USA > Georgia > Fulton County > Atlanta > History of Atlanta, Georgia : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 7
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B ULLOCK, EX-GOVERNOR. Rufus Brown Bullock was born in Beth- lehem, Albany county, New York State, March 28, 1834. When six years of age his parents moved to Albion, Orleans county, in the same State, where his education was completed, so far as graduation from the then celebrated Albion Academy. Just at the time of his graduation the electric telegraph was being constructed and operated through the State. He became interested in the intricate and scientific apparatus of the House printing telegraph system ; he rapidly gained the mastery of this process, and although only seventeen years of age, took a leading position as an expert. We find in " Prescott's History of the Telegraph," and in Reid's " The Telegraph in America," ex- tended notices of Mr. Bullock as an expert operator and successful organizer. It i- said he was the first operator to be able to read by sound. From the
1 Pascal J. Moran, in Dixie, September, 1885.
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operating department his special ability as an executive officer soon forced him to the front, and we find him at l'hiladelphia in charge of a rival line, which soon broke down the monopoly and brought about competition and a more gen- eral use of the telegraph in business and social intercourse. So marked had been the efforts of Mr. Bullock in presenting the new telegraph schemes to the public that the attention of the managers of the express service was attracted. His ser- vices were secured by Mr. Dinsmore, the president of the Adams Express Com- pany ; he was assigned to a department in the South under Mr. H. B. Plant, and made his headquarters at Augusta, in this State, before the late war, and before he was old enough to exercise the rights of a voter. Prior to the opening of hostilities between the sections the Southern Express Company was organized, with Mr. Plant as president and Mr. Bullock as secretary. This new company purchased all of the Adams Company's interests in the Southern States, and conducted the business during the war and since. By reason of a severe do- mestic affliction and impaired health, Mr. Plant was compelled to seek rest and relaxation in Europe. Early in the war and until after the surrender the active control of express affairs devolved upon Mr. Bullock. Under his direction tel- egraph lines were constructed by the express company on interior routes, primarily to promote the efficient management of that service; but when the regular routes of the telegraph were captured along the coast by the Federal forces, these interior lines, established by the foresight of Mr. Bullock, proved of great value to the Confederacy. It was over these wires that communica- tion was kept up between President Davis, Generals Lee, Beauregard and John- ston, and it was over these lines that the restraining order was telegraphed from General Sherman, after the surrender of Johnston, to the Federal forces in Georgia, which were marching to destroy Macon and Augusta. Under Mr. Bullock's order the express company, through its agents all over the South, took charge of contributions of food and clothing for General Lee's army in Virginia. These contributions were forwarded free and distributed to the per- sons to whom directed. In the charge and prosecution of this work Mr. Bul- lock was, under an order of the War Department, assigned to duty as an acting assistant quartermaster-general, and as such was paroled at Appomattox in April, 1865. After the close of the war he resumed active duty in reorganiz- ing and systematizing the express service and other matters looking to the reha- bilitation of the South. We find in the Planter's Journal of April, 1884 quite an extended biographical sketch of Mr. Bullock, from which we copy as fol- lows :
"It was perhaps due to his experiences in telegraph and express enterprises that he became deeply imbued with the spirit of internal improvement: and this has proven the mainspring of his subsequent career. His first act after the war was one looking to the general welfare of the State of his adoption, which happened after this wise: After the surrender the States of South Carolina and
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Georgia were left absolutely moneyless, which indeed was the case almost everywhere in the South, as most of us remember with lamentable distinctness. The land, however, was left, and crops were in the ground; but business stood stock still for lack of a circulating medium. In this dilemma Mr. Bullock came to the rescue of his city and section by going at once to New York, where he secured capital, and thence to Washington, where he obtained a charter for a national bank-a task far more difficult then than now-which was soon organ- ized and ready for business. Thus did Augusta, which was then his home, gain a vantage ground over rival towns by having five hundred thousand dollars in bank notes put iu circulation within a few months from the day the war was over -and it is probable that this good fortune gave to Augusta the boom that has resulted in placing her in the front rank of Southern industrial centers.
