Georgia's landmarks, memorials and legends, Volume II, Part 58

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

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"The entire population of Georgia in 1750, eight years after Bloody Marsh, was only 5,000, whereas South Carolina at the same time had 68,000, North Carolina 80,000 and Virginia 275,000. In 1742 Georgia probably did not number more than 4,000 inhabitants, so that we have the spectacle of a small army of 650 men, less than a modern regiment, defending more than 300,000 people against the attack of a powerful enemy without any assistance from those people. Assuming that Georgia's population was 4,000 in 1742, it is not probable that the adult male population was more than one-third that number, so that we see another unusual spectacle, that of one-half the entire male population being engaged in one force, a pro- portion which I doubt has ever been equalled in the world's history. Had this small army of 650 men been killed or captured by the Spaniards, there could have been no effective resistance from the other parts of the colony,

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and Georgia as an English colony would have ceased to exist, while South Carolina and the more northern colonies would have had to fight for their existence.

"Oglethorpe, knowing the overpowering strength of the Spanish and his own weakness, realized the desperate straits he was in and made re- peated but fruitless calls for additional troops upon the more northern colonies. Finally realizing that he must rely upon what force he had, in the face of great and impending danger he wrote those brave and mem- orable words which appear above his name on the monument that we are dedicating today."

Embedded in the monument is a neat tablet of bronze on which the following inscription is lettered :

"We are resolved not to suffer defeat. We will rather die like Leonidas and his Spartans, if we but protect Georgia and the Carolinas and the rest of the Americans from desolation."-Oglethorpe.

Erected on the battlefield of Bloody Marsh-by the Georgia Society of Colonel Dames of America and the Georgia Society of Colonial Wars in memory of the great victory won over the Spaniards on this spot July 7, 1742.

The Story of the Dodge Millions. When William E. Dodge, the great lumber baron who founded the town of St. Simon's, died in the city of New York, he left an estate, the value of which was expressed in eight figures. To share this splendid property there were several children, two of whom were Anson Phelps and Norman B. Dodge. To the first of these was born a son, Anson Phelps, Jr., and to the latter a daughter, who, wedding her first cousin, Anson Phelps, Jr., was the possessor at the time of her marriage, in her own right, of a fortune estimated at not less than three millions. Before many years had elapsed Anson P. Dodge, Jr., who was educated for the Episcopal priesthood, began to feel the lure of the foreign field. The spirit of the missionary became so powerful within him that he finally embarked upon the high seas for India, taking with him his young wife, who was by no means loath to share his lot in distant lands and among alien peoples. On the eve of her departure, however, she made her will, the contents of which she kept a secret, even from her husband, acquainting him only with the fact that he was to be her sole executor. The sultry climate of India proved to be too drastic for the frail American girl, whose delicate organism had been attuned to gentler conditions of life in her far-away home. She fell an early victim to the Indian fever; and, having her body embalmed, the disconsolate husband brought the remains back to the United States and interred underneath the chapel of Christ Church, on St. Sinon 's Island, near the old town of Frederica. On breaking the seal of his wife's will,

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Mr. Dodge found that she had made him merely the trustee of the estate, barring a nominal support for himself. The bulk of the property was to be devoted to religious and benevolent ends. He cheerfully assumed the responsibilities which were thus put upon him; and besides helping hun- dreds of churches and institutions, he established at Frederica the Dodge Orphanage, for the proper care and maintainance of indigent children. He also revived and enlarged the work of Christ Church Parish, an organiza- tion whose beginning dated back to the days of Oglethorpe; and by his faithful ministrations as an undershepherd he sought the spiritual better- ment and uplift in his island home. The waves of influence which went forth from the old town of Frederica touched the remotest confines of Christendom. In the meantime he married Miss Annie Gould, who entered sympathetically and helpfully into his plans and who, since the death of her husband, several years ago, has .continued his great work, infused and infilled by no little of his spirit. On the walls of Christ Church there are marble tablets commemorating the unselfish lives of the saintly pair, who, under divine guidance, sought to make the wisest and best use of the Dodge millions.

The Tomb of Thomas Butler King.

