The 1890 Union of Felts "Tug" Heath and Eunice "Eunie" Frazier

Greetings to all and wishing you all great success in your research endeavors. As I continue along this ancestral journey, I stop and ponder on thought of how I overcame some obstacles in my family history research and one that comes to mind is breaking through the wall with respect to my 2x Great-Grandparents, Felts and Eunice Heath. It is through their son, my Great-Grandfather that my central Georgia roots begin with many extensions abroad.


My Great-Grandfather is Mitchell Heath who was born January 19, 1910 and is the son of Felts and Eunice Heath. You can read more about Granddaddy by reading Mitchell Heath: The Greatest Man on Earth in my Lifetime, and he was indeed a great man! Granddaddy, as we called him, was my mother's maternal Grandfather. And to my mother, he was the only father she knew and his legacy continues to live on in all of his grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren. But just where did Granddaddy come from and what is the story of his lineage? And to answer that question, I will need to introduce you to his parents.


Granddaddy's father was Felts "Tug" Heath who was born May 10, 1868 in the area known as Powellton, Hancock County, Georgia. Grandpa Felts was affectionately known as Tug to their family. I first saw the name Felts Heath in the obituary of Granddaddy's sister, but instead of Felts being spelled with an "F" it was spelled with "Ph" as Phelps. In the same obituary, I discovered who Granddaddy's mother was and her name was Eunie (nee Frazier) Heath. The year was 1981 as that was the year Granddaddy's older sister had passed and the first time I saw the names of their parents. But the actual first time I really acknowledged them was in 1986 when I was visiting with my Grandmother, Jessie Mae Heath-Eubanks, and helping her clean the house. During this causal and normal weekend visit, I stumbled across her obituary stash in the table. But I still didn't know them but I was a little older and really knew their names at this point. Grandmomma often spoke of her Grandmother Eunie often, but she rarely spoke of her Grandfather and then I discovered the reason why. Granddaddy Felts Heath died before my Grandmother was born and she was born in 1929. All I could think of was the hurt she must felt not never knowing her paternal Grandfather. But her Grandma Eunie was always a conversation piece and I'm glad my grandmother shared those stories.


Granddaddy's mother to my Grandmother (his daughter) was always known as Eunie. But I discovered through various records that her actual name was Eunice Frazier prior to her marriage to Grandpa Felts. Grandma Eunice, who was affectionately known to her family as "Eunie", was born August 5, 1875 in Taliaferro County, Georgia in the area known as Springfield just northwest of Crawfordville and just south of the Taliaferro and Greene county lines. As any pre-teen would be, I was excited to now know the names of my own Grandmother's grandparents. I mean WOW, I actually knew Granddaddy's parents' names and it was cool as this was a generation beyond my Great-Grandfather and that meant there was more family than what I knew I had in 1986. But in 1986, I was not into family names and who begot who but it was still cool nonetheless to know their names.

1890 Hancock County, Georgia Marriage License Index Record for Felts Heath and Eunice Frazier

The year was now 1987 and a middle school teacher had given an assignment for everyone to complete our family tree. So the excitement began for me then, but it was the year 2010 when I first saw the marriage certificate and marriage license index record that I gained new valuable information concerning my 2x Great-Grandparents, Felts and Eunie. And for starters, their names were spelled differently but somewhat consistent to what I knew.  Grandpa Felts and Grandma Eunie applied for their marriage license on January 29, 1890 in Hancock County, Georgia and were married on January 30, 1890 in Hancock County, Georgia by Rev. A.C. Rainwater. Rev. Rainwater was identified as a Minister of the Gospel on both the marriage certificate and the marriage license index record. Minister of the Gospel was illustrated as such, M.G. on both records. As illustrated in the image of the marriage certificate and marriage license index record, Grandma Eunie's name was spelled Unis Frazier on the marriage record but in the marriage license index record, her name was spelled Uinis Frazier. Grandpa Felts' name was spelled Phelps Heath just like on my 2x Great Aunt's obituary but not really surprising. WOW and very interesting is all that came to mind when I first saw the records. However, these spellings were consistent (even though inconsistent) with various records to include the U.S Census records for the years 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, and 1920, Tax Digests records, U.S. Cities Directories for Cincinnati, Ohio for the years 1924, 1926, 1932, 1935, 1936, and 1938, and marriage and death records of their children.

