USA > Virginia > Tazewell County > Tazewell County > History of the Settlement and Indian Wars of Tazewell County, Virginia: With a Map, Statistical. > Part 7
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SLAVERY IN TAZEWELL.
should co-operate with each other, and use their influence for the improvement of our schools, and the increase of the virtue and intelligence of our citizens."
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CHAPTER XI.
SLAVERY IN TAZEWELL.
DID my limits admit it, I should enter into a lengthy detail of this institution as it exists in this county. This institution has long been denounced by the northern presses, and generally, greatly misrepresented. It has been contended that the slaves of the south are barbarously treated, ill-fed, poorly clothed, worked hard, and kept in ignorance. These assertions are not true, and the every-day experience of any southern man, will bear me out in the declaration. True it is, that a few masters are tyrannical, but these are altogether "exceptions, and should not be looked on as a necessary feature of the institution. These calumnies have been heaped upon us by men, many of whom, have seen but few or no slaves, and are consequently ignorant of the real state of slavery in the south.
They have been borne with a patience, which at once portrays the magnanimity, and patriotic devotedness of southern men to the Union. A few irascible politicians have cried out dissolution and secession, but the feeling has never
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been general in the south, nor is it likely to be, if the general government continues to carry out the designs of the consti- tution. There are, it is known, many highly intellectual and virtuous citizens of the northern states, as well as many re- spectable presses, who discountenance this abuse .. It is generally the rabble, and foreigners, who keep up the excitement.
The insulting and degrading course of northern and western fanatics, has been the cause of introducing stricter discipline among the slaves. The ardent desires of aboli- tionists are thus rendered still more hopeless. Anti-slavery societies have, in a few instances, sent missionaries, under the guise of Christianity, to decoy off our slaves; and have sometimes been the means of causing the slaves to shed the blood of their masters, for which they will have to account in the day of general reckoning up. Were the people of the free states to come among us, and examine slavery as it really exists, they would no longer countenance the depreda- tions of their fellow citizens; which, if not stopped, must ulti- mately result in a dissolution of the bonds of union, sealed . by the blood of our fathers. Then civil war, and a total and merciless extermination of the African race, with all its dire consequences, would inevitably follow. Southern character has been mistaken by northern men; let them inform them- selves and assist us in our labors to make this nation, as it should be, the seat of freedom, industry, and religion. The slavery of the south, is infinitely preferable to the degrading, antirepublican slavery and bondage, and poverty, and misery
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of the north. Show me so great a slave as the northern fac- tory girl! Show me in the kitchen, or negro hut of the southern planter, the misery, and poverty, and hunger, which is to be met with among the poor widows, and orphans, and free negroes of the north ! Show me that southern master, who has ever refused his servant bread: for every one shown, I will show ten beggars in the streets of any northern city. But it is not my purpose to write a defense of this institution; I am, how- ever, to record facts, and such are these.
The first slaves brought to this county, were purchased by the early settlers, with ginseng. They have increased, and others have been brought from the eastern part of the state. This species of property has not, however, been found so valuable here, as in the cotton lands of the south. Hence it has been less sought after.
There were on the first of June, 1850, eleven hundred and sixteen colored persons in the county, of whom fifty-six were free negroes, leaving ten hundred and sixty slaves, worth about five hundred and thirty thousand dollars.
They are well clothed, have often as good houses as their masters, work no harder, and have the same fare. They are generally trusty, and jealous of their honor. They are acquainted with the leading movements in the political world, are moral, and many read ; few write, and their reading is mostly confined to the Bible. They converse well; have much tact and judgment, and often conduct the farming opera- tions. They are generous, kind, and seem much devoted to their masters. Such are the slaves of Tazewell county.
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And yet abolition societies send out men to persuade them to leave their homes of peace and plenty, where want and care are unknown, and make their way to free states, where they are really less respected, and where hunger, cold, and nakedness ever await them. To the northern fanatics I would say, as the great Master said: "Why beholdest thou . the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?"
CHAPTER XII. AGRICULTURE.
