(narrative as told by Jim Waldrep, Felton Waldrep and Lloyd Waldrep.)
In his "Song of the Chattahoochee", Sidney Lanier wrote that the river came 'out of the hills of Habersham and down through the valleys of Hall.' He could have said this about the descendants of Joseph Waldrope and Tabitha D. McIntyre. They, and three children, moved from South Carolina to Habersham County, Georgia when Joseph acquired a 40 acre portion of a land lot which had been won in the 1827 Georgia Land Lottery. This lottery was a means for distributing the land taken from the Cherokee Indians. It is probable that Joseph, a timber cutter and a farmer, sold the larger timbers from his land to loggers who were hauling them about 25 miles southwest to the town of Dahlonega where gold had been discovered in 1828.
In 1830, Perrin Waldrep became the fourth child born to Joseph and Tabitha, the first born in Georgia. He married Mary Ann Wilderson, also a Habersham County native, 1849. The minutes of the Providence Baptist Church's annual meeeting mention Perrin, Mary Ann, Tabitha and other Waldreps during the middle 1800s. This church exercised a great deal of control over its member's lives as there are many mentions of disciplinary action for things like drinking spirits, lying, cheating, desertion from the army and even visiting the Methodist Church.
James Lafayette Waldrep (Grandpa Jim) was born in Habersham County, Georgia in 1855, the fourth child of Perrin and Mary Ann. When he was 8 years old, his father died from an illness that appeared while he was in basic training with the Confederate States Army. Mary Ann, a widow at 37 with eight children, lived with various family members while her children were growing up.
In 1878, Grandpa Jim married Nancy Emily Wheeler. Her father, Hamilton Wheeler, had been killed in the Civil War also. Her mother was Mary Ann Gastley, a native of Baden, Germany who came to America at the age of nine. This is the same lady who later married Richard M. McEntyre and is prominent in Waldrep folklore as "Mother Mac".
Grandpa Jim and Emily were living in Habersham County during the 1900 census. He was employed at a local textile mill as a fireman. He was responsible for firing the plant's boiler and for serving as a watchman for the grounds and building.
Shortly after 1900, Grandpa Jim and Emily moved their family to New Holland, Georgia where Pacolet Mills was building a 5 story cotton mill. He was able to get a job using his experience as a fireman. He expanded his skills to include leatherworking since he was now involved in making and repairing the belts which transmitted power from a steam engine up a "ropeway" to line shafts one each floor and from there down to the individual machines.
The Waldreps rented a house on Highland Street in the New Holland Village around 1902. At this point, they had parented thirteen children (Ida, Tom, Mamie, George, Bum, Julia, Annie, Bob, Ruby, and Jim) with three others who did not survive infancy. Their last child (Henry) was born after they moved to New Holland. Emily died shortly thereafter in 1905, leaving behind eleven children with four already married and the remaining seven ranging in age from 17 years old down to1 year old. She was buried in the Bethlehem Baptist Church Cemetery in Clarkesville, Georgia.
In 1906, Grandpa Jim married Mollie Cash who had three children by a previous marriage. He and Mollie had one child (Guy Victor) who died before his second birthday. Mollie also died in 1908.
In 1909, Grandpa Jim married Rozillie Perry who had four children by a previous marriage. He and Rozillie had four children (Manley, Albert, Florence and Elsie).
In 1912, Mary Ann Waldrep, Grandpa Jim's mother, died while visiting one of her grandsons (Bum) in Hall County. She was 86 years old and had asked to be buried "in the closest church cemetery." Her grave is located in the Oak Grove Baptist Church Cemetery on highway 129 about six miles east of Gainesville, Georgia.
The New Holland Mill closed at the beginning of the Great Depression, which started in 1929. Work for cash money could not be found anywhere. Because of their farm backgrounds, the Waldreps had gardens and some of them had hogs, cows and chickens. They had food to eat and were able to trade for other necessities. Felton tells of a trip he made in a T-model truck with Jim, Henry, Manley and Doss (Annies husband). They drove to the Mincey farm in Franklin, North Carolina and loaded down the truck with green beans. Back home, they "peddled" their surplus beans for cash. The company store offered goods "on credit' to mill workers. Many of them used this benefit as a means to help support their relatives and friends in nearby Gainesville. One long-term mill hand said he "drew goose eggs on his ticket" for seven years to repay debts incurred during the depression.
