At Carnesville, Ga., Dec. 10, 1824, was born James
Morris Beall, fifth son of Gen. William and Nancy
Chandler Beall. His father, a descendant of that
great Indian fighter of colonial days, Col. Ninian
Beall, and of Thaddeus Beall, who was Brigadier
Major on the staff of Gen. Resin Beall in the
Revolution, was himself a soldier of the War of
1812, and later, Assistant Adjutant General of
Georgia. His mother, a woman of prayer and strong
faith, was from a pious, intelligent family.

In 1832, his family moved to Carroll, then a
frontier county. There on the farm which they
cleared he grew to young manhood, developing mind,
character and muscle.

He next clerked in a store at Carrollton. Then he
organized the firm of Beall and Thomason, and became
manager. This was a success. Later he wound up an
estate in Texas for some Georgia heirs. The exposure
incident to the long, arduous trip and return on
horseback, brought on rheumatism, which rendered him
an invalid for five years. His capital exhausted,
but undaunted when able to ride he bought horses on
credit and drove them to Florida, thus financing his
winters in that climate. Thus recuperated he was
soon able to enter the store of his brother, T.N.
Beall, at Irwinton.

In Oct. 1861, he followed the family traditions,
enlisting and becoming 1st Lieutenant of Company G,
2nd Ga. State Troops, with Capt. R.I. Storey which
were detailed by Gov. Brown for coast and bridge
defense. After six months there he joined a company
for service in the Confederate army, but was unable
to pass the physical test. Appointed clerk in the
Comptroller General's Office at Milledgeville he
remained there till the war closed.

While a soldier, he had, April 22, 1862, married
Miss Mattie A.F. Hughs, daughter of Rev. G.B. Hughs.
They now bravely set to work and through their
united efforts acquired

a farm in Wilkinson County making there a happy home
in which their family of six children was reared. No
man ever had the help of a more plucky or devoted
wife. Having united her fortunes with his under
clouds of war, she remained his comfort and stay
till he fell asleep Sept. 12, 1906.

One of his comrades wrote of him: "He was a good
man, a fine officer: he was so patient with the men,
even when they were inclined to be disobedient. If
ever angry he never showed it. During the whole
service I never saw a thing in him but the best a
man could be."

With the tenderness of a woman, the temperament of a
poet, the courage of a Bayard, the sense of honor
that made his word his bond, he was faithful and
true in all the relationships of life.

His children are: James, Green, and Thomas A. Beall,
Mattie, (Mrs. Drew Davidson), Sallie, Mrs. Nobie
Ward Dykes, and the grandchildren are: Misses Clara
and Mattie Will Beall, Arthur and J.B. Davidson.