PIECES OF OUR PAST - 2003

 

PIECES OF OUR PAST

Sketches of the History of Dublin and Laurens County, Georgia

and The East Central Georgia Area

2003

Written by 

Scott B. Thompson, Sr.

Copyright 2008

The Emerald City History Company, Inc. and Courier Herald Publishing Company, Inc.

                                                scottbthompsonsr@yahoo.com

FOREWORD

Pieces of Our Past is a compilation of articles chronicling the history of Dublin and Laurens County, Georgia, as well as some of the history of Johnson, Treutlen, Wilkinson, Twiggs, Emanuel, Montgomery, and Washington Counties.  Your reception of these articles has been most gratifying.   The greatest compliment that I receive is that someone has thought enough of my article to cut it out of the paper and saved it.  That is why I have compiled these articles so that they may be referred to by students and history buffs.  I believe that you are never too young or too old to study your history and heritage.  No one’s is more important than another’s.  You can find history every where you look.  It is in your family, your neighborhood, your church, your school, your favorite sport, your business, your community, your state, and your nation.  Write it down so that generations to come may remember those who proceeded them. 

My thanks to Dubose Porter and Griffin Lovett of the Courier Herald Publishing Company, who have allowed me to tell my passion for our local history to the readers of the Courier Herald.  My thanks also to my editor and proofreader, Patti Gay Evans, who found all of those late night mistakes in my columns and who has touched them up as if they never existed. 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. ROBERT TOOMBS, Fire Eater on the Run

2. NEWS FROM MONTGOMERY, Our Out of Town News

3. THE ANCESTORS

4. MR. SPEAKER, Charles F. Crisp

5. HOW COLD WAS IT? IT WAS SO COLD!

6. TEMPEST AT NOON, The Oconee Tornado of 1921

7. CITIZEN PATRIOTS, Ready to Serve

8. WASHINGTON COUNTY, The Mother of East Central Georgia

Counties

9. DON SMITH, Hero, Heart and Soul

10. THE PAGE HOUSE, A Century of Traditions

11. THE HERSCHEL LOVETT BRIDGE, 50TH Anniversary

12. PLAY BALL, The Gas House Gang Comes to Dublin

13. APRIL HEADLINES

14. UNTO THE LORD, NOW AND FOREVER, 80 Years of the First 

Church of the Nazerene. 

15. SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS, An Alternate Version of the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln. 

16. MISTER ROBERTS, The Life and Service of Judge David M. Roberts

17. THE REV. ADIEL SHERWOOD, The Founding Father of Baptist Education in Georgia. 

18. WILKINSON COUNTY, Celebrating 200 Years. 

19. DEAR MOTHER, The Bracewells Write Home

20. A MATTER OF FAITH, The State of Georgia vs. Scion Justice

21. THE BUILDERS OF THE DREAM, John A. Kelley and George C. Thompson

22. MEMORIES OF HEROES, Life as a Little League Coach

23. DUBLIN THE EMERALD CITY, The Only City in Georgia That’s Doublin’ All the Time

24. SNIPPETS PART FIVE

25. LOOKING FOR A BLIND TIGER, The Story of the Elusive J.S. Brady

26. LOTT WARREN, Man of Two Robes

27. DEMOCRATS MUSTER IN DUBLIN, Happy Days are Here Again!

28. GENERAL EZEKIEL NAPIER, Laurens County’s Air Force General

29. GONE TO TEXAS, Twiggs Countians Migrate to the Land of Promises

30. WHERE HAVE YOU GONE MARSHAL DILLON? Or Things You Hardly See Anymore

31. JUDGE AUGUSTIN H. HANSELL, Jurist for the Ages

32. THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL IN THE WORLD, Love at the End of the Rainbow

33. RIENZI M. JOHNSTON, A Founding Father of Texas Political Journalism

34. CONDOR

35. THE GERMANS ARE COMING! THE GERMANS ARE COMING!  Shoot First and Ask Questions Later

36. WASHINGTON ST. PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, A Half Century of Service

37. CRY OF THE BANSHEES, The Last State Championship

38. HE SHOT THE SHERIFF, But He Didn’t Shoot the Deputies

39. EDUCATION IN 19TH CENTURY LAURENS COUNTY, Building For the Future

40. MALCOM DUNN, Tales of a G.I.

41. CARL VINSON, The Legend of a Legacy

42. CINNCINATUS S. GUYTON, The Gentle Warrior

43. THE REV. JOHN JASPER METHVIN, Missionary to the Indian Nation.

44. UP, UP, AND AWAY! or What Goes Up, Must Come Down

45. DUBLIN AND LAURENS COUNTY IN1903.

03-01

ROBERT TOOMBS 

Fire Eater On The Run

Robert Toombs simply loathed what he perceived as the acts of oppression forced upon the southern states by the northern states in the middle decades of the 19th Century.  Toombs was branded a fire eater for his fiery vocal support in the movement by the southern states to secede from the Union.  In the South and in particularly in Georgia, Toombs was a hero.  In the North, he was vilified as a traitor to the United States.  In the months following the Civil War, Toombs passed through our area in an attempt to evade his arrest as a political prisoner of the United States.

Robert Toombs was born in Wilkes County, Georgia on July 2, 1810.  He attended the University of Georgia, Union College, and the University of Virginia Law School.  After serving in the Georgia militia during the Seminole War of 1836, Toombs began to take an active role in the Whig Party of Georgia.  He was elected to Congress in 1844 and took an active part in the debate and passage of compromise legislation on the issue of slavery.  In 1853, Toombs was chosen by the legislature to represent Georgia in the United States Senate.   In 1861, Toombs led the movement to pass the resolution in the Georgia House of Representatives to secede from the Union.  He resigned his seat in the Senate to take the position in the Confederate Congress.  He was chosen Secretary of State of the Confederate States of America, after nearly being elected President of the Confederacy.  Following eight weeks in office, he accepted a commission as a brigadier general. After seeing action in the battles of First Manassas and Sharspburg, General Toombs returned to Georgia, where he was given command of the Georgia Militia in 1864.  

In the months following the end of the Civil War, Federal officials sought the arrest of Jefferson Davis, Alexander Stephens, and Robert Toombs.  Davis was captured on May 10, 1865, just three days after he passed through Laurens County.  Stephens surrendered quietly at his home in Crawfordville, Georgia two days later. During his flight, Robert Toombs spent several weeks in East Central Georgia, before his eventual escape to England.

When a squad of Union soldiers, primarily composed of Negroes, showed up at Robert Toombs’ front door, Toombs quietly secreted out of his Washington, Georgia office, briskly walked through the back yard, and disappeared into the woods.  He made arrangements with Lt. Charles Irvin to fetch his trusty mare Gray Alice, which had carried him throughout the war.  Toombs and Irvin rode north to Elbert County and then to Habersham County, where he remained at the home of Colonel Prather for a week.  Irvin, who had been dispatched to Savannah to deliver a letter to his friends to aid his escape from the port city, returned to find Toombs, who had passed the time hunting deer near Tallalah Falls.  

Toombs decided at the last moment not to return home. He dispatched Lt. Irvin to deliver letters to his family outlining his intentions to travel to Europe to avoid capture by the army.  Irvin encountered some difficulty in following Toombs to their rendezvous point in Middle Georgia.  He convinced Linton Stephens to take him to Old Town in Jefferson County, where Stephens thought that Toombs may be hiding.  Linton traveled to the David Dickson plantation near Sparta in Hancock County, where he finally picked up Toombs’ trail.  Following a tip, Irvin rode to the Major Gonder place in Washington County.  He found Mrs. Gonder and her daughter sitting on the piazza of their home.  The two ladies acquiesced to the lieutenant’s demands for information, and the lieutenant galloped off to the west.  

Irvin spotted Toombs standing in the window of Col. Jack Smith’s home on the Oconee River. Smith denied Toombs’ presence to the insistent officer.  When Irvin told Smith his name, he was reunited with Toombs, who had told his hosts to deny any knowledge of the rebel leader’s presence. Toombs and Smith spent a week at Col. Smith’s resting themselves and their horses, as well as many hours fishing in the Oconee River.  All the while, Federal cavalrymen were constantly patrolling Ball’s Ferry in Washington County and Blackshear’s Ferry in Laurens County for any sign of Toombs.  

Toombs traveled to the Wilkinson County home of Joseph Deese.  Irvin asked Deese if they could come in.  Deese responded, “Yes, if you can put up with the fare of a man who subsists in Sherman’s track.”  Deese’s sister, who had heard Toombs speak in Toombsboro in the 1840s, informed Deese that they were the hosts of the venerable Toombs himself.  The next morning Toombs was driven to Twiggs County home of Daniel Hughes.  The driver, who had also recognized Toombs’ distinct voice, saluted the general upon his departure.  Toombs cried out, “Good Lord! Go give that Negro some money.”  Deese escorted Toombs through the county Deese to the home of Wesley King.  The men lost their way and wound up at Bethel Church, where the Rev. Green Berry Hughs was preaching his usual Sunday morning sermon.  Deese interrupted the services to ask Rev. Hughs for his help in finding the King home.  It has been said that it was the only time in his life that Rev. Hughs stopped a sermon and put the word of God on hold.  Hughs mounted his horse and led them to their destination.  

The general spent a week at the home of Hughes, who had served under his command in the Army of Northern Virginia.  One day while he was sitting on the front porch of the Hughes home, an  old soldier still wearing his gray uniform greeted Toombs, who identified himself as Major Martin.  The man shook Toombs’ hand and began crying.  He said, “Major Martin, I’m mighty glad to see you.  I wish to God I could do something for you.”  As he turned to leave, the soldier turned to Hughes and said, “I know who that is. It is General Toombs.  You can’t fool me.”  The old man remembered the face of the rider of Gray Alice as he jumped the stone walls at Sharpsburg.  The grateful soldier offered to kill a local Republican who had said that he had recognized the general and threatened his safety earlier in the week.  

Toombs and Irvin pressed onto the west, seeking to cross the Ocmulgee River.  They found all of the ferries guarded, and decided to return to the North Georgia mountains. After secluding himself until the early days of fall, Toombs returned to Sparta, where he was greeted by Linton Stephens and a host of old friends.  Once again, Toombs set out to cross the Ocmulgee by passing first through Washington County.  Julia Thweatt Blackshear, in writing of the days in Laurens County after the close of the war, stated that Toombs spent the night at the home of his friend Everard Blackshear on his way out of Georgia.  The Blackshear home was located at the intersection of Ben Hall Lake Road and Willie Wood Road.  According to local legend, Toombs spent three weeks at the home of Major Hugh McCall Moore during his flight from Federal authorities.  This allegation seems to be unlikely in light of the fact that Toombs rarely spent that much time in any one place, and especially right in the middle of a town.

Toombs and Irvin managed to quietly cross a ferry into Houston County.  From there, the duo traveled to Ogelthorpe, where they encountered a group of Federal soldiers.  The Yankees admired their mounts - oblivious as to the true identity of Toombs and Irvin.  Toombs continued his ride and crossed the Chattahoochee River into Alabama.  At Mobile, Alabama, he boarded a boat for New Orleans.  On November 4, 1865, Toombs boarded the steamship Alabama bound for Cuba.  He spent nearly two years in England and France before returning to the United States.  Toombs was stripped of his rights of citizenship for his failure to take the oath of allegiance to the country.  He remained somewhat active in state politics until his death on December 15, 1885.

03-02

THE NEWS FROM MONTGOMERY

Our Out of Town News

Sometimes the events of Dublin and Laurens County are chronicled in out of town newspapers.  Since not all of Dublin’s newspapers have survived the ravages of fire, neglect, and rodents, one can find little glimpses of our past by reading newspapers from surrounding counties in Middle Georgia.  In this column, I have chosen a few of the stories worth reprinting.  There were many more, but I discarded them as unpleasant reminders of our violent and tragic past - stories of murder, suicide, and scandals.  Here a few of the more positive or interesting pieces of our past which were printed in the pages of The Montgomery Monitor.

The History of Laurens County Georgia 1807-1941 states that Dublin suffered a disastrous fire in the year 1885.  That fact is controverted by an article in the May 30, 1889 edition of the Monitor.  At 4:00 on the morning of May 26, 1889, a fire broke out in one of the business houses of Dublin.  High winds fanned the flames, which spread to adjoining buildings. Finally, after five hours of consuming every flammable object within its limits, the fire subsided.  Practically the entire block surrounded by West Jackson, South Laurens (Lawrence), West Madison, and South Jefferson Streets was scorched.  Eleven buildings were destroyed.  They included J.M. Reinhardt’s saloon, G.W. Maddox’s furniture store, house, and stable, J.R. Brady’s grocery, W.J. Hightower’s saloon, L.C. Perry’s stable, George Bang’s jewelry store, Dr. R. H. Hightower’s medical office, M.L. Jones’s general merchandise store, J.L. Cowart’s grocery, Miss Susie Rearden’s millinery store, the postoffice, and Peter Franklin’s barbershop.  The article calls into question the long held notion that Dr. Hightower’s office, the only brick structure in town, survived the fire.  It is most likely that it did, as evidenced by an extant photograph of the devastation wrought by the incendiary wind.  Montgomery Monitor, May 30, 1889.

The passing of one of Dublin’s finest young men never made it into a surviving issue of a Dublin paper.  James Ryals Conner, who was born in the city and lived here until the age of three, died at the age of thirty-seven at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. Conner, the son of former Dublin mayor  and Georgia Secretary of Agriculture James J. Conner, was known to have been one of the most profound mathematicians of his day.  He was a chair of the Post Graduate Department of Mathematics and Astronomy at Bryn Mawr College.  At the time of his death, Conner was performing mathematical research for Johns Hopkins Hospital.  Ryals was a member of scientific societies in England, Germany and Italy.  He was a regular contributor to the Journal of the American Mathematical Society.  At the age of fifteen, young James entered the University of Georgia as a sophomore.  In his three years at the university, the teen age genius never scored less than perfect on any mathematical exam.  He finished second in his class, losing the title of valedictorian when an eye injury late in his senior term prevented him from fully concentrating on his studies.  In addition to his mathematical skills, James Conner was an accomplished musician, holding a master’s degree in music theory and being proficient in playing several musical instruments. Montgomery Monitor, Feb. 22, 1917.

An article in the Monitor in 1916 outlined the drinking habits of Dubliners.  New laws establishing the prohibition of liquor sales resulted in their desired effect.  May shipments of whiskey dropped from 1600 gallons per month to 400 gallons per month as compared to the previous period. Consequently it was estimated that only $25,000.00 worth of whiskey would be received in freight offices as compared to the $100,000.00 received during the year 1915.  City fathers didn’t rest with prohibiting the consumption of spiritous liquors. They set their sights on a Christmas tradition, one which had been celebrated since the end of the Civil War.  On every Christmas since the end of the war, Dubliners celebrated the holiday season by lighting fireworks.  The city council of Dublin passed an ordinance in December 1915 which assessed a $1000.00 fee on any business desiring to sell fireworks within the city limits.  City fathers reacted to the complaints from citizens, who saw the fireworks as a nuisance.  The ordinance didn’t prevent the use of fireworks. It only limited them.  All one had to do was to travel outside the limits of the city, purchase the fireworks, and light them anywhere in the city, except on a public street or in the business section of town. Montgomery Monitor, June 1, 1916, December 30, 1915.

One of the most unusual and morbid stories ever published about Dublin appeared in the Monitor in the fall of 1915.  It seemed that an undertaker sued Walter Blackshear for his fee for embalming and burying his mother.  Blackshear refused to pay the debt, claiming that the undertaker  mutilated his mother during the embalming process.  The defendant, in denying liability, claimed that the undertaker placed his mother in a coffin which was too narrow.  In order to make the deceased fit into the coffin, Blackshear alleged that the undertaker trimmed pieces of his mother from her body.   One woman, purportedly looking through a window,  testified that he saw the woman being split from the throat to the stomach in order for her to fit into the box.  The jury found for the undertaker, believing that he was simply making a normal incision during the embalming process.   Montgomery Monitor, November 4, 1915.

Humor was a common subject when editors needed to fill space in the paper.  In the winter of 1916, the water inspector was making his rounds on a busy street.  The inspector had just begun turning the handle on the water main when the unsteady hand of an imbibed individual was placed on his shoulder.  The well-dressed man cried out, “Ha, ha!”  With a gleam of satisfaction in his eye, the man exclaimed, “So I’ve found you at last, have I?  It’s you that’s turning the street around, isn’t it?”  Montgomery Monitor, August 17, 1916.

One story of a crime which went awry occurred in 1887, when Joe Weaver, a convicted burglar and jail escapee, went to the home of his uncle, a Mr. Perry, who lived five or six miles above Dublin.  Weaver intended to rob his uncle.  The scheme unraveled when Perry and a Mr. Tipton, a friend of Weaver’s, got into a struggle.  Weaver fired his gun intending to kill his uncle.  His shot missed the old man, and instead it struck Tipton, killing him on the spot.  The victim, who had been wearing a mask, was not officially identified until the coroner’s inquest.  Montgomery Monitor, March 16, 1887.

The December 21, 1916 issue of the Monitor reported the plan of the members of Henry Memorial Presbyterian Church to erect a new church on Bellevue Avenue.  The plan, which would cost $25,000.00, was to build the church, not on its present location at 511 Bellevue Avenue, but at the corner of Bellevue Avenue and North Church streets across the street from the First Baptist Church. A fund-raising dinner, which raised $6000.00,  was held at the Colonial Hotel on East Jackson Street.

03-03

THE ANCESTORS

To many kids of the 1960s, music was important.  It gave them a chance to express their feelings, their desires, and their frustrations.   Whether as musicians or as just listeners, music guided us through the happy times early in the decade and the turbulent years of the late Sixties.  Some of us were content to go down to Ed Powel’s record store and pick up a 45-rpm record of our favorite artist and a popular tune.  Others joined the Dublin band to satisfy our desire to enjoy the wonderful sounds that only music can deliver.  Still others, the more talented musicians among us, formed their own bands, known collectively as garage bands, because they were usually banished to the family garage by their parents, who had failed to comprehend the quality of the  sounds emanating from their the son’s instruments.  Actually the parents of one local group were very supportive of their sons. 

One such Dublin garage band was known as the Ancestors.  They were talented musicians.  By their own admission, they were somewhat zany, perhaps due in part to their early idolization of Moe, Larry, and Curly.  Tom Patterson, Edward Tanner, and Blair Tanner formed the Dublin chapter of the official Three Stooges Fan Club.  The trio collected Stooges memorabilia and emulated their idols.  The boys watched television and listened to music together.  In an effort to escape the boredom of summer vacation, the boys decided to form a band in the summer of 1965.  Tom, the band’s drummer and a drummer in the school band, was the lead vocalist.   The Tanners played guitar.  The band chose their name by skimming through the dictionary.  The band had gone through a series of names, The Band, The Kitchen Sink, Peeping Tom and the Infiltrators, Big Padre and Fungus Chin, and initially, The Irish Surfers (an especially hideous name to Edward). The band was represented by the St. BEAT (Blair, Edward, Allen, Tom) Booking Agency. 

The band composed many of their own songs, such as instrumental versions of “Sewer Rat,” “Instrumental Ballad of Rabbit Tooth,” and “Lumbago.”  The band soon began playing popular songs of the day: “Gloria,” “The Land of A Thousand Dances,” and “Louie, Louie,” the standard song of any rock and roll band’s set list.  The boys asked Jimmy McDonald to join the group as the lead vocalist.  After a few months, Tom and the Tanners decided to replace Jimmy with their friend Allen Tindol, who could sing and play the bass guitar.  As the band became more middle of the road in their tunes, they were asked to play at dances held in the American Legion Hall, the National Guard Armory, and the Shanty, a World War II Quonset hut converted into a teen center.   There were occasional gigs at birthday parties and churches.  I remember one such dance in the late 60s.  The social hall of First Methodist Church was filled with hundreds of teens dancing to the popular songs of the day.  It was the band’s last performance as high school students.

The band underwent a series of personnel changes in 1967 and 1968.  Allen left the band to pursue his acting interests as a member of the Drama Club at Dublin High School.  He was replaced by keyboardist Lewis Smith, a fellow high school band member, whose main talent was playing the piano and organ in church (and very well, I might add).  Tom, Edward, and Blair convinced Lewis to wear a flower pot on his head, put on a Nehru jacket, and place flowers in his buzz cut hair.  The boys encouraged him to play songs such as “The Marine’s Hymn” and “Dixie,” as well as other songs which were not the usual tunes played by rock bands.  Being somewhat uneasy with the way the band was going, Lewis left the band. 

When popular rock music turned to a harder beat, the band decided to use visual and audio aids in their performances to songs by the Beatles, the Who, and the Doors.  Color wheels and strobe lights flashed while the band played.  The boys placed a bed sheet on the wall and projected home movies.  The videos were  supplemented with the sounds and smells of cherry and smoke bombs.  In between songs, the band played tapes of less than well produced radio commercials.  Soon, audiences began to dwindle. 

To bring the band back into the mainstream of Dublin teenagers, Allen was convinced to return to the band, if only temporarily.  Randy Stinson’s effervescent popularity garnered the band good gigs, in which each member could earn as much as thirty or forty bucks a night.  Johnny Fountain replaced Allen as a vocalist and on bass.  Michael Harrell, whose sole interest appeared to be the music of Steppenwolf, joined the band as a keyboardist for a short time.   Before the end of the year, Allen Tindol returned to the band again.  He was joined by Johnny’s Fountain’s cousin, Bobby Fountain.  The song list changed again to cover versions of hits by the Rolling Stones, Blood, Sweat, and Tears, the Hollies, Wilson Picket, and Three Dog Night.  Among the favorite songs was the instrumental, “The Horse,” a popular high school band song, which is still played by bands today.

The band listed as their most memorable performance a weekend dance at the American Legion in 1970, which was highlighted by a perfect bass performance by Johnny Fountain, an exquisite rendition of the Beatle’s “It’s For You” by Johnny, Bobby, and Allen, riveting guitar playing by the Tanners, and Credence Clearwater like vocals by drummer Tom Patterson, who sung “Proud Mary” in Spanish.  Wayne Fatum joined the band from time to time displaying his talent for hamboning and whistling to “Dock of the Bay.”  The worst performance, well, it had to been the Christmas Dance at Wrightsville High School in 1968.  Edward, dressed in a santa suit, agitated the students with chants of “Ho Ho Ho Chi Minh,” an unpopular stunt at the height of the Vietnam War.   Teachers chaperoning the event asked the band to turn off their strobe lights because it hurt their eyes.  Students asked the band to stop showing their home movies because, “they came to dance and not to watch movies.”

By the end of the 1960s, the older members of the band had graduated from high school.  In August of 1973, the Tom, Allen, the Tanner brothers, and the Fountain cousins reunited for one final performance at Teen Town, a building formerly occupied by Churchwell’s on West Jackson Street.  The event was attended by fifteen people at most.  Despite the fact the members decided they had played well together, it became the band’s final performance. Band founder Edward Tanner recalled that they were not beloved, nor did they try to be.  They did their own thing, and did it well. They liked to have fun, like the times they painted a peace symbol on the Tastee Freeze or slogans in the high school parking lot.   The boys got a big kick out of stuffing wet newspapers in the tail pipes of the certain teachers’ vehicles.  

After the band disbanded, Edward, singing and playing guitar under the stage name of “Mr. Vegas,”  and Blair, then on keyboards,  formed another band, Cruisomatic.  The new band was an oldies band operating out of the Atlanta area.  In 1977, Cruisomatic opened for groups such as the Cars, the Ramones, and Cher.  Before they disbanded at the end of the 80s, the band played an average of two hundred shows per year in the first half of the decade, sharing the stage with such acts as the B-52s, the Temptations, and George Thoroughgood.

The band members remain friends today.  Tom is a journalist and curator lives in North Carolina. He is currently working on publishing his late brother Hunter’s novel.  Edward practices law in Atlanta, where his brother Blair works as a physical therapist. Allen is a physician who practices in Dublin.  Lewis Smith also lives in Atlanta, where he works as a computer specialist.  Bobby Fountain, the second physician in the group, practices medicine in Forsyth.  Johnny Fountain, the only remaining member of the group still playing in a band, lives in Dublin.  To learn more about the band, log on to their web site at www.theancestors.com, where you can view pictures of the band and listen to clips of their music, including clips of some of the music of the Dublin Fighting Irish Band. On the band’s other web site at www.myfirstband.com, Randy Stinson is listed as an emergency contact for his daughter’s Girl Scout troop.  

03-04

MR. SPEAKER

Charles F. Crisp

Three men in the history of Georgia have been elected by their colleagues as the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.  The first was Howell Cobb.  The most recent was Newt Gingrich.  The second congressman to serve as speaker was Charles F. Crisp of Americus, who was elected Speaker in the year 1891.  During his tenure in Congress, Congressman Crisp represented Laurens County in the 3rd  Congressional District of Georgia.  Just as he was being confirmed to a seat in the United States Senate, Crisp was struck down in the prime of his political life.  It was a life filled with service to his state and two nations, the United States and the Confederate States of America.

Charles Frederick Crisp was born on January 29, 1845 in Sheffield, England, while his parents were on a visit to Europe.   Crisp was born into a family of actors.  His parents, William and Elizabeth Crisp, performed in theaters across the South.   His brother Harry and his sister Jessie were both actors.  Charles attended schools in Savannah and Macon, where his parents operated theaters.  Charles’s parents, somewhat disappointed at his lack of interest in the theater, shipped him off to school out of state.  

Charles was attending school in Luray, Virginia, when the Civil War began.  He enlisted in the 10th Virginia Infantry.  Still at a very young age, Crisp was commissioned a second lieutenant in Company K of the 10th Virginia regiment.  He served in the Army of Northern Virginia under Gen. Robert E. Lee until he was captured at the horrific battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse on May 12, 1864.  He was imprisoned at Fort Delaware Prison in Maryland.   

Rumors began to swirl about the camp that a prisoner exchange was in the offing.  Crisp was transferred in a crammed ship to Morris Island, South Carolina, along with five hundred and ninety nine other prisoners, who became known as “The Immortal Six Hundred.”  The men were confined along the coast of South Carolina and Georgia in an effort to discourage Confederate attacks on strategic Union fortifications.  In October 1864, the prisoners were imprisoned at Fort Pulaski, near Tybee Island, Georgia.  Near the end of the war, Crisp was returned to Fort Delaware.  Charles survived the starvation and depravation of thirteen months in prison to return to his home state of Georgia.

While he was in prison at Fort Delaware, Charles Crisp began to study law under the instruction of Union officers.  In 1866, he was admitted to the bar in his new home in Schley County, in southwest Georgia.   Crisp moved to Americus, and on January 16, 1872, he was appointed Solicitor General, or District Attorney,  of the Southwestern Superior Court Circuit.  He served for nearly five years when his term ended on December 31, 1876. The legislature elected him the judge of the Southwestern Circuit, and he began his term on June 26, 1877.  Judge Crisp resigned his seat on the bench on September 22, 1882 to enter the race to represent the newly reorganized 3rd Congressional District of Georgia.  The 3rd District was composed of counties stretching from southwest Georgia to east central Georgia, including Laurens, Montgomery, Telfair, and Dodge counties.   

During his nearly fourteen years  in office, Crisp vigorously pursued the appropriation of funds to improve river transportation along the lower end of the Oconee River.  Congressman Crisp championed the cause of free silver in Congress and on the political trail in Georgia.  He challenged the powerful speaker Thomas B. Reed and in doing so, won the admiration of many of his colleagues.  Crisp led the effort to pass the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887.

Despite his popularity among his district’s voters who elected him six times with virtually no opposition, the election for speaker in 1891 nearly created a bitter chasm in the Georgia congressional delegation.  Congressman Thomas E. Watson, a bitter opponent of Congressman Crisp, offered himself as a candidate for the top job in the House of Representatives.  Crisp prevailed.  Watson lost his seat in the Congress in the next election.  Crisp served as Speaker of the House until the Republican takeover following the 1894 election.  During that same year, Crisp declined an appointment to fill a seat in the United States Senate following the death of Sen. Alfred Colquitt.

When fellow Confederate officer and U.S. Senator John B. Gordon resigned his seat in the Senate, Crisp was nearly unanimously nominated by voters in the Democratic Primary of 1896.  While awaiting confirmation by the legislature, Crisp succumbed to a long bout with pneumonia and malarial fever.  He died on October 23, 1896 at Halcyon, an Atlanta sanitarium operated by Dr. Holmes.  

His funeral was held in the First Methodist Church in Americus.  Every church in town rang their bells in his honor.  Former Confederate general Clement A. Evans delivered the eulogy in the sanctuary, which was filled with  hundreds of mourners, including dignitaries from Georgia and the Congress.  

Speaker Crisp’s son, Charles R. Crisp, who had served as Parliamentarian of the Congress during his father’s term as speaker, was chosen as an interim congressman in his father’s place.  In 1912, the younger Crisp was elected to Congress. Charles R. Crisp served in that body for two decades.  During his term in Congress, the Charles R. Crisp was chosen as Chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee.

Charles Frederick Crisp was known for this commanding presence as a speaker and a parliamentarian.  He was honored by the State of Georgia which named its 138th county in his honor in 1905.  Had he not died at the relatively young age of 51, Charles Crisp would have continued to serve his state for decades to come.  Crisp was eulogized by Congressman George L. Wellington of Maryland  who said, “Mr. Crisp was not a brilliant man perhaps, not one whose name will flash with a lustrous light, for he did not live in a time when splendid effulgence reigned.  Yet when the record of this commonplace period of American national life is made up, his figure will stand out in bold relief as one who stood by his section, who partook of the bitterness of sectional strife, and yet was broad enough to rise above rancor, and developed into a national character, which, though tinged with sectionalism, grew gradually until he reached the loftier elements of patriotism, humanity, and a gentleness rarely observed among men.”

03-05 

HOW COLD WAS IT?

It Was So Cold That  . . . 

The winter days seem colder now. I don’t know. Maybe because I’m getting older.  Actually they are not. While this fall and winter’s temperatures have been below normal, the daily temperatures are well above the records set during the last century for low temperatures.  January, December, and February are our coldest months. Everybody knows that. But how many of you know actually how cold they are and how cold they have been.  In the depths of the Ice Age, temperatures may have been well below zero on many days.  It has only been within the two centuries that accurate and daily temperatures have been recorded.

Perhaps the coldest day in the modern history of Georgia occurred on February 8, 1835.  The thermometer at nearby Milledgeville fell to nine degrees, below zero!  One reliable old gentlemen, who had been recording temperatures in the capital city since 1805, stated that the morning low temperature on that day was thirteen degrees lower than at any time since he began looking at his thermometer. Just a month before on January 8, 1835, the temperature dropped to fourteen degrees with four inches of snow on the ground.  It was so cold that Sunday morning that it was said that vinegar and wine froze in their containers.  Just two years later on March 4, 1837, on the day Martin Van Buren was inaugurated as President of the United States, it was reported that the temperatures in Savannah plummeted while the city endured its worst snowfall to date.

 

It wasn’t until February 13, 1899, that a comparable sub zero wave hit the mid state.  In Dublin and Wrightsville, temperatures fell to five degrees below zero.  The Wrightsville Record reported that there was at least five inches of snow in Johnson County.  While no Dublin newspaper survives to recall the accounts of the deep freeze, the Eastman Times reported that animals were frozen to death in the fields and barns.  The editors of the Times stated that it was the greatest snowfall ever seen in Dodge County.  Macon weather observers reported a low of six degrees below zero.

The coldest day ever recorded in Georgia came on January 27, 1940, when thermometers in Calhoun, Georgia, read seventeen degrees below zero - that is, ones that went that low.  On that January day, the temperature in Dublin reached eleven degrees, a record low for the 1940s and the 1950s.   As a matter of fact, official low temperatures in Dublin fell below 20 degrees only eighteen  times in the 1940s and thirteen times in the 1950s.  Although the political climate of the 1960s boiled, the Earth got a little colder in the 1960s.  On forty two days of the decade the temperature fell below twenty degrees.  The coldest year of the 1960s was 1963, when more than twenty percent of the decade’s below twenty temperatures occurred. The coldest day of the decade came on January 30, 1966 when the temperature was five degrees.  That was the day my grandfather’s pond was frozen over, about an inch thick.  The next day the low temperature rose to a toasty nine degrees.  All schools, with the exception of B.D. Perry High School which had boiler to blow out, remained open. During the decade, temperatures dropped to ten degrees or below on two other days, December 13, 1962 (ten  degrees) and January 24, 1963 (nine degrees).

The coldest day of the 1970s came on January 19, 1977.  The temperature reached four degrees and set a record as the fourth known lowest temperature ever recorded in Dublin.  That week may have been the coldest week ever recorded. On four days beginning on January 17th, the low temperatures were measured at eight, eleven, four, and seven degrees.   Just a week before during a three day period, temperatures bottomed out at thirteen, fifteen, and eighteen.  At least my colonel waited until the next week to send our R.O.T.C. company on a three-day field exercise on the frozen timber and kaolin lands of eastern Bibb County - by the way, it got down to eleven degrees that night - a night which cured me of ever being truly cold again.  That figures, that January was the coldest month in the last sixty three years or more.

Measured in terms of days below twenty degrees, the Seventies was the coldest of the last six decades.  Temperature fell below twenty on seven nine days, more than in the last twenty three years combined.  The coldest ten year period came between 1976 and 1985 when the temperature fell below twenty on ninety one days.  

  

Christmas Day in 1983 was a cold a Christmas that there has ever been in Dublin. The temperature fell to five degrees, which was surprisingly not the lowest mark of the decade of the 1980s.  Temperatures rose to six and eight degrees on the following two days.  Alas, there was no White Christmas.  I guess it was just too cold to snow.  

The record low temperature for Dublin in the 20th Century was set on January 21, 1985 and tied again on the following day when the thermometer read zero degrees Fahrenheit.  In Macon, it was six below zero, and I suspect it got below zero here.  I think the weatherman decided it was cold enough when it got to be zero and he didn’t need to go back out to check his thermometer.  This time schools were let out because of a lack of heat. Once again I was foiled because I was out of school then and had to work that day.  Bursted water pipes were common throughout the city and the county.  Emory Hopkins came home that night to his wood frame apartment on Fair Street.  He laid down fully clothed on his blanketed bed. He never got up.  He simply froze to death.  There was no signs of fire in his bedroom wood stove heater.

Since 1985, we have been quiet luckily. Maybe it’s global warming.  I don’t know.  I do know that on only one day since then has our low temperature been at 10 degrees or below. That was on January 28, 1986.   That day was also remarkable in that the high temperature was the lowest ever recorded at twenty four degrees.  Only twice since then, on January 29, 1986 and on February 11, 1996 has the temperature fell to eleven degrees.  Actually the low temperature of thirteen degrees on January 24, 2003 was the third lowest temperature in the last seventeen years.  During the 1990s, the temperature dropped below twenty degrees on only nineteen days.  Since then, the four winters of this decade have produced ten such bitterly cold days.

