USA > Georgia > Georgia's landmarks, memorials and legends, Volume I > Part 74
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Dr. White derives the name from two Indian words, "ooka" and "finocau"; the former of which means "water" and the latter "quivering." The word "ooka" he thinks to be of Choctaw origin. Originally, the great swamp was called "E-cun-fi-no-cau", a compound, the meaning of which was "quivering earth." But the Creeks preferred the former expression. Says he :* "It is 30 miles long by 17 broad. Several rivers have headwaters in this swamp. In it are several islands, one of which the Creeks represented to be among the most blissful spots in the world." From still another source we get this information: "It was upon the islands of this swamp that the Indians fortified themselves during the Seminole War. It was a mystery to the army how they were able
* White's Historical Collections, Ware County, Savannah, 1854.
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to exist under circumstances of the most adverse char- acter, until one day an entrance to the "cow house", an elevated fertile island, was discovered by the scouts of General Floyd's army. Through this opening they had driven a number of the small black cattle, which was found to be so numerous in South Georgia, when first settled by the whites. It is said that the word "cracker" originated from the use of the long whips used by the early settlers in driving these herds. The popping of the whips on every side to keep the drove from scattering, gave the term to the whip and afterwards to the driver. Consequently we have the word "Cracker", so commonly applied to the rural population of the south.
First Settlers. Among the first settlers of Ware may be included: William Smith, A. Jernagin, William Dryden, James Fullwood, John Williams, James Sweat, John Moore, Thomas Allman, Joseph Dyall, P. Bryan, W. M. King, Thomas Newborn, L. Walker, James Jones, M. J. Miller, Thomas Hilliard, M. Addicorn.
WARREN
Created by Legislative Act, December 19, 1793, from parts of three counties: Richmond, Columbia, and Wilkes. Named for General Joseph Warren, an illustrious patriot of the Revolution, who fell mortally wounded at the battle of Bunker Hill. Warrenton, the county-seat, also named for General Warren. Columbia originally embraced portions of four other counties: Taliaferro, Glascock, Jefferson, and McDuffie.
"The Battle of the Warrenton was for many years the Kegs." home of a most eccentric but accom- plished old gentleman, Dr. Bush. Con- cerning this unique character there is a wealth of tradi- tional lore, from which a volume might be written. His baptismal name was David Bushnell. He possessed a rare fund of knowledge, both classical and scientific; and
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when a young man taught school in Columbia and Wilkes Counties. Before coming to Georgia from the North, he had been a Captain in the Revolution and had contrived a submarine engine, for the purpose of destroying the British fleet, then lying in the Delaware River, below Philadelphia. Owing to some cause unknown, the enter- prise against the fleet was unsuccessful, but the explosion of two or three hundred kegs of powder beneath the surface of the water brought to view so many strange and frightful portents in the way of fire-works that the British Admiral took alarm at the display of pyrotechnics and with his fleet left the Delaware in the utmost haste and confusion. The ridiculous plight of the Admiral, panie-stricken and helpless, stirred the mirthful muse of Francis Hopkins, of Philadelphia, who described the scene in his famous ballad entitled: "The Battle of the Kegs".
After the Revolution, Capt. Bushnell travelled in Europe; and on his return engaged disastrously in mer- cantile pursuits. Then he came to Georgia, where his friend, Abraham Baldwin, extended him every courteous consideration, within his power, and he began to teach school in this State. For several years, he applied him- self with zeal to the task of teaching the young ideas of Georgia how to shoot. Next he took up the study of medicine, for the practice of which he located at War- renton, where he remained for the rest of his life and where he died at the age of ninety years, leaving quite a fortune. His executors were Peter Crawford and George Hargroves. Until his death there were few people in Georgia who suspected that the real name of this singular individual was Bushnell. According to the terms of the will, his executors were required to make inquiries in the town of Seabrook, in Connecticut, for relatives of his blood, and if none were found who were rightfully enti- tled to the property, it was to be transferred to the Trustees of Franklin College at Athens. But legatees were found in Connecticut.
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Warren in the Quite a number of veterans settled in
Revolution. Warren at the close of the War for Inde- pendence, some coming before the county was organized.
John Torrence died in Warren, July 4, 1827, aged 78 years. The old patriot fell within sight of his place of residence on his return from the celebration of. Independ- ence Day at Warrenton. He is said to have participated with more than usual interest and feeling in the exercises, as if he were conscious it would be the last national jubilee he should ever witness. Says White: "His countenance wore a peculiar cast of serene and heartfelt joy during the day, and his old acquaintances received many a cor- dial embrace."
