USA > Georgia > Georgia's landmarks, memorials and legends, Volume I > Part 69
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77
2 Authority: Hon. Walter E. Steed, of Butler, Ga., former State Senator.
948
GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS
Georgia and afterwards characterized him as the most extraordinary man he had met in America.
The town of Reynolds was founded by Dr. Coleman, early in the fifties, and named for L. C. Reynolds, Esq. Daniel Whatley, a soldier of the Revolution, lies buried in'a grave near Reynolds. He died at the age of 104.
The old Crowell Methodist church, established in 1826 and named for the well known Indian agent who succeed- ed Colonel Hawkins, is still one of the time-honored land- marks of this section. It occupies a site which belonged at one time to the old Indian Agency ,and is some three miles from the river, on the wire road. The original church structure was built of logs. Two others succeeded it in after years, both of which were built by Peter Cor- bin.
Original Settlers. As given by White, the original set- tlers of Taylor were : Governor Towns, Dr. Coleman, H. H. Long, James Ravel, Osborn Downing, J. M. Thompson, S. Taylor, A. Adams, John Jones, B. Posey, Thomas Walden, and C. F. Ansley.
We are indebted to late Mr. Hugh Neisler, at the time of his death one of the oldest residents of Taylor, for the following supplementary list of pioneer settlers. On account of the large number of well-to-do Georgia fami- lies, then resident in the neighborhood of the old agency, the list is a very important one. The names are as fol- lows: Peter Corbin, Henry Crowell, William Crowell, John S. Brooks, Daniel Whatley and Reuben Windham, both patriots of the Revolution; Professor Asbury Wil- son, a pioneer teacher; Dr. Jesse Beall, David Beeland,
949
TAYLOR
Zach Beeland, Nathaniel Bradford, Rev. Joseph Brad- ford, Dr. James M. Dugger; William H. Fickling, a for- mer representative; Dr. James M. Dugger, John Davis, Jesse Cason, John Gardner, Rev. William Griffith, Samuel Duke, Sol Lockett, Archibald Gray, James Gray, Rev. John P. Glover, Rev. James Hamliton, Theoderick Montfort, Joel E. Montfort, Peter Montfort, James Griffith, John Hankerson, .John Mathis, Gideon New- some, a former representative; James Mills, Jackson Perkins, Adam Wainwright, Britton Pope, Jacob Parr, William Parr, Pickens Yarbrough, James Petter, R. P. Hays, Jerry MeCants, a former representative; Andy McCants, C. L. Hays, Joel Mathis, James Curington, Hamp Riley, a former representative; Jeff Riley, John Riley, Henry Mangham, Dr. Hillsman, Samuel Montgom- ery, George Hays, Harrison Hays, Stephen Johnson, Wright Johnson, Theopilus McGee, James Whittle, Elam Waters, Jerry Witcher and Frank Witcher, both of whom served in the Legislature; Dr. Lafayette Ross, James King, Persons Walker, Jack Willis, Posey Edwards, Hardy Jarrell, J. H. Caldwell, Thomas Green, William Greer, William Sibley, Wiley Kendricks, Micajah Blow, W. S. Wallace, a former representative; Nat Lucas, Timothy Bloodworth, Wellborn Jinks, Willis Jinks, Jack Windham, John Ricks, Dr. Hiram Drane, Dr. Walter Drane, Sawyer Saylor, Jake Saylor, William Tune, Dr. George Newsome, Dr. Ben Newsome, Judge Eldredge Butts, Gip Drane, George Heath, William Royal, John S. Murray, Arzie Murray, Jack Colbert, Willis Whatley, Wash Wade, John Wallace, treasurer; James Harman, clerk; Joseph Huff, ordinary, and Bill Wiggins, sheriff.