Meteorologist keep records.  That is part of their job.  Here a few more for Dublin since January 1, 1940.  The average January temperature is 47.6 degrees.  The average coldest day of the year is around January 28th, which has an average low temperature of 33.5 degrees.  The longest period with temperatures below freezing occurred between the morning of January 11, 1982 and the afternoon of January 14, 1982 or a little more than three days.  On only twenty three occasions has the temperature been below twenty degrees for three consecutive days.  Only twice has it dropped below that mark for four consecutive days - once in late January 1977 and in mid January 1978.  January 1977  was the coldest month in the last sixty three years.  Surprisingly the coldest year since 1930 was actually 2000, when the average temperature was 62.15 degrees, or 2.75 degrees below normal.  1977, 1969 and 1968, with roughly the same average temperature of 62.70, came next.  The longest time between below twenty degrees temperatures was 1119 days beginning on November 26, 1950 and ending on December 18, 1953. The lowest July temperature occurred on July 15, 1967 when the thermometer read fifty four degrees.  Anyone who was alive thirty years ago this week remembers how cold it was and that we got fourteen inches of snow in one day. 

The next time anyone asked how cold it was back then, tell them it was so cold that the squirrels were jumping on the power lines trying to get warm.

03-06

TEMPEST AT NOON

The Oconee Tornado of 1921

The sky over Oconee, Georgia was getting dark. The hands of the Cleveland-Oconee Lumber Company had gone home for lunch.  Torrential rains were attempting to muffle the roar of the Central of Georgia train heading in from the southwest, or that’s what the people of Oconee thought.  Then in a few moments of utter horror, a swirling mass of timbers, stones and farm animals swept over the unsuspecting community in what became one of the most tragic days in the history of Georgia.  In this month when we celebrate American, Black and Georgia History, this day, February 8, 1921, was one that should not be forgotten.

Oconee, Georgia was a sleepy town of five hundred or so folks.  It is located on the Central of Georgia Railroad in the southwestern corner of Washington County.  The town’s economy was driven by the lumber mills of the Fairbanks Lumber Company and the Cleveland Oconee Lumber Company, where most of the town’s black citizens worked.  Most of the mill workers had gone to their rows of factory houses on the north side of the railroad tracks.  Just as many of the workers and their spouses realized what was going on, it was too late.  Two women ran out of their houses and were swept up into the air and killed instantly. One man was blown into the top of a tree nearly a half mile from his home.  As one house was being sucked into the vortex of the storm, two of its occupants jumped out to their deaths just before the intensely low air pressure imploded the wood frame structure.  

When the storm was over, twenty seven Negro citizens were dead.  Most of the bodies were found in an open field northeast of where the storm struck.  Two score more people were hurting.  A temporary morgue was set up along the railroad tracks.    Bodies were set out in rows so that relatives could better identify them.  Several of the corpses were unrecognizable - their bodies torn and twisted by the high winds and whirling debris.  Among the dead were: Sam Trawick, Robert Kelsey, Florrie Kelsey, Ellen Butts, Florrie Robins, Annie Adams, Ella Davis, Ola Wall, Hattie Trawick, Bessie Morris, Ed Bidens, Green Robinson, Deval Logan, Fannie Harris, Arthur Gilmore, John Simmons, Nat Garret, Dallis Trawick, A.L. Clayton, Jerry Adams and three unnamed children.  Sam and Dallis Trawick were found together a half mile away with their heads driven into the mud, as if they had been placed there by a human hand.  Seven of the victims were found lying together in a circular pile.  Amazingly a billy goat, which had been tied to a post, was standing unharmed next to the pile of corpses.

In a day of tragedies, there was one miracle.  Mrs. O.D. Brioschi, Miss Nellie Bloodworth, and Miss Florrie Garner, all teachers at the Oconee school, sensed the doom in the air.  They rushed the students from the recess yard into the building.  Fearing the worse, the trio ordered everyone to hide beneath their seats.  The storm lifted the roof from the building and deposited it in the schoolyard. The west wall of the building fell in, nearly smashing the children inside.  Only the support of the desks kept the boys and girls from instant death.  While the storm was still raging, the ladies shepherded their classes out of the collapsed structure to safety.  

Bennie Frank Orr, a young teen boy, was the only white person killed by the storm.  He was standing in the commissary of the Sheppard Brothers at Gardner Station, about a mile from Oconee.  A shard of glass, ripped from its frame by the cyclone, struck the young boy in full view of his uncle, G.R. Lord.  After the storm passed over in a couple of minutes, Lord ran for help. It was too late, the boy’s head had been severed from his body.  Miraculously, no one else in the store was injured.

Eyewitnesses to the disaster reported all sorts of strange sights.  One man stated that he saw hundreds of chickens helplessly fluttering thousands of feet up in the air until they disappeared from view.   Some of the chickens returned to Oconee on Saturday without most of their feathers. On the morning after the cyclone, not a solitary chicken or bird of any kind was anywhere to be found.  A brick store building was lifted off its foundation. Its pillars were swept away - the building settling  to the ground with no harm.  A piece of a roof was found miles away in a Sandersville yard. A silk petticoat was found in the town square in Sandersville.   The Fairbanks Lumber Company’s new lumber mill was left virtually unharmed. A glass door was blown more than one hundred yards and remained intact.  A bureau was smashed into splinters, but the glass mirror was unbroken. 

With all wires down, there was no communication with the outside world.  Railroad workers took distress messages to Sandersville.  A return train brought back relief supplies.  Physicians, nurses and volunteers assembled to render aid to the hurting.  Local and state Red Cross units facilitated the recovery efforts.  It was reported that hundreds of automobiles carrying volunteer workers came to lend a hand to the hurting and homeless.  B.H.  Lord of the Wrightsville and Tennille Railroad led the local effort to aid the Oconee victims.  

Folks from all around the countryside came to view the carnage.   Three days later on a Sunday afternoon, five thousand or so curious onlookers arrived in the town.  Witnesses reported that scores of houses were razed, giant trees were twisted off and boards and objects were blown about as if shot from a gun.  Property losses were originally estimated at well more than one hundred thousand dollars.  Dead livestock were scattered throughout the area. A gasoline pump was snatched from its cement anchor and thrown some distance away.  Household goods and clothing was scattered throughout the barren winter trees.  

In the “I told you so department,” a preacher had just chastised his congregation for their desire to play baseball instead of going to Sunday school. He considered the tornado as the Lord’s judgment when he said “I told them the Lord would send something.”  The Rev. Dan Davis preached most of the funerals for the victims. As many as six funerals were held in one service. The reverend’s sermon on the first Sunday following the storm was “Sin and Tornados,” in which he warned the congregation that the dance hall, which was wiped out by the tornado, was a sign that God doesn’t approve of dancing, and that He especially doesn’t approve of the fighting and shooting that went on the eve of the storm.  Rev. Davis and his wife Mary opened their home as a morgue and temporary hospital.

The people of Oconee rebuilt their town.  The surviving workers of the Cleveland-Oconee mill worked extra hours to rebuild their homes.  The mill owners guaranteed that every worker would have a new home. The school house was rebuilt.  In the mean time, students attended classes under the cover of three large Red Cross tents.

It was indeed a terrible day for Oconee - one that will go on remembered in the annals of Washington County history for centuries to come.  Though at the time it was one of the deadliest storms in the history of Georgia, it is a story not well known outside of a few people who heard their grandparents speak of it.  The story of the Oconee tornado reminds us that it is important that we not only strive to preserve and chronicle our heritage in this our history month, but during every month of the year.

03-07

  

CITIZEN PATRIOTS

Ready to Serve

Today as the United States stands on the brink of another war in the Middle East, the members of the Georgia National Guard are standing ready to serve at a moments notice.  These men and women are part time soldiers who dedicate their spare time to defend our country.  They have been there before - in the fields of Europe, in communities devastated by storms, and in classrooms (indoors and outdoors). The city of Dublin’s connection with the Guard has endured now for more than a century and every time the members of the local companies have been called upon, they have left their jobs, families and friends to do their duty.

In the years before the Spanish American War, the State of Georgia began to organize local companies to provide for the common defense of the state.  The local company, the Dublin Guards, disbanded briefly after the war, but was reorganized during the Mexican War and World War I.  In 1919, the Dublin Guards officially became Company A of the 121st Georgia Infantry.  Company A is credited with being the first company in the Southeast organized under the present system of the  National Guard.  The Guard unit here remained active throughout the end of World War II.  During that time, the men were primarily assigned to civil duties around the state.  In an effort to protect a community from having all of its young men and boys in the local guard unit from being wiped out in a single conflict, the 121st Infantry was augmented by other personnel from across the country with few locals remaining in the regiment.  The 121st Infantry Battalion was organized in 1954 with its headquarters in Dublin.  A year later, the battalion was re designated as the 160th Tank Battalion. In 1959, the local unit again became part of the 121st.

In the summer of 1990, President George Bush issued a directive to begin calling up national guard units across the country in preparation for the impending crisis in Iraq.  Members of Headquarters and Headquarters Company in Dublin began preparations for deployment.  The 121st Infantry was attached to the 48th Brigade, which was headquartered in Macon.  LTC William T. Theilemann served as the battalion commander. CSM Wesley H. Sheppard, a long time veteran of the Guard, was the Battalion Command Sergeant Major.  

Army planners intended that the 48th Brigade be the round out brigade for the 24th Mechanized Infantry Division, based out of Fort Stewart, Georgia.  A controversy arose when the Army deviated from its policy of integrating reserve and active duty forces together in combat situations.  The Army left the 48th behind, choosing instead to send the 197th Brigade from Fort Benning to Saudi Arabia.  More than forty two hundred members of the 48th from forty communities around the state were called to duty on November 30, 1990.  The Georgia units were combined with units from Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, South Carolina and Alabama to form a fifteen thousand man force.

The brigade mustered in Macon.  The soldiers packed their gear, kissed their loved ones and set out down I-16 to Fort Stewart for intense training operations.   On every morning they were up and running at 6:00 o’clock.  After a three day leave at Christmas, the men returned to Fort Stewart to resume their training elsewhere.  Around New Year’s Day, one transport plane after another ferried the members of the guard, their equipment and 1100 vehicles  to Fort Irwin in the Mojave Desert. 

When the troops arrived at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, they were greeted by sub-freezing temperatures.  California’s Mojave Desert was warm in afternoon, even in the winter, but during the evening, temperatures plummeted.  The training grounds were affectionately dubbed the “Dust Bowl,” because of regular dust storms which invaded the area.  On Valentine’s Day of 1991, Brigadier General William A. Holland returned to Georgia, and Col. Don Davis of Byron assumed command of the brigade.

Allied bombing of Iraq began on January 17, 1991.  Five weeks later on February 23, 1991, U.S. and French forces completed a massive flanking movement around Kuwait to the northwest.  The attack began the next day.  In less than a hundred hours, the Allied armies accomplished their objective and the Gulf War was over.  Meanwhile, the members of the 48th were still training in California awaiting their call up for duty.  For eight weeks, members of the 48th trained in the American desert fighting high winds, cold temperatures and a mock opposing force in  preparation  for the coming action in Iraq. Col. Davis pronounced his forces ready for combat.

During their stay in the Mojave, harsh critics declared that the 48th wasn’t capable of serving in a combat situation.  The evidence points to an opposite conclusion.  The brigade performed excellently in maneuvers. They were credited with being the first rotation to have as many as three maneuver battalions in the attack. The gunnery units set camp records in three categories, while the infantry units underwent some of the most complex maneuvers ever performed at Fort Irwin.

After nearly nineteen weeks, members of the 48th Brigade were relieved from active duty on April 10, 1991.  The citizens of Dublin turned out to salute the local units in a parade unseen in Dublin since the days of World War II.  It was an amazing sight. I looked out from my Calhoun Street home and saw American soldiers marching toward a picnic at Stubbs Park.  I was not afraid of the world situation, because I knew they would be there if we needed them. I was proud as the company marched down the oak lined street adorned with yellow ribbons.

As the United States began to step up her role as an international peace keeper in Bosnia, guard units were again called into active duty.  In March of 2001, the 48th Brigade departed from Fort Stewart after a three month training period.  They arrived in Tuzla, where they would live in plywood buildings and huts.  The amenities in Bosnia were much more comfortable.  The rooms were heated and cooled.  The men could watch movies, work out in the gym or log on the Internet to email their families and friends.  Members of the local unit served in Camp Comanche, Dobol, and McGovern in Bosnia from April to October 2001.

Presently, Dublin’s unit of the Georgia National Guard is Company A of the 148th Forward Support Battalion.  Forward Support Battalions, or FSBs, are critical to the operation of the 48th Brigade.  The FSBs act like traveling stores. They supply ammunition,  fuel, food, parts,  equipment and supplies to all elements of the brigade.  Company A performs support functions, while Company B out of Hinesville performs maintenance and Company C out of Macon serves as the medical unit. Within Company A is the Company Headquarters, Maintenance Section, Supply Platoon, Petroleum Platoon and the Transportation Platoon.  The company’s authorized strength is 170 men. 

Every month the soldiers of the 148th FSB  practice their motto, “Hone the Cutting Edge.” When they are called, your friends and neighbors will again leave their jobs and families to serve their country. May they all do so well and safely. 

3-08

WASHINGTON COUNTY

The Mother County of East Central Georgia

Washington County, Georgia was the largest county ever created in the state. It stretched nearly 175 miles from Clarke County on the north to Long County on the southeast.   Named for General George Washington, the county encompassed a land area of forty six hundred square miles, more than the size of Rhode Island and Delaware combined.  For nearly a decade that portion of Laurens County lying east of the Oconee River was situated in Washington County. 

On February 25, 1784 the state of Georgia established its newest county to populate the newly acquired lands lying along the banks of the Oconee and Altamaha Rivers.  State officials believed it was vitally important to the future of the state to entice settlers from the Carolinas and Virginia, and even those persons living within the bounds of formerly English colony. Particularly sought out were former soldiers of the Continental Army. 

The new lands were carved from lands acquired through the Treaty of Augusta.  In November 1783, nearly three million acres were ceded to the state by a small number of Indian chiefs.   Other Indian leaders, especially Alexander McGillivray, declared that the treaty was void ab initio since it was not authorized by all of the tribes claiming the title to the land in that the lands belonged to the Creeks and not the Cherokees.  McGillivray insinuated that those who did sign were coerced into accepting the terms of the agreement. 

The new county of Washington was opened to settlers from Georgia and all other states.  Many of the first settlers were North Carolinians of Scottish origin.  The Blackshear brothers, Joseph, David and Elijah, being of German descent, were an exception.  Some settlers came from the eastern Georgia counties of Burke, Wilkes, and Effingham.  Occasionally a Virginian might be found in the area.  With cheap land and the coming of the cotton gin, settlers poured into Washington County.   

Soldiers of the Continental Army were automatically entitled to a minimum of 287.5 acres of land.  Officers and noncommissioned officers were entitled to additional lands up to a maximum of 1955 acres for a Brigadier General.  Georgia began granting lands  in 1784.  The choice lands were located along the Oconee River and its tributaries.  In present day Laurens County most of the first lands granted were along the Oconee River and Big and Buckeye Creeks.    Many privates claimed their lands during the last fifteen years of the 18th century;  Elijah Anderson on Big Creek, Reuben Barrow on Big Creek, William Blount on Buckeye Creek, John Braswell on Big Creek,  John Brewton on Brewton Creek,  John Bush on the Oconee River, Daniel Butler, William Carroll on Buckeye Creek, John Cock on the Oconee River, John Dean on Buckeye Creek, Asa Emanuel on the Oconee River and Messer’s Creek, Daniel Evans on Deep Creek, Blasingame Harvey on the Oconee River and Big Creek, James Hill Harvey on the Oconee River, James Hogg on Buckeye Creek, Samuel Jack on the Oconee River, John Johnston, Andrew Lawson, Thomas Lewis on Deep Creek, Benjamin Lockhart on the Oconee River at Carr’s Bluff, Daniel McNeely on Deep Creek, Edward Murphy on the Oconee River, John Potts on the Oconee River and Jesse Wommack on the Oconee River.  

In 1787, William Glascock was granted 1000 acres on Buckeye Creek near the Oconee River.  Glascock was banned from holding offices or lands in Georgia  by the British government in 1780 for his activities as a “rebel Counselor” in which he took part in “the most audacious, wicked and unprovoked rebellion lately raised and carried on against his Majesty in the Province of Georgia.” In 1787, James Creswell, apparently a high ranking officer in Georgia,  was granted 1000 acres along the Oconee in the northeastern part of present day East Dublin.  Georgia’s hero of the Revolution,  Elijah Clarke, who it was said was one of the leading abusers of the grant process, was granted 1050 acres on Big Creek in 1788.   Benjamin Harrison, the nemesis of every Indian in the Southeast, was granted nearly 5000 acres along the Oconee River and Big Creek, presumably for his actions in fighting Indians along the frontier.  Peter Messer accumulated over 2000 acres in the lower part of present day southeastern Laurens County along the current Treutlen County line.

In addition to soldiers of the Revolution, ordinary citizens granted lands in present day Laurens County during the 1780s and  1790s were: William Barron on Buckeye Creek, Sherwood Bonner on the Oconee River, William Bracken on the Ohoopee River,    William Bruton on Big Creek, David Bryant on Buckeye Creek, Hosea Clements,  William Cookson, John Culpepper on Buckeye Creek, Sampson Culpepper on Buckeye Creek, Daniel Curry, Jacob Darden on Saw Palmetto and Pughes Creek, Benjamin Evans, Jacob Falkner on Big Creek, Jacob Folsom, Thomas Fort on Big Creek and Buckeye Creek, Thomas Gilbert on Allen’s Mill Creek, Peter Grant, Leonard Green, John Guthrie on Buckeye Creek, James Halyer on Big Creek, Edward Harrison on Big Creek, Abigail Hilliard on the Ohoopee River, John Grey Hunt on Buckeye and Deep Creeks, William Johnson on Big Creek, Joseph Lancaster, John Leonard on Big Creek, Joel Lewis’s heirs on Deep Creek, David Love on Big Creek, Thomas McCall on the Oconee River, Henry McCullough on Big Creek, Hugh McCullough on Big Creek, William McGeehee on the Oconee River and Shaddock’s Creek, Thomas Moore on Big Creek, William Nelson on Big Creek, Pughes Creek, and the Oconee River, Thomas Pullen on Big Creek, Joel Rees on Big Creek, Ephraim Scarborough on the Oconee River and Buckeye Creek, William Scarborough, Francis Spann, John Stokes on Allen’s Mill Creek and Thacker Vivian on the Ohoopee River.     Those lands not granted were designated as vacant and were periodically granted to men,  most of whom already lived in the county.  Most of the remaining lands were granted in the 1850s.  Elisha Wilkes received a 27- acre grant in 1903,  the last grant issued  in Laurens County by the State of Georgia.  

For the remainder of the century, resentment over the state’s virtual taking of ancient tribal lands seethed between the Creek and Uchee tribes, who lived primarily beyond the limits of the Ocmulgee River.  The state erected a series of forts along the Oconee River to protect the families  living along the river lands.  One such fort was Fort Telfair, which was erected at Carr’s Bluff in Laurens County.  The nearly seventy foot tall bluff over looked the point on the Oconee where the Lower Uchee Trail, an important trading path from Augusta to the Creek Nation, crossed the river. The bluff is located opposite the Dublin Country Club.

In 1793, the lower portion of Washington County was cut off to form Montgomery County. The dividing line between the new counties began at Carr’s Bluff and ran along the Uchee Trail to the Ohoopee River.  That same year, county officials conferred and decided to move the county seat from the Warthen area to land donated by Mark Saunders.  Saunders lived in a home located near the intersection of Ga. Hwy 15 and Haynes Street in a community then known as Saunder’s Cross Roads.  The name of the new county seat was shortened to Saundersville. On February 20, 1796, Sandersville was made the permanent capital of Washington County, the mother county of East Central Georgia.

03-09

DON SMITH

A Hero, Heart and Soul

Don Smith’s legs couldn’t carry him where he wanted to go.  He didn’t need them to. His unflinching heart and indefatigable soul ambulated Don Smith over the gridirons and posted him at pulpits of our community.  To those who were lucky enough to have known him, I need not attempt to tell you of his strength of his character, devotion to his community and depth of his noble heroism.  Of all of the people I have had the privilege of knowing, Don Smith ranks near the top of the list.  I have always admired those who break the shackles that fate has impressed upon their bodies and rise up to serve their fellow man.

Don was born an army brat in 1940.  His father, Colonel C.H. Smith of Wilmington, Delaware, instilled in him the love of his country and the duty to serve it.  After his parents divorced, his mother married J.D. Scott of Fort Payne, Alabama.  Don was an average student scholastically at Fort Payne High School.  But, it was on the fields and courts where  Don excelled and  earned letters in baseball, football and basketball.  At Fort Payne, Don captained the football team, but was not good enough to go on to play collegiately.

Following his graduation from high school, Don enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1958.  He rose to the rank of Petty Officer Third Class during his thirty-month tour of duty in the Far East.  During his naval career, Don continued to play sports, the love of his life.  He was chosen to quarterback the Yokosuku Sea Hawks team in the Japanese Collegiate Football Conference.  Don captained the basketball team aboard the U.S.S. Ajax to the Force A flotilla championship.  Don also played third base on the Pacific Fleet Championship softball team.

His days in the Navy over in January 1962, Don entered Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, Alabama to major in Physical Education.  He played on the baseball and football teams at the school, but soon decided to accept an appointment to Officers Candidate School at Fort Benning. Don’s desire to serve his country propelled him to success when he received a commission as a Second Lieutenant.

On the night of November 7, 1963, Don’s life changed forever.  An automobile accident severed his spinal cord.  He nearly died.  Don had no feeling at all below his neck. He couldn’t move a muscle.  He could have laid there and withered away, but Don Smith made a life sustaining decision.  Don fought back. Maybe it was his competitive athletic spirit.  Don was assigned to the V.A. Hospital in Dublin in 1965. He endured years of physical therapy in hopes of getting at least some strength back in his enervated body. Don took correspondence courses. He wanted to be a teacher. He wanted to coach. He wanted to walk again.  During the agonizing days and the endless nights of lying and sitting, Don turned to God as  source of inspiration and hope.   With no hands to turn the pages of his Bible, Don had an aide place a long wooden stick in his mouth, and he leaned his head down  to read and know the strength of the Word of God.  He took correspondence courses under the direction of the Southern Baptist Convention, all by the use of that simple stick to turn the pages of his books.

During spring football practice in 1967, Don Smith’s dream to coach became a reality.  He accepted Coach Wayne Frazier’s invitation to assist him in coaching the East Laurens Rams.  Members of the Rams drove Coach Smith to practice every day.  Boosters covered Smith’s expenses.  On April 14, 1967, Don Smith was wheeled onto the turf of Falcon Field.  His squad converged  around him.  The whistle blew.  Don did it. He was coaching his first game, the annual intra-squad spring game.

Don asked and was granted permission by Recreation Department head Roy Hammond to coach a team in the 11-13 league in the Midget Football League.  His first team, the Steelers, was made up of younger boys. They won a few games, but Don was looking for a championship.  Asked how he could coach being paralyzed from the neck down, Don said, “It’s easy when you have friends to help you.  I have a fine view of the field,” said the coach, who used his boys to relay messages to players on the field.  “We have a good system, you’d be surprised on how good it works.”    Several days a week during football season, parents would bring their sons out to the grounds of the V.A. Hospital, where Don would be there waiting, anxious to get started.  

That’s where I met Don Smith.  When I got out of school, I would drive over the V.A. Hospital to pick up my brother Henry.  I had never been around a quadriplegic person before, let alone a quadriplegic football coach. I marveled at the way the boys responded to his directions and advice.  My only regret is that I didn’t get to know him more.  During my limited football playing days, I played for two outstanding coaches, but I wish I could have played just one game for Don Smith.

Don’s exemplary courage did not go unnoticed outside of the halls of patient wards.  In 1967, Smith was honored by Senator Herman Talmadge and Congressman Elliot Hagan during a visit to the hospital.  For his courageous devotion to coaching the youth of America, Don was named National Coach of the Year and an Honorary Coach of the 1969 NCAA Basketball Tournament.  In 1970, he was named one of the five most outstanding young men of Georgia and one of the most outstanding in the country.  

One of Don Smith’s most prestigious awards came in January 1971, when he received a Presidential Commendation from Richard Nixon.  The award was given to Don “in recognition of exceptional service to others in the finest American tradition.”  President Nixon realized the nature of the inspiration that Don made on his Dublin Bulldogs.  Later that year, Don was lying in bed when some one said that he had a telephone call.  The caller, worried to be calling at 10:30 at night, wanted to congratulate Don, who had just been named the Man of the Year by the Georgia Jay Cees.  They talked for a good while, like they had been old friends.  Don was proud that the man would take time out of his busy schedule to give him a call.  That man was the President himself. It was the first time  in the memory of local residents that a Laurens County citizen had been so honored. 

On November 4, 1973, nearly ten years to the day after a fateful accident left Don paralyzed, a ordination service was held at First Baptist Church.  Don Smith, a faithful member of Jefferson Street Baptist Church, achieved his second goal.  He was ordained into the ministry of the Baptist Church.  Don was often called upon to speak at church and civic functions.   Don Smith remained at the V.A. Hospital until the end of the 1970s, when he was transferred to Tampa, Florida.  He died several years ago.

Just what kind of legacy did Don Smith leave to Dublin?  Well, there’s a field named after him at Springdale Park.  Hundreds of kids who played for him will never forget his dogged determination and courage to succeed in all fields of endeavor.  His players loved him.  Take Matt Manross for example. Matt, a Georgia champion in the NFL Punt Pass and Kick Contest, so admired Coach Smith that he wrote another Alabama football coach, Paul “Bear” Bryant, and asked for an autographed football for his coach.  Coach Bryant signed a ball and sent it back to Matt, who presented it to Don as a Christmas present.   As for me, Don Smith was and will always be model of exemplary courage.   His devotion to children and his community serves as a reminder to us all.  That is, no matter what the fates allow, we are all put on this Earth to do something, and that something is to build a better world and serve your fellow man. 

03-10

THE PAGE HOUSE

A Century of Traditions

      This month the Page House, that once forgotten crown jewel of Bellevue Avenue, celebrates its first century as a Dublin tradition.  For more than half of its life, the house was home to the family of Dr. J.M. Page.  After going through a series of tenants and a frightful coat of green and yellow paint, the Page House was revived in 1998 as a bed and breakfast under the loving and respectful  hands of Kelly and Janice Canady. 

The Page House was actually not built by its namesake Dr. J.M. Page, but by a Dublin attorney Thomas Ludlow Griner.  For twenty years, Griner was a zealous criminal defense attorney in this section.  At the same time, he was a leading advocate of prohibition of spiritous liquors, relentless prosecutor of bootleggers and a prominent member of the Methodist Church.  

Griner began construction on the home in the late summer of 1902.  He traveled to Macon to purchase the balusters, doors, windows and stair railings.  Griner chose George C. Thompson, a local Methodist minister and architect, to design the two and one-half story classic colonial revival home.  Charles W. Farrell was in charge of the construction, which was estimated to have cost about $10,000.00.  The house was laid out with a central hall running from the front to the rear.  On the first floor was a sitting room, a parlor, a dining room and a library, the last three rooms being separated only by a tapestry.  Five large bedrooms were located on the second floor.  While the house was described as being “lacking in fancy twists, turns, and gawgaws,” the Courier Dispatch challenged anyone on Peachtree Street in Atlanta to produce a more graceful home.

In the 1970s, a Mr. Butchko did a survey of the house with its four ionic columned front portico.  What he found particularly interesting was the fact that the house, which had mammoth interior details, was not as large as other houses, but it did have a ballroom.  Butchko was referring to the right side of the first floor.  In later years, the Page family used the front right room as a music room.   The second and third rooms could be opened up to form one large ball room, which was used for numerous parties and receptions then and now.

T.L. Griner’s health forced him to leave Dublin only a short time after he moved into his new home.  He sold the property to Dublin tycoon J.D. Smith, who seemed to have a passion for owning fine homes and commercial buildings in the city.  Smith sold the house to Dr. Joseph Morgan Page in May 1905.

  

Dr. J.M. Page, a native of Johnson County, practiced medicine there for twenty years before moving to Dublin, ironically in the same month in which the Griner family moved into the house, which would soon bear his name.   His interests extended to business and politics.  While in Wrightsville, Dr. Page served as Mayor of that city.  In 1926, Page was elected to represent Laurens County in the Georgia Senate.  Dr. Page was a leading banker of his day.  He organized the City National Bank, the Commercial Bank and the Rentz Banking Company.  Dr. Page operated his own drug stores, the City Drug Company and the Page-Walker Drug Store.

 

Joseph Morgan Page took the hand of Melissa Jackson in marriage in 1884.  The couple were the parents of six children; Pearl, Marvin, Landrum, Bluford, Ruby, and Jackson.  The first and only family wedding in the house was held in 1909, when Pearl Page married E.G. Simmons in an elaborate ceremony.  Dr. Page’s duties as a country doctor often took him on his rounds throughout the county for periods up to as much as five days.  On those long trips, Mrs. Page would sit out on the porch on the western, or Elm Street, side  of the property waiting for her husband to come home.  She would listen for the sound of hoof beats coming down the street.  The carriage horse would turn at the corner and then make the 45 degree turn into the driveway before coming to a stop under the porch.  Several times she would find Dr. Page exhausted and asleep.  

Betty Page, one of the grandchildren of Dr. and Mrs. Page, fondly remembers growing up in the house.  She is particularly fond of the sight of the house at night.  “With the house back-lighted, the elliptical glass in the front door sparkles, twinkles and shines,” said Miss Page.  Her favorite feature of the house were the stained glass windows above the stair landing on the way up to the second floor.  While they were not Tiffany windows, they were magnificent.  “The afternoon sun filled the back hallway with millions of prisms of light.  I used to sit with my brothers and sisters and watch.  It was spectacular. They danced on the walls and the ceilings,” Betty Page fondly remembered.  In the 1960s, the windows became the targets of delinquent rock throwing school kids.  They were removed by the owners to preserve them from further destruction.  One of those windows was restored by Mary Alice Bateman and hangs in the Page House today.  Dr. Page died in 1934.  Mrs. Page died in 1955.  Their daughter Ruby Page Honeywell was the last family member to live in the house.

In the early 1960s, Dr. and Mrs. Fred Coleman purchased the property as an investment.  The Colemans rented out the house to various tenants.  A group of Methodists were looking to form a new church, one which would be independent from the changing beliefs of the world church organization.  On May 28, 1969, Carl Hooks, Paul Hudson, Sr., Ira Miller, Tommy Misseri, Zenus Thomas and David Wood obtained a charter for the new church, the first Independent Methodist church in the State of Georgia.  On the first Sunday in June 1969, members of the church placed a once discarded podium in front of the mantle, placed an old piano off to the side and set up folding chairs to form their first sanctuary.  Rev. Johnny Hudson called the congregation to worship.  Downstairs and upstairs bedrooms  were used for Sunday School rooms.  After a few months, the church moved to new quarters before moving to their permanent home on Claxton Dairy Road in 1974.

The next tenant was Stanley Funeral Home.   The funeral home owners made some modifications to the house to accommodate their needs.   The Colemans sold the house to Dr. Bill Chism, who held the property for a few months before selling the house to Farmers Furniture Company.  Farmers Furniture made a partial restoration of the house to house it’s corporate offices. 

In 1998, Kelly and Janice Canady, both lovers of old houses and bygone days, made a fortuitous trip into the Page House. The Canadys remarked that the house would be a great place for a bed and breakfast home.  The more they thought about it, the more the Canadys believed they could succeed with the project.  They asked friends to stay in the home with them and bless all those who would later stay in the house.  

Nearly five years and thousands of guests later, the Page House has continued the grand traditions of early 20th Century Dublin.  The history of the Page House is more than just the history of the wood, glass, fixtures and furniture. It is the history of a home, a home of one of Dublin’s leading families, a local church and the celebrations held by the thousands of house guests.  Remember, you don’t have to be an out of town resident to enjoy the splendid beauty of the Page House.  Call up the Canadys and reserve a room, one which will take you back to glorious days of long ago.  

03-11

THE HERSCHEL LOVETT BRIDGE

50th Anniversary

While good roads are the most important part of our community's infrastructure, they would be useless without bridges to allow us to cross over the rivers, creeks and streams.  Fifty years ago this week, our county's most well known bridge, the Herschel Lovett Bridge over the Oconee River, was dedicated.  For the last half century, millions of people have traveled over this concrete and steel span.

The idea of a bridge over the Oconee River at Dublin first arose in the early 1880s.  Until that time, crossing the river by ferry boat was the most economic, but  invariably undependable, method of getting across the river's fluctuating water levels.  The Dublin Ferry, which had served the area citizens since 1806, had become functionally obsolete and undependable.  With increased passenger requirements, the need for either a second ferry or a bridge was increasingly apparent.  Col. William Wylly, a well respected attorney and former Confederate officer, publicly called for the construction of a toll bridge in Dublin in February, 1882.   

The effort to build a bridge over the Oconee River was led by John T. Duncan, Judge of the Court of Ordinary.  Judge Duncan, who had charge of managing the governmental affairs of the county, appointed Joel T. Coney, William B. Jones, Berrien B. Linder, Frank M. Taylor and J. Frank Fuller to the Bridge Committee.  The committee drew up plans for the bridge, which was to cost $10,000.00.  Bridge proponents calculated that the bridge could be paid for in five years, by eliminating the ferry and the County Court system.

In November 1883, an election was held to decide whether or not the county would build a bridge over the river.  Three years before the election, residents of the Buckeye District in northeastern Laurens County had threatened secession into Johnson County if they were taxed for a toll bridge at Dublin.  To them, crossing the river at Blackshear's Ferry was all they needed.  When the elections results were tabulated, county voters nixed the idea of a bridge by a 3 to 2 margin.  Buckeye residents stood firm and voted 3 to 1 against a bridge.  However, residents of the county's other eastern militia districts were overwhelmingly in favor of the bridge.  In the largest turnout to date in Laurens County's history, the referendum was overwhelmingly defeated in the county's western districts outside of Dublin, especially in the Reedy Springs and Pinetucky districts where not a single voter was in favor of the plan.

