USA > Georgia > Georgia's landmarks, memorials and legends, Volume I > Part 45
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to the value of $50,000 were found by his executors among his papers. These notes represented various sums of money advanced to unfortunate debtors who were never pressed for payment. Eight miles from Bethel was the summer home of the Tisons: Coleridge, an estate still owned by the Tisons where several generations of the family lie buried.
Some of the numerous other plantations on the Alta- maha River were Evelyn, New Hope, Altama, Broad Fields, Eliza Fields, and others which exist today only in the memories of a vanished but splendid era. At Evelyn are still to be seen the ruins of an old Spanish fort or chapparel built of tabby, the origin of which is veiled in obscure traditions. There are also a number of Indian mounds in the neighborhood showing that in former times an important band of the Creek Indians must have dwelt on the site of this old plantation. But the materials of romance abound everywhere in Glynn.
The German Village. Situated at the extreme southeast- ern end of St. Simon's Island was "The German Village", at which place some of the Salzburgers who came to Georgia settled. An old slave market was once prominent in the heart of the village, and through the medium of this obscure place many a ship load of negroes was smuggled into the Colony of Georgia. The daring Captain du Bignon's boat often landed here, sailing away, with only the crew on board. Nothing is left of this once active place to recall the memories of pirate days when slave vessels landed on St. Simon's from the African shores.
Fort St. Simon's. At the southern extremity of the island, near the site of the present lighthouse, Oglethorpe established a fort in 1735 to com-
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mand the waters of Jekyl Sound. It was destined to play an important part in the wars against the Spaniards. Close to the fort were located the barracks, while, in the near-by waters, somewhere in the vicinity of the present docks, were gathered the vessels of the two great world powers of the eighteenth century: Spain and England, to contest for the mastery of the North American conti- nent. The locality is today occupied by summer hotels. The fort has long since crumbled to the ground; but the old foundations are somewhere underneath the garden plot, adjacent to the Arnold House; and, from time to time, fragments of the ancient structure are still up- heaved by the plowshare, disclosing an occasional relic of unusual interest.
Jekyl Island: Just to the south of St. Simon's Island, A Mecca for Millionaires. on the Georgia coast, lies another island, famous throughout the length and breadth of the country as the winter resort of eastern millionaires. Oglethorpe named it Jekyl Island, in honor of Sir Joseph Jekyl, an eminent English statesman. It was acquired during the early part of the last century by Christopher Poulaine du Bignon, a native of Bordeaux, in France, and a member of the royal navy, who fled to the United States upon the downfall of the Napoleonic power. His grandson, Joseph du Bignon, an extensive planter of sea island cotton, after making himself the sole owner of the property by purchasing the interests of the other heirs, here organ- ized the famous "Jekyl Island Club," an organization composed of some of the wealthiest men of the North and East and said to be the greatest out-of-town club in the world. The island is plentifully stocked with game, is beautified with many artistic summer homes, possesses handsome driveways, and annually, during the winter season, becomes a mecca of resort for the men of millions who here enjoy a ceaseless round of sport. The island
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is not open to the general public but is touched daily by boats en route to Fernandina and Cumberland.
Exploding an Old Myth of Jekyl Island. Volume II.
Brunswick. Brunswick, the county-seat of Glynn,
named for the royal house of England, was first declared a port of entry in 1763-more than twelve years before the Revolution. The town is located on a peninsula, where it occupies the site of an estate formerly owned by Mark Carr, a wealthy freeholder of Colonial times. His tract of land in this locality contained 1,000 acres. By order of the Council of State and with the consent of Mr. Carr, this body of land was afterwards exchanged for an equivalent area further inland. Bruns- wick was first incorporated as a town in 1837, but the charter lapsed in the course of two years, and in 1856 the charter under which the city is today governed was granted. Perhaps the finest natural harbor on the South Atlantic coast is at Brunswick. It is deep enough to accommodate with safety the largest ocean steamers. The railway facilities of Brunswick put the town in communi- cation with every part of the continent; and there is naught lacking in the way of signs to forecast a great future for Brunswick as a sea-port metropolis. The disastrous hurricane of 1893, with its train of accom- paniments, only served to emphasize the latent power of recuperation possessed by a town whose peculiar advan- tages of location are unsurpassed .*
On the outskirts of Brunswick, commanding a view of the wide marshes to the south and east, stands the
* Authority: Capt. C. S. Wylly, of Brunswick, Ga.
