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 24
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GLYNN COUNTY.
lities of a port, south of the Chesapeake, for the establishment of a navy yard, unhesitatingly declared it as their opinion, that Brunswick possessed greater facilities for such purposes than any place south of Chesapeake Bay. The basin is capacious enough for vessels of the largest size. At the outer bar there is an unvarying depth of water of not less than 18 feet, at low tide, and about 24 at high. Induced by the advantages of Brunswick as a port, and by other circumstances, efforts were made to bring it into notice ; but these were unsuccessful, and Brunswick no longer attracts public attention.
Frederica is on the west side of St. Simon's island, and was settled in 1739. It received its name in honour of Frede- rick, Prince of Wales, only son of George the Second. It was laid out by General Oglethorpe, with wide streets, crossing each other at right angles, and planted with rows of orange trees. This place was the favourite residence of General Oglethorpe, and figures much in the early history of Georgia ; but its days of glory have departed, and Frederica of 1849, cannot be recognised as the Frederica of 1739, with its regu- lar magistracy, strong fortifications round the town, &c.
SEASONS .-- This county has experienced a full share of disasters by hurricanes. In 1752, and 8th September, 1804, and on the 14th September, 1824, occurred hurricanes which did much injury to the crops and buildings.
ISLANDS .- On the coast of this county are numerous islands, the chief of which are St. Simon's, Jekyl, Colonel's, Blythe, Crispin, Little St. Simon's, Long Island, Rainbow, Hammock, Latham's, &c.
St. Simon's is between the Alatamaha and St. Simon's Sound, separated from the main land by Macoy's river. It is twelve miles long and three broad.
Jekyl is a pretty island, so called by Oglethorpe, after Sir Joseph Jekyl, an eminent lawyer and eloquent statesman of England.
ROADS AND BRIDGES .- The roads and bridges are very good.
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIONS FOR 1848. - The following statement is furnished by James Myers, Esq., receiver of tax returns for the county :
19
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GLYNN COUNTY.
No. of bags of Sea Island cotton,
1,519
66 bushels of rough rice,
91,416
66
corn, . . 44,165
66
66 sweet potatoes,
27,120
cow peas, . 3,815
barrels of syrup, 105
sugar, . . 1,099
MILLS, &c .- There are no public mills, except a lum- ber-mill at Brunswick. Three steam-engines are used on rice plantations, on the Alatamaha, to thresh and pound rice; and horse-gins for cleaning cotton are found on the principal cotton plantations.
MARKETS .- Savannah and Charleston.
ANTIQUITIES .- Indian mounds are of frequent occurrence; but the most remarkable monument of that race is to be found in the large collections of oyster shells on the islands. In some places they form hillocks fifteen feet high, and frequently cover several acres to the depth of many feet. The existence of arrow heads and pieces of broken pottery among them leaves no doubt of their origin. At Frederica are still to be seen the remains of Oglethorpe's fortifications, and of the tabby-houses erected by him.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES .- In 1736, when Oglethorpe came to Georgia, and settled at Frederica, the most interesting man next to himself, was Captain Horton. He had been a gentle- man of family and fortune in England ; but, like many in his rank of life, had been extravagant. He joined General Ogle- thorpe's regiment, and upon his arrival in Georgia, settled at Jekyl island, and established a brewery. With white labour- ers and supernumerary soldiers he cleared 400 acres of live- oak land, which he planted in barley and rye, besides 22 acres of low ground, which he planted with hops. He erected the necessary buildings for a brewery, and supplied the regiment with porter and beer. The Hon. Thomas Spalding has often been assured, by persons who had drank these articles, that they were as good as those made in England. He also planted 10,000 orange trees, running in extended avenues along the island. A few of these trees were in full growth until 1835, when they were killed by the frosts. When General Ogle-
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GLYNN COUNTY.
thorpe left Georgia for England, Major Horton was intrusted with the command of his regiment, and of the province. He removed to Savannah, and continued to administer the govern- ment until he died.
A battle was fought, July 7, 1742, on St. Simon's island, between Oglethorpe's regiment and the Spaniards. The latter were defeated with great loss, and the place where the engage- ment occurred has ever since been called " Bloody Marsh."
