USA > Alabama > History of Alabama and dictionary of Alabama biography, Volume II > Part 116
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119 | Part 120 | Part 121 | Part 122 | Part 123 | Part 124 | Part 125 | Part 126 | Part 127 | Part 128 | Part 129 | Part 130
1890, when the Olivia Davidson Fund, in memory of the "first lady principal," was started. Normal and Industrial Departments are maintained while there are more than forty different trades and professions taught. Special courses in music, art, expression and nurse-training are also offered.
Carnegie Library .- Completed in 1902. Its cost was about $20,000, and it contains in addition to the library proper, an assembly room which is used as a lecture room for senior and graduate students; a seminary room where the students who are preparing essays may work; and an historical room where relics connected with the history of the school are kept. The library contains at present about 20,000 books.
Organizations .- Y. M. C. A. and Y. W. C. A., male and female literary societies, or- chestra, Glee Club, and agricultural and in- dustrial clubs.
The male students are organized into a corps of cadets of two battalions and drill every day.
A large number of medals and prizes are awarded for meritorious work in the differ- ent departments.
Dr. Booker T. Washington (q. v.) was the founder and its only president to the time of his death' in the latter part of 1915, when Major Robert R. Moton was elected his suc- cessor.
REFERENCES .- The Tuskegee Kind of Educa- tion, by Robert E. Park; Industrial Education and The Public Schools, by Booker T. Wash- ington; Extension Work-Tuskegee Normal and Industrial School, by Clement Richardson, 1914; Working Out the Race Problem, Special articles in the Chicago Record-Herald, by Arthur M. Evans; Announcement for summer school for teachers; Post Graduate Courses, Circular; Address of Booker T. Washington, at Carnegie Hall, N. Y. Home Missionary meet- ing, March 3, 1894; Some facts concerning Booker T. Washington, in mss. form; The Suc- cessful Training of the Negro, by Booker T. Washington, in World's Work, August, 1903; Industrial Work of Tuskegee Graduates and Former Students, Monroe N. Work, 1911; A Day at Tuskegee, by George D. Jenifer; Opin- ions of Educators regarding the Tuskegee Nor- mal and Industrial School; Teachers' Leaflet No. 2, "Nature Study and Children's Gardens," by Geo. W. Carver; Farmers Leaflets, Begun in October, 1901, No. 1 to No. 16; Bulletins of the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial School Experiment Station, Bul. No. 1, Feb., 1898; Negro Education not a failure, address by Booker T. Washington, in the concert hall of Madison Square Garden, New York, On Lin- coln's Birthday, Feb. 12, 1904; The Tuskegee Student, May 7, 1910, Vol. XXII, No. 19; The Southern Letter, August, 1907, Vol. 23, No. 8; The Southern Letter, January-December, 1914, Vol. 30, No. 1-12; January, April, May, June, October, 1915, Vol. 31, Nos. 1, 4, 5, 6, and 10; Negro Self-Uplifting, Frances E. Leupp; Re- port of The Principal of Tuskegee Normal and
1342
HISTORY OF ALABAMA
Industrial Institute to the Trustees, 1911, 1912 and 1914, others missing; Catalogues: 188 -- 1915; Up From Slavery, Washington; The Story of My Life and Work, The Story of the Negro, Washington; announcements, letters, folders, etc.
TUSKEGEE RAILROAD COMPANY. Char- tered by the legislature February 20, 1860. The building of the road was planned in or- der to connect the town of Tuskegee with the main line of the Montgomery & West Point Railroad (see Western Railway of Alabama). Its incorporators were David Clopton, Wil- liam Foster, Cullen Battle, Robert Lygan, James W. Echols, S. B. Payne, George W. Campbell, A. J. Fannin, John C. H. Reid, W. S. Swanson, and A. D. Edwards. The char- ter authorized a right-of-way from Chehaw, on the Montgomery & West Point Railroad, to Tuskegee, 100 feet in width and as much more as needed for depots, sidings, and bor- row-pits; and capital stock, $75,000.
