Jones County GaArchives Biographies.....Blount, Madison 1834 - 1926 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Sylvia Ryce Cornell CREATVCNCP@aol.com September 18, 2007, 4:58 pm Author: Sylvia Ryce Cornell MADISON BLOUNT --- 1834 - 1926 Madison Blount died at his home in Jones County, Georgia on November 5, 1926 at the age of 92 years, 7 months, 22 days. He died within six miles of the place where he was born on March 14, 1834. His mother, Dinah, was an Igbo (Ebo) slave. His master, David E. Blount, who was also his father, had him trained as a carpenter very early in life. In 1863, at the age of 29, he was freed from slavery by the proclamation of Abraham Lincoln. True freedom, however, did not manifest itself until the end of the Civil War in 1865. Even before this time, he had saved some money for himself by working at extra hours. His skill at carpentry was a craft passed to each of his sons and to extended family. At the age of 29 years, he married Queen Victoria Isabela Lester, his second wife. She was his constant companion and helpmate for 62 years until her death on November 10, 1925. To this union were born four boys and seven girls. All of them lived to reach maturity. Queen had two children, products of rape from her slave owners' family, when they married. The girl, Ida, died in early childhood. Her son, Thomas Turk, was reared as a part of their growing family. Three of the boys and four of the daughters survived him. Twenty-four grandchildren and four great grandchildren also survived this unique individual. As additional children and great grandchildren were added to the Blount clan, his memory and influence cast a long shadow. Madison Blount was described as a physically imposing man with a brave, fearless, and courageous temperament. His photographs capture a tall, proud individual with a bushy beard. The few images with a smile displayed fail to soften his stern countenance. He took great pride in the education of his children, although he was barely literate. Family lore says that his beloved baby daughter, Pearl, taught him to sign his name. The family Bible has a bold script in his hand, but all other entries were made by his sons and daughters. Madison's bold and proud demeanor was quite necessary for a man at the head of a large family in the age and climate of his existence. Indeed, all of his neighbors and acquaintances knew of his stern, rugged traits of character. Few dared to cross his threshold with the slightest intention of violating any of the sacred rights inherent in all well-regulated families of any hue. In such an atmosphere, his sons and daughters grew to manhood and womanhood protected and unmolested. His granddaughter, Sadie Gray Mays, recounted the lecture given to each young woman in the family as she reached puberty. "You must take care of yourself. You know your Dad and I are bastards, but we must be the last bastards in our families. Our mothers were slaves: They could not protect themselves. But you do not have to take insults from anybody. Your Dad (James Seaman Gray) and Granddad will spill every drop of blood in their veins to protect you little girls. I am not afraid of anybody; so if you are ever molested by a white man, you let me know. Remember, no more bastards. You must be as fine and clean as any family alive." (Mays, 1971) With a view of preparing his children for life's duties, Madison Blount sent them to the best schools available in those early days of education for Blacks. Four daughters and two sons attended Atlanta University in Atlanta, Georgia. His daughters, Fannie and Julia, graduated from Atlanta University in 1893 and 1895, respectively. Madison and Queen apparently sought to encourage love and respect for education at an early age. The 1880 Census for Jones County lists the teacher for that district, a Secelia Taylor, as a boarder in their home. (Federal Census, Jones CO, GA) They were willing to make any sacrifice to ensure the education of their children. In 1939, their oldest daughter, Emma Frances Blount Gray shared her memories in a family anthology which appears in the appendices. In a piece called My Early Recollections of my Father and Mother and their Home, Emma recalls, "I'll tell of some of the many things that I can remember of my early days at home. My first recollections of home and life were when I started to school in Clinton to go to school. To go to school, I boarded with my mother's sister, Adeline Bowen, and walked three miles to school from the old Dr. Bowen's Place. When the school closed in three months, I went back to the old Lester Plantation. On March 1, 1872 old man Dennis Lester died, and on April 8th my father moved to the Holt Place. I was 7 years old." In later years, his children were sent to Paine College in Augusta, Georgia. From this school, three daughters graduated. Three of his grandchildren were graduates of Atlanta University. Five grandchildren graduated from Paine College. Several of the grandchildren pursued their academic careers and received graduate degrees from Oberlin College, Northwestern University, and The University of Chicago. Josiah Homer Blount, the son of Madison's first marriage, received his training at Walden University in Nashville, Tennessee. Josiah taught for more than forty years in the state of Arkansas. In 1921, he was nominated on the Republican ticket for governor of that state. Four of Madison's children and three of his grandchildren became teachers. One grandson became a dentist and a grand daughter was trained as a social service worker. His longevity enabled him to see the fruit of his labors to provide educated men and women during a time when literacy was but a dream for most African-Americans. Shortly after receiving his freedom, Madison entered into negotiations for the purchase of some farm land. Within a few years, he had bought and paid for four hundred acres of valuable property, which he still possessed at