USA > Georgia > Jones County > History of Jones County, Georgia, for one hundred years, specifically 1807-1907 > Part 41
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BROOKS BARROOM By S. H. Griswold
Ten years previous to the War Between the States there stood a house, a small grocery and barroom where the road leading by Pine Ridge intersects the old Garrison road near the Baldwin county line. Brooks lived here and there met the gamblers, the horse racers and sportsmen and some high rolling times were had. A sandy race track was nearby, a quarter mile in length where many races were run. Shooting matches for beef, turkey and other things were held. It might be a rifle one time, a pistol the next. The target was a clean white board with some oil and gun powder the size of a half dollar rubbed on the board, a cross mark through the center of the bull's-eye. For a rifle the target was a hundred yards off. Maybe the shoot was off handed, again
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it would be a rest shot. The rifles were long and heavy and most of them had been changed from flint and steel to a percussion cap fire. Each owner of a rifle had a pair of molds and molded his own bullets, these he carried with rags, a small measure for a load of powder made from a bone fastened by a string. The powder was carried in a cow's horn, which had been scraped and ornamented with a small disc neatly fitted into the large end. When loading, a measure of powder was made in the bone, poured down the barrel, and then a piece of rag was greased, laid on top of the barrel and a bullet put on the cloth and rammed down into it, level, with a long ramrod, made of the toughest hickory. This was carefully packed tight against the powder. On these long barrels were two sights, one silver and the other a very fine notch near the muzzle. These were accu- rately adjusted and when a sight was properly drawn, one would surely hit the target.
A judge appointed for occasion would examine the target after each shot and a peg put in it. There were such good shots that often the center was pierced more than once. A tie had to be shot off. These often lasted all day, the crowds drinking peach brandy, playing cards, drinking corn whiskey and sometimes would get rowdy. General Jackson lived nearby and usually rode in the horse races. Chicken fighting was also one of the amuse- ments. To the law abiding citizens, the place was an abomina- tion.
Mrs. Col. Blount later bought these lands. Billy Whitley lived at Whitley Branch, where the roads forked, one going by Salem Church the other by the Lee Duncan place and Brook's Grocery.
UNCLE BUTCH GRESHAM AND CHICKEN FIGHTING
By S. H. Griswold-1908-Jones Co. News
Uncle Butch Gresham lived in the Caney Creek section. He raised fine game chickens, and fought them in the sport of that day. He knew how and was an expert at heeling, trimming, training and ordering the cocks. He had gaves made to suit, and had no equal in putting them on, and his services were in great demand when a main was fought.
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He was a tall large-framed man with a long flowing beard as white as snow, his keen blue eyes sparkled with wit, he was cool, collected and brave. He was well liked, and most hospitable.
In those days chicken fighting was a great sport and not against the law. Mains or fights were frequently held at Clinton. Usually twenty-five cocks were entered by those who raised the birds in Jasper, Jones and Bibb counties. These birds were matched in weight and the "shake bag" was when the two big- gest and finest cocks were matched to fight. There were many different breeds in Jones, the shaw neck, the domineck, blues, reds and Irish games. Bibb county usually fought shawl necks. The birds were brought to Clinton a week before and put through training.
This was carefully looked after by experts. The feed was just right for the cocks, his comb was trimmed, spurs and feathers trimmed and polished and exercised twice daily. The muscles were hard and firm and the cocks in good fighting order when the day came. Uncle Butch Gresham handled the Jones County birds. Each bird was matched with the other as to weight, armed with steel gaffs and they looked like little warriors.
A ring was made by stretching a rope around, and the en- thusiastic crowd with many bets on their cocks stood back and now the judges took their seats and the heelers stepped into the ring with their birds in their hands. These birds came in crow- ing and trying to get at one another. As the judge gave the signal the birds were released, they straightened up gave a loud crow and made for the other. Sometimes at the first lick one would stick the steel spur in the other and kill him, but usually they fought longer. The one who killed the other cock would strut and crow as proud as could be. As time was called the heelers would take these birds out and enter others.
These fights lasted two and three days with much betting and excitement (usually the men would fight too). There were the fashionable sporting men from the city, the gentlemanly planter, the plainer dressed farmer and then a few motley ones gathered about, the loafer and the bum. Uncle Butch and Dr. Griggs from Macon were asked their advice on bets and they were sought after day and night.
