USA > Virginia > Albemarle County > Albemarle County > Albemarle County in Virginia; giving some account of what it was by nature, of what it was made by man, and of some of the men who made it > Part 10
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Besides the public buildings referred to above, Charlottes- ville had at that time a market house. In October 1829, Opie Norris advertised the "old" structure of that name for sale, and required the removal of all the materials from the ground. Its site was on Market Street immediately east of Third. Soon after the war another edifice of the kind was taken down at the west end of Market Street; whether it was erected just after the demolition of the first is not known.
It was an advanced period in the history of the county before banking facilities were enjoyed. In the earlier years when a business man wished to remit money in the long in- tervals of a payment in person, it was a common practice to cut in two a bank note of high denomination, and send a half by mail, and when the receipt of that was acknowledged, to send the other half. In one instance this mode of reniit - tance led to an unhappy episode in the life of one of the citizens.
In 1820 Solomon Ballou advertised to run a hack to and from Richinond once a week, leaving Charlottesville on Wed- nesdays at the tavern of G. W. Kinsolving, and Richmond on
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Saturdays at Saunder's Tavern. His design was to trans- port passengers, and also to carry the mails. Sometime after Opie Norris in the course of business sent the half of a fifty dollar note to a correspondent in Richmond. Hearing nothing in reply, he had the other half mailed from Nelson County to go by a different route, accompanied with the explanation that he had already sent the first half. Assured that the latter had not been received, he had Ballou arrested and searched, and the missing piece was found on his person. In consequence he was convicted of robbing the mail, and sent for a term of years to the penitentiary. What seemed a prosperous career, was thus brought to a sad end. Ballou was doubtless the son of a man of the same name, who in 1780 bought a large plantation between Ivy Creek and Mechum's River from Rev. William Woods. After his fall, Frank B. Dyer sold under a deed of trust Lot Twenty-Nine-the most easterly lot of the old town on the south side of Main Street -of which he was the owner; and in 1832, when his im - prisonment had probably ended, he and his wife Philadelphia sold to John Lee the south end of the lot on which the Perley Building stands.
It was still some time before a barking house was opened in the county. The first concern of the kind was founded during the decade of 1830. This was the Savings Bank of Charlottesville, of which John H. Bibb was Cashier, and which, when its business had grown to large proportions in later years, had its office in the building of the Monticello Bank. In the beginning of 1840, a branch of the Farmers' Bank of Virginia was located in Charlottesville, at first on the west side of the Square. John R. Jones, James W. Saunders and T. J. Randolph were its Presidents in succes - sion, William A. Bibb its Cashier, and Kemp Lowry and Edlow Bacon its Tellers. It was here the venerable John M. Godwin received his financial training, being connected with the bank during the whole of its existence. The present City Hall on the corner of Market and Fifth Streets, was erected for the prosecution of its business.
Shortly after the establishment of the Farmers' Bank, the
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Monticello Bank was commenced. Its place of business was the large edifice on the corner of Main and Fourth Streets, which was especially built for its use. N. H. Massie was its President, B. C. Flannagan its Cashier, and Alexander P. Abell its Teller.
All these institutions were permanently closed by the civil war. The one last mentioned had a somewhat romantic prolongation of its proceedings after the cessation of hostili - ties. When towards the termination of the war apprehen - sions were entertained of the Sheridan Raid, it was deemed advisable to remove the specie of the bank from its vaults. Protected by a detachment of the Provost Guard, several boxes of gold and silver coin were taken from the bank to the residence of B. C. Flannagan, now in the occupancy of Judge Lyon. The same night the bank officers, accom - panied by a friend and a negro in whom confidence was reposed, transported them across the country to the brow of the hill on the east side of Ivy Creek, near the point where it is crossed by the Whitehall Road. In the evidence detailed before the Court, a graphic description was given of the journey, made toilsome by their heavy burdens, amidst the gloom of the nocturnal darkness, over the face of the land unmarked by any object in the shape of enclosure or fence, all having been swept away by the ravages of the war. Reaching the place proposed, they hastily dug holes for the reception of the boxes. They found the ground frozen and stony, so that their work was difficult. They were likewise hampered by the fear, that the noise of their picks striking upon the rocks might attract the ears of some belated passen- ger. The result was that the boxes were partly buried in shallow excavations, and partly covered with leaves under the trunk of a fallen tree. After the return of peace it was discovered that the money buried in the earth was gone, while that concealed under the leaves remained undisturbed.
