Georgia's landmarks, memorials and legends, Volume II, Part 69

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

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nailed, were easily removed by willing hands. This enclosure was constructed at the workshop of John Morri- son, two miles from the Troup residence. His handiwork was aided by his son, Daniel, together with the assist- ance of Duncan Buchanan. The nails were wrought by Peter Morrison, the blacksmith. The Colonel was a reg- ular patron of this little shop. On the lid of the box brass tacks formed this humble tribute: "An Honest Heart." The venerable statesman was enshrouded in a winding sheet (the custom of the day) prepared by Mrs. Eliza- beth Morrison, whose skill, like that of Dorcas of old, should be told as a memorial. She was the wife of the old woodworker. Material for the shroud was taken from a bolt of white linen, a portion of which also lent comfort to the rude coffin.

Gov. Troup's Tomb. The statesman was laid to rest at Rosemont, beside the body of his brother, Robert Lachlan Troup, to whose memory a shaft had been erected by the Governor and his son, G. M., Jr. (the latter having died two years after his father). The marble shaft, about ten feet tall, was finished in

TOMB OF GOV. GEORGE M. TROUP: On the Rosemont Plantation in Montgomery Co., Ga,

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Augusta, and stands in the center of the enclosure. On the front face will be seen the inscription :

Erected by G. M. Troup, the Brother, and G. M. Troup, Jun., the Nephew, as atribute of affection to the memory of R. L. Troup, who died September 23, 1848, aged 64 years. An honest man with a good mind and a good heart.

After the Governor's burial there was recessed into the front of the base a marble slab, 2 x 3 feet, and seen through the open door of the enclosure, bearing this inscription :

GEORGE MICHAEL TROUP. Born Septr. 8th 1780. Died April 26th 1856. No epitaph can tell his worth. The History of Georgia must perpetuate His virtues and commemorate his Patriotism. There he teaches us the argument being exhausted, to Stand by our Arms."

The enclosure, a most creditable affair, about 17 x 25 feet, is made of sand-stone, quarried from Berryhill Bluff, on the Oconee River, near by, and fragments left by workmen may now be seen strewn in the rear of the tomb. the splendid iron door, oft-times ajar, whose lock has long since been removed, was cast by D. & W. Rose, of Savannah. Governor Troup rests (according to the best information) on the right of the shaft, the single box coffin being used to avoid excavation too near the pedestal. There, among the wildwood, may be seen a rose bush, still blooming, the tribute of a faithful slave woman, long since in her lowly grave, among those of her kind. Near the tomb, which is now surrounded by a friendly little clump or trees (reduced in size, contrary to wishes of its owner), stood the Rosemont homestead, owned at the time of his death by R. L. Troup; but in

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GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS

his will, dated only two days before death overtook him, Rosemont, with all personal property, was consigned to his brother, the Governor, and nephew, G. M. Troup, Jr. As exceptions, a 15-year-old colored girl was given to a friend, and the sum of 3,000 in cash assigned to Robert T., son of Dr. James McGillivray Troup, the youngest of the six Troup brothers, then residing in Glynn County. One of our illustrations shows half a section of the Rosemont dwelling, a double-pen log af- fair, many years ago cut from its mate and removed to a distant part of the field, but still well preserved. A deserted and lonely old barn now stands vigil over the site of this once happy retreat. Broad fields of cotton and corn have displaced the luxuriant forests of bygone days, the sound of the hunter's horn and the bay of the hounds is hushed forever, for during his earlier man- hood the field and stream were resorted to by Governor Troup and his brothers.

Of the Horseshoe place nothing remains of former days, and it, too, is forgotten by the tiller of the precious soil as he sows and reaps on historic ground. Allowing a reference to the Turkey Creek plantation, and to fur- ther show the indomitable will power of the beloved statesman, it may be said that, just prior to his last journey to the Mitchell place, he wrote his overseer on the Turkey Creek farm, concerning a dispute with a neighbor of that community: "If I have not right on my side, I will surrender, but not compromise." Doubt- less his last message.

Gov. Troup's Life But back to old Valdosta! There re- as a Planter. mains on this massive plantation a number of the Troup slaves and their descendants, and their accounts of former (possibly hap- pier) days would fill a volume. Here, as on his jour- neys, the celebrated executive was surrounded by a full retinue of servants, who responded to his every beck

Grove of Trees Surrounding Gov. Troup's Tomb on the Rosemont Plantation, near Soperton, Ga. Old Barn on the Rosemont Plantation, Appurtement to the Former Homestead TWO INTERESTING VIEWS OF ROSEMONT.