January 1890 Hancock County, Georgia Marriage Certificate of Felts Heath and Eunice Frazier

Another item of interest to me on the 1890 marriage certificate was the use of the abbreviated term Cold, which stood for Colored. I was now looking at differently terminology in my research that described my Ancestors. In the U.S. Census records, I had only seen them referenced as Mulatto or Black but not Colored. This was different and sometimes a bit overwhelming. What I can say is that was proud to have found a record that actually documented my 2x Great-Grandparents marriage as well as provided proof that they were indeed married. Overjoyed, elated, and extremely excited are just mere descriptive words of how I felt when I actually saw the records and read their names aloud as now I felt closer to them and more proud of my Heath and Frazier heritage. It is an honor to be one of their many descendants.


The 1890 union of Grandpa Felts and Grandma Eunie was a launching point years later for my family research. A Launchpad I never would know even existed until the year 2010 as I began to actually see records in a whole new light. As 2010 opened many new doors, I began to take years of hard research and piece together many new branches, new family lines as a result of the marriage records, and crossing county lines tracking the movements of the Ancestors. But what I am most grateful for and treasure in the 1890 union of Felts and Eunie is the birth of their son, my Great-Grandfather Mitchell Heath. I am blessed because of their union and blessed because their son, my Granddaddy will always be the greatest man on earth in my lifetime.


To my Ancestors, thank you Grandpa Felts and Grandma Eunie for your blessed union!


Humbly Submitted,


Dante' Eubanks
Great-Great Grandson of Felts "Tug" Heath and Eunice "Eunie" Frazier-Heath

Mitchell Heath: The Greatest Man on Earth in my Lifetime

Greetings family, friends, fellow genealogists and a special hello to the Ancestors! It has been several months since my last post in March, and yet there is so much to share and sometimes it seems like so little time. The Ancestors have been hard at work and the pathways have been ever so clear with so much more unfolding day by day. I have been truly blessed through an outpouring of new and exciting information regarding my Georgia lineage through my maternal Great-Grandfather with whom my maternal Georgia lineage begins through the Heath and Frazier families.


In the beginning of discovering what blogging was about, I created this blog as a means of sharing the rich legacy of my Ancestors. I first began with one of the biggest discoveries and special woman in our family, my 2x Great Grandmother Annie Elizabeth Nelloms-Barrow. She is my maternal Great-Grandmother, Anna Lue Barrow-Heath's mother. Annie was affectionately called Grand Annie by her family and Anna Lue to me was always Granny. I share this story again as this has a special connection with my Great-Grandfather, Mitchell Heath (Granddaddy) who was married to the love of his life none other than Granny. Granny shared so many memories with us about her Alabama and Georgia family, and it is from Granny I found my niche and my calling to bridge the gaps between the past and the present. Granddaddy too left me with a rich legacy to share, uncover, and to honor. I thought I knew a lot, but my journey from March 2014 till now has proven I have only just begun. With the Ancestors guiding me along the way, I sincerely pray I am honoring them as I share their story.




Mitchell Heath
cir. 1959 Beulah Baptist Church
Usher Board Anniversary

Mitchell Heath, Granddaddy as he was affectionately called was born January 19, 1910 in Crawfordville, Taliaferro County, Georgia to the union of Phelps Heath III and Eunice Frazier-Heath. Granddaddy was truly a man after God's own heart and taught his family that faith in God and good works was key to making it to Heaven. Granddaddy did not talk much about his family, but what he did share was key to finding amazing discoveries about the Heath family. Granddaddy had many brothers and sisters and always said by the time he was born, some of his siblings were already grown and married themselves. His oldest sibling was his sister, Lena who was born in 1890 and his youngest sibling was his sister, Mattie Jane who was born in 1916. That is a huge span of years for siblings, but Phelps III and Eunie had several children. Granddaddy said that his mother had about 20 children, but he did not know all of them. There were several children he said had died before he was born. This is not hard to believe but yet it is difficult to find records for the deceased children as Georgia was not the best at good record keeping. My quest continues to identify Granddaddy's siblings who died young. Granddaddy's known siblings were Lena (previously mentioned as the oldest born in 1890), Nina born in 1893, Allen born in 1898, Essie born in 1900, Percy born in 1902, Martha born in 1903, Nancy born in 1905, Earnest born in 1906, Luna born in 1908, Earl born in 1913, and Mattie (previously mentioned as the youngest born in 1916). It is an amazing discovery of my southern roots to find that many of my Ancestors produced large families. Another amazing discovery has been the various family lines Granddaddy descends from and all connecting to Taliaferro, Hancock, and Warren Counties in Georgia through his parents, Phelps III and Eunie.


