A history of Savannah and South Georgia, Volume II, Part 23

Author: Harden, William, 1844-1936
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago, Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1208

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Mr. Anderson participates actively in the business life of his city and state. He is president of the Savannah & Statesboro Railway Company, whose management and affairs he personally directs. He is also president of the Georgia & Alabama Terminal Company, which owns the great export terminals used by the Seaboard Air Line Railway Company at Savannah : and he is a direetor in quite a number of busi- ness concerns, among others the Savannah Trust Company, the Atlantic Compress Company, the Savannah Electric Company, the Savannah Union Station Company, and the Chatham Real Estate & Improve- ment Company.

In the field of polities, Mr. Anderson is well and favorably known throughout the state. IIe represented his county in the legislature of 1905-06, and quickly earned a state-wide reputation for ability, earnest- ness and fairness as a legislator. He was re-elected for the session of 1909-10 and occupied the very important position of vice-chairman of the committee on rules, the speaker being exofficio the chairman. In politics. Mr. Anderson's chief interest seems to be in the direction of advocating conservatism in legislation and in matters relating to the education and improvement of the youth of his state. In the session of 1905, he was vice-chairman of the house committee, which created eight new counties in Georgia. He energetically supported the measure creat- ing a juvenile reformatory and he was floor leader in the house for the movement which enacted the first child labor law in Georgia. In 1906 he actively assisted in the passage of the law which created the system of congressional agricultural schools in Georgia and he has been since its establishment the chairman of the board of trustees of the agricul- tural school for the first congressional district of Georgia. He was also chairman of the commission appointed by the state to erect in Savannah a monument to General Oglethorpe, the founder of the original colony of Georgia, the monument being erected in 1910. In the house of 1909 he introduced measures providing for the extension and improvement of the child labor law, for the appointment of a tax commission to revise and equalize the system and methods of state taxation, and for biennial instead of annual sessions of the legislature.

Mr. Anderson was re-elected for the sueceeding term, session of 1910-11. and was influential in bringing about a great deal of help- ful legislation. He was one of the anthors of the bill creating the bureau of labor: he was the author of the bill reapportioning the state of Georgia into twelve congressional districts instead of eleven, providing for one additional congressman; he took an active part in the passage of the act increasing the borrowing power of the governor from $200,000 to $500,000, and also in that providing for the payment of corporation taxes in September instead of December. He was one of the authors of the general edneational bill, which became a law. He was thus concerned in all the leading issues in the legislature and no member was prominent in a more effective or praiseworthy fashion. In

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the year 1912 Mr. Anderson was one of the eight delegates from the state at large to the national Democratic convention in Baltimore, and in October of that year lie was elected to the senate of Georgia as senator from the first senatorial district for the term of two years.

Mr. Anderson during his earlier years took a strong interest in military matters. He was for several years an active member of the Georgia Hussars and later held a commission from the state as second lieutenant in the Savannah Volunteer Guards, two of the oldest and most historic military organizations in the South. He has also entered upon various congenial social relations, being a member of the Oglethorpe Club of Savannah, of which he is the vice-president ; of the Capital City Club of Atlanta; the Savannah Golf Club; the Savannah Yacht Club; and the Georgia Historical Society. He is also a Royal Arch Mason, a member of the Knights of Pythias and of the Benevolent and Protec- tive Order of Elks and of the Sons of the American Revolution. He is an Episcopalian and is one of the vestrymen of Christ church, Savannah.

Mr. Anderson was married November 27. 1895, to Anne Page Wilder, of Savannah, only child of Joseph J. and Georgia Page (King) Wilder. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson have had three children : Page Randolph Ander- son, born August 27, 1899; Jefferson Randolph Anderson, born Sep- tember 3, 1902, died November 29, 1903; and Joseph Wilder Anderson, born April 22, 1905. The family residence is in Savannah, with a sum- mer home, "Oakton," at the foot of Kenesaw mountain, near Marietta, Georgia.

JULIAN SCHLEY. Conspicuous among the distinguished citizens who have given to Savannah its name as one of the most progressive and promising cities of the entire South is Julian Schley, known for many years as one of the leading insurance agents of the state. Belonging to a family that has been held in the highest esteem and honor through- out the state for many years, he has made Savannah his home since his boyhood days. A son of the late John Schley, he was born, August 7, 1852, at Richmond Hill, on the old Schley homestead, near Augusta, Georgia.

