John Turner Spillers
Crawford County’s Greatest Mystery
By Billy Powell, author and
local columnist
A profound mystery has surfaced
regarding the burial of Crawford County icon John Turner Spillers. Before
addressing this matter in depth, first some biographical facts…
John Turner Spiller: Hero
of Texas War of Independence
In 1835, Spillers was in Knoxville, Georgia, and witnessed Joanna
Troutman presenting the flag to the Georgia Volunteers. He joined the Georgia
battalion before it departed Knoxville and returned to Crawford County after the
Texas-Mexican War. Being one of only two soldiers who survived Mexican General
Santa Anna’s brutal massacre, Spillers was welcomed home as a war hero. This was
a distinction Spillers earned and richly deserved, because he voluntarily placed
his life on the line so that Texans might live free of Mexican oppression.
“JTS” marker at Providence
Cemetery is questionable
In the 17 November 2011 edition of “The Georgia Post,” we published a
photograph of the purported gravesite of John Turner Spillers (1802-1881). This
gravesite, being his final resting place, was based on information provided by
his descendants. The pictured grave was located in the Providence Church
Cemetery, located approximately 1.5 miles west of Roberta on Highway 80. At the
foot of the grave was a vertical concrete marker with the initials “JTS” etched
into the concrete. Upon questioning, no Spillers descendant knows who placed it
there, or why. More biographical details…
JTS and two wives produced
14 children
Spillers married his first wife, Matilda Culver, in 1827. They had
three children before Matilda’s death in 1835. Matilda is buried in Hancock
County, Georgia. Seven years later in 1842, Spillers married Mary Ann Adams,
who passed in 1906, some 25 years after JTS’s death in 1881. This union produced
eleven children, one of which was Cicero Spillers, the grandfather of Paul and
Terry Spillers. The Spillers family tree with 14 original progenitors that
sprang from JTS is so extensive that it can only be covered in a book. A
significant portion of Crawford County’s citizens came from JTS and the families
that intermarried with the Spillers. Now for the mystery…
Mystery Deepens Regarding JTS’s
Burial
Since the 17 November issue, additional and unexpected information has
surfaced that cast doubts on the final resting place of John Turner Spillers and
seriously questions the implications drawn from the 17 November photo in “The
Georgia Post.” These three additional disclosers are:
(1) A
granite marker for John Turner Spillers was found in Turner’s Chapel Church
Cemetery, located north of Butler on highway 137. The memorial provides the name
John Turner Spillers, his birth and death dates, and lists his two wives,
Matilda Culver and Mary Ann Adams and their respective marriage dates. Buried
nearby in the same cemetery are John Spurgeon Spillers (1832-1915) and wife
Rosena Hudson (1847-1914). John Spurgeon Spillers was the oldest child of John
Turner Spillers and Matilda Culver. This unexpected information naturally poses
a question: Is John Turner Spillers buried at Turner’s Chapel near his first
son and not in Providence Cemetery, as his descendants had thought? Or is the
marker only a memorial for JTS with no one buried beneath it?
(2) A letter dated
September 15, 1953, has surfaced. The letter was written by Lorena Martin
Spillers of Tulsa, Oklahoma, to Mrs. Maude Spillers Sandifer of Macon, Georgia.
The letter states that John Turner Spillers was buried in Elim Church Cemetery
on Whitaker Road near the western border of Crawford County (cemetery #1 on the
Crawford County map). Lorena Martin Spillers was the wife of Grover Cleveland
Spillers--the 11th child of John Spurgeon Spillers. Grover Cleveland Spillers
was born in Butler, Georgia, and educated at the University of Georgia Law
School. He set up a law practice in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1911. His wife Lorena
was working on a genealogy book entitled “Culver-Spillers Family History,” which
was published in 1963. At the time of the letter (1953), Mrs. Sandifer was
assisting Lorena in gathering genealogical information for the book. Evidently,
it was an established fact as late as 1953--72 years after his death in
1881--that John Turner Spillers was buried in the Elim Church Cemetery.
(3) In her 1953 letter, Lorena Martin Spillers
commented that John Turner Spillers’ grave was “unmarked” and the cemetery
“badly neglected.” She added: “Since Mr. Spillers served with distinction in
the Texas War of Independence, his body should be removed to a better kept
cemetery and an appropriate marker placed on it.” The question is did Lorena
Martin Spillers follow through on her wishes and have John Turner Spillers’
remains exhumed and reinterred? And, if so, did she have him buried in
Providence Cemetery near Roberta, or in Turner’s Chapel Cemetery in Taylor
County?
