USA > Tennessee > Monroe County > Sweetwater > History of Sweetwater Valley > Part 28
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Though Monte and Faro banks flourish here while almost every thing else is held in low repute except commercial operations, which is a source of grand speculation here, and in confirmation of this we will give you an instance; on our arrival here we found that tickets on steamers could not be haa for less than $400.00 in the steerage, and from six to nine hundred dollars in the cabin to San Francisco, while the same tickets were purchased in New York from two to four hundred dollars each, and held, offered, and sold here on specula- tion, at those advances, governed entirely by the number of emigrants here, waiting transportation to the much sought 'El Dorado.'
Those prices are eagerly given here, while the number and names of the steamers now plying between this place and San Francisco are as follows: The California, Oregon, Panama, Tennessee, Carolina, Unicorn, Gold Hunter, Sarah Sands, Isthmus and Columbus, 'making in all ten, which leave this port universally crowded, even at those extravagant prices, and there are soon expected here via Cape Horn, to go on the same route, the steamers New Orleans, New World, Northerner, West Point, William G. Pease, Republic and Duncan C.
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Pell, which will complete the entire number of seventeen steamships.' In discussing the case of going from East Tennessee to San Francisco without experiencing any delays which can seldom be avoided, the cheapest possible taking sail vessel would be $350.00 and to take steamer from New Orleans to San Francisco it would cost $365.00 on deck and in the cabin $750.00, never less, and a chance for it to be higher.
Taking these statements as correct, all who are thinking of the perilous adventure can now make up their minds as to the amount they would feel safe in leaving home with, knowing at the same time that if it should fall short that it would be where they would be surrounded by the mongrel population of the whole earth. This is the amount, to say nothing of the expenses up the Sacramento river to Sacramento City, a distance of 125 miles and then some 80 miles by land out into the diggings. * * * *
Without a through ticket a person stands no chance for a passage aboard a steamer from this port, as they are always filled to a dis- agreeable number, by persons owning through tickets or those who have the funds to pay a heavy advance on second-handed tickets, and we have seen them sold during our stay here second-handed for from six to eleven hundred dollars, and while on this subject we would remark, that the shaving and swindling system is carried on here to scientific perfection, at the expense of the poor emigrants from the states, and the great wheel is turned, not by foreigners, but by Ameri- can citizens.
This city numbers a population of about ten thousand, inclusive, within and without the walls, with at present a transient population of about three thousand, principally emigrants. The major portion of its inhabitants are Spaniards, one-third we suppose are natives, as black as the ace of spades, though all speak universally the Spanish language, which language we are in a fair way to learn 'Pocotiempo.'
This city is surrounded by the most sublime and majestic natural scenery upon which the eye of curiosity ever rested, almost entirely surrounded by Panama Bay, completely decorated with little island mountains, whose beautifully green peaked tops pierce the sullen and heavy clouds, which almost constantly enshroud them at this season; while the approach by land is similarly adorned with here and there, small round capped summits, intervening occasionally beautiful nar- row and level valleys, which appear to groan under the abundance of the rich tropical fruits of the forest, which are to be seen and ob- tained at all seasons, from the luscious Isthmus peach through the in- numerable varieties of tropical fruits down to the delicious pineap- ple, which, in some degree, perfume the air with their rich fragrance. * * * We cannot conclude without giving a few brief state- ments relative to the incidents connected with our two days' travel across the Isthmus. From Gorgono to this place we were never out of sight at one time of the vast continued train of mules and natives packing baggage to and from this city, during which time we very frequently met with numbers of American ladies dressed en- tirely in gentlemen's attire and universally riding astride, which odd custom they are compelled to adopt in order to travel at all, except they walk, as there is no such thing here as a vehicle of any sort, and during our travel across and the eight days we have been here, amongst all the travelling we have seen but bare one side saddle.
We arrived at this city on the 28th of May, where we have remained for some eight days, awaiting the published day for the sailing of the ship Cacholot, aboard of which we have engaged our passage to San Francisco. We have purchased our tickets for which we paid
-
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$150.00 each in the steerage and she positively sails tomorrow, the 5th of this inst., which port she promises to make in thirty-five or forty days.
Here we saw numerous 'East Tennesseeans, who all meet like en- deared relatives and amongst the many we have had the pleasure of meeting with. and listening to a very able sermon delivered by one Mr. Horn, from Knoxville, who has formerly resided in Athens, E. Tenn.'
