Snellville's Past: Spotlight on the Livseys

When the Livseys come to family reunions, they bring more than just food. They bring a storied past of unfairness, turned forgiveness, and now acceptance.

They are descendants of slaves and slave owners, and they are family.

As of one of Snellville’s most unique families, the Livseys have come a long way from 200 years ago when families like these happened because people were treated as property. They didn’t choose their families, of course, but now it seems as if they have.

Finding Family

“I remember back in the 1960s, my Uncle Charlie Doss was very interested in connecting with the black side of the family,” said Annette Merritt-Livsey, an avid researcher of family history and a poet.

She was born on Mink-Livsey Road, just a few miles away from the Promised Land which was property of slave owners. The road was named after her grandfather, Frank “Mink” Livsey. She traces her lineage to Green H. Livsey, who was an overseer at the Robert Toombs Plantation in Wilkes County, Ga.

Merritt-Livsey remembers her uncle and others discussing the fact that it was very likely they were related to the other Livseys, as their last names were spelled exactly the same, and they lived in the same area. 

Her pursuit of information led her to an Atlanta archives site, where she found a host of family data.  She even went so far as to collect newspaper pieces that featured the black side of the family, such as Thomas Livsey. 

One day, she received a phone call from Thomas.

“He asked if he could come by with his son and talk with me about genealogy,” she laughed. “I said, ‘I know who you are, Thomas!’”  

He was surprised, and even more so when he saw his own picture from a newspaper clipping in her scrapbook.  Annette Merritt-Livsey explained that she and her family kept tabs on the “other” side of the Livsey clan and were eager to establish a relationship. 

Her scrapbook contains a glimpse into not just the life of the Livseys, but decades of American history. One picture she holds dear is a picture of her father and mother, Joe-Tom and Rubie Freeman, before they were married.

Jack Livsey, another white cousin, said he had known Thomas Livsey for a very long time. 

“We always called each other cousin, but we never knew we were really kin-folk!” he said.  

Annette Merritt-Livsey believes that the two sides of the family are either blood related or that slaves belonging to Green Livsey simply took his family name.  

“Either way, we’re cousins,” she said.  

Fighting for Family

Like Annette Merritt-Livsey, Thomas and Dorethia Livsey, an African-American couple, also trace their heritage to Green H. Livsey.  And, last year both sides found themselves involved in concerns over the naming of a new Gwinnett County school.

The area, now known as the Promised Land community, is where the school sits. Thomas Maguire, who originally owned the land, named the area the Promised Land because of the fertile soil and his optimistic hopes for the future. 

He won an initial 250 acres in the lottery that divvied up land that belonged to Native Americans, and that eventually became Gwinnett County. The Maguire family gradually purchased a total of 1,000 acres, as other families moved during the Dahlonega Gold Rush. Other families to settle in the area were the Andersons, Snells, Sawyers, and Livseys.

Thomas Maguire married an Anderson sister, Jane. The Andersons owned another plantation nearby and many remain in the Promised Land area today. They had three children together.  After Jane Maguire died suddenly from blood poisoning, her younger sister, Elizabeth, cared for the couple’s children and eventually married Thomas, bearing another eight children. 

The recently re-named on Centerville Highway is a tribute to two of those families of early settlers. The Andersons and Livseys were neighbors in the area. After a year of campaigning to name the school Anderson-Livsey Elementary -- rather than Snell Elementary -- the school board unanimously elected to change the name.

“Years ago this land that the school is built on was owned by the Andersons and Livseys,” says Dee Jennings, a clerk at Anderson-Livsey Elementary.  “They purchased the land for $500 and kept it in the family.” 

According to Elliott Brack, author of Gwinnett: A Little Above Atlanta, Robert Livsey purchased 110 of the acres in the 1920s for $2,500, though other sources confirm the $500 amount.  

Dorethia Livsey, matriarch of the African-American side of the family, now works as a receptionist at Anderson-Livsey Elementary.  She is a former educator, and she serves currently on the county’s Human Relations Commission.

Concerning the naming of the school, she adds, “[The Promised Land] is a community, and it is historical.  We felt like we should recognize the patriarchs and matriarchs of the community. Words can’t express how glad we are to have this school in this area.”  

“They were going to name the school Snell,” Dorethia continued. “We always wanted to make it clear that we had a good relationship with the Snells.  There was no strife.” 

The school board renamed Midway Middle school Grace Snell Middle in order to also honor the Snells.  

Annette Merritt-Livsey remembers the battle for the school’s name. "We all went to bat for it and were all at the dedication."

Redefining Family

Dorethia Livsey and her husband helped begin the renewal of the Promised Land Community in 1970, including eventually opening a grocery story there. Today the family has hopes of making the area a tourist stop to educate more people about the history.

In 2006, the Livseys on both sides of the family attended a family reunion together. Elliott Brack recorded Thomas Livsey, Jr., as saying, “No one owed no one an explanation or excuse for the past, no animosity, no guilt. We must question our past in order to determine our own future. We all left with a whole new family tree." 

Gen. William “Bill” Livsey, a retired United States four-star general who served as the United Nations Commander-in-Chief in Korea from 1984-1987, is a familiar face at the reunions.

“It was just great!” he recalled.  “All of a sudden Tom and his family all showed up, and it was wonderful.” 

When William Livsey’s mother died, Thomas, Sr., came to the visitation with tea and lemonade and was very supportive. William Livsey attended the Anderson-Livsey Elementary school dedication.  

“I met a lot of the Livseys from Pittsburg and Florida,” he continued, “and it was a great experience.  They were gracious and nice people.”  

The black and white Livseys see each other often and have a close, comfortable relationship. On average, about 100 family members attend the reunions.

The Livseys will once again hold their family reunion this year on June 12. Annette Merritt-Livsey will oversee the planning. (She is also planning to climb Stone Mountain on her 87th birthday this year, as she did last year.)

"Our motto is to always go forward,” Dorethia Livsey said about the the school and the community. “We are excited and optimistic about the future."

(Editor's Note: Historical information for this story was gathered from the Snellville Historial Society, the Gwinnett Historical Society and Livsey family members.)