Georgia's landmarks, memorials and legends, Volume II, Part 65

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

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In 1836 the United States Mint was established at Dahlonega. Skilled workmen were brought from Philadelphia to put the mint into operation; and among the number who came at this time was the Rev. David Hast- ings, a Presbyterian minister, whose cultured family imparted a tone of refinement to the rough mining camp and formed the beginning of Dah- lonega 's social and intellectual life. His grand-daughter, Miss Lida Fields, was a noted eduactor, whose popular history of the United States is still a standard text-book in the public schools. Governor Allen D. Candler, one of Georgia's most distinguished sons, was born near the old mint. Dr. Benjamin Smith, with his good wife, came from Vermont and ʻ

2 Acts, 1837, p. 265.

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settled near Leather's Ford. He built a school-honse across the highway from his residence, furnished it with maps, black-boards, globes and so forth, and here his own children, together with others in the neighborhood, were taught by Mrs. Smith until the cares of her growing family deprived the community of her splendid services, after which a lady from Athens, Ga., was employed to take up her work.

Here lived the Gartrells, the Singletons, the Mangums, the Kennons, and, last but not least, Colonel R. H. Moore. Who does not delight to dwell upon his memory-the handsome, courtly gentleman of the old South, the brave and chivalrous commander of the gallant Sixty-fifth Georgia Regi- nient ? The father of Henry W. Grady, the South's great orator-journalist, came here to marry Miss Anne Eliza Gartrell. His uncle then lived in the house now occupied by Mr. R. C. Meaders. Dr. James Thomas, later presi- dent of Emory College, was once a resident of Lumpkin. He came seeking health from mountain air and pure water. Miss Adeline Thomas, after- wards Mrs. Spriggs, was a noted school teacher in her day. Nineteen miles west of Dahloneg, in the upper part of Dawson County, bordering on Lumpkin, are the falls of the Amicalola, renowned for beauty. The peace- ful quiet of this lovely region is broken only by the murmur of the water as it leaps from rock to rock, forming a beautiful cascade, 792 feet in height, which fully justifies the meaning of its Indian name, "Soothing Water."

Dr. Matthew Stephenson, one of the best-known men of science in ante- bellum days, especially in the field of geological research, came to Dah- lonega with his gifted wife, a lady educated in the schools of Nashville, under the celebrated Dr. Hume. Three families of the Quillians were for- merly residents of this town. Dr. Benjamin Hamilton, an eloquent pulpit orator, with his interesting family, once resided here. Dr. H. M. VanDyke, . a noted physician from New York, joined hand and fortune with the little village. The Burnside brothers, James and William, whose father was challenged to fight a fatal duel because he would not give the authorship of a certain communication in his paper, came from Augusta with their widowed mother, who was anxious to spend the remainder of her days away from the scenes of political strife, which had been the cause of her great sorrow. They made good citizens of the place, and now rest in peace in Mt. Hope Cemetery.

At Auraria sleep the remains of a noted woman of this section, Mrs. Agnes Paschal. Gifted in many ways, her strong point was her knowledge of the healing art. Her services in this capacity were in demand far and wide, and she was wonderfully successful in her practice. This elect woman lived to be ninety-four years of age, and of her it can truly be said that she lived not for herself, but for others. She was the mother of Judge G. W. Paschal so distinguished in the legal profession. He removed to Ar- kansas and became one of the judges of the Supreme Court of that State. Later he went to Washington, D. C., where he was instrumental in found- ing the Law Department of Georgetown University, and became the first

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professor of jurisprudence in that institution. Here, too, by the side of her husband rests Mrs. James Wood, so long a resident, known far and wife for her hospitality and practical business qualities, and truly remark- able woman. One mile this side is a heap of stones in a cornfield that marks the place where stood General Winfield Scott's headquarters when he was sent to remove the Cherokees to the West. It was called the "Sta- tion, " and stood there until recent years.

On the banks of the Etowah, near the home of Mr. John Hutcheson, is "Guy Rivers' Cave," made famous by William Gilmore Sims in his novel of that name. The interpreter for the noted Indian Chief, Gunauluskee, was connected with a family in Dahlonega, and through them comes this story of how it was arranged that he should not be carried to the West. He could speak English, but in a business transaction, a white man had been guilty of an unprincipled act, and thereafter Gunauluskee would never speak a word of English, hence the necessity for an interpreter. He was on the staff of General Andrew Jackson, and had rendered signal service to that intrepid warrior at the battle of Horseshoe Bend, and when the chief gave notice that he would not be taken from his home, a man was found who was willing to undertake the long journey on horseback to Washington, D. C., to interview General Jackson as to what must be done with the brave old man, and he replied in language more forcible than elegant : "Let Guanuluskee stay in any d-d place he wants to."

