USA > Georgia > Georgia's landmarks, memorials and legends, Volume I > Part 53
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Dr. I. S. K. Axson : But Dr. Holmes was not the only The Grand-Father of Mrs. Woodrow Wilson. divine associated with Midway whose name has been trumpeted abroad. One of the most beloved pastors of Midway was Dr. I. S. K. Axson, the grandfather of Mrs. Woodrow Wilson, the present mistress of the White House in Washington. Dr. Axson was born in Charleston, S. C., on October 3, 1813. When a very young man he served the church as co- pastor, with the Rev. Robert Quarterman; and, after the
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latter's death, as pastor in full charge. Here he remained for seventeen years. He declined a number of calls to wider fields, and relinquished the work only when dis- abled by a serious throat trouble. For a short while he became president of a female college at Greensboro, Ga .; but, his health improving, he re-entered the pastorate and for thirty-four years served the old Independent Presby- terian church of Savannah. Here, during the long pas- torate of her grand-father, Ellen Louise Axson, destined to become the first lady of the land, was born. Her father, the Rev. Samuel E. Axson, was also a Presbyterian clergyman. He was a native of Midway, and for eighteen years was pastor of a church at Rome, Ga., where the girlhood days of Mrs. Wilson were spent and where her brother, Dr. Stockton Axson, who heads the department of English at Princeton, was born. Returning to Mrs. Wilson's grand-father, Dr. I. S. K. Axson, he excelled as a preacher. To quote the historian of Midway, "He always brought beaten oil into the sanctuary." He usually read his sermons from manuscript, but the con- gregation was trained to this method of delivery and he never lacked for eager listeners. Dr. Axson died on March 31, 1891, in his seventy-ninth year and was buried at Laurel Grove, in Savannah.
Individual mention cannot be made of the various pastors; but the memory of the pioneer servant of God, Rev. John Osgood, who accompanied the little flock to Georgia, is still fragrant in the traditions of the settle- ment. Covering a period of one hundred and twelve years, the church was served by the following pastors: Rev. John Osgood, 1754-1773; Rev. Moses Allen, 1777- 1778; Rev. Abiel Holmes, 1785-1791; Rev. Cyrus Gilder- sleeve, 1791-1811; Rev. Murdock Murphy, 1811-1823; Rev. Robert Quarterman, 1823-1847 ; Rev. I. S. K. Axson, 1836- 1853, co-pastor during the greater part of this time; Rev.
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T. S. Winn, 1848-1855, co-pastor for the entire period; Rev. T. L. Buttolph, 1854-1867; Rev. Francis H. Bow- man, 1856-1859, co-pastor with Dr. Buttolph. There were occasional intervals when the church was without pas- toral ministrations. Rev. Moses Allen was made a prisoner of war during the Revolution and lost his life while attempting to escape from a prison-ship, at Savan- nah. The longest tenure of service was enjoyed by Rev. Robert Quarterman, the first son of old Midway to occupy the pulpit. It is of some interest to note in this connec- tion that while the Midway church was Congregational in form of government, it was served throughout almost continuously by Presbyterian ministers, the only excep- tions being Rev. John Osgood and Rev. Abiel Holmes. It supported the Presbyterian church, was often so desig- nated itself, and, though it produced eighty-two clergy- men, some of whom became Baptists, some Methodists, and some Episcopalians, not one of them embraced the Congregational system .*
The Parish of St. John Stands Alone For Independence.
Volume II.
Two Generals of the Revolution Honored By the Federal Government. In the center of the famous Midway burial ground the United States government, at a cost of $10,000, is erecting a superb monumental shaft to commemorate two illustri- ous soldiers of the Revolution, both sons of old Midway; Gen. James Screven and Gen. Daniel-Stewart. (See Vol. II). The former was killed near Midway church, Novem- ber 22, 1778, while engaged in reconnoitering. The latter, an ancestor of President Roosevelt, was only a lad when
* History of Midway Congregational Church, by Rev. James Stacy, Newnan, 1899.