As I am writing for the information of the people of the county, most of whom are farmers, I trust I shall be for- given if I am apparently verbose on this most interesting of subjects. The historian, I believe, is an annalist, with the privilege of giving his own opinion upon matters of which he writes. Of this latter license I shall avail myself, and hope I shall not entirely fail to interest.
Since by the labors of the husbandman we all live, either directly or indirectly, and upon the productive energy of the soil does not only our own existence but that of every ani- mated creature upon the face of the earth depend, I shall not be accused of a stretch of the imagination, if I say, that man- kind could better afford to give up every art and science than
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AGRICULTURE.
that of tilling the soil. Nor is it in the power of any man to picture the distresses which would follow a single failure of the earth to " bring forth." Scarcely a man will be found who would deny the above inferences ; yet it will be equally as hard to find one who seems to appreciate the great ne- cessity of renovating the soil, and bestowing agricultural edu- cations upon her people.
I care not how viewed, whether in a political, religious, civil, useful, or physical light, all other arts are subservient to this ; and none so worthy of our attention. I verily be- lieve that the very existence and perpetuation of our Repub- lic depends upon the successful cultivation of the soil. There is a moralizing influence attending the labors of the farmer, to be found nowhere else. No occupation that has yet ap- peared or been followed among men, seems so well calculated to develop the mind, or foster the principles of virtue as this. In order to the successful cultivation of the ground, a gene- ral knowledge of many of the arts and sciences is necessary. To develop the physical powers, and insure a healthy body, and a -consequent healthy mind, agriculture seems pe- culiarly adapted.
Under a false idea that honor was alone attached to the so- called "learned professions," the occupation of " farmer" has been too much neglected; but agriculture stretches out her col- latteral arms, and embraces the labors of even these, which she appropriates to her legal domain. Astronomy and chem- istry are her tools, while botany, or vegetable physiology is her offspring, to whose growth she yearly adds her treasures.
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Meteorology is her handmaid. Political economy is proud to obey her, while commerce and navigation, without her foster- ing hand, would sicken and pine in their infancy.
This false idea should be exploded. We need educated farmers who would seek to place the soil in such a state as to make it produce to its utmost extent. There are, perhaps. fewer scientific men engaged in this occupation than in any other ; yet no occupation requires so many. European coun- tries have lately turned their attention to this subject through sheer necessity. The attention which our government is now paying to the subject, leads me to look for an entire rev- olution in agricultural matters in less than fifty years.
The agencies and improvements now acting, will tend to bring about this state of things. The proximity to each other, induced by the rail-car, will cement more closely the interest of the farming community of this extended land, and open up inducements hitherto unknown, especially in the isolated region of Tazewell. The press, sending forth its sheets from Maine to California, before they are fairly dry, and the astonishing workings of the telegraph are now ex- hibiting their influence upon the machinery of civil society, and in no country more perceptibly than in the United States.
Give us railroads, and let the press make known the claims of south-western Virginia, and the " gee up" of the New England plowboy will soon be heard upon our mountain sides. Our mountaineers will soon be seen trading in Rich- mond, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, and Boston. Our
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AGRICULTURE. .
neglected fields will bloom under the hands of scientific agri- culturists, till wagons will no more be seen passing west- ward with men to build up new states on the ruins of those they have left.
I now proceed to point out briefly the history and peculiar- ities of agriculture in Tazewell. Among the early settlers, and even in the present day, a sufficiency of provisions alone . seems to be sought after. Large quantities of land - too large for the force employed - are cultivated, and this very system of having too much land in a farm, has retarded the agricultural advancement of the county of Tazewell more than any other one cause. By endeavoring to cultivate so much land, it has been imperfectly worked, and hence the soil does not yield to the husbandman her proper stores.