In the Athens Post of Dec. 20th, 1850, we find this editorial refer- ence: 'we received last week the Polynesian of Sat., July 20th, printed at Honolulu, a town on one of the Sandwich Islands. It was sent by Mr. E. C. Harris, who belonged to the company that started to Cali- fornia from this country some time since. The ship on which they embarked at Panama (June 5th), put into Honolulu on account of stress of weather and was expected to set sail again in a few days."
It would seem they must have been disappointed in reaching San Francisco at the expected time-thirty- five or forty days. For sailing from Panama on June 5th, they were still at Honolulu on July 20th. If I am not mistaken it is about 2,800 miles from Honolulu to San Francisco. What. time General Vaughn reached San Francisco and how long he remained in California I have not the information at hand, however think he did not succeed in obtaining very much gold, or was not among the lucky prospectors.
In the files of the Athens Post in my possession I do not find any other letters from either Harris or Vaughn, but I lack considerably in having the papers for the year 1850-1. In about 1854, General Vaughn built a hotel in Sweetwater in which was a store-house on the site now occupied by the Hyatt Hotel. William H. Taylor and Joseph Boyd, brother-in-law of General Vaughn, were of the first that did business in that store-house. I think others too at different times sold goods there. General Vaughn was elected sheriff in 1859. I do not remember whether this was his first or second term.
When the Civil War came up he raised the first com- pany in Monroe County, of which he became captain, that with other companies formed the first regiment raised in Tennessee for the Southern Confederacy. He was elected colonel of this regiment. Although this was the first regiment raised in the state, it was the third mustered in by the Confederacy at Lynchburg, Va. Owing to a railroad accident between Knoxville and Lynchburg they were delayed and two other regiments, I think Turney's and Hatton's, got ahead of them. Thus
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Vaughn's regiment instead of being the first as it should have been became the 3rd Tennessee Regiment, Volun- teer Infantry.
Colonel Vaughn's command captured the first pieces of artillery taken in the war at the bridge in Romney, Va., June, 1861. He was engaged in numerous battles in many parts of the Confederacy during the Civil War from the first Battle of Manassas until the end in 1865 when he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general.
General Vaughn was in command of the cavalry es- corting President Davis to Washington, Ga., and was the last organized body of cavalry of the C. S. A. to surrender.
A part of the treasure belonging to the Confederacy was divided among his soldiers. Daughters of the Con- federacy here at Sweetwater have considerable of Gen- eral Vaughn's war history. It is very voluminous. I give the following from a letter by Mrs. Lua Nixon, now deceased of 733 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, Ga., dated July 9, 1913. Mrs. General Jno. C. Vaughn, her father-in-law, James C. Vaughn and three daughters, Margaret, Lua and Mary, were arrested (at their home in Sweetwater) June, 1864, by order of General Sher- man. The original order is in possession of Mrs. Nixon and reads as follows :
"Headquarters Military division of the Mississippi, Nashville, Tenn., July 27th, 1854. Special order No. 91. It appearing to the satisfac- tion of the Maj. Gen. commanding that the following named persons are implicated in corresponding with the enemy beyond our lines, it is hereby ordered that they be sent to Jeffersonville, Ind., there to remain in the care of the Provost Marshal under Military surveillance during the continuance of the present war, the quarter master de- partment will furnish the transportation necessary to carry out this order. By order of Maj. Gen. Sherman. M. Rochester, assistant ad- jutant general."
The same day the family of Judge T. Nixon VanDyke were arrested and joined General Vaughn's family. They were taken to Nashville in a box car, the prison- ers Mrs. Vaughn and Mrs. VanDyke, and the seven chil- dren were confined in one small room for days await- ing their orders. During the time of their confinement every effort was being put forth by influential Union friends and friends in the North, through Governor
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Johnson (then military governor) of Tennessee and President Lincoln to have the order changed. Judge VanDyke's family were allowed to give bond and they were released but the original order was carried out as to General Vaughn's family. Several months later General Vaughn sent scouts to arrest the family of a Federal general in Kentucky and held them as hostages till arrangements were made for exchange. Every- where the family were held as prisoners in Louisville, Cincinnati and Baltimore, they found friends and sym- pathizers with the Confederacy who gave them aid and alleviated the condition of their confinement. Later the family were confined in Fortress Monroe awaiting ex- change. President Davis made every arrangement that General Vaughn's family be received and cared for by the exchange commissioners Major Ould, and Captain Hatch, and also in Richmond until joined by General Vaughn.