In 1788, the Creek Indians overran the country from the Alatamaha to the St. Mary's. Captain John Burnet, father of Col. Burnet, whose name appears as a signer of the Constitu- tion of 1798, lived at the head of Turtle river with his family and slaves, attending to large stocks of cattle. All the people had fled from the main land, to the islands. Going out one day with his son, the late Col. Burnet, he discovered Indians at some distance sitting upon a high log, armed with rifles. " John," said the old man, " let us charge them." " Father," the son replied, " do not charge them ; there are more Indians behind the log." "Come, John," the father replied, "we must charge." He did charge, and his son followed him. When they had reached within a few yards of the log, ten Indians rose up and discharged their entire fire upon the old man. He received several wounds, one of which, in the ear, finally proved mortal. With the aid of his son and a black boy, he was able to reach his house. About two weeks after, 100 Indians in the dead of night stole into his enclosure, hav- ing killed the negro who stood sentinel at the gate. They at- tempted to fire the house, in which there were five or six males and two females. Repeated efforts were made by the savages to force the doors, but those within were upon the alert, and continued firing upon the enemy for four hours. The eldest daughter of Capt. Burnet, assisted by her younger sister, loaded the muskets below and handed them through the scuttle to their brothers above. The firing was heard at St. Simon's island, many of the inhabitants of which came to the beach to listen to it ; and as soon as daylight came, thirty men col- lected and proceeded to Mr. Burnet's. Upon their arrival, they found that within the house one negro had been killed. Mr. Moses Burnet received three severe' wounds. All of Mr.
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GLYNN COUNTY.
Burnet's negroes had been carried away by the Indians. Some months afterwards, the Indians acknowledged to the Commissioners who made the treaty at Colerain, that during the night of the attack upon Mr. Burnet's house their loss had exceeded thirty men.
During the war of 1812, a detachment of one hundred men from Cumberland island, of the British invading army, took possession of St. Simon's, where they remained for three weeks. Whilst on the island, they succeeded in carrying off three hundred slaves. To the credit of many of the negroes, they remained true to their masters. On the plantation of Mr. Couper, a remarkable instance of fidelity occurred in the conduct of his driver, Tom, who is worthy of a passing notice, not only for his great fidelity and intelligence, but from having come probably farther from the interior of Africa than any other negro in America ; his native village being Silla, on the Niger, a few days' journey west of the celebrated city of Tim- buctoo. He is a Mahometan in religion, and of the Foolah nation, the most intelligent of the native African tribes.
NAME .- The county of Glynn may be proud of bearing the name of John Glynn, who was eminent in his profession as a lawyer, highly esteemed for his probity of character, and conspicuous for his love and unwavering support of rational and constitutional liberty. His known liberal principles made him the ardent friend of the American colonies, and it was to honour these principles that the State of Georgia attached his name to this portion of her territory. In the Annual Register, from 1758 to 1779, the name of Sergeant Glynn frequently appears as a leading counsel in the most important law cases, and he is uniformly mentioned with respect, for his modera- tion, independence, conscientiousness, and learning. In his address to the freeholders of Middlesex, which he represented in Parliament, he says : "Honour or infamy will deservedly attend me in the same manner as my future conduct shall an- swer or disappoint your expectations. I do not owe your sup- port to any personal friendship or connexions, and am therefore free even from the temptation of leaning to them : my obliga- tions are to the public ; and to the public I will return them. The freedom of a county election is the last sacred privilege
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GREENE COUNTY.
we have left; and it does not become any honest Englishman to survive it. For my own part, I will not. I think tameness in a cause like this, is infamy. I promise that no discourage- ment shall ever make me desert you, who have shown that you will not desert yourselves." Sentiments worthy the atten- tion of American freemen ! Mr. Glynn obtained his seat in Parliament without the expenditure of a single shilling. He was distinguished for the equity, energy and ability with which he opposed Lord Mansfield's writ of attachment for a supposed contempt in case of libel, and was the first practitioner who dared to controvert the legal opinions of the Chief Justice .* He was the counsel of Wilkes, when he was prosecuted by the British Government for writing the 45th number of the North Briton and the Essay on Woman, and in 1769 he pleaded as a member of the House of Commons in favour of Wilkes.t For his conduct on the trial of Wilkes, he gained much ap- plause. From various parts of the kingdom thanks were sent to him for the zealous efforts he made to defend the constitu- tional liberties of the subject. He was Sergeant of London, the legal adviser of the first city in the world, until his death, which occurred in 1779.
GREENE.
BOUNDARIES, EXENT .- The boundaries of this county are as follows :- On the North, Clarke and Oglethorpe; on the East, Taliafero; on the South, Hancock and Putnam; and on the West, Putnam and Morgan. Laid out from Washington in 1786, and portions of it since that period added to Hancock, Oglethorpe, Clarke, and Taliafero. It is 22 miles long, and 17 miles wide, containing 374 square miles.
