The Mystic Side of Forsyth

 

It’s finally October here in Forsyth and there’s nothin’ better than sittin’ with your family on the porch after a home-cooked meal, sippin’ on sweet tea and tellin’ each other ghost stories. Now, y’all should know by now that I’m the best storyteller around and boy do I have a chillin’ one for you. This story may not have spooky ghouls but it does have a supernatural talent like you’ve never heard of. So, get comfy, here’s the story of Julia Hill Simmons.

 

Julia Hill Simmons, better known as Aunt Julia, was an African American woman born December 10th, 1866. We don’t know exactly where. What we do know is that Aunt Julia came to Forsyth during the 1920s. She quickly earned a reputation as a fortune teller and clairvoyant. That’s right y’all, Forsyth had its own fortune teller and boy was she good! People from all around would come to her home on College Street for a reading. Sundays were her busiest days when people had the most free time. 

Now, Aunt Julia offered a variety of services for the good people of Forsyth. She was good for advice for men and women alike. She could recall the locations of missing items and would tell the future for those askin’. In her later years she would also provide the winning numbers for people when the numbers racket became popular. I know y’all must be thinkin’ I’m crazy for believing that this sweet old lady could actually tell the future so let me tell you some more!

One story goes back to December of 1944, Cecil Smith’s family got a telegram with news that he had sustained wounds at the Battle of the Bulge. Weeks passed with no news on Cecil’s whereabouts. His father Thomas Kenny Smith, or T.K. as he is known around Forsyth, needed answers and decided to visit Aunt Julia. He spoke to Julia and told her that he was worried about somethin’ and she instantly understood it was about Cecil. Aunt Julia reassured him that although Cecil had sustained wounds, he would come home safe. And in July 1945, he did!

I’ve got another story for y’all that Wessie Pharr Battle told me. Aunt Julia dabbled in a type of folk medicine that some might call voodoo. She would mix up herbs to help women with their fertility issues and even to help with skin ailments. Now, when Ms. Wessie was born, she had her navel cord cut too short and only weighed two pounds which was not a good start to the world. She didn’t stop crying for six months. Her mama was distraught and took her to Aunt Julia for doctoring. The medicine that Aunt Julia mixed up ended up healing Ms. Wessie and in her own words “She cured my stomach, and I got well.”

Aunt Julia’s talents didn’t end with fortune tellin’ and being a clairvoyant. She was also a successful businesswoman who owned many farms across the county. Locals saw her driving around town in her big automobiles and her chauffeur. Who could forget Dolphus Rutherford? He was always stuck in second gear while driving her around.  Whether or not you believe the stories about Aunt Julia, her legacy will always be a part of Forsyth’s history.

Y’all come back later, I’ll be telling more stories soon. In the meantime, make sure to check out some of my other stories.

‘Til Next Time, 

Your Storyteller