Scottish Roots

He was born on May 10th 1821 in Pendleton District, South Carolina, the Great Grandson of a man who left Scotland and came to America, this family first settled in Culpeper County, Virginia before moving down to South Carolina. He farmed in and around the Pumpkintown, SC Community all of his life, He married around 1844 and raised 4 children with his first wife. After her death he married again and added 8 more children to his family.

He fought in Kershaw’s Company B, 2nd Regiment of the South Carolina Infantry Rifles as a private during the Civil War along with his Brother and two sons, the youngest of these two sons was barely old enough to carry a rifle much less be involved in a war but regardless of his young age he served as a Private in Rutledge's Company C, 4th Regiment South Carolina Calvary, he was wounded at the Battle of Cold Harbor Virginia in June 1864 and was discharged at Bentonville, NC.

He married twice and from the two marriages raised six children, his second marriage was to a woman thirty years his junior, he farmed with her in the Pumpkintown Community and Liberty, SC areas and died at the age of seventy five of a stroke, she died three days short of what would have been his ninety eighth birthday and they are buried next to each other at Mountain Grove Baptist Church Cemetery.

Their youngest son was born on May 30th 1914 he married sometime around 1933 and raised four children, two boys and two girls. He enlisted for the World War II Draft with the Army Air Force at Fort Jackson at the age of 31, He said he was the oldest man to enlist at the time and all the other guys called him Pop, he served in the US Air Force as a Staff Sergeant and a Cook, He also served during the Korean War, in December 1952 a radio interview with him was broadcast in his hometown of Easley, South Carolina, in the interview he mostly thanked everyone who had donated supplies for them to prepare Christmas dinner for the troops fighting the Korean War. A copy of this interview on LP record was sent to his wife by the radio station, this LP was later lost in a house fire.

Both of their sons served in the military one with the Air Force and the other did a short tour with the Army Reserves, the oldest son retired from the Air Force after having an almost duplicate career as his Father and died in 1976 of a heart attack, the Father also died of a heart attack in 1981.

The youngest son married and raised three children, he continues to work at a hospital system in South Carolina, the oldest of his children is a son who was named after him, this son is retired disabled from work and lives on the west coast with his wife, he proudly writes a blog called Jimmy’s Opinion.