USA > Georgia > Georgia's landmarks, memorials and legends, Volume II > Part 25
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RICHARD HENRY WILDE. Born, Sept. 24, 1789. Died Sept., 10, 1847.
His celebrated poem, "The Summer Rose," is one of the great American classics. The opening lines are famil- iar to every one-
My life is like the summer rose That opens to the morning sky, But ere the shades of evening close Is scattered on the ground to die.
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Mr. Wilde fell a victim to the yellow fever in the city of New Orleans. Defeated for re-election to Congress, after a long period of service, he took up his abode in the Louisiana metropolis. His remains were brought back to Georgia and for a number of years reposed in a grave on the Sand Hills. The following account of the re-interment is taken from an old file of the Augusta Chronicle :
"Yesterday a party of ladies and gentlemen drove to the Sand Hills to witness the disinterment of the remains of the illustrious Richard Henry Wilde. The soil was light and easily yielded to the spade. Almost without a flaw as to location the original limits of the grave were disclosed. The wooden box containing the zinc or lead coffin had crumbled away, leaving only fragments of rotten timber. The metal case had shrunk, leaving only the outlines of the skeleton. A small orifice, at one end, revealed the shoes worn by the deceased, in an excellent state of preservation. By some mistake, at the time of burial, the head was placed to the east, facing westward. This is not the case now. The poet sleeps with his face to the sunlit east in our cemetery, awaiting the resur- rection. The grave of Wilde will no longer be remote or neglected. It will be lovingly decorated, and, at no distant day, appropriately marked. The summer rose will bloom upon it, and many a pilgrim will journey toward it as one of the Meccas of the mind."
Adjoining the lot in which the poet Wilde lies buried is the grave of PAUL H. HAYNE, the Southern laureate. There is nothing in the way of a headstone to mark the last resting-place of this bay-crowned prince of song, but the lot is most exquisitely kept; and in this respect, when visited by the writer, in the spring of 1912, it contrasted most decidedly with the lot next to it, which holds the lamented dust of Wilde. The area in which the poet Hayne sleeps is beautifully planted in flowers. The grave
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itself is neatly covered with brick, and at the head stands a luxuriant rose bush. Perhaps it is just the sort of a monument which the poet himself might have chosen. There is something about it which suggests the fragrant breath of his own songs. He loved the woods and the fields; and, far removed from the city's din, his little nest of a home at Copse Hill was conched among thie ver- dant pines. In the absence of an epitaph, the flowers above him seemed to whisper:
"In sylvan nooks rejoicingly I met The wild-rose and the violet. "'
In, a different part of the cemetery, on a lot encom- passed by an iron railing, stands a massive monument of marble. It marks the last resting place of a distin- guished lawyer and legislator, for whom one of the coun- ties of the State has been named. Inscribed on the monu- ment is the following epitaph :
ANDREW J. MILLER. Born in Camden County, March 21, 1806. Died in Augusta, Feb. 3, 1856. His life was devoted to the service of his fellow-men, to whom his family and kindred commit the guardianship of his fame.
On one of the sides is this inscription :
The Oglethorpe Infantry to their lamented comman- der. "In him the elements were so mixed that nature might stand up and say to all the world-this was a man. ''
Judge Miller served in the General Assembly for more than twenty years. Throughout this entire period, he was the champion of a measure reserving to the married woman her separate property rights. He failed to see his favorite bill crystallized into law, for the reason that old legal customs do not readily yield ; but ten years after his death it became a statute, and is today embedded in the Constitution of Georgia.
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Within a very short distance of the tomb of Judge Miller sleeps a noted soldier of the Seminole Indian wars, who afterwards represented Georgia in Congress, and whose name was conferred upon one of the counties of the State in recognition of his distinguished services : GENERAL THOMAS GLASCOCK. The inscription on his mon- ument was written by the celebrated Judge Longstreet, a warm personal friend. It reads as follows:
Sacred to the memory of GEN THOMAS GLAS- COCK. Born Oct., 21, 1790. Died May 19, 1841. He was for many years a member of the Legislature of Georgia. At one time Speaker of the House of Repre- sentatives. Twice elected to Congress, once as the can- didate of both political parties, on account of distin- guished services at a former session. A Captain of Vol- unteers, he served in the War of 1812 with England. A Brigadier General, he served in the Seminole War of 1817 under General Jackson. He retired from public life and a short time before his death removed to Decatur, in DeKalb County, intending to spend the remainder of his days in the practice of his profession, the Law, where he was suddenly cut off by a fall from his horse. As an advocate, he was eminently successful. As a speaker, he was highly popular. As husband and father, he was deeply beloved for his unchanging kindness, his devoted and enthusiastic affection. To the poor and the unfor- tunate, to the widow and the orphan, he was a protector and a friend. His heart was full of charity to his species. His soul abounded with good-will to man, and his best epitaph is written on the hearts that experienced his friendship and knew his love.