In searching the surrounding locality, an envolope was found addressed to George W. Bailey. Inquiry revealed the fact, that he and several friends had been fishing along Ivy Creek a few days before. Bailey was arrested, and no other
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evidence appearing at his examination, was discharged. He thereupon brought suit against B. C. Flannagan, who had procured his arrest. The case was tried at the October term of the Circuit Court in 1866, and excited intense interest in the community, both from the mysterious incidents involved, and from the brilliant array of legal talent on both sides. The jury came to the conclusion that the defendant had not acted unjustly or unreasonably.
After the war the Charlottesville National Bank was organized in place of the Monticello Bank, with the same officers. In 1867 the Farmers' and Merchants' Bank opened its doors on the north side of Main Street below Fifth, its President being John L. Cochran, and its Cashier John M. Godwin. About the same time the Virginia Loan & Trust Company was projected, but was not long after transformed into the Citizens' National Bank, under Doctor Henry How- ard as its President, and W. W. Flannagan as its Cashier. On the death of Doctor Howard in 1874, this institution was consolidated with the Charlottesville National Bank. In consequence of the financial panic which swept over the country in 1873, and of discounts granted beyond safe limits, both of the remaining banks collapsed, entailing upon the community no little loss, and causing a serious disturbance of its business. In the lack of banking facilities thus oc- casioned, the Albemarle Insurance Company, which was established in 1854, and had been managed with great profit, became a place of deposit in charge of John Wood Jr. ; but it shortly failed under the stringency of the times. To meet the requirements of trade, B. H. Brennan, who had recently come to the county from Buffalo, New York, opened a private bank, with his son Frederick, as Cashier, and Daniel Harmon, as Teller. It likewise suffered from adverse conditions, and soon succumbed.
At the close of this season of commercial disaster and gloom, the present monetary institutions, the People's Na - tional Bank, and the Bank of Albemarle, entered upon their career, and by careful and skilful supervision, it is believed, are fixed on firm foundations. .
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The Courts, besides discharging the ordinary routine of business committed to their charge, maintained a vigilant oversight of the morals of the people. Some of the former generations of the county appear to have been much more addicted to the vice of gambling than the present. It per - tained to the country as well as the town; and the gamesters, by resorting to the country taverns, frequently brought their hosts into the clutches of the law, as its prohibition was levelled at the place no less than the person. The magis- trates sought to repress the evil with a steady hand. In 1807 Ferrell Carr was presented before the County Court for this offence, and was bound over to abstinence. Joshua Grady, Daniel Farley and Henry Chiles were frequent transgressors. In 1812 Martin Thacker was held under bonds in the Circuit Court "to abstain from the infamous practice of gambling." In fact a large portion of the cases coming before Judge Stuart during his early occupancy of the bench, were tres- passes of this kind; and no doubt the rigid sternness with which he pursued the delinquents, greatly diminished their number, and the frequency of their misdeeds.
The Courts were also firmly resolute in keeping in check the impetuous spirits, that became unduly heated in the con- flicts of the bar, or the competitions of daily life. Not to cover great names with reproach, but to show that the most eminent are men of like passions with the mass of mankind, records of this nature may be recalled. Dabney Carr, "clarum et venerabile nomen," and George Poindexter were placed under bonds to keep the peace in 1801. So were John T. Hawkins and Richard Terrell the next year. Iu 1828 Charles A. Scott was bound over for a breach of the peace against Isaac A. Coles. In 1833 Thomas W. Gilmer and William C. Rives were obliged to give security to live peace- ably with each other, and the sum of one thousand dollars specified in their bonds indicated the sharpness of their con- tention. In this case Jolin Gilmer became surety for the former, Peter Meriwether for the latter, and James Clark for both. Alexander Rives was held under bonds in 1836 with Alexander Moseley, and in 1846 with Willis H. Woodley.
