Georgia's landmarks, memorials and legends, Volume II, Part 46

Author: Knight, Lucian Lamar, 1868-1933
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Atlanta, Ga. : Byrd Printing Co.
Number of Pages: 1274

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GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS.

Still the brutal instincts of the savages were not vet fully gorged. The brave chief was next dragged by the heels into the yard, and while his lips yet breathed the challenge of an unsubdued old warrior, the bloody knife was plunged into his heart. It straightway ended the death struggles, and, lifting his mangled face to the fading dawn stars, William McIntosh, chief of the Cow- etas, bravest of the brave, Georgia's true and tried friend, slept the heavy sleep of his fathers.

Rapine was next added to the measure of revenge which included already murder and arson. Everything of value about the place, which they were not able to carry off, they ruthlessly destroyed, like the savage hordes of Attilla. The devastation was made complete, and the rising sun found the home of the brave chief a mass of ruins. Georgia has always felt some twinge of conscience over the sad fate of McIntosh. It is said, on good authority, that the Indian chief, realizing the immi- nence of danger, had sent to Milledgeville for armed protection, and though it was readily promised, it was never received. General McIntosh was at all times the staunch friend of Georgia. In the War of 1812 he had resisted the most tempting overtures of the British emis- saries ; and, espousing the American cause, he had earned the rank of Brigadier-General. Later he had fought under General Jackson, in the campaign against the Semi- nole Indians in Florida. He was ever marked by an un- swerving integrity of character, and to the famous High- land clan, of which he was a member, he brought new laurels. General Lachlan McIntosh, of the Revolution, was a kinsman. Governor George M. Troup, then Gov- ernor of the State, was a cousin. The latter's mother was a McIntosh, an own sister to the General's father. Though Governor Troop himself could boast no Indian blood in his veins, he possessed both the grim determina- tion and the courage of his kinsman. The crisis which he was now called upon to face was well calculated to test the metal of the man in the executive chair.

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CARROLL

Carrollton. When the County of Carroll was organized in 1826 out of lands acquired from the Creeks, under a treaty which cost the brave McIntosh his life, it extended from the borders of the Cherokee nation on the north, to the Alabama line, at what is now West Point, on the south. It was called the "Free State of Carroll," partly on account of its magnitude, and partly for the reason that it boasted at this time comparatively few slaves. The county-site was first lo- cated at what is today known as Old Carrollton, a point eight miles northeast of the present town. But in 1829 the site of public buildings was changed to a locality better adapted to the purpose, but the original name was still retained. Both the county and the county-site were named for Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, who lived to be the last survivor of the immortal group of patriots who signed the Declaration of Independence. On Decem- ber 22, 1829, an Act was approved, making New Carroll- ton the permanent site for public buildings, and incor- porating the town with the following commissioners : Henry Curtis, Hiram Sharp, William Bryce, George Gib- son and Giles S. Boggess .* Carrollton is a wideawake business community, with a splendid body of citizens, numerous solid mercantile establishments, several strong banks, and many beautiful homes. The present public school system was established in 1886.

Unmarked Grave of Overlooking the Chattahoochee General McIntosh. River, on the famous McIntosh Re- serve, within the present borders of Carroll, is the grave of General William McIntosh, un- marked, except for a pile of flint rocks, in a thicket of underbrush. As the result of his friendship for Georgia, several millions of acres were acquired by the State, under what is known as the second treaty of Indian Springs. But his own brave life was forfeited; and

*Acts, 1823, p. 201.

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there will rest a foul blot upon Georgia's escutcheon until. she marks with an appropriate memorial the last resting place of her true and tried friend: the martyred chief of the Cowetas.

CHARLTON

Folkston. In 1854, Charlton County was organized out of Camden,1 and named for Judge R. M. Charlton, of Savannah. The commissioners to choose a county-seat were: Thomas Hilliard, A. J. Bessant, Thomas D. Hawkins, and Robert King.2 Folkston is only a small village, named for an old family then resi- dent in this neighborhood. Since the building of the A. B. & A. Railroad, on which the town is located, its growth has received a fresh impetus.

Center Village.

Volume I.

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Savannah Founded 1733.

Volume I, Pages 378-380.