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hostilities with England began, but he distinguished him- self in the struggle which followed. The Midway Monu- ment Commission is composed of the following members, most of them descendants of Revolutionary sires identi- fied with this historic settlement : Honorary Chairman, Ex-President Theodore Roosevelt; Chairman, Hon. New- ton J. Norman; Vice-Chairman, United States Senator Augustus O. Bacon; Treasurer, Col. E. C. Miller; Secre- tary, Col. Neyle Colquitt; Congressman Charles G. Ed- wards, Col. A. Gordon Cassels, Capt. Thomas F. Screven, Capt. Stephen N. Harris, Hon. A. F. Winn, Col. James B. Way, and Col. W. H. Martin. The unveiling of the monument will probably occur either in the late summer or in the early fall of 1913. In addition to former Presi- dent Roosevelt, an invitation has been extended to the present Chief-Executive of the nation, Hon. Woodrow Wilson, whose wife, nee Ellen Louisa Axson, is a grand- daughter of the lamented Dr. I. S. K. Axson, long pastor of the Midway church. Dr. Samuel J. Axson, a patriot of .'76, sleeps in the old cemetery. Here, too, repose a number of others who bore arms under Washington.
The Historic Old Burial Ground. Volume II.
Sunbury : An Extinct
Metropolis Once a Rival of Savannah. Volume II.
Fort Morris: The Last to Lower the Colonial Flag. Volume II.
Colonel's Island : One of the Arcadian retreats of the coast of Georgia, this picturesque little island was at one time called Bermuda. It was so
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named because it was settled long prior to the Revolution by pioneer emigrants from the famous group of islands of this name in the North Atlantic. It was not until 1778 that it was rechristened. At this time the contribu- tions of the island to the official lists of the Revolution were so note-worthy, that the name was changed by universal adoption. Says Dr. Stacy,1 in a foot-note to his History of Midway Church: "According to tradition there were as many as six Colonels living on the island, an extraordinary statement when we consider its diminu- tive size, for it was not more than three miles across it in either direction. Who these Colonels were I have been unable thus far to ascertain. Colonel Alexander Herron had a grant there; and Colonels Screven, White, Elbert, Baker, Maxwell, and McIntosh were at different times at or near Sunbury, several of them owning plantations upon the island at the close of the war. But whether these are the ones to whom this honor belongs I am unable to say." Moreover, the well-to-do planters on Colonel's Island furnished most of the slave labor by which Fort Morris on the neighboring heights, was con- structed.
Says another local chronicler :2 "No one knows now for a positive fact who the Colonels were. It has often been said that Colonel James Maxwell was one and that Colonel Law was another; but there is no record to sub- stantiate the claim. However, it is on record that Alex- ander Herron, of Oglethorpe's regiment, in 1748, peti- tioned for 500 acres of land 'on an island called Bermuda, facing St. Catherine's Sound,' whereon he had been some time settled. The grant was made to him and his home on Colonel's Island was called 'Heron's Point'; but no one knows which point on the island was given this desig- nation. Maxwell Point was named for Colonel Audley Maxwell, who came later. Butterfield Point, the old home
1 History of Midway Church by Dr. James Stacy, p. 233, Newnan, Ga. 1899.
2 Letter written to the author by Miss Julia King, of Dunham, Ga., on Colonel's Island.
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of General Butterfield, was on the north end of the island. This was afterwards the property of Colonel John Baker, of Revolutionary fame. In his will he says: 'I give and bequeath unto my son, John Baker, one tract of land on the Colonel's Island, containing four hundred acres, known as the Butterfield Point, and I give and bequeath to my son, Stephen Baker, one tract of land containing four hundred and thirty-seven acres, on the Colonel's Island, where my lumber yard is at present.' Butterfield Point is today known as the Harris Place."
From a well known Georgia lady, connected with the Law family of this State, it is learned that one of the Colonels for whom the island was named was undoubtedly Colonel Joseph Law.3 He called his beautiful country- seat, overlooking the waters of St. Catharine's Sound, "Woodville", and here at the ripe age of 88 he ended his days. Colonel Law was a native of Scotland. He emi- grated to Charleston in 1720, and came to Georgia in 1754. He was five times married. United States Senator A. O. Bacon is a descendant of this pioneer Georgian. Colonel's Island is not an island in the ordinary sense of the word. It is an elevated tract of land surrounded by low marshes; but frequently these marshes are flooded by the swollen tides, necessitating the building of a cause- way by which it can be approached over land, while from the water front, at the mouth of the Midway River, it is reached by means of inlets. The soil of the island is exceedingly fertile and the oyster beds produce in large quantities some of the finest specimens of the luscious bivalves.
White House. There were two places known by this name in Revolutionary days. One was Mckay's trading house, a half-mile west of the town of Augusta, and the other stood near Ogeechee Ferry, in Liberty County. At the latter a skirmish occurred on
3 Mrs. S. J. Jones, of Albany, Ga. See also "Colonial Families in America" by Eleanor Lexington.
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June 28, 1779, between Major Baker and thirty men, who were on their way to Sunbury, and a company of Georgia Royalists under Captain Goldsmith, in which several of the Tories were killed and wounded. Among the former was Lieutenant Gray, whose head was almost completely severed from his body by a single blow from the sword of Robert Sallelle.