the time of his death. He left a will that protected this property from partition through life estates to his children. A portion of the Blount estate was partitioned in 1974. Subsequent sales by some of the grandchildren diluted a portion of the estate. Nearly two hundred fifty acres of his legacy of land remain in his family. Madison employed his carpentry skills to expand their home into a sturdy structure which stood until a fire destroyed it in 1976. One of the brick chimneys stood, in a crumbling state, for several years afterward. Pencil Sketch of Homestead rendered by his grandson and namesake, Madison Blount. He lived in this home as a child when his father, Edward M. Blount, Sr, returned to Georgia to help his twin sisters care for Pearl McCune’s children. Corinne Blount, a younger sister captured the spirit of the house that became home for the Blount children. Her essay, The Spirit of the Old Blount Homestead Through the Years - By One who has Lived there Constantly, opened with poignant memories. "The old home, set on a hill since I have known it, has been alive and cannot be hid. I have been in the home in the bitter hours, the sweet hours, and the sad hours. But, at present, it is in a plighted condition. With parents gone, many changes have taken place. The home is abused. But, still our heads turn with unchangeable love and longing to the dear old home which sheltered us from childhood up. We have wandered away from home and enjoyed many pleasant homes, but we have to return to this home of our childhood. It is old an rickety, the windows broken and worn, abused and battered, patched floors, worn through; but still the old Madison-Blount Homestead from out of which we still look at life with hearts full of hope, building castles which faded long ago. I have lived here to help welcome the married sisters, brothers, and their children around the fireside. Cooked, washed, and cleaned for them. Each summer, they would meet at the old Home and enjoy the pleasures of life. And what a joy to wait on them, and on Sunday, especially the second and third Sundays in June of each summer, take them to church to hear the Parson pray and preach, meet friends face to face: A great big dinner welcomed them on their return. Sometimes thirty or more took part." (Gray, M.B., 1939) Madison Blount was noted for commendable personal traits and characteristics. He had an inordinate respect and love for the truth. He literally hated all forms of sham, hypocrisy, or deceit. His fierce disposition and high standards led to difficult and strained relations with most of his sons. His daughters and grandchildren, however, enjoyed the warm and mellow side of Madison's personality. When his baby daughter, Pearl McCune, died shortly after the birth of her third child, the motherless children returned to Georgia from Chicago. Pearl was laid to rest in the family cemetery and the Blounts and their twin daughters, Floriene and Corinne, assumed the role of parents. Woody, Alvin, and Vernelle McCune were lavished with love and support. Caption: Woodie McCune tags along as his Grandma Queen works in her garden. Madison is pictured below holding the baby, Alvin McCune. This photo is one of the rare images showing Madison with a smile on his face. This fierce proud man lived for nine decades. He made a profound impact upon his family and succeeding generations. His grandson and namesake, Madison Blount paid tribute to him thirteen years after his death in his essay, "The Progress and Development of a Family." (M.B. Gray, 1939) Madison Blount was thrifty. He purchased more than four hundred acres of farm land and paid for it within a few hears after the Civil War, despite the fact that the first thirty-one years of his life were spent in slavery. He enjoyed the independence which this estate afforded until his death and then bequeathed by "will" to his offspring. He was sagacious. After his marriage, his mother lived with him for a few years. When his own family began to increase, he provided a home for his mother a few miles from his own which he maintained for her until her death about forty years later. Thus, he provided the opportunity for his wife to preside over her home and her children unmolested. He was courageous. His house was his castle and no living mortal dare cross his threshold to defile or besmirch in any way those dependent upon him. Truly, his home was subject to his command. He had a vision. In addition to providing his family with an independent home, he sent his children to the best schools provided for the members of the race as soon as they reached the age to obtain admission to these schools. These children in turn transmitted these opportunities to their children and enabled them to keep pace with the advancing trends in education. Madison Blount had a high sense of honor and personal integrity. He abhorred all forms of sham, chicanery, hypocrisy. Such vices and their allies could not thrive in the atmosphere where his personality held sway. Thus, all whose good fortune it is to be his descendants can claim a "goodly heritage." M.B. Gray's mother and Madison's oldest daughter, Emma, perhaps summed up the end of his life most poignantly. In Emma Frances' reflections she noted, "In December, my father bought a home where he lived until his death in 1926. Mother died a year before he did. He never did seem satisfied, afterward. After they had been man and wife for 63 years, he seemed at a loss without her. So when she had been dead for 360 days, he died. She died November 10, 1925, and on November 5, 1926, he died. And now the home does not seem to be the same old time home. We go there sometimes." (Gray, M.B., 1939) Photo: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/jones/photos/bios/blount935gbs.jpg File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/jones/bios/blount935gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/gafiles/ File size: 12.5 Kb