Speaking with a descendant of those buried in the church cemetery, she confirmed that this was indeed the name of the church in its earliest history. It is speculated the people in the community was surprised the Negroes had organized a church, thus the name, Who'd Thought It Church.
Gallman Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church is the current name of the church. It is located in Gallman, Copiah County, Mississippi. Family members currently attend the church.
Pulmonary tuberculosis is a contagious disease spread through the air via cough, spit,sneezing. If the disease is left untreated, 50% of the infected die. The classic symptoms of active TB infection are a chronic cough with blood-tinged sputum, fever, night sweats, and weight loss (the latter giving rise to the formerly common term for the disease, "consumption").
Hartley siblings, Cora and Jewel, were born about 10 years apart; Cora in 1902 and Jewel in 1912. They were the children of Tom and Sarah Coleman Hartley. The siblings mother died in 1914, leaving the young children to be raised by their father and his new wife, Della Wallace, near Crystal Springs, Copiah County, MS.
The father Tom was the first in the family to die with TB. He died 28 Jan 1926. Jewel died 06 Apr 1927; few weeks later his sister Cora died 27 April 26 1927. They were all buried at Gallman Chapel Church Cemetery.
