USA > South Carolina > Marion County > A history of Marion county, South Carolina, from its earliest times to the present, 1901 > Part 24
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was passing up the road from Marion, on Sunday after Sher- man's "bummers" had passed through the upper end of the county, 12th March, 1865, and came upon a crowd of deserters, who were cooking in Samuel Page's lane, near where J. R. Reaves now lives. The old man had his gun, and on approach- ing the crowd cooking, and recognizing who they were, one of them, the leader, said to him, "Old man, put down your gun and surrender." He did neither, but fired in among them ; the one he aimed at jumped behind his horse, and Clark's load entered the horse, and killed him; whereupon others of the crowd seized their guns and fired upon the old man and killed him. The deserters left him and the dead horse there in the road, and they lay there two days before they were removed. The few old men then in the community were terrorized by Sherman's bummers and the emboldened deserters to such an extent that they were afraid to remove old man Clark and the dead horse out of the road, and give the old man a burial. The circumstances of the killing were told, afterwards, by one of the deserters to a friend, and that friend informed the writer. Kenneth Clark, a brother of old Malcolm, was a first-rate man and good citizen ; don't know whom he married; he had a son, John Clark, and one or more daughters; the old gentleman is dead. His son, John, is on the old homestead, a first-class citi- zen, a good soldier in the war, has never married ; is prosperous and quite respectable, drives a fine horse and a fine buggy, is fully able to take care of some man's daughter as a wife, but does not seem to have much fancy for such a life. Old man Kenneth Clark was also a brave man-could here relate an incident in his life in proof of his courage, but space will not permit. Those who knew him will indorse him, not as a cow- ard, but as a brave man.
There is another Clark, Pinckney Clark, two or three miles east of Marion; don't know anything of his parentage, or where he came from ; he has a family, think grown and mar- ried, sons and perhaps daughters; he is obscure, makes no noise in the world, inoffensive and works for his living. His family, now poor and obscure, may in the future develop into prominence-who can tell! The writer could name parents within his day, who were as obscure as Pink Clark's family,
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whose children are now prominent citizens among us. Such developments often occur. It also happens that those promi- nent in the present, go down into obscurity and dwindle away in the second and third generation-"There is a providence that shapes our ends, rough-hew them as we may."
HARRELSON .- Another family now to be noticed is the Har- relson family. Of this family, on Buck Swamp and Maiden Down, the writer cannot say much, for the want of informa- tion; he cannot trace them genealogically. They are some- what numerous in name and in their connections, and in former times more prominent than they now seem to be. In 1798, Lewis Harrelson and John Ford were elected as Representa- tives of Liberty County (now Marion) in the State Legislature. (Gregg's History, page 459.) Also, in the Acts of the Legis- lature of 1798 (section 7, p. 289,) we find Commissioners ap- pointed "for the purpose of fixing on a convenient and central situation, whereon to establish and build a court house and gaol for the District of Marion and to superintend the building of the same;" and among them we find the name of Benjamin Harrelson ; and it may be supposed that he and. Lewis Harrel- son, the member of the Legislature that year from Liberty or Marion, were brothers, and it is to be presumed that the best men were selected for the Legislature and for locating and building the court house and gaol for the county. Hence the Harrelson family of that day was prominent and among the first people of the county. From these two Harrelsons, and, perhaps, others of the family whose names have not been pre- served in the records of the times, have descended all the Har- relsons of the county from that time to the peesent. The writer only wishes that he could trace them down to the pres- ent generation. The writer remembers that in July, 1835, he ate supper one night at the house of an old man, Hugh Harrel- son (I believe, was his name), where the Widow Lewis Harrelson now resides, near the lowest bridge on Buck Swamp; he had daughters grown. The writer could tell why he was there and who went there with him, and the circumstances of the occasion, and what happened in that family two or three years afterwards, in connection with one who went there with