Taylor's Noted One of the wealthiest landowners of the Residents. ante-bellum period in Georgia was Peter Corbin, a native of South Carolina, who came to Georgia in 1832. The stately proportions of his fine old Colonial mansion, on the main highway between
950
GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS
Macon and Columbus, recalled the feudal days of Eng- land. He owned the ferry which crossed the Flint River at this point ; and for miles up and down the stream there was not an acre of ground, within half a day's journey of his home, which was not accredited to this wealthy land baron on the county tax books. He ran sixty-five plows on his home place, near the ferry; while further down the stream there was another plantation owned by him, on which he ran sixteen more. He is said to have kept a score of horses in his lot constantly for the use of his immediate household; and since the old wire road on which he lived was a beaten highway of travel there was scarcely an evening when some stranger of note was not a sojourner underneath his ample roof. Often the echoes of the old mansion were aroused by jubilant parties of invited guests, who enjoyed the lavish hos- pitality of the place for weeks at a time; and General Toombs, the great Mirabeau of Georgia, is said never to have passed through this section of the State without visiting his friend, Peter Corbin, who was himself for years a power in politics-a sort of Warwick in his day, without the selfish greed of the old king-maker. The highway which ran in front of the Corbin mansion was called the wire road because in former days there stretch- ed along it a line of telegraph wire, and some of the iron spikes are still to be seen on the pine trees. It formed a part of the old stage highway extending from Richmond to New Orleans. When the iron horse arrived upon the scene much of the importance which formerly attached to the old wire road was lost, but the ancient highway is still a thoroughfare for vehicles and the honk of the automobile is beginning to revive some of the strenuous life of the early days. Just after the war, the old Corbin mansion was accidentally destroyed by fire. Part of the original plantation is today the property of Mrs. Ella H. Carithers, a niece of Peter Corbin and part of it belongs to Mr. Charles H. Neisler. Near the site of the old home place, in a little burial ground today seldom visited
951
TAYLOR
even by the people of the neighborhood, sleeps the almost forgotton old pioneer who was once the uncrowned king of a forest empire.
In this same locality, for more than twenty-five years, lived an eminent naturalist and scholar, Dr. Hugh Mit- chell Neisler. He was one of the greatest linguists of his day. On graduating from the University of Georgia with honor in the class of 1824 he read an essay in original Greek. It was his custom for years to read his German Bible through, from cover to cover, at least once in twelve months ; and late in life he acquired the Spanish language in order to enjoy the subtle humor of Don Quixote. He acquired his doctor's degree from the University of Penn- sylvania; and though not a practicing physician his know- ledge of medicine was a blessing to the community in which he lived. He devoted his time largely to scientific studies and employed his leisure moments in collecting shells, insects, birds and reptiles. He was also widely known as a botanist and was honored with membership in a number of scientific bodies. He corresponded with· sav- ants on both sides of the water, and made important dis- coveries in the realm of natural phenomena to which his name was afterwards attached. Two years before his death he began to make a collection of Georgia plants to be exhibited at Budapest in the Kingdom of Hungary, but the loss of his sight from a cataract of the eye caused an abandonment of his beloved occupation. Dr. Neisler was born in Athens, Ga., March 24, 1805, and died on his plantation in Taylor County, Feb. 19, 1884, at the ripe age of 78. The earlier part of his life was devoted mainly to the cause of education, and he taught the youth of the State in various localities. Mr. Hugh Neisler, his son, lately deceased, was long an honored resident of Taylor.
Colonel Walter E. Steed, a former State Senator, a lawyer of note, and a recognized leader in this part of
952
GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS
the State, resides at Butler. He married Miss Belle Carithers, a grand-niece of Peter Corbin. In 1912 Col. Steed was chosen a Presidential Elector from the State at Large, on the Wilson ticket.
TELFAIR
Created by Legislative Act, December 10, 1807, from Wilkinson County. Named for Governor Edward Telfair, a noted Revolutionary patriot, who became Chief-Executive of the Commonwealth and accumulated a prineely estate which he left to benevolent, educational, and religious institutions. McRae, the county-seat, named for a noted Scotch family of this seetion of Georgia, represented among the earliest settlers.
