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. II, Part 43

Author:
Publication date: 1859
Publisher: Atlanta, Ga., The Southern historicl association
Number of Pages: 1166

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. II > Part 43

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

James L. Scarborough, 1845-1849.

Augustin H. Hansell, 1849-1852.

Peter E. Love, 1852-1859.

Augustin H. Hansell, 1859-1864.

Peter E. Love, 1864.

Augustin H. Hansell, 1864-1868.

John R. Alexander, 1868-1873.

Augustin H. Hansell, 1873 -..

NORTHERN CIRCUIT.

William H. Crawford, 1827-1834.

Garnett Andrews, 1834-1845.

Nathan C. Sayre, 1845-1849. Eli H. Baxter, 1849-1853. William Gibson, 1853. Garnett Andrews, 1853-1855.

Thomas W. Thomas, 1855-1856.

James Thomas, 1856-1859.

Thomas W. Thomas, 1859-1864.

William M. Reese, 1864-1868.

Garnett Andrews, 1868-1873.

Edward H. Pottle, 1873-1884. Samuel Lumpkin, 1884-1890. Hamilton McWhorter, 1890-1894. Seaborn Reese, 1894 -.

FLINT CIRCUIT.

Eli S. Shorter, 1822-1825. -

Charles J. McDonald, 1825-1828.

Christopher B. Strong, 1828-1834. Angus M. D. King, 1834-1841. Edward D. Tracy, 1841-1845. John J. Floyd, 1845-1849. James H. Starke, 1849-1856.

Gilbin J. Greene, 1856-1857.

Eldridge G. Cabaniss, 1857-1861. J. J. Floyd, 1861-1865. Alexander M. Speer, 1865-1868. James W. Green, 1868-1873. John I. Hall, 1873-1878. Alexander M. Speer, 1878-1880. John D. Stewart, 1880-1886. James S. Boynton, 1886-1893.

299:

THE BENCH AND BAR OF GEORGIA.

J. J. Hunt, 1893-1894. Marcus W. Beck, 1894 -.

CHATTAHOOCHEE CIRCUIT.

Walter T. Colquitt, 1826-1832. Grigsby E. Thomas, 1832-1835. Alfred Iverson, 1835-1837. Joseph Sturgis, 1837-1838. Marshall J. Wellborn, 1838-1842. Joseph Sturgis, 1842-1846.

Robert B. Alexander, 1846-1849.

Alfred Iverson, 1849-1853.

Martin J. Crawford, 1853-1856.

Edmund H. Worrill, 1856-1868.

James Johnson, 1868-1875.

Martin J. Crawford, 1875-1880.

Edgar M. Butt, 1880. James L. Wimberly, 1880. James T. Willis, 1880-1887. James M. Smith, 1887-1890. John H. Martin, 1890-1892. W. B. Butt, 1892 --.

CHEROKEE CIRCUIT.

John W. Hooper, 1832-1835. Owen H. Kenan, 1835-1838. Turner H. Trippe, 1838-1842. George D. Anderson, 1842-1843. John A. Jones, 1843. Augustus R. Wright, 1843-1849.

John W. Hooper, 1849-1850. John H. Lumpkin, 1850-1853. Turner H. Trippe, 1853-1859.

L. W. Crook, 1859-1860. Dawson A. Walker, 1860-1865. James Millner, 1865-1868. Josiah R. Parrott, 1868-1872. C. D. Mccutchen, 1872-1880. Joel C. Fain, 1880-1888. Samuel P. Maddox, 1888. Thomas W. Milner, 1888 -.

COWETA CIRCUIT.

Hiram Warner, 1833-1840. William Ezzard, 1840-1844. Edward Y. Hill, 1844-1853. Obadiah Warner, 1853. Orville A. Bull, 1853-1864. Benjamin H. Bigham, 1864-1865. Hiram Warner, 1865-1867.

300

MEMOIRS OF GEORGIA.

John Collier, 1867-1869. Hugh Buchanan, 1874-1880. F. M. Longley, 1880. Sampson W. Harris, 1880 -.