RIVERS, CREEKS .- The Ogeechee river, which rises in the county seven miles northwest of Greenesborough. The Georgia
*
Posthumous Works of Junius.
t Walpole's Memoirs of the Reign of George III.
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GREENE COUNTY.
Railroad passes over the head waters of the Ogeechee, on the plantation of Mr. Burke. The Oconee and Appalachee water this county. The smaller streams which empty into the Oconee, are Town, Beaver Dam, and Richland creeks. Shoulder Bone rises in this county.
POST OFFICES .- Greenesborough, Cracker's Neck, Merrell, Penfield, Public Square, Scull Shoals, Union Point, White Plains.
POPULATION, TAXES, REPRESENTATION .- Greene, in 1845, had a population of 4,515 whites, and 7,458 blacks; total, 11,973. Amount of State tax for 1848, $5,158, 75 cents. Sends two representatives to the Legislature.
CLIMATE, DISEASES, LONGEVITY .- The climate is mild, and as healthy as any portion of middle Georgia; subject to few diseases, and those principally arising from colds. Instances of longevity are not rare. Mr. William Harris died in this county at the age of 100 years ; Rev. F. Cummins, 82; Mr. Archibald Perkins, 94-was at the battle of Guilford Court House ; Mr. Stewart, 90; Mr. Shaw, 87; Major Pullain, 87 ; and others could be named, if our limits allowed.
TOWNS .- Greenesborough is the capital, eligibly located between the waters of Richland and Beaver Dam creeks, 40 miles north of Milledgeville, 22 miles from Eatonton, 18 from Madison, 25 from Lexington, and 31 from Washington. The town is laid off with taste, and many of the buildings are beautiful. The water is excellent. Population about 600. It has a splendid court-house nearly finished, a jail, two hotels, two churches, two academies, six stores, &c. Great attention is paid to their gardens by the citizens. The verdant shades and shrubbery which surround many of the residences, will challenge the admiration of the visitor. Greenesborough was incorporated in 1803.
. Penfield, seven miles north of Greenesborough, is the seat of Mercer University. Population about 300.
White Plains, 11 miles S. E. of Greenesborough, is a small village ; one church, two or three stores. It has an excellent school.
Union Point is at the junction of the Georgia Railroad and the Athens branch.
291
GREENE COUNTY.
MANUFACTURES, MILLS .- Long Shoals factory ; capital, $100,000. The Company own 500 acres of land, including all the water power on the Greene county side of the river. The main building is of brick, with stone foundation and tin roof, 150 feet long, and three stories high. Connected with the fac- tory, is a building of brick, having a store, school-room and place of worship.
Scull Shoals Cotton Manufacturing Company, 14 miles northwest of Greenesborough, on the Oconee river.
Sixteen saw-mills ; fifteen grist-mills ; three or four flour- mills.
NATURE OF THE SOIL .- There is much worn-out land in this county ; but it is confidently believed that, by judicious management, it may be redeemed ; and it affords us much pleasure to state, that many of the planters are turning their attention to this subject. Lands which some years ago were considered worthless, have been made to produce abundantly. The best lands are situated on the water-courses.
AVERAGE PRODUCT PER ACRE .- Cotton averages 500 lbs. ; corn, 3} barrels ; wheat, 10 bushels.
MINERALS .- Excellent granite, beautiful amethystine quartz, and most of the minerals found in the adjoining counties.
PRODUCTIONS .- Cotton, corn, wheat, rye, oats, &c. Fruits do very well when proper attention is paid to them. The Hon. Judge Stocks has raised lemons in his garden of a large size and fine quality.
EARLY SETTLERS .- Jonas Fauche, Wm. Heard, S. M. Devereaux, Isaac Stocks, Joseph Heard, John Pinkerd, John Harrison, Samuel B. Harris, John Young, Josiah McDonald, Charles Watts, Joseph White, George Reid, Major Porter, and others.
EMINENT MEN .- Greene county has produced a number of distinguished men. Among them may be mentioned Jonas Fauche, a gentleman whose merits have not been properly ap- preciated by the people of this State. In the early settlement of Greene he bore a conspicuous part in the defence of the frontiers against the Creek Indians. He was a very peculiar man in every respect.
Rev. Dr. George F. Pierce, President of Emory College,
.
1
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GREENE COUNTY.
distinguished as an orator, and Judge Dawson, United States Senator from Georgia, were natives of this county.
