USA > Virginia > Augusta County > Augusta County > Annals of Augusta County, Virginia, with reminiscences illustrative of the vicissitudes of its pioneer settlers (A Supplement) > Part 23
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Our last extract is from Wirt's last letter in camp, dated Sep- tember 28: "The Blues at Montpelier are suffering much from sickness. Murphy, your brother John " [Gamble] " and his friend Blair are all down. The other companies are almost unoffi- cered-the men very sickly. I strongly suspect that if we are kept much longer hovering over these marshes, our soldiers will fall like the grass that now covers them. We hope to be ordered in a few days to Richmond. It is believed on every hand that the British, with their mutinous and deserting troops, will not at- tempt a march on Richmond through the many defiles, swamps, thickets and forests that line the road, where, besides the abun - dant opportunities for desertion, nature has formed so many covers for our riflemen and infantry."
"This little piece of history," says Wirt's biographer, "is a faithful transcript of some of the most characteristic incidents of militia warfare in nearly all the service of the war of 1812." [Kennedy's Memoir of William Wirt, Vol. I, pages 335-6-7 and 8.]
The privations during the war of 1812 were similar to those experienced in the late war. The mothers of our community were wont to tell how the price of common calico went up to a dollar a yard, and how at their tea-parties they had no tea and no cake, because sugar could not be obtained.
Peace was proclaimed by the president of the United States on the 18th of February, 1815, and was received with universal joy. People of all parties united in bonfires, illuminations, and every manifestation of delight. The victory at New Orleans on
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the 8th of January was some compensation for the disasters of the early period of the war, and gave a feeling of triumph at its close. Dr. John K. Moore, afterwards for many years a citizen of the county, was present at that battle, but he then resided in Tennessee.
For many years there were two relics of the war left at Staun- ton. Captain Sowers's field pieces-six pounders-remained here until long after the gun-carriages had rotted away, but the town boys managed to load and discharge them every Fourth of July and Christmas day. It was not uncommon to find, just when the guns were required for action, that the enemy, in the shape of some mischievous urchin, had driven nails into the touch holes. The spikes were withdrawn, however, whatever the labor might be, just as the pieces were shifted from Garber's Hill to Green Hill, whenever the occasion made a change of po- sition necessary. At length an extremely particular governor came into office, and by his order the guns were seized and taken to the State arsenal at Lexington. Many old Staunton boys must remember our feelings of bereavement and indignation at the ruthless act. But there was no help for it. Staunton was left defenceless, as far as artillery was concerned, and from that day there has been here hardly any observance of the Fourth of July.
By the year 1815, many of the elements of wealth in the county had increased very considerably, compared with 1800. Some of the statistics of that time strike us now as rather curi- ous. In the year 1802 property in the town of Staunton was separately assessed for taxation for the first time, but the follow- ing figures of 1815 embrace the town as well as the two country revenue districts. The number of horses was 7,544; cattle, 17,987 ; ice-houses, 10 ; carpets over $20 in value, 19 ; cut-glass decanters, 102 ; pianos, 17; Venetian blinds, 23; two-wheeled riding carriages, 50; and four-wheeled riding carriages, 13. There were five four-wheeled riding carriages in the first revenue district of the county, and the aristocratic owners of these vehi- cles were William Black, Sr., Rev. William Calhoon, Mrs. Nancy Kinney, James McNutt, and Edward Valentine. In the next year John McDowell appears as the owner of a " phæton." The owners of carriages and chairs (gigs) in the second district, the same year (1816), were Joseph Bell, Sr., Joseph Bell, Jr., Andrew Barry, Charles Dickenson, James A. Frazier, David
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Golladay, John Harman, Peter Hanger, John Lawrence, James Marshall, and Rev. John McCue.
The number of merchants in Staunton in 1815 was thirteen, and the number of ordinaries, five.
The lawyers at the same time were Briscoe G. Baldwin, James Crawford, Samuel Clarke, William Clarke, Chapman Johnson, William Kinney, Jr., John H. Peyton, and Lyttleton Waddell. The town doctors were William Boys, Thomas Clarke, Edmund Edrington, William King, George C. McIn- tosh, and Addison Waddell. The country doctors who paid license tax were James Allen and James Wilson.
