USA > Alabama > History of Alabama, and incidentally of Georgia and Mississippi, from the earliest period. v. 2 > Part 28
USA > Georgia > History of Alabama, and incidentally of Georgia and Mississippi, from the earliest period. v. 2 > Part 28
USA > Mississippi > History of Alabama, and incidentally of Georgia and Mississippi, from the earliest period. v. 2 > Part 28
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CHAPTER XLII.
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CHAPTER XLII.
adieu to the bench, having held the office of judge for more than sixteen years. The reports of the Supreme Court of Alabama are enduring memorials of his strength of mind, patient investigation, deep research and profound learning. Before the separate organization, the people of the whole State had it in their power to scan his acts as a circuit judge. They remember him to have been firm and dignified, but not austere. Wherever he presided entire order and decorum prevailed, and he was respected and admired by both clients and attorneys. Such, indeed, was his reputation throughout the State, and such was the confidence reposed in him, that his retirement from the bench was a source of public regret. When Judge Henry Goldthwaite resigned his seat upon the bench of the Supreme Court, Governor Fitzpatrick tendered the vacancy to Judge Saffold, who declined it.
Judge Saffold, a few years after his resignation, resumed the practice of the law, and pursued it with distinguished success until his death. His political opinions, although he never sought political preferment, and engaged but little in the exciting contests of the times, were well known. He was a democrat. He was warmly devoted to the interests of the Sonth. The firm friend of Texian independence, he rejoiced in her annexation to the United States. A devoted husband and father, it was his fortune to raise a large family, and most nobly did he discharge his duty to them. As a master, he was kind, merciful and just. He never attached himself to any church. yet he was a firm believer in the atonement, and was accustomed to express the confident hope that he had
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nothing to fear beyond the grave. He died of apoplexy on the CHAPTER 15th February, 1847. He was a large man, with an excel- XLII. lent face, and an exceedingly fine forehead. No man of dis- tinction has ever died in Alabama, leaving behind more repu- tation for legal ability, and for honor, justice and probity.
ISRAEL PICKENS was born on the 30th January, 1780, in the county of Mecklenburg, State of North-Carolina. He was the second son of Captain Samuel Pickens, a gentleman of French descent, who served his country in the revolutionary war, against the British and tories in the two Carolinas. Israel Pickens received his academic education partly in South-Carolina, but principally at a school in Iredell county, North-Carolina, and finished his studies at Washington Col- lege, Pennsylvania, where he also completed his law educa- tion. He returned to his native State, established himself at Morganton in the practice of the law, lived there many years, and occasionally represented Burke county in the legislature. In 1811, he was elected to Congress from that district, and continued to represent it till the year 1817. He gave his vote for the war of 1812. and continued a firm supporter of all the prominent measures of President Madison's administra- tion. Mr. Pickens removed to Alabama in 1817, and set- tled at St. Stephens, where he practiced law, and held the post of Register of the Land Office.
After the death of Governor Bibb, Mr. Pickens was elected as his successor, in 1821, and again in 1823 ; filling up the period allotted to him by the constitution. Very soon after the expiration of his last term as governor, a vacancy occurred
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CHAPTER in the Senate of the United States, by the death of Dr. Chain- XLII. bers, and Governor Pickens was appointed by the executive to fill it. A few days after his departure to Washington city, a letter was received at Greensboro', conveying a commission for him as District Judge of the United States, for Alabama, which he declined to accept. In the fall of 1826, he resigned his seat in the Senate, and returned home, in consequence of a serious affection of the lungs. Ile died in the Island of Cuba, on the 24th April, 1827, at the early age of forty-seven years.
