Emma A. Pace Forister was born on May 9, 1899, in Pickens, South Carolina, entering a world transitioning from agricultural traditions to industrial promise. She was the third of twelve children born to Richard Franklin “Frank” Pace and Corrie Ann Jones Parks. Her early years were spent on the family farm northeast of Pickens, near Oolenoy Creek, where she grew up surrounded by a large and lively family.
A Life Transformed by the Mills
The trajectory of Emma’s life was fundamentally altered in 1907 with the completion of the Pickens textile mill. Like many families in the Piedmont, her father Frank left farming for the steady wages of the mill village. While Emma’s younger sister Kate famously began working in the mills at age 12, Emma’s path led her to marry into the mill-working community of nearby Easley.
She married Robert Dewey Forister, a Spartanburg native who moved to Easley in 1914. Robert became a fixture of the local industry, laboring in the card room of the Glenwood Mill for thirty-seven years. Together, they built a stable life at 503 S. Second Street in Easley and were devoted members of the Brushy Creek Baptist Church.
Motherhood and Family Growth
Emma and Robert raised three children who carried the family legacy into the mid-twentieth century. Their son Glenn Harold Forister was born in April 1920, followed by daughters Lucile Forister in September 1925 and Margie Elizabeth Forister in April 1928. Her life was defined by close kinship with her sprawling family. She remained particularly close to her sister Kate, the maternal great-grandmother of the author, John Davis Edens 2, and she shared the community’s joys and sorrows, such as the loss of her brother Theren in 1918 and her brother Joseph “Bolt” Pace in 1948.
Resilience and Longevity
Robert passed away in August 1965 after years of declining health, leaving Emma to navigate the next three decades on her own. She displayed remarkable resilience, outliving her husband by thirty years and witnessing her children and grandchildren grow. During these later years, she saw the passing of her mother in 1958 and her father in 1959. Her sister Kate eventually moved to Asheville to live with her daughter Edna, but the bonds of the Pace family remained a constant thread in Emma’s long life.
Emma Pace Forister lived through nearly the entire twentieth century, passing away on February 1, 1995, at the age of 95. She was buried near her husband in Easley, remembered as a matriarch whose life bridged the gap between the red clay farms of her birth and the industrial heartbeat of her home.
Acknowledgment
The author wishes to acknowledge the enduring contribution of the Reverend John D. Edens, great-uncle, whose years of careful and devoted research into the Pace and Edens family lines continue to prove invaluable. His work has made possible countless fact checks throughout this research, and his legacy as a keeper of family memory remains a quiet foundation beneath every page of The Great Greats.
Author’s Note
Emma A. Pace Forister was the great-grand aunt of the author. She was the elder sister of Kate Pace, the author’s maternal great-grandmother, both daughters of Richard Franklin “Frank” Pace and Corrie Ann Jones Parks of Pickens County, South Carolina.
Anyone have leads to old photos please DM me or get in touch!
“Sources confirm that your ancestry includes two women named Emma Pace: Emma Jane Pace (1883–1945) and her niece, Emma A. Pace (1899–1995). They represent two different generations of the same family rooted in Pickens County, South Carolina.
Emma Jane Pace (1883–1945)
Emma Jane was the aunt of the younger Emma A. Pace.
Parents: She was the daughter of Joseph Warren “Joe” Pace (1847–1916) and Martha Angeline Childs (1851–1931).
Birth: She was born on May 14, 1883.
Marriage: She married George A. Bagwell.
Siblings: She was one of eleven children. Her brother, Richard Frank Pace, was the father of the younger Emma A. Pace.
Emma A. Pace Forister (1899–1995)
Emma A. was the niece of Emma Jane Pace and the sister of the author’s mother, Kate Pace Edens.
Parents: She was the third of twelve children born to Richard Frank Pace (1871–1959) and Corrie Ann Jones (1874–1958).
Birth: She was born on May 9, 1899, on the family farm near Oolenoy Creek in Pickens County.
Marriage: She married Robert Dewey Forister, a Spartanburg native and longtime employee of the Glenwood Mill in Easley. They lived at 503 S. Second Street in Easley and were devoted members of Brushy Creek Baptist Church.
Children: They raised three children: Glenn Harold, Lucile, and Margie Elizabeth.
Death: She outlived her husband by thirty years and passed away on February 1, 1995, at the age of 95.”
Relationship Context
The two women were closely related through your Great-Great-Grandfather, Joseph Warren Pace. Emma Jane Pace was his daughter, while Emma A. Pace was his granddaughter through his son, Richard Frank Pace. This family history illustrates the transition of the Pace family from agricultural life near Oolenoy Creek to the industrial environment of the textile mill villages in Pickens and Easley during the early 20th century