The History of the Brackett Family Of Stephens County, Georgia

The History of the Brackett Family Of Stephens County, Georgia Rediscovered

By Robert C. Dodd Jr. 2013

A collection of family photos are below the report

The rediscovery of the family heritage of Edna Verner Brackett (1912-2010) has been made possible by advances in the availability of governmental and public documents that were difficult to access in former years. US Census records that were available only in the form of microfilm a decade ago are now available online with far more advanced search features. Interpretation of Edna’s heritage is based upon hard documentation as follows, and must begin with the early life of her mother, Nancy (Brackett) Garner (1878-1953).

The Life and Times of Nancy (Brackett) Garner
Without the privilege of an interview with Nancy Garner, one may deduce that she was a secretive woman, hardened by disappointments in life and love, and burdened with the duty to raise her children without the benefit of a breadwinning husband. The public record gives ample substance to her story, which began in the household of her parents, Felix Benton Brackett and Margret W. Thacker in Stephens County, Georgia in 1900. Other historical records indicate that Felix Brackett and his brother William Mansfield Brackett were prominent members of the Baptist Church of Stephens County, Georgia. (Wm. Mansfield Brackett was a Confederate Veteran and Baptist minister).
From Nancy’s death certificate, recorded in Stephens County, we learn that she died at the age of74 on 18 Feb 1953. Thus armed with the implication that she was born in or about 1879, we turn to the 1900 U.S. Census of Stephens County, Georgia and discover the following information:

• F.(elix) B. Brackett (50) and Margret (Thacker) (45) appear as head of household with the following additional family members:
• Two adult sons appear in the household: John A. Brackett (21) and Doctor B. Brackett (26)
• One daughter, Nancy (Brackett) Prather* (17) appears in the household with her two young children, Will M. Prather* and Louisa L. Prather*.
• *The Census transcript is clear and easy to read, but the orthography could also be read as (PaUther or PaNther). The orthography of the third letter of the surname appears to be “U” because it is identical to the third letter of the child named “LoUise”. A rendering of the third letter as “N” seems highly unlikely although automated indices of the US Census have rendered the name PaNther. Standard histories of Stephens County do not

attest the occurrence of “Pauther” or “Panther” in the district, although those names do occur elsewhere in Georgia. Prather is a common surname in Stephens County, and seems the most likely rendering of the name. We will proceed with the working premise that Prather is correct, and amend that later if new evidence comes to light.

• In the US Census, variation in the spelling of surnames is common, exacerbated by the fact that many census takers were compelled to guess a proper spelling, based upon the speech or dialect of district. The informant of the Brackett household may have said Prather, and the census taker only heard Pauther and transcribed what he heard.
• According to the 1900 US Census, Nancy Prather was a recent widow, which implies that Will(iam) M(ansfield) Prather and his sister Louisa were the children of a recently deceased husband and father.
• Further confirmation of the family lineage may be found in the namesake tradition of the Brackett family. Nancy’s son, William Mansfield Prather Brackett was named in honor of her paternal uncle, William Mansfield Brackett (1845-1925), the Confederate Veteran and Baptist minister. Such a complex and distinctive name could not occur by accident, and gives positive identification to the members of the Brackett family in the U.S. Census of Stephens County, Georgia in 1900.
• The Census records that Nancy Prather was born in July 1878, which is a nearly perfect match for the implication of her death certificate, ca. 1879.
• Living memory and oral tradition of Edna Verner Brackett attest that her mother Nancy Garner had two elder children named William Mansfield, and Louisa. Thus, there is no question that we have discovered the correct family and household, and a new key to the heritage of the Brackett Family.
  The rediscovery of the 1900 Census of Stephens County, Georgia lays to rest the question of the true surname of Nancy (Brackett) Garner at birth. The following evidence shows that Nancy never used the Garner surname before 1930, although it is possible that she may have used it as early as 1920, but as yet it has not been possible to locate Nancy in the 1920 U.S. Census. The discovery of such a record would be helpful but unlikely at the present time.