We anticipate our narrative so far as to give some of the sta- tistics of 1883, for the sake of comparison with the foregoing. The following figures embrace the whole county, including Staun- ton : In the year 1883, the number of horses, mules, etc., was 8,688; cattle, 19,359 ; carriages of all descriptions, wagons, and carts, 4,432, and the value of pianos, organs, etc., as assessed for taxation, was $41,359. The first cost of the musical instru- ments was probably $80,000 to $90,000.
For some time after the war the country enjoyed "flush times." Property of all kinds was readily salable at high prices, and every interest seemed to prosper. Political animosities were allayed. It was the "era of good feeling," when, it was said, "all were Federalists and all Republicans." A fall in prices and depression in trade came in due time.
In 1816 quite an imposing convention met in Staunton. The object was to devise measures for obtaining a State convention to amend the Constitution. Every county was entitled to two delegates, but only thirty-five were represented in the Staunton convention. It was called, doubtless, in the manner of the po- litical conventions of the present day, but appeared to regard itself as clothed with higher authority than such bodies now assume. Among the members were William F. Gordon, of Al- bemarle; General Porterfield and Chapman Johnson, of Au- gusta ; General Blackburn, of Bath; James. Breckenridge and Allen Taylor, of Botetourt; James Marshall, of Brooke ; Wil- liam H. Fitzhugh, of Fairfax ; Henry St. G. Tucker, of Fred- erick; James Pindall, of Harrison; William C. Rives, of Nelson; George Tucker, of Pittsylvania, &c., &c.
General Breckenridge was elected president and Erasmus
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Stribling secretary, John Clarke was appointed door-keeper, and Henry Cease and Michael Forbes assistants.
The convention met Monday, August 19th, and sat from day to day for a week, not adjourning finally till Saturday, the 24th. Its proceedings were conducted with all the formalities of a legally .. constituted assembly. The contingent expenses were defrayed by the people of Staunton.
The particular matter complained of at that time was the basis of representation in the Legislature. A memorial was adopted by a vote of 61 to 7 in favor of a State convention to amend the Constitution. The memorial stated that the country west of the Blue Ridge, containing a white population of 212,036; had only four senators, while the district on tide-water, containing a white population of only 162,717, had thirteen senators.
A protest against the action of the convention, presented by Mr. Johnson and signed by six of the minority, was ordered to be spread upon the journal. The minority objected to the action of the convention only because it proposed to open the way for a general revision of the Constitution, while they wished an amendment only in respect to the basis of representation. Gen - eral Blackburn was one of the minority, but did not sign the pro- test. The contest between "white basis" and " mixed basis" (counting negroes as well as whites) was not settled till 1850.
From 1816 to 1824-'5, nothing of interest occurred in the his- tory of the county. Farmers delved, lawyers and doctors pur- sued their professions, mechanics toiled, and the ministers of religion were faithful to their calling.
In the year 1818, the Rev. John McCue, who had filled a large space in the county, was thrown from his horse and killed one Sabbath morning, while on his way to Tinkling Spring church.
Dr. Ruffner, in his History of Washington College, alluding to Mr. McCue, says : "He was a good man. When he chose- which was not often-he could tell comic stories in a manner irre- sistibly ludicrous." 49
49 Mr. McCue's sons were James A., John, and Franklin, long promi- nent citizens of Augusta; Dr. William McCue, of Lexington, and Cyrus, a lawyer, who died young. His daughters were Mrs. Mathews, Mrs. Porterfield, Mrs. Barry, Mrs. McDowell and Mrs. Miller. Major Moses McCue was a brother of the minister, and father of Moses H. McCue, the first sheriff under the Constitution of 1850.
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In or about the same year (1818) the Presbyterians of Staunton erected their first church building. The Methodists had long before had a church of their own. The Episcopalians, about 1811, re-occupied the old parish church, but had no regular rector till 1820, when the Rev. Dr. Stephens located here. For some fourteen or fifteen years the parish church was occupied by Epis- copalians and Presbyterians on alternate Sundays.
During the time alluded to above, and for long afterward, the Presbyterian congregations of the county were served by a num- ber of able and venerable ministers, such as are seldom found in close proximity. We can do little more than name some of them.
The Rev. William Calhoon came to the county in 1805, and till 1823 was pastor of the united congregations of Staunton and Hebron. Afterward, for many years, he was pastor of Hebron alone.
