USA > Georgia > Georgia's landmarks, memorials and legends, Volume I > Part 50
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Jefferson: The It was in the town of Jefferson, Ga.,
Monument to Dr. on March 30, 1842, that an Crawford W. Long. operation was performed by a young physician, then wholly un- known to fame, the effect of which was to inaugurate a new era in the history of medicine, and to put an end to the reign of terror caused by the relentless knife of the surgeon. The young physician was Dr. Crawford W. Long. On this occasion, sulphuric ether was employed for the first time as an anaesthetic. It was used in ex- tracting a tumor from the neck of James M. Venable an operation which was not only successful but painless. (See Vol. II.) The little building which served for an office has long since disappeared, but the site is marked by an old tree, in the immediate vicinity of which the operation in question was performed.
Dr. Long made no haste to exploit his achievement by any obsequious flourishing of trumpets. He bestowed no pet name upon his off-spring. Neither did he seek by
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means of some secret formula to convert his discovery into profit. He was a modest country doctor of the old school. His little home town was then remote from any railroad. He lacked the brilliant stage-settings with which his rivals were favored in the populous heart-cen- ters of New England. But it was nevertheless reserved for this unobtrusive gentleman to unlock the barred door of the gods with his open sesame and to confer upon the world the noblest boon of medical science since the days of Hippocrates. There are affidavits on record which establish beyond a doubt the prior claims of Dr. Long to the discovery of anaesthesia.
On April 21, 1910, there was unveiled at Jefferson, near the scene of Dr. Long's discovery, a monument of impressive dimensions. Thousands of visitors witnessed the dramatic spectacle, including a number of specially in- vited guests ; and some of the most eminent surgeons and physicians of the land were present for the purpose of doing honor to the memory of the great philanthropist. Hon. Pleasant A. Stovall, of Savannah, was the orator of the occasion, but there were several other addresses made by distinguished speakers. It was a red-letter day in the history of Jefferson. The monument stands on one of the main thoroughfares of the town, a perpetual reminder of the great event with which the name of the little com- munity is forever associated; and inscribed upon it are the following records :
(North)
Sulphuric Ether Anaesthesia was discovered by Dr. Crawford W. Long, on March 30, 1842, at Jefferson, Ga., and administered to James M. Venable for the re- moval of a tumor.
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(East)
In memory of Dr. Crawford W. Long, the first dis- coverer of anaesthesia, the great benefactor to the human race. Born, Danielsville, Madison County, Ga., Nov. 1, 1813. Died, Athens, Ga. June 16, 1878.
(South)
Given by Dr. Lamartine Griffin Hardman, of Com- merce, Jackson Co., Ga., in the name of his father and mother, Dr. W. B. J. Hardman and Mrs. E. S. Hardman, life-long friends of Dr. Crawford W. Long-Dr. W. B. J. Hardman being a physician in Jackson County.
(West)
Erected by the Jackson County Medical Association, at Jefferson, Ga. Committee: W. B. Hardman, M. D .; S. J. Smith, M. D .; J. A. Bryan, M. D. City Com- mittee: H. W. Bell, J. C. Bennett, M. D., F. M. Bailey. Unveiled by the Georgia Medical Association, April 21, 1910.
On March 30, 1912 a handsome bronze medallion in honor of Dr. Long was unveiled in the medical depart- ment of the University of Pennsylvania. The exercises occurred on the seventieth anniversary of the great achievement which this impressive ceremonial was intended to commemorate, and some of the most distin- guished men of science in America were present. The following extract from "Old Penn," a weekly review pub- lished by the University, gives an account of the exercises :
"Dr. Crawford Williamson Long, who first made use of ether as an anaesthetic for surgical purposes on March 30, 1842, was memorial- ized on Saturday afternoon, March 30, 1912, when a handsome gilt bronze medallion was unveiled in his honor. The exercises were held in the Medical Building of the University of Pennsylvania. Addresses were made by Dr. J. William White, of the University, and Dr. J. Chalmers Da Costa, of Jefferson Medical College. The medallion was modeled by Dr. R. Tait MeKenzie of the University, and represents
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Dr. Long as a young man administering ether for the first time to a patient about to be operated upon.