The manner, too, of cultivation, is similar to that prac- ticed by the early settlers. And I hope I shall be pardoned for saying that the people of Tazewell who cultivate the soil, work less than most any other similar community to be found in the United States. This may be owing to the want of proper markets, which will not be much improved till our farmers turn their attention to internal improvements, and no longer vote against the construction of railroads and turnpikes. -
Most of the cereals do well in Tazewell. I have in my possession a stalk of corn, grown on common upland, sixteen feet nine inches high; four stalks grew in a hill; it was planted in May, and cut up in September. Irrigating the
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lands is much neglected. Wheat does exceedingly well in this county, especially those kinds known as Mediterranean, walker, and white chaff: but as no market is afforded for its sale, more is not grown than is consumed, there being only 28,220 bushels reported on the census books for 1850. (See table.)
The county is more remarkable for its production of grasses than anything else. Though tobacco does very well, fortunately, its culture has been discarded, the county not producing 1,000 pounds per annum.
The exceedingly fine grasses of the county have made it de- cidedly a grazing county, and much celebrated for fine stock. Blue-grass (Poa pretensis) is the principal native (?) grass : though timothy, herd, and most others do well. In no country does clover succeed better. The grasses have received much of the farmer's attention, and with the increasing interest shown in improving the live-stock, it would seem that the county is destined "to take a prominent stand among the stock-raising counties in the state. There are some farms in the county well improved, but they are too few.
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CHURCH HISTORY -JUDICIARY.
CHAPTER XIII.
CHURCH HISTORY -JUDICIARY.
No portion of my labors, if properly investigated, would be more interesting than this: yet the paucity of material afforded me, makes it quite difficult to give anything like a correct and full church history of this section. The principal denominations in the county are Methodists, Baptists, Pres- byterians, and Roman Catholics ; each of whom will be no- ticed. .
The first sermon preached in the county was in 1794, by Rev. 'Mr. Cobbler, appointed to the New River circuit, by the Baltimore conference. This sermon may be regarded as the budding of Methodism in Tazewell county. The seeds sown by this good man fell upon a genial soil, and he had the sat- isfaction of seeing Jeremiah Witten and Mrs. Sarah Witten, William Witten and his lady, John and Sarah Peery, Eliz- abeth Greenup, Samuel Forguson, Isabella Forguson, and two colored persons, flock around the Christian standard, deter- mined that Christ should not be forgotten, even in the moun- tain-gorges of the wild " backwoods."
Thomas Peery gave them a piece of land, and in 1797 they built a meetinghouse about one mile west of Jefferson- ville.
Between 1794-7, meetings were generally held at the house of Samuel Forguson, near the present seat of justice. Before 1794, prayer-meeting was the only form of worship practiced :
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CHURCH HISTORY. 127
this seems to have been coexistent with the earliest settlement. The march of Methodism has been steadily onward; they have, at present, seven churches in regular fellowship.
The first Baptists in the county, were the Scaggs and Hankins. The first sermon preached to them, was by Rev. Simon Cotterel from Russel county, in 1796. Their first meetings were held in private houses, in the Hankins' settle- . ment. The Baptists seem not to have made as rapid pro- gress as the Methodists; as they have now only two regular churches in the county. I have been unable to learn the number of communicants, but understand that it is greater than would be supposed from the number of churches.
The first Presbyterians in the county were William Peery, Samuel Walker, and his wife. Prof. Doak preached the first sermon to them, somewhere about 1798. He was soon followed by Rev. Mr. Crawford, from Washington county. The first church organized was in the Cove, in 1833, which was placed in charge of Rev. Dugald Mcintyre, assisted by Rev. Mr. Mc Ewin. This church, from some cause, was suffered to go down, and the Presbyterians were without a regular church till the summer of 1851, when a church was organized at Jeffersonville, and placed in charge of Rev. Mr. Naff. They have one church, and about twenty communicants.
At what time the first Roman Catholics appeared in the country, is not known. Edward Fox, a priest who resided at Wythville, preached the first sermon to them in a union church at Jeffersonville, in 1842. He continued to preach, at intervals, till the close of the controversy between him, and
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JUDICIARY.
