W. F. GAY

W. F. GAY is one of those citizens of Meriwether County who may point with pride to patriotic ancestry, two of his great-grandfathers having served with valor in the Revolutionary struggle.

Some time after the war the son of one of these men, Benjamin Gay, brought his wife, Mrs. Ann (Gay) Gay, from their native state, North Carolina, to settle in Georgia. Their son, Columbus Gay, married Miss Martha Sasser. a daughter of William and Elizabeth (Beverly) Sasser. The father of the former served through the revolution under Gen. Washington, and to the day of his death bore on his head the scars of several wounds received in that war. This family was also of North Carolina nativity, but William Sasser came to Georgia early in the century and settled in Monroe County. The move being made in mid-winter, with the ground frozen, and the settlement in the woods, much suffering and privation was entailed upon the settlers while, with the aid of kind neighbors, they constructed a home. Mr. Sasser served in the War of 1812, and in 1829 transferred his family to Meriwether County and again created a home in the wilderness. In these days of comfort, with the countless conveniences of modern life, it is hard to realize what our predecessors of one or two generations had to endure. Around this lonely home towered the primeval forest, in whose shadows lurked the timid deer and the ravenous wolf. Many a night were the slumbers of the pioneer family broken, and their hearts filled with fear, by the hideous and terrifying howls of the wolves. Many a morning saw their stock of sheep, pigs or calves diminished as the result of these marauding visits. Neighbors were distant and privileges few. For years they rode fifteen miles for the purpose of attending church. Mr. Sasser, desiring to increase the educational facilities for his own and his neighbor’s children, gave two acres of land for the purpose of erecting an academy.

The son of Columbus and Martha (Sasser) Gay, W. F. Gay, was born here in 1850. He passed his early years on the farm, but received a good education, and has developed a very fine business talent, as well as cultivating his farm with great success. For twelve years he has resided at Gay, carrying on a thriving mercantile trade. The respect in which he is held by his fellow-citizens is evinced by the responsibilities they have laid upon him. He has been county bailiff, justice of the peace, and for the last six years county commissioner.

His wife was Miss Anna Culpepper, daughter of Charles and Jane (English) Culpepper, old settlers of Coweta County, and natives of South Carolina. Mr. Culpepper was a soldier in the late war. Mrs. Gay was born in Coweta County in 1849, and is a member of the Primitive Baptist Church. Mr. and Mrs. Gay were married in 1869, and their union has been blessed with eleven children: John, Emma, Lula, Mattie, Henry, Leila, Joe, Dallie, Ben, Bessie and Iva.

Source: Memoirs of Georgia, Containing historical accounts of the states civil, military, industrial and professional interests and personal sketches of many of it’s people, Volume II, The Southern Historical Association, Atlanta, Georgia, 1895

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