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and call. Some of these were: George Baker, body serv- ant; Timothy Baker, footman; Madison Moore, coach- man; Richard Baker, horseman; George Hester, car- , penter and all-around man. He, it is said, built the Val- dosta annex referred to, being at the time, also a licensed pilot on the Governor's river steamer. A special pair of carriage horses, three single buggy horses and three saddle horses were kept groomed for the master's use. Space will forbid a further reference to the home life. Betsy Hester, of continued memory, was the house serv- ant, and, with many others, lived to a ripe old age. The servants are buried in a plat set aside for the slaves, and many of their graves are well marked. George Baker was well educated, and was allowed to assist the Colonel with his reading and writing. The Governor retired at four in the afternoon, invariably, and arose at seven in the morning-ready for all contingencies.

Sad, and as voices from the past, come the stories told by these trembling lips, and dimmed eyes that seem to review the days filled with happiness to them. Now and then a tear is shed in memory of the past. Time, in its eternal passage, has dealt gently with some of them, now ready for the grave-willing to follow their master to the ground made sacred to them by his habitation and kindness to them. These human landmarks, modest in form and bowed with age, are still beautiful reminders of the past and preservers of memories which die not, though the years come and go. But the departed mas- ter! Sadly lingering thought: He sleeps in a tomb his loving hands built for another, and their dust is min- gled together 'neath the shades of Rosemont, where the soft-moving waters of the Oconee murmur an eternal requiem of peace.

Mount Vernon. One of the oldest counties in the State, Montgomery, was organized in 1793 from Washington and Wilkinson Counties, and named for Major-General Richard Montgomery, who fell at the

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GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS

siege of Quebec in 1775. Due to unsettled conditions along the border, growing chiefly out of the Oconee War, it was fully twenty years before a permanent site for public buildings was finally made. At last, on November 30, 1813, an Act was approved by Governor Early, making the county-seat permanent at a place to be given the name of Washington's home on the Potomac River. The Mount Vernon Academy was chartered in 1810, and later, on December 11, 1841, the Montgomery County Academy was granted a charter with the following board of trus- tees, to-wit. : John McRae, Sr., Wiley Adams, Jolın Pat- erson, William Joice, Anthony Phillips, Joseph Ryals, Andrew Williamson, William Clark and James Chaney .* Brewton-Parker Institute, located between Mount Ver- non and Ailey, on the Seaboard Air Line, is one of the flourishing high schools of the State, founded by Rev. J. C. Brewton, D. D. Rather a seat of culture than a center of trade, the capital of Montgomery County has entered upon a new era of growth since the completion of the Seaboard Air Line, and the prospects of the town, from a commercial point of view, are bright with promise. There is not a richer agricultural belt in Georgia than the one which immediately surrounds Mount Vernon. This section of Georgia was largely settled by Scotch- Irish immigrants from the State of North Carolina, and there are scores of families living in the county whose representatives still bear the names of Highland clans.

Much of the original territory of Montgomery has been taken to form other counties in Georgia.

Richard Montgomery We are indebted to the pen of Dr. William B. Burroughs, of Brunswick, for the following sketch of Major-General Montgomery, for whom this county was named. Says he:

"Richard Montgomery was born in the north of Ireland 1737. At the age of 22 we find him with Wolfe at the storming of Quebec; he

*Acts, 1841, p. 4.

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was in the campaign against the Spanish West Indies, and shortly after quit his regiment and returned home. In 1772 he returned to America, bought an estate on the Hudson, and married a daughter of Robert R. Livingston. When the Revolution broke out he joined the Colonists and »was made second in command in 1775 under General Schuyler. In the expedition against Canada General Schuyler being sick, he took command and was was commissioned Major-General before he reached Quebec. He had every difficulty to contend with-mutinous troops, scarcity of pro- visions and ammunition, want of clothing, deserters, etc. The eloquence of a Chatham and a Burke lauded his merit in the British Parliament. The Colonial Congress passed resolutions of grateful remembrance, profound respect, high veneration, and voted to erect a monument in front of St. Paul's Church, in New York City. The monument is still standing, and bears the following inscription :

' This monument is erected by order of Congress 25 of January 1776

to transmit to Posterity a grateful remembrance of the patriotic Conduct, enterprise and perseverance of Major- General RICHARD MONTGOMERY, who after a series of success, amid the most discouraging difficulties Fell in the attack on Quebec, 31 December 1775, age 37 years. '

"In 1818 his widow made a request to the Governor of Canada, Sir John Sherbroke, to allow his remains to be disinterred and brought to New York. The request was granted and the State of New York caused the remains of this distinguished hero to be brought from Quebec and placed in St. Paul's Church in New York."

