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 47
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56
The ferment in Georgia was now exceedingly high. The State Constitution had undergone alteration, and the first elec- tion of Governor by the people was approaching. The popular Gen. John Clarke was brought out by his party in opposition. The people sustained their intrepid Governor, and on the first Monday in October, gave him again the chair of state by a majority of seven hundred votes. In his message, in Novem- ber, he detailed the events of the summer, and advised a firm adherence to the treaty by the General Assembly. The Legis- lature, although opposed to the Governor in both branches on mere party politics, resolved, that " full faith ought to be placed in the treaty ; that the title of Georgia under it was vested and absolute ; and that the right of entry, immediately on the expiration of the time limited by it, should be insisted on and carried into effect." They again solemnly required the removal of the Agent, which was again rejected. The issue was now made up. In January, 1826, the Governor gave
36
558
TROUP COUNTY.
orders for a division of the militia into three classes, and stated therein his belief that "the general officers could not find them- selves indifferent to the crisis in which the country finds itself." Orders were also issued, looking to the filling up of the ranks of the existing volunteer companies, and the forma- tion of new ones. The Federal Government had already as- sembled at Fort Mitchell, on the Chattahoochee, and on the Flint river, a force of four hundred regular troops. A collision might be expected. The peace of the Union was in danger ! It was now that divers chiefs of the Creek Indians, certified by Mr. John Crowell, to be " very proper men," were as- sembled in Washington City, where, on the 24th January, 1826, a NEW TREATY was made, declaring the OLD TREATY null and void, but ceding, for Georgia, nearly all the land covered by the old, and extending the time of surrender to the first day of January, 1827. Against this treaty, the Georgia Sena- tors, Berrien and Cobb, voted. It was ratified by the Senate in April. The House of Representatives appropriated the money to carry it into effect, and the Georgia Representatives filed their protests. They did their duty to Georgia in both Houses. Particularly effective were the speeches of the Hon. Mr. Berrien and the Hon. Mr. Forsyth in the maintenance, in their respective chambers, of the rights and honour of Geor- gia. The Governor, at home, held the new treaty to be a piece of blank paper. It had prescribed, as he believed, dif- ferent boundaries for Georgia, from those set forth in her con- stitution, and guaranteed them. Lands were taken from Geor- gia and abandoned to the Indians for ever ; and the jurisdiction over the river Chattahoochee, before that time absolute in Georgia, was now divided between Georgia and Alabama. Moreover, to admit it, would be to acknowledge all the ca- lumnies-to confess all the charges made against the com- missioners Campbell and Meriwether, and against the shade of McIntosh-and to abandon principle for expediency.
Standing flat-footed upon the old treaty, the Governor, in July, 1826, ordered certain commissioners to proceed to run the line between Georgia and Alabama, as laid down by the contract of 1802. This was effected before the 1st of Sep- tember. The land was then ready for our surveyors. They
559
TROUP COUNTY.
had been appointed in 1825. In July, 1826, the Governor had commanded the District Surveyors to commence opera- tions on the first of September. The work was done with no resistance from Washington until February, 1827, and none of moment from the Indians. Upon their complaint, the Pre- sident then ordered those surveyors who laboured in that part of the territory left out by the new treaty to be arrested, and caused the Governor to be informed, through Lieut. Vinton of the army, that he would employ " all the means under his control to maintain the faith of the nation," by carrying that treaty into effect. The Governor, without the loss of a day on his part, directed the Attorney and Solicitors General of Georgia " to bring to justice, by indictment or otherwise, the officers or parties concerned" in arresting the surveyors ; and sent ge- neral orders to the Major Generals of the 6th and 7th divisions of militia, "to hold their commands in readiness to repel any hostile invasion of the State." On the same day, he wrote to the Secretary of War, " that he should resist to the utmost, any military attack, which the government of the United States should think proper to make on the territory, the people, or the sovereignty of Georgia." You, said he, from the first decisive act of hostility, "will be considered and treated as a public enemy, and with the less repugnance, because you, to whom we might constitutionally have appealed for our defence against invasion, are yourselves the invaders; and, what is more, the unblushing advocates of the savages whose cause you have adopted. You have referred me for my conduct to the treaty at Washington. In turn I take the liberty to re- fer you to a treaty of prior date, and prior ratification, con- cluded at the Indian Springs, which I have the honour to en- close." Lieutenant Vinton having been instructed, as neces- sary to his personal safety, to preserve a profound secrecy in the execution of his mission, the Governor tells the Secretary, that "he mistakes the character of the people of Georgia. Officers of the General Government engaged in the perform- ance of lawful duties, have only to deport themselves as gen- tlemen to find the same security and protection in Georgia, as under the Ægis of the government at Washington." The sur- veyors were not arrested, the surveys were completed, and the
560
· TROUP COUNTY.
