The Fetzer family story continues this week. Last week’s information was previously published by Mary Dasher Douglass. Today’s information was shared with her family by Ida Evelina Dasher Rush, who was a descendant of George Washington Fetzer’s daughter Evelina Salome Fetzer Dasher, who married Zeno James Dasher.
George Washington Fetzer b. 1844 had one sister Emma K. Fetzer Dasher b. in 1839. She married Albert F. Dasher b. 1835. They had one daughter Ida Salome Dasher b. in 1858. Albert and Emma lived in Macon, where he worked on the railroad. Emma died when Ida was 13 months old. Albert took Ida to live with her grandparents Richard I. Fetzer b. 1813 and Salome Catherine Kieffer Fetzer b. 1821. They lived on the Louisville Road about three miles south of Marlow. Ida was the only cousin on George W. Fetzer’s side of the family and was affectionately called “Cousin”.
When she was 16, Ida recovered from what was called “the fevers”, likely malaria which was common in the area at the time.
After the Civil War ended, Confederate money was worthless. “Cousin” had received gold money from her father’s estate and then some. Grandpa George was 14 years older than Cousin when he came home from serving in the army. He made Cousin a promise, if she would let him use her gold, he would see that she was taken care of for the rest of her life. He kept his promise. He used her gold to buy timber and floated it down the Ogeechee River on rafts and sold it to a saw mill near Savannah. The saw mill was on a canal that had been dug between the Ogeechee and Savannah Rivers. (Some of the “Ogeechee Canal” has been preserved and there is a museum on Highway 204). He started the logs in the Ogeechee River at Fetzer’s Landing by the Fetzer Hawkins Bridge. Mrs. Rush comments in the story that some of the pilings were still standing in the river where the bridge once was at the time of her writing; this document is not dated. At one time Grandpa and Mr. Hawkins had a saw mill near the bridge. On his trips down the river, Grandpa would put sand on the rafts and build a fire on it to cook his food in a cast iron Dutch oven that he carried with him. After selling his logs he would carry his Dutch oven and his cooking utensils in a sack on his back as he walked home.
Later Grandpa had a saw mill with Mr. Glenn Duggar. He was the father of Mae and Susie who married into the family. Mr. Glenn had a rice mill where people carried their rice to be hulled. The saw mill was about two miles from the intersection of Blue Jay Road and Louisville Road on the right side going toward Rincon. Grandma and Grandpa had lived near there when they were first married. Later he built a house at the intersection of Blue Jay and Louisville Roads where they lived until they died. Grandpa had a saw mill near Doswell about a half mile from where he lived. The writer also remembers one across the road from her Uncle Bunyan Fetzer on the Louisville Road. Grandpa also had turpentine still on the Blue Jay Road toward Doswell, about a half a mile from where he lived.
After Grandpa Richard died, “Cousin” and her grandmother lived in Guyton where she took care of her grandmother for as long as she lived. Then “Cousin” worked for Dr. and Mrs. Powers as a nanny for their three children. Cousin lived in rooms of what was the Zion Lutheran Church parsonage for a few years. For the last 10 years or so of her life she lived with Grandpa George. She called him Bubba. Her body is buried in the Ebenezer Cemetery near her grandparents and her mother. Her father’s grave is not far away. Her father had remarried after his first wife’s death. Grandpa George and Grandma Laura Eliza Fetzer are buried in the Zion Lutheran Cemetery.
Don’t forget the Fetzer Reunion on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. at Zion Church!
This was compiled by Susan Exley of Historic Effingham Society. If you have photos or historical information to share contact her at 754-6681 or email hesheraldexley@aol.com