The Rev. Conrad Speece, D. D., a native of Campbell county, was pastor of Augusta church from 1813 to 1836. He cultivated general literature and wrote on a variety of subjects. He was eminent as a preacher, a public-spirited citizen, and no mean poet. The hymn beginning, "Blest Jesus, when thy cross I view," found in most church collections, was written by him.50
The Rev. Jobn Hendren, D. D., pastor of Mossy Creek and Union churches, was born in Ireland, but reared and educated in Lexington. He conducted a classical school at his residence in this county for many years, of wide-spread reputation, at which many prominent men were educated.
50 The first school Conrad Speece attended when a boy was the New London Academy. At first he could not understand the Latin gram- mar, complaining to his teacher (Mr. Edward Graham) that he could never learn "that thing." Soon, however, he showed great aptness at acquiring knowledge. From New London he went to Lexington, and graduated there in 1796. After acting as tutor at Lexington for a year and a half, he studied theology, and was licensed as a preacher by Han- over Presbytery. In the course of time Princeton College conferred upon him the degree of D. D. He chewed tobacco excessively, even sleeping with a quid in his mouth. His figure was tall, heavy and ungraceful, and his clothes, always much too large for his hurly frame, hung loosely on him. His voice was loud, deep and unmusical. He was very socia- ble, and full of droll humor and curious phrases. While a most able and interesting speaker, he did not excel as a prose writer. He never married.
..
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The Rev. Francis McFarland, D. D., pastor of Bethel church, was also a native of Ireland, reared and educated in Western Pennsylvania.
The Rev. James C. Wilson, D. D., pastor of Tinkling Spring and Waynesborough, was a native of Rockbridge county.
All the ministers named were buried in the fields of their labor. Other denominations had ministers who were men of mark and influence, but none of them remained here long enough to be- come identified with the county.
The Rev. John A. Van Lear, a native of the county, was for some years pastor of Mossy Creek church, and a cotemporary of several of the ministers just named.
In 1823 Kenton Harper, a young printer from Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, bought the establishment of Isaac Collett, and converted the Republican Farmer into the Staunton Spectator, which he continued to publish until 1849. Some time before the arrival of Harper, Thomas J. Michie settled here to practice law, and in the course of time became widely known.
On March 8, 1824, the Legislature passed an act chartering the "Staunton and James River Turnpike Company," with a capital of $200,000, for the construction of a turnpike from Staun- ton to Scottsville, in Albemarle. The company was formed, and the road was made in due time. This was the first graded road in the county, and was doubtless a valuable improvement. Pre- viously, Augusta farmers wagoned their produce to Richmond,
the trip requiring at least two weeks. Now Scottsville became the market town, and for a large part of every year the road lead- ing to it was lined with Augusta wagons. The trip was short- ened, and time was therefore saved; but the labor was hardly less than before. The road, especially in Albemarle, was often impassable, being cut into deep ruts by the wagons after every rain; and sometimes being through its whole extent a "Slough of Despond." The broken parts of wagons scattered along the route were like the debris of a battlefield. Over this road, or not at all, the Augusta farmer transported his flour, etc., to market. In order to concentrate the product, and aid trans- portation, much grain was sent to market in the shape of whis- key. The "Temperance Reformation " had not then arisen, and there was a distillery on nearly every large farm in the county.
The wagons used for transporting produce to market have
16
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almost gone out of fashion, at least in this section of country, and a brief description of them is appropriate here. The "running gear " was very strong and heavy. The body was shaped some- what like a boat, higher at the bow and stern than "mid-ship," and was spanned by hickory bows for supporting the covering of coarse canvas. An "end-gate" at the stern could be taken off for loading and unloading. The feed-trough was swung at the stern, and when in use was supported on the tongue by a simple arrangement. Every wagon was drawn by not less than four horses, and often six were employed, the horses being arranged two abreast. There was hardly any limit to the capa- city of the wagon-body, and the loading was regulated by the strength of the horses and the condition of the roads. With good roads four horses were required to draw " forty hundred" pounds, including forage for the trip, and six horses "sixty hun- dred" pounds. The usual load for four horses was about sixteen barrels of flour (three thousand four hundred and twenty-four pounds). A train of these wagons, from five to twenty in a line, creeping along a public road, the white canvas covers conspicu- ous at a distance, was always an interesting spectacle. The teamsters made themselves as jolly as possible around their camp- fires at night, and on the road many of them betrayed much pride in their horses and equipments. The sight of one of the Kellers of Augusta, driving his team through the streets of Rich- mond, as most of our farmers did, suggested to St. Leger Carter, a member of the Legislature, his lines called "The Mountain Wagoner." The first stanza is as follows :
I've often thought if I were asked Whose lot I envied most, Which one I thought mostly lightly tasked Of man's unnumbered host; I'd say I'd be a mountain boy, And drive a noble team-Wo hoy!