On this same lot, underneath a well-preserved marble box, sleeps HON. WM. GLASCOCK, Speaker of the House of Assembly during the Revolution. His wife's grave is marked by a similar memorial. JUDGE WM. TRACY GOULD and JUDGE WM. W. HOLT are buried in the same area, and each grave is substantially marked.
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There is also in this part of the cemetery a monu- ment which possesses a two-fold interest. It marks the last resting-place of an old Revolutionary patriot, who reached a phenomenal age. The inscription on the tomb- stone reads as follows :
JOHN MARTIN, a soldier of the Revolution, died in Augusta, Georgia, 14th February, 1843. Aged 105 years. He served in the Cherokee war of 1755 and was ounded in the head by a tomahawk. He served through the whole of the Revolutionary War with honor. A tribute of respect by the ladies of Augusta.
MAJOR-GENERAL A. R. WRIGHT, one of Georgia's most distinguished soldiers, is buried in the Town Cemetery of Augusta. He commanded a famous division during the Civil War, after which he became an editor of note. At the time of his death he was Congressman-elect from the Eighth Congressional District, The inscription on his monument reads :
To the memory of AMBROSE RANSOM WRIGHT, Major-General C. S. A. and member-elect of the Forty- Second Congress. Born in Jefferson County, Ga., April 6, 1826. Died in Augusta, Ga., December 21, 1872.
The last resting-place of Victor J. B. Girardy, a native of France, who fell near Richmond, Va., at the head of his brigade, fighting for the liberties of the South, is marked by a neat monument. He died at the age of 26. Three of his comrades, GOODE BRYAN, J. K. JACKSON, and M. A. STOVALL, all brigade commanders, sleep near by in unmarked graves.
Underneath a monument, yellow with age, in a cor- ner of the cemetery, near the tomb of Judge Miller, sleeps a soldier of the Revolution : CAPTAIN DANIEL MAC-
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MURPHY. For a number of years he represented Rich- mond in the General Assembly of Georgia. The old patriot's monument is inscribed as follows :
Sacred to the memory of CAPT. DANIEL MAC- MURPHY, who died Oct. 27, 1819. Aged 82 years. Born in Antrim, Ireland, he came to Georgia in 1756, identified himself with the colony and served his coun- try during the Revolutionary War as soldier and legis- lator.
Also to the memory of his wife, SUSANNAH, who assisted in taking care of the wounded, after the battles of Eutaw and Guildford.
DR. WM. HENRY DOUGHTY, one of the most distin- guished surgeons of Augusta, is buried in this cemetery, where his grave is marked by four handsome columns, forming a portal, enclosed within which there is a marble urn, resting upon a granite base. There are several in- scriptions on the monument, as follows :
(Front) WM. HENRY DOUGHTY, M. D. (Side)
His profound and resourceful knowledge of .medi- eine and skill in the practice, his kindliness of dispo- sition, his strict integrity and unvarying devotion to every duty, won for him the respect and esteem of his colleagues, the confidence of the community and the love of all who knew him.
(Rear)
Born Feb. 5, 1836, in this city, where he gave fifty years of faithful service as a physician, as a steadfast Christian, a vahied member of the faculty of the Med- ical College of Georgia, and a writer of valuable scien- tifie treatises, he served his generation, and in the midst of his activities was called to rest eternal, March 27, 1905.
(Side)
He rendered meritorious service to the Confederacy as surgeon at various points.
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On a mound of ivy, not far removed from the Doughty monument, there stands a handsome granite memorial to DR. LOUIS A. DUGAS, another distinguished surgeon and physician, whose brief inscription reads thus:
LOUIS ALEXANDER DUGAS. Born Jan. 3, 1806. Died Oct. 19, 1884.
Marked by a simple granite headstone, facing one of the main driveways, in the center of the cemetery, is the grave of a noted jurist: JUDGE CLAIBORNE SNEAD. The inscription lettered upon the headstone reads :
CLAIBORNE SNEAD. Mar. 31, 1836. Jan. 25, 1909. A Confederate Soldier.
There is also a family monument in the center of the lot.