C
FLEMING & BRYANT,
THE LANIER OAK, ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF BRUNSWICK, FACING THE FAR-FAMED "MARSHES OF GLYNN," IMMORTALIZED BY THE POET.
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famous Lanier Oak under which the most gifted of Geor- gia poets is supposed to have caught the inspiration for his world-renowned song: "The Marshes of Glynn." The tradition which associates this particular tree with the musings of the bard is verified by the testimony of personal friends of Mr. Lanier many of whom are still in life. Nor can any one stand on the site traditionally sacred to the authorship of this great poem without re- calling those mellow lines, in which Genius walks the companion of Faith :
"As the marsh-hen secretly builds on the watery sod, Behold I will build me a nest on the greatness of God: I will fly in the greatness of God as the marsh-hen flies In the freedom that fills all the space 'twixt the earth and the skies: By so many roots as the marsh-grass sends in the sod I will heartily lay me ahold on the greatness of God: Oh, like to the greatness of God is the greatness within The range of the marshes, the liberal marshes of Glynn. "
Somewhat nearer the civic center, at a point where Albany and Prince street intersect, may be seen another land-mark of Brunswick: "Lover's Oak." This huge forest giant which has doubtless come down from a period of time beyond the birth of the Colony covers an extensive area of ground and pictures to the eye an ideal bower for love-making. The gnarled and twisted arms of the old tree, reaching almost to the ground, furnish a trysting-place in the truest sense Arcadian. Here Nature has built a balcony of green for Juliet and reared a bower of shade for Rosalind. The visitor to Brunswick who fails to see Lover's Oak misses a sip of the real spiced wine of Romance.
In a little park, facing Newcastle street, near the court house, stands Oglethorpe monument, a handsome
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granite cross of Celtic design, unveiled in 1893 to the great philanthropist and soldier who founded the Colony of Georgia. On this occasion the address was delivered by Colonel W. E. Kay, of Brunswick. The inscription on the cross reads :
In memory of James Edward Oglethorpe. Founder of the Province, now the State, of Georgia. Soldier, Philanthropist and Lover of his fellow-man, most ard- ently those of poor estate. Born 1696. Died 1785. Erected by the efforts of Captain James Spalding Wylly and the Brunswick Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Glynn's To the County of Glynn belongs the Distinguished honor of having given to the illustrious Residents. Founder of the Colony of Georgia the only home owned by him in America. Within two years after landing upon the bluffs at Savannah, Oglethorpe established his permanent home at Frederica, on St. Simon's Island. Here, in the shadow of the fort which overlooked the delta of the Altamaha, the great soldier enjoyed the only tranquil moments which softened his none too peaceful life in the Georgia wilderness.
For six years he was a resident of Glynn-from 1736 to 1742.
Both the Wesleys lived for a while at Frederica- Charles, the great hymn-writer, and John, the renowned theologian and founder of Methodism.
Here lived Thomas Spalding, a member of Congress during the first decade of the nineteenth century, a wealthy planter, and a prominent man of affairs. He was born on the site of Oglethorpe's old home, and the earliest biography of the Founder of the Colony came from his pen. Spalding County was named for this pioneer patriot.
His father married a niece of General Lachlan Mc- Intosh of the Revolution.
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John Couper, a native of Scotland, established his residence at Cannon's Point, on St. Simon's Island. He cultivated a number of rich sea island and river bottom plantations, imported rare plants from abroad, reduced the science of agriculture to a fine art, and made experi- ments fifty years in advance of the times.
His son, James H. Couper, who lived at Hopeton, on the Altamaha, enjoyed an international reputation as a man of letters. The latter's library was one of the largest in America, embracing several thousand volumes, some of which could not be duplicated in Europe.
At Hampton's Point, on St. Simon's Island, lived Pierce Butler, a wealthy planter of the ante-bellum period, who married Fannie Kemble, the noted actress.
The celebrated Aaron Burr was for weeks a guest of Major Butler, the former's distinguished grandfather.
On the lower end of St. Simon's Island-not far from the present light house-at a place which he called "Retreat, " lived Thomas Butler King, a wealthy planter. a member of Congress, and a far-sighted man of affairs. Mr. King was the first to conceive the idea of a trans- continental railway system.
William E. Dodge, the great lumber baron. though never a permanent resident of Glynn, founded the town of St. Simon's, where he established extensive saw-mills. He owned large bodies of land along the Altamaha River.
