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 79

Author:
Publication date: 1859
Publisher: Atlanta, Ga., The Southern historicl association
Number of Pages: 1294

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 79

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FIELDEN F. HUNTER belongs to a family noteworthy as having five of its members to serve bravely in the war of the revolution. These were Joseph, James, George, William and Nathan Hunter, who had accompanied their father, William Hunter, when lie emigrated from Ireland previous to the revolution. The younger William Hunter married Mary Abernathy, and their son John, born in South Carolina, married Abigail, daughter of John and Rebecca (Pitts) Johnson, Virginians who had long before settled in South Carolina. To John and Abigail Hunter Fielden .F. was born in South Carolina in 1825. Eleven years later John Johnson and his son-in-law, John Hunter, brought their families to Georgia to found a home. They made their journey in wagons, bringing with them their cows and dogs, and settled first near Turin, in Coweta county, hitching their horses to the trees and making a bush hut while they could build their log cabins. Their settle- ment was made in the midst of the dense forest where, save for a small clearing of about ten acres, not a tree had ever been touched by the hand of a white man. On this new farm was young Fielden reared, and enjoyed only the very limited school privileges obtainable in this sparsely settled country. He married in 1844, Oct. 22, his wife being Miss Frances Bailey, born in Oglethorpe county in 1821. Her father, James Bailey, was born in Oglethorpe county in 1795. Mr. Bailey's wife, Miss Nancy Dicks, was a native of Danville, Va. Mr. and Mrs. Hunter are members of the Baptist church, to which they have belonged forty-two years, hav- ing united with it at the same time and also having been baptised on the same day. They have five children living: Robert F., J. B., W. S., Frederick and Mary. Mr. Hunter is a member of the masonic fraternity. Although Mr. Hunter started out in life with nothing, in fact, being somewhat in debt, he worked with such vigor that he rapidly accumulated a fine property, owning 100 acres of land and a num- ber of negroes when the war laid waste his estate. He also lost his health, but with his natural determination of character he went to work at the shoemaker's trade, which he carried on for thirteen years. His honest integrity and self- respectful independence have placed him high in the estimation of all who know him.

JOSEPH HUTCHESON, farmer, Roscoe, Coweta Co., Ga., son of James and Sarah P. (Henry) Hutcheson, was born in Campbell county, Ga., in 1839. His father was born in Ireland in 1793, and came to America in 1818. He went to Orange county, N. Y., first, but was there only a short time when he decided to come to Georgia. After reaching here he taught school a while, and then engaged

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as clerk in Augusta. From Augusta he went to McDonough, Henry county, where he went into business for himself. He then went to Newnan, Coweta Co., where he conducted a general merchandise business a few years, when, finally, he perma- nently settled in Campbell county, and in connection with a store he conducted a farm. When he came from Ireland he was nearly two months on the voyage, was poor and without relatives on this side; yet he was industrious and a good man- ager, and accumulated quite a valuable estate. He was married in Newnan to a daughter of William and Sarah (Pickens) Henry, Coweta county pioneers. Mr. Hutcheson received a good common-school education, but before he could utilize it the war began and he enlisted in 1861 in Company C (Capt. Kendrick) Third Georgia battalion. Capt. Kendrick was killed at Pine Mountain when he was retir- ing before Sherman between Dalton and Atlanta. Col. M. A. Stovall was his first commander, and he was in all the battles in which his company was engaged-the principal of which were Hoover's Gap, Chickamauga and Murfreesboro-and was wounded in each of the two battles last named. His command was in the front of Sherman from Dalton to Atlanta. At the last-named place he was captured Aug. 7, 1864, and was held a prisoner ten months at Johnson's Island. Mr. Hutcheson entered the service as a private, was made orderly sergeant, and was promoted to a lieutenancy, which he held when captured. His brother, William Hutcheson, who was at first a lieutenant, rose to be a captain, and was killed in the battle of Jonesboro, Ga. Mr. Hutcheson came out of the war with very little property. But having good business qualities in connection with progressive ideas of farm- ing, he has been exceptionally prosperous-having a farm of 1,000 acres not sur- passed in beauty of arrangement in the state. He raises all he needs; has exten- sive fields of red clover, and fields of wheat and oats as well as corn and cotton, and has one of the most beautiful dwellings in his part of the country. Mr. Hutch- eson was married in 1891 to Miss Mertis Harris-born and reared in Coweta county-daughter of C. J. Harris, whose family was among the first settlers, and now rank among the most prominent in the county. Two children have blessed this union, but only one, Louise, is living. Mr. Hutcheson ranks as a leading farmer in his county whether diversity of products, yield per acre, or progressive and improved methods be considered; and stands very high as a citizen. Mrs. Hutcheson is an exemplary and esteemed member of the Presbyterian church.

