by James Stewart Chapter Member

On November 5, 2011, this JSC member attended the grave marker dedication of Real Daughter Clarissa Jones Hefner.  The Joseph Habersham Chapter NSDAR  placed a marker on her grave at Oak Hill Cemetery in Cartersville.  The Regent and members of the Etowah Chapter NSDAR assisted  with the dedication ceremony. Members of the James Stewart Chapter NSDAR and the Colonial William Candler Chapter NSDAR were in attendance.

Clarissa Jones Heffner was the wife of George  Hefner and the daughter of Revolutionary War Patriot William Jones of Georgia.  She was born in 1810 in Franklin County, Georgia  and died in 1902 and was buried at the Oak Hill Cemetery in Bartow County, Georgia. She and George were married October 10, 1831 in Rabun County, Georgia, and had three children.  Clarissa was 92 when she died.  She had read the Bible 90 times and had all her teeth, and a clear mind.

After the dedication ceremony, refreshments were held at the home of  a friend. Laurette’s home was burned  by Sherman’s men,leaving the basement and some parts of the walls still standing.  It was rebuilt in 1886 by freemen.  The home has diamond shaped windows beside the front and back porches.  The floors and woodwork are heart pine and the ceilings are 12 feet.  The interior walls are solid brick with plaster exterior and measure 1 foot thick. There is a cemetery at the home with about 60 graves, the oldest dated 1859, that is still being used today.