USA > Georgia > Statistics of the state of Georgia : including an account of its natural, civil, and ecclesiastical history ; together with a particular description of each county, notices of the manners and customs of its aboriginal tribes, and a correct map of the state > Part 18
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216
DADE COUNTY.
mand to Fort Brook. Upon his arrival at this post, two com- panies, commanded by Captains Gardner of the 2d Artillery, and Fraser of the 3d Artillery, were ordered to repair to Fort King. Mrs. Gardner was very ill at this time, and much alarmed at the prospect of her husband's leaving; and it was thought her life or death hung upon the course he should take. But Captain Gardner deeming his duty to command his com- pany imperative, prepared to go, and was mounted and ready to start at reveille. Major Dade, commiserating the situation of Mrs. Gardner, with that magnanimity which all who knew him will readily acknowledge was a distinguishing trait in his character, proposed to Captain Gardner to go in his place. Noble man! thy own safety was disregarded from a desire to alleviate the sorrows of another. It was the last generous action of thy life. From the knowledge which Major Dade had of the country, it was confidently expected that he would be able to conduct his command to Fort King. At the head of one hundred men he started from Fort Brook for Fort King, but had not proceeded five miles, when he was over- taken by Captain Gardner, who had concluded to accompany the detachment ; but who refused, in the peculiar relation in which he stood to Major Dade, to assume the command. On Tues- day, the 29th of December, 1835, intelligence was received at Fort Brook, by a wounded soldier who had escaped from the field of battle, that on the previous day, at eight o'clock in the morning, when the detachment was 65 miles from this post, it . was attacked by an immense body of Indians, and completely cut to pieces. The Indians were in ambuscade, and cut off the advance guard by the first fire. By this fire, Major Dade, who was mounted, and half way between the vanguard and the head of the battalion, was shot, and fell at once from his horse. It was afterwards ascertained that Mecanope, the chief of the principal band of the Seminoles, struck the first blow in this battle. He had stationed himself in the forest, and on the approach of our troops, fired the first shot. This shot struck Major Dade; and as he had often met Mecanope, it is not improbable that the latter knew the person and appearance of the former, or that hisrank and station had been ascertained by the Indian spies. The troops were surrounded by spies almost
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DADE COUNTY.
upon their whole march. At night, Major Dade selected favour- able positions to encamp. Having crossed the further fork of the Withlocoochee, on the afternoon of the 27th of December, he encamped on a knoll whose advantageous position probably deterred the enemy from making the attack. That night he exhorted the men to be on the alert ; encouraging them, that if they should not be attacked there, they could get through safe to their destination ; and it was doubtless with buoyant hearts that they commenced the next morning's fatal march. Every officer was killed. They were eight in number: Captains Gardner and Fraser; Lieutenants Basinger, Mudge, Hender- son, Keans, and Assistant-Surgeon Gatlin. On the 20th of February, the remains of Major Dade, his brother officers, and nearly one hundred soldiers, were interred with appropriate honours. Major Dade, although a strict disciplinarian, was be- loved by his soldiers. Not one of them who had known him for any length of time, but would have shed the last drop of blood in their veins in his defence. When he was about to leave Tampa Bay for the Withlocoochee, his favourite sergeant, Peter Thomas, volunteered to accompany him, and fell by his side when attacked by the Indians. Major Dade, in the pri- vate relations of life, won all hearts by his courteous and affable manners. His mind was highly cultivated, and it is thought that if his life had been spared, he had intended to write a history of Florida, for which his great knowledge of that country peculiarly qualified him. To his family he was every thing that could be desired-a devoted husband, an af- fectionate father. Among the last words that he uttered just before he started upon the fatal expedition, were those in rela- tion to Mrs. Dade and their only daughter, " little Fanny," as he was wont to call her. We confess that we admire Major Dade for his nobility of soul-for his bravery-for his gene- rosity-but most of all, we admire him for his strict attention to the duties of religion. He had been blessed with a pious mother, and her early instructions were not lost upon him. The soldier who was willing to brave every danger, who was a stranger to fear, entertained a high regard for the obligations of religion ; and we can assure our readers, that Major Dade never engaged in battle without imploring the divine protec-
218
EARLY COUNTY.
tion. He was a reader of the Scriptures, an observer of the Sabbath ; and wherever he pitched his tabernacle in the wilds of Florida, might be heard his voice ascending to Heaven in the morning and evening prayer.
EARLY.
BOUNDARIES, EXTENT .- This county is bounded N. by Ran- dolph, E. by Baker, S. by Decatur, and W. by Alabama. Laid out in 1818, and a part added to Decatur in 1823, and a part to Baker in 1825. Length 37} miles, and breadth 25 miles.