The road was graded and rail laid before the commencement of the War, but the track was torn up during hostilities. In 1871 the franchise and property were sold to E. T. Varner, Mrs. L. V. Alexander, and Campbell & Wright, of Tuskegee, who formed a co- partnership for the purpose of completing and operating the road, each of them owning a one-third interest. They rebuilt and put it in operation January 1, 1872. The cost of completing and equipping it with one locomo- tive, one passenger coach, one baggage car, two box cars, and two platform cars, was $53,497.65. It was operated as a copartner- ship under the firm name of E. T. Varner & Co., of which E. T. Varner was president, G. W. Campbell, first vice president, W. H. Wright, secretary, treasurer and general man- ager, until October 8, 1902, when it was re- organized under the general law of the State, with a capital stock of $75,000 in shares of $100 each, all of which was issued and is out- standing. E. T. Varner has been its president during the road's entire existence and was for several years its treasurer and general man- ager also. On June 30, 1915, the length of the road was, main track, 6.12 miles; side tracks, 1.34 miles; total, 7.46 miles; invest- ment in road and equipment, $106,147.01; with no funded indebtedness nor mortgages.
REFERENCES .- Acts, 1860, pp. 285-291; Rail- road Commission of Ala., Annual reports, 1894 to 1914; State Auditor, Annual reports : Poor's manual of railroads ; Annual report of Company to Ala. Pub. Service Commission, 1915.
TUTALOSI. A group of Seminole towns, in southwest Georgia along the Chattahoo- chee and Flint Rivers. Very little is known of the details of their early history, which, however, are not immediately connected with Alabama. The word means Fowl Towns, and the general group of towns of the name are called Fowl Towns.
The people of this town moved west of the Chattahoochee River into what is now Henry County, Alabama, but the exact site of their new town has not been identified. The date
of the migration is likewise unknown. The people of Tutalosi were originally settled from Hitchiti, so that the new settlement referred to, on the west side of the Chattahoochee, is to be classed with the villages of the Hitchiti lineage. Very little is known of its history. On June 16, 1814, Col. Hawkins, Indian agent, wrote a letter to the Big Warrior, Little Prince, and other chiefs of the Creek Nation. Among other things he says "Let the chiefs of Tuttellassee and Okete Yacnne come, also, and treat them kindly. They have left us, we did not drive them away. If they have done no mischief, they have nothing to fear; if they have, they must give up the guilty. And, whether guilty or not, they must be safe in coming to see and talk with us." From this it is very evident that the town had come west of the Chattahoochee prior to the date of the letter, and it may be that it was in the vicinity of the Indian town of Okitiyakni, the latter located at Pros- pect Bluff. A stream in Russell County, formed by the junction of Silver Run and Watermelon creeks and bearing this name, suggests that the town may have been located near here. An aboriginal site is reported between Vilula and Pittsview on this stream.
REFERENCES .- Gatschet, in Alabama History Commission, Reports (1901), vol. 1, p. 413; Handbook of American Indians (1910), vol. 2, p. 854; Manuscript records in Alabama Depart- ment Archives and History.
TUXTUKAGI. An Upper Creek town in Randolph County, on the Tallapoosa River, and about 20 miles on a direct line from Niuyaka. The settlements were located on each side of the stream. The modern village of Malone occupies the old site in part. The trail from Hillabi to Etowa, in the Cherokee country, passed the town. It had its origin in the building by the Okfuski of corn cribs in that vicinity, to support themselves during the hunting season. It is mentioned as Toto- kaga in 1791. Hawkins spells the name Tootohcaugee. On an old map of Alabama and Georgia, London, 1831, the town is lo- cated on the right bank of the Tallapoosa and about midway between Niuyaka and Lutchapoga, and is spelled Tuckahatchee. It is mentioned as Cornhouse in the census list of 1832. The word means "corn cribs set up," that is, Tuxtu, "crib," kagi, "fixed" or "standing." Cornhouse Creek, noted on some old maps as Hoote archee, and which flows into the Tallapoosa at Malone's Ferry doubt- less received its name from the old Indian town. It was tributary to Okfuski.
REFERENCES .- Hawkins, Sketch of the Creek Country (1848), p. 46; Gatschet, In Alabama Handbook of American Indians (1910), vol. 2. History Commission, Report (1901), p. 413; D. 834.
TWO AND THREE PER CENT FUNDS. Monies paid to the state by the treasurer of the United States, from money arising from the sale of government lands within the limits of Alabama.
When Alabama became a state all unappro-
HISTORY OF ALABAMA
priated government lands reverted back to the general government, the state having relin- quished all claim to It. In consideration five per cent of all money being derived from the sale of such lands was to be turned over to the state. By an act of December 31, 1822, the treasurer of the state was designated to receive the money which was due Alabama. The funds were divided into a "Two Per Cent Fund" and into a "Three Per Cent Fund." The former was to be disposed of by the Federal government, the latter by the state authorities. This plan continued until 1841 when both "Funds" were turned over to the state. The two per cent fund was to be used for internal improvements.
