A history of Savannah and South Georgia, Volume II, Part 4

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

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Mr. Tiedeman was born on the 11th of September, 1861, in Charles- ton, South Carolina. Here he was reared and educated. imbibing with the lessons he learned at school, the fine ideals and courtesy of bearing for which the men of this old city are noted. Growing up during the years following the Civil war be of necessity saw the courage with which a defeated people took up their burdens and set out to bring order out of chaos. He was only a boy during the greatest period of suffering, but his impressionable mind was impressed by the love that the people of the South bore for their country, and by the way in which they set to work to repair the ravages of war. He determined at this time that when he grew to manhood he would do everything in his power to make his country as prosperous as she was before the war. He was edneated in private schools and in Charleston College, and in 1887 he came to Savannalı.

He went into the wholesale grocery business on his arrival in the

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city and since that time he has been successfully engaged in this line of business. In addition to his political activities he has been promi- nent in the world of finance and in society. He is president of the Georgia State Savings Association. He is a member of the Board of Trade and of the Chamber of Commerce. In the world of sport and of society he is much sought after, and is a member of the Oglethorpe Club, the Yacht Club, the Automobile Club and the Golf Club.

Mr. Tiedeman received considerable preparatory training for his present position through his service as an alderman, for he was brought to a clear realization of the great necessity for improvement in many branches of the public affairs through this close connection with themn. He was elected mayor in January, 1907, for a term of two years, was re-elected in January, 1909, and again in January, 1911. Savannah has never passed through a more prosperous period. She has held her proud position of being the largest market in the world for naval stores; her business, both in exports and imports, has been greatly increased and indeed she has advanced to the rank of fifth city in the United States in amount and value of exports. Many new industries have found a location in the city, and trade in all branches has received an impetus. The city limits have been extended, and during the season of 1911-12, the record for handling and exporting cotton was broken.

It is not possible to mention all of the beneficial results of Mayor Tiedeman's administration, and only the more important and those which will have the most far reaching results can be mentioned. Among these is the part that the city has had in the improvement of that beau- tiful southern section which is now the site of some of the finest homes in the city. This tract of land is owned by the Chatham Land & Hotel Company and the Ardsley Park Land Corporation, and this land has been brought within the city limits on a lot basis, thus increasing the taxable values of the municipality, and aiding in the rapid develop- ment of the section. A large amount of street paving has been done. greater in extent than has been completed during any previous period of the same duration. Some of this paving had been agitated for years but things seemed to stand still until Mr. Tiedeman appeared on the scene. For a city as dependent as is Savannah upon her harbor, it had been allowed to fall into a shameful state of disrepair and one of the most necessary deeds of the administration was the repair of all the slips and public docks. The water system and the stormn sewerage system were extended to meet the needs of the growing city, and the street lighting system was practically made over by the installation of a new type of more brilliant lights in every section of the city. Bona- venture cemetery was developed and put in its present beautiful con- dition, and Daffin Park was also improved and thrown open to the pub- lic. The fine statue of General Oglethorpe, upon which work had ceased to be done for lack of funds, was now completed, the necessary money being appropriated for the purpose from the public treasury. Several thousands of dollars were spent in the laying of concrete and stone side- walks, and an ordinance that was of especial importance to people of all classes was passed. This was a milk ordinance, and the officers of the administration have been extremely careful that this law should be enforced.

The achievement which stands out above all the others, and which brought to Mr. Tiedeman the thanks of a devoted city was the successful culmination of the bond election on December 6, 1911, by which the city is given the authority to spend $600,000 for the extension and completion of the sewerage and drainage system. This is one of the most beneficent measures ever passed in Savannah, for situated as the

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city is, drainage is a question of supreme importance to the health of the people. The work is to be carried on under the direction of a drain- age commission composed of a number of the leading citizens. Mr. Tiedeman had long ago seen the necessity of such a measure, but he had not been able to make the city feel the necessity of it. In the election in which this was the issue Mr. Tiedeman took personal charge of the campaign, and carried it to a successful termination. He did not spare either his time or energy in placing before the publie the necessity of this measure, and he set forth the advantages of the ordinance in so clear and sincere a manner that it was passed by an overwhelming ma- jority. He has received full eredit for his work in the formulation of the ordinance when it was as yet on paper, and the people have appre- ciated to the full his careful and painstaking selection of men of abil- ity for members of the commission, who might be trusted with the administration of so large a sum of money. Mr. Tiedeman is very anxious to have some form of civil service regulation for all civil ser- vice employees, thus abolishing the old cries of favoritism, and secur- ing more skilled service. He has strongly recommended this in his messages to the city council, and he is also a sincere advocate of a com- mission form of government.

