Augustus “Gus” Batt White — known in our family simply as Papa Gus — was born on February 4, 1866, in Pleasant Valley, Obion County, Tennessee. His father, Archibald, was 31 at the time, and his mother, Anna, was 25.
On May 1, 1892, Gus married Emma Maude Barrett, and together they raised four children. The eldest, Vivienne, born in 1895, would become our great-grandmother Forrester — the link that carries Papa Gus’s line down to us.
Gus began his working life as a grocery clerk, but over the decades in Union City he became one of the town’s leading businessmen, owning and operating a wholesale grocery, a furniture store, a coal company, and even a mortuary. His neighbors trusted him with more than their trade: from 1923 to 1925 he served as mayor of Union City, and he sat on the Union City School Board.
His deepest commitment, though, may have been to his church. A lifelong Methodist, Gus served an extraordinary 58 years as superintendent of the Valley View Sunday School and sat on the board of stewards — nearly six decades of Sunday mornings.
Gus B. White, Sr., 81, former mayor of Union City and long a leading businessman, died at his home here Monday.
— The Jackson Sun, April 1, 1947
Gus passed away at home in Union City on March 31, 1947, at the age of 81. Services were held at Pleasant Valley Methodist Church, and he was laid to rest in East View cemetery. He left behind his son, Gus Jr.; his daughters, Vivienne Forrester and Estelle Nailling; his sister, Maude Phebus of Denver; his brother, E. K. White; eight grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
One of those great-grandchildren was my dad, Bill — captured beside Papa Gus in a photograph taken around 1943–45, near the end of his long life. The family has only grown since, but he’s remembered the same way by all of us: not as Mayor White, not as the businessman — just Papa Gus.
A note on my research: everything I share is built the old-fashioned way — original documents and the usual genealogy steps, plus handwritten letters and family photographs — all cataloged and organized digitally in Notion, with AI now helping me keep the archive in order.
Obituary
Jackson, Tennessee · Tuesday, April 01, 1947. (The Jackson Sun)
East View cemetery, Pleasant Valley Methodist Church
“Gus B. White, Sr., Former Mayor Of Union City, Dies
UNION CITY, Tenn., April 1.—Gus B. White, Sr., 81 former mayor of Union City and long a leading businessman died at his home here Monday.
Services were held at Pleasant Valley Methodist Church this afternoon at 3 o’clock with the Rev. W. King Dickerson and the Rev. J. E. Underwood officiating. Burial was in East View cemetery.
Mr. White began his career as a grocery clerk and later owned and operated several businesses, including a wholesale grocery, furniture store, coal company and mortuary. He served as mayor in 1923-25.
He was a member of the Methodist Church and served 58 years as superintendent of the Valley View Sunday School and was a member of the board of stewards at the church. He also served as a member of the Union City School Board.
Survivors include a son, Gus B. White, Jr., of Union City; two daughters, Mrs. Vivienne Forrester of Troy and Mrs. Estelle Nailling of Union City; a sister, Mrs. Maude Phebus of Denver, a brother, E. K. White of Union City; eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.”