Leah Armstead Bomar was born 17 July 1804, Spartanburg, SC and died 2 September 1884, Douglas County, GA. She married Rev. Thomas Sherod Rice, who died in 1843. At the time of her death, she owned the ferry at the town of Campbellton, which had formerly been owned by her father, Armstead Bomar, Senr., and apparently lived nearby.
So I stopped entering names and started looking on the internet for the Campbellton, GA ferry. Please understand these findings didn't happen within a short time span. It took several hours looking at all kinds of web pages and records. But the payoff was HUGE!
Campbellton is no longer a town. There's not much there now. Below are some photos of what's there currently. Campbellton was founded as the county seat of Campbell County around 1830. It's now part of Fulton County (Atlanta). The Chattahoochee River is nearby, which is why there was a need for a ferry back in the 1800's. I didn't find the ferry landing, stay with me 'cause this isn't the most interesting part of the post.
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| Campbellton Lodge (not a hotel!) |
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| The Campbellton Baptist Church is on the right. The Campbellton Lodge is behind the church sign. |
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| Site of the Campbellton County Court House |
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| Where the Baptist Church used to be. |
I looked further for more information on the Bomars and found something in Douglas County, GA, just across the Chattahoochee River from Campbellton. In the 1800's this part of Douglas County was part of old Campbell County. This is where Leah Bomar Rice's father owned property.
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| Home owned by Armstead Rice |
The home pictured above (which I think is still standing) was once owned by Armstead Bomar, Jim's 4th great grandfather. It was built in 1835 and he bought it in 1838, living in it about two years until his death in 1840. It was then bought from his estate by his daughter, Mary (Polly) Bomar Rice and her husband, Rev. Parker Merimoth Rice. They sold it four years later to a Mr. Bullard and later the home was known as the Bullard-Henley House.
I found out some of this information from a comment to a history column in the Douglasville, GA newspaper in April, 2011. The gentleman who wrote the comment also confirmed Armstead Bomar running a ferry. Here is the comment that made me jump for joy:
The old Henley House is quite a treasure. I forgot the name of the man who built it in 1935 [should be 1835] but A.R. Bomar Sr. bought it in 1838 and only lived in it only 2 years as he Died in 1840. He had Operated the Campbellton ferry and owned properties on both sides of the River. His descendents the Rice's inherited the property and later sold the home and the main plantation for a huge sum $4500 Quoted from the book "Indian Trails to I20" The Rice's retained several hundred acres and ran the Ferry and a farm and mill all along the East side of Anneewakee creek. Descendents still run the Organic Farm on the north side of hwy 166. Bullard's became Henley after Dr. Henley married Sarah Bullard's Daughter and Moved into the home and remained after Her Death. I think the Henley's lived there for 125 years. Should be on the Protected list for sure.
Jeff Champion
The history column that generated the comment above is very interesting. It tells the story of the Bullard-Henley House during the Civil War. This incident happened, of course, after Polly and Parker Rice sold the home to the Bullards. It's a very interesting column. Here is the link:
http://douglasville.patch.com/articles/yankees-sing-dixie-in-douglas
Enjoy!
