USA > Georgia > Wilkinson County > History of Wilkinson County > Part 39
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WILLIAM HENRY BRYAN
No one ever saw William Henry Bryan without having a lasting impression made upon him by this noble-hearted veteran of the War Between the States. All who knew him loved "Daddy," as he was familiarly called.
The son of Nathan Bryan, originally from North Carolina, and Mary (Griggs) Bryan, our subject was born in Houston County, between Perry and Marshallville, Nov. 17, 1843. The family mov- ing to Green County, he received his schooling in the latter county. Just before the war, his father bought a farm near Andersonville and they moved to it. Though only eighteen years of age, he was among the very first to enlist, and left Macon, May II, 1861, as
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a member of Co. G, 5th Georgia Regiment. For eight or nine months his Regiment was stationed at Pensacola, Fla. While there volunteers were called for to go to burn a Yankee provision depot. He was one of the number. Armed largely with chop knives and canteens of turpentine with which to start the fire, they crossed the intervening water and landing two miles below their objective they made a forced march and destroyed the depot without the loss of a man.
In June, 1862, he was transferred to Co. D, 2nd Battalion Sharp- shooters. He served through the entire four years of the War, took part in the battles of Kennesaw Mountain, Atlanta, and Jonesboro, being wounded in the latter. He was with his command at Greens- boro, N. C., at the time of the surrender.
After the war he was married to Mary Law, Oct. 28, 1866, and lived in Macon County until 1872 when he moved to his farm a few miles southwest of Danville in Twiggs Co. In 1906 he moved to Danville, Wilkinson Co. where he spent the rest of his life.
Mr. Bryan became a member of Cool Spring Lodge No. 185 in 1884. He was in every sense of the word a Mason. He shaped his life by the square, the level and the plumb. He was an active mem- ber and Steward of the Danville Methodist Church and served for many years as School Trustee. His was a life of service to his fel- low man-noble and well spent.
His son, Stephen Alexander Bryan, was born in Macon County, Sept. 28, 1867, and was married to Lucia Usery (b. Aug. 30, 1870, at Irwinton) Oct. 28, 1890. He has served as Mayor of Danville, on the School Board, Worshipful Master of the Masonic Lodge and is highly esteemed wherever known.
MRS. MAUDE TAYLOR BUGG, 1892-1927
A native of Pulaski County, yet adopting Wilkinson as her home, Mrs. Bugg's life is inseparably entwined with this county. She gave the best years of her life to the service of the children of Wilkinson and nearby counties, to her church, to her community and to her beloved Eastern Star, of which she long served as Worthy Matron and as Grand Chapter Official. Mrs. Bugg was educated in the schools of Pulaski, Danville, University of Georgia, and Wesleyan, where she studied voice and piano.
She taught at Cool Springs, Soperton, Montrose, Irwinton, and
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Danville. As a teacher she won the praise of every community where she taught. No one became ill or in trouble without her ready aid and sympathy. Her home life with her aged father and mother, and her husband, G. Parks Bugg, whom she married in 1920, was beau- tiful.
Mrs. Bugg was a member of the John Ball Chapter, D. A. R., she being descended from Revolutionary forebears on both her fa- ther's and her mother's sides.
Her father, James A. Taylor, 1853-1928, (son of Isaac Dennard Taylor, m. Mary McCoy in 1841, both from Houston County) was an educator of note and one of the ablest ininisters of the Primi- tive Baptist faith, serving numerous churches, one of which was Bay Springs, from its organization to 1928.
Her grandfather Taylor was the son of James Taylor, b. 1773 and his second wife, Rebecca (Dennard) Taylor, 1779-1868 m. in Wilkinson or Washington County. He received a pension for his service during the War Between the States.
Her great-great-grandfather, Colonel Robert Taylor, 1736-1801, m. Jane Alexander, 1739-1819, in 1759 at Boston, Mass., served during the Revolution as Captain of the United States Artillery of Providence, R. I., later Colonel. Tradition says he was buried in Wilkinson County.
Mrs. Bugg's mother, Frances (Thompson) Taylor was the daughter of Stephen Lester Thompson, 1816-1890, and Margaret Elizabeth Meadows, 1826-1910, m. 1842-and the granddaughter of Daniel Thompson, d. 1853, and Sarah Murray, 1781-1851, ap- proximately, who was the daughter of John Murray and his second wife Mary (Kimbrough) d. 1844. John Murray was born in Dau- phin County, Pa., 1745, and died in Orange County, N. C., in 1799, having served as Sergeant in the American Revolution.
