William George York (1862 - 1960)

Born 18 Feb 1862 in Georgia

Ancestors

Husband of Ann Rhea McClesky — married 23 Dec 1888 in Cobb County, Georgia

Descendants

Died 10 Apr 1960 at age 98 in Cobb County, Georgia

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SOURCES

World Tree Project/Tajidog@@austin.rr.com

The McClesky Family in Georgia

Tombstone in Dawson Cemetery, Cobb County, GA

1880 US Census, Marietta, Cobb, Georgia, Page No. 35

Georgia Deaths, 1919-1998, Certificate No. 09784

Obituary of William George York, Marietta Journal (GA), 11 Apr 1960, Pg. 10

NOTES

Will was given a dinner for his 96 birthday at the home of Mrs. Joe Allen in Acworth. Almost the entire family showed up for this momentous occasion, which was written about in the Marietta Journal of 26 Feb 1958 on Page 9.

Will was a committeeman of the board which erected the Noonday Baptist Church. He was a Blackwell Community native who lived in Cobb County, Georgia all of his life. He was a farmer; and, at one time, operated a cotton gin and grist mill. He was an elder of the Noonday Baptist Church at the time of his death. He first lived in Kennesaw; and, later moved to Ackworth. He resided there for 59 years. Both Will G. York and Ann McClesky York are buried in the Dawson Cemetery in Cobb County, Ga.

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Will left Georgia as a young man to homestead in the West. He didn't like it, abandoned his claim and went down to Texas. He met a man who he knew from Cobb County who had contracts to build at the new Texas State Fairgrounds. He gave Will a job as a carpenter and taught him a lot about construction. After this work ended, he returned to Georgia and made good use of his experience.

--- Told to me by my uncle Bob Stewart who spent a lot of time with his grandfather as a boy.

Will only had a few years of formal education but could read and write and use basic math well. He put a high value on education and donated land and labor for a local school. A student at the school who was very appreciative became a hiring manager at the large Sears store in Atlanta. He was responsible for many of Will's relatives obtaining jobs at Sears.

Will also sent all 10 of his children to college, including his daughters. An extremely rare occurrence for a Georgia farm family in those days.

Bob Harwell