Georgia's landmarks, memorials and legends, Volume II, Part 77

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

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James M. Page, formerly a lieutenant in Company A of the Michigan Cavalry, has published a volume entitled "The True Story of Anderson- ville; or a Defence of Major Henry Wirz." He spent seven months iu the prison at Andersonville, and with ample opportunities for observation he fastens the blame for the so-called outrages upon Secretary Stanton, of the United States War Department. On May 12, 1911, there was

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unveiled at Andersonville, under the auspices of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, a handsome monument to the memory of Major Henry Wirz, the commanding officer of the prison. Hon. Pleasant A. Stovall, of Savannah, was the orator of the occasion. His address was a masterful review of the unvarnished facts of history connected with the execution of this gallant Confederate officer. Major Wirz is buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery, on the outskirts of the nation's capital, in the District of Columbia. His last resting-place, near the main entrance, is marked only by an obscure little headstone, rising scarcely more than an inch above the ground, on which the only inscription chiseled is the pathetic mono- syllable: WIRZ.

TALBOT

Talbotton. Talbotton, a town rich in historic associa- tions, was made the county-seat of Talbot by an Act approved December 20, 1828. At the same time a charter of incorporation was obtained, with the following named commissioners, to-wit .: H. R. Ward, George W. B. Towns, John B. Davis and William Goss.1 The commissioner whose name appears second in this list was none other than Governor George W. Towns, who was baptized with the "B" in his name, but sub- sequently dropped it as an unnecessary letter. Both the town and the county were named for Hon. Matthew Talbot, one of the early Governors of Georgia. . Between 1828 and 1836 not less than ten academies were chartered in the County of Talbot, a showing which well attests the intellectual character of the early pioneers who set- tled this region. The Female Academy of Talbotton was chartered on December 23, 1830, with the following board of trustees, viz. : James Bell, Elisha Tarver, Henry Mims, Norborn B. Powell, Robert G. Crittenden, Charles Smith and John P. Blackburn.2 This pioneer school for young ladies developed into the famous Le Vert Female College, named for the noted Madame LeVert, one of the most gifted women of her day. She spoke fluently a number of

1 Acts, 1828, p. 149.

2 Acts, 1830, p. 9.

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GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS

foreign languages, wrote a book on travel, and for years dominated the intellectual and social life of the State. Madam LeVert was a granddaughter of George Walton, an early Governor of the State, and one of the Signers of the Declaration. While residing with her son, then Governor of West Florida, she named the future capital of the State-Tallahassee. The commissioners of the LeVert Female College were as follows: Thomas B. Turner, Thomas A. Brown, Allen F. Owen, Josiah M. Matthews, Edmond H. Worrill, James P. Leonard and John T. Blount, all of whom were previously trustees of the Talbotton Female Academy. Besides these were added: William B. Marshall, Harrison W. Hagerman, Andrew W. Wynn, William B. Brown, Francis M. Mur- ray, David Kendall, Washington C. Cleveland and Hiram Drane.1 But the old college suffered to such an extent from the impoverished condition of the State subsequent to the war that its doors were eventually closed. In 1833 the legal titles to the college property were transferred to the town of Talbotton for educational purposes.2 Col- lingsworth Institute, founded by Josiah Flournay as a manual-labor school, was chartered on December 29, 1838, and named for a devoted Methodist preacher. The sum of $40,000 was bequeathed to the school by its gen- erous founder. Here two members of the noted Straus family, Nathan and Isidor, afterwards millionaire mer- chants of New York, were educated. Judge William A. Little, formerly on the Supreme Bench, and Hon. Walter B. Hill, late chancellor of the University, were born at Talbotton. Here also lived the Gormans, the Leonards, the Blounts, the Searcys, the Powells, and scores of other aristocratic old families, whose ample mode of life is attested by the fine old mansions which still survive in different parts of the county as stately memorials of a gentler era.