While the populace was against the idea of a bridge, Dr. R.H. Hightower formed a company to erect a wooden toll bridge.  The bridge was completed on December 20, 1886, just a few months after the completion of the Wrightsville and Tennille Railroad to the eastern bank of the river opposite Dublin.  With the terminus of the railroad across the river, passengers and freight had to be carried over by ferry, thus increasing the load of the free ferry.  In April 1887, contractor Zach Kennedy completed the draw to allow river traffic to pass under the bridge.   The company attracted paying customers with ten days of toll free traffic and the promise of a street railway leading from the western end of the bridge up the hill to the business district.  Despite the convenience of the bridge, there were many who would rather wait their time and cross the river for free.  Within a year or two, a  winter flood or a spring freshet washed the bridge away and Dublin was without a bridge.  On September 8, 1888, the Court of Ordinary issued an order condemning a strip of land beginning at the foot of Jackson Street and running three hundred feet toward the Savannah Road.  For this two acre parcel, which was 83 feet below the W&T R.R. warehouse, Dr. Hightower was paid one thousand dollars.

Judge Duncan obstinately fought for the construction of a steel bridge over the Oconee.  With the commitment by the railroad to build a bridge, opponents surrendered to the inevitable passenger bridge.  George H.  Crafts of Atlanta was hired to build the first permanent bridge, which was completed in the summer of 1891.   Judge Duncan lived long enough to see his dream of a bridge over the river completed.  That first bridge was located just north of where the current river bridge lies.  It featured a pivoting span to accommodate river boats.  Within a decade of the completion of the bridge, a serious problem had developed.  High winter waters and summer rains made the eastern approach to the bridge impassable.  George Crafts was again hired to complete the extension of the bridge to higher ground.  When convict laborers under the supervision of  architect George C. Thompson failed to complete the project, Redmond and Company was hired to complete the approach to the extension.  The total cost of the 1100 foot extension and the five hundred foot approach was more than $33,000.00.   Despite the apparent fitness of the bridge, work repairing the causeway continued for at least seven more years.

H. C. Quinn founded the Georgia Hydraulic Stone Company in East Dublin in 1904 along with George Crafts of Atlanta and W.T. Smith of Laurens County.  Quinn had worked with Crafts in the building of the Oconee River Bridge and the Hunger and Hardship Creek Bridge.  It has been said that Crafts worked on bridges throughout the Southeast, including the bridge to the Florida Keys.

The first river bridge was replaced with a new bridge in 1920.  The bridge, wide enough for only two lanes of traffic, was composed of steel girders and concrete pillars, railings and a road bed.  On the eastern end of the bridge was a sign welcoming motorists to Dublin.  On the western side was a another sign. This one thanked travelers for coming through Dublin.  With the establishment of J.P. Stevens in East Dublin in the late 1940s and the increased automobile traffic into Dublin, a new bridge was needed.

Early on the morning of March 14, 1953 the sky cleared.  Politicians and musicians assembled in front of the City Hall for a parade down Jackson Street for the dedication of the Herschel Lovett Bridge.  The bridge was named in honor of Herschel Lovett, businessman, state representative and then Mayor of Dublin.  W.W. Brinson was in charge of the bridge dedication committee, which secured the presence of the 14th Air Force Band and a drill team.  The invocation was given by Rev. John Lough of the First Methodist Church.  Mayor Lovett gave the welcoming address  to the thousands of those in attendance.  Attorney General Eugene Cook, a former resident and native of Wrightsville, acted as the Master of Ceremonies.  The obligatory ribbon strung across the million dollar bridge was cut by Margaret Gillis, a granddaughter of J.L. Gillis, Chairman of the Highway Department of Georgia and a native of Treutlen County, and Hersha Bryant Hatchett, a granddaughter of the honoree, Herschel Lovett.    The principal address was given by Lt. Gov. Marvin Griffin, who later became Governor of Georgia.  Following the ceremonies, a bar-b-que dinner was held for all at Lovett Park.

The Herschel Lovett Bridge is the fourth bridge to be completed across the Oconee River in Dublin.  A decade later, two more bridges were constructed along the route of Interstate 16. In the future a new bridge will certainly be built.  As you cross the river, think of the days when our predecessors had to board a ferry and cross the Oconee over swollen waters. Sometimes they  barely made it, dodging the sand and rocks along the drought ridden bottom.

03-12

PLAY BALL !

The Gas House Gang Comes to Dublin

     When the dogwoods are in bloom and the days begin to get longer, it is the time to play baseball, America’s greatest pastime.   In 1933, the Dublin Lions Club came up with the idea of a Homecoming Day.  It would be a day when those who had left Dublin for continued success elsewhere and those who simply moved away during the Depression could come back to see old friends.  Any gathering needs some entertainment.  During the Depression, baseball, politics and movies entertained the people. The Lions Club invited the electrifying Georgia Governor Eugene Talmadge and the up and coming St. Louis Cardinals to stop on their way to St. Louis to play Ogelthorpe University a game of baseball at the old fairgrounds. 

     James E. Allen, who was associated with the plywood mill here, was a former employee of the Cardinal organization.  Allen approached his friends in St. Louis and persuaded the Cardinals to stop in Dublin on March 31, 1933.  During the morning, Gene Talmadge made one of his classic speeches in front of the courthouse and 2500 people.  At noon, a luncheon was held at the New Dublin Hotel, across from the old First National Bank building on South Jefferson Street.  Governor Talmadge and former Dubliners in state offices were the honored guests.  The 121st Infantry Band came down from Macon to play during the day.  In the late afternoon, five pilots gave rides in their biplanes over Dublin's western skies.  Irwin Davis parachuted over the farms along Bellevue Road.

      After winning the 1931 World Series, the Cardinals were hoping to improve from a 6th place finish in 1932.  Gabby "Old Sarge" Street, a seasoned veteran, was in his last year as manager of the Cardinals - after leading them to National League Pennants in 1930 and 1931.  Street managed in the Sally League and related the good ol’ days to Ed Ray of the Macon Telegraph on the front steps of the New Dublin Hotel.  Rogers Hornsby, one of the greatest second baseman ever to play the game, was attempting a comeback with the Cardinals at the age of 37 after managing a few years.  Hornsby, a Hall of Famer, had a lifetime batting average of .358 with 301 home runs.  Hornsby's career batting average is second only to Ty Cobb.  In 1924, he posted the highest major league batting average of all time.    He joined hall of famers Frankie Frisch, Joe Medwick, Dazzy Vance, Jesse Haines and Dizzy Dean to form the nucleus of a great team.  The Cardinals would add Leo Durocher and hall of famer Burleigh Grimes later in the year. Bob O'Farrell, the back-up catcher, was the National League Most Valuable Player for the World Champion Cardinals.  He is probably the only player in the history of baseball to win such an award without finishing anywhere near the top of statistical categories. He had the seventh highest batting average on the team.  Ethan Allen, a part time outfielder with a .300 lifetime batting average, wouldn't make it into the game in Dublin and finished his career in the late 30's.  He took a job as the baseball coach at Yale University where a young George Bush tried his hand at baseball before going off to war and other things to come. 

     The Cardinals broke spring training on Thursday and headed for Dublin for the Friday afternoon game in Dublin.  Rogers Hornsby was trying to overcome a sore leg.  Dazzy Vance was injured during camp and was sent ahead to Birmingham to meet the team over the weekend.  Fifteen hundred tickets were sold. Over two thousand fans showed up.   Governor Talmadge posed for the photographers, took off his coat and threw the first pitch for a strike to catcher, Jimmie Wilson.  Veteran Buck Johnson took his position as home plate umpire.  Future Hall of Famers, Dizzy Dean - in between starts -  and Pepper Martin - nursing an injured leg - umpired at first and third respectively.  

     The Cardinals took the field first with Paul Derringer on the mound.  Coach Anderson's Petrels failed to get a hit in the first three innings.  The Cardinals jumped to an early lead with 2 runs in the first.  Third baseman Sparky Adams led off with a single.  Outfielder George Watkins popped up.  Second sacker Frankie Frisch drew a walk.  First baseman Ripper Collins singled, driving in Adams.  Joe Medwick grounded into a force play, capturing Frisch at third.  Ernie Orsatti, a .306 lifetime hitter, stepped up to the plate and singled to right field scoring Collins from second.  In the bottom of the second, catcher Jimmy Wilson doubled and scored when George Watkins stroked the second double of the inning.  The Cardinals failed to score in the third.  In the fourth, the Petrels got their first hit, but failed to score.  The Cardinals picked up another run in the game when Jimmy Wilson reached first on an error by the shortstop Martin.  Pitcher Derringer bunted Wilson to second.  Ogelthorpe pitcher Lefty Dixon caught Wilson too far off second.  He whirled and threw to shortstop Chink Martin.  Wilson dashed for third.  Martin  fired  to  third,  hitting Wilson in the back. Wilson kept running, and scored the last run of the game. 

     Paul Derringer pitched six innings allowing no runs and only three singles.  Syl Johnson came in relief, allowing one hit and no runs.  Ogelthorpe football star Ray Walker took the mound in the fifth and held the Cardinals to one hit in the last half of the game. Medwick singled, Watkins doubled, and Orsatti tripled for the Cardinal hits which did not figure in the scoring. An Ogelthorpe player reached first in the sixth.  Both Martin and Dean went behind the mound to take up their positions.  The home plate umpire signaled for one of them to move back to their former position. Dizzy yelled, "You umpire behind the bat and keep your mouth shut!"  The umpire again asked as he approached the two tricksters.  Cardinal manager  Street bolted out and told Dizzy, "Get behind first base and stay there."  Pepper Martin stood there and laughed.  Street took up the third base coach's position in  the bottom of the sixth.  Pepper Martin told Street, "Gabby, if you wouldn't bother Dean and me, we could steal the show as umpires."  The great Rogers Hornsby pinch hit in the sixth, but grounded out before the disappointed crowd.  The Cardinals held on for the 4 to 0 victory with Derringer as the winning pitcher and Dixon as the loser for the Ogelthorpe Petrels.   The game was a lot closer than expected.  The Cardinals played without three of their best players: Dizzy Dean, Pepper Martin, and Rogers Hornsby.   The Cardinals were also sportsmen and did not want to embarrass a college team, especially in their home state. 

     Governor Talmadge had to leave after the game.  Many of the residents, players and visitors returned to their homes and hotel rooms to freshen up for the big dance at the  Country Club, which was then located along Hillcrest Drive between Claxton Dairy Road and Brookhaven.   Ed Powel and his band played for the dance, which was given in honor of Governor Talmadge.  

     The Cardinals left Saturday morning for Birmingham.  They finished 5th that year.  Ripper Collins, Frankie Frisch, Pepper Martin and Joe Medwick had their usual .300+ seasons.  Rogers Hornsby hit .325, but was traded to the cross town St. Louis Browns,  where he managed the last two months of the season and batted .333 in 11 games.  Sparky Adams was traded to the Reds for Leo Durocher.  Dizzy Dean had his first 20 game win season.  Starting pitcher, Derringer, who went with Adams to the Reds led the league in losses with 27, more than anyone since then.  Catcher Jimmie Wilson went to Philadelphia and Chicago where he managed for the next eleven years.

  03-13

APRIL HEADLINES

The events of the past don’t make the headlines like they do today.  In the decades preceding and following the turn of the 20th Century, some interesting and admittedly trivial stories made the headlines in the Dublin papers.

One hundred and twenty five years ago today on April 1, 1878, Judge John T. Duncan established the first weather station in Dublin under the auspices of the United States Department of Agriculture.

Sometimes well meaning individuals did something that garnered a headline.  In some cases, the act turned out to be somewhat regretful.  In April 1882, Jim Yopp was hunting around the pond of E.B. Lewis when he spotted a bird flying overhead.  He shot his gun, killing the rare loon or North American diver on the spot.

One of the more interesting characters of 19th Century Laurens County was Hulda T. Hester.  Mrs. Hester was born in 1797.  She took up the study of obstetrics and was one of the first, if not the first, midwife in Laurens County.  She died on April 24, 1884.

On April 13, 1901, the town of Rockledge was settling down for a peaceful Saturday night.  Then out of the southwest a cyclone ravaged the community, destroying the crops on the farms of M.L. Pope, J.A. Sumner, and A.J. Coursey.  

The first chapter of the Y.M.C.A. was organized in Dublin on April 16, 1902.  The initial officers were President E.H. Clark, Vice President J.J. Hubbard and Secretary J.P. Hicks.  Other organizing members were G.W. Williams and Freeman Walker.

Trees blanketed a large portion of Laurens County’s river lands at the turn of the 20th Century.  Industries sprang up to capitalize on the abundance of hardwoods in our area.  The Georgia Cooperage Company was established in April 1902.  The company, based out of Hapeville, Georgia, turned out ten thousand oak barrel staves a day - enough to fashion five hundred barrels for the storage of oil and turpentine.

In April 1906, a group of Dublin’s most outstanding business leaders filed a petition to establish a street car franchise in Dublin.  The incorporators, who included J.M. Finn, B.H. Rawls, E.P. Rentz, J.M. Outler, J.M. Page, T.J. Pritchett, J.S. Simons, Jr., J.D. Smith, J.E. Smith, Jr., G.H. Williams, Clark Grier, William Pritchett, Hal M. Stanley, and J.S. Adams, envisioned a street car line running from the river along Jackson Street to the end of Bellevue and another line running along Jefferson Street.  The project apparently never materialized.

A year later in 1907, T.J. Taylor and H.C. Coleman of Rentz began the construction of a telephone line from Rentz to Dublin.  The office of the company was located in the Taylor Coleman Pharmacy on South Jefferson Street

The first concrete sidewalks appeared in Dublin in 1909.  Before then, sidewalks were often constructed of wood to protect pedestrians from the dust and mud of our sandy streets.  

Howe’s Great London Circus came to Dublin in April 1910.  The show under the bigtop featured the Eddy Family acrobats, the Yeddo troupe of Japanese athletes, flying bifocons, Wallet - England’s most celebrated bareback rider, musical elephants, rare wild animals and naturally, clowns.  A street parade preceded the afternoon and evening shows.

The local chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star was organized in April 1910. The ladies organization was affiliated with the local Masonic lodge.  Among the forty two charter members were Worthy Matron Mrs. W.B. Rogers, Worthy Patron W.B. Rogers, Secretary Mrs. J.C. Spencer; Treasurer Lillie Reinhardt, Conductor Omie Beacham, Associate Conductor Mrs. W.L. Williams, Adah Essie Rogers, Esther Jennie Dial, Ruth Mrs. Dewitt Freeman, Martha Hattie Gilbert, Electa Mrs. J.Y. Keen, Warden Mrs. Emma Manning and Sentinel Calvin Tyre.

P.M. Watson, Sr., who began his business career in Dublin as the manager of the Dublin Junk Company, was always looking to pick up something that no body else had and somebody else might want.  In April 1918, Mr. Watson bought the largest cowhide he had ever seen in South Georgia.  The hide of the poor bovine weighed one hundred and fourteen pounds and was purchased from J.F. Rogers.

Those who had not read the newspapers or recognized what was really happening must have thought how dark the skies were getting on the afternoon of April 7, 1940.  High winds roared through the county.  A half-inch rainfall followed.  The sky was extremely dark - too dark for a rainy day.  The darkness came from a near total eclipse of the sun which was hidden from view by the rain clouds.

Laurens County Superior Court Judge Harold E. Ward made history during the April term of court when he appointed Annie Vickers Thigpen and Alfred L. Hay to the Laurens County Board of Jury commissioners.  Until May 1, 1967, the board had been made up entirely of white male members.  Annie Vickers Thigpen was a daughter of Dr. M.D. Vickers, a prominent physician in eastern Laurens County, a civic leader and a large landowner.  Alfred L. Hay was a graduate of Tuskegee University and a 25 year veteran of the Soil Conservation Division of the Department of Agriculture. 

On April 20, 1976, Colonel Harland Sanders, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken, cut the ribbon at the opening of the Kentucky Fried Chicken store in East Dublin.  Colonel Sanders was given the honor of being named Admiral of the Great Oconee Navy. 

In April 1933, while on his way to Warm Springs, Georgia, President Franklin Roosevelt and his entourage pulled in Dublin for a brief rest and a bite to eat.  While in Dublin, the popular president signed autographs and shook hands with over a hundred people.  On his way out of Dublin, Roosevelt’s driver ran off the road and struck a tree along Bellevue Avenue.  The president was visibly shaken, but unscathed. You didn’t read about the incident in the papers or your history books.  That’s because it never happened  - April Fools!

03-14

UNTO THE LORD, NOW AND FOREVER

80 Years of the First Church of the Nazerene

Eighty years ago today, they gathered together to share the Lord's blessings.  The assembly formed out of families of St. Paul's Church and later nurtured by the families of Mt. Olive and Wilkes Churches of the Nazerene formed the Dublin Nazerene Tabernacle, the first First Nazerene Church in Dublin.  Over the last eight decades, the devout congregation has served and worshiped the Lord with a devotion and dedication, unsurpassed by anyone.

The roots of the Nazerene Church in Georgia run back to 1784 when Methodism was established, a half century after the Rev. John Wesley introduced the Evangelical movement to the colony.  A century later, a dramatic revival swept the state.   The Holiness movement, dedicated to a desire to experience the entire sanctification, was spread throughout the state and in particular in East Central Georgia by ministers of the Methodist Church.  

The first known Nazerene Church in Laurens County was St. Paul's Church.  It was located in eastern Laurens County in the forks of Chester Wilkes Road and St. Paul's Road.  The church was established in the early decades of the Twentieth Century. Other Nazerene churches in our area include Mt. Olive Nazerene near Scott in Johnson County, Wilkes Nazerene near Rockledge, and Rowland Chapel Nazerene near Chester in Dodge County.

On April 8, 1923, a Nazerene Church was founded in Dublin by District Superintendent the Rev. Walter Hanson.  Rev. C.L. Lyles was initially put in charge of the arrangements to establish the new church  In the weeks and months leading up to the founding of the church, church members gathered in homes, tents and on the courthouse square to express their desire to form a new church, known as the Dublin Nazerene Tabernacle.  There were twenty six original members of the church.  Within a short period of time, ten additional members joined the congregation.  

Church members paid a thousand dollars for two lots in the 300 block of Telfair Street.  An old house on the site was razed, and the men of the church erected a small and primitive tabernacle, affectionately known to old timers as "the shed."  The structure had a sawdust covered dirt floor.  The members were often at the mercy of cold winds, blowing rains and pesky mosquitos in the wall less building.  Makeshift pews were constructed with borrowed lumber, which had to be returned to its owner following each service.  There was a special room constructed to house the church piano to protect it from the elements .  The shed served as a place of worship for several years, until it was replaced by a more permanent building. 

The first pastor of the church was the Rev. J.J. Eason, who served until the fall of 1923, when he returned to his school teaching job.  He was replaced by Miss Opal Glenn Rife, who was Laurens County's first woman minister.  Rev. Rife was ordained as a minister during the October 1924 General Assembly of the Georgia District.  Forty nine members assembled in Dublin for an entire week. Joining Rev. Rife in the ordination into the ministry was Miss Aurelia Moore, who would later be a pastor of the First Church in Dublin.  Reverends H.I. Basham and W.A. Stites succeeded Rev. Rife in 1924 and 1926 respectively.

In 1928, when Laurens County was going through a deep depression long before the national "Great Depression" began, the Nazerene Tabernacle was closed and torn down.  Superintendent Hanson continued to lead Sunday night services, which were held in Charlie Keen's grocery on East Madison Street.  Several of the church members joined St. Paul's Church, which was led at the time by the Rev. Rollie Johnson.  Former members did not surrender to the obstacles which prevented them from reestablishing a new church in Dublin.  A new building was constructed on the original site under the direction of Rev. Jimmie Shelton.  

In May 1937, following a soul stirring revival meeting led by the Rev. O.E. Shelton, The Dublin First Church of the Nazerene was organized by six charter members - Mrs. Julie Holmes, Charles Wilson, Glenn Ladson, Mrs. Carlton Beacham, Mrs. S.V. Holmes and Mrs. Maude Martin.  In the 1940s, the church considered building a new sanctuary on the corner of North Franklin and East Columbia Streets.  The plan was canceled when area residents objected. A parsonage was built on the site.  In the meantime, membership continued to grow to more than 60 members by the end of the decade. 

It was during the ministry of Rev. L.B. Friend that a new church building began.  A Sunday School annex was completed first and was used for the sanctuary until the main sanctuary was completed.  Church members, including Herbert Sheppard, Aaron Chambers, Leonard Snipes and M.O. Darsey's father, volunteered their labor to construct the new church.  In the early 1950s, a new parsonage at 409 Telfair Street was acquired by the church.  It was replaced by a new one at 1709 Highland Avenue in 1955.   

In the last fifty years, the church has experienced a steady growth in its membership and  facilities.  By the beginning of the 1960s, membership had increased to 140.  In 1963, a new sanctuary was completed.  The old sanctuary and Sunday School annex were remodeled with new classrooms.  During the first term of the Rev. Myron G. Wise, the ever expanding membership set a goal to construct a new Sanctuary and Educational Building.  The first service in the new sanctuary was held in May of 1984.  The new facility was dedicated on August 19, 1984 under the direction of Dr. Orville Jenkins, Nazerene General Superintendent.  By then, the membership in the church had risen to nearly 225 members.  An all time attendance record for Sunday services occurred on Homecoming Day in February, 1987, when 518 people attended the 50th anniversary celebration of the church. 

The following pastors have served the Dublin First Church of the Nazerene: O.E. Shelton, W.M. Singafoes, Victor Coursey, Aurelia Moore, L.B. Friend, T.F. Ellison, W.P. Smithson, Marlin Mason, Paul Lawrence, Lewis B. Whetstone, Myron G. Wise, Dan Casey, Jim Laymon, Skye Allison, Aubrey Smith and Myron G. Wise, the current pastor.  Among the associate pastors of the church were C.B. Smith, Mark Tipton, Terry Soles, Kevin Simmons, Chris Cook, Michelle Turner Garrison, Ken Painter, Don Hicks and Marquita Hicks.  Several members of the church have entered into the ministry, including the Rev. Gary Mimbs,, who is the current pastor of Rowland Chapel Church of the Nazerene.  

Today, more than three hundred members and guests regularly attend Sunday services.  The growth of the church is due solely to the dedication of the members of the church to serve unto the Lord  now and forever.  It is to these members, many of whom I am proud to include as my friends, that I dedicate this column. In particular, I dedicate this column to the memory of the late Glenn Holmes Darsey, a little giant of a lady, who compiled most of the information for this article.

03-15

SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS

An Alternate Version of the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

Most of us know the story of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865.  Or do we know the real reason that John Wilkes Booth slipped into Ford’s Theater and shot the President in the back of the head at point blank range.  One Dublin man, Robert A. Beall, had his own version of Booth’s motive.  The story is not a new one. It has been around for many years, but few people have heard the Beall’s family story about why John Wilkes Booth fired the shot that changed the future of America.  

Robert Andrew Beall was born in Sparta, Georgia on January 31, 1836.  He enlisted in Company K of the 15th Georgia Infantry (The Hancock Confederate Guards) on July 15, 1861.  He transferred to Co. A of the 48th Georgia Infantry (The Gibson Guards).  He was elected Junior Second Lieutenant on January 30, 1863.  During the battle of Gettysburg, Beall led his company’s charge up the slopes of Cemetery Ridge in an attack on the Union center.  The 48th Georgia, attached to Wright’s Brigade, managed to break the northern lines late in the afternoon of the second day of the battle.  The brigade suffered horrific casualties when adjoining Confederate forces failed to cover their flanks as the Union army recovered and surrounded them.  Beall was shot in his leg just above the knee and taken to a field hospital, where he was later captured and imprisoned at Point Lookout, Maryland.  Lt. Beall was exchanged on October 14, 1864.  He surrendered at Appomattox, Virginia on April 9, 1865, just five days before the assassination.  Robert Beall moved to Dublin, where he died on May 20, 1920.  

Eight years before his death, Beall reminisced about his service in the Confederate army and his experiences in prison.  He also related a fascinating story of the true reason that John Wilkes Booth killed Abraham Lincoln.  The story revolved around John Young Beall, a relative of Lt. Beall,  later called Capt. Beall, because he was a captain in the local unit of the United Confederate Veterans.

John Young Beall, a 30 year old Virginian, was one of the first in his native county of Jefferson to enlist in the 2nd Virginia Infantry, which was attached to “The Stonewall Brigade” under the command of Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson.  At the time of the beginning of the war, he was studying law at the University of Virginia.    At the Battle of Falling Waters in October 1861, Lt. Beall was seriously wounded when he was shot in the chest during a charge on a Union position.  While Beall was convalescing in a Richmond hospital, he came up with an idea to release Confederate prisoners who were being held on Johnson’s Island.    Lt. Beall met with Confederate President Jefferson Davis, who gave temporary approval of the plan pending the approval by S.R. Mallory, Secretary of the Confederate Navy.    Secretary Mallory conceded the plan might work, but tolled its execution.    

Beall transferred to the Navy and was given command of a vessel which operated in the waters of the lower Potomac River.  Captain Beall led several successful raids on Union positions.   Beall’s mind returned to his plan to liberate his fellow Confederate soldiers being held prisoner at Johnson’s Island in Lake Erie.  On September 19, 1864, Beall and several other men boarded the Philo Parsons, a vessel out of Sandwich, Michigan.  At the first stop, Beall and his comrades commandeered the boat.   One Federal gunboat, the U.S.S. Michigan, guarded the prison at Johnson’s Island.   Beall arranged to have the officers of the Michigan to attend a party in Sandusky, Ohio.  The plan was eventually called off when the signal of the officer’s absence failed to materialize.  Beall and his men returned to the safety of Canada. 

Three months later in December 1864, Capt. Beall was captured while leading a raid to release Confederate prisoners being transferred to Fort Warren.  Beall was tried for his actions and found guilty by a military court martial.  Despite the fact he received letters of support from several influential citizens and congressmen of West Virginia and Maryland, as well as some northern congressmen,  Beall was sentenced to death by the court, which was affirmed by Secretary of State William Seward.   On February 24, 1865, Captain Beall was escorted to the gallows of a prison in New York City.  He was calm with full faith that he would go to Heaven under the grace of Christ.  He declared in a calm but firm voice that his execution was “contrary to the laws of civilized warfare.” 

In the decade following the death of Abraham Lincoln, a story began to circulate through the newspapers of the country of a strong personal bond between John Young Beall and John Wilkes Booth.  The story goes that the two men were best friends, and that upon Beall’s capture, Booth arranged to have Beall released from prison.  Booth, a southern sympathizer who spent most of the war acting in the northern states, purportedly contacted three men, including John P. Hale, a United States Senator from New Hampshire, to go to President Lincoln and plead his case for a stay of execution.    The story goes on to say that Booth went with the men to the White House during the middle of the night to meet with the President.  After Booth plead his case, it was said that there was not a dry eye in the house.   Lincoln acceded to Booth’s request and agreed to pardon Captain Beall.  Then, at the instance of Secretary Seward, who supposedly wanted to make an example out of the  captain, convinced Lincoln to proceed with the execution.    Incensed at Lincoln’s betrayal, Booth began his plan to kill the President.

The story seems to have originated in a weekly newspaper “Pomeroy’s Democrat.”  There is extant evidence to prove that Booth began his plan to kill Lincoln and Seward even before Captain Beall led the failed raid on Johnson’s Island.  No evidence has ever been found to indicate the longtime friendship between Beall and Booth.  A week after the assassination, Booth wrote in his diary that he “knew of no private wrong. I struck for my country and that alone.”

The story of John Young Beall and his connection to John Wilkes Booth is an interesting one, but it also indicates that not all articles written in newspapers, especially old ones, are always true.  Sometimes the stories are based on speculation or out of a desire to make a political point.  In this case, the story is alleged to have come from an attempt to sensationalize the death of Lincoln and of course sell newspapers in the process.  In a way, it may have only been a story comparable to those found in “The National Enquirer” and other tabloids of that ilk. 

Nevertheless, the heroism and dedication of Captain Robert A. Beall, should not go disappear into oblivion. This man survived the horrors of war and imprisonment and returned to rebuild his state, a task made even more difficult by the senseless execution of Abraham Lincoln in Ford’s Theater, one hundred and thirty eight years ago.

03-16

MISTER ROBERTS

The Life and Service of Judge David M. Roberts

David Roberts was a man of honor. His life was devoted to the service of his community on the battlefield and in the courtroom. This native of Laurens County was one of the most respected jurists of the late 18th Century in East Central Georgia.  Judge Roberts was described by his admirers as a man “of deep prejudices,” yet was of “kindly disposition and unusually charitable and liberal, and his friends he bound to himself as if by hoops of steel.” 

David Montgomery Roberts was born in Laurens County, Georgia on June 15, 1837. David’s grandfather, Frederick Roberts, was one of the earliest citizens of Dublin and a veteran of the Continental Army during the American Revolution.   Frederick Roberts  lived in the vicinity of the old post office on Madison Street and is supposedly buried in the family cemetery on South Franklin Street below the railroad.  He received only a meager education in county schools, but young David was indeed fortunate to have studied under Prof. A.B. Niles in his academy in Dublin.  His parents, Daniel Roberts and Elizabeth Carey Roberts, removed to Thomas County in 1857. The Roberts family joined many other families in the exodus to the southwest Georgia county. Young David remained in Dublin and began his study of the law under the direction of Hugh McCall Moore. In 1859, Roberts stood before Judge Peter Early Love and passed his examination for admission to the bar. In the years leading up to the Civil War, Dublin offered little in the way of incentives for new attorneys. Roberts moved to Jacksonville in Telfair County to begin his practice of law.

When hostilities at Fort Sumpter began in April 1861, Roberts returned to Dublin. He and a dozen or so other Laurens Countians enlisted in Company G of the 10th Georgia Infantry on May 20, 1861 in Hawkinsville. Among the other members of his company were Dr. Peyton W. Douglas, the first mayor of Dublin, and Charles C. Kibbee, who would later serve as Judge of the Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit, which included Laurens County. He developed a debilitating rheumatism after arriving in Richmond and received a discharge from the service on January 7, 1862 while in camp near Young’s Mill, Virginia.

After two months of recuperation, Roberts recovered from his illness and returned to Confederate Service. He enlisted in battalion under the command of Col. C. T. Goode. Roberts was assigned to Company G of the Tenth Confederate cavalry regiment, which was composed of four companies from Georgia and six from Tennessee. It was organized in Murfreesboro, Tennessee through the consolidation of C. T. Goode’s and M. M. Slaughter’s brigades. From its base in eastern Tennessee, the 10th Cavalry conducted raids into Kentucky. The 10th saw its first action near Mill Spring, Kentucky. The regiment suffered heavy losses at Chicamagua while under command of Col. John Scott. During the Atlanta campaign of 1864, the 10th Confederate Calvary fought vicious battles with their Union counterparts, especially at the battles of New Hope Church and Kennesaw Mountain. During his term of service in the cavalry, Lt. Roberts served under some of the most famous cavalry leaders in history. Among them were Nathan Bedford Forrest, John Morgan and Joseph Wheeler. His company saw action until the Battle of Bentonville, North Carolina, the last battle of the Civil War.

After the war, Roberts resumed his practice in Reidsville, Georgia.  After one year, he removed to Holmesville, Appling County, where he resided for eight years. After a short time in Jessup, Roberts moved closer to his birthplace and located in Eastman in the infant county of Dodge in 1877. Roberts married Ursula Edwards of Tattnall county. They had four children; James, Paul, Eliza and Fred.  If that last child’s  name sounds familiar, it should be. David Roberts named one of his sons after his grandfather. The second Frederick , or “Fred,” Roberts, was a one time automobile dealer in Dublin. He was a member of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce and was actively involved in the construction of a first class hotel in Dublin in the mid-1920s. Sadly, Fred Roberts died during the construction of the new hotel, which was named in his memory. 

David Roberts’s first political service came in 1879, when he was elected as an Alderman of the town of Eastman. Joining him on the People’s Party ticket was Dr. Harris Fisher and Dr. J. M. Buchan, former and future residents of Laurens County respectively. In 1882, Roberts was elected Mayor of Eastman. His next venture into the political ring came in 1886, when he was chosen by the electorate to represent Dodge, Wilcox, Dooly and Pulaski counties, which composed the 14th District of the Georgia Senate. Two years later, Roberts was selected as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention. That convention nominated Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock, who twenty five year earlier lead the Union Army in a victory over Gen. Robert E. Lee at Gettysburg. The nomination of Hancock by southern Democrats proved the point that they could forgive and support a Yankee, but never, ever, would they vote for a Republican.

David Roberts was elected Judge of the Oconee Circuit of the Superior Courts of Georgia in 1888. He succeeded his former Confederate comrade, Charles C. Kibbee, and served from January 1, 1889 to December 31. 1892. The circuit included Dodge, Irwin, Montgomery, Pulaski, Telfair, Wilcox, and from December 23, 1884 to November 26, 1890, Laurens County. Judge Roberts returned to the bench on New Year’s Day of 1901 and served one additional four year term as judge until December 31, 1905.  

Outside of his legal career, Judge Roberts was a leading member of the Masonic Lodge in Eastman. He served as Commander of the Knights Templar, an elite Masonic organization.  He was originally a member of the Baptist Church, but joined the Presbyterian Church in Eastman fifteen years before his death.  The judge was also successful in business and financial circles. He served for many years as the President of the Merchants and Farmers Bank of Eastman. Roberts remained active in the United Confederate Veterans up to the time of this death.

On July 28, 1910, Judge David Roberts, following an illness of two weeks, died in the Elkins Sanitarium in Atlanta, Georgia.  His body was returned to Eastman for burial in the Woodlawn Cemetery.  Roberts’ funeral was held in the Baptist Church in Eastman.  The services were conducted by Rev.  J.B. Mack, a leading Presbyterian minister in Georgia.  The church was filled  with friends and family members.  Out on the front steps a large number of black people stood or sat in reverence for this man, who had the beneficiaries of his charity.   In his seventy three years on Earth, Judge David Roberts served his community with dedication and integrity.   

03-17

THE REV. ADIEL SHERWOOD, D.D.

The Father of Baptist Education in Georgia

When we think of missionaries, we usually think of Christians spreading the word of the Gospel in the darkest jungles of Africa, the islands of the Pacific or the mountains of China.  In the early 1820s, Laurens County was sparsely populated.  According to most sources, there was only one church in existence, and that church was Popular Springs North.  For one brief period, the Rev. Adiel Sherwood, credited with being one of the two founders of Baptist education in Georgia, traveled throughout the remotest areas of Laurens and Pulaski Counties preaching the word of God. 

