USA > Georgia > Memoirs of Georgia; containing historical accounts of the state's civil, military, industrial and professional interests, and personal sketches of many of its people. Vol. I > Part 42
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Mr. Browne was raised on the farm and received a fair education at the country schools. In 1862 he enlisted in Company A, Fifty-Ninth Tennessee regi- ment, with which he served until July 4, 1863, and participated in the battles at Baker's creek and Vicksburg, Miss., where he was paroled and returned home. Subsequently he received his commission as captain in the quartermaster's depart- ment, Sixth North Carolina regiment, cavalry, and with this command was under Gen. Johnson on the coast, in the engagements at Tarboro and New Berne and the capture of Fort Croatan, and others in North Carolina, until the close of the war, when he was discharged, in March, 1865. That year he went to Kansas City, Mo., and taught school and engaged in other occupations until the spring of 1866, when he crossed the plains-there were no railroads then-to Virginia city. There
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he engaged in trading in mining stocks and cattle for about three years, when he returned east and settled at Mt. Olivet, Ky., where he engaged in the drug business about seven years-until 1876-when he purchased and settled on a plantation in Bartow county, where he engaged in farming and stock-raising until 1889. Early in that year he sold out and went back to Kentucky, but in the fall returned to Bartow county, bought his present farm of 150 acres, and embarked in the business of breeding Jersey cattle, high-grade horses and other stock. He is eminently progressive in all matters pertaining to every branch of agriculture, and takes great interest in them, and in regard to them is considered somewhat of an authority.
Capt. Browne was married, in 1873, to Miss Maude, daughter of H. H. Overby, of Nicholas county, Ky. Politically, he is a stanch, uncompromising democrat. He is an ardent, working and exemplary member of the Methodist church, of which he is a steward, and also superintendent of the Sunday school. He is a consistent Christian gentleman, a generous contributor to, and earnest worker in, all movements having for their object the intellectual and religious advancement of the community.
BURGE. Among the earliest settlers of Cass (now Bartow) county were the Burges. Nathaniel Burge, deceased, son of Woody and Judy Burge, was born in Virginia, Jan. 8, 1790. Subsequently to his birth his father moved to North Carolina and settled on Broad river, in Rutherford county. There he remained and farmed until he died-and there he raised his children, Allen, Nancy, David, William, Priscilla, Elizabeth, Sarah, John, Judith, Nathaniel and Mary.
Nathaniel grew to manhood on the North Carolina plantation, and, Nov. 18, 1815, married Miss Nancy Green, daughter of Joseph Green. A few years later he came to Gwinnett county, Ga., where he remained a year, alone, when he returned to North Carolina, and in 1824 moved, with his family, to Gwinnett county and settled on Sweet Water creek. He remained there until 1837, when he removed to Cass (now Bartow) county, and purchased 200 acres of land-on which his son, J. R. M. Burge, now lives-which he afterward added to until his holding was 800 acres, situated in what is known as the "Horseshoe Bend" of Etowah river. Here he lived out his days, and on this original purchase himself and wife are buried-in the "Burge burial ground." Mr. Burge was a consistent, devoted member of the Baptist church, in which he was a deacon very many years. He gave the land on which Raccoon creek Baptist church was built and the burial ground located, and was one of the original members and organizers of the church. Practical, sagacious and public-spirited, he was prosperous. Politically he was an unswerv- ing democrat, and always took an active part in promoting the success of his party. His death occurred Dec. 15, 1849. To these pioneer settler's there were born eight children: Joseph G., deceased; William T .; Adolphus G., deceased; Mary E., deceased, married Daniel Conyers; Elizabeth, deceased, married .Russell H. Cannon; Jane A., wife of John Sproulls; Joseph P., first lieutenant, Company K, Fourteenth Georgia regiment, died from exposure in the army in 1861; and James R. M., of Bartow county.