Rev. Dr. Francis Cummins died in this county. With few interruptions by occasional sickness, he had preached the gos- pel more than half a century. He was one of the oldest and most respectable Presbyterian ministers in the Southern States. His native place was Cumberland county, Pennsylvania. Af- ter completing his education in his native State, he served for some time in the army for the defence of his country, before the close of the revolutionary war. He was licensed to preach the gospel in the State of North Carolina, and soon after the peace, settled in South Carolina. He afterwards removed to Georgia, and preached to the congregation among which he died, for twenty-three years. Having resigned his charge, and preached his farewell sermon, he was taken sick on the next day, with influenza, and was unable to go out again. He died, as he had lived, in the vigorous exercise of his faculties, intelligently, calmly, and confidently trusting in the gospel of Christ.
Major Oliver Porter was four times elected elector of Pre- sident and Vice-President, and frequently a member of the Legislature of Georgia.
RELIGIOUS SECTS, EDUCATION .- Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians. The Baptists are the most numerous. There are a few Episcopalians and Roman Catholics. Edu- cation has always engaged the attention of the citizens. In Greenesborough, Penfield, and other places, excellent schools are to be found.
MINERAL SPRINGS .- In various parts of the county there are springs supposed to be impregnated with mineral qualities, but none that are particularly celebrated.
MISCELLANEOUS REMARKS .- The author of this work has in his possession the original muster-roll of a detachment of Captain Fauche's troop of dragoons, dated Feb. 25, 1794, and regrets that its great length prevents its insertion.
NAME .- Two quarto volumes, containing the life of Major General Nathaniel Greene, in honour of whom this county is named, have been written by the Hon. Judge Johnson, of South, Carolina. . This work we have freely used in the following
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GREENE COUNTY.
memoir. On the 27th day of May, 1742, at Warwick, in Rhode Island, Major General Nathaniel Greene was born. His father was a Quaker, and carefully educated his sons in the principles of that sect. No education beyond the simplest rudiments was bestowed upon his children. In constant employment at his father's business, Greene had few opportu- nities for improving his mind, and it was not until he was 14 years old, that he began to feel the importance of so doing. The forming of an acquaintance with a young collegian in- duced him to turn his attention to intellectual pursuits, which he did with extraordinary perseverance amidst great disadvan- tages. The acquaintance he accidentally formed with the cele- brated President Styles, of Yale College, and Lindley Murray, author of a Grammar, was of much advantage to him. Their conversation-their advice as to what books he should read, contributed much to his improvement. When the famous Stamp Act had produced among the colonies a determined spirit of resistance, Greene caught the spirit of the times, became fully convinced of the injustice of the act, and at once resolved that he would join the ranks of freedom. He first became a soldier in the Kentish Guards. After the battle of Lexington, Rhode Island embodied three regiments of militia, and placed them under the command of Greene as Brigadier General. In 1775 he took his command before Boston, and formed an ac- quaintance with General Washington, which at length ripened into a friendship which continued to the end of his life. Soldiers of distinction, on his first appearance in the camp at Cam- bridge, from the ardour of his zeal, unremitted activity, and strict attention to every duty, pronounced him a man of real military genius. Gen. Greene was immediately employed in active service.' In the memorable retreat of the army through the Jerseys, he was the firm supporter of Washington. On the 25th of Dec., 1776, he crossed the Delaware in command of the left wing of the army, which in the surprise at Trenton cut off the retreat of the enemy to Princeton. All the hard- ships and sufferings of this gloomy winter, when despondency began to sit upon the bravest, were borne cheerfully by him. At the battles of Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth, he displayed every quality of a soldier. The retreat through
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GREENE COUNTY.
Rhode Island he managed with a skill almost unparalleled in the annals of war. As the head of the Quarter-Master's depart- ment, he rendered incalculable benefit to his country. It was an office which required much prudence and vigor, and Greene, surrounded by embarrassments, conducted its various and important duties with capacity, diligence, and integrity. Upon his resignation of this office, in August, 1780, Washing- ton said to him: " You have rendered the path of duty in the Quarter-Master's department so broad and plain, that it will not be easy for your successors to mistake it." Congress, in 1780, authorized the Commander-in-Chief to nominate a suc- cessor to General Gates in the southern military department. Washington, having a high sense of General Greene's qualifi- cations, and induced also by the wishes of the southern dele- gates, nominated him for this responsible office ; and without loss of time, and disregarding his private concerns, he pro- ceeded to the south.
