MILLIS KILLIAN MCCLURE - Son of Reuben and Polly (Reed) McClure. Born 20 Dec. 1833 in North Carolina and died 3 April 1912 in Gilmer Co., GA, and is buried at Macedonia Baptist Church on Big Creek Road in Gilmer County. Millis married Sarah C. Walker. She was born 22 March 1836 in NC and died 9 Feb. 1900. Records do not indicate if she is buried with Millas or not.
        It is said that Millis was the first McClure to move permanently to Georgia from North Carolina. The census gives all of his children as born in GA. In the book 'A LITTLE HISTORY OF GILMER COUNTY' by Lawrence L. Stanley and published in 1975 we find it mentions "McClure Mountain" and speaks of Millis McClure the old Pioneer as the one the mountain was named for.
        We find Millas listed as a Deacon at Old High Shoals Church which was located on High Shoals Mountain just across the line in Dawson County.
        The children of Millis and Sarah are, Sueanna "Sussie" McClure-born abt 1853, married Mose Weahunt, they had no children; John Andrew McClure-Born 9 Oct. 1858 in Gilmer Co., GA, died 1 Oct. 1932. He is buried at Tickanetly Church in the Bucktown Community of Gilmer Co., GA, he married Nancy Jane Sanford; Eliza E. McClure-Born abt. 1862; Sarah Jane "Sallie" McClure - Born abt. 1864, never married; James D. Reuben McClure - Born abt. 1866, buried at River Hill Baptist Church on Big Creek Rd. in Gilmer Co., GA, he married Rissie Anderson; William Mack C. McClure - Born abt. 1871 Married Jane Smith, said to be buried at Tickanetley Church; Elisha B. Harvey "Harv" McClure- Born 3 April 1873 and died 4 April 1930, buried at Ebenezer Church in Gilmer Co., GA, married Georgie L. Reece who is also buried at Ebenezer Church; Marian Lee McClure - Born abt. 1875, buried Ebenezer Church; Jasper M. McClure - Born abt. 1878.

OLLIE VANDORA MCCLURE - The daughter of Thomas Asberry and Sarah Jane (Chastain) McClure - Born 4 May 1907 in Gilmer Co., GA, in a log cabin built by her grandfather, Reuben McClure. Ollie died 9 June 1998 at Waleska, GA and is buried at Refuge Baptist Church near Waleska. When Ollie was about three years old she was so sickly that they thought she would not live. That is why they made this picture of Ollie. But she got better and she and her parents lived in this log cabin until she was about three years old. They moved to Canton, GA, and stayed one summer working in the Textile Mill then went back to Gilmer Co. and stayed about a year or two. Her mother died and they moved back to Canton, GA, where she lived until her father died when she was about 15 years old. They moved to a farm in Cherokee Co. and then she married (1) John Robert Puckett and they had two children. Years later she married (2) Henry Hubert Chambers. They were married about 29 years then Hubert died. Ollie lived by her self until about 1996 when her health failed and she had to start staying with one of her sons living there until her death in 1998 at the age of 91 years.

THOMAS ASBERRY MCCLURE - Youngest child of Reuben and Matilda (Rogers)McClure. He was born 5 March 1863 in Macon Co., NC, and died 4 June 1922 in Cherokee Co., GA. He is buried at Indian Knoll Baptist Church on GA 140 east of Canton, GA.
        He came to Gilmer Co.,. GA, with his parents about 1874. He and other members had caught what was then called "Milk Fever" and he almost died so they left NC and came to Gilmer Co., To excape the "fever" so he was raised in Gilmer Co.. They lived in a log cabin his family had constructed when they first came to Gilmer and had moved into it before it was completed. They had to keep a big fire going to keep the wild animals outside.
        Thomas married 21 Feb. 1892 to Sarah Jane "Sally" Chastain, daughter of Maxwell and Martha Elizabeth (Davenport) Chastain. She was born 10 April 1867 and died 13 Sept. 1911 and is buried at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Gilmer Co., GA.
        In 1910 they moved to Canton, Georgia and stayed through the summer then moved back to Gilmer County. Sally died and in 1913-14 he moved his family back to Cherokee Co., GA, to work in the Textile plant there. After WW II was over they moved to the Indian Knoll Community to farm. Thomas died there in 1922 and was buried at the church there.
        Their children are William Jefferson McClure, Harley Maxwell McClure, Laura Mercillor May McClure, Carrie Minervy McClure, Flaura Savannah McClure, Ollie Vandora McClure, and Thomas Floyd McClure.