Adiel Sherwood, son of Adiel Sherwood, Sr., was born at Fort Edwards, New York, on October 3, 1791.  The senior Sherwood served as an officer in George Washington’s Army and was with the general at Valley Forge.  In February 1810, he professed his conversion to the Baptist faith and  was baptized.  He began the study of languages and the following winter taught in a local school.  He matriculated at Middlebury College in Vermont in 1813.  Sherwood transferred to Union College in Schenectady, New York, where he graduated in 1817.  Sherwood entered the seminary at Andover Seminary.  His faltering health forced him to move to the South in 1818.   He arrived in Savannah, where he was introduced to Jesse Mercer and several other prominent Baptist ministers.  That first meeting with Rev. Mercer was at a Missionary Society meeting in Louisville in the winter of 1818.  Sherwood was assigned to preach at Waynesboro, Brushy Creek, Little Buckhead and Providence churches.  He continued to preach at several other churches in the area until his ordination at Bethesda in Greene County in March 1820.    It was in the days following his ordination that Rev. Sherwood served as a missionary to the people of Laurens and Pulaski counties.

In 1821, Rev. Sherwood, in conjunction with Rev. Mercer, organized the First Baptist Church of Greensboro, where he served as pastor for twelve years.  After only four years in the ministry, Sherwood rose to prominence in the State Baptist Convention when he was elected Clerk and Treasurer in 1824.  He served in that office for ten years.  In 1827, he assumed the charge as the teacher of the Eatonton Academy.   While living in Eatonton, Rev. Sherwood pastored at the churches in Milledgeville and Monticello.  During 1828 alone, the Reverend preached 333 sermons and traveled to more than forty counties, including Bibb County.  Rev. Sherwood rode the forty miles and back just to preach in the newly constituted First Baptist Church in Macon. 

It was while he was Eatonton that Rev. Sherwood began to mold his bond between religion and education.  In 1827, Sherwood published his “Gazetteer of Georgia,” in which he described the various places and geographical features of the state.  The book was revised several times and was one of the premier reference sources of 19th Century Georgia.  In 1832, he began a school of manual labor in Eatonton, in addition to the small theological school, which he established four years earlier.  The school closed in 1832, and the students were sent to Penfield in Greene County.  At the state convention in 1831, Rev. Sherwood introduced a resolution that established a school at Penfield and eventually led to the establishment of Mercer University.  

Rev. Sherwood rose to national prominence in the Baptist Church.  He attended the Triennial Conventions of the National church in 1832 in New York and in Richmond in 1835.  

Sherwood left Georgia in 1836 to aid the formation of the American and Foreign Bible Society in Philadelphia.   He served as a professor at Columbian College in Washington, D.C. in 1837 and 1838.  He returned to Georgia in 1838 to accept a position as a professor of sacred literature at Mercer University, the school which he helped to found.  After three years at Mercer, Rev. Sherwood accepted the presidency of Shurtleff College in Alton, Illinois.  In 1846, Sherwood and his family moved out west.  He was assigned as secretary of the American Indian Mission Associaton.  Rev. Sherwood served as President of Masonic College in Lexington, Missouri from 1848 to 1849.  He served a church in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, until his poor health once again forced him to return to Georgia.  

In 1857, Rev. Sherwood accepted the presidency of Marshall College in Griffin, Georgia.  He returned to Eatonton to pastor churches in that city, as well as churches in Monticello and Greenville.  He moved back to Griffin where he remained until 1863, when he moved to Butts County.    His farm was destroyed by Sherman’s army during its “March to the Sea” in 1864.  The Sherwoods elected to return to their second home in Missouri.  

While living in St. Louis, Rev. Sherwood continued to actively engage in the ministry, despite his advanced age.  He last pastorate was at Kirkwood, Missouri in 1870 in his fiftieth year in the ministry.  While facing the debilitating symptoms of arthritis, Rev. Sherwood continued to write books and articles on Christian life.  

Rev. Adiel Sherwood died on August 18, 1879 in St. Louis. He was survived by his wife, the former Miss Heriot of South Carolina.  His first wife, whom he married in 1821, was the widow of Gov. Peter Early of Georgia.  He was described as “ a man of commanding appearance, highly intellectual, but pious, simple in his manner and modest, though learned in many ways, and as one of the early giants of the Baptist Church in Georgia.”    

In his life in Georgia, Adiel Sherwood was one of the foremost leaders in the Baptist Church. He was the first pastor of churches in Penfield, Milledgeville, Macon, Greensboro, Griffin, Monticello, and Greenville.   In 1835, it has been said that he preached sermons in more than eighty counties in Georgia.  The small theological school, which he established in Eatonton in 1828, was the first of its kind in Georgia, and it led to the establishment of Mercer University, the largest Baptist university in Georgia.   He was a friend to every governor of Georgia from the time he arrived until his death.  On a national scale, Sherwood was an acquaintance of every president from George Washington to Ulysses S. Grant, as well as a host of Georgia senators and congressmen. 

   03-18

WILKINSON COUNTY, GEORGIA

CELEBRATING 200 YEARS

On May 11, 2003, Wilkinson County, Georgia, the mother county of six counties of the lower Oconee River valley, will celebrate its bicentennial. The history of Wilkinson County is inextricably tied to the history of its descending counties and all of eastern Central Georgia. 

The first inhabitants of what is now Wilkinson County came to the area to seek the bountiful animals and water supply.  We have no knowledge of the names of the people who inhabited the area for most of the last ten or so thousand years.  In the spring of 1540, the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto passed through Wilkinson County on his journey through what would become Georgia.  Depending on which account you believe, it likely that the expedition crossed at Carr’s Bluff in present day Laurens County or most likely at old Oconee Town near Rock Landing in the upper edge of Wilkinson County.    

During the 17th and 18th centuries, a tribe of Indians known as the Oconee occupied the central Oconee River valley.  Around the middle of this period, the Oconee, under threat of conquest by the Yamasee Indians of coastal Georgia, removed to Florida, where they became known as the Seminoles.  The last predominant tribe to occupy Wilkinson County were the Uchee.  The Uchee established or reestablished two major trails from southwest Georgia to the Augusta area.  The lower trail passed through Laurens County and the upper trail passed through Wilkinson County, where it crossed the Oconee River just below Ball’s Ferry.

During the latter days of the 18th Century, Gen. Elijah Clarke established his own country, The Trans Oconee Republic.  Clarke’s nation encompassed most all of present day Wilkinson County and was centered in the area above Toomsboro.  The State of Georgia, looking to protect it’s interests along the frontier, established Fort Advance and Fort Fidius, near Rock Landing.  Other forts at White Bluff, Long Bluff, and Carr’s Bluff, were established further down the river.  Within  a decade, the Creek Indians, recognizing their impending fate, conceded the eminent power of the United States.  In May 1802, leaders of the Creek Nation met with commissioners Benjamin Hawkins, Andrew Pickens, and James Wilkinson.  The result of the negotiations was the Treat of Fort Wilkinson, which was located just south of Milledgevile.

On May 11, 1803, the Georgia legislature established Wilkinson County.  The county was named in honor of General James Wilkinson, who had just a year earlier helped to negotiate the treaty which acquired the land which would encompass Wilkinson County.  General Wilkinson, no stranger to dickering with Indian chiefs, was a physician, farmer, and officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolution.  After the war, Wilkinson removed  to the western limits of the country trying his hand at commerce, an endeavor which ended in failure. In 1792, he returned to military service in the Northwest Territories, eventually becoming one of the top generals in the United States Army.  For the first decade of the Nineteenth Century,  General Wilkinson was involved in numerous treaties and negotiations to expand the western boundaries of the United States. After five years of land speculating in Texas, Wilkinson died three days after Christmas 1825 in Mexico City.

The act creating the new county established the boundary lines of the county which  began at Fort Wilkinson on the Oconee River and ran in a southwesterly direction to the Indian boundary line, which was basically from the area around Gordon down to Turkey Creek and down the creek to its mouth on the Oconee River. The new lands were laid out in a new system.  Georgia government officials and surveyors had found the old system of head right land grants extremely cumbersome.  Under the head right system, grantees were granted lands with irregular shapes and sometimes undeterminable boundaries.  The new land lot system provided that future lands in Georgia would be laid out in square lots containing 202.5 acres each.  Heads of household, widows and orphans were allowed a chance to participate in a land lottery.  Fortunate drawers were granted a land lot upon the payment of a fee and the improvement of the land.  These lots composed larger areas known as land districts.  Originally, Wilkinson County was composed of five land districts.  

Before the state could implement a land lottery system, fraudulent schemers began selling tracts to more than willing settlers. This was nothing new. Several years before, Georgia officials, including the chief executives, engaged in the sale of nonexistent lands.  These scandals, which eventually led to major reforms in Georgia government, were known as the Yazoo Fraud and the Pine Barrens Scandal.  Surveying of the first five land districts began in 1804 under the direction of David Adams.   In 1805, another treaty, the Treaty of Washington,  provided that the Creeks would cede all of the lands below the original line down to the confluence of the Oconee and Ocmulgee rivers.

  

There is some evidence to indicate that Georgia officials wanted to establish a new capital in what would become Wilkinson County. In 1794, the legislature set aside two thousand acres for a new capital in the vicinity of Rock Landing.  Since this act was passed before Georgia even acquired the lands, its implementation never materialized.  Following the treaty of Fort Wilkinson, planners conceived a plan to establish the capital on the western bank of the Oconee River near the head of its navigable waters.  The new capital city of Milledgeville was mistakenly set out, several miles above the point where river transportation was possible.  This mistake rendered the new capital useless as an inland river port and prevented a substantial economic development of the city.  

While Wilkinson County was created in May 1803, a county government was not established until December 1805.  Samuel Beckhom, William Randolph, Lewis Lanier, William O’Neal and Thomas Gilbert were selected as Justices of the Inferior Court.  These men were charged with the management of county affairs.  Justices O’Neal and Gilbert later became residents of Laurens County.  The county government was completed in 1806 with an election held in a temporary courthouse located on the Toomsboro Road just south of Ebenezer Church.  The initial slate of county officers were: Sheriff Edmund Hogan, Clerk of Superior Court Archibald McIntyre, Clerk of Inferior Court William Brown, Surveyor, Britton McCullars, Coroner and Charles Ray.  Wilkinson County’s first state senator was Robert Jackson.  The county’s first state representative was John Thomas Fairchild.

The first session of the Superior Court of Wilkinson County was held near Ebenezer Church with Judge Benjamin Skrine presiding and Robert Walker acting as Solicitor.  Wilkinson County was initially a part of the Middle Circuit.   On the same day that Laurens and Telfair counties were cut from Wilkinson County, the county was placed in the Southern Ocmulgee Circuit.  The second judge of the Superior Court was Peter Early, who later served as Governor of Georgia.   Among the more famous men who have sat as judges of Wilkinson County Superior Court are Augustus B. Longstreet, Lucian Q.C. Lamar and Herschel V. Johnson.

In 1807, the remaining land districts of Wilkinson County were granted to prospective settlers from across the state.  The limits of Wilkinson County then extended south to the head of the Altamaha River.  With such a large area, county officials found it difficult to govern an area larger than Delaware or Rhode Island.  In December 1807, the legislature carved off the lower two thirds of the county to form Laurens and Telfair counties.  Arthur Fort, John Hays, William Bruin, Elkanah Loftin and Jesse Brown were appointed to seek out a site for a county seat, one which would be centrally located.  The commissioners found it difficult to select a site which would please everyone.  The first choice was a site in the vicinity of Allentown,  but it was never officially designated.  A new slate of commissioners were selected in 1809. Stephen Johns, John Eady, Sr., Elkanah Loftin, Phillip Pittman and William Crawley found their predecessors job equally vexing and took no action toward establishing a permanent county seat.  A third slate of commissioners composed of John Hatcher, William Stubbs, Abram Lewis, Matthew Carswell and John Horne finally made progress toward a financial decision.

Among the original settlers of Wilkinson County were: Samuel Beall, Charles C. Beall, Solomon B. Murphy, John Hoover, John Meredith, Abner Hicks, Alexander Passmore, John Freeman, Joel Rivers, Samuel Bragg, John Lavender, Jeremiah Garrett, John Hatcher, Thomas McGinty, Robert Rozar, Isaac Hall, Green B. Burney, Wiley Shepherd, Joseph Hill, William Lord, Jesse Pittman, Stephen Billue, Jacob Boone, John Eady, Ford Butler, Charles Culpepper, Sampson Culpepper, Joel Culpepper, William Thomas Hughs, Benjamin Stubbs, Frederick Dominy, Peter Adams, Matthew Carswell, Anson Ball, William Lindsey and Ellis Harvill. 

On December 1811, the town of Irwinton was officially designated by the Georgia legislature as the county seat of Wilkinson County.    Apparently Georgia legislators had become unfond of the namesake of the county, Gen. James Wilkinson.   A motion was passed in 1810 to change the name of the county to Marion.  The measure never became law.   of Irwinton was named in honor of Jared Irwin, a two-term governor of Georgia, who lived just across the Oconee River in southern Washington County.  John Proctor, Robert Barnett, John Speight, John Ball, and Daniel Hicks were charged with the duty of being the Commissioners of Public Buildings.  It has been said that the site of Irwinton lay on an old trading post site at the intersection of an old road from Fort Hawkins near the future city of Macon to Savannah and the main road running south from the capital of Milledgeville to points south.   The original town had only two streets; Washington Street, which ran from west to east, and Sumpter Street, which ran from north to south toward Sumpterville, the first county seat of Laurens County.  

With the coming of settlers into Wilkinson County, religious and educational institutions began to spring up over the county.  The first church in Wilkinson County was Popular Springs Baptist Church. This church, which was organized in August 1807, has the oldest congregation west of the Oconee River and is currently Laurens County’s oldest church.  Other early Baptist churches in the county were Mt. Nebo, Ramah, Big Sandy, New Providence and Myrtle Springs.  The county’s Baptist churches in the area organized the Ebenezer Baptist Association in 1814.  Salem Methodist Church, which was organized about 1820, is the oldest Methodist church in the county.  The first extant evidence of a school in Wilkinson County reveals that it was Mt. Etna Academy which was organized in 1814.    Six years earlier, Arthur Fort, Stephen Johnston, William Lord, John Hays, and Williams Bivins were appointed to make arrangements to establish a county academy.  Those who could not afford the matriculation fees at the local academy were educated in the poor schools of the county, which were funded by taxes and supervised by neighborhood trustees.  In 1854, Arthur E. Cochran, a local attorney and a future Superior Court judge, established the Talmadge Normal Institute to educate teaching students.  The  institute, named in honor of educator Samuel Talmadge, operated until it was destroyed by fire in 1923.  

Disastrous fires plagued the city of Irwinton throughout the first 120 years of its existence.  In 1828, a fire destroyed nearly all of the county’s records. In doing so, the flames robbed historians and genealogists of many valuable pieces of information, which chronicled the early history of the county.  A second fire in 1831 destroyed several businesses in the town.  Another courthouse fire wiped out more valuable court records.  A fourth fire in 1924 damaged some county records, but thankfully, most of the books and papers survived.  

Perhaps the most important event in the history of Wilkinson County was the coming of the Central of Georgia Railroad in the late 1830s.  Originally scheduled to take the direct route from Macon to Savannah through Laurens County, Georgia’s oldest railroad was diverted to the north because of protests from Laurens County farmers, including former U.S. Senator and Governor George M. Troup.  The railroad entered the county from the east near Oconee, Georgia and passed westwardly through the towns of Emmitt, Wriley, and Gordon.  The first station at Emmitt was moved one and one half miles to the west and renamed Toomsboro, in honor of Georgia Senator and Secessionist leader Robert Toombs.  The depot at Wriley was closed and moved to McIntyre, which was named in memory of McIntyre, a railroad worker who was accidentally killed in 1849 while repairing the Oconee River Bridge.  The final stop on the Central was at Gordon in western Wilkinson County.  The largest of three depot towns, Gordon was named for W.W. Gordon, the first president of the Central of Georgia.  In 1851, a branch of the Central, the Gordon and Covington, was constructed.

While the railroad invigorated the local economy, Wilkinson County, like many other east central Georgia counties, was stagnated by development of lands in western Georgia and Alabama.  In 1850, there were just over eight thousand people in the county, one-third of which were slaves. New churches began to appear throughout the county.  Pleasant Plains, Friendship, Bethel, Liberty, Ebenezer, Clear Creek, Mt. Carmel, Laurel Branch and churches in Gordon and Toomsboro were organized before the 1850s.  

In December 1860, a vote was taken among the populace of Georgia to determine whether or not Georgia should secede from the Union.  Wilkinson County voters elected Nathaniel Carswell and Robert J. Cochran to represent the county in the Secession Convention at Milledgeville in January 1861. Both representatives were old Whig Party members and were strong Union Party supporters.  The Union party was resolved to remain in the Union, despite their approval of slavery.  Both Carswell and Cochran cast their votes for the Union.  When the majority of the delegates voted to secede from the United States, the Wilkinson County delegates changed their votes to ratify the decision of the assembly.

With the conclusion of the secession convention in Milledgeville, the men of Wilkinson County set out to organize infantry companies for the defense of Georgia.  The first Wilkinson County company was organized by Capt. William O. Beall.  The Wilkinson Rifles were designated as Company F, 3rd Georgia Infantry.  Shortly thereafter, a second company, the Carswell Rifles, was organized as Company I of the 3rd Georgia.  The companies mustered at Providence Church during the spring of 1861.  They were among the first Georgia companies to see action in Virginia.  

The 3rd Georgia fought in nearly every battle of the Army of Northern Virginia.  They saw action in the Battle of the Seven Days, 2nd Manassas, Harper’s Ferry, Sharpsburg (Antietam), Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Manassas Gap, Wilderness, Spotsylvania C.H., South Anna, Cold Harbor and the siege of Petersburg in the summer of 1864.  The Wilkinson County boys took part in the skirmishes at High Bridge and Farmville, which culminated with Lee’s surrender at Appomattox C.H. on April 9, 1865.  The 3rd Georgia was cited for its gallantry in an obscure battle at South Mills, North Carolina on April 7, 1862 and for its heroic charge up Malvern Hill on July 1, 1862.  

A third company, the Ramah Guards, organized themselves as Company B of the 14th Georgia Infantry on July 1, 1862.  An election was held at the muster ground near Ramah Church. Robert W. Folsom was elected Captain of the company.  David Solomon and Joel Rivers helped to outfit the company with arms and uniforms.  The Guards were sent to Virginia, where they became a part of Stonewall Jackson’s “foot cavalry.”  They saw action first in West Virginia in 1861 and in the spring of 1862 became a part of the Army of Northern Virginia under the command of General E.L. Thomas.  Joining the Guards in Thomas’s brigade was Company A (The Wilkinson Invincibles) of the 49th Georgia under the command of Captain SamuelT. Player.  The 49th Georgia saw their first action in the Battle of Seven Pines in late May 1862.   Samuel T. Player rose to the rank of Colonel of the 49th Georgia.  Jonathan Rivers of Wilkinson County was a Lt. Colonel in the regiment.  

The 14th and 49th regiments participated in the Battle of the Seven Days, Second Manassas, Cedar Mountain, Ox Hill, Harper’s Ferry, and Fredericksburg in 1862.  At Ox Hill, a member of the 49th Georgia shot and killed Gen. Philip Kearney, the highest ranking Union officer killed during the Civil War. Thomas’s brigade took part in heaving fighting at the pivotal battles of Second Manassas and Fredericksburg.  In 1863, the Wilkinson County forces took part in the battle of Chancellorsville and saw a little action near the end of Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg.  As the battle season of 1864 began, the 14th and 49th Georgia were right in the middle of the horrific battles of The Wilderness and Spotsylvania Courthouse.  They endured the Union siege upon Petersburg and surrendered with Gen. Lee on April 9, 1865.  

Three companies of the 57th Georgia were organized out of Wilkinson County.  Two companies were organized in the fall of 1861. They trained at Camp Harrison and then in Savannah under the command of captains John Shinholser and H.K. Byington.  In 1862, these two companies were designated as companies D (The Smith Guards) and K (The Oconee Greys) of the 57th Georgia Infantry. A third company, Co. I (The Barkuloo Rifles) was organized from surplus soldiers from the first two companies together with a contingent of men from Laurens County, all under the command of Capt. George W. Bishop.  

The 57th Georgia was assigned to the Army of the Tennessee and saw action in the western theater of operations.  In May 1863, the 57th Georgia found itself in a maelstrom during the height of the battle of Champion’s Hill (Baker’s Creek).  The regiment suffered heavy losses and was forced to retreat to the safety of the fortress at Vicksburg.  On July 4, 1863, Vicksburg fell to the army of U.S. Grant after a six week siege.  The members of the 57th were taken prisoner, but were amazingly released on their own recognizance a month later.  The regiment was assigned to coastal duty near Savannah, but when many soldiers took the opportunity to return to home on unauthorized leaves, they were transferred to Andersonville Prison, where they served as guards during the winter of 1864.  When Gen. Sherman’s army launched it’s attack on Atlanta, the 57th was reassigned to combat duty. The 57th took part in the southern army’s valiant defense of the city, but it along with all the other Confederate regiments, succumbed to the overwhelming force of the Union army.  The remnants of the 57th Georgia surrendered on April 26, 1865 in North Carolina.

The horrors of the Civil War were not confined to the woods of Virginia or the hills of Vicksburg.  In the fall of 1864, the war came right through the center of Wilkinson County.  The result  - a swath of devastation and destruction, which is still on the minds of many Wilkinson countians more than thirteen decades hence.  In August, a party of Stoneman’s raiders gave Wilkinson countians a premonition of things to come with a raid on the railroad center at Gordon.  In November of that year, General Sherman began his infamous “March to the Sea.”  Right in the way of the path of his right wing  along the Central of Georgia Railroad stood Wilkinson County.  Georgia Militia units, including Company D of the 8th Georgia Militia and Company H of the 2nd Georgia Militia of Wilkinson County,  marched out from Macon to attack the rear of Sherman’s army near the village of Griswoldville in Jones County.  In a charge described by participants as rivaling that of General Pickett’s charge at Gettysburg, the young boys and old men of the militia were nearly successful in defeating rear elements of the Union right, which was then entering Gordon.

Other elements of the Union army approached Gordon from Milledgeville to the north.  General  Henry Wayne commanded a motley contingent of Georgia Military cadets and prisoners from the state penitentiary at Milledgeville.    Seeing that he was outnumbered by more than a hundred to one, Wayne ordered the evacuation of Gordon, much to the chagrin of J. R. Kelly.  Kelly, a one-legged amputee and veteran of the war, refused to leave the town undefended.  Kelly enlisted the aid of John Bragg, and the duo fired upon Union troops as they entered the town.  Kelly was captured and sentenced to die.  He managed to escape near the Ogeechee River.

The sixty thousand man column continued its advance toward the county seat at Irwinton.  John Bragg rapidly moved to warn the residents of the town of the Union advance.  The townspeople scurried with their valuable possessions and livestock toward the woods and swamps to the south and east of town.  As the Union army continued its advance pillaging the houses of Irwinton and destroying the rail facilities at McIntyre and Toomsboro, Gen. Joseph Wheeler and his 4000 man cavalry force raced from Macon to cross the Oconee River at Blackshear’s Ferry.  Wheeler joined Gen. Wayne on the east bank of the river opposite Ball’s Ferry.  Meanwhile, in the southern part of the county near the hamlet of Stephensville, legend has it that Dr. James B. Duggan of Laurens County and an old slave woman decoyed a Union cavalry patrol from crossing the Lightwood Knot Bridge by deceiving them into believing that the duo were actually Wheeler’s men.

Wheeler and Wayne’s eclectic mix of cavalrymen, cadets, and convicts managed to stave off the  Union army for a few hours before retreating eastwardly from the vastly overwhelming force.  The Battle of Ball’s Ferry ended the fighting in Wilkinson County.  Union forces remained in the area to prevent more rear attacks from the Confederate army still headquartered in Macon.  

The citizens of Wilkinson County endured the catastrophic effects of Sherman’s destructive march through the county.  In the days following the end of the war, Robert Toombs, Georgia’s fiery secessionist leader and the name sake of Toomsboro, passed through the county while escaping from Union authorities.  Arthur E. Cochran, a former attorney in Wilkinson County, became the first judge of the Superior Court of the Brunswick Judicial District of Georgia in 1856.  Judge Cochran, the namesake of Cochran, Georgia, was named President of the Macon and Brunswick Railroad.  Judge Cochran’s wife, Eugenia Tucker of Laurens County, founded the Adelphean Society at Wesleyan College in Macon in the early 1850s.  The society became the sorority Alpha Delta Pi and is the oldest women’s sorority in the world.

New churches continued to form in the years after the Civil War. Among these were Oakdale ,Allentown and Toomsboro Methodist churches and Allentown, Gordon, Toomsboro, Walnut Creek, White Springs Baptist churches.

In August 1886, an earthquake shook Wilkinson County. The quake, centered in Charleston, South Carolina, was particularly strong at Red Level Methodist Episcopal Church in the southern part of the county.  Rev. Green was extorting the fear of God and the coming of Judgment Day.  The Reverend invited all of the sinners to come to the altar to receive God.  When a few came, he urged the congregation to pray that God send an earthquake to show the sinners their need for repentance. It was then that the walls of the church began to shake and crack. Another shock chased frightened and new believers from the church in what was a most unforgettable revival.

In the early 1890s, a third railroad came to Wilkinson County. Although it only touched the southwestern margin of the county, the Macon, Dublin, and Savannah Railroad led to the establishment of the towns of Allentown and Danville.  Allentown was named for the Allen family, who lived in the area.  The community was located at the intersection of two old Indian trails, one leading from Ball’s Ferry to Hartford and Hawkinsville and the other from Dublin to Fort Hawkins.  Originally known as Crossroads, the area became known as Cool Springs and Allen’s Cross Roads and then Allentown.  Danville, which is primarily in Twiggs County, was named for Daniel Hughes, father of the Hon. Dudley M. Hughes, founding president of the railroad.  The community was originally named Hughes. When confusion arose with another town of the same name in Georgia, the town leaders changed the name to Danville.    

Dudley M. Hughes was closely associated with the history of Wilkinson County.  Hughes, in addition to his founding of the Macon, Dublin, and Savannah Railroad, served his community for more than a half century.  Hughes served in the state senate from 1882-1883 and in the United States House of Representatives from 1909 to 1917.  Hughes, a leading agriculturist and horticulturist, served as a President of the Georgia Agricultural Society.  He served on the House Education Committee and was a founder of federal funding of vocational education in the United States. 

Perhaps the most prominent Wilkinson Countian in state government was the Hon. George H. Carswell.  Carswell, a native of Wilkinson County, was a lawyer, Chairman of the Board of Education, State Representative and State Senator.  Carswell spent fifteen years in the Georgia General Assembly.  He served as Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee and as floor leader for Gov. Hugh Dorsey.  Rep. Carswell was instrumental in passing the bill which established the Department of Transportation.  In 1925, Carswell was chosen President of the Georgia Senate.  In 1928, he was appointed to complete the remaining term of the late W.G. McLendon, Georgia’s Secretary of State.  He was elected in the next election and served until 1931.

Judge George Harold Carswell, a native of Irwinton and a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, served as Chief Judge of the Northern District of the Florida Federal Court from 1958-1969.  Judge Carswell served as a judge on the 5th Circuit Court Appeals.  His nomination to the Supreme Court of the United States was rejected by a heavily dominated anti-Richard Nixon Senate in 1970.

Another well known Wilkinson County resident who was prominent in the affairs of the State of Georgia was Joe Boone.  Boone served as Clerk of the House of Representatives from 1947 to 1958.  Boone’s twelve year term was one of the longest in the history of the state.

William Joshua Bush, Georgia’s last surviving Confederate soldier, was born on July 10, 1845 near Gordon.  He enlisted in Company B of the 14th Georgia Infantry one day before his sixteenth birthday.  He served until the fall of 1861. The young man enlisted in the Georgia militia in 1864 and served in the Battles of Atlanta and the Cross Keys and Dunlap’s Farm in East Macon.  He died at the age of 107 on Veterans Day in 1952. “General” William Bush is buried in the Evergreen Cemetery at Fitzgerald, Georgia.

 

Today, Wilkinson’s County’s most popular native son is Kevin Brown. Brown was born in McIntyre in 1965.  He was a star pitcher for the Wilkinson County Warriors and the Georgia Tech Yellow jackets.  In 1986, Kevin was the fourth player selected in the baseball draft. Over his eighteen year career, Brown has pitched for the Rangers, Orioles, Marlins, Padres and Dodgers.  He has been selected to the all star team five times and pitched in the World Series in 1997 with the Florida Marlins and in 1998 with the San Diego Padres.  Once the highest paid player in baseball, Brown has struck out more than two thousand batters and has his win total is approaching two hundred.

Technically it is aluminum silicate.  It’s common name is kaolin. Most folks around Wilkinson County just call it chalk.  Kaolin, the sedimentary residue of the coastline of the Atlantic Ocean from nearly fifty million years ago, is responsible for neutralizing the devastating effects of the Great Depression in Wilkinson County and retarding a similar decline suffered by many of its surrounding counties in the decades since World War II.   Kaolin is used for the coating of paper and is found primarily along the Fall Line from southwest Georgia to South Carolina.  The first kaolin related industry was established by the Edgar Brothers in McIntyre in 1907.  Edgar Brothers eventually became Englehard, which is one of  the county’s leading employers.  Akron Pigment Company was established in McIntyre in 1920.  There are at least six mining companies currently operating in the county.  J.M. Huber has a twenty six mile pipeline to pump liquified kaolin from its mines in the county to its main plant in Twiggs County.

And, so the story goes on.

03-19

DEAR MOTHER

The Bracewells Write Home

Ever since men could read and write, they have written to loved ones from the battlefields, camps, and hospitals during times of war.  They write of their fears, their sicknesses and their hopes of returning home.  Soldiers look forward to the day when someone walks through the their quarters and yells “mail call!”  Writing to and receiving letters from home blossomed during the Civil War and reached its peak during World War II.   Perhaps the oldest extant letters are five  by members of the Bracewell family of southern Laurens County.  They give us a little insight into a war, called glorious by some, but in reality, was a horrible one, as most wars are.

On March 4, 1862,  James W. Bracewell, Wiley K. Bracewell  and John G. Bracewell enlisted in the Laurens Volunteers, Company G, 49th Georgia Infantry.  Two months later, Jesse A. Bracewell and William S.A. Bracewell joined the company.  Jesse and John were brothers.  Wiley and William were also brothers. The remaining member of the quintet was their cousin, James.  The Laurens Volunteers were assigned to the Army of Northern Virginia, where they arrived just in time for the Battles of the Seven Days in June of 1862.

John was the first casualty.  He was wounded in Thomas’s Brigade’s charge across the river at Mechanicsville, Virginia on June 26th.    His arm was wounded so badly that he was sent to General Hospital No. 9 in Richmond, Virginia, where he remained until his discharge in February  1864.  The 49th Georgia participated in the remaining six battles before retiring back to Richmond.  In August and September, they joined General Lee in his march into Maryland.

On September 16, 1862, the day before the Battle of Sharpsburg at Antietam, Maryland, William was confined to a hospital bed in Winder Hospital in Richmond.  Bedridden for three months with discomforting dysentery, William penned a letter to his wife Sarah telling her that he was better but not well yet.  William asked Sarah how the crops had been that summer.  He hoped to get a furlough to come home, but doubted his chances of coming home since his regiment was so far away and his health was much better.    William said, “Tell all the children howdy for me.”   He ended his letter requesting his wife to send some sox (sic) to his brother Wiley.  On the following day, William and his fellow soldiers were ordered to rejoin their regiment.  Little did they know that the remainder of Lee’s Army was just entering the most cataclysmic one day battle in the history of the United States, for on that day more than twenty thousand men were killed, wounded, or missing.

Wiley too was confined to a hospital bed.  In the first 18 months of the war, dysentery, diarrhea and other diseases killed nearly as many men as bullets, bayonets and artillery fire.  On October 12, 1862, Wiley wrote to his mother Redley (Mrs. Sampson) Bracewell.  From his bed Wiley regretted hearing the news that his Aunt Polly Weaver had died.  He wanted to see his children very badly, living in hopes of seeing them just one more time.   In closing his letter, Wiley said “I must close now. Give my love and respects to the family. I want you to pray for me and if we never meet on Earth again, I know we will meet in Heaven. You must write soon to your affectionate son, W.K. Bracewell.”   Wiley never met his mother again.  On July 2, 1863, Wiley was wounded by a Union artillery round on the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg. Badly wounded, Wiley was forced to remain on the battlefield.  His brother and cousins comforted him until they were forced to leave him  He was the only Laurens County man to die of his wounds at Gettysburg.  Jesse was wounded that day too. Perhaps he was standing next to his cousin when the shell exploded.  Wiley was taken prisoner and hospitalized at Camp Letterman, where he died on August 27, 1863.  His death was a result of gangrene. Chaplain Burton Owen of the 17th Mississippi sent a letter back to his mother informing her of Wiley’s peaceful death.  Wiley was buried in the hospital cemetery. His remains were removed to the “Little Gettysburg” Section of Laurel Grove Cemetery in Savannah.  

Lee’s army retreated to Orange Courthouse, Virginia, where William wrote a letter to his mother on August 15, 1863.  He began, “Through the tender mercies of God, I am spared to write you a few lines that will inform you that I am well at this time and you don’t know how glad I was to hear from you.”   He was obviously concerned with Wiley’s health and wondered if he had his leg amputated at the thigh.  By this point, William was sick of the war. “Mother I know that you don’t want to see any wars. I do want to see you and I want you to pray for me and also for the close of the cruel war that we may be spared to meet you all again this side of the grave,” William lamented.  He continued, “I will tell you that our army is demoralized more than it every has been and the men are deserting every night, more or less. You can think of things as they are and how that it is bad times here.”  In the same envelope William sent a letter to his brother, P.P.R. Bracewell.  He told him of the death of William Spell during the battle at Gettysburg and to remember him in his prayers.  

William was badly wounded in his left knee at the Battle of the Wilderness on May 6, 1864. He was taken prisoner and sent to the 2nd Corps 2nd Division Hospital of the Army of the Potomac.  Just before the end of the war, William Bracewell was exchanged for a Union prisoner and sent home on furlough until the end of the war.  James was the only Bracewell to return home free of injury.