RIVERS AND CREEKS .- The Chattahoochee river is the prin- cipal stream. Spring creek, which is a considerable stream, rises in this county and empties into the Flint river. Colo- mokee, Harrods, Sowahachee and Big creeks empty into the Chattahoochee. Some other streams have their origin in this county, and discharge their waters into the Ichawaynoch- away.
POPULATION, TAXES, REPRESENTATION .-- In 1845 the popu- lation was 6,009 ; of these 3,001 were whites, and 3,908 blacks, showing a greater equality in the number of whites and blacks than any county in the State. Amount of tax returned for 1849, $2,366 08. Sends one representative to the Legislature.
POST OFFICES .- Blakely, Fort Gaines, Pachitla.
TOWNS .- Blakely is the capital. It is a small but pleasantly located village, named after Capt. Blakely of the navy, who dis- tinguished himself in the war of 1812. It contains about 25 or 30 families, court-house, jail, school, two stores, two hotels, one church, &c. The place is considered healthy, and the water tolerable. It is 180 miles from Milledgeville, 40 miles N. of Bainbridge, 30 S. of Cuthbert, 42 W. of Newton. Business to the amount of $40,000 is annually transacted. Made the county seat in 1826.
Fort Gaines is on a beautiful bluff of the Chattahoochee, 160 feet above common water-mark. It contains two churches, one school, two taverns, &c. Population 400. More than $150,000 worth of goods annually sold. It is 25 miles from Cuthbert,
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EARLY COUNTY.
20 from Blakely, 35 from Porter's Ferry, and 55 from New- ton.
CLIMATE, DISEASES, LONGEVITY .-- This section of our State, except in the lime-land valleys, is decidedly healthy. There are no diseases peculiar to the county. Pneumonia sometimes occurs, but no cases of consumption have ever been known. Among the oldest inhabitants were Mrs. Roberts, who is said to have been over 100 at the time of her death ; Mr. Dill, Mr. Z. Cowart, and Mrs. Rebecca Collier, over 80; there are now living Mr. and Mrs. Golding, both near 90 ; and Mr. and Mrs. Yeldell, both over 90.
EARLY SETTLERS .-- Benjamin Collier, the Sheffields, Judge Bush, Joseph and Richard Grimsley, the Hayes family, Jesse Brown, Alsey Harris, Robert Jackson, the Porter family, and others.
FACE OF THE COUNTRY, NATURE OF THE SOIL .- The face of the country is gently undulating, almost without an eleva- tion worthy of being called a hill, and two-thirds covered with forests of the tallest long-leaf pine. The surface is not a white sand, but is largely mixed with oxyde of iron underlain by red clay. On the Chattahoochee river, and several large creeks which drain the country, there are tracts of rich lands with oak and hickory growth, the product of which in cotton may be estimated from 800 to 1,200 lbs. per acre, in corn from 16 to 35 bushels, wheat 6 to 12 bushels, and the production in oats is equal probably to any lands in Georgia. There are some excellent pine lands.
RELIGIOUS SECTS, EDUCATION. MION .- The Baptists are the most numerous. There are Episcopal and Reformed Methodists. Education has recently engaged more attention than formerly, although the number of schools is still small. 1
MILLS .- Saw-mills 6, grist-mills 11.
MINERAL SPRINGS .-- On the Chattahoochee, on the planta- tion of Mrs. Glenn, there is a spring impregnated with the pro- perties of sulphur.
MINERALS, ROCKS .- No primitive rocks are found. Con- cretions of iron, fossils, marl, and such other formations as be- long to southwestern Georgia.
PRODUCTIONS .- Cotton, corn, sugar-cane, sweet potatoes,
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EARLY COUNTY.
&c. Very little attention is paid to the cultivation of fruits. Amount of cotton raised 3944 bales.
ANTIQUITIES .- Six miles north of Blakely, on Little Colo- mokee creek, at the plantation of Judge Mercier, is a mound 52 feet high, with an embankment surrounding it, and a ditch leading to the creek. Upon its summit are large trees. This mound has recently been penetrated to the depth of 50 feet, with the expectation of finding treasure, but nothing has been found but bones. There are other mounds on Dry creek and Chattahoochee river.
ANIMALS .- Deer are abundant. Wolves and panthers are often killed. Wild turkeys are plentiful.
CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE .- The people of this county have a high reputation for good order, hospitality, &c. Persons who have visited this part of the State are lavish in the praise which they bestow upon the people.
AMUSEMENTS .- Game being abundant, much time is devo- ted to the chase ; the other amusements are fishing and dan- cing.