SOUTHWESTERN CIRCUIT.

William Taylor, 1840-1844. Lott Warren, 1844-1852.

William Taylor, 1852-1853.

Edwin R. Brown, 1853.

William C. Perkins, 1853-1855.

Alex. A. Allen, 1855-1863. Richard H. Clark, 1863-1866.

David A. Vason, 1866-1870.

Jaines M. Clark, 1870-1877.

Charles F. Crisp, 1877-1882. J. A. Ansley, 1882. Allen Fort, 1882-1891. W. H. Fish, 1891 -.

MACON CIRCUIT.

Abner P. Powers, 1851-1858.

Henry G. Lamar, 1858-1863.

O. A. Lochrane, 1863-1865.

Carleton B. Cole, 1865-1873.

Barnard Hill, 1873-1877.

W. L. Grice, 1877-1878. Thomas J. Simmons, 1878-1887.

George W. Gustin, 1887-1890. A. L. Miller, 1890-1892. C. L. Bartlett, 1892-1894. J. L. Hardemann, 1894 -.

BLUE RIDGE CIRCUIT.

David Irwin, 1851-1855. Joseph E. Brown, 1855-1857. George D. Rice, 1857-1865. David Irwin, 1865-1868. Noel B. Knight, 1868-1877.

George N. Lester, 1877-1880. James R. Brown, 1880-1888. Will J. Winn, 1888-1889. George F. Gober, 1889 -.

BRUNSWICK CIRCUIT.

Arthur E. Cochran, 1856-1859. W. M. Sessions, 1859-1861. Arthur E. Cochran, 1861-1865. W. M. Sessions, 1865-1874. John L. Harris, 1874-1879.

30I

THE BENCH AND BAR OF GEORGIA.

Martin L. Mershon, 1879-1886. Courtland Symmes, 1886. Spencer R. Atkinson, 1886-1892. J. L. Sweat, 1892-

PATAULA CIRCUIT.

David J. Kiddoo, 1856-1860. W. C. Perkins, 1860-1863. John T. Clarke, 1863-1868.

David B. Harrell, 1868-1873. William D. Kiddoo, 1873-1878.

Arthur Hood, 1878-1883. John T. Clarke, 1883-1889.

James H. Guerry, 1889-1893. James M. Griggs, 1893-

TALLAPOOSA CIRCUIT.

Dennis F. Hammond, 1856-1864. L. H. Featherston, 1864-1867. John W. H. Underwood, 1867-1869. John S. Bigby, 1869-1871. William F. Wright, 1871-1872. Hugh Buchanan, 1872-1874.

ATLANTA CIRCUIT.

John D. Pope, 1860-1870. O. A. Lochrane, 1870. John L. Hopkins, 1870-1876. Cincinnatus Peeples, 1876-1877. George Hillyer, 1877-1882. W. R. Hammond, 1882-1885. Marshall J. Clarke, 1885-1893. J. H. Lumpkin, 1893-

ROME CIRCUIT.

F. A. Kirby, 1869-1870. Robert D. Harvey, 1870-1873. John W. H. Underwood, 1873-1882. Joel Branham, 1882-1886. John W. Maddox, 1886-1892. W. M. Henry, 1892-1894. Walter T. Turnbull, 1894-

ALBANY CIRCUIT.

Peter J. Strozier, 1870-1875. Gilbert J. Wright, 1875-1880. William O. Fleming, 1880-1881. L. D. D. Warren, 1881-1882.

302

MEMOIRS OF GEORGIA.

C. B. Wooten, 1882. B. B. Bower, 1882-

ALLAPAHA CIRCUIT.

J. W. O'Neal, 1870-1871.

AUGUSTA CIRCUIT.

William Gibson, 1870-1878. Claiborne Snead, 1878-1882. Henry C. Roney, 1882-1894. E. H. Calloway, 1894-

OCONEE CIRCUIT.

