The Loyd Homeplace: Connections to People, Places, and Historical Events

I'd like to continue to share some historical background that was the basis for my book, Mystery at the Loyd Homeplace. In 1821, the state of Georgia conducted a land lottery to distribute to new settlers lands that Cherokee, Creek, and Oconee Indians had ceded to the state. DeKalb County was one of the new counties created, and apparently the parents of my ancestor Jabez Loyd were granted some 600 acres of that land. We have detailed information about where all the original property lines were located and how the land was subsequently subdivided.

Jabez Loyd was my great-great-great grandfather and lived from 1820 to 1890. Obviously, he didn't receive this land when he was 1 year old! His father must have. But that is a story of speculation for yet another blog post.

The Loyd property would have been in the northeast quadrant of the map below, intersected by the South Fork of Peachtree Creek (if you can see the fine print).

After researching Civil War era maps and local records, I was able to drive my father to this small neighborhood park last spring. It is located on the shore of Peachtree Creek, at the southeast corner of Jabez Loyd's 600 acres.

Unobserved by most motorists, Peachtree Creek flows parallel to I-85 for some distance between the Shallowford Road and Clairmont Road exits. Chances are very good some of my readers have passed over this spot--and the old Loyd property!

Peachtree Creek then cuts sharply to the west, under I-85. Several hundred yards downstream, Jabez Loyd built a mill in 1860 (just before the outbreak of the Civil War). He operated it until his death in 1890. By my father's time (born in 1914) nothing of the old mill was mentioned. He never knew about it until I found references to it in Jabez Loyd's will and in an obscure history of DeKalb County.

The Battle of Peachtree Creek was fought just a few miles from the Loyd Homeplace. This battle is central to the "mystery" in my book. The map below shows the progress of the Union army toward Atlanta in the summer of 1864.

If Sherman's path had veered a short distance, the Loyd homeplace could easily have been one of the thousands of structures burned to the ground. A family story was passed on that the family valuables were buried to hide them from the invading army. Daddy's grandmother even told that the burial was near a gate to a sheepfold. My story incorporates this plausible account and explores two or three possibilities.

When I read my book, the unveiling and opening of the treasure (note the initials of Jabez M. Loyd on the strongbox) is a climactic moment.

The treasure inside may not be real, but my student readers understand that there could be a Loyd treasure still on the property or in the house at the Loyd Homeplace!

This is a rare picture of my grandfather (standing: Joseph Carl Loyd--Papa Loyd) and great grandfather (seated: Joseph Alford Loyd). Yes, that's a wheelbarrow he's seated on.

This is a picture of Mary Louvinnie Echols Loyd, my great grandmother. We are not sure if my father is among the children pictured here. The occasion seems to be a birthday. Daddy says large family gatherings were common, not just at reunion times. Many cousins lived nearby.

This is my grandparents, who I called Mama and Papa Loyd in real life and in the book.

Here, they're seated on the steps at one end of their house. This is not the Loyd homeplace, but was the setting for much of my book. For those of you who have read the book, the window on the right is the one from which Buddy and I saw a fox (Chapter 1).

These are a barn and shed at Papa Loyd's Sunrise Dairy, where Daddy and his brothers put in countless hard hours as they grew up.

Now, not to bore anyone, but I'd like to acquaint you with the other characters of Mystery at the Loyd Homeplace. Real people, every one.

Fast forward a few years. This handsome fellow is my father, Marvin Ellis Loyd, during his World War II military stint.

Two years after the war, while a student at the University of Georgia, Daddy returned home for Christmas holidays. That very night he was a guest at a Y.W.C.A. dance and met my mother, Elizabeth Anne Black. They danced the evening away and then dined at the Varsity. That's a family tradition that survives to this day--the Varsity, not the dancing. : )

Just a few decades later. . . .

Buddy and Ken around 1956. We were a little older in my book.

Caryn at about age 2. She was a little older in my book. She got all the looks, didn't she?

The photo below was in 1965, so we were 16, 12, and 7. In the book we were 13, 9, and 4.

Here are Mama and Papa Loyd in 1962 with all the grandchildren gathered around. They're all named in my book. This would have been the same year in which my mystery tale was set. In spite of the Christmas tree, the occasion was their 50th wedding anniversary.

This picture, taken in 1984, included all of Mama Loyd's children except my Uncle Raymond, who passed away in 1975. Amazingly, all of her grandchildren and great grandchildren are also in this picture. I'm holding Amanda and Jennifer is in front of Mama Loyd.

I happen to think I've got some real family treasure. I bet you do, too. Have you ever thought about writing about some treasured family story or the family characters you cherish so much? I highly recommend it.