Edward Telfair was twice Governor of Georgia, a member of Congress and a philanthropist of great wealth. He was born in Scotland, in 1735, on the ances- tral estate of the Telfairs near Town Head, and was trained for mercantile pursuits. At the age of twenty- three he came to America, and, after living for a while in Virginia and North Carolina, he settled in Savannah, Ga., where he accumulated a fortune in business. Not- withstanding his large interests, he became one of the earliest of Georgia's patriots, was present at the various meetings held by the Sons of Liberty in Savannah, served on important committees of the Provincial Congress, and participated in the famous magazine raid, on the night of May 11, 1775, when the local supplies of powder were seized. Mr. Telfair was subsequently placed on the Council of Safety and in 1778 was sent to the Continental Congress, a position to which he was re-elected. His name was also affixed to the- Articles of Confederation. On January 9, 1786 he became Governor of Georgia. The affairs of the State at this time were considerably entan- gled and it was due largely to his successful experience as a financier that a situation of great embarrassment was relieved. On November 9, 1789 he was again called to the helm of affairs and, during his second term, President Washington was the guest of the State of Geor- gia. The remainder of his life was devoted to the man- agement of his ample estate. He was exceedingly liberal
953
TELFAIR
in his gifts to worthy objects. Governor Telfair died in Savannah, Ga., on September 19, 1807, at the age of seventy-two. His body was first interred in the family vault in the old Colonial Cemetery but years later was removed to Bonaventure. Under the terms of his will he was placed in a rough wooden coffin with common nails in it, while he restricted the use of crape to such as were inclined to mourn. Besides accumulating a fortune in his own right, Governor Telfair married an heiress, Miss Sallie Gibbons, daughter of Willam Gibbons, a noted lawyer and patriot of Savannah. Most of the Telfair estate was eventually distributed in public benefactions. Out of it arose the Telfair Academy, the Telfair Hospital, the present handsome building of the Georgia Historical Society, and the Mary Telfair Home for Old Women. At the same time the Independent Presbyterian Church and the Bethesda Orphan Home were substantial benefi- ciaries.
In a skirmish between the whites and the Indians which occurred on the south bank of the Ocmulgee, March 9, 1818, Mitchell Griffin, a State Senator, was among the killed. It appears from the records that a man named Joseph Bush was shot by the Indians some few days prior to this engagement. His son was also severely wounded. To avenge this outrage, the citizens banded themselves together and sought redress. Finding signs of the In- dians, they pursued the trails leading from the river some distance, until they came in view of a body of savages, fifty or sixty of them advancing within gun shot. Four Indians and several whites were killed after a sharp engagement which lasted for nearly an hour.
Soldier's Branch. General Blackshear, on his march to the coast, during the War of 1812, camped at Soldier's Branch, between Jacksonville and China Hill, when a member of his command whose name
954
GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS
is unknown died on the journey. He was buried near the roadside, which circumstance gave rise to the name bestowed upon the little stream. The route of travel which General Blackshear blazed at this time through an unbroken forest was called the "Blackshear road," a name which is still used to designate it at the present day.
Joseph Williams, Jr., an officer in the Revolution, lies buried in a grave near China Hill. He was first an ensign and then a lieutenant in the North Carolina troops, serv- ing from March 1779 to May 1781. He was married in Duplin, N. C. to Mary Erwin. His children, William H., Daniel, Joseph, Mary, Rebecca, Phoebe, Nancy, and Elizabeth, grew up in Telfair, where they married and settled. The old patriot died at his home in Telfair, at the age of 90 years. His death occurred in 1850. He was a native of Duplin, N. C., where he was born, Dec. 20, 1760. His grave is in an old family burial ground, on a plantation today owned by Mr. L. W. Boney, near China Hill.