J. P. JONES belongs to one of Georgia's oldest families, his grandfather, John Jones, born in Wilkes county in 1809, being the son of a Virginian who set- tled in the wilderness in that county about 1800 and cleared up a farm. John Jones married Elizabeth Strozier and settled in Meriwether county where, in 1831, their son, Willis A., was born, who in after years was a central figure in the stirring events of the time. During the early years of the war he had charge of the com- missary department of Andersonville prison, and afterward, until the war was over, he was in charge at the hospital at Marietta. He had represented his county, Lee, in the legislature of 1860 and 1861, and had also been justice of the inferior court of Lee county; but after the war, although again and again solicited, would not consent to be a candidate for any political position. He was a man of the most estimable character, of a high sense of honor, one whose justice and integrity won universal regard. He was a member of the Baptist church, and also a Mason of the royal arch degree. His wife was Lucy A. Callaway, whose parents, Parker and Susie (Peteeh) Callaway, natives of South Carolina, were among the early settlers of Wilkes county, Ga. J. P. Jones, the son of Willis A. and Lucy A. Jones, was born in Wilkes county in 1851, where he passed his boyhood among rural scenes, and with a good education in the common schools, and had entered upon

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a course at Mercer college, when the school was broken up by the war, and the young man was for a while deprived of the extended education he sought. He, however, graduated in the first class at Macon after Mercer was moved from Pen- field. He was representative for Coweta county in 1888 and 1889, and is a useful and honored citizen. He married in 1873, his wife being Miss Mary H. Wilcoxon, who was born and reared in the old Wilcoxon homestead near Newnan, her father being the well known John B. Wilcoxon of that place. Mr. and Mrs. Jones are both members of the Baptist church. Six children have blessed their marriage: Willis, Otis, Mary, Thomas, J. P., Jr., and Wilkes.

