USA > Georgia > Georgia's landmarks, memorials and legends, Volume I > Part 44
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Here lived J. R. Barrick, A. R. Watson, Charles .J. Bayne, and Montgomery Folsom-poets of no mean gifts; Wallace Putnam Reed and E. Y. Clarke, who wrote excellent histories of Atlanta ; Maria J. Westmore- land, a novelist whose war-time stories were widely read throughout the South; John C. Reed, who wrote a story of the Ku Klux and published a number of law books; Clara D. Maclean, a novelist and a poet; B. F. Sawyer and Henry Clay Fairman, both novelists; Colonel Isaac W. Avery, who wrote a History of Georgia, 1850-1881 : and a host of others.
Frank L. Stanton, the foremost singer of the Southern press, has been a member of the Constitution's staff and a resident of Atlanta for twenty-five years.
The gifted Mary E. Bryan, a novelist of wide note and a poet of high rank, has been identified with Atlanta since she first began to write for Sunny South in the early seventies ; but she now spends most of her time at Clarkston, Ga.
Major Charles W. Hubner, a gifted poet, a ripc scholar, and a brilliant critic, came to Atlanta from
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Baltimore at the close of the Civil War and for nearly fifty years has been an honored resident of the com- munity in which he still lives. Major Hubner's writings embrace several volumes and include poems, histories, biographies and essays.
Here for a number of years has resided Professor Joseph T. Derry, formerly a member of the faculty of historic Wesleyan. While a resident of Augusta just after the war he taught President Woodrow Wilson and Associate Justice Joseph R. Lamar of the Supreme Court of the United States. He is the recognized historian of the Southern Confederacy, having written "The Story of the Confederate States" and the Georgia volume of the Confederate Military series, besides a school history of the United States, and other volumes. Professor Derry is also a poet. In a work entitled, "The Strife of Brothers", he has set the whole narrative of the Civil War to music.
Atlanta was also the home of Colonel Wm. L. Scruggs, a distinguished diplomat, who published a work on Vene- zuela and Colombia, besides a number of political essays.
Judge Howard Van Epps, orator and jurist, who compiled a number of important digests, lived in Atlanta for years.
Nor will the list of present-day authors who reside in the capital city of the State be complete without in- cluding: William Hurd Hillyer, Henry E. Harman, Joseph W. Humphries, Thornwell Jacobs, Lucius Perry Hills, Maria Lockett Avary, Lollie Belle Wylie, and Julia Riordan.
Dr. James W. Lee, a Methodist divine of wide note, has written a number of books, the circulation of which has been co-extensive with the breadth of the land. His two sons, Ivy and Wideman, have both climbed to the top of the ladder. The former as the representative of a wealthy syndicate maintains an office in the city of London; the latter as publicity agent for the Pennsyl- vania Railroad, is located in Philadelphia.
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Jacques Futrelle, the famous novelist, and one of the victims of the Titanic, was formerly a member of the newspaper guild of Atlanta.
Robert Adamson, a writer of note, who recently relin- quished an editorial position on one of the metropolitan dailies to become private secretary to Mayor Gaynor, began his career here; Alfred C. Newell, a grandson of Governor Colquitt, after winning his way to the front in New York journalism, has achieved an equal success in the insurance world, with Atlanta as his headquarters; and Joseph H. Johnson, who has become a power in New York politics, at one time edited a column in the Atlanta Journal entitled, "Done, Heard, Seen, and Said."
GILMER
Created by Legislative Act, December 3, 1832, from Cherokee County. Named for Hon. George R. Gilmer, a distinguished Governor of the State. Ellijay, the county-seat, named for a Cherokee Indian village, on the site of the present town.
George R. Gilmer : Some Incidents of His Career.
Volume II.
Old Indian Towns. The beautiful region of country in- cluded within the present limits of Gilmer, was long a favorite place of abode for the Chero- kee Indians, and they built a number of towns in the picturesque and fertile valleys between the mountains.
Ellija, an Indian town, formerly stood where Ellijay, the present county-seat, is today located. The chief of the town was White Path. On the eve of removal, he accompanied John Ross to Washington, in 1834. General Jackson invited him to dinner at the White House, and also gave him a silver watch, which he always kept as a precious treasure. En route to the West, he died at
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Hopkinsville, Ky., where it is said that during his last illness the people showed him great kindness. After his death, the watch was sold and the proceeds applied to the erection of a marble monument over the old Indian's grave.
