Deal Family

According to the US census of 1860, Alexander Deal was born in South Carolina. His tombstone in Alta Vista Cemetery in Gainesville, Hall, GA provides September 15, 1815 as his date of birth and January 4, 1864 as his death date. The names of his parents are not known. There were Deal families in South Carolina and other parts of Georgia, but it is not known if or how Alexander is related to them.

On January 6, 1842, at the age of 26, Alexander married Nancy Saye in Hall County, GA. She was 22. Nancy Saye's name was erroneously entered into the Hall County marriage records as "Nancy Seng."

The following are the known children of Alexander Deal and Nancy Saye:

Mary Jane Deal. Born about 1846. Married first Larkin Wright on July 1, 1868 in Hall Co., GA. Married second Peter Books on June 14, 1879 in Hall Co., GA. Moved to Arkansas.
Margaret Deal. Born about 1847. Married Jacob E. Little on January 31, 1865 in Hall Co., GA.
Martha E. Deal. Born about 1847. Married Daniel D. Webster on November 20, 1864 in Hall Co., GA. Married George Webb on June 9, 1879 in Hall Co., GA. Moved to Indian Territory, Choctaw Nation (Oklahoma) by 1900 with two sons from first marriage.
Frances "Fanny" Elizabeth Deal. Born October 4, 1850. Died February 21, 1909 near Gainesville, Hall Co., GA. Buried in Alta Vista Cemetery.
Columbus Lafayette Deal. Born November 25, 1851 in Gainesville, Hall Co., GA. Married first Mary Ollie Stringer on March 8, 1874 in Gainesville. Married second Nancy Matilda Hughes on October 22, 1882 in Hall Co., GA. Died on December 4, 1948 in Gainesville, Hall Co., GA. Buried in Alta Vista Cemetery.
Alice S. Deal. Born about 1855. Married Robinson or Robertson.
Annis S. Deal. Born September 6, 1856. Married John C. Sisson on September 6, 1874 in Hall Co., GA. Died June 6, 1943 in Decatur, DeKalb Co., GA.
Erastus Bartow Deal. Born June 8, 1861. Died June 6, 1864. Buried in Alta Vista Cemetery.

In 1848 and 1849, Alexander is listed as being in the tax district of Capt. Deal, who is probably himself. At one time he owned 450 acres of land.

The Deal family does not seem to have been enumerated in the 1850 federal census although they were living in Hall Co., GA.

In the 1860 federal census for Hall Co., GA, the Deals were living in district 411 in Gainesville. Alexander was a farmer with real estate valued at $4,000 and personal estate at $3,700. The family was listed as:

A. Deal, 44.
Nancy Deal, 40.
M. J. Deal, 14.
Margaret Deal, 13.
Elizabeth Deal, 10.
C. L. Deal, 7.
A. S. Deal, 5.
A. S. Deal, 3.

In the 1860 federal slave schedules, A. Deal is listed as having three males slaves, age 50, 9, and 7.

An article about the Deal family appears in the Gainesville Times on February 10, 1974, written by Sybil McRay and based on information by Eleanor Miller, a granddaughter of Annis Deal. It says that during the Civil War, Alexander "used his land and slaves to raise food for the government and contributed money to help outfit the troops. He also operated a liquor still for medical purpose for the Southern troops." It mentions the lime kiln that Alexander owned and operated. (This lime kiln was later run by his son Columbus Lafayette.) The article also contains information about the Deal's house, which burned down around 1921, and contains an account of Annis Deal's childhood memory of Union soldiers pillaging the house one night and attempting to burn it.

On January 4, 1864, at the age of 49, Alexander Deal died in Gainesville. The 1974 newspaper article identifies pneumonia as the cause of death.

Columbus Lafayette Deal (1851-1948)

Photographs of Columbus Lafayette Deal and Nancy Hughes

Columbus Lafayette "Fate" Deal was born on November 25, 1851 in Gainesville, Hall Co., Georgia. He was the son of Alexander Deal and Nancy Saye. His father died when the boy was 13. Fate was the eldest child and only surviving son.

On March 8, 1874 in Hall Co. he married Mary Olivia "Mary Ollie" Stringer; he was 22, and she was 14. The following are their children:

James Alexander Deal. Born May 1, 1875 in Gainesville, Hall Co., GA. Married Ruby Vashti Smith on January 23, 1912 in Gainesville. Died February 14, 1962 in Milledgeville, Baldwin Co., GA.
Charles Erastus Deal. Born November 15, 1876 in Gainesville, Hall Co., GA. Married Carrie Wahl on March 5, 1902. Died June 17, 1952 in Rye, NY.
Mary "Ella" Ella Deal. Born 1878. Married Solomon M. Snider on December 26, 1895 in Hall Co., GA. Died December 28, 1975 in Fulton Co., GA.

In the 1880 federal census for Hall Co., the family is enumerated in Gainesville, district 411:

Columbus L. Deal, 26. Lime kiln
Mary O. Deal, 20
James A. Deal, 4
Erastus Deal, 3
Ella Deal, 2

In 1882, however, after 8 years of marriage, his wife, Mary Ollie, died. The following item appeared in a Gainesville paper, The Eagle, on June 2, 1882:

The many friends of Mr. LaFayette Deal and family will sympathize deeply with him in the loss of his wife which occurred last Friday morning, and his own serious and alarming illness.

On October 22, 1882 Fate married Nancy Matilda Hughes (April 19, 1865-April 22, 1940). They had two children:

Ernest Lafayette Deal. Born in 1890. Died September 20. 1948 in Baldwin Co., GA.
Oscar Deal. Born October 25, 1899. Died June 25, 1900. Buried in Alta Vista Cemetery in Gainesville.