" Mr. Bullock ere long became president of the Macon and Augusta Rail- road, but its affairs were in such a state of prostration that he could do little or nothing in the way of rehabilitation without money, and so he once again re- paired to his moneyed friends at the North to secure the indispensable requi- site. By this time, however, President Johnson and Congress had got at log- gerheads about the method of Southern reconstruction, and the prevailing sen- timent in financial circles was one of opposition to investments in the South until this difficulty should be solved. Said the capitalist of New York to whom Mr. Bullock applied : 'We prefer not to put our money in a country where there is no stable government. In fact, from our standpoint, Georgia is not yet back in the Union. If you will go home and bring Georgia into the list of well or- dered States within the Union, you can have all the money you want.' And this was the occasion of Governor Bullock's embarking upon the sea of politics. From the lights before him, the quickest way to bring about the result sug- gested by the Northern capitalist was to enlist under the standard of 'the powers that be.'
"With no other end in view except the hastening of Georgia's recovery from the effects of the war, he aligned himself with a number of progressive men and proceeded with the Herculean task of reconstruction. A constitu- tional convention was called, and of course he took an active part in its pro- ceedings. The foremost idea in his mind at that time was to provide for State aid to railroads with a view to speedy development of Georgia's resources. The new constitution being adopted, he was put forward as the candidate of the Republican party for governor, and was of course elected. As the chief executive of the State it was no more than consistent in him to use his utmost efforts to carry out the provisions of the constitution, which he had been in great measure instrumental in framing; especially that section of it encourag- ing the construction of railroads, of which, in a short time, about four hundred miles were built.
"And right here it may not be amiss to state that the increase of value to
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real estate, resulting directly from the construction of these lines, has sufficed to more than reimburse the State for the obligations she incurred in building them.
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" In the high tide of party animosity there was no man in Georgia more heartily hated by the good people of that State, who held different political views, than Rufus B. Bullock, but his subsequent career has been such as to turn hatred into esteem. Not that he ever came with a whine of repentance on his lips, not that he has ever cried peccavi, but because he has demonstrated his consistency, and under the light of rigid scrutiny showed that he had the common good at heart.
" How it came about would make a long story, but suffice it to say two indictments were found against Governor Bullock, so soon as his political op -. ponents came into partial power. One of these was for an alleged conspiracy to defraud the State, the other was for failing to account for certain bonds which it was alleged had been placed in the executive department
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"For seven years Ex-Governor Bullock endeavored to have a trial before a jury on the aforesaid indictments, because he felt that so long as they re- mained untried, and that, too, on the merits of the case, a cloud would hang over his fair name. He could mingle in the thickest of the fight on mere po- litical issues, nor did he shrink from mere political aspersions, but when his fair name and his personal integrity were assailed every other consideration sank into insignificance until these were vindicated. He was always ready when the cases were called, but for seven years a trial he could not get. Finally, however, when the causes that had led to the inflamed state of party feelings ceased to exist, the inflammation itself subsided, and better and cooler counsels prevailed. People then forgot the political lion and saw only the brother man who was asking simple justice.
" When the facts came to be considered before a fair-minded jury it trans- spired in the case charging conspiracy to defraud the State that so far from there having been, as alleged, any payment of money under the governor's direction to 'a bogus corporation for imaginary cars,' that the corporation that got the money in question was a highly respectable and bona fide enterprise, having among its managers such men as Major Campbell Wallace, one of the present railroad commissioners of Georgia ; and instead of 'imaginary rolling stock' the most substantial cars had been actually delivered, and that, too, to an extent in excess of the money paid on this account, so that if anybody had been defrauded it was the car company and not the State.
