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.

"Mystery at the Loyd Homeplace": How did it begin?

All my life, I've loved writing. I especially loved it in my early grades in school when we were encouraged to let our imaginations run free. And in my 33 years of teaching young writers, I accumulated a briefcase full of my own stories because I always wrote when my children wrote.

But it was not until late in 2006 that I felt inspired to write my first book. It was that December when I first shared the kernel of my idea with Judy and friends Charlie and Liz. I had no timetable, but that would take care of itself.

My book would be a mystery, based on a Loyd family story passed down for four generations from the Civil War. At the time of the war the Loyd homeplace was in danger of being burned by General Sherman's marauding troops as they assaulted Atlanta in the final year of the fighting. Because the hilltop was the second highest point in the county, Confederate lookouts observed Union troop movements from that spot as the enemy approached Atlanta.

Although the Battle of Peachtree Creek was fought just a few miles from the house, the Loyd homeplace was somehow spared. Peachtree Creek crossed the southern portion of my great great-grandfather Jabez Loyd's original 600 acre land lot.

Not only was the house spared; it is still standing. This picture shows the house as it appears today. It is now a clubhouse for the Chateau Montagne Apartments.
When it was converted into a clubhouse, some changes and renovations were made. But see for yourself how the basic character of the house has been retained. The picture below is the oldest existing picture of the house, circa 1910.

Pictured above, from left to right: Joseph Alford Loyd (my great-grandfather), Mary (Mollie) Louvinnie Echols Loyd (my great-grandmother), Joseph Carl Loyd (my grandfather), and his sisters Jewel and Ruby.

In black-and-white, as below, the similarities in the old and new versions of the house are still striking.

And viewed from a little farther away, it's easy to let this setting conjure up a mystery, such as the one in my book.

It's thrilling to me to imagine the original foundation of this house perhaps being laid by my great great-grandfather Jabez Loyd and his three young sons, Joseph Alford Loyd, John Ellis Brown Loyd, and Samuel Parks Loyd. In truth, we are not certain of the year of the house's construction, but it certainly pre-dates the Civil War.

Particularly intriguing to me is the fireplace, which is central to the mystery in my book. It amazes me to think of Loyds of three generations ago cooking over and warming themselves by this fire.

This is the chimney for that fireplace. It doesn't look like any structural changes have been made. Again, the black-and-white photo seems appropriate.

In spite of a new roof and flashing, the rock masonry appears to be the original.

According to my father, this massive elm tree in the back yard could be as old as the house itself.

The greenery on these huge branches is an astonishing little plant called Resurrection Fern. In dry weather it shrivels and turns brown. When it rains, it springs back to life and turns green. It resurrects. Very fitting, because for me to even be in these surroundings resurrects images and visions of my ancestors and the lives they lived here.

Inside the house, the renovations have been more extensive. My father could not recognize much original construction. But the huge beams overhead appear to be part of the old house.

This old pump organ is not from the homeplace; it's one our family bought at a Chamblee antique store. But it represents the pump organ Daddy says was in the old Loyd homeplace. You see, his grandparents actually had an entire room that was set up for circuit-riding preachers to stay in when they came to the area to preach revivals and such. Daddy described every detail of that room.

In fact, Daddy, Marvin Ellis Loyd, was my main source and inspiration in moving forward with my book. The dozens of questions he was able to answer for me lent a higher degree of accuracy and authenticity to the book.

Below, Daddy is pictured beside a plaque that has been on the porch of the Loyd homeplace since the 1960's when the property was sold. We are delighted that the owners have preserved and maintained the old house so well. And though it's on private property in a gated community, the owners welcome visitors who are interested in the old house. Several people who have read my book have already visited the house when in Atlanta.

The plaque is not 100% accurate. But at least the owners saw some value in researching and preserving the old house rather than demolishing it and putting up some contemporary clubhouse. The dates below are not correct, but we're not really sure when the house was built, or by which Loyd it was built, Joseph Alfred, Jabez, or maybe even Jabez's father! We may never know, but it's fun for me to try to work it out in my head.

