The Shells of Pigeon Creek Genealogy Web Site
The ancestors, descendants, and cousins of the Shells of Pigeon Creek, Alabama.
Notes for William J. Hardy
William J. Hardy was born in Coweta County in 1825. The Annals of Coweta County and Longstreet's Georgia Landmarks records that his father, Aquila Hardy (1795-1885), was the first white settler in Coweta County.
William grew up as a farmer and miller in his father's mill at what was called Winn's Pond on Line Creek.
He married Lucy Melviney Shell of Senoia in 1848, and they moved to Fayette County in the early 1850s. They lived in the southern tip of the county, which was then called Whitewater District, because mail was delivered via Whitewater Post Office. (Whitewater was the mailing address for the town of Brooks area right on through The War Between the States.)
In May 1861, four months after Georgia seceded from the Union, a new company of infantry was being organized from Fayette County. William enlisted as a private in that company. They gave themselves the name of Fayette Gray Guards, but the records show them as Company I, Tenth Regiment of Georgia Volunteer Infantry, Army of Northern Virginia. As part of Longstreet's and A.P. Hill's Corps, the Tenth was in combat up to the fall of Richmond.
After four years of war, William returned to take up farming again. First with two of his sons, Bart and Al, and then alone, he farmed for the rest of his days. These three Hardy men shared another interest, Freemasonry, and all were active members of the Brooks Lodge throughout their adult lives.
Descendants of the Bartow and William (Al) Hardy families now live in the Brooks area of Fayette County.
Fayette County Historical Society. The History of Fayette County 1821 - 1971. (1977)
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