Mr. Tiedeman was married in 1890 to Miss Floride Shivers of Savannah. In addition to their beautiful summer home at the Isle of Hope, they have a handsome city residence, and wherever they may be, their friends are always sure of a welcome. They are the parents of two children, Miss Inez Tiedeman and Carsten Tiedeman. Savan- nah is fortunate in having had such a mayor, for in the wave of progress and the new life that has swept over the South in the last few years, a strong hand is needed at the helm of those cities that will eventually become the great southern centers of trade. Some southern cities have suffered under the rule of a demagogue, and some from one who was too weak to rule and lacked the power of initiative, therefore Savannah should be proud that the man who for six years was at the head of her affairs was strong, conscientious, eager to do what will benefit the peo- ple and the city, and possessed of the brain and the wisdom to plan and carry out the necessary measures.

ABRAHAM MINIS. In the South, where family ties still bind and names still count, the Minis family are reckoned of the blue blood of Georgia, their history dating from colonial times and the grandfather of Abraham Minis having been the first male white child born in Georgia. The family is a historie one and it has been prominent in the history of the city for many generations. Abram Minis, youngest son of Abraham Minis, does not shine merely in the reflected light of his forefathers, but he is a citizen of ability, a lawyer of high standing at the bar and a man of property.

Abraham Minis, the second son of Isaac and Dinah Minis, was born in Savannah in 1820, and, in early youth was sent North to a school in Westchester, Pennsylvania, which stood very high and was kept by a Frenchman, a Mr. Bohnar.

Here he remained until the age of sixteen when, owing to his father having encountered business reverses, he determined to become self- supporting, a resolution which he carried out absolutely.

Securing a position with Padleford & Fay, then one of the leading houses on the Bay, it was characteristic of the man that he never filled another clerkship and that the heads of the firm became his warmest. lifelong friends.

Entering for himself the commission business, associated with Mr.

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James II. Johnston, the firm being Minis & Johnston, he continued actively engaged in this pursuit until the day of his death, although, in consequence of years. the business changed to that of shipping.

Mr. Johnston retiring, Mr. Minis carried on the work alone until two of his sons were associated with him under the firm name of A. Minis & Sons.

One who knew him best wrote of him: "From his earliest years his course was one of duty well performed. Quiet and modest, yet firm and brave, he noted well his part as son. brother, husband, parent, neighbor and citizen. With no ambition but to be right, his amiable qualities made him beloved and respected by all who knew him, while all he did was based upon strictly moral and religious principle, unswerved by fear or favor.

All through the dark days of the yellow fever epidemie of 1876 he, with his eldest son, Mr. J. F. Minis, remained in Savannah doing all in his power, for those who needed assistance, in a quiet, unostentatious way of which the world knew nothing. His nature was one of the noblest simplicity, combined with the utmost moral strength and a deep sense of justice guided his every action.

The affection he inspired in the humble and lowly was attested when the longshoremen who had worked for him, as a spontaneous tribute, marched in a body to his funeral.

Many positions sought him. He rendered service as an alderman, acting as mayor, during the absence of that functionary, was a director of the Southern Bank and of the Central Railroad & Banking Company of Georgia.

For years he devoted much of his busy life to the presidency of the Union Society, and unbounded were his zeal and enthusiasm in behalf of this noble charity.

At the breaking out of the Civil war, physical disabilities rendering military service impossible, he entered the commissary department at Savannah, and. to help the cause, invested a large proportion of his means in Confederate bonds. although he had always been apprehensive of what proved to be the result of the desperate four years' struggle.

On the failure of the South, he was consequently left with the most limited resources.

