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- June 19, 2007
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Gilliam Vance Beard: August 20, 1877 - June 28, 1928
Gilliam's Story
My great-grandfather was Gilliam Vance Beard. He was the son of William Ayers Beard, Sr. who owned land in Beard, North Carolina. Gilliam's brothers were Robert, Emmett, Henry, William A. Jr., Raiford, Frank and sisters Irene, Mary, Sally, Susannah, Sarah, and Wyatt.Upon the apportioning of his father's estate, Gilliam opted to take cash instead of land, having come to the decision that he'd rather be a stone cutter. So he left Beard, and North Carolina, for Rome, Georgia. Rome was the location of a stone quarry where he learned his new trade.
Gilliam then made a move up to Hartsville, South Carolina where he met Louise Wingate and married her.
Hartsville was where Louise Wingate Beard was born. Lucile was Louise's twin but died shortly after birth, on April 1st 1910. She is buried in North Carolina though it's my understanding that the family was still living in South Carolina.
My grandfather, LaVerne, was also born here, in 1912.
There was also another son (probably named Harry) that died in a fire as a child.
The next event that occurred in to this family was the death of Louise Wingate Beard on the 22nd of October 1914. She was buried next to her daughter Lucile. She was 26 years old.
At some point, perhaps after the death of Louise, the family returned to North Carolina. The children, Louise and LaVerne, were handed off to Gilliam's brother, Emmett. Gilliam moved on to Washington, N.C. to work his trade of stone mason. He apparently wanted to carve angels for headstones.
There he met Lennie Causey whom he married and had another child, Holly Wyatt. (Wyatt may have been named after his sister, Wyatt F. who died in childbirth in October of 1913.)
He apparently spent the rest of his life in Washington, NC but when he died was buried in the Riverside Christian Churchyard along with his second wife Lennie and their daughter Hollie.