USA > Georgia > A standard history of Georgia and Georgians > Part 13
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* Old Style, January 30, 1733.
WORMSLOE: THE HOME OF NOBLE JONES .- Near the month of the Vernon River, at the extreme southern end of the Isle of Hope, lies the oldest estate in Georgia: Wormsloe. It was formerly the country-seat of Noble Jones, a com- panion of the great Oglethorpe on his first voyage to America, and for years a distinguished officer of the Crown. He came into possession of the estate in 1733, at which time he gave it the name which it still bears. Here he built a wooden fort, which he called Fort Wymberley, placed in such a position as to com- mand the inland passage from the Vernon to the Wilmington River. This passage
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RUINS OF FORT WYMBERLEY ON THE ISLE OF HOPE
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still bears his name. It was much used by Indians, Spaniards and outlaws when visiting the South Carolina coast for purposes of plunder and to carry off the negro slaves to Florida. Later he rebuilt it of "tabby" or "manchecolas" as the Spaniards called it, with outbuilt port-holes to defend it from escalade. In 1741, he was given a four-pound cannon with which to defend the fort. Here he established headquarters for his famous marines, who lived in huts near by and who rendered double duty by scouting the country on horse-back and the river in boats. One of these guarded Skiddaway Narrows and carried dispatches between Savannah and Frederica for General Oglethorpe.
On December 22, 1739, Noble Jones with his boat well armed captured a schooner in "Ussybaw" Sound and carried her around to Tybee. He also cruised with Captain Demetree to intercept unlawful trading vessels. Fort Wymberley was at one time successfully defended against a party of Indians and Spaniards by Mary Jones who, in the absence of her father, took command; and tradition records it that in recognition of her courage Wormsloe has always been left to the widows and un- married daughters of the house for life, the fee to be vested at death in the male heir. There were many mulberry trees at Wormsloe and the colony in a measure depended upon this source of supply for a sufficient quantity of silk worm seed, and one year it was deplored that the erop would be short, as "Mr. Noble Jones's daughter had suffered her worms to issue from the cocoons without sorting them." Mary Jones married James Bulloch, Sr., father of Governor Archibald Bulloch and was his third wife. She died at Wormsloe without issue in 1795.
Noble Wymberley Jones, a zealous whig, who was kept from attending the Continental Congress by the serious illness of his father, who remained to the last a devoted royalist, became in 1775 by inheritance the owner of Wormsloe. But the necessity for mending his fortune, shattered in the Revolution, left him little time to spend on his place. He practiced medicine in Charleston, Philadelphia, and Savannah. The estate passed at his death to his son, Judge George Jones, who used it as a place in which to raise fine horses, of which he was excessively fond. It was his custom on the circuit to drive a four-in-hand. George Wymberley Jones, his son, afterwards George Wymberley Jones DeReune, then became the owner of Wormsloe, where he lived until the time of the Civil war and where he collected and published carly Georgia manuscripts in the Wormsloe quartos. Here, on the southern extremity of the island, a battery was built at this time, called "Lawton Battery," after Gen. A. R. Lawton. This battery exchanged one shot with a Federal gunboat ascending Vernon River. The gunboat withdrew finding the river fortified.
It was after the war that Wormsloe came to the rescue of the family by tempting a Northerner to lease the estate for the purpose of raising sea island cotton thereon. But the lessee soon tired of the existing labor conditions, whereupon Wormsloe reverted to the owners. Wymberley Jones DeRenne, son of George Wymberley Jones DeRenne, the present incumbent, has laid out live-oak tree avenues and arranged native trees and plants in groups and lines, thus developing the natural beauties of the place. He has also built a library dedicated "to Noble Jones, owner of Wormsloe, from 1733 to 1775," a handsome structure devoted entirely to Georgia books, maps, manuscripts, etc., relating to the history of Georgia. Near the ruins of the Old Fort, the name by which Fort Wymberley is called, there stands a tomb- stone erected by the father of the present owner, on which appears this inscription :*
George Wymberley Jones DeRenne hath laid this stone MDCCCLXXV to mark the old burial place of Wormsloe, 1737-1789, and to save from oblivion the graves of his kindred.
DERIVATION OF THE NAME "SAVANNAH. "-To quote Col. Absalom H. Chappell : "No one can ascend the river from the sea or stand on the edge of the bluff which the city occupies and overlook the vast expanse of flat lands on either side, without knowing at once that from these plains or savannas came the river's name, derived from the Spanish word 'Sahanna;' and the fact that it was baptized with the Christian, though not saintly, name which it bears is just as certain as it is that the great grassy plains in South America owe the name by which they are called to the same parental source."