"On the indictment for failure to account for bonds deposited in the execu- tive department, it was proven that the bonds in question (which covered that
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
part of the purchase money for the State capitol building and grounds that the city of Atlanta had donated) had never found their way into the executive de- partment at all, much less into Governor Bullock's hands, but in truth and in fact had been delivered by the mayor of the city directly to the person to whom they were due and payable; this was no other than H. I. Kimball, the man who had sold the property in question and was rightfully entitled to the bonds, and this whether they came through the channel of the executive department or from the hands of the mayor of the city which had issued them and had them to pay.
"Thus was Governor Bullock's integrity completely and publicly vindicated by a formal verdict in conformity with the above facts. But it is a well- known fact that he was, long before, vindicated by the verdict of public sentiment, for there were few of even his fiercest political enemies, who, after the first white- heat of party passion had died away ever for a moment harbored a thought of his guilt.
"The writer knows Governor Bullock well and has been much in Atlanta since Georgia ceased to be the scene of political contention and took her place in the industrial procession as the Empire State of the South, and from a knowl- edge of the man, and from what his neighbors say of him, it is hard to realize that there ever was a time when even an allegation of malfeasance could have been made against him. One can hardly bring himself to believe that the genial gentleman who makes every stranger with whom he comes in contact feel so comfortably at home in the 'Gate City'-that a man with such a kindly countenance (and there is a good likeness of it on the front page of the Plan- ters' Journal), a man whose comings in and goings out evince on every hand so much genuine appreciation on the part of his fellow townsmen-we say, one cannot see these things and realize that this is the same man who, a few years ago, was an object of universal antipathy, not only in Georgia, but all over the South.
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"For a number of years past Atlanta has been Governor Bullock's home -so selected doubtless because he foresaw in it at no distant day one of the great metropolitan cities of the South, a position which it is no exaggeration to say Atlanta has already succeeded in reaching.
" It will be remembered that the Atlanta Exposition resulted in an immense increase of manufacturing industries in that city and a large addition of desira- ble population. Although all the Atlantans, with scarce an exception, made the most of that occasion with a view to such a result, yet few of them were so fortunately situated for making a favorable impression on strangers as Gov- ernor Bullock. In the first place, the extent of his acquaintance was only equaled by the cordiality of his manners, and then the very fact that he was a native of New York carried a certain conviction whenever he spoke to North-
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HISTORY OF ATLANTA.
ern men. Thus it transpired that his influence and efforts led to various im- portant investments in the city and State. He was at that time treasurer of the Atlanta Cotton Mill, and since the mills changed ownership he has been the president of the new company. He has ever taken the liveliest interest in cotton manufacturing, and his views on this subject carry weight with them wherever expressed, as was evidenced by the prominence accorded him in the convention of cotton manufacturers, lately held at Augusta, Ga.
"Governor Bullock is fifty years old; much younger than most persons who have only heard of him without knowing him would be apt to suppose him to be. To those who know him, however, it is a difficult task to consider him as other than a young man physically as well as mentally, for there is an activity in his step, a bouyancy in his every movement that points to a vast amount of future successful work. It is a fortunate thing for Atlanta that she has a kind of lien on the life-work of such a man, especially in view of the fact that he is heart and soul in the cause of enterprise and progress."
Mr. Bullock was elected governor by the people under the reconstruction laws, and was inaugurated July 4, 1868. The opposition having carried the State by an immense majority in the elections of 1870, he resigned the office in November, 1871. Since that time he has taken no active part in politics, but has never failed to defend his administration when assailed in the newspa- pers. The features of his administration which have been most criticised were his policy of State aid to promote the construction of new railroads; the main- tenance of the right of colored men to hold office, and the taking of the State's railroad out of politics by leasing it for twenty years for a net revenue to the State of six million dollars. All these measures have now been acquiesced in and approved by the general public, and the modifying influences of time are having a salutary effect. Ex-Governor Bullock socially and commercially stands high in this community. For years he has been in official relations with his church and with all leading social events. He was one of the projectors of the Cotton Exposition, director of the Piedmont Exposition, and is sought for and found willing to aid in any enterprise for the benefit of his city and State. The city of Atlanta has been largely benefited by the steady support which she has received from Ex-Governor Bullock. In every measure for her promotion he has been foremost since he cast his lot with us to the present day, and much of her progress and prosperity is due to his personal efforts and encouragement. His prophecy of 1882, that within ten years our population would reach 100,000, seems about to be fulfilled.