Jesse recovered from his wounds at Gettysburg. He was sent to Camp Jackson Hospital, where he wrote his parents Seaborn and Roxann Wolfe Bracewell on July 25, 1863.  He wrote, “Mother I got wounded in the hand at the Gettysburg fight on the 3rd of July, but thank the Lord I am mending.  Col. Simons of my brigade helped me to do up my hand and told me I had better get out to the rear and have my hand dressed.  Mother, it was the biggest battle I have ever seen.  They say General Lee lost 50,000 men in 16 days.  Dear Mother, you couldn’t tell one cannon from another. It was a continuous roar all the time. We were lying behind a rock fence and everything was quiet.  I could see the Yankees’ cannon and they were walking around them and neither side was firing.  In a few minutes, General Lee rode up on his old gray horse and asked me to hold his horse for him. I did so.  He took out his telescope and spied over the at the Yankees and in a few minutes he left.  I saw a courier coming with a paper in his hand, which he gave to the Captain of the cannonade.  Then we fired at the Yankees and they returned it.  Every now and then a ball would strike the fence.  Mother, I want you to know it frightened them.  I was just afraid of the rock in the ground. Cousin Wiley Bracewell was wounded and left on the field and the Yankees got him. We could hear him calling for his brother, but it was at night and his brother was afraid to go out to him.  He was at the halfway ground and his brother never saw him any more. Dear Mother, we think peace will be made soon.  I hope so, for I am tired of this dreadful war, and I want it to soon close, for I want to see you all the worst I ever did in all my life. I want you both to pray for me, for I feel needful of your prayers.” 

William, Jesse, John, and James all returned home to Laurens County, where they led productive and long lives.  Many of their descendants still live in the county today. If you have old letters from the Civil War, please share copies of them with your local historical society, so that others can read for themselves first hand accounts of the horrors of war.

03-20

A MATTER OF FAITH

The State of Georgia vs. Scion Justice

Scion Justice was a devout man.  He loved his God. He loved his son.  His religious beliefs told him that God would heal his son when he was sick.  He saw no need to enlist the aid of a physician to treat his son, when God was the supreme healer of all sickness.  In the early Twentieth Century, a scant number of people in Laurens County agreed with Justice’s position.  The majority maintained that it was God who gave the physician the power and the knowledge to heal and that no child should go without the best possible medical care.

On October 6, 1902, City Court Solicitor Frank G. Corker called the case of the State of Georgia vs. Scion Justice.   The City Court of Dublin was not a municipal court as we have today. It was a court under the old State Court system.  The court was charged with hearing misdemeanor criminal cases. The indictment alleged that the accused “did unlawfully deprive of necessary sustenance on William Jordan Justice, a child of five and a half years old, the said William Jordan Justice being ill and the said Scion Justice failing and refusing to provide said child with the necessary sustenance, the said Scion Justice being the father of said child.”  If convicted of the misdemeanor, Justice could only be forced to pay a small fine or spend a brief time in jail.

Solicitor Corker presented oral testimony by neighbors and friends of the Justice family.  There were no allegations that Mr. Justice was depriving William of any food.  One of the state’s witnesses testified that the defendant “furnished his family in a decent and respectable manner in the way of something to eat and drink, and was kind to his wife and children.”  He continued, “ the  only I thing I have to complain of is, he don’t give any medicine.”   Another witness stated that the defendant furnished his family all the necessaries of life as well as any ordinary farmer in his circumstances of life (all but medicine), and that is all I complain of.”  A third witness echoed the words of the previous witnesses.  He added, “ Justice always furnished his family with all of the ordinary provisions that farmers have, and he was kind and considerate to his family and children.  He seemed to be a Christian. He seemed to keep the commandments and seemed to do unto others as he would have them do unto him.”  

A jury of Justice’s peers listened carefully to the evidence.  One member of the jury was a former believer in the Christian Science religion. The case was hard fought on both sides.  Representing Mr. Justice in the case was H.P. Howard and James A. Thomas, two well respected attorneys in Dublin.  The case was heard by Judge John S. Adams, Judge of the City Court.  Judge Adams had a difficult time in charging the jury on the law of the case.  It appeared that there were no precedents in the decisions of the appellate courts of Georgia to guide the judge in his charge. The jury returned a verdict of guilty.  Considering the religious climate at the time, the verdict was likely well received by most of the populous.  Justice’s attorney made a motion for a new trial.  Judge Adams denied the motion and the defendant appealed his case to the Supreme Court of Georgia.

Before the case was presented to the Supreme Court, there was much debate among the ruling the court might hand down.  Lawyers in Dublin were deeply divided in their opinions.  Many felt that the court would uphold the conviction, while others believed that the case was technically flawed. The doubters believed that the proper accusation should have stated that Justice should have been charged with cruelty to children. They believed that the decision would be overturned because that medicine was not sustenance.  No lawyer polled believed that there was any way under the laws of Georgia to reach such crimes as Justice was charged with, if refusal to give medicine to children could be called a crime.

The defendant’s lawyers believed that the court would exonerate their client but for different reasons.  Attorney Howard believed that the state produced insufficient evidence to sustain a conviction.  His co-counsel James A. Thomas asserted his client’s innocence on technical grounds in that medicine was not sustenance under our law.  Justice’s lawyers made both points when they argued the case in Atlanta before the Supreme court on November 17th.   It was the first time a member of the Christian Science faith was ever convicted in Georgia for failing to give medicine to a child.  One of the foundations of the Christian Science faith was in real jeopardy.

Christian Science was relatively new to Laurens County. A Mr. Waller introduced it here among the residents in the western part of the county near Dexter.  Waller assembled a rather large number of followers.  While he was successful in his treatment of several patients, some health officials stated that many others died unnecessarily because of the lack of standard medical treatment.  The Courier Dispatch reported that the ranks of the believers “had been rapidly thinned by deserters and now only a remnant is left of what was formerly a quite a good sized group of those who accepted Waller’s teachings.”

In a case of first impression, the court was faced with interpreting section 708 of the Penal Code, which provided, “ whoever shall torture, torment, deprive of necessary sustenance, mutilate, cruelly, unreasonably, and maliciously bear or ill-treat any child, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.”  The State of Georgia argued that the defendant was guilty on account of his religious belief in that  Justice refused to procure medicine to be administered to any of his children when they were sick.

  

The court found that medicine was not sustenance under the meaning of the statute.   Therefore the court held that the defendant’s acts were insufficient to sustain a conviction under the law.  The court decided the case on December 9 and published its unanimous opinion, which read in part; “ From the standpoint which a majority of us occupy, this is a grave and grievous error of judgment, and oftentimes would deprive those who are nearest and dearest to us of the means of alleviating pain and suffering.”  In reluctantly reaching its decision, the court sent a message to the Georgia legislature when it stated, “ But while this is true, it can not be corrected, as the law now stands, through the medium of criminal prosecution.”   

E.H. Carmen, first reader of the First Church of Christ, Scientist, praised the decision of the court as consistent with the opinions of other state appeals courts.  He feared that Georgia would attempt to enact a law, which in his opinion would infringe on his denomination’s freedom of religion.  One of the most vocal opponents of the court’s decision was the juror who was a former member of the church and once pronounced that “disease was imaginary and that medicine was a fraud.”

Ten year old William survived his illness. He had children of his own and still has descendants who live in this area today. Ironically, when he was thirty nine years old, William Justice was struck by a large wooden splinter while working outside. He refused medical treatment and died on November 22, 1932 as a result of gangrene poisoning.

03-21

THE BUILDERS OF THE DREAM

John A. Kelley and George C. Thompson

It used to be that George Thompson would lay down his Bible, take out his pencil, and sketch the visions of his dreams.  Then, John Kelley, or someone like him, would take the carefully drawn sheets of paper, assemble a crew of master craftsmen and construct another edifice in that burgeoning metropolis of the Emerald City.  This is the story of George C. Thompson, a Methodist minister, who spent his non secular moments designing a myriad of structures which accentuated the meteoric growth of Dublin, Georgia in the early Twentieth Century and John A. Kelley, an amiable Irishman, who erected the buildings which define our past and sculpt our future. 

John Kelley’s list of buildings reads like a laundry list of the most prominent buildings in town. He was originally selected to build the Baptist Church in 1905, but may have not completed the project.  In 1910, Kelley was in charge of the construction of not one, but two churches in the city.  He was awarded the bid to construct the Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception on North Church and to superintend the massive restoration and expansion of the First Methodist Church nearby.  

Kelley’s buildings included four buildings which were well known to several generations of shoppers in the downtown area.  He constructed the Sam Weischelbaum Building, which for decades was the home of Woolworth’s Department Store, as well as the Corker Building, which was the home of J.C. Penneys for more than three decades.  Kelley also built the Jackson Stores, a series of four store buildings, which were combined to house Dunn’s Department Store on South Jefferson Street.  He rebuilt the Robinson Building on West Jackson Street, which was the long time home of Churchwell’s Department Store.   His tallest building was the five-story warehouse and processing plant of the Consolidated Phosphate Company, which was located at the lower end of East Madison Street near the Oconee River.  Perhaps his largest structure was the Chautaugua Building on the southwest corner of South Monroe and West Madison Streets. The wooden structure was destroyed by fire in 1911 after only five years of service.  

Other buildings which John Kelley was credited with building include the Commercial Bank (The Carroll Building) on the courthouse square, the City Hall stables, R.F. Deese’s Furniture Store’s brick warehouse (Black’s Seed Store) and the M.D. & S. Railroad’s freight warehouse. His most well known home was the A.W. Garrett house, now occupied by McMillan Walker.  There were undoubtedly more buildings which he built.

John Allen Kelley was born on Christmas Eve 1867 in Washington County, Georgia.  He married Nancy “Nannie” Raffield of Laurens County on July 31, 1892.  Just over two years later their only child, Lily Pearl, died at the age of nine months.  From that point on, the Kelleys devoted their lives to loving and supporting a host of nieces and nephews. When Nannie’s brother’s wife died, the Kelleys took in two of their children.  Most of the Raffield children lived out in the county, where secondary education was inferior to that at Dublin High School.  So when it came time for the Raffield children to attend high school, the Kelleys were there to take them in and treat them like they were their own.

One of those nieces who lived with the Kelleys in their home on Ramsay Street  was Thelma Raffield Beckworth.  She went to work with “Uncle Kelley” at his cotton gin, keeping the books.  Recently Mrs. Beckworth, now in her mid 90s, returned to Dublin to attend the dedication of a portrait of Mr. Kelley to the Dublin-Laurens Museum.  In 1904, John Kelley’s crew completed construction of the Carnegie Library Building, which now houses the museum.  Speaking fondly of her aunt and uncle, Mrs Beckworth said, “ Anything good that could be said about them wouldn’t be too much.” “Uncle Kelley put all of his confidence in me when he hired me and that meant a lot to me,” Mrs. Beckworth continued.  The Kelleys kindness extended beyond their immediate family. On the day of the portrait dedication, Mrs. Beckworth brought with her a slightly damaged relic of Mrs. Kelley’s generosity.  She had kept it as a fond remembrance of her aunt for scores of years.  The small tarnished silver loving cup simply reads, “ To Mrs. J.A. Kelley from the Colored People of Dublin.” The inscription implies that Nannie Kelley exceedingly gave of her time and money to a people who were less fortunate than she was.

John Kelley was active in governmental and civic affairs of the city. He served a number of years as an alderman, including a term as Chairman of the Board of Alderman.  He was an early director of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce and an organizer of Southland Veneer and Lumber Company.  In 1917, he launched his own river boat steamer, “The Katherine S.”  In his later years, Kelley operated a cotton gin in the industrial district near the river. 

George Calvert Thompson was born on April 23, 1854.   He married Caroline Guyton, widow of Col. C.S. Guyton, beloved Colonel of the 57th Georgia Regiment.   He was admitted on a trial basis as  minister in the Methodist Church at the age of 17 in 1871.  Rev. Thompson’s first assignment to a church came in 1872 when he took charge of the Trinity Methodist Church in Bainbridge.  He subsequently served at Talbot (Columbus), Sumter (Americus), Blackshear, Waycross, St. Mary’s, East Macon, New Houston (Savannah), Eastman, Darien, Quitman, Davisboro, Louisville, Centenary (South Macon) and Homerville.  Rev. Thompson served as minister of the Methodist Churches in Dublin and Wrightsville from 1887 to 1888.  He was in charge of the Brewton Methodist Church in 1897 and 1899.  In 1893, Rev. Thompson left the pulpit to serve two years as Presiding Elder of the Dublin District.  In 1900, he began a 21 year term as a supernumerary.  Rev. Thompson conducted the marriage ceremony in which his stepson M.J. Guyton married Leila Vinson, sister of Georgia’s longest serving congressman, Carl Vinson.

It was during this time that Rev. Thompson designed most of his buildings.  In 1901, he worked on the extension of the Oconee River Bridge and the Weischelbaum Store.  The following year, Thompson was the supervising architect of the Dublin High School Building and the Tattnall County Courthouse.  In 1903, he designed the home of T.L. Griner, which later became known as the Page House.  In 1904, Rev. Thompson designed the Dan Burch stores on South Jefferson Street, which were located just below the Jackson Stores. That same year, he designed J.D. Smith’s home Brookwood, which was located on the site of the V.A. Hospital, H.H. Smith’s Stables on the courthouse square, and the Brantley Building on West Jackson Street, once the tallest building in Dublin and the long time home of Lovett & Tharpe Hardware Store.  In 1905, he completed plans for the renovations of the County Jail and the remodeling of the City Hall.  

When no architects stepped forward to submit bids to design Johnson Street School, school officials turned to Thompson for a design, one which was copied a few years later with the construction of Saxon Street School.  He was hired to design a five story office building on the northwest corner of the courthouse square, but the project was never completed.  Thompson and Kelley did work on at least one project together, the renovations of the Methodist Church.  Rev. Thompson was credited with the design of the Wesley Memorial Church in Atlanta.   

George Thompson and John Kelley’s contributions to our city can still be seen nearly a century later.  They were men of vision and men of dedication to their craft. 

03-22

MEMORIES OF HEROES

Life as a Little League Coach

It was supposed to be my last game as a coach.  It didn’t count for anything in the standings except fourth place.  Whether we won or not really didn’t matter.  The opposition was filled with a lot of former players and friends.   One of my best friends, Ben Bradshaw, was the coaching the opposition.  It was the only time in seven years we coached different teams - a result of an anomaly in the previous year’s draft.   We got out to an early and big lead.  The Athletics kept coming back.  They went ahead of us in the top of the fifth inning 8 to 7. We had the bottom of the order coming up.  Leading off the inning and batting last in the order was Colby Blount.  Colby, short in stature, but tall in heart, drew a walk on a pitch which the umpire started to call a strike but changed his mind at the last instant.  Colby mustered all the speed he could and stole second base on an dropped ball.  A wild pitch brought him around to third.  The lead-off batter failed. Colby was still at third.  Will Couey stepped up and did what the second man in the order is supposed to do. He grounded to second, driving in Colby with the tying run. 

I knew there would be another inning, even if we didn’t score again. There were two outs.  Robbie Rowe and Chris Young made it safely onto the bases. Next up was J.R. Martin.  J.R., a talented young man with a rocket for an arm and a desire to blast a fastball over the fence, had been struggling.  In his zest for hitting a home run, he had been swinging under the ball uncharacteristically striking out too many times. It had been a rough year for J.R.. His mother had been suffering all season long with an illness.  I knew that all we needed to win was a hit. Anything in the outfield would plate the winning run. 

It was like Yogi Berra said,  “It was de ja vu, all over again.” I kept thinking back two years before when J.R. led off the bottom of the last inning with the score tied in the 2nd division championship game.  J.R. stroked the first pitch off the wall for a double.  Next up was my son Scotty  I knew that with J.R.’s speed, anything hit to the outfield meant instant victory. By then,  I was more nervous than Leo Mazzone ever imagined. I was pacing up and down the right field line.  When I was about thirty feet from the fence, I turned around to see Scotty drive the first pitch into right field.  J.R. was off with the ting of the bat.  Third base coach Ben Bradshaw was waiving his arms and urging J.R. to go, go, go!  He scored! We won! As Scotty rounded first base, I dashed as fast as my fat forty four year old frame could run and took him in my arms.  It was one of the greatest moments in my life.

The stage was set.  This time I was down the left field line near the corner.   J.R. took a mighty cut and missed the first pitch.  The second pitch ended in a similar result. The count was 0 and 2, and it looked like we were headed for another inning.  Domino’s Pizza was just putting on the pizzas for the team party that evening.  Another inning and they would be cold when we got there.  I turned around and looked over the water tower toward the heavens and asked God to please let him just get a hit for his mother.  Here came the pitch!  Just as I turned around, J.R. took a mighty cut.  Somehow, I don’t know just how, he managed to put the last fraction of his bat on the ball for a foul tip.  He was still alive.  This time I didn’t turn around. I repeated my prayer.  I was listening, listening solely for the sound of the ting of his aluminum bat.      And then it happened. I heard the ting, a loud ting!  I turned to my right hoping that it was a liner in the gap, but it wasn’t.  The ball kept rising and rising.  As it crossed over the fence in dead center field, it was still rising. The ball landed in the briars and weeds across the driveway.  An off duty umpire went to pick it up.  Robbie and Chris scored ahead of him. Our mommas and daddies went wild. As J.R. stepped on home plate with a rare walk off home run, his mother Constance opened the gate and dashed onto the field to hug her son.  The umpire gave me the ball.  I gave it to J.R. and told him to give it to his mother. He signed it, “to Momma, Love, J.R..” Next to my first Macon Peaches baseball game in which I sat next to Yankee great and Hall of Fame pitcher Lefty Gomez and taking my son to his  first major league game, it was my greatest moment in baseball.  I planned to retire then and there. Nothing, not even a state championship, could have topped that moment.

It all began with my first year in the 8 year old machine pitch league. I wanted to help someone, but had never coached before. I played in that age group in 1964.  I don’t remember anything but just standing in the outfield with my first glove, which was actually a long thin first baseman’s mitt.  We didn’t have pitching machines. We had a girl pitch to us!  I drafted the team for an out of town coach who wanted his son to play in the league.  On the first day of practice, the coach called and said he was not coming and that I could coach.  Lost and not knowing what to do, I called upon Ben and the other parents to help, and they did.  Those were the days when everyone played in the field and everybody batted in each inning. It was probably the most fun we ever had.  Like the time, when we  were playing the eventual league champions and I did something unusual. I flip flopped the infielders and outfielders. In the 8 year old league, the lesser talented fielders and throwers are usually relegated to the outfield and placed as close as possible to prevent a ball from rolling to the wall. What do you know!  It worked.  The boys came through and got them out, including four consecutive force outs at seconds. They only scored 1 run.  In that league, once a fielder caught a ball, he could stop play by throwing it home to the catcher, usually a teenaged kid  working for summer spending money.  So it became readily apparent that the coaches main plea was “throw it home.”   It didn’t take very long for the mommas in the stands to echo the call. For the team party that year, we took the boys to see a Macon Braves game.  The first hitter for the opposition reached first base. The next batter drove a single to left.  As the lead runner rounded second base and thought about trying to reach third, one of the mothers stood up and yelled “throw it home!”

The next year we had a good year. We finished third in the 9 year old league.  It was the first year that we had to have our own catcher.    Our second catcher was Roman Briano.  Roman, a short kid with a smile permanently cemented on his face and who often played in soccer shorts, had to be reminded that you don’t catch the ball with your hand and your glove at the same time.  Roman struggled that year. I really didn’t know it at the time, but he was suffering with kidney disease.  Roman had to end his season early that year. I don’t even remember him getting a single hit. He never stopped smiling though.  It was his last at bat.  The score was tied, and Roman was the last batter.  J.R. was standing on third. His legs were revving up for the 45 ft. dash to the plate at Little Hilburn Park and victory.  The umpire put the ball in machine.  It came out at 44 mph.  Roman swung and hit a dribbler about 15 feet up the third base line, just far enough out of the reach of the third baseman and the pitcher, who was stuck on the opposite side of the pitching machine.  Roman took off running as hard as he could toward first base.  Before the ball could be retrieved, J.R. scored and Roman stepped on first base and the game was over.  He was mobbed by his teammates.  On that day, Roman became a hero.  To me, he is still a hero.

My last game was this past week.  We were loose and ready to play. Jeremy Garner stymied us, giving up only two runs in three innings.  Then it happened. We were still batting in the fourth when we won the game 15-0 on the run rule.  What everybody knew, but tried not comment on, was that our pitchers Joseph Yancey and Cam Gay had a perfect game going.  The umpire yelled “ball game!  And just like that, it was over. We wanted to keep on playing. None of us wanted to leave the field. In many ways, we never will. 

As I end my final year in youth baseball as a bench coach of the Junior League All Star team,  I would like to thank all of the coaches, parents, and especially all of the boys who have played for and against me for allowing me to live out my dream of being on a baseball team, something I was denied by a  lazy left eye which kept me from seeing pitches as they whizzed by me.  I will always be grateful for the memories I have.   Write yours down before the ravages of time and a failing memory fade them into obscurity. 

03-23

DUBLIN: THE EMERALD CITY

The Only City in Georgia That’s Doublin’ All The Time

The year was 1895.  During the last decade, the citizens of Dublin had broken the shackles of legal and illegal liquor sales, joined together to overcome the obstacles of economic depression and ignited the hamlet of Dublin toward its meteoric ascent to the top of Georgia cities.  The editors of the Macon Telegraph penned the once shameful city as “The Emerald City, A Sparkling Gem of Commerce, Thrift, and Enterprise.”  It was a year when the people of Dublin stepped it up another notch on their way to becoming the city that we know today.

The census of 1880 enumerated only a few hundred inhabitants living within the city limits of Dublin.   A cataclysmic fire in May 1889 nearly wiped out the entire business district.  With the coming of the W. & T. RR in 1886 and the M.D. & S. RR in 1891, the city began to grow at a more than moderate pace.  Railroad and passenger bridges over the Oconee River in 1891 only helped to accelerate the population growth of the city.  Businessmen and professionals from many parts of the state and other states were establishing businesses in the city.

Dublin enjoyed a favorable position with its location nearly in the center of a trade area for the cities of Eastman, McRae, Alamo, Mt. Vernon, Swainsboro, Wrightsville, Sandersville, Irwinton and Jeffersonville.  The city was surrounded by a vast array of timberlands, fertile cotton fields and an abundant supply of water.  Perhaps the most important infra structural asset was the location of three railroad lines running through the city.  The W. &. T. Railroad allowed merchants and passengers a connection to the port city of Savannah.  The M.D. & S. Railroad, while six years from it’s completion to its rail connection to Savannah, offered a closer connection to Macon, the economic capital of Middle Georgia with connections to the rest of the country by rail.  The newest railroad, The Empire and Dublin afforded merchants in Dublin and southwestern Laurens County commercial ties to Hawkinsville and southwestern Georgia.

Transportation by rail was not the only method available to the farmers and merchants of the county.  At the time, Dublin was the northern most inland port on the navigable portion of the Oconee River. Local businessmen organized the Oconee River Steamboat and Navigation Company to take advantage of the river in shipping such heavy commodities as timber, cotton, and fertilizer  at lower rates.  Captain R.C. Henry had led a revival of river boats in 1878.  It was during the decade around the turn of the century that traffic on the river flourished.  With the improvement of rail transportation and the coming of the automobile in the second decade of the 20th Century, river traffic all but disappeared.

In 1890, the population of Dublin stood at 862.  Five years later the population had doubled. By the end of the decade, the number of residents would swell to just under three thousand.  At the pinnacle of Dublin’s growth just before WWI, Dublin’s population had increased ten fold since 1890.  In 1895 and the two years proceeding it, thirty seven new brick buildings were constructed.  No wooden stores were allowed for fear of another destructive fire within the business district.  What was remarkable about the building boom was that most of the structures were built with timber cut from local forests and bricks fashioned at local brick factories.  

The city was governed by a mayor and council who were committed to a sustained and continuous growth of the city to be financed conservatively but with generous support from the private sector.  Col. James B. Sanders served as Mayor in 1895.  N.B. Baum, J. H. Smith, Jr. J.D. Prince, D.S. Blackshear and J.W. Walker composed the city council.  The council proposed and the voters adopted a $25,000 bond issue to fund the construction of a municipal water works and electric plant.  The waterworks were constructed to supply as many as thirty thousand persons with water.  The city was fortunate in that it lay on top of a plentiful supply of artesian water, enough to supply residents with 1.44 million gallons of water per day.  The installation of water lines throughout the business district and along the main residential streets only lessened the threat of fire and helped to reduce insurance rates.

Dubliners were proud of the Dublin Academy, the only high school in the county.   One of the side effects of the influx of new citizens and the injection of vast sums of money into the commerce of the city was the indefatigable pursuit of educational resources  in the city.  The academy, under the direction of Prof. W.E. Thompson, was located near the present day Elk’s Club on Academy Avenue.  Assisting Prof. Thompson in molding the minds of nearly two hundred students were W.N. Nunn, Dollie Hooks, Effie Moore, Lula Ramsay and Clara Park.  Prof. J. D. Smith and his staff operated the private Emerald City Institute.  Colored students attended the Colored Academy, which was then located on Telfair Street near the present day National Guard Armory.

The main highlight of 1895 was the beginning of the construction of the county’s first brick courthouse.  Laurens County enjoyed a similar rapid growth pattern.  The county’s population of 20,000 in 1895 would nearly double in twenty five years.  Following the exodus of citizens during the 20s and 30s, the county wouldn’t regain that level until 1990. County commissioners aided the growth of Dublin with a concentrated effort to improve existing roads and establish new roads throughout the county creating the old maxim, “What’s good for Dublin is good for Laurens County and what’s good for Laurens County is good for Dublin.”  It was during this same period that the towns of Lovett, Brewton, Dexter, Dudley, Rentz, Cadwell, Cedar Grove, and Montrose came into existence.

The owners of the Georgia Warehouse and Compress Company erected a large cotton compress at the corner of South Franklin and East Madison streets in 1895.  When at full capacity, the operators boasted that a farmer could deliver his cotton on Monday morning and by Tuesday afternoon, it was be aboard a ship bound for ports in New England and Europe.  L.A. Chapman operated a highly successful brick factory on the lower end of East Gaines Street.  Chapman’s bricks were used to construct many of the structures in the city as well other cities throughout the state and Southeast.  H. Hicks and Co. were enjoying their newly constructed quarters on the southwest corner of the courthouse square.  The ten thousand dollar building, which housed professional offices on the second floor, was designed by Alexander Blair of Macon.  The Stubbs Leitch building on the southwest corner of West Jackson and South Jefferson streets was perhaps the most handsome business establishment in the city.  G.W. Moore took over the operation of the Dublin Iron Works from W. J. Carter and Bro on  South Decatur Street at the railroad.  

W.F. Scaufele was a leading merchant, working out of his store at 210 W. Jackson St.  Messers Kellam and Prince were bottling cool clear spring water, a century before it became the popular beverage among fitness buffs.  The Dublin Banking Company, the only bank in town, was under the direction of J.H. Williams, R.C. Henry, and J.M. Finn.

The year 1895  symbolized the growth of Dublin from a lawless sleepy hamlet to the upper realm of Georgia’s commercial centers.  More than a century later the Emerald City remains, “a sparkling gem of commerce, thrift, and enterprise.”

03-24

SNIPPETS - PART FIVE

Brief Glimpses Into Our County’s Past

JAILHOUSE MARRIAGE - Donna Ruth Green, an eighteen year old girl, plead no contest to a charge of burglarizing Oatts Drug Company on May 11, 1966.  Her co-conspirator, Gary Smith, had been sentenced to serve five years for the burglary.  The couple along with Richard Cooling had been in jail since the night of the offense, when Max and Hugh Collins alerted police of their whereabouts.  On May 20, 1966, the couple were married in the office of Ray Camp, Judge of the Court of Ordinary, with attorney W. Malcom Towson and courthouse employees present.  This redheaded  bride chose not to wear white, but instead donned a pair of yellow Bermuda shorts with a matching shell. Dublin Courier Herald, May 21, 1966

TOP GRADUATES OF GEORGIA SOUTHERN COLLEGE, BACK TO BACK  - Kirk Hogan, a 1974 graduate of West Laurens High School, was selected as the top honor graduate of Georgia Southern College in 1977.  Kirk’s hard work in studying paid off when he completed his education with a perfect 4.0 average.  Kirk was the second Laurens Countian in a row to achieve the top honor graduate status.  Former Dublin High student, Phil Warren, was named the top honor graduate in 1976.  Warren achieved a nearly perfect grade at Georgia Southern.  He concentrated on learning and not on grades.  He didn’t study much, but went to every class he could.  The only non “A” grade was a “B” which he earned in a golf course.    Phil graduated with a 3.99average,  giving Laurens County the distinction of having the top graduate for two consecutive years.  Dublin Courier Herald, 6/27/1977, June 23, 1976.

HELLO, MY NAME IS .... - Glen Harden was working at the Park-N-Shop in Shamrock Shopping Center on January 31, 1974.  Three people walked in.  Harden kept noticing the trio.  They looked familiar, but they had never been in his store before.  Harden finally spoke up saying, “Pardon me sir, but you look a lot like Johnny Cash.”  “I am Johnny Cash,” said the man, “and this is my wife June, and her mother, Mabel Carter.”  Cash and his group were on the way to Savannah for a concert that night.  After the concert, they were going to Jamaica.  They promised to try and stop in on their way back home. Dublin Courier Herald, Feb. 1, 1974.

THE GRAND OLE OPRY IN THE SHAMROCK BOWL - The Laurens County Livestock Association sponsored Livestock festivals in the early 1960s.  Livestock was an important part of the business of agriculture in Laurens County.   The 1963 festival, the sixth annual event,   was held primarily in the new Laurens County Agriculture Center.  Susan Cheshire of Dudley was crowned Queen of the Livestock Festival in a pageant held in the Martin Theatre.  The climax of the Festival was a concert  at the Shamrock Bowl.  

The concert was headlined by three of the Grand Ole Opry’s up and coming stars.  Skeeter Davis, wife of radio disc jockey Ralph Emery, was at the top the national charts in 1953 with “I Forgot More Than You’ll Ever Know” and again in 1963 with  “The End of The World,” her biggest hit and a smash hit on the pop charts.    Joining Davis on the stage was Leroy Van Dyke.  Van Dyke, a former auctioneer, was one of Nashville’s stars on the rise.  His recording of “Walk on By” was a No. 1 Country Record of the Year.  The final star on the bill was Billy Walker.  Walker, known as “The Tall Texan,” helped Elvis Presley get into the music business and had been a star for five decades.  Dublin Courier Herald, April 15, 16, 17, and 26, 1963. 

CABLE TV - In these days of a hundred  something channels on cable television and dozens more on satellite television it is hard to imagine the infant years of cable television in Dublin. Clearview Cable television came to Dublin in 1965.  This new service offered clear reception without the dangerous and unsightly antenna.  Before cable, when the weather was just right, Dublin residents could get WMAZ out of Macon and WJBF and WRDW out of Augusta.   Sometimes you might received a fuzzy picture from WSB in Atlanta.   Cable allowed us to see these stations clearly and without the horizontal and vertical roll.    A 390 foot  tower, Dublin’s tallest, was erected near the intersection of Brookwood Drive and Claxton Dairy Road.   The signal was amplified or boosted at various locations throughout the city to keep the signal strong in all parts of town.    Eventually satellite dishes were used to receive signals from space.   The original channel lineup included the Macon station and the two Augusta stations along with WSB, WAGA, and WAII (WXIA) from Atlanta.  Educational television was received from WGTV in Athens.  A local channel which provided music and weather information was found on Channel 4.  The weather information was extremely primitive in comparison to the digital graphic weather we are used to today.  Weather conditions, such as temperature, wind speed and relative humidity were shown by a camera which panned a series of dial type weather instruments.    Clearview Cable also offered the reception of a relatively new form of entertainment, FM radio, with ten stations from Atlanta, Augusta, Macon, and Athens.  The office in Dublin was the state headquarters for the corporation, which also brought Cable TV to Milledgeville, Swainsboro, Valdosta, and Thomasville.   Dublin Courier Herald, November 12, 1965.  

DOWNTOWN CEMETERY  - We often forget that prior to the Civil War most people were buried near or around their homes. We also forget that downtown Dublin was not always occupied by store and office buildings.  One such cemetery is located right on the courthouse square.  The parking lot which adjoins the office of the Laurens County Commissioners was once occupied by the Hooks Hotel. The hotel, which was later remodeled into Dublin’s city hall, featured two towers. Beneath the north tower, right where the driveway enters the street was the site of a grave. More amazing is the fact that directly in front of the parking lot where the original courthouse square once stood lie the remains of at least nine souls, whose names have been lost to eternity.  For those of you who are superstitious, look both ways and down before you cross the street.  Union Recorder, Milledgeville, December 3, 1889.

  

03-25 

LOOKING FOR A BLIND TIGER

The Story of the Elusive J.S. Brady

Hey buddy! Wanna see a blind tiger?  Well, brother step right in, put down two bits on the counter and you'll see the most amazing freak of mother nature.  While you're here, help yourself to a glass of our finest scotch whiskey.  If you wanna take another look, just step up to the bar and put down another quarter.  In the days of prohibition of liquor by the drink, that was the barker's cry.  As you may have guessed, there was really never a blind tiger in the establishment.  Creative entrepreneurs in Dublin and around the country used the ruse of seeing a blind tiger as a way of selling illegal spiritous liquors to a throng of thirsty men who craved the enjoyment of a good stiff drink.  Since the mid 1880s, the sale of liquor in Dublin had been subject to a hefty license fee, which often prohibited the sale solely on an economic basis.  

One of the most infamous blind tiger operators in Dublin in the mid 1890s was J.S. Brady.  Brady, a wealthy merchant, was arrested on numerous occasions for selling liquor by the drink. His high priced and ultra talented lawyers invariably got him off the hook with appeals to the Supreme Court of Georgia.  Brady always managed to avoid any fines for operating a blind tiger, a metaphor which is still used today for someone who illegally sells alcoholic beverages.  Brady had been fined $1,100 by the municipal court of the city and had been arrested and placed in the custody of a Macon city detective Jenkins.  While the duo were out enjoying a buggy ride on a late winter Sunday afternoon in 1896, Brady was allowed to go into a place to see if he could get a glass of beer. That was the detective’s first mistake.  Brady slipped out the back way.  For his inane act of inattentiveness, the officer was fined $10 by the city of Macon.

It was on Saturday, September 26, 1896 when Dublin city detective L.J. Hathaway led a raid on Brady's place.  The police officers found a large stash of whiskey.  Brady was taken into custody and charged with eight counts of selling liquor without a license.  A trial was held in the municipal court of Dublin on the following Monday.  In the trial, one witness after another vehemently denied that they had ever bought any whiskey from Brady.  After the defendant Brady was found not guilty, Mayor James B. Sanders confronted some of the witnesses and accused them of perjury.   Upon further interrogation by the mayor, several of the witnesses confessed that they had indeed perjured themselves under a threat of being killed by Brady.

That night some three hundred angry citizens gathered at the court house for a mass meeting on how to stop Brady's flippant attitude toward the laws of the city against illegal whiskey sales.  Most of Dublin's businessmen, the mayor and council and the ministers of Dublin gathered together for the purpose of ridding the city of Brady and his gang.  They had endured Brady and his kind long enough.  Their patience was wearing thin. Something had to be done.  