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I never heard anything against Uncle Butch Gresham. His son was a Baptist preacher, a man of influence in his community.
ORRIE TUFTS AND OTHER OLD CITIZENS By S. H. Griswold-Jones Co. News-1909
Captain Orrie Tufts moved to Virginia several years after the war, he was a noteworthy citizen and his father a wealthy planter owning large plantations around Blountsville. He had a large white two-story dwelling built at the cross of the Hills- boro, Milledgeville and the Clinton and Eatonton roads. He grew lots of cotton, corn, cattle and vegetables and it is said that Mrs. Tufts was a wonderful cook and housekeeper. They were most hospitable and it is said Mr. Tufts told that a turkey was such an inconvenient bird that it was too much for one per- son and not enough for two. He kept large flocks of turkeys, and it was the job of one slave to follow these turkeys all day and bring them in at night. He was one of the best citizens of Middle Georgia and died several years before the war leaving a widow and several children among them, Mrs. McCullough, Mrs. Wilson, Miss Lou Tufts, Sanford, Frank and Orrie Tufts. Mrs. McCullough's husband was Judge Mccullough who was once a Representative for Jones County, and once a Judge of the court. Mrs. Wilson and Miss Lou live in South Carolina. Sanford married a daughter of Dr. Little a neighbor and a doctor of prominence. Frank lives in Atlanta and Orrie just died.
After Mr. Tufts died Mrs. Tufts bought a place at Midway near Oglethorpe College so as to educate her children. She boarded young men at the college and used the produce from her own farm, and she was noted for her good food. Orrie Tufts was still in Oglethorpe when the war started and the school was forced to shut down, and Orrie raised and commanded a company of Cavalrymen in Col. Jim Blount's battalion and was at Macon when Wilson surrendered there. After the war Orrie came to the farm at Blountsville and on a big scale tried to grow cotton and repair the family fortune but with the labor gone, he made a failure, and lost some of his land. After his mother's death he and sister Lou lived at the old home for several years,
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then he sold it, moved to Virginia and married, near Norfolk, Va. and made a success of his farm there.
The Tufts were an old and influential family in the county, most of the Tufts were blonds. Judge Hiram Warner taught school at Blountsville and boarded with the Tufts.
The Freemans lived down the road from Tufts and were good farmers, had fine plantations in North Georgia but they were Jones County stock. Sons Ben and Frank Freeman lived there after the war. The Leuico Moores lived nearby also.
Mr. Farrar was a resident of this section. Mr. John Farrar owns his old place. Once Mr. Farrar moved to North Georgia but soon after the war he came back to Jones and bought the Lamar place from Charley and Jim Andrews, who had bought it from the estate of Mrs. Penina Griswold on the Baldwin Co. line.
Mrs. Griswold sold this strip on the line to Col. Mark John- son, where his widowed daughter Mrs. Whaley and two children lived. Mr. Speights married his granddaughter and now lives in the house. This land originally belonged to Lamar who had a large two-story red house built almost on the county line. There was another Lamar on the place near this which now belongs to Col. Blount. They were related.
Robert T. Christian lived in Clinton a long time and was a prominent citizen, he moved to Macon, then to Albany, and then to Americus. His wife was a daughter of Taylor Gibson, a citi- zen of Jones County who had moved to Crawford County. She was a half sister of J. R. Chiles. Bob Christian had many friends in Jones County and they regret to know of his death in Amer- icus.
OLD CITIZENS-JACKSON By S. H. Griswold
Back in the early 1850's there was a place on the Garrison road on the line between Jones and Baldwin for the stage- coaches to stop and change horses. Ran Jackson lived there and groomed the horses, and at one time carried the mail. He was quite a character, was full of fun and wit and loved whiskey.
While he was living here the Senior class from Oglethorpe
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University, situated at Midway, Baldwin County and twelve miles from this spring, left the school in a body one night mak- ing their way on foot to Macon, they having done some mischief which the Baldwin Grand Jury had decided was malicious and had found a true bill against them. So late at night, down the Garrison road they came, whooping, yelling, howling and shoot- ing pistols, like a bunch of Comanche Indians. As they neared Ran Jackson's house, the noise awakened the Jacksons. They were so afraid that they knelt by the bed to pray, their hair almost on end, teeth chattering and shaking with fear. The boys rushed in and one offered Ran a bottle of whiskey which he obligingly drank. They kept giving Ran drinks and eating what the Jackson's had in the house. Ran said, "You boys ain't no common stock, you're some of those Damned Calhouns from South Carolina and Varnadoes from Liberty County, look at these damned big watch chains and broadcloth clothes, wife, give them the best that we have."