MURRAY

Spring Place. Spring Place, the historic old country-seat of Murray, is redolent with time-honored memories. Early in the last century a mission was planted here among the Cohutta Mountains by the pious Moravians. It flourished for years, but with the removal of the Cherokee Indians to the West it was discontinued. In 1832, when Murray County was organized out of a part of the Cherokee lands and named for Hon. Thomas

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W. Murray, of Lincoln, Spring Place was made the county-seat, a distinction which it retained until 1912, when the county-seat was removed to Chattsworth. As yet no public buildings have been erected in the latter town, and the question of a permanent site is involved in some dispute. Spring Place was the home of a noted Indian chief, Vann, whose residence is still standing, one of the few landmarks of a vanished race. John Howard Payne, the famous author of "Home, Sweet Home," was here detained as a prisoner in 1836, on the eve of the Cherokee removal. Spring Place was chartered as a town in 1834, with the following commissioners : William N. Bishop, John J. Humphries, John S. Bell, Seaborn Lenter and Burton McGee .* 1

Fort Mountain. Six miles and a half to the northeast of Spring Place looms a peak of the Cohutta Mountains, near the sum- mit of which can still be seen the ruins of an old fort, the origin of which is shrouded in a thick veil of traditions. This ancient landmark of a region famed for its great natural beauty is known as Fort Mountain, so called from the remnants of this old fort, some of the legends connected with which reach back over a stretch of four centuries to the romantic days of De Soto. But no one who thoughtfully examines what is left of the old fort can accept readily the account which credits its erection to the Span- iards. There were originally not less than twelve walls in this defensive stronghold. Its erection required time; and, according to the Spanish nar- ratives, less than two weeks were spent in this region, after which the gold seekers proceeded to what is now the city of Rome. Two stopping- places of De Soto have been identified as towns included within the original limits of Murray County, viz., Gauxule and Conasauga; but since in both of these towns he was accorded friendly receptions there existed no occa- sion for hostile maneuvers, such as the building of a fort would lead us to infer. The rules of historical criticism forbid an assumption that the ruins on Fort Mountain date back to DeSoto, but a former occupancy of this region by Europeans is strongly intimated, if not unmistakably proven, by these remains. We are indebted to Professor S. W. McCallie, State Geologist, for a table of measurements, showing how each of the twelve walls of the old fort ran. This table is given below, as follows:

*Acts, 1834, p. 248.

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SE. 40 feet to pit; 160' to gate at spring.

N. 60 E. 70 6 N. 20

S. 80° E. 60 66 (2 towers)

NE. 100

S. 80° E. 70 E. 20 N. 120

NE. 90 66

N. 10° E. 30

NE. 80 66

Says Prof. McCallie: "The old fort is located just a short distance from the highest point of the mountain. Some 250 yards from the main gateway to the fort is a spring. The walls are nowhere more than two feet high, but have a base of more than twelve feet. The masonry about the gateway is somewhat massive. All the stones in the wall can be re- moved by two men, except for a few boulders in a section over which the wall passes. There are many loose fragments on top of the mountain, from which the fort was no doubt constructed. "

But, while DeSoto may not have built the stronghold on Fort Mountain, the antiquarians are for the most part agreed that he visited what is now Murray County, during his famous quest for gold in 1540. In sup- port of this tradition, we quote from an original source "The Travels of a Portuguese Gentleman," translated by Richard Haklupt :