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In 1841 John S. Moon and Jesse L. Heiskell were placed under similar restraint; and so strained were the relations between the two, that the same year they were presented for attempting to fight a duel. Many instances happened in the past history of the county, in which these barbarous en - counters proceeded as far as design ; but fortunately through the vigilance of the magistrates, or the opportune interven- tion of the police, they were suffered to proceed no further. Among these was the case of the irrepressible Lewis T. Wig- fall in 1835, while a student of the University, and subse- quently a member of the United States Senate from Texas. For contempt of Court in 1850, a fine of fifty dollars was imposed on Roger A. Pryor, at that time a practitioner of the Albemarle bar.
At the October term of the Circuit Court in 1818, a pre- sentment of a different character took place. Andrew Hart Sr., Alexander Blain, William B. Harris, James Hart, An - drew Hart Jr., James Robinson Sr., Jesse Hamner and James Robinson Jr., were summoned to answer to the charge of the unlawful assembling of slaves, and teaching them at the Cove Meeting House, on the Sundays of September twenty - seventh and October fourth. This presentment was based on the information of Henry T. Harris, Isaac Hays Jr. , Wil- liam Suddarth and Samuel W. Martin. James Robinson, Pastor at the Cove, was also presented individually for words spoken in addressing the negroes. He was reported, 'on the information of Isaac Hays, Jr. alone, as having said, "You have been disappointed in your school, but do not be dis - heartened. Come and attend to me. I will instruct you, and I have no doubt that in fifteen or twenty years you will be as free as your masters." It is impossible now to obtain an exact knowledge of all the particulars of this case, as all the parties connected with it have long since passed from the land of the living, and a recollection of the faintest tinge as to the mere fact remains in the minds of their descendants. That there was a technical offence, cannot be gainsaid. Nor is it unlikely that some local excitement was aroused by the occurrence, as the language of Mr. Robinson, if he really
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uttered it, was inexcusably indiscreet. It happened too that James Robinson, the son, abused Elijah Brown, who was a Grand Juror in the case, for which he was summarily brought before the Judge and fined one hundred dollars ; though upon his poverty being proved it was reduced to fifty. But it may well be conjectured there were considerations of an extenuating nature. Mr. Robinson was probably in bad health, as he died within the next two years. He was himself a slave- holder. In 1834 two negroes belonging to his estate, were on account of age or disease exempted from taxation. Henry T. Harris was one of his elders, and William Suddarth per- haps one of his members, certainly a member of his congre - gation. No doubt these persons testified simply in obedience to their summons. But the strongest apology was the nature of the work in which the accused were engaged. Instruction from the word of God, even when given against the letter of the law, was an act which not only no Christian, but no re- flecting and right-thinking, mind would condemn. Every enlightened conscience would arise to speak in its behalf. At any rate such observant guardians of the law as Judge Stuart and John Howe Peyton permitted it quietly to drop. The case was continued for two or three terms, and then dismissed.
Near the latter part of 1822 a brutal murder was committed in the Ragged Mountains, not far from Taylor's Gap. A man named Hudson Sprouse killed Susan Sprouse, a woman nearly related to him by the ties of kindred. He was tried for the crime at the October term of the Circuit Court, 1823, and though defended by Rice Wood, Frank Dyer and V. W. Southall, was convicted of murder in the first degree. In the examination of persons summoned on the venire, as to whether they had formed opinions respecting the guilt of the accused, Abraham Wiant declared that he had formed a sub- stantial opinion on the subject. Judge Stuart · directed his enrollment as a juror, when he was peremptorily challenged by the prisoner's counsel. This order of the Judge was made the ground of an appeal, and the Court of Appeals, holding that a substantial opinion was tantamount to a decided opin-
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ion, granted a new trial. The prisoner being arraigned again at the October term 1824, it was found impossible to obtain a jury, the whole community appearing to have adjudged him guilty. The Judge immediately removed the case to Rockingham County, where he was tried on the nineteenth of the same month, and convicted. He was hanged at Harrison- burg on the tenth of the ensuing December, utterly hardened to his fate, and repelling every approach on the part of others. except towards a Mr. Best, who had made kind and ear- nest efforts to prepare him for his end. It ought not to be questioned that the Court above acted, as they were obliged to act, according to the rules of law; but it can be as little questioned, that these are the proceedings that occasion the enforcement of Lynch law. It is difficult to see how, if the Legislature should make final a certificate of the Judge, that the accused had a fair, impartial trial, and was convicted on sufficient testimony, it would militate against the most scru - pulous dictates of justice, or in any way abridge the rights and safety of mankind.
