O. Box 950, Lizella, GA 31052-0950. - -Snow's Memorial Chapel, Cherry Street has charge of arrangements.
	Nancy Alma Chancellor -MACON - Nancy Alma Chancellor passed away Saturday, March 26, 2005. Visitation will be Sunday, March 27, 2005 from 6:00 to 8:00 P.M. at Macon Memorial Park Funeral Home. Funeral services will be held on Monday, March 28, 2005 at 2P.M. in the chapel of Macon Memorial Park Funeral Home. Interment will follow at the Macon Memorial Park Cemetery. Rev. Robert Kerr, Jr. will officiate. -Mrs. Chancellor was a member of the TEL Sunday School Class and member of Shurlington Baptist Church. She is preceded in death by her parents James W. Watson and Mary Frances Wells Watson, and by her husband Cecil E. Chancellor. -She is survived by her daughter, Ann C. Long (Billy); son, James E. Chancellor (Faye); six grandchildren, Sheila Epps (John), James E. Chancellor, Jr., John O. Chancellor, Paul S. Chancellor, Eddie C. Long, Michael Long (Lisa); Five great grandchildren, Chris Chancellor, Brandi Long, April Epps, Michelle Long, Kelly Nicole Long; two great, great grandchildren, Chelsie Dolan, and Hunter Chancellor; several nieces and nephews. -Flowers are accepted or donations may be made to Portsbridge Hospice, 115 Arkwright Landing, Macon, GA 31210. -Macon Memorial Park Funeral Home has charge of arrangements.
	Virginia "Gini" Duckworth -MACON - Virginia "Gini" Duckworth, of Macon, died Saturday, February 5, 2005. Funeral Services will be held Tuesday, February 8, 2005, at 10:30A.M., at the Seventh Day Adventist Church on Wimbish Road. Burial will be in Riverside Cemetery. Visitation will be held Monday, February 7, 2005, at Hart's Mortuary from 7:00 until 8:00 P.M. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Seventh Day Adventist Church, 640 Wimbish Road, Macon, GA 31210 or to the American Cancer Society Bibb County Unit, P.O. Box 4408, Macon, GA 31208. -Mrs. Duckworth was a longtime member of the Seventh Day Adventist Church on Wimbish Road. She worked as an Insurance Sales Representative with Blue Cross Blue Shield and volunteered with the Red Cross. Mrs. Duckworth was a member of the Auxillary Exchange Club, the Dorcus Society and Riverside Country Club. She was an avid golfer and had a gift for Interior Design. Mrs. Duckworth was preceded in death by her husband, Malcolm L. Duckworth; her brother, Sam Becker and her mother, Betty Becker. -Survivors daughter, Patricia Brown (Maynard) of Clayton, GA; grandchildren, Micki Birchman (Reg) of Acworth, GA and Donna Raybon of Waynesville, NC; five great grandchildren, three great great grandchildren and three nieces. -Hart's Mortuary has charge of arrangements. Virginia Duckworth ***Virginia was the oldest Chancellor great-grandchild, the granddaughter of Uncle Charlie Lloyd Chancellor, and daughter of Zillah Chancellor and Sam Drew.

Descendants of slaves, slave owners reunite in south Bibb

By Eddie R. Cole - ecole@macon.com

The Barton and Thomas families' emotions ran high as they gathered Saturday during their family reunion.

This reunion of the primarily Atlanta-based families would be one for the ages.

After decades of searching, these two black families had finally traced their genealogy back to Middle Georgia and were now shoulder-to-shoulder with the descendants of their ancestors' slave owners at the site of the old McArthur Family Plantation off Avondale Mill Road in south Bibb County.

"The ancestors in heaven are crying," said Herman "Skip" Mason to about 100 people at the reunion. He's the great-great-great-grandson of Ellen Barton, a slave who was owned by the McArthurs.

The rain didn't dampen the spirits of those who gathered. "There are tears of joy," Mason said. "That's why it's raining."

The highlight of the event was the meeting of the three families whose paths can be traced back to when Ellen Barton and Hearty Thomas were slaves owned by the McArthurs.

Some family members offered periodic outbursts thanking God, while others sat in awe at the fact that this family reunion was even happening.

