Benjamin Ausburn
December 25th 1869 – September 13th 1937
Benjamin Ausburn was born on Christmas day 1869 in Banks County, Georgia. He was a farmer. He had four children with Mary Caudell: Grant, Mittie, Essie, and Maud.
After his wife, Mary, died in 1913, he remarried on July 25th 1921 to Harriet Hailey Lewallen (1877-1948). They did not stay married long. Harriet had a great big furry cat and she slept with that cat. Benjamin vowed that he would never sleep in the bed with a cat.
Benjamin's grandson, Boyd Jackson, tells this story: Benjamin was the strongest man I had ever seen. Ben cut down trees with only an axe, never a saw. He could plow a mule all day long, stopping only for a glass of water that his granddaughter, Bertie Mae, would gladly take him.
Father: Hugh B. Ausburn
Mother: Mary Ann Murray
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Wife: Mary Louise Caudell
Children: Grant Wilmer Ausburn, Mittie Lou Ausburn, Essie Ausburn, Maud Lee Ausburn
Moderee Sisk (1927-2017), great granddaugther to Hugh Ausburn (Benjamin's father) remembered Benjamin. She said that Benjamin often came over to help her family kill hogs. She called him Uncle Ben. He always picked up the hog and scalded it in a barrel. He always said he would kill the biggest hog anyone had on Thanksgiving day.
Benjamin Ausburn ran the Ragsdale Gristmill in the early 1930s. The mill is still in excellent condition. I visited the mill in 2023 and owner, Dock Sisk, showed me around and took me inside the Mill house where the mill workers lived. It is very possible Benjamin lived inside there at some point.
Ragsdale Mill built in early 1860s
Ragsdale Mill House (Possible living place for Benjamin Ausburn)
Benjamin sitting at a table
Top Row (L to R): Bently Lewallen holding Bobbie Jean Lewallen, Benjamin Ausburn, Bertie Mae Ausburn, Claude Homer Jackson
Bottom Row (L to R): Benny Euline Lewallen, Mittie Lou Jackson, Lucille Jackson, Boyd Jackson
L to R: Benjamin, Mittie, Essie holding Bobbie Jean
Stories
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Funeral of Benjamin Ausburn
Benjamin's funeral. Daughter Mittie in front of his casket.
Death
Benjamin Ausburn in Homer, Georgia on September 13th 1937. He developed Sepsis due to Cellulitis in the Right Axillary Region. Benjamin's post-mortem picture is attached to the left.
Benjamin's death certificate
Benjamin's headstone
This picture was taken when Ben Ausburn died. The Ausburn family is well represented here. The children on the front row left to right are Ruby and Rudolph Ausburn, Boyd Jackson and Eulean Lewallen. The second row: Bertie Mae Deaton, Belle Ausburn, Vassie Lewallen, Montene Ausburn, Marie Ausburn and Bentley Lewallen. Back row: Hubert Ausburn, Harve Deaton, unknown, Daisy Ausburn, Duck Ausburn, unknown, Grant Ausburn, unknown, Ralph Lewallen and Claude Jackson
