Person Page - 40

     Mary Pierce was the daughter of John Pierce. Mary Pierce married James Skinner, son of Richard Skinner and Sarah Creecy, on 4 June 1736. Mary Pierce died on 30 July 1741.¹

     Eliza Ann Carter was buried at Oak Grove Cemetery, Americus, GA. She was born on 31 December 1856 at Warren Co., GA.¹ She was the daughter of Littleberry Walker Carter and Mary Ann Diligent Seals.^2,1 Eliza Ann Carter married Neal A. Ray in 1876 at Sumpter Co., GA.

     Neal A. Ray married Eliza Ann Carter, daughter of Littleberry Walker Carter and Mary Ann Diligent Seals, in 1876 at Sumpter Co., GA. Neal A. Ray died in 1936.

     Lived in Griffin. Nannie Bell Carter was born in 1866 at Sumter Co., GA.¹ She was the daughter of Littleberry Walker Carter and Mary Ann Diligent Seals.²

     James E. Pratt was born on 11 December 1830 at Abbeville Co., SC. He was the son of John Pratt Sr. and Mary Kay. James E. Pratt married Sophronia Caroline Cowan, daughter of John Cowan and Sarah Brownlee Clinkscales, circa 1854 at Abbeville Co., SC. James E. Pratt married Susan A. Sharpton in 1867. James E. Pratt married Mary Julia Keller in 1879. James E. Pratt died on 13 August 1911 at Abbeville Co., SC, at age 80.

     Sophronia Caroline Cowan was born on 5 October 1835 at Abbeville Co., SC. She was the daughter of John Cowan and Sarah Brownlee Clinkscales. Sophronia Caroline Cowan married James E. Pratt, son of John Pratt Sr. and Mary Kay, circa 1854 at Abbeville Co., SC. Sophronia Caroline Cowan died on 11 November 1865 at Abbeville Co., SC, at age 30.

     Lula Pratt was born in 1860. She was the daughter of James E. Pratt and Sophronia Caroline Cowan. Lula Pratt died in 1890.

     Cowan Pratt was born in 1858. Cowan Pratt was the child of James E. Pratt and Sophronia Caroline Cowan. Cowan Pratt died in 1918.

     Married, no issue. Carrie Pratt was born in 1870. She was the daughter of James E. Pratt and Susan A. Sharpton. Carrie Pratt died in 1933.

     Jeff Pratt was buried at Tallahassee, FL. He was born in 1857. He was the son of James E. Pratt and Sophronia Caroline Cowan.

     Mary Pratt was buried at Arlington, GA. She was born in 1874. She was the daughter of James E. Pratt and Susan A. Sharpton. Mary Pratt died in 1947.

     Helen Pratt was born in 1887. She was the daughter of James E. Pratt and Mary Julia Keller.

     Jack Linton Slappey was born on 13 March 1883.¹ He married Ethel Carter, daughter of William Archibald Carter and Nina Pratt, in 1911. Jack Linton Slappey died on 25 September 1947 at age 64.¹ He was buried at Lebanon Cemetery, Plains, GA.¹

     Linton Alton Slappey was born on 4 August 1912.¹ He was the son of Jack Linton Slappey and Ethel Carter. Linton Alton Slappey died on 2 August 1982 at age 69.¹ He was buried at Lebanon Cemetery, Plains, GA.¹ Cordele, GA.

     Annie Laurie Gay was born in 1895. She married William Alton Carter, son of William Archibald Carter and Nina Pratt, in 1916. Annie Laurie Gay died in 1940.

     President, Lexington (Ky) Herald-Leader. Donnel Earl Carter was born on 22 June 1917 at Plains, Sumter Co., GA.¹ He was the son of William Alton Carter and Annie Laurie Gay.

     Robert Stapleton married Ruth Carter, daughter of James Earl Carter Sr. and Bessie Lillian Gordy, in 1948.