JOHN D. JOHNSON, a prosperous farmer of Coweta county, belongs to one of the brave pioneer families of this region, his grandparents, John and Eliza- beth (Pitts) Johnson, natives of Virginia, having emigrated thence, first to South Carolina, and finally, in 1827, to Georgia. During his residence in Virginia and South Carolina Mr. Johnson devoted himself chiefly to the culture of tobacco, and it was his custom to pack his crops into a hogshead and roll it to the Charles- ton market, a distance of many miles. When the family removed to Georgia the son, John, was a lad of eleven years, having been born in South Carolina March 3. 1816. While helping to clear up the farm for the new home in the Georgia wilderness he was deprived of much education. He married Miss Selah Haines, a daughter of Daniel and Rachel (Weaver) Haines, the father a native of Mary- land, the mother of North Carolina. About 1800 they settled in Greene county, Ga., where the daughter was born Oct. 1, 1807. Mr. Haines served during the war of 1812, and after his death his wife, having received a warrant for land in Coweta county, set out to make a home there. After a long and toilsome journey at one of their camping places, knowing herself to be near her destination, Mrs. Haines made inquiry, and found she was upon her own land. "Then," said she, "we will go no farther," and as soon as possible the cabin was erected on that spot. After- ward when proper surveys were made it was discovered that the cabin had been located just within the corner of her claim. Amid these surroundings the daughter grew to womanhood, and at length became the wife of John Johnson and the mother of John D. Johnson (Sept. 17, 1843). The husband enlisted in 1862 in the company of Capt. Powell, but at the end of a year's service he was taken ill and returned home, only to die. The son had enlisted in 1861 under Capt. J. D. Hunter in Company D, Nineteenth Georgia regiment. He served through the entire war, always at his post, never shirking duty or drawing back on account of danger, but received only one wound, and that a slight one on the collar bone. Yet he went through many of the fiercest and most closely contested conflicts of the war, Williamsburg, Yorktown, Seven Pines, the seven days before Richmond, and others. He was a non-commissioned officer, at first in Gen. Stonewall Jack- son's command, but at Wellington, N. C., was transferred to the forces under Gen. Johnston, with which he remained until the close of the war, when he returned to Georgia. In 1870 he married Miss Margaret Carmichael, who was born in South Carolina in 1850, and was of Irish lineage, her great-grandparents, Patrick and Mary Ann Carmichael, having come to America from Ireland at an early day, when the voyage took nine weeks. Mrs. Johnson's parents were South Caro- linians, William and Margaret R. (Hunter) Carmichael, her father being a son of Abraham and Nancy (Hall) Carmichael. Her maternal grandparents were George and Mary (Weatherton) Hunter, the former of Irish birth, who came to America with his parents, Nathan and Mary (Young) Hunter, both natives of Ireland, making the journey in company with the Carmichaels, and settling first in Newberry district, S. C. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Johnson has been blessed

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with nine children: Egbert D., Ada E., William P., Anna May, Francis H. L., Lena E., J. E. D., R. H. and Robert Lee. The parents are faithful and devoted members of the Baptist church. Like most of the courageous pioneers of the state, Mr. Johnson had but a limited education, and, as was the case with his comrades, he, too, had to begin life empty-handed after the war, but in spite of these disadvantages he has climbed the ladder of success. The first fifteen months after the war he only received ten dollars per month wages. After his marriage he settled on a farm; by hard work and by steady application to business he has reached his present prosperity. He now owns a large farm, well improved, a beautiful home, and is one of the leading men of the county.

W A. LEACH, one of Coweta county's leading farmers, comes of brave and hardy pioneer stock. His grandfather, John Leach, brought his wife, Dor- cas (Wyng) Leach, from their native state, South Carolina, to the Georgian forests very early in the century. They cleared up a farm and erected a house, and here, in Gwinnett county, in 1816, their son, E. W. Leach, was born. This man was a soldier in the Indian war, represented the county in the Georgia legislature in 1874-5, and married Miss Mary A. Jones, whose parents were among the early settlers of the state. Their son, W. A. Leach, was born in Fayette county in 1844, and spent his boyhood upon the farm, attending school in the old log school house, with slab seats and without windows, the cracks between the logs serving to admit light. The chimney was of rock, and the great fireplace occupied nearly the whole of one side of the house. In 1861 Mr. Leach enlisted in Company F of the Second Georgia regiment, Crew's old brigade. His company was in command of Capt. Hardy Chapman. Mr. Leach went through the entire war without being either captured or wounded, passing unscathed through the following battles: Perry- ville, Ky., both conflicts at Murfreesboro, Tenn., Chickamauga, Knoxville, and was with Gen. Johnston in his famous retreat. After the war Mr. Leach returned to Fayette county and pursued the occupation of agriculture. In 1866 he mar- ried Sarah E. Denham, daughter of Daniel D. and Nancy E. (Easton) Denham. Mr. Denham was a North Carolinian by birth, having come with his parents from his native state to settle in Fayette county when but a small boy. He was elected to represent his county in the Georgia legislature four different times before the war, and twice to the senate. His daughter, now Mrs. Leach, was born in Fayette county, and there the home of the family had always been until 1891, when they moved to Coweta county for the sake of the educational privileges afforded to the children. These are five in number, Luella, Daniel R., William E., Nancy A., and Paul. Mr. and Mrs. Leach are devoted members of the Baptist church. Mr. Leach is a member of the council of Senoia, and is deservedly held in high esteem wherever he is known.