Governor Pickens was six feet high, very slender and erect, with a fair complexion and blue eyes. Iu all the attributes of a moral nature, he was, indeed, a remarkable man. His manners were easy, affable and kind-his temper mild, amia- ble, and always the same. Benevolence was a predominant trait in his character. He had a finished education, and tal- ents of a high order-more solid than brilliant. As a public , man, he was very popular, and, although mild and gentle in his deportment, no one was firmer in the discharge of his publie duties. He possessed extraordinary mechanical inge- nuity, and a great fondness for mathematics, natural philoso- phy and astronomy. While a student under Dr. Hale, of North-Carolina, he invented the lunar dial, by which the time of night could be ascertained by the moon. While a member of Congress, the celebrated Reidheifer pretended to have discovered the perpetual motion, and exhibited a model in Washington city, to the inspection of which he invited the members of Congress. Mr. Pickens, with many others, at-
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tended and witnessed its performance; and being satisfied CHAPTER that there was deception in the matter, he returned the next XLII. day and gave it a more thorough examination. Finding the doors open he entered, but there was no one within. During this second visit, he detected the fraud and exposed it, by inserting a card in the National Intelligencer, signed "A Member of Congress." This brought forth a bitter reply from the impostor, and a rejoinder from the "Member of Congress," but, in a few days, Reidheifer, model and all, left the city, never again to return .*
* A notice of James Jackson, a member of the convention from ' Autauga, will be found near the close of this volume.
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CHAPTER XLIII.
THE FIRST LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALABAMA-GOVERNOR BIBB.
CHAPTER XLIII. Summer of 1819
Ax election was held throughout the new State of Alabama, for a governor and members of legislature, in anticipation of the admission, by Congress, of the State, as a member of the American Union. William W. Bibb received eight thousand three hundred and forty-two votes for governor, and his oppo- nent, Marmaduke Williams, received seven thousand one hundred and forty.
1819 October
The General Assembly of Alabama convened at Huntsville, on the fourth Monday in October. The House of Represen- tatives was composed of forty-five members, and James Dellet, of Monroe, was elected Speaker. The Senate had twenty-one members, and Thomas Bibb was elected President of that body.
November 9
William W. Bibb was inaugurated, as the first governor of the State, before both houses of the legislature, in the presence of a large assemblage of citizens, to whom he made a handsome and appropriate address. He had, previously, presented an excellent message, in which he congratulated
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the people upon the abundant erops which it had pleased the Al- CHAPTER mighty to afford them, the health which they had universally en- XLIII. joyed, and the fortunate termination of the convention, which had resulted in the establishment of an excellent constitution. He brought to the attention of the legislature the subject of the liberal donations, by Congress, in reserving, for a seminary of learning, seventy-two sections of land-the sixteenth section in every township for the use of schools-five per cent. of the nett proceeds of the sales of the public lands, (sold after the first of September, 1819.) for purposes of internal improve- ments-and sixteen hundred and twenty acres of land, at the confluence of the Cahawba and Alabama rivers, for a seat of government. He reported that he had laid off the town of Cahawba, and that one hundred and eighty-two lots had been sold, for one hundred and twenty-three thousand eight hun- 1819 November 9 dred and fifty-six dollars-one-fourth of which, received in cash, had been deposited in the Pianters' and Merchants' Bank of Huntsville, to be expended in the erection of a temporary State-house, which was then under contract. The message concluded by recommending a revision of the statutes, tlie organization of the judicial department, the election of judges, and the appointment by law of an engineer, to examine the rivers, who was to report in what manner their navigation might be improved.
The legislature proceeded to elect two Senators of the United States. William R. King and John W. Walker were elected, upou the first ballot, over Thomas D. Crabb and George Philips.
VOL. II.
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CHAPTER XLIII. Session of 1819
During the session of the legislature, General Jackson visited Huntsville, with his horses, and was enthusiastically en- gaged in the sports of the turf, then an amusement indulged in by the highest classes. Colonel Howell Rose, a Senator from the county of Autauga, was also at Huntsville. Colonel Rose was then a young man of indomitable energy and fear- less spirit, and possessed a native intellect of remarkable vigor and strength. He was ardent in his attachment to Jackson. and was the first to propose resolutions approbatory of his valuable services to the State, performed during the late Creek and Seminole wars. Colonel Rose introduced joint resolutions, of this character, together with one inviting the general to a seat within the bar both of the House and the Senate, on all occasions when it should be his pleasure to attend those bodies, which were adopted. Colonel Rose, at the head of a committee, waited upon Jackson, with a copy of the resolutions, to which the latter replied in a letter full of the liveliest gratitude. Since that interesting occasion Colonel Rose has, from time to time, performed valuable services to the State, as a member of the General Assembly. He is a wealthy citizen of the county of Coosa. His mind, naturally one of the richest in the country, and improved by self- instruction, is still vigorous and clear, while his agreeable eccentricity of manner, and original ideas and sayings, engage the attention of all who are thrown in his way. His collo- quial powers are of a very high as well as of a very peculiar order. He delivers his views with force and energy, and is never at a loss for a spicy repartee. While he was addressing
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the members of the legislature, he never failed to engage their attention. Colonel Rose was born in North-Carolina, removed from thence to Georgia, and emigrated to Alabama, soon after the Creek war.