Upon assuming the command he found himself surrounded by difficulties, but in a short time he succeeded in giving con- fidence to the army. The victory at the Cowpens, although achieved under the immediate command of General Morgan, was the first stroke of General Greene's policy in the south. At the battle of Guilford Court-House, he was compelled to retreat, but not without much loss on the part of the enemy. About this time, when there was much to discourage him, he was advised to retire to Virginia, but the gallant soldier re- plied, " I will recover South Carolina or die in the attempt." On the 8th Sept., 1781, the victory at the Eutaw Springs covered him with glory. For his conduct on this occasion he received the thanks of Congress, a British standard, and a gold medal. After the war he returned to Rhode Island, from which he came to Georgia, and settled at Mulberry Grove, formerly the property of Gov. Graham, situated on the Savan- nah river, 14 miles from the city of Savannah, a gift from the State of Georgia. Shortly after his settlement it pleased Di- vine Providence to cut short that life, the most of which had been spent in the service of his country. He died at the house of Mr. William Gibbons, near Savannah, from exposure to an intense heat of the sun, June 19, 1786. When the news of his death was received in Savannah, universal gloom pervaded
295
GWINNETT COUNTY.
the community. Every demonstration of respect was shown to his memory. Judge Stephens informed Judge Johnson that his body was placed in the tomb of the Jones's ; but when a committee, appointed by the City Council of Savannah, pro- ceeded to examine the vault, with a view to the removal of his re- mains, they could not be found. We have heard it stated that some persons, unfriendly to Gen. Greene, came to the cemetery three days after his body was placed in the vault, removed it, and buried it near the place now occupied by the Quoit Club in Savannah. Shame that the spot where the relics of the Hero of the South lie interred, cannot be designated. The citizens of Savannah have erected a monument to the memory of Gen. Greene in one of their most beautiful squares.
GWINNETT.
BOUNDARIES, EXTENT .- This county has Hall on the N., Jackson on the N. E., Walton on the S. E., De Kalb on the S. W., and the Chattahoochee on the W. Laid out under the Lottery Act of 1818. Its length is ahout 29 miles, breadth 19 ; containing 551 square miles.
RIVERS, CREEKS .- The Chattahoochee river is the chief stream. The head waters of the Alcovy, Appalachee, and Yellow rivers, are in this county. Richland, Level, Su- wanee, are tributaries to the Chattahoochee. Beaver Ruin and Jackson creeks discharge themselves into Sweet Water creek, which flows south, and empties into the Yellow river.
POPULATION, TAXES, REPRESENTATION-The population in 1845 was 8014 whites, 2048 blacks; total, 10,062. Amount of tax returned for 1848, $2476 and 40 cents. Entitled to two representatives to the State Legislature.
POST OFFICES .- Lawrenceville, Auburn, Cains, Choice's Store, Orrsville, Pinkneyville, Rock Bridge, Suwanee, Sweet Water, Yellow River.
FACE OF THE COUNTRY, NATURE OF THE SOIL .- In the northern part of the county the face of the country is hilly.
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GWINNETT COUNTY.
There is a belt of red land, which enters the county at the east, and runs south, which is of very superior quality. The river and creek lands are fertile. A large portion of the soil is gray land. More beautiful farms than many with which we met in this county, cannot be found in Georgia. We were pleased to notice the number of fences made of stone.
PRODUCTIONS, AVERAGE PRODUCT PER ACRE .- The pro- ductions are cotton, corn, wheat ; and indeed this county fur- nishes all the resources necessary for the support and comfort of industrious farmers. Cotton averages 500 pounds per acre ; corn 20 bushels ; wheat 10 bushels.
VALUE OF LANDS, COTTON .-- Red lands command $8 per acre. The lands on the Chattahoochee are worth from $20 to $30 per acre. The gray lands are worth from 50 cents to $3 per acre. About 2500 bags of cotton are raised annually. MARKETS .- Augusta, Stone Mountain, Atlanta.
MINERAL SPRINGS .- Bankston's springs, six miles from Lawrenceville, on the road to the Stone mountain, are said to be very much like the Madison springs. There is a limestone spring in the Sugar Hill district, twelve miles north of Law- renceville, and another on the farm of Mr. Elisha M. Winn, six and a half miles east of Lawrenceville.
MINERALS .- Gold is found in the Chattahoochee, in the Sugar Hill district, and in various places. Granite of excel- lent quality is abundant ; also antimony, iron, quartz, burr stone, &c.
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