At each session of the legislature, proper disposition of the "Two and Three Per Cent Funds" is made.
Below appears a list of the amounts pald Alabama on these accounts:
Year
3% Fund
2% Fund
1821
$ 950.00
1822
800.00
1824
32,969.01
1825
10,753.66
1826
12,958.28
1827
6,540.36
1828
5,325.64
1831
15,155.37
1832
26,081.11
1833
19,790.62
1834
25,319.32
1836
145,166.86
1837
34,112.00
1842
17,909.76
1843
1844
1848
21,574.56
1849
8,435.15
11,358.90
1850
58,905.90
66,449.26
1852
13,940.06
5,557.90
1854
8,325.10
5,550.07
1855
16,105.38
10,736.92
1858 1860
2,768.77
1,845.85
1861
4,324.49
2,882.99
1879
4,685.65
3,123.77
1883
5,094.88
3,396.58
1884
5,876.14
3,917.43
1887
2,541.13
1888
15,113.02
10,075.34
1889
7,876.71
5,251.14
1890
572.61
381.74
1892
834.63
556.41
1893
317.40
211.60
1894
227.24
151.49
1896
144.09
96.06
1897
143.78
95.85
1898
179.63
119.75
1899
84.62
56.42
1900
200.00
133.33
1901
172.18
114.78
1902
259.84
173.22
1903
250.15
153.43
1904
270.09
180.06
1905
439.45
292.97
1906
383.60
255.74
1907
635.34
Vol. II-40
Year
3% Fund
2% Fund
1908
863.79
575.85
1909
323.83
215.88
1910
550.29
366.86
1911
449.51
299.67
1912
540.77
360.52
1913
359.64
239.76
1914
360.74
240.50
1915
269.21
179.47
1916
125.58
83.72
Total
$570,496.54
$380,330.98
REFERENCES .- Letters and manuscripts in Alabama State Department of Archives and History; Acts of Alabama, 1821-22, 1841, etc .; U. S. Statutes, 1819 and 1841.
TYPHOID FEVER. See Epidemics.
U
UKTAHASASI. A branch village of the Hillabi. It was situated 2 miles from Hillabi town on the right bank of the stream of that name, near the influx of Sandy Creek. Hawk- ins spells the name Ook-tau-hau-zau-see. The word is Oktaha, "sand," sasi, "a great deal." The name Sandy Creek preserves in translation the name of the town. Its loca- tion was about 5 or 6 miles due east of the present Kellyton.
REFERENCES .- Hawkins, Sketch of the Creek Country (1848), p. 43; Handbook of American Indians (1910), vol. 2, p. 865; Gatschet, in Alabama History Commission, Report (1901), p. 413.
UNCUAULA. A small Indian village in Coosa County, probably situated on the Coosa River near the influx of Huxaguluee Creek.
REFERENCES .- Bureau of American Ethnology, Eighteenth annual report, 1899, pt. 2, map 1; La Tourette, Map of Alabama (1838).
UNION LEAGUE OF AMERICA. A se- cret political society, which originated in the Northern States in the latter part of 1862, whose members were pledged to uncompro- mising and unconditional loyalty to the Union, and to the repudiation of any belief in State rights. The objects of the league were "to preserve liberty and the Union of the United States of America; to maintain the Constitution thereof and the supremacy of the laws; to sustain the Government and assist in putting down its enemies; to pro- tect, strengthen, and defend all loyal men, without regard to sect, condition or race; and to elect honest and reliable Union men to all offices of profit or trust in National, State, and local government; and to secure equal civil and political rights to all men
under the Government." The movement which crystallized in the organization of the Union League originated among the attaches of the United States Sanitary Commission, and the first local league is believed to have been organized in Ohio, in September, 1862. In December of the same year, the Philadel- phia Union League was organized, and it was followed, in January, 1863, by the New York
423.56
221.17
147.44
1895
31,938.44
$119,207.61
103,884.77
21,292.29
1,694.08
1343
1344
HISTORY OF ALABAMA
Union League Club. Within a few months, similar leagues or clubs had been installed in nearly every part of the North.
Alabama State Council .- The constitu- tion of the National Council of the Union League of America provided that the organi- zation should consist of a national council, one council for each State, Territory and the District of Columbia, "and of such subordi- nate councils as may by them be established " The national council was com- posed of representatives elected by the sev- eral state, territorial, and district councils, and it had general superintendence of the league.