After the Civil War General Vaughn, following the example of the Inmans and R. T. Wilson, formerly of Loudon, and many other East Tennesseans moved to New York City to go into business. Some of the East Tennesseans who went there were eminently success- ful, and became very wealthy; but General Vaughn was more fitted for work in the open with the musket and the sword, than to contend for commercial supremacy among the trained business men of Wall Street; he knew nothing of their methods.
Soon after the death of his wife in 1869, he returned to Tennessee. Being very popular he engaged in pol- itics. He received the democratic nomination for sen- ator in 1871 from the Seventh Senatorial District: com- prising the counties of Meigs, McMinn, Polk and Mon- roe. He was elected by a large majority and became senator from this district in the Thirty-seventh General Assembly of the state, which began its session in Nash- ville, October 1, 1871. Although he had never been leg- islator before he was elected speaker of the senate. He probably could have gotten almost any office he sought in the political field but about this time he was married a second time to Miss Florence Jones, of Thomasville, Ga., and settled there. He preferred the quiet of a plan- ter's life to the scramble for office.
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As a military commander his bravery was unques- tioned, he was almost too fearless. He preferred to lead rather than direct. He considered it was his business to fight the enemy wherever he met them. General For- rest's motto was "To get there first with the most men." General Vaughn did not seem to regard numbers; he rarely waited to see whether he or the enemy were the more numerous and the way he found out whether he could whip them or not was to fight.
In the various offices and positions he held he was actuated by a high sense of duty and love of his country and his fellowman. Of him it might be said slightly changing the phraseology of a Confederate comman- der, "he seen his duty and he done his damndest." He, himself, was modest and would have been far from saying anything of the kind. He was intensely reverent in his turn of mind as shown by his letters from Mexico and during the Civil War.
He was a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, but toward the last of his life he belonged to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. He was one of the few born leaders of men. He never had the slight- est trouble in arresting a criminal, or being obeyed by those under him.
Before he returned from the Civil War many rough characters who wanted to make themselves conspicuous made their threats of what they would do if he ever came in their neighborhoods. After he returned, he having heard of these threats, seemed to take pleasure in meet- ing these very fellows alone, and probably unarmed. He was never insulted and the very ones who had threat- ened him were the first ones to welcome him. They probably voted for him when he ran for office.
These Jacksonian qualities of the eagle eye and daunt- less personality overawed them. They forgot he was the man they had started out to humiliate. The chil- dren of General and Nancy Vaughn were:
Margaret, b. 1848. Died in 1873. Married Timothy Gibson, of Athens, Tenn., at Thomasville, Ga., Septem- ber, 1866. They then lived four years in Bainbridge, Ga., coming back to Athens, Tenn., in 1871. He was born in Gerard County, Ky., April 30, 1834. Was one of a family of fifteen children, he being the seventh.
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His father, the Rev. Elias Gibson, came to Columbus, on the Hiwassee River in 1844. Margaret and Timothy Gibson had one child, Mary Lua, who was born at Bain- bridge, Ga., on December 5, 1867. She married the Hon. W. B. Miller, at Athens, Tenn., who is a noted lawyer of Chattanooga, residing on Lookout Mountain. They are the parents of four children, two living and two dead; the living (1916) are Burkett Miller, practising law in Chattanooga, and Vaughn Miller, studying law at Harvard College.
The second daughter of General Vaughn was Lua, who married W. M. Nixon, formerly of Ohio. They re- sided in Athens, Tenn., until 1895, when they moved to Atlanta, Ga. He is president of the Atlanta Woolen Mills. Their son, Vaughn, was born September 14, 1878. Mrs. Nixon died December 23, 1914.
Mary Vaughn was born March 6, 1855. She married Frank B. McElwee of McMinn County. He was born in Meigs County on March 12, 1844. He was the son of Thomas B. McElwee. He was a manufacturer of cotton yarns. He resides (1915) in California-post- office, Stockton. Mrs. McElwee died at Athens, Tenn., on July 30, 1891. Their children were:
1. Lua, born February 16, 1878.
2. Florence, b. March 31, 1879. Died March 5, 1903.
3. Mattie, b. October 16, 1880; d. February 5, 1904.
4. Mary, b. August 25, 1885.
5. Frank, b. April 4, 1882.
6. Vaughn, b. October 6, 1883. He is a civil engineer at Los Angeles, and is unmarried.
7. Thomas, b. June 19, 1888. Married Martha Mar- tinke, at Los Angeles January, 1915.
1. Lua McElwee married Charles D. Chandler, of Rockford, Tenn., December 28, 1898, now (1915) a mer- chant at Maryville. One daughter, Margaret McElwee Chandler, b. January 30, 1901.