General Coffee's .John Coffee, a distinguished soldier of Unmarked Tomb. the War of 1812, a former mem- ber of Congress, and an early pioneer Georgian, whose name was given to one of the counties of this State, is buried five miles below Jack- sonville, in a neglected spot, on his old plantation. His grave is unmarked and unhonored. The boundary line between Berrien and Coffee counties was originally a part of the "Old Coffee Road," a military route blazed by this early pioneer soldier, and which for more than fifty years was one of the land-marks of Southern Geor- gia.
955
TELFAIR
General Mark General Mark Wilcox, an officer of note Wilcox. in the State militia, who received a Major- General's commission, in addition to having a county named for him, lived and died in Telfair. He married Susan Coffee, a daughter of the famous General. His father, John Wilcox, was one of the very first settlers in this pioneer belt. The younger Wilcox was well educated for the times, and not only in the military but also in the civil and political life of the State he became a dominant factor, whose influence was profoundly felt in matters of legislation.
Original Settlers. According to White, the original set- tlers of Telfair were: Joseph Williams, A. Graham, D. Graham, John Wilcox, Thomas Wilcox, Griffin Mezell, A. McLeod, Robert Boyd, Moses Round- tree, James Mooney, Wright Ryall, Mr. McDuffee, J. A. Rogers, N. Ashley, C. Ashley, John Coffee, W. Ashley, A. Brewer, J. Herbert, S. Herbert, J. McRae, D. McRae, O. Butler and Locklain Laslie.
Jacksonville, an old town near the upper banks of the Ocmulgee River, was for many years the county-seat of Telfair.
McRae. McRae, the county-seat of Telfair, is a rapidly growing town of this section of the State. Since the completion of the Seaboard Air Line which at this point intersects the Southern Railway, McRae has received a fresh commercial and industrial impetus. It possesses a number of solid business establishments and is well supplied with banking facilities. South Georgia College an educational plant owned by the Methodists is located at McRae. The standards of this school have always been high.
956
GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS
TERRELL
Created by Legislative Net, February 16, 1856, from Lee and Randolph Counties. Named for Dr. William Terrell, of Sparta, Ga., a noted practi- tioner of medicine in the early days and a distinguished man of affairs. Dawson, the county-seat, named for the celebrated Judge William C. Dawson, United States Senator, Congressman, and jurist. (See Sketch of Judge Dawson, p. 502. The Dawson Family Record, p. 636.)
Dr. William Terrell was an eminent surgeon-physi- cian of the ante-bellum period who, fond of political life, became a member of the State Legislature and represen- ted Georgia in Congress from 1817 to 1821, a period of four years. He was a native of Fairfax County, Va., where he was born in 1778, received his education at the Medi- cal College of Philadelphia, under the celebrated Dr. Rush; and settled at Sparta, Ga., for the practice of his profession. He became a man of wide influence and of great usefulness in Georgia, accumulated a fortune, and, in furtherance of his wishes to promote the cause of agri- culture, he donated $20,000 to establish a chair of agri- culture at the University of Georgia, to which his name is still attached. Dr. Terrell died at Sparta, Ga., July +, 1855, at the age of seventy-seven. Some time after his death an immense vault of granite was built in the local cemetery as a receptacle for his ashes. Joseph M. Ter- rell, former Governor and United States Senator, is a kinsman.
