The Tri-County Journal
& Chattahoochee Chronicle
PO Box 850, 71 Webb Lane
Buena Vista, GA 31803
229-649-6397
tjournal@alltel.net
Did you ever look in the mirror and ask yourself, "Who am I? Where am I from? Why am I here?" Another poser I have in the question of life, "Why was I born into this family, in this area, and in this nation?" I suppose these questions and many more rattle around in a kid's head as he or she forges outward on the one way trip through life on earth.
Among other things, in Ecclesiastes 3:2, the Holy Scriptures says, "A time to be born, and a time to die." Thus my mother, Durell, gave birth to me in my grandparents' home - Dock and Effie Dickerson - in Rabun Co., Ga., on schedule. The last part of that Bible phrase is just as sure to pass as the first part. Life on earth is a temporary one way trip.
As a youth I heard my parents and my elders speak in general terms of our ancestors. I knew only vague outlines of our pioneer heritage. The early Justices, Dickersons, Keeners, Yorks and others that contributed to my genes had trekked down through the mountain chain from Virginia, following the frontier as the Amerindians were driven back or shipped across the Mississippi River to "Indian Territory." Along this trek southward, Cherokee blood was added to our genes along with the original stock of Scotch blood and, Mama once hinted, "Perhaps a drop of French."
In general my folks were farmers, timber cutters, carpenters and small shop keepers. For example, Great-grandfather James N. Justus had a large farm, blacksmith shop, and for some years operated a country store. I hardly was aware of this fact until I made copies of his old ledger book and found page after page containing prices for salt, coffee, gun power, calico, and tobacco. He often received things in trade, like hog meat, chestnuts and corn. Most of our men folk were outdoors men who hunted and fished.
In family research I got a glimpse of the tremendous Justice/Justus family tree that branched forth from William and Sarah Troutman
Click Here
to return to the selection
of "Echoes from the Hills"
columns by Bob Justus.
As I began to study family history, I found William and Sarah had at least 12 children. Early families often had 10 to 15 children. G-grandfather James Justus had 12 children. I have only begun finding family branches. The total names in the Justice/Justus tree have reached 1725, with 418 surnames and 9644 records. I received a few more names today. These figures are but a drop in the bucket as to the total kinfolks alive today. The average life span from 1750 is 65 years, 6 months.
As information came in from "cousins," I discovered that G-uncle John C. Justus moved to Idaho in 1917. He never returned to Georgia and folks back here knew almost nothing about his life out there. He settled in Canyon Co., Idaho. In a district called "Little Dixie" west of Caldwell along the Boise River he had a dairy farm for many years. He and Laura Moore Justus reared four children. His descendants are scattered from Los Angles north to near Seattle, and then east to Michigan and New York State. I obtained a photo of their nice grave site located in a cemetery in Caldwell. In retirement John sold his dairy farm and lived some years in Caldwell.
As we meet one another over the internet or on the phone or by letter, cousins share family news, swap photos and provide family trees. Today Justice/Justus descendants are living from coast to coast. They carry the genes of Scots, English, Irish, Amerindians, and so on. Many felt the urge to go and seek new homes, to find new territories and make new lives for themselves. Here and there, from Florida to Washington State, and from California to New York State, some families settled down for life and established lasting roots. Others left those "home places" and forged into new territory. Many descendants live in the heartland of America, including Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona. Like a typical cross section of Americans they have many varied professions, skills and living standards. I feel good about being a part of this grand movement of humanity across time and space. The flow of life moves on.