Wo hoy ! I'd cry, and lightly fly Into my saddle seat ; My rein I'd slack, my whip I'd crack, What music is so sweet?
But the life of the wagoner was not without its temptations, as well as hardships. The undue use of liquor often caused trouble. Dr. Speece was accustomed to say that some men who were
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staid church-members at home, left their religion on the Blue Ridge when they went east with their produce.
In the year 1825, January 22d, the Legislature passed an act establishing the Western Lunatic Asylum. Five commissioners were appointed to select the site, General B. G. Baldwin being one of them, and after considering other places, the asylum was finally located at Staunton. The act provided for only four acres of land, and restricted the expenditure for land and build- ings to $10,000. A further appropriation was made in 1827. As stated heretofore, the first physician was Dr. William Boys; but during his term of service the appropriations were small, and the asylum was kept on a very moderate scale. Afterward the Legis- lature became more liberal, and during the incumbency of Dr. F. T. Stribling 51 as superintendent, the institution was greatly enlarged and improved.
One improvement generally leads to another ; and the Scotts- ville turnpike having been made, the people thought it desirable to extend the road westward. Accordingly, in 1827, an act of the Legislature was procured authorizing a company to raise $50,000 by lottery to construct a road from Staunton "to the State road between the waters of the James and Kanawha rivers." L. L. Stevenson and James Points were the agents of the com- pany for conducting the lottery. Such schemes are now wisely prohibited by law, but the country had not then waked up to the evils attending them. Some years earlier a lottery was an- nounced in Staunton, to be superintended by two Presbyterian elders, who, before they died, considered the lottery a deadly sin. The road was made only from Staunton to Buffalo Gap, and those ten miles afterward became a part of the Staunton and Parkersburg turnpike.
On October 5, 1829, a convention of delegates to revise the State Constitution, assembled in Richmond. The delegates were elected by districts, and those from the district including Au- gusta were Chapman Johnson, Briscoe G. Baldwin, Samuel McD. Moore and William McCoy. Mr. Johnson had then removed to Richmond, but during his life he was identified with Augusta
51 Dr. Francis T. Stribling was born in Staunton, January 20, 1810. As Superintendent of the Western Lunatic Asylum for many years, he became widely known and highly distinguished. He died July 23, 1874.
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county. The convention adjourned January 15, 1830, and the new Constitution was afterward ratified by the vote of the people. The right of suffrage was extended to housekeepers and heads of families who had duly paid their taxes, but the number of voters was not thereby greatly increased.
The Constitution of 1829-'30, made another change in the judiciary system of the State. The district courts of chancery were abolished, and law and chancery jurisdiction were vested in the same judge. The first session of the " Circuit Superior Court of law and chancery for Augusta county" was held May 20, 1831, Judge Lucas P. Thompson, of Amherst county, presiding. John H. Peyton was appointed prosecuting attorney (which office he had previously held), and Nicholas C. Kinney clerk. Samuel Clarke and Thomas J. Michie were appointed commissioners in chancery. Judge Thompson removed to Staunton some ten years after his elevation to the bench, and spent the remainder of his life here.
The Harrisonburg and Warm Springs Turnpike Company was chartered by the Legislature January 29, 1830. This road passes through the northwest part of Augusta, and the charter provided that it should pass through Jennings's Gap and by Miller's iron works. By some means, however, Jennings's Gap was left out of the line of improvement.
The subjects which chiefly interested the people of Augusta in 1831, were the proposed Valley railroad and the abolition of slavery.
The agitation in regard to the railroad was kept up for several years, and, in 1836, was vigorously renewed, but the scheme came to naught.
The people of the county seem to have been ripe, in 1831-'32, for the gradual abolition of slavery. John McCue, one of the delegates from Augusta, presented a memorial to the Legislature in December, 1831, signed by two hundred and fifteen ladies, praying for emancipation. Similar petitions, numerously signed, were gotten up in the county. In presenting the memorial of the ladies, Mr. McCue delivered a vigorous speech in opposition to slavery. The contrary sentiment prevailed in the State; but at the next election, April court-day, 1832, John McCue was returned to the Legislature from Augusta. His colleague was Thomas Jefferson Stuart.
