 1839 - 1940 (100 years)
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| Name |
Edna Elizabeth Thomas |
| Birth |
16 Nov 1839 |
Moore Co., North Carolina  [1] |
| Gender |
Female |
| Death |
16 May 1940 |
Harnett Co., North Carolina |
| Burial |
17 May 1940 |
Cool Springs Methodist Church Cemetery, Mamers, Harnett Co., North Carolina |
| Person ID |
I2351 |
Gregory Gen |
| Last Modified |
12 Aug 2023 |
| Father |
William Tillman Thomas, b. 3 Mar 1804, Moore Co., North Carolina d. 21 Oct 1885, Moore Co., North Carolina (Age 81 years) |
| Relationship |
natural |
| Mother |
Harriett Melinda Judd, b. 18 Nov 1808, Cumberland Co., North Carolina d. 6 Jan 1901, Lee Co., North Carolina (Age 92 years) |
| Relationship |
natural |
| Marriage |
1828 |
Moore Co., North Carolina |
| Family ID |
F5615 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Family 1 |
Charles Alexander Gilchrist, b. 18 Apr 1842, Moore Co., North Carolina d. 25 Feb 1915, Upper Little River Township, Harnett Co., North Carolina (Age 72 years) |
| Marriage |
1865 |
| Children |
| | 1. William Randall Gilchrist, b. Nov 1867, Upper Little River Township, Harnett Co., North Carolina d. 5 Jul 1938, Upper Little River Township, Harnett Co., North Carolina (Age ~ 70 years) [Father: natural] |
| | 2. James Knox Polk Gilchrist, b. 6 Mar 1870, Upper Little River Township, Harnett Co., North Carolina d. 23 Jun 1941, Harnett Co., North Carolina (Age 71 years) [Father: natural] |
| | 3. John Chalmers Gilchrist, b. 6 Mar 1870, Upper Little River Township, Harnett Co., North Carolina d. 22 Jun 1944, Upper Little River Township, Harnett Co., North Carolina (Age 74 years) [Father: natural] |
| | 4. Mary Jane Gilchrist, b. Jul 1879, Upper Little River Township, Harnett Co., North Carolina [Father: natural] |
| | 5. Angus Grant Gilchrist, b. 1 Apr 1872, Upper Little River Township, Harnett Co., North Carolina d. 19 Apr 1906, Harnett Co., North Carolina (Age 34 years) [Father: natural] |
| | 6. Nancy Elizabeth Gilchrist, b. 5 Jun 1874, Upper Little River Township, Harnett Co., North Carolina d. 4 Apr 1927, Harnett Co., North Carolina (Age 52 years) [Father: natural] |
|
| Family ID |
F587 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Last Modified |
12 Aug 2023 |
| Family 2 |
Stanford Hunter, b. Abt 1836 d. Abt 1866 (Age ~ 30 years) |
| Marriage |
Abt 1860 |
| Children |
| | 1. Harriet Martha Hunter, b. 9 Jul 1861, Moore Co., North Carolina d. 30 Nov 1890, Moore Co., North Carolina (Age 29 years) [Father: natural] |
|
| Family ID |
F6725 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Last Modified |
12 Aug 2023 |
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| Notes |
- [Jeff Wester]
Excerpt from Harnett County Heritage Book: "Isaac Jones and Nannie McDonald Gilchrist," by Peggy Gilchrist Smith and Dorothy Johnson, page 187: "Daddy (Jones Gilchrist) was born April 16, 1894, in the Cool Springs Community, and one of his ancestors, my Great-Grandma Edna, was said to have lived to be over 100 years old, and when in her 90s, she could throw a rock across the Cape Fear River."
This was probably out of the Sanford Herald:
Lee's Oldest (Photo) Mrs. Edna Gilchrist, Route 2 Jonesboro, has witnessed much time and history. She will be 101 years old November 18, 1940, and is the last surviving member of a family of 14 children.
LEE COUNTY'S OLDEST PERSON STILL ENJOYS BEING FRIEND TO MAN
Born November 18, 1839, She Is Last Living Member of Family
VISITS NEIGHBORS
By Thomas L. McIver
When some energetic person goes about writing a comprehensive history of this section of the state, he might do well to visit Mrs. Edna Gilchrist, Route 2 Jonesboro, for a first hand version of the past century in Moore and Lee counties.
