(Today’s article is one of a series that has been written combining articles from the Grenada Sentinel, Daily Sentinel Star and Grenada County Weekly newspapers dating from 1891 to 1955. The subject of this series is the first one hundred years of ownership of the Golladay mansion on Margin Street, which was built around 1850 by John Moore for George Golladay. The first article is a portion of an article written by Wallace Sherwood for the Daily Sentinel Star in 1955 after the house had been bought and renovated by the Junius L. Townes family.)
Daily Sentinel Star
Monday, October 3, 1955
The background and history of the mansion naturally begins with the people who first dreamed and envisioned a beautiful home – the Golladay family. The story begins with Isaac Golladay who came to Lebanon, Tennessee, from Pennsylvania in the late 1700s. He married Miss Elizabeth Shall of French descent and three children, Jacob, Robert and George, were born of their union.
While Jacob Golladay spent his life in Lebanon, the other two brothers chose Mississippi as their native state. Robert moved to Coffeeville and George to Pittsburg, which was to become a part of Grenada. Both towns were in Yalobusha County at the time. All three Golladay brothers were prominent and wealthy lawyers.
George Golladay married Mrs. Martha Harper, a widow and half-sister to the late Curtis H. Guy. The Guy family owned land west of Pittsburg and bordered by Margin Street to Line Street and Commerce Street to the Yalobusha River. These lands included the Bledsoe property west of the city. Much of the fine timber on the property, including walnut, was used to build the Golladay house.
The George Golladay family consisted of at least four children including George, Sam and Davidella. Another girl, whose name is not recorded, died when she was about 10 years old.
The Golladay residence figured in many memorable events including overnight visits by President James K. Polk, who owned a plantation north of Grenada and enjoyed visiting in the Golladay home.
Of all the eventful years of the estate, 1862 and the accompanying storm of the War Between the States was one of the most colorful. Grenada itself was not a scene of any major battle, but several skirmishes took place. About 63 Yankee soldiers rode into the city on November 20, 1862, and is the only raid that took possession of Grenada. It was during this raid that Sam Golladay, then only twelve years old, spied a wandering member of the Union Army in the yard of the home. Sam immediately grabbed a gun and shot the prowler through the door of the residence killing the intruder. The hole was still visible one hundred years later.
Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy, was in 1862 a guest in the Golladay home and reviewed the troops from the front balcony when General Sterling Price was marching his Army of the West to the western part of the country.
Shortly after the Civil War, Sam journeyed to Lebanon, Tennessee, the home of his grandfather. There he studied law, became prominent, married and was laid to rest there. The oldest son, George, purchased a part of the family plantation. A bachelor, he spent the remainder of his life there. Davidella had met George W. Lake, the eldest son of the three Lake brothers who were among the first settlers in Grenada. Davidella had fallen in love with this Southern gentleman and Christmas Day of 1866 was set for the wedding.
But as the happy day dawned, heartbreak visited the Golladay mansion. The beloved mistress of this gracious house was claimed by death and funeral rites replaced the marriage feast. Mrs. Golladay was buried the next day with her daughter’s bridal veil draped around her shoulders. George Lake and Davidella Golladay became husband and wife in a solemn ceremony on December 27, 1866.
(To be continued as “100 years in the Golladay mansion: the Lake family.”)