Says this account: "As the Governor (DeSoto) came to a town called Conasauga there met him on the way twenty Indians, every one loaded with baskets of mulberries and butter and honey in calabashes. From the time the Governor departed from Conasauga he jour- neyed through a desert to Chiaha (where the town of Rome now stands). This town was on an island between two arms of a river and was seated high upon one of them. The river divideth itself into those two branches. DeSoto rested there thirty days, and the Indians told him of a rich coun- try toward the North where there was to be found copper and another metal of the same color, save that it was finer and a far more perfect color, which they called talla-nuca, or yellow earth." It is a well-established fact that from the earliest times copper was dug from the hills of Murray County by the Cherokee Indians. The hinges on the doors of the old Mission at Spring Place are of beaten copper, and are said to have been made by the red men. Colonel Charles C. Jones, Jr., our foremost his- torical scholar, identifies Gauxule, the town mentioned in the Spanish nar- ratives, as Coosawattee Old Town, in which is now Murray County; and Conasauga he identifies as a town on what was afterwards the site of New Echota, at the confluence of the Conasauga and Coosawattee Rivers, in what is now Gordon County. Ga. En route from Nacoochee Valley to

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GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS

Gauxule only five days were spent by the Spaniards; between ?? ? ?? Gauxule and Conasauga they consumed only two days; and between Cona- sauga and Rome they occupied only twelve days; so it hardly seems prob- able that the stronghold on Fort Mountain was built by DeSoto, though it may have been constructed by Eureopeans, and possibly by Spaniards at a later period.

Indian House : The Outlined against the blue Cohutta Mountains, at Home of Chief Vann. Spring Place, is a famous old red brick man- sion, known as the "Indian House." It was built by Chief Vann and today stands strong and unwrecked by time. The brick used in construction was hauled from Savannah, while the quaintly constructed stairway, which has no visible support, and high hand-carved mantels were brought from beyond the seas.

Dark and fearsome tales are told of its early days, blood-stains still to be seen on attic walls, and mysterious hints of secret places containing hidden treasure, known only to the Indian, and never divulged to the white man. Vann was one of the two chiefs who befriended the Moravian mis- sionaries who, in 1901, established the Moravian mission at Spring Place, the first mission to the Cherokee Indians. This mission was built near the large spring from which Spring Place had its name, and was an unpreten- tious log house.

In 1865 the structure was demolished, and no trace now remains, but a few rocks mark the spot where Rev. Abraham Steiner and G. Byhan labored so faithfully. Later many other missionaries were employed to teach the people the arts of civilized life. Mr. Steiner is authority for the statement that Chief Vann built the first wagon in the Cherokee Na- tion, for which he was severely censured by the Council, and forbidden the use of such a vehicle. The objection was, "If you have wagons, there must be wagon roads; and if wagon roads, the whites will be among

Just where Chief Ridge lived has been the subject of much discussion. He was born about 1771 at Hiawassee, his father a full-blooded Cherokee and his mother a Cherokee half-breed. By the Indians he was called Kah-ming-da-ha-geh ("man who walks on the mountain top"). He be- came at the age of twenty-one a member of the Cherokee Council, and when he rode to the Cherokee Council Ground on an old white horse, poorly clothed and with few ornaments, he was ridiculed, and some of the chiefs proposed to exclude him from their council. He soon won their confidence and became one of the chiefs of their nation. His son, John Ridge, at- tended the missionary school at Spring Place, and later an Eastern school. Tradition asserts that either Major Ridge or his son John Ridge built the old Indian House south of Spring Place which at the Indian exile passed into the possession of Farrish Carter, and is still owned by the

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Carter family, members of which, down to the fourth generation, gather yearly at the quaint old house, which still claims its narrow stairway, tiny windows and hand-carved mantels .*

Traditions of the Cherokees

It is not known with certainty when the first settle- ment of whites was made within the limits of what is now Murray County, but there is a tradition to the effect that white traders from this section participated in the battle of King's Mountain, during the Revolution, none of whom ever returned to their cabin homes. Toward the latter part of the eighteenth century a number of white ' families from the Carolinas and from lower Georgia settled at what was then called Vann's Station, on the site of the present town of Spring Place. The Cherokees had at this time become fairly civilized. They occupied fixed places of abode, some of them owning negro slaves, with whom they cultivated extensive tracts of land in the fertile valleys. The most conspicuous among the leaders of the nation at this time were half-breeds like Ridge, Vann, Hicks, Boudinot, and Ross.