The boys soon found out that Ran had a horse and wagon, so they bargained with him to hitch it up and carry them to Macon. They paid Mrs. Jackson for the meal, and all that could piled on the wagon, with Ran driving. By this time he was as happy as a kitten and as mellow as could be. They would take turns riding, on down the road by Capt. Cox's house, Taylor Pitts, Squire Choates, Joe Patterson, Peyton Pitts, Slocumb, the Crossroads, Bill Roberts, Joe Stiles at Cross Keys. This was the merriest and most unique crowd ever seen in Georgia, such singing, laughing, shouting and shooting was never heard before in that quiet section.
On they slowly went making the welkin ring, and joining in would be the bass voice of Ran Jackson. As he passed the neigh- bors' houses he would shout out witticisms, puns, and jokes. At Cross Keys they bought more whiskey about dawn, went on to Walnut Creek bridge, and just as they crossed it one boy leveled his pistol at the old horse and shot him dead. They all got out and went through East Macon yelling and charging. They went to the livery stable and bought Jackson a good horse, gave it to him and paid him liberally for his trouble. I wish I could tell this as old Jackson did. It was a frolic for him.
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Col. Hamilton and Gibson carried their race horses to San- dersville to be exhibited and Jackson went too. He really knew how to groom a horse for a show. They stayed at the Gilmore house. There was Hon. Alex Stephens, Congressman, of his con- stituents, for this Fair. Henry Greaves kept store for Col. Clow- er and young Frank Greaves and I loved to hear Ran Jackson tell of that trip to Sandersville, and his impressions of Alex Stephens.
OLD TIME CITIZENS
Zachariah Thigpen was called "Dad," by all who knew him, and was one of the old settlers in Clinton. He came from Fay- etteville, N. C. He was very tall, thin and Scotch, as one would know because of his firmness, thriftiness, and had a good knowl- edge of history. His wife was kind and soft as he was hard, she was well educated, refined and brilliant. Their children were, Jane, Carrie, Sandy, Will and Gilbert.
Carrie married Mr. Houser of Fort Valley, Ordinary of Houston County, at that time. Sandy became one of the ablest ministers in the North Georgia Conference. Will became Su- perintendent of schools in Savannah. Gilbert was a lawyer and practiced in Clinton and lived here most of his life, Jane was a teacher and poet.
"Dad" Thigpen was a good neighbor, always did his part but when once he made up his mind he was as immovable as the Rock of Gibralter. When Judge Hardeman was a practicing attorney, Dad Thigpen was a Justice of the Peace. It happened one day that he was trying a case where two were at outs and when they got in a fight he charged them one hundred dollars for contempt. They produced a law showing him that he could only charge ten dollars, he was so indignant that he said, "This court adjourns without a day and the Justice resigns. I'll be damned if I hold any office that will not allow me to sustain its dignity," and walked out of the courthouse. He was elected Tax Receiver of the county later on and made the best one ever, he got the people to value their property for more and put the office in good shape.
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Boller Allen was another old citizen of Clinton, Rev. Jack Knight was a tailor, blasphemer and an infidel. He went to a protracted meeting and became converted, a shouting Methodist, and began preaching and remained faithful until he died. I lived at the old Hutchings place at Fortville and when he preached there, he was my guest, and he could preach and pray as if he were talking with God. His people lived in Putnam County near Dennis Station.
EARLY CITIZENS OF JONES COUNTY
Bryant Balkcom lived near Mountain Springs and was a lead- ing citizen. Ben James lived nearby and was a man of character and energy. He left a large family among whom were, Able, Georgia, Lem Tom, Frank and others, James James, John James, the Moores and Ethridges. There was Billy Denning a Baptist preacher, Jerry Lowe, Harry Sketo, Thomas Stewart and Henry Roberts, all of these well known and prominent in that part. William Johnson and Squire Burden a Justice of Peace and a good man, noted for his justice and kindness. Burden is the father of Dick Burden in Macon and William Burden of New York.