1 Acts, 1855-1856, p. 280.

2 Acts, 1883, p. 646.

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The Straus Family. One of the most noted households in America of Jewish origin was identified for nearly a full decade with the little town of Talbotton, in this rich agricultural belt of middle Georgia. Here it, was that the business career of the famous Straus family began; and from a modest corner store in what was then a mere country village dates the origin of the great mercantile establishment of R. H. Macy & Co. in the great commercial metropolis of the continent. It is useless at this late day to conjecture the motives which induced Lazarus Straus to exchange his home in distant Bavaria for the little town in Georgia, to which he brought his household goods; but he settled in Talbotton in 1854, Two of his boys-Isidor and Nathan- were old enough to be sent to school. Accordingly he placed them in the care of good Methodist teachers 'at Collingsworth Institute. Oscar was still an infant. There was nothing of bigotry in the heart of Lazarus Straus. He was broad minded, a man of whom his neighbors thought well; but he was also progressive, energetic, wide-awake, possessed of the typical instinct of his race for trade and barter. Removing to Columbus in 1862, where a somewhat wider arena was found for his business activities, he remained in Columbus until 1865, when the raiders of General Wilson made the town a visit, which left it prostrate in the ashes of war. Laz- arus Straus then removed to New York. Here he organized what eventually became one of the largest establishment in the country engaged in the importation of chinaware. In 1887, Isidor and Nathan purchased an inter- est in the great department store of R. H. Macy & Co., an establishment of which the Straus brothers in time became the sole owners. Both of them began to accumulate millions and to make themselves felt, not only in the business' life of the great metropolis, but in its philanthropies, in its politics, in its moral and social reforms. Oscar chose a professional

career. Graduating from Columbia College with the highest honors of his class, he began the practice of law. But ill-health thwarted his ambi- tions. He thereupon entered his father's place of business, where his legal acquirements proved of immense advantage. But he was not pre- vented by business engagements from taking an active part in politics; and he demonstrated his capacity for public life to such an extent that President Cleveland appointed him Minister to Turkey. Although a Demo- crat, he was retained at Constantinople by the Mckinley administration. Besides' winning the approval of the home government, he also gained the friendship of the Sultan, who wished to decorate him, a compliment, how- ever, which his patriotic scruples forced him to decline, since it was not in accord with the spirit of free institutions. When the Department of Commerce and Labor was created, Mr. Roosevelt conferred upon him this important portfolio, and he entered the President's Cabinet, the first member of his race to be accorded this honor since the birth of the Fed- eral Constitution-though Judah P. Benjamin was given a similar dis- tinction under the government of the Confederate States. In 1909, Mr. Straus again received from President Taft the Turkish Ambassadorship.

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Few Americans of the present generation have been more signally honored. Isidor Straus, the eldest of the brothers, perished at sea on board the ill-fated Titanic, which encountered an iceberg while making her maiden voyage, and sank in mid-ocean on the morning of April 16, 1912. Mrs. Straus, refusing to leave her husband's side for a seat in one of the life- boats, perished with him in the wreck. The body of Mr. Straus was sub- sequently recovered, but the ocean's sandy bed is the last resting place of his beloved wife: a true woman of Israel.

TALIAFERRO.

Crawfordville. Crawfordville, the county-seat of Talia- ferro, was named for the great William H. Crawford, who, next to Mr. Stephens, was perhaps Georgia's greatest statesman. The town was incorpo- rated by legislative act, on December 27, 1826, with the following-named commissioners, to-wit .: Herman Mer- cer, Thomas Chastain, Wylie Womack, Sherwood Towns, William Little, John Murphy, and John W. Jordan .* Stephens Institute, located here, is a flourishing high school. Crawfordville is not a large town, but as the old home of Alexander H. Stephens, the Confederate Vice- President, it is one of the political Meccas of America.

Liberty Hall.

Pages 142-153.

The Arrest of While a prisoner at Fort Warren, in Bos-

Mr. Stephens. ton Harbor, Mr. Stephens kept a diary, in which he carefully recorded from day to day the events of his prison life. He also interspersed it with observations on the philosophy of government, with comments upon current topics, and with various other things. The references to Linton Stephens are both numerous and tender. On almost every page there is some allusion to his half brother, a reminiscence or a prayer, in which Linton was the central thought. Chap-

*Acts, 1826, p. 169.

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ter after chapter from the Bible was also copied into the diary to beguile the tedium of imprisonment; and the manuscript of this journal, in after years, furnished the basis for the statesman's great literary masterpiece, "The War Between the States." On the death of Mr. Stephens the diary became the property of his nephew, the late John A. Stephens, whose children have recently given it to the public. The opening chapter of the diary contains an interesting first-hand account of the author's arrest. It runs as follows :

Liberty Hall, Thursday, May 11, 1865-This was a most beautiful and charming day. After refreshing sleep, I arose early. Robert Hull, a youth, son of Henry Hull, of Athens, Ga., spent the night at my house. I wrote some letters for the mail, my custom being to attend to such busi- ness as soon as breakfast was over; and Robert and I were amusing our- selves at Casino, when Tim [a negro servant] came running into the parlor, saying: "Master, more Yankees have come; a whole heap are in town, galloping about with guns!" Suspecting what it meant, I rose, told Robert I supposed they had come for me, and entered my bedroom to make arrangements for leaving, should my apprehension prove true. Soon, I saw an officer with soldiers under arms approaching the house. The doors were all open. I met him in the library. He asked if my name was Stephens. I replied that it was.

