Category Archives: Frierson Family

George Dargan Frierson 23Jun1921 – 22Mar2014

On this 102nd anniversary of George Dargan Frierson’s (GDF) birth, I thought it would be interesting to look at his life through the articles I could find by searching newspapers.com. Typing “Dargan Frierson” in the search box, yielded 219 instances of his name in all the newspapers they have digitized, 199 of them in South Carolina.

Dargan-FriersonWedding1911 Here’s one of the first to pop up, a 1911 article in a Sumter newspaper announcing the marriage of GDF’s parents and thus solving the mystery of where he got his name! There is a typo in the article, the house where Georgia and John were married was named Marston.

GDF was born a little more than 10 years after the marriage, his older brother John L. Frierson Jr. (“Jack”) having been born in 1915. I am assuming that both boys were born at Fairview, the home that John and Georgia built after their marriage in 1911, situated north of Cherry Vale, the old Frierson home.

Watchman_Southron_14Dec1929__Shell_Explosion There was no newspaper coverage of young Dargan’s early years until 1929 when he made it into not only the local Watchman & Southern paper in Sumter County but also The Record and The State in Columbia for shooting himself in the stomach! Read the articles to see how he did it.

He did recover, and lived a long life, albeit with a large noticeable abdominal scar that had to be explained every time he went for a swim in the lake or ocean!

Dargan attended elementary and high school in Stateburg at the Hillcrest school where his mother taught music, and he appears on the honor roll each year in the newspapers as they publish the record of happenings there.

Then as a 17 year-old high school graduate, rising freshman at the University of South Carolina, Dargan and his parents move to Columbia. Apparently, Georgia returns to Stateburgh to teach at Hillcrest in each fall as this letter from Dargan in October of 1939 indicates. It was addressed to Mrs. John L. Frierson c/o S.O. Plowden, his Aunt Theo’s residence, and tells of his securing a job at Copeland’s clothing store in Columbia and how it’s going to limit his social life (Ha!) – see below!

Here’s a photo of the well-dressed sophomore!

All the remaining newspaper mentions of GDF during his college days reflect his involvement in the social clubs at USC: Alpha Tau Omega fraternity and the German Club are two examples.

I don’t remember too much talk about Lil Boulware, but certainly remember Kitty Bird, later married to Greensboro banker (NCNB) Tom Storrs. Tom and Kitty are remembered as friends to Dargan and Jo during their time in Greensboro.

Except for serving as best man in his older brother Jack’s wedding to Beverly Hook in June of 1942, no mention is made of GDF’s life at USC until articles about his time in the Army Air Corps begin appearing. The first was in May of 1943 mentioning his completion of basic flight school at Minter Field near Bakersfield, CA, and his heading on to Advanced flight training at Luke Field in Phoenix, Arizona.

By August of 1943, Dargan has gotten his wings at Luke Field and is stationed at Randolph Field in Texas to learn to become a flight instructor and this is what he will do for the remainder of the Second World War. He is then sent to Gardner Field in Taft, CA, where he teaches basic and advance flying. I remember many stories about this era and of course this is where Dargan met his love and future wife in 1944, Josephine Daniels of Bellingham, WA.

Here’s a little clip from December of 1943, about his first trip back home to Stateburg since entering the Army Air Corps.

Dargan returns to California after this Christmas visit home and within 4 months is married to Josephine Daniels, much to the shock (I’m sure!) of his parents (and hers too!). Here’s a link to the full page marriage notice in The State newspaper in Columbia from April, 1944: 23Apr1944TheStateGDfJDWedding

Dargan’s mother visited the newly weds in Taft in November of 1944 and they must have shown her around Hollywood and LA!

After Taft, Dargan and Jo are transferred to Lubbock, TX, where he is promoted to 1st Lt. and they remain there til the end of the war. I don’t remember Mom ever talking much about Texas, but she was apparently involved as an officer’s wife in some social affairs – see the article from the Lubbock newspaper from June of 1945.