JTS’s remains were decayed
after 72 years
In 1953, John Turner Spillers had been dead for 72 years. In 1881, the
year of his death, only a select few, mainly the prosperous and influential,
were embalmed. Further, most people of that era were buried in a pine box, not a
metal casket. In 72 long years, the elements would have rotted the wooden casket
and JTS’s bones would have turned to a white powder. There might have been some
teeth, some strands of hair, and a belt buckle left, but that would be all.
Further, if the grave was unmarked, it would be difficult to find the exact
location in order to exhume whatever human remains were there.
And, where is JTS’s wife
buried?
John Turner Spillers’ wife, Mary Ann Adams, died in 1906 some 25 years
after her husband. One genealogy source states that Mary was buried in
Providence Cemetery, but no grave bearing her identification has been found. It
would seem logical that she be buried alongside her husband at Elim Church
Cemetery, assuming his unmarked gravesite could be found for a juxtaposed
burial--after the passage of 25 years in a grossly unkempt cemetery.
Jury Still Out on JTS’s
Burial
In summary, back in November, we thought we knew where John Turner
Spillers was buried based on family assurances, but with the additional
information that has recently surfaced, the jury is still out.
--The family’s belief that he is
buried in Providence Church Cemetery cannot be substantiated nor can it be
traced back to any oral tradition passed down through five generations of
Spillers. So, what does the JTS marker at the foot of an unmarked grave at
Providence Cemetery mean?...and who placed it there and why? No one knows.
--Could John Turner Spillers and
his wife Mary Ann be buried together at Providence? Maybe, but no one has any
information to prove it, and nothing at the purported gravesite would indicate
such.
--Is John Turner Spillers buried
at Turner’s Chapel Cemetery in Taylor County? Maybe, but the marker there could
be a memorial only, and not a grave.
--Are JTS’s remains still
decaying at Elim Church Cemetery? Probably, unless the wealthy Tulsa, Oklahoma
lawyer Grover Cleveland Spillers and his wife Lorena had his remains moved to
another location.
--The truth rests with the
descendants of Grover Cleveland Spillers who once had a thriving law practice in
the Tulsa, Oklahoma area. Both Grover Cleveland Sr. (born 1884) and Jr. (born
1917) could well be dead by now. Therefore, the key to solving this mystery
would be to locate the descendants of Grover Cleveland Spillers Sr. and Jr. and
determine if they know what disposition was made of JTS’s remains. To date, no
success has been achieved via this approach. Should we find them, would they
know? Not unless their parents, grandparents, or other Spillers’ descendants
told them.
We need to know where JTS
is buried
Since John Turner Spillers is a famous Crawford Countian, it is
important we know where he is buried. So, if anyone in the Spillers family or
another interested party possesses any edifying information on this subject,
please contact “The Georgia Post.”
John Turner Spillers, as envisioned.
|
Fifth generation
descendants of John Turner Spillers. L-R: April
Spillers Baxley holding son Landon Baxley, and daughters Audrey Dyer,
Sydney Dyer. |
John Turner Spillers at Turner Chapel Cemetery |
JTS Marker at Providence Church Cemetery |
John Spurgeon Spillers and wife, Turner's Chapel Cemetery |
Elim Church Cemetery on Whitaker Road at western edge of Crawford
County. According to a 1953 letter from the Spillers' family genealogist
Lorena Martin Spillers, to Maude Spillers Sandifer (in possession of
historian Sidney Goodrich), JTS was still buried in Elim Church
Cemetery 72 years after his death in 1881. Are JTS's remains still
buried at Elim? Probably. The other two possibilities are that JTS's
remains are either at Providence Church Cemetery on Highway 80 west of
Roberta, or Turner's Chapel Church Cemetery north of Butler on Highway
137. Accepting either of the latter premises would require belief that JTS's
descendants were able to locate his unmarked gravesite at Elim after 72
years--in an grossly unkempt cemetery--dig up and gather
whatever powdery remains were left in a totally decayed pine casket, and
re-inter them. This is the "GREATEST MYSTERY" Sidney Goodrich and I have
ever encountered in our historical research in Crawford County!
|
John Turner Spillers Family Tree
Biographical Sketch:
John Turner Spillers was born in 1802 in Hancock
County, Georgia. After the death of his first wife, Matilda Spillers, in 1835,
John Turner Spillers left his children with his brother Samuel and wife Martha
(Matilda’s sister) and joined the Georgia Volunteers marching to Texas to fight
against Mexico. He enlisted at Knoxville, Georgia, and witnessed Joanna Troutman
present her hand-crafted flag to Colonel Ward from the steps of her father’s
stagecoach inn. Legend has it that Spillers carried the flag to Texas. The
volunteers began their march from Macon and sailed from New Orleans to Texas.