First Jury Em- One of the chief concerns of Ogle- paneled in Georgia. thorpe, after fixing the site of the town, was the erection of a court- house, for the administration of justice in the settlement. Though a somewhat rude affair, the building, which was speedily raised for this purpose, also met the religious needs of the colony for several years. The following per- sons composed the first jury ever empanelled in Georgia : Samuel Parker, Thomas Young, Joseph Cole, John Wright, John West, Timothy Bowling, John Milledge,

1 Not out of Wayne and Appling, as inadvertently stated in Vol. I.

2 Acts, 1853-1854, p. 290.

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Henry Close, Walter Fox, John Grady, James Carwell, and Richard Cannon. The recorder was Noble Jones. His constables were Richard Cannon and Joseph Cole, while his bailiffs were George Symes, Richard Hodges and Francis Scott. The first tax collectors, or tithing- men, were Francis Magridge and Thomas Young. The following prominent citizens were made conservators of the peace : Peter Gordon, William Waterland, Thomas Causton, Thomas Christie, George Symes, Richard Hodges, Francis Scott and Noble Jones.1

Georgia : the Only Under the laws enacted by the Trus-

Free-Soil Colony. tees slavery was forbidden in Georgia. It is an interesting fact that at this time the institution was elsewhere unchecked. There were slaves in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, as well as in Virginia and South Carolina. The earliest pro- hibitive legislation upon the subject emanated from the Trustees of Georgia; and the first of the English colo- nies in America to outlaw slavery was the colony founded by Oglethorpe .*

Other enactments of the Trustees made it impossible either to sell or to mortgage lands in Georgia. They excluded rum from the colony, and sought to encourage the manufacture of wine and silk. Such restrictions were ill-adapted to meet the demands of competition. The colony began to languish. Discontent became wide- spread, and finally these measures were repealed .?

First Commercial James Habersham, in association with House in Georgia. Charles Harris, established in Savan- nah in 1744 the first commercial house in Georgia. The firm was known as Harris and Haber-

1 Jones, Stevens, McCall, Lee and Agnew.

2 Bancroft's History of U. S., Vol. 2, p. 287; 1, 513, 572; 2, 268-280; also McCall, Jones, Stevens, etc.

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GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS

sham. It gave great encouragement to planters, from whom were purchased deerskins, poultry, lumber, and other wares, a cargo of which, valued at $10,000, was shipped to England in 1749. This was the beginning of the foreign trade relations through the port of Savannah. The establishment of Habersham and Harris was located near the water's edge, in the rear of where the commis- sion house of Robert Habersham afterwards stood.1

The Jews in Georgia :

Volume I, Pages 97-103.

Georgia's First "On the Sunday morning before leaving South Caro- Barbecue. lina, the colonists held a special thanksgiving service, after which Oglethorpe, at his own expense, gave a grand dining, to which, in the name of the colonists, he invited the soldiers from the barracks, besides a number of citizens. More than three hundred people partook of the feast, at which was' served, so we are told by one who was present, four fat hogs, two fine English beeves, eight turkeys, one hundred chickens and ducks, a hogshead of rum punch, a hogshead of beer, and a barrel of wine. Notwithstanding the large quantity of liquor consumed, not a man became intoxicated, and perfect order was preserved. This was the first Georgia barbecue; for, though spread in South Carolina, it was given by the first Georgian, and was served in the abundant and generous way which has since made Georgia barbecues the most famous of feasts. ''2

Traditions of Sir Walter Raleigh. "In ascending the Savannah River, Oglethorpe is said to have carried with him the Journal of Sir Walter Raleigh. From the general character- isties of the place, from the latitude which it occupied, and especially from the traditions of the Indians, he was led to believe that the celebrated English explorer had landed at Yamacraw bluff and had conversed with the natives. In fact, a grave-mound, distant some half a mile from the

1 Lee and Agnew, Jones, Stevens, McCall, etc.

2 J. Harris Chappell, in Stories of Georgia.

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spot, was pointed out by the Indians, who informed the founder of the colony of Georgia that the king who then talked with Raleigh was there interred."*

Christ Church.

Volume I, Pages 77-80.

