Marty and Karla Grant

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Garland S. Grant (1922-2000) and Luella George (1924-1990) and Rosa Byrd (1917-2004) of North Carolina

[Grant Home] - [Table of Contents] - Garland Grant

Note: This page contains information on living persons so the details will be kept to a minimum for them.

Garland and Luella are my grand parents. I knew them very well.

My Grant book covers my Grant ancestry in great detail. Get yourself a copy. If a printed version isn’t desirable or practical for you, get the PDF version. It’s much less expensive.

Garland Samuel Grant was born 5 Jun 1922 in Blairsville, Union Co., GA. His mother’s family had been in Union Co., GA for several generations, but his father’s family had only been there about 15 years when he was born.

I once asked him about where the name “Garland” came from for he was the first one of that name in our family as far as I knew. He said he asked his mother about it once and she said she just liked the name. His middle name “Samuel” was probably in honor of his uncle, his mother’s brother Samuel Gilbert (1902-1921), who died just a few months before Garland was born.

Garland was a son of Marvin Roosevelt Grant and Lilly Belle Gilbert. I was quite fortunate to know them both.

The family moved to Murphy, Cherokee Co., NC while Garland was still an infant. They lived there until ca 1926 or so, when they moved to Robbinsville, Graham Co., NC where they remained quite awhile.

On 10 Nov 1941, Garland S. Grant married Luella George in Blairsville, Union Co., GA. They married there both because he had relatives there, but because they didn’t need parental consent in Georgia (compared to North Carolina). Garland was 19, Luella 17.

Luella George was born 2 Aug 1924 in Topton, Cherokee Co., NC. Her parents were Charles Noten George and Della Christmas Wright. She was born at home, and grew up in the same house, living there until marriage. She graduated from Andrews High School in 1941.

They lived at Long Creek in an Apartment until Garland got a job with the TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority). I'm not sure where Long Creek is, but I think it is Graham County.

They moved to East Buffalo near Lake Fontana (Graham County) and lived there a little while.

Garland S. Grant entered the United States Army to serve in World War II. He was drafted in 1942. After some extensive training as a Paratrooper, he was sent to Europe where he served. He spent a total of 37 months in the Army.

While Garland was away, Luella remained home with her parents in Topton, and raised their first born son Garland, Jr. She spent 2 months at Newport News, VA working and got very homesick and returned to Topton.

Garland returned home in 1945. They lived on Talula Creek (Graham Co, NC) across from Luella’s grandfather Jeff George. They lived in a house with no electricity. They had an out house and a well.

On 19 Nov 1946, Garland's parents, Marvin and Lilly Grant sold Garland and Luella the land they were living on at Eller Branch, for $500. (Graham Co, NC Deed Book 50 page 242).

On 2 Feb 1948, Marvin and Lilly sold additional land to Garland and Luella, also on Eller Branch. (Graham Co, NC Deed Book 51 page 407).

They were in Graham Co., NC for the 1950 census, next door to his parents. The census taker had accidently listed “Garland” as the surname for both families, but marked that out and wrote in Grant.

1950 Census, Graham Co., NC, Cheoah Township, Houses 142, 143

They remained on Eller Branch until the 1951, when they moved. This started a long string of moves, as Garland moved the family about 40 times (!) over the next 40 years. I asked him why they moved so much, and he said it was the only way to advance in his career. He worked in Saw Mills, as a Saw Filer, and the only way to move up was to go somewhere else that paid better, so they did that often. He was one of the best Saw Filers around.

Around 1990 or so, I sat down with Garland and Luella, and we came up with a list, in order, of all the places they lived. They weren't sure of the dates, but the places are correct, and in the right order. In each of these towns, Garland worked at one of the local saw mills. Luella worked too in various jobs, at grocery stores or wherever she could. She was also busy raising four children.

In 1951, they moved to Blue Ridge, Georgia (Fannin County) and lived in an apartment above a drugstore. They lived there for 5 weeks.

They next moved to Mineral Bluff, GA (Fannin County) and stayed there through the winter. Luella said the nearly froze to death there, due to lack of good heat.

Still later in 1951, they moved to Bryson City, NC (Swain County).

In 1952, they moved to Topton (Cherokee County) and lived with Luella’s parents for a little while. Her father died that same year.

Next, they moved to Orangeburg, South Carolina (Orangeburg County) and lived there for 15 months.

They moved back to Topton again briefly by Jan 1953, and shortly afterwards moved to Mountain City, Georgia (Rabun County) where they remained until April 1954.

In April 1954, they moved to Cullowhee, NC (Jackson County) for a short time.

From Cullowhee, they left the mountains completely and moved to the eastern part of the state, to Battleboro, NC (Edgecombe County). They were living here when Hurricane Hazel came through which did a lot of damage to the state.

In 1954 still, they moved back to the mountains again, this time to Brevard, NC (Transylvania County) where they remained 4 years (the longest they lived anywhere up to this point).

In 1958, they moved to Arden, NC (Buncombe County) and remained there until about 1963 when they moved to the eastern part of the state again, to Hallsboro, NC (Columbus County). They didn't live there very long.

In 1963, Garland and Luella moved south a few dozen miles to Mullins, South Carolina (Marion County) and resided there about a year. This was fortuitous for me, as that is where my father met my mother, and where I was born in 1965.

Garland and Luella left Mullins in 1964, leaving my newlywed parents there, and moved to Grundy, Virginia (Buchanan County), and lived there for 15 months. (We joined them after a few months.)