Confronted with the disheartening task of beginning afresh his business career, he did so with the courage displayed by the best type of the men of the South, and the years brought their reward.

He died in New York City. November 6th, 1889, adding another honorable record to the family name, and was buried in Savannah.

Savannah is the native city of Abram Minis, his eyes having first opened to the light of day on May 16. 1859, within the pleasant borders of that eity. Ilis parents were Abraham and Lavinia ( Floranee ) Minis. The latter's parents were Jacob L. and Hannah Florance. Mrs. Minis was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, May 26, 1826, and her marriage to Mr. Minis was celebrated in Philadelphia, October 22. 1851. Their union was blessed by the birth of six children, as follows: Jacob Florance Minis: Rosina Florance Minis, who died in infancy : Miss Maria Minis; Isaac Minis; Lavinia Florance Minis, the wife of Charles 1. Henry, of New York City: and Abram Minis.

Isaac Minis, mentioned above, is now deceased, his death having occurred in New York City, June 8. 1893. His wife, to whom he was married in Savannah. March 9, 1886, was before her marriage. Miss Eugenia P. Myers of Savannah. She survives her husband and has two sons,-Isaac Minis and Carol E. Minis. Mr. and Mrs. Charles I. Henry have two danghters, namely : Harriet and Lavinia.

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One of the subject's uneles, Philip Minis, married Miss Sarah A. Livingston, of New York, and their children are seven in number, and named as follows: Mrs. Alice Henrietta Poe. of Baltimore; Annie Livingston Spalding ; Philip Henry ; John Livingston; Mary Leila (Mrs. Poultney ) ; and Augusta Medora. One of his aunts, Sarah Ann Minis, married Dr. Isaac Hays of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, whose children were : Joseph Gratz ; William De Wees: Harriet Minis ; Theodore Minis; Frank Minis; Robert Griffith and Isaac Minis. Another aunt, Phillippa Minis, married Edward Johnson Etting. of Philadelphia, and their children were: Reuben; Charles Edward; Theodore Minis; Philippa Minis ; and Harry Gratz.

The paternal father of the subject was, Isaae Minis, who, although of the Savannah family, was born near Charleston, whence his parents and family fled from the British troops, which at that time were besieg- ing the city of Savannah. They returned here after the close of the Revolution. On December 4, 1803, Isaac Minis married Miss Dinah Cohen, of Georgetown, who was born April 12, 1787, and died in Savannah, February 17, 1874. Her husband preceded her to the grave, his death occurring on November 17, 1856, in Philadelphia. He and his wife are buried in the family lot in Laurel Grove cemetery in Savannah. Isaac Minis served in the War of 1812 as a private in Capt. William Bulloch's company of artillery, first regiment of Georgia militia, commanded by General JJohnston. Isaae Minis was the son of Philip and Judith (Pollock) Minis; Judith Pollock being a member of one of the first families that settled Newport, just as her husband belonged to a family that was numbered among the first settlers of the colony of Georgia. It is a somewhat interesting fact. in this connection. that Rhode Island and Georgia were the only ones of the colonies where Jews were not prohibited from settling.

Philip Minis, the great-grandfather of the subject of this review, as mentioned in a preceding paragraph, bore the distinction of having been the first male white child born in Georgia, his birth having occurred at Savannah, July 11, 1734, the year following the founding of the Georgia colony by Oglethorpe. In substantiation of this fact there are various authorities, among which is the following notice that appeared in the Georgia Gazette of the issue of Thursday, March 12, 1789, con- cerning the family of Philip Minis: "On Friday, March 6, 1789. departed this life, Mr. Philip Minis, merchant, age fifty-five years. He was the first male white child born in this state. His remains were buried in the Jews' burial ground on Sunday morning, attended by a large number of respectable citizens, who by their solemn attention evinced how sensibly they felt the loss the community has sustained in so valuable a man. He has left a disconsolate widow and five children, together with an aged and venerable mother and five sisters, to deplore their loss. IIe was an affectionate husband, a dutiful son, a tender father and a kind brother; in short, he was in every sense of the word, a truly honest man."