The Schiley family was first represented on American soil by two brothers, John Jacob Schley and Thomas Schley, who, in 1745, emigrated from Germany to the United States, locating in the mountainous regions of Maryland, near Hagerstown and Frederick. where their families were born and reared, and where many of their descendants, people of prominence and worth, still reside. To those familiar with the history of our country, it is needless to say that various members of the Schley family have gained renown in different lines. and as physicians, jurists, and military and naval commanders have wrought much, not only for Maryland and Georgia, but for the United States. The late Admiral Winfield Scott Schley, of the United States navy, known as the " Hero of Santiago," and the late Judge William Schley, of Baltimore, famous for his decisions as a jurist in the Maryland courts, were both cousins of Julian Schley, of this brief biographical article.

Mr. Schley's grandfather, Judge Jolin Seliley, was a son of John Jacob Schley, Jr .. who removed from Maryland to Georgia in the early part of the nineteenth century, locating in Jefferson county, at Louisville, which was then the capital of the state. Aequiring fame as one of the foremost lawyers of the state, Judge JJohn Schley, presided over the beneh of the middle circuit of Georgia from 1841 until 1845. during which time justice was the constant motive of his decisions. His brothers. Gov. William Schley and George Schley, were both men of prominence and influence.

Julian theys

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Hon. William Schley, who was governor of Georgia from 1835 to 1837, was a noted member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons, his "history of Masonry" having been the first pretentious work of the kind written and published in this country. During his administration as governor, the charter of the Central Railroad of Geor- gia was granted. He and his brother, John Jacob Schley, Jr., were pioneers in the history of the railroads and cotton mills of the state, having the honor of erecting the second and third cotton mills estab- lished in Georgia.

George Schley, brother of Judge John Schley and Gov. William Schley, was for nearly half a century one of the foremost men of the city of Savannah, his death, on April 17, 1851, being a cause of general regret. The esteem in which he was held was voiced the following day in an editorial which appeared in the Daily Georgian, of Savannah, as follows :

We announce with sincere sorrow the death of George Sehley, late postmaster of our eity. His spirit departed from among us early on yesterday morning. The deceased gentleman had been a resident of Savannah for some forty-five years, having come from Louisville, this state, where his father resided, early in the present century, to embark in mercantile affairs. He became in time an offieer connected with the Custom House, and afterwards a dry goods merchant. He was teller of the branch bank of the United States when it was first established here, in 1819.

Mr. Schley received from John Q. Adams the appointment of post- master of Savannah, which position, under all changes of political power, he held to the hour of his death, enjoying the confidence of every administration. He had also the kind regard and respect of his immediate fellow citizens. He was for many years a commissioned officer of the Georgia Hussars, also a member of the city council; and during a long number of years was a director of the bank of the state of Georgia. He received from our county superior court the appointment of master in chaneery, which post often required long and elaborate investigations of accounts. He was commissioner for half the states of the union to take acknowledgments and proofs of deeds. So aeeurate was his knowl- edge of the laws of insurance, especially of marine insurance, that con- tests arising under those laws were frequently referred to him for adjudication, in preference to litigation before the courts.

Mr. Sehley was a gentleman in the highest meaning of the term; well educated, a man of literature-better read, perhaps, in the English classies than any other eitizen among us; one whose library was his delight, and whose society was courted by men of intellectual refinement. No man who was ever honored by his friendship ean forget his brilliant conversational powers. He was true to his friends and kind to his servants.

He was a brother of the late Judge John Schley, of Governor Wil- liam Schley of Augusta, and of Philip T. Schley of Columbus. His family eirele in Georgia and in the state of Maryland is large and of the first degree of respectabliity. Many a heart will be pained by the sad intelligence of his death. Ile was the intimate personal friend from earliest boyhood of the late Edward F. Tattnall, and was always the associate of William Gaston. The shipping in port was at half mast dur- ing the day.