entire domain covered by the old treaty was organized, and disposed of by lottery, in 1827. The rights of Georgia were preserved, and her unterrified Chief Magistrate was trium- phant ! One of the counties was called TROUP ; and in honour of McIntosh, and to perpetuate the memory of the Creek peo- ple, another was called MUSCOGEE. Our energetic Governor was pronounced to be a madman by enemies at home and by submissionists abroad ; but his madness had a method in it which was conservative of the liberties of Georgians. Let no man suppose that Governor Troup was hostile to the Union ! His official correspondence and messages, his pre- vious public life, his speeches in Congress, his ardent support of his whole country in the war of 1812, prove the contrary. He has declared, and it is believed, that he would lay down his life for the Union. But for what Union ? A Union for spe- cified purposes delegated by the sovereign States ; a Union of limited powers ; and in all other matters one of unlimited re- servation to the States, or to the people; not a Union of con- solidation, expressly nor by construction. As a State Rights man and a Georgian, he loved Georgia more. To him, next to Providence, we owe the fact, that the habitations of our brethren of Georgia now cover all her beautiful plains, and mountains, and valleys. Had he quailed, the Creeks might yet roam between the Flint and the Chattahoochee ; the Cherokees might still, in our mountain lands, acknowledge the sway of a Ridge and a Ross. The example of Gov. Troup was followed by his successors. The criminal jurisdiction of Georgia was soon extended, by her own authority, over the Cherokees, who, in nine years more, followed the Creeks to the West. All are settled on lands guaranteed to them by the United States, which the United States had a right to guarantee, and where, it is hoped a successful experiment will be made to bring them within the compass of civilization and Christianity.
During Gov. Troup's administration, the great and good Lafayette visited America. He was a guest of Georgia. Gov. Troup, in 1825, received him on the Bluff of Savannah. The writer of this memoir heard the address of the Governor to the nation's friend. " Welcome, Lafayette ! General, 'tis little more than ninety years since the founder of this State
561
1
TROUP COUNTY.
first set foot upon the bank upon which you stand. Now, four hundred thousand people open their arms to receive you. Thanks to a kind Providence, it called you to the standard of independence in the helplessness of our Revolution. It has preserved you, that in your latter days the glory of a great empire might be reflected back upon you, amid the acclama- tions of millions. The scenes which are to come, will be for you comparatively tranquil and placid. There will be no more of dungeons, no more fears of tyrants. Oh, sir, what a consolation for a man, who has passed through seas of trouble, that the millions of bayonets which guard the blessings we enjoy, stand between you and them! But enough! Wel- come, General! Thrice welcome to the State of Georgia !"
Education, a Court of Errors, internal improvement, and, indeed, all enlightened measures, have had in Governor Troup a warm advocate. The militia claims of Georgia for services in 1792, '93, and '94, were firmly pressed by him, and provided for at Washington. One measure alone which he supported will admit of doubt with posterity. He was the advocate of the land lottery system. He had supported it at the beginning, in 1802, and advised it in 1825; but with recommendations to guard against frauds and speculation, and, from sale of fractions, to make suitable provision for beneficial public objects. He considered the land as the property of the people, and a lottery the speediest method for settling the country and elevating his State. So had long thought all parties in Georgia, so had they always acted. Executive opposition would have been fruitless. On the subject of slave- ry at the south, the Governor saw, in advance, the dangers thickening around us. He informed the Legislature, in 1825, that the feelings of the southern people had been recently out- raged by officious intermeddling with their domestic concerns. He predicted that very soon the Federal Government would lend itself to fanatics, for the destruction of every thing valua- ble to the southern country. One movement of the Congress unresisted by you," said he, " and all is lost. Temporize no longer. Make known your resolution ; that this subject shall not be touched by them but at their peril. But for its sacred guaranty by the Constitution, we never would have become
562
TROUP COUNTY.
parties to that instrument. If slavery be an evil, it is our own -if it be a sin, we can implore the forgiveness of it. I be- seech you most earnestly, now that it is not too late, to step forth, and, having exhausted the argument, to stand by your arms."
