Moonshine, Murder and Mayhem in Georgia ......is that something to be proud of??

I have this book...and and while it's not something to be overly proud of its got alot of tales of my Great Great Grandad and Great Grandad in it..even one of my Aunts..

My family moved into North Georgia in 1832 from South Carolina and the original land is still in the family.The Southern who moved here was my 4th great grandad was the son of a Revolutionary soldier from South Carolina became a farmer till the Civil war then after my third Great grandad fought in the Confederate Cavalry came home and hard time really set in so they started making liquor to make ends.. .. then things changed,,,,revenuers decided to stop it in the 1870's and that's when the Little Known Moonshine wars of North Georgia took place in the 1870s....

Book talks of my Great Great Grandpa getting his leg shot off in a fight..and My Great Grandad also being in the fights in the 1880s..Lots of exciting action ....

Even my grandad and my Dad made Shine till the late 40s...My dad made shine starting when he was just a young boy of about 10....

My Dad told me that his family made shine for a hundred years give or take in that holler. ...

when I was young he Took me around to the still spots........Yes I've went back and detected some of them...never did find any coins...he said no money changed hands at the stills.I.. found lots of do dad stuff lead and copper and pocket knives buttons etc...

Whats funny or not so funny is alot of the still spots had fox holes on the surrounding hills for protection in case of a raid..He said it was before his time but in the early days they had alot of gunfire with the Government ..Yes they actually sent soldiers in to help in the 1870s and 1880s..

Said he remembered His Great Grandad William Southern talking about loosing his leg and always wore a Wooden peg leg he remembered as a child..

I remember years ago finding this Book and showing it to him and he said yep all true!!

I then said you ever remember one of your great aunts killing a woman at a local Dance...He said Yep they sent her to the nut farm....she shot a woman for dancing with her Husband at a dance one friday night...Said it was before his time and she died in the asylum way before he was born but heard about it..

So while not something to be proud of its still history..And probably the same for thousands of other Appalachian families.

One thing on a treasure note......When My great Grandad died he was living in the family home......a few years later 1950 or so the house burned...in the root seller my dad said his cousin found a good bit of mason Jars of Silver.. lots of dollars..dated from the 1880s till about the 20s..


This is why I love History so much..Especially when Its Real and reads like fiction !!

Keith

“I don't care that they stole my idea . . I care that they don't have any of their own”
-Nikola Tesla



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/13/2017 03:41AM by Keith Southern.

Keith-----I just have to ask this.-----You said that your Father was a Pastor didn't you?-----At what point in his life & at what age did he become a Pastor?-----Can you elaborate/tell about that time period a little?-----------Del

Very interesting Keith. Thanks for sharing. I am originally from Kentucky and at one time moonshine was booming but more coal companys moved in and a lot of the old shiners decided it was better to make a honest dollar as to fight with law enforcement. Now a days in the same area you havr pill dealers and marijuana growers. A few up there actually still make shine though.

Interesting history Keith.

Thank you for sharing that.

Keep looking for more of those jars of silver.

Rick

I heard the judge had blood stains on his hands.

Moonshine Wars were just Another example of the Feds robbing citizens.

Awesome

Pride and history seldom walk hand in hand.
History in the present always takes the past out of context and overlooks the necessities of those days.
There is an interesting and enlightening , seldom told history concerning mooonshine , tractor fuel , JD Rockefeller , Standard Oil and the 18th and 19th Amendments.

"Justified"

Best show on TV - set in the South

Loved it and lead actors, Timothy Olyphant & Walton Goggins were the best!

Des D Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> "Justified"
>
> Best show on TV - set in the South
>
> Loved it and lead actors, Timothy Olyphant & Walto
> n Goggins were the best!

Agreed! Could have made it another 6 seasons. The same goes for "Sons of Anarchy". Sorry Keith, not trying to hijack your thread.