William T. Burge, son of Nathaniel and Nancy (Green) Burge, was born in North Carolina, Jan. 20, 1820, and was raised mostly in Gwinnett and Cass (now Bartow) counties, Ga., and was educated in the common schools of the time and locality. When twenty-one years old he engaged in the sawmill business, and in 1845 purchased the farm now owned and operated by him. For some years he combined distilling with his farming. The year he became of age he was the whig candidate for sheriff of the county. During the late war he was appointed by the
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county to obtain food and supplies for the families of the soldiers, and in 1863 was quartermaster of the state troops. At this time, also-1862-65-he officiated as one of the justices of the inferior court. At the close of the war he was the first man to take the oath of allegiance to the United States. In early life he was an old-time whig; afterward he united with the democratic party, and when the populist (or third) party was formed he took an active part in its organization, and was elected by that party to represent the county in the general assembly in 1891-92.
Mr. Burge was married, Feb. 3, 1845, to Miss Melissa, daughter of Samuel Smith, of what is now Bartow county, and to them ten children have been born: Nancy, wife of John Munford, Polk county, Ga .; Lexanna, wife of John T. Walker; Susan, wife of J. S. Davitt, Polk county; Dora, deceased, wife of A. S. Mc- Gregor; Ida, wife of Samuel S. E. Smith, Polk county; Willie, deceased; James W., Bartow county, and Fannie, Nathaniel and John, all deceased. Mr. Burge is an exemplary and influential member of the Methodist church, of which he was an efficient steward for many years.
JAMES J. CONNOR, lawyer and planter, Cartersville, Bartow Co., Ga., son of Thomas B. and Sarah (Wall) Connor, was born in what is known as the "Dead river settlement," Montgomery county, Ga., Nov. 26, 1847. His paternal grandfather, Wilson Connor, was born in South Carolina, and came to Georgia and settled in what is now Montgomery county, in 1792. He was an extensive planter and prominent citizen. He was a devoted, influential member of the Baptist church, of which he was a pinoeer minister in that part of Georgia-a man of ability and great usefulness. He married Miss Mary Cook, a native of Pennsyl- vania, and raised a family of four children: James G .; Harriett, who married a Mr. Griffin; Lucy A., who married Joseph Ryals, and Thomas B.
Mr. Connor's father, Thomas B., was born in Montgomery county, Oct. 22, 1798, and died Jan. 6, 1886. He was a large and very prosperous planter, a prominent citizen and politician, and an active and ardent member of the Baptist church. He was twice elected sheriff of Montgomery county. He married Miss Sarah Wall, who was born Oct. 7, 1809, and died Sept. 4, 1885. To them seven children were born: Mary A., deceased, wife of Joseph Ryals; William W., deceased; Thomas B., member of Company E, Sixty-first Georgia regiment, killed in second battle of Bull Run (second Manassas); Wilson W., deceased; Sarah, wife of Thomas B. Calhoun, Montgomery county; Eliza L., wife of James W. McArthur, Montgomery county, and James J., the subject of this sketch.
Mr. Connor was reared on the family homestead and received as good a common school education as could be had during the troublous times of his boy- hood and youth. When twenty years of age he went to Dublin, Laurens Co., Ga., and commenced reading law under Col. Jonathan Rivers, and in 1871 was admitted to the bar, and entered at once upon the practice in Dublin. He was mayor of Dublin two years, and solicitor-general of the circuit several years. In 1881 he located in Cartersville and formed a partnership with Judge J. M. Neal, which continued five years. He then settled on his splendid 900-acre plantation in the vicinity of Cartersville, which he is conducting on the most improved and approved principles of modern husbandry, with labor-saving implements and machinery.
Mr. Connor was married, Nov. 9, 1879, to Miss Lucy C., daughter of Dr. James G. Ryals, and to them six children have been born: Thomas B., student at Mercer university, Macon, Ga .; James R .; Mary E .; Robert E .; Lucy C., and Anna B.
Mr. Connor is a leading democrat, a member of the Stilesboro Agricultural club, a Master Mason and a prominent and influential member of the Baptist
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church, of twenty years' standing. Pushing, progressive, popular, a bright future lies before him.