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him, but all that is not necessary in a book of this kind. The writer was then only seventeen years of age. These old Har- relsons were men of high character and stood well among their people, and from them descended the large family with their connections, which now inhabit the county. Although those of the present day may not be as prominent as their ancestors, yet all the way through, they have been law-abiding, indus- trious and honest people, part of the bone and sinew of the county. The late Lewis Harrelson, near Miller's Church, married Miss Mahala Rogers, and by her had six or seven children, sons and daughters, all minors at his death. The oldest son, Charles, is quite a promising young man ; the names of the others not remembered; they are soon to take their places in society. The late Lewis Harrelson had a brother, John Harrelson, who died or was killed in the war; he left two daughters, both married and have families; their names not remembered. Lewis and John Harrelson had a sister, Mary Jane, who married our capital citizen, W. T. Cribb ; she died a few years ago, childless. There are other Harrelsons in the county, collaterally related. George Harrelson, near Mullins, is an exceptionally good man, and is doing well. Another branch of the family is on the Back Swamp, above Ariel. Old man Hugh Harrelson, down there, was a well-to-do man; married a Miss Smith, of Horry, and raised a family of five sons and five daughters. John E., Hugh G., David J., Samuel and another not now remembered; the daughters were Mrs. William J. Atkinson, Mrs. James Atkinson, Mrs. Prudence Johnson, Mrs. John D. Sessions, and Miss Theresa, who died unmarried before her father. The old gentleman left a last will and testament and, by means which it is not necessary to state, it got into the Courts, and it was in some form or another in the Circuit and Supreme Courts of the State for twelve or fourteen years. This is stated from the personal knowledge of the writer, as he had to do with the litigation from start to finish. Of the old man Hugh Harrelson's sons, Hugh G. mar- ried, I think, a Miss Williamson, and died young, leaving his widow and some children; don't know what has become of them. John Ellis Harrelson married, and raised a large family of children, sons and daughters, who are among our citizens
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now; some unknown, but those that are known are good men and prospering. Ham Harrelson, a son, is one of the leading citizens of his community. John E. Harrelson died about two years ago; he was an energetic and persevering man, and sub- stantially a good citizen. The other sons of old Hugh Harrel- son all died unmarried and childless. It is assumed that these Back Swamp Harrelsons are of the same family as the Buck Swamp Harrelsons; that they are all collaterally related; that they all had the same common ancestor. Lewis, Hugh and Benjamin seem to be family names from the early times down to the present; that events and circumstances separated them, though not far apart, in the same county. In the absence of other and better information, the writer is bound to assume that they are all of the same family originally, and sprang from a common ancestor in the first settlement of this part of the State, Marion County. At all events, they are here and have been from time immemorial, and have been and are quite respectable. Another branch of the same family are those on the north side of Little Pee Dee River. They are certainly of the same family as those on Buck Swamp and Maiden Down. Zephaniah and Stephen Harrelson, two old men, resided on Bear Swamp and Cainey Branch, near the Gaddy Mills, sixty-five or seventy years ago. Stephen Harrelson raised a large family of sons, nine or ten, who are among us now, and are respectable, good citizens ; don't know the names of all of them, but name such as are remembered-John R., Alfred H., James W., Joel and Hugh only are remembered; another one is a Baptist preacher. Of these, Alfred H. Har- relson married a daughter of William Roberts, and has a fam- ily of sons and daughters ; he is an industrious and prosperous man and a law-abiding citizen. James W. lives near Mullins, is also a quiet and worthy citizen. John R. (called Jack) raised a considerable family, died years ago. One of his daughters was the second wife of Dr. George E. Shooter; another is the wife of John Altman. Joel Harrelson has raised a family, is a progressive, good citizen, and is well to do; don't know to whom he married. They were all good soldiers in the war, did their duty there and are doing the same now, in time of peace. Don't know anything of old man Zephaniah Harrel-
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son's progeny ; he died many years ago, a respectable, good man in his day ; don't think he had many children. A daughter of Stephen H. married Neill B. McQueen; is now a widow ; she is an extra smart woman, if alive yet.