Space cannot be allowed to tell of all who combined to make Dahlonega and its vicinity a center of learning and culture in those early days. The political horizon soon became clouded, and the storm in all its fury broke at length over the country, and there was a general scattering abroad of the families who had lent a charm to this immediate section. The young men hastened to take up arms in defence of the South, and nowhere in all the armies that were marshalled could be found braver, truer soldiers . than those from Lumpkin. After the long hard struggle, then came the trying days. Volume I tells of the establishment of the N. G. A. C. College, and Colonel Price's' connection with it, but it would be incomplete without mention of others who have made their impress on their great Common- wealth. Wier Boyd, the "Grand Old Roman from Lumpkin," as he was styled, was a prominent figure in the conventions of 1865 and 1877. His record as an able and wise statesman is a part of the history of the two branches of the Legislature of Georgia. Marion G. Boyd, the elder son, led the fight in the Senate of Georgia in 1878 against the abuses of the convict system, and won for himself national fame as an orator. His last ap- pearance in public was at the convention which nominated Governor A. D. Candler in 1898. He was chosen to make the nominating speech, and those who heard him say that it was a marvellous effort from this won- derfully gifted man. J. W. Boyd, the younger son, who is now a citizen of Fairmount, Ga., a lawyer and an accomplished mathematician, as' a member of the Senate, was prominently connected with the "Good Roads" legislation in the sessions of the Georgia Legislature in 1907 and 1908.

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The companion of his father, as well as of a scholarly unele, B. F. Sitton, both of whom took great interest in whatever would improve the roads of the country, it was to have been expected that he would have been an enthusiastic worker in the cause. Indeed, the whole family lived in the belief that this immediate section would one day become the garden spot of Georgia. Pure and incorruptible, unselfish and patriotic, Lumpkin lost one of her best citizens in his removal from her. A. G. Wimpy, an- other citizen, around whose name clusters precious memories, was for forty years superintendent of the Methodist Sunday School. Goodman Hughes was a benediction to this section. B. R. Meaders still lives to bless the community. In his long life he has never sworn an oath or touched one drop of whiskey. William J. Worley, whose long useful life has recently closed, was one of four brothers who were born and reared in Dahlonega, and who went nobly forward in defence of their country in time of its peril. "Service" was the keynote of his character, and he gave it without stint to every good cause for the advancement of his native town.

Hon. W. H. McAfee, now in Atlanta, a man of sterling worth, was a citizen of this place the greater part of his life. Doctors Hills, Moody, Howard and Chapman were men noted in their profession. Judge Amzi Rudolph, late of Gainesville, was for years an honored citizen of Lumpkin. Mrs. Josephine Whelchel, one of the few remaining residents who was inti- mately acquainted with nearly all those who have been mentioned in con- nection with Dahlonega's early history, is still an ornament to the place, with her rare knowledge of so much that is beautiful in nature and art. She is a niece of Harrison Riley and often presided at the table of his splendidly appointed hotel when there were distinguished guests to be ententaind. Among the frequent visitors to this part of the country were United States Senators, judges and other high dignitaries of both State and Nation, and the Riley hotel was their stopping place. Later it was known as the Besser House, and many amusing anecdotes are related by the citi- zens of this dear old German proprietor. This same building is now known as "Hall's Villa, " having been purchased by F. W. Hall, and is a part of his estate, but is no longer used as a hotel, having been super- seded by the "Mountain Club House, " so favorably known to the travelling public.

This is written to prove that now, as always, the good is far in ad- vance of the bad, and while it must be admitted that there were open bar-rooms and too much drinking, fighting and gambling in the early his- tory of the place, such was likewise true of other sections of Georgia; nor was it altogether fair to have given this place a name which attached to it so long in the minds of those unacquainted with the facts.

One thing more, and this article closes. Dahlonega furnished three colonels for the Southern Army from '61 to '65. They were Colonel William Martin, First Georgia Regulars; Colonel Wier Boyd, Fifty-second Regiment, Georgia Volunteers; Colonel R. H. Moore, Sixty-fifth Regiment, Georgia Volunteers. The young men who have gone from the halls of the N. G. A.

