Person:Lois Link (1)

Lois Link, daughter of Samuel Albert and Sallie Deboe Link, was born January 19, 1887, in Thomasville, Tennessee. At the time, Professor Link served as Superintendent at the Tennessee School for the Blind in Nashville. Lois spent her childhood in the Nashville area attending Warner and Tarbox Schools and possibly Fogg High School along with older sister, Josephine, and brother, Orman. Little sister Elsie was also a part of the family.

Lois was five years old when her mother died in 1892. Aunt Nee, Cornelia Link, came from Thomasville to care for the children, who were quite young. The family lived at the Blind School until 1893 then moved to whatever location their father’s teaching career took them.

Summers were spent at their grandparent's home in Cheatham County sharing adventures with their Link cousins. The Brewer children of Aunt Maizie came for visits from their nearby Oak Plains home. Uncle Bob Link’s two sets of children, whose mothers had died young and left children in care of the grandparents, were there for extended stays. Aunt Margie's Jordan family, living in Stroudsville, shared home ties with the Thomasville folk. Much of the time found Aunt Kate, Aunt Belle, and Uncle Will in the family home.

Lois was thirteen when her father, Samuel A. Link, opened his own school in Thomasville. She attended The Link School until her graduation in 1906.

In 1908 she accepted a teaching position in Holland, Georgia, a small town in the northern part of that state. It was here that she met Adolphus Montgomery (Dolph) Barker. A deep friendship developed and although she only spent a year at the Holland School, she and Dolph corresponded regularly - and met frequently - while she taught at rural schools in MacDonough and Sylvester, Georgia.

It took five years before Dolph was able to convince her to marry him. They were married in Nashville on February 12, 1913 and made their home in Lyerly, Georgia, where Dolph operated a small store.

Lois with Tom and Lin

Cousin Nancy Duke Murphy remembers visit to the Barker farm:

A visit by some of us Tennessee relatives to one of these orchard camps was a memorable occasion for me, a daughter of Lois's sister Josephine. As a small child I was impressed by the efforts of the family in this endeavor. The ripened peaches were picked, sorted and crated for sale. Some were dried, placed in large flats and carefully attended during the drying process. They would be sold at a later market. A mule cart was used for delivery to a railway station. I remember the excitement of riding the mule, several of us at one time. Uncle Will of the Thomasville Links was there to help. He must have had a sort of partnership in the peach farming business.

Misc. Notes

Sources: Delayed Cert. of Birth, TN #D-484175 dated 1/18/1957 Death Cert., GA no file number, dated 2/26/1968 Family Bible

Birthplace in family bible is Thomasville, TN but on delayed birth cert.it is shown as Cheatham County (rural).

Attended the Link School in Cheatham County, TN - run by her father, S.A.Link Attended George Peabody College for Teachers in 1927 - see note onrecord that 10 2/3 advanced college hours had been granted on credentialsfrom Peabody before 1914. Attended Austin Peay Normal School in Clarksville, TN between 1922 and1948, taking additional courses.

Record for Rating Under State Salary Schedule, dated 8/28/1936, shows she taught in Chattooga County, GA between 1922 and 1927. From 1928 to 1934she taught in Cheatham County, TN

Came to Holland, GA in 1908 to teach at the Holland School. Letter of recommendation dated 5/3/1927 from J. H. Ratliff, Trustee ofHolland High School Article "The Holland School" by Mary Barker from the memories of Eme Holland Strawn, Chattooga County Historical Society Quarterly, September 20, 1993

Wrote article, "Holland, A Better Place to Live", published in TheSummerville News on 9/13/1923.

Sympathy letter from “cousin” Jessie Blake in N. Chattanooga. Letter from Josephine re: Mary’s birth and possibly naming her Dolph. Notes on Bourne cousins

Buried in cemetery at New Hope South Baptist Church, Holland, GA.

The Holland School in 1909

1. ↑ Barker, Adolphus M. Barker Family Bible.

   Original in possession of User:Moultriecreek

   Lois Barker with Tom and Lin Lois Link
2.   Jessie Blake. Letter Jessie Blake to Lois Barker
   13 Nov 1921.