Judge John Sehley had a large family of children, consisting of seven sons and three daughters, as follows: John Sehley, Jr., father of Julian Schley; George Sehley: Dr. James Montfort Schley: Robert Schley; JJudge William Schley; Philip Schley; Freeman Walker

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Schley; Sara Schley; Anna Maria Schley ; and Mary Ann Schley. Dr. James Montfort Sehley and Judge William Schley, the third and fifth sons, are partienlarly well remembered by Savannahians, the former as a distinguished physician who practiced his profession in this city many years; the latter as a prominent lawyer and judge of the superior court of Savannah. The son Philip was also an able member of the bar and one of the leading lawyers of Columbus, who for many years was a resi- dent of Savannah, living here prior to the war, and being owner of two briek houses on Whitaker street, immediately west of the residence of Gen. Peter Meldrim.

The eldest son of Judge John Schley, John Schley, father of Julian Schley, studied law when young, and subsequetly became one of the leading lights of the legal profession, as an attorney and jurist attaining note. Coming in 1854 from his home near Augusta to Savannah, he purchased the beautiful sea-island plantation known as "Beaulieu," which was located about twelve miles from the business portion of the city. In the second year of the Civil war he was forced to vacate his plantation, which was requisitioned by the Confederate government for the site of a fortification officially designated . Beaulieu Battery." He married Ellen MeAlpin, who was born in Scotland, and came to Savannah with her father. Henry MeAlpin, who built up the famous estate called "The Hermitage."

Spending his childhood days at "Beaulieu," Julian Schley came with his parents to Savannah in 1863, and sinee 1872 has been actively identified with the leading interests of this city. For the greater part of the time he has been comeeted with general insurance, and since 1888 has been general agent for the Penn Mutual Life Insurance Com- pany. His relations with this company have been exceptionally pleasant and profitable, the business showing gratifying increase from year to vear. One of the most esteemed and best-liked eitizens of Savannah, Mr. Schiley has been aecorded many positions of honor in recognition of his progressive and liberal-minded character, and at the present time is a director of both the National Bank of Savannah, and of the Geor- gia State Savings Association.

Mr. Schley is also ex-president of the Savannah Life Underwriter's Association : ex-president of Saint Andrew's Society; a member of the Chamber of Commerce; and an ex-commodore of the Savannah Yacht Club, which he joined upwards of twenty years ago, and at the expira- tion of his term as commodore he became a life honorary member, and with which he has been officially connected most of the time since. He is a prominent member of the Democratic party, supporting its prin- ciples by voice and vote. Fraternally he is Knight Templar, Mason, and a charter member of Alee Temple, Ancient Arabie Order of the Nobles of the Mystie Shrine. Since his sixteenth year Mr. Schley has been a member of the Independent Presbyterian church of Savannah.

On December 31, 1878, Mr. Schley was united in marriage with Miss Eliza Ann Larcombe, of Savannah, and into their pleasant house- hold four children have been born, namely: Julian Larcombe Schley, who at his graduation from the United States Military Academy at West Point. in 1903. stood seventh in a class of ninety-three members, and captain of engineers, and instructor. at West Point for four years and is now assistant to the engineer commission of the District of Cohn- bia; Richard Larcombe Schley, a student at Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey. is in partnership with his father, being a mem- ber of the firm of Julian Schley & Son, general insurance agents: Eliza Champion Schley ; and Henry MeAlpin Schley. Mr. Schley has a pleas- ant summer home on Vernon river, an arm of the sea, it being located on the site of his father's old estate, "Beanlien."

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JAMES M. DIXON. One of the leading business men and most loyal and progressive citizens of the historic old city of Savannah, which has been his home during his entire life thus far, is James M. Dixon, ex- chairman of the city council, and a man who is held in high esteem by . business associates and the general public. He was born amidst the alarms and perils of the greatest Civil war known in history, having been ushered into the world April 10, 1864, at which time his mother was a refugee at Valdosta, Lowndes county. Georgia, during the occupation of her home city of Savannah by the Northern army. He is a son of William and Mary J. ( Dent) Dixon, the father having been a valiant soldier of the Confederacy during the war.

