Marty and Karla Grant

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Thomas Joshua Gilbert (1884-1981) and Hattie Thermudas Grant (1879-1953) of North Carolina and Georgia

[Grant Home] - [Table of Contents] - T. J. Gilbert and Hattie T. Grant

[Gilbert Home] - [Table of Contents] - T. J. Gilbert and Hattie T. Grant

Hattie T. Grant is my Great Great Grandmother. Her husband T. J. Gilbert is my 1^st cousin 3 times removed as well as my step-GG Grandfather.

My Grant book covers my Grant ancestry in great detail. Get yourself a copy. If a printed version isn’t desirable or practical for you, get the PDF version. It’s much less expensive.

Hattie Thermudas Grant was born 18 Oct 1879 in Swain Co., NC in the Grassy Branch area of Nantahala Township. This area is now mostly under the waters of Fontana Lake.

I don’t know the source of her names. There was no one in the immediate family named “Hattie,” so I don't know who she may have been named for. In those days, “Hattie” was often used as a nickname for Harriet or Henrietta, but in her case, I believe her actual name was “Hattie” and it wasn’t a nickname.

Her middle name is quite mysterious. I’ve found no official document listing it, but I was told by my relatives who knew her that her middle name was Thermudas. Some records do show her with a “T” initial, so that fits. If you do a Google search for “Thermudas” the only results that come back are for her! Thus it’s a unique name, perhaps made up by her parents. If it had some special meaning to them it’s been lost with time.

Two of her siblings also had unusual names. She has a sister named Shuthelia Gustina Grant and a brother named Harkless Luallan Grant. The other six siblings had normal names, more or less. Where did they come up with these names?

A Native American connection has been suggested as a source for these names, but I have not found one. My dad and his brothers recall their grandfather Marvin Grant taking them to visit relatives in Fontana region in the 1950s. They didn’t recall the names, but were certain those relatives were Cherokees based on their appearance. However, after researching the family it turns out they were most likely members of the Evans family. They were indeed dark skinned, and related, but with no known Cherokee ancestry. Hattie's mother was an Evans, and they were from that area, so it all adds up.

It doesn’t explain “Thermudas” though. We may never know what it means or where it came from.

Hattie T. Grant was a daughter of John Patton Grant and Darthula Jane Evans. This fact is proven by family knowledge, as well as the 1880, 1900 and 1910 census and Hattie's death certificate.

Hattie was home with her parents for the 1880 census in Swain County aged 7 months old.

1880 Census, Swain Co., NC, Nantahala Township, House 109, Family 109

She was still home with her parents for the 1900 census in Swain Co., NC. Hattie is 20.

1900 Census, Swain Co., NC, Nantahala Township, House 112, Family 113

In 1901, Hattie’s sister Alva had a child out of wedlock in Swain County, named Essie Grant. The same year their sister Gertrude had a child out of wedlock, Inkabo Grant. In 1902 Hattie had a child out of wedlock, Marvin Grant. While we know who Marvin’s parents were, we don’t know who Essie and Inkabo’s were.

This chain of events may have been what prompted their father to move the family to Union Co., GA which they did ca 1908.

When she was 22, Hattie Grant had a son, Marvin R. Grant, on 13 Jan 1902. Marvin told me that his father was named “Lonso Patterson.” It didn’t take much research to find that Lonso, or “Lon,” was Carroll Alonso Patterson (1880-1922) whose parents owned land right next to the Grants in Swain Co., NC. I have not found any official evidence that Lon was Marvin’s father, such as a birth record, court record, or any other document that lists their connection. All I have is a letter from Marvin to me dated 1984 in which he told me that was his father. The best proof, besides Marvin himself, is that I have taken a Y-DNA test. Y-Chromosomes are passed from father to son nearly unchanged over the generations, so in theory, mine would match Lon Patterson’s nearly perfectly. Of course he couldn’t be tested, nor did he have any other sons who could be tested. However, his brothers did, and uncles did, and I am a very close Y-DNA match to them which proves that Lon Patterson is most likely Marvin’s father, just as Marvin believed.

No one knows what kind of relationship Lon and Hattie had. We only know it produced a child and that the two didn’t get married. Lon would marry Nora Camby in 1907, and Hattie would marry T. J. Gilbert in 1915. As best as we can tell, Lon and Hattie never saw each other again, especially after Hattie moved to Georgia with her parents. Marvin did apparently meet Lon once ca 1920 while both were working on a road crew in Swain County (perhaps for the TVA?). They had a brief conversation. Lon knew who Marvin was. Unfortunately, Lon died in 1922 at a fairly young age leaving a widow and a daughter, a half sibling to Marvin, named Willa Bell Patterson (1909-1968). We don’t think Marvin and Willa Bell ever met, and may not have even been aware of one another.