* These facts in regard to Wormsloe were given to the author by Mr. Wymberley Jones DeRenne.
CHAPTER VIII
TOMO-CHI-CHI FORMALLY WELCOMES THE NEWLY-ARRIVED COLONISTS-
AN INDIAN CEREMONIAL-LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS OF SAVANNAH- OGLETHORPE ASSEMBLES THE COLONISTS FOR A FEW TIMELY WORDS OF ADMONITION-HIS FIRST LETTER TO THE TRUSTEES-SOUTH CARO- LINA EXTENDS SUBSTANTIAL HELP-SAWYERS CONTRIBUTED-MANY HANDSOME DONATIONS-FRIENDS WHO LENT A HELPING HAND-OGLE- THORPE AT WORK-PORTRAYED BY A SOUTH CAROLINA GENTLEMAN- SAVANNAH'S RAPID GROWTH-DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWN BY BARON VON RECK-OGLETHORPE VISITS CHARLESTON-ADDRESSES THE GEN- ERAL ASSEMBLY AND THANKS THE PEOPLE OF SOUTH CAROLINA-LET- TERS OF CONGRATULATION FROM THE NORTHERN COLONIES-CHRIST CHURCH, SAVANNAH.
To meet the colonists on arrival there was a large company of Indians assembled on the bluff. Nor was this greeting unaccompanied by the spectacular formalities characteristic of the savage tribes. We quote from an old account the following paragraph, descriptive of these cere- monies: "In front advanced the Medicine Man, bearing in each hand a fan of white feathers-the symbols of peace and friendship. Then came Tomo-chi-chi and Scenauki, his wife, attended by a retinne of some twenty members of the tribe filling the air with shouts. Approaching Oglethorpe, who advanced a few paces to meet them, the Medieine Man or priest, proclaiming the while the brave deeds of his ancestors, stroked the governor on each side with his fans-apt emblems of amity. This done, the king and queen drew near and bade him and his followers welcome. After an interchange of compliments, the Indians were enter- tained as hospitably as the means at command would allow." #
Busily setting themselves to work the colonists before nightfall had cleared a wide space among the pines, in which area four tents were erected large enough to accommodate the entire settlement. These were provided, of course, for temporary purposes, to serve until permanent homes could be built. Thither such bedding as was needed to give com- fort and protection was brought from the boats anchored underneath the bluff. Oglethorpe, having posted his sentinels, lay down near the central watch-fire, a sharer in the common hardships, privations and dangers of his little flock; and thus, amid the solitudes of a primeval forest and underneath the stars of a new world, disturbed by no spectres of impending danger, was passed in sweet repose the first night spent on Georgia's soil.
* " History of Georgia," Charles C. Jones, Vol. I, pp. 132-133.
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Next morning Oglethorpe called the people together for a two-fold purpose : first, to offer devout thanksgiving to a merciful providence; and second, to give the settlers a few words of practical advice, on the threshold of a new life, rich in its possibilities but great in its pit-falls and perils. He reminded them of the far-reaching effects upon future generations of even the most trivial thing, whether for good or for evil. Two vices against which he specially inveighed were: idleness and in- temperance. He also warned them against improper dealings with the Indians. Said he : "It is my hope that through your good example the settlement of Georgia may prove a blessing and not a curse to the native inhabitants." Then followed an assignment of tasks. To facilitate a handling of bulky articles, some were set to work erecting a erane; others, equipped with axes, were directed to fell trees. There were also squads organized to unload the cargoes, to begin the erection of a fort, and to do a thousand other necessary things. The Georgians were re- enforced at this time by a number of South Carolina friends who came over with servants to lend a helping hand. Col. William Bull was un- remittingly active. His qualifications as an engineer enabled him to be of material help in laying off squares, lots and streets. IIe also con- tributed four expert saw men, to aid in preparing boards, with which to build the settlement store and to ereet homes.
Oglethorpe bestowed no thought upon himself. He claimed "in his own behalf and for his own comfort no labor from the colonists." Four stately pines were by his direction left standing near the bluff and oppo- site the center of the encampment; and under these he pitched his tent. He wished to enjoy no luxury in which the humblest settler did not par- take. He declined to accept for himself any labor of which he was not in urgent need, and for more than a year he lived under canvas. He then moved into hired lodgings. When a convenient opportunity offered, Oglethorpe addressed to the trustees his first letter written on Georgia soil. It ran as follows :
"TO THE TRUSTEES FOR ESTABLISHING THE COLONY OF GEORGIA IN AMERICA.