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College since its opening have almost, without an exception, reflected honor upon the old school in which they were made strong to fight the battles of life.

MCDUFFIE.

Thomson. Thomson, the county-seat of McDuffie, dates its origin as a village from the building of the Georgia Railroad in the early forties. It was named for Mr. J. Edgar Thomson, of Philadelphia, the chief en- gineer who surveyed the line. Thomson was incorpo- rated as a town on February 15, 1854, with the following- named commissioners, to-wit .: Wiliam P. Steed, Leonard G. Steed, F. F. Reynolds, William M. Pitts, Francis T. Allen, William J. Langston, Adam J. Smith, Joseph H. Stockton, Richard A. Sullivan, Anson W. Stanford, James L. Zachary and Richard P. Thurmond .* The Thomson Male and Female High School was granted a charter of incorporation on the same date, but in a different Act. When the new County of McDuffie was formed in 1870 from Warren and Columbia, the site of public buildings was fixed at Thomson. The growth of the town of late has been rapid. Its best-known citizen is the brilliant historian, editor and party leader, Hon. Thomas E. Wat- son, but such eminent Georgians as Judge Henry C. Roney, Hon. John T. West and others have likewise been identified with Thomson.

MCINTOSH.

Darien. Darien, the county-seat of McIntosh County, is one of the oldest towns of Georgia. It was founded by General Oglethorpe, who here planted a col- ony of Scotchmen for the defence of the exposed southern frontier. In 1793, when McIntosh County was formed out of Liberty, the site of public buildings was fixed at

*Acts, 1853-1854, p. 223.

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Darien. The town was incorporated by an Act approved December 2, 1805, providing for its better regulation, and Messrs. William A. Dunham, Virgil H. Vivian, John K. Holzendorf, George Street and Scott Gray were named at this time as commissioners. In 1818 the town was in- corporated as a city, with a municipal form of govern- ment. Elsewheer will be found a more extended sketch of Darien.

The McIntoshes: A Since the days of Oglethorpe, the distinguished Clan Noted in Georgia Annals. family of this name has been conspicuous in the public life of Georgia. It has produced fighters, some of whom have achieved high eminence, both on land and on sea. It has produced statesmen, one of whom, Governor George M. Troup, held nearly every important office in the gift.of the people and defied successfully the power of the United States government in the celebrated clash over State Rights. The family is of Scotch origin. It was planted in Georgia by John Mohr McIntosh," a Highlander, whose name was a power in Scotland, but whose support of the Pretender cost him the forfeiture of his estate. The invitation of Oglethorpe, who was seeking for colonists of hardy timber to settle the frontier outposts of Georgia, seems to have reached him at his home near Inverness about the time of his disastrous reverses, and the well-known Jacobite leanings of Oglethorpe only served to re-enforce an appeal which was not unattractive in itself. He resolved to seize this opportunity to recoup his fortunes in the new world. As the head of the Borlam branch of the powerful Mc- Intosh clan, he induced a number of his followers to accompany him to Georgia. The emigrants settled on the site of the present town of Darien. In the frequent wars with the Spaniards, the brave little Scotch colony was almost completely obliterated, and in the assault upon St. Augustine, John Mohr McIntosh was himself made a prisoner; and, being transported. to Spain he was immured for months' within dungeon walls. He was at first the civil commandant in charge of the settlement, but was later in- structed to enroll one hundred Highlanders to serve under him as light infantrymen in General Oglethorpe's regiment. Thus he came to par- ticipate in most of the hard fighting. Broken in health by his long im- prisonment in Spain, he returned home only to die soon after his arrival in Georgia.

General Lachlan MeIntosh, his son, was, like himself, a native of Borlam, in Scotland, and a man of strong martial instincts. He became perhaps the foremost military officer which the State gave to the struggle

*White's Statistics of Georgia, pp. 416-421; Stacy's History of the Mid- way Congregational Church, pp. 280-281; Men of Mark in Georgia, pp. 244- 256, etc.