The Battle of Echo- Eight miles west of Dawson, one of wa-notch-away Swamp. the most decisive battles of the ('reek Indian War of 1836, was fought between the State troops and the Creek Indians : the battle of Echo-wa-notch-away Swamp. On November 14, 1912, a handsome boulder of rough granite was unveiled on the historic field by Stone- castle Chapter of the D. A. R., one of the youngest pat- riotie organizations of the State. Profusely decorated with the national emblems, the improvised platform erec- ted for the speakers presented a prodigal wealth of
957
TERRELL
color against the leafy background of the forest; and to complete the luxuriant picture an ideal November day added the mellow touch of autumnal gold. Hon. Pleasant A. Stovall, of Savannah, was the orator of the occasion. In glowing terms of eulogium, he portrayed the heroism of the frontier settlers in the troublous times of Indian warfare and paid an eloquent tribute to the red man, the foot-print of whose moccasin was no longer to be seen in the Georgia wilderness but the story of whose van- ished race was a splendid epic worthy of some Homer's pen. He enlarged upon the lessons of patriotism which the day suggested and commended the work of Georgia's noble women in safeguarding the heroic traditions of the past. The occasion was graced by the presence of the . State regent, Mrs. S. W. Foster, of Atlanta, who made a delightful address on patriotic lines. Captain R. K. Crittenden, of Shellman, was also among the speakers. Mrs. John S. Lowrey, regent of Stone-castle Chapter, presided over the exercises and announced the numbers on the program. Rev. Charles A. Jackson offered the prayer of invocation and Captain McWilliams, a battle- scarred veteran, presented the orator of the day. The handsome boulder was a gift of the Tate Marble Com- pany, of Tate, Ga., while the historic battle-ground itself, a grove of luxuriant oaks and magnolias, was donated by Mrs. J. B. Perry and Mrs. J. R. Mercer, two of the most devoted members of the chapter. Not the least dramatic feature of the exercises was the exhibition of a genuine relic of the engagement in the shape of an old fowling piece once owned by John Adams, a soldier who partici- pated in the bloody engagement. His grand-daughter, Mrs. C. P. Chambless, to whom the precious heir-loom belonged by inheritance, received quite an ovation from the enthusiastic assemblage. The mellow radiance of the day, shot to the core with sunshine, made the ample re- past which was served in the grove a truly Arcadian treat. Several hundred people, including a number of distin- guished visitors from a distance, were the guests of Stone- castle Chapter on this occasion. Both the historic site
958
GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS
and the handsome memorial have been deeded in trust to the county authorities of Terrell to be preserved by them for future generations. The inscription upon the marble boulder reads as follows:
"This boulder marks the site of the Battle of Echo- wanotchaway Swamp, between State Troops and Creek Indians, July 25, 1836. Erected by Stone Castle Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, of Dawson, Ga., 1912. Site donated by Mrs. J. B. Perry and Mrs. J. R. Mercer.
Herod Town. One of the last Indian Villages to sur- vive the clash of races between the red . man and the Anglo Saxon was located in the vicinity of the present city of Dawson. It was called Herod Town. Titles to an area of ground including the old Indian village have been presented to Dorothy Walton Chapter D. A. R., by the regent Mrs. W. A. McLain and the historic site will soon be marked by an appropriate memorial. The remains of an old fort, formerly a noted rendezvous for the white settlers in the turbulent days of the Creek Indian War are still in evidence some few miles distant. This historic spot will also be marked by the Chapter.
Original Settlers. See Lee and Randolph, from which counties Terrell was formed.
To the list of pioneers may be added the following names: A. J. Baldwin, Sr., M. H. Baldwin, Dr. C. A. Cheatham, E. B. Loyless, William Graves, Iverson D. Graves, L. M. Lennard, Haley Johnson, J. B. Perry, Ezekiel Taylor, S. K. Taylor, T. M. Jones, James John- son, James W. Powell, J. S. Odom, John Moreland, Wil-
959
TERRELL
liam Moreland, D. B. Chambers, B. F. Cocke, M. P. Giddens, C. P. Huckaby, Rev. William Hayes, N. P. Lee, J. J. Sessions, J. S. Wimberly, D. A. Woolbright, M. P. Still, W. P. Vinson, Myron E. Weston, Joseph Weston, S. R. Weston, Robert Dyson, Kinyon Dale, J. C. F. Clark, B. H. Brown and J. L. Parrott.