ROADS AND BRIDGES .- The roads and bridges do not reflect credit upon the inhabitants.
NAME .- This county is named in honour of Governor Peter Early. This gentleman was born in Madison county, Virginia, on the 20th of June, 1773, and came to Georgia about 1795 or 1796, and commenced the practice of the law in Wilkes county. In 1802 he was elected to Congress by a large majority, and soon became a leading member of that body. When the im- peachment of Judge Chase was before Congress, he was asso- ciated with Randolph, Rodney, Nicholson, Clark, Campbell, and Boyle, in conducting the prosecution. His speech on this occasion is said to have been the ablest that was delivered on the side of the prosecution. He continued in Congress until 1807, when he was appointed by the Legislature, Judge of the Superior Court in the Ocmulgee circuit. For this station he seems to have been eminently qualified. Firm, independent, and energetic, he administered justice without fear. In 1813 he was elected Governor of Georgia. This was a critical pe- riod. Accumulated disasters had nearly broken the spirit of the nation, and the howling tempest of war raged with vio-
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EARLY COUNTY.
lence. Whilst the stoutest hearts trembled for the safety of the country, the resolute mind of Governor Early beheld the threatened storm without dismay, and boldly prepared to avert its fury. With incredible dispatch he organized the militia of the State, and gave to our menaced frontiers an imposing atti- tude of defence. His military arrangements were in the main extremely judicious ; and his administration of the government, from beginning to end, was most able and patriotic. Uninflu- enced by the selfish conduct which characterized some of the States, he cheerfully rendered the National Government every assistance in his power towards carrying on the war with vigour and effect. The following fact will speak for itself: An officer in the service of the United States being destitute of funds, and unable to procure a further supply, in conse- quence of the embarrassed state of the national finances, ap- plied to Governor Early for a loan of $80,000, and pledged for its payment the faith of the General Government. Rather than the operations of the army should languish, the request was readily granted, and a warrant for the amount drawn upon the treasury of the State. It was suggested by a gentleman who happened to be present, that as the union of the States might not be of very long duration, in which case each mem- ber of the confederacy must defend itself, that it would be well to husband our resources. To this hint Governor Early mag- nanimously replied, that he hoped such a thing would never happen, but if it should, he had no wish that Georgia should survive the general wreck ; he wanted to swim or sink toge- ther. In 1814, a majority of the Legislature desired to con- tinue what was called the Alleviating Law. Governor Early considered its continuance inexpedient and unconstitutional, and vetoed it, and on this account was not re-elected Gover- nor. Some circumstances connected with this event gave him such a disgust to public life that he resolved to abandon it alto- gether, and never again meddle in political affairs ; but this determination he was compelled to relinquish. His country- men, to convince the world that their confidence in him was undiminished, and perhaps to soothe his feelings for the harsh and unmerited treatment he had received, elected him by com- mon consent to the senatorial branch of the ensuing Legisla-
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EFFINGHAM COUNTY.
ture, in which capacity he agreed to serve, because, to use his own words, he felt bound to comply with the wishes of his constituents, as they had always shown a correspondent dispo- sition to oblige him. He died on the 15th of August, 1817, in Greene county, and the people of Georgia felt that a distin- guished statesman, jurist, and patriot had descended to the tomb.
EFFINGHAM.
BOUNDARIES, EXTENT .- This ancient county has Scriven on the north; Savannah river on the east; Bulloch, and a part of Bryan on the west, and Chatham on the south. It was set- tled at a very early period, and constituted a part of the pa- rishes of St. Matthew and St. Philip. In 1793 a portion of it was added to Scriven, and in 1794, a portion to Bryan. Length, 30 miles ; breadth, 16 miles ; area, 480 square miles.
RIVERS, CREEKS .- The Savannah and Ogeechee are the chief streams, from both of which the people of the county de- rive immense advantages, affording them facilities for convey- ing wood and lumber to Savannah, and furnishing an abun- dance of fine shad at the proper season. The other creeks are Big and Little Ebenezer, Turkey Branch, Jack's, Lock- ner's, and Kogler's, emptying into the Savannah, and se- veral others into the Ogeechee.
POST OFFICES .- Springfield, Reform, Pleasant Grove.
POPULATION, TAXES, REPRESENTATION .- In 1845, the num- ber of inhabitants was 1816 whites, 1641 blacks. Total, 3457. State tax for 1848, $1354 16 cents. Sends one representative to the Legislature.
