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 59

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 59

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MEMOIRS OF GEORGIA.

draws all its water from a system of wells of this kind, yielding 10,000,000 gallons daily, exclusive of the many private artesian wells, while the coast towns and cities of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida all draw upon the artesian supply to the marked increase of health. Prior to the building of the Tybee railroad, Capt. Purse had made a reputation as a financier by his management of one of the banking institutions of the city. He took the presidency when the bank was not only without surplus, but actually impaired seventeen per cent. and its stock down to seventy, and brought it to a standard equal to any in the south, which it has ever since been able to maintain, giving it several years' service without remunera- tion. The confidence reposed in him was well shown by a special loan of a quarter of a million dollars he secured for the institution, upon his individual representa- tions, on what others thought would be a fruitless visit to the east, which loan was absolutely necessary to save the bank when he first assumed the presidency in its depleted condition from being compelled to go into liquidation, and the bank in which confidence had been shaken, under his administration survived the heavy losses that had fallen upon it prior to his management, and when he voluntarily resigned to connect himself with other enterprises he left it one of the most stable institutions of its kind in the south. As chairman of the finance committee of the city council he succeeded in funding the city's seven per cent. bonded indebtedness in 1877 at five per cent. when some of the heaviest holders of the city's credit gave him to understand that there would be no use to ask it. At the instance of the bond-holders and at the request of the mayor and city council, he in his capacity of chairman of the finance committee of the city council ad- dressed the holders of the bonds at Baltimore, Charleston, S. C., and at other places, and when he left the meetings he carried with him in each instance the written consent of every holder present to funding the debt. Probably his greatest and most far-reaching work was that of planning and conducting what is known as the "campaign of education" for government aid in deepening the harbor of Savannah. His connection with that movement gave him national reputation. His communications to the press, to the governors and legislators of the different states, his addresses to the commercial bodies of the south, the west and the northwest, and to the state and national farmers' convention, were able and convincing, and led to the appropriation by the government of $3,500,000 for harbor improvements, all of which has been appropriated and nearly all ex- pended, and to-day Savannah has practically a twenty-six foot channel from her wharves to the ocean. Capt. Purse deserves every honor Savannah can bestow upon him for the part he has performed in the accomplishment of this great work. Capt. Purse is now serving his fifth term as president of the board of trade, something unexampled in the history of that organization, in which position he has done much to advance the interest not only of his own city, but of other ports of the South Atlantic. Believing in the admission of raw materials free from the burdens of a tariff tax, the board of trade at his instance took early and pronounced action on the subject and largely influenced like action on the part of commercial and trade organizations in other parts of the United States. Capt. Purse is one of the honorary vice-presidents of the Cotton States and International exposition opening at Atlanta on Sept. 18, and is commissioner in charge of Savannah's splendid exhibit. Capt. Purse has ever been one of the most pro- nounced and zealous advocates of sound money, and the resolutions of the board of trade adopted at different times in advocacy of sound money have the earmarks of his strong and decisive methods of thought. The Savannah bureau of freight and transportation, organized and operating in the interest of Savannah's com- merce and against unjust discriminations affecting all the South Atlantic ports,