Grandpa Jim died in 1933 at the age of 78. At his death, he had fathered nineteen children with three different wives and had been stepfather to seven additional children. He was buried beside Emily, his first wife, in the Bethlehem Baptist Church Cemetery in Clarkesville, Georgia.
Grandpa Jim had led his family away from the hills of Habersham and down to the valleys of Hall where they became heavily involved in "cotton milling." Every one of his children who reached adulthood worked in the New Holland Mill at some time. Four sons Tom, George, Bob and AB) retired from the New Holland Mill after lifelong careers there. Two daughters (Julie and Elsie) married men who had long careers at New Holland also. Some of the other brothers and sisters moved to other towns, but stayed involved in textiles. Ida moved to Cordova, Alabama; Mamie moved to Greenville, South Carolina; Annie moved to Walhalla, South Carolina; Ruby moved to Danville, Virginia; and Jim moved to Gastonia, North Carolina. The remaining brothers and sisters left the mills for careers in other fields. Bum became the Warden of Hall County Prison, Henry moved to Marietta, Georgia where he worked for Bell Bomber, then with Atlanta Gas Light. Manley became a house painter. Florence married a former military acquaintance and moved to New York.
On the morning of April 6, 1936 a killer tornado tore through Gainesville and New Holland. At least 162 people were killed and over 950 buildings were destroyed or severely damaged in what has been described as one of the most powerful storms this nation has ever witnessed. The two top floors of the New Holland Mill were demolished, but no one was killed at the mill. George Waldrep was given credit for seeing the storm approaching and moving the workers to the lower floors before it hit. The Georgia National Guard ran a "soup kitchen" in New Holland while the Mill and the village houses were being repaired. None of the Waldreps were severely injured in the storm, but everyone who saw or heard it gets a little uneasy when the sky turns dark in April.
War has not been a stranger to the Waldreps. It has already been noted that both of the fathers of Grandpa Jim and Emily died in service during the Civil War Between the States. One of their sons (Jim) served during WWI. One daughter (Florence) and six grandsons (Deuward, Warren, Ernest, Eugene, Glenn and Felton) served during WWII. Two other grandsons (C. L. Waldrep and Lawrence Hyde) served during the Korean War with C.L. continuing to serve as a Marine First Seargeant in the Vietnam War.
After WWII, more of the Waldreps moved away from careers tied to the textile industry. A number of the grandsons (Aubrey, Gene, Ernest, Warren, Richard and Earl) were involved with an automobile auction which flourished in Atlanta and expanded to Birmingham, Alabama. Some grandchildren became teachers (Ida Lou Waldrep Dunagan, Lawrence Hyde, and Eddie Waldrep) and some worked at Law Enforcement (C.L. and Buddy). Theodore Shirley became a preacher, Deuward became a career army officer, Jimmy worked for General Motors. Lawrence Hyde became an epidemiologist, Eddie became a school principal and Felton worked for Southern Bell Telephone Company, retiring as manager of installation and repair.
Today, the descendants of James Lafayette Waldrep and Emily and Rozille meet once a year on the first Sunday in July to celebrate their heritage and to renew or strengthen family ties. This event usually draws over 100 descendants of the Waldrep families who are now spread from New York to Arizona, from Minnesota to Florida, and many state in between. People you will see there are a mixture of callings which are very different from the timber cutter and farmer roots from which they sprang. Their ranks include a retired telephone company manager, a retired personnel manager from the company which now owns New Holland Mill, the wife of a former member of the U. S. Congress and Governor of the state of Georgia, a master woodcarver, a retired auctioneer, a former sheriff, a Superior Court Judge, many former and present teachers, a computer manager, a college administrator, a retired principal and coach, many skilled craftsmen and many excellent parents and cooks.
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