DANIEL BURKE
Daniel Burke, planter, soldier, Judge, and Legislator, the oldest son of Nimrod Burke, Jr., and Elizabeth ( Butler) Burke, was born May 13, 1836, at the old Burke Plantation in Turkey Creek Dis- trict. He died at his home in Allentown, Wilkinson County, Geor- gia, on April 24, 1907, and his remains were laid to rest in the cem- etery of Pleasant Plains Church.
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His early education was obtained at the Turkey Creek Academy, and Harrison Academy. For two years he studied in the State of North Carolina. He completed his study in school at Macon, Geor- gia. His father, Nimrod Burke, Jr., was one of the original trustees of the Harrison Academy. He acquired a good education.
He was married on July 3, 1856, in Wilkinson County, Georgia, to Miss Millie A. Hardie, the daughter of Joel Hardie and Marga- ret ( Patterson) Hardie. She made her home for more than ten years immediately before her death, with a daughter, Annie Mae, wife of Walter B. Branan, of Gordon, Georgia, where she died on June 4, 1920, and was buried by the side of her husband, Daniel Burke.
He contributed liberally of his time and substance to the upbuild- ing of the state and the community in which he lived. He was one of the principal builders of the old Pleasant Plains School, where he served as trustee for a number of years. He was a churchman, a Ma- son, and a Democrat. He was a loyal member of the New Provi- dence Church (Baptist). He served as Worshipful Master of the Irwinton, Georgia, Masonic Lodge, of which he was a member.
He volunteered as a soldier in behalf of the principles for which the Southern Confederacy stood and in which he and the people of the South firmly believed to be right, and on August 22, 1862, en- listed in Company F of the historic Third Georgia Regiment, in Wright's Brigade, and served in the army of Virginia under Gen- eral Robert E. Lee.
He fought throughout the War between the States, until he was wounded almost mortally on May 14, 1864, while engaged in the Battle of Spottsylvania Courthouse, Virginia. No man fought more bravely than did he in the terrific battles in which this regiment was engaged. He was in that magnificent charge made by this regiment on the slopes of Cemetery Ridge at the Battle of Gettysburg, which immortalized these men. .
While engaged in the Battle of Spottsylvania Courthouse he was wounded, being shot in the right eye, a fragment of the shell passing through and out of his right ear. His comrade, W. F. (One Armed Frank) Cannon, seeing him lying in a pool of water, dragged him out, and carried him, on his back, off the battlefield. He recuperated in a hospital in Virginia, where he was nursed by Mrs. Morgan, who kept his wound treated and provided him with food. He re- turned to his home in Wilkinson County, Georgia, on June 9, 1864.
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In appreciation of the services rendered to him by Mrs. Morgan, he gave her thirty dollars each month as long as she lived. He received a pension.
He was loved by those who knew him and regarded as a good business man. As the holder of considerable Confederate money and as owner of a large number of slaves, he sustained a great loss as a re- sult of the War Between the States. He was a Democrat and took an active interest in politics. In 1865 he was made a Justice of the Inferior Court, a position he held until the court was abolished. Later he served as Representative from Wilkinson County in the General Assembly of Georgia. He was a large planter and land owner. He erected, at large expense, a mill on Cedar Creek, known as Burke's Mill. He amassed considerable property and at one time was the largest taxpayer in the county. At his death he was perhaps the wealthiest man living in that section of Wilkinson County. (Written by MRS. A. M. BRANAN.)
JOSEPH EDWARD BUTLER
Among the first settlers of Wilkinson County came Ford Butler and his wife, Martha ( Patsy) from South Carolina. His service in the Revolution had enabled him to acquire a great deal of land in other counties (see Knight's Roster of the Revolution). Soon after his arrival he purchased many other tracts of land and at his death about 1818, he was one of the largest landowners of the county. His widow and his son, Malachi, administered on his estate. Joel, another of his sons, was born in South Carolina, 1787. He first married a Miss Culpepper, his second wife being the former Belinda Ashley. He rapidly amassed wealth and became one of the wealthiest land and slave owners of Wilkinson County. He was a strong believer in the Primitive Baptist Church. Late in life he moved to Irwinton. Among his sons was George Washington Butler, who inherited much of his father's property as well as much of his busi- ness sagacity. He served in Co. D, 8th Georgia Regiment during the War Between the States. He was married Jan. 13, 1857, to Adeline Elizabeth Howell (b. 1837, d. July 19, 1912). She was a member of a large and influential Methodist family, being the daughter of David and Naomi (Edwards) Howell, of Waynes- ville, N. C. She came to this county about 1856, accepting a position
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as music teacher. Their children: Rufus Howell, Martha Fleta, Joseph Edward, George Raymond, Charles Oscar, Julia Adeline, William Thomas, Hattie Elizabeth, Mary Washington.