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is the result of his foresight and labor. At first he declined the commissionership which would have entailed upon him the active management and direction of the bureau; but recently, upon the resignation of the commissioner first elected, he has been called the unanimous vice-director and share-holder to the vacancy to meet the demand for a vigorous and aggressive policy on the part of the bureau in dealing with the embarrassment entailed upon Savannah's commerce, and that of the ports of Charleston and Brunswick, by what are considered unjust discriminations in freight, etc. Far-reaching results are expected to result from Capt. Purse's incumbency of the commissionership. In his work he will enlist the hearty co-operation of the ports of Charleston and Brunswick. In his general pacificatory policy in dealing with commercial questions he has done much to bring about a friendship and harmony between Savannah and rival ports, and this is practically true of the cordial relations now existing between Charleston and Savannah, due in a large measure to the course pursued by Capt. Purse since his accession to the presidency of the board of trade. Capt. Purse is engaged in formulating plans for the projection of enterprises that will be of vast importance to the south, and which will, if possible, make him even more prominent in the history of southern development and progress. That he will succeed, who can doubt? We have not attempted to deal with the various local enterprises in which he has been prominent, such as street railway construction, the introduction of electric light and power, or his connection with almost every enterprise calculated to foster the growth and prosperity of his city. At one time extensively interested in rice planting, he has been in this and other ways closely allied with agricultural interests and was elected vice-president of the National Farmers' alliance at Sedalia, Mo., in 1891, presiding at its session at Lincoln, Neb., in 1893 and in Savannah in 1894 in the absence of President Smith, of Kansas. After declining an election as president, which was unanimously tendered him, he was elected the first life honorary member of that body. He is prominent in masonic circles, having taken every degree up to and inclusive of the Scottish rite and thirty- second degree, and for twelve years has successfully and ably managed the large property interests of Solomon's lodge No. I, F. & A. M., the oldest lodge in the United States, with an uninterrupted history back to the date of its charter in 1735, with Gen. James Oglethorpe, founder of Georgia, its first worshipful master. Capt. Purse has a happy family-wife and five sons-having married Miss Laura Ashby, a Virginia lady, sister of Col. Henry M. Ashby, of Wheeler's cavalry, first cousin of the famous Confederate cavalry officer, Gen. Turner Ashby. Their home is on one of the most beautiful boulevards of the city. Those who have ex- perienced its hospitality know it to be as cordial as the zeal of its owner in the prosecution of an enterprise is endless and tireless. The south is quite sure to hear more of him in the era of material development and progress upon the threshold of which it stands, and it will be well to keep an eye on him. He has a genius for vast and valuable public enterprises of practical utility, and has shown the uncommon blending of the business capacity to execute with the greatest faculty for originating broad and progressive undertakings for the public welfare. Such a union is as rare as it is remarkable, and any community is fortunate in having in its citizenship a spirit so richly endowed and so willing to devote his surpassing powers to the public good.

THOMAS PORCHER RAVENEL, one of the most prominent attorneys of Savannah, Ga., was born in St. John's, Berkeley parish, Charleston district, state of South Carolina, on Oct. 3, 1850. His father, Thomas Porcher Ravenel, was a native of the same parish as the son, and his ancestors had resided there for

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two centuries. The gentleman whose namc heads this sketch was reared in the village of Pinopolis, which was a sort of summer resort for the adjacent planters, and on his father's plantation, near that village. At the evacuation of Charleston, at the age of fourteen years he entered the Confederate service as a volunteer courier for Maj. George Lamb Buist, and served until the surrender at Greensboro, N. C. After the close of hostilities he attended school in Aiken, S. C., until the autumn of 1867, and the following spring removed to Darien, Ga., where he began the study of law under Hon. W. Robert Gignilliat. In 1870 he came to Savannah and entered the office of his present partner, Hon. Rufus E. Lester, member of congress from the first district of Georgia. Hc was admitted to the bar at Chatham superior court in 1871, and formed the present partnership nine years later. Mr. Ravenel stands of equal stature with his distinguished colleagues at the Savannah bar and is one of the most prominent young attorneys of the south. He is vestry- man of St. John's Episcopal church, of Savannah. Young, talented, and the possessor of great family prestige, the future holds much in store for him.

G ARLAND MITCHELL RYALS, the pioneer truck farmer of Georgia, and first vice-president of the National Farmers' congress, was born in the county of Cumberland, Va., May 27, 1839, of Vincent C. and Hardenia (Mitchell) Ryals. His parents combined farming and merchandising at their little country place, known as "Oak Forest." For the first few years of his boyhood Garland attended the old field schools of the neighborhood during the week, and on Saturdays, holidays and vacations assisted his father in the farming operations and behind the counters of the store. At twelve years of age he was considered an expert salesman and a good collector, and at thirteen was sent to a boarding school in Buckingham county. The sessions of this school commenced very soon after sunrise on the first day of January, and closed about sunset on the thirty-first day of October, without intermission or holiday of any kind. The teacher, Rev. John J. Berryman, required the scholars to assemble in his office and there pursue their studies for one or two hours during the night. The following year Mr. Ryals' father and others induced Rev. Berryman to remove his school to "Oak Forest," which was donc; but about that time the old teacher and pedagogue concluded to take unto himself a wife-thus putting an end to his school. At this juncture the elder Ryals was dismissed from the Baptist church for communing with the Campbellites, and thereupon said "Elder Ryals" took his son, Mitchell, to Richmond and arrayed him in "store" clothes, filled his pockets reasonably well with money, and sent him to Bethany college, founded by that great and good leader of the Chris- tian denomination, Alexander Campbell, and located in Brooke county, W. Va. At this institution young Ryals managed to remain for two nights and two days, thence making his escape into the state of Ohio, where he rusticated for several days, and then returned to his father's house. For the succeeding two or three years he sold goods at his father's store and acted as his bookkeeper, not, how- ever, forgetting to ride many weary leagues on Sundays in order to visit the rosy- cheeked girls of that God-favored neighborhood. At eighteen years of age he was tendered the position of deputy sheriff of his county, which he accepted, qualified and filled acceptably until the commencement of the war between the states. He entered the war in the Cumberland troop of cavalry, an old organiza- tion dating from the war of the revolution, of which his father was a member. He left Cumberland C. H. as color sergeant of his company, proudly bearing the colors which had been lovingly woven by the deft fingers of the fair daughters of the county of Amelia. At Ashland, a few days thereafter, he was mustered into the service as second sergeant of the Cumberland troop, Fourth Virginia cavalry, which was ordered to report to Gen. Magruder in the peninsula, where