3. Mattie McElwee married John L. Anderson Jan- uary, 1898. Their children are:
Mildred M., b. March, 1899. .
Larnard, b. November, 1900.
Thomas, b. May, 1903.
5. Frank McElwee is in the real estate business at San Diego, Cal.
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4. Mary McElwee married C. P. Griggs, of Stockton, Cal., on October 20, 1906. He died March 6, 1913. She lives at Manteca, Cal. They had one daughter, Mamie, b. July 12, 1907.
General Vaughn's second wife was Florence Jones, of Thomasville, Ga., whom he married in 1871. One daugh- ter, Mrs. E. A. Armand. Mrs. Florence Vaughn died at Savannah, Ga., in 1890.
General Vaughn died on plantation near Thomasville, Ga., on -, 187 --.
THOMAS L. UPTON.
Three brothers, William A .. Thomas L., and Joseph Upton, came from Blount to Monroe County. William A. settled on Four Mile Branch, Dr. Joseph Upton in Madisonville, and Thomas L. in Sweetwater Valley. The latter resided in the old Sliger house where I. T. Lenoir afterwards lived. He moved from there to what was afterwards known as the Upton place on Pond Creek, one mile from the Cumberland Presbyterian camp ground.
On the 24th of February, 1854, he conveyed to I. T. Lenoir, for the consideration of $2,000, the northwest quarter of section 11, township 3, range 1, east, to which deed Jno. C. Vaughn and N. W. Haun were the subscrib- ing witnesses. Thomas Upton's wife was Anne Year- ont. Their children were:
1. Bettie ; 2. Thomas L .; 3. William A., and 4. Nancy.
Bettie married James Blair, who was a physician in Sweetwater in the first beginning of the town. They had several children, number not known to me, but the oldest one was named Annie, and younger than she were twin girls, one named Inez. About the beginning of the Civil War he moved to Corsicana, and then to Hender- son, Rusk County, Texas.
William A. married Mrs. Ballard of Pond Creek, who was the daughter of Reps Jones. Some time in the eighties she came to Sweetwater and he went to Texas. For some time she was proprietress of the Up- ton Inn, now the Hyatt Hotel. Their children were: Byrd, Thomas, William and Mamie.
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Nancy Upton, fourth child of Thomas L. and Anne Upton, married Robert, son of J. D. Jones (whom see). David Caldwell married Yearout. He was a farmer and lived on a farm adjoining Thomas Upton. They had one daughter, Bettie, who married Charles H. Jones, son of Reps Jones. Helen Graham, whose mother was also a Yearout, resided with Mr. Caldwell. She married Charles Cannon of Sweetwater (whom see).
HON. JOSEPH WALKER.
He was the third son and sixth child of Joseph and Mary Howard Walker, who were married in 1797. Jos- eph Walker, Sr., moved to this county perhaps in the late twenties and settled in Fork Creek Valley, the old home- stead being on the west side of the creek in the meadow between what is now the Vineyard farm and the old Kile place. Here they reared a large family, one of their children dying in childhood. The children were:
1. Elizabeth Caroline, m. Nicholas Vineyard.
2. Caswell Lincoln, moved to Georgia.
3. David Perkins, was a farmer living in Fork Creek Valley.
4. Nancy, m. James Harvey Johnston. They lived on a farm, now the Howard place, three miles southeast of Sweetwater.
5. Sarah, m. Cunningham.
6. Joseph, b. in Grainger County, September 10, 1813.
7. Nicholas Grant.
8. John Horn, d. on the plains en route to California, August 22, 1849.
9. Stirling Creed, d. when a child.
10. Mary Anna, m. Colonel John A. Rowan.
The family largely settled about the father's home and at one time the sons and sons-in-law owned ยท con- tiguous farms from Christiansburg church to the Davy Walker farm near Glenloch.
Joseph, the sixth child of Mary and Joseph Walker, Sr., was three times married.
First to Caroline Cleveland, daughter of Rev. Eli Cleveland on March 1, 1838, Robert Snead, M. G. She died August 28, 1840.
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Second, he married on July 22, 1845, Elizabeth Jane Prater, R. Snead, M. G. She died on January 14, 1846.
Third, he married Lodusky Jones, the sister of Joseph D. and Jesse Jones, on February 2, 1848, the Rev. R. Snead again officiating. Her death occurred on Sep- tember 25, 1875.