Philip Minis gave aetive aid and support to the colonists in their struggle with Great Britain, and on this account he was named in the Georgia Royal Disqualifying Act of 1780. When in 1779 the French auxiliaries besieged Savannah, Philip Minis acted as a guide, and was consulted as to the best place for landing. He also volunteered to act as a patriot guide thereafter. In 1780 the British passed their disquali- fying aet, whereby certain persons were disqualified from holding office. etc., because of their prominence in the "rebel cause," and the name of Philip Minis was one of the one hundred and fifty on the list of dis- qualified men.

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The founder of the Minis family in Georgia was Philip Minis' father, Abraham Minis, who with his wife, Abigail Minis, and two daughters, Esther and Leah, also his brother, Simeon Minis, arrived in Savannah on a vessel from London, July 11, 1733. the year of Ogle- thorpe's founding of the colony of Georgia. There were thirteen Jewish families on this vessel; and the history of their organization for the journey in London and their trials and tribulation, as well as their successes, after their landing on Georgia soil in 1733, forms one of the interesting romances of the colonization of the new world. Abraham Minis, first American of the name, died in Savannah in 1757, and was buried in the first Jewish burial plot in the city. His widow, Abigail Minis, in 1760, received a grant of land from King George III. She lived to a great old age, her death occurring in Savannah, in October 11, 1794, aged ninety-three years and two months. The history of Mr. Minis' forbears is as interesting and gratifying as that of any other citizen of the old and historie eity. Emerson has said: "Biography is the only true history." When Macaulay was shown the vast clustering vines in Hampton court, with trunk like a tree, he expressed a wish to behold the mother root in Spain from which the scion was eut. Similarly, the average person confesses to an eager desire to traee the aneestral forces that are united in every interesting character, mental and moral capital being treasures invested by forefathers, nature taking the grand- sire's ability and putting it out at compound interest for the grandson.

Abram Minis, the present representative of the family. has in addition to his law practice, many other interests of broad scope and importance. He is a director of the following named enterprises: The Propeller Tow Boat Company ; the Columbus Manufacturing Company; the Com- mereial Life Insurance & Casualty Company; the United Hydraulic Cotton Press Company ; the Georgia Land & Securities Company, and the Georgia Cotton Mills. Although he bestows a profound attention on his affairs, business and professional, he is by no means a recluse, for he has many affiliations, and is one of Savannah's most prominent clubmen. He belongs to Landrum Lodge of Masons and of the Ogle- thorpe Club, the Yacht Club and the Golf Club. He is a member of the Sons of the Revolution and is also an honorary member of the Georgia Hussars, of which he was an active member for several years. He enlisted as a private in the Hussars in 1883, and was promoted through the various ranks to that of first lieutenant; it was while acting in such rank that he resigned. Following this he was made quartermaster of the First regiment of cavalry, National Guard of Georgia, with the rank of captain, and later was made adjutant with the rank of captain in the same organization. He is now on the retired roll of the Georgia state troops. In all public affairs in the city, which is dearest to him with the associations and traditions of centuries. Mr. Minis takes a keen and helpful interest and he stands as one of the aggressive and enterprising men who are aiding in the upbuilding of the city.

Mr. Minis has been twice married: His first wife was Miss Anna Maria Cohen, of Baltimore, Maryland. their union being solemnized October 8, 1890. She died May 24, 1891, in Savannah. The present Mrs. Minis was, previous to her marriage, Miss Mabel A. Henry, of New York City, where she married her husband on December 9, 1902. They have two children: Abram Minis, Jr .. born November 6, 1903, and H. Philip Minis, born June 11, 1908.