Early on the following morning around 2:00 a.m., the Emerald City Institute building was discovered to be on fire.  Inside the building were several people who were asleep.  Among them was detective Hathaway.  The fire was quickly discovered and an alarm was sounded.  Neighbors rushed to the scene to find all of the residents of the hotel had extricated themselves from the inferno without harm.  The next morning investigators found that the fire was of incendiary origin.  Residue of kerosene was found to have liberally scattered throughout the ashes.

Immediately the police began to theorize as to  the identity of the arsonist or arsonists.  They had little information to go on, but gradually began to construct their case.  Who would want to burn the hotel?  Who might have a grudge against the owner of the place or someone who was inside the structure.  Brady. Brady. Yes, it must have been that scoundrel Brady! Detective Hathaway and other officers were convinced there was a more devious madness in Brady's heinous act.  They believed that it was Brady's intention, and that of his clerk Plummer Smith, to assassinate Hathaway for his prosecution of the blind tiger cases.  They surmised that Brady and Smith planned to shoot Hathaway as he fled the fire.  It was believed that the plan was thwarted by residents of the thickly populated neighborhood who might observe the murder.

Brady had been the subject of an arson investigation nearly two years before. On November 18, 1894, Brady's personal residence went up in flames.  Brady was thought to be innocent of burning his own home. After all, he was out of town at the time of the fire.  As the main investigation of the Emerald City Institute fire progressed, investigators discovered new evidence that Brady had indeed torched his home.  

On the evening of that day, Brady came into the store of Sims & Scarboro.  Sims took Brady to the rear of the store, where Brady told Sims that he was going to burn his house and use the proceeds to “help him get along.”  Brady then told Sims, “I tell you this secretly and if you ever breathe a word, I’ll kill you the first chance I get.”  Brady allegedly told Sims that before he left for Tennille, that he would place a tallow candle on the floor with a little kerosene to accomplish the arson. 

As soon as Brady was arrested, Sims came forward to tell the police of Brady’s plan and threat.  His partner Frank Scarboro, who overhead the plot, also came forward to corroborate his partner’s story.  The witnesses had remained silent all this time under a threat by Brady that "if they ever breathed the matter to anyone, he would shoot them down on the street."    Col. Mercer Haynes, an insurance agent who had insured Brady’s house,  immediately swore a warrant for Brady’s arrest for arson.  The police contended that Brady immediately left his home after he lit the candle and boarded a train bounded for the Sylvania area.  He had only reached Tennille on the following morning when he was notified by telegram that his home had been destroyed.  Brady returned to Dublin without divulging his culpability for the felony.    

The authorities attempted  to indict Brady for the arson of his home.  As Sims was about to enter the grand jury room, he was accosted by Brady who told him “ if you whisper one word against me, your life will be forfeited.”  In light of such a stern warning, Sims kept silent when questioned by the Solicitor. After Brady’s arrest, Sims confessed, “ I tell you that I have a terrible load upon my shoulders. I should have told it long ago, but I considered my life too precious and knew later on that something would likely occur that would allow me to divulge the secret.  When I old of his rascally trick, I felt easy, and my conscience now seems clear.”  

Brady was brought for Justice of the Peace John B. Wolfe for a commitment hearing to determine whether or not there was enough evidence to bind Brady over for trial.  The hearing lasted three days.  Brady hired Col. Preston of Macon, as well as T.L. Griner, J.S. Adams, and Phil Howard of Dublin, three of Dublin’s finest and most expensive attorneys.  The prosecution was aided by Col. A.F. Daley of Wrightsville, Col. Akren of Cartersville and Peyton L. Wade, Frank G. Corker, and J.E. Hicks, an equally impressive quintet of fine trial attorneys.    Mrs. Brady sat anxiously at her husband’s trial in the overcrowded courtroom.  When Judge Wolfe ruled that there was sufficient evidence to bind Brady over for trial, Mrs. Brady burst into tears.  The defendant cooly and calmly walked out of the courtroom under a bailiff’s escort.  It appeared that he did not seem to care of the consequences of his acts.

Before the criminal trial ever began, Brady was able to settle the civil case with Continental Insurance Company of New York and Macon Fire Insurance Company.  It was agreed that Brady would receive $1,875.00 out of the $2,500.00 policy.  

Brady, always the suspect in arson cases, was thought to have been responsible for the murder of his mother in law in the fall of 1897.   She was found murdered amongst the ruins of her burned home in Wilkinson County.  A trunk, which contained a large sum of cash, was found broken open and the contents gone.    Without any direct evidence to connect Brady with the horrific crime, charges were never pressed against the elusive Brady. 

On October 28th, Brady's attorneys went before Judge John C. Hart in his chambers in Atlanta. They were seeking a bond for their client who was still languishing in the county jail. Most of Dublin's citizenry intended to object to any bail was whatsoever. By agreement of the city solicitor and Brady's attorneys, bond was set at three thousand dollars. The bond was conditioned upon Brady's appearance at the January 1897 term of Laurens County Superior Court.  Brady signed the bond which was approved by the Clerk of the Court.  D.J. Pierce, W.H. Harrison, and E.M. Lake signed the bond as securities.

On the fourth Monday in January 1898, a continuance which lasted for a year was granted.  The case was called for a trial on January 29, 1898.  The defendant J.S. Brady was no where to be found.  Judge Hart ordered a bench warrant for Brady's arrest. Ten months later, Judge Hart ordered that the bail of three thousand dollars was forfeited to the state.  Although justice was not served, there was no tears shed over the fact that Brady was gone.  Finally the city was free of his immoral misdemeanors and the government picked up the three thousand dollar forfeiture of the bond in the process.  Authorities posted an $800.00 reward for Brady’s capture. 

*** UPDATE ***  

It was reported that J.S. (Sam) Brady had gone to Florida and met an untimely (or timely depending on how you look at it) death by drowning in the Gulf of Mexico.  Brady’s widow applied to the courts for $700 for support from his estate. I wonder if she knew he was dead or alive?  In mid-May of 1898, authorities in Bartow County, Florida determined that Brady was indeed alive. They notified George Howard, the Sheriff of Laurens County.  Sheriff Howard traveled to Florida to pick up the prisoner.  The sheriff took no chances. When they arrived in Macon, they spent the night in the Wilbourn House.  Sheriff Howard spent the night in the room with Brady and posted a guard outside the door, just in case Brady decided to go out to look for another drink.

Sam Brady stood trial for arson in Laurens County Superior Court on November 10, 1898.  Judge John S. Candler, of the Stone Mountain District, heard the case in place of Judge John C. Hart, the regular judge of the Ocmulgee Judicial District.    During the voir dire process, it became apparent to the attorneys for the state and the defendant that it was impossible to select twelve fair and impartial jurors.  The attorneys stipulated to try the case with eleven jurors.  After a day long trial inside a courtroom bursting with spectators, the case went to the jury on the following morning.  Within a short time, the jury came out and announced its verdict. Not guilty!

Brady left town.  I guess he was off the see the world looking for a  five legged elephant, a singing walrus or a flying pig.  Maybe he went to find a another group of thirsty liquor-loving men who would be willing to plunk down their quarters for the opportunity to see that ole blind tiger just one more time.

03-26

LOTT WARREN

A Man of Two Robes

Lott Warren, the eleventh child of Josiah Warren and Nancy Doty Warren, was born on October 30, 1797 in Burke County, Georgia.  The family moved to the northwestern tip of Montgomery County in 1804, where they settled just south of the community of Sandbar.  In 1809, both of his parents died.  Lott was taken in by his brother in law Rev. Charles Culpepper, a preeminent Baptist minister in Wilkinson and Laurens Counties.    As a fifteen year old boy, Lott asked his teacher for permission to attend a session of the Superior Court.  Lott, dressed in homespun clothes and with a wool hat in his hand, acutely peered into the window of the courtroom.  As he witnessed the criminal trial, a passion for becoming a lawyer arose in his soul.  His sister, not thinking too much of the idea, tried to discourage Lott because of her perception of his lack of education, money and high morals.

In 1818, the State of Georgia instituted a draft of young men in response to the increase of Indian depredations along the frontier.  In February 1818, Lott was elected Second Lieutenant of the Laurens Light Dragoons.  He left his clerk’s job in a store in Dublin and set out with the company under the command of Capt. Jacob Robinson toward the Indian territories.  Lt. Warren was made adjutant of the company.  In late April, the company, along with several other militia companies from east central Georgia, became entangled in an incident which has become known as “The Cheehaw Massacre.”  The militia attacked and killed a number of the inhabitants of the Cheehaw village, savagely by some accounts and justifiably by others.  The commander of the expedition, Capt. Obed Wright was court-martialed for his conduct in the affair, but was finally convicted solely for padding the payroll of his soldiers.

Lott Warren returned to Dublin to resume his job in the store.  He returned to grammar school at the age of twenty-two to improve his educational skills.   It was during this time, that he also worked as a supercargo on a flat-bottomed boat which was operating along the Oconee River to improve navigation along the river.   Lott began to re-cultivate his desire to become a lawyer.  In his spare time, he read “Blackstone’s Commentaries.”  In February 1820, he was invited by Dublin lawyer Daniel McNeel to read law under his tutelage.  Eleven months later, Lott Warren was admitted to practice law in the Superior Courts of the state.  He was appointed Road Commissioner of the 6th District in 1823.  Warren was appointed a trustee of the Poor School Fund in 1824.  He continued to serve in the state militia, and was appointed a major in 1823.  

In 1824, Col. Warren represented Laurens County in the Georgia Legislature.  In 1826, Warren began a term as the Solicitor General of the Southern Circuit, which lasted  until 1828.  In 1825, Warren  moved  to Marion in Twiggs County, where he represented that county in the Georgia Senate in 1830.  In 1831,  Warren was appointed  Judge of the Southern Circuit.   The circuit, which included  Warren’s home county of Laurens,  stretched from Early County and Dawson County on the southeast and southwest to Twiggs County on the northwest.  

Lott Warren was a faithful member of the Baptist Church and followed the teachings of Christ in his legal and political career. He was baptized at Richland Church in Twiggs County in 1834 and renewed his commitment to the Baptist faith.   In 1837, he began to preach in the church. He was an ordained Baptist minister, but never was assigned to a particular church. 

After concluding his three year term on the bench, Judge Warren moved to Americus.  In 1838, he was elected to the United States Congress as a member of the Whig Party.  Early in his  second term Congressman Warren moved to  Albany, Georgia.   After serving two terms in Congress, Lott Warren returned to private practice.  In 1844, Congressman Warren served as a delegate from Georgia at the national convention of the Whig Party in Baltimore, Maryland.  Judge Warren returned to the bench, serving as Judge of the Southwestern Circuit from 1844 until his resignation in August of 1852.

Judge Warren was described as being “exemplary in all the relations of life,” but, “not without faults.”  He was a rather large man for his time, standing six feet tall and weighing upwards of 190 pounds.  His forehead was large and round. His eyes were blue and his hair was sandy.  Judge Warren married Jane DeSaubleaux, an orphan of L.P. DeSaubleaux, a  Frenchman who came to the United States during the American Revolution.    

Judge Warren was making a speech in defense of a slave at the Dougherty County  courthouse in Albany on June 17, 1861, when he was suddenly struck with apoplexy. He fell suddenly to the floor and died without any struggle for life.  He was buried in Riverside Cemetery in Albany.

Judge Lott Warren was a man who was comfortable in two robes - the robe of a minister or the robe of a judge.  He was a man of integrity and dedicated to the service of his God, his country, and his state.

03-27

DEMOCRATS MUSTER IN DUBLIN

Happy Days Are Here Again!

Thirty years ago the National Democratic party was in trouble. The Republican party was in control of the White House.  Slowly, but steadily, Republicans were making gains in congressional seats throughout the South.  Sound familiar? Party bosses foresaw the shift of urban voters and traditional good ole boys toward the Grand Old Party, the once reviled group, which was virtually eliminated from the face of Georgia, except for black voters who compromised nearly all of the party in rural Georgia. With Richard Nixon just beginning his second term as President and with no hope in sight for the nomination of a Southern Democrat for the White House in 1976, Georgia Democrats planned a series of ten rallies throughout the state in the summer of 1973.  

On July 21, 1973, the Laurens County Democratic Committee hosted the first of these  political rallies at the Laurens County Agricultural Center on Telfair Street.  Committees from all over the 1st and 8th Congressional Districts of Georgia combined their resources to raise funds for the party and to rejuvenate Georgian’s interest in the party. Tickets were $10 a head, and were quickly sold out, an accomplishment which led organizers to invite the public to attend for free.   Southern white male voters were somewhat disappointed in the choice of George McGovern in the presidential campaign of 1972. There was a  growing perception among Southern Democrats that the party was giving in to the liberal interests of the Northern and Pacific Coast states.

Party officers invited every Democratic office holder in Georgia, both at the state and federal levels. Of course the local politicians were invited too.  In those days, Democrats still dominated nearly every office in Georgia.  Most of the invitees showed up.  Lt. Governor Lester Maddox and Georgia’s junior and newly elected Senator, Sam Nunn, had prior unbreakable commitments and were unable to attend.

For as long as there have been politicians in Georgia, the best way to gather a crowd is to serve food.  The primary food at any well attended rally was and still is bar-b-que.   Roy Holland secured all of the necessary pork, Brunswick stew and white bread to feed the thousands of voters who were expected to attend the big doings.  Incidentally, two days before the event, hog prices at Dublin Livestock and Commission Company soared to all time record highs. Jim Hammock and David Mercer made the necessary arrangements to feed the crowd. They bought the paper plates, plastic forks and spoons and paper cups filled with iced tea (sweetened of course!).   Vernon DeLoach was in charge in security for the event. His officers kept traffic flowing along the highway and directed cars toward any available space around the facility.  Sheriff Rock Bussell was in charge of fund raising. Who could turn down the sheriff when he came asking for a contribution?  Howard Cordell made sure everyone in the area knew of the rally.  Ed Martin coordinated the construction of the speaker’s platform.

Rally organizers were able to secure the presence of three of the seven most powerful Democrats in the history of 20th Century Georgia to attend the event.  The late Richard Russell, Thomas E. Watson and Eugene Talmadge weren’t there, but there spirits probably were.  The three icons who made an appearance at the dinner were Georgia governor Jimmy Carter, former U.S. Congressman Carl Vinson, and Georgia’s Senior Senator and former Governor, Herman Talmadge.

Vinson, a long time supporter of Laurens County, attended the event when he was months shy of his 90th birthday.  Vinson had been a favorite of Laurens County voters.  During his fifty plus years in Congress, Vinson was able to secure the location of the Naval Hospital (which later became the Carl Vinson V.A. Medical Center,) the Naval Airport ( which later became the Laurens County Airport) and the location of Interstate Highway 16 through the heart of the county.  Vinson was able to secure federal funding for the construction of a new county courthouse, the first such funds ever appropriated by the Congress for a county courthouse. Through  his urging, Cong. Vinson was also able to obtain funds for the construction of the Laurens County Library, which was one of the first federally funded county public libraries in the country.

Georgia’s governor, well into his third year in office, walked throughout the crowds greeting old friends and making new ones.  Little did most of the attendees know, but nearly three years later, Jimmy Carter, the peanut farmer from Plains, Georgia, would be chosen by the National Democratic Convention as their candidate for the presidency of the United States and more amazingly would be elected as the first president from the deep South since Andrew Jackson.  

The keynote speaker of the day was the legendary Herman Talmadge.  Talmadge, a long time favorite of Laurens County voters, told the crowd of more than twenty-six hundred persons that the time for the reconstruction of the Democratic party in the South had come.  The senator urged the people of middle-America to rise up and defeat the extremists of the Democratic party, who had taken control of the party.  Talmadge told the crowd, “ I see evidence that this is occurring. If this is true, we will win; if this is not true, we will lose.”  He added, “Frankly, I am tired of losing elections.”   Senator Talmadge, sounding like the Republicans of today, told the crowd “ the great problem in America is that our people have abandoned the laws of God and man ( a comment which drew a roar of applause from the crowd.)  Many of my colleagues think all of our problems can be solved with more laws and by large sums of money.”  He called for curbs on Congressional spending and a constitutional amendment requiring a balance budget.  Talmadge attacked the massive sums spent on foreign aid by adding that the country spent 212 million dollars in interest on the money the government borrowed to give away to unappreciative foreign countries.   There was a brief reference to the blossoming Watergate scandal and the waning war in Vietnam. While showing his strong support for the military, Talmadge questioned the involvement of our nation in a war where our national security was not at stake.

There was a host of other public officials on hand that night.  County Vice Chairman Cecil Passmore saw to that.  Congressmen Bill Stuckey and Bo Ginn were there to represent their respective  congressional districts.  Public Service Commissioner Bobby Pafford, Comptroller General Johnny Caldwell and Georgia Speaker of the House George L. Smith led the field of state officials on hand.  Also present was Bert Lance, who was then the current head of the Department of Transportation and later became a member of President Jimmy Carter’s cabinet.  

The entire affair was old time Georgia politics at its best.  It was hot! The food was good and the politicians were everywhere, shaking hands, listening to the concerns of their constituents and making promises.

03-28

GENERAL EZEKIEL W. NAPIER 

Laurens County's Air Force General 

Ezekiel Wimberly Napier was born to fly. He studied the science of flying and practiced his skills in the infancy of military flying machines. This native of the Montrose area of Laurens County rose from as a military cadet at West Point Military Academy to the rank of Brigadier General, making him the highest ranking Laurens Countian in the United States Army. On this 23rd anniversary of his death, let's take a look at his military career, which spanned four decades and was one of honor and service to his country. 

Ezekiel (Zeke) Napier was born in Laurens County in 1906, though one biography states that he was actually born in Hawkinsville in Pulaski County. In those days, Pulaski County was just down the road from the Montrose community. He was a son of Mr. and Mrs. R.F. Napier of Laurens County. Zeke left Dublin in 1925 to enlist in the United States Army at Fort McPherson. He was awarded a scholarship at the Preparatory School at Fort McPherson to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, from where he graduated in 1929. Among his classmates was Frank Merrill, who became a legend in World War II when his courageous band of soldiers, known as Merrill's Marauders, survived the horrific heat and battles of jungle warfare to stymie the Japanese army's attempt to secure southeastern Asia. 

As a new second lieutenant, Napier was assigned to pilot training at Brooks and Kelly fields in Texas. He attended college at St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas, where he obtained a degree in history. Lt. Napier's first assignment was as a flight instructor at Kelly Air Force Base. In May 1931, Napier was transferred to Luke and Wheeler Fields in Hawaii, where he worked in material and communications. In 1934, Zeke Napier returned to the mainland, where he became an academic instructor at Randolph Field, Texas. He graduated from the Air Corps Tactical School at Montgomery, Alabama in March 1940. Napier was selected by Army Air Corps for more desk jobs in Washington. He served for three years in the capital city as an engineering officer, squadron commander and administrative officer in War Organization and Movements. It was during that time in February 1942, when Capt. Napier was promoted to Lt. Colonel. While stationed at Bolling Field near Washington, Napier was given the duty of flying dignitaries in and out of the capital. It was his third promotion since the beginning of 1941, when he was still a lieutenant. 

As the Allied forces stepped up the bombing on German and Italian military and industrial targets in 1943, the Air Corps began to rapidly expand the number of bomb groups, as fast as the country's industrial machine could manufacture new bombers. In August of that year, Col. Napier began training in the B-24 Liberator bomber. After completing his training, Col. Napier was assigned as group commander of the 489th Bomb Group at Wendover Field, Utah, which was activated on October 1, 1943. After six months of training over the deserts, plains and mountain ranges of the western United States, the 489th, with its seventy B-24 Liberators, took off for England. The bombers took the southern route across the Atlantic by flying south to South America and then across to Africa and up to England where they arrived at Halesworth, England. As a part of the 2nd Air Division of the 8th Army Air Force, the 489th Bomb Group took off for Oldenburg, Germany on the first mission on May 30, 1944. On June 5, 1944, the 489th participated in the preparation of landing sites in Normandy just before the Allied invasion. During the mission, Lt. Col. Leon R. Vance, one of Col. Napier's most trusted assistants, lost his life in the performance of his duty. Lt. Col. Vance was the only B-24 crewman to be awarded the Medal of Honor in World War II. During its five and one half months of bombing runs, the 489th flew 106 missions with a total of 2,998 sorties. Their bombers dropped nearly seven thousand tons of bombs while losing twenty nine aircraft. A dozen other aircraft were put out of commission due to other operational losses. 

Col. Napier often lead the bomb group on missions over France and Germany as the command pilot. Flying a bomber over Europe in World War II was extremely hazardous. Of all of the casualties of the United States during the War, one in sixteen were members of the 8th Air Force. The 489th Bomb Group was the first group of the 8th Air Force to be redeployed to the United States. It was the intention of the Army Air Corps to reassign the group for duty in the Pacific. Napier and some of his men returned to the United states just after Thanksgiving 1944. Many others were reassigned to other units throughout England. 

Napier was assigned as group commander at Lincoln Air Force Base, Nebraska in December. He spent four months at Lincoln before returning to Randolph Field, Texas. Col. Napier served until August 1947 as inspector general, assistant chief of staff and deputy chief of staff of the Army Air Force Flying Training Command. After completing his courses at the Army War College, Napier was selected as Inspector General of the 12th Army Air Force and was stationed at March Air Base, California. While in the Golden State, General Napier served as Deputy Chief of Staff and Vice Commander of the 12th Air Force Base. Napier also served a short stint as base commander of Brooks Air Base. Napier returned near his home in August 1950 with the 14th Air Force at Robins Air Force Base. During his tenure at Warner Robins, Gen. Napier taught Air Science and Tactics at Texas A&M College. He continued his teaching duties as deputy commandant of Air Force ROTC at Maxwell Air Base in Montgomery, Alabama. After twenty sixth months at Maxwell, Gen. Napier was transferred to the Panama Canal Zone. While at Albrook Air Force base, the general served as Chief of Staff and Deputy Commander of the Caribbean Air Command. General Napier served his final tour of duty in Washington at the Air Force Headquarters in the Pentagon. He was a member of the Personnel Council of the office of the Secretary of the Air Force. General Ezekiel Napier retired in 1959 after more than thirty years of active military duty. His decorations included the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal, the French Croix de Guerre with palm and the Chinese Special Paoting (Tripod.) He died on August 11, 1980. 

03-29

GONE TO TEXAS

Twiggs Countians Migrate to the Land of Promises

     They believed there was something special, something magical in the land of Texas. Families and fortune seekers by the thousands began a migration to the Mexican province ofTexas in the late 1820s and early 1830s.  Despite the fact that Texas was within the bounds of another country, many Americans, including a remarkable number of families from Twiggs County, Georgia, packed up everything they had and moved west to Texas and it's promise of wide open ranges, fertile soil, and rich natural resources.

     Three of the most famous Twiggs Countians to migrate to Texas were Mirabeau B. Lamar, who eventually became President of the Republic of Texas; James W. Fannin, who was a military leader of the revolt against the Mexican government and was killed along with all the other members of his command after surrendering to elements of Gen. Santa Anna's army and William Zuber, who became one of the first historians of the state of Texas.  In this column, let's take a look at a few other Twiggs Countians, who left their homes in the center of Georgia,settled in Texas, and became prominent public servants of the Lone Star State.

     William Harrison Martin was born in Twiggs County on September 2, 1823.  His family moved to Alabama, where he received his legal education.  Martin set up his practice of law in Athens, Texas in 1850.  From 1853 until 1858, he represented Henderson, Limestone, Freestone and Navarro counties in the Senate of Texas.   He joined Gen. Hood's Texas Brigade in July 1861. In 1864, Martin was promoted to major.  Following Gen. Lee's surrender at Appomattox, Major Martin led the brigade back home to Texas.  Following the war, Martin served as a district attorney for two terms.   In 1887, William Martin was elected to serve the remainder of the term of Congressman John H. Reagan, former Postmaster General of the Confederacy, who had been chosen to a seat in the United States Senate.  Martin won reelection in 1891 and served until 1894.  Congressman Martin retired to his home in Hill County, where he died in 1898.  

     Moses and Robert Patton were sons of Major James H. Patton, one of the first residents of Twiggs County and an officer stationed in nearby Fort Hawkins at the site of the future city of Macon.  Moses received a land grant in Texas in 1835.  He and his brother moved to Nacogdoches County.  The Patton brothers were engaged in the shipping of cotton on pole boats. In 1844, they were the first persons to operate a flatboat The Thomas J. Rusk  on the river. Five years later, the Pattons operated the first steamboat, The Angelina, along the River.  Cotton farmers from all around brought their cotton to the Pattons' river landing, which came to be known as "Pattonia." During the middle of the 18th Century, Pattonia became an important inland port in eastern Texas.  Moses Patton served in the Texas Army in the Cherokee War of 1839.  After the Mexican War, he opened a general store in Nacogdoches.  Robert Patton died in 1857.  The Angelina was sold and renamed the Uncle Ben.  During the Civil War, the Uncle Ben was transformed by the Confederate government into a gunboat.  Moses Patton died in 1883 at the ripe old age of seventy seven at his home in Nacogdoches.

     Lewis Gardner Davis, son of William and Elizabeth Gardner Davis, was descended from John and Rebecca Davis, another of Twiggs County's first families.  He was born in 1827 in Twiggs County. His family moved Chattahoochee County, Georgia, where his father was a Justice of the Inferior Court and a representative to the State Convention on Secession in 1861. Lewis Davis moved to Russell County, Alabama with his family in 1836.  The younger Davis served as Tax Collector in 1855-1856.  Lewis Davis enlisted in Company B, 28th Battalion, Georgia Siege Artillery in Columbus in 1861 at the outbreak of the Civil War.    He was promoted to Lieutenant of Company K, First Georgia Regulars in 1864.  In the winter of 1868-1869, Davis and his family moved to Upshur County, Texas and began farming.  He served as a county commissioner in 1878.   In 1883, Lewis Davis was elected to the State Legislature of Texas.  He died in Pittsburg, Texas on July 10, 1893.

     Robert Cummings Fulgham was born on February 6, 1817 in Twiggs County.  His parents were  Micajah Fulgham and Rachel Taylor Fulgham.  Robert Fulgham settled in Tyler County, Texas, where he began a sheep and cattle farm.  At one time, his farm consisted of more than 3500 acres.  In 1850, Fulgham was elected the first clerk of the Louisiana-Texas Predestinarian Baptist Association.     He was later selected to head the organization as moderator.  Fulgham helped build the Philadephia Primitive Baptist Church in Tyler County.  He served his state during the Civil War as a member of the Mount Hope Home Guards, a militia unit made up of young boys and older men. On November 1860, Fulgham was elected Chief Justice of Tyler County.  He was reelected in 1866, but stripped of his duties by the Reconstruction government of Texas.  Judge Fulgham also served his county as a Justice of the Peace and County Tax Assessor.  Judge Fulgham died at his home on July 14, 1893.

     These men weren't the only Twiggs Countians to go to Texas.  On the night of November 12, 1836 a mass meeting was held in nearby Macon.  The purpose of the gathering was to enlist volunteers to form a company of men to aid the people of Texas, who were seeking their independence from Mexico.  William A. Ward of Macon was given command of the 83-man troop known as the Macon Volunteers.  Among the men were several men from Twiggs County, whose names are unknown.  Additional companies were formed throughout the state and in Alabama and Mississippi, all of which came under the command of Colonel Ward.  The Georgia Battalion was captured by the Mexican Army on March 27, 1836.  The Mexicans promised safe treatment if they surrendered. Instead, they were brutally executed by the Mexican Army.  Col. Ward was the last to be shot. He was offered his life if he knelt down and begged for his own life.  He refused, stating that he had no desire to live and his death would be welcomed. He was shot instantly.  

     William Ward lives on in the history books of Texas and the nation for his battalion's simple battle flag.  Before he and his men left for Texas, they were presented a battalion flag by Joanna Troutman of Crawford County on the western side of Bibb County.  Col. Ward carried the flag to Texas, where he gave it to James W. Fannin, a native of Twiggs County, who proudly raised the flag as the first national flag of the Republic of Texas.  The blue flag, with its single five-pointed white star and bearing the mottoes of "Texas and Liberty" and "Where Liberty dwells there is my country," was officially adopted as the Republic's flag.  Following the annexation and statehood of Texas into the United States, the State of Texas re-adopted Troutman's design of the simple and legendary "Lone Star Flag."



03-30

 WHERE HAVE YOU GONE MARSHAL DILLON? 

or Things You Hardly See Anymore 

When was the last time you saw a double feature at the movies? How old were you when you last bought a piece of penny candy? There many things we experienced in our youth that you don't see anymore or just no longer exist. 

Whether it's a ball, a stick, a rock or just running around, kids will always find something to play with. When I was a boy growing up in the early 60s, our toys rarely had batteries and certainly there was no such thing as a printed circuit board. We had to make our own noise. Almost every boy who ever lived back then had a cap pistol. Remember the smell of that minute amount of gunpowder that made us think we were shooting the real thing. When the pathetic pop of cap gun wasn't enough, we got the biggest kick from igniting an entire roll of caps, all at once. You see, all you needed was a hard surface, the sidewalk, a brick and something to ignite it with - daddy's claw hammer worked excellently. We would place the roll on its round edge (it seemed to work better that way) and then with one swift stroke of the hammer, bam!, you created an explosion. 

Every spring when the winds of March began to howl, we all asked for a new kite. There were no plastic kites with plastic frames in those days. Yep, our kites were made out of paper with a flimsy pair of wooden sticks which had to be carefully bent into a frame to hold the even more fragile paper. After you put the kite together, or got your parents to do it for you, the first thing you had to do was to prepare the string. Kite string came wrapped in an apple shape around a round piece of cardboard. This arrangement proved impractical when it came time to release the kite into a strong breeze. Every kid knew that the best kite string holder was a stick from a tree in the back yard. There weren't that many places to fly a kite in those days. The vast majority of our kites met their fates in the trees and power lines of the neighborhood. The best place to fly a kite was out on the farm or if you didn't have a farm, you could ride over to Hilburn Park, Battle Field or out to the parking lot of the Shamrock Bowl. 

In the last forty years, the demographics of Dublin's neighborhood have undergone a dramatic metamorphosis. When I attended Moore Street School in the 1960s, nearly every kid in the school lived between Rosewood Drive on the east, Green Street on the southwest, and Pine Forest Circle on the northwest. They were the western boundaries of the city. Whenever you wanted to get up a game of baseball or touch football, all you had to do was get on your bike and ride around the neighborhood. The majority of every household had at least one baby boomer at home, most of them three or four. 

When we didn't have anything else to do, we would just climb a tree. When was the last time you saw a bunch of kids in a tree? Pecan trees were the best and we had two of them in our back yard. When our mother wasn't looking, we would shinny as far up into the top of the tree as we could. The ultimate goal was to climb high enough to a perch where you could see the old brick water tower behind the City Hall. Luckily, I never fell out and neither did any of my friends. We could stay up for hours. When we got big enough, we learned that we could carry boards up in the tree and nail them into the tree to fashion out a seat or additional steps. Once again, daddy's hammer came in very handy. 

Saturdays were the best. When our mothers needed to go shopping or just wanted a break for awhile, we would get to go the movies. Oh, our mothers went sometimes, but there many days when they would drop us off at the Martin Theater and come back and pick us up four hours later. In those days, they had double features. You know, two movies for the price of one. Charlie Traylor, the manager of the Martin, would always keep us in line. "Feet off the seats, boys" and "be quiet!" were our orders. Banishment was our biggest dread. Calling our mothers was even worse. In those days, eight year-olds could go to the movies without parental supervision. Can you imagine leaving a couple of eight year old kids at the movies today? I think not. All we needed was a quarter to get in and the rest of a dollar to fill up on cokes, popcorn, sugar babies and red hots. If we were really lucky, we would all pile in the car and drive over to East Dublin to go to the drive in movie. 

When was the last time you saw a bunch of kids on bicycles? Most of us had them. We rode our bikes around the yard, around the neighborhood and when you finally convinced your mother that you were big enough, you could cross Bellevue Road or Kellam Road and ride downtown. Riding a bike by yourself wasn't that fun. You couldn't race by yourself, so we always sought out a friend to ride with. Every so often, there would be a pack of us riding down the street. The coolest thing ever invented for a boy of the sixties was the V-room motor. Before the V-room motor, we used mama's bridge cards or our Smokey Burgess or Roy McMillan baseball cards to simulate the sound of a gasoline motor. No one in his or her right mind ever fastened a Mickey Mantle card on the spokes of his bicycle tire. The V-room motor attached to the bike frame and came with a battery. You would hop on the bike, start peddling real fast and reach down and flip the switch, and wa-lah!, you were riding a motor powered bike. 

When we were old enough, we got to ride to the neighborhood store to get, what else, candy. Candy was the salvation of our youth. It's what we dreamed of, what we lived for. Believe or not, you could buy a piece of candy for a penny. Remember Mary Janes, Kits (strawberry was the best), sour straws (with sour flavored sugar inside), wax coca cola shaped bottles with sugar water inside, wax vampire fangs, bazooka bubble gum with cartoons wrapped around it and best of all the 10 cent candy bar. Today, most of the neighborhood groceries, like Mercer's, Fairway and Ben's Pic and Pay (affectionately known to some as Ben's Grab and Run), and all of those delicious candies are all gone now. Actually Fairway Supermarket, which was located across from the old Dublin High School, is still in operation, only under a different name. We bought cokes in glass, not plastic, bottles. Glass bottles were expensive to produce; that's why we eventually went to plastic. There was hardly an unbroken bottle left along the streets and highways that wasn't quickly snapped up by a thirsty kid. You could pick up four of them, take them to the store and turn them in for a cold coca cola. If you wanted that cap pistol, a crate full would do. 

Many things I remember from the sixties are all but gone now. Board games, making frog houses with your feet, homecoming parades, the sight of the old rotating light beacon at the airport, TV the Cat -, the mascot of Channel 13 (the only channel that all of us could get all of the time) and polio vaccine served on sugar cubes, have all but disappeared now. I miss them. I miss "Dark Shadows" on a stormy afternoon. I miss chasing lightning bugs in the woods. I miss the smell of popcorn in Woolworth's Dept. Store. I miss the swimming pools in Stubbs Park. 

Almost everyday you can turn your television and catch an old episode of "Gunsmoke." In the early years of the decade, western programs dominated the airwaves. Cowboys were our heroes. Matt Dillon was mine. He was the epitome of what I wanted to be. He was the good guy and the good guy always won. He always did what was right. Despite the claims to the contrary, strapping on a cap pistol, donning a cowboy hat and shooting your best friend didn't turn us into a hoard of murderers and criminals. Other forces accomplished that task without the influence of Hoss Cartwright, Festus Hagan, or the Rifleman. In today's world, when the bad guys win with altogether too much frequency, I am looking for Marshall Matt Dillon. If Marshall Dillon was here, everything would be right with the world. Where, oh where have you gone, Marshall Dillon? 