So soon as the judicial circuits were organized, the legis- lature proceeded to elect officers. Henry Hitchcock, the former Territorial Secretary, was elected Attorney-General, over John S. N. Jones and D. Sullivan. Abner S. Lipscomb was elected Judge of the First Judicial Circuit, over Harry Toulmin : Reuben Saffold, Judge of the second, without opposition ; Henry Y. Webb, Judge of the third, without opposition ; Richard Ellis, Judge of the fourth, over Beverly Hughes and John McKinley ; Clement C. Clay, Judge of the fifth, without opposition.
John Gayle was elected Solicitor of the First Judicial Cir- cuit, without opposition ; Constantine Perkins, of the third, over Sion L. Perry ; Peter Martin, of the fourthi, without op- position ; James Eastland, of the fifth, over James W. McClung and Poladore Naylor.
The legislature was exceedingly anxious to see the laws en- forced; and, for that purpose, selected magistrates from among the most respectable and prominent men throughout the State. They discharged the same duties which the Judges of the County Courts had done, previous to the adoption of the present Probate system, and as was the practice of Virginia. A few of those now selected must be mentioned, merely to show the determination of our then infant State, to give tone and dig- nity to the administration of the laws, even in inferior courts.
CHAPTER XLIII.
1
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CHAPTER For the county of Autauga, for instance, John A. Elmore, XLIII. John Armstrong, Robert Gaston, James Jackson, and William R. Pickett, were elected magistrates.
General John A. Elmore, one of these justices, was a native of South-Carolina, of the legislature of which State he had often been a respectable member. Not long after his removal to Alabama, he represented the county of Autauga in our legislature, which then sat at Cahawba. He was a man of firmness and much good sense, and always delivered his opin- ions, even in common conversation, in a distinct and loud voice, with that candor and honesty which characterized his conduct through life. He had a commanding appearance, was large in person, and, altogether, an exceedingly fine look- ing man. He delighted in the sports of the chase, being a most successful and spirited hunter, and an agreeable com- panion in the many camp-hunts in which he engaged with his neighbors and friends. Towards the close of his life, we remember that he presented a dignified and venerable ap- pearance, and we saw him preside as chairman of several large and exciting meetings, in the town of Montgomery, during the days of nullification.
JAMES JACKSON, another of these magistrates, was born in the county of Wilkes, Georgia. He had been a man of in- fluence in that region. Upon his arrival, in 1818, in the Territory of Alabama, he immediately ranked with the leading men of the county of Autauga. Ile was elected a member of the State convention, and assisted to give us the excellent constitution we now have. Afterwards, Mr. Jackson was
THE AMERICANS IN ALABAMA. 439
several times an active and influential member of the House CHAPTER of Representatives, and of the Senate, of the State of Ala- XLIII. bama. He died the 19th July, 1832, at his residence in Autauga, within a few miles of that of General Elmore, who also died about that period. Mr. Jackson was a man for whom nature had done much. Although raised upon the frontiers of Georgia, among a rude population, and thrown upon the world with but little means, and still less education, he was decidedly elegant in conversation, and polite and po- lished in his manners. He had the faculty of adapting him- self to all classes. In person, he was of medium size, his face was handsome and expressive, and, when meeting a friend, was generally enlivened with a smile. He was a most excellent and liberal neighbor. Smooth and fluent in conver- sation, and conciliating in his general views, he was a most delightful fireside companion. He was shrewd and sagacious, and a close and correct observer of human nature.