TowNS .- Springfield is the county site ; situated in a heal- thy pine barren, 140 miles S. E. of Milledgeville ; 27 from Sa- vannah, and about five miles from Whitesville. It has a court- house constructed of wood, but no jail; an excellent acade- my, well endowed, with house for teachers ; three churches, two stores, and one or two groceries. It is a place of little note, and has nothing to recommend it but health, pure air,
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EFFINGHAM COUNTY.
good water, and a fine school. Formerly, many of the citi- zens of Savannah were in the habit of resorting to Springfield during the summer season ; but the facilities for reaching the upper parts of the State, have caused it to be no longer a place of any great resort. Laid out and made the seat of justice in 1799.
Ebenezer is an old German settlement on the bank of the Savannah river, 25 miles from Savannah. It was once a flourishing place, and is connected with many interesting inci- dents in the history of Georgia. The church is a venerable looking edifice, and has near it a grave-yard, in which are bu- ried the remains of a former generation.
Whitesville is a small, healthy place, upon the Central Rail- road, 30 miles from the city of Savannah.
FACE OF THE COUNTRY, NATURE OF THE SOIL .- The greater portion of the county is level. The soil is various, but by far the largest proportion is unproductive. On the ri- vers there are hammock lands, which produce very well. The river lands are extremely fertile, and were formerly cultivated to great advantage, but are now mostly abandoned, owing to their being so frequently inundated.
PRODUCTIONS, AVERAGE PRODUCT PER ACRE, MARKET .- Cotton, rice, corn, rye, peas, potatoes, &c. A few persons raise silk. All the fruits succeed. The Savannah market is much indebted to this county for peaches, apples, pears, quinces, grapes, &c. Melons of delicious flavour are pro- duced. The forests yield excellent pine and cypress, and large quantities are sold to the Railroad Company, and in Savannah. The average product of corn per acre is nine bushels. The bay lands will produce from 800 to 1000 pounds of cotton per acre. The average produce, however, is about 350 pounds per acre. Three hundred and fifty bags are annually produced. Savan- nah is the market.
ROADS AND BRIDGES .- The roads are surpassed by few in Georgia. The bridge over Ebenezer creek is the property of the Ebenezer church, from which a considerable fund is de- rived.
MILLS, &c .- Saw-mills, 6 ; grist-mills, 12. The people of this county make fine fishing-lines of silk, which always meet
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EFFINGHAM COUNTY.
with a ready sale. Some of the descendants of the Germans are celebrated for making cow-bells, superior, we are informed by hardware merchants in Savannah and Macon, to any manufac- tured in Europe or the Northern States.
MINERAL SPRING .- In Springfield is a spring which has been examined by Dr. Cotting, and found to possess mineral properties.
MINERALS .- No rocks in the county. Marl on the Savan- nah river.
CLIMATE, DISEASES, LONGEVITY .- The climate is healthy. Indeed a more salubrious climate cannot be found in the South. In the pine lands the sun is oppressive; but the nights are pleasant. On some of the creeks fevers prevail ; but the pine lands afford a resort during the summer months. Instances of longevity are numerous. Rev. Mr. Bergman, pastor of the Lutheran Church in Ebenezer, lived to an advanced age. He was a man of profound learning, but little acquainted with the world. Mrs. Ann Deinninger died at the age of ninety-one years, and had lived sixty years in the county. Mr. Paul Bevil, a soldier of the Revolution, died at eighty. Mrs. Neid- linger died at the age of eighty-eight years. Mr. Snider, nine- ty years old, and Mr. Jonathan Rhan, seventy-nine, were both revolutionary soldiers.
CHARACTER OF FHE PEOPLE .- The majority of the people are the descendants of Germans, and they still retain many of the customs of their forefathers. Honesty and industry are their leading traits. Very few of the citizens are rich, but generally speaking, in comfortable circumstances. Although the soil is barren, they manage to get the necessaries of life by industry and frugality.
RELIGIOUS SECTS, EDUCATION. - The prevailing religious denominations are Lutherans, Baptists, and Methodists. Pro- vision is made for the instruction of the children of the poor. The county academy is richly endowed.
ORIGINAL SETTLERS .- Baron Von Reck, Rev. John H. Boblius, Rev. J. C. Gronder, Rev. Mr. Boltzius, John Brodie, B. Zant, Thomas Gsohwandel, Paulus Zitrauer, J. J. Zubli, R. Eischberger, J. Spielbiegler, M. Burgsteiner, J. Schartner, G. Schwaiger, V. Lemmenhoffer, C. Leimberger, S. Reiter,
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EFFINGHAM COUNTY.