• In 1900, Nancy uses the surname Prather (Pauther) with implication of recent widowhood.
• In 1910, Nancy uses the surname BrOckett (doubtlessly a scribal error), having reverted to her maiden name.
• In 1918, Nancy’s son William Mansfield “Brackett” gave information to the World War I draft board that his closest of kin was: Mrs. Nancy Brackett, Route 3, Toccoa, Stephens County.
• In 1920, we have no US Census record.
• In 1930, Nancy uses the surname Garner with no male head of household. Her children
  Edna, Frances and Velma are listed as “Garner”.
• In 1940, Nancy B.(rackett) Garner shares the household with daughter, Velma G.(arner)
  Standridge. It also states that Nancy Garner had achieved no more than a 5th grade education.

Public records suggest that Nancy Garner bore her eldest children by a husband named Prather, and became a widow at the age of 17. In 1910, Nancy and her eldest children (Willliam, Louise, Mary Grace and Velma) reverted to her birth surname of Brackett until at least 1920. In 1930, the use of Garner as a surname implies a relationship with a man of that surname, but no credible document has appeared to support it at this time.

The Mystery of Edwin Alexander Ramsay

Oral tradition and living memory of Edna Verner Brackett attest that she was the daughter of one “Edward Ramsay” (Surviving records indicate that his true name was “Edwin”. The problem was to discover if such a named person ever existed in the vicinity of Stephens County, Georgia. The answer to this question lies in the Stephens County Census of 1893:

• In the 1893 enumeration we find the household of Andrew Hamilton Ramsay and his wife, Sara Azalea Jarrett.
• 15-year old Eddie Ramsay appears in the Census with an implication of birth in about 1878. His actual birth date was 25 February 1878, a few months before Nancy Brackett Garner’s birth in July 1878. Thus, they are a perfect match in age, location and generation.
• Edna Verner Brackett was born in November 1912 when Edwin and Nancy were 34 years of age.
• Edwin Ramsay was single at the time of the 1910 Census and also single at the time of his World War I draft registration in 1918, which implies he was probably still single at the time of Edna’s birth. This gives credence to the report that Nancy Garner hoped that Ed Ramsay would marry her, but it is clear that he did not make that commitment.
  Records of Stephens County indicate that Edwin’s father, Andrew Hamilton Ramsay, was a Confederate Veteran and that he was also a prominent merchant in Toccoa, Stephens, Georgia. His family had a fair amount of social standing in the local Presbyterian Church and the community at large. The heritage of the Ramsay family is easy to trace in the annals of Stephens, Georgia and Oconee County, South Carolina. This is another confirmation of oral history in Edna Brackett’s family, that her father (Ramsay) had ties to Oconee County, South Carolina. The case for identification of Edwin Ramsay as the putative father of Edna Verner Brackett seems to be relatively secure based upon chronology, location and long-standing oral tradition.
  
  
  Note on photos, only family members who are deceased are shown.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Lois Edna verner Brackett Ramsay Garren at 14
  
  
  
  Lois Edna verner Brackett Ramsay Garren mid 50's
  
  
  
  "Miss Edna" at the Dillard House (Dillard, GA) in 2002 at age 90
  
  
  
  Lois Edna verner Brackett Ramsay Garren at her 95th birthday party in 2007
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Velma Georgia Yearwood's daughter Ann (Standridge)
  
  
  
  Alan "Jimbo" Murray & Ann (Standridge) wedding
  
  
  
  Velma Georgia, Alan "Jimbo" Murray's father, Nancy Brackett Garner, Frances Brackett at wedding of Alan Murray & Ann Murray
  
  
  
  Edward George Garren, Walter Murray, Carl Yearwood, Velma Brackett Yearwood 
  circa 1965
  
  
  
  Velma Georgia Yearwood circa 1972, Mt. Airy, GA
  
  
  
  Lorrie Dean Iverson, Annie Dean (Lorrie's mother), Velma Georgia Yearwood circa 1972
  
  
  
  Laura Louise Brackett Beasley, circa 1965
  
  
  
  
  
  Ralph Ingersol (2nd husband of) Grace Brackett Kemp
  Grace's first husband Alger Kemp remains well known in "Ink" culture having created designs that are still being done today.
  
  
  
  
  Carol Carter Carreker, youngest daughter of Frances Brackett Carter Whiten.
  circa 1981, Cape Coral, FL
  
  
  
  "23 & Me" genetics testing printout for maternal side of immediate family
  specific to Lois Edna Verner Brackett Garren