Dr. C. A. Cheatham built the first store-house and M. H. Baldwin the first private residence in the town of Dawson. The first county officers were: A. J. Baldwin, Sr., Sheriff; L. M. Lennard, Ordinary, and Myron E. Weston, Clerk of the Superior Court. Haley Johnson and C. A. Cheatham were the first Inferior Court Judges .*
Terrell's Distin- Judge James M. Griggs, a distin-
guished Residents. guished Georgian, who served the State with credit both on the Superior Court Bench and in the halls of Congress, was a resident of Dawson. His famous speech on the floor of the National House in which he informed his colleagues of the North that the South was weary of eternal welcomes back into the Union, that she entered it fifty years ago to stay, and that too many reconciliations implied too many differences, was one of the most effective appeals of eloquence to which the present generation has listened. He died too soon for the welfare of his State. Here lived for many years, Colonel O. B. Stevens, an ex-Commis- sioner of Agriculture and a former member of the State Railroad Commission. It is still the home of his son-in- law, Hon. M. J. Yeomans, who was Chairman of the State Democratic Executive Committee, during one of the most heated campaigns in the history of Georgia politics. Colonel James G. Parks, a former State Senator ; Colonel J. A. Laing, Judge M. C. Edwards, and other prominent Georgians are also included among the residents of Daw- son.
* Authority: Dr. W. B. Cheatham, Ordinary of Terrell.
960
GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS
THOMAS
Created by Legislative Act, December 23, 1825, from Decatur and Irwin Counties. Named for General Jett Thomas, a gallant officer of the State militia, who distinguished himself in the War of 1812. Thomasville, the county-seat, also named for General Thomas. Originally, Thomas included a part of Grady.
Major-General Jett Thomas, an officer of note in the State militia, was by profession a contractor, who after erecting the original structure in which Franklin College at Athens was first housed, also built the famous old State House at Milledgeville, the storm centre in after years of the great debates on secession. It was while engaged upon the former enterprise that Dr. Meigs, the presi- dent of Franklin College, gave him access to the library; and, devoting what little time he could spare after a hard day's work to mental culture, he acquired the love of books which made him in time a man of wide informa- tion. General Thomas was a native of Culpeper County, Va., where he was born, on May 13, 1776, but the family originated among the Welch mountains. Coming to Georgia with his parents at the close of the Revolution, the subject of this sketch lived for a while in Oglethorpe; but when Athens was laid out in 1801 he purchased one of the first lots in the future town. At the outbreak of the war of 1812, he became captain of an artillery corps, under General John Floyd, in the latter's campaign against the Creek Indians; and his skill as an engineer was frequently employed in the construction of forts. Characterized by the highest type of courage, he won the praise of his superior officer by his gallantry on the field. Moreover, the Legislature of Georgia, in recogni- tion of his services, tendered him a jeweled sword and made him a Major-General in the State militia. Unfor- tunately he was soon afterwards attacked with cancer of the eye, a malady which terminated his useful career, on January 6, 1817, at his home in Milledgeville, when not quite forty two years of age, in the mature prime of his intellectual powers. He was buried in the local cemetery, where a handsome shaft of marble rises above his ashes.
961
THOMAS
General Thomas accumulated a snug fortune as the re- sult of professional skill, supplemented by wise invest- ment.
Where the Mckinley Campaign of 1896 Was Planned.
Page 246. .
Anecdote of Judge One of the early. pioneer families of Hansell. Thomas was the Hansells. Years before the war-so the story goes- two members of this noted household, Augustus H. Han- sell and Andrew J. Hansell, a pair of gifted brothers, both of whom afterwards became famous, dissolved a partnership which they had formed for the practice of law. Andrew was mainly concerned for his health. He did not consider the climate of the low country around Thomasville conducive to long life, and accordingly he changed his place of residence to the little town of Ros- well, on the banks of the Chattahoochee River, in the Georgia uplands. Under the leadership of Roswell King, a colony of settlers, most of whom were from the coast, had been planted here among the old haunts of the C'hero- kee Indians; and they had built a factory at the water's edge in this remote part of the wilderness. On leaving home, Andrew said to Augustus :
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.