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The institution of slavery never had a strong hold upon the people of Augusta. The Scotch-Irish race had no love for it, and the German people were generally averse to it. Most farmers cultivated their own lands with the assistance of their sons. In 1840, out of a total population of 19,628, the number of slaves in the county was 4,135. In 1860, the last census year before emancipation, the number of negroes, slave and free, was 6,202, while the total population was 27,749. The institution, as it existed in the county, was as mild and beneficent as possible. The slaves seemed contented and happy. Many privileges were granted to them here which were denied to those of the same class elsewhere. Every farmer who owned slaves had a head- man, who was next to his master in authority on the plantation. He wagoned the produce to market, sold it, and received the money, acting generally as confidential agent. The holidays and pastimes of the slaves were numerous and hilarious. A corn-shucking at night was an occasion to be enjoyed by partici- pants and spectators alike. Scores of hands attended from far and near, and a large crop of corn was usually shucked in a few hours. The work was enlivened by songs, and at the close there was a bountiful supper.
Early in 1832 politics were very lively in Augusta. The fol- lowers of Henry Clay took steps to bring him forward as a can- didate for the presidency. Among the active Clay men in the county were Judge Stuart and his sons, General Porterfield, Samuel Clarke, General Baldwin, the Kinneys, Waddells, Bells, Eskridges, Crawfords, McCues, Guys, Pattersons, Cochrans, Sowers, Michie, Harnsberger, and others. The supporters of General Jackson, though less numerous, were equally active. Among them were some who afterwards became Whigs, such as Mr. Peyton, W. W. Donaghe, Colonel Robertson, and Captain Sterrett. But some of those who proved life-long adherents to the Democratic party were then on hand in behalf of Old Hick- ory. A few of them were Michael Garber, John Randolph, William A. Abney, L. L. Stevenson, Lewis Harman, James Points, the Baylors and the Heiskells. Dr. Speece was a Jackson man, as far as he meddled in politics, and some of the other party sought to weaken his influence by attributing his partiality to the fact that Jackson was a Presbyterian. The Jackson men held a meeting February 8, 1832, and passed resolutions de-
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nouncing Clay and Calhoun for voting in the Senate to reject the nomination of Van Buren as minister to England "as a most disgraceful attempt to overthrow a patriotic rival."
General Jackson's route from the Hermitage to Washington was through Augusta, but he is said to have avoided Staunton because of the popular opposition to him here.
Colonel Robert Doak, a soldier of the Revolution, long a delegate in the Legislature from Augusta, a justice of the peace and high sheriff of the county, and elder in Bethel church, died March 12, 1832.
A political convention met in Staunton July 15, 1832, which was regarded as very imposing and influential. It was largely attended, by young men especially, from every part of the State. Charles James Faulkner, of Berkeley county, presided. The members called themselves "National Republicans." Resolu- tions offered by Lyttelton Waddell, of Augusta, recommending Mr. Clay for the presidency, were adopted.
Samuel Miller, of Augusta, was on the electoral ticket nomi- nated by the convention. Smith Thompson was door-keeper of the convention, with George D. Lancaster, David Brown, Wil- liam Carroll and Jacob Carroll as assistants.
General Jackson, then president, lodged at Waynesborough Friday night, July 27th, on his way to Tennessee. As usual, he avoided Staunton. His custom was to arrange his trips so as to spend a. Sunday at Lexington. He always attended church, and was particular to sit in the pew of James McDowell, afterwards the governor.
Mr. Clay, on his way to Kentucky, arrived in Staunton Sun- day evening, July 29th, and, remaining till noon on Monday, was called upon by many citizens. At the presidential election in November he was defeated, General Jackson being elected a second time.
The venerable Judge Stuart died in 1832. When quite a young man, he was elected Professor of Mathematics in William and Mary College, but declined the position. He was one of three commissioners appointed by the Legislature to run the dividing line between Virginia and Kentucky. From 1808 to 1828, inclusive, on six occasions, he acted as presidential elec- tor. As a judge, he maintained much of the ancient etiquette in the court-room. At the beginning of his judicial service, it was
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