After the war, Dargan decides to go back to Law School at the University of South Carolina where his Uncle Nelson is just retiring as the Dean after more than 20 years. Here’s an ad Dargan placed in January of 1946 to try to find an apartment:

He doesn’t mention that his wife is 6 months pregnant, but then here’s a note from April, 18, 1946, from The State:

Then in May of 1947, Dargan is admitted to the Bar in SC and never practices… He’s decided to become an FBI agent and the next newspaper mention of him is in the Sumter Item about the visit his parents make to Detroit in August of 1950, where he and his young family are stationed.

By 1952, the growing Frierson family has moved to Greensboro (13 Branch Court, 2503 Woodview Dr. and finally 604 North Elam Ave.) and this is where Dargan and Jo will spend the rest of their lives. There are many stories left to tell about these Greensboro days…

Frederick R. Spencer’s Portrait of Daniel Kellogg

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Portrait of Daniel Kellogg by Frederick R. Spencer

I Daniel Kellogg by Charles L. Elliott, a copy of Frederick Spencer’s portrait.

I’ve learned some interesting things this week from Kihm Winship’s Blog about Skaneateles, NY, the village which was home to my 4th great-grandfather Daniel Kellogg. I had found among Uncle Nelson’s papers a promotional advertisement from the bank of Auburn that had a copy of a portrait of DK on it. Then I read about that portrait in the blog, and it’s reproduced to the left. It is a copy of one originally painted by Frederick R. Spencer a noted New York portrait artist. The copy was made by Charles L. Elliott for the Bank of Auburn. I’m not certain of the actual date of the original Spencer painting, but it was most certainly done between Daniel Kellogg’s death in May of 1836, and the date of the receipt shown below Oct. 3, 1836. The receipt is for both the painting and frame and was given by the artist to Rev. Mr. A. L. Converse, the son-in-law of Mr. Kellogg. You will recall that in 1825, Augustus L. Converse had married Daniel Kellogg‘s daughter Mary Ann Kellogg (1805-1848) and they moved to Stateburg, S.C. where he had been called to be the rector of the Holy Cross Church. Their daughter Catherine Kellogg Converse was born there in 1827 and she later married John Napoleon Frierson in 1844. I’m not sure if the Spencer painting ever hung in the Converse home in Stateburg, but according to the Skaneateles blog, it definitely hung in Daniel Kellogg Leitch’s home on Academy Street and was donated to the Onondaga Historical Association in Syracuse, NY, by Leitch’s widow in 1908. Daniel Kellogg Leitch was the son of one of Daniel Kellogg’s other daughters, Catherine Hyde Kellogg (1814-1862) and George Leitch.

John Lawrence Frierson (1883-1963)

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John Lawrence Frierson (b. 9/4/1883, d.1/30/1963) is my paternal grandfather – we called him “Papa” and his many friends called him “Johnny”. He was born in Stateburg, S.C., prepared for college at Porter Military Academy in Charleston and entered Hobart College (now Hobart and William Smith College) in Geneva, New York, in 1901 where he studied for two years. His oldest brother Nelson Frierson had graduated from Hobart in 1896 and no doubt Nelson encouraged John to follow in his footsteps. Hobart at the time was affiliated with the Episcopal Church as was the Porter Military Academy and it was always my understanding that admitting “Southern boys” into the mix at Hobart was an attempt by the Episcopal Church at reconciliation between the North and South after the Civil War. John played lacrosse and joined the Kappa Alpha fraternity while at Hobart, but left before graduating and returned in 1903 to Stateburg to the family home Cherry Vale where he worked as a cotton merchant and farmer. The stationery below was apparently used as a notepad by Nelson to annotate the grave locations of various military men of the Revolution, War of 1812 and the Civil War who hailed from Stateburg.

JLFSr_GeneralMerchandise

In April of 1911, he married Georgia Dargan (1886-1974) at her home Marston (incorrectly spelled in the Watchman and Southron issue of April 26, 1911, below) and over the next few years they built their own house which they named Fairview and began their young family. John L. Frierson, Jr. (“Jack”) was born in 1915 and George Dargan Frierson, my father, was born in 1921. John and Georgia and their sons were very active in the Episcopal Church of the Holy Cross at Stateburg, where John was lay reader, served on the vestry and was Senior Warden and Georgia was the organist for many, many years.

JLF_GDWedding1911

The photo of the family in church vestments was likely taken at the church probably in the late 1930s and shows (l. to r.) Jack, Georgia, John, and Dargan.