Henry Bonner, an officer in the Revolutionary War, died in Warren, on January 1, 1822, aged 98 years.
John Shivers, another veteran, died in Warren, on November 12, 1826, aged 77 years.
James Draper died in this county at the age of 83. He enlisted in the War for Independence when only a youth and gave three years of his life to the heroic strug- gle for freedom. James Rucker, an early settler, and William Davidson, a native of Virginia, whose son Oliver was a veteran of the Indians wars, were also Revolu- tionary patriots.
From an old document, dated December 13, 1793, con- taining the names of certain commissioned officers in the Militia regiment, a supplementary list of early settlers may be obtained. The names are as follows: Samuel Alexander, Lieutenant-Colonel; John Lawson and Solo- mon Slatter, Majors; and David Neal, Absalom Cobbs, James Wilson, Chapman Abercrombie, Jesse Bunkley, Nicholas Jones, William Smith, William Hill and Abner Fluellyn, Captains. William Landrum and Gibson Four- noy were Lieutenants.
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Original Settlers. The first comers into Warren, accord- ing to White, were: Daniel Atkins, Solomon Newsome, David Neal, William Johnston, Job Hunter, Cullen Braddy, Robert Abercrombie, Henry Peoples, William Hill, A. Denton, William Cason, S. Burnley, B. Upton, E. Perryman, E. Connor, A. Brinkley, William Jenkins, A. Jones, M. English, C. Low, Sr., D. A. Simpson, Thomas Maddux, E. Ivy, John Burkhalter, E. Wilson, T. Persons, T. Lockitt, Samuel Bell, Jonas Shiv- ers, Peter Newsome and John Newsome.
To the above list of early settlers may be added: Elisha Hurt, who settled in Warren, in 1790, and whose descendants are numerous throughout Georgia and Ala- bama; Benjamin Harris, Samuel Beall, John Williams, Richard Dozier, Barnaby Shivers, Jonathan Baker, Wil- liam Denmark, aged 102; J. W. Jackson, a centennarian ; C. Sturdevant, John Wilson, and Capt. Hill.
Robert Augustus Beall, Sr., a native of Maryland, was also an early settler. His son of the same name became a distinguished lawyer. Another son, Josias B., perished at Goliad-one of Fannin's heroie band. There were several daughters, one of whom married Robert M. Gunby and one William H. Young, both of Columbus.
Warren's Noted Some of Georgia's most illustrious sons Residents. were natives of the historic old county of Warren. Here were born the two noted Lamar brothers-Mirabeau B., poet and soldier, who won the victory at San Jacinto and became the second President of the republic of Texas; and Lucius Q. C. Lamar, a great jurist, whose son bearing the same name became a United States Senator, a member of Mr. Cleveland's first Cabinet, and a Judge of the Supreme Court of the United States. Here too while his mother was on a visit to her parents in this county was born one
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of the great intellectual giants of his time, the impas- sioned orator and forerunner of secession-William Lowndes Yancey, of Alabama. The list of distinguished men includes also: Judge Mark H. Blanford, of the State Supreme Court, and Dr. H. H. Tucker, a former Chan- cellor of the University of Georgia.
WASHINGTON
Created by Legislative Act, February 25, 1784. Named tor the illus- trious Commander-in-Chief of the American armies and the first President of the United States. The Indians, in the struggle for independence, sided with the British; for which, at the close of hostilities, there followed a forfeiture of lands. The Cherokees ceded a strip, in the upper part of the State, from which the county of Franklin was formed; while the Creeks relinquished a tract, in the lower part of the State, out of which the county of Washington was erected. But the Creeks, under the crafty leadership of Alexander McGillivary, a Scotch half-breed, repudiated the compact; and out of this wrangle between the whites and the red-skins grew the Oconee War. The depredations committed by the Indians upon the pioneer settlements in Washington precipitated a Reign of Terror in this section which lasted for more than ten years, and there was more than one brutal and savage massacre of the inhabitants. From each of the two counties organized in 1784, numerous smaller ones were afterwards formed. Sanders- ville, the county-seat of Washington, was named for a distinguished Georgia family which was here settled in the pioneer days. Washington embraced originally Greene, Hancock, Johnson, and Montgomery, and in part Ogle- thorpe and Laurens.
Diary of Washing- ton's Visit.
Volume II.