J. Ernst, J. Pletter, L. Crause, P. Gruber, J. P. Arnsdorff, M. Zettler, M. Hortzug, J. Schmidt.
REMARKABLE PLACES .- Abercorn, sixteen miles from the city of Savannah, was a noted place in the early settlement of Georgia. In 1733, ten families settled here. It is now private property, and no memorial of its former condition can be seen.
Sister's Ferry is a public place thirty miles from the city of Savannah.
NAME .- In referring back to the history of our Revolution, it is pleasing to recollect that in Great Britain a great num- ber of men, distinguished for their integrity, their talents and patriotism, opposed with unwearied ardour the attempts of the ministry to destroy the liberties of America. They believed that if the constitutional rights of the colonies were disre- garded, the destruction of their own liberty would follow. Among the illustrious members of the British Parliament who defended the resistance of the Americans, stands Lord Effing- ham, after whom this county was called in 1777. Rather than take up arms against the colonies, he resigned his com- mission as an officer in the British army. The following are extracts from the letter he wrote on the occasion of his resig- nation : " April 12, 1775. To Lord Barrington, Secretary at War: I beg your Lordship to lay before His Majesty the peculiar embarrassment of my situation. Your Lordship is no stranger to the conduct I have observed in the unhappy disputes with our American colonies. My request of your Lordship is this, that you will assure His Majesty that he has not a subject who is more ready than I am, with the utmost cheerfulness, to sacrifice his life in defence of His Majesty's crown and person. But the very same principles which have inspired me with these unalterable sentiments of duty and affection, will not suffer me to be instrumental in depriving any part of his people of those liberties, which form the best security for their fidelity and obedience to his government. As I cannot, without reproach from my conscience, consent to bear arms against my fellow-subjects in America, in what, to my weak discernment. is not a clear cause ; and as it seems now to be fully resolved that the 22nd regiment is to go upon American service, I desire you Lordship to lay me in the most
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EFFINGHAM COUNTY.
dutiful manner at His Majesty's feet, and humbly beg that I may be permitted to retire. Your Lordship will easily con- ceive the regret and mortification I feel at being necessi- tated to quit the military profession, which has been that of my ancestors for many generations, to which I have been bred from my infancy, to which I have devoted the study of my life, and to perfect myself in which, I have sought instruction and service in whatever part of the world they were to be found." This manly conduct of Lord Effingham was not unnoticed by many of the people of Great Britain. In Dublin, at a meeting of the merchants, resolutions complimentary to him were adopted. Among these resolutions, we notice the following : " Resolved, That the sincere thanks of this guild be presented to the Right Honourable Earl of Effingham, in testimony of our approbation of his public conduct, particu- larly exemplified in his refusing to draw that sword, which had been employed to the honour of his country, against the lives and liberties of his fellow-subjects in America, and honestly and spiritedly resigning a commission which he could no longer hold consistent with the principles of a true English- man, or of a real friend to the interest of Britain." In the House of Lords, he plead the cause of injured America. In his place in Parliament, he uttered such sentiments as the fol- lowing : "They come to you with fair argument : you have refused to hear them. They know they ought to be free . you tell them they shall be slaves. Ever since I was of an age to have any ambition at all, my highest has been to serve my country in a military capacity. If there was an event on earth 1 dreaded, it was to see my country so situated as to make that profession incompatible with my duty as a citizen. That period has, in my opinion, arrived, and I have thought myself bound to relinquish the hopes I had formed, by a resig- nation of what appeared to me to be the only method of avoid- ing the guilt of enslaving my country and imbruing my hands in the blood of her sons." This noble patriot belonged to an old and highly illustrious family, whose exploits form one of the brightest pages in English history.
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ELBERT COUNTY.
ELBERT.
BOUNDARIES, EXTENT .- This county is situated between the forks of the Savannah and Broad rivers, and is bounded N. by Franklin ; E. by the Savannah river; S. by Wilkes, Lincoln, and a part of Oglethorpe ; and W. by Oglethorpe and Madison. Laid out from Wilkes in 1790. It is 32 miles long, and 16 miles wide ; containing 512 square miles.
POST OFFICES .- Elberton, Amandaville, Cold Water, Cook's Law Office, Eagle Grove, Montevideo, Petersburg, Ruckers- ville, Broad River.
POPULATION, TAXES, REPRESENTATION .- Elbert, according to the last census, had 5925 whites; 5323 blacks. Total, 11,248. Amount of tax returned for 1848, $3,973 60 cents. Sends two representatives to the Legislature.
RIVERS, CEREKS -- Savannah and Broad rivers are the most important. The following creeks empty into the Savan- nah river, viz., Beaver Dam, Van's, Cold Water, Cedar and Powder Bag; and Deer, Dove, Falling, and Wahachee, into Broad river.
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