JLF&Family 1

The photo below that one shows Dargan, John, and Jack outside Fairview – it was also probably taken in the late 1930s. I think I still have that old rocking chair behind them!

John and Georgia continued their involvement with the Holy Cross Church as long as they lived in Stateburg and in 1950, in honor of the 100th anniversary of the laying of the present Church’s cornerstone, John wrote a short History of the Holy Cross Church. In it he describes the two churches that preceded Holy Cross, the people who were involved during those early years (including his grandfather John Napolean Frierson and his grandmother’s father, Holy Cross’ longest-serving rector Rev. Augustus Lawrence Converse), and many other interesting facts and figures about the Church. I recently found a copy of the history and have uploaded it on archive.org . Here’s the link and I hope you enjoy reading through it. The document can be read on the archive site or downloaded to your own device in .pdf format.

History of the Church of the Holy Cross

John and Georgia moved to Darlington, S.C., in 1957 after losing a battle with the U.S. Air Force to keep their home from being engulfed by the expansion of Shaw Air Force Base (this is another interesting story in itself that I’m working on!), and John died in Darlington in 1963 at age 79.

Bandit Shoots Banker at Edison, Washington

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The banker referred to in the above headline is Patrick Halloran (1844-1917), my maternal great-great grandfather. One hundred years ago today he was gunned down in a bank holdup in Edison, Washington, and died later that day in Burlington, WA. I remember my mother Josephine Daniels Frierson (1922-2003) telling me this story when I was very young but the incident was always a little hazy in my mind until I recently found the article in the Seattle Star that describes it in some detail. The newspaper incorrectly refers to Patrick Halloran as “Matt Halloran” – I guess he was referred to as “Pat” – and says that he was shot in the back as he ran into the street to “sound the alarm”. Click on the image to the left to enlarge it to be readable.

Patrick Halloran and his wife Bridgett McGinty (1840-1930) had a daughter Mary Ann Halloran (1872-1926) who married David Michael Donnelly in 1894 in New Whatcom, Washington (for a photo of Bridgett and Mary Ann, see the previous post where Josephine is photographed with her grandmother and great-grandmother.). David and Mary Ann’s only daughter was my grandmother Mary Esther Donnelly (1897-1931) who married Roland Michael Daniels (1895-1967) in 1921. To learn more about Pat Halloran, I’m copying his obituary from the Mount Vernon (Skagit County) newspaper on November 2, 1917. I found this obit and his photograph courtesy of a distant cousin Kathleen Halloran on Ancestry.com.

Front page of the Mount Vernon, Skagit County, Washington Newspaper Friday, Nov. 2, 1917

“People from all over Northwest pay last tribute to sturdy pioneer who met his death fighting for law and order — Edison scene of sorrow Sunday.

Several thousand people from all over the northwest, including many of the most prominent citizens of this section of the state, gathered at Edison Sunday to pay their last tribute of love and respect to the memory of Patrick Halloran, pioneer and citizen. On all sides in the old Samish trail point were heard expressions of regret that so valuable a man was compelled to sacrifice his life in his endeavor to uphold the law. All day visitors streamed in and out of the Farmers and Merchants Bank, whence were rehearsed over and over again the tragic scene that took place the Thursday of last week. It was a sorrowful throng; and on every lip was words of condemnation for the perpetrators of the crime and of highest praise for the man who fearlessly did what he considered his bound duty as a citizen.

Before the hour set for the obsequies the remains rested in the living room of the Halloran home, where hundreds of friends and old timers went to view them. By 2:30 the little town was crowded with people and automobiles and many points were rendered almost impassable. There were people from far and near; and numbers of old timers, some of whom seldom leave home, made the journey to Edison for this occasion. Among the throng were noted Hugh Eldridge, P McCoy, Congressman Lin H Hadley, AM Hadley, Perry Polson, Herb Conner, WW Conner, JJ Donovan, NL Griffith, EC Million, EG English, Thomas Sharpe, Charles Moore, JM McCulloch, WN Gilmore, WJ Simons, HT Dodson, JN Bussing, JW Romaine, CW Wilcox, ET Nobles, RI Morse, JS Jamison, Mr and Mrs John Murray. The Masons of Mount Vernon, Burlington, La Conner and Sedro-Woolley were there in force and a large delegation of the Bellingham lodge as well as prominent Masons from many other points.