CAPT. THOS. LEIGH is the son of Anselm B. and Eleanor (Drane) Leigh, and was born in Wilkes county, Ga., on May 15, 1832. His father was a son of Anselm Leigh, who came from Maryland to Georgia some time in 1700. Mrs. Leigh, a daughter of Col. Wm. and Cassandra (Magruder) Drane, was born in Columbia county, Ga. Mr. Leigh, the father of Thomas Leigh, was born in Georgia in 1794, and served in the war of 1812, slipping off with his brother Thomas, who was killed by the Indians and his head placed upon a pole, which the Indians placed in the ground as a warning to others. On Feb. 14, 1861, he married Mary Brewster, daughter of James and Jeannett (Ferguson) Brewster, both natives of South Carolina. To them six children were born, only three of whom are living: Walter, James, and Bessie. Mrs. Leigh was born and reared

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COWETA COUNTY SKETCHES.

in Campbell county, Ga. March II, 1862, Mr. Leigh enlisted in Company D, Forty-first Georgia regiment, under Capt. J. W. Powell, who upon resigning in June was succeeded by Mr. Leigh. He was with Gen. Joe Johnston at Benton- ville and Kingston, in North Carolina, and on March 19 was shot through the right shoulder, fracturing the collar bone. He was engaged in some of the hard- est conflicts of the war: Perryville, Atlanta, Baker's creek, siege of Vicksburg, Missionary ridge, Resaca, Jonesboro, Palmetto, and Nashville. He was with and in command of his company in all its engagements, and is known by all the old soldiers as being the captain who never said "Go, boys," but it was always "Come, boys." During the war he lost all he had except one horse and some land, with which he commenced again and is now quite well-to-do. He has been engaged several years in the saw-mill, shingle-making and cotton-gin business. Both Mr. and Mrs. Leigh are members of the M. E. church. His occupation now is farming.

CAPT. WILLIAM D. LINCH, one of the prominent men of Senoia, was born in Coweta county, Feb. 19, 1840. He is the grandson of Rev. Elijah Linch, a noted Universalist preacher, well-known through South Carolina, and who had four brothers in the revolutionary war, and was of the same family as that Thomas Lynch, Jr., who signed the Declaration of Independence. Rev. Linch was a native of South Carolina and his wife was a Miss Chapman. Their son David was born in Newberry on Feb. 14, 1805, and in December, 1832, married Miss Mary Beam, a native of Fairfield, S. C., and the date of whose birth was the same as his own. After their marriage they set out to establish a home for themselves in Coweta county, Ga., making the long journey thither by team, much of the way through the unbroken forest, with no path to guide them to their destined abode. They brought with them a negro girl and two negro boys, who helped them in the estab- lishment of their home and the clearing up of their farm. The little log cabin still stands to mark the place where these brave pioneers made their first dwelling place. There were seven children born to them, four of whom are living: Elijah O. Linch, Mrs. M. E. Green, Mrs. Martha Perry of Carrollton and William D. They were both members of the Universalist church, and closed their devoted and useful lives-the father in 1862, the mother in 1891, having attained the great age of eighty-six years. Their son, William D. Linch, spent his early years upon the farm, with only such educational privileges as the old log school-house afforded. He had little more than attained his majority at the outbreak of the war, and in May, 1861, he en- listed in Company A of the Seventh Georgia regiment, under Capt. S. W. Lee, serving out the first enlistment of twelve months. He at once re-enlisted in the same company, in which he was elected second lieutenant, and after serving about a year was promoted to the command of the company, serving as captain for the remainder of the war. He took part in both battles of Manassas, the seven days' fight at Richmond, the battles of Malvern Hill, Cold Harbor, Knoxville, Wilder- ness, Fair Oaks, Sharpsburg, Gettysburg, and many smaller engagements, and was present at the surrender at Appomattox. He was thrice wounded: in the arm at Loudon, east Tennessee; in the shoulder at the Wilderness, and at Fort Harri- son was shot through the neck. For three years after his return to Coweta county at the close of the war he engaged in farming, and then spent four years in Newnan in the mercantile business, after which he came back to the farm, which he has carried on ever since. His father left him some money and land, but he has added greatly thereto, and at one time owned 3,500 acres. He moved into Senoia in 1891, and there carried on several branches of business, although his farm is not neg- lected. He is a man of wealth and influence in the county, where he is widely known and respected. In 1870 Capt. Linch married Miss M. E. Tench, daughter I-35