Mason, 44, said his search took him 30 years.

"We have no control over the past, but we have very much control over the future," Mason said.

"We are here by the spirit of God," added Mason, who is the pastor of Atlanta's Greater Hopewell CME Church.

The families joined and sang the hymn "We've Come this Far by Faith" and prayed. Then they placed flowers on the grave of John and Harriet Pace McArthur, the only significant remnant of the plantation, in memory of the McArthurs and their slaves.

"I think it's a great historic occasion," said Amma Crum, 69, of Jackson. She's the white great-great-granddaughter of slave owners John and Harriet McArthur. "I'm glad they invited us."

Billy Crum, also of Jackson, said he felt a natural bond upon interacting with the Bartons.

"We've got a feeling of brotherhood," he said. "We all believe in God, right? Well we're all brothers."

Albert Clements, an 82-year old whose grandmother was a Barton, prided himself on being able to attend the ceremony and have a memory of some of the slaves honored.

"I feel great about it, just to remember," said Clements of Telfair County. "I've been through the good and bad and I can tell about it all."

Talerie Boyd, 40, of Long Island, N.Y., spoke with tears streaming down her face all morning.

"I've come full circle by being here," Boyd said noting that she has been helping trace Barton family history for 16 years. "It completes me - it gives me a true sense of myself."

Mason said he hopes to have the family reunion in Macon two years from now because more research is needed to identify even more relatives and family connections.

Also, Mason took a DNA test through African Ancestry, a Washington-based company (www.africanancestry.com) to discover what African tribe and country the Barton slaves descended from.

The result?

Augustine Gouayou, a member of the Bamileke tribe from the central African country of Cameroon with a 99.7 percent blood match to Mason's, was found and attended the reunion as a surprise guest to the families.

"It's a chilly feeling," Gouayou said. "I'm just a bridge for them to the past."

This was a wonderful experience! I was so overwhelmed upon meeting the descendants of the Two Sisters. You couldn't find nicer people. It was truly an day I will never forget and one that I was thrilled to be a part of. Thanks to Skip and Talerie for all their work and inviting us to participate. You are very special people.

During Spring Break this year, our family decided to take a trip to Savannah, GA to do some family research and sight-seeing. I go every January for our state music convention and this past year I had eaten with a couple of friends at Lady & Sons. It was fantastic. I knew we would all have to stop there on this trip.

We began with a trip to the Savannah History Center downtown and watched a brief movie on the history of Savannah. Nice refresher course for me. We debated taking a guided tour, but decided to do one on our own. I wanted to go to the three cemeteries where we have family buried. I had been to two, but not the third. We started with Colonial Cemetery on Abercorn. As you walk in the main entrance directly on your right is a large slab on the ground listing members of the PURSE family. These are all our relatives. We took pictures, but the early morning lighting made it difficult. (All the pictures that turned out ok are on the cemetery page on this web site.) We looked around some more and then headed off to find Bonaventure. I had been there once, briefly, but mom and dad had attended a family funeral there. Our family is buried not too far from the front entrance. What an incredibly stunning and beautiful cemetery. I would love it to be my final resting place. Our relatives buried there are the Ryders, Rogers, and Wilsons. Very well kept as it is designated Perpetual Care.

Our next stop was to try and find Laurel Grove. Not an easy task using our first set of directions, but once we figured out where we were it was not a problem. For years we have been trying to find out the location on John Murchison (my 3rd great-grandfather) and his wife's grave to no avail. Dad found a worker at the cemetery who got someone to look up in the records there where they might be buried. Although John was not listed in the small files, he was listed in a large book that was kept in the back room. It listed John's date of death, place of residence at time of death, cause of death, and doctor. I also took a picture of the information on the book for my records. We found his lot and trudged off to find it. Once we found it we noticed other graves in the same lot. Namely James Pierpont, composer of "Jingle Bells". This was very interesting. Why was he in the same lot as the Murchisons? What about the other family names listed? After taking down all the information in both the lots and doing some research on the internet back at the hotel, we found that James Pierpont was the nephew of John Murchison and his wife Mary Ann Summers Purse Murchison! How exciting for a music teacher who has her band play this song every year to be able to now say she is kin to the composer?! I knew I would have to dig more when I got home. And dig I have. Lots of new information on the MURCHISON/PURSE/TEBEAU line that I never thought I'd find. Also found out that another relative was mayor of Savannah during the War of Northern Aggression!