Words of Tribute. At half past two the body was taken under Masonic escort from the house to the Odd Fellows hall. Here the Masonic funeral rites were said under the leadership of Worshipful Master NB Hannay, of Mount Vernon, the LaConner lodge assisting. “Abide With Me” and “Nearer, My God, to Thee” were sung by a quartet composed of WS Packard, CH Drier, John Begg, and GH Clark. Mr Hannay spoke in unstinted terms of the high character and worth of the deceased. He said in part:

“It is most proper that public acknowledgement be made here of the kindness, the generosity and the patriotism of our dead brother, of the usefulness of his life and the courage with which he met his death. He was born in poverty. To find the opportunity which his native country of New Brunswick denied him he crossed the continent and became one of the hardy pioneers who found this country around us a savage wilderness and made it a garden. At a time of life when most men have submitted to the harsh fate which denied them early opportunity for education, disregarding the jibes of men young enough to be his sons, who sat with him in the boardroom, he resolutely set himself the task of gaining the schooling which he lacked. So earestly did he apply himself that scorn was turned to deep respect.

So, in all activities which make use the life of a useful and respected citizen, Patrick Halloran opened for himself the door of opportunity which fate had closed to him. No other man served his county and country so faithfully and unselfishly. For himself he wanted neither honor nor profit. Yet many honors came to him unasked. For his friends he worked unceasingly. Enemies he made. What man of strong character and convictions does not? But a thousand praised and loved him where one detracted and disliked him. And no man who knew him failed to respect him for his manly and unselfish virtues. The same fortitude which carried him through life enabled him to meet this death like a soldier and a hero, resisting criminal violence. Well may we be proud to have known him.”

After the ceremonies at the hall the funeral cortege formed and moved to the cemetery a mile distant. Amid solemn words and chants the remains were laid in their last resting place. The pallbearers were: Active – Emerson Mamemr, James Dunlap, William Calkins, AE Holland, Thomas Esary, Charles Nelson: honorary – Sophus Joergenson, Thomas Hastie, JS Church, Charles S Allen, Frank Brown, and TJ Rawlins. The latter are all from the La Conner lodge, of which Mr Halloran was a charter member.

Deceased leaves a widow, two sons, James and George Halloran, and a daughter, Mrs. David J Donnelly. Two sisters and a brother survive; they are Mrs Mary Maloney, of Seattle, who was in attendance at the funeral; Mrs Ellen Collins, of Alpena, Michigan, and John Halloran, of Boyne City, Michigan.

Biographical.

Patrick Halloran was born in New Brunswick in 1844. When a young man he went to Michigan and in 1876 he came west and settled at Edison the following year. He took up a farm, which is still owned by the estate, and farmed for many years. In the fall of 1885 he was elected county commissioner; and was re-elected two years later. In 1904 he was elected county treasurer, which office he resigned before the expiration of his term to go into the banking business. He organized at this time the Farmers & Merchants Bank of Edison. Some years later he disposed of his banking interests, but continued his real estate, loan and insurance business, which he had been conducting for many years prior. Mr Halloran was twice elected chairman of the Republican county central committee and represented this state at the last Republican National Convention at Chicago.

Mr Halloran was married in 1868 at Alpena, Michigan to Miss Bridget McGinty. Three children were born to Mr and Mrs Halloran, all of whom are living. “

Josephine Daniels Frierson (Part 2)

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I can’t believe I wrote Part 1 a year ago and never did Part 2! Well, here it is, more photos of Jo with her family, growing up… later I’ll post some more of Jo and Dargan and their young family.

This first photo on the left may be the earliest photo I have of Mom – “Josephine Anne Daniels” written in pencil on the back of this photo – so it must have been taken early in 1922.