BELTON O. CRAWFORD, planter and stock-raiser, Cassville, Bartow Co., Ga., son of John and Martha (Clore) Crawford, was born in Laurens district, S. C., Jan. II, 1827. When a boy (in 1836) he came with his father and family to Cass (now Bartow) county, Ga. He was raised on the old homestead (now his home), was educated at the Cassville academy, and, two years, attended the school of Rev. J. H. George, an educator of very high repute at Condsena. He then read law under Judge A. R. Wright, Rome, Ga., and was admitted to the bar in 1851. He located at Calhoun, Gordon Co., Ga., and practiced his profession there until 1858. His health failing at this time he retired from the practice, and bought a farm adjoining his father's and when his father died he bought the old homestead where he now lives, devoting- his attention to farming and stock-raising. In 1861 he was elected a justice of the inferior court, and held the office four years. In 1863 he was commissioned captain of Company E, Price's battalion, Georgia state troops. He is one of the most prominent and substantial citizens of his county and section, a wide awake, progressive planter, and a liberal supporter of educational and Christian movements. He was a trustee of the Cherokee Baptist college, and is now a trustee of Ryal's high school, Gordon county, Ga. The son of a pioneer citizen and Baptist, it is his pride and ambition to emulate his father's public and Christian work.
Mr. Crawford was married in 1852 to Miss Cordelia, daughter of S. J. and Frances Fullilove. She died in 1860, leaving two children: Sally, wife of J. C. McLier; and James, planter, Bartow county. He afterward married Miss Sarah Fullilove, a sister of his first wife, by whom also he has two children, a daughter, Johnnie, and a son, Michael. Mr. Crawford is one of the stanchest of democrats, and a hard worker for his party; and a member of the Baptist church, in which he has been a deacon for twenty years.
REV. JOHN CRAWFORD, deceased, was a son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Roy) Crawford, and was born near Greenville, S. C., in 1793. His parents, natives of Virginia, migrated to South Carolina soon after the revolutionary war, and settled on a plantation in Greenville district. Subsequently, when advanced in years, Mr. Crawford's father lived in Laurens district. S. C.
Mr. Crawford was one of a family of four sons and three daughters; was raised on the plantation and received a fair education at the common country schools. When twenty-eight years of age he was married to Miss Martha, daughter of Aaron and Susan Clore, of Laurens district, where he settled and lived until 1836. Between the date of his marriage and 1836 he was ordained a preacher in the Baptist church. In 1836 he removed from South Carolina to Georgia with his family-himself, wife, six children and a number of slaves-and purchased and settled a plantation of 400 acres in Cass (now Bartow) county, where his son Belton now lives. He was a soldier under Gen. Jackson when that general was fighting the Indians in 1814, and was present when Wetherford surrendered to Jackson. After taking up his residence in Georgia Mr. Crawford was actively engaged in ministerial work in Cass, Cherokee, Floyd and Gordon counties, and was the founder of many of the Baptist churches within their borders, giving liberally of his means for that purpose. He inaugurated the movement for establishing the Cherokee Baptist college at Cassville, Ga., and gave $4,000 toward building it, and was made president of the board of trustees. He was emphatically a progressionist in all matters affecting the welfare of the people,
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the friend of education, and an active, earnest advocate and worker in the vine- vard of the Master. He was a strong advocate of the construction of the Western & Atlantic (state) railway. He was the owner of hundreds of acres of land, a large planter, and owned the first reaping machine brought to Georgia. Politically he was an ardent democrat. He lived to be eighty-two years of age, and his wife died in 1875 at the age of seventy-four years. To this worthy couple the following children were born: Eliza, who married D. H. Hodges, both deceased; Harvey S., of Bartow county; John A., deceased, was a lawyer, a member of the general assembly before the war, was captain of Company K, Eighteenth Georgia regi- ment, served from June, 1861, to December, 1864, and was wounded in the battles at Sharpsburg and Gettysburg; Belton O., Bartow county; Michael J., was a lawyer, first lieutenant Company E, Eighteenth Georgia regiment from 1861 until the battle of the Wilderness, where he was badly wounded. He was elected to the general assembly in 1868, but expelled because he had held public office before the war; Martha S., married to J. C. Farris, Bartow county.