He retired from the government in November, 1827, with a popularity equal to that of any former Chief Magistrate. In 1828, he was recalled to the United States Senate. This appointment was accepted by him with unfeigned regret. Ill- health and other circumstances had determined him to live in domestic seclusion. It is not generally known that, when apprised of the legislative intention to send him to Washing- ton, he, to prevent it, hastened from his home in Laurens, to Milledgeville, where he arrived only a few hours after his election. He continued in Congress until 1834, enjoying the respect and veneration of his fellow-citizens of Georgia. In the Senate, his feebleness of health forbade participation in debate. The same cause produced his final resignation. By his more intimate friends Gov. Troup is regarded as the living apos- tle of State Rights, the champion of State Sovereignty. It was under the conviction that these were imperilled, that he de- clared, in 1833, that "he would have been carried on his death-bed to the Capitol, rather than not have given his vote against the Force Bill." His opinions upon topics of public interest are given unreservedly when solicited ; and the ac- knowledged consistency of his life-the admitted integrity of his heart-the soundness of his intellect-give them a weight felt by all. Witness his letter upon State Sovereignty and State Interposition, long regarded in Georgia as a text-book for State Rights men. So also his letters upon the Tariff, the Annexation of Texas, and others. He may not be considered as identified with either of the present parties dividing the State. He enunciates great principles, and sustains or opposes great measures, leaving his opinions to operate on the public mind according to their merits. He has been a man of sor- rows. He is taciturn, and, hence, is charged with pride ; but no man's heart is more tender, or more benevolent. He is not a professor of the Christian religion, in which, neverthe- less, one who has a right to know, assures the writer that he is
563
TWIGGS COUNTY.
a believer. His gubernatorial messages, writings, and procla- mations, prove that he has unaffected respect for the institu- tions and ministers of Christianity. May his life, now extended to near seventy years, be prolonged many more, and may the blessings of a grateful people continue with him unto the grave !
TWIGGS.
BOUNDARIES, EXTENT .- Twiggs county is bounded N. by Jones, E. by Wilkinson, S. by Pulaski, and W. by the Ocmul- gee river and a portion of Bibb. Laid out from Wilkinson in 1809, and a part added to Bibb in 1833. Length, 25 miles, breadth 14. Area 350 square miles.
RIVERS, CREEKS .- The Ocmulgee river forms most of the western boundary ; Shell Stone, Crooked, Flat, and Savage creeks empty into the Ocmulgee. There are several streams in the eastern part, among which Big Sandy creek is the prin- cipal.
POST OFFICES .- Marion, Tarversville, Jeffersonville.
POPULATION, TAXES, REPRESENTATION .- According to the census of 1845, the population was 3,752 whites, 4,084 blacks; total, 7,836. Entitled to one representative to the Legislature of the State. Amount of State tax for 1848, $2,841 61.
TOWNS .- Marion, named after General Marion, is the capi- tal, situated 36 miles S. W. of Milledgeville, 8 from the Oc- mulgee, 20 from Macon, and 30 from Hartford. It has a court-house, jail, tavern, two stores, &c. Population about 60. Incorporated in 1816. A branch of the Darien Bank was formerly located here.
Tarversville is in the S. W. corner of the county.
Jeffersonville is 6 miles from Marion, and 22 from Macon. It contains two churches, a fine school, and is considered a heal- thy place. Population, 100.
EARLY STTTLERS .- Mr. John Denson, Joel Denson, Wm. Jamerson, Jeremiah Dupree, Benjamin Joiner, Edmund Hod- ges, Mr. Hughs, George Wimberly, and Col. Lawson.
564
TWIGGS COUNTY.
RELIGIOUS SECTS, EDUCATION .-- Baptists and Methodists are the prevailing sects. There are good schools in this county, and there is a disposition to encourage the efforts of faithful teachers among a large portion of the com- munity. Number of poor children, 283. Educational fund, $245 43.
MARKETS .- Macon and Savannah.
MILLS .- Saw-mills, 6; grist-mills, 9.
FACE OF THE COUNTRY, NATURE OF THE SOIL .- The upper part of the county is broken. The soil is generally gray, although there are some red lands. On Turkey creek and Oc- mulgee river the lands are fertile.
AVERAGE PRODUCT PER ACRE .- Cotton averages 400 pounds, corn about 12 bushels, wheat 8 bushels.
ROCKS, FOSSILS .- Burr stone of good quality is found in this county. The bones of the Zuglodon have been discovered on Mrs. Thorpe's plantation. In various parts interesting fossils abound. The county, like Houstoun, abounds with lime rock
ROADS AND BRIDGES .- The roads will compare favourably with those of the adjacent counties. The bridges are neglected.