The photo on the right above is one that I was able to talk about with Mom when she was alive so I’m pretty certain about the people in it. Three of four generations are in this photo: Mom’s great grandmother Brigit McGintie Halloran (born ~ 1840, died 18 April 1930) on the left, Brigit’s daughter and Mom’s grandmother is Mary Ann Halloran Donnolly (b. 2 March 1872, d. 19 Sept. 1926), Mom is about 3 years old in this photo, since her grandmother Mary Ann Donnolly died in 1926. I haven’t been able to find any photos of Mom as a child with her mother Mary Esther Donnolly Daniels (b. 12 May 1897, d. 21 Dec. 1931) before she died in 1931, but here are two dated May 1933; one of Mom alone and one with her younger sister Micheline Marie Daniels (b. 10 Dec. 1925, d. 19 June 2012). I’m not sure who the gentleman in the hat is – one of the Donnolly uncles? Their uncle Frank Daniels?

Next is one of the two sisters dated 1934, dressed in swimming suits and standing on a bridge – where was this photo taken?

The photo to the left shows the two sisters in 1935 with their stepmother Alvina Carolina Dietz Daniels (b. 27 Sept.1910, d. 29 Jan. 2007) holding their stepbrother Michael Roland Daniels who had been born in December of 1934.

Next is a photo that was labeled as having been taken in 1936. Jo on the left with her younger sister Mike on the far right. I’m not certain but I think the other children in the photo are their first cousins Mary Ann and Patrick Donnelly, children of Jo and Mike’s uncle Hubert Patrick Donnelly (b. 14 June 1909, d. 28 April 1972)

and their aunt Inez Nelson Donnolly (b. 5 Nov 1912, d. Apr. 1978).

Now some studio photos of Mom – not sure about the dates… But she did work in the Bellingham Parks in the summer while she was between sessions at Western Washington College and the photo of her as an archer appeared in the Bellingham Herald in July, 1941. (See below)

Communicating through Newspaper re-posts.

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This post tells a story of how two families communicated during the Civil War when one was in the North and one was in the South. This method of communication used the newspapers of each region to repost personal messages. John Adams Converse (1803 – 1886), residing in Montreal, Canada in 1864, was a younger brother of the Rev. Augustus Lawrence Converse (1798 – 1860), who, as we know from previous posts in this blog, was the rector of Holy Cross Church in Stateburg, S.C., for many years. Rev. Converse’s only daughter Katherine married John Napolean Frierson, and so the Reverend was also the maternal grandfather of his namesake, Charleston Light Dragoon A. Converse Frierson. In May of 1864, when Converse was wounded, captured and sent to Point Lookout, Maryland, his Stateburg family must have certainly been worried about his health and safety. John A. Converse was apparently the family’s contact in the North who was leading the search for the young Frierson. The clipping below, apparently a re-post from the New York News from June 21, 1864, shows that John A. Converse has been contacted by his grand-nephew and told of his imprisonment at Point Lookout. John Converse tells the family that he is on his way to see young Converse Frierson (click on the images to enlarge).

The next clipping gives details of their meeting, telling of Converse’s surprise at his good treatment by his captors, the supplies that John Converse has brought and that he will be returning to see the prisoner. We are not sure of the actual time of this visit to Point Lookout, but the reference to Converse’s “chills and fever” at the beginning of the clipping could be an indication of the illness that brought on his death in the camp within a few weeks on July 29, 1864.

Letter from Wilmington, NC, Nov. 22, 1865

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It’s been 150 years since the letter you see below was written by my great-great-grandfather John Napolean Frierson (1818 – 1887) to his wife Katherine Converse Frierson (1827 – 1899). It tells of the start of the journey he and their son James Julian Frierson, Jr. (1849 – 1891) (my great-grandfather, called “Jimmie”) are making from their Cherry Vale home in Stateburg, SC, to Baltimore, Maryland, to pick up the body of Augustus Converse Frierson (25 June 1845 – 29 July 1864) who had died as a prisoner of war in the camp at Point Lookout, Maryland. He was called Converse and was John Napolean’s and Katherine’s oldest son. Converse was a private in the Charleston Light Dragoons (company K of the 4th Regiment of South Carolina Cavalry) and was wounded and captured on May 30, 1864, at the Battle of Matadequin Creek east of Richmond, Virginia.