"Gentlemen,-I gave you an account in my last of our Arrival at Charles-Town. The Governor and Assembly have given us all possible Encouragement. Our People arrived at Beaufort on the 20th of January where I lodged them in some new Barracks built for the Soldiers, while I went myself to view the Savannah River. I fix'd upon a healthy situa- tion about ten miles from the sea. The River here forms a Half-Moon, along the South-Side of which the Banks are about forty Foot high, and on the Top a Flat which they call a Bluff. The plain high Ground ex- tends into the Country five or six Miles, and along the River-side about a Mile. Ships that draw twelve Foot Water ean ride within ten Yards of the Bank. Upon the River-side, in the Centre of this Plain, I have laid out the Town. Opposite to it is an Island of very rich Pasturage, which I think should be kept for the Trustees' Cattle. The River is pretty wide, the Water fresh, and from the Key of the Town you see its whole course to the Sea, with the Island of Tybe, which forms the Month of the River; and the other way you see the River for about six Miles up into the Country. The Landskip is very agreeable, the Stream being
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wide, and border's with high woods on both Sides. The whole People arrived here on the first of February. At Night their Tents were got up. "Till the seventh we were taken up in unloading and making a Crane which I then could not get finish'd, so took off the Hands, and set some to the Fortification and began to fell the woods. I mark'd out the Town and Common. Half of the former is already cleared, and the first House was begun Yesterday in the Afternoon. Not being able to get negroes, I have taken ten of the Independent Company to work for us, for which I make them an allowance. I send you a copy of the Resolutions of the Assembly and the Governor and Council's letter to me. Mr. Whitaker has given us one hundred Head of Cattle. Col. Bull, Mr. Barlow, Mr. St. Julian, and Mr. Woodward are eome up to assist us with some of their own Servants. I am so taken up in looking after a hundred neces- sary things, that I write now short, but shall give you a more particular Account hereafter. A little Indian Nation, the only one within fifty Miles, is not only at Amity, but desirous to be Subjects to his Majesty King George, to have Lands given them among us, and to breed their Children at our Schools. Their Chief, and his Beloved Man, who is the Second Man in the Nation, desire to be instructed in the Christian Reli- gion.
"I am, Gentlemen "Your Most Obedient, Humble Servant, "JAMES OGLETHORPE."
Limitations of spaee will not permit us to reproduce the documents received from South Carolina, of which Oglethorpe makes mention : one from the governor and council, the other from the house of assembly, both felicitating Oglethorpe upon his arrival and pledging him every assurance of friendship, co-operation and encouragement. It was ordered in the resolutions of the House of Assembly that Captain MaePherson, with fifteen of the Rangers "do repair at once to the new settlement of Georgia to cover and protect Mr. Oglethorpe and those under his eare # till the new settlers have enforted themselves." Moreover the set- tlement was given as a present "an hundred head of breeding cattle and five bulls, also twenty breeding sows and four boars, with twenty barrels of rice, the whole to be delivered at the Charge of the Publiek at such Place in Georgia as Mr. Oglethorpe shall appoint." These resolutions were adopted soon after Oglethorpe's arrival in Charleston; and to facilitate his work of settling the new provinee we find it ordered "that Colonel Bull be desired to go to Georgia with the Hon. James Oglethorpe, Esq. to aid him with his advice and assistanee in the settling of that place."
Pursuant to this order, Colonel Bull spent more than a month in Savannah, supervising the work of four expert sawyers whose labor he contributed. Besides helping with surveys, he also aided in the eree- tion of buildings. Mr. Whitaker, in association with some friends, do- nated a hundred head of eattle to the settlement. Mr. St. Julian for several weeks gave his time and attention to the settlement in a super- visory way. Mr. Joseph Bryan donated the labor of four servants, all of whom were sawyers. He also came in person to assist the colonists. The residents of Edisto Island donated twenty sheep. Mrs. Ann Drayton
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sent over four sawyers. Governor Johnson made the colony a present of seven horses; while Colonel Bull and Mr. Bryan together furnished Oglethorpe twenty servants to be employed in whatever way the foun- der might deem most advantageous. Mr. Hammerton donated a drum. To the first child born on Georgia soil, Mr. Hume offered a silver boat and spoon, the recipient of which was an infant born to Mrs. Chase .*
On March 22, 1733, a South Carolina gentleman who had lately vis- ited the new province published a letter in the South Carolina Gazette, in which the following pen picture is drawn of the founder at work : "Mr. Oglethorpe is indefatigable, takes a vast deal of Pains; his fare is but indifferent, having little else at present but salt Provisions: He is extremely well beloved by all his People; the general Title they give him is Father. If any of them is sick he immediately visits them and takes a great deal of care of them. If any difference arises, he is the person that decides it. Two happened while I was there, and in my Presence ; and all the Parties went away, to outward Appearance, satisfied and con- tented with his Determination. Ile keeps a striet discipline; I never saw one of his People drunk or heard one swear all the Time I was there ; He does not allow them Rum, but in lieu gives them English Beer."