Spillers and one other soldier from the Georgia Battalion of 150 men escaped
Mexican General Santa Anna’s brutal massacre. He returned to Crawford County as
a hero of the Texas War of Independence (1835-1836). Spillers placed his life
on the line so that Texans might live free of Mexican oppression. He died Sep
20, 1881, in Crawford County. He is a revered icon whose descendants in Crawford
and surrounding counties are many.
Lineage:
William Spillers-------
Elizabeth, both from Virginia.
1-Samuel (older brother)
2-John Turner
First Marriage (21 Dec 1827)
John Turner Spillers
(1802-1881)---Matilda Culver (1807-1835), youngest daughter of Nathan Culver, a
Revolutionary War soldier from Somerset County, Maryland, and wife Nancy Powers,
daughter of Richard Powers.
1-William Thomas- born circa1830
2-John Spurgeon- 1832
3-Eliza Jane Matilda- 1833
Second Marriage (21 August
1842)
John Turner Spillers
(1802-1881)----Mary Ann Adams (1823- 1906), daughter of Robert Adams and Sidney
H. Manderson of Crawford County.
1-Jefferson-born 1843
2-Varilla-1844
3-Cicero-1845
4-James Franklin-1847
5-Leroy-1849
6-Augustus-1852
7-Robert Marion-1854
8-Elizabeth-1857
9-Mary Frances-1860
10-Georgeanne-1862
11-Andrew-1865
The Hunt for
John Turner Spillers
By Billy Powell, author and
local columnist
For the past 12 months,
historian Sidney Goodrich and I have searched diligently to find the burial site
of John Turner Spillers (JTS). First, a 1953 letter from a Tulsa, Oklahoma,
genealogist and Spillers family member sent us to the desolated Elim Church
Cemetery in the backwoods of Crawford County. Then Sidney walked up on a
gravestone at Turner’s Chapel Cemetery outside Butler that inferred JTS was
buried there. Further, some family members said JTS was buried at Providence
Cemetery outside Roberta. Yet they had no proof other than what they had heard.
To complicate matters, the headstone of JTS’s purported grave at Providence was
missing. Since JTS had been dead over 130 years and they didn’t embalm or have
vaults in his death year, 1881, Sidney and I concluded that JTS’s remains and
his wooden casket had long since decayed. Read how our research and an
unexpected turn of events led us unmistakably to the burial site of John Turner
Spillers.
Spillers Descendants Gather
at Providence Cemetery
The Spillers family, including a seventh generation descendant of John
Turner Spillers, gathered at Providence Church Cemetery, 1.5 miles west of
downtown Roberta on U.S. Highway 80, to view the grave of its most famous
ancestor. David McLeighton, the owner of McLeighton Funeral Service that serves
both Crawford and Taylor Counties, came there at my invitation to probe for
occupants inside the Spillers lot. McLeighton found a baby’s grave in proximity
to JTS, although there was no above ground marker. Probing diagonally
underneath the slab of JTS, he detected no vault or casket. He acknowledged that
he didn’t expect to, saying they didn’t have vaults and didn’t embalm during
that era. He inferred that John Turner Spillers’ remains as well as his wooden
casket would have completely decayed over the past 130 years. He did, however,
detect a concrete foundation underneath the slab. Although the headstone of John
Turner Spillers’ slab is missing, its footstone reads “JTS.”
JTS’s Burial Site: 3
Possibilities
In the 5 January 2012 issue of “The Georgia Post,” we enumerated three
possible burial sites for John Turner Spillers: (1) Turner’s Chapel Church
Cemetery north of Butler on Highway 137, (2) Elim Church Cemetery on Whitaker
Road in western Crawford County near Upson County line, and (3) Providence
Church Cemetery on Highway 80 west of Roberta.
