Circa 1860 William Peeler and Edith Amanda Carlile
Edith Amanda Carlile, sister of our grandfather, Samuel Joseph Young Carlile, married William Peeler Nov 7, 1846 in Randolph County, AL. Edith Amanda and her brother, Francis Nelson pictured below, married brother and sister. Edith Amanda was born Aug 27, 1828 in Abbeville, SC and died in December, 1864 at age 36 in Jefferson County, FL. Edith Amanda Carlile was the daughter of Francis Carlile and Mary Elizabeth "Betsy" Grant Carlile. Contributed by Tommy R. Carlisle.
Circa 1868 Francis Nelson Carlile & Euphemia Elizabeth Peeler
Francis Nelson Carlile was born Feb 6, 1826 in Abbeville, S.C., the son of Francis Carlile and Mary Elizabeth "Betsy" Grant Carlile. He married Euphemia Elizabeth Peeler Jul 10, 1851 in Thomasville, GA, and died after 1880 in Meriwether County, GA. Francis Nelson Carlile and his sister, Edith Amanda pictured above, married brother and sister. Francis was the older brother of our grandfather, Samuel Joseph Young Carlile. Contributed by Tommy R. Carlisle.
Circa 1872 Elizabeth Ann Carlile
Twenty years his senior, Samuel Joseph Young Carlile's oldest sister was Elizabeth Ann, born July 5, 1812 in Moffetville, SC. Elizabeth Ann married Robert Augustus Parker Jan 21, 1834 in Abbeville, SC. She married her second husband, Cassius "Cash" Willingham, Nov 3, 1842 in Meriwether County GA. Elizabeth Ann died in Meriwether County GA Aug 28, 1884 and is buried there in the Old Midway Methodist Church Cemetery. Elizabeth Ann Carlile was the daughter of Francis Carlile and Mary Elizabeth "Betsy" Grant Carlile. Contributed by Tommy R. Carlisle.
Circa 1886 Ada Lillian Carlisle
Ada Lillian Carlisle, daughter of Samuel Joseph Young Carlile and Elizabeth Leak, was born July 6, 1865 and barely two years old when her brother, WilliamMadison Carlisle, was born. She married Linton Clifton Crow Nov 2, 1886,. They had four children before she died on May 21, 1897 at the age of 32. Contributed by Tommy R. Carlisle, courtesy of Robert Linton Crowe.
Circa 1895 Bascomb & Ava Kemp Carlile
Atticus Bascomb Carlisle was the younger brother of William Madison Carlisle and the second son of SamuelJoseph Young Carlile and ElizabethLeak. Born June 25, 1869, he married the 17-year old Ava Kemp of Cobb County GA Jan 10, 1896. Bascomb beat his older brother to the altar by just a few weeks when he and Ava married Jan 2, 1895. These photos were made in Texas about 1898. Contributed by Raymond Carlisle.
Ava Kemp Carlisle
A. Bascomb Carlisle
1895 William Madison Carlisle & Emmaline Thompson
To commemorate their engagement, the young couple pose for a photo at Crowe Springs near the Carlisle family home in Bartow County Georgia. Probably to avoid any motion that would be picked up by the camera lens, they leaned against what appears to be a rocky outcropping or large tree stump. Will Carlisle and Emma Thompson were married Jan 20, 1895. Contributed by Anne Carlyle Thompson.
Circa 1896 Samuel Joseph Young Carlile Family
This photo has not aged well. It's terribly faded, the surface deteriorated by microscopic fissures, and some faces are a complete blur because of the long exposure time needed, but with computer enhancement, we can attempt to identify a few people. The two men centered under the vine-covered archway are William Madison Carlisle and his father, Samuel Joseph Young Carlile. In front of SJY Carlile and slightly left is his wife, our grandmother Elizabeth Leak Carlile. To the left of W.M. Carlile, barely visible peeking out behind the young girl on the front row, is his wife, EmmaThompson Carlile holding their first child, Ruth. Next to last on the right is probably Josie E. Carlile, about 22 years old at the time. The portrait was probably made in the fall of 1896 by a traveling photographer, a popular sight in the rural Bartow County GA countryside during the last decade of the 19th century. Can you identify anyone? Contributed by Bobbie McCrary Taylor.