In the historic old burial-ground ap- purtenant to Christ church at Fred- erica, lie the mortal ashes of the far- sighted Georgian who first conceived the idea of a trans- continental railway line to connect the two oceans- Thomas Butler King. He was a member of Congress, a wealthy sea island cotton planter, and a special envoy of the United State government to Europe. The grave of Mr. King is in the rear of the church and is marked by a handsome block of marble, on which the following epitaph is inscribed :

THOMAS BUTLER KING. 1800-1860. A profound statesman who faithfully labored for the public good, a man gentle and true, a devoted husband and father, a kind master.

His wife is buried beside him. Here also rests the celebrated scientist and planter, John Couper; his equal- ly distinguished son, James Hamilton Couper ; the noted Thomas Spalding, for whom Spalding county was named; Captain Alexander Campbell Wylly, a Captain in the Royal Army during the Revolution, afterwards Governor

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of New Providence; Major Pierce Butler, and members of other prominent Georgia families, including the Pages, and the Postells.

Oglethorpe's Whatever may be said to the disparagment Regiment. of Georgia as a Colony of indigent debtors and of impecunious exiles, there was not to be found in the service of the King of England a body of soldiers whose family connections were superior to those of the men who composed Oglethorpe's Regiment. The story of how he gathered them is thus told by Col- onel Jones .* Says he :

"Oglethorpe 's regiment was limited to six companies of one hundred men each, exclusive of non-commissioned officers and drummers. To it a grenadier company was subsequently attached. Disdaining to 'make a market of the service' by selling commissions, the General secured the ap- pointment, as officers, only of such persons as were gentlemen of family and character in their respective communities. He also engaged about twenty young gentlemen of no fortunte to serve as cadets. These he sub- sequently promoted as vacancies occurred. So far from deriving any pecuniary benefit from these appointments, the General, in some cases, from his private fortune advanced the fees requisite to procure commissions, and provided moneys for the purchase of unifornis. At his own expense he engaged the services of forty supernumeraries-'a circumstance,' says a contemporary writer, 'very extraordinary in our armies, especially in our plantations.' In order to engender in the hearts of the enlisted men an attachment for and an interest in the Colony which they were to defend and also to induce them to become settlers, permission was granted to each to take a wife with him, for the support of whom additional pay and rations were provided. So carefully was this regiment recruited and of- ficered that it constituted one of the best military organizations' in the service of the King."

As gathered by Mr. G. W. J. DeRenne, from the Book of Army Commissions, from 1728 to 1841, in the Record Office in London, some of the members of Oglethorpe's Regiment are given below. The list is fragmentary, but a more complete one is probably not in existence. These names are as follows :

*Dead Towns of Georgia, pp. 66-67.

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James Oglethorpe, Colonel of a reg- iment of foot.

James Cochran, Lieut .- Colonel.

Wm. Cook, Major.

Hugh Mackay, Captain.

Richard Norbury, Captain.

Alex. Herron, Captain.

Albert Desbrisay, Captain.

Philip Delegall, Senior Lieutenant.

Philip Delegall, Junior Lieutenant.

Raymond Demere, Lieutenant.

George Morgan, rank not stated.

George Dunbar, rank not stated.

Will Horton, Ensign.

James Mackay, Ensign.

Wm. Folsom, Ensign.

John Tanner, Ensign.

.John Leman, Ensign.

Sandford Mace, Ensign.

Hugh Mackay, Adjutant.

Edward Dyson, Clerk and Chap- lain.

Thomas Hawkins, Surgeon.

Edward Wansall, Quartermaster.

GORDON

Oothcaloga. The great valley lying between the Cohntta Mountains on the east and the Chattoogatas on the west forms a natural gateway between the North and the South, and important high- ways have led through this valley since the earliest prehistoric times. Gor- don County lies across this valley; and, long before the coming of white men, its territory was threaded by great Indian trails connecting the regions of the Great Lakes and the Canadian woods with the waters of the Sonth Atlantic and the Mexican Gulf. At the confluence of the Coosawattee and the Connasnaga Rivers stood New Echota, the last capital of the Eastern Cherokees. Some four miles west of this site, one or more Indian trails crossed the Oostanaula River, at a place where ancient mounds still mark the location of a once populous town of the red men; and, on this spot in after years grew the present county-seat of Gordon County: Calhoun.

