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Submitted by Gail Walker, August 14, 2011
Stephen Henry Castellow
In the truest sense of the word Stephen Henry Castellow was a pioneer, for he always leaned on the frontier’s edge, clearing land and planting crops. As passed down by his family’s oral history, he "ran the Indians out of Bibb County". Now whether he did or not is unknown, but the statement does define the times and places in which he lived his life.
Stephen Henry Castellow was born on October 1, 1796 in Barnwell County, South Carolina, but moved with his family to Washington County, Georgia in the early 1800’s. As a sixteen year old private, he served in the War of 1812 in the 4th Ga. Militia, while stationed at Fort Hawkins in what would be Macon.
At the age of 18 Stephen Henry married a 16 year old from Washington County – Mary Jane Sanders, daughter of the founder of Sandersville. In 1829 the couple moved to Bibb County where they built a log cabin in 1832 on 200 acres that straddled the Echeconee Creek. They moved on to Houston County in 1836 and in three separate purchases acquired 600 acres in what would be Wellston, fronting two miles along what is now the northerly right of way of Watson Boulevard between North Davis Drive and North Houston Road.
After completing a term in the state legislature as a senator from Houston County in 1843, he settled in managing the Castellow Plantation and raising his six children. Serving as a minister of several Primitive Baptist churches, he preached for 45 years at Pleasant Hills Primitive Baptist Church, presently located, as it was then, on the road by the same name.
On September 28, 1886, three days short of his 90th birthday, Stephen Henry Castellow died never having heard of Warner Robins. He is buried there today however, just off Watson Boulevard, 125 yards behind his home which stands still, a silent sentinel for those who rest there now.
Three of his six children raised their families locally. Mary Jane Castellow married George Washington Smith and raised her family in Houston County. Martha N. Castellow married W. H. Lewis and raised her family in Houston County also. William Harrison Castellow, the youngest child, moved to Bibb County after the death of his mother where he raised his family. A brief profile of their genealogy follows.
Stephen Henry Castellow – 1796 – 1886
(Wife) Mary Jane Sanders – 1798 – 1862
Green Castellow
Mary Jane Castellow
Martha N. Castellow
Sarah Ann Castellow
Stephen Castellow
William H. Harrison Castellow
Mary Jane Castellow – 1827 – 1885
(Husband) George Washington Smith – 1821 – 1893
William Henry Smith
Lucinda Jane Smith
Martha Elizabeth Smith
Stephen David Smith
James Allen Smith
Emma Caroline Smith
Mary Jane Smith
George Washington Smith, Jr.
George Washington Smith, Jr. – 1873 – 1951
(Wife) Mattie Claude Ellis – 1877 – 1958
Ellis S. Smith
Mary Ethel Smith
Georgelle McKibben Smith
Claude Hoke Smith
Helen Hortense Smith
Helen Hortense Smith – 1917 – 2010
(Husband) James L. Walker – 1908 – 2000
James Kenneth Walker
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