The author, being the son of WILLIAM R. PICKETT, another of the Autauga magistrates, is relieved from the delicate task of portraying his character, by copying the following obi- tuary, written by a friend for the gazettes :
"Colonel William Raiford Pickett died at his residence, in Autauga county, on the 20th September, 1850, aged seventy- three years. Colonel Pickett was born in Anson county, North-Carolina, upon the Pedee river, where his parents, James Pickett and Martha Terry, had removed sometime be- fore the revolutionary war, from their place of nativity, near Bolling Green, in Caroline county, Virginia. Their ances-
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CHAPTER XLIII.
tors, whose extraction was Scotch, English and French, were among the earliest colonists of Virginia. :
"Soon after he became of age, Colonel Pickett filled the post of sheriff of Anson county, and was afterwards elected to the legislature, which sat at Raleigh, where he served for several years. When the federal revenue was collected by direct taxation, he received from Mr. Madison, then President, the appointment of assessor and collector for a large district in North-Carolina, the arduous and responsible duties of which he discharged to the end, with zeal and fidelity.
"In the spring of 1818, he brought his family out to this country, and established himself, as a planter and merchant, iu the present Autauga county, which then formed a portion of the county of Montgomery. Two years before this early period, he had explored these south-western wilds, in company with his near relative and friend, Tod Robinson, encountering dangers and hardships incident upon the close of a san- guinary war with the Creeks.
" When the legislature of Alabama sat at Cahawba, Colo- nel Pickett took his seat in that body, in 1821. In 1823, he was a member, and again, in 1824, which tern closed his duties in the Lower House. In 1828, he was elected to the State Senate, and entered that body in the fall of that year, at Tuscaloosa, then the capitol of Alabama. He was a Senator for the period of five years, when, in the summer of 1834. he was beaten, for that position, by Colonel Broadnax, during an exceedingly high state of party excitement, the election turning solely upon party grounds, and many of his old
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friends voting against him, with much reluctance. In his legislative career, he was an active and very influential mem- ber, and was the originator of many salutary laws, some of which are still in force. In the meantime, he was three times placed upon the democratic electoral ticket, for President and Vice-President, and, each time, received overwhelming ma- jorities.
"He was a man of sterling honor and integrity, and, per- haps, no one ever surpassed him in disinterested benevolence and charity, for he not only supported the poor and destitute around him, but freely dispensed to those upon the highway. In person, he was large, erect and commanding, with a face beaming with intelligence, a forehead bold and lofty, and eyes brilliant and expressive, to the last moments of his exist- ence. He was peculiarly remarkable for his wit and origi- nality, and the risible faculties of more men have been aroused, while in his company, than in that of almost any other person. And even to this day, in North-Carolina, though thirty-two years have transpired since he left that State, his original say- ings and anecdotes are often repeated. No man ever received more attention, during his protracted illness, from those in his immediate neighborhood, who deeply mourn his departure from their midst. Persons from all parts of the country visited him in his affliction."
The legislature of Alabama, during its session at Hunts- ville, enacted many salutary laws, and judiciously arranged the districts. Six new counties were established, and were added to those already organized. They were Greene, Jef-
CHAPTER XLIII.
5.
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`ITIE AMERICANS IN ALABAMA.
٠٠- ٣٥٠
CHAPTER XLIII.
Session of 1919
ferson, Perry, Henry, Wilcox and Butler. Wilcox was named in honor of the lieutenant, who, in 1814, was killed by the Indians, upon the Alabama river, as we have seen, and Butler in memory of the captain, who was also killed by the Indians, near Fort Dale, on the 20th March, 1818. The legislature adjourned on the 17th December, 1819 .*
1819-1820
The land offices at Milledgeville and Huntsville were in active operation. Extensive surveys had been completed, sales had been everywhere proclaimed, and thousands of eager purchasers flocked into the country, from every Atlantic and Western State. Never, before or since, did the popula- tion of any State so rapidly increase as that of Alabama, from the period of 1820 until 1830.