G. M. RYALS.

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he assisted in watching the blockading squadron, doing picket and scout duty, and, by way of innocent diversion, helped to burn the city of Hampton. During the winter of 1861-62 Sergt. Ryals was commissioned as second lieutenant of infantry, provisional army of the Confederate states, the commission reading "for gallant and meritorious conduct." Being ordered to report to Gen. Albert Sidney Johnson, he was assigned to duty with the First Kentucky cavalry, commanded by the gallant Benjamin Harden Helm, a brother-in-law of Mrs. Lincoln, wife of the president. He remained with the First Kentucky cavalry, and was on staff duty with Gen. Helm's brigade of infantry from Murfreesboro, Corinth, the siege of Vicksburg of '62, and Baton Rouge, La., where Gen. Helm lost a large portion of his officers in battle. At his own request he was ordered by the secretary of war to join the army of northern Virginia, and served first with Fitz Lee's cavalry brigade, then with Gen. J. E. B. Stuart, and upon the recommendations of these generals was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant of cavalry, then captain, and afterward major. He also served as provost marshal of Stuart's cavalry corps, and was with that gallant commander from May, 1863, to the day of his death at Yellow Tavern in 1864. The following is the correspondence bearing upon Mr. Ryals' successive promotions in the service:

Headquarters Lee's Cavalry Division, Madison Co., Nov. 23, 1863.

I take pleasure in recommending Lieut. Ryals for the promotion he justly claims. He was for a long time one of my staff officers and his efficiency shown in the discharge of his duties, his bravery and gallant bearing displayed on the field of battle, are beyond question.

A copy:

(Signed) Fitz Lee, Maj .- Gen. Com'd'g Div.

A. R. Venable, Major and A. I. G., Cavalry Corps. Headquarters Cavalry Corps, Army Northern Virginia. Dec. 21, 1863.

Gen. S. Cooper, A. and I. Gen.

General :- I respectfully forward three additional recommendations of Lieut. G. M. Ryals, C. S. A., lately recommended by me to be appointed major. I hope these will add sufficient weight to those already sent in to induce the department to reconsider its action in his case and give him the appointment of major instead of captain. His case is by no means an ordinary one. No officer of his rank in the Confederacy has half the claim for promotion. It certainly must be the desire of the department to promote, as far as is compatible with law, those whose fidelity and distinguished gallantry have made them the special objects of commendation from all the commanders with whom they are thrown. I have in my former letter shown that it would be compatible and very desirable. The value of promotion is always comparative, and taken in this particular connection, I renew this application for Lieut. Ryals as an officer like him of the Confederate states army, without one-fourth the active service, whose deeds cannot be mentioned the same day with those of Lieut. Ryals, has, without my knowledge or consent or that of the commanding general, been returned to my command with the rank of major, P. A. C. S., to command in Young's brigade, the variable quantity constituting the dismounted battalion. I allude to H. S. Farley, second lieutenant of infantry, C. S. A., and major P. A. C. S., to whom I do no injustice to say that Lieut. Ryals should be at least two grades higher in rank. It is highly prejudicial to the service to decline to promote the highly deserving, recommended by their immediate commanders in the most urgent terms through the proper channels

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for such communication, while another, less deserving, whose claims are presented by indirect means or in person, without the knowledge of his immediate com- mander, is put above the former. I have had full and fair opportunity to observe Lieut. Ryals. He is different from many officers in one respect. He displays the same zeal in all duties to which he may be assigned; while the majority of officers may be efficient and zealous in some, but are averse to others, and by demurs and lack of zeal render them worse than useless in such. I recommend Lieut. Ryals and Capt. White from an earnest conviction, based on long and intimate official acquaintance, that they deserved the positions and that the service will be greatly benefited by their proposed advancement. Every officer of my command, with the same opportunities, concurs in my recommendation. I sincerely hope that the department will not in this case, as was done in that of the lamented Pelham, whose promotion was so often and so earnestly recommended by me, defer a recognition of these deserving officers until it is too late to touch their mortal careers. I have the honor to be, general,

Official :

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

Geo. Freaner, Major and A. A. G.