President Collins of Emory and Henry College. Having been beaten from every position, he quit Wytheville, and consequently the Tazewell Catholics were left without a priest. Bishop Whelan coming to this section of the state, took occasion to visit his flock in Tazewell; the Methodists opened their pulpit for him, and in acknowledgment of their kindness, one of his first sentences was not only to insult them, but the house of God. He remarked, he "felt embar- rassed because he was preaching in an unconsecrated house." President Collins, who had firmly opposed the spread of this doctrine in south-western Virginia, being in the neighborhood, heard of the occurrence and replied to him in a few days. Notwithstanding this, Catholicism began to spread, and pre- parations were made for building a cathedral, which is now in course of construction.
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JUDICIARY.
The formation of the county, necessarily caused .some derangement in the courts. The magistrates who had been acting under the authority of Wythe county, however, met in May, 1800, and held the first court at the present residence of Col. John B. George. John Ward was elected clerk, and Major Maxwell made sheriff. In the following month the election for county officers came off, and the court was opened at Harvey G. Peery's house. In June the county seat was fixed upon, and Judge Brockenborough held the first circuit court in a court-house built of buckeye logs, for which the county paid ten dollars. Peter Johnson was now appointed
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LITERARY AND BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS.
to fill the station of resident judge: James Thompson was the first commonwealth's attorney. The Buckeye C. H. was soon converted into a workshop, and a plain frame-house substi- tuted. The court-house is now a substantial brick building. Court days, Wednesday after the fourth Monday of each month.
In connection with this subject, it may be remarked, that a trial for murder has never taken place in this county, and fewer lawsuits, according to the population, occur in our courts than any county in the state.
CHAPTER XIV.
LITERARY AND BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS-NEWSPAPERS.
THE Jeffersonville Historical Society, is the only literary institution in the county. It was founded August 14th, 1851, through the exertions of H. F. Peery, M. D., and the author. The movement was warmly supported by John Wynn, Thos. Peery, Rees T. Bowen, William Cox, H. R. Bogle, William Barnes, William Henry Maxwell, and other leading gentle- men in the county, who seemed to be fully awakened to the necessity of exciting in the community a spirit of literary culture. The following remarks are taken from the Rich- mond Examiner of 16th January, 1852:
"The recent excitement of railroad subjects in south- western Virginia, seems to have been the means of calling 9
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public attention to the subject of literary culture in this section of the state. The citizens of Tazewell, one of the most isolated counties of the commonwealth, are taking a promi- nent stand in this cause. The establishment of the Jefferson- ville Historical Society, in a wild, mountainous country, would seem to indicate something more of its citizens, as patrons of literature, than has heretofore been supposed to exist. The society numbers already about seventy members, many of whom occupy positions not only of high civil trust; but prominent situations in the literary world.
"One principal object of this society seems to be, to preserve the history of the settlement and Indian wars of the south- western part of Virginia-to develop its resources, and scatter knowledge among the people. A cabinet, in which will be found specimens from the mineral, vegetable, and animal kingdoms, is attached to the institution. Also, a library containing the principal works which could assist in re- searches either upon the Indians, who at a former period in- habited this section, their manners and customs, or upon the natural history of the county. The society receives papers upon most subjects which throw light upon the best means of promoting the interests of this section of the state. * #
"Whether this society may be able to effect any good, can- not be answered till more time has been allowed for the development of its labors. Certain it is, however, that if the society publish their reports, as they most likely will, and they are read by the people of south-western Virginia, some good . must be done.". *
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LITERARY AND BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 181
There is a moral influence attending the existence of such associations, which cannot be otherwise .than sanitary. The very fact of the existence of such an institution, will incite the surrounding community to prepare themselves to share in its labors. This society embraces most of the prominent farmers in the county, and is likely to stretch its arms out over the respectable of all classes, and indirectly, if not directly, they will become laborers in the association, and thus interested in its prosperity.
Say ten gentlemen are asked to furnish & report upon the natural history of the black perch; ten more upon the culture of the grape-vine; ten more upon the amount of iron ore, and extent of coal-fields; ten more upon the kinds of roads best adapted to our hill country; ten more upon some subject in geology, or mechanics, or agriculture, or botany, or any other subject coming within the range of the institution. What will be the effect? why this-the gentlemen will pro- cure the works which treat of the respective subjects on which they are required to report, and study them. It is readily seen that in a few years, they will become, more or less, familiar with the principal sciences; and as the acquisi- tion of knowledge engenders a want of more, in a few years we shall have a reading population, who will begin to act upon some efficient means of educating the rising generation. Nor is this all, the annual exhibitions or fairs will incite a more lively interest in excelling in agriculture, mechanics, etc. This is too apparent to need elucidation.