The present village of White Path was named for him.
Talona was south of Ellija. It was sometimes called Sanderstown, after the principal chief, George Sanders, who kept a house of entertainment along the Federal road, and was considered a high-minded man. He also accompanied Ross to Washington. On his return he was taken ill and died at Raleigh, N. C.
Mountain Town was situated in the eastern part of Gilmer. The principal chief was Cartilana.
Original Settlers. According to White, the original set- tlers of Gilmer were: B. Chastain, James Cody, Alexander Kell, James Kell, Benjamin Griffith, L. Holt, C. Cooper, J. E. Price, John P. Alex- ander, Samuel Jones, E. Chastain, A. Johnson, J. A. Johnson, E. Gibson, James Simmons, Jacob Gibson, C. Goble, J. C. King, S. Griffith, H. K. Quillian, Thomas M. Burnett, William Cox, B. M. Griffith, and others.
To the foregoing list may be added Coke Asbury Ellington, Watson R. Coleman, William F. Hill, Pinkney H. Milton, and John I. Tate, whose sons afterwards became identified with the marble interests of Pickens. John R. Tate died at Ellijay, Ga., Dec. 28, 1838. He was a sturdy Scotch-Irishman from Londonderry.
GLASCOCK
Created by Legislative Act, December 19, 1857, from Warren County. Named for General Thomas Glascock, a distinguished officer of the State militia and a lawyer of reputation. Gibson, the county-seat, named for Judge Wm. Gibson, who gave $500 toward the erection of the court house. Judge Gibson presided over the Courts of the Middle Circuit from 1867 to 1870.
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Brigadier-General Thomas Glascock, an officer of note in the State militia, a member of Congress and a distinguished lawyer, was born near Augusta, Ga., Octo- ber 21, 1790, and died at Decatur, Ga., May 19, 1841, as the result of injuries sustained by a fall from his horse. He came of an ancestry illustrious in the annals of Geor- gia. His grandfather, William Glascock, was Speaker of the House of Assembly during the Revolutionary War period. His father, Thomas Glascock, immortalized · himself at the siege of Savannah, where, amid a storm of shot and shell, he rescued the body of his gallant commander, Count Pulaski. The subject of this sketch was a Captain in the War of 1812. Subsequently, at the age of 27, he served under Andrew Jackson, in the Semi- nole War, with the rank of Brigadier-General. Elected to Congress in 1835, he was returned without opposition in 1837, after which he resumed the practice of law. At the time of his tragic and sudden death he stood at the head of his profession.
Original Settlers. See Warren, from which county Glas- cock was formed.
To the list may be added: Calvin Logue and Joshua Usry, both of whom represented Glascock in the Seces- sion Convention at Milledgeville. Judge Wm. Gibson was also an early settler. The old established families of the county include : The Pools, the McNeals, the Wal- dens, the Irbys, the Kitchenses, the Braddys, the Sny- ders, the Glovers, the Kellys, the Laseters, the Whiteleys, and others.
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Created by the State Constitution of 1777, from two of the former Colonial Parishes, St. Patrick and St. David. Named for John Glynn, a noted member of Parliament who befriended the Colonies and who acted as counsel for the celebrated John Wilkes. Brunswick, the county- seat, named for the royal house of England.
Fort Frederica: 1735.
Page 59.
Town Stood.
Where the Old Says Colonel Charles C. Jones, Jr .: 1 "Frederica was located in the midst of an Indian field containing between thirty and forty acres of cleared land [on St. Simon's Island]. The grass in this field yielded an excellent turf which was freely used in sodding the parapet of the fort. The bluff upon which it stood rose about ten feet above high water mark, was dry and sandy." According to the same authority,2 the town lots as a rule were 60 by 90 feet, but those which fronted the river were 30 by 60 feet. At. first the Colonists lived in palmetto booths. These were erected in the rear of the lots on which they intended to build permanent homes, and they afforded an excellent shelter for temporary purposes. Besides the booths, there were three large tents, two of which belonged to Oglethorpe and one to Major Horton, an officer in his regiment. The whole circumference of the town was less than two miles. At the north end were located the bar- racks. On the west was the fort, while toward the south stretched a dense forest which offered an effectual blind to the enemy in case of attack. Through the woods to the lower extremity of the island was cut a road, by means of which access to the ocean front was obtained. Fort Frederica was at one end of this road while at the other end was Fort St. Simons.