Circa 1898 Josie E. Carlile
The 11th child of Samuel Joseph Young Carlile and Elizabeth Leak Carlile, Josie was born Sep 22, 1874, married Clifford Cunningham, and died at age 33 on Nov 12, 1907. This stunning portrait was made at Menkee's Carterville, GA studio. Contributed by Bobbie McCrary Taylor.
Josie with baby Earnest and Clifford Cunningham. This portrait is marked Milam Studio, Adairsville, GA.
Circa 1900 Daisy Leak Carlile and Roland M. Wallace
The youngest and 12th child of Samuel Joseph Young Carlile and Elizabeth Leak, Daisy Leak a Carlile was born Aug 3, 1877. She married Roland Melvin
Wallace, shown holding a wrench in the center of picture to the left, in July of 1900. The other man in the photo, Charlie Bagwell, was a long-time close friend, though Wallace lost touch with him for many many years. When Wallace entered a nursing home in his final days he found Charlie Bagwell again -- in the room across the hall. Daisy died Dec 27, 1920. Contributed by Rayann Walker.
O. Elizabeth "Bessie" Carlisle
O. Elizabeth "Bessie" Carlisle was S.J. & Elizabeth Carlisle's 10th child born Nov 29, 1872. She married A.J. Thomson Aug 26, 1897 and died Feb 1940.
<<<
Bessie with sons Baby Howard and A.J. Jr. Contributed by Bobby McCrary Taylor.
>>> In an earlier photo at a house on the corner of Luckie St. and North Ave. in Atlanta, Bessie is holding son Baxter. A.J. Jr. stands down front. The older couple is unidentified.
Contributed by Tommy R. Carlisle.
Circa 1900 Polk D. Wilson & Maggie Carlisle
Maggie Carlisle was the ninth child of S.J. and Elizabeth Leak Carlisle. She was born Apr. 3, 1871 and married Polk D. Wilson Nov 21, 1897. "Uncle Polk Wilson" was a developer and hired his brother-in-law (our grandfather), William Madison "Will" Carlisle, to build at least one house, the so-called Carlisle Homeplace, and one apartment building in Atlanta that we know of. Maggie died Aug 15, 1927. In 1891, Maggie was attending school in Kingston, GA, about 15 miles from the Carlisle home. Contributed by Bobbie McCrary Taylor.
Portrait marked
J.W. Lancaster Studio, Rome, GA
1901 Carlisle Sisters
In 1901, Grandma Emma bravely boarded the train for Texas with four little girls, the oldest barely six years of age. This portrait of (R-L) Lucile, Ruth, Pearl & Ada was a souvenir of their trip to Ft. Worth to visit Emma's family. In her memoirs about the journey, Pearl wrote "I was five, Ruth was six, Ada was three, and Lucile was 1-1/2. We did not get a sleeper, we road a day coach for two days and nights. We had fun, but poor mother was exhausted when we reached our destination."
1905 Will Carlisle Family
William Madison Carlisle, William Memry Carlisle, Emmaline, Aileen, Ada, Lucile, Ruth & Pearl. Emma named her first son for her father, Floyd Memry Thompson, but years later W.M., as he was called, changed his middle name to Madison. Contributed by Bobbie McCrary Taylor.
Circa 1914 Five Forks School, Cassville, GA
The Carlisle children attended Five Forks School located only a quarter-mile walk for the Carlisle's Cassville, GA home. Their father, William M. Carlisle, was a trustee of the school. This school photo was made into a postcard and mailed to Aileen Carlisle, Cass Station, RFD (Rural Federal Delivery) #1, Georgia. Aileen is on the first row, fourth from the left. Contributed by Bobbie McCrary Taylor.
Ruth Carlisle
Ava Ruth Carlisle was the oldest of William Madison Carlisle and Emmaline Thompson Carlisle's children born Oct 31, 1895. She married Fletcher B. McCrary and had one daughter, Ruth. They lived at the corner of Atlanta Rd. and Ridge Rd. in Smyrna, GA for many years. During World War II, Ruth worked at nearby Aunt Fanny's Cabin, an institution among Southern restaurants known for it's fried chicken. Ruth died Aug 26, 1982.