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A desire to excite this society to a sense of the important
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132 LITERARY AND BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS.
work before them and to furnish an index to Tazewell has resulted in this history.
The most important benevolent institution is that of the Independent Order of Oddfellows, a lodge of whom, was established at Jeffersonville, by G. M., Jas. Mc Cabe, 6th December, 1850. The lodge numbers about forty-five mem- bers, and is designated as Floyd Lodge No. 84.
The Sons of Temperance have a division, being the one hundred and fifth in the state, which numbers some eighty or ninety members. There is also a division of the "Sons" at Bluestone, and another at Liberty Hill. The former of the three, was established at Jeffersonville in 1848; the second, at Bluestone, was established in the summer of 1850; that at Liberty Hill, in 1851. These three divisions have done much good in reforming the people.
A Circle of the Brotherhood of the Union, encircled in the H. F., was established at Jeffersonville 4th July, 1850, and is known as Independence Circle, B. U. (H. F.) C. A. 131-4. This institution numbers about twenty members, and is calcu- lated to do much good in the cause of reform. In the sum- mer of 1850, a lodge of Masons was also established at this place. So there are four secret societies existing in this town, and if their designs be carried out, much good may be ex- pected in the way of social progress.
Their influence is plainly perceivable at Jeffersonville. Few villages or places in the United States present so much good feeling and brotherly love-so much sound morality, and so extensively diffused, or so little suffering. There is
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NEWSPAPERS.
less backbiting, wrangling, and ill-will among the people of Jeffersonville, than any village to be found in the state; nor is it a bad feature in the character of our people.
NEWSPAPERS.
At the opening of the presidential campaign in 1847, there was not a single democratic press in south-western Virginia. The citizens of Tazewell being mostly democratic, felt the necessity of some organ through which to utter their senti- ments, and called loudly for a press. Finally, Dr. H. F. Peery was prevailed on to purchase a second-hand press, then laying idle at Abingdon. He commenced the publication of the " Jeffersonville Democrat " in August, 1847, and with so much ability and zeal did the worthy editor handle his pen, that the influence of the "Democrat " was felt, to a greater or less degree, throughout south-western Virginia. A new field of labor seemed opened, and the citizens of the county seemed to fully appreciate the advantages of a press, and fostered its existence with great care. A spirit of inquiry was stirred up among the people. Education received an impetus; morality and religion began to look up, and when professional duties compelled the editor to relinquish his task, in August, 1850, there was a general murmur of complaint at the fall of the press. So urgent were the appeals of the community to the editor to again divide his labors, that he was compelled to make preparations to start the paper again. While engaged at this, he had an offer from the present editor, which was accepted, and Mr. George F. Holmes, a gentleman of ability,
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184 MINERALS AND NATURAL CURIOSITIES.
and formerly professor in one of the Virginia institutions of learning, became the proprietor, and in August, 1851, com- menced editing the " South-Western Advocate." The paper has a circulation of about three hundred and fifty copies, and with proper caution, might be placed on a firm basis. Among the pioneer editors of south-western Virginia, few will be found to possess the tact which so eminently characterized the editor of the old " Democrat."
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CHAPTER XV.
MINERALS AND NATURAL CURIOSITIES.
THE minerals of this county are both numerous and impor- tant. Silver, iron, lead, arsenic, sulphur, salt, niter, gypsum, and large quantities of coal being found. I have several times been asked to examine what was thought to be gold ; but have generally found it to be pyrites of iron, and some- times sulphur.
- Some attempt has been made to work a silver mine in Poor valley, about seven miles from Jeffersonville, but it was undertaken by persons unacquainted with mining, and, . of course, under such circumstances, we could look for no important results.
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