Their son, Joseph Edward, the subject of this sketch, was born Dec. 20, 1862, at Irwinton. He was educated at Pleasant Plains Grammar School and Talmadge Institute, graduating with first honors in the class of 1880. At the age of seventeen he entered the farming and mercantile business at Boxwood, eight miles from Irwinton. He joined New Providence Baptist Church in 1882, and has attended its meetings regularly ever since. He has from date to the present time been a delegate and attended the Ebenezer Baptist Association for forty-four years, during which time served as Mod- erator of same for a period of three years and is now Clerk of same ; was Superintendent of Irwinton Sunday School fifteen years and was County Superintendent for Georgia Sunday School Asso- ciation in Wilkinson County fourteen years. He was also President of Ebenezer Sunday School Association three years. He has attended every Association meeting held by the Ebenezer Association since 1882, with the exception of three, a record possibly unsurpassed by any Baptist in Georgia.
Judge Butler has been a member of the Irwinton Masonic Lodge since 1900 and served as Worshipful Master for a long period, has been a member of the Odd Fellows for several years.
In politics, Judge Butler is a Democrat; was nominated for Clerk of the Superior Court in 1896, but declined to run; was elected Ordinary of the county in 1899, and so well did he fill the office that each election year he was repeatedly re-elected. The office of Judge of the County Court became vacant, there being such a few lawyers in Irwinton the Legislature passed a special act making the Ordinary ex-officio the Judge of the County Court, the only in- stance of its kind in all the state .. He served without interruption until 1917, and for the next eight years he was engaged in the mer- cantile, livestock and lumber business, a portion of the same time serving as Clerk for the County Commissioners. In 1924, he was re-elected as Ordinary. During his terms of office as Ordinary he has officiated in approximately two hundred marriage ceremonies.
Judge Butler was married March 4, 1909, to Fleta Jane Nesbit, the daughter of Alexander H. and Sarah J. Nesbit (see their sketch). Mrs. Butler completed a course at Talmadge Institute,
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attended Wesleyan College and received her B. S. Degree from Brenau College in 1908, after which she taught for a while. She has been a member of the Irwinton Baptist Church since childhood. Her hospitality is known throughout the County and every one who has ever once been to her home is always glad to return. Her table is always filled with the good things to eat she has grown in her garden, from her flocks of the finest chickens of the county, from her overflowing smokehouse or from her fine herd of dairy cattle. In the latter she takes a great deal of well-merited pride for they are perhaps unexcelled in the entire county.
In addition to the cares of her home and children, Mrs. Butler assists her husband in the office, performing much of the clerical work. She has, indeed, been a great help-meet. Her friendly dis- position and magnetic personality wins friends easily.
Their children are: Adelyn Elizabeth, Joseph Edward, Jr., Sara Nesbit, and Marion Edna.
GEORGE HENRY CARSWELL LAWYER-STATESMAN
Of all the families of Wilkinson County, none have exceeded the Carswell family in prominence. In every generation it has pro- duced one or more outstanding men who have attained leadership- in county or state affairs, such men as Matthew Carswell, N. A. Carswell, H. F. Carswell and last but by no means least, George H. Carswell.
His great-great grandfather, Alexander Carswell, was born in County Antrim, Ireland, and was a veteran of the Revolution. His great-grandfather, Matthew Carswell, born February 17: 1768, was one of the early settlers of Wilkinson County, settling on what is still known as the Old Carswell Place in Turkey Creek District, and soon became one of the largest landowners of that section. His wife was Sarah Martin, born 1766.
From his earliest arrival here he began taking an active interest in county affairs. He was appointed Commissioner of the Wilkinson County Academy in 1810, and served as Representative of the County during 1814 and 1815.
A few years later when the Stage Road leading from Macon by way of Dublin to Savannah was being established, he was ap-
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pointed to serve as Commissioner for Wilkinson County. As an evidence of the faithful performance of his duty of selecting the best route, sixty-five years later the Macon and Atlantic Railroad surveyed the route for a road-bed parallel with the old stage road. He died 1829, his wife following him nine years later.