A. C. Pate, 1871-1884. Charles C. Kibbee, 1884-1888. David M. Roberts, 1888-

NORTHEASTERN CIRCUIT.

Carleton J. Wellborn, 1881-1882. John B. Estes, 1882-1886. Carleton J. Wellborn, 1886-1894.

J. L. Kimsey, 1894-

STONE MOUNTAIN CIRCUIT.

Richard H. Clark, 1885-

TALLAPOOSA CIRCUIT.

Charles G. Jones, 1890-

MISCELLANEOUS SKETCHES.

N.J. HAMMOND. One of the most eminent of the members of the legal profession in Georgia, if not in the south, is Nathaniel J. Hammond of Atlanta. No one outranks him; and his superior ability is cheerfully conceded by his compeers. Disdaining to use the usual methods he has nevertheless steadily advanced step by step to the pre-eminent position he now holds pro- fessionally and as a legislator. Mr. Hammond was born in Elbert county, Ga., Dec. 26, 1833. While he was yet young his father, Amos W. Hammond, who was a lawyer, removed to Monroe county, Ga., where Mr. Hammond received his primary and preparatory education. In January, 1850, he entered the university of Georgia-then Franklin college-from which he was graduated in 1852. The year following he was admitted to the bar and commenced the practice. A year or two later his father and himself came to Atlanta and estab- lished the law firm of A. W. Hammond & Son. The firm at once took a leading position, secured a large and influential clientage, and became special counsel for the Southern Express company and other strong corporations. In 1861 Mr. Hammond was appointed solicitor-general of the circuit, and held the office until 1865. In 1867 he was appointed reporter for the supreme court of Georgia, retaining the office until 1872, when he was elected attorney-general of the state, and was re-elected for successive terms until 1877. In 1873 he was made a member of the committee of forty-nine of the citizens of Atlanta, who formulated the present charter of the city, which was passed by the general assembly, and received the signature of the governor Feb. 28, 1874. In 1865 he was elected a member of the constitutional convention held that year, and again as a member of the constitutional convention held in 1877. In this last convention he was a member of the judiciary committee; and it is no disparagement to any other member of that body to say that, both as a member of that committee, and of the convention, no member did more faithful work, or was more potentially influential in framing that constitution. That same year, 1877, he was elected to the Forty-sixth congress, and re-elected to the Forty-seventh and Forty-eighth, during which he secured the establishing of Atlanta as a port of entry, and an appropriation for building the custom house and postoffice. Among other im- portant committees he was placed on the committee on judiciary, having the distinction of holding second place-ranking next to the chairman. Since his retirement from congress Mr. Hammond has held no political position but has sedulously applied himself to the practice of his profession. For many years there have been but few very important cases before the superior and supreme courts of Georgia, or district and circuit courts of the United States, in which Mr. Hammond has not represented one side or the other. He stands unexcelled as to skillfulness of management, unsurpassed as to knowledge of law and precedent, and in general success; and is equally powerful before a jury and the bench. A well-known popular writer has said of him that "he is a born lawyer; that he has an incisive mind that goes to the core of any legal question or case that he has in hand." And Judge Warner is credited with saying that "for wonderful quickness of mind he was the only match for the illustrious Ben. H. Hill." Regardful always of self- respect he never forgets the respect due to others. The membership of the

304

MEMOIRS OF GEORGIA.

Georgia bar does not include one who is a sounder or a profounder constitutional lawyer than Nathaniel J. Hammond; and his pre-eminence in this important branch of his profession was distinctly recognized when he was placed second on the judiciary committee when he was in congress. In addition to a large and influential general clientage, he is special attorney for the Atlanta & West Point and Central railways and other wealthy corporations. He is also specially em- ployed under appointment by President Cleveland to represent the United States in the interstate commerce cases now pending in the United States supreme court. Mr. Hammond has filled many and important public offices; steadily moving upward until he reached congress-every time transferred to a higher position. Too self-respectful to indulge in an unseemly rivalry for office, yet laudably ambitious, he has willingly accepted and ably filled every office his appreciative fellow-citizens have seen fit to bestow. His eminent mental and legal qualifica- tions, and the absolute purity of his private life and public character, would proudly sustain the traditional purity, ability and dignity of the supreme court of the United States. Mr. Hammond was married in 1858 to Miss Laura Lewis, a happy union which has been blessed with seven children, six daughters and a son, who is the able partner of his father in the practice of his profession. Mr. Hammond is a valued member of the First Methodist Episcopal church, south, and is chairman of the board of stewards. He is also a member and chairman of the board of trustees of the university of Georgia.