Mr. Dixon has always been elosely identified with the lumber interests of the South. He has for many years taken a strong interest in the affairs of the Savannah municipality and has served the public in a number of offices of trust. In 1896, Mayor Herman Myers appointed him chairman of the water commission, having in charge the public water works of the city. and he retained this position until the opposing politi- cal faction went into power, securing the abolishment of the commission by an act of the legislature. His services on the commission covered a period of three years. In January, 1899, the Citizens Club, with which Mr. Dixon was affiliated, was returned to power, and he, together with seven other candidates endorsed by the club, was elected alderman, serv- ing as such for eight years. He became vice-chairman of the board in 1900, and in 1901, the same faction being returned to office without opposition, he was made chairman of the council. In 1903 he was again elected chairman of the city council, as was he also in 1905. The duties of the chairman were at times heavy and exacting, as he acted as mayor pro tempore in the absence of the mayor. He was a member of the building committee of the council which had charge of the construction of Savannah's city hall, one of the finest in the South, which was com- pleted and dedicated in 1906. For two years from 1907 Mr. Dixon served as county commissioner of Chatham county. He gives stanch allegiance to the Democratic party. He is a life member of the Savan- nah Volunteer Guards, and was chairman of the board of stewards of the guards during the Spanish-American war. He is also a member of the Savannah Yacht Club, having served as commodore for several years, and a York and Scottish Rite Mason and a Shriner.

In 1899, Mr. Dixon was united in marriage to Miss Jessie Dale, of Savannah, and they are prominent in the social life of the city, having a beautiful home at the southeast corner of Abercorn and Hall streets. They have four children, namely: Helene, Meritt W., Jessie and James M., Jr.

GEORGE CUTHBERT HEYWARD, engaged in the cotton industry at Savannah, Georgia. is descended from Thomas Heyward, Jr .. the South Carolina signer of the Declaration of Independence, and belongs to one of the most distinguished families of the South.

Mr. Heyward was born in South Carolina, December 24. 1846, son of Capt. George Cuthbert Heyward and wife, Elizabeth Martha (Guerard) Heyward. both natives of Beanfort county, South Carolina, her family. like his, being a prominent one. The Heywards for several generations had a residence in Beaufort county, also a residence in Charleston, and it was at the plantation home in Beaufort county, in 1822, that Mr. Heyward's father was born and reared. At the outbreak of Civil war between the states, he became captain of Company HI, known as the Ashley Dragoons, a part of the Third South Carolina Cavalry, . and as such served from the beginning to the close of the war, prin-

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cipally in the vicinity of Charleston and Savannah. His command fought Sherman's army both before it entered Savannah and afterward, while it was on the expedition through South Carolina. After the war he resumed operations on his plantation in Beaufort connty, and died there on March 1, 1867. He was a citizen of sterling worth, and his soldier record was that of a brave, efficient Confederate officer.

Mr. Heyward's mother was the daughter of Dr. Jacob De Veaux and Alice (Sereven) Guerard of Beaufort county, South Carolina; both of which, like the Heywards, were representatives of historic fami- lies in South Carolina. Shortly after her husband's death, Mrs. Hey- ward removed with her remaining family to Savannah, where she spent the rest of her life, and died in 1875.

Of the grandparents of the subject of this sketch, it is recorded that his paternal grandfather, Thomas Heyward, married Ann Eliza Cuth- bert, danghter of Gen. John Alexander Cuthbert, of South Carolina, and granddaughter of Dr. James Cuthbert, of Castle Hill, Scotland, a member of a distinguished family there.

Mr. Heyward's great-grandfather was Judge Thomas Heyward, Jr., so called because his unele was known as Thomas Heyward, Sr. Thomas Heyward, Jr .. was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence from South Carolina. In his youth he was sent to London to be edu- cated, and while there he took up the profession of law. Returning to South Carolina. just before the beginning of the Revolutionary war. he espoused the Continental cause, to the aid of which he devoted his time. his talents and his means. When the British took Charleston he was one of the seventy that were sent as prisoners to St. Augustine. Later, he was elected to the first Continental congress, which assembled in Philadelphia, and, as above indicated, subscribed his name to the most important American document. He served actively also with the conti- nental troops, became a captain of artillery, crossed the Savannah river with his command during the siege of Savannah, and rendered efficient aid in the efforts to retake the city from the British. He was a friend of Washington, and upon the latter's visit to the Sonth, after the war closed, he was a guest at White Hall, in Beaufort county at the home of Thomas Heyward, Jr. From White Hall, Washington was escorted by Thomas Heyward, Jr., to Purysburg, South Carolina, on the Savan- nah river, where the distinguished general was received by an escort from Savannah. Later in life, Thomas Heyward, Jr., became a judge of the circuit court in South Carolina. He died in April, 1809, at the age of sixty-three years. His grave is at "Old House" cemetery near Grahamville, South Carolina. The portrait of this distinguished man hangs in Independence Hall, Philadelphia.