Oglethorpe's Regiment. Volume II.
1 Dead Towns of Georgia, pp. 55.57, Savannah, 1878.
" Ibid, pp. 53-54.
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Old Estates on St. Simon's Island. Perhaps a mile from Frederica, on the road to the old fort, stood the home of General Oglethorpe. The exact spot cannot be identified at this late day, but it was probably not far from where the highway enters the deep wood. There was nothing pretentious or elegant in this wilderness abode of the great soldier. It was merely a cottage, but appurtenant to it was a garden which he beautified with choice flowers and an orchard wherein grew oranges, figs, grapes, and other fruits. The entire area comprised barely more than fifty acres. The rear of the house was overshadowed by immense live-oaks, while the front looked out upon the entrenched town and fort, and afforded also a glimpse of the sound. On the departure of Oglethorpe for England, his homestead be- came the property of James Spalding. It was sold after the Revolution, about which time also the cottage was destroyed. But the oaks remained until far into the thirties; and the final destruction of these trees was mourned as a sort of sacrilege by the older people of St. Simon's.
Due east from the General's cottage, there diverged a road which led a mile and a half to the country seat of Captain Raymond Demeree, one of the oldest officers of Oglethorpe's regiment. Captain Demeree was a Huguenot by birth, with an ample fortune. Much of his wealth was spent in ornamenting his home on the island, but he followed the current French taste rather than the English. Harrington Hall was the name of his estate. The borders were entirely of orange or cassiva, the latter a species of ilex, with small fleshy leaves.
Among the wealthy planters who established them- selves at an early day on St. Simon's Island and who erected homes, the hospitality of which became proverbial the country over were the Butlers, the Kings, the Pages, the Coupers, the Hamiltons, the Postells, and the Wyllys. They possessed large estates, upon which they lived like lords, cultivated sea-island cotton and owned numerous
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slaves. Perhaps nowhere in the South have the softer aspects of the old feudal system of ante-bellum times been more charmingly exemplified.
Hampton's Point : Some ten miles to the north of Frede- Where Aaron Burr rica was one of the most famous Took Refuge. estates on the island: Hampton's Point-the magnificent country seat of Major Pierce Butler. To this secluded spot on the Georgia coast came Aaron Burr, during the days wnen his political fortunes were beginning to suffer eclipse and when an asylum of refuge was needed by the ill- starred man of genius, who once held the high office of Vice-President of the United States. Despite the odium which attached to him, there was nevertheless a welcome for the old statesman underneath the shelter of Major Butler's home, for the latter was not the man to desert a friend in the hour of distress. Here, on this remote island of the Georgia coast, cut off entirely from the out- side world, Aaron Burr remained for weeks an honored guest. While on the island he was also a visitor at Can- non's Point, the home of Mr. John Couper. The room which he here occupied contained for years a memento of his sojourn in the nature of his autograph, scratched upon a pane of window glass. Major Butler's grand-son, Pierce Butler, married the famous English actress, Fan- nie Kemble, whom he afterwards divorced. The latter wrote a somewhat libelous book entitled: "The Journal of a Residence on a Georgia Plantation," in which she purports to give an insight into slavery at the South; but her viewpoint was doubtless colored by her domestic infelicities. The volume was not published until four years prior to the war, though it was written in the late thirties. Pierce Butler was survived by two daughters, Sarah and Fannie. The former married Dr. Wister and became the mother of Owen Wister, the celebrated novel-
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ist. The latter married Cannon Leigh, of England. Pierce Butler was originally a Shaw. Old Major Butler, of Hampton's Point, had a daughter who married Dr. Shaw, of Philadelphia. There were two children, born of this union, John and Pierce, whose patronymic was afterwards changed to Butler.