Turner’s Chapel Eliminated
Mrs. Lucy Spillers Dunaway, age 91, of Lawrenceville, Georgia, in a
three-way telephone conversation with me and her daughter Susan Dunaway Parham
of Grayson, Georgia, told me that John Turner Spillers was not buried at
Turner’s Chapel, that the JTS marker was a memorial placed there by Lorena
Martin Spillers of Tulsa, Oklahoma, to commemorate the life of JTS. Mrs. Lucy
remembers it well. She said they had to shift the grave of her deceased brother,
Corey Spillers (died at birth in 1913), to make room for the JTS memorial.
According to Lucy, the JTS memorial was placed there circa 1955 when she was
around 30-years-old. Lorena Spillers, the wife of Grover Cleveland Spillers
Sr., authored an extensive genealogy entitled: “The Culver-Spillers Family
History,” dated 1963 (Sidney has a copy). Her husband, Grover C., was the son
of John Spurgeon Spillers and the grandson of John Turner Spillers.
Elim Cemetery Eliminated
In 1953, Lorena Spillers wrote in a letter to Sidney Goodrich’s aunt,
Maude Spillers Sandifer, stating that JTS was buried at Elim Church Cemetery and
that his grave was unmarked. Lorena also stated that JTS, because of his notable
accomplishments, should be exhumed and reinterred in a better kept cemetery.
Since Lorena, a resident of Oklahoma, was not familiar with this region and
depended on information provided by others, we can only conclude that she was
misinformed. Further, there is no evidence or records to substantiate that John
Turner Spillers was ever buried at Elim. Furthermore, Lorena could not have
exhumed the remains of JTS because 72 years had elapsed (1953-1881) from the
date of her letter, and JTS’s un-embalmed remains, including his wooden coffin,
would have decayed during the passage of seven decades. Thus, two possibilities
had been eliminated: Turner’s Chapel and Elim. Only Providence Cemetery remained
as a possibility for JTS’s burial site…
Connecting the Dots
Several weeks ago, Assistant Editor Suzi Scott accompanied Sidney
Goodrich and me to Providence Cemetery. While there, she pointed out that the
footstone at John Turner Spiller’s grave was not driven into the ground as we
had originally thought, but was a permanent part of the slab. Looking across the
expanse of Providence Cemetery, Suzi observed that many graves had a built-in
footstone reflecting the initials of the deceased. Then it hit us like a ton of
bricks; Suzi had connected the dots. John Turner Spillers’ slab was configured
just like the other graves--the “JTS” footstone meant the words “John Turner
Spillers” was once on a headstone that was now missing. This was a Eureka
moment—like finding the Holy Grail after a long and arduous quest. Suzi is a
great detective, certainly more observant than we, and deserving our
gratitude--and that of the entire Spillers family--for providing this moment of
insight and thereby solving an age old mystery.
JTS Biographical Sketch
John Turner Spillers was born in 1802 in Hancock County, Georgia. After
the death of his first wife, Matilda Spillers, in 1835, John Turner Spillers
left his children with his brother Samuel and wife Martha (Matilda’s sister) and
joined the Georgia Volunteers marching to Texas to fight against Mexico. He
enlisted at Knoxville, Georgia, and witnessed Joanna Troutman present her
hand-crafted flag to battalion commander Colonel Ward from the steps of her
father’s stagecoach inn. Legend has it that Spillers carried the flag to Texas.
The volunteers began their march from Macon and sailed from New Orleans to
Texas. Spillers and one other soldier from the Georgia Battalion of 150 men
escaped Mexican General Santa Anna’s brutal massacre. He returned to Crawford
County as a hero of the Texas War of Independence (1835-1836). Spillers placed
his life on the line so that Texans might live free of Mexican oppression. He
died Sep 20, 1881, in Crawford County. He is a revered icon whose descendants in
Crawford and surrounding counties are many.
His parents were William and
Elizabeth Spillers, both from Virginia. This union produced two children:
Samuel (older brother) and John Turner.
John Turner Spillers (1802-1881)
married Matilda Culver (1807-1835) on 21 December 1827. She was the youngest
daughter of Nathan Culver, a Revolutionary War soldier from Somerset County,
Maryland, and his wife Nancy Powers, daughter of Richard Powers. John Turner and
Matilda Spillers had three children: 1-William Thomas: 1831-1890, 2-John
Spurgeon: 1832-1915, and 3-Eliza Jane Matilda: 1833-1912.