Chief Vann's father was a full-blooded white. His name was James Vann; and, to escape the consequences of a homicide committed by him in South Carolina, it is said that he fled to the Indians for protection. The exact time of his appearance upon the scene is unknown. He married an Indian girl, acquired a large tract of land on Mill Creek, and ownel a number of slaves. His property at his death was inherited by his sons, of whom there were several. In an old court record (1834) may be found an injunction against one William M. Bishop, forbidding him to trespass on twenty-three specified lots of land belonging to Joseph Vann. Dr. George Mellen, in an article on the old Federal road, refers to the owner of the famous Vann House as David Vann; but Rev. W. J. Cotter, a dis- tinguished octogenarian, who spent his boyhood in Murray County, speaks of him as Chief Joseph Vann, adding that he knew this noted old Indian chief well. Mr. Cotter's exact words may be found in an article published in the Wesleyan Christian Advocate during the year 1910. He describes the chief as over six feet in height. He says that he was possessed of very large means; that he employed skilled workman in building his house , and that when completed and furnished it was one of the handsomest homes in the State. We have no record as to when this house was built, but in Ramsey's Annals it is stated that the Moravian missionaries were given land by Chief Vann near his own house on which to ereet their mission house in 1801. Although the mission house was not finished until 1817, the first missionaries, Rev. George Byhon and Rev. Abraham Steiner, were

*Miss Willie S. White, of Dalton, contributes this sketch. The author- ities consulted by her are as follows: White's Statistics, Rev. A. R. T. Hambright and Mr. F. T. Hardwick.

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GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS

here long before this date. The old mission house was torn down by Mr. Lem Jones about 1865.

Chief Ross lived where the city of Rome now stands, and dated his letters "Head of the Coosa," but he later moved into Tennessee to Ross's Landing, now Chattanooga. He was a man of splendid talents, had a well-selected library, and had much to do with the litigation between the Cherokees and the State of Georgia, appearing for them in various courts, and finally carrying his contention, which was that the State of Georgia had no jurisdiction over the Cherokee country, to the Supreme Court of the United States, and there gained it before the nation's highest tribunal. In this case he exhibited so much statesmanship that Henry A. Wise, of Virginia, on the floor of the House of Representatives, declared in answer to a speech of Forsyth, of Georgia, one of the most eloquent men of his time, that Ross was in nothing inferior to Forsyth.

Chief Ridge was a full-blood Cherokee, a man of much intelligence, but of little education. His home was at the Carter Place. He was friendly to the State of Georgia, and by every means within his power sought to persuade the Indians to accept the government 's proposition for a removal to the West.

Spring Place was incorporated in 1834, and was made the county-seat of Murray. It was first called Poinset, but the people disliked the name and called it Spring Place. The records show that on September 19, 1834, Abner E. Holliday and Matthew Jones deeded forty acres, lot No. 245, to the county, "for the purpose of placing a county-site upon." The first court, presided over by Judge John W. Hooper, was held in the old mission house. There is a record of the names of the first grand jury. The first true bill was against George Took for murder. It is said that Judge O. H. Kenan was the first judge who succeeded in enforcing respect for the law.

As early as 1833 a stage route was operated between Spring Place and Athens, Tenn. Horses were changed every eighteen miles. There were post-offices along the route, one of which was located at what is now Eton. The Federal road was the great highway of the time. The first representative as William N. Bishop.

About this time a Moravian mission was established at New Echota, which was then the capitol of the Cherokee nation, situated four miles north of the present site of the town of Calhoun, Ga. The first Moravian missionary to New Echota was the Rev. Samuel Worcester. Through his influence a Cherokee youth, who attended his school, was sent North to a Moravian mission school, at Cornwall, Conn. While there he came under the notice of the distinguished Congressman, Elias Boudinot, whose por- trait now hangs in the hall of Independence in Philadelphia.

Congressman Boudinot was so pleased with the Indian youth that he adopted him and gave him his name. It was through this relationship

V net Present

EF h

SEQUOYA: Inventor of the Cherokee Alphabet.

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that the young chief became acquainted with the lovely young girl, Harriet Gould, who later became his wife. Her father, Captain Benjamin Gould, was an officer in the United States army. The young chief and his wife went to New Echota to live among the Cherokees. She soon became the idol of the tribe, and during the twelve years which she spent in New Echota she labored faithfully for the uplift of her adopted people. She taught the young Indians to read and write in their native tongue by means of the syllabary, which the Cherokee indian, Sequoyah, had just in- vented. Her husband, a leader in all the affairs of the tribe, was editor of the Cherokee Phoenix, a paper which was printed in the Cherokee lan- guage at New Echota, and was published from 1828 until 1834, when it . was suppressed by the Georgia authorities.

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Georgia's landmarks, memorials and legends, Volume II, Part 69

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