Land ownership in post-Civil War Georgia provided African American families with economic independence and security. The connected stories of Fox McElmurry and his son-in-law Joshua Calhoun show how two generations built and maintained property holdings in Bibb County.
Fox McElmurry: Building from Farm Labor to Land Ownership
Fox McElmurry was born around 1817 in Virginia. By 1870, the 53-year-old was working as a farm laborer in Crawford County, Georgia, with his wife Mary and their ten children, including 7-year-old Missouri. A decade later, the family had moved to Bibb County, where Fox continued farm labor work.
Sometime between 1880 and 1872 (when mortgage records first appear), Fox acquired 50 acres in Bibb County's Warrior District. The property, purchased from J.M. Herd, sat among other Black-owned farms, with neighbors including Henry Gibson, Ida Jennings, and Janis Sanders. During the 1870s and 1880s, Fox faced the financial challenges common to small farmers, taking out mortgages to secure operating capital.
By the 1890s, Fox's sons Amos, John, and Henry also appeared in tax records, each owning livestock and farm equipment, though none yet owned land. The 1894 tax assessments show Fox owned no real estate but had $55 worth of personal property - the same amount as his son Amos.
Keeping Land in the Family
When Fox lost his property to foreclosure in April 1890, his son-in-law Joshua Calhoun stepped in. In December 1890, Joshua purchased the 50 acres for $191 from Johnson & Estes, keeping the land in the extended family.
By 1900, Fox had passed away, and his widow Mary was living with daughter Missouri and son-in-law Joshua on what census records confirm was their own land. By 1909, deed records show this property was owned by Missouri Calhoun, maintaining the McElmurry family connection to the original land through the female line.
Joshua's Expansion
Joshua didn't stop with preserving his father-in-law's farm. In 1909, he made a major purchase of 250 acres for $3,300:
194 acres of lot 247 (minus 8 acres on the south side)
50 acres of lot 246 (southwest quarter)
6 acres in lot 7 of Rutland District
The deed specifically notes that Missouri already owned "the Fox McElmurray lands" adjoining this new purchase. In 1921, Joshua added a 5-acre property on Dempsey Avenue in Macon for $600.
Passing It Forward
After Joshua's death in 1937, his children worked to maintain and divide the family holdings:
Son Noah Sr. received the Dempsey Avenue property
Daughter Lilla received 0.5 acres in lot 235 from her mother Missouri
In 1959, the remaining rural acreage was formally divided among the heirs, with Dr. E.M. Calhoun coordinating the distribution
Remarkably, a significant portion of the original farmland remains in family hands today - a testament to the family's commitment to preserving their ancestor's legacy. What began as Fox McElmurray's 50 acres has endured through multiple generations, with descendants still owning and maintaining parts of the original property.
A Lasting Mark
Today, the family's impact on the local landscape remains visible through street names: Fox McElmurry Drive, Missouri-McElmurry Drive, Josh Calhoun Drive, and Lilla Calhoun Drive. These roads mark areas where the family once farmed - and in some cases, where descendants still maintain the land today.
From Fox McElmurray's transition from Virginia-born farm laborer to Georgia landowner, through the preservation and expansion of holdings by Joshua and Missouri, to the careful stewardship by their descendants, this story spans more than 150 years. It demonstrates how African American families in the post-Civil War South built and preserved wealth through land - creating opportunities that extended far beyond farming into education, medicine, and other professions for future generations. The fact that family members still own portions of this land today makes their achievement even more remarkable.