CLIMATE, DISEASES, LONGEVITY-The climate is unhealthy. The instances of longevity with which we are acquainted are, John Keeth, who died at the age of 90; Ephraim Lile and Thomas Taylor, who were nearly 80 at their death. Mr. John Denson died at 90; Sarah Denson is now living, aged 80.
CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE-The citizens of Twiggs are said to be industrious, frugal, and temperate. In morals the people generally have improved.
VALUE OF TOWN LOTS, &C .- The value of town lots is $112,320. Stock in trade, $27,692. Money at interest, $80,050.
NAME .- The details of the life of General John Twiggs, from whom this county received its name, would fill a volume ; but agreeably to the plan we are compelled to observe, in de- scribing the character and services of Georgia's noble sons, we can only refer to some of the most prominent incidents in the history of this gallant soldier. The blessings which are
565
TWIGGS COUNTY.
enjoyed under this free government, were purchased at a dear rate, and the memory of those brave men, by whose prowess they were obtained, should never be effaced from our minds. General Twiggs is eminently deserving the gratitude of the people of Georgia ; for never did soldier serve them with more steadiness and fidelity. He was born in Maryland, on the 5th of June, 1750, and came to Georgia some time before the American Revolution, and settled in Burke county. His pa- rents were poor, and were unable to give him any more than a few months' schooling ; after which, he learned the trade of a carpenter. Upon coming to Georgia he followed his trade, and married Miss Ruth Emanuel, sister of the Hon. David Emanuel, a lady of great firmness of character, and who, dur- ing the Revolution in which her companion was soon to figure, endured many sufferings, with a fortitude becoming the wife of an American patriot. After his marriage he removed to Richmond county, and built a mill, near which he resided, until his oppressed country called him to the battle-field. To that call he promptly responded. About the time he joined the army, the Cherokee Indians were giving much trouble to the frontier settlements, and an expedition under Colonel Jack was ordered to proceed against them. Twiggs, as captain of a company, joined this expedition, and by his bravery and skill secured the confidence of Col. Jack. In 1779, when Lieut. Col. Campbell was on his way to Augusta, he detached 400 men against Burke county jail. With the assistance of Col. Few, Twiggs raised an inconsiderable force, and defeated the enemy in two different actions.
A short time after the memorable battle at Kettle Creek, Col. Twiggs and Col. John McIntosh surprised a British post at Herbert's, not far from Augusta, consisting of seventy men, and compelled them to surrender. Between this period and that of the attack upon Savannah by the combined forces of Gen. Lincoln and Count D'Estaing, he was constantly employed in skirmishes with the enemy and cutting off their supplies. One among the most splendid achievements in which he was engaged, took place in June, 1779, when he was attacked at Butler's plantation, on the Ogeechee river, having only thirty men under his command, by Capt. Muller, of the 60th regi-
566
TWIGGS COUNTY.
ment, with sixty grenadiers. Twiggs formed his spirited band so well, that the enemy were totally overcome. The captain was killed, and several other officers, and the remainder taken prisoners. When intelligence of this brilliant affair reached Savannah it produced a great sensation among the British offi- cers. One of them is reported to have said, " that if an angel was to tell him that Capt. Muller, who had served twenty-one years in the King's Guards with his detachment, had been de- feated by an equal number of rebels, he would disbelieve it." Our hero, shortly after this engagement, anxious to inflict pro- per chastisement upon the notorious McGirth, and his party, who were pillaging the property of the citizens, went in pur- suit of these marauders, and overtook them on Buck Head creek ; but unhappily for the cause of humanity, after a short skirmish they made their escape into a swamp, not however without losing a number of their men. On the 12th of Sep- tember, 1779, Colonel Twiggs with his regiment joined Gene- ral Lincoln, at Cherokee Hill, eight miles from Savannah. In the bloody conflict at the latter place he was present, and with Pulaski, Laurens, McIntosh, Butler, Jones, Jackson, Few, and Baillie, did all that military skill could accomplish, to recover the town from a cruel enemy. Col. Twiggs was favoured with a retentive memory, and long after the drama of the Re- volution closed, he would amuse and interest for hours, the young men who were wont to circle about him, by reciting the incidents of the war. What a privilege must it have been to hear from the lips of the war-worn veteran himself, the re- cital of Pulaski's gallantry, Jasper's daring, and McIntosh's ardour ! What emotions must they have felt when the old sol- dier spoke of the carnage and blood of that siege! After the unsuccessful enterprise against Savannah, many of the fami- lies of the patriots experienced sufferings of which it is hardly possible to form an idea. Though the family of Col. Twiggs was removed under the protection of a flag, they were actu- ally fired upon by the enemy, and the Colonel himself only escaped by flight. At Gates' defeat at Camden, he was se- verely wounded by a sabre, and left for dead upon the field. After his partial recovery he returned to Georgia, determined not to shrink from the contest for independence. Collecting
567
TWIGGS COUNTY.