"Provost Edgar F. Smith presided and introduced the speakers. The tablet was unveiled by Mrs. Florence L. Bartow, a daughter of Dr. Long, after the address of Dr. J. William White, and the cere- monies closed with a brief reply by Hon. Samuel J. Tribble, who thanked the University on behalf of the family and the State of Geor- gia, for the honor the University had conferred upon an illustrious graduate. The presence of three distinguished Southern ladies, Mrs. Frances Long Taylor, Mrs. Alexander O. Harper, and Mrs. Florence L. Bartow, the daughters of Dr. Long, added great interest and dignity to the occasion .* They came from Athens, Georgia, for the express purpose of attending the ceremonies, and during their stay in Phila- delphia were the guests of the University."-"'Old Penn," Weekly Review of the University of Pennsylvania.
Original Settlers According to White, the original set-
and Men of Note. tlers of Jackson were: Jacob Bankston, Richard Easley, John Smith, Jordan Clark, Abednego Moore, Thomas Hill, Paul Williams, Edward Callehan, Parks Candler, Andrew Millar, Bed- ford Brown, Z. Collins, S. Lively, Johnson Strong, Miles Gathright, and D. W. Easley.
Nathaniel Pendergrass, a soldier in the Indian wars, came to Georgia from South Carolina in 1811 and set- tled in Jackson. He was the grandfather of Dr. James B. Pendergrass, an eminent physician and surgeon.
Jackson W. Bell was a prominent merchant and legis - lator of the early ante-bellum period. His son, Judge Horatio W. Bell, was made ordinary of the county, in 1877, an office which he filled by successive re-elections for more than thirty years.
Thomas R. Holder also settled in Jackson at an early date. His son, Hon. John N. Holder, of Jefferson, a dis-
* Dr. E. J. Spratling, of Atlanta, a kinsman of Dr. Long, was unable to be present on account of business engagements.
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tinguished legislator and journalist, has ably filled the office of Speaker of the Georgia House of Representa- tives. In the last campaign he was a popular candidate for Congress against Hon. Thomas M. Bell.
George Wilson was an early comer into Jackson, locating here soon after the county .was opened. He was a member of the convention called to frame the first Con- stitution of the State. His son, James Wilson, was a soldier in the war of 1812.
Captain A. T. Bennett was for years a prominent figure in the early ante-bellum public life of Jackson.
Dr. William B. J. Hardman also belongs to the list of distinguished pioneers. He achieved eminence both as a physician and as a minister. He was the father of Dr. Lamartine G. Hardman, a former State Senator who was largely instrumental in placing the present prohibi- tion law upon the statute books of Georgia; a leader in politics, a successful practitioner and a man of affairs.
Captain Wm. Matthews, Isaac Matthews and Sher- wood Thompson, patriots of '76, are buried somewhere in Jackson. Major Cochrane a Revolutionary officer set- tled on land three miles from the present town of Jeffer- son. The place is owned today by Dr. De La Perre.
Francis Bell, a soldier of the Revolution (1750-1838) is buried at Liberty M. E. church in Jackson. He was at the battle of Guildford C. H., in North Carolina and years later wrote an account of it in verse.
JASPER
Created by Legislative Act, December 10, 1812, from Baldwin County. Named for the gallant South Carolinian, Sergeant William Jasper, who fell mortally wounded at the siege of Savannah, on October 9, 1779, while engaged in the rescue of his colors. Monticello, the county-seat, named for the home of Thomas Jefferson, near Charlottesville, Va.
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Jasper in the Unless an exception be made of Chatham, Revolution. there is not a county in the State of Geor- gia richer than Jasper in the shrines of Revolutionary patriots and the graves in which these stern heroes of independence sleep are not only well kept but are marked by substantial monuments. Within the quiet precincts of the little burial ground of the Baptist church, at Monticello, there is an ancient tomb on which the following epitaph is inscribed :
Sacred to the memory of William Penn, who depart- ed this life on the 26th of July 1836. Aged 74 years. The deceased bore arms in the defence of his country during the Revolutionary War, and after long enjoy- ing the blessings thus obtained, he peacefully and joy- fully resigned them for a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.
In the Methodist cemetery, at Monticello, there is a monument yellow with age, but well preserved, on which the following inscription appears :
Sacred to the memory of Thomas Grant, who de- parted this life on the 27th of November, 1827. Aged 71 years, 6 months and 6 days. The deceased was a native Virginian. In early life he was a soldier of the Revolution, and for more than forty years a soldier of the Cross. The annals of the M. E. Church, of which he was a pious member, record his extensive beney- olence, and his memorial is in the hearts of the brethren. His warfare is accomplished, and he has entered into rest.