They left Grundy, VA in 1965 and went back to Eastern North Carolina to Enfield (Halifax County) and lived there until about 1967. (We joined them there as well after a stint in Marietta, GA.)

In 1967, they moved back to Marion County, SC to Sellers (on the Dillon County line, I don't know which county they were actually in).

Around 1969, they moved to Pantego, NC (Beaufort County).

From Pantego, they moved to Dillon, South Carolina (Dillon County) and from there back to Sellers, SC again (Marion or Dillon County).

They made a move from Sellers, SC to Whitesburg, Kentucky.

From Kentucky, they went to Summerville, South Carolina (Dorchester County).

From Summerville, they moved to Rock Hill, SC (York County).

From Rock Hill, they returned again to Orangeburg, SC (Orangeburg County).

From Orangeburg they moved to Perry, Georgia (Houston County).

From Perry, they moved to nearby Fort Valley, GA (Peach County), where they lived for 3 years, until around 1975.

In 1975, they moved to Alto, GA (Banks County) where they lived until 1976.

In 1976, they moved again to Pantego, NC (Beaufort County) and lived in a trailer on Seed Tick Neck Road. I believe they bought this land. They lived here until 1979. They later sold this land to son Garland Jr.

In 1979, they moved back home to Topton, NC (Cherokee County), putting their trailer on land that Luella had inherited from her parents on the head waters of the Valley River. They later sold this land to son Alan Grant (my father).

In 1980, Garland and Luella moved to Chester, South Carolina (Chester County) and lived there until around 1982.

In 1982, they moved to Pembroke, Georgia (Bryan County). They lived there until 1984. I remember visiting them there in 1984 just before I went into the Air Force.

In 1984, Garland and Luella moved to Mount Gilead, North Carolina (Montgomery County), then moved back to Pembroke, GA the same year.

Shortly afterwards, they left Pembroke again, and moved to Troy, North Carolina (Montgomery County) where they remained until 1987.

In 1987, they moved to Mebane, North Carolina (Alamance County), just a few miles from my parents, and where I grew up (in Hillsborough), this was the closest they had ever lived to each other, since I was very small. Of course, I didn't live there at that time (I was in the Air Force still).

In 1989, my parents (Alan and Faye) decided to leave Hillsborough, NC (Orange County) after many years of living there. They purchased land near Prospect Hill, NC (Caswell County), which was about 30 miles north of where they had lived. They moved up there in 1989, and Garland and Luella moved in with them.

In 1989, my wife Karla and I took Garland and Luella to visit relatives. We went to Valdese, NC (Burke County), and to Topton, NC (Cherokee County) and to Marietta, GA (Cobb County) to visit Garland's father Marvin R. Grant (my great grandfather).

In 1990, we went again, only this time we stopped off in Blairsville, GA (Union Co, GA) to visit his cousins Homer and Minnie Barnes.

Shortly after our trip in 1990, Luella was diagnosed with a form of Brain Cancer. She was taken to the Hospital at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (one of the best). There wasn't too much that could be done for her. She went back home briefly, then she and Garland went to Johnsonville, SC (Florence County) and stayed with their daughter Luanne and her family. They cared for her until she died on 4 Oct 1990. She was only 66.

She was taken back home to Topton and buried at the Red Marble Baptist Church Cemetery in Cherokee County. Several generations of her ancestors are also buried there, and many other relatives.

Garland moved back to Prospect Hill, NC with my parents.

In 1993, Garland remarried. He married Rosa Lee Byrd Crawford, widow of John Curtis Crawford (1912-1961). They married in Hillsborough, Orange Co, NC. Rosa had five grown children from her previous marriage. Rosa was from Watauga Co, NC, but had lived in Graham, NC for many years. She was a daughter of Benjamin Martin Bird and Rhoda Ethel Townsend.

With Rosa being from Watauga, I figured she might be a distant cousin to us as we have many relatives there too. However, I never found a direct connection. We do have plenty of distant relatives in common though.

Garland and Rosa lived in her home in Graham, NC (Alamance Co, NC).

Garland had numerous health problems over the years, though he always seemed to be in good spirits whenever I saw him or spoke with him, no matter what his physical condition.

He died on 21 Nov 2000 at the Hospital in Burlington, NC (Alamance County) after a sudden illness. He was 78 years old.

He was taken home and buried beside Luella at Red Marble Baptist Church Cemetery in Cherokee Co, NC.

Rosa died on 3 Dec 2004 at the hospital in Chapel Hill, NC (Orange County), aged 87. She was cremated.

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Children

Garland and Luella had four children, the two oldest born in Topton, Cherokee Co., NC, and the two youngest born in Robbinsville, Graham Co., NC:

1. Garland S. Grant, Jr. (1942-2025), married 1^st to Doris Ann Blankenship, 2^nd to Ruth Creech. Lived in Beaufort Co., NC.

2. Marvin Alan Grant (1946-2013), married Faye Campbell. These are my parents. Lived in Hillsborough (Orange County), NC and Prospect Hill (Caswell County), NC and Marion, SC.

3. Richard L. Grant, married 1^st, Harriett Richardson, 2^nd, Sandra Herring, 3^rd, Lee Ann Jamison.

4. Martha Luanne Grant (1953-2014), married Ben Meggs. Lived in Sellers, SC.

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For more information see the family group sheet for Garland and Luella (George) Grant.

Revised: September 26, 2026

Copyright © 1996-2026 Marvin A. Grant, Jr. All Rights Reserved.

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