WILLIAM RIDGELY LEAKIN, a prominent attorney-at-law of Savannah, Ga., was born in the city of Baltimore, Md., on Feb. 13, 1859. The Leakins are of Irish and English descent. The great-grandfathers of William R. Leakin served in the colonial army during the war of the revolution. His paternal grand- father, Gen. Sheppard Church Leakin of Maryland, was an officer in the war of 1812, and was present actively at the bombardment of Fort McHenry. Rev. George A. Leakin, D. D., son of Gen. Sheppard Church Leakin and father of William R. Leakin, was born in the state of Maryland in 1817. He was named after Gen. George Armstead, with whom Gen. Leakin was associated at Fort McHenry. He was for forty-eight years the rector of Trinity church, Baltimore, and is the author of several valuable books of a scientific and religious character, one of which, The Law of Periodicity, is known the world over. William Ridgely Leakin was reared and received his earlier education in the city of Baltimore, and in 1876 entered Trinity college, Hartford, Conn., from which institution he was graduated in July, 1880, with the degree of B. A. and subsequently received the degree Master of Arts from his alma mater. Soon after his graduation he removed to Albany, Ga., and tutored there for two years, studying law the while, and the fall of 1882 came to Savannah and completed his law studies in the office of Chis- holm & Erwin, being admitted to the bar in June, 1883. For seven years after admission to practice he was connected with Messrs. Chisholm & Erwin, but has since pursued his profession alone. Among the members of the Savannah bar noted for its unusual strength, he sustains a most desirable rank, and any discus- sion here as to his legal ability would be a work of supererogation. He is a member of the American Bar association, the Georgia Bar association, Georgia Historical association, and is judge advocate of the First battalion of infantry, Georgia volunteers. Mr. Leakin is also connected with the Savannah board of trade, is a pay member of the time-honored Chatham artillery, and a member of the Commercial club, Savannah Yacht club, the Oglethorpe club and Greenwich Park club. Among the fraternal and benevolent orders he is a member of the Hibernian society, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and is a Knight

305

MISCELLANEOUS SKETCHES.

Templar Mason. He is also identified with Sons of the Revolution of Georgia, having served as delegate to the national convention of that organization. He is and has been a delegate from the Georgia association to the American Bar asso- ciation. He is a member of the Christ church (Episcopal) of Savannah, and has been a delegate to the diocesan convention of Georgia. He is also a director of the Y. M. C. A. at Savannah. He is a member of various social organizations. He married Miss Ruth Stewart, a well-known leader of Savannah society, the daughter of Maj. James T. Stewart.