The constitution adopted by the Alabama State Council, which doubtless was the same as or very similar to those of the other state councils, set forth the object of the league in language identical with that of the gen- eral constitution; and provided that the state council should have "the general superin- tendence of the league throughout the State, with power to make all rules, regulations and orders necessary to effect the designs of the league, provided the same do not con- flict with this constitution or the constitu- tion of the national council." The officers were a president, first and second vice presi- dents, recording and corresponding secre- taries, chaplain, treasurer, marshal, sergeant at arms, and an executive committee. For "Qualifications for Membership," it was pro- vided that "All loyal citizens of the age of eighteen years and upward are eligible for membership in the League; also aliens who have declared their intention to become citi- zens. No member of this League shall be absolved from the obligations imposed in its ritual." Attached to the constitution and forming a part of it, was a group of seven "Instructions to Deputies," one of which di- rected them to "instruct the councils that they should hold their meetings once in each week, and that they should follow the cere- mony as nearly as possible. Advise them to enlist all loyal talent in their neighborhood, and that they have speakers whenever they can."
The Union League entered Alabama before the close of the War, probably in the first part of 1864. Local leagues are known to have been established in Huntsville, Athens, Florence, and probably elsewhere in north- ern Alabama, as early as the spring of 1865. When it first entered the State, the league was thought to be an organization of re- spectable northern men of union sentiments, and quite a number of substantial citizens of north Alabama joined. However, com- paratively few native white "Unionists" were admitted during the first few months of the league's existence, as the members from the North and those who belonged to the Union Army did not care to associate with them more than was necessary. Later, na- tives were quite freely admitted, and still later, the membership was made up more and more of negroes. As the number of negro members increased, the better class of white members withdrew, until the mem-
bership of the league, particularly in the counties where the negro population was in excess of the white, was made up almost wholly of the blacks. The proportion of white to negro members of the league has been variously estimated, but accurate figures are not accessible; neither is the total of its members at any time on record.
Within a few months after its entrance into the State, there was a league in nearly every community of north Alabama, and within a comparatively short time, the mem- bership was made up almost wholly of ne- groes, with a few carpetbaggers and scala- wags who controlled and trained them for their political duties. The conduct of the leaguers was frequently such as to create the impression among the respectable citizens that they were banded together, not so much for political purposes, as to commit depreda- tions upon the white people. Meetings were usually held in negro churches or school- houses, nearly always at night, and when re- turning from them the negroes generally made raids upon the livestock, poultry, fields and gardens of the whites. Sometimes they stopped in front of the homes of white men who had incurred their dislike, and made threats against them, firing volleys to awaken and intimidate. The league at Tuscumbia received instructions from Memphis to use the torch. Arrangements were made to carry out the instructions and burn the whole town. Upon the night selected for the burn- ing they met and divided themselves into squads, "three for an advance guard, three to carry the coal-oil and matches, and the balance to remain behind. How- ever, first one negro and then another sug- gested that this or that whte man was a good man, and at last it was agreed that only the girls' school building should be burned. Several of the perpetrators of this deed were caught and summarily dealt with by the Ku Klux Klan.
Membership and Methods .- In securing new members for the league, systematic can- vasses were made from plantation to planta- tirn in nearly every county in the northern part of Alabama. It was testified before the Congressional Ku Klux Committee that boys 15 years of age were eligible for membership. The chief attraction of the league to the ne- groes was its secret work. Its elaborate ritual, designed to impress the superstitious and illiterate mind, was prepared in the North for the use of the leagues in the South. No such rituals were used among the intelli- gent members in the Northern States. The most prominent feature of the proceedings was the administering to initiates of the most solemn oath of secrecy. An equally solemn oath to carry out the instructions of the officers of the league was taken by every candidate, and drastic punishment was visited upon violators of this oath. Tes- timony was ellcited by the Ku Klux Com- mittee to the effect that in some cases trai- tors to the league were put to death.
Political Activities .- The prime object of the Union League was to control the suffrage
DRY GOODS MOTIONS 4 SHOES
BOLL WEEVIL MONUMENT, ENTERPRISE
Commemorating the passing of the "all-cotton" system of farming and the advent of greater prosperity through diver- sification, erected by the citizens of Enterprise, Coffee County, 1919.
