As noted, John W. Colley and Sarah France are a well researched family so the author will only provide brief highlights or additional information as it pertains to his own Colley ancestors. For more information on the descendants of John and Sarah, obtain copies of Marshall Styles' works HERE.
It is clear that Sarah France' surname was used in later generations for many of her & John's descendants (Frances, Francis, Frank, etc.).
Known children of John and Sarah:
- Gabriel Colley - married Elizabeth Tisdall/Tisdale
- Francis "Frank" Colley -married Frances Carroll Owens
- Elizabeth "Betsy" Colley - married Thomas Tindall 1st and John Perteet 2nd
- Mary "Polly" Colley - married James Brown
- Nancy Colley - married Kirby Goolsby
- Spain Colley - married Nancy Talbot
- Louisa Colley - married Welcome Fanning
The author descends from John via his son Spain and Spain's wife Nancy Talbot and most of his research material presented here will be focused on that line; However, there are a few tidbits the author would like to present about some of the other descendants of John before presenting material on Spain and Nancy. These tidbits were found in the course of the author's research and are just randomly included and will be updated as time permits.
- As with many southern families from this time period, numerous descendants of the patriot Revolutionary War soldier Sgt. John W. Colley fought and died as Confederate soldiers in the Civil War. This fact is often overlooked in discussions about the Civil War when modern historians and modern day rewrites of history clearly lay the blame of the Civil War on the south and slavery; The cause of the Civil War was not slavery alone.
- Son Francis Colley is said to have lived at the historic landmark site known as "The Cedars" in downtown Washington where today stands an old Victorian home. This home is now on the National Register of Historic Places. The present house however, is apparently not the home that Francis occupied. That home was attached to the current home and its remains were located in the rear yard of the home for years. The author does not know if anything remains of the original home. In the book "Agrarian Arcadia" by Charles Danforth Saggus (1996, Mary Willis Library), Mr. Saggus describes the history of the land and homes. Mr. Saggus' book also provides a great read about the history of Wilkes County and several of its historical personalities. Mr. Saggus has a few pages on the Colley family. [1]
"The Cedars" in Washington, Georgia
Francis Colley owned the old house - not this current one.
Georgia Archives: Vanishing Georgia
The grandson of Francis Colley was Col. Francis Henry Colley (1848-1932) the son of Capt. Henry Francis Colley, Jr. [KIA, Civil War]. His mother was the niece of the politician and Confederate Brigadier General Robert Toombs.
Col. Francis H. Colley
(Author unknown)
Col. Francis H. Colley
(Author unknown)
Kathleen Colley was the daughter of Archibald Toombs Colley who was the son of Col. Francis Harris Colley, Sr.
- Louisa Colley married Welcome Fanning and he was a local school teacher of some note and a fairly large landowner. He is known to have taught the Wilkes County native, Confederate General and Georgia politician Robert Toombs. A very close friend of fellow Confederate and Georgian Alexander Stephens, Robert Toombs was a very interesting man who initially was a Unionist but became a Confederate. After the war he became involved in the KKK. Interestingly. among Robert Toombs' proclaimed descendants was the Canadian entertainer/actor Roddy Piper who also was a great orator and shares a strong resemblance to old photos of Toombs.
- In the book "Fighting for the Confederacy" by General Edward Porter Alexander (edited by Gary W. Gallagher), a noted Civil War soldier from Wilkes County, Georgia, the General describes his early life in Wilkes County. He pays high regard to his Colley neighbors by mentioning Frank Colley as an "excellent neighbor" who would travel 8 miles on horseback at age 70 to fish all day on the Little River and he mentions two of Frank's sons (Zeb and Dempsey) as his "intimate school friends". He also mentions his family's Overseer John Eidson. [2] Frank's sons Capt. Henry Francis Colley Jr. and Lt. Dempsey Colley both died from wounds received in battle. General Alexander's book is recommended reading for anyone interested in the Civil War and those events which led to the war.
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Returning now to the author's 3rd great-grandparents (6) Spain Colley and Nancy Talbot. Nancy Talbot was the daughter of Joseph Hale Talbot and Bethany Callaway. For the ancestry of Joseph and Bethany, visit my research pages HERE and HERE. Both the Callaway and Talbot lines are rich in history past and present and have been extremely well researched.
For the author's research on Spain Colley and Nancy Talbot, please visit this page HERE. and Nancy had the following known children and descendants (some of the information below has been reprinted from Marshall Styles' research with his permission):
- John Owens Colley, was born about 1829 in Wilkes County, GA. This is not the same man as the John Owens Colley (1820-1852) who married Sarah Elizabeth Talbot, who was the son of Francis Colley and Frances L. Owens Colley.
- Francis/Franklin Goolsby Colley [CSA], born on 14 October 1830, Wilkes County, GA; married Sarah Elizabeth Staples, on 6 December 1853, Wilkes County, GA; died on 19 January 1924, Wilkes County, GA. Both are buried at Rock UMC Church Cemetery, Rayle, GA. For more on Francis and Sarah and their descendants, see HERE.
- Sarah Elizabeth Colley, born in 1833, Wilkes County, GA; married William A. Bums, on 21 November 1850, Washington, Wilkes, GA; died about 1856, Washington, Wilkes, GA.
- Mary Colley (Twin) was born in 1835 in Wilkes County, GA.
- Dr. Thomas Milton Colley [Major, CSA], born in 1835, Wilkes County, GA married Mary E. (lnu), about 1874, Palestine, Anderson, TX died in October 1911, Palestine, Anderson, TX.
- Gabriel Colley [Corporal, CSA], born on 14 February 1840, Washington, Wilkes, GA married Mary Frances "Mamie" Cofer, on 21 January 1886, Washington, Wilkes, GA; died on 13 November 1908, Washington, Wilkes, GA.
- Nancy C. "Nannie" Colley, born on 16 May 1842, Wilkes County, GA married Tuck/Tucker S. Mathis, died on 14 September 1923, Wilkes County, GA
- Henry Clay Colley [CSA] (Attorney-at-Law), born in 1843, Wilkes County, GA married Indiana Ophelia "India" Rainey, in 1879, Limestone County, TX.
- Martha France Colley, born in 1847, Wilkes County, GA married William J. Spratlin [CSA], on 8 November 1866, Wilkes County, GA.
- Louisa Colley was born in 1849 in Wilkes County, GA. On the 7 April 1856 Last Will and Testament of Spain Colley, Wilkes County, GA, Eliza Colley was named as a daughter. She resided in Wilkes County, GA in 1869.
- Henrietta Colley, born in 1852, Wilkes County, GA married Nathan T. Barnett, on 9 February 1871, Wilkes County, GA.
- Louisa Colley was born on 22 September 1801 in Oglethorpe County, GA. She died on 1 October 1853 in Wilkes County, GA. She was buried in Welcome Fanning Graveyard, Off Tignal Rd, Wilkes County, GA.
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[1] This book was published by the Mary Willis Library (Washington, GA). Mr. Saggus was a Ph.D. (UGA?) and he was involved in numerous historical projects about Wilkes County and the Revolutionary War. Interestingly, he was a graduate of Druid Hills High School in Atlanta which is close to the area where the author is from (Decatur).
[2] Probably John Eidson (1791-1856) the son of John Eidson and Judith Richardson and the brother of Elizabeth Eidson who married Thomas Staples. Thomas Staples and Elizabeth Eidson are the author's 4th great-grandparents and they are the grandparents of Sarah Elizabeth Staples who married Franklin Goolsby Colley (the author's 2nd great-grandparents and are described HERE).
This page was created on 2/24/2025