MATTHEW M. CUNNINGHAM, farmer, Adairsville, Bartow Co., Ga., son of James and Caroline (Watts) Cunningham, was born in Cass (now Bartow) county, Aug. 10, 1845. His paternal grandfather, Matthew Cunning- ham, was a native of Laurens county, S. C., and his paternal grandmother was a native of Ireland. In Laurens county they were married and there Mr. Cun- ningham's father was born Sept. 6, 1806, was raised on a farm, and learned the wagon-maker's trade. In 1839 he came to Georgia and settled in Cassville, the county-seat of what was then Cass county, and established himself in the wagon- making business. In 1840 he entered into partnership with James Leak, and together conducted the business near Adairsville until 1846. At that time he bought a tract of 160 acres of land, to which he not long afterward added 140 acres more, and cleared and improved a farm which was his home until he died, in 1891, and where his son, the subject of this sketch, now lives. Originally he was an "old-line whig" in politics, but in his later years was a democrat. In 184I he connected himself with the Methodist church, was one of the organizers of the Oothcaloga church, and was its class leader until his death. He was broad-minded, liberal in his views, and yet more liberal with his means toward the building of a house of worship, and in support of the church. He married Miss Caroline, daughter of W. J. Watts, another pioneer, who owned part of the land on which Adairsville now stands. She died in 1878. Their children were: William C., who was a member of the Twenty-second Georgia regiment, and died from exposure in the service; Matthew M., the subject of this sketch; Cornelius W .; James A .; Henry B. (deceased); Frances M. (deceased); Mary V., wife of M. C. Fields; Martha A. W. (deceased); and Layton P., Florida. Mr. Cunningham grew to manhood on the farm, and was educated at the near-by country schools. In 1863 he joined the First regiment, state troops, and afterward enlisted in Capt. Cowan's company of mounted troops, with which he served until the surrender- his service including what is known as the Atlanta campaign. After the war he returned to the homestead, where in addition to farming, he operated a cotton gin. In 1889 he formed a partnership with W. T. Hall, and erected the buildings and put in the present machinery equipment. Mr. Cunningham married Miss Carrie, daughter of Edward Griffith, of Floyd Springs, Ga., a union which has been blessed with four children: Beulah E., Ernest C., Alice E. and James E. He is a strong democrat, and a member of the Methodist church at Oothcaloga, of which he is a trustee, a steward and class leader-a useful, prominent and influential citizen.
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ARTHUR DAVIS (deceased), planter, Stilesboro, Bartow Co., Ga., son of Benjamin and Nellie (Stokeley) Davis, was born in Cocke county, East Ten- nessee, in April, 1829. His grandfather was one of the early settlers of East Tennessee, and his father was born and raised a farmer in Cocke county, where he lived all his life. Mr. Davis was reared a farmer, and received only such education as was afforded by the neighboring country schools; and was one of a family of seven children-five boys and two girls. At the age of twenty-one he obtained employment with John E. Patton, contractor, who was engaged in railway con- struction in Tennessee, Florida and South Carolina, with whom he remained thirteen years. During this period he was continuously promoted until from a salary of $12 per month he was paid $1,000 a year and all expenses of himself and family. Such was his business and executive ability, that he was placed in charge of Mr. Patton's entire force, and made his agent for purchasing slaves and mules, and all supplies for them, and for carrying on his work. In 1863 he was appointed and commissioned by Gov. Vance, of North Carolina, as superintendent of the salt works operated by that state in Virginia. He continued in this position until the spring of 1865, when he rented land and farmed in Virginia until January, 1866. He then came to Bartow county and rented the Conyers farm on the Etowah river, which he cultivated three years. He then rented the Young farm on the same river, on which he lived the ensuing three years. In the fall of 1871, Mr. Davis bought the John S. Rowland farm, containing 500 acres, to which he afterward added by purchase until he owned 1,000 acres of as good land as any in Bartow county, all in one body, and many other tracts of undeveloped land He was a man of very practical trend of mind and methods, firm and determined in purpose, and possessed of unusual administrative ability; liberal in his views, and generous in his impulses. He was regarded as one of the most progressive, and certainly was one of the most prosperous of the farmers in the Stilesboro neighborhood. Mr. Davis was married Nov. 25, 1859, to Miss Martha A. F., daughter of Thomas Fowler, of Union district, S. C., by whom he has had three children: Ella, wife of Thomas Shockley, Marietta, Ga .; Susan A., wife of A. H. Small, Macon, Ga .; Anna E., wife of L. W. Reeves-a native of Tennessee-Bartow county, Ga. Mr. Davis was a democrat, and an active and influential member of the Baptist church, of which he was a deacon. He died Sept. 10, 1889. Mrs. Davis is yet living, and resides on the plantation.