<<< Ruth, age 18 in 1913.
Ruth & Unidentified Friend >>>
Circa 1915 Fletch, Ruth & Pearl
(L-R) Fletcher B. McCrary, Ruth Carlisle, and Pearl Carlisle enjoy an outting with others who are unidentified. Ruth and Pearl Carlisle were the oldest of WilliamMadision Carlisle and Emma Thompson Carlisle's eight children. Contributed by Ruth McCrary MacKay.
Sisters Marry Brothers
Will and Emma's daughters, Ruth and Ada, married brothers Fletcher B. and Charles McCrary.
• Fletcher B. & Charles - sons of Thomas B. McCrary
• Thomas B. - son of Andrew J. McCrary, born in 1824; living in Forsyth County GA in 1860.
• Andrew J. - son of James & Lucinda McCrary
• James McCrary was born in 1797 in SC. His wife, Lucinda, was born in 1805 in SC. All of their children were born in GA.
Ruth Carlisle McCrary
Circa 1915 Martha C. "Mattie" Carlile Venable
William Madison Carlisle's oldest sister, Mattie Carlile, was born Dec 8, 1855 in Cass (later Bartow) County GA and died at age 64 on Mar 9, 1919. She married Whitfield Anthony Venable Apr 31, 1876. She was the daughter and oldest child of Samuel Joseph Young Carlile and Elizabeth Leak. Contributed by Tommy R. Carlisle, courtesy of Robert Linton Crowe.
Circa 1915 Cassville Cemetery
These two photos were made on the same day about 1915 and appear to be located in Cassville Cemetery, Bartow County Georgia.
Emmaline Thompson Carlisle
The children in the cemetery with Emmaline are thought to be (left to right) Aileen, W.M., and Mary Frances.
Circa 1915 Atticus Bascomb Carlisle Family
A. Bascomb Carlisle, seated, with children Allie Mae Carlisle and baby Alvin Carlisle, who died shortly thereafter at about one year of age. Back row, left to right, son Arthur Carlisle, Charlie Barrett, son Luther Carlisle, son Howard Carlisle, and wife Ava Kemp Carlisle. Uncle Bascomb died Nov 11, 1951 in Perry GA. Photo contributed by Tommy R. Carlisle. Identifications contributed by Raymond Carlisle with additional information provided by Randy Wilbur.
Circa 1916 Five Forks School, Cassville, GA
Samuel Jackson "Jack" Carlisle, first row, fourth from the left, and William Madison "W.M." Carlisle, second row, fourth from the left, attended Five Forks School located only a quarter-mile walk for the Carlisle' Cassville, GA home. Their father, William M. Carlisle, was a trustee of the school. This school photo was made into a postcard and mailed to Mr. W. M. Carlisle, Cass Station, RFD (Rural Federal Delivery) #1, Georgia. Contributed by Bobbie McCrary Taylor.
1922 William Madison Carlisle Family
Aileen, Ruth, W.M., Carl Sarrett, Grandma (Emma Thompson Carlisle), Lucile Carlisle Sarrett and a winking Frances. Contributed by Marlene Sarrett O'Brien.
Ada "Aunt Aider" Carlisle was born Nov 8, 1898, the third child of William Madison Carlisle and Emmaline Thompson Carlisle. She and husband Charles McCrary had two daughters, Lillian and Barbara (Bobbie). Known to grandchildren as Mimi, we have Ada Carlisle McCrary to thanks for taking the time to write identifications on many of the photos on this web page. Ada died Sep 20, 1974. Contributed by Bobbie McCrary Taylor.
Ada Carlisle McCrary circa1920. Contributed by Bobbie McCrary Taylor.
Ada Carlisle McCrary holding daughter Barbara (Bobbie) and Lillian about 1925. Contributed by Bobbie McCrary Taylor.
Bobbie & Ada Carlisle McCrary about 1938. Contributed by Bobbie McCrary Taylor.
Lillian in a Cornfield, third from left, daughter of Charles & Ada Carlisle McCrary. Contributed by Bobbie McCrary Taylor.
Circa 1925 William Madison Carlisle, Jr.