JUDGE RICHARD H. CLARKE has occupied a very conspicuous place among the people of Georgia for fifty years. Commencing public life at a very early age he has constantly been before the public and under all circumstances has had the confidence and admiration of his fellow-men. After a literary education he studied law and was admitted to the practice of a profession in which he has won distinction on the floor of the courtroom as an advocate and on the bench as a judge. He appeared in political life in 1849 as a state senator when George W. Towns was governor and at a time of very considerable political excitement. He was about the youngest of a very distinguished number of Georgians in the legislature, among whom were Charles J. Jenkins, Andrew J. Miller, Thomas C. Howard, Joseph E. Brown, Lucius J. Gartrell, David J. Bailey, and Lenton Stephens. It was in this legislature that a warm debate occurred over certain resolutions concerning the relations between the states of the south and the Union. The following resolution was at last passed with very few dissenting votes, viz .: "Resolved, That the people of Georgia entertain an ardent feeling of devotion to the Union of these states and that nothing short of a persistence in the present system of encroachment upon our rights by the non-slaveholding states can induce us to contemplate the possibility of a dissolution." Another famous measure was the woman's bill introduced by Andrew J. Miller, whose object was to secure the property of married women from being seized to pay the debts of the husband. Judge Clarke proposed to submit the bill to a vote of the people of the state in the election for governor for 1851, but his proposition failed by a small majority. The same legislature elected McDonald, McAllister, Dougherty and Law to a southern states' convention which afterward met in Nashville. In all the debates upon the questions of that memorable legislature Judge Clarke took an influential part. One of the most exciting events in the political history of the state occurred in 1857, when the democratic convention wrangled for days over the nominee for the office of governor. Judge Clarke was a conspicuous member of that body, being on the committee of compromise which settled the disagreement by the nomination of Joseph E. Brown, and supported the report of the committee by an admirable speech in eulogy of the ability of the nominee, who was then very little known throughout the state. In 1858 the southern commercial convention met in Montgomery, Ala. It was a very large body, composed of delegates from all southern states and assembled to discuss the material interests of the south. Gov. Brown appointed Judge Clarke a member of the body, together with such men as George U. Crawford, B. H. Hill, Joel Crawford, F. S. Bartow, A. H. Colquitt and H. V. M. Miller. A few years later he was selected with Thomas R. R. Cobb to codify the laws of Georgia and the work was rapidly and admirably done. The committee appointed to examine it reported favorably and it was adopted in 1860. Judge Clarke was also a member of the Georgia convention which passed the ordinance of secession Jan. 19, 1861, and did a very fine service for the state in the reconstruction period as counsel against the illegal efforts made to control the legislature of the state. In all his subsequent life he has adorned the legal profession, and as judge of the superior court for many years has enjoyed II-20

306

MEMOIRS OF GEORGIA.

the confidence of the bar and the people. While he has devoted his energies chiefly to his profession he has also enriched his own mind by wide reading in general literature. Perhaps no man in the state has a more general and accurate knowledge of the history of Georgia. His many sketches of public men and events as published in the papers simply show how extensive is his acquaintance with the course of public affairs for many years. As a courtly gentleman he is unsurpassed. Genial, hospitable, full of good humor and a ready conversation- alist he is at all times most welcome whenever any gathering of friends takes place. Still in fine health, mature in intellect and with large legal learning, his place on the bench is well filled and he will be remembered in Georgia as one of its ablest and purest judges.

GEORGE W. GUSTIN, one of the most prominent members of the Macon bar, was born near Morristown, N. J., Jan. 29, 1846. At the age of three years he was taken by his parents to Newark, in the same state, and there the family resided until he was fourteen years of age. He gained his rudimentary education in the Newark schools and in his fifteenth year his father and mother went to Florida. They chose Fernandina as their city of residence and remained there two years, then came to Macon in 1862, where Mr. Gustin continued to live since that time. Four years later he entered the Lumpkin law school at Athens, Ga., graduating the same year. He then located in Macon and for the remainder of his life practiced his profession in that city. In March, 1864, Mr. Gustin answered the call to arms and entered the Confederate service, enlisting in Company E, Phillips' legion of cavalry, then known as the Bibb cavalry, and served until the surrender, in North Carolina, under Hampton and Butler. Having attained prominent standing in his profession he was, in 1882, elected to the state senate and during the session of 1882-83 was chairman of the special judiciary com- mittee and member of the committees on railroads, lunatic asylum and general judiciary. In 1884 he was elected to the lower branch of the Georgia state legislature and again took a prominent part in the deliberations of that body, being appointed chairman of the committee on banks and member of the committees on general judiciary, railroads, privileges, elections and penitentiary. Two years after his last service in the state legislature he was elected judge of the superior court, Macon circuit, to fill the unexpired term of Judge T. J. Simmons, who had been elected to the supreme court of the state and whose term would have expired Jan. 1, 1891. Mr. Gustin, however, resigned his seat on the bench one year before that time and resumed his private practice, in which he was remark- ably successful, having carried to a victorious verdict many celebrated causes before the supreme and lower courts. For many years he was a member of the board of education in Macon, taking great interest in all matters pertaining to the amelioration of scholastic systems and giving his services freely in furtherance of all improvements in this connection. He affiliated with the Episcopalian church. In the island of Jersey the Gustin family had its inception, the emigrant ancestor forsaking that isle for a new home in America. Mr. Gustin's father was Samuel I. Gustin, a native of New Jersey, who removed as above related to Florida and later to Georgia, where he served in the home guards during the late war, participating in a skirmish at Macon in 1864. He was a planter and manufacturer and died in 1881 at the age of sixty-six years. The unexpected death of Judge Gustin early in this year was a great shock to his many warm friends, who admired him not only for his eminent abilities, but also for his sterling character and moral uprightness.