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for independence. Due to an unfortunate quarrel with Button Gwinnett, which led to fatal results on the field of honor, the latter falling a victim in the encounter, General McIntosh relinquished the command of the Geor- gia troops and accepted an appointment under Washington. Though not the aggressor in this unfortunate affair, there was naturally a division of public sentment, Gwinnett having been a Signer of the Declaration of Inde- pendence, for which service he was held in grateful esteem, notwithstand- ing certain grave faults. In his new field of operations, General McIntosh won rapid advancement and received the encomiums of Washington. He returned to take active part in the siege of Savannah, but the theatre of his activities was principally in Virginia, under the great commander-in- chief.

It was his nephew, Colonel John McIntosh, whose gallant defence of Fort Morris, at Sunbury, Ga., received the recognition of the State Leg- islature, in the gift of a sword, on which was engraved his famous mes- sage of defiance to the British officer: "Come and take it!" He par- ticipated in numerous engagements, and, at the battle of Brier Creek, where he was made a prisoner, his life was narrowly saved by the timely inter- vention of Sir Aeneas McIntosh, a kinsman, in the opposite ranks. Colo- nel John S. McIntosh, his son, was another heroic representative of this martial race. He won his spurs in the War of 1812; and, when hostilities with Mexico began in 1845, he was one of the first to enlist. He bore himself with conspicuous gallantry in several of the fiercest engagements, but in the battle of Molina del Rey he was mortally wounded at the head of his columns. He died in the City ofMexico, where his remains were buried; but subsequently, by vote of the State Legislature, his ashes were exhumed, brought back to Georgia, and laid to rest in the Colonial Cemetery at Savannah. They repose in the vault of his illustrious grand- uncle, General Lachlan McIntosh.

But the list is not yet exhausted. Commodore James McKay McIntosh, a cousin of the above-named officer, arose to eminence in the United States Navy and died on the eve of the Civil War, at Pensacola, Fla., where he was in command of the navy yard. His sister, Maria J. Mc- Intosh, became distinguished as a novelist. Another sister, Mrs. Ann Ward, became the mother of the accomplished diplomat and lawyer, Hon. John E. Ward, who was the first United States Minister to China. Major Lachlan McIntosh, the father of this brilliant group, was also a man of note in the line of military attainments. Captain John McIntosh Kell, who achieved an immortality of fame, in association with Admiral Semmes, on the decks of the Alabama, was a grand-nephew of Colonel John Mc- Intosh, of Sunbury fame, whose name he bore.

General William McIntosh, the brave chief of the Cowetas, whose friendship for Georgia cost him the sacrifice of his gallant life, in conse- quence of the treaty at Indian Springs, ceding the remainder of the Creek lands in Georgia to the whites, was likewise a member of this same Mc- Intosh family, and a kinsman, if not a descendant, of John Mohr McIntosh.

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of Darien. His father was Captain John Melntosh, and his uncle, Captain Roderick McIntosh, an eccentric character of the Revolution, who espoused the British side of the struggle, but possessed none of the typical vindic- tiveness of the Tories. Catharine McIntosh, his aunt, married an English army officer by the name of Troup, from which union came the distin- guished statesman, Governor George. M. Troup, who was one of the fore- most public men of his time: an apostle of State Rights and an enemy without compromise to Federal encroachments. It will thus be seen that the McIntosh family has been notably identified with the fortunes of Georgia, from the earliest colonial days down to the present era. Nor has the State failed to give substantial recognition to the claims of this dis- tingnished household; for not only does one of the oldest counties of Georgia bear the proud name of McIntosh; but the counties of Troup and Coweta may likewise be counted among its enduring memorials.

Joseph Woodruff : Patriot and Pioneer. Beginning with the late Colonial period and coming on down through the period of the Rev- olution, there are few names more frequently found in the early records of this State than the name of a staunch old patriot who spent his last days on Broro Neck, in the County of McIntosh: Colonel Joseph Woodruff. This distinguished officer of the Continental Army was born in London, Eng. On a visit to Bermuda Island, he met and married Mary Forrester; and, after a temporary sojourn in Charles- ton, S. C., he came to Georgia, in 1788, settling eventually in what was then the Parish of St. John-the Georgia cradle of independence. When Liberty County was organized out of this parish, in 1777, he became one of its stalwart representatives; and later when McIntosh County was formed out of a part of Liberty, in 1793, we find him in that part of the county which was then erected into McIntosh. He was a large land owner, with plantations on various parts of the coast, but was not afraid to jeopardize his holdings in the cause of freedom. At the outbreak of the Revolution, while in command of a galley, he was captured by the British and thrown into prison; but no sooner was he released through the intervention of Tory friends than he hastened to join the Continental Army, in which he served until the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown.