Sandersville. Sandersville, the county-seat of Washing- ton, is situated on a ridge between the Oconee and the Ogeechee Rivers, 540 feet above tide water. It is on a branch of the Southern Railway, three miles north of Tennille, where the Southern connects with the Central of Georgia. This aristocratic old com- munity whose local annals reach back almost to time of the Revolution was not friendly to railways in the early days. It was a seat of culture rather than a center of commerce during the ante-bellum period. Most of the
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residents of the town were wealthy planters who culti- vated extensive domains in the outlying district and who built elegant homes in Sandersville, for the purpose of surrounding themselves with the best social and educa- tional advantages. In view of the conservatism which usually characterizes a seat of culture it is not surprising that Sandersville should have denied a right of way to the C'entral of Georgia, especially at a time when the iron horse was somewhat of an experiment. In the neighbor- hood of Sandersville there are five or six lime-sinks or caves in which fossil teeth, ribs and shells have been found in large quantities.
In the center of the old cemetery at Sandersville stands a handsome monument to the Confederate dead. The funds for erecting this monument were raised by the Ladies' Memorial Association of which Mrs. B. D. Evans, Sr., was president. It was unveiled in 1900 with an elo- quent address by Hon. Robert L. Berner, of Forsyth.
Union Hill : The Union Hill, near Sandersville, was
Home of Governor the old plantation home of Governor Jared Irwin. Jared Irwin, a veteran of the Revolu- tion and one of Georgia's early Chief- Executives. He occupied the chair of office when the famous Yazoo Act was rescinded and took part in the dra- matic scene in front of the State House door when the papers were burned with fire from heaven. The old Gov- ernor lies buried in Ohoopee church yard, on what was for- merly a part of the Irwin estate. Though descended from Presbyterian ancestors, Gov. Irwin was a Congregation- alist. He donated a church, with several acres of land appurtenant, to be used by the various denominations of the town, irrespective of creed, until strong enough to form independent bodies; and in honor of the donor it
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was called Union church, taking the name of the planta- tion. Today this church is the property of the Baptists. It is in the little burial ground adjacent that the former chief-magistrate of Georgia sleeps. On the court-house square in Sandersville stands a monument to Jared Irwin. When General Sherman entered the town in 1864 one of Wheeler's men fired a shot at the invader, the marks of which were unfortunately left upon the monument ; but otherwise it is well preserved. The inscription on the marble shaft contains a full summary of his life. It be- gins thus :
Erected by the State of Georgia to the memory of Governor Jared Irwin. He died at his residence, Union Hill, Washington County, on the first day of March, 1818, in the 68th year of his age. Etc.
Tennille. Tennille, one of the most progressive towns in this section of the State, is on the main line of the Central of Georgia and is also the terminus of the Wrightsville and Tennille Railroad, a short but important line connecting two wide-awake centers of trade. The town was named for Colonel Robert Tennille, a veteran of the Indian Wars, who left one of his arms on the field of battle. The station at this point was first designated "Number 13" an unlucky omen which the residents of the locality were only too anxious to remove. The majority sentiment of the town favored calling it Frank- lin in honor of Mr. Samuel O. Franklin, a member of the State Legislature and one of the earliest pioneer citizens. But since a county-seat already bore this name it was not allowed by the postal authorities for which reason Ten- nille was eventually selected in honor of the distinguished Georgian who lived near Sandersville.
Federal Town was the name given to a little tobacco village on the east bank of the Oconee river. It once
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GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS
promised to become an important town. But with the rise of cotton it began to decline; and today not even a trace of the old town survives.
Revolutionary Soldiers. Many-perhaps most-of the original settlers of Washington were veterans of the Revolution; but they sleep in un- marked graves and there are few records extant by which to identify them. Nicholas Murian died in this county, aged sixty-seven. Says White: "He entered the Revolu- tionary Army as a private soldier and left it with the rank of Captain of Dragoons, after a hard service of five years. During this period he shared in many of the perils and hardships of war, and was always active and efficient upon the field of battle."
John Jourdan was another veteran of the War for Independence who resided in Washington. He died in this county at an advanced age.
William Hardwick, a zealous Whig, who suffered the penalty of disinheritance for espousing the patriotic cause, was an early settler of Washington. He endured the vicissitudes of army life for seven years. The Hard- wick family of Georgia is of noble English origin; and one of the oldest towns in the State was given the name of Hardwick, in honor of an earl who was one of the most intimate friends of Oglethorpe.
Colonel Francis Pugh, who was killed by the Indians on April 7, 1793, was supposed to have been a Revolu- tionary soldier; and Colonel John Rutherford, who set- tled in Washington, in 1790, coming to Georgia from South Carolina, was also a veteran of the first war for independence. He accumulated a large property, studied law, and became a leader in politics. It was under the patronage of Colonel Rutherford that the first Latin and Greek school was opened in this section with John Hamil- ton Posey as teacher.
