A Wilson Family Tree
Notes for Miles Edward Garthright
From Carolyn Gathright:
[Hanover1850]- real estate $600 wifes father and brother? James E.,14 and a Joseph Childress age 21. living with them. [Census1880VA]- George Yarbrough age 29, SL, and Thomas Yarbrough age 1/12 GS enumerated in Miles household.
[CHC]- owners of the GARTHRIGHT House.
The house was willed to Margaret at the death of her father Elisha Yarbrough, Jr. who was married to the daughter of James HOOPER the original resident (and builder) of the "Garthright House"
they are buried int he family cemetery in Cold Harbor.
I don't recall the Mcghee's ever living in the Garthright House. Walter McGhee lived in a house next to Gaines Mill but owned 50 acres of land surrounding the Garthright property. Several years ago, his heirs were planning to sell this land and have it developed into a 150 house subdivision. there was much controversy and the county of Hanover bought the property and now there is a nice park surrounding the Garthright House.
A sign at the Garthright House (Cold Water Battlefield Park) says the following (as of May 2018):
THE FAMILY CEMETERY
"Near Cold Harbor stands the house where my father was born, and not far from the house there is a graveyard, surrounded by a brick wall...there sleep the generations of my forefathers. In that enclosure is buried Mr. James Hooper."
Dr. Thomas W. Hooper, 1895
James Hooper died in 1754. Following the Hoopers, the old farmhouse and surrounding fields were home to the Garthrights during the Civil War and the McGhees in later years. Members of both families probably are buried in this cemetery.
After the battles in 1862 and 1864, numerous Union soldiers were interred haphazardly on the property. In 1866, most of their remains were recovered and removed to the military cemetery across the street. It is unknown whether any soldiers are still buried here in the family cemetery. [There are no grave markers in the Garthright House cemetery.]
Another sign at the Garthright House:
The Garthright House stood in the path of charging troops at two battles: Gaines' Mill in 1862 and Cold Harbor in 1864. The house belonged to Miles Garthright, a Confederate soldier whose cavalry unit saw action around Cold Harbor early in the battle. Portions of the building might have been 100 years old by the time of the Civil War. The nearby enclosed brick cemetery dates from the middle of the 1700s, if not earlier.
Union surgeons used the house as a field hospital in June 1864. Mrs. Garthright took refuge in the basement, where "with fear and trembling" she watched as blood dripped through the cracks in the floor and into the cellar. At least 97 soldiers died from their wounds here and received temporary burial in the front yard. Two years later the Cold Harbor National Cemetery opened across the road and work crews reburied all of the Union dead there.
Note: Some of the information in these pages is uncertain. Please let me know of errors or omissions using the email link above. ...Mike Wilson
Page generated on 14 September 2024