In the fall of 1781 there was a British garrison here, commanded by Captain Johnston. Taking Stallings' dragoons, Carr's volunteers and Mckay's rifle men, Col. Jackson made a descent upon the place on November 18th, captured the pickets, and summoned Johnston to sur- render. The demand was promptly complied with, but just as Johnston was in the act of handing his sword to Jackson, Captain Goldsmith, who had long terrorized that part of the country, was killed by Patrick Carr. Thinking a massacre imminent, Johnston rushed into the house, ordered his men to resume their arms, and in the end Jackson was compelled to retreat .*
Georgia's Oldest Emulous of the brave deeds of men
Organization of like Screven and Stewart and McIntosh, Cavalry. the sons of these men and of those who fought with them, met together and organized-either in 1791 or in 1792-the Liberty Inde- pendent Troop. It survives to the present day-the old- est cavalry organization in Georgia. With the single exception of the Chatham Artillery, it is the oldest mili- tary organization of any kind: a distinction of which the county may well be proud. In the various State tourna- ments which have been held from time to time, the Lib- erty Independent Troop has seldom failed to win the trophies. Its record in this respect is phenomenal. In 1845, another company was organized in the upper part of the county, viz .: The Liberty Guards, an organization
* Authority: Mrs. J. L. Walker, of Waycross, State Historian, D. A. R.
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which likewise exists today. To quote Dr. Stacy: "These companies have never failed to make the offer of their services, when needed by their country, and they have won laurels on every knighted field."
Religious Work Among the Slaves: The Labors of Dr. Chas. C. Jones, Sr. Volume UT.
One Hundred Years of Usefulness: The Midway Centennial. Volume TI.
Laurel View: The Home of Senator Elliott.
Volume IT.
Liberty's Oldest Family: The Maxwells. Volume TI.
The Le Conte Pear Tree : How A World Renowned Product of Georgia Originated.
Volume IT.
The End: Old Mid- Says Dr. Stacy : "From the organi- way Passes Into the zation of the Dorchester church, in Land of Memories. 1781, may be reckoned the final dis- solution of the Midway Congrega- tional church, though virtually extinct, even as early as the removal of Dr. Buttolph in the fall of 1867. The church was never formally dissolved, but simply ex- hausted itself by repeated colonization, together with
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numerous departures to other localities. On the removal of Dr. Buttolph, the building was left in the hands of the colored members, who continued to use it and were organized the next year, 1868, into a separate Presbyte- rian church, with 600 members." The marble font which stood in front of the pulpit was given to the Dor- chester church, while the old bell was given to the church at Flemington. The silver pieces which composed the communion service were also divided between these churches; but some of the pieces have disappeared. Strange to say, the church at Walthourville, Midway's eldest born daughter, received nothing in this division. For a number of years the church property at Midway was leased to the colored people, who agreed to keep it in repair, and also to tend the little grave-yard adjacent ; but the sacred old heir-loom has since reverted to the Midway Society, an organization which exists solely for the purpose of preserving this sacred shrine. The last record in the session book bears date of October, 1867. To quote the words of the Midway historian: "Thus, after one hundred and thirteen years, this old church, venerable with years and abundant in fruit, yielding to the stern demand of an imperious necessity, laid aside her armor and, drawing around her the drapery of her couch, laid herself down to rest."
Distinguished Descendants of Mid- way: A Roll of Honor. To enumerate the distinguished Georgians who either directly or indirectly trace descent to the pio- neer settlers of Midway is a task of serious proportions. Indeed, it may be gravely questioned if the record made by the Dorchester colonists on the coast of Georgia can be sur- passed anywhere in American annals. The district which they settled at no time occupied an area of more than twenty miles square and the membership of the little
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church at Midway scarcely enrolled at any time more than three hundred and fifty communicants. Yet the remotest waves of the sea have borne the missionaries of the Mid- way settlement, while the highest public honors in the gift of the nation have been conferred upon men who have come from this historic stock. Six of the counties of Georgia are memorials to the patriotism of the Mid- way settlement: Liberty, Gwinnett, Hall, Baker, Screven, and Stewart.