" Alexander H. Stephens ?" said he.

I told him yes. He then said that he had orders to arrest me. I in- quired his name and asked to see his orders. He replied that he was Captain Saint, of the Fourth Iowa Cavalry, or mounted infantry, attached to General Nelson's command; he was then under General Upton; he showed me the order by General Upton, at Atlanta, directing my arrest and the arrest of Robert Toombs; no charge was specified; he was instructed to come to Crawfordville, arrest me, proceed to Washington, arrest Mr. Toombs, and then carry both to General Upton's headquarters.

I told him I had been looking for something of this kind; at least, for some weeks, had thought it not improbable, and hence had not left home; that General Upton need not have sent any force for me; that had he simply notified me that he wished me at headquarters, I should have gone. I asked how I was to travel.

He said: "On the cars."

I then learned that he had come down on the train, arriving just before Tim's announcement. I asked if I would be permitted to carry any cloth- ing. He said "Yes." I asked how long I might have for packing. He said: "A few minutes-as long as necessary." I set to packing. Harry

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[the chief man servant] came in, evincing great surprise and regret, to pack for me. The captain then said:

"You may take a servant with you if you wish."

I asked if he knew my destination. He said:

"First, Atlanta; then, Washington City."

I called in Anthony, a black boy from Richmond, who had been waiting on me for several years, and inquired if he wished to go. I told him I would send him from Washington to his mother in Richmond. He was willing, so I bade him be ready as soon as possible.

In the meantime, Mr. Hiddell [secretary to Mr. Stephens] had come in; he was living with me and had gone out after breakfast. None of my brother's family residing at the old homestead happened to be with me; however, Clarence, who was going to school at the Academy, hearing of what had occurred, I suppose, came over with some friends from town. It was about ten A. M. when Captain Saint arrived. In about fifteen minutes-not much over-we started for the depot, Anthony and I, with the captain and squad; friends, servants, and Clarence following, most of them crying. My own heart was full-too full for tears.1

Beside His Be- On September 5, 1914, the mortal ashes

loved Brother. of Judge Linton Stephens-after a

lapse of forty-two years-were brought from his old home in Sparta and laid to rest beside those of his renowned brother, on the lawn of Liberty Hall. The exercises of reinterment were simple. Judge N. E. Harris, Governor-elect, who read law in the office of Judge Stephens at Sparta, delivered the principal ad- dress. If anything could make the sleep of Mr. Stephens' sweeter it would be the consciousness that an act of poetic justice has at last been performed.

TATTNALL

Reidsville. The original county-seat of Tattnall was on the Ohoopee River, near Drake's Ferry. In 1832, Reidsville became the seat of government, but the town was not incorporated until December 31, 1838, when the following commissioners wer named, to-wit .: Shad- rach Hancock, John A. Mattox, John Brazzell, William Rogers and John A. Rogers, Jr.2 Reidsville is today

1 Recollections of Alexander H. Stephens, containing the Prison Diary of Mr. Stephens, 1865.

2 Acts, 1838, p. 123.

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TELFAIR

a flourishing town, with up-to-date public utilities, a fine group of banks and with a splendid body of citizens.

TAYLOR

Butler. Butler, the county-seat of Taylor County, was named for General William Orlando Butler, a distinguished soldier of the Mexican War and a candi- date for Vice-President on the ticket with General Lewis Cass, of Michigan. He was also a poet of some reputa- tion and the author of a celebrated song called "The Boatman's Horn." The county was named for General Zachary Taylor. Butler was incorporated as a town on February 8, 1854, with Messrs. C. Y. Perry, Ezekiel Royal, Isaac Mulky, James T. May, and P. C. Carr as commissioners.1 Though not a large, it is quite a cul- tured, community, composed of fine old families, which have long been resident in this section of Georgia.

TELFAIR.