MARTIN .- Another family will here be noticed, to wit: the Martin family. This family is somewhat extensive, both in name and its connections. The first Martin in the county, of which the writer has any knowledge or information was Matthew Martin ; have not been able to learn who his wife was. He lived in the Maiden Down section, and raised a family of four sons and two daughters, and, perhaps, other daughters, to the writer unknown ; he was a thrifty man, and accumulated a good property as a farmer for his day and time. His sons were John, Matthew, Stephen H. and Aaron; daughters' names unknown. John Martin married a Miss Hays, daughter of old man Benjamin Hays, on north side of Little Pee Dee ; by her he had and raised a family, how many is unknown. He had a son, Alexander Martin, now in Horry County ; he married a Miss Cribb, daughter of Anthony Cribb; he went years ago to Horry County, raised a family and they are in that county. John Martin had some daughters. One married Dempsey Cribb, Jr .; another married a Mr. Baker, and another married a Mr. Lovet; know nothing further of them. John Martin died before the war, freezed to death. Matthew Mar- tin, Jr., married a daughter of Captain John Rogers, in the Fork; by this marriage he had and raised four daughters, names not known. One married Jesse Butler, who moved to Darlington, and is dead; he had a family of several children- one son, named Charles; suppose they are all in Darlington now. Another daughter married E. W. Hays, of Hillsboro, and is now a widow ; she has some children. Another daughter mar- ried R. B. Platt; she is dead; think she left some three or four children. Another daughter married a Mr. Nicholson (Archie) ; they are raising a family, prospering and doing well. Aaron Martin, the youngest son of old Matthew, Sr., married a daughter of Captain John Rogers, in the Fork; they are now both dead, but left a family of two sons and seven daughters ; the sons were Mitchel M. Martin and Valentine Martin.
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Mitchell married Miss Lizzie Smith, daughter of the late Stephen Smith; the fruits of the marriage are four sons- Vance, Victor, Clyde and Mitchell. Of these, Vance married Miss Florence Owen, daughter of the late Rev. John Owen, who was accidentally shot and killed a few weeks ago; they have two children, a son and a daughter. Victor Martin lately married a Miss Pepper, of Southport, N. C. The two younger boys, Clyde and Mitchell, are with their mother. Mitchell Martin died some years ago, at Mullins, S. C., where his widow now resides. Valentine Martin, the youngest son of Mr. Aaron Martin, married Miss Margaret Norton, daughter of the late John Norton; to this marriage twelve children have" been born, ten of whom are living-seven daughters and three sons. One son, Donald, is grown; and five daughters, Lilly, Pensy, Maggie, Kate and May; the other names not known. Of the daughters of Aaron Martin, the eldest, Anne, married her first cousin, Richard Edwards, a notice of whom has already been taken in or among the Edwards family. The second daughter, Louisa, married W. H. Daniel, of Mullins ; for him she had three children-one son, Robert, and two daughters, Katie and Mary. Katie married George Reaves, and has two or three children. Robert Daniel married Minnie Bethea, a daughter of Dr. John J. Bethea, who died childless, and Robert is now a widower. Mary Daniel, the youngest, died in early womanhood, unmarried-quite a charming young lady. Katie Martin married Perry J. Williams, of Nichols, S. C .; by him she had two or three children, when the father died and left her a widow ; she afterwards married and went off to Georgia. Emma Martin, another daughter of Aaron Martin, married J. Oscar Daniel, of Mullins, by whom she had several children, when he died; she afterwards married William Leith ; whether there was any offspring by the Leith marriage, the writer does not know; she died, and Leith, after a time went off West ; don't know what became of her children by Oscar Daniel. Ida Martin married B. F. Elliott, of Marion, and by this marriage a daughter and a son were born. The daughter is very promising, and is now in the Salem, N. C., Female School. The son is a mere boy; name not known. Victoria Martin married Dr. Edward Brown, now of Latta, S. C .; by
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this marriage three sons and one daughter are born, all yet children. Mary Martin married a Mr. Cole, from North Caro- lina ; they left immediately for Georgia; don't know anything further of them. Stephen H. Martin, a brother of John, Matthew and Aaron Martin, not mentioned in the order of their ages, married a daughter of the late David S. Edwards, and by her had several children, and then died. Two of his sons, "Mack" Martin and David Martin, grew up, and "Mack" married Miss Josephine Moody, a daughter of the late Salathiel Moody; they had some family, how many is not known-a son, named Robert, who was rather an extra keen and sensible young man. The family went West some years ago, and it is said are doing well in that region. David Martin went West also; have heard nothing of him since. Stephen H. Martin had a daughter, named Sue, who married Perry J. Williams, of Nichols (first wife) ; she had some three or four children, and died very suddenly, without any apparent cause. "Mack" Martin, her brother, became the guardian of her children, and took them and raised them; the oldest, a daughter, Maggie, became the wife of Benjamin M. Carmichael; they are raising a family. "Mack" Martin, their guardian and uncle, managed in some way to turn the boys, three (I think), and their means over to Carmichael and wife, and went West; after this Car- michael and wife have had charge of them. The writer has understood that two of the boys are graduates of Wofford Col- lege, or if they did not graduate they matriculated in that col- lege, and went for a while, perhaps, two years or more. Hope they will do well, as they were orphans, indeed. Two daugh- ters of Matthew Martin, Sr., are only known of; don't know their names. One married the late Samuel Edwards, and the other married his nephew, Captain L. M. Edwards; both of whom have herein already been noticed in or among the Edwards family. The Martin family thus far noticed are an unpretending people, hard-working, honest, good citizens, sat- isfied with themselves, regardless of what others might think or say. Matthew, Jr., and Aaron married sisters, good women, and by industry and frugality accumulated a good property, and left it unencumbered for their children.