Two of Georgia's ablest ante-bellum Judges lived in Brunswick. Judge Arthur E. Cochran and Judge W. M. Sessions. The former was the first Judge of the Bruns- wick circuit.
Here also lived the distinguished Judge John L. Harris, a member of the Secession Convention.
William G. Brantley, one of the ahlest representatives sent by Georgia to Congress since the war, lives here.
Brunswick was also for years the home of the Atkin- sons-Spencer R. and Samuel C., both occupants of the bench of the Supreme Court of Georgia, on which for- merly sat an honored grandfather, Charles J. McDonal ?!.
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GORDON
Created by Legislative Act, February 13, 1850, from Floyd and Cass Counties, both originally Cherokee. Named for Hon. William Washington Gordon, of Savannah, the first President of the Central of Georgia and one of the most distinguished pioneers of internal improvements. Calhoun, the county-seat, named for the illustrious John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina.
Resaca: Where The town of Resaca, in the upper Sherman Lost 5,000 Men. part of Gordon, was named for the famous field of the Mexican War on which General Zachary Taylor, on May 9, 1846, with an inferior force, gained a decisive victory over the Mexican Army under General Arista. Here, in the spring of 1864, the name of the town was still further enriched with the associations of victorious valor. Says Lawton B. Evans: "Sherman with a part of his army, exceeding in numbers the whole of Johnston's force made an attack on him at Dalton; and at the same time sent a large body of troops to Resaca, eighteen miles South, to destroy the railroad and to cut the Confederates off from their supplies of food. Johnston could not spare enough men to meet the force and was compelled to retreat to Resaca. Here Sherman attacked him again, but lost 5,000 men in the battle which continued two days, May 14th and 15th. Finding that he could not crush Johnston, he again sent troops around to the south toward Calhoun and forced Johnston to retreat to Cass- ville." Says Prof Joseph T. Derry: "At this place, Johnston hoped to fight a decisive battle. There was heavy skirmishing during the day and the Confederate soldiers were eager to decide at once the issue of cam- paign. But the judgment of Hood and Polk was against fighting a defensive battle at this point."
New Echota : The Last Capital of the Cherokees. Page 170.
1 History of Georgia for Schools, p. 288, New York, 1904.
2 Story of the Confederate States, p. 344, Richmond, 1898.
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Where the First Newspaper in Cherokee, Georgia, was Published. Page 174.
Under the Lash : Incidents of the Removal. Page 176.
Harriet Gould : A Romance of New Echola. Page 183.
Sequoya: . The Modern Cadmus.
Page 190.
In Cupid's Net. Just before the removal of the Cherokees, when the United States troops were sta- tioned at New Echota, a young pale-face officer became enamored of an Indian girl. One day they rode to the Big Spring which was about two miles from the town. The soldier was mounted on a fiery charger; the maiden on an Indian pony. The officer's spirited animal had long been the envy of the Indians who saw him; and when ready to return from the spring, the girl begged to be allowed to ride him back home. Her lover demurred, but she pleaded; and finally he consented. Right nimbly she mounted, but for some reason she decided to change bridles. No sooner were they slipped from the wild animal's neck than the horse realized his freedom and was off like an arrow. The almost frenzied lover threw himself on the pony and started in hot pursuit, dreading every hill and turn, lest he should find the mangled body of his inamorata. But he did not overtake her until he reached New Echota and found her at her father's home. The horse had run the entire distance,
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but the girl declared that it was the best ride she had ever taken. *
Lingering Some few years ago there stood on the Land-marks of site of New Echota, a part of the old the Cherokees. council house in which the Cherokees assembled to discuss national affairs; while, in a field of cotton near by, there survived after the lapse of seventy-five years a walnut tree under which important committee meetings were formerly held. In this same neighborhood was located the block-house, a structure built of hewn logs, in which John Howard Payne was held a prisoner.
Most of the houses occupied by the Cherokees were built of logs. But in some of the later structures plank was used. One of these-the home of Elias Boudinot, editor of the Phoenix-was standing in 1900. It was a two-story building, with a rock chimney on the out-side; while it contained within a number of book-shelves and closets.
If the local traditions are trustworthy, it was in the neighborhood of New Echota that the famous ball game was played, the result of which settled the old boundary line dispute between the Cherokees and the Creeks. The former claimed jurisdiction over the hill country of Georgia as far south as the Chattahoochee River. Ac- cordingly the issue was submitted to trial by combat in this somewhat novel and unique manner. Both sides pre- pared for the contest which was witnessed in due season by hundreds of excited spectators. But the Cherokees won. So the boundary line was drawn at the Chattahoochee River, and there was no further strife between the two powerful tribes over this vexed question.