His sons, Samuel Martin and William E., became prominent planters of that section, the latter being by far the wealthiest man in Wilkinson County. The former, the grandfather of George H., built the old ante-bellum home on his father's old plantation, and lived there until his death. His wife was Jane Manson, of another prominent ante-bellum family of the county.
One of their sons, Matthew James, except for a few years at Society Hill, Alabama, spent the whole of his life in Wilkinson County, moving to Irwinton before the war. He was married to Miss Ellen Huff Dupree in 1858, the daughter of Dr. Ira Ellis Dupree, who was born in 1800, and who served as a delegate from Twiggs County to the Constitutional Convention of 1865, and Frances (Bryan) Dupree.
Matthew James served in the War Between the States and, his home being in the path of Sherman's army, the end of the war found his property swept away. On his farm near Irwinton his son George Henry Carswell was born Oct. 21, 1874. Business reverses occurring, the latter was unable to obtain a college education after completing Talmage Institute. For a while he taught a country school in Appling County. In 1895, he with John Todd, his brother- in-law, began the publication of the Bulletin. A few months later he purchased Mr. Todd's interest and continued it alone. In 1899 having determined upon the law as his chosen profession, he at- tended Mercer University Law School and was admitted to the bar. The County Court of Wilkinson County having recently been created, he was appointed its first Solicitor. However, finding the defense side much more to his liking, he soon resigned.
AS A LAWYER
In the practice of law, Mr. Carswell has been a most decided success. On the cross examination of witnesses he has few equals : his knowledge of the rules of evidence often stand him in good stead. Especially is he in his element when pleading his cause before the jury. The writer has seen him on innumerable occasions when
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his case appeared lost, but when he finished speaking it would have a different aspect. Not only does he hold the attention of the jurors but whenever it is known that he is to address a jury, he has a large audience of others. No lawyer who has ever crossed swords with him in the legal arena, but henceforth has a wholesome respect for his abilities.
At one time, Mr. Carswell had amassed considerable property, but the advent of the boll weevil, the post war deflation and illness in his family swept away what he owned.
As President of the Irwinton Bank, which he assisted in organiz- ing and of which he has served as President ever since, he has on more than one occasion demonstrated his ability to inspire confi- dence in the people of his home town. Several times crises have confronted it, one or more times a run on it was impending when other banks throughout the country were closing their doors, but in each instance, he was able to avert it.
ADVOCATE OF EDUCATION
For several years Mr. Carswell was Chairman of the Wilkinson County Board of Education and during his term of office, largely through his influence and efforts, a great deal of improvements were made in the schools of the county. He was thus aware of the great needs of the poor children of Georgia for better educational advant- ages. He has served several terms in the Legislature, nine years in the House, and six years in the Senate. In 1918 having been again elected to represent the county he was asked to sponsor the famous Elder-Carswell bill authorizing counties to supplement school funds with local taxation. For several years past this bill had been intro- duced but failed to receive the required majority. Mr. Carswell, however, threw himself wholeheartedly into the fight and success- fully carried it through. No law in recent years has benefited more the schools of Georgia, unless it is that allowing State Aid for High Schools, which was another of his measures, the latter also a Constitutional Amendment permitting the support of High Schools which heretofore was forbidden.
LEGISLATOR
In 1917-'20 he served as Floor Leader of the House for Gov-
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ernor Dorsey and as such engineered the passage of the bill creating the State Highway Department.
Likewise, as Floor Leader, there was entrusted to him the pas- sage of the Workmen's Compensation Insurance Bill which has had such a revolutionary effect in the collection of damages for in- juries. Perhaps no law ever enacted by the Georgia Legislature has so revolutionized conditions for those engaged in industrial oc- cupations and their families. It has lessened enormously the number of actions filed in the courts to enforce the claims for injuries and has also made it possible for untold numbers of destitute families to recover aid where under the existing laws they would have been to- tally debarred from recovering any compensation at all.
Another bill which he was largely instrumental in passing was the Child Labor Bill which has meant so much to the children who hitherto had been driven like slaves in industrial plants, but never were given a chance for the schooling that other children received.
His experience in banking caused him to be selected to pilot two other measures through : the Uniform Negotiable Instruments Bill, which made the laws of Georgia governing Bills and Notes con- form to the general law in force in practically all the states of the Union. The other was the re-organization of the Banking laws of Georgia, the workings of which is rapidly becoming recognized as being a masterful piece of legislation, as the real intents of the framers of the act are now being put into practice.