Cannon's Point : Adjoining the plantation of Major But- ler, at Hampton's Point, was the equally noted country seat of Mr. John Couper, at Cannon's Point. The coast of Georgia is still fragrant with the recollections of this pioneer planter, who was one of the most cultured men of his day in the South. Mr. Couper was a native of Renfrewshire, in Scotland. The attain- ments of his family were most unusual. James Couper, his eldest brother, was for twenty-five years professor of astronomy in the University of Glasgow; while his second brother, William Couper, was an eminent surgeon. Soon after arriving in Savannah, from the old country, John Couper wedded a daughter of James Maxwell, of Liberty County, Ga., an event which, occurring in 1792, was followed by his settlement on St. Simon's Island. During the earlier years of his life he took an active part in public affairs, represented the county of Glynn in the Constitutional Convention of 1798, at Louisville, Ga., and was an uncompromising opponent of the Yazoo specu- lation.
But he relinquished political aspirations to devote himself wholly to scientific planting. He operated upon a scale which was little short of regal and which taxed his colossal energies to the utmost. With James Hamil- ton, he became part owner of a number of plantations, some of which were devoted to the production of rice and some to the culture of sea-island cotton. The former were along the rich alluvial bottoms of the Altamaha River, some fifteen miles inland; the latter were mainly
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upon St. Simon's Island. Headquarters were established in Savannah, then the principal market town of the State, but trade relations were maintained with the most distant parts of New England, and even with Europe. Mr. Couper was a man who thought far in advance of his time. He introduced many new practical ideas. He tried many novel experiments. It was nothing unusual for people to come hundred of miles to consult him on matters of common interest. His orchards were famous. In beautifying his estate at Cannon's Point he spared neither pains nor expense. Mr. Jefferson, with whom he corresponded on terms of intimate friendship, procured for him in France a number of plants which he cultivated with great success. The plantation re- mained in the hands of his descendants until the close of the Civil War when it was purchased by William E. Dodge, of New York, the great lumber merchant.
Constitution Oak. But the country-seat of Mr. Couper possesses still another claim to dis- tinction. It was on this famous ante-bellum estate that the tree grew from which was made the keel of "Old Ironsides", one of the most noted of the earlier American war vessels. In the pioneer days of shipbuilding it was customary to make keels from trees of sturdy material whose shape adapted them with only slight changes to the end in view. The whole Atlantic seaboard was put under the search-light for the purpose of securing a specimen which possessed the requisite length and char- acter for the proposed new boat. It so happened that an immense live-oak at Cannon's Point was found to meet the requirements ; and from the tough fibres of this forest giant on the coast of Georgia was fashioned the keel of "Old Ironsides." The dramatic part played in the war with Tripoli and in numerous other en- gagements upon the high sea by this primitive little
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fighting craft can hardly be matched in naval annals. Though technically known as the Frigate "Constitution", it is best remembered as "Old Ironsides", a name which was given to the ship because of the stubbornness with which it met the shocks of war and defied the ocean gales. The poem of Dr. Holmes has given it a place in literature quite apart from the renown which it deservedly enjoys upon the historic page. For years after the tree was felled to the ground the stump remained an object of curiosity to sightseers. Today, however, there is not a vestige of "Constitution Oak" to be seen at Cannon's Point. It decayed long ago, like the civilization which here bloomed and flowered only to fall itself a victim to the axe of the Great Forester of Time; but the place whereon it stood is still treasured among the historic spots of St. Simon's Island.
Thomas Butler King: His Dream of a Trans-Conti- nental Railway. To one of the wealthy sea-island cot- ton planters of Georgia belongs the credit of having first conceived the idea of an immense trunk line to con- nect the two oceans. This far-sighted man was Thomas Butler King, a resident of St. Simon's Island. He was the advocate of a trans-continental rail- way to extend from Brunswick, Ga., to San Diego, Calif. The suggestion doubtless originated in his own vast and lucrative operations as a planter and in his perfectly natural desire to market his crops to the best advantage. He realized far in advance of his time the importance to the South of cultivating trade relations with the Orient. So impressed was he with the wisdom of the proposed route that he delivered a number of speeches upon the subject both in and out of Congress and wrote a number of articles for the press. He was a man whose reputa- tion was country-wide and whose influence was felt in national affairs. There is no doubt that he helped to
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mold public opinion and to pave the way for the final consummation of the stupendous project. But the iron horse as a factor in commerce was still new. The popu- lar mind was almost dazed by the thought of such an undertaking.