Another shock was given the community in 1833 by a murder perpetrated on the person of Peter U. Ware. He was a tinner by trade, and had his shop on Fifth Street below the old Advocate office. He was a quiet, inoffensive man, and had only a year or two before been married to Elizabeth Mayo. In compliance with some call of convenience or busi- ness, he had gone to the Buck Island neighborhood, where he was assailed by two negroes, and killed, as was supposed, for the purpose of robbery. Circumstances of a suspicious kind led to the arrest of Peter, a servant of Isaialı Stout, and Leander, who belonged to Elizabeth Dean, and they were speedily brought to trial. Egbert R. Watson, who had been recently admitted to the bar, was assigned as their counsel, and put forth his maiden advocacy in their defence. They were however condemned, and in the following October exe - cuted on the hill above Schenk's Branch opposite Mudwall, which at that time had become the Gallows Hill of the town.
The most unhappy event in the history of the University occurred in November 1840. Some of the students had for a
-8
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time been participating in scenes of disorder, contrary to the regulations of the institution. In attempting to quell the disturbance one night, Prof. John A. G. Davis laid hold of a young man who was present, and who when seized turned upon the Professor and shot him. The wound proved fatal. Joseph G. Semmes, a student from Georgia, was arrested for the deed, and after arraignment before the examining Court was sent on for trial. At the succeeding May term of the Circuit Court, the case for some reason was continued. Efforts were then made to procure the liberation of the pris - oner on bail. Judge Lucas Thompson, who was then on the bench, positively refused to accede to the motion. Applica - tion was thereupon made to the General Court, and on receiving the testimony of Drs. Carter, Massie and James L. Jones as to the prisoner's ill health, bail was allowed in the sum of twenty five thousand dollars. Reuben Grigsby and B. F. Porter, of Rockbridge, and William Porter, of Orange, became sureties for his appearance in that amount. When the time for trial arrived, the prisoner failed to appear, and the bail was forfeited. The report was believed, that Semmes fled to Texas, and a few years after died.
An event happened in 1846, which was the occasion of much regret both in the community and at the University. A menagerie was holding its exhibition on the open space between the lot of Mrs. John Kelly and the Cemetery. One of its features consisted in a showman riding in a car drawn by a lion. The route to be traversed extended through two or three of the cages, the ends of which were opened and con- nected together. A rope was stretched a short distance in front to keep the spectators back, and an address given, exhorting them to the observance of quietness and silence during the performance. Just as it began, a student named John A. Glover, from Alabama, who was leaning against the rope, threw a lighted cigar at the animal between the bars of the cage. The performer, enraged by the reckless act, leaped from the cage, and seizing a tent pin struck Glover on the head, and felled him to the ground. Glover was taken up unconscious, and borne to the Farish House, where a day or
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two after he died. His remains were interred in the Univer- sity Cemetery, where a monument, erected by his fellow students, still commemorates his untimely end. The man who gave the blow, during the confusion that ensued, made his escape. George Nutter, a proprietor of the show, was arrested for murder, and sent on by the examining magis- trates. He was tried at the May term of the Circuit Court, and defended by Judges Watson and Rives; but the evi- dence produced failing to connect him with the fact, he was acquitted.
In March 1853 John S. Mosby, whose family at the time were residents of the county, shot George W. Turpin, the son of a tavern keeper in Charlottesville, in the course of an altercation; but his adversary, though severely injured, fortunately recovered. For the offence Mosby was prose - cuted. At that period Judge W. J. Robertson was Attorney for the Commonwealth, and Watson and Rives defended the accused. Mosby was convicted and sentenced to pay a fine of five hundred dollars, and to suffer imprisonment in the county jail for twelve months. During the term of his con - finement his counsel loaned him the necessary books, and he improved his enforced leisure by devoting himself to the study of law. Two years later he was admitted a member of the Albemarle bar. Shortly after he removed to Abingdon, where he was practising his profession when the civil war broke out, in which he was destined to achieve such brilliant renown.