Savannah grew rapidly. The tents disappeared one by one as the new houses were finished. On the outskirts of the town a public garden was laid out, to eultivate which a servant was detailed at the expense of the trust. It was planned to make this garden a nursery from which fruit trees, vines, plants, and vegetables might be obtained for private gardens owned by the inhabitants. It was also to be devoted largely to the propagation of white mulberries, from the cultivation of which as food for silk-worms, great profits were expected. Baron Von Reek, who came to Georgia in 1734, to establish a colony of Salzburgers in the province, has given us the following sketch of the Town of Savannah : f
"I went to view this rising Town, Savannah, seated upon the Banks of a River of the same Name. The Town is regularly laid out, divided into four Wards, in each of which is left a spacious Square for holding of Markets and other public Uses. The Streets are all straight, and the Houses are all of the same Model and Dimensions, and well contrived for Convenieney. For the Time it has been built it is very populous, and its Inhabitants are all White People. And indeed the Blessing of God seems to have gone along with this Undertaking; for here we see Industry honored and Justice strictle executed, and Luxury and Idleness ban- ished from this happy Place where Plenty and Brotherly Love seem to make their Abode, and where the good Order of a Nightly Watch re- strains the Disorderly and makes the Inhabitants sleep secure in the midst of a Wilderness. There is laid out near the Town, by Order of the Trustees, a Garden for making Experiments for the Improving Botany and Agriculture; it contains 10 Aeres and lies upon the River ; and it is cleared and brought into such Order that there is already a fine Nursery of Oranges, Olives, white Mulberries, Figs, Peaches, and many curious Ilerbs: besides which there are Cabbages, Peas and other European
* William B. Stevens in "History of Georgia. " Vol. I, p. 92.
t An Extraet of the Journals of Mr. Commissary Von Reck and of the Rev. Mr. Bolzius, pp. 12-15, London, 1734.
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Pulse and Plants which all thrive. Within the Garden there is an arti- ficial Ilill, said by the Indians to be raised over the Body of one of their ancient Emperors. I had like to have forgot one of the best Regulations made by the Trustees for the Government of the Town of Savannah. I mean the utter Prohibition of the Use of Rum, that flattering but deceit- ful liquor which has been found equally pernicious to the Natives and new Comers, which seldom fails by Sickness or Death to draw after it its own Punishment." #
Oglethorpe, later in the summer, visited Charleston where he ad- dressed the General Assembly and thanked the Province of South Caro- lina through its assembled law-makers for the many courtesies extended to him and to the Colony of Georgia. On this visit Governor Johnson met him at the water's edge. Besides another generous appropriation from the General Assembly, Oglethorpe also received a handsome dona- tion from the people of Charleston. But while Oglethorpe's settlement, dne to its peculiar location, was likely to prove of special benefit to South Carolina, it was also regarded with favor by the colonies further to the north; nor was it long before Pennsylvania and Massachusetts sent addresses to Georgia, expressing an interest in the colony's welfare and offering to its founder not only felicitations but practical encouragement.
* Charles C. Jones, Jr., "History of Georgia," Vol. I, p. 170.
CHRIST CHURCH, SAVANNAH: WHERE THE GEORGIA COLONISTS FIRST WORSHIPPED GOD .- To quote a distinguished local historian #: "On the orignial spot where the Colonists established a house of worship stands today the beautiful and elassie proportions of Christ Church. Here Wesley preached and Whitefield exhorted- the most gifted and erratic characters in the early settlement of Georgia. Wesley came to these shores with a fervor amounting almost to religious mysticism. He thought his mission was to Christianize the Indians. No priest of Spain ever carried the Cross among the Aztees and Ineas of Mexico and Peru with greater zeal; but his career in Georgia was checkered and unfruitful. Though a man of gifts he suspended his work among the Indians because he could not learn the language; and his ministry among the whites was characterized by a severity which made it unpopular. He seems to have been a martinet in the pulpit. He became embroiled with his parishioners and left Savannah between two suns. Yet Bishop Candler probably spoke the words of truth when, from the pulpit of Wesley Monnmental Church, in November, 1899, he said: 'No grander man ever walked these historic streets than John Wesley.' " +
On February 26, 1838, the corner stone of the present handsome edifice was laid. It is the third religious structure which has occupied this time-honored site since tho days of Oglethorpe. The plans were drawn by James Hamilton Couper, Esq., a noted planter; and the building committee appointed to supervise the work con- sisted of the following substantial members of the parish: William Scarborough, who built the first steamship to eross the Atlantic Ocean; Dr. Theodosins Bartow, father of the afterwards celebrated Col. Francis S. Bartow, who fell at Manassas; William Thorne Williams, Robert Habersham and William P. Hunter. The rector at this time was the Rev. Edward Neufville, and his vestrymen were: Dr. George Jones, a United States senator; William Thorne Williams, Robert Habersham,
* Pleasant A. Stovall, in a chapter on "Savannah," written for Historic Towns of the Southern States, pp. 308-310, New York, 1904.