The conspicuous part taken the struggle for independence by the settlers at Midway has already been discussed at some length. It is enough to say here that of the three Colonial patriots who signed the great charter of freedom for Georgia, two of this number were from the Parish of St. John. They were Lyman Hall and Button Gwinnett. The latter resided on St. Cath- arine's Island. He was an Englishman, and strictly speaking was not of the Dorchester colonists; but he became thoroughly identified with them in opposition to the oppressive measures of the British Crown. Dr. Hall was an active member of the Midway church. He was prominent in the very earliest meetings of the patriots and was for months the sole representative from the Colony of Georgia in the Continental Congress at Phila- delphia.
Both of these Signers of the Declaration of Independ- ence subsequently occupied the Chief-Executive chair of the State; an office likewise held by two other representa- tives of the Midway settlement: Richard Howley and Nathan Brownson. The two last named served also in the Continental Congress. Nathan Brownson, like Dr. Hall, was a physician but a man active in public affairs. He was also one of the members of the convention called to frame the Federal Constitution, in 1787. Three United States Senators are among the sons of Midway: John Elliott, who served from 1819 to 1825; Alfred Iverson,
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who served from 1842 until the outbreak of the war; and Augustus O. Bacon, who is now serving his fourth term in this high office to which he was first elected in 1894. Two of these, John Elliott and Alfred Iverson, served in the national House of Representatives, while the latter afterwards became a Brigadier-General in the Confed- erate Army, a rank to which his son, Alfred Iverson, Jr., likewise attained. Three other residents of the district won Congressional honors: Benjamin Andrew, John A. Cuthbert, and William B. Fleming, while several nar- rowly missed the coveted goal, among them, Samuel M. Varnadoe, in 1856, and Walter W. Sheppard, in 1908. The latter has since become Judge of the Atlantic Circuit.
To the foregoing list of distinguished civilians may be added: John E. Ward, who became the first United States Minister to China, and William E. Law, a noted jurist of Savannah, who delivered the address at the Centennial Celebration at Midway in 1852.
Two of the most distinguished scientific scholars of the nineteenth century were natives of the county of Lib- erty: John and Joseph LeConte. Both were distin- guished educators, who, after teaching in South Carolina and Georgia, became identified with the University of California : an institution which they established. The former specialized in physics, the latter in geology ; but they roamed together the whole realm of scientific thought and were most appropriately styled the Gemini of the Scientific Heavens. They were each the recipients of numerous badges of distinction from home and foreign institutions of learning and from various scientific bodies throughout the world. The father of these eminent educators, Louis LeConte, was a man of wide note, dis- tinguished as a naturalist, a mathematician, and a scholar ; and so was Dr. J. M. B. Harden, a young physi- cian, who married Jane LeConte, his daughter. Rev.
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Patrick H. Mell, D. D., the distinguished parliamentarian and divine, for years Chancellor of the University of Georgia and Moderator of the Southern Baptist Conven- tion ; Rev. Daniel Baker, D. D., who established the Pres- byterian College, at Austin, Texas; Prof. Milton E. Bacon, who founded the LaGrange Female College, at LaGrange, Ga .; Rev. John W. Baker, D. D., a professor for years in Oglethorpe University, near Milledgeville, Ga .; Capt. S. D. Bradwell, a former President of the State Normal School, at Athens, Ga., were descendants of the Midway settlers and natives of the district. To this same group of educators belong also Dr. William Louis Jones, a kinsman of the LeContes; Prof. Samuel M. Varnadoe, Prof. John B. Mallard, and others.
Dr. . William McWhir, the noted principal of the Academy at Sunbury, was a native of Ireland, though identified with the Midway settlement for thirty years.
In the field of literature the descendants of the Dor- chester Puritans have risen to the most eminent distinc- tion. Perhaps the best known member of the group is the Rev. Francis R. Goulding, D. D., who wrote "The Young Marooners". This charming story of adventure is one of the standard juvenile classics of the world, rank- ing with the two great masterpieces, Swiss Family Robinson and Robinson Crusoe, and is today read wherever the English language is spoken. The book has been translated into numerous foreign tongues. Maria J. McIntosh, writer of stories for children, once a popular favorite, was born at Sunbury. Joseph LeConte's great text-book on Geology is used in many American colleges and universities. His work on Evolution, in which he undertakes to harmonize the teachings of science with the revealed truths of religion, is admittedly the ablest treatise of this character. Colonel Charles C. Jones, Jr., whose scholarly researches entitle him to the highest rank
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among Georgia historians, spent his boyhood days in the Midway settlement, where his father, Dr. Charles C. Jones, labored for the uplift of the slave and where lived his grandfather, Major John Jones, who was killed at the siege of Savannah. Chancellor Mell was the author of the famous "Manual", a text-book on parliamentary procedure, still the recognized standard of authority among deliberative assemblies throughout the South. Theological books without number have been written by the various ministers of the gospel from Midway who have attained to eminence; but these are too technical in character to be here enumerated. Dr. Joseph Jones, an eminent physician and educator of New Orleans, was born in Liberty County ; and his great work on "Medical and Surgical Memories" is a volume of profound interest, written in a style both graphic and popular.