No sooner had the flourishing State of Alabama been thoroughly organized, than the citizens were called to mourn the death of their first governor. Riding in the forest one day, the horse of Governor Bibb fell with him to the ground, and he then received an injury, from which he never recov- ered. He died at his residence, in the county of Autauga, in July, 1820, in the fortieth year of his age-calm, collected, peaceful-surrounded by numerous friends and relations.
Governor Bibb was five feet ten inches in height, with an erect but delicate frame. He was exceedingly easy and grace- · ful in his bearing. His interesting face bore the marks of deep thought and great intelligence. His eyes, of a dark color, were mild, yet expressive. Whether thrown into the
* State Archives.
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.
company of the rude or the refined, his language was pure CHAPTER and chaste. No one ever lived, either in Georgia or Ala- XLIII. bama, who was treated with a greater degree of respect by all classes. This was owing to his high moral character, un- surpassed honor, excellent judgment, and a very high order of talents. Entirely free from that dogmatism and those patronizing airs, which characterize many of our distinguished men, he invariably treated the opinions of the humblest citi- zen with courtesy and respect. He was, however, a man of firmness, swaying the minds of men with great success, and governing by seeming to obey. ·
In all the stations which he filled, Governor Bibb was emi- nently successful. When quite a young man, his skill and attention as a physician, in the then flourishing town of Pe- tersburg, Georgia, secured for him an extensive practice. He next went into the legislature from Elbert county, and, serv- ing four years in that body, acquired a popularity rarely at- tained by one of his age. At the early age of twenty-five, he was elected to Congress under the General Ticket System, by a vote so large as to leave no doubt but that he was a great favorite with the people. He immediately became a leading member of the Lower House of the National Legis- lature-was an able and fearless advocate of the war of 1812, and a conscientious supporter of the administration of Madi- son. His contemporaries, at his first election, were Bolling Hall, George M. Troup and Howell Cobb. He had not been long in Congress before his popularity caused him to come within a few votes of being elected to the office of Speaker of
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CHAPTER the House. Afterwards, the legislature of Georgia elected
XLIII. him to the Senate of the United States. He was thus a member of Congress from 1806 until 1816, when, as we have seen in the preceding pages, he was appointed by the Presi- dent Governor of Alabama Territory, and was afterwards elected by the people Governor of the State of Alabama. In reference to his Congressional career, we have often heard, from the lips of many of his distinguished contemporaries, that the practical order of his mind, the wisdom of his views, and the peculiar music of his voice, contributed to render him one of the most attractive and effective of speakers.
When Governor Bibb first established himself as a phy- sician, he married Mary, only daughter of Colonel Holman Freeman, of revolutionary memory, and then a citizen of Wilkes county. She was one of the most beautiful and ac- complished ladies of her day, and has ever been esteemed and admired by the early inhabitants of Alabama. She is now residing in the county of Dallas, in the enjoy- ment of fine health.' Governor Bibb left two children, by this lady-a son and a daughter. The latter, the late Mrs. Alfred V. Scott, who died some years ago, was much like her father, in the mildness of her disposition, the grace and ease of her manners, and the intellectual beauty of her face.
After the death of Governor Bibb, his brother, Thomas Bibb, who was President of the Senate, became the acting governor. He was a inan of strong mind and indomitable energy.
In the preceding pages we have alluded to the mother of
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Governor Bibb. She was one of the most remarkable women CHAPTER we ever knew, for energy, decision, and superior sense. When XLIII. Captain Bibb, her husband, died, he left her with eight child- 'ren, and an estate much embarrassed by debt. Benajah, the ninth child, was born a few months after the death of his father. Mrs. Bibb worked the estate out of debt-educated her children, and lived to see them all in affluence, and many of them enjoying offices of honor and profit. She was known to the early inhabitants of Alabama, by whom she was much esteemed, as Mrs. Barnett, having married a gentleman of that name. Thomas Bibb resembled his moth- er more than any of the children, in the native strength of his mind and the energy of his character. The memory of Governor William Wyatt Bibb is preserved in the name of a county in Georgia, and one in Alabama.
But here we lay down our pen. The early history of Ala- bama, as far as it rests in our hands, is ended, and our task is accomplished. To some other person, fonder than we are of the dry details of State legislation and fierce party spirit, we leave the task of bringing the history down to a later period.
THE END.
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