Emanuel Waters: Son of William Waters

Emanuel Waters was born to William Aris Waters and his second wife, Cecelia Brewton, on December 12th, 1829 in Tattnall County , GA. He was the second born of this family. He had an older brother, George Washington Waters, and a younger sister and brother, Nancy Waters and James Manning Waters. His father and first wife, Elizabeth Moore, had three children, Pearcy Waters, a girl, Elizabeth Waters, and John Washington Waters. These were Emanuel's half brothers and sisters. William's first wife, Elizabeth, died about 1824, in Tattnall County , GA.  In 1826, William married Cecelia Brewton, Emanuel's ½ mother. After four children and fourteen years of marriage, Cecelia died in 1840. In 1841 William and his younger children moved to Madison County , FL. Emanuel was about twelve years old at this time. When they became of age, two of Emanuel's ½ siblings returned to GA. In 1848 William returned to GA to sell the land he owned there. He returned to FL and purchased land in Madison County . as of the 1860 census, he was living in Madison County, in the house of Minza. In 1850, Emanuel, his brother, George, and William P. Lightfoot were found in Monticello, Jefferson County, FL. On the February 7, 1850, Monticello , Jefferson County , FL census William H. Andrews, Enumerator , the three of them, were in the custody of William West who was a Hotel Keeper and Jailer. They had been incarcerated for homicide. From that point I have been unable to find out anything else except that they must all have been released for some reason because on January 12th, 1851, Emanuel Waters became the brother in law of William P. Lightfoot, also of Madison County, FL, by marrying his sister in law, Nancy Elizabeth Gornto. Nancy was the sister of Hannah Gornto Lightfoot. On May 15th, 1862, at Houston , FL , Emanuel Waters enlisted into the Confederate Army. He was a member of the 8th Regt. Florida Infantry Company C. There were more battles fought by this unit but The Wilderness was the last one Emanuel was in. Emanuel was injured in the right hip area during a skirmish at the Wilderness on May 6th, 1864, when his unit was flanked and was ordered to fall back. He was then, captured. By all evidence, it was late in the day. He was absent, sick and hospitalized on the last muster roll. The series of battles began on May 4th, 1864, about 18 miles west of Fredericksburg , VA , and lasted three days. A letter written by Emanuel when he applied for pension describes the incident that injured him. He was not hit by enemy fire but sustained a serious rupture on the left side and paralysis of the right leg by falling backwards over a pile of logs after being ordered to fall back when the Federal Troops flanked his unit on the left. The paralysis was caused by an injury to his lower back at about the area where the pelvis is joined. He was released from capture April 9th, 1865 in Richmond , VA. A story in the family is that he walked all the way back to FL. With a paralysis of the right leg it must have been a very difficult trip. His Pension Record is A00514. It was filed in Lafayette County , FL. In it, it lists his wife as Nancy Gurnts . Her name was not Gurnts but was Gornto. The pension was applied for on October 16th, 1888 and was filed November 16th, 1888. In approximately March of 1894, Emanuel became bed ridden and remained there until his death on September 5th, 1895 at the age of 66. His wife stated that the flesh of his right leg and arm perished away, which caused his death. I have to assume here that she meant he became totally paralyzed and the arm and leg atrophied or deteriorated. It is unclear exactly what happened. Emanuel never received his pension. Nancy Elizabeth Gornto Waters applied for a widow s pension on August 19th, 1897, in Lafayette County , FL. It was filed August 25th 1897. It seems to have been ignored because there are no signatures on the form. Only a date is there. On November 6th, 1903, Nancy applied again a Widow's Application for Pension in Bell , Alachua County , FL. Bell, the area that she lived in, became Bell, Gilchrist County on January 1, 1926. It was filed on December 4th, 1903. She was paid, from December 4th, 1903, $96 per year. On July 27th 1909, Nancy filed a Widow's Pension Claim Under the Act of 1909 . Nancy was awarded a pension beginning July 1st, 1909 at $120 per year. On July 1st, 1913 the pension would go to $150 per year. Pension 4037 certificate 2701. Emanuel Waters was interred in the Townsend Cemetery, Gilchrist Co., FL, not far from the Rock Bluff area of Bell, FL near the Suwannee River .

    Arrie,  Simon,  William, James L.  and John H  Waters      Seated: John Washington Waters and wife Martha Durrence Waters

John Henry Waters Clan: This picture was taken about 1912 

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For more in-depth Waters history visit Rick Waters' site https://sites.google.com/site/watersthomasfamily/home  

Vida Vinton Barron Waters: 1981

 

My father, David Soloman Waters 1948

Son of David & Vida Waters

David Soloman Waters 1930

David Soloman Waters 1923

Vida & David Waters Home

Thoughts from a Pioneer Home
I know just how I felt that day,
I stood there filled with pride,
The last plank on my wall was nailed,
I stood, just one room wide.
One morning from the balcony,
I watched a green horse bolt,
I saw how quick a young man came,
Grabbed lines and held the colt.
I’ve watched as children ran my halls,
Played games upon my stair,
I’ve watched a generation
Go from dark to graying hair.
I’d watch dirt devils in the road,
For few there were that passed
And marveled as the changes came,
For times were changing fast.
I saw them widen roads out front,
I knew the trees they saved,
But roads out front that once were dirt
Are now all slick and paved.
Some trees have died while others grew,
Oft’ times my visions blurred,
But years have passed since snorting horse,
Or prancing hooves were heard.
I saw the first contraption pass,
Filled up with older boys,
It chugged and sputtered down my road
And filled my yard with noise.
Thru the years my owners changed
And with them changed the key,
My one room wide was now to small,
They added onto me.
Still now the children run my halls,
Some floors have worn thin
And still I stand on corner lot,
Protecting all within.
My roads have now become all streets,
With names I’ve never known,
I strain to peek between the limbs,
For all my trees have grown.
How often I recall porch shade,
How people all relied,
To find the coolness of the day,
But now they stay inside.
No one stops to say hello,
Like many in my past
And most my neighbors pass me by
While driving way to fast.
My yard is mowed, my bushes trimmed,
My boards are fresh with paint,
I’m standing still, have people here
And have so few complaints.
My roof is strong, my windows hold,
My rooms are safe and dry,
But how I miss when roads were dirt
And horses passed me by.
Linda Lee 2019

Samuel Bell Waters: son of Genie Jefferson Waters who was a son of Emanuel Waters

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To view more in-depth Waters history visit Tom Waters site-per his alert, he may not keep it open for long, due to cost of the internet.

http://tom-waters.us/

~ Thank you ~