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of John H. and Martha E. (Gray) Tench, who came to Georgia from Abbeville, S. C., in 1836, and cleared up a farm in the midst of the forest. Mrs. Linch was born in Coweta county. Five children were born to Capt. and Mrs. Linch, of whom four are still living: Tench, Martha G., Mary F. and J. Andrew. The family holds an enviable and well-deserved position in the regard of the community.

R. L. Y. LONG, M. D., one of the old and leading citizens of Newnan, Ga., and a son of John and Charlotte (May) Long, both natives of Tennessee, was born in east Tennessee Aug. 20, 1822. His father, son of Robert Long, a native of Virginia, was a soldier in the revolutionary war with Gen. Sevier and Gen. Shelby, and in the Creek Indian war. John Long was the second clerk of Carroll county superior court, and served thirty-two years. The mother of Dr. Long was the daughter of John May, who was a native of Virginia, but a pioneer settler of east Tennessee. Dr. Long was reared at Carrollton, Ga., where he received his educa- tion by the fireside after his day's work. On Jan. 13, 1839, he began the study of medicine with Dr. A. B. Calhoun, and read with him one year. In 1839 he, in company with three other students, started to Charleston, S. C., to attend college, graduated from the Transylvania university in 1841, and located the same year at Greenville, Ga., where he remained one year. Then he came to Newnan, where he remained until 1844, when he went into the country and formed a partnership with Dr. Ira E. Smith; after four years he went to Louisiana and practiced until 1848, when he returned to Newnan, where he has since remained and has had a large and lucrative practice. June 1, 1836, he enlisted in Capt. W. S. Parr's com- pany in the Creek Indian war, and on Nov. 2, 1837, he went into the Seminole war in Florida as captain of the Carroll Rangers cavalry, and with one exception was the youngest of the company and was mustered out May 13, 1838, by Maj. Churchill of the United States army. In 1861 he enlisted in Company D, Phillips' legion cavalry, as first lieutenant, but was chosen captain a short time after. Capt. Long was engaged in many very hard conflicts, some of which were: Spottsylvania court house, Gettysburg, Williamsburg, battle of the Wilderness and many others. At Williamsburg he, with 250 men, captured 1,100 men under Col. Campbell, the captain riding the same horse 125 miles in twenty-five hours. He served through- out the entire war without receiving a wound or being captured. His company was noted for bravery and was called upon for all particular and dangerous work. After the war he returned to Newnan, began the practice of medicine, and Oct. 23, 1849, Dr. Long was united in marriage with Martha Ann Powell, a daughter of James and Sarah A. (Summerlin) Powell. To this union five children have been born: Edgar H., James J., Charles D., Helen A. and R. Y. Mrs. Long was born and reared in this county, but her parents both died while she was yet a child and she had no way of gathering their history. Dr. Long has always been a stanch democrat, but would never consent to have his name used for public office. He is a member of the masonic fraternity, having become a member at Newnan in 1845, and is one of the leading citizens of the county.