Over the grave of DR. JOSEPH A. EVE, one of the most beloved physicians of Augusta, there stands a hand- some granite shaft surmounted by an urn. The monu- ment is inscribed as follows:
(Front) In memory of DR. JOSEPH ADAMS EVE, M. D., LL. D. Ang. 1, 1805. Jan. 6, 1886.
(Side)
Majestic in form, noble in mind, tender in heart, and pure in life. Gentle, generous and true. Our fa- ther, who was honored among men, revered by the people, and devotedly beloved by our mother, consecra- ted his many days to the service of humanity and, having walked with God, ended his glorious life, in the fulness of divine joy.
Just beyond the Barron vault, there stands a hand- some marble monument to DR. PAUL F. EVE, the greater part of whose professional life was spent in Nashville,
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Tenn. When a student abroad, Dr. Eve distinguished himself in the service of Poland, for which he was awarded a badge of honor. His epitaph reads :
PAUL FITZSIMMONS EVE, M. D. Born, 27th June, 1806. Died, 3rd Nov., 1877. His professional motto was: "The Lord healeth all our diseases. "
Underneath a handsome marble monument, sur- mounted by an urn, sleeps one of the great industrial captains of Augusta : WILLIAM C. SIBLEY, to whose con- structive genius and wise management is due in large measure the wonderful growth of the famous Sibley Mills. On his tombstone the following epitaph is in- scribed :
Sacred to the memory of WILLIAM CRAWFORD SIBLEY. Born May 3, 1832. - Died April 17, 1902. A good citizen. A patriot of the Southern Confederacy. A man devoted to his family. A Christian strong in faith and faithful to duty.
Only a few feet distant from the Sibley lot rest the mortal ashes of a noted editor, whose pen was long a power in the journalistic ranks of Georgia: JAMES GARD- NER, for years editor of the Augusta Chronicle. The inscription on his monument reads :
In memory of JAMES GARDNER. Born in Au- gusta, Ga., Jan. 28, 1813. Died at his residence, near his birth-place, Oct. 7, 1874.
(Side)
His culture and integrity illustrated his State in her prosperity; his wisdom in council and manhood in danger sustained her in adversity.
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James Gardner filled a large place in the history of his times. He presided over the famous Convention which renominated Herschel V. Johnson for Governor in 1855, and was himself a candidate for the Democratic nomination to this high office in 1857, missing the coveted goal by only a few votes. His pen was a scepter of power in the politics of Georgia.
Beneath a weeping willow, which makes a beautiful canopy over his grave, sleeps one of the most beloved of Angustans. Perhaps his best monument is to be found in the great city whose material wealth he helped to create. He was also for years a power in State politics, and was permitted near the close of his long career of public service to occupy a seat in the American Senate. His fame as an editor will long endure; and when many a native-born son of the State is forgotten the memory of this genial Irishman will still be green in the hearts of his fellow-citizens. The violet-bordered grave is marked by an ornamental cross of marble, on which the following simple record is inscribed :
PATRICK WALSH. Born Jan. 1, 1840. Died Mar. 19, 1899.
On a handsome box of Scotch marble, in a square not far removed from the grave of Andrew J. Miller, is in- scribed the following epitaph :
Sacred to the memory of BRIGADIER-GENERAL WM. D. SMITH. July 28, 1825. Oct. 4, 1862. A gal- lant soldier. An accomplished gentleman. An earnest Christian. He died for his country.
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Under a neat headstone of granite sleeps the gallant chief of artillery in Longstreet's corps, afterwards dis- tinguished as an editor, a railroad builder, and a man of affairs. The inscription on his tomb is as follows :
In memory of EDWARD PORTER ALEXAN- DER. Born in Washington, Ga., May 26, 1835. Died in Savannah, Ga., April 26, 1910. Graduate of West Point Academy into Corps of Engineers, U. S. A. Brigadier-General, C. S. A. Chief of Artillery, Long- street 's Corps, A. N. V.
Nearby is the grave of JOHN S. DAVIDSON, one of the most distinguished masons of his day, at one time Pres- ident of the Senate of Georgia. The spot is marked by . a most substantial monument of granite, surmounted by a cross. Inscribed on the handsome stone is the follow- ing epitaph :
JOHN SHELDON DAVIDSON. Born June 17, 1846. Died March 11, 1894. President of Senate, 1886- 1887. Grand-Master Free and Accepted Masons. He was a man among men and a mason among masons.