The letter was written and mailed from Wilmington, NC, on November 22, 1865, and describes the first two days of their trip North. This first leg of the trip on the Wilmington & Manchester railroad was slow as the rails were in very bad shape and it took them around 24 hours to make the roughly 175 mile trip. Their intention was to arrive in Wilmington in time to catch the Wilmington & Weldon train to Richmond, but they missed it and had to spend the night of November 21 at the City Hotel downtown on the Northwest corner of Market and 2nd Streets. John Napolean’s handwriting is very hard to decipher and I’ll give an almost full transcription of his letter so you can see how distressing the trip was and how unimpressed they were with Wilmington! Jimmie’s writing on the back the page is much easier to read, though it’s done in a fairly stilted, schoolboy style (he was only 16 years old at the time). I’ll include his letter below and a complete transcription of it too.

“Wilmington Wednesday Nov. 22, 1865.

My Dearest Katy. After a truly “fearful” night we arrived here yesterday evening two hours too late for the Weldon cars, and no alternative was left but to stay here in the wretched place twenty-four hours and leave at 4 o’clock this afternoon for the North. … (undecipherable)… I suffer from such acute pain in left side I could not breathe … (undecipherable)… I might be very ill; however, I feel nothing of it now and hope it has passed off. I will telegraph George again from here to meet us in Baltimore when I hope, God willing, it arrives by Friday night. Travelling is the very extravagance now of all that is filthy, uncomfortable, annoying, and dangerous. This house, called the best in the place, is a perfect abomination, and I yearn to get away. There is much smallpox reputed in the place, but I hope to escape all danger as well from contagion as otherwise, and return safely to my dear family. I am sad and lonely at my separation and all my thoughts are at home. Jimmie will add to this. Remind my dear little Clara of Pah and give love to all. God Almighty bless and keep you and us in health and safety. “

“To the dear ones at Cherry Vale. Pa has just informed me that I could add a line or two to his letter and according to promise I must now proceed to fulfill. Here we are at the City Hotel (Wilmington) and an awful hotel it is I assure you. We would not have had to remain here last night had we not been delayed on the W & Manchester Road and the consequence was that the cars for Richmond had left before we arrived here. We will be off though this evening about three o’clock I judge. We crossed the Pedee all safely a little before daylight yesterday morning. The cars do not run through here for the last seven miles so we came on the Steamer last evening just about sunset. We are both well up to this time and you must not worry about us. I fear we shall not reach Baltimore until late Friday the roads are in such bad order. In great haste with much love to all Ever your fond Son and Brother, J. J. F. Jr. Pa suffered a good deal from a pain in his side on Monday night but it has very nearly passed off now. The cars ran off the track yesterday evening that was the cause of our detention. No one hurt at all they were going so slowly. J. J. F. Jr. “

Converse Frierson’s tombstone in the Holy Cross Church cemetery in Stateburg is shown here with the inscription: “Augustus Converse Frierson of the Charleston Light Dragoons, 4th Reg., SC Cav, Captured at the Battle of Cold Harbor, Va., 30th May, Died a Prisoner of War at Point Lookout, Md., 29 July 1864, Aged 19 years.” A recent book on the Charleston Light Dragoons (Sons of Privilege, by W. Eric Emerson), gives the roster of all the Dragoons based on information located in the National Archives. He describes Converse as follows: “Enlisted as a private 4/1/63 at Pocotaglio, $50 bounty money due; present until 9-10/63 when sick in camp; sick in camp until 12/63; on sick furlough 1/1/64, certificate furnished; captured 5/30/64 at Old Church [Matadequin Creek] and sent to Point Lookout, Md.; died in the hands of the enemy on 7/30/64.”

I have several additional letters written home by John Napolean from this sad trip in 1865 and I’ll be posting them soon.

Darlington County Courthouse by Jack Frierson

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It seems that my tendency to keep everything of family importance comes to me naturally… I found the March 1, 1973, issue of the Darlington News and Press as I was going through some things found in my parents’ attic, and on the front page was an interesting article written by my late uncle, John Lawrence Frierson, Jr. (Jack). He gives some history of the current Darlington County Courthouse and its predecessors, going back to the original one built circa 1791 on the same site. His story of how that courthouse was sited in 1785 by two of my great-great-great-great grandfathers (Elias DuBose and Lemuel Benton) is one that I’ve never heard before and I thought would be an interesting one to post! Click on each of the two images to enlarge them so you can read the article…

G. Dargan Frierson (1921-2014)

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Today is the 93rd anniversary of the birth of my father, George Dargan Frierson and I thought I’d post some pictures to remind me of him. Most of these have been seen before, but I hope you’ll enjoy them none the less….