C' UNNINGHAM, HON. JOHN D, one of the most prominent members of the Atlanta bar, was born at Oak Bowery, Chambers county, Ala., on the 28th day of March, 1842, to which place his father, Colonel Joseph H. Cun-
m. J. Cunningham
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ningham, a wealthy planter and a distinguished military officer, had moved a short time previous from Fayetteville, Ga. Receiving a common school edu- cation at Chunnenuggee Male Academy, near Union Springs, Ala., and a lib- eral collegiate education at the Western Military Institute, Nashville, Tenn., and Emory and Henry College, Va., he at the early age of seventeen selected the law as his profession. Under the skillful tuition of Hon. David Clapton, now a justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama, and Ex-Governor Robert F. Ligon, in whose office he studied law, his progress was so rapid, that after a rigid and creditable examination, he was admitted to the bar in the Circuit Court of the Ninth Judicial Circuit, sitting for Macon county, on the 3d day of September, 1860. On the 8th day of May, 1860, he was married to Miss Cor- nelia Dobbins, of Griffin, Ga., a daughter of Miles G. Dobbins, esq., who was afterwards one of the most prominent bankers of Atlanta. Mr. Dobbins's friend- ship and confidence in Judge Cunningham was shown in many acts of kindness during twenty-seven years of his life, and at his death he left him executor to wind up one of the largest and most valuable estates in North Georgia. His marriage was blessed with seven children, the oldest of them, Mr. John D. Cun- ningham, jr., is probably one of the brightest and most prominent fruit planters of Georgia. Judge Cunningham was enjoying a lucrative and fast increasing law practice at Tuskegee, Ala., when the tocsin of war sounded. Then, although devoted in love for the Union, and believing that secession meant ruin to every- thing he held dear, still when the blood began to flow, like the Indian whose remonstrances had availed not at the council fires to keep his tribe out of ruin- ous war, he shouldered his musket in defense of his home and kindred. In August, 1865, when he resumed the practice of law at Montgomery, his fath- er's large estate had been swept away, and nothing remained but the land, barely sufficient to support his sister and parents. Without a library or suit- able office furniture, too poor to buy citizen's clothing, he struggled on until he numbered among his clients the wealthiest and best people of the city, and when appointed to the bench in 1868, left a practice of eight thousand dollars a year.
Always opposed to a dissolution of the Union, Judge Cunningham favored the earliest restoration of the States on the best available terms. Avoiding the extremes of the radical on one side and secession Democracy on the other, he was selected on account of his well known ability, probity and conservative political sentiments to fill one of the most honorable and responsible judge- ships of the State of Alabama, that of the judge of the city court of Montgom- ery, a State law court of unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction, while the judge at the chambers exercised power of granting remedial judicial writs through- out the State. Although only twenty-six years old when placed in this high and responsible judicial office, and surrounded by the demoralization resulting from war and reconstruction, his administration was so fair, just and energetic, 3°
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HISTORY OF ATLANTA.