John Turner Spillers (1802-1881)
married Mary Ann Adams (1823-1906) on 21 August 1842. She was the daughter of
Robert Adams and Sidney H. Manderson of Crawford County. They had 11 children:
1-Jefferson: 1843-unknown), 2-Varilla: 1844- unknown), 3-Cicero: 1845-1928),
4-James Franklin: 1847-1922), 5-Leroy: 1849-1929), 6-Augustus: 1852-1932,
7-Robert Marion: 1854-unknown), 8-Elizabeth: 1857-unknown, 9-Mary Frances:
1860-unknown, 10-Georgeanne: 1862-unknown, 11-Andrew: 1865-unknown).
Memorial for JTS’ gravesite
An anonymous benefactor has volunteered to underwrite the cost of an
appropriate and lasting memorial for John Turner Spillers at Providence
Cemetery. David McLeighton of McLeighton Funeral Service is working with the
donor to come up with the desired configuration. It will, as a minimum,
incorporate a slab, a vertical headstone, and inscriptions regarding the life of
Spillers, one of Crawford County’s greatest icons.
Spillers Deserves
Courthouse Marker
Joanna Troutman presented a hand-crafted flag to the Georgia volunteers
marching to Texas. For this deed--demonstrating her patriotism and love of
liberty--a marker was placed on the grounds of the old Crawford County
Courthouse and her stature enshrined in the Texas State Cemetery. In contrast,
John Turner Spillers offered the ultimate sacrifice—his life. He volunteered to
fight alongside Texans in their War of Independence against Mexico, 1835-1836.
Only through the grace of God did Spillers survive the murderous assault of 150
soldiers by Mexican General Santa Anna. Although Spillers returned to Crawford
County a war hero, his patriotism, valor, and distinguished service have never
been officially recognized. Consequently, a bronze marker should be placed
alongside that of Joanna Troutman to commemorate this brave man who marched from
Georgia to Texas and placed his life on the line so that Texans might live free
of Mexican oppression. This would place John Turner Spillers among the pantheon
of great Crawford Countians, an honor he richly deserves. Providence cemetery
and the old Knoxville courthouse would become sites where visitors, sightseers,
and historians alike could come to learn more about John Turner Spillers and his
place in Crawford County history.
Descendants of John Turner Spillers are pictured standing behind his
grave at Providence Cemetery. Front row, from left: Grover Cleveland
Spillers Jr., James Luther Spillers,Margie M. Wimberly, Barbara M.
Green, Melvyn Rowell, Barbara Rowell, and Suzi Scott, Georgia Post
Assistant Editor. Back row, from left: Stanley Spillers, David
McLeighton, Allan Spillers,Sidney Goodrich, Ed Kelley. Paul Spillers,
Ronnie Moss, and Harold D. Spillers. |
Spillers Matriarch Lucy Spillers Dunaway, 91, of Lawrenceville, and
daughter, Susan Dunaway Parham of Grayson. |
John Turner Spillers grave in Providence Cemetery. Notice that "JTS"
marker is part of slab and headstone is missing. |
Turner's Chapel gravestones from left: (1) Benjamin Hill Spillers
(1883-1943)-son of John Spurgeon Spillers and father of Lucy Spillers
Dunaway, (2) Lucy's brother Corey who died at birth in 1913, whose grave
had to be shifted to make room for JTS marker, and (3) memorial for John
Turner Spillers placed there circa 1955 by Lorena Martin Spillers, wife
of Grover Cleveland Spillers Sr. of Tulsa, Oklahoma, who was son of John
Spurgeon Spillers and grandson of John Turner Spillers. Note: JTS is not
buried there; this was only a memorial. |
Lucy Spillers Dunaway and brother Ben Maurice Spillers--children of
Benjamin Hill Spillers, grandchildren of John Spurgeon Spillers, and
great grandchildren of John Turner Spillers. |
Gravestone of John Spurgeon Spillers (1832-1915), Company K, 45th
Georgia Infantry, Confederate States of America. After a new tombstone
was placed on him at Turner's Chapel, circa 1955, his first slab was
placed at the foot of steps to Annie Lou Spillers home near Fickling
Mill. She was a school teacher at Butler High School and granddaughter
of John Spurgeon Spillers. She married John Nelson late in life. |
David McLeighton probes around grave as
writer Billy Powell looks on. |
|
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