03-31

JUDGE AUGUSTIN H. HANSELL

Jurist for the Ages 

Augustin Hansell was a man of the law. You might say that he was born to be a judge. After all, he sat on the benches of the Superior Court of Georgia for forty three years. Judge Hansell was known far and wide for his wisdom and judicial interpretation of laws in a manner in which they were written. In the middle of the 19th Century, Judge Hansell served as Judge of the Superior Court of Laurens County. 

Augustin H. Hansell was born in Georgia's capital city of Milledgeville on August 26, 1817. Although Milledgeville was the seat of the state's government, it was technically too small to even be a city. He grew up in a modest house on the corner of Hancock and Jefferson Streets. Living in Milledgeville could be quite exciting for a young boy. One of the biggest moments in Hansell's life came when he was nearly eight years old. It was one of the biggest days in the history of Milledgeville. It was a day that was probably surpassed only by Sherman's entry into the city in November 1865. 

The Hansell family was boarding in Mr. Jenkins' Hotel. Augustin awed the goings on  around him. He knew someone important was coming to town. Gov. George Troup, of Laurens County, was in the hotel. Dozens of men were gathering around. They had come to see the Marquis de La Fayette, a French officer who had been instrumental in Gen. George Washington's army's victory over the British in the American Revolution. Hansell remembered the celebrations in the city that day. He especially remembered being in the Masonic Lodge when LaFayette entered the room. Augustin's father urged the shy boy to come up to greet the celebrated hero. Augustin stuck out his hand and greeted the General. In the company of a group of boys, Augustin ran up the stairs into the gallery to catch a glimpse of the festivities. 

It was during the time when Augustin Hansell became a man, that a war began with the Creek Indians in southern Georgia, Alabama and Florida. At the age of eighteen, young Augustin entered military service. As a staff officer in a cavalry company from Baldwin Company under the command of General J.W.A. Sandford, Hansell served with honor and distinction as a military secretary. Gov. Gilmer appointed Capt. Hansell as Auditor of the State of Georgia. General Sandford offered Hansell a promotion to the rank of major, an appointment which Hansell respectfully declined. 

Augustin became interested in the law as a teenager. He studied in Milledgeville under the direction of his brother, Major William Y. Hansell and his uncle, Judge Iverson Harris. Hansell traveled down to the Flint Circuit to stand the examination for admission to the bar. Judge Angus D. King appointed a committee to examine the law student on his knowledge of the basics of Georgia law, which in those days was still in its very infancy. At that time, there was no appellate court system and judicial decisions were not subject to review. Hansell passed the oral examination, took the oath of admission to the bar in Macon and returned back home to Milledgeville to set up his practice of law. 

For a young lawyer practicing law in the capital city was difficult at best. In order to be successful, a young lawyer had to have the support of a well established lawyer. Family and financial connections were often a necessity. Hansell enjoyed a fair amount of business. But after three months, he decided to leave home and move to Hawkinsville, Georgia. In those days, Hawkinsville, strategically located at the intersection of several major roads and the Ocmulgee River, was a thriving inland river port for the shipment of cotton and other agricultural commodities in Central Georgia. Augustin Hansell was elected by the voters of Pulaski County to represent them in the Georgia Legislature in 1845. 

After serving a one year term in the House of Representatives, Hansell's former legislators honored him in 1847 with an appointment to represent the State of Georgia as Solicitor General of the Southern Superior Court, replacing Peter Early Love of Laurens County. As solicitor, Hansell was assigned the duty of prosecuting criminal cases in the circuit which included Laurens County, as well as Appling, Early, Irwin, Pulaski, Telfair, Twiggs, Ware, Lowndes, and Thomas counties. After completing his term as solicitor, Hansell was once again elevated to an even higher position of honor. On November 13, 1849, Hansell was elected by the legislature as Judge of the Superior Court of the Southern Circuit. Judge Hansell remained in Hawkinsville until 1852, when he removed to Thomasville, which had become the seat of politics and government in south Georgia. After only one year on the bench, Judge Hansell resigned his seat and returned to the private practice of law. After a six-year hiatus, Judge Hansell returned as Judge of the Southern Circuit on October 4, 1859, replacing Judge Peter Early Love. 

In January 1861, political leaders from all around the State of Georgia gathered in Judge Hansell's home town of Milledgeville. Their purpose was to vote on the issue of secession from the United States. Judge Hansell represented Thomas County at the convention, which adopted the ordinance of secession, but not unanimously. Judge Hansell took an integral part in the convention working with the leaders of the two factions, the Secessionist leader Robert Toombs and the Unionist leader Alexander Hamilton Stephens. Following the adoption of the ordinance of secession, Georgia seceded from the Union. Within two months, our nation became engaged in a Civil War. During the war, Judge Hansell, too old for military service, remained on the bench. He served as Chairman of the Relief Committee in Thomas County. Judge Hansell traveled to Atlanta in the summer of 1864 to give aid and comfort to the soldiers of the beleaguered city. 

Judge Hansell stood firm in representing the interests of his county during the years following the war. In 1868, he was removed from office by Rufus B. Bullock, the military governor of Georgia during Reconstruction. After the Democratic Party regained control of the legislature, Judge Hansell was once again elected to the judgeship of the Southern Circuit in 1873. Judge Hansell served for thirty consecutive years without any opposition. 

After forty three years on the bench, Judge Hansell retired on January 1, 1903. For most of his adult life, Judge Hansell was a member of the Masonic order. He was made a Master Mason at the age of twenty five. Hansell served as an officer in the Lodges at Hawkinsville and Thomasville, as well as at the state level. He died on a Sunday morning, February 11, 1907. At the time of his death, the eighty nine year old Hansell was the oldest living Mason in Georgia. Judge Hansell was revered by nearly all of his colleagues. The respect he earned for his wisdom led to his serving as the longest Superior Court Judge in the history of the state. 

03-32

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL IN THE WORLD

Love At the End of the Rainbow

She was dubbed "the most beautiful girl in the world."  Corliss Palmer, a one time resident of Dublin, left Georgia to find her dreams in the land of Hollywood.  She found fame, fortune, and love in Tinsel Town, or at least she thought she did. Her triumphs in the Roaring Twenties, as documented in a previous column, were obliterated by the cruelness of the movie business.  Her personal demons plunged her to the depths of utter despair.  Left nearly all alone, she turned to within her own soul to discover that love is more important than money and popularity. After enduring agony after agony, Corliss ultimately discovered that true love is not based on how beautiful you are or how many films you have made, but it is much less complex.  At the end of her vacillating life, Corliss  found the real love, the love she had been looking for.

Corliss Palmer was born in the southwest Georgia town of Edison in 1902.  Her father, Luther Palmer, who later brought the family to Dublin where he worked as an engineer in the power plant on the lower edge of town down by the Oconee River, named her for the Corliss engine, an engine which incidentally powered the plant where her father worked.  The Palmers moved to Macon, where Corliss began working as a receptionist in a lumber company office at the age of fifteen.  The sight of her blond hair, warm eyes and graceful figure drew the attention of the male customers as they came into the office.  Within a few months, Corliss doubled her salary when she accepted an offer from the management of the Palace Hotel. Her job was to sweetly smile and talk to hotel guests as they stuffed their pockets with cigars.  Twenty years later, Corliss lamented that it was the first time she traded her beauty for an easy job and a good salary. It wouldn't be the last time.

Corliss saw an advertisement announcing a contest to select "The World's Most Beautiful Girl."  She shyly sent them a picture and then waited. Months went by. Then when she had given up nearly all hope of winning the contest, a congratulatory telegram arrived.  Corliss boarded a train bound for New York, never to return to the simple and comfortable life she had known.   The young ingenue trembled as she stood in front of the judges including the legendary Mary Pickford and a host of Hollywood producers, directors and actors.  Corliss, overwhelmed with joy, was congratulated by the other girls, including Mary Astor, who became a famous actress in Hollywood during its Golden Era.  Corliss' story was told over and over again in scores of publications around the world.  

Eugene Brewster, the promoter of the contest, invited Corliss to come live with him and his wife in their Long Island, New York home. Brewster sought to capitalize on Palmer's beauty by forming Corliss Palmer Productions, Inc.  He created a line of cosmetics endorsed by Corliss and profusely spread her picture on the inside and back covers of dozens of movie and women's magazines.    Corliss was admired by hundreds of thousands of adoring fans, both men and women. Her biggest fan was Eugene Brewster, who controlled all of her activities and arranged frequent appearances in silent movies.  Corliss came to expect all of the adulation that was heaped on her.  So she was not surprised when Brewster announced his love for her.   Brewster divorced his wife, married Corliss and bought her a fourteen room Hollywood mansion, filled with the finest art and antiquities that money could buy.  Picture roles became even more frequent. Money, gifts and praise flowed in.  Corliss had no cares. She had realized her dream. But had she?

At the time Corliss never questioned how or even why she had achieved stardom in Hollywood.  Only later did she realize that " it doesn't matter how many pictures there were or how fabulous the wealth or how great the position was."  She finally realized "all of these things were dumped into my lap and I snatched them with greedy hands and thought little of what I should give in return."  Corliss lamented, " I thought only of myself and how much more I wanted than I already had."  The Great Depression obliterated Brewster's fortune and consequently his financial contributions to her happiness.  Out of money and out of love, Brewster asked Corliss for a divorce.  Corliss consented, admitting that she admired and respected her gullible benefactor, but that she never really loved him truly because of her inability to love anyone except herself.

Then without a hint of a warning the casting calls stopped.  Corliss was cast off as a gold digger and condemned to obscurity as a femme fatale.  To ease her pain, Corliss succumbed to the soothing comfort of alcohol.  "I wanted to make the world which had worshiped me to feel sorry for me. I was blinded by self-pity and I wanted to make them pity me, too, Corliss confessed.  She believed, " I thought if someone pitied me, they would again give me the fame, love and fortune that I had let slip through my fingers." 

Despite her plunge to the depths of despair, there were still admirers. One man who never stopped admiring Corliss was Dr. Roy Mason.   Mason, an internist at Arroya Sanitarium, convinced Corliss to leave the anguish of Hollywood for the serenity of the country, where she could find rest, peace, fresh air and good food.   The couple increasingly spent more time with each other. For Dr. Mason, it was total and eternal love. For Corliss, she loved the attention and jumped at the chance to spend some time in the country and receive the adoration of just another one of the hundreds of men who had been in love with her, but had never really touched her heart.

Corliss longed for the attention that Dr. Mason gave her. But there was no love.  She went along with Mason's masquerade before his mother that the couple was engaged. Mrs. Mason took Corliss in and treated her with kindness that any future daughter in law would appreciate.  Corliss continued to go along with the ruse until it became apparent that the young Dr. Mason could not provide her with the wealth and fame she so deeply desired.  Not wanting to hurt Mason's mother, she ashamedly disavowed her love for the doctor and walked away from the Mason home in tears.

Corliss returned to Hollywood to regain her title as "The Most Beautiful Girl in The World."  There was no one to greet her at the train station - no fans, no photographers, no reporters. She had no more friends. Hell was only a step away.  Corliss befriended Betty Baxter, a failing screen writer. The duo drowned their sorrows in bottles of scotch and gin.  Betty introduced Corliss to Rod Demora, a wealthy Arizona farmer and cattlemen.  Demora, who recognized Corliss from her days of Hollywood glory, immediately attracted the despondent Corliss, who was still fixated on fortune and fame.  The trio frequented all of the glamorous night spots around town.  Rod proposed. Corliss,  of course, accepted. When Rod's son became terribly ill, Corliss's last chance for her return to Hollywood faded.    

Corliss began to look within herself. She was so disgusted at what she saw as if she had been slapped in the face.  Her vanity, selfishness and self  esteem nauseated her.  She sobered up, returned to her mother's home and confessed her life had been a failure.   With the unswerving devotion of her mother and her new found selflessness Corliss sought out the life she always needed but never  had.  

Claire Thomas, a former fan and café cashier, introduced Corliss to Bill Taylor, an awkward, shy and struggling rodeo cowboy.  Slowly, but surely, the couple were drawn together. On her thirty second birthday, Bill presented Corliss with a long box of twelve fern stems and single rose - all that he could afford with the last quarter in his pocket.  Bill grinned bashfully.  Corliss' heart swelled. They kissed, and for the first time in her life, Corliss tingled. "I knew then at last I found honest love," Corliss fondly remembered.  The couple led a simple and meager life until Corliss's untimely death at the age of fifty.   Corliss never found her elusive pot of gold that she so desperately sought at the end of the rainbow that loomed over Hollywood. She found something much better, love.

03-33

RIENZI M. JOHNSTON 

A Founding Father of Texas Political Journalism 

A giant of a newspaper man came into this world, one hundred and fifty four years ago today. In Texas, politics is and always has been big news. Rienzi Johnston, came to know the politics of his adopted state like the back of his hand. For nearly four decades, Johnston was a leading newspaper correspondent and editor for Houston Post. Late in life, he dabbled in political circles, but remained true to his real love, the press and the its prime mission, to educate the public. 

Rienzi Melville Johnston was born on September 9, 1849 in Washington County, Georgia. His parents, Freeman W. and Mary J. Russell Johnston, were amazed at the talents of their young son. At an early age, Rienzi began to work in a local print shop. When the Civil War broke out in April of 1861, young Rienzi was only twelve years old. He joined the Confederate Army, but being under age to qualify for military service, Rienzi was assigned to be a drummer boy. Now, being drummer boy is no easy task. Drummers usually were placed in the front of the company formation as it went in to battle. Frequently standing next to the drummer was the company flag bearer, the focal target for an enemy rifleman. The young boy survived for two years, before resigning from his unit. He returned to the service in 1864 at the age of fifteen and served until the end of the fighting in April 1865. He was still only sixteen years old. 

Following the end of the war, Rienzi returned to work in the newspaper business. He became city editor of the Savannah Morning News in the early 1870s. In 1878, Johnston followed the route of many Georgians when he traveled to Texas to find a new life and new prosperity. Rienzi took a job as the editor of the Crockett Patron. After just one year, he removed to Corsicana, where he became the editor of the Observer. While in Corsicana, he established a new paper, the Independent. Rienzi's talent for the newspaper business drew the attention of owners of the Austin American-Statesman, which hired him in 1880 as a capitol correspondent for their paper. Even more impressed with Rienzi's ability to chronicle the goings on in the capital at Austin, were the owners of the Houston Post, who kept him in Austin on the capitol beat. The Post was first organized in 1880, but after a series of financial difficulties, the owners sold the paper to a group of Houston investors in 1884. The following year in 1885, the Houston Morning Chronicle and the Houston Evening Journal merged to form the present day Houston Post. The paper's board of directors hired as their first editor, Rienzi Johnston. 

The Post became an early innovator of the modern method of printing in Texas. Following the death of the paper's business manager, J.L. Watson, Johnston took over the duties as President of the paper and took over the operation of the Post until 1918. It was during 1897 when Johnston installed a new type of printing machine which would set its own type and thereby eliminated the need for hand set type. It was said that Johnston's innovation was the first of its kind west of the Mississippi River. Johnston still concentrated on the political doings in Texas. One of his star reporters was a man by the name of William Sydney Porter, who is known by some bibliophiles as the American short story writer, O. Henry. 

During his years with the Post, Johnston was credited with training and mentoring many of the most eminent journalists in Texas. Rienzi Johnston was admired by many of the colleagues who elected him as the 9th president of the Texas Press Association in 1889. Johnston was often quoted in papers throughout the state for his keen insight into the science of Texas politics. He served for two years as First President of the Associated Press.

Johnston made his living chronicling the political events in the Lone Star state and expressing his opinions on the important issues of the day. He resisted seeking political office by rejecting the nomination of the democratic party for lieutenant governor of Texas in 1898. However, Johnston served from 1900 to 1912 on the National Democratic Committee and was one of the leading Democrats of the postwar New South. In January 1913, a vacancy occurred in one of Texas's two seats in the United States. By the authority of the newly adopted 17th Amendment, Gov. Oscar B. Colquitt appointed the respected Johnston to fill the unexpired term of Sen. Joseph W. Bailey, who had resigned his office. Senator Johnston was the first senator in the history of the United States to be appointed under the direction of the 17th amendment. His term lasted a mere twenty five days, one of the shortest in the history of the country. Following a multitude of congratulatory salutations, the former Congressman returned to Houston to resume his duties as president and editor of the Houston Post. In 1919, Sen. Johnston retired for good from the newspaper business, selling his interest in the paper to Roy Watson, son of his former partner J.L Watson, whose refusal to run anti-Christian advertisements led to the downfall of the paper in 1924. Before his departure from the Post, Johnston returned to politics in 1916, when he was elected by the voters of Houston to the Senate of the State of Texas. He served until Gov. William P. Hobby appointed him as Chairman of the State Prison Commission on January 12, 1920. 

Rienzi Johnston married Mary E. Parsons of Jacksonville, Florida in 1875. They were the parents of three children. Rienzi Melville Johnston died on February 28, 1926. His body was interred in the Glenwood Cemetery in Houston. 

03-34

 

CONDOR

     The origin of its name is shrouded in mystery.  Who in his right mind would name a post office and hence a community after an ugly scavenging bird?  The origin of the name "Condor" comes from the Spanish phrase, "quechua kuntur."   A condor is a large vulture found in the Andes Mountains of South America and the mountains of California.  Locally, folks pronounce the word "Conder".   Five quarters of a century ago tomorrow, the Postmaster General of the United States established a post office at the intersection of two of East Central Georgia's most ancient roads at the community known as Holmes Cross Roads.  Over the last two hundred years, the community of Condor has been an integral part of the history and heritage of eastern Laurens County.  

     Condor became more of a community rather than a crossroads.  The heart of Condor lies about a mile or so southeast of East Dublin at the point where Georgia Highway 29 crosses Bethlehem Church Road.  The highway from East Dublin City Hall to it's intersection with Georgia Highway 86 follows an ancient Indian trail, which ran from Indian Springs to Savannah. Bethlehem Church Road runs along the old Milledgeville and Darien Road, which ran from the 19th Century state capital to Georgia's premier southern seaport.  

     Perhaps the first landowner of Condor was the enigmatic Indian fighter, Capt. Benjamin Harrison, who was granted the land surrounding the crossroads in the late 1790s.   Among the residents of Condor in the 1830s were Jeremiah Brantley, William Brantley, Solomon Williams, John B. Williams, Charles Bush, and Hezekiah Jones.  On January 4, 1847, Charles L. Holmes purchased one hundred and fifty acres from Jeremiah Brantley along the Darien Road.  The sale price - a paltry $100.00.    Three days later, Holmes paid Brantley ten dollars for a one acre tract at the southeastern corner of the crossroads at the place where John Boatright had been keeping a store.   Boatright settled in the area south of the crossroads in 1837, before selling out to Young Keen.   Two months later, Holmes acquired the  five acre tract at the southwest corner of the crossroads from John B. Williams for one dollar per acre.  

     On October 13, 1879, the male residents of the community held an election to incorporate the Town of Holmsboro.  Mr. Holmes once jested that the first ordinance to be adopted should require all husbands to return home by dark because he was tired of helping their wives look for them during all hours of the night.  While the community was known as Holmes' Crossroads for most of the mid 1800s, somehow the alias of Taylorsville began to appear in public records. Apparently there was some resentment among area residents because an October 1879 article called for a large turnout to incorporate the town of Holmesboro and "elect councilmen who will kill and forever bury the Taylorsville Loan Association."  Apparently the town was never incorporated. On October 2, 1856, Warren Smith conveyed a tract of land adjoining Bethlehem Church to Charles L. Holmes, James M. Smith, and Thomas Hart as Trustees of Taylorsville Academy.  

     During the 1870s, postal service in Laurens County began to expand.  On September 17, 1878, the United States Postmaster signed the order establishing a post office of Condor, Georgia. The first office was opened in the store of Dennis Kea, the community's first postmaster.  Kea served as postmaster until February 12, 1882, when he was replaced by Charles L. Holmes.  Other postmasters of Condor were Columbus W. Brack, Oct. 30, 1888; Fred D. Beall, July 18, 1890; Henry F. Maund, Nov. 15, 1892; Fred D. Beall, Oct. 21, 1896; Mamie Bell, Jan. 30, 1904; Alfred Mimbs, July 2, 1908; and Lewis C. Pope, Oct. 27, 1910, who became the last postmaster when the post office was closed on June 15, 1917. 

     An 1883 gazetteer listed Condor, also known as Taylorsville and Holmes' Cross Roads, with a population of 150. The community's exports were six hundred bales of cotton, along with tons of lumber, and a few animal hides.   The reverends James Smith and J.H. Hudson were pastors of Bethlehem and Gethsemane churches respectively.    Condor was the seat of Justice of the Peace Court of Smith's (52nd ) Militia District.  W. R. Keen was the district Justice of Peace, while Perry J. Adams served in the position of constable.  Dennis Kea, the postmaster, operated a general store along with a grist and saw mill at the northeastern corner of the cross roads.  Beacham and Holmes owned the other general store.  Beacham and Pope also conducted a saw and grist mill business.  A third saw and grist mill business was operated by Dennis Kea's brother, Wesley Kea.  C.G. Bush maintained yet another mill, bringing the community's total number of mills to four.  A. B.  Tapley was the community carpenter. J. C. Tapley fashioned carriages in a factory originally established by Dennis Kea.  Wiley Martin operated a blacksmith and wheelwright shop.  The listing showed the Adams, Barfields, Barwicks, Beasleys, Brantleys, Bushes, Carters, Donaldsons, Fullers, Grahams, Hilbuns, Holmes, Joneses, Keas, Keens, Martins, Odoms, Pryors,  Smiths, Spiveys, Thigpens, Warnocks, Wilkes, Williams, and Youngs as  the major farmers of the Condor community, which stretched nearly to the eastern limits of the county.  Dr. Thomas Kea, a brother of Dennis, Wesley, and William Kea made frequent trips to Condor to meet the dental needs of the citizens.  Doctor Meridan Odom of Adrian and Doctor John Barwick of Tennille traveled to town to tend to the sick folks in the community.  Dr. Barwick and Dennis Kea opened a drug store in the fall of 1881.   Dr. John P. Holmes returned to Condor in 1885 and set up his practice after  his graduation from the Medical College of Georgia.  Dr. James McCullers, another Medical College graduate, practiced medicine in Condor in the 1880s. 

     Following the establishment of a post office at Condor, community leaders came together and built a new academy at Condor.  Leading the effort was L.C. Beacham.   Beacham donated a large sum of money and the labor of his hands in building the school, which was located near Bethlehem Church.  Prof. Thompson opened the school on February 3, 1879 with two dozen students under his charge. Prof. B. R. Calhoun, a first honor graduate of Mercer University and a high-toned Christian gentleman, took over as principal of Condor Academy in 1880.  Rev. H. Turner Smith took charge of the Academy in 1883. Dennis Kea, Wesley Kea, and L.C. Beacham, Trustees of the Condor Academy, hired Henry Overstreet to head the academy in 1884. Prof. W. E. Arnold served in 1885. In 1912, the Laurens County Board of Education gave the old school site the members of Bethlehem Baptist Church.

     Other area school students were taught by J.B. Jones and Zenobia Smith.  An academy was established at Adamsville, north of Condor on the Snellbridge Road in 1880 by W.R. Keen, Wiley Martin, K.M. Jones, and J.B. Jones.  On May 5, 1891, F.C. Adams conveyed one acre on the Snellbridge Road at the sweet gum head to Wiley Martin, B.B. Linder, H.T. Bush, J.W. Cox, and F.C. Adams as Trustees for North Condor School, which replaced the old Adams School.   Chappell Beacham, after attending Mercer University, opened a school near his home in the Fall of 1880. A new school was opened at Gethsemane Church in the eastern part of the Condor Community in the winter of 1882. 

Condor residents began seeking a railroad as early as 1880. William Kea graded a road to Dublin and was ready at an instant to start laying tracks when the railroad finally made it to Dublin from the west. L.C. Beacham laid the foundation for a railroad when, in 1880, he built a three-mile long tram railroad to transport his saw mill lumber from his "Williams Level" mill to the Oconee River in Dublin. His mill had the capacity of turning out more than twenty thousand board feet of lumber every day. The Georgia legislature authorized the incorporation of the Wrightsville and Tennille Railroad Company in 1881. For three years, the farmers of eastern Laurens County desperately sought to extend the railroad from Wrightsville to Dublin. 

On November 15, 1884, the board of directors of the newly formed Dublin and Wrightsville Railroad accepted subscriptions for the construction of a railroad to the banks of the Oconee River. The leading subscriber was board member L.C. Beacham who purchased one thousand dollars in stock. Condor resident Dennis Kea, who was later named to a seat on the railroad board, purchased six hundred dollars in shares of the new company. Other Condor area residents who subscribed their names were J.D. Keen, C.L. Holmes, W.H.H. McLendon, Jasper Spivey, Farqhuar Adams, Edwin Holmes, and C.S. Pope. 

As the railroad was being completed to Lovett and Brewton, a controversy arose as to the location of the route from the latter point. Two possible routes emerged. The northern, or the Blackshear Route, was the most direct and practical route into the city of Dublin. The southern or Condor Route was longer and more expensive to construct. The southern route was actually split into two separate routes, one into the heart of Old Condor and the other just north of Condor. The board ordered surveyor Arthur Pou to survey the routes and render a report on the estimated cost differentials between the different options. C. W. Holmes, in an effort to sweeten the deal to bring the railroad to Old Condor, offered the railroad one thousand dollars in land. Pou found that the route to Old Condor would cost an additional six thousand dollars, while the route to the lands of L.C. Beacham would cost only an additional three thousand dollars. 

In a December 1885 board meeting, director R.H. Hightower moved that the board accept the Fenley Kea route which called for the railroad to cross the Milledgeville and Darien Road at a point just south of Fenley Kea's residence. L.C. Beacham and his neighbor C.S. Pope offered the donation of two acres of land and a promise to construct a 35' by 50' depot building, which was to be completed by June 1886. The agreement gave the railroad the right to choose the location of the depot at any spot along the route on the lands of Beacham and Pope. Much to the chagrin of the donors, railroad president W.B. Thomas chose a location which they deemed to be injurious to the value of their property. The location of the depot remained mired in controversy. In a conciliatory move to pacify Messers Beacham and Pope, the board of directors agreed to construct a substantial rail crossing along the Milledgeville and Darien Road. 

The deadline came. The depot was not finished. When the board met in July 1886, Fenly Kea complained, and the board voted to annul the contract if the building was not completed in short order. Finally, the depot was completed in September 1886. The location of the depot at Condor brought out the worst in one of the town's residents. Fenly Kea took exception to Lewis Beacham's efforts to locate the depot at Condor. While Beacham was standing a hundred yards away, Kea emptied his five shot pistol, seriously wounding Beacham with all five shots. All of this led to a lawsuit, which thankfully allowed the minutes of the Dublin and Wrightsville Railroad to be introduced into evidence in the case. The minute book still survives and can be found in the archives of the Georgia Historical Society in Savannah. Nearly all signs of the depot are now gone. It was located on the southern side of the railroad center about 950 feet west of the where the Darien and Milledgeville Road crossed the railroad. 

Fenly Kea and his wife Mary Kea sold several lots in what was called New Condor along the railroad. Among the first purchasers were E.B. Jones & Co., R.J. Hightower and Sons, David Blackshear, C.S. Pope, Rhoda Page, and Mary Tarpley. In 1903, the members of Condor Lodge No. 5192 United Order of Odd Fellows, purchased a lot on the south side of the railroad near the depot. The town of New Condor never became a reality. It appears that all of the lots were purchased by L. C. Beacham who owned nearly all of Condor in 1911. C.S. Pope owned the lands to the north and west, while Dennis Kea's family owned the lands to the south and east. 

The heart of the Condor community over the last one hundred and seventy five years has been the churches. The first church was founded as the Fork Road Meeting House four miles from Dublin on the Milldegeville and Darien Road. On January 14, 1821, eleven white and two colored former members of Buckeye Baptist Church organized Bethlehem Baptist Church. John Whittle, Benjamin Manning, and Levi Bush were appointed to act as the presbytery. The Rev. Whittle was the first pastor. George Daniel was the first clerk. The first deacon was James Kinchen. Area resident Young Keen constructed the first church building. On July 31, 1832, Solomon Williams donated three acres of lands to "The Baptist Church of Christ holding the doctrine of the final perseverance of the Saints through grace and baptism by emersion." The church remains active today and is the second oldest church in the county. 

In 1850, Benjamin Pope, Edward Holmes, Kindred Jones, and William Brantley founded Gethsemane Methodist Church just off Dewey Warnock Road about a mile or so south of East Laurens School. The church eventually moved into East Dublin. In 1879, Rev. and Mrs. D.W. Williams organized William Chapel Baptist Church on the outskirts of East Dublin about a mile west of Condor. Eli Hampton, Robert Walker, and Anderson Franklin, Trustees of the Condor A.M.E. Church, purchased a lot at the northwestern corner of the railroad and the main road for a church in 1909. 

News of the happenings in the early days of Condor were often printed in the Dublin Post. Among the more humorous stories and trivial accounts of life in Condor was Mack Smith's killing of three gobblers in one shot. Local correspondents frequently reported strange sights, such as a long legged crane like bird with a wide bill that landed in Mary Kea's chicken yard and made himself at home. From the report, it appeared to have been a roseated spoonbill, a bird rarely seen in these parts. December 27th, 1879 was a particularly raucous night in Condor. The local correspondent reported that even the hogs got drunk. In March 1880, a washing machine salesman passed through town with an alligator and a deer in tow - no word if the animals were dead or alive. A month later a band of gypsies came through and swapped George Keen a horse that could tell fortunes. Several Condorites (Condoricans?, Condorians?) marveled at a death match between a king snake and thunder snake, one won by the former. For those of you who don't know where Condor is, get in your car and ride out there. Stop for just a moment or seven, absorb the aroma of the decaying grasses of Fall, and just imagine all of the history that has taken place in and around an ancient crossroads, named by some unassuming soul after one of the ugliest birds in the world. 

03-35

THE GERMANS ARE COMING! 

THE GERMANS ARE COMING!

Shoot First and Ask Questions Later

     Our country was right in the middle of World War I in the winter of 1918.  Although the end of "the war to end all wars" was only nine months away, there were people in Middle Georgia who were apprehensive that they were susceptible to an attack by German military forces. The Kaiser's army had perfected the use of lighter than air dirigibles for scouting the movements of the Allied Expeditionary Force, bombing the city of London, and ascertaining the paths of convoys of ships crossing the Atlantic Ocean.

     The day was February 6, 1918.  An otherwise uneventful day in Dodge County was about to unfold for Clem Clements and his family.  Just after day break, Clements was getting ready for a new day, when his wife and some of his ten children noticed a strange object coming up over the trees.  At first, the mysterious flying craft appeared to be no larger than a half-bushel basket. Mrs. Clements and her children stood quiescent in their tracks, paralyzed with the fear that they were in eminent danger.  Clements ran out to see what the clatter was all about.  As he saw the object coming closer and closer toward his home located near Gum Swamp Creek, he prayed it would change course and move away.  When the balloon got to within one hundred yards of the Clements home, Mrs. Clements and her children were shrieking with terror.  They bolted from the house and ran toward a sanctuary of a thicket in the edge of the woods.  

     Clem Clements had seen enough.  He was convinced that the craft was about to drop bombs on his family.  He ran into the house, grabbed his pistol, and came outside firing. Clements never saw the American flag painted on the thin hull of the balloon.  He only knew that he had to something  and do it fast.  One of his shots passed just over the heads of the balloon's crew and through the ship's rigging.   Apparently undamaged by Clements errant shots, the M-1 army balloon, which was  stationed at the United States Collegiate Balloon School in Macon, continued along its flight path moving at an altitude of five hundred feet in a southeasterly direction across the northeastern section of Dodge County.     

     Hundreds of curious onlookers saw the balloon as it began its descent.  Reports filtered into Sheriff C.N. Mullis's office that other citizens had fired on the balloon.  Frank Rogers, of Empire, was summoned to Macon to explain his reasons for firing on the army balloonists.  In the company of his brother, Sheriff John Rogers of Pulaski County, Rogers told federal officials that he was merely firing his gun to alert his neighbors of the presence of the balloon as it was moving toward Eastman.  There was circumstantial evidence to prove that at least one other citizen fired at the balloon.

     The balloon, under the command of S. W. Pardee of Connecticut, safely alighted at the first practical landing site on the road leading from Eastman to Parkerson's Bridge, about a half mile from Godwinsville School.  Folks from all over flocked to the area to get a rare glimpse of a hot air balloon.  Most of them had never seen a real live balloon, though some might have read of Professor Marvel and his hot air balloon in L. Frank Baum's recently published "Wizard of Oz" stories.  In addition to pilot Pardee, the balloon, named in honor of  President Grover Cleveland, was manned by L.A. Winter of Iowa, W. Turnbull and J.H. Vernon of Massachusetts, all of whom were students at the balloon school.  

     K.M. Miller offered the crew the hospitality of the truck of Rogers Hardware Company to transport the deflated balloon back to its base in Macon on the 12:33 p.m. train..  John Ross Rogers, of Route 2 Rhine, had traveled to the landing site with the editor of the Times Journal. He offered the crew a ride back into Eastman. While the rest of his crew returned home to Macon,  Pardee remained in the city to continue his investigation into the incident.   

     Pardee gathered enough information to reasonably believe that it was Clem Clements who had fired upon him and his men.  He swore out a warrant for the arrest of Clements.  Sheriff Mullis and his deputy, Luther Cannon, served the warrant and arrested the still stunned Clements for "shooting at an army balloon and firing upon the United States flag."  At first, Clem denied any culpability for the alleged charges.  After continued questioning, Clements admitted that he fired his pistol at the balloon, thinking "it was a German airplane flying around trying to drop bombs on our  people and that my wife and children were frightened almost to death."  Many area residents defended Clements for his actions, with one stating that"pandemonium reined down on them from the time the balloon was first spotted until his disappeared from sight."

     Clem remained in jail until federal and local officials decided what to do with him.  District attorney Donaldson was adamant in his determination to punish Clem for his unforgivable acts of firing on American aviators.  He urged a burdensome bond to be set by the court.  Col. W.M. Morrison was called in to represent the embattled farmer.  Morrison described his client as "being very ignorant of current events and being unable to read and write."  He claimed that even if Clements' attention had been directed to the presence of the American flag on the balloon, it would not have occurred to him what it meant.  Clem sat in jail while his attorney conferred with federal officials in Macon.   The army decided not to press charges in federal court, but to turn the whole matter over to the state of Georgia since no one was physically harmed.