PETER HAMMONDS, farmer, Stilesboro, Bartow Co., Ga., son of Islam: and Rebecca (Cheek) Hainmonds, was born in Laurens district, S. C., Oct. 3, 1821. His grandfather, Peter Hammonds, was a native of County Clare, Ire- land, who, when he came to the United States settled in Laurens district, where he lived until he died in 1821. Mr. Hammonds' father was born on the South Carolina homestead, where he was raised a farmer and spent most of his life, but died in Spartansburg, S. C. He was twice married. His first wife was Miss Rebecca Cheek, who bore him four children: Cassandra, who married Andrew Massey; Bethany, who married John Lindsey; Lucinda, who married Murphy, and Peter, the subject of this sketch. His second wife was Miss Millie Barker, by whom he had five children: William, Nancy, Rebecca, Catharine and Amelia. Mr. Hammonds was raised a farmer, and was deprived of educational advantages as he was growing to manhood. In 1844 he came to Cass (now Bartow) county, and by a land grant took up forty acres of land, the lot No. 905, one-half mile northeast of Stilesboro depot. To this he added 300 acres by the purchase of other 40-acre lots, making his tract 340 acres, and extending from the depot to his home place at the mouth of Raccoon creek. All is under improved cultivation,
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by himself and children to whom, as they married, he gave a portion of his land. During the war he served as a member of the Home guard. Since the surrender he has given his attention exclusively to his farm, and as a farmer and citizen ranks among the foremost, and as high as any citizen in Bartow county. Mr. Ham- monds married Miss Elizabeth, daughter of Emsley Hilton, Laurens district, S. C. To this union nine children were born: Robert, deceased; Mary; William, Taylorsville, Ga .; Toliver, farmer, Stilesboro; John, merchant, Stilesboro; Henry, deceased; James, farmer; Rebecca, wife of Joseph Forrester, Stilesboro, and Peter, merchant, Stilesboro. He is an ardent democrat and has always been an active party man, and is a working and exemplary member of the Methodist church. .
WILLIAM J. HILBURN, merchant, Adairsville, Bartow Co., Ga., son of
Robert and Eliza (Bailey) Hilburn, was born at Old Castle, Cass (now Bartow) county, April 5, 1843. His grandparents were natives of Virginia, and early in the present century migrated to Georgia and settled in what is now De Kalb county. There Mr. Hilburn's father was born, and after receiving such edu- cation as the common country schools afforded learned the trade of a tailor. Subsequently he studied dentistry and settled at Old Castle and later at Adairsville, where he followed his profession until he died. His wife died in 1883. Mr. Hilburn was given a common-school education and then learned the carpenter's trade. In 1861 he enlisted in Co. K, Seventh Georgia regiment, which at once proceeded to join the forces in Virginia. With his command he was engaged in many important battles, among them Bull Run (first Manassas), Garnett's farm, seven days' fight around Richmond, Fredericksburg, second Bull Run (second Manassas), Antietam, Gettysburg, Wilderness, Spottsylvania court-house, North Anna, Petersburg, Weldon R. R .; went through the East Tennessee campaign and surrendered under Gen. Lee at Appomattox. During all this four-years arduous and faithful service he received but three slight wounds-one in his right foot at Gettysburg. In 1866 he began clerking for A. P. Johnson, Adairsville, and continued with him until 1868. He then moved to Cobb county, Ga., where he worked at his trade and farmed until 1871, when he returned to Adairsville and engaged in merchandising. At the end of a year he discontinued his business and went to Atlanta. After pursuing a mercantile life here awhile he returned to Adairsville and established himself permanently in a grocery and general merchan- dise store. In this last enterprise he has been very successful. In 1892 he built the "New Midway house" and brick block, and is profitably conducting the new and popular hostelry in connection with his store. He is at present the mayor of Adairsville. Pushing in character and being an "up-to-date" man in business and politics, he will grow in popularity and influence.