Though no record has ever been found of the ball game, the tradition in regard to it is persistent.
* From a newspaper article on New Echota, by Maggie V. Thornton.
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There are still extant stories of the depredations com- mitted by two outlaws who murdered a prominent Indian by the name of Hicks. The killing took place at a green corn dance on a plot of ground which is now within the western limits of Calhoun. What became of them no one knows. But they used to live in a cave near the mouth of Oothcaloga Creek. It was on a steep bluff and to reach the entrance it was necessary to climb to the top by means of the broom sedge which grew upon the almost perpen- dicular walls.
Old Indian Siloquoy, on the Tennessee road, was the site
Settlements. of a British agency during the Revolution, conducted by John Waters. It continued for a number of years to be a favorite gathering place of the Indians.
Oostanaula was quite a large town in 1791. But the residents of this place were decidedly hostile to the Americans.
Oothcaloga was the residence of the Adairs. The Indians are said to have lived better here than in any other part of the Cherokee nation, but the settlement was sparsely inhabited.
Original Settlers. As given by White, the original settlers of Gordon were: John B. Adams, D. G. King, A. Stroup, T. C. Phillips, Uriah Phillips, W. H. Bailey, C. Kinman, William Curtis, N. Grant, James Shelnot, Joseph Wilson, H. S. Gardner, T. B. Shockley, M. Vandivier, D. Morrow, Jesse Swain, Oliver C. Wyley, Martin Duke, Colonel Lawson, D. S. Law, James W. Strange, George Stewart, Dr. Gideon, D. B. Barrette, Dr. Wall, James Longstreet, Colonel Adams and J. R. Knott.
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To the foregoing list may be added Joshua Daniel, who moved to North Georgia from Lincoln, settling first in Floyd and afterwards in Gordon.
On November 12, 1850, at Calhoun, was held the first session of the Superior Court. The following pioneer citizens were sworn as Grand Jurors : Alexander Stroup, Foreman, Uriah Phillips, Joseph L. Neel, B. Lowry, M. Boaz, D. D. Roany, A. G. B. Vandiveu, D. Morrow, James H. Burch, Henry H. Pitman, Thomas Bird, Israel P. Bowen, S. T. King, D. G. King, William J. Fuller, Den- nis Miller, Alexander Stewart, B. Kiker, sen., H. Mc- Connell, William B. Chandler, James Moore, M. M. Doug- lass, Oliver C. Wyley.
Charles Harves, a soldier of the Revolution, is buried somewhere in Gordon.
Dr. Mark A. Matthews, a distinguished Presbyterian divine whose church at Seattle is the largest and wealth- iest on the Pacific slope, was born in Calhoun. Dr. Mat- thews seldom preaches to less than 5,000 people. In May 1912, he was chosen Moderator of the Northern General Assembly.
GRADY
Created by Legislative Act, August 17, 1905, from Thomas and De- catur Counties, both originally Early. Named for the brilliant orator and editor, Henry W. Grady, whose response to a toast at a banquet of the New England Society of New York, in the winter of 1886, made his reputation international. He was not only a peace-maker between the sections but a captain of the great industrial cohorts of the South. Cairo, the county-seat, named for the ancient metropolis of the Nile, in Egypt.
How Grady Played
Cromwell.
Volume II.
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Historical It is more than likely that Hernando de Soto Traditions. on his famous expedition in search of gold, in 1540, first entered the territory of Georgia in what is now Grady County, traveling almost due northward from Tallahassee. Says Jones, Vol. I, History of Georgia : "On the fourth day the army encountered a deep river, for the passage of which it became necessary to construct a periagua. So swift was the current that a chain was stretched from bank to bank for the guidance of the craft. By this means the soldiers and the baggage were put across, and the horses directed in swimming the stream. We believe this to have been the Ochlochnee River."
Original Settlers. See Decatur and Thomas, from which counties Grady was formed.