Thomas Heyward, Jr., married Elizabeth Savage for his second wife. eldest daughter of Col. Thomas and Mary Elliott ( Butler) Savage, and in this way the Heywards are connected with the well known Savage family. Through this marriage. also, is brought in a large cirele of relatives. including the Elliott. De Renne, Noble. Jones. Clay and other families of note in South Carolina and Georgia colonial history.

Tracing back still further along the ancestral line, we find, that Mr. Heyward's great-great-grandfather. Daniel Heyward, a wealthy planter, was a son of Capt. Thomas Heyward, of the British army, who for a time was stationed at Fort Johnson on James Island, and who, for his distinguished service in the army, partienlarly in fighting the Indians in America, was granted large tracts of land in St. Inke's parish, Bean- fort district. South Carolina, in which was included the "Old House" tract. the family homestead. He also owned land on James Island; and in Charleston, from the corner of Meeting street to King street, on the

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south side, where the guard house onee stood, was all the property of the Heyward family. Thus it is seen from the above brief outline that the Heyward family from its early identity with America was one of wealth and influence.

Coming now to the direct subjeet of this review, George Cuthbert Heyward, following in the footsteps of his distinguished forefathers, he was ready when the call came to take up arms. He joined the Confed- erate army in the fall of 1863, and became a member of his father's command, Company II. Third South Carolina Cavalry. As recorded above, they were in service along the coast in South Carolina and Georgia, in the vicinity of Charleston and Savannah, were aetive in fighting in front of Sherman's army, and surrendered at Union Court House, South Carolina, in April, 1865.

Mr. Heyward has lived in Savannah since October, 1868, when he came to this city with his mother and other members of the family. Here he engaged in the cotton business, with which he has been actively connected ever since.

On June 22, 1875, Mr. Heyward was married to Miss Margaret E. Doar, daughter of Stephen D. Doar of St. James, Santee, South Caro- lina ; and their children are as follows: George Cuthbert Heyward, Jr., Stephen Doar Heyward, Edward Lee Heyward, Arthur Smith Heyward, and Miss Elizabeth Heyward. The eldest son, named in honor of his father, is a lawyer in Savannah and is also engaged in the cotton business. He is a graduate of the law department of the Univer- sity of Georgia at Athens, and is captain of Company A of the Savannah Volunteer Guards. November 8, 1911, he was married at Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Miss Alice Stuart Hunter of that place, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Allan Hunter. The second son, Stephen Doar, now a resident of Cleburne. Texas, married Miss Eleanor Blanche Allen of that plaee. The two other sons and the daughter are at home.

Mr. Heyward's eldest brother, the late J. Guerard Heyward, who died in Savannah in 1888, was a Confederate soldier in the war and was a prisoner on Jolinson 's Island, also at Moore's Island. He is survived by a widow, who before her marriage was Miss Pauline de Caradeue, and children, viz. : Mrs. Elise Howkins and Mrs. Arthur Overton and Miss Maud Heyward and Frank de C. and Walter Sereven Heyward.

Another brother is Thomas Savage Heyward, who married Miss Mary Seabrook. They have two children, Clifford and Mary H.

Another of Mr. Heyward's brothers is T. Daniel Heyward who married Miss Selina Johnstone of North Santee, South Carolina, and they have five daughters: Selina, Isabelle, Elizabeth, Dorothy, Helen Hazel ..

JUDGE JOHN E. SCHWARZ, judge of the poliee court of Savannah sinee 1907, and a prominent lawyer of the city, is one of the most popn- lar eitizens of his eity, as well as one of the most influential. Born in Savannah and here reared, and taking his university training in the Georgia institution of learning. he is a distinctive Georgia product, and the results of his training and of his labors since entering upon the serious business of life have accrued to the general good of his uative city and state.

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A history of Savannah and South Georgia, Volume II, Part 23

Author: Harden, William, 1844-1936 Publication date: 1913 Publisher: Chicago, Lewis Publishing Company Number of Pages: 1208

Author: Harden, William, 1844-1936
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago, Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1208