When it comes to relationships, Granddaddy was very fond of his sister, Essie Mae (nee Heath) Patterson-Tillman. I do not remember much except the family preparing for her homegoing services in 1981 and Granddaddy speaking of his fond memories of his older sister. He was also very close with his brother, Earnest Heath, and his baby sister, Mattie Jane (nee Heath) Montgomery. Out of all the family members on my Heath side, these were the names I heard the most. As I grew older, I began to hear more about Uncle Allen Heath, Aunt Nancy (nee Heath) Carter, and cousins Anna Bea and Casper (Uncle Allen's children). Granddaddy was man of few words when it came to his family, but he truly embraced his family with love and instilled in his daughter, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren to love and cherish family.


As a young boy, Granddaddy and his family had relocated to Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio. By 1924, Granddaddy's parents were documented as Cincinnati residents living at 544 George Street which was then in the old historic West End community near downtown Cincinnati. There were many black families living in the West End who had migrated north from the south. Granddaddy would have been 14 years old in 1924 and own his way to becoming a man and establishing his place in Cincinnati. On September 16, 1928 Granddaddy married the love his life, my Granny and his precious Anna Lue Barrow. Together, their love story is amazing. Mitchell and Anna only had one child, their one and only Jessie Mae and my beloved Grandmother. Granddaddy worked hard to provide for his family as well as establish a strong sense of giving back to his community. By the mid to late 1960s, Mitchell and Anna had purchased their home located at 218 Donahue Street in the Corryville community of Cincinnati. This home was a part of the family through fives generations, and their are so many precious memories of family gatherings in which Mitchell and Anna ensured all the family enjoyed through their labor of love.


Granddaddy was a faithful member of the Beulah Missionary Baptist Church also located in the old West End area of downtown Cincinnati. Granddaddy was instrumental in many church ministries to include the Male Chorus and the Usher Board. As a senior member of the Male Chorus, Granddaddy was a lead vocalist who certainly stirred up the church with his melodious rendition of "Have I Given Anything Today" and oh the memories that are flooding my mind and soul right now. Just as much as he loved singing, he was a faithful and dedicated usher for many years and instrumental in Beulah establishing a Senior and Junior Usher Board. Many church members as well as community members looked up to Granddaddy and he was an inspiration to all he came in contact with. Granddaddy was a true man of God, a man of distinction, a man of honor and integrity, and a legend in his own right. He is the greatest man on earth in my lifetime as he taught me to be a follower and believer in my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Thank you Granddaddy for the message of faith!


Today, I am singing "Have I Given Anything Today?"
Have I given anything today?
Have I helped some needed soul on the way?
From the dawn till setting sun, have I wounded anyone?
Shall I weep for what I've done today?


Oh today, oh the day, oh the day
Have I failed some greater flame on the way
Just to know I've done my best as I go to take my rest
Let my name be blessed today.


Have I made some person glad today?
Did I help someone who had a mortal day?
Did I cancel with the sad try to make some poor heart glad.
Answer wisdom what I had today.


Oh today, oh the day, oh the day
Have I failed some greater flame on the way
Just to know I've done my best as I go to take my rest
Let my name be blessed today.


Thank you Thomas A. Dorsey for these words of a powerful testimony and thank you Granddaddy for singing from the heart! As I continue to my ancestry journey in discovering more of my Heath family, I continue to reflect upon Granddaddy's lifelong lesson of FAITH and FAMILY, the tie that binds! Granddaddy, thank you for asking "Have I given Anything Today!"