But the earliest name by which the settlement at this place was known to civilization was Oothcaloga. The first whites who came into the country followed the Indian trails which, in time, they converted into roads. Still later, great lines of railway were built along the routes fixed by these an- cient Indian highways. Traders camped at the river crossing, and as soon as conditions called for a place in which to hold court a log cabin was constructed in the grove nearby and called Oothealoga court ground. Mrs. W. J. Hall, one of the oldest residents of Calhoun, thus describes the ap- pearance of the settlement at this remote time. Says Mrs. Hall :

"We lived just down the Oothcaloga valley, and as my brother had to go to the river for a load of sand my sister and I went with hint. We drove along a dim road through the woods, passing several deserted Indian houses and at one place a number of Indian graves covered with basket- work. This basket work had been made of canes, some of which had been buried in mud and made black, and these, woven in with the white canes, made various stripes. We saw a large herd of deer feeding in the woods

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GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS

near the new court-house, which had just been built. We had never seen a court-house of any kind, and in our childish minds wondered what it would be like. My brother drove up to the door, which was tightly closed, and we got out of the wagon and looked through the cracks between the logs, but saw no one anywhere."

With the coming of the Western and Atlantic railroad, the little station of Oothcaloga grew in importance. A trader named Dawson established a store here and played an important part in the life of the community, giving his name to the place which ceased to be known as Oothcaloga and became Dawsonville.

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Calhoun. It was soon apparent that a new county must be formed out of the northern portion of Cass and the adjacent counties of Floyd and Murray, and spec- ulation became rife as to the location of the new county- seat. Judge John P. King of Augusta, who had been a heavy investor in lands along the line of the new rail- road, bought a large amount of real estate at Dawsonville and exerted his influence to make that place the capital of the county. He erected a large hotel and offered to give lots for all public buildings. In this way Calhoun became the owner of several handsome parks.

After the formation of Gordon County, a spirited election was held at a place called Center, now known as Big Spring, to determine the location of the county-seat. Two places were voted for, "Center," and "Railroad." A large crowd assembled at Center and remained all night to learn the result. "Railroad" won and prepara- tions went rapidly forward to convert the thriving vil- lage of Dawsonville into the county capital which was soon named in honor of South Carolina's immortal son, John C. Calhoun.

Among the leading spirits of the new town were Dennis Johnson, who assisted in making the survey of streets and parks; David G. Law, who soon became a prosperous merchant; Dr. Wall, whose name is pre- served in one of the leading streets of the town; and Wil- liam H. Dabney, a young lawyer who came seeking a lo- cation in the new county. He afterwards became one of

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the leading jurists of northwest Georgia. As the terri- tory around· Calhoun developed its population and busi- ness grew. It became a large grain and live stock market, and the nearby town of New Echota which had prospered as a trade center after the removal of the Cherokees gradually died and its site is now a cultivated farm.

Calhoun was almost totally destroyed by Sherman's army in 1864, but after the war it rapidly regained its former prosperity. It is now not only one of the most beautiful towns in the State, but one of the most prosper- ous. Calhoun was the boyhood home of Maurice Thomp- son, the well-known author. His brother, Will H. Thomp- son, who wrote "The High Tide at Gettysburg," was also born and reared here .*

The Nelson Monument. On the court-house square at Calhoun stands a monument to General Charles Haney Nelson, a distinguished soldier of the ante-bellum period. General Nelson won his spurs as a soldier in the war with the Seminoles, after which he became a con- spicuous figure in the military operations around New Echota, incident to the removal of the Cherokees. He was not a native of this section of Georgia, but falling in love with the mountainous country he bought a plantation at Big Springs, some nine miles from the present town of Cal- houn. There, on what is still known as the Nelson farm, he lies buried. At the outbreak of the Mexican War, in 1845, he went to the front, bore an' important part in the struggle, and returned home with the rank of Brigadier-General. But enfeebled by exposure to a tropical climate, he survived for only a few months. The inscription on his monument reads as follows :

Dedicated by the Surviving Officers, Soldiers and Friends to the Memory of Gen. Charles Haney Nelson. Born in Wilkes County, Ga., Nov. 2, 1796. Died Sept. 30, 1848.

*Mr. J. A. Hall, formerly of Calhoun, now of Decatur, Ga.