The Wesleys : When Oglethorpe returned to Geor- John and Charles. gia, in 1736, after a sojourn of several months in England, there sailed with him to Savannah two young religious enthusiasts, whose names were destined to become household words through- out the whole of Christendom : John and Charles Wesley. It was the founder's anxiety for the spiritual welfare of the colony which induced him to make overtures to these devout men. On the other hand, it was the some- what ascetic creed of self-denial embraced by the Wes- leys which induced them to exchange the luxurious life of an English country-side for the privations of an un- explored wilderness beyond the Atlantic. Reared under the pious roof of old Samuel Wesley, who, for more than forty years, was rector of the church at Epworth, both heredity and environment impelled them toward the pul- pit. However, it was not until they became students at Oxford that they acquired the austere habits of life which set them peculiarly apart; and here, in association with congenial spirits, few in number but kindred in charac- ter, they formed a club, which drew upon them no small amount of ridicule and abuse. They were regarded in the light of pietists. The name which finally stuck- Methodists-seems to have been given to them by a fellow of Merton College. At first John Wesley declined the offer of Oglethorpe. His father was recently de- ceased and his mother was old. The latter, however, rallied him with mild rebuke. "Had I twenty sons," said she, "I should rejoice that they were all so employed,

*Chas. C. Jones, Jr., in History of Georgia, Vol. I.

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though I should never see them more." Thus admon- ished, he waived his scruples and agreed to accompany Oglethorpe to Georgia, his special desire being for mis- sionary work among the Indians; and for this purpose he came with full religious ordination. But Charles en- gaged himself in the capacity of private secretary to Oglethorpe; and his acceptance of purely secular work in preference to holy orders is said to have given offense to John, whose paramount reason for sailing to Georgia was "to save his soul." But Charles, almost from the outset, felt himself to be a misfit. It was at the expense of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in For- eign Parts that John embarked upon the expedition., At first he refused to receive the stipend of fifty pounds per annum, but he afterwards agreed to take it. An- other of the Oxford band who joined the brothers was Benjamin Ingham, a man of parts, who later joined the Moravian brethren, married a titled lady, and became the head of a sect called the Inghamites.

It was late in the fall of the year when two vessels, the Symond and the London Merchant, each of 220 tons burden, quit the English docks, bearing three hundred emigrants to Georgia. The Wesleys traveled in the former. Among the passengers were twenty-six Mora- vians, whose demeanor during the progress of a some- what stormy voyage made an extraordinary impression upon the Oxford men ; and such was John Wesley's eager desire to converse with them that he immediately began the study of German and acquired no little familiarity with the language before reaching port. The piety of these devout Moravians moved him to admiration. In- deed, he questioned the genuineness of his conversion prior to meeting them. In his mission to the new world he was destined to meet with little apparent success, but he needed just the mental and spiritual discipline which it gave him. To quote Dr. J. W. Lee: "The John Wes-

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ley who went out to Georgia was still in a crysallis con- dition ; he had yet to learn how to expand his wings. It is not true that his career in Georgia was the utter failure it has been represented to be in many treatises. It is true, however, that it was hampered by the uncertain condi- tion of will which is apt to precede some great spiritual change." On the 14th of February, 1736, which proved to be the Sabbath, the vessels anchored in one of the coves of an island, probably Cockspur. The day was calm and beautiful. Early in the morning the voyagers went ashore, and there, on a rising knoll, with his fellow voyagers around him, John Wesley lifted his voice in prayer for the first time in the new world, where the present generation sees his followers numbered by mill- ions. Soon after reaching Savannah, John Wesley was designated to succeed Samuel Quincy, in charge of the religious affairs of the settlement, while Charles, in com- pany with Oglethorpe, journeyed 'still further to Fred- erica.

The Grave of Tomo-Chi-Chi.

Volume I, Pages 85-87.

Bethesda.

Volume I, Pages 80-85.

The Cradle of Methodism.

"Through John and Charles Wesley, the early life of Savannah and of the Colony of Georgia is linked with one of the most powerful religious movements of the eighteenth century. John Wesley himself says: 'The first rise to Methodism was in 1729, when four of us met together at Oxford. The second was at Savannah in 1736, when twenty or thirty persons met at my house. The last was at London, on this day, May first, 1738, when forty or fifty of us agreed to meet together every Wednesday evening.' Of the four young men who met together at Oxford, all visited Savannah, John and Charles Wesley, Benjamin Ingraham and George Whitefield, three of them having the charge of churches in the colony. Verily, Savannah has every right to be a stronghold of Methodism. But a mistaken notion has somehow canght the popular credence regarding the Wesleys and Whitefield.

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They were all Church of England men, and were appointed as such to be chaplains in Savannah. Their methods of life gained them; the name of Methodists; applied at first simply to those who performed rigid outward observance of devotional duties; and it gradually acquired and, embodied the doctrines peculiar to Wesley as they were unfolded.