1347
HISTORY OF ALABAMA
of the freedmen. No one was admitted to membership who would not first agree to vote none but the Republican ticket. Soon after its establishment, the league began to select candidates for nearly all the offices, and took active steps to see that its members carried out their pledge. Arrangements were made at polling places to have represen- tatives of the league examine the ballot of every negro who presented himself, and they did not hesitate to substitute a Republican for a Democratic ballot. In the beginning, the negroes seemed to be more concerned about the prospective division of confiscated property than in politics; but as it became apparent that there would be little property to divide among them, they took more inter- est in politics and in the assertion of their rights. The teachings of the carpetbagger leaders of the league soon began to bear fruit in an increasing insolence and a more defiant attitude of the blacks toward the whites. Stealing increased proportionately. The league was really a political machine to further the interests of the national Radical party.
These facts appear from a document, in the Alabama department of archives and his- tory, which was widely circulated among the negroes of the South in 1867-8, by the Union Republican Congressional Committee at Washington, through the league, en- titled "The Position of the Republican and Democratic Parties-a dialogue between a white Republican and a colored citizen. This document was popularly known as the "Loyal League Catechism," and was intended to convince the freedmen that the Radicals and the Republicans were "one and the same party," and that the members were "all in favor of freedom and universal justice," and all desirous "that slavery should be abolished, that every dis- ability connected therewith should be oblit- erated, not only from the national laws but from these of every State in the Union." In answer to the question, "Why cannot colored men support the Democratic party?" the "catechism" stated, "Because that party would disfranchise them, and, if possible, re- turn them to slavery and certainly keep them in an inferior position before the law."
In April, 1867, the "Alabama Grand Coun- cil of the Union League of America" adopted a set of six resolutions, in the course of which it was declared, among other things, "that we hail with joy the recurrence to the fundamental principle. ‘that all men are created equal;' that we welcome its renewed proclamation as a measure of simple justice to a faithful and patriotic class of our fellow-men, and that we firmly believe that there could be no lasting pacification of the country under any system which denied to a large class of our population that hold upon the laws which is given by the ballot." It was further stated "that we consider wil- lingness to elevate to power the men who preserved unswerving adherence to the Gov- ernment during the war as the best test of sincerity in professions for the future;" and
"that if the pacification now proposed by Congress be not accepted in good faith by those who staked and forfeited 'their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor' in re- bellion, it will be the duty of Congress to enforce that forfeiture by the confiscation of the lands, at least, of such a stiff-necked and rebellious people;" and, what was the kernel of the whole matter, "that the assertion that there are not enough intelligent loyal men in Alabama to administer the government [to hold the offices] is false in fact, and mainly promulgated by those who aim to keep trea- son respectable by retaining power in the hands of its friends and votaries."
Cause of Organization of Ku Klux Klan .- While the activities the Freedmen's Bureau stirred up strife between the races and increased misunderstandings and fric- tion in all dealings between whites and blacks, the Union League, or "Loyal League," as it was popularly known, was the chief disorganizing factor, and to its activities more than to any other cause was due the organization of the Ku Klux Klan. It was not until southern men realized that nearly all the negroes were banded in a secret, oath-bound league, under the direc- tion and control of alien and irresponsible politicians, against the white people of the South, that they began to cast about for some practicable method of frustrating their designs. The loyal leaguers threatened to burn and massacre, and the whites believed that they might carry out their threats. The Ku Klux Klan was organized primarily for the protection of the homes and families of its members and all other respectable people, and it was only incidentally and as a result of the political activity of the loyal league, that the Ku Klux took on a political charac- ter. It was testified before the Ku Klux Committee even by Radical witnesses that the clan was generally understood to have been organized to counteract the influence of the loyal league.
Decline of the League .- After the election of 1868, the league was not active except in the larger towns. During 1869, many of the councils were transformed into clubs which took no active part in political contests. The Ku Klux Klan undoubtedly was the principal cause of the decline of the league. In the election of 1870, the Radical leaders missed the solid support furnished by the league in previous elections, and sent out urgent appeals from headquarters in New York for its reestablishment to assist in carrying the national election. No definite date for the final disappearance of local leagues from the State can be fixed.
See Freedmen's Bureau; Freedmen's Sav- ings Bank; Ku Klux Klan; Reconstruction.
REFERENCES. Committee on affairs in the insurrectionary States, Report on Ku Klux conspiracy, Alabama testimony (H. Rept. 22, 42d Cong., 2d sess.), passim; Fleming, Civil War and Reconstruction in Alabama (1905), pp. 553-568; and Documentary history of Recon- struction (1907, vol. 2, pp. 3-29; and "Union League documents" in West Virginia Uni-
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.