One of the most conspicuous objects in the cemetery is the immense square vault of granite, in which lie entombed the ashes of the noted gambler, WYLLY BAR- RON, who owned and operated in Augusta for years an establishment which was famous throughout the land. It was a sort of Monte Carlo, at which some of the wealthiest ante-bellum planters of the old regime were often seen. In spite of certain grave faults, he was a man of chivalrous manners and of high ideals, belonging to a peculiar type which has long since passed away, called "the gentleman gambler." On more than one oc-
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casion he is said to have refunded the money lost at his tables, especially where the loser was an inexperienced youth. He lived to be an octogenarian, but lost the bulk of his fortune long before his death. The vault was probably built by him in the height of prosperity, for when the end came he is said to have been penniless. The inscription over the door of the vault is as follows:
"Farewell, vain world, I have enough of thee And now am careless what thou sayest of me; Thy smiles I court not nor thy frowns I fear; My cares are past, my head lies quiet here. What faults you know in me take care to shun And look at home, enough there's to be done."'
Then follows this record:
W. W. BARRON. Born in Elbert Co., Oct. 8, 1807. Died Dec. 19, 1884. Aged 88 years.
There is some discrepancy in these figures, but they have been copied literally from the inscription on the tomb.
Judge Richard H. Clark has given us an excellent pen picture of Wylly Barron. Says he, in an interview which appeared at the time of the latter's death: "I possess no personal acquaintance with Wylly Barron, but he was often seen at the watering-places and in the principal cities of Georgia. He was among the most distinguished looking men in his prime I ever saw. Tall and slender, he appeared to be more than six feet high, and carried himself like a prince. His hair was black, his complexion of the typical brunette kind, which sug- gested Spanish, or Italian blood. He dressed elegantly, gave strict observance to the minutest details of fashion, and adorned himself with ornaments, including diamonds and other precious gems. His whole make-up was impres- sive-even picturesque. It is said that he would never permit minors to play at his tables, nor young men known
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to have large amounts in trust, like cashiers and tellers. Byron writes of the Corsair as having one virtue linked with a thousand crimes. May not that be changed, so that a man, though a gambler, may have a thousand vir- tues linked to one crime. The best of human nature may be only lower than the angels; and the worst only a little above the devils; and between the two there is an in- finite variety."
DR. JAMES S. LAMAR, D. D., LL. D., a distinguished theologian, father of Hon. Joseph R. Lamar, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, oc- cupies a grave in this favorite burial ground of Augusta ; and on the handsome marble box which covers his last resting place is inscribed :
In memory of JAMES S. LAMAR. Born in Gwin- nett Co., Ga., May 13, 1829. Died in Augusta, Ga., Jan. 20, 1908. A student. A writer. A minister of God.
To mention by name only some of the many other distinguished Georgians who sleep within the quiet pre- cincts of this beautiful city of the dead, the list includes : Congressman George T. Barnes, Judge Wm. T. Gary, Colonel John D. Twiggs, George R. Sibley, Dr. Eugene Foster, Thomas Glascock Barrett, Wm. Hale Barrett, Edward F. Clayton, John Phinizy, Dr. Louis D. Ford, Dr. H. H. Steiner, Porter Fleming, Frank H. Miller, . Dr. James Bayard Walker, Major McP. Berrien Eve, Cap- tain Francis Edgeworth Jones, Foster Pllodgett, Jo- siah Sibley, Amory Sibley, and a host of others. Quite a number of Augusta's dead here sleep in splendid mau- soleums, some beneath towering monuments of massive stone. Perhaps there are few cemeteries in which may be seen finer specimens of the sculptor's art.
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Old Midway, Liberty County
Perhaps nowhere in America can there be found a cemetery of equal area which is richer in historic dust than the little burial-ground of the famous Midway set- tlement. It is situated on the old military road between Savannah and Darien, at a point some forty miles distant from each town. As a place of interment it has long since been abandoned. The little house of worship, whose spire rises above the tree tops, on the opposite side of the road, echoes but once a year to the tread of human feet; and the section for miles around is almost as desti- tute of life as the little grave-yard itself. But here, at one time, centered the most prosperous rural community in Georgia. Men of large means, who cultivated great rice plantations, who accumulated libraries, who built schools, and to whom religion was ever the chief concern peopled the district, and here, on the frontier belt of the wilderness, in the ordinary intercourse of daily life, they displayed a refinement which was not to be sur- passed in the aristocratic suburbs of London. The little burial-ground embraces less than two acres; but from 1752 to 1865 something like 1,200 persons died in the im- mediate settlement, according to the church records, most of whom presumably were buried here. Within the sa- cred enclosure rest one Governor, one United States Senator, two generals of the Revolution, one commodore. one scientist of world-wide reputation, one diplomat, and eleven ministers of the Gospel, besides an army of de- vout believers in the Word of God. It was not until 1813 that the brick walls enclosing the ancient burial- ground at Midway were completed; and, despite the cen- tury of time which has since elapsed, the masonry is still intact. The grave-yard is swept by magnificent live oaks, the youngest of which cannot be less than two centuries old; and with the long pendent mosses drooping from the gnarled old limbs it is an ideal place of abode for the dead.