Just last year, we took Daddy to the old homeplace. I needed his help to try to reconstruct a map of the areas around the old house, since no other structures are still standing. Even though his vision is poor, he was able to stand in the back yard and front yard and give me excellent descriptions and estimates of where various things were located.

I can now include in my books the diagram below, showing the relative locations of such things as the barn, orchard, hog pen, various sheds, smokehouse, and where early paths and lanes led.

Sharing my family history with young readers (and older ones) has been very fulfilling to me. More about that in an upcoming blog post. After all, I haven't really told you what the MYSTERY is yet!

Lost in Space-- Blogspace, that is. . .

Short blogs with no pictures demand large type. (Works for Wall Street ad men, anyway).



Okay, maybe that's a little TOO big. In explanation of the title, I have been away from blogging (as well as e-mail, Facebook, and the Internet in general) for one full week. Last Tuesday, I made the familiar trek to Atlanta to spend time with my dad, brother, and sister. Daddy is recovering from recent surgery and much to my delight made significant progress even during my short stay.



Of course, with Daddy and Buddy not having the Internet, I had several extra hours to do other fun stuff (bathroom scrubbing, gutters, leaf blowing and raking, and some heavy-duty recycling of old magazines and the like. Many cool treasures, broken toys, and old photographs were unearthed, too. All fun stuff. As Tom Sawyer would say, "What are you calling 'work'?"



I found a lucky penny Saturday morning in the parking area of Buddy's apartment. From that point on I led a charmed life. Made record time getting home with the lightest traffic in years. Got gas in Columbia for $2.33.9. (Don't those three periods look funny so close together?) UNC whipped Miami in football. Fifth straight ranked team UNC has defeated (now if we could only beat the Virginias, etc.). Sure we had some luck, but as they say, you make your own luck. And we're BOWL-BOUND, unlike some area teams I had better not mention.



Sunday morning, no lucky penny. After reluctantly delivering two e-mail messages, our Internet connection went crashing down with a thud. Except in cyberspace, where I was lost, that translates to total silence. People continued to send e-mails-- which I couldn't receive or respond to. People elsewhere were composing interesting blog posts which I couldn't read or comment on. Yes, not for the first time, I was "Lost in Blogspace."



All that is just a memory now. This morning a couple of really helpful and capable repairmen from CenturyLink (our phone and Internet provider--used to be Embarq, and Sprint, and Carolina Telephone) replaced an exposed ground line that was giving us a buzz. An unbearable buzz. One that made hearing or being heard well-nigh impossible. Once they left I still had to do a system restore to get the computer back where it should be. But that's done, and it's nice to be back. More news soon.

History Flashback, Part 2

In my blog post of October 28, I shared some quotes from my 1961 3rd grade history book, Our America. I only got halfway through the book, so today I'll continue. Be sure to read between the lines!

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• On "carpetbaggers" after the Civil War: "To make matters worse, dishonest men came down from the North. They didn't care a thing for the South. All they wanted was to fill their pockets with Southern money, if there was any to be had. For a while it was no wonder that the Southern people did not trust anyone from above the Mason-Dixon Line.


• On Edison's invention of the electric light: "Now, when you press a button or turn a switch to get light, do you thank Thomas Edison? Probably not."


• On Henry Ford: "Henry Ford began to make his famous automobile in 1903. Some people called it a "flivver," and others called it something else. But it did not cost an awful lot of money. So, soon workmen, farmers, and college boys were rattling around in Fords. Also money began pouring into Henry's cash box."

• On the 18th Amendment (1919)-- 'Prohibition': "And now let's look at the amendment which caused the most trouble. This law said that no one in the United States should make or sell any liquors that make people drunk. Beer, wine, whisky, and rum were some of these liquors. Men had always drunk them. And now they claimed the right to drink when and what they wanted. Uncle Sam said, 'No!' Let's see what happened. Gangs of men, called 'bootleggers,' made liquor in secret. People drank in spite of the law, and the bootleggers grew rich. It was easy to see that this amendment was doing the country no good. But it was not repealed until 1933."