To the forces of industrialism engaged in the great work of developing the material resources of the South this settlement has contributed Grant Wilkins, of Atlanta, a distinguished civil engineer.
General James Screven and General Daniel Stewart were both natives of the Midway district. The former fell mortally wounded within a short distance of the Midway church. The latter, when only fifteen years of age, joined the American army and served with gallantry throughout the entire Revolution. Colonel John Mc- Intosh, though a native of Darien, lived for some time at Sunbury, where he won renown by his gallant defence of Fort Morris; and here too was born his distinguished son, Colonel James S. McIntosh, who lost his life in the War with Mexico. Colonel John Baker, an officer of note in the Revolution, was a native of Midway; and so was
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Major John Jones, who was killed by a cannon-ball at the siege of Savannah. The list includes also Adjutant- General Kell, who was First Lieutenant, under Admiral Semmes, in command of the famous Alabama; the Con- federate Brigadier-General Claudius C. Wilson, the two Iversons, father and son, both of whom attained the rank of Confederate Brigadier-Generals ; and numerous others. Commodore James M. McIntosh, who died on the eve of the Civil War, lies buried in the cemetery at Midway, and the noted General Lachlan McIntosh, of the Revolu- tion, was also identified for some time with the Midway settlement.
But the heroic list will not be complete without adding thereto the name of the distinguished Rough Rider, who won his spurs at San Juan, in the Spanish-American War, and became the twenty-sixth President of the United States-Theodore Roosevelt.
His mother, whose maiden name was Martha Bulloch, was the grand-daughter of General Daniel Stewart, of Midway, and the great-grand-daughter of Governor Archibald Bulloch, of Savannah, both of whom were among the stoutest of Georgia patriots.
President Woodrow Wilson is also connected by mar- riage with the Midway settlement. His wife, nee Ellen Louisa Axson, is a grand-daughter of Rev. I. S. K. Axson, for years the beloved and honored pastor of the church.
Without undertaking to mention by name the various ministers of the gospel who have come from the Midway settlement, it may be said that, under the preaching of the Rev. Daniel Baker, himself a man of very great note, were converted Bishop Stephen Elliott, of the Episcopal church, Dr. Richard Fuller, one of the most noted Bap- tist divines in the South, and Hon. Rhett W. Barnwell, a member of Congress from South Carolina, and President of South Carolina College. The first native born Presby-
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terian minister in Georgia was also a son of old Midway : Dr. Thomas Goulding. The list of eminent preachers also includes, Dr. John Jones, who was for years chap- lain of the Senate of Georgia. He was a cousin of Dr. Charles C. Jones, and was sometimes called "the Fight- ing Parson" because of his courageous mettle, but there was never a man whose life was more sweetly attuned to gentleness. Rev. Robert Quarterman, who was for twenty-four years pastor of the Midway church and the first native of the settlement to become the shepherd of the flock, must not be omitted. Dr. James Stacy, the historian of the Midway church; Dr. R. Q. Mallard, for years pastor of the Napoleon Avenue church, of New Orleans; Dr. Donald Fraser, for years pastor of the Presbyterian church, at Decatur, Ga.,-these are likewise entitled to special mention, because of pre-eminent attain- ments; and though not themselves natives of Liberty, two other distinguished divines, not hitherto mentioned, are descendants of these Dorchester Puritans: Dr. Timothy Dwight Witherspoon, for years an honored professor in the Theological Seminary, at Louisville, Ky., and Bishop James Osgood Andrew, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. From the Midway settlement have come not less than eighty-one ministers of the gospel, and eight missionaries to foreign fields. Well may it be asked: Can the record of the Midway Congregational church, in usefulness whether to the cause of religion or to the service of the State, be surpassed? In the language of Bishop Stevens, these pioneers of faith constituted in large measure the moral and intellectual nobility of the Province; and none will dare to challenge the words of Dr. Stacy: "The earth has produced but one Niagara, but one Mount Blanc, but one Lake Como. So it has given us but one Midway church."
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