As early as 1849 Mr. King sat for his portrait. It is still in existence and represents him with pencil in hand demonstrating on a globe the advantages of the proposed route and indicating the various points through which the line was to pass. He was willing for posterity to sit in judgment upon him, and for this reason he was not loath to be identified with his favorite scheme upon the enduring canvas. Today the continent is spanned by four magnificent highways of steel. With the building of the new line from Birmingham to Brunswick, his dream was literally fulfilled, save only in one particular. Los Angeles, instead of San Diego, was made the termi- nal point on the far Pacific slope. But when the idea of a trans-continental railway was first advanced, Los Angeles was only an obscure little pueblo where Indian trails crossed and was not dignified with a place on the map until fifty years later. Over the grave of Mr. King, on St. Simon's Island, the leaves have fallen for more than half a century; but his judgment has been triumph- antly vindicated. It is an item of some interest to note in this connection that the district of which Brunswick is the chief commercial centre was represented by Mr. King in Congress, first from 1839 to 1843, and afterwards from 1845 to 1849; and that during a part of this time two of his brothers, Andrew and Henry, were in Congress with him as representatives from other States. Mr. King was a native of Massachusetts. He was at one time sent to Europe by the United States government in the interest of direct trade between the two opposite shores of the North Atlantic.
The Tomb of Thomas Butler King.
Volume II.
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The Story of the
Volume II. Dodge Millions.
Hopeton. Some fifteen miles from the mouth of the Altamaha River was one of the most famous rice plantations in Georgia: Hopeton. It belonged originally to two noted planters of the Georgia coast, John Couper and James Hamilton, whose operations were for years combined. In the final adjustments, this superb old estate passed to the descendants of the latter, but, in ante-bellum days, it was chiefly associated with the name of James Hamilton Couper, under whose mod- ern scientific management, it became one of the best known plantations in the Southern States. The happiest phases of life under the old regime were here typified; and much of the progress since made in agricultural economics was anticipated at Hopeton by slave labor at least two decades before the war. Mr. Couper, after graduating with the highest honors of Yale, traveled for some time abroad. Wherever he went he gathered ideas to be put into practical effect upon his return home. The system of flood-gates which he established at Hopeton proved to be so efficacious that damage by freshets was something unknown. It became the model for the whole Atlantic seaboard.
To the cultivation of the soil he applied the latest methods. He sought also to develop indigenous or native plants to the highest state of perfection. He planted orchards which made him famous. He was one of the pioneers of Georgia in the extensive cultivation of cane, converting his immense crops into sugar and molasses. In 1829, he erected the most complete sugar mills in the Southern States. He also successfully cultivated the olive. As a planter he was at least half a century in advance of his time. He even anticipated the manufac- ture of oil from cotton seed. At great cost he collected one of the largest libraries in America. Sir Charles
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Lyall, F. R. S., who was once a guest at Hopeton, ex- pressed his amazement at the collection, which contained Audubon's Birds, Michaud's Forest Trees, Catherwood's Antiquities of South America, and many other sumptu- ously illustrated folios, some of which could not be dupli- cated. Quite an important part of this splendid library is still in the possession of his son, Major James M. Couper, of Atlanta. But there were other proofs of his marked intellectual and social attainments ; and Frederica Bremer, the Swedish novelist, in speaking of the cultured planter, whom she visited when in America, declared that in urbanity and grace of conversation he reminded her of Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Bethel. Another extensive plantation on the Altamaha River was Bethel, the handsome old country- seat of the Tisons, where a bountiful hospitality was dispensed in ante-bellum days. It is a fact of some interest that for years after the war, Bethel was the only estate in Glynn County which preserved amid changed conditions the semi-regal life of the old Southern regime. There was no reduction in the vast acreage cultivated by the owner at the close of the Civil War. Most of the slaves refused to quit the service of a kind master to avail themselves of an unwelcome release from bondage, preferring to remain on the estate where a shelter was provided for them in old age and where there was more of real happiness to be enjoyed in a freedom of slavery than they could possibly hope to find in a slavery of freedom. Sea-island cotton, sugar cane, rice, corn, and other products were cultivated in vast quantities at Bethel. The late owner, J. M. B. Tison, was famed for his manifold acts of generosity; and even to the present day traditions of his kindness still abide like a lingering incense around the hearthstones of Glynn. No one ever appealed to him in vain. At the time of his death, notes
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