WILLIAM S. M'DONALD, a prosperous young farmer of this county, is of Scotch ancestry, his grandfather, Neil McDonald, having been born in Edin- burgh, Scotland, in 1777. His father, Roderick McDonald, was concerned in the great religious dissensions which in those days disturbed Scotland. In 1803 Neil McDonald emigrated to Virginia, and after two years' residence there he moved to South Carolina, where he married Miss Sarah Curry. In 1827 he moved to Newton county, Ga., which he made his permanent home, clearing up for himself a farm in the midst of the woods. Here his son was born and reared with the few

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educational advantages incident to the period and that sparsely settled region. He enlisted under Capt. J. M. White in Company B, Thirty-fifth Georgia regiment, and after about eighteen months' service in this company was transferred to the Fifty-third regiment, in which he served to the end of the war. He was wounded five times, the little finger being shot from his left hand at Spottsylvania. He was in the great battles at Seven Pines, Mechanicsville, Cold Harbor, Malvern Hill and a number of less importance, and was at Appomattox at the general surrender. After the war Mr. McDonald returned to Georgia and in 1865 moved to Coweta county. His wife, whom he married in 1854, was Miss Melissa Curry, who was born in 1833 in Franklin county, Ga., where she was also reared. Mr. and Mrs. McDonald were the parents of seven children, of whom William S. is the eldest. He was born in Newton county, Dec. 8, 1854, and in 1881 married Miss Dora M. Arnold, daughter of James D. and Nancy (Owens) Arnold, and who was born in Coweta county in 1861. Mr. McDonald is a member of the M. E. church; his wife is a Baptist. Five children have been born to them: Alvin, Florence, Harley, Jesse and Watson. The second child of Young McDonald is Margaret Jane, wife of T. J. Young; they have five children: William A., Victoria, Joseph H., Ernest McD. and Paul. The third child is Thomas W., who in 1884 married Miss Sallie L., daughter of Leonard H. and Melissa (Bowers) Walthall; she is a Presbyterian and he a Methodist, and they have two children living: Roy A. and William C. The fourth child is Bartow. The fifth John Y., who married Roxy, the daughter of David C. and Amanda (Carpenter) Neeley; both are members of the M. E. church. The two remaining children are Sallie E. and Robert E. Lee. William S. McDonald, although deprived of early advantages and compelled to begin life empty-handed, has shown himself the possessor of those qualities which win; he is now the owner of an excellent farm and is widely respected. He is a member of the masonic order.

W. E. E. MARTIN, a prominent young farmer of Coweta county, belongs to one of those hardy pioneer families from whom are descended many of Georgia's most valued citizens. He is the grandson of Elijah and Amanda F. (Amos) Martin, Virginians by birth, but among the early settlers of Oglethorpe county, Ga., and who in 1830 moved to Coweta county, where they brought into being a home in the forest wilderness. Mr. Martin was a soldier in the Florida war, and his son, William M. Martin, born in 1837, enlisted in 1861 in Company A, Seventh Georgia regiment. He served through the war until about two months before the surrender, when he was killed in a skirmish at Maynesboro, Ga. At the time of his enlistment his little son, W. E. E., the subject of this sketch, was but about two years old, having been born in 1859. The mother, Carrie (Smith) Martin, was a daughter of George E. and Martha N. (Pinkard) Smith, Virginians, her grandfather, George Smith, who served as captain in the war of 1812, having brought his family and settled in Georgia about 1830. After Mr. Martin's death in 1865, Mrs. Martin continued to reside upon the farm where she and her husband had settled just after their marriage, and here the lad, W. E. E., grew to manhood. Although circumstances deprived him of more than a limited education, he made the best of such opportunities as he had, and has done well. He owns a good farm, well-improved, and stands well in the community. He is a member of the Metho- dist Episcopal church.

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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 79

Author: Publication date: 1859 Publisher: Atlanta, Ga., The Southern historicl association Number of Pages: 1294

Author:
Publication date: 1859
Publisher: Atlanta, Ga., The Southern historicl association
Number of Pages: 1294