Edmund Griffith Carlisle was born around 1760 in North Carolina. He lived in Wilkes County, Georgia, which was formed in 1777 from Creek and Cherokee Indian lands. Edmund Carlisle was a Revolutionary War soldier for Georgia in the Wilkes County Militia under General Lachlan McIntosh. He also served in Morgan County Militia in Captain S. Lane’s Company.
In 1797, Edmund was listed in the tax rolls of Greene County, Georgia. Edmund Carlisle married Elizabeth Ann Whatley of Wilkes County in 1797 in Wilkes or Greene County, Georgia, and they had nine children: William Whatley Carlisle (born July 4, 1798), Elizabeth Strickland Carlisle (born 1799), James Whatley Carlisle (born 1802), Robert “Robin” Whatley Carlisle (born April 21, 1806), Edmund Whatley Carlisle (born 1808), Green Whatley Carlisle (born 1810), Michael A.J. Whatley Carlisle (born 1816), Malinda Carlisle, and Christine Carlisle. In 1799, Edmund was listed on the tax rolls of Jackson County, Georgia.
Edmund drew land in the 1805 Land Lottery in Jackson County, which became Morgan County in 1807. In 1820, he was living in Captain Shaw’s District. In 1827, Edmund won land in Carroll and Lee counties in the Georgia land lottery, due to his Revolutionary service, which was granted in 1830. Edmund made his will on 13 April 1828. Edmund died around 1830, and his will was probated on 5 May 1830 in Morgan County, Georgia. His son William Whatley Carlisle was the executor of his estate. His wife received a life estate in 1/3 of her husband’s property, and their dwelling house.
In 1830, Elizabeth Carlisle was living in District 282, Morgan County, Georgia, and had nine slaves. After Edmund’s death, Elizabeth moved west with her married and minor children, first to Troup County, Georgia, and finally to Rock Fence, west of Milltown, Chambers County, Alabama by the mid 1830’s. In 1840, Elizabeth Carlisle was living in Chambers County, Alabama, and had three slaves. On 1 August 1846, Elizabeth made her will. The will was witnessed on 15 November 1854. Elizabeth died shortly thereafter, and her will was probated on 26 February 1855 in Milltown, Chambers County, Alabama. When the Mount Hickory Primitive Baptist Church was moved to a new location in 1847, they purchased an adjacent lot from Thomas Royston to serve as a cemetery. According to family tradition, the first burial in the new cemetery was Elizabeth Carlisle. Her grave is under a cairn of rocks with no marker.