Part IIAs we begin this part of our history, we find ourselves on more familiar ground. Now we recognize places and names as we begin the story of the George Madison Dillard family. The parents of George Madison Dillard were Manning (Manon) Green Dillard and Nancy Ray Dillard. They came from Laurens County to Greenville County, S.C. when George was seven years old. They lived on the Gibbes Shoals Road and built the home which is now known as the Troy Dillard Home. M. G. Dillard was born October 16, 1810 and died January 28, 1878. He was married on February 14, 1830 to Nancy Ray, born June 25, 1813, died February 24, 1859. He is buried in the Pleasant Grove Churchyard near Greer by the side of his second wife, Susan Mayfield Dillard, born December 10, 1829, died March 28, 1912. Nancy Ray Dillard is buried at Ebeneezer Methodist Church near the Batesville community near Greer, S.C. The children of Manning Green and Nancy Ray Dillard were as follows:
The children of M. G. Dillard and his second wife, Susan Mayfield Dillard were:
M. G. Dillard's will is recorded in the Greenville, S.C. County Courthouse. It is dated 1878 with John T. Dillard as executor. Little is known of the childhood of Geroge Madison Dillard. However, it is known that, as a young man, he fought for about 2 years in the War Between the States on the Southern side. He was a Corporal in Captain George Holtzclaw's company, South Carolina infantry. (His name appears on page 497 of Landrum's History of Spartanburg County ). He fought in the Battle of Atlanta. It is said that he had little to eat during this time and especially near the end of the War. At times he had to survive on foods found in the forest, such as animals and berries. Once, when the Yankees shot at him, he had a close call with death. Near a spring they came close to him. When he fired at them, they returned the shot which missed him but split the tree behind which he was hiding. When he was discharged from the Army at the end of the War, he walked from Asheville, North Carolina to his home in South Carolina. Three years after the close of the War, George Madison Dillard was married on March 19, 1868 to Mary Elizabeth Smith at Reidville, South Carolina by Rev. R. H. Reid. For about a year after their marriage they lived in the North Carolina mountains near Asheville, later moving to Spartanburg County near the present old homeplace. Several years later a tract of land was bought by George M. Dillard from a Mr. Knight. Here George and Mary built a home which still stands today near the Fulton Presbyterian Church. For many years George farmed and ran a cotton gin. "Mat", as George was called, was rather tall and slender. He had blue eyes, fair skin, and dark hair. He liked to fish and hunt.
During the Civil War, Mr. Dillard was a member of Capt. George Holtzclaw's Company, S.C. Infantry. After the War Between the States Mr. Dillard returned to his farm near Greer and spent the remaining days of his long and useful life tilling the soil. He is survived by nine children as follows: Mrs. D. H. Leonard of Reidville, Mrs. William Vaughn of Greer, Mrs. H. V. Smith of Greer, Mrs. J. F. Smith of Greer, W. L. Dillard, J. L. Dillard, G. O. Dillard of Greer, S. L. Dillard of Greenville, and B. P. Dillard of Taylors. Funeral services will be held Sunday morning at 11 o'clock from Fulton Presbyterian Church conducted by the Rev. D. C. Stogan assisted by Reverand W. L. Boggs. Grandchildren of the veteran will serve as pallbearers." Now we turn to the family of Mary Elizabeth Smith, the wife of George Madison Dillard. Mary Elizabeth's grandfather was John Smith, born November 15, 1779, married Ellen McElrath, born in County Down, Ireland in 1781. They married in 1794 and settled in Spartanburg County, South Carolina. A full account of this family is given in a booklet entitled "Proceedings of the Reunion of the Smith Family" (dated September 30, 1931 and reprinted August 1953). The parents of Mary Elizabeth Smith were Samuel G. Smith, born September 30, 1817 and Elizabeth Wood, born December 2, 1821. Samuel and Elizabeth were married August 27, 1840. Their family home was located on the present Pelham Road about five miles south of Greer. Elizabeth died February 17, 1886. Samuel and Elizabeth are buried in a family cemetery near their old home. Samuel and Elizabeth Wood Smith had the following children:
Mary Elizabeth Smith Dillard died many years before her husband, George M. Dillard, died. The following taken from a newspaper at the time of her death in 1907 sums up the life of a devoted mother: "Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Dillard, after four weeks illness of typhoid fever, died at her home near Pelham on the morning of August 20. Mrs. Dillard was a daughter of the venerable Samuel G. Smith, and was born June 7, 1847. When sixteen years of age, she united with the Presbyterian Church, and for many years was a devoted and faithful member at the Mount Tabor Church. In 1868 she was happily married to Mr. G. M. Dillard. Of this union, twelve children were born, ten of whom are living. Mrs. Dillard had a warm heart, and ever wore a radiant smile that chastened sorrow and banished care in those about her. She was a woman of great gentleness, given to good works, and held in high esteem. She delighted in the privilege of entertaining her friends and her home was always a welcome retreat. She was an exemplary wife, mother, neighbor, Christian. A grief-stricken husband, ten children, four brothers, five sisters, an aged father, and a host of friends of these and other days revere her memory. The remains followed by a great concourse of relatives and friends were conveyed to Fulton Cemetery for interment. Rev. B. P. Reid and W. L. Boggs had charge of the funeral services. Much sympathy is felt here for the bereaved family and relatives."
The children of George Madison and Mary Elizabeth Smith Dillard follows. In this section only their names will be given. Later each family will be given in full with all the dates which were given to the committee arranging this booklet. The sons and daughters of the above are:
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