For Mrs Gilchrist, born November 18, 1839, and now nearing her 101st birthday, is Lee county's oldest living person, so far as is known, and recorded in her memory are many personal experiences and many facts about people who have made this section their home over the long decades that have passed since 1839.
Mrs. Gilchrist was born in what was then Moore county, the daughter of William Tillman Thomas and Harriet Judd Thomas. One of 14 children, all but one of whom reached the age of maturity; she is the last surviving member of the family. The house in which she and the other 13 Thomas children were born is the old homestead on which J. R. Howard has lived for a number of years.
Runs in Family
Longevity seems to have run in Mrs. Gilchrist's family. Her mother, whose family name was Solomon before her marriage and who was related to the Solomons of Henderson and the Judds of Wake county, lived to be 91, and her father died at 82.
Mrs. Gilchrist remembers she had at least three brothers who fought for the Confederacy in the Civil war. These were J. M. B., Henderson Judd, and William Thomas. Among her other brothers were Jefferson and Mack Thomas, and Polk Thomas, the last of whom was too young to see service at the time of the war, and who was later killed while cleaning a loaded pistol.
The Civil war claimed the life of Mrs. Gilchrist's first husband, Stanford Hunter. Later she married Charles Gilchrist, and to the couple were born six children. She lives with one of them, Mrs. Mary Knight, wife of Sion Knight, near the Harnett county line within a few miles of Buckhorn falls.
Formerly a member of the Juniper Springs Baptist church, she now has her name on the rolls of the Baptist Chapel church.
Remembers Grandfather
Questioned some time ago about her grandparents, she said she remembered her grandfather, John Thomas, very well but could not recall anything about her "Grandma," Mary Thomas, other than that "She was Mary Oaks before she married, and they always said I favored her."
A diminutive little old lady of five feet two who could never have tipped the scales at more than 100 (?) ...prime, Mrs. Gilchrist has delicate features which do not betray her age. She has blue eyes and a fair amount of soft, wavy gray hair.
Even at 101 she still is able to visit neighbors who live as much as a half mile distant, likes to talk, is happy, and enjoys her mellow philosophy, developed over the years, of being a friend to everyone.
Friend To Everybody
Speaking of a granddaughter-in-law in a recent interview, Mrs. Gilchrist said "I know she has her hands full now. I wish I could help her, for I do love her well." and added reflectively, I love everybody. There is nobody anywhere I could hold an ill feeling against." Perhaps that attitude of being a universal friend to man has had much to do with Mrs. Gilchrist's longevity, which she so well deserves.
Mrs. Gilchrist's once very clear eyes have dimmed in the past few years, and her hearing has grown bad as time gradually catches up with her, but she is still surprisingly healthy and active for a woman nearing 101 years of age.
Mrs. Edna E. Gilchrist, 100, Dies in Harnett; Rites Held
(Special to Daily News)
DUNN, May 17.--A throng of more than 500 people attended the funeral service this afternoon for Mrs. Edna E. Gilchrist, of near Lillington, widow of a confederate veteran. She died late yesterday.
Mrs. Gilchrist, believed to be the oldest resident of the county, celebrated her 100th birthday last November 16. She leaves 243 descendants.
She was in good health up until a month ago, when she became ill for the first time in several years, and her condition became gradually worse.
Despite her age, she was active up until the time of her illness and visited in the neighborhood regularly. Mrs. Gilchrist was born and spent her entire life in the section between Lillington and Jonesboro.
Her first husband, Stedford Hunter, was killed in service during the civil war, and she later married Charles Gilchrist, who died about 25 years ago. Since her husband's death she had lived with her daughter, Mrs. Mary Knight.
Funeral service was held at the Cool Springs Methodist church, near Mamers.
Three Earlys, another of Harnett's first families, officiated. Rev. J. V. Early, of Hillsboro, former pastor, Rev. B. G. Early and his son, Rev. Waldo Early. Burial was in the church cemetery.
Surviving are two sons, J. C. Gilchrist, of Broadway, route 1, J. P. Gilchrist, of Lillington, route 3, and her daughter. There are 43 grandchildren, 151 great-grandchildren, and 46 great-great-grandchildren.
Photo caption: MRS. EDNA E. GILCHRIST.
Harnett County Death Certificate for Edna E. Gilchrist, widowed, d/o Tillman Thomas and Hattie Judd both b. Cumberland Co., d. at age 100 yrs. Informant was J. C. Gilchrist of Broadway, NC.
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