"Another event which lends luster to the small settlement on the banks of the Savannah River was the establishment of a Sunday-school in the parish of Christ Church by Reverend John Wesley, nearly fifty years be- fore Robert Raikes began his system of Sunday instruction in Gloucester, Eng., and eighty years before the first Sunday-school in America, modeled after his plan, was established in New York. This Sunday-school begun by Wesley, was perpetuated by Whitefield at Bethesda, and has con- tinned until the present-constituting the oldest Sunday-school in the world. Nor does this end the claim of Savannah upon John Wesley. Here in Savannah was his first book of hymns written, though it was published in Charleston, in' 1737. But one copy is known to be in existence, dis- covered in England in 1878. Rare as any Shakespeare, this hymnal escaped the search of both English and American collectors; no biographer of John Wesley so much as dreaming of its existence. It is also interesting as an early-printed American book, apart from its interest as a hymnal and a portrayal of Wesley's mind during his eventful visit to Georgia. The volume is a small octavo volume of seventy-four pages, the title page of which reads': 'A Collection of Psalms and Hymns-Charleston. Printed by Timothy Lewis, 1737.' "*

John Wesley Quits Savannah : His Love Affair.

Says Dr. James W. Lee, in narrating the circumstances under which the great founder of Methodism left Savannah, in 1736:

"During his stay at Ebenezer, Wesley opened his heart to Spanen- berg on a matter which was weighing heavily upon his mind; and he has placed on record his approval of the good pastor's advice. On his return to Savannah the affair was to assume a very serious aspect, and to bring to an abrupt termination his career in the settlement. The chief man at Savannah was a certain Thomas Causton, who began his career as the com-

*Adelaide Wilson, in Historic and Picturesque Savannah. Consult also: James W. Lee, in Illustrated History of. Methodism.

*Though Savannah has been called the "cradle of Methodism," it was not until 1807, nearly three-quarters of a century after the Wesleys re- turned to England, that this new religious denomination succeeded in ob- taining a foothold in Savannah. Rev. Hope Hull, in 1790, undertook to hold a series of meetings in a chairmaker's shop, but, according to Dr. White, his preaching aroused mob violence, and his success was small -. White's "Historical Collections of Georgia," under Chatham.

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pany's storekceper, and was successful in securing the good will of Ogle- thorpe. This led to rapid advancement, which, however, was undeserved; for, some years later, he was detected in a course of fraudulent dealing and was summarily cashiered.

"There was living in his household at this time an attractive young lady, named Sophia Christina Hopkey, or Hopkins, his niece, who showed herself a devoted attendant at church services, and most receptive to the min- istrations of the handsome young pastor. Desirous of learning French, she found in him an excellent teacher. Wesley's London friend, Delamotte, however, who regarded Miss Sophia as sly and designing, and doubted the sincerity of her professions, warned John Wesley against her. Wesley. seems also to have discussed the matter of her sincerity-or rather of her fitness to be a clergyman's wife-with the excellent Moravians. The ad- vice which they gave him coincided with Delamotte's, and the result was a distinct coolness in his manner toward the young lady. She resented the change, and, understanding its significance, accepted the advances of a less scrupulous suitor named Wilkinson, a man by no means conspicuous for piety. As her spiritual adviser, Wesley still continued to visit Mrs. Wilkinson.

"At length, believing that he perceived in the lady's conduct distinct marks of spiritual degeneracy, he deemed it his duty to repel her from holy communion. This summary and injudicious step was naturally in- terpreted in an unpleasant way. The husband and uncle of the lady sned him in the civil court for defamation of character; and, in the squabble which followed, the people took part against Wesley. Holding peculiar views respecting the limited jurisdiction possessed by civil courts over cler- gymen, Wesley refused to enter into the necessary recognizances, and a warrant for his arrest was accordingly issned. To avoid further trouble, he determined to fly, like Paul from Damascus. He left the place secretly by night, in the company of a bankrupt constable, a ne 'er-do-well wife-beater named Gough, and a defaulting barber. They rowed up the river in a boat to the Swiss settlement at Purysburg, and proceeded thence on foot to Beaufort; but, misdirected by an old man, they lost the way, wandered about in a swamp, and, for a whole day, had no food but a piece of ginger- bread. Finally they arrived at Beaufort, where Delamotte joined them, and thence they took boat to Charleston. Here Wesley preached again 'to this careless people,' and four days later took leave of America, embarking on board the 'Samuel, ' Captain Perey.