     Sybil Spires was born in 1939. She married William Alton Carter III, son of James Earl Carter Sr. and Bessie Lillian Gordy, on 21 August 1955 at Plains Baptist Church, Plains, Sumter Co., GA.^1,2,3

     James Jackson Gordy was born on 25 October 1863 at Chattahoochee Co., GA.² He was the son of James Thomas Gordy and Harriett Emily Helms.³ James Jackson Gordy married Mary Ida Nicholson, daughter of Nathaniel Nunn Nicholson and Mary Elizabeth Dawson, on 6 September 1888 at Chattahoochee Co., GA.² James Jackson Gordy died on 16 January 1948 at Americus, Sumter Co., GA, at age 84.² He was buried at Harmony Cemetery, Richland, Stewart Co., GA.⁴

They moved to Richland, where he served as postmaster, Jim Jack was 3rd District Campaing manager for Tom Watson.

     Mary Ida Nicholson was born on 10 February 1871 at Chattahoochee Co., GA.¹ She was the daughter of Nathaniel Nunn Nicholson and Mary Elizabeth Dawson. Mary Ida Nicholson married James Jackson Gordy, son of James Thomas Gordy and Harriett Emily Helms, on 6 September 1888 at Chattahoochee Co., GA.² Mary Ida Nicholson died on 16 May 1951 at Chattanooga, Hamilton Co., TN, at age 80.¹ She was buried at Harmony Cemetery, Richland, Stewart Co., GA.³

     Susie E. Gordy was buried at Harmony Cemetery, Richland, Stewart Co., GA.¹ She was born on 21 August 1891 at Chattahoochee Co., GA.¹ She was the daughter of James Jackson Gordy and Mary Ida Nicholson. Susie E. Gordy died on 21 August 1972 at Columbus, Muscogee Co., GA, at age 81.¹

     Annie Lee Gordy was born on 30 June 1893.¹ She was the daughter of James Jackson Gordy and Mary Ida Nicholson. Annie Lee Gordy married Jay G. Webb. Annie Lee Gordy died on 14 November 1918 at age 25.¹ She was buried at Harmony Cemetery, Richland, Stewart Co., GA.¹ Only son died young.

     Jay G. Webb married Annie Lee Gordy, daughter of James Jackson Gordy and Mary Ida Nicholson.

     James Albert Gordy was born on 24 October 1895.¹ He was the son of James Jackson Gordy and Mary Ida Nicholson. James Albert Gordy died on 11 June 1896.¹ He was buried at Cusseta City Cemetery, Cusseta, Chattahoochee Co., GA.¹

     Walter Lemuel Gordy was born on 5 November 1900.¹ He was the son of James Jackson Gordy and Mary Ida Nicholson. Walter Lemuel Gordy married Lorene (?) Walter Lemuel Gordy died on 23 March 1965 at age 64.¹ He was buried at Parkhill Cemetery, Columbus, Muscogee Co., GA.¹

     Lorene (?) married Walter Lemuel Gordy, son of James Jackson Gordy and Mary Ida Nicholson.

     James Jackson Gordy Junior was born on 21 July 1903.¹ He was the son of James Jackson Gordy and Mary Ida Nicholson. James Jackson Gordy Junior and an unknown person were divorced. He died on 26 May 1970 at age 66.¹ He was buried at Harmony Cemetery, Richland, Stewart Co., GA.¹ No issue.

     Tom Watson Gordy was born on 19 September 1906.¹ He was the son of James Jackson Gordy and Mary Ida Nicholson. Tom Watson Gordy died on 5 December 1975 at age 69.¹ He was buried at Harmony Cemetery, Richland, Stewart Co., GA.¹

Three children by first marriage live in Texas and Australia. The widow lives in Lake Mary, Fla.

     Mary Elizabeth Gordy was born on 20 September 1909.¹ She was the daughter of James Jackson Gordy and Mary Ida Nicholson. Mary Elizabeth Gordy died on 7 February 1983 at age 73.¹ She was buried at Harmony Cemetery, Richland, Stewart Co., GA.¹

Lives in Chattanooga, Tenn. and has two sons living in Conn and Tenn.