Mr. Walker was a member of the Baptist church and of the F. A. Masons. Like a great many of the old line whigs he was a Union man and opposed to secession until the state voted to secede and then he cast his lot with the state. In August, 1861, he was elected repre- sentative from Monroe County to the General Assem- bly, and was a member of Governor Harris' Legislature at the time it left Nashville, because of the occupation of that part of the state by Federal troops. Mr. Walker was noted in his community for the generous help to young men starting for themselves in life. A few years ago when Squire William Sample died, in tribute to his memory, his son wrote how his father's early start in life had been due to Mr. Walker's help, in tools, farming implements and opportunities secured by the latter's aid.
Joseph Walker left four daughters, all children of his last wife. These daughters have all been teachers.
(1) Mary Caroline, m. J. Harrison Lowry August 16, 1871. They lived at the old homestead on Fork Creek until 1882 when they came to Sweetwater. He has been a merchant, traveling man and recorder of Sweetwater in turn. He is a Presbyterian and she a Baptist. Mrs. Lowry has been a teacher in the public schools of Sweet- water since 1895 and still is in 1916. J. Harrison Lowry died on September 25, 1916. Their children are :
Carl Jones, b. January 29, 1875; m. Helen Gardner, of Charleston, S. C., October 1, 1905. They have one son, Carl J., Jr., b. September 5, 1907. Carl J., Sr., is now (1916) an accountant in the railway office at Hat- tiesburg, Miss.
Cleveland Morton, b. October 31, 1881; m. Schiller Ferguson in 1908. He is a railway clerk at Hattiesburg, Miss.
Helen, is a music teacher.
Emmett Ramsey, b. April 11, 1885, is a railway clerk
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at Meridian, Miss. He married Pearl Ten, of Mobile, Miss., on January 29, 1913.
(2) Elizabeth Jane, second daughter of Joseph and Lodusky Walker, was born on Fork Creek. She taught in country, near Philadelphia, until she went to Chi- cago in 1882. She graduated in Colonel Francis A. Parker's Cook County Normal. She then taught twenty- four years in the public schools of Chicago, where she now (1916) lives.
(3) Emma Alice, was born in Fork Creek Valley. She was teacher at Dallas, Texas, from 1882 until June 1, 1904, when she married Colonel Joseph F. Swords. He resides at Dallas.
(4) Laura Eugenia, b. on Fork Creek. She moved to Dallas, Texas, where she taught some years in the city schools. She is now (1916), and has been for ten years, Sunday-school visitor and pastor's assistant in the First Baptist Church of Dallas, of which the Rev. George Truett is pastor.
S. Y. B. WILLIAMS.
Information not known to the writer was obtained mostly from Taylor Williams at Chattanooga, Tenn.
Subject of this sketch was born in Madisonville, Tenn., March 30, 1830. His father was William Williams of Madisonville, one of the first settlers of that town. His mother was Polly Cline, a cousin of Jacob Cline who lived near Loudon, Tenn.
When but a boy he went to Reagans and clerked for J. A. and C. W. Coffin.
When Sweetwater began to be a town, this store was moved here, and he became a partner of J. A. Coffin. At different times he was in partnership with J. A. Wright, A. C. Humphreys, W. H. Taylor.
During the Civil War he purchased from James A. Wright a farm one and a half miles from Sweetwater, now the Kilpatrick farm, which he afterwards sold to Isaac Benson. During the latter part of the Civil War he acted as agent for the East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad at Sweetwater.
After the Civil War he went to Knoxville and was .
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chief clerk of the East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad; after the consolidation of this road with the East Ten- nessee and Virginia Railroad, he was sent to Bristol in the same capacity. Later he was made general agent, which place he filled for nearly twenty years. After he left Bristol and the railroad employment he went to Chattanooga and engaged in wholesale and retail coal business ; this he carried on there until his death, which occurred January 19, 1908. He was buried in Forest Hill Cemetery.
He was a member of the Presbyterian church and a Ma- son. He was universally popular and was a fine busi- ness man. He did much in the early days to build up the trade of Sweetwater. He was a liberal giver to all benevolent purposes.
He was twice married, first to Mary L. Jones, daugh- ter of J. D. Jones, of Philadelphia, on October 30, 1856. She lived only a few years. They had one son, Charles Williams, who died when a young man.
His second wife was Barbara Bogart, daughter of Solomon Bogart, also of Philadelphia. They were mar- ried in February, 1860. She died July 22, 1866, at the age of 29 years and 9 months. She was the mother of three children who all died in infancy.
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