that he soon brought order out of chaos, and won the confidence of all law- abiding people, and the respect and fear of the law-breakers. As an illustration of the demoralization of the times, in a celebrated suit involving about two hun- dred and fifty thousand dollars, between a prominent State officer and a United States judge, at the solicitation of the jury, Judge Cunningham ordered a mis- trial entered in the case, and after a full investigation of the facts, put the sheriff, a juror and the State solicitor in jail for the full term allowed by law, for tam- pering with the jury. This was followed by an attempt to annoy Judge Cun- ningham by prosecution in the Federal court under the enforcement laws, but the good citizens, without regard to party, raised such a storm of indignation, that not only did the prosecution cease, but its authors were covered with shame. At the termination of six years service on the bench the members of the Montgomery bar, one of the ablest and largest in the South, called a meet- ing, at which Judge David Clapton (his old preceptor) presided, and passed res- olutions unanimously endorsing Judge Cunningham's entire administration, on account of his ability, impartiality and integrity as a judge, and after having the resolutions spread upon the minutes of the court, sent Judge Cunningham a copy certified on parchment. In 1874 Judge Cunningham commenced the practice of law at Atlanta, where, by his integrity and ability as a lawyer, he soon enjoyed a lucrative, first-class practice, which he has held to this day. Caring little about politics, but always acting on the belief that a good man will make a good officer, he always looks to the personal integrity and ability of the candidate, and cares little about his politics. For about twenty years he has been a most zealous and active temperance worker, advocating the cause of prohibition always and under all circumstances. He is opposed to internal revenue tax and all special tax on liquor, believing that they tend to make the government a partner in rum selling, and keep the traffic in existence by mak- ing it bear the burdens of taxation. Having on his large fruit plantation about 10,000 bushels of excellent peaches too ripe for shipment, he at first refused $3,000, and then an offer of $5,000, for them to be distilled into brandy. He sent word to his neighbors, that they could have as many as they wished for their hogs free, saying to the distillers, "you can have my peaches for nothing, to make hogs out of pigs, but you cannot buy them at any price, for the purpose of making hogs out of men." Judge Cunningham wrote and had printed the first general local option law ever presented to the General Assembly of Georgia. This bill was handed to a member from Fulton county, and although very mild in its terms, only seeking to give the qualified voters of each militia district the right to say whether or not they would prohibit bar-rooms in their districts, failed to get support. Few men in Georgia have done more for the temperance cause. He was one of the five men who met at his office and worked up the call for the first Georgia State Temperance Convention. Judge Cunningham has found time in the midst of his professional labors to make his mark as a finan-
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
cier, and also to become one of the largest fruit-growers in the Southern States. In one season he shipped from his Orchard Hill plantations, containing about twelve hundred acres, with all the available high land planted in fruit, about forty thousand crates of fruit, besides loosing about the same amount for want of adequate transportation, and sometimes employed in gathering and packing fruit about four hundred hands. In order to provide transportation for these immense fruit crops, he and a few friends organized a refrigerator car company, which is still in existence, and has paid a steady dividend of twelve per cent. per annum, on its stock ever since it began operations.
Of late years he has turned over his fruit-growing and planting to his son, Mr. John D. Cunningham, jr., and now confines his attention entirely to the practice of law. Some years since Judge Cunningham was employed as an attorney to settle a disputed and vexed question of account involving about 400,000 pounds sterling, between the Union Bank of London, England, and an American client, and this rendered it necessary for him to remain in London for some months. During this time he was the recipient of many acts of cour- tesy from that great American, Mr. J. L. Motley, who was then the United States minister at the court of St. James, whereby he was enabled to see the queen and royal family, and become acquainted with some of the most distin- guished statesmen and judges of Great Britain. Judge Cunningham is emphat- ically a man of strong mind and fixed convictions, caring little for the opinions of mankind, except they are based on correct estimates. He is self-reliant in his business, and independent in his politics. No man is a more sincere advo- cate of law and order, and more punctual in the performance of his duty as a citizen, nor more ready to yield to others every consideration which he de- mands for himself. To those who are dependent upon him, he is kind and in- dulgent. It is a favorite theory of his, "that every good woman should be a queen in her own home," and that "nothing at home is too good for the chil- dren." Adopting the rule that true charity consists in enabling people to help themselves, he is always ready, by counsel and pecuniary aid, to encourage the unfortunate to stand up, and again resume the battle of life.
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