Sallie and four of her children. From left: Tate, Annie, Jim T., Sallie, Jerry
James Thomas GRANT (known as Jim T.) was born 13 Mar 1879 in Chesterfield County, South Carolina. He was second of the five children born to Henry Harrison GRANT (1848-1886) and Sarah Ann Rebeckah “Sallie” THOMAS GRANT (1852-1937). As was common in those days, Henry was a farmer and Sallie was a farm wife.
Henry died in 1886. At that time of his father’s death, Jim T. was seven. His older brother was 9; and his younger siblings were 1, 3, and 5. You can imagine the burden this was for Sallie.
Sallie’s brother, Jeremiah Daniel “Dan” THOMAS (1858-1946), came to her rescue. Their father sent Dan to Sallie to help her out. According to cousin Agnes JEFFORDS JACOBS (1920-2021), Dan walked the 80+ miles from Richland County, where Sallie’s parents and siblings lived, to Chesterfield County where the widowed Sallie and her children lived.
Dan was 28 when he arrived in Chesterfield County. He immediately went to work helping Sallie run the farm and raise her young ‘uns. In 1887, Dan married Margaret Ann “Maggie” GRANT (1870-1948), sister of Sallie’s late husband, Henry. But Dan continued to work on Sallie’s farm and take care of her and her family even after he and Maggie started a family of their own.
Jim T. and his siblings grew up with their mother, their Uncle Dan, and their many GRANT relatives looking out for them. Once grown, three of the children went to Texas looking for better opportunities. Jim T. and his sister, Annie Jane, stayed in Chesterfield.
In fact, Jim T. spent his entire life in Chesterfield County, living in the towns of Cheraw and Chesterfield.
Jim T. started out working as a railroad laborer and a carpenter but went to work for the sheriff’s office in his 30’s. Over the years, he worked as a jailer, a deputy sheriff, and as the sheriff. He was also the chief of police for the city of Hartsville, South Carolina and the mayor of the town of Chesterfield, South Carolina.
Jim T. married Essie BRIM (1890-1961) around 1926. Jim T. was in his 40’s, and Essie was in her late 20’s. They had children right away – James Thomas “Tommy” GRANT Jr. (1927-2003) and Sarah Ethel GRANT SCOTT (1930-2004). Tommy went on to marry Elizabeth Murphy “Betty” FRAZER (1929-2018), and they had two children. Sarah married Robert Andrew SCOTT, Sr. (1928-2011) and had three children with him.
Jim T. and his family lived in a large house on Main Street in Chesterfield. That house is still there. On the 1940 census Jim T. was listed as unemployed, but their house was a boarding house, so I expect there was plenty for 61-year old Jim T. to do right there at home!
Dan and Maggie in front of little house Jim T. built for them behind his house in Chesterfield
Also on the 1940 census, Jim T.’s beloved Uncle Dan and Aunt Maggie (now 81 and 69 years of age) are listed as living next door. Dan and Maggie had moved to Richland County around 1905 to be near Dan’s family. They often visited Chesterfield and Cheraw, though, so the families remained close through the years.
Essie with a boarder in front of Essie and Jim T.’s house. Essie is in the dark coat
Jim T built a little house for Dan and Maggie to live in behind his own house. It didn’t have a kitchen, though. According to cousin Agnes, Jim T said, “I am not putting a kitchen in it because that’s too much work for you.” He didn’t want Maggie to have to cook, so their meals were brought over to them from his house three times a day. Essie, Jim T’s wife, cooked for her boarders anyway, so she just added in more food for Dan and Maggie.
Dan passed in 1946, and Maggie moved back to Columbia with her daughter, Aggie Nora THOMAS JEFFORDS (1897-1966).
Jim T. passed on 25 Nov 1953 at the age of 74. Essie passed four years later.
Jim T. was well-known in Chesterfield County and well-loved. Besides serving the community by working in law enforcement, he was also a Mason and a Shriner. He was an active member of his church, and he took care of his Uncle Dan and Aunt Maggie in their later years. My grandmother, Florrie THOMAS MARTIN (1894-1979) was Jim T.’s first cousin. She and my mother, Gladys MARTIN HEISER (1921-1999) always spoke very highly of Jim T., too.
It seems his was a life well lived.
Boo Bittle, a Chesterfield County native, had this to say in response to this blog post: “My mother lived at the Grant’s boarding house with other teachers when she came to Chesterfield in 1939. I don’t remember Mr. Grant but Mrs. Grant [Essie] was always like a grandmother to me We ate many meals at her home. I especially remember her fried chicken and banana pudding. Mrs. Missy Murvin was a wonderful cook at the Grant’s. Mrs. Missy still has relatives in Chesterfield. The Grants and Murvins were wonderful families.”
This blog post was originally written in 2015, but Jim T.’s grandson provided new information, so I updated it in 2024.
If you would like any of the photos from this blog post without a watermark, please let me know. I’d be happy to share that with you.
Copyright © 2024 Nancy H. Vest All Rights Reserved
There was talk of Jim Grant in our Hendrix/Hobgood families too. I remember him being spoken of as a sheriff in Chesterfield. I’d have to look back through my older notes to get more specific.
How interesting. I expect it’s the same man. Let me know what you find out when you have an opportunity to look through your older notes. 🙂