In 1919-'20 he served as Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee most creditably. Likewise, in 1917-'18, he served as Chairman of the Senate Appropriation Committee, which chair- manships were considered the most important that could be given.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
At the beginning of the 1925 term of the Senate he stood for the Presidency. Although with considerable opposition at the out- set his strength continued to grow until the date of the convening found him the unanimous choice of that body.
It was while President of the Senate that a bill came up for a vote in which he was vitally interested, the creation of the Alto Sanitarium for tuberculosis victims. The vote was a tie. He left his Chair and took the floor in its behalf. Those who were in the Senate chamber at the time say he made the speech of his life. That
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in his speech he said, "Back in the little town of Irwinton there are two people slowly dying of this terrible plague. One of these is a poor carpenter, his daily earnings have been supporting his large family of helpless children. He is not able to go to high priced sanitariums. For such as he, I cast the deciding vote in favor of Alto Sanatarium."
Mr. Carswell has for several years been one of the Trustees of Georgia School of Technology.
GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE-SECRETARY OF STATE
In 1926, Mr. Carswell made the race for Governor. It was then the people of Georgia recognized his ability as a campaigner. His caustic wit and ready repartee make of him a dangerous antagonist in a political debate. Though unsuccessful in the race yet it is ac- knowledged by his political enemies that he was a determining fac- tor in the final outcome of that election. In 1928, upon the death of W. G. Mclendon, Secretary of State, he was appointed by Gov- ernor L. G. Hardeman to fill the unexpired term. He was there- after elected to succeed himself.
It was while serving in this capacity that he began making changes in the management of the duties of his office, tending towards a much greater efficiency. Immediate improvements were evident. A careful check on auto tags alone poured in excess of $500,000.00, more funds into the State coffers than had ever been received be- fore in one year. Another of his plans was the manufacture of all auto tags by convicts at the State Farm at Milledgeville, which has been begun and which already promises a saving of many thousands of dollars to the State annually.
Announcement of his candidacy for Governor in the 1930 cam- paign is believed to be imminent and it is generally conceded he stands a most excellent chance of being elected. In this event there is every reason to believe that he will put into practice more ideas of economy in the management of the affairs of state.
Mr. Carswell was married November 26, 1902, to Miss Ethel Wood, daughter of Dr. Joshua S. Wood, of Irwinton. Their chil- dren are: Claire; Ellen, (who is the wife of David Ramsey Sim- mons, of Bainbridge, Georgia, and has one little girl, (Virginia Claire) ; George H., Jr .; Harold ; and Hubert, who died at the age of two years. On her father's side Mrs. Carswell was descended
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from the Wood family of Washington County, Tully Choice, a Captain in the Revolutionary War, Kinman and other historic fam- ilies : on her mother's side from the Graybills, the prominent Tucker family and others.
Mrs. Carswell was considered one of the most beautiful women Irwinton has ever produced : her well cultivated soprano voice, as she sang the old familiar hymns in the church, still linger pleas- antly in the memories of hundreds who heard her :- an ideal mother and home-maker.
LEVI RICHARDSON CASON
Levi Richardson Cason was born near Sandersville, Washington County, Georgia, April 19, 1839. About two years after the War Between the States he located in Toomsboro, Wilkinson County, and except for a year at Forsyth, Ga., and three years at Jackson, Ga., he lived there until his death. He first clerked for Judge Can . non, later for Mr. Ira Deese and he also taught school for a short while. About 1877 he went into business for himself and when he retired forty-five years afterwards he had long been one of the lead- ing merchants of the county. He built the first brick mercantile building in the county, at the same time putting up the Wilkinson County Bank Building, the first bank in the county. He served as one of the Directors of this bank from its beginning until about two years before his death, and before it was organized he acted in the capacity of private banker for numbers of his customers. He was an elder in the Toomsboro Christian Church. He had served both as Mayor and Councilman of his town, and was a member of Camp Warthen, U. C. V. He enlisted in the Confederate army, April 19, 1861, age twenty-two, in Co. A, 28th Regiment Georgia Vol., and served the full four years. He was in many notable engagements and was wounded at the Battle of Chancellorsville. Mr. Cason died at Toomsboro, Ga., May 13, 1927, age eighty-eight years, and was buried at the Stephens family cemetery. He was survived by his wife, four daughters, two sons and eleven grand-children.
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