"On the voyage, which was a stormy and unpleasant one, he devoted himself to ministering to the spiritual wants of those on board. In the solitude of his cabin he gave himself up to deep heart-searching. He felt that the want of success which attended his work in America was due to some lack of real devotion in himself. As he expressed it very tersely in a note to one of the entries in his journal: 'I had even then the faith of a servant, though not of a son.'

"Meanwhile, George Whitfield, to whom he had sent a pressing invita-

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GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS

tion to join him in Georgia, had embarked on his journey; and, the two vessels, as it happened, the one outward bound, bearing Whitfield, all aglow with missionary enthusiasm, the other about to enter port, carrying the disappointed Wesley, met at the mouth of the Thames. The question whether Whitfield should proceed or return weighed heavily on the mind of the older man, who seems to have thought that the decision rested with him. At length, having cast lots-a Biblical practice shared by him with the Moravians-he sent word to Whitfield that he had better return. But Whitfield did not . highly esteem this method of coming to a practical de- cision, resolved to continue on his voyage; and, in due time, he landed at Savannah. "*

Wesley's Georgia "Bishop E. R. Hendrix had the good fortnie, while Diary and Hymn-book. on a visit to England in 1900 as the fraternal delegate of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Sonth, to the British Wesleyan Conferences, to come into possession of the original diary kept by John Wesley during his stay in Georgia. This rare manuscript journal has been in the hands of only two families since it was given, in 1817, by the Rev. Henry Moore to Miss Elizabeth Taylor, of Caermarthen. She left it by will, in 1847, to the Rev. John Gould Avery, à Wesleyan preacher, who valued it so highly that it was retained in the possession of himself and his only daughter, Mrs. Norton Bell, the wife of a London architect, until bought, in 1897, by Mr. R. Thursfield Smith, J. P., of Whitechurch, Shropshire, a retired engineer and iron manufacturer.

" The book is a small duodecimo, bound in leather, and contains one hun- dred and eighty-six pages, all but eleven of which are numbered, and are filled with Wesley 's handwriting. Each of the numbered pages is devoted to the doings of a single day, and each line to the work of a single hour, except on one or two occasions when the writer was traveling. The whole, therefore, contains a minute account of the way in which Wesley spent every hour of every day during the time embraced in the record. The first entry is dated Saturday, May 1, 1736 [Old Style]; the last is dated February 11, 1737. Wesley relates in his printed journal that he 'first set foot on American ground,' Friday, February 6, 1736, entering upon his ministry in Savannah on Sunday, March 7, of the same year; and on Friday, December 2, 1737, he continued, 'I shook off the dust of my feet and left Georgia, after having preaclied the gospel there not as I ought but as I was able-one year and nearly nine months.' He took his final leave of America on the twenty-second. This record therefore relates to the greater part of the time spent by him as a missionary in Georgia.

"In the journal, the entries for the day begin at four o'clock in the

*Rev. James W. Lee, D. D., in Illustrated History of Methodism.

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morning, and end at nine o'clock at night; and also every hour of the day is inserted, whether the writer was on land or sea. The dates are given at the head of each page with the utmost exactness. The handwriting is neat and clear, and resembles that found in Wesley 's later manuscripts. It was all written with a quill pen, on good paper, and with durable ink. The book is stained with oil or sea water, for he carried' it with him on his voyages during his stay in America, several of such voyages being mentioned in the book. In one passage he uses the shorthand of Byrom 's system, which he learned as early as 1731. The book shows that he was often attacked by ailments which ordinary mortals would have regarded as severe. Again and again he is seized with 'cholick,' which he some- times spells with and sometimes without the 'k.' The first registered attack was on May 5th, It was on this date he met with trouble by deelining to baptize a child because the mother refused to have it dipped. Wesley dined there, and 'took a glass of spirit and water to cure me of the choliek.' He abstained from spirituous liquors, 'unless in cases of extreme necessity' or 'at a wedding feast.'

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Georgia's landmarks, memorials and legends, Volume II, Part 46

Author: Knight, Lucian Lamar, 1868-1933 Publication date: 1913 Publisher: Atlanta, Ga. : Byrd Printing Co. Number of Pages: 1274

Author: Knight, Lucian Lamar, 1868-1933
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Atlanta, Ga. : Byrd Printing Co.
Number of Pages: 1274