a body of men, he went in pursuit of his old enemy McGirth, whose depredations upon the defenceless frontiers had created great alarm ; but his knowledge of the country enabled him again to make his escape. At this period, also, he was en- gaged south of Savannah, in checking the operations of the ene- my's scouting parties. At the Fish Dam fords he contributed greatly to the victory gained by the Americans over the Bri- tish, commanded by Major Wemyss; and a few days after- wards, at Blackstock's house, at the head of his band of Geor- gians, he resisted the furious charge of Tarlton's cavalry. Justice has not been done to the Georgia officers engaged in this battle. We have no desire to lessen the glory of Sumter in this action ; but it is the opinion of many, and of some too who participated in the battle, that the venerable historian of South Carolina, Dr. Ramsey, does not give a proper share of praise to the Georgia officers. Sumter, it is true, commanded at the beginning of the action, but receiving a wound, he was compelled to retire from the field. The command then de- volved upon the oldest Georgia officer, Col. Twiggs, and to this officer, and his associates, Jackson, Chandler, and Clarke, is due much of the glory of the victory. When Brown surrendered to the arms of the Americans at Augusta, Twiggs was present, and shared in all the toils and dangers of that memorable oc- casion. When the Legislature met in Augusta, in 1781, in consideration of the gallant services of Colonel Twiggs, he was appointed a Brigadier General. His attention was now turned to the eastern part of the State, and having advanced with his army as far as Burke county, he learned that large bodies of loyalists and Indians were collecting on the western frontiers ; upon which he retraced his steps to Augusta, for the purpose of concerting a plan of operations to disperse them. During the remainder of the revolutionary conflict he was incessant- ly engaged, and at all times acquitted himself as a patriot soldier. When the war closed he retired, but only for a brief period, to his plantation in Richmond county, for the Indian difficulties called him again from his home. To thwart the designs of the savages, goaded on by unprincipled men, re- quired consummate skill and prudence ; and the government of Georgia, believing that General Twiggs possessed in a high
568
TWIGGS COUNTY.
degree these qualifications, invested him with full power to di- rect the plan of operations against the Indians, and which he did with complete success. In October, 1786, a detachment of 1500 men was ordered by Governor Telfair to attend the Commissioners appointed to treat with the Creek Indians, and which was placed under the command of General Twiggs. Previous to this period, he had been a commissioner to nego- tiate treaties with the Indians. At Augusta, on May 31st, 1783, in conjunction with Lyman Hall, Elijah Clarke, W. Few, Ed- ward Telfair, and Samuel Elbert, he made a treaty with the Cherokees, and in November, of the same year, a treaty with the Creeks. In 1785, he concluded a treaty with the Creeks at Galphinton. At Shoulder Bone, in obedience to the orders of Governor Telfair, he attended the Commis- sioners appointed to negotiate a treaty with the Creeks. In 1791 he was promoted to the rank of Major General. In 1794, his former associate in arms, General Elijah Clarke, and his adherents, took possession of the territory on the In- dian side of the Oconee, and General Twiggs received orders to draft 600 men to proceed against him. Clarke, however, abandoned the project before the military force was organized. It will be remembered, that the Legislature of 1795 passed an act for the sale of the Western Territory. An account of that infamous transaction may be found in our sketch of Gene- ral James Jackson, and we allude to it here to have an oppor- tunity of saying that General Twiggs was violently opposed to it, and was one of the principal agents in having the act declared null and void by the Legislature of 1796. In 1800, General Twiggs was honoured by the Legislature with the appointment of a Trustee of Franklin University, and in its prosperity he continued to take a deep interest to the close of his life. This devoted friend to Georgia died on the 29th of March, 1816, aged 65 years. He had always requested that no monument should be placed over his grave. He was five feet ten inches in height, stoutly made, well proportioned, gray eyes, florid complexion. He was affable and hospitable. His house was open to all. To his fellow-soldiers of the Revolu- tion he was much attached ; and his sons can remember when whole nights were consumed by the soldiers of '76, at General
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.