Mr. Hilburn has been twice married. In 1867 he was married to Miss Nancy C. Gholston, who died in 1876, leaving a daughter, Willie O., wife of T. M. Manning, Floyd county, Ga. He was again married Oct. 28, 1880, to Miss Annie Hunt, who has borne him four children: Pearl R .; Ralph, deceased; Rembert P., and Jennie B.
Mr. Hilburn is an ardent, active democrt, a member of the I. O. O. F., a Master Mason and a prominent and influential member of the Methodist church.
REV. CHARLES WALLACE HOWARD, only son of Charles and Jane (Wallace) Howard, was born in Savannah, Ga., Oct. II, 18II. His father was a prosperous merchant of Savannah and his mother a member of an old and dis- tinguished family of that city. Mr. Howard attended the best schools of his day and at the age of sixteen entered the university of Georgia. Graduating from this
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university he went through the course at the theological seminary at the university of Princeton, N. J. At twenty-one he was ordained in the Presbyterian church at Athens, Ga., and accepted a pastorate at Milledgeville, Ga. Here his powerful eloquence was interested in behalf of the Oglethorpe university, and through it large sums of money were raised for its building. When completed he filled the chair of belles-lettres.
April 25, 1835, he married Miss Susan Jett Thomas, the second daughter of Georgia's gallant soldier, Gen. Jett Thomas. In 1838 he was sent to England to collect the colonial documents of the state of Georgia, which arduous service he performed with conscientious fidelity and thoroughness and to the satisfaction of the legislature of Georgia. At this time, differing with the presbytery on questions vital to the interests of the south, he left that body, resigned his pastorate and went to his farm in Bartow county (then Cass). From his farm he was soon called to Charleston, S. C., by the Huguenots, and with them he rebuilt the Huguenot (French Protestant) church and gathered together its people, who for a hundred years had been scattered among other congregations, translating their liturgy from the French and revising it. In 1849 his health failing him, his attached congrega- tion sent him to Europe for a year, and on his return, still feeble, for two years they refused to accept his resignation. Finally they were compelled to allow him to return to his farm, where he devoted himself to agriculture, literature and scientific research. One of the results of his research was the discovery of the Howard hydraulic cement in Bartow county, the only cement of its color now known to the world. He wrote and published his Manual of Grass and Forage Plants for the south, which is quoted as a standard work. He contributed innumerable agricul- tural and scientific articles to magazines and other periodicals of unusual merit, and which were widely and profitably read. He was a life-long and active member of the Georgia State Agricultural association, and while not neglecting other branches, paid particular attention to the grasses and sheep husbandry. It is probable that after the organization of the association (of which he was one of the founders) he never missed attending an annual meeting. His very extensive general information, ripe scholarship and rare scientific attainments were recog- nized by all, and respected accordingly. And his modesty was such, that mention of them in his presence was absolutely oppressive to him. Although opposed to secession, as an unwise means to settle our grievances, notwithstanding his feeble health, he took an active part in the Confederate struggle, serving as captain of company I of the Sixty-third Georgia regiment. He was severely wounded in the battle of July 22, 1864, between Decatur and Atlanta. His gallantry in the field was only equaled by the favor with which he successfully appealed to the public for funds for the wayside homes for the soldiers. After the war, confident that the south, with her manhood and honor unsubdued by the trying ordeal through which she liad passed, he returned to his farm, devoting himself to it and the welfare of his state in her new circumstances. He was frequently employed by capitalists to make investigations on certain lines as to Georgia's resources. In 1869, under the auspices of the Western & Atlantic railway, he prospected that portion of Georgia, between Chattanooga, Tenn., and Rome, Ga., including Look- out and Pigeon mountains, and made an exhaustive report of its amazing mineral wealth, particularly in the variety, abundance and superior quality of its coal and iron ore. In 1872 he bought his farm, Ellerslee, on the east brow of Lookout mountain, where he loved to rest and commune with nature. And here he died, Dec. 25, 1876, in the sixty-sixth year of his life. At his death Gen. Joseph E. Johnston said: "His loss is a great one to Georgia. For his capacity, patriotism and virtue made him more truly useful since the war than any other Georgian."
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