The old Louisa Railroad, afterwards the Virginia Central, and now the Chesapeake and Ohio, was extended to Char - lottesville in 1848. The line was continued westward and reached Staunton in 1854. For some years while the tunnel through the Blue Ridge was in progress, trains were moved over the summit of the mountain on tracks laid in a zigzag manner, one of the most remarkable feats of civil engineer - ing ever accomplished. It was performed by Colonel Claude Crozet, formerly a professor in the Military Academy at West Point, and the distinguished engineer of the road. During the process of construction west of Mechum's River,
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the Colonel was presented by the Grand Jury for obstructing the Mountain Plains Road ; but no doubt because the incon- venience was temporary, and the benefit immeasurable and permanent, it was judged best not to push the matter to extremity.
The Orange and Alexandria Railroad, then the Washing - ton City, Virginia Midland and Great Southern, later the Richmond and Danville, and now the Southern, was opened between Charlottesville and Lynchburg during the war, in 1863. The link between Charlottesville and Orange C. H. became a line of travel in 1881. Before that time its trains were run over the Chesapeake and Ohio track between Gor- donsville and Charlottesville. By the intersection of these roads, Charlottesville is made a prominent railroad centre, with arms radiating to all the cardinal points of the compass.
For some time previous to the civil war, symptoms of uneasiness were apparent in the community. A man named Rood was tried in 1859 on the charge of conspiring against the Southern people, and endangering the safety and per- petuity of the Union. He was acquitted. Rumors that the negroes were plotting to rebel were circulated in various sec- tions of the county. Chapman, a servant of Mrs. Frances Estes, was apprehended, but no serious charge against him was substantiated. Patrolling parties were sent out more frequently, and were more vigilant in observing the state of things in every neighborhood. A person so sedate as Miss Rebecca Leitch was fined and bound over, for permitting her servant John to hire himself out according to his own pleas- ure. Owing to vague anticipations of evil, free negroes in some instances voluntarily subjected themselves to slavery, and made choice of masters. In this manner John Martin placed himself under the sheltering wing of J. E. Huckstep, Sachel Grayson of John Wood Jr., and Anderson Hutton of B. F. Abell. But notwithstanding all these disquieting tokens, a benignant Providence maintained peace between the people and their servants. In Albemarle, as generally throughout the South, the kindly relations between the races were manifested by the absence of any insubordination dur - ing all the trying circumstances that arose.
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Because of the demoralizing influences of the war, much more trouble was experienced from a certain class of white people. Numbers deserted from the army, and to evade the officers seeking their arrest, took refuge in the hollows and secluded places of the Blue Ridge. Sallying forth from time to time from their secret haunts for purposes of plunder, they became a terror to the neighboring districts. It is said that more than once the people were constrained to form them - selves into vigilance committees, to pursue these marauders into the mountains, and to make them the objects of their quiet but determined vengeance. During the last years in which hostilities continued, and those immediately succeed - ing, the courts were busy with prosecuting transgressors of this description. Indictments for larceny, assaults, obtaining property on false pretences and horse-stealing, were frequent, and indicated the vicious and depraved spirit which was rife.
As soon as the tocsin of war sounded, steps were at once taken to raise money and arm men for the conflict. At a special meeting of the County Court, it was proposed to authorize a levy of fifty thousand dollars for the purchase of arms. The Nineteenth Virginia was mainly formed of men enlisted within the bounds of the county. A large por - tion of the Second Virginia Cavalry consisted of Albemarle men. Many were scattered in other divisions of the army, especially the Forty-Sixth Virginia, of which R. T. W. Duke became Colonel. The older men were disposed into com- panies of Home Guards. The county authorities displayed their zeal in such important measures as procuring supplies of salt, and preventing the spread of smallpox and other contagious diseases. They answered the call of the general government in sending the servants of the county to perform work on the defences of Richmond. Three drafts for this purpose were made in 1862 and 1863, the first for five hun- dred and forty laborers, the second for two hundred, and the third for one hundred and ninety. In connection with the last draft, W. T. Early drew on himself the animadversion of the Court. He refused to comply with the order. He
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