     Emily Frances Gordy was born in 1912. She was the daughter of James Jackson Gordy and Mary Ida Nicholson. Emily Frances Gordy married William Jasper Dolvin. Emily Frances Gordy married Hubert Visscher in 1992. Emily Frances Gordy died on 2 December 2006 at Roswell, GA.

Imagine if she'd had political aspirations of her own. If Emily Dolvin, Jimmy Carter's celebrated "Aunt Sissy," actually had run for office instead of merely helping her nephew become president of the United States.
"She could've been elected to anything herself," said her daughter, Mary Lee Bagwell of Kingsport, Tenn. Instead, her mother used her considerable charm, grit and talents to turn the 1976 presidential campaign in Carter's favor before resuming her favorite role: Roswell civic leader and volunteer extraordinaire.

Emily Gordy Dolvin, 94, died of congestive heart failure Saturday at her Roswell residence. The memorial service will be 2 p.m. Wednesday at Roswell Presbyterian Church. Roswell Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
The service will surely celebrate a remarkably well-lived life.

"Throughout her long life, my Aunt Sissy demonstrated an intense desire to improve her own life and the lives of those around her," Carter, who last visited his aunt on Friday, said in a statement. "Overcoming all obstacles, she was able to stretch her own heart and mind to encompass a wide array of friends and acquaintances, to seek new adventures, and to achieve challenging goals with quiet grace. She was living proof that there was absolutely no limit on what a determined and charming Southern woman can do. She has always been an inspiration to me."

On the presidential campaign trail, Dolvin — the sister of Carter's mother, Lillian Gordy Carter — was a trailblazer of sorts.

Dolvin's papers on her nephew's campaigns are archived at the Carter Center and report that when he'd been governor only six months, Carter confided that he was going to run for president. He was relatively unknown outside Georgia politics and was often referred to as "Jimmy Who?"

"She was able to take on an entire state, even those in which I had very little natural support, and to convert enough doubtful voters to give me a victory," Carter said. "Her most notable such triumph was the state of Maine, where she spent the final weeks of the 1976 presidential election and, almost single-handedly, delivered the electoral votes to me."

"It was her effervescent personality and her love of people," Bagwell said of her mother's effectiveness on the political stump. "They felt comfortable with her. She was a natural speaker. She loved Jimmy, his goals and ideals, and it showed in her speeches."

Maine, which Dolvin visited three times and where she concluded the '76 campaign, was one of nearly 40 states in which she campaigned. She stumped stylishly, gleefully telling The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 1990:
"I once had a reporter in New Jersey interview me when I was campaigning for Jimmy. He didn't seem to know where to start and finally confessed that I had blown his whole story. He told me he had expected a little old
lady with a cane, tight curls and a hat clapped on her head."

Instead, the reporter found a woman who'd already made her mark in Roswell for a quarter-century and would for another 25 years.

"Her whole life has been volunteering. That was just a sideline, that she just happened to be related to Jimmy," Bagwell said, chuckling. "All the rewards and awards had nothing to do with Jimmy. Nothing.

"Rather than working a full-time job or something, this was her life: volunteering, all the time," she said. "I call it her 'in service to others.' "

The youngest of nine children, Dolvin was formerly a teacher married to William Jasper Dolvin, who died in 1974 and for whom Dolvin Elementary School in Alpharetta is named. She married Hubert "Hu" Visscher in 1992, and he died in 2005.

Historic preservation. Charity fund-raising and service. Youth and recreational activities. Civic and cultural conscience. Hospital volunteer. All that constituted just part of Dolvin's résumé and garnered her multiple civic awards.

For years, she was the director of volunteers at the Carter Center, where she was in charge of more than 100 volunteers.

"She was always involved in something," said another daughter, Midge Schultz of Dacula.

Just three weeks ago, her daughter said, she was still in charge of the historical markers in Roswell and trying to locate information on a historical house.

Additional survivors include six grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.