Jacksonville. Jacksonville, the original county-seat of Telfair, was founded soon after the county was created in 1807, but was not chartered until 1815, when the following commissioners were named: Chas. McKinyan, Abel L. Hatton, Wm. Harris, Nathaniel Ashley, and Noah Palmour.2 The Jacksonville Academy was chartered on Deceni- ber 10, 1841, with the following trustees: Mark Wilcox, Sargeant S. Free- man, Henry E. Turner, Alex. T. Dopson, Cornelius R. Ashley, Chas. J. Shelton, Duncan McRae, Peter H. Coffee, and John G. McCall.3 Gen. John Coffee, a soldier of note, memorialized by one of the counties of Georgia, lies buried five miles south of Jacksonville; and presumably in this same neighborhood sleeps his son-in-law, Gen. Mark Wilcox, for whom a county has likewise been named. Jacksonville is today only a small village.

McRae. In 1870 the site of public buildings was changed to McRae, a town which was four years later incorporated with the following-named commissioners. to-wit .: Daniel M. McRae, William McRae, John Mc-

1 Acts, 1843-1853, p. 232.

2 Lamar's Digest, p. 1015.

3 Acts, 1841, p. 5.

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Daniel, Sr., J. Dougherty and R. Rivers .* With splendid railway facilities, McRae is rapidly becoming an impor- tant commercial center. The surrounding country is rich in agricultural products, and the fame of the little town as a wide-awake community has traveled abroad. McRae possesses a number of strong banks, several hand- some business blocks and scores of flourishing establish- ments. South Georgia College, an institution under Methodist control, imparts to the town an atmosphere of culture and attracts from a distance quite a large number of students.

TERRELL

Dawson. On February 16, 1856, an Act was approved creating the new County of Terrell from par- cels of land described as follows: From Lee County, districts three and twelve; from Randolph County, dis- tricts four and eleven; and from Kinchefoonee County, now Webster, district seventeen. To the county thus formed was given the name of Terrell, in honor of Dr. William Terrell, of Sparta, Ga., one of the most distin- guished physicians and one of the most useful public men of the State. The site for public buildings was lo- cated by the county authorities near the center of the new county on lands belonging to Moses H. Baldwin, and from this pioneer resident one hundred acres of ground were purchased, at the rate of $25 per acre, on which to locate the future county-seat. The town was called Dawson, in honor of a distinguished United States Senator, then lately deceased, Hon. William C. Dawson, of Greensboro, Ga.

Regulations for the government of Dawson were adopted by the President and Councilmanic Board, under an Act of the Legislature approved December 22, 1857. The first mayor or president of Dawson was Rev. Jesse M. Davis. The pioneer councilmen were : Moses H. Bald- win, George Bunch, James W. Shropshire, Francis D.

*Acts, 1874, p. 157.

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Bailey and Patrick H. Mills. John L. Allison was the first town marshal, Benjamin F. Brooks, the first treas- urer, and Patrick H. Mills, the first clerk of council. As a preparation for building the town; Daniel Lawhorn was paid $100 for surveying town lots. At the same time, Calvin Register received $110 for clearing the public square and putting the streets in order. The first ses- sion of the Inferior Court was held under a large red oak tree, which stood near the old Farnum stables, at the extreme west end of Lee Street, in the fall of 1856. The first term of the Superior Court was held in the following spring, with Judge David Kiddoo on the Bench and Hon. D. B. Harrell as solicitor-general. The first county officers were : Daniel Harden, treasurer; Ludwell E. Leonard, Ordinary ; Myron E. Weston, Clerk of Court ; A. J. Baldwin, Sr., Sheriff, James W. Bone, Tax Collec- tor; Samuel P. Williams, Representative, and John B. Vanover, Senator.

Joseph D. Reynolds superintended the building of the original court-house, for which he was paid the sum of $5,440, covering presumably the entire cost of the struc- ture. The first County School Commissioners were : Moses H. Baldwin, B. L. Winbourn and Eli G. Hill. In 1857 a post-office was established in the town, with R. W. Nelson as the postmaster in charge. The first train to pass through Dawson came over the line of the Central of Georgia in the summer of 1858. Captain W. C. Thorn- ton, who died in Virginia during the Civil War was the first soldier buried in the cemetery at Dawson, but of those who enlisted from Terrell, Robert Hayes was the first to lose his life on the field of battle. In 1866, Messrs. E. and J. E. Christian founded the Dawson Journal, which they continued to own and edit for several years.