Yeah, history is wonderful and you have a powerful lot of it in your background. Bet thats a pretty interesting book. HH jim tn

Yes Del my Dad was a Pastor and Preacher for many years...

He was born in 34 and went in Marines in 51 for 4 years...when he got out he Found the Lord..and started Seminary college..Obtained a master's degree in theology.and bachelor in Psychology..

He worked at general Motors for 30 years...Preached ,,assistant Pastored and at times even Pastored churches and also re-enlisted in Marine reserves for 25 more years..

He never drank ...But His dad sure did...

from the time my dad was eight years old he more or less became man of the house.Plowed the fields with a mule and trapped minks etc to take care of his 4 sisters and momma ..His dad had other ambitions to be quite frank...

He knew after he graduated school there was no Future in the Hills...No Work other than Farming..

He moved to Atlanta at 17 with 5 dollars and became a Mill worker and rented a room from my mothers next of kin...Thats how they met..Then after a year saw mill work was a dead end decided Marines was his best bet..so went to Boot camp at Paris Island ...He married my mom she was only 14 then.....Hard to believe .....And after boot camp was stationed around the Southeast and learned Avionics..They were married for 60 years...

He also was a radio Tv repairman on the side and also an excellent auto mechanic often working side jobs for carlots ..Could rebuild an engine or transmission with his eyes closed...

He possessed a very High I.Q..I discovered his test papers for I.Q. test the Marines had given him and it was to say the least very much impressive..

He was the epitome of a self made man..

Never knew him to say a bad word about anyone or use harsh language or drink a drop in his life..He gave me a very structured life..From the time I could walk he Instructed me on all things and I did whatever he did from yard work to mechanic to electronic's..

Funnys story ..when he went to join the marines there was a weight requirement for Physical..not sure what it was about 140 I think..he weighed before he went on cotton scales and said he was a couple three pounds shy..Said he sat across the street from the recruiting station and ate a pile of bananas till he was about sick..said he came in right on the nose at weigh on..

Keith

“I don't care that they stole my idea . . I care that they don't have any of their own”
-Nikola Tesla



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/14/2017 01:12AM by Keith Southern.

everyone has some fascinating history in their families...

Just got to look for it...

Genealogy is another favorite pastime of mine.I've learned I even had two Knights in my family in the old world..One was a direct grandfather named Southern!Knighted by Henry the Eighth..

One thing of interest in the book I listed is it talk's about natural disasters..some town's completely destroyed by flood or even Tornados back in the 1800s..Always thought of trying to find some of the valuables left by them...You never know where treasure leads will come from..

I hope my post maybe helps get the gears spinning....

Keith

“I don't care that they stole my idea . . I care that they don't have any of their own”
-Nikola Tesla

Very interesting Keith.-----Sounds like your Dad was quite a man.----Thanks for sharing.---------Del

Way cool !!

I have heard from my late pops that back then, people kept many embarrassing situations/happenings, hush hush....they did not talk about what made them look bad. When you get wind of these stories, they end up being very interesting.

Well now we know where Keith gets his "Smarts" from. Great story Keith.

Des D Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> "Justified"
>
> Best show on TV - set in the South
>
> Loved it and lead actors, Timothy Olyphant & Walto
> n Goggins were the best!


Loved that show Des.

Have you read the books ?
HH
Corey

Des D Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> "Justified"
>
> Best show on TV - set in the South
>
> Loved it and lead actors, Timothy Olyphant & Walto
> n Goggins were the best!


Agreed 110%!!! Was my favorite show. Hated to see it end and have the collectors box DVD set of all the seasons. Wife and I even took a mini day trip to the real Harlan, KY. Did the coal mine tour, went to the museum, and ate at the pizza Portal that was depicted in the last season of Justified. There's really nothing there...can throw a rock from one end of Harlan to the other. Most all the businesses on main street are closed down and empty. Like ghosts to a gone era.

Goggins is one of my favorite actors. Thus his was my favorite story line of the show.