OLD MIDWAY CHURCH AND BURIAL GROUND, LIBERTY COUNTY, GA.
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Just to the right of the narrow gateway, by which the cemetery is entered, may be seen the family vault of UNITED STATES SENATOR JOHN ELLIOTT, a structure of brick, well preserved. The distinguished statesman who sleeps here died in 1827, at the age of fifty-four. On a marble plate embedded in the front wall is this inscrip- tion :
Sacred to the memory of JOHN ELLIOTT'S family. "I know that my Redeemer liveth and that he will stand at the latter day upon the earth."
Under a large live oak, on the left of the main walk, is the grave of a distinguished soldier of the Revolution, for whom Georgia has named one of her counties. The ornamental slab was doubtless a work of art when first put here, but time has taken heavy toll of the once hand- some memorial. Inscribed on the stone is the following record :
GEN. DANIEL STEWART. Died May 27th, 1829. Aged 70 years.
General Stewart was an ancestor of fex-President Roosevelt. Crossing over to the opposite side of the walk, a small block of marble will be found in the north- east corner of the burial ground, which informs the vis- itor that somewhere near this spot lies buried another gallant officer of the first war for independence. The in- scription is as follows :
This stone marks the spot where, beside her re- nowned brother, GEN. JAMES SCREVEN, are de- posited the remains of Mrs. Elizabeth Lee, formerly widow of Rev. Moses Allen, second pastor of Midway church.
Mrs. Lee died December 12, 1843, at the age of 85. The presumption is that her illustrious brother is buried
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under the north wall of the grave-yard. It was while re- connoitering in the neighborhood of Midway Church, in the fall of 1778, that GENERAL SCREVEN was fatally shot from ambush. He fell within a mile and a half of where his ashes today rest. He died at the home of John Elliott, grandfather of the United States Senator. Screven County in this State was named for this revered martyr of the Revolution. It was not until forty years after the death of General Screven that the burial-ground was enclosed by brick walls, a fact which may serve to ex- plain why it was that his grave, which was doubtless un- marked at the time, was covered in this manner. Mrs. Lee was probably the only person who knew the exact spot in which her brother was buried, and it may be that she failed to give directions in time for the boundary line to be altered. At any rate, it is certain that General Screven sleeps somewhere in this angle of the grave-yard.
Congress has recently appropriated the sum of $10,- 000 for a handsome monument to the two distinguished soldiers of the Revolution who are here buried. It will stand in the main walk, running from east to west, through the center of the cemetery; and to the left of the shaft will be General Stewart's grave-General Screven's to the right.
NATHAN BROWNSON, an early Governor of the State, a physician and a planter, is also numbered among the il- lustrious dead of Midway; but if his grave was ever marked the slab has long since crumbled.
LOUIS LE CONTE, a noted naturalist, who introduced the famous Le Conte pear, is buried here. His two sons,
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JOHN and JOSEPH LE CONTE, both natives of the Midway settlement, became world-renowned scientists. They made the University of California famous. They sleep within a short distance of each other, in the cemetery at Oakland, Calif.
Marked by a plain headstone, near the west wall of the enclosure, is the grave of a noted diplomat and lawyer, HON. JOHN E. WARD. He accumulated three handsome fortunes during his life-time; but if the slab over him throws any light upon his means at the time of his death-at the age of 88-he must have been in reduced circumstances. The inscription reads :
JOHN ELLIOTT WARD. Born Oct. 2, 1814. Died Nov. 29, 1902.
Mr. Ward was the first United States Minister to China after the opening of diplomatic relations with this port. On account of the demands of his law practice, he refused an appointment to the United States Senate, tendered him by Governor Cobb, in the early fifties; but accepted the chairmanship of the convention in Cincin- nati which nominated James Buchanan for President. He opposed secession, and subsequent to the war removed to the city of New York, where he became one of the fore- most members of the great metropolitan bar. Toward the close of his long career he returned to Midway to spend his last days amid the haunts of his youth; and, though he had built a stately vault in Laurel Grove at Savannah, he preferred to rest in an humble tomb at Midway, beside the bones of his ancestors.
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