buhustin

307

MISCELLANEOUS SKETCHES.

JOHN TEMPLE GRAVES was born in Willington district, Abbeville Co., S. C., Nov. 9, 1856. He graduated from the university of Georgia, August, 1875, and married Mattie Gardner Simpson, of Hancock county, Ga., April 17, 1878. He was editor of the "Daily Florida Union" and "Daily Florida Herald," Jack- sonville, 1882-1887, was elector-at-large of Florida democratic ticket in 1884; led ballot of the state; removed to Georgia in 1887, was editor-in-chief of the Atlanta "Journal" in 1887, editor and manager "Tribune," of Rome, Ga., in 1888, elector- at-large of the democratic ticket in 1888, led ballot of the state, and was orator of Southern society, New York, 1889. His second wife was Annie E. Cothran, of Rome, Ga., 1890. He was memorial orator over Henry W. Grady, 1889; orator New England society, Philadelphia, 1890; orator New England society of Bos- ton, 1893, and again 1894; orator world's congress of journalists, Chicago expo- sition, 1894; orator world's congress of dentists, 1894; orator and campaign speaker on urgent special request of President Cleveland and Senator Hill in New York during the presidential campaign, 1892; orator at opening of woman's department, world's fair, Atlanta, 1895; orator university of Virginia, 1894, and orator Merchants' club, Boston, 1895. From 1892 to date he has held a foremost place on American platform, with securely established national fame as reformer, orator and apostle of the New South. Perhaps no American of this generation has enjoyed so early in life, and in such sustained connection, so many and such dazzling triumphs of eloquence as the subject of this sketch. The nephew of John C. Calhoun, his grandfather the patron and benefactor of McDuffie, and the intimate of Hayne, Preston and Legare, he was born in an atmosphere of eloquence and statesmanship. When Henry W. Grady died in the meridian of his brilliant and fortunate life it was remarkable to observe the unanimity with which the press and people of the north and south turned with expectancy to John Temple Graves, then quietly editing the "Daily Tribune," of Rome, Ga. Up to that period his growth had been gradual, but out of the nation's bereaved hour his name flamed up immediately into fame, and was soon on every lip. Since that period his career has been a succession of triumphal marches that have landed him, at the age of thirty-eight, upon the pinnacle of a national fame as the south's representative orator and one of the most eloquent of living Americans. With a brilliant reputation for college oratory, Graves began life as a teacher in the public schools of West Point and La Grange, making, during this time, two memorial speeches over Confederate graves, which attracted much attention. The

routine life of the school room was irksome to his eager ambition and he sought more congenial employment. About this time the sensational contest between Joseph E. Brown and Gen. A. R. Lawton convulsed the state, and the young orator and journalist caught its graphic points in a ringing article that went into Avery's History of Georgia as the "finest bit of descriptive writing of that decade." From this he blossomed easily into newspaper life and went to Florida, where he rose rapidly from reporter to be managing editor of the "Union," the only daily in the state. He afterward established the "Daily Herald," which became the leading factor in Florida politics, and its editor, with one exception, the most distinguished man in the state, at twenty-nine. He engaged actively in three political campaigns in Florida and swept the hustings with his eloquence like a prairie fire. The chronicles of 1882 to 1887 in that state speak of his campaign speeches as without a parallel in the history of Florida. It was a common thing for his enthusiastic audiences to carry him on their shoulders from the public platform, and in many instances the horses were unhitched from his carriage and he was drawn by leading citizens through crowded streets amid shouting multi- tudes, pelting him with flowers and adulation. And all this not as a candidate ---