Click on a picture to see an enlargement of it… (From top to bottom, left to right) 1. Age two years in the yard at Cherry Vale; 2. With his customized Model T Ford in the winter of 1936; 3. At Holy Cross Church (left to right, brother John L. Frierson, Jr. (Jack), mother Georgia Dargan Frierson, father John L. Frierson); 4. Student days at the University of S.C. in Columbia; 5. Newly married to Josephine Daniels in 1944 in Taft, California; 6. Jo and Dargan with friends Dorothy and Vic Roeder at Slapsie Maxie Rosenblum’s Club in Los Angeles (c. 1944); 7. Hot Pilot – I think this was taken in Bellingham, WA, when he came to visit his new in-laws! 8. With his brother Jack and father John outside their home, Fairview, in Stateburg, S.C.; 9. Young FBI agent, in Detroit or Cleveland perhaps around 1950; 10. With Mom at 2503 Woodview Drive in Greensboro, NC (c. 1954) 11. In the Hyco Lake house garden, with sunflower! 12. Retired and relaxed at home… 13. With Mom on a visit to Wilmington 14. With Mom at John and Alice Ann’s wedding in Connecticut in the summer of 2000; 15. Boat ride in Seattle, summer 2003. 16. On the couch in the living room at 604…

Georgia Dargan Frierson (2/4/1886 – 7/1/1974)

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Today, February 4, 2014, is the 128th anniversary of the birth of my grandmother, Georgia Dargan Frierson. The photo at the right was taken on Christmas day in 1937 when she was 51 years old. She was born in Stateburg, South Carolina, the fourth oldest of the ten daughters of Theodosia Green Williamson Dargan and John Julius Dargan. She married John Lawrence Frierson (9/4/1883 – 1/30/1963) in 1911 and they had two children, John Lawrence Frierson, Jr., and George Dargan Frierson. She was both a performer and teacher of music all her life, starting in her early teenage years as a performing member of the Chiquola Club with her father and four of her sisters. The Chiquola Club was the creation of her father, John Julius Dargan, and its purpose was to tour South Carolina, he teaching and lecturing its citizens about the state’s proud history, all the while entertaining the audiences with music performed by the Dargan daughters. Here’s a description from the biography of J.J. Dargan by Henry F. Cauthen:

“The sight was one which drew attention on the trains and in the little hotels of the time: a small, dignified man leading five young women, animated and attractive. The gentleman was none other than John Julius Dargan and the young women, five of his daughters.

“The time could have been any day in the period from 1899 to 1903, and the little company could be seen arriving at one of any number of South Carolina towns in the eastern area of the state, but not exclusively in that section. In the evening they would appear in the opera house, the court house, the school auditorium or some other available hall for what was billed as an “entertainment”, but which was an event of a much more serious purpose in the heart of Colonel Dargan. The evenings were, however, entertaining, as dozens of newspaper accounts testified. … Many accounts referred to the performing daughters as ‘Colonel Dargan’s charming and talented daughters’ . These were no extravagant statements; the daughters were indeed attractive and were trained, as well as talented musicians. They played a variety of instruments and sang. And their presence represented the practical showmanship which had popped into the creative mind of their father. Such a venture should have a name and the colonel called it the program of the Chiquola Club”.

Georgia played both the piano and violin and also sang with her sisters when they were on tour. By 1905, J.J. Dargan had opened the General Sumter Memorial Academy in Stateburg, S.C., and my grandmother was the music teacher of violin and piano, a career she would continue for most of her life in both public schools and for private students. Also, her 50-or-so-year position as the organist at the Holy Cross Episcopal Church in Stateburg surely can’t be beaten! The photo to the right was contributed by my cousin Lil Frierson Wetmore and shows our grandmother around age 12 years with her violin.

Also shown is a photo of an even younger Georgia Dargan, maybe around 7 or 8 years old?