William Wood was a man of untiring energy and successful in his work. His son was Jernigan Wood and his descendants are well known in the county. The Slocumbs and Farleys were men of good standing and lived here. Miles Kelly lived near William Roberts and when I knew him was very old, and a true Chris- tian and fine man. T. J. Stewart lived where Slocumb Station now is and one of the county's foremost men. He had one of the first fruit orchards in the county, commercially.
Buford Stallowrth and Ben Bryant both able men and good citizens. Thomas Woolfolk lived where John Smith lived. He was a wealthy man and moved to Macon on Fort Hill, his sons Thomas and James afterwards lived there. Of this same neigh- borhood were, James Simmons, Owen Moore, Mr. Patterson, and Peyton Pitts a man of the state affairs as well as the county. He lived on the Garrison road and another article tells more of his life.
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THE COTTON GIN By S. H. Griswold Jones County News, April 2, 1908
Georgia's history, so far as her statesmen, professional and literary men have helped to make it has been written in their biographies, but so far as her history as made by her captains of industry, and material developers is concerned, there has been but little record so far as I have seen. Hence I take the liberty to write of one of these. A citizen of Jones county who by his energy and keen business foresight did as much towards develop- ing the material resources of not only the State of Georgia, but the whole South, as did any one man. This was Samuel Griswold, born and reared in Connecticut, he came to Clinton, Jones Coun- ty, Ga. when comparatively a young man, about the year 1820 and engaged in merchandise at that place for a few years, when he was ruined by having to pay security debts. He then went to making cotton gins.
About this time Mr. Blount, a wealthy planter, father of the late D. E. and James H. Blount, bought a cotton gin and put it to work on his place near Clinton, Ga. Mr. Griswold saw this gin and at once recognized the wonderful possibilities of it for the South and decided at once to make it his business to manu- facture them. He rented a small blacksmith shop from Mr. Clow- er in Clinton known as the "Old Red Shop." It had no power of any kind attached to it, and was equipped with only such tools as were found in the blacksmith and wood working shops of that time. Here with his own hands, assisted by his oldest son, a lad in his teens, in delicate health, without capital, he set to work to make gins and laid the foundation for the first shops to make gins alone upon a large scale and from which directly most of the gin manufacturers of later date, sprang.
Mr. D. E. Blount has often told the writer, of his having to unlock the gin house for Mr. Griswold to examine the gin which his father had bought, I think this was the first gin brought to Jones County.
A history of the cotton gin to date is necessary here. Mr. Hammock of Crawfordville, Ga., a very reliable and honorable men, who lived at the time these things took place, and who
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made gins in a small way all his life, told the writer that when the news of Whitney's invention reached the up country that one Lyons, a blacksmith by trade and an all round ingenious work- man, at or near Wilkes County, Ga., was sent by a planter or planters to Liberty County to see this gin in order to make one for him or them. Upon his arrival at Whitney's shop he having dressed in women clothes was allowed to see the model, as wom- en only were given access to it, and when he returned home he made a gin for his patrons, and possibly made others, which other workmen of the same character in other communities see- ing they also made one or more, thus distributing a few through Middle Georgia. It was from one of these shops that Mr. Blount bought the gin which Mr. Griswold saw and from which he began business.
He first had to make tools and patterns for cutting and shap- ing the different parts of a gin, these he made by hand as well as the saws, rigs and all other parts of the gin. He filed the teeth on the saws, made the ribs out of bar iron, used those days to make horseshoe nails, and shaped them on an iron pattern which he made for the purpose. This first gin he carried by wagon himself to his customer and put it up in a successful operation. The record is lost and I do not know the first customer.