Under an old cedar tree of gigantic proportions, there sleeps within this same enclosure an officer whose grave is several years older than Thomas Grant's. It is en- closed in a granite box with a gray marble slab on top. At the head of the slab are engraved several weapons which he is supposed to have used at different times. They include a hatchet and a dagger. There is also a
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GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS
scabbard for the latter, around which is coiled a serpent. It seems to be of Mexican make. There is also a flag which bears five stars and ten stripes. The slab contains the following inscription :
Sacred to the memory of General William Lee, who departed this life on the 15th of March, 1815. Aged 38 years. Esteemed and honored by his country and universally beloved. His benevolence was unbounded and his virtues exemplary. He lived as he died, fear- less of death and in joyful hope of immortal felicity. Here shall the morn her earliest tears bestow Here the first roses of the year shall blow Where angels with their silver wings o'ershade The ground now sacred by his ashes made.
In the burial-ground of the Jordan family, six miles east of Monticello, lie the ashes of Thomas Meriwether, a soldier of the Revolution. He was a native of Amherst County, Va., where he was born in 1761. Removing from Virginia to Georgia, sometime after the struggle for in- dependence, he settled with other members of his family, on the Broad River, in Oglethorpe ; but several years later he followed his children and his son-in-law into Jasper. He was at one time employed as a scout in the neighbor- hood of Richmond; and afterwards at the siege of York town he was chosen to guard a number of prisoners.
Jeremiah Campbell, A Reddick, and Sion Barnett were also.Revolutionary patriots. The latter was at the battle of Cowpens. He is said to have published the first proclamation of the famous Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence.
Mr. Yancey, another hero of the Revolution, stood within five feet of Pulaski when the latter fell at the siege of Savannah. Zephaniah Harvey, a patriot of '76, is buried somewhere in Jasper.
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Jackson Spring. During the period of the Seminole War Andrew Jackson, while enroute to Flor- ida, at the head of his troops, found a spring of water in the midst of a luxuriant grove of oaks and poplars, not far from the site of the present town of Monticello. Here, to obtain rest and refreshment for his tired men, he camped for nearly two weeks in the shade of the forest trees. The locality has ever since been called Jackson Spring in honor of the illustrious soldier, who soon afterwards became President of the United States. Reuben Jordan, in 1828, purchased and settled the planta- tion which then embraced Jackson Spring, and ever since then the property has been owned by his descend- ants. Jackson Spring has been the scene of many famous barbecues and political gatherings in times past and has been the silent witness of no small amount of history- making. Sergeant Jasper Chapter of the D. A. R. is planning to mark Jackson Spring at an early date.
Hillsboro: The In the beginning of the century, John Birth-Place of Hill came from North Carolina and Senator Hill. settled in Jasper County, Ga. He was a farmer of very moderate means and of limited education, but a man of strong individuality, ex- tensive reading, and deep reflection. He believed in edu- cation, religion, and temperance, and he gathered around his home a school-house, a church, and a temperance society in each of which he became the dominant spirit. He was also an enterprising citizen, foremost in every movement looking to the public good, and beloved by his neighbors. The little town was named for him, and to this day is called Hillsboro. When quite a young man, he married Miss Sarah Parham, a woman with a noble and tender heart, deeply religious, and a most excellent wife and mother. In this home, where, with the simplicity of perfect faith, God was honored and love reigned, the
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GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS
biography of Benjamin Harvey Hill begins. Born Sep- tember 14, 1823, he was the fifth of six sons and the seventh of nine children. From an early age, he worked with his brothers, side by side with the few slaves on his father's plantation. In this respect no difference was made between the children and the slaves; they were all made to work early and late. Aided by her daughters, Mrs. Hill did the entire work of the household, spun, wove, cut and made the clothing for husband, children, and slaves. When Ben was ten years old his father moved to Troup County and settled in a little place called Long Cane. The boys walked the entire distance, helping to drive the cattle, while father, mother, and sisters rode in wagons containing the household furniture and per- sonal belongings .*
Original Settlers. Among the early settlers of Jasper, according to White, were: Jeremiah Cox, Richard Carter, Adam Glazier, Sylvanus Walker, Joel Wise, Charles Cargile, William Scott, Stockely Morgan, Anthony Dyer, General J. W. Burney, Isaac Hill, Captain Eli Glover, Major Person, William Penn, Thomas Broters, James Smith, S. Barnett, W. Dozier, John Powell, A. Chapman, W. L. Thompson, R. Jorden, F. Malone, S. Malone, M. Whitfield, D. Meriwether, Nathan Fish, E. Lovejoy, N. Williams and William Reid.