There are other Martins in the same section of the county,
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and the writer's information is (whether true or not ) that they are no relation to those above mentioned; some of them I know nothing about, and, therefore, can say nothing concern- ing them. The late William Martin married, first, a daughter of the late Rev. Moses Coleman-a mighty good woman, as it is said; she had for him several children; don't know how many. The sons, Daniel, William P. and Charles Betts Mar- tin, now among our good citizens, and doing well. Daniel Martin married a Widow Chreitzberg, whose maiden name was Game, a daughter of our excellent man and fellow-citizen, Robert B. Game; they have no children. Daniel is a hard worker, a good man, and is doing well. William P. Martin, another brother, is and has been for several years in the rail- road service as section master at and near Mullins; has made some money and saves it; he married a Miss Rushing, the daughter of Henry Rushing, also a railroad man ; they have, as I am informed, several children, whether sons or daughters the writer does not know. Charles Betts Martin, another brother, is one of our citizens, but whether married or not is not known. Their father, William Martin, married a second time, but to whom is not known ; he died a year or so ago, and left a widow with children, about whom the writer knows nothing. William Martin had by his first wife a daughter (may have had more), named Julia; she married Joseph M. Price, a nephew of the writer; think they have five or six child- ren, sons and daughters. Price is now above Columbia in the railroad service as section master. There are other Martins in the community that the writer would like to notice, but for the want of knowledge or information he cannot do so. The Martins and their connections are very numerous, and many of them quite respectable.
HENRY .- Another now to be noticed is that of our respected fellow-citizen, John E. Henry. This family is not very exten- sive in name or connections. The grand-father of John E. Henry was named John; I suppose he lived at Marion; he married some lady, I think, a Miss Dudley, sister of the late Colonel Dudley, a prominent member of the bar for years at Bennettsville, S. C .; by the marriage two children were born-
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a son, the late David S. Henry, and a daughter, whose name I have forgotten. The father died, and the late Addison L. Scarborough married the Widow Henry, and for him she had two children-a son and a daughter-Richard and Mary F. Richard Scarborough became a doctor, married a Miss Craw- ford or Cherry; died a young man, childless, and his widow afterwards married the late Major O. P. Wheeler; both are dead and left no child. Mary Scarborough married the late James J. Harllee, a member of the Marion bar, but did not practice much after his marriage-devoted himself mainly to his large farm near Marion, which his wife inherited from her father, A. L. Scarborough. In 1861, J. J. Harllee and wife sold their plantation, near Marion, now owned by the daughters of the late Fred. D. Jones, and took their negroes and money, &c., and emigrated to Arkadelphia, Ark., where they remained, I suppose, during the war. J. J. Harllee was killed about that time, as it was said, by a horse running away with him; his widow, Mary F., was left poor by the war and by other causes-extravagance mainly, as it is said. A girl that had never known what it was to need or want anything, both before and after her marriage, was reduced to penury and want. This the writer knows from correspondence with her after the war and information obtained from others. Our correspondence was in reference to her claim for dower in certain lots in the town of Marion, which he brought action for and recovered, and sent the money to her. She had no child; she afterwards married a "Yankee" officer from Wisconsin, a widower, with four children, whose name was F. M. Chrisman. This mar- riage, I suppose, took place during the Reconstruction period in Arkansas. David. S. Henry, the son of John Henry, grew up and married a Miss Telatha Flowers, and by her had only one child, a son, our energetic and enterprising fellow-citizen, John E. Henry, who married Miss Charlotte Bethea, a daugh- ter of the late Levi and Mary Ann Bethea; they have several children, sons and daughters-one son named Sheppard, one named John (called Jack), and Patrick, and a daughter named Mary, who married Mr. Augustus Alford ; they moved to Geor- gia, have several children, and are said to be doing well. The sons, Sheppard and Jack, emigrated West somewhere, and, I
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suppose, looking out for themselves. John E. Henry and wife have another daughter grown, whose name, I believe, is Ella; besides these there are other children, younger. John E. Henry is an enterprising man, and is apparently doing well; they own and occupy the old homestead of Mrs. Henry's pater- nal grand-father, old William Bethea. The sister of David S. Henry married the Rev. Tracy R. Walsh, a strong preacher in the Methodist Conference, who is dead; his family are scat- tered through Marlborough and Chesterfield Counties.