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Original Settlers. The original settlers of Washington, according to White, were: Alexander Irwin, John Rutherford, William Johnson, Elisha Wil- liams, Jared Irwin, Jacob Dennard, John Robertson, Joseph Beddingfield, Philemon Franklin, Aaron Sinque- field, Joseph Avent, John Sheppard, James Thomas, John Daniel, William Irwin, Joshua Williams, Saumel Sinque- field, Benjamin Tennille, John Martin, John Burney, Hugh Lawson, John Shellnan, William Sapp, Miles Mur- phy, John Jones, John H. Montgomery, John Stokes, Mr. Saunders, John Irwin, James Thomas, George Galphin, Jolın Dennis, John Nutt, D. Wood, George Fluker, Wil- liam Warthen, Jacob Kelly, and William May.
Some additional names gathered from other sources are: Drewery Gilbert, William Gilbert, Cornelius Jordan, Dixon Smith, Joseph Fish and B. F. Barge, Sr.
On May 22, 1787, JIon. Henry Osborne presiding, the first session of the Superior Court was held at Sanders- ville. The following pioneer citizens constituted the first Grand Jury of Washington: Alexander Irwin, foreman; Elisha Williams, William Johnson, Philemon Franklin, John Robertson, Sr., John Burney, John Martin, James Thomas, Benjamin Tennille, Joshua Williams, Samuel Sinquefield, Joseph Avent, William Irwin, William Shields, John Sheppard, John Rutherford, Jacob Den- nard, Joseph Beddingfield, Aaron Sinquefield, John Daniel, Sr.
Washington's Governor Irwin was not the only distin- Distinguished guished resident of Washington. Geor- Residents. gia's first Supreme Court Reporter, James M. Kelly, was born here. Captain Evan P. Howell, one of the founders of the Atlanta Con-
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GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS
stitution, was living in Sandersville at the outbreak of the war. He enlisted as an orderly sergeant but after- wards commanded a famous battery. Judge James S. Hook, a well known jurist, at one time State School Com- missioner, resided here for a number of years. Sanders- ville was also formerly the home of Judge James K. Hines, a progressive Democrat, at one time the candi- date of the People's party for Governor; and also of Judge Beverly D. Evans, a distinguished member of the present Supreme Court of Georgia. Colonel Isaac W. Avery who wrote a "History of Georgia, 1850-1881" covering the most turbulent period of State politics lived at one time in Sandersville. Here resides Hon. Thomas W. Hardwick who, for several years past, has ably served the State in the National House of Representatives and who, though still a young man, has been mentioned for the Governor's chair. The J. D. Franklin Chapter, U. D. C., of Tennille, was named for a gallant Confederate soldier and a substantial man of affairs, who still resides here: Capt. J. D. Franklin. At the battle of Olustee in the State of Florida, Capt. Franklin was severely wound- ed. The handsome U. D. C. Club Hall, at Tennille, which was recently destroyed by fire was a gift to the Chapter from Capt. Franklin. United States Senator R. M. John- son, of Texas, the recently appointed successor of Joseph W. Bailey, to fill the latter's unexpired term was born in Sandersville. His parents removed to Bainbridge when the future Senator was still a lad, and after the war, in which Col. Johnson bore a gallant part, he drifted to Texas to become the editor of the Houston Post and a power in State politics.
WAYNE
Created by Legislative Act, May 11, 1803. Named for Major-General Anthony Wayne, a noted soldier of the Revolution, who alded in expelling the British from Georgia soil. The lands acquired from the Creek Indians, in 1802, were divided into three large counties: Baldwin, Wilkinson, and Wayne, from which several others in the course of time were formed. Jesup, the county-seat of Wayne, named for General Jesup, a distinguished officer of
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the United States army, who rendered the State an important service during the Creek Indian troubles of 1836, at which time he conducted military operations along the exposed border, under General Winfield Scott. The county-seat of Wayne originally was Waynesville. When the county was first organized in 1803, it included portions of several other counties, viz., Charlton, Glynn, and Camden.