William Henderson settled near Monticello in 1818, coming from Wilkes. With his brother Elisha, he was a soldier of the War of 1812.
The Campbells and the Anthonys located in Jasper when the county was first opened.
John Maddux came in 1808, settling four miles west of Monticello, on the Indian Springs road. William H.
* Benjamin H. Hill, Jr., in Senator Benjamin H. Hill, of Georgia: His Life, Speeches and Writings.
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Preston, a native of South Carolina, became a resident of Jasper, in 1812, settling on Murder creek. The Betts family also located in Jasper about this time.
Jonas H. Holland came to Georgia on horseback, in 1816, from Virginia, and built a home in Jasper. He was only sixteen when he married, his bride only thirteen. The parents of both opposed the match, but an uncle gave bond to take care of the bride, and the ceremony was performed. Placing his child-wife on horseback, he started upon the long journey through the wilderness; but, after arriving in Georgia, his youthful bride sur- vived only two years.
Durrell Leverett, a pioneer settler of French extrac- tion, came to Jasper in 1824. He reached the age of 91 and died at the old family homestead near Machen.
Acquilla Phelps, David Johnston, Wm. Hardwick, John W. Hardwick and John Willson were also among the first comers into Jasper.
In 1810, quite a colony came from the Broad River settlement in Oglethorpe, including Thomas Meriwether, David Meriwether, George Meriwether, Colonel Fleming Jordan, Dr. David Reese, and others.
Jasper's Noted Dr. Milton Anthony, one of the most dis- Residents. tinguished of Georgia's ante-bellum phy-
sicians, practiced his profession for several years at Monticello. He afterwards removed to Augusta where he became the founder of the oldest medical college in the State.
Captain Samuel Butts, an officer of distinction in the Georgia militia, who lost his life in the battle of Challib- bee, lived here. The county of Butts was named in his honor.
Alfred Cuthbert, an ante-bellum United States Senator, spent the greater part of his long and useful career in Monticello, where he practiced law, when not kept by official duties in Washington, D. C.
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GEORGIA 'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS
David A. Reese, a member of Congress before the war, lived at Monticello.
Benjamin H. Hill, one of Georgia's most illustrious sons, a United States Senator, a member of Congress and a matchless orator, was born on his father's plantation, at Hillsboro, in Jasper.
General David Adams, an officer of note in the State militia, lived here. He served with distinction, under General Floyd, in the Indian wars, after which he repre- sented Jasper in the Legislature for twenty-five years. He was several times Speaker of the House.
Charles L. Bartlett, a distinguished lawyer and legis- lator, who for several years past, has represented the sixth district of Georgia in Congress, was born here.
The present Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas, Hon. T. J. Browne spent his early boyhood in Jasper-the county of his birth.
Harvie Jordan, for years one of the recognized lead- ers among the farmers of Georgia, was born in Jasper where he still owns large interests.
Robert P. Trippe, a former occupant of the Supreme Bench of Georgia and an ante-bellum member of Con- gress, first saw the light of day in Jasper.
JEFF DAVIS
Created by Legislative Act, August 18, 1905, from Appling and Coffee Counties. Named for the illustrious Jefferson Davis, first, last, and only President of the Confederate States of America. (See The Arrest of Mr. Davis, Chapter II; The Last Meeting of the Confederate Cabinet, p. 211.) Hazlehurst, the county-seat, was named for the civil engineer who surveyed the Macon and Brunswick Railroad, some time in the late fifties.
Putting Mr. Davis in Irons: The Story Told by His Prison Physician.
Volume II.
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Hazlehurst. Hazlehurst, the county-seat of Jeff Davis, came into existence when the old Macon and Brunswick Railroad, now a part of the Southern, was first built; but the town for more than half a century was marked by little growth. In 1900 the population was only 793. Today it is over 2,000. At the intersection of the Georgia and Florida with the Southern system, Hazle- hurst is today a wideawake trade center, 189 miles from Atlanta, 86 from Brunswick, 128 from Augusta and 104 from Madison, Fla. Three churches are represented in the religious life of the town, Presbyterian, Methodist and Baptist, besides numerous fraternal orders; and there are also prosperous business establishments, two strong banks, an excellent graded high school and a number of well equipped grammar schools.