• On President Harding: "Warren G. Harding was a tall, fine-looking man, who made friends easily. He was a "good mixer," as we say. Sometimes he mixed with the wrong kind of people. Then he was in trouble.


• On the founding of the American Legion: "A lot of American soldiers met at Minneapolis, Minnesota, after the war (World War I). They formed the American Legion. The members swore to keep the spirit of patriotism alive in Our America. They wanted to fight in peacetime for the good things of life that they had fought for in the war. Perhaps your dad is a member of the American Legion.


• ***NOTE*** As an aside, many people know that World War I was once called "The Great War." But if you had looked it up in the 1925 World Book Encyclopedia (a mere six years after the war ended), you would have found it under "The War of the Nations." I love reading about history in contemporary sources, such as period magazines and newspapers, before history can be "spun," as is so often the case nowadays.

• On the Great Depression: "The Stock Market crashed in 1929. There was much weeping and wailing and cries of, 'Our money is gone! It's Hoover's fault!' But poor Herbert was not to blame. The people did not think of their own foolish spending. We all know what it is to 'feel low' or 'blue.' We say that we feel depressed. The whole country was certainly depressed after 1929. Everyone went around short of money and with long faces."


• On Franklin Roosevelt's remedy: "President Roosevelt thought that he could cure Uncle Sam of his depression blues. 'What the old gentleman needs, ' said Franklin, 'is some of my New Deal medicine. The New Deal was made up of things with long names, like Agricultural Adjustment Administration and National Recovery Administration. Whew! These names were hard enough to say, without trying to remember what they meant. So letters took the place of the full name. The Agricultural Adjustment Administration became the A.A.A. Then we had the N.R.A., the C.C.C., and the F.E.R.A. Also the P.W.A., the C.W.A., and the W.P.A. And so on, and so on, and so on."
  

• On the evolution of war from 1776 to 1945: "In 1775, the Minute Men of Concord fired 'the shot heard round the world.' In 1945 the earth echoed to the terrible atom bomb. That finished our war with Japan. It also destroyed the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The atom bomb marked a big step ahead in wholesale slaughter. In the wink of an eye whole cities could now be destroyed. People could be killed by thousands, and nations wiped out. What a wonderful invention for the gods of war!"


• On Television: "Many houses had queer-looking gadgets attached to their chimneys. TV had arrived. All in all, Our America seemed to be doing OK."


• 1961--The State of the Union: "We live in a wonderful country today, filled with wonderful things. Such things as the early settlers never even dreamed of. How they would stare at our cities with tall buildings reaching toward the sky! At our automobiles, buses, streamlined trains, and great jet planes."
  

A history book of today (if 3rd graders had such things) might read similarly: "We live in a wonderful country today, filled with wonderful things. Such things as Americans of 1961 never even dreamed of. How they would stare at our personal computers, DVD players, digital cameras, cell phones, camera phones, satellite TVs, Netflix, Tweeter, microwave ovens, DVRs, GPS, Wi-Fi Internet, I-Pods, Wii, XBox 360, PlayStation. And so on, and so on, and so on."

I hope you enjoy these history flashbacks. This may be my last post about the book Our America, but I have some other history topics coming up soon.

"What it is, is Football"

In case you didn't recognize the title, it's from the popular 1950's Andy Griffith comedy monologue. It was my feeble attempt to draw you into this blog post even if you're one of my blog readers who knows and cares nothing about football. Don't worry. It's not all about football. But I thought I'd share an interesting analogy that came to me when I read a short quote in Monday's sports section. Following a Carolina Panthers victory over the Arizona Cardinals Sunday, DeAngelo Williams of the Panthers described the game of football in a way that got right to the heart of the matter. In doing so he simplified the game dramatically.

Ready students? Pay close attention:

"We run the ball," Williams said. "That's what we do. That's Coach [John] Fox ball. But it's not the coaches who make the plays go. Each offensive play is designed to go for a touchdown; each defensive play is designed to get a sack. So it's your will against them, and ours was stronger today."