In the 1900 federal census for Hall Co., the Deal family lived on Broad St. in Gainesville:

Columbus L. Deal, 47
Nancy Deal, 34
James A. Deal, 25
Ernest L. Deal, 9
Oscar Deal, 7/12

In the 1910 federal census for Hall Co., the Deals lived on Lawrenceville Rd in Gainesville:

Columbus L. Deal, 57, manufacturing of lime
Nancy M. Deal, 43
James A. Deal, 34, manufacturing of lime

In the 1920 federal census for Hall Co., Fate and Nancy were living at 117 Washington Street in Gainesville:

Columbus L. Deal, 67, manager of a garage
Nancy Deal, 52
Ernest L. Deal, 28, mechanic
Lallie ? Deal, 28
Ernest Deal, 1 11/12

In the 1930 federal census for Hall Co., the Deals lived on 117 West Broad St. in Gainesville:

Columbus L. Deal, 77, owned the house valued at $6000
Nancy Deal, 63
Ernest L. Deal, 38, commercial traveler in automobile supplies

Fate lived a long life. For years, he operated the lime kiln that had been his father's. A 1915 photograph of the lime kiln is in the State Archives in Atlanta, as part of the Mining and Industry collection. Perhaps the man standing in the forefront is Fate. Later in life he operated a car lot.

He died on December 4, 1948 at the age of 97 in an Atlanta nursing home. His December 9th obituary in the the Gainesville News states he was 96 and identifies him as "Hall County's oldest native born citizen."

C. L. Deal, 96, Oldest Citizen, Dies Saturday
Funeral services for Columbus LaFayette (Fate) Deal, were held Monday afternoon at the First Presbyterian Church here. The Reverend N. G. Barron officiated, and burial was in Alta Vista cemetery.
Mr. Deal died Saturday in an Atlanta nursing home after a long illness. He was 96 years old, and Hall County's oldest native born citizen.
Mr. Deal operated the Deal's Lime Kiln for many years, was later in the automobile business before he retired. He was a member of the Presbyterian church.
Surviving him are two sons, J. A. Deal, Atlanta; E. C. Deal, New York City; a daughter, Mrs. Ella Snider, Atlanta.
The cause of death was cerebral thrombosis with artero-sclerosis as a contributory cause.

James Alexander Deal (1875-1962)

Photograph of James Alexander Deal

James "Elec" Alexander Deal was born on May 1, 1875 in Gainesville, Georgia. He was the first-born son of Columbus Lafayette Deal and Mary Olivia "Mary Ollie" Stringer. The boy grew up in Gainesville. His mother died when he was 7 years old, leaving behind another son, Charles Erastus, and a daughter, Ella. Later that year, his father married Nancy Matilda Hughes.

On January 23, 1912, James married Ruby Vashti Smith of Gainesville. He was 36, and she was 20. The following wedding announcement appeared in the Gainesville Times for January 24, 1912:

Miss Ruby Vashti Smith, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Horace Smith, and Mr. James A. Deal, son of Mr. C. L. Deal, were quietly married at the residence of Judge J. B. Gaston at 9 o'clock last night in the company of a few friends and relatives. Rev. A. F. Nunn performed the ceremony. The bride is an attractive young woman, while the groom is a well known young man. Their friends extend heartiest congratulations. They are at home for the present at Mrs. Smith's, next door to St. Paul's church.

The Deals had six children:

Lois Margaret Deal. Born August 25, 1913 in Gainesville, Hall Co., GA. Married James Mason on November 2, 1929 in Atlanta, Fulton Co., GA. Died June 23, 1997 in DeKalb Co., GA.
Mary Nell Deal. Born May 4, 1915 in Gainesville, Hall Co., GA. Married Earl Clinton Hancock, Sr. in 1937. Died October 30, 1998 in DeKalb Co., GA.
James Deal. Born June 27, 1917. Died November 8, 1918. Buried in Alta Vista Cemetery in Gainesville.
Harold Joseph Deal. Born 1919. Died March 22, 1983 in Fulton Co, GA.
Ruth "Peggy" Deal. Born February 7, 1922 in Atlanta, Fulton Co., GA. Married Spencer B Copeland on August 12, 1939 in Gwinnett Co., GA. Died October 6, 1993 in Atlanta, Fulton Co., GA. Buried in Clinton, SC.
Gladis Deal. Born January 2, 1928. Died September 5, 1928 in Fulton Co., GA. Buried in Alta Vista Cemetery in Gainesville.

When James Alexander Deal registered for the WWI draft, they were living at 114 Hampton St. in Atlanta.

In the 1920 federal census, the Deals were living at 43 Newport Avenue in Atlanta. Elec's occupation was electrician.

In the 1930 federal census for Fulton Co., the Deals were living at 421 6th Street in Atlanta.

James Alexander Deal died at the age of 86 on February 14, 1962 in Milledgeville, Baldwin County, Georgia, at the state hospital. Evidently he fell to the floor in his ward on January 30th and later developed an acute myocardial infection. He is buried in Alta Vista Cemetery in Gainesville.

Ruth "Peggy" Deal (1922-1993)

Photograph of "Peggy" Deal

Ruth Deal was born on February 7, 1922 in Atlanta, Fulton Co., GA. Her nickname was Peggy. On August 12, 1939, she married Spencer B. Copeland in Gwinnett Co., GA. For more information about their children, see the material for Spencer B. Copeland.

Peggy Deal died on October 6, 1993 in Atlanta, Fulton, GA. She is buried in Clinton, Laurens, SC.