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GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS

GRADY

Cairo. On August 17, 1905, an Act was approved crea- ting the new county of Grady out of lands for- merly included with Decatur and Thomas, and designat- ing Cairo, a progressive and wideawake town on the At- lantic Coast Line, as the new county-seat. The town was incorporated by an Act of the Legislature, approved October 28, 1870, at which time the following commis- sioners were designated to hold office until the election of a mayor and councilmen as prescribed by law. These commissioners were: Milton White, Dr. J. W. Clements, and J. M. Lawrence .* During the past few years the growth of Cairo has been rapid, due to the agricultural wealth of the surrounding country, and to the public en- terprise of a united citizenship.

GREENE

Greensboro. Greensboro was made the county-seat of Greene County, when the county was first created in 1786, and was named in honor of the illustri- ous soldier who ranked next to Washington as a com- mander in the Revolution: Major-General Nathanael Greene. The town was incorporated by an Act approved December 10, 1803, providing for its better regulation ; and at this time the following residents were named as commissioners : Jonas Fouche, Henry Carlton, Wm. W. Strain, John McAllister, John Armour, and Fields Ken- nedy. * There was a strong sentiment at one time in favor of making Greensboro the seat of the University of Georgia. It has always been a center of refinement and culture as well as a conservative business town, op-

*Acts, 1870, p. 175.

*Clayton's Compendium, p. 149.

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erating upon safe and sound principles. The Greensboro Female Academy, a noted ante-bellum school, was char- tered in 1853. On the court-house square stands a hand- some Confederate monument erected by the Greensboro women. Included among the men of eminence who have resided here may be mentioned : Hon. Thomas W. Cobb and Hon. Win. C. Dawson, both United States Senators ; Hon. Thomas F. Foster, a member of Congress; Dr. Francis Cummins, an early pioneer of Presbyterianism ; Judge Thomas Stocks, one of the founders of Mercer University; Judge Francis H. Cone, an eminent jurist ; Judge Henry T. Lewis, of the State Supreme Court, and a host of others. Gen. Hugh A. Haralson and Judge Eugenius A. Nisbet, were natives of Greene. On the banks of the Oconee River, in the upper part of the coun- ty, is the grave of Gov. Peter Early, whose ashes in the near future will probably rest in the cemetery at Greens- boro, where several of his kindred lie buried. Bishop George F. Pierce was born on the old Foster place, three miles from Greensboro.

Penfield : The Cradle Seven miles to the north of Greens- of Mercer University. boro, in a part of the county today remote from the main highway of travel, there is located an obscure village within whose quiet precincts much of the history of the Baptist Church in Georgia has been written. Here the famous university of the Georgia Baptists was founded and here the great Jesse Mercer sleeps on the old college campus. The at- mosphere of the locality is rich in fragrant associations. Nor is it any small part in the drama of events which the little town of Penfield has played.

In 1829, when the Georgia Baptist Convention met at Milledgeville, it was announced to the body that Jo- siah Penfield, of Savannah, a deacon in the church, had

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GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS.

· bequeathed to the convention, the sum of $2,500 as a fund for education, on condition that an equal amount be raised. The following committee was named to suggest a plan of action in regard to the matter : Thomas Stocks, Thomas Cooper, H. O. Wyer and J. H. T. Kilpatrick. They made a report at once, suggesting that the requi- site sum be subscribed; and accordingly, within fifteen minutes, the amount of money necessary to secure the gift was pledged in bona fide notes, given to Dr. Adiel Sherwood, clerk and treasurer of the Georgia Baptist Convention. The loyal pioneer Baptists, whose generos- ity helped to lay the foundations of Mercer, are num- erated below, together with the amounts subscribed :

Jesse Mercer. $250

Adiel Sherwood. $125

Cullen Battle. 200

Thomas Cooper 110

James Shannon. 100

William Flournoy. 100

Armstead Richardson 75

James Armstrong 50

James Davis 50

J. H. T. Kilpatrick. 100

H. O. Wyer.

150

Joshua Key 100

T. L. Brooks. 100

James Boykin 125

R. C. Shorter

Barnabas Strickland. 36

Jonathan Davis 150

William Walker 100

Thomas Stocks. 50

B. M. Sanders 150

Jabez P. Marshall . 100

Robert C. Brown

Edmund Shackelford 150

Peter Walton. 25

J. Whitefield, Cash. 10

Due authority having been given, a committee pur- chased from James Rudd, a tract of land, seven miles to the north of Greensboro containing 450 acres. Dr. Bil- lington M. Sanders, then a young man just entering upon the work of the ministry, but well-educated and well equipped, was engaged to act as principal. Under him the wilderness was cleared, temporary quarters were provided, and, on the second Monday in January, 1833, a manual school at Penfield was formally opened. As- sociated with Dr. Sanders, the first corps of instructors, were, Iro O. McDaniel, J. F. Hillyer, J. W. Attaway, W. D. Cowdry, A. Williams, and S. P. Sanford. John Lump- kin, the father of Governor Wilson Lumpkin, was a mem-

Andrew Battle. 50

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ber of the executive committee under whose oversight the school was established.