In other words, if the team on offense were totally dominant, on any particular play, every passer, receiver, runner, and blocker would so overpower their opponent as to result in a clear path to the end zone. But if the team on defense were the totally dominant one they would be able to defuse, frustrate, and render futile every attempt by the offense to advance the ball. In actual games, neither extreme is the reality, no matter how superior one team might be. Even in a blowout, a pass might occasionally be dropped, a powerful runner eventually tackled.

Many sportswriters and others have tried to demonstrate how football or other sports imitate Life. Sometimes they are moderately successful, sometimes their cases fall apart. I believe that Williams has hit the bullseye. In reducing football to its elemental core, he has also aptly portrayed the universal struggle of good versus evil, sometimes known as spiritual warfare.

Since the garden of Eden, when Satan sought to harm God in the only way he was permitted--through exploiting the free will of God's creation--God has relentlessly sought to reconcile sinful Man to Himself. Because God has given Man free will, Satan sees the opportunity to "sack" us, "intercept" our forward passes, or "tackle" us for "no gain." The big difference here is that Satan is already defeated, and has a sorry future awaiting him. This is why Christians speak of victorious living, claiming victory, and similar imagery that evoke a picture of competition--or warfare.

In DeAngelo Williams's quote "So it's your will against them," try substituting "So it's God's will against Satan's." In football, it's the individual player's will (plus ability) that determines success or failure. As Williams says, "But it's not the coaches who make the plays go." The thing many don't realize is the difference between asserting your own willpower rather than submitting to God's will. Fighting spiritual warfare on your own is like playing football without knowing the coach's game plan, or ignoring the quarterback's signals. It dooms you to defeat.

Several years ago, a revival speaker at my church pulled a "gotcha" on the congregation. He asked, "What's the second greatest power in the universe? "Everyone knew that God was first, and most automatically thought of His enemy--THE adversary-- Satan, as "runner-up." But no. The second greatest power in the universe is the believer who, in faith, relies on God to fight the battle for him. One who trusts that, because Christ has already won the ultimate victory, he can withstand all Satan's slings and arrows. This relegates Satan to third place. Unless we unwittingly attribute more power to him than he deserves--as we are so prone to do.

No football player or team can be as confident of victory as the lowliest, most humble Christian can. So maybe football isn't as much like life as it first appears. When the last pages of human history are written and time as we know it expires, only God will remain undefeated.

Claire's FOUR today-- four months, that is!

Today's post features our granddaughter Claire, who turned four months old today! Wow. What a whirlwind it's been. I've got photos from our house, Jennifer and Matt's, and Great Granny and Great Granddaddy. Let's get down to business.



Judy says, "Claire, this is the kind of toy your Grandpa Ken had back in the old days. Real leather ears, real wooden tail. Don't swallow that thing or we'll never hear the end of it!"




"Just sound it out, honey. 'Sess-uh-meee'."

"Um, would you mind not turning the page until I find out what Big Bird is going to do?"

"Now Claire, let's you and me and Great Granny have some girl talk while Grandpa finishes that silly book."

"Is it my imagination, or does this thing smell like Cousin Brianna?"

Over at Claire's house, we are treated to a rare performance. Not everyone can transform a play session on the floor into an art form.

"Hey, you up there. . . do you have a media pass? This is a closed session!"

When the paparazzi become troublesome, the reclusive star can always hide among her menagerie of jungle animals.

"Hmmm. I'm beginning to see a pattern. Once again I'm the shortest person at Sunday lunch."

Claire (to Cousins Jessie and Emma), "Well girls, all I have to do is sit here and be cute. What's your racket?"

"They think I can't count, but I detected only four plates on this table. Someone will pay, and pay dearly for this!"

So what if Claire didn't go trick-or-treating. All you do is add an appropriate hat and she can become one of the "Pirates Who Don't Do Anything (except what they please)!"

It's Great Granny to the rescue again. "Don't worry, Claire. We're not all crazy."

And to top off Sunday lunch, Claire demonstrates how easy it is to stand up.

Mom Jennifer is in a supporting role. Says Jennifer, "Claire, do you know special you are? Nobody else could get away with doing a table dance on Granny's dining room table."

Stay tuned for more "eclectic" adventures.