Rev. James Allen

                                          Rev. James Allen

                   Revolutionary War Soldier

Linwood Cemetery

Columbus, GA

“He was as useful, as a minister of the Gospel, as he was a physician, and the work of his hands will fruit on and on and ripen in eternity.” * 

*(from an article in Alabama Historical Quarterly, V. 15, no. 2 (Summer 1953) “ The History of Opelika and Her Agricultural Tributary Territory.” 

 

Rev. James Allen was born in Virginia, possibly in the Richmond area on July 26, 1764. He was the son of Andrew Chapman and Hannah Newton Allen. He served in the Virginia Continental Line during the Revolutionary War.  After the war, he settled in Columbia County, GA. He married Jane Eliza McGehee on June 16, 1792. 

The family moved into Meriwether County in the 1830’s where he worked as a carpenter. His wife Jane died there in October 1834. 

When the family moved into Russell County, AL, Allen became a physician and minster. It was reported that he never charged for his services. “The last half of his active life was devoted to the gratuitous practice of medicine. This necessity arose from the scarcity of regular physicians in the early days. It is known that he rode day and night, during the sickly season, to meet the calls of the suffering, furnishing medicine at his own expense and never charging a cent for his services. He was very successful in his practice, though he never made medicine a study until it became necessary and never graduated from any school of medicine, except that of the saddle and the sick bed.” *

*(from an article in Alabama Historical Quarterly, V. 15, no. 2 (Summer 1953) “ The History of Opelika and Her Agricultural Tributary Territory.” 

Rev. Allen died in the home of his son, John W. Allen, on July 12, 1871 near Smiths Station, AL.

James and Jane Allen had six children: Zilpah, Harriet, William, Mariah, James, and John.

Allen Family Plot

Linwood Cemetery

 References

U.S. Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, 1800-1900, www.ancestry.com, accessed February 19, 2025

“The History of Opelika and Her Agricultural Tributary Territory,” Alabama Historical Quarterly, V. 15, no. 2 (Summer 1953), Chapter 29, 322, Alabama Department of Archives and History.

"United States, Rosters of Revolutionary War Soldiers and Sailors, 1775-1966", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org)

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/26485569/james-allen

 Historic Linwood Cemetery, Linda J. Kennedy and Mary Jane Galor, Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, SC, 2004, p.50

Linda McCardle

George Wells Foster

 

George Wells Foster

Rev War Soldier

George Wells Foster

Linwood Cemetery

Columbus, GA

                                                                                    

George Wells Foster, the son of James and Susannah Wells Foster was born in Prince Edward County, VA on June 4, 1764. He enlisted in Captain John Morton’s company as a lieutenant in Prince Edward County, later making the rank of Captain. His company fought against British General Charles Cornwallis.

George married Elizabeth Julia Flournoy, the daughter of Thomas and Ann Martin Flournoy on June 1,1786 in Prince William County, VA. George moved the family to Greensboro, GA (Greene Co.)  in 1790. They had three children in ten years: James, Ann and Thomas.

By 1790 the family had moved to Greene County, GA. Wells practiced law in Greene County and accumulated a great deal of property. He purchased 170 acres from Issac Skinner in 1802. He paid $100 for the property (around $3,500 today). Apparently Wells had difficulty paying debts owed to neighbors. In 1802 Robert Fisher sued Wells for $156.91 ($3,500 today). Foster was found guilty and promised to pay the amount along with interest promptly. That same year, Thomas Moore petitioned the court to have Wells pay a debt of $ 70.00 ($2,135 today) that he had incurred in 1801. In 1806 Wells was back in court being charged with neglecting to pay a promissory note involving a $100 ($3,000 today) debt to William Dawkins. In 1812 he was involved in another case where he had failed to pay $212.25 ($5,255 today) to Benjamin Weaver. All the cases involved complicated land transactions between sellers, buyers and lenders. It is very interesting that during this time he also served as a justice of the peace. He was also involved in politics in Greene County, he served as a representative to the 1798 Georgia Constitutional Convention. In 1826 he was appointed Lieutenant Colonel of the Greene County Militia.

George Wells Foster’s wife Elizabeth died in Greene County, GA on November 5, 1836 and was buried there.

Julia Foster

Greensboro City Cemetery

 

After the death of his wife, George moved to Columbus. Two of his children, Thomas and Ann were living there. He continued to practice law in Columbus until his death on May 31, 1847.  He was buried in Linwood Cemetery. The Muscogee County Superior Court adjourned for his funeral.

George’s son James Flournoy Foster was born in Prince Edward Co., VA in 1785. He attended Hampden Sydney College in Hampden Sydney, VA. He became a physician and practiced in Greensboro, GA. He married Matilda Houghton in Greene Co., GA on June 18, 1815. He died at his home on April 3, 1861.  

 

George’s son Thomas Flournoy Foster attended Franklin College in Pennsylvania and later attended Litchfield Law School in Litchfield, CT. The school became renowned for its’ revolutionary way of teaching law based on the constitution and the documents produced by America’s founders. Thomas was admitted to the bar in Georgia in 1816 and began his law practice in Greensboro. He became active in politics and was a member of the Georgia Legislature for many years. In 1836 he was elected to the legislature from Columbus and served until 1841.  He married Elizabeth McKinnne Gardner from Augusta, GA in 1839.  He practiced law in Columbus until his death in 1848.

Thomas Foster 

Linwood Cemetery

Elizabeth Foster

Summerville Cemetery Augusta, GA 

George’s daughter Ann Martin Foster married well known Methodist minister Lovick Pierce who became the minister of St. Luke Methodist church (Columbus, GA) in 1836. Lovick Piece and Ann are buried in Linwood Cemetery.

 

Ann Foster Pierce

Dr. Lovick Pierce

 

St. Luke Methodist Church

Columbus, GA

Sources:

Greene, Georgia, United States Records,(https: familysearch.org)

Ancestry.com. U.S., Compiled Revolutionary War Military Service Records, 1775-1783 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010.

Georgia Biographies 1790-1857, West Boylton Genealogies, 1858.  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litchfield_Law_School

Appleton’s Cyclopedia of American Biography, 1600-1899, Vol. 2

"The Daily Constitutionalist and Republic", Augusta, GA Tue, Sep 19, 1848 ·Page 3

 “George Wells Foster,” Graves Registry, Georgia Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, http://gasocietysar.org/gravesregistry.

Images of America "Historic Linwood Cemetery, Linda J. Kennedy and Mary Jane Galer, Chapter Five, Page 50.

"Southern Confederacy" (Atlanta, Georgia) · Thu, May 9, 1861 · Page 2

"The Old Folks at Home: Former American Colonists Buried in Columbus, Georgia", Callie B. McGinnis, Muscogiana, Spring 2018, pp.38-41

Linda McCardle