The first marriage license on record was issued to Michael Burk and Sarah Middelton, June 2, 1865, and the ceremony was performed by Rev. Patrick H. McCook. Two of the pioneer educators of Dawson were Prof. Thomas Brantley and Prof. M. A. McNulty, who con-

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GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS

ducted flourishing schools. Prof. J. W. F. Lowrey was also an early instructor who stamped his impress in- delibly upon the town. Rev. John Martin was the first Baptist pastor. The little building in which he preached stood very near the site of the present handsome struc- ture. The first Methodist Church is still standing on South Main Street. Its pastor was a Rev. Mr. William- son. This house of workship was used until the con- gregation grew large enough to warrant the building of the commodious edifice near the centre of the town.

Camp Exile. During the sixties a gun shop was located in Dawson, which continued in operation until the surrender. When the torches of Sherman's army had left Atlanta in ashes and driven her defence- less women and children into an unsheltered exile, the Governor of the State arranged for transportation of some three hundred refugees to Dawson, and these were quartered at what has been known as "Exile Camp." Not by leaps and bounds, but by slow degrees, Dawson has progressed from a village in the wilderness to a city beautiful. Many of the evils which menaced the first years of the town's existence have been uprooted. Her handsome business blocks, her imposing public buildings, her paved streets, and her many beautiful homes, with their well-kept lawns and flower gardens, all attest the fact that Dawson is destined to become one of the most important commercial centers of a region which literally flows with milk and honey.

Some of the Early Examining some of the early documents of the Settlers. town we find the following records: Charter members of the Methodist church, 1857-Mr. and Mrs. Moses H. Baldwin, Mr. and Mrs. B. H. Brown, Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Perry, Mr. and Mrs. W. P. Vinson and Dr. and Mrs. C. A. Cheatham. Trustees of the Baptist Church-John T. Walker, William C. Thornton, John A. Bishop, Benj. F. Cook and Harrison Ethridge. Pioneer physicians -Dr. Jim, Huff, Dr. J. W. Shropshire, Wr. C. A. Cheatham, Dr. J. T. Lamar, Dr. B. R. Reeves, Dr. Hiram G. Johnston, Dr. S. F. Lasseter, Dr.

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Joseph Gilpin. Pioneer lawyers-James R. Bynum, F. D. Bailey, James A. Wilson, Frank Harper, Reuben Fitzgerald, C. B. Wooten, Richard Maltby, Ed Bass. Other men of note-J. B. Perry, Allen Lowrey, J. W. F. Lowrey, M. H. Baldwin, R. S. Cheatham, C. W. Jones, Jared Irwin, S. R. Weston, A. J. Baldwin, Sr., M. S. Glass, J. M. Simmons, Thomas Cald- well, J. E. Loyless, J. C. F. Clark and W. N. Watts .*

Herod Town Mem- Eight miles to the south of Dawson orial Unveiled. there formerly stood an Indian vil- lage known as Herod Town, whose chief, Old Herod, was a staunch friend of the whites and, according to local tradition, joined forces with Andrew Jackson when the latter, at the head of his troops, reached this town in 1818, en route to Florida, to quell the Semi- noles. There is still a settlement at this place, which, in honor of the old chieif, has since retained the name of Herod. On November 20, 1913, to commemorate the. heroism of these friendly Indians, a handsome boulder of marble was unveiled with impressive ceremonies, on the site of Herod Town, by Dorothy Walton Chapter, D. A. R., Mrs. W. A. McLain, regent, and the occasion was signalized by the presence of many distinguished vis- itors, including the State regent, Mrs. S. W. Foster. Promptly at 10 o'clock, the members of the chapter, with their invited guests and a large company of town people, swelling the number of spectators to several hundred, re- paired in automobiles to Herod Town, where, under the serenest of autumn skies, mellowed by the soft tints of Indian summer, the exercises of unveiling took place, followed by a magnificent repast on the grounds. Mrs. M. C. Edwards, historian of the chapter, has preserved the following account of the exercises :

The Dorothy Walton Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revo- lution staged near Dawson an event which had engendered profound in- terest throughout southwest Georgia. It was the unveiling of a magnifi- cent boulder at the site of a former Indian village, Old Herodtown, to commemorate the historical fact that General Andrew Jackson at the head

*For the information contained in this sketch of Dawson, we are in- debted to Mrs. J. S. Lowrey, State Historian, D. A. R.

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of nine hundred Georgia militia, together with friendly Indians, reached this spot in the year 1818, in his march through Georgia to subdue the hostile Indians, and was joined at Herodtown by Chief Herod and his friendly braves. An almost perfect Indian summer day made the occasion an ideal one, and the impressive exercises were witnessed by a large crowd assembled from the adjacent towns and cities to participate in this event.

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Georgia's landmarks, memorials and legends, Volume II, Part 77

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