See Lon’s page for more on him and the Patterson family.

Hattie and son are listed on the 1910 census in Union Co, GA residing with her parents.

1910 Census, Union Co., GA, Gum Log Dist 1024, Houses 51, Families 51

On 5 Sep 1915, Hattie Grant married Thomas Joshua Gilbert in Union Co., GA. The Gilberts resided near the Grants in the Gum Log area. Marvin would marry Thomas’s 1^st cousin Lilly B. Gilbert a few years later.

Tom Gilbert was born 15 May 1884 in Union Co., GA, a son of Elijah Gilbert and his 1^st wife Mary Maranda Miller. To confuse matters somewhat, Tom had a 1^st cousin also named Thomas Joshua Gilbert (1882-1946) who was the brother of Lilly B. Gilbert wife of Marvin Grant. Both left Union Co., GA soon after marrying, so there isn’t much chance of confusing them in the records.

He was named “Joshua” in honor of his grandfather Joshua Gilbert. “Thomas” may be for his great uncle Thomas Gilbert or perhaps someone else.

He was with his parents on the 1900 census. I wasn’t able to find him in 1910. He wasn’t with his parents.

Tom and Hattie are listed on the 1920 census in Union Co., GA. They are in Ivy Log Township which is next to Gum Log. They are listed next door to his cousin Grover Miller.

1920 Census, Union Co., GA, Ivy Log Township, House 35, Family 35

Sometime between 1925 and 1930 they moved to Cobb Co, GA and resided at Route 1, Kennesaw, GA.

They are listed in Cobb Co., GA for the 1930 census. They lived on a farm that they rented for $4 per month.

1930 Census, Cobb Co., GA, Mil Dist 898 - Marietta, Stilesboro Road, House 484, Family 519

It appears they made a move within the same county after 1935. They are on the 1940 census living on Dallas Road on a farm rented for $8 per month.

1940 Census, Cobb Co., GA, Oregon Township, Dallas Road, House 5

They are back on Stilesboro Road by the time of the 1950 census. Tom’s brother William Gilbert is a few houses away.

1950 Census, Cobb Co., GA, Marietta (city), Stilesboro Road, House 22

In 1951, or thereabouts, they moved a short distance to Kennesaw, GA in the same county.

Hattie died on 25 May 1953 at home in Kennesaw, Cobb Co, GA. Her death certificate gave her age as 73, and her occupation as housewife and domestic. Her cause of death was "Hypertension artero schlerosis". Her parents were listed as “John Grant” and “Dorothy Jane Evans.”

She was buried at the New Salem Cemetery in Kennesaw. Her stone shows “Hattie Grant Gilbert 18 Oct 1880 - 25 May 1953.” Her birth year is off for she was actually born in 1879.

Thomas Joshua Gilbert died on 14 May 1981 at age 96 in Marietta, Cobb Co, GA. He is buried beside Hattie at the New Salem Cemetery.

In 1988 when I visited the cemetery I was very surprised to see that Tom had only died seven years prior. He was my step Great Great Grandfather and I’d never met him, nor even heard of him until shortly before my visit there. Although I was only 15 when he died, I had just begun researching my ancestry. How I would loved to have met and talked to him.

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Children

Hattie had one son with Carroll Alonso Patterson, born in Swain Co., NC. She had five children with husband Thomas Joshua Gilbert, all born in Union Co., GA.

 

1.         Marvin Roosevelt Grant (1902-1992) married Lilly Bell Gilbert. Resided in Cherokee and Graham Co., NC, and Marietta, Cobb Co., GA. My Great Grandparents.

 

2.         John Arvil Gilbert (1917-2011). Arvil married Dora Ruth Bolen.

 

3.         Ethel Jane Gilbert (1918-2000). Ethel married 1^st — Quinn, and 2^nd — Liles.

 

4.         Fannie Edna Gilbert (1919-2001). Fannie married Lawrence E. Southern.

 

5.         Frank Wesley Gilbert (1921-1962). Frank married 1^st Arleen M. —, and 2^nd Bonnie C. Davis.

 

6.         Roy Gilbert (1923-1925). Roy died young and is buried at Ebenezer Baptist Church Cemetery in Union Co., GA.

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For more information see the family group sheet for Hattie T. Grant and Thomas J. Gilbert.

Revised: September 26, 2026

Copyright © 1996-2026 Marvin A. Grant, Jr. All Rights Reserved.

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