General Anthony Wayne, one of the most distin- guished soldiers of the Revolution, bore an important part in the final overthrow of the British power in Geor- gia; and, in recognition of his gallant services, the Legis- lature voted him a handsome estate, near Savannah, upon which he established his residence. General Wayne was born at Eastown, in Chester County, Pa., January 1, 1745. At the outbreak of the Revolution, he organized a regiment of volunteers, but he was soon advanced to the rank of Brigadier-General. For his gallant behavior at Stony Point, where he led the attack, Congress voted him a gold medal and a vote of thanks. He also partici- pated in numerous other engagements; and, subsequent to the surrender of Cornwallis, he was dispatched to Georgia with seven hundred men to support General Greene in the closing drama of hostilities. In 1786, Gen- eral Wayne became a citizen of Georgia, and four years later he was elected to Congress. But he sat in this body for only six months. General James Jackson, his competitor for the place, successfully contested the elec- tion and was awarded the seat, much to the mortification of General Wayne. The rivalry between these two pat- riots was deeply to be deplored, since both of them parti- cipated in the recovery of Savannah. On account of financial embarrassment, General Wayne, was forced to sell his Georgia estate, after which he was appointed by President Washington to take charge of the campaign against the Indians in the region of the Great Lakes. When he died at the age of fifty-one, he was at the head of the American army, a position which he achieved by reason of his pronounced military genius. He was some- times called "Mad Anthony" on account of his impetuous temper. He was buried at his old home place in the
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State of Pennsylvania, where a monument to his memory was erected over his grave by his old comrades in arms.
Original Settlers. Among the early settlers of Wayne were : Braxton Bennett, a soldier of the War of 1812; John T. Bennett, William T. Drawdy, Wil- liam Hilton, C. C. Hilton, Dr. W. S. Middleton, James Chancey, Dr. G. W. Drawdy, Isham Reddish, John D. Rumph, Thomas C. Rumph, and Capt. W. H. Whaley.
As late as 1850, according to White, there was neither a school house nor a jail in the county of Wayne. The settlers were in the main very poor. They lived at long distances apart, raised cattle and sheep in a small way, and lived chiefly by means of the fishing tackle and shot- gun. Since the building of railway lines through this section conditions have greatly improved. Jesup is to- day an important center of traffic.
WEBSTER
Created by Legislative Act, February 21, 1856, from Randolph County, originally Lee. Named for the great New England orator and statesman, Daniel Webster, whose broad views on the issue of slavery won him wide favor at the South. It was claimed by his political enemies at home that he was coquetting with the Presidential nomination, but the well-known patriotism of Mr. Webster was sufficient in itself to repel such an imputa- tion. The original name given to the county was Kinchafoonee, so called from a creek or rivulet of this name; but it was changed to Webster soon after the county was organized. Preston, the county-seat, named for the distinguished William C. Preston, of South Carolina.
Original Settlers. See Stewart and Sumter, from which counties Webster was formed.
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The following incomplete list of pioneer settlers has been gathered from various sources: Henry Beatty, Robert Beatty, William H. Dismukes, a soldier of the Creek Indian Wars and a grandson of Zadoc Cook, on his mother's side-twenty-four years a member of the General Assembly ; Dr. J. T. Dismukes, J. J. Dixon, R. T. Dixon, E. Ivey, William Ivey, James M. Saunders, Ferdi- nand C. Saunders, H. H. Sims, W. J. Sims, W. F. Spann, James R. Stapleman, and James P. Walker.
WHEELER
Created by Proclamation of the Governor, November 14, 1912. The action of the Chief-Executive was authorized by a Constitutional Amend- ment to this effect, approved by the voters of the State, at a popular election, held November 5, 1912, at which time electors were chosen for President and Vice-President of the United States. Alamo, the county-seat, named for the famous Spanish mission, at San Antonio, Texas, which witnessed the brutal massacre of 1836. From the savage decree of death visited upon prisoners of war by the inhuman butcher, Santa Anna, not a man escaped; and the inscription on the monument to the dead heroes of this crimson holocaust has since become historic: "Thermopylae had her Messenger of Death, but the Alamo had none." The fate of the men under them was shared by the brave officers: Travis, Bowie, and Crockett. Wheeler County was organized from Montgomery.
Joseph Wheeler, an illustrious soldier of two wars and a statesman of high rank, was born in Augusta, Ga., September 10, 1836. He graduated from West Point on the eve of the Civil War; and, resigning his commission in the United States army at the outbreak of hostilities, he was made Colonel of the Nineteenth Alabama regi- ment of infantry. One year later he was put in command of a brigade of calvary. In another year he commanded a division; and in 1865 he was given a corps, with the rank of Lieutenant-General. As a commander of cavalry he achieved a record unsurpassed on either side of the struggle; and when the war closed he was only twenty- eight. Gen. Wheeler was three times wounded in battle, he commanded in over 200 engagements, sixteen horses were shot from under him, and thirty-six members of his
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