William Madison "W.M." Carlisle was born July 31, 1906, the oldest son of William Madison Carlisle and Emmaline Thompson Carlisle.. He married Nell England and died Mar 18, 1962. Contributed by Bobbie McCrary Taylor.
1930 "Jack" Carlisle/Carlyle
Samuel Jackson Carlisle was born Apr 15, 1908, William Madison Carlisle and Emmaline Thompson Carlisle's seventh child. This photo was made about the time the family moved to Atlanta. Jack married Annie Robertson, and in 1942 changed the spelling to Carlyle. He died June 11, 1964. Contributed by Anne Carlyle Thompson.
1931 Poses with Grandma
Carl (standing) & George Sarrett with Emma Thompson Carlisle.
1932 Mary Frances Carlisle
Mary Frances Carlisle was born Mar 12, 1914, the youngest child of William M. Carlisle and Emmaline Thompson Carlisle. This beautiful portrait commemorated her graduation from high school. Frances, as she was known, died Sep 6, 1971. Contributed by Bobbie McCrary Taylor.
1947 Some Carlisle Grandchildren
(L-R back row) Ed Sarrett, George Sarrett, Marlene Sarrett, Jane Pratt, Charlotte Pratt, Sarah Pratt, Dorothy Pratt, Ruth McCrary, Carl Sarrett. Second row: Anne Carlisle (Carlyle), Patricia Pratt. (L-R) First row: Sam Carlisle, Nancy Carlisle, Dianne Sarrett. Contributed by Ruth McCrary MacKay.
1947 Carlisle Children
Mary Frances, Jack, W.M., Aileen, Lucile, Ada, Pearl, & Ruth. Contributed by Ruth McCrary MacKay.
1962 Children of William Madison Carlisle & Emma Thompson Carlisle
(L-R) Aileen, Ruth, Lucile, Jack, Mary Frances, Ada, Pearl, & W.M. This photo was the last of all the Carlisle children. W.M. died of a heart attack just two months later. Contributed by Mable Pratt Johnson.
Best Chapel Homecoming, Aug 29, 1976
(R-L) Back Row: Martin Ross, Diane Sarrett Ross, Billy O'Brien, Beth Gorman Sarrett, Dr. David Sarrett, Joel Sarrett. Second Row: Marlene Sarrett O'Brien, Neal O'Brien, Lucile Carlisle Sarrett, Donna Meade Sarrett, Kay Sarrett Borden. First Row: Allan Ross & Connie O'Brien Scharre. >>>
<<< Our grandfather, William Madison Carlisle, was a carpenter and building contractor. After a fire in 1905, he rebuilt Best Chapel, where the family attended services near Crowe Springs in Bartow County GA. In 1976, three of his children, Pearl Pratt, Lucile Sarrett, and Ruth McCrary, made the annual trek to homecoming.
The church was established in 1880 and first held services under a brush arbor on Crowe Springs Rd. in the Cassville-White area of Bartow County GA. Not long after the non-denominational congregation changed the name to Church of the Covenant, the historic church was swept away by a tornado, one of many dozens spawned on an epic day of storms that ravaged The South on April 27, 2011
The pictures above from the 1976 Best Chapel homecoming made their way into the church's scrapbook and appear at 1:37 seconds into the following YouTube video.
The following news video includes an interview with our cousin, Beth Garrett, whose grandmother was Pearl Pratt, pictured above at the 1976 Best Chapel homecoming.
Best Chapel as it appeared in 2002.
A week after the storm of April 27, 2011, only concrete steps, visible against a construction dumpster beyond, and the sign post was left undisturbed at Church of the Covenant, formally Best Chapel.
The Homeplace
Around 1900, William Madison "Will" Carlisle was hired by his brother-in-law, Polk D. Wilson, to build onto and reorient this home from facing east to facing south. Originally built just before the civil war, the families of Will Carlisle then his brother Bascomb called it home for about 30 years after the 1900 remodel. Later, two of Will Carlisle's sons-in-law, Fletch and Charles McCrary owned it. The house is located at 24 Gaines Rd. next to the Cartersville quarry just off Interstate 75 in Cartersville, Bartow County, GA. It was spared when a tornado ravaged the area on April 27, 2011.