Just before the siege of Savannah, Colonel Woodruff was dangerously wounded in the thigh, at Ogeechee Bridge, in 1778. He afterwards served as Deputy Quartermaster-General and sat both in the House of Assembly and in the Executive Council. One of his sons, Joseph Woodruff, Jr., a major in the United States Army, bore a conspicuous part in the war of 1812. His only daughter, Mary, married the gallant Captain Ferdinand O'Neill (O'Neal), a Frenchman who came to America to fight the British. Joining Lee's Legion of Cavalry, young O'Neill accompanied this dashing

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commander to Georgia and subsequent to the Revolution acquired a plan- tation on Broro Neck, became one of the founders of the Georgia Cincin- nati, served in the Legislature of the State, and took an active leadership in public affairs. Two of his comrades in arms settled near him on Broro Neek, Captain Armstrong and Captain Rudolph, the latter of whom died in Captain O'Neill's home, on June 28, 1800. Colonel Woodruff was at one time Collector of the Port at Savannah, probably the last public office which this distinguished patriot ever filled in Georgia. His death occurred in 1799, and he probably lies buried on his plantation at Broro Neck. The burial ground of the O'Neill's has recently been located in the upper part of MeIntosh.

MACON.

General Remarks .* The county of Macon was laid out in 1830 from Houston and Marion, and the first court was held at the house of Walter L. Campbell, Judge King presiding. This was on a plantation owned in 1854 by one A. Wiley, and was formerly known as "Barnett 's Reserve. " Barnett was an Indian, and his Reserve included many hundreds of aeres extending from Montezuma toward Marshallville and covering the high table land on the east side of the Flint River. Lanier was made the county-seat in 1838. Oglethorpe in 1854. When the seat of government was changed, there were 679 buildings in the county; total number of free persons, 4,191; total slaves, 2,961.

Flint River, running north to south through the county, was crossed en- tirely by ferry-boats until 1888, when a bridge was built above Oglethorpe by the town of Montezuma, for the purpose of drawing trade. This bridge is a quarter of a mile long and a' fine piece of constructive work. There have been five ferries. The upper ferry, known as "Bryan's," has been discarded. The second, or "Hollingshed's' Ferry," is still in use. The third, or "Lanier Ferry," was discarded after the war. The ferry be- tween Montezuma and Oglethorpe was discarded when the county built an iron bridge in 1902. The lower ferry connected Traveler's Rest with Oglethorpe, but when Travelers' Rest was deserted the ferry was aban- dond. Two railroads now traverse Macon. The Central of Georgia reached Oglethorpe in the summer of 1852, at a cost of $13,342 per mile. The Atlanta, Birmingham and Atlantic was built through Macon in 1903.

There are two "Deserted Villages" in the county-Travelers' Rest and Lanier. There is also one resort, Miona Springs. These are two miles from the site of old Lanier. For years the . mineral waters of this locality have been widely known. The tradition in regard to the springs

*For the full and comprehensive treatment of Macon County in this sec tion, we are indebted to Archibald Bulloch Chapter, D. A. R., of which Mrs. J. E. Hays, of Montezuma, is Regent.

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is that an Indian girl by the name of Miona was killed by her white lover near the springs, and buried in the surrounding woods. As far baek as the days of the Red Men, the Magical power of these waters was recog- nized. In the eighteen-nineties, Mr. William Minor, of Montezuma, built a hotel here, with outlying cottages, and for several years it enjoyed quite a vogue as' a summer resort. The cottages are still occupied in summer, and the place is a great pienie ground.

During the war between the States, Macon County was not lacking in patriotism. The Davis Rifles, with Captain John MeMillan, were the first to respond to the eall, going from the vicinity of Marshallville. Captain S. M. Prather, from Oglethorpe, carried a company, ineluding Phil Cook, Joel Griffin, Colonel Willis and others. Major J. D. Frederick went as captain of a company from old Lanier. Captain MeMullan, of Oglethorpe, mustered in a company of boys, and Major W. H. Robinson organized a company of old men, verifying the truth of what has often been said that the war toward the last "robbed both the cradle and the grave." When peace eame Union soldiers were eneamped at White Water Creek.

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Georgia's landmarks, memorials and legends, Volume II, Part 65

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