Penfield was the name given to the locality in honor of Josiah Penfield, from whose estate came the original bequest; but the school itself was named for Jesse Mer- cer, then the most influential Baptist divine in Georgia. Mr. Mercer, throughout his long life, constantly be- friended the institution and at his death it became the principal beneficiary under his will. At the start, it was quite an unpretentious affair. Mercer Institute was the name which was first given to the modest educational plant at Penfield. In the course of time there developed around it an important town ; but with the building of the Georgia Railroad it began to yield prestige to Greens- boro, a town on the main line and settled by an enterpris- ing community of well-to-do planters.

However, the Institute prospered. The students were required to perform a definite amount of work each day, for which they were paid at the rate of six cents per hour. They were also put through a course of study which was somewhat exacting. Dr. Sanders remained at the head of the school for six years. He was most successful in organizing the work upon solid foundations, partly be- cause of his experimental acquaintance with agriculture and partly because of his exceptional qualifications as a disciplinarian. But he was none too sanguine at first in regard to the educational outlook in Georgia. He was somewhat apprehensive of failure, due to certain adverse conditions which he feared could not be successfully over- come. To illustrate his attitude, it was found that be- fore the school could be organized an additional sum of $1,500 was needed. Dr. Sanders was asked, among others to be one of thirty to raise this amount. He replied to the effect that he was willing to be the thirtieth man to contribute, a statement which either implied some doubt in regard to the ultimate outcome, or else an an-

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xiety on the part of Dr. Sanders to make the Baptists of Georgia exert themselves.

But the sum was raised. Moreover, this wise and good man was placed at the head of the school. Under him, the command to halt was never once sounded. The Institution moved steadily forward. But, after six years, he relinquished the helm. Possibly for the reason that his successors were men of books, who knew compara- tively little of practical agriculture, there followed a laxity in the management of affairs. Dissatisfaction arose, and in the course of time the manual school feature was abandoned.

In 1837, the name of the school was changed from Mercer Institute to Mercer University ; a charter was ob- tained from the Legislature; and a fund of $100,000 was raised among the Georgia Baptists with which to give it a permanent and substantial endowment. The first grad- uating exercises were held in the summer of 1841, when diplomas were awarded to three young men. Richard Malcolm Johnston, who became one of the foremost ed- ucators and authors of his day; Benjamin F. Thorpe, afterwards an eminent divine; and Dr. A. R. Wellborn, a successful practitioner of medicine, received degrees on this occasion. In 1840 the Theological Department was added; and Dr. Adiel Sherwood was put at the head of the newly organized school of the prophets. The name of this stalwart, and sturdy old pioneer is still fragrant in the annals of Georgia.

At the outbreak of the Civil War, the senior class- men at Penfield entered the Confederate Army almost to a man, and there were few better soldiers. Though the college did not formally suspend until 1865, it main- tained an existence which was purely nominal. Most of the trustees were at the front. Widespread demoraliza- tion prevailed. So, after the invasion of the State by Sherman, the faculty with great reluctance closed the

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doors. Professors Sanford and Willet, the two senior members of the faculty, opened a school in the college building and held a quasi-commencement, but the lamp of learning could not be rescued from extinction. It flickered dimly, amid the ruins, enough to reveal the chaotic conditions; and then expired in darkness.

For seven years after the war there came a break in the academic life of Mercer. The work of rehabilitation was slow, due to the utter prostation of the State, during the period of Reeonstruction. Finally when the Insti- tution again arose it was upon the heights of Macon where it today stands. Prior to the war two separate efforts were made by Griffin to secure Mercer, but with- out success. The various presidents of Mercer Univer- sity, in the order of service, have been as follows:

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Georgia's landmarks, memorials and legends, Volume II, Part 58

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