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OUR ANCESTORS

2C. JAMES JACKSON CHASTAIN, "Jim", b. c1852 in Thomas County, Georgia, off the County Line Road, to Sarah Ann Horton and George Solomon Chastain. Jim was a Primitive Baptist, and a farmer who sharecropped on Thomas Chastain's place. He died 31 July 1895 in Thomas County and is buried in Old Hendry Cemetery in Thomas County in an unmarked grave.

m. SARAH WEBB ALDREDGE on 11 December 1875 in Thomas County, Georgia. She was born 6 April 1856 in Florida (?Jefferson County) to Martha Ann Amarintha Umphress and Jesse M. Aldredge. She was a Primitive Baptist.. She died 26 July 1940 in Thomas County and is buried at Bold Spring Cemetery in Grady County, Georgia. (MG)

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SARAH WEBB ALDREDGE CHASTAIN

After her husband died, Sarah Chastain worked in the fields while her older children worked in the cotton mills in Pelham, Georgia. Then, he family moved to Pelham, and Sarah took over the job of keeping the house and the small children so that all who were old enough could go to work, as times were hard and money scarce.

Around 1902, Sarah got facial spasms and painful paralysis in her jaw which made it difficult for her to eat or talk. She had been told that if she got all her teeth pulled out, it would ease the pain. She did. It did not. As the pain got worse, she began to take morphine for it on a regular basis. Dr. Walker in Cairo, Georgia tried to cure her by injection, and hit the wrong nerve and left her blind in one eye with just as much pain as ever. Dr. MacIntosh in Thomasville also tried to cure her and failed.

Meanwhile, her children were marrying and moving off. Ellet, who was in Huntsville, heard of a specialist from her sisters Bessie and Kate Cooley in Tennessee, so Sarah went from Huntsville to Memphis, with all her children pitching in financially to send her there, so she could receive treatment from a doctor there.

Sarah was put in the hospital for a week. This doctor DID succeed in finding the nerve that had caused all the pain for so long and treated it appropriately. Furthermore, he was impressed by the fact that once the pain was gone, Sarah no longer needed the morphine, in spite her her long reliance on it.

Needless to say, Sarah was a changed person after that. She could now eat, talk, laugh, smile, and eat, just like a normal person. From then on, she lived mostly with her son L.C. and his wife Mary Effie in Thomasville, however, at times, she visited with her other children for a while. Only once did the pain return enough to cause a worry, so she returned to Memphis, where the doctor again treated her successfully and also took her eye out.

There is no doubt that her children loved and admired their mother, however, her grandchildren remember her as something as more than just special. She took time to be with them, to hold them, to love them, and to be part of their lives. Eileen remembers reading to her grandmother often, as even though she was unable to read after her eye was damaged, she was still interested in learning about things. Sarah
 

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also entertained her children and grandchildren by telling them stories about her childhood and the lifestyles of the times.

Religions was important to Sarah. She tried to hold her children together by prayer and faith. She managed to give all her children music lessons, and they spent many hours together reading the Bible and singing gospel songs around the organ.

Sarah had a good sense of humor, enjoyed laughing, and made a point to keep up with the news. She has been described as wise, good, courageous. She had a way of inspiring those around her to be better people.

The Chastains

L-R: Bending over, Minnie Chastain. Seated in covered car, L.C. Chastain and Carrie C. WIlson. Standing in front: Tilden Chastain. Standing on car: Jim Cooley and Ellet C. Robison. Uncovered car, Back: (Adults) Bessie C. Cooley, Kate C. Cooley, Sara A. Chastain, Joe Robison, and Jesse Chastain. The five children were not identified specifically, however, are children of Bessie, Kate, and Ellet. Taken before 1916.

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                   SARAH WEBB ALDREDGE CHASTAIN

Restored picture from a tin photo taken in 1874 when she was age 18.

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                                                                                                                           Marriage license of Sarah Webb Aldredge to James Jackson Chastain. Married 11 December 1875 in Thomas County, Georgia by H. P. WIlks                  

Recorded Jully 10, 1978

J. S. Minill, Ordinary

State of Georgia  Thomas County

To any Judge Justice of the Peace or Ministry of the Gospel: You are authorized to join James Chastain and Miss Sarah Aldridge in the Holy State of Matrimony according to teh Constituion and laws of this State and for so doing this shall be your sufficient services given under any hand anal this 22 day of ??? 1875.

Jos. W. S... Ordinary

Georgia Thomas County

I certify that James J. Chastain and Miss Sarah Aldridge were joined in Matrimony by me this 11th day of December 1875.

H. P. Wilks  ??