Being much encouraged by the success of this, his first effort, he worked on faithfully, gradually increasing his output until he had so built himself up as to be able to buy lands in Clinton and to build a large shop for those times and to put in the first steam engine ever brought to Jones County, as well as many improved iron, and wood working machines, which was a considerable un- dertaking, as there was no railroad to bring them on, and they had to be handled by teams. With this well-equipped shop, bus- iness prospered wonderfully and he bought slaves and employed many hands. About this time he brought from Connecticut the celebrated mechanics, the Brown family, Dwight and Israel, being the most expert in the gin business. Here Dwight Brown invented and made for Griswold machinery for punching, round- ing and cutting saws and cutting teeth on them and for filing the teeth. The steel for making saws was purchased from Naylor in England and came in sheets nine or ten inches wide and four or
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five inches wide and four or five inches in length. These improve- ments enabled Mr. Griswold to turn out many gins for which he found ready sale by sending his agents through the country. He delivered these gins by wagons in the States of Georgia and the Carolinas. Old citizens recollect well Griswold's long gin wagons with six large mules delivering his gins, the wagons he used were known as the Concord, made in Concord, N. H., by the Abbot Downing Co., and have never been excelled, if equalled, for their durability and workmanship, and Mr. Gris- wold used only Concord vehicles as long as he lived. The lumber used for making the frames, etc. for his gins was sawed by him from long leaf pine in the lower part of Jones County some twelve miles from Clinton, he had bought pine lands for his timber and had built a sawmill situated upon the head waters of Swift Creek, the old dam still stands on the Central Railroad six miles from Macon. This was quite a primitive mill with sash-saw with an up and down motion, a slow feed, but got there after a while. He hauled this lumber to his shop in Clinton. He now employed many hands and fed many mules, etc. all of which had to get their supplies from the surrounding farms, there being no railroads, and thus made a market for the farmers, and trade for the merchants of the town.
The money system of the whole country was mostly local bank currency and a great panic carried away many of these local banks. Mr. Griswold's business extending over much country, he necessarily had much of this money and paper based upon it and was ruined by it. He thought to recuperate his fortune by seeking for gold in East Alabama, but it proved a failure, and he returned to Clinton and again started his gin-shop, and the financial situation of the country cleared, he again prospered in the gin business. Daniel Pratt was a young carpenter from New Hampshire, living at Fortville, Jones County. Mr. Griswold recognized the excellence of his work as demonstrated in houses which he had built for General Gordon. Col. Moughon and others employed him to work on gins and soon made him fore- man and then gave him an interest in the business and from here he went to Prattville, Ala., and established the well-known Pratt gin business. The first gins were made at Clinton loaded
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in wagons, knocked down and put together by Mr. Pratt after their arrival at Pratt's shop in Alabama. Mr. Griswold was a co-partner in the first gins, but after the wagons left he decided to and did sell out his interest to Mr. Pratt.
Mr. Griswold had bought a large part of Jones County for his timber supply, the Central railroad was protected through his lands, and he took a contract and built a part of the road- bed and upon its completion he moved his shop from Clinton to the railroad and into his timber yard, about 1839 to 1840.
His dwelling house he completed in 1852. His house, like everything Mr. Griswold did, was one of the best built and ar- ranged houses in the State and stood in a perfect state of preser- vation until destroyed by fire last year. He called his new place Griswoldville. Here he built a large shop, supplied it with all the latest improved machinery of that time, a steam sawmill, a foundry and a large merchant grist mill. He made every part of his gins from the raw material, doing his own casting in his foundry, sawing his own lumber at his sawmill making his gin- saws from sheet steel imported from the Naylor's in England. Here his business grew and prospered until in was the largest manufacturing business in the state owned by one individual. Sales of gins mounting to from 909 to 1,200 a year and was the leading gin of the country. He also built a handsome church at his own expense and many nice and comfortable houses for his employees and slaves.
He was a progressive man far ahead of his time. He built waterworks by boring holes through pine logs 12 feet in length putting them together under ground carrying water from his sawmill to his shop, to the railroad track, his flower and vege- table gardens, laundry and barn. He had all the roads leading to his place worked at his own expense for a distance of three miles, and good roads they were. He bought much meat, corn, fodder, etc., from the surrounding farmers and had the best grist mill in the state, which was a great convenience to a large section of country. He contributed liberally to all enterprises. He gave $500.00 to Wesleyan Female College when his means were lim- ited. By his recognition of the possibilities of the cotton gin as a developer of the South, by his perseverance and energy in
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making it possible for the planters to get them, he did as much as any one man to promote the development of the South, Israel and Dwight Brown went from his place to Columbus, Ga. and built the Brown Gin, which Israel moved to New London, Conn. after the Civil War, and from which the Lummus gin springs. Daniel Pratt went from this shop to Prattville, Ala., and estab- lished the Pratt gin-Mr. Winship went from Clinton, after seeing Mr. Griswold's success, to Morgan County, Ga., and established the Winship gin, which he afterwards moved to At- lanta. O. W. Massey had been reared in Mr. Griswold's shop, and moved down near Macon and established the Massey gin.
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