WILLIAM JASPER MCCLURE - son of Reuben and Matilda (Rogers) McClure. Born in Macon Co., NC on 5 Aug. 1841 and died in Gilmer Co., GA on 19 Aug. 1919. He married (1) Mary Jane Vaughn, daughter of Arch and Alice (Kirby) Vaughn. She was born 28 March 1840 and died 30 Nov. 1874 of "Milk Fever" near Franklin, NC. She is buried in a unmarked grave at Sugar Fork Baptist Church near Franklin, NC.
        In about 1875 William Jasper McClure loaded his possessions and three motherless children in a wagon pulled by steers and came to Georgia to get away from the "milk fever". His parents and his brothers and sisters came to Georgia at this time too for the same reason. They all settled in Gilmer Co.,GA.
        In the latter part of 1880 or 1881, William Jasper McClure married (2) Linda Rice. Linda and Jasper are buried side by side at the Old High Shoals Cemetery high on High Shoals Mountain above Amicalola Falls in Dawson Co., GA.
        William Jasper was a well known Baptist preacher in the North Georgia Mountains as he preached "the old tme religion" in Churches all over the area up there. In 1985 there were still old timers in the area who could remember hearing him preach.
        Old High Shoals Church was on High Shoals Mountain in the edge of Dawson Co and was organized June 7, 1879. We find Jasper's listed as a Licensed Minister and a charter member. His father, Ruben McClure, was also listed as a Licensed Minister and him mother joined that day too as did others of his family. In later years we find Jasper was elected as pastor of this church and held it until his death in 1919.
        William and his first wife had three children, Joseph Wesley McClure, who went West, David McLowery McClure, who went west, and Alice Matilda McClure. With his second wife he also had three children, Mary Magdalene McClure, Martha Jane McClure, and Amanda Lucinda McClure.

JOHN WESLEY MCCLURE - Called "Whispering John" because he had pneumonia and almost lost his voice so he talked in a whisper. John was the son of Reuben and Matilda (Rogers) McClure. He was born in Macon Co., NC, 3 April 1850 and died in Gilmer County, Georgia, 18 March 1925. He is buried at High Shoals Baptist Church on High Shoals Mt. above Amicalola Falls in the edge of Dawson Co., GA. John's name appears as a member of High Shoals Church on 7 Aug. 1902.
        John married Sarah Vaughn, daughter of Arch and Alice (Kirby) McClure and sister to the first wife of William Jasper McClure. William and John were brothers. She was born 9 April 1857 in NC. Their children are, Reuban Archibald "Archie" McClure, Mack Duffie McClure, John Baxter McClure, Leroy Napolian McClure, Fannie P. McClure, David Lowery McClure, Minnie Mae McClure, William Raleigh McClure, and Joseph L. McClure.

For more information on these McClure families please write to Robert Puckett, who has shared his family with us.

WILLIAM HENRY FOSTER was born in 1845 in Buncombe County, North Carolina, the son of Newton Monroe and Mary Caroline Gudger Foster. Between 1846 and 1847 the family moved to Gilmer County. William died in 1920 in Gilmer County and is buried in the Ellijay City Cemetery.
     William Henry was 16 when he enlisted in the Confederate Army at Augusta, Georgia on March 18, 1862, as a private in Co D, lst (Ramsey's) Georgia Infantry. That Unit was disbanded and in April 1862, he re-enlisted in l1st Co A, 12th Battalion Georgia Artillery, which later became Co A, 63rd Georgia Infantry. He served through the entire war and was paroled at Greensboro, North Carolina on May 1, 1865 with Johnston's Army of Tennessee.
     After the Civil War he went to Texas where he married Nancy Isabelle Beene. They had eight children, including two sets of fraternal twins, all born in Mexia, Texas. Nancy Isabelle died following the birth of the second set of twins. William took his children back to his home in Ellijay, Georgia and with the help of his older sister, Matilda Foster Hunneycutt, the children were raised. William later married Dora Bradley in Ellijay and there were two children born of this marriage. William Henry was called "Bud" Foster and was postmaster of Gilmer County. In 1896 he was commissioned by W. Y. atkinson, Governor of Georgia, as Sheriff of Gilmer County, an offer that he served in for three years.
     William's great-great grandfather, William Forrester, came to this country from northern Ireland in 1748. The family lived in Lancster, PA for a time and then moved on to Virginia, where they lived for many years before descendants moved on to Buncombe County, NC. Two of William Forrester's sons were Revolutionary War soldiers.

For more information on this Foster family, please contact Suzanne Forte, who has shared her family with us.