EVEN MORE information about Elizabeth Reed
(that even Duane probably didn't know about)
the link is:
http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendId=55593769which refers to the original article in the 11th Hour a Macon newspaper but the original article can't be found
Monday, August 20, 2007
the real story of who Elizabeth Reed was!Got to read!
As posted in macon's 11th hour:
..> For many, the name Elizabeth Reed brings to mind the ultimate extended jam, taking up a solid 13 minutes of the Allman Brothers' Live at Fillmore East album. For avid Allman fans, the song title may bring to mind the fact that this is one of the first original instrumental songs written by a member of the band, guitarist Dickey Betts. But beyond this, who was the real Elizabeth Reed? Who is the woman behind the legend? The real Elizabeth Reed was my great, great grandmother, and the answer to her identity lies deep in Rose Hill cemetery, in an overgrown plot down by the railroad tracks.
Elizabeth Reed Napier, lovingly referred to as 'pretty Bessie Reed' by my grandmother, was born in Madison, Ga., on November 9, 1845. She was fortunate enough to be born into a family that prized education for women, a rarity in a time when this was an idea shared by few. The desire for higher education is what brought Bessie to Macon. She enrolled in Wesleyan College in the fall of 1860, along with her younger sister, Janie Reed. Physics, rhetoric and moral philosophy, mathematics, Latin, French, piano, voice and embroidery were her classes of choice in 1860. She found all of them to be very agreeable, but one of her favorite classes was a math class taught by Professor Smith. Trying to humor his all-female class in a geometry lesson, Professor Smith once drew a circle on the board and said, "Bessie Reed's round face." Of course, everyone laughed. He then drew a tangent to the circle and Bessie saucily exclaimed, "Professor Smith's nose!" Again, everyone laughed and the professor responded, "Pretty good, Bessie. Your repartee is excellent, though your ability for mathematics has yet to be proven."
Bessie's Wesleyan experience included listening to Sidney Lanier play the flute at a talent performance and attending Christmas dinner at Mr. George Hazlehurst's house, who was then president of the Central Railroad. But her time in Macon also included surviving the War Between the States. Wooden planks covered the windows of their rooms, with only a few holes in each board for candles.
One of my personal favorite stories about Elizabeth Reed, a story that still brings my father to tears, is about her courtship with Briggs Napier during the years of the Civil War. Briggs was a handsome fellow who courted Bessie while she was at Wesleyan and was engaged to her before going off to war. During the war, he lost a leg, and returned home desolate, certain that Bessie would no longer have him as he believed she would see him as less of a man. He presented himself to her upon his return, certain that the 22-year Bessie would have her mind changed because of the loss of his leg. Instead, Bessie told him she loved him all the more, and on April 26, 1865, the two were married. The two are still together; their worn gravesites remain side by side in Rose Hill.
Now, after all of the history and stories, I know everyone is still asking the ultimate question - did Dickey Betts write this song for all the women he romanced down by the tracks in Rose Hill? That I can't tell you. But what I can tell you is that Elizabeth Reed is much more than a name on a grave, Elizabeth Reed was a remarkable woman who adds much to the rich cultural history of Macon.
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In Memory of Elizabeth Reed ... ( Stones ) ..... (Read 1,974 times)
