Cynthia Kennedy Hamilton was born in Pembroke, Bryan County, Georgia on 26 February 1846. She was the fourth child of William Kennedy and Mary Ann Futch Kennedy. Cynthia had 8 sisters and 4 brothers. The family lived in a two story home on a large plantation. Her father owned about 100 slaves before the Civil War.
Pembroke, Bryan County, Georgia
Pembroke is an unincorporated community and the county seat of Bryan County, Georgia. It’s history dates back to before General Sherman. It was a railroad town and a turpentine shipping center. The city has a total area of 7.6 square miles.
Bryan County is just north and west of Savannah. The area was considered one of the most prolific rice-growing areas on the south Atlantic coast. Three million pounds of rice were shipped from the Bryan County plantations a year. The Savannah-Ogeechee Canal was the direct market link to Savannah.
The railroad was completed through the lower end of Bryan County in 1856 and became a target of General Sherman during Civil war. The railway running through Pembroke was destroyed when Sherman’s army marched to the sea.
The purpose of this “March to the Sea” was to frighten Georgia’s civilian population to abandon the Confederate cause. Sherman’s soldiers did not destroy any of the towns in their path, but they stole food and livestock and burned the houses and the barns of people who tried to fight back. “They needed to make old and young, rich and poor, feel the hard hand of war,” Sherman explained.
The railway and court house in Pembroke was destroyed when Sherman’s army marched to the sea.
Cynthia was 18 years old when Sherman plunged through Pembroke.
Henry Ford bought a home in Bryan County, Richmond Hill Plantation, in the 1920s. He provided health care and educational opportunities for many county residents who were still recovering from the War.
Marriage
At the age of 21, Cynthia married Henry Leland Hamilton on 13 February 1867 in Pembroke. Cynthia’s father, William Kennedy was in the same regiment as Henry Leland during the war. (22 Artillery under General Johnson.) They became friends and Kennedy encouraged Henry Leland to come to his home to visit. There he met the tiny petite Cynthia Kennedy, fell in love and married her.
Children
Cynthia and Henry had 10 children… 3 daughters and 7 sons. Ada C. 1868 – Anna 1870 – Charles Henry 1872 – John 1874 – Clark 1876 – Parsons 1878 – Behula 1879 – William 1882 – Clarence – 1883 and Virgil 1887.
Stories
CYNTHIA KENNEDY HAMILTON – Feb. 26, 1846 – June 11, 1936
Grandma Cynthia was seventy-four years old when I was born, and she had been a widow for 16 years. For the next 16 years, I came to know her quite well.
After Grandpa Henry’s death, Cynthia made her home with her children, staying with first one, and then another for a week at a time ….sometimes longer if she felt comfortable where she was. I was glad for her visits to our home.
I knew Cynthia as petite, (about 90 lbs.) round shouldered and seemingly “really old.” She was a solemn little lady and was not given to much humor or laughter. She became very gray at an early age, and her snow white hair was her mark of distinction. The few times I remember that grandma laughed (of course, there must have been many other times) was when Myron was 2 or 3 years old. Grandma often brushed her smooth white hair. When it was ‘hanging over her face, Myron would come near and she would peek through her hair and say, “Boo.” Of course, Myron would run and Grandma would let out a little cackle.
The one thing Grandma did to “help out” was to make “syrup bread …… a sweet bread made with Georgia cane syrup (molasses.) I don’t think Momma particularly cared for Grandma messing around in the kitchen at her age, but we kids liked the sweet cake.
Grandma’s feet were small, deformed and knotty ….probably from ill fitting shoes. She soaked them in hot water every night. She always made sure to stay up until 9:00 so she would sleep until morning.
Once we went to Florida for a visit. Uncle John stayed at our house with Grandma. One night a burglar broke in the house; the burglar was under the bed when John and Grandma come home that evening. He took Uncle John’s watch and money from the dresser nearby, two shot guns from the closet, and rummaged through Grandma’s “little black bag”, which was at her bedside. He ate what he could find in the kitchen and left. All this took place while Uncle John and Grandma slept soundly.
Grandma was staying with us when Uncle John died. I was eleven. I remember how sad I felt for her when she returned from his bedside.
Year after year we celebrated Grandma’s birthday at various family homes. The first party I remember was at Aunt Beulah and Uncle Winfield’s near Black Creek. Her birthday became a family reunion …it was always in February and I don’t ever remember the weather being bad.
Grandma died at Aunt Annie’s home at Bona Bella of “causes incident to age.” Mother was there to help care for her. I was at the funeral of course. Her grave is next to Grandpa Henry Leland’s and it was lined with concrete. At the time I thought that was special.
This account is given by Evelyn Hamilton Distefano. Daughter of Charles Henry (son of Cynthia) and Ella Hodges Hamilton. A copy of this printed story is attached for download here. Memories of Cynthia Kennedy
This account was copied from documents in the possession of Nancy Hamilton Frischknecht (Daughter of Earl Hodges Hamilton, son of Charles Henry Hamilton, son of Cynthia).