To the list may be added: W. B. Roddenbery, J. L. Paulk, J. B. Wright, Ira Higdon, R. H. Harris, W. C. Jones, and J. A. Garney, who were among the first set- tlers to locate at Cario; W. R. Hawthorn, R. R. Terrell, J. L. Peebles, C. B. Trulock, Z. Trulock, Martin Harrell, and Sampson Harrell, pioneers of Whigham; J. M. Black- shear, Henry Mitchell, and S. M. Beach, of Beachton ; C. W. Maxwell, E. H. Maxwell, J. O. Darsey, and B. H. Mc- Nair, of Calvary; C. F. Rehberg, J. M. Sasser and J. J. Terrell, of Reno; M. Pope, of Ochlochee; and L. L. Bar- wick of Pine Park*
* These names were furnished by Judge P. H. Herring, Ordinary of Grady.
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GREENE
Created by Legislative Act, February 3, 1786, from Washington County. Named for General Nathanael Greene, of the Revolution. Next to the illustrious Commander-in-Chief, General Greene was the foremost soldier produced by the first war for independence. He took command of the Southern Department in 1780 and was largely instrumental in expelling the British from Georgia soil. (See Mulberry Grove, page 108; Greene Monument, page 103; The Finding of Gen. Greene's Body, Lost for 114 Years, Vol. II). Greensboro, the county-seat, also named for Gen. Greene. When organized this county mbraced parts of five others, Hancock, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Taliaferro and Clarke.
Greene in the Opened to settlement at the close of the Revolution. struggle for independence, the historic county of Greene became the abode of pioneers most of whom were veterans of the first war with England. These men inured to arms were well- seasoned for the hardships of life on the frontier; but some of them escaped the fire of the British only to fall before the tomahawk of the murderous savages. It is doubtful if there is a county in the State whose soil is more thickly sown with heroic dust; but most of the graves in which these heroes of seventy-six lie entombed -due largely to the unsettled conditions which prevailed for years on the border-are marked by no memorial headstones. But the spirit in which these men toiled- after converting their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks-is perpetuated in a line of worthy descendants; and to one inquiring for the tomb of some ancestor who is here buried an answer might be given him in the epitaph of Sir Christopher Wren: "If you seek his monument look around you."
Ezekiel Evans Park, (1757-1826), a patriot of '76, lived on a plantation near Greensboro. He was a graduate of William and Mary College and was a man of culture. Mr. Park witnessed service in a number of engagements and was wounded at the battle of Guildford C. H., in North Carolina.
Stephen Gatlin, a private, was pensioned by the Fed- eral government in 1834, while a resident of Greene.
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Thomas Fambrough, at the age of 80, died in Greene. To quote an obituary notice : "There is no doubt that he was in nine as tough battles as were ever fought in the Revolution."
Captain Joel Parish was another old soldier. He died on his plantation at the age of 73, one of the last of the heroic remnant who fought under Washington.
Alexander Gresham died in Greene, on February 23, 1823, aged 70. He was an officer in the Revolution. At the outbreak of the war of 1812, though somewhat feeble, he was one of the first of the Silver Grays to volunteer. The following incident is preserved: On the day of his death he was uncommonly cheerful. While sitting at dinner, application was made to him for assistance by a distressed traveller, whose wagon was stalled near the house. The servants being all out of the way but one, he went himself to the scene of the accident; and after helping the stranger to get his conveyance up one hill he was preparing to ascend another, when he overtaxed his strength. With his hand upon the wheel, he was making an effort to start the wagon, and while in this attitude he must have ruptured a blood vessel, for he dropped im- mediately to his knees and expired in about one minute.
Major Davis Gresham was also a patriot of '76.
Oliver Porter, a soldier of the Revolution, settled in Greene at the close of hostilities. He was present at the surrender of Cornwallis. His son, Oliver S. Porter, Sr., became a soldier in the war of 1812. His grandson, Oliver S. Porter, Jr., was the founder of Porterdale, near Covington, Ga., at which place he built a number of cotton mills.
William Jackson, a soldier of the Revolution, lived and died in Greene. He was a native of England.
Another hero of independence was John McGough, a veteran of Brandywine and Saratoga. Twice wounded- once with a sabre and once with a musket-he reached the
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age of 86 years. Mr. MeGough was a native of the north of Ireland. His home was at White Plains.
Michael Ely, who for years kept a public tavern in Greene, was a soldier of the Revolution. His son, John W. Ely, fought in the war of 1812. Arthur Foster and John Wilson were also patriots in the Continental army.
Another veteran of the first war with England was Thomas Wright. Josepn Wright, his son, married Mary, a daughter of the famous John Stark, who distinguished himself in the struggle for independence, but unfor- tunately, as the result of a quarrel, killed a man and dis- appeared. What became of him no one ever knew.
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