HUGGINS .- Another family may here be noticed-the Huggins family. The first known of this family were John Huggins and Willis Huggins, not brothers, but first cousins .* Old John Huggins lived at Huggins' Bridge, on Little Pee Dee; he married a Miss Campbell, sister of Gadi and Theophi- lus ; he raised a considerable family of sons and one daughter- if there were other daughters, the writer never heard of them; the sons were Solomon, Henry, John, Theophilus, George, Enos and Ebben. Solomon Huggins married some one to the writer unknown, and raised a family, of whom I know nothing. Henry Huggins married a Miss Elvington, daughter of old man John Elvington, of whom mention has already been made herein. Henry Huggins had a son, Theophilus, now one of our good citizens, on Little Pee Dee; he married some one to the writer unknown, and has raised a considerable family. Henry Huggins raised one daughter, Martha, and, perhaps, others. Martha married James A. Jones, an older brother of our excellent fellow-citizen, J. T. Jones, and her family has already been mentioned herein, in or among the Jones family. There may have been other sons and daughters of Henry Hug- gins ; if so, the writer knows nothing of them. Henry Huggins and wife died many years ago. Another son of Henry Hug- gins is now remembered, Thomas A. Huggins, who married and raised a family, not known to the writer; Thomas A. Huggins died a few years ago, quite an old man. John Hug- gins, Jr. (Jack, as he was called), has already been mentioned
*John Huggins and Willis were first cousins. Their fathers were brothers; their grand-father was the common ancestor, and, I suppose, was the first Huggins in the county, about 1740 or 1750.
I8
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in and among the Jones family; his wife was Mary Jones, a sister of our J. T. Jones. Theophilus Huggins and George W. Huggins became Methodist traveling preachers in the South Carolina Conference, and both died therein./ George W. Huggins never married, and died young-in Conway or Horry-to which circuit he was then assigned, in 1835. In the minutes of the Conference of 1899, in the chapter entitled "The dead of the South Carolina Conference, 1788 to 1900," George W. Huggins is put down as joining the Conference in 1833; that he died October, 1835, at the age of twenty-seven, and was buried in Horry County. As to the place of his burial, it is a mistake; he was buried at Huggins Bridge, on Little Pee Dee-not more than a hundred yards from the place of his birth. The writer attended his funeral and knows whereof he speaks. Theophilus Huggins continued in the itineracy until his death; he married some one unknown to the writer; think he died in the North Carolina Conference. Enos Huggins, a very vigorous and athletic young man, sickened and died when young, unmarried. Dr. Ebben Huggins, a dental surgeon, married and settled in Horry County, just below Gal- ivant's Ferry ; he raised a large family-or, rather, had one- he dying before the younger ones were raised. Old John Huggins' daughter, Mary (Polly as she was called), married the late Stephen Smith; by the marriage several sons and daughters were born; the sons were, and are, Ebenezer, George W., S. Elmore, Benjamin Gause, S. Whiteford and J. Emory Smith, and another, named Augustus, who was killed during the war on a train near Florence; and daughters, Mrs. Mitchell Martin, Mrs. George W. Rogers, Mrs. J. C. Harrelson and Mrs. Celia Atkinson. Ebb Smith was killed or died of disease in the war. George W. Smith, one of our steady and progressive citizens, married a Miss Nance; the fruits of the marriage are several sons and daughters; some of them mar- ried and have families coming on, the names of all of whom are not known. One daughter of George W. Smith married Allen Lewis. A son, Augustus, at Mullins, married a Miss Dill. Bonham Smith married a Miss Lewis. Another daughter married Hampton McMillan; another daughter married a Mr. Nye. Benjamin Gause Smith, another progressive and pros-
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