All-in-all it was a very successful trip to Savannah. I'm ready to go back and research at the library and historical society now.

Wow! Some exciting news out of Virginia. Floyd and Ricky Chancellor and their wives (Mary and Debby) took a trip to the Museum and White House of The Confederacy in Richmond and carried on to Oakwood Cemetery--final resting place of John Chancellor, brother to William Floyd.  According to Floyd:

  "While at Oakwood, I asked the local Administrator, Wayne Edwards...how to get our Uncle John G. Chancelery a tombstone with his proper name on it.  It will require a fee of $175.00 to have the foundation poured, and then any local Funeral Home will make the stone for a Civil War Veteran.   I can take care of the legwork here in Richmond if someone will head up the fund raising.  I think $10 from each family will suffice.  I will also need some proof of his real name to get the registry appended with the correct name.

"On Saturday, Ricky, Debby and I made our way to Appomattox by way of Sailor's Creek.  You may recall that Sailor's Creek is where Custis Lee was captured.  The setting is pacific farmland.  Ricky & I both speculate that Grandpa was nearby. At Appomattox, we looked up Grandpa's name in the official parole book.  I asked how to get the name changed to Chancellor and was told that they cannot change the name in the book but could and would append the book with the correct name if we could provide definitive proof of the correct name.  Proof would consist of his parole document, enlistment papers, pension papers, etc. By the way, Appomattox is an absolutely beautiful, serene, National Park now.  If you haven't been there lately, it is well worth the trip.

 "From Appomattox we went to Lexington to visit Washington & Lee University and VMI.  In Lexington we visited Stonewall Jackson's home, which will be closed for the next several months for renovation.  Unfortunately, we only had time to see the outside and the little gift shop there.  But at W&L we saw Lee Chapel where the entire Lee families, including Traveller are interred.  Lee Chapel is beautiful and very, very tastefully done, befitting the importance all Southerners bestow upon Lee.

"But yesterday (Oct. 12) was sublime!  We toured Pamplin Museum and some of the grounds on the advice of a local friend (a graduate of VMI) and Civil War buff.  The Museum is named 'The National Museum of the Civil War Soldier'.  The theme is the common soldier without regard to Southern or Northern allegiance.  Various scenes are built in real life detail with tents, supply wagons, payroll, letters and other subject covered.  When you enter, you are given a headset and your choice of about 10 different persons who have personalized, narrative stories at several of the exhibits inside.  I chose a private from the 16th Georgia but unfortunately; there was very little discussed from his perspective. 

The last room in the museum is a photo gallery of soldiers that includes, among dozens of others, Jesse James.  Near Jesse, Ricky discovered our heroic Grandpa's photo that you have so carefully kept all of these years.  Excitedly we told the curator about it.  He came over thinking we were going to point out Jesse James' photo, as have numerous other visitors.  When we pointed out William Floyd's picture he was very excited and seemed to burst with anticipation.  He said, 'If you are excited about that, follow me for a really wonderful surprise'.  In the entrance hall that we somehow missed when we entered was a life size reproduction of William Floyd's photo on prominent display!  Wow.  Were we flabbergasted or what.  He let Ricky and I take photos even though photography is not allowed inside the building.  I have enclosed the photos I took.  Ricky will send his later.  Enjoy!  More will come in additional emails

I close by saying that even without Grandpas photo, Pamplin Museum is a wonderful place to visit.  The grounds have been structured around the point in the Confederate’s line where Grant finally broke through.  Virginian’s and Georgian’s defended that area.  AP Hill was killed in the area trying to rally the troops to close ranks.  Most likely our Grandfather was very, very, near."

Such exciting news! Below are the pictures (click the thumbnail for an enlargement) are the pictures Floyd mentioned.

Battlefield	Battlefield	Wm Floyd Chancellor  life-size stand-up @ museum
Floyd and Ricky with great-grandpa	Another view of the brothers with great-grandpa	A third view
	To the left is the grave of Robert E. Lee's horse Traveller.