Original Settlers. Some of the pioneer settlers of the county most of whom established them- selves at or near Hazlehurst and who were the founders of the town may be mentioned as follows: Millard Sur- rency, for whom the town of Surrency in Appling County, was named; Thomas Pace, W. H. Pace, J. C. Tatem, J. H. Graham, for whom the town of Graham, in Jeff Davis County was named; D. L. Girtman, A. J. Wilcox, James Council, J. E. Grady, Col. R. T. Williams, B. N. Williams, Rev. J. L. Williams, Napoleon Weatherly and Dr. James H. Latimer. Among the prominent residents of Jeff Davis at the time the new county was formed in 1905 were : Judge J. A. Cromartie who located here in 1885 where he dealt in naval stores; Lott W. Johnson, J. J. Frazier, George F. Armstrong, Judge Henry Cook, Dr. J. M. Christian, Dr. John M. Hall, R. H. Ellis, W. H. Ellis, T. J. Ellis, Henry C. Girtman, Dr. Wm. M. Girtman, R. J. Roddenberry, J. E. Curry, L. W. Speer and Dr. J. IV. Barber.
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Men of Note. When a member of the State Legislature in 1903, Judge John A. Cromartie, of Hazlehurst, introduced an amendment to the State Con- stitution providing for the creation of eight new Georgia Counties. It passed the General Assembly in 1904; and in the year following these counties were duly created according to law. Jeff Davis was one of the counties formed at this time. The people of the proposed new county first selected the name of "Cromartie" in honor of the distinguished author of the Constitutional amend- ment; but they were over-ruled in this preference because of a policy adopted by the lawmakers to name none of the counties after a living person. Thereupon the name was changed to Jeff Davis; but the compliment to Judge Cromartie was nevertheless unique in character especial- ly since the second choice of his fellow citizens of the county was the illustrious first and last President of the Confederate States. Hon. Lott W. Johnson, president of the Citizens Bank of Hazlehurst, has represented the county with distinction in the General Assembly of Geor- gia.
JEFFERSON
Created by Legislative Act, February 20, 1796, from Burke and Warren Counties. Named for Thomas Jefferson, founder of the Democratic party, author of the Declaration of Independence, and third President of the United States. Louisville, the county-seat, was designated as Georgia's first permanent capital. Named for Louisville, Jefferson County, Ky., a town founded in 1779 by Colonel George Rogers Clarke and named for Louis XVI of France. Jefferson originally included a part of Glascock.
Galphinton: The Story of an Old Indian Trading Post. Volume II.
George Galphin: A Merchant Prince of the Georgia Forest.
Volume II.
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Queensboro: A Lost Town. Some eight miles to the north-west of Galphinton, a trading post was established about the year 1769 by a band of Scotch-Irish settlers, who called the place Queensboro in honor of Queen Anne. It was located in an angle made by the Ogeechee River with a large creek which enters the stream at this point. The locality was somewhat elevated and seemed to meet the two-fold re- quirement of a stronghold which was secure from Indian assaults and conducive to general good health. Colonel Jones estimates that in the immediate vicinity of the trading post there were at one time as many as two hundred families settled. It was sometimes called the Irish Settlement or the Irish Reserve because of the pre- dominance of this racial element, most of the settlers having come either directly or indirectly from the North of Ireland. George Galphin and John Rae, were instru- mental in obtaining for them a reservation of 50,000 acres of land on the branches of the Ogeechee River. They were Presbyterians in religious faith and were served for many years by Rev. David Bothwell, a man of unusual force of intellect and character who came to them from the home-land in response to earnest overtures. Queensboro survived for a number of years; but when the town of Louisville arose only two miles off, it gradually declined in population until finally it ceased to exist.
St. George's Parish: A Nest of Loyalists. It was not until the battle of Lexing- ton that the Scotch-Irish settlers at Queensboro in the Parish of St. George renounced allegiance to the Crown of England. The reason for the strong loyalist sentiment which prevailed in this part of the Province were numerous. In the first place, the settlers lived on the frontier belt, where they were constantly exposed to attacks from the Indians. They needed the protection of
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England. Not a few of them were wealthy planters, who possessed large estates. Moreover, they resented a con- dition of affairs which they laid at the doors of the med- dlesome Puritans of Boston and they did not see why Georgia should become a party to New England's quarrel. So following the famous meeting at Tondee's Tavern, there was entered, on September 28, 1774, a protest from the Parish of St. George, in which the resolutions adopted at Savannah, on August 10, 1774, were condemned as "reflecting improperly upon the King and Parliament of England." It was signed by the following freeholders, who were the earliest settlers of what afterwards became the county of Jefferson :
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