THOMAS USHER PULASKI CHARLTON, the eldest son of Thomas and Lucy Charlton, was born near Camden, Sonth Carolina, in 1780. His father came from Frederick. Maryland, and was a surgeon and lientenant

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under Col. William Thompson in the Revolutionary forces of South Carolina : and later served in the legislature of that state. At the death of the father, the widow came to Savannah and settled there in 1790. Thomas Usher was called to the bar of the eastern judicial eircuit in 1801, and in that year was elected a member of the Georgia legislature. In 1804 he became attorney-general, and in 1808 judge of the eastern circuit. Later he was elected mayor of Savannah and served in that office for six terms. He was head of the committee of safety in 1812, and performed devoted services during the epidemic of 1820. He again beeame judge, and died in 1835. He was of strong mentality and high courage, and had the judicial temperament. Many of his decisions appear in a volume of reports published by him. Ile partially com- pleted a life of James Jackson, designed to eover the period of his mili- tary services. He was a close friend of that eminent man, who desig- nated him as his literary executor. Having enjoyed the friendship of Jackson, he inherited from that great man some of his enemies, who, however, did not begin to give voice to their bitterness until years after Judge Charlton's death. He not only possessed decided literary ability but a high order of wit. He married, in 1803. Emily, daughter of Thomas Walter. of South Carolina, author of " Flora Caroliniana," the first considerable work on southern botany. Of this marriage were born his sons, Thomas Jackson Charlton and Robert Milledge Charlton. Charlton street was named for him.

ROBERT MILLEDGE CHARLTON, younger son of Thomas U. P. and Emily Charlton, was born in Savannah, Georgia, on January 19, 1807, and died there on January 18. 1854. He was called to the bar when very young. and served in the legislature at twenty-one. At twenty- three he was appointed district attorney by Andrew Jackson; and at twenty-eight was elected judge of the eastern judicial eireuit. He was three times mayor of Savannah, and toward the end of his career became United States senator from Georgia. His praetice at the bar was exten- sive and successful. Among the early Georgia reports is a volume pub- lished by him and containing his own decisions as well as those of the judges who held the bench in the eastern circuit subsequent to the pub- lication of the reports of T. U. P. Charlton. Ile was a man of the finest sensibilities and highest ideals, loving his state and her people. Ile was at onee firm and gentle; helpful and sympathetic. Devoted to the teachings of his own church, in his intercourse with his fellow man he knew no limitations of specifie creeds or conditions. and became probably the most beloved citizen Savannah ever bad. In 1829 he married Mar- garet, daughter of Peter Slick, whose ancestors had departed from Salsburg at the time of the Protestant exodus, settling in the colony of Georgia during the first years of its establishment. JJudge Charlton was not only a learned lawyer and an orator. but a writer and peet. In his mind the wit of his father was tempered with a fine sense of humor, the evidences of which appear in his contributions to the Knick- erboeker Magazine, the leading periodical of those times. in a series of sketches of life on the circuit. An edition of his poems. to which were added some of the productions of his brother, appeared in 1839. and another edition in 1842. Charlton county. Georgia, was named for him, and Charlton ward. Savannah.

WALTER GLASCO CHARLTON, youngest son of Robert M. and Margaret Charlton, was born in Savannah, Georgia, on June 5, 1851. He attended school in Savannah, and in Hancock county. Georgia, and Baltimore county, Maryland, under Richard Malcolm Johnston. In 1869 he matrie-

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ulated at the University of Virginia, and came to the bar of the east- ern cirenit on January 22. 1873. In that year he became associated with Albert R. Lamar in the office of solicitor-general. In 1877 he was ap- pointed reporter of the circuit: and in 1880 was elected solicitor-gen- eral. On February 11. 1908, he was appointed judge of the eastern judicial circuit and elected to that office during that year. In 1912, he was again elected. On February 11. 1874. he married Mary Walton, daughter of Richard Malcohn Johnston. He has filled several political positions, among them chairman of the Democratic party in Chatham for several years. His people have been Democrats literally from the day the party was formed. He is the author of several essays on epochs in Georgia history. and has delivered numerous speeches on occasions of historie celebrations. He has occasionally indulged in verse. His ancestors on both sides are identified with the history of Georgia and the United States. The Maryland Charltons held Mason and Dixon's line against Pennsylvania for many years. His great-grandfather Charlton volunteered in the Revolutionary forces in 1775. and his great-grand- father, John Shick, who afterward became a prosperous and prominent man, fought at the siege of Savannah, having his right arm shot off by a cannon ball from the British. Judge Charlton is at present president of the Georgia Society of the Cincinnati and of the Georgia Society of the Revolution.

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A history of Savannah and South Georgia, Volume II, Part 4

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