308

MEMOIRS OF GEORGIA.

for he always ignored and declined office-but simply as a spontaneous tribute to an eloquence which Henry Grady declared the most phenomenal he had ever listened to. After having led the democrat electoral ticket in Florida in 1884 the health of the journalist-orator and that of his wife failed in the Florida climate and he returned to Georgia. He was immediately offered and accepted the edi- torship-in-chief of the reorganized "Atlanta Journal" in 1887. But the desire for absolute freedom and independence of utterance led him to resign this responsi- ble position, and its brilliant prospects, and to accept the editorship and control of the "Tribune," of Rome, which was established under him and recorded three phenomenally brilliant and successful years under his management, until he voluntarily resigned the editorship in loyalty to a political conviction which dif- fered from the views and interests of all its other owners. During this period, and within a year after his return to Georgia, Graves was chosen without an effort to lead the democratic electoral ticket of Georgia in 1888, and thus presented the only instance in the political history of the south of a young man, under thirty-two, who had in two successive presidential campaigns, been chosen as democratic elector-at-large in two great states, and led the ballot in both of them. About this time Henry Grady died. Graves and Grady had been bosom friends, and the for- mer has a letter from the latter saying that no man ever understood him as did the friend who survived him, and was destined to complete his work. Grady told a dozen men that Graves was the only man who could take his place if he should die, and in this judgment the world instinctively agreed. Graves' oration over Grady's dead body has gone into all languages, been published in all countries, is spoken to-day by American youths in all the great American colleges, and is fixed in literature as one of the few classics of American oratory. One sentence of this oration, "And when he died he was literally loving a nation into peace," is graven upon Grady's monument in Atlanta and will live as long as the life it commemorates. From the day of the Grady memorial John Temple Graves was in demand all over the country. Every platform was open to him. He could choose his audience anywhere in the republic, and in the measure of his strength he met the obligations of his genius and opportunity. He thrilled New York with a matchless oration on Feb. 22, 1890. In December of the same year the New England society of Philadelphia gave him a wonderful ovation, along with Gov. McKinley, of Ohio, and President Harrison. In 1892 his campaign speech in New York won him the laurels of the national canvass and the cordial thanks of the national committee, and an especially cordial letter from Mr. Cleveland thanking the southern orator for "the unparalleled enthusiasm he had created in the president's home town"-Buffalo. In 1893 the New England club of Boston gave Mr. Graves an especial dinner, at which the journalists of New England were invited to meet him, and here Mr. Graves made, without notes or preparation, a speech which the Boston papers declared equal if it did not surpass the best thing Grady ever did. The same club invited him back in 1894, when he repeated the triumph of the year before, and as this volume goes to press, south- ern expectation is on tip toe over his speech to be made Oct. 17 before the Mer- chants' club of Boston, where Grady made his last address. Three times called to Boston in three successive years. Not many men have had this honor. The magnates of the great Chicago world's fair invited Mr. Graves to make the ora- tion before the world's congress of journalists, representing the south. The world's dentists chose him also as their orator, and for all the years since 1890 he has had the refusal of the commencement platform of the great colleges and universities of the country. Since 1893 he has been a leading and brilliant figure of the American lyceum, discussing on all the great platforms of the country the

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

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. II, Part 43

Author: Publication date: 1859 Publisher: Atlanta, Ga., The Southern historicl association Number of Pages: 1166

Author:
Publication date: 1859
Publisher: Atlanta, Ga., The Southern historicl association
Number of Pages: 1166