J. E. B. Stuart, Major-General.

Headquarters Cavalry Corps. Dec. 4, 1863.

Lieut. Ryals is zealous, faithful, extremely brave and cool in action-always distinguishes himself in action by his conspicuous gallantry-well versed in his duties as an officer, has been in a great number of battles-his own promotion has been the last thing to receive his attention-universally regarded, where known, as a most deserving officer. Is second lieutenant in the regular army, and as he is provost marshal of the corps, his appointment as major in the provisional army is legitimate under the law.

Official:

(Signed) J. E. B. Stuart, Major-General.

H. B. McClellan, Major and A. A. G.

Headquarters North Carolina Cavalry Brigade, Dec. II, 1863.

Gen. S. Cooper, A. and I. G.

Sir :- I have the honor to recommend Lieut. G. M. Ryals for the appointment of major. I have had numerous opportunities of witnessing Lieut. Ryals' coolness and gallantry. He has been provost marshal of the cavalry corps for some time and has given great satisfaction. His ability, service and merits justly entitle him to promotion. I have the honor to be,

Your obedient servant,

John B. Gordon, Brigadier-General. Official:

A. R. Venable, Major and A. I. G.

Reporting to Gen. Wade Hampton for service, Maj. Ryals was with him at Trevillian's depot, at Nancy shop, in Kent county, at Sophronia church, and at Ream's station. At this time the infantry service was subsisting on corn as rations, and were begging for "fodder;" whereupon Gen. Hampton concluded to make a forced loan, and went to Cabin Point, on the James river, borrowed 2,464 head of the finest beef cattle obtainable, brought them safely from the rear of the Federal army, and turned the larger part of them over to his famished brothers of the infantry service; after which it was not unusual to see whole brigades rush from their tents to shake hands with a lone cavalryman. For the part he took in this cattle expedition Maj. Ryals was favorably mentioned by Gen. Hampton, afterward serving with Gen. Fitz Lee to Appomattox court house.

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CHATHAM COUNTY SKETCHES.

On the day of the surrender his services were recognized by the cavalry officers of rank and by them recommended repeatedly for promotion.

After the close of hostilities Maj. Ryals settled in Nelson county, Va., where he farmed, merchandised, and cut cordwood and railroad ties, with varied success. In the fall of 1868 he removed to Georgia and settled in the city of Savannah, where he did a drayage business for six years, and then connected with it a cotton farm in Screven county, and a truck farm in Chatham county. Since July, 1881, the major has devoted his entire time and attention to the trucking industry, and though the experiment was not at first a great success he has never failed to make a good living and to lay up something for a rainy day and year. A portion of his savings he has invested in the stock of the Germania bank of Savannah, and is now one of the directors of that prosperous institution. He conducts his truck farm upon the intensive system of high fertilization. Manures and composts are gathered the year around, a large number of teams being used for this purpose, which is spread broadcast upon the land, high grade commercial fertilizers also being used very liberally. He attributes his marked success as a truck farmer very largely to the use of these manures and fertilizers, but he insists that too much cannot be said in praise of cow peas as a means of improving the fertility of the soil and putting land in admirable tilth. This system is to permit the peas to die down upon the land, instead of turning them under green, as far as possible. He also uses freely the very best turning plows, subsoils and pulverizers upon his farm of 150 acres, upon which there are twenty-one head of mules. He uses much care in the selection of seed for all crops, ordering only from the very best houses of respectability and long standing. He employs twenty-five hands reg- ularly and 200 hands at times; shipping and selling at home as much as $25,000 worth of vegetables and farm products in a year and paying from $4,000 to $8,000 in freights. Maj. Ryals is a gentleman of sterling qualities and marked influence and public spirit. He is serving his second term as director of the experimental farm of Georgia from the first congressional district, is president of the Truck Growers' association of the county of Chatham, and first vice-president of the National Farmers' congress. He is a stanch democrat, and always takes a lively interest in the political affairs of his county, state and nation. He has never filled any political office, except to serve as one of the three representatives from the county of Chatham in the general assembly of Georgia, in which he was chairman of the committee on special agriculture. He was a delegate to the democratic state convention in 1880, and served as chairman of the democratic executive committee of the first congressional district for many years. The major is a master Mason, a pay member of the Georgia hussars, and although not an active member of any church organization he affiliates with the Christian denomination. He was married in Charlottesville, Va., on Feb. 24, 1864, to Elizabeth, daughter of D. W. Kennedy. His old commander, Gen. Stuart, had been invited to his nuptials, but finding that it would be impossible for him to be present, sent the following letter, which the major now treasures:

Headquarters Cavalry Corps, Army Northern Virginia, Feb. 23, 1864.

My Dear Major :- I deeply regret that I cannot be present at your nuptials to-morrow. I send, however, a very worthy representative in my particular friend, Surgeon Covey. Do me the kindness to assure the bride of my prayers and best wishes for long life and happiness, and believe me,

Your sincere friend,

J. E. B. Stuart.

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Mrs. Elizabeth Ryals departed this life in 1869, leaving as issue one daughter, Carrie L. Some time before his marriage, while still a citizen of Nelson county, Va., he wrote to Gen. Robert E. Lee, telling him of the wreck and ruin that encompassed him on every hand and of his determination to repair his own fortune, and in reply received this letter from the leader of the Confederate forces:

Lexington, Va., Jan. 13, 1868.

My Dear Captain :- I am glad to learn from your letter of the roth that you have set manfully to work to repair your wasted fortune. If you will carry into your business the same energy, attention and fortitude which you exhibited while attached to the army of northern Virginia, I shall feel sure of your success. Wish- ing you all happiness and prosperity, I am, very truly yours, R. E. Lee.

Capt. G. M. Ryals.

On Oct. 24, 1870, Maj. Ryals was joined in the bonds of matrimony to his pres- ent estimable wife, Anna B., daughter of Col. T. E. Ware, a prominent citizen of Greenville, S. C. This union has been blessed by the birth of four children, viz .: James W., Edwin C., Sidney G., and Mary L. The home life of the major is ideal, and being generous and hospitable, he is a general favorite with all who know him.

MAJ. JOHN SCHWARZ, vice-president of the Savannah Steam bakery, is a native of Zweilruecken, kingdom of Bavaria, Germany, is the son of John and Margaret (Braun) Schwarz, and was born Sept. 23, 1840. His paternal grand- father was Nicholas Schwarz. John Schwarz came to the United States in 1848, was a coal and iron merchant, and died in Savannah, Ga., in 1868. Mrs. Margaret Schwarz died in New York city, in 1873. John Schwarz is the second of three children born to his parents, the others being Emily and Nicholas. He learned the trade of a baker in his native country, coming to the United States at the age of fifteen, landing at New York. The voyage across the Atlantic was made in a sailing vessel and lasted for thirty days. He remained in New York city for one and a half years working at his trade, then secured a place as pastry cook on the steamer "Augusta," plying between the ports of New York and Savannah, where he remained for six months. He located in Savannah in 1858, for two years worked as a journeyman baker, and then set up for himself. Jan. 10, 1861, he entered the Confederate service, and was one of the party of three that took possession of Fort Pulaski, using no flag. In 1862 he enlisted in Capt. Phillips' company, Thirty-second Georgia regiment of infantry, and served a year and a half, and was then detailed to take charge of the Confederate steam bakery at Savannah, where he remained until the close of hostilities. At the termination of the war he resumed the bakery business in Savannah, and has been engaged in that trade continuously since. He has been very prominently identified with the material advancement of the city of Savannah during the entire period of his citizenship; served as an alderman from 1869-89, as mayor of the municipality 1889-91, and was for eight years the president of the local Scheutzen society. Maj. Schwarz also served as foreman of the Germania Fire company for many years, and of the hook and ladder company for five years. He was one of the organizers and a director of the National bank of Savannah, president of the German Loan and Building association, which terminated in 1894 without a loss or a suit, and was one of the originators of the first street railways ever operated in the city of Savannah. Among the more prominent fraternal and benevolent orders he is a Knight Templar Mason, a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of the Knights of Pythias, uniform rank. The company in which

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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. II, Part 59

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