t It must not be forgotten that Wesley and Whitefield were both ministers of the Church of England. Though holding peenliar views and belonging to a society called in derision "Methodists, " they both lived and died Episcopalians. Wesley and Whitefield also differed between themselves. The former was Arminian, the latter Calvinistie in theological doctrine.
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William Scarborough, R. R. Cuyler, a famous railroad pioneer; William P. Hunter and Dr. P. M. Kollock. For nearly fourteen years the eloquent Dr. Stephen Elliott, afterwards the first bishop of the diocese of Georgia, was rector of Christ Church. He died in 1866, lamented by the entire South. The following inscription on the corner stone gives an epitomized history of this ancient house of worship:
I. H. S. Glory to God. Christ Church.
Founded in 1743. Destroyed by fire in 1796. Refounded on an enlarged plan in 1803. Partially destroyed in the hur- ricane of 1804. Rebuilt in 1810. Taken down in 1838.
Says a well-known writer #: "Dating from the first Episcopal services held in Savannah by the Reverend Henry Herbert, one of the voyagers in the galley 'Ann,' Christ Church constitutes the oldest ecclesiastical organization in Georgia. The present site was chosen when Oglethorpe planned the town. Until the first build- ing was erected for the congregation, divine worship was held in the tent of Ogle- thorpe, in the open air, and in the Court House. Progress in the work was retarded for several years on account of hostilities with Spain.
"The successor of Henry Herbert was the Reverend Samuel Quincy, a member of the famous family of Massachusetts; and he in turn was succeeded by John Wesley and by George Whitefield. It was under the latter that the parish was first organized in 1843 and the original house of worship erected. During the rectorship of the Reverend Bartholemew Zouberbuhler, Colonel Barnard, of Augusta, presented the church with the first organ ever seen in Georgia. In 1774, the Reverend Haddon Smith, then rector, gave great offence to the Liberty element by his pronounced Loyalist views, in consequence of which he was approached by a committee of the church, who forbade him further to officiate in Georgia. Disre- garding the command, he went to the church as usual to find the doors barred against him. Later, he was published in the Gazette as an enemy to America; and being apprised of the fact that a mob was approaching the rectory, whose purpose was to tar and feather him, the unhappy clergyman escaped with his family to Tybee, whence he sailed for Liverpool. In 1815 Bishop O'Hara, of South Carolina, came to Savannah to consecrate a building, which was then recently erected, and, at the same time, he held the first confirmation service in Georgia, at which time sixty persons were presented by the rector, the Reverend Mr. Cranston."
# Adelaide Wilson in "Historie and Picturesque Savannah, " Boston, 1889.
CHAPTER IX
THE ARRIVAL OF THE JAMES-CAPTAIN YOAKLEY AWARDED A SPECIAL PRIZE FOR BRINGING THE FIRST SHIP-LOAD OF EMIGRANTS TO SAVAN- NAH-OGLETHORPE CONVENES THE SETTLERS TO EXPLAIN THE PLAN OF SAVANNAH-NAMES ITS STREETS, SQUARES, WARDS AND TITHINGS -EARLY FRIENDS OF THE COLONY REMEMBERED-BAILIFFS AND CON- STABLES CHOSEN-CONSERVATORS OF THE PEACE-TITHING MEN-THE FIRST JURY EMPANELLED-HEBREW EMIGRANTS ARRIVE IN GEORGIA -IRREGULARITY OF THE EXPEDITION -- OGLETHORPE WELCOMES THE JEWS-FRICTION RESULTS BETWEEN OGLETHORPE AND THE TRUSTEES BUT OGLETHORPE STANDS FIRM-ON JULY 7, 1733, AN ALLOTMENT OF LANDS IS MADE TO THE COLONISTS-DETAILS OF THE DISTRIBUTION- NAMES OF THE EARLY COLONISTS PRESERVED IN AN OLD DOCUMENT- TOMO-CHI-CHII'S FRIENDSHIP FOR GEORGIA.
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