     The case was turned over to the state court of Dodge County to decide the fate of Clem Clements.  Bail was set at one thousand dollars, a sum which was quickly raised by Clem's friends.  After his initial fervor, District Attorney Donaldson decided that the punishment for the crime should be one that had the most salutary effect on Clement's neighbors.  The matter was eventually dropped and Clem Clements nightmare was finally over.

     Just after the incident in Dodge County, Pardee and his crew conducted a flight over Laurens County.   The balloon passed undefiled over Laurens County and landed at the old school grounds in Scott.   The men were given lunch in Scott and brought back to Dublin by S.P. Rice. After a short wait,  the men took a train ride back to Macon. Clem Clements went back home to his wife and children. He tried to forget the ribbing he took for firing on an American balloon. But in the end, Clem Clements stood tall with those who knew him. In a time of perceived danger, Clem Clements defended his family with all of the available force he could muster.  Think what a hero he would have been had the balloon actually been a German Zeppelin bound on a mission to destroy some military, or even worse, a  civilian target.  He would have been hailed as the Paul Revere of World War I. Remember, Paul Revere ran. Clem Clements stood and fought!

03-36

WASHINGTON STREET PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

A Half Century of Service 

This Sunday, the second Sunday in October, the members of Washington Street Presbyterian Church will celebrate the Golden Anniversary of the genesis of the one of Dublin's oldest and most community minded churches. Over the last half century, the members of the congregation have been active in many facets of leadership in our community, and in particular, they have taken a leading role in the education of our children. 

Just after lunch on the afternoon of October 11, 1953, the Rev. Glenn Dorris called a congregation of people to worship in the assembly building of the Dublin 4-H Club. Rev. Dorris, pastor of Henry Memorial Presbyterian Church, had been approached by Lucius T. Bacote and Luther Coleman concerning the organization of a Presbyterian Church for the Negro citizens of Dublin. Coleman and Bacote invited others to join them in their dream of establishing a new church. They met in homes around the city and formulated plans for the initial service. Rev. Dorris took a short lunch break after his morning sermon at Henry Memorial and traveled across the city to the Assembly Building on the grounds of the 4-H Club. For nearly three decades, Dublin was the site of the Georgia Colored 4-H Club. Students from all over the state assembled in Dublin to have fun and to learn how to become more well rounded citizens of their state. During the following November, Lucius T. Bacote, Marine C. Bacote, Freya Bacote, Muriel Bacote, Luther Coleman, Nellie Coleman, and Mary Foster met and formed the nucleus of the founding members of the church. Shortly thereafter, they were joined by Melba Baker, Anne M. Coates, Loutrell Fambrough, Eula Jackson, Mary Hester, and Tranas Long. Officially, the fourteen charter members were considered to be members of Henry Memorial, but in fact they were busy organizing and forming their own church. In the three years before the church became officially established, the members moved their services to the Katie Dudley Village Center. 

The members called the well respected Bridges Edwards, Sr. to become the first pastor of their church in August of 1955. The church was under the direction of the Augusta-Presbytery, which bought a house at 112 Carter Street to serve as a manse for Rev. Bridges and his family. Rev. Dorris guided the members of the church through official channels to begin construction on a lot on lower South Washington Street, which was donated by Rep. W.H. Lovett. The building, designed by prominent Macon architects Dennis and Dennis, was built of brick, block, and tile, all donated by Elder Warren Reid of the First Presbyterian Church of Milledgeville, Georgia. The Presbyterian Church's General Assembly granted $40,000.00 and approved a $20,000.00 loan to complete the project. Several church members had a talent for construction and lent their time and labor to the construction of the building under the supervision of Bud Kimbell. Dick Henry of Henry Memorial served as treasurer of the building fund. The building committee was composed of Rev. Edwards, Lucius Bacote, Melba Baker, Hosie Simpson, Luther Coleman, Nellie Coleman, and George Spicer, a Dublin businessman and member of Henry Memorial Presbyterian Church. 

The dedicatory service was held in the newly completed sanctuary on November 18, 1956. Rev. Charles Gibbony of Augusta gave the address and presented the congregation with a pulpit bible. Lucius Bacote, Luther Coleman, and Edwin Bates were elected as the first elders of the church. Hansel Baker, Roscoe Brower, Leroy Limeul, and Nathaniel Watson were chosen to serve on the first board of deacons. Lucius Bacote was chosen to serve as the first Clerk of the Session. Rev. Bridges Edwards resigned in 1961. For nearly a year, the church was supplied with a host of interim pastors, including Dr. U.S. Johnson, a leading Dublin physician and public servant, Judge C.C. Crockett, a long time Dublin attorney, along with Reverends Jerry Salter, Leon Anderson, and Daniel O. Honnegan. In May of 1962, Rev. Roosevelt Haynes was called to serve the church. He left after two years to return to school. During an eight month interim period, the church was served by seminary students from Columbia Theological Seminary in Atlanta. Rev. Joe L. Spears was called to serve the church in October 1964. Rev. Spears served until May 1969, when he resigned to begin a new project in Statenville, North Carolina. For nearly fifteen months, the pulpit was once again filled with seminary students. The Rev. John Albert Yates began serving as a visiting minister in the summer of 1970. He became the full time minister on September 1 of that year. Rev. Chester Johnston became the fifth minister of Washington Street Church in 1975. Rev. Johnston had a dual role in his ministering to the community. In addition to his duties at the church, Rev. Johnson served as a chaplain at the Carl Vinson V.A. Medical Center. He was succeeded by Rev. W.H. Wilson, who served as an interim pastor for two years. In 1984, Rev. Johnnie Bennett, who holds the record as the longest serving minister of the church (1984-1993), became the church's seventh pastor. It was during Rev. Bennett's term, that a Christian library was established. The library was initially composed of books donated by members and books from the personal library of Rev. Glenn Dorris, whose guidance and direction was so critical to the formation of the church nearly four decades earlier. Roscoe Brower and Shellie Stroman drove hundreds of miles to pick up the volumes and bring them back to their permanent home in Dublin. Rev. Eugene Allen, who served as a senior chaplain at the VA Medical Center, succeeded Rev. Bennett. The present and first woman pastor of the church is the Rev. A. Vanessa Hawkins. 

The church has always been blessed by a host of dedicated servants, many of whom served as educators in the Dublin public school system. Among those people, not previously mentioned herein, are: Nathaniel Watson, Issac H. McLendon, Ethel Beard, Pearl Cullens, Irving Dawson, Sr., Roscoe Brower, Columbus Jackson, E.J. Jones, Edward Copenny, Alton Roberts, Shellie Stroman, William Walthour, and Bonnie Crawley. Additionally, the Women's organization, the essential element of any successful church, has been led by Mrs. Nellie Coleman, Mrs. Columbus Jackson, Mrs. John Green, Marine C. Bacote, Mrs. Charles Manning, Mrs. Nathaniel Jackson, Mrs. Willie O. Beard, Mrs. Edward Copenny, Mrs. Pearl Cullens, Mrs. Lois Stroman, and Mrs. Bonnese Thomas Brower McLain, among others. 

The founding of Washington Street Presbyterian Church was uniquely special in the post World War II South of the 1950s. While the evil storms of hate and racial prejudice swirled all over the nation, the people of two races and one faith came together and, along with the help of many others, established a church founded on the principles of Christian faith and service. These principles were espoused not just within the walls of the church, but throughout the community. It was this dedication, especially among the inordinate number of members who were school teachers, that led our community through the perilous times of the late 1960s and the early 1970s. Their efforts have left a positive and indelible mark on the people of Dublin, one which will continue to last for decades to come. Congratulations to the present and former members of Washington Street Presbyterian Church for fifty years of ceaseless dedication to our community. 

03-37

CRY OF THE BANSHEES

The Last State Championship

We called them the Banshees.  They were small. They were fast. They were stingy on defense.  The Dublin Irish football team had won Class A championships and 1959 and 1960, but had succumbed to the more powerful Sylvania Gamecocks in the following two seasons. The 1963 edition of the Dublin Irish sported a new look and a new enthusiasm.  It was the last time Dublin would win a state football championship.  There were other times when we came close. There was a loss to Carver High School in a mud bowl in 1967.  The 1994 team was defeated by Thomasville, one of the top-ranked teams in the country.  Most recently, there was the hard-fought heartbreaking loss to Screven County, which ended the Cinderella season of one of Dublin High’s greatest all time teams.  This is the story of a group of small boys, who played hurt, fought hard, and climbed their way back  to the pinnacle of Class A Georgia football.

The new look Irish with seventeen seniors sported a new look, dark green uniforms with white numbers. They were considerably smaller than past Irish teams. The offensive line averaged 169 pounds.  Marion Mallette was the biggest offensive lineman tipping the scales at 205 pounds, while Chub Forth was a speedy 145-pound guard. Tom Perry, the quarterback, was the largest back at 170 pounds. The defensive line weighed in at 175 pounds, with Derious Williams the big man at 215 and the nose guard Bob Mathis  anchoring the line at an unheard of weight of 140 pounds.  

The Irish opened the 1963 season in the Shamrock Bowl in front of a crowd of 4000, the largest in the stadium’s young history.  Steve Walker and Ronnie Williams led the award winning Dixie Irish Band.  Sharon Lamb captained the cheerleading squad.  The Irish, running a new pro-style offense, were led by Quarterback Tom Perry, who passed for two touchdowns and ran for one more. Vic Belote was cited for his great play on both sides of the line of scrimmage in a 20-6 victory over the Dodge County Indians.  The vaunted Banshee defense, led by an interception by Joel Smith and a fumble recovery by Charles Faulk,  kept the red men in check by holding them to 126 yards of total offense. The boys from Dodge County managed their lone score late in the game.

The Irish traveled to Fort Valley the following week to face the Green Wave. Sophomore running back Vic Belote, subbing for the injured Danny Stanley, ran for 80 yards.  The Galloping Green offense scored on three long drives culminating in a run by Belote, and receptions by Frost and Hahn.  Robbie Hahn began the season as the place kicker and punter.  The Irish defense shut out the Green Wave 20 to 0, allowing 134 yards of offense.

The Green and White returned to the Shamrock Bowl for the third game of the season against the previously undefeated Swainsboro Tigers, who outweighed the Greenies by thirty pounds per man.  Nearly six thousand screaming fans showed up to see if the Irish could remain unbeaten. The Irish scored on their first drive and not again until their last three drives of the game to defeat the Swainsboro eleven 27 to 0.   Chuck Frost became the first Irish running back to have a 100 yard rushing game, sixty-six of those yards coming on a touchdown run.  The game was close until the Irish broke it open in the final stanza with three touchdowns by Danny Stanley, Robbie Hahn, and Chuck Frost.  For the third straight game, the Irish held their opponents to less than 200 yards in total offense.

The Irish traveled to Cordele to defeat the Crisp County Rebels 34-0 to extend their winning streak to four games.  The Irish scored on their opening drive with a 61-yard pass from Perry to Frost. The first half ended with  Perry’s 39-yard screen pass to Danny Stanley for a touchdown.   Robbie Hahn, who went on to become a record breaking All American receiver for the Furman Palladins, scored on a long pass play. The star of the night was the fourteen-year-old sophomore Vic Belote, who scored on runs of 70 and 90 yards on his only carries of the night.  The Banshees stymied the Rebels, holding them to only 97 yards of offense.

The Washington County Golden Hawks were the opponents to end the first half of the regular season.  The Galloping Green put up 387 yards of offense with scores by Stanley, Hahn, Frost, Blue,  and Powell.  The Irish got off to a slow start, but won the game 38-6.  Joel Smith snatched his second errant Golden Hawk pass of the game and raced 25 yards into the end zone for a rare defensive touchdown.  The boys from Sandersville were held to 111 yards of offense.

Camera and smiles flashed as the Panthers of Perry came to the Shamrock Bowl for the Homecoming Game.  Linda Hobbs was crowned the Queen of Homecoming.   Despite having an off night in losing four fumbles, the Irish pommeled the Panthers 41 -19.  The Panthers managed to score 13 of their points in one 47 second span in the 4th quarter, an electrifying period in which the Irish scored their final 8 points in between.  The Irish offense was led by Tom Perry’s three touchdown passes to Chuck Frost, one long TD pass to Hahn, and two runs of 6 and 54 yards by Belote.  Belote ran for 139 yards to led the Irish running backs. The Banshees held the Perry team to 143 yards of offense, and keeping them from passing the line of scrimmage on thirteen running plays.

In the closest game of the regular season, the Dublin boys defeated the Braves of Baldwin County 21 to 14 in Milledgeville.  It was Danny Stanley’s greatest game of his career in a Dublin uniform.  Stanley carried the ball 27 times for 141 yards, out rushing the entire Baldwin County running back corps.  The Irish came from behind for the first time with two touchdown runs by Stanley and a pass from Perry to Hahn.  The Irish were plagued with a series of mental lapses and miscues, which nearly ended their six game winning streak.  The Irish ground game was stymied when Vic Belote left the game with a badly bruised hand.    For the seventh straight game, the Irish defense held their opponents to less than 200 yards of total offense.

A win over Statesboro in the Shamrock Bowl would clinch the 2A Title for the Irish.  A cold rain kept the crowd down to the smallest it had been since the bowl opened for play in 1962.  Louie Blue scored his first touchdown of the season, while regular scorers Belote and Hahn picked up one score apiece.  Two Irish touchdowns were called back, holding the score to a 19-0 Dublin victory.  Robbie Hahn boomed a 63-yard punt to end the first half.  The Irish defense aided by wet pigskins held the Blue Devils to 66 yards of total offense, all on the groung.

The 9th game of the season came in Americus. It wasn’t  pretty. The Irish played horribly. The Americus Panthers, well, they were just too much for the boys in green.   Chuck Frost and Tom Perry were knocked out of the game on the same play when they tackled an Americus runner.  The score, an old fashioned butt whooping 35-7 loss to the defending state champions. 

Dublin faced their region nemesis Screven County in the final game of the regular season. The Irish managed a 26-6 victory over the Gamecocks, who had dominated the region for the past two seasons, but failed to gain a single passing yard.  A encouraging highlight of the future of Irish football came when Stanley Johnson, an eighth grade runner with electrifying speed, dashed 14 yards into the end zone.  By the end of the season, the Irish were playing hurt. Chuck Frost substituted at quarterback for Perry, who had broken his thumb in practice and bruised his ribs in the loss to Americus.  Center Bernard Snellgrove stood on the side lines on a bum leg.  Vic Belote sucked it up and played the entire game both ways while suffering from a broken thumb.

After an intensive 11-week season, the Dublin Irish took time to pause for the state playoffs.  In those days, there were only four regions in Class A and only four participants in the state tournament, unlike the 32-team tournament format of today. The Irish had the first week off while the three top teams in Region 1 fought it out to determine who would meet the Banshees in the South Georgia Championship game.  Thomasville trounced Americus, a team which dominated Dublin in their only loss, by the score of 26-0.  Then the Bulldogs defeated region rival Cook County by practically the same score.  Almost a week  before the first game, the players and the nation were stunned by the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas.  The players and coaches attended a memorial service at First Methodist Church before resuming their practice schedule.  

From the beginning, controversy engulfed the game. Thomasville officials refused to allow a Dublin radio station to broadcast the game by telephone back home to Dublin.  Dublin boosters were only allotted 192 reserved seats along the fifty yard line.  The seats that were there were only on one side of the field, so Dublin and Thomasville fans shared the same side of the field. Those who couldn’t find a seat, stood on the opposite side of the field while the cold winds of November howled through the stadium in Thomasville.  

The ball game was a close as the Thomasville and Dublin fans were crammed into the seats.  Neither team penetrated the other’s goal line during the first half.  In the third quarter, the Irish mounted their only scoring drive of the game.  Stanley ran the ball for two.  Belote fumbled and Perry recovered for a 4-yard loss.  Perry then tossed a 23 yard pass to Hahn.  Stanley was held to 1 yard gain on first down.  Perry turned back to the speedy Hahn for 16.  The Bulldogs caught Stanley in the backfield for a 2-yard loss and a 1-yard gain.  On third and long, Perry hooked up with Hahn for his third catch of the drive on a 14-yard pass.  Stanley then took matters into his own hands. He wouldn’t be denied.  He gathered in a screen pass and blasted his way for 12 yards.  He took the next handoff at the 13-yard line and ran it to the 4.  Running behind Marion Mallette and Charles Faulk, Stanley drove it down to the two.  Quarterback Perry huddled the team and called “same play.”  Stanley squeezed the ball and dove into the Thomasville end zone to consummate  a twelve-play eighty-yard drive to put the Irish ahead. Tom Perry’s kick after touchdown struck the right goal post and bounced haplessly away.  It was then up to the vaunted Banshee defense to hold the heavily favored Bulldog offense.

The Thomasville boys struck back with a one-play forty-five yard drive on run by all-state running back Dickie Thompson to tie the score at 6-6.   The snapper snapped. The holder tried to upright the pigskin for the kick.  It was all to no avail.  As the kicker kicked the horizontal ball, the Banshees swarmed all over it like ducks on a June bug.  The clock ran out with the score standing at a “sister-kissing” tie, 6-6.  In 1963, there was no overtime.  The winner of the game would be determined by giving one point to the team leading in three categories: most offensive yards, most first downs, and most penetration inside the opponent’s 20 yard line.  By virtue of their lead in all three categories, the Irish were awarded three points and won the game 9-6.

Coach Minton Williams cited the great job of blocking and defense as the reason for the Dublin win.  Larry Jones stopped a critical Bulldog drive with a fumble recovery.  Another defensive star was Chuck Frost, who had to leave the game early when he broke his finger in stopping a sure Thomasville touchdown.  Johnny Malone saved his best game of the season for South Georgia championship.

The championship game was set at the 8000 seat North Dekalb Stadium. Again all the seats were on the same side of the field. This time however, the Irish were on the opposite sidelines, all by themselves.  The opposition was Tucker High School, who were playing in their own territory.  Coach Williams expected that the boys from Tucker would concentrate on pass defense, so he ran the ball and he ran the ball.  With Senior Danny Stanley and Sophomore Vic Belote running the ball behind the powerful offensive line, the Galloping Green dominated the line of scrimmage.  Three  long Dublin drives ended with two fumbles inside the Tucker 10-yard line and an interception at the  opposition’s 3-yard line.  

The Irish began their first scoring drive at their own 23.  Perry tossed a 22 yard pass to Hahn.  He came back with another pass, this one a 29-yard spectacular catch by Hahn with 27 seconds left in the first half.  From nearly the same position on the field that Irish had against Thomasville the week before, Coach Williams, with 14 seconds left called for a screen pass, which Stanley again grabbed and jaunted down to the Tucker 1 yard line.  With the clock standing at four seconds, Stanley ran behind a powerful block of Jack Stafford for a 1-yard dive play.  Hahn kicked the extra point to give the Irish the lead with no time left to play.

Following a quick score by Tucker, the Irish exhibited a strong ground game to grind out the clock. Taking the ball at their own 3-yard line following a Thomasville punt, the Irish moved 89 yards on runs totaling 50 yards by Stanley, 25 yards by Belote, and 14 by Chuck Frost.  With the Irish leading 7-6 and the ball at the Tucker 5-yard line, Stanley took the ball on a 4th down and 1 yard play into the end zone to give Dublin a 13-6 lead after the extra point attempt sailed wide to the left.  

Tucker roared back with a touchdown which brought the score perilously close at 13-12.  Tucker lined up for a two-point conversion and the lead.  That is when the controversy, at least on the part of the Tucker fans and the Atlanta newspaper reporter began.    The quarterback faked a dive play into the line. Defensive lineman Larry Jones, well coached on the art of goal line defense, dove at the offensive end’s feet just as he was supposed to do and took him out. It just happened that the end was the one the quarterback had called to catch the pass.  The front seven Banshees focused in on getting to the ball.  The Tucker quarterback, with his primary receiver lying on the cold tundra, heaved the ball into the end zone praying for a miracle. The miracle never came. The ball landed beyond the grasps of any player.  Charles Roberts of the Atlanta Constitution accused the referees of ignoring a flagrant hold by Jones on the play. The Irish coaches responded to the baseless charges by stating that “our player was doing what he supposed to do.”  

The Irish tried to put an insurance touchdown on the board but were stopped at the Tucker 22-yard line with a long penalty.  Then the Banshee defense made one last stand and stopped a Tucker drive, much to the sheer delight of the 2500 Dublin fans who had traveled to the game.  The game ended with the score, Dublin 13, Tucker 12.  The game was a close as you could get. The Dublin one point victory was matched by a 2-yard edge in rushing (263-261), a 1-yard margin in passing (54-53), and a 1-first down deficit (12-13). Each team completed only three passes.   The crowd swarmed the field as the Irish had captured their 3rd State Championship in five years,  ended their tenure in Class A as Kings of Georgia football.  

The Dublin Irish ended the season with a record of 11 and 1.  They outscored their opponents  by an average of 23 to 8 during the season.  The stingy Irish defense held their opponents to an average of less than 50 yards a game in passing defense. The Banshees shut out their opponents four times and held them to six points in three games.  While the Atlanta Constitution ignored Minton Williams as its coach of the year in favor of the losing coach from Tucker, the Irish placed four members on the all state team.  Quarterback Tom Perry, half back Danny Stanley, and end Robbie Hahn joined Charles Faulk, a repeater from the 1962 team at tackle.  So ended the last championship season. 

The primary members of the 1963 Class A State Football Champions were:  Vic Belote, Louie Blue, Don Bracewell, Ronald Cook, Otha Dixon, Ben Eubanks, Charles Faulk, Jimmy Fort, Chub Forth, Chuck Frost, Robbie Hahn, Charlie Harpe, Stanley Johnson, Larry Jones, Marion Mallette, Johnny Malone, Danny Misseri, Tom Perry, Johnny Phelps, Alan Powell, Dwyane Rowland, Joel Smith, Bernard Snellgrove, Earl Snipes, Jack Stafford, Danny Stanley, Ben Stephens, Edwin Wheeler, Derious Williams, Brooks Wright, and Freeman Young.  Coaches:  Minton Williams, Travis Davis, Bob Morrow and George Sapp. Trainer/Sr. Manager: Johnny Warren, Managers: Mike Daily and Jerry Spivey. 

03-38

HE SHOT THE SHERIFF

But He Didn't Shoot the Deputies

     It was a warm autumn night sixty eight years ago tonight.  A report had come into the office of the Laurens County Sheriff Wiley H. Adams that a shooting had taken place the night before.  Two women, going about their business of worshiping the Lord, were shot at a local church the night before.  The suspected assailant was the estranged husband of one of the victims.   What followed on the evening of October 28, 1935 still lives in the annals of law enforcement in Laurens County.   

     Sheriff Adams, along with his trusted deputies, M.D. Singleton, J.L. Jackson, and B.F. Branch,  answered a call to investigate the shooting.  The officers enlisted the aid of Emmett May to trap the suspect, Ernest Clark.  Just as the late October darkness fell, a  car purportedly occupied by  May and Clark,  pulled up to May's house in the Moore Station community.   The officers swarmed the vehicle only to find their ally, Mr. May.   Clark had smelled a rat and abandoned the car before he was ensnared in the trap.  The officers fully expected Clark to return to the scene to retrieve his car, which May had parked under a shelter.     

     The lawmen secreted themselves .  Sheriff Adams hid behind a well curb, only a few feet from the shelter.  The deputies concealed their locations at strategic points around the perimeter of the building.    Sure enough, just as Sheriff Adams had suspected, the suspect returned.  As Clark approached the shelter, Adams shined his flashlight in Clark's face.  Clark drew his weapon and fired  point blank,  striking Adams in his left hip.   Adams managed to empty his gun in self defense.  None of his rounds struck the fleeing Clark.    Clark fired one more shot, which failed to strike the fallen sheriff.    The three deputies, hiding about a hundred feet away, rushed in the direction of the sound of the shots.   May had remained nearby.  The deputies held their fire in fear of striking Sheriff Adams.  The deputies helped the Sheriff into a car and rushed him to Claxton's Hospital in Dublin. 

 

     The deputy sheriffs quickly organized search parties.   Dublin Policemen Frank Johnson and J.C. Branch joined in the chase.   Bloodhounds were secured from the state highway camp in Minter and from a Johnson County camp.   The dogs encountered quite a bit of difficulty in following Clark's trail due to the normal dry conditions of October.   Just after midnight, a light rain began to fall.   A patrol was assigned to reconnoiter U.S. Highway 80 between Dudley and Montrose, a few miles northwest of Clark's home.   A patrol car  spotted Clark standing beside the road, not exactly the thing you would want to do if you were running from the law and especially if you were a black man who just shot the sheriff.  Before searchers could stop the car, Clark vamoosed into the woods.  The bloodhounds were called in.  The sniffing canines picked up Clark's trail,  which reportedly extended for a distance of  twenty five miles through swamps and fields.   

     Judge E.L. Stephens, Arthur Devereaux, and Arthur Adams were parked beside the road when they heard the totally exhausted and conciliatory Clark crying out in an attempt to surrender.  The dogs, led by Captain Stanley of Johnson County,  were closing in.    Just before dawn, the posse called on Clark to come out of the cornfield about two miles east of Montrose.  Clark came out with his hands above his head just as he been ordered to do.   The gun, which he had used to shoot Sheriff Adams, was now gone, apparently dropped or thrown into a creek near Shewmake.    The prisoner was taken into custody and placed in the Laurens County jail.  

     Ernest Clark was arrested and charged with attempted assault to murder.  He was also booked on the charge of shooting the two women.  Clark was tried and convicted of assaulting  his wife and her friend.  He was sentenced to ten years in prison.  Clark was released from prison, if only for a few moments, to appear at the 1936 October term of Laurens Superior Court to answer the charges stemming from his aggravated assault upon Sheriff Adams a year before.  Acting upon the advice of his attorney, Clark had resigned himself to the punishment which had awaited him.  He plead guilty and was sentenced by Judge J.L. Kent of Wrightsville to an additional fourteen years in prison.  Considering the times and the situation, Clark got off with a light sentence, especially in light of the fact that Judge Kent sentenced Isadore Michael two years in prison for stealing a cow earlier in the morning.

  

     Sheriff Adams recovered from his wounds.   Dr. E.B. Claxton reported that Sheriff Adams had a good, although painful, night.  The bullet, which had entered Adams' left side, lodged in his hip, just inches from his internal organs.  The doctors initially decided to leave the projectile in its place, but eventually removed it and gave it to Adams as a souvenir of his wound.  Unfortunately, another souvenir of the night of the shooting burdened Adams for the rest of his life.  Never again did Adams walk like a normal man.  Heavy metal braces and cane were his new accouterments, replacing his pistol and his billy club.  Sheriff  Adams did not seek a third term as sheriff.  Instead, he qualified for and was elected Judge of the Court of Ordinary, now the Probate Court.   Judge Adams served from 1937 to 1969, a total of 32 years, a record for any judge in the history of our county.  

03-39

EDUCATION IN 19TH CENTURY LAURENS COUNTY

Building For The Future

If you think that the state of education today’s 21st Century is confoundingly complex, increasingly frustrating and yet still frequently and ultimately rewarding, let’s turn back the clock nearly two centuries when going to school was antithetically simpler.  Strip away the computers, three pound textbooks, and extra-curricular activities galore, and you would find schools with no lights, no running water, and only the most meager of implements.  In the 19th Century, when school attendance was optional and charted around the planting seasons,  not every child could go to school, much less read and write.  For that matter before the implementation of a county wide school system in the 1870s,  many adults could neither read nor write.

Ante bellum schools were primitive at best and operated on an irregular basis, depending on whether a teacher and funds were available.  Most communities outside the city of Dublin operated their schools on a meager budget and were often supported by local churches.  Advanced education was generally reserved for the most erudite families, who employed private tutors or sent their children to the small academies in the county or other private schools and universities elsewhere.  

For the first decade of the county’s existence, education was virtually ignored.  In 1817, the State of Georgia enacted a law providing for the education of poor children throughout the state.  Accordingly the Justices of the Inferior Court appointed Burton H. Pitts, Joseph Yarborough, Lewis Linder, Needam Cox, and William L. Mason as trustees of the Poor School Fund.  It was their responsibility to distribute state funds for the indigent children of the county. Two years later, Joseph Horn, Amos Love, Charles Moorman, and John Spivey were named as trustees, replacing all of the former members except Lewis Linder, who remained as a trustee.  Among other men serving as trustees in the 1820s were: Lott Warren, Daniel McNeel, and Henry Pitts.

  When some middle class families took advantage of the program and allowed their children to attend at the expense of state taxpayers, the justices of the Inferior Court in 1823, appointed a supervisor in each of the county’s militia district to determine and enumerate those children who were truly indigent and deserving of support.  These men were: Uriah Kinchen, Eason Allen, Henry Bohanon, G.W. Daniel, Edward St. George, William Moore, Vinson Calhoun, Davis Smith, and Curtis Joiner.

In 1819, the Georgia legislature enacted a law providing for the establishment of Laurens County Academy, the first school of its kind in the county.  John G. Underwood, David Blackshear, Neil Monroe, Amos Love, Thomas Moore, and Archibald Griffin as trustees were directed to lay out a four-acre parcel of land in a suitable location for the establishment of a school and to erect such buildings as was necessary.  It is likely that the commissioners chose a four acre tract which was located in the forks of the modern day Academy and Bellevue Avenues.  About the year 1855, the old log school was replaced with a two-story plank structure located in front of the present city hall.  This building served as a school, city hall, and masonic lodge until the late 1880s, when a larger academy was built on Academy Avenue near the site of the present day Elks Club.  A colored school was built at the same time on the site of the National Guard Amory on Telfair Street. Throughout the last quarter of the 20th Century a number of small academies were operated along Bellevue Avenue in private homes.

By 1836, a series of academies were established in Dublin and throughout the countryside. The Buckeye Academy was put under the direction of Winfield Wright, Alexander Meriwether, Echols Hightower, William Bridges, and Russell Kellam in 1833.  Three years later, Troup Academy, named in honor of the county’s favorite son Gov. George M. Troup, was established probably in the area along Rocky Creek.  Bennett Whitehead, Benjamin Darsey, Kindred Partain, Sugar Forest, A.Y. Hampton, and J.M. Hampton were the original trustees.  The Dublin Academy was established that same year on a site on Academy Avenue between City Hall and the Piggly Wiggly grocery store.  Charles B. Guyton, Francis Thomas, John Lowther, John G. Fondren, Jeremiah Yopp, Eli Warren, and Robert Robertson were put in charge of a school which was described by R.M. Stanley as a long two-room house with a chimney at each end.  Laurens Hill Academy was founded in 1838 with Thomas Wilkinson, Kindred Partain, Lenoir E. Smith, David Harvard, and John Spicer.  The following year, the Inferior Court combined the academies and the poor schools under the direction of John Spicer, John Anderson, Benjamin Hampton, Daniel Roberts, and Nathan Tucker. Freeman Rowe was put in charge of receiving the funds to support the 222 poor children in the system.

Few improvements were made in the system until the years following the Civil War.   In 1867, when things began to stabilize after the cataclysmic war years, educators around the state organized the Georgia Educational Association.  A Laurens County jury presented a recommendation that the county place a tax of 100% upon the poll tax to educate indigent children of the county and advised its citizens to began planning a system to establish schools for children of the Freedmen.  Basically the justices of the Inferior Court were the school board with the Judge of the Court of Ordinary serving as the superintendent.  The state provided in 1870 that the people of the various counties elect their own school commissioners.  In 1872, the act was amended to provide the grand jury, then considered the conscience of the electorate, choose the members of the board, who in turn would appoint a superintendent to carry out their policies.

At the April term of Laurens Superior Court, the Grand Jury chose William W. O’Neal, J.I. C. Stanley, Richard A. Odom, Dr. Benjamin F. Stanley, and Michael Livingston Burch to serve on the county’s first Board of Education.  The board chose Col. W. S. Ramsay, a former Confederate officer and then  pastor of First Baptist Church, as the first school superintendent. The board required that along with its teachers that the superintendent pass a written examination on the subjects being taught in the school. Col. Ramsay nearly aced the test, missing a perfect score by two-thirds of a point on the school law portion of the eight-part examination.  The beloved Col. Ramsay served for nearly twenty eight years until his death in 1900.

Five years after the creation of the Laurens County Board of Education, the Grand Jury compiled a report which indicated that there were two thousand students matriculating in thirty seven schools during a three-month term.    School teachers, who have never been paid what they were actually worth, were paid the paltry sum of $2.40 a student for the term. The superintendent hauled in a whopping $180.00 a year salary.   The following year attendance soared by nearly a third.  By the end of the century, there were nearly one hundred schools operating in the county.  School terms had been doubled to six months during the year from late September until April.  

Education of children has and always will be a challenge.  Our predecessors overcame the obstacles of scant funding, inferior facilities, and the evil of illiteracy.  Today and tomorrow new and challenging impediments  will face us. It is mission we all must accept totally and without reservation. It is mission that we all must accomplish without fail.  There will be no make ups or do overs.

03-40

MALCOM DUNN

Tales of a G.I.

     Malcom Dunn was just your regular G.I.  He got his daddy to go down and sign for him to enlist in the National Guard in 1940.    Malcom trained in camps across the country and boarded a troop ship for Europe.  Fighting from hedge row to hedge row and from river to river, Dunn's division traversed the span of western Europe in less than nine months.  There were good times and bad times.   With the war in Europe over, Malcom had enough of death and dying.  He came home and began a new life, a life of building and not destroying.

     Dunn got his first taste of military service at Fort Jackson, South Carolina.   The taste was good old fashioned dirt.  "When we drilled in the dust bowl, you could stand on the edge and not see the soldiers," Dunn said.   Malcom tried to reenlist in the Guard, but was forced to join the regular army instead.  At Fort Custer, Michigan, Dunn was assigned to M Company, 3rd Battalion, 376th Regiment, 94th Infantry Division.  The young man from the coastal plains of Georgia found out what a real plain looked like.  At Camp Phillips, Kansas, the land was so flat that he could see 20 miles in every direction.  It was cold too.  The 18 to 20 degrees below zero winds whipped unimpeded through the barrack's fabric walls.  "After a while, you would have icicles on your moustache and eyebrows ... when the snow was on the ground, you had to guide yourself by the telephone lines," Malcom reflected.

     The following spring Malcom was sent to McCain, Mississippi, which was located on the edge of a swamp.  When it rained, water would rise into the camp.  As the water rose, so did the ground worms.  Malcom picked them up, put them in a can, and waited for the water to rise to the edge of the barracks, from where he would fish out the back door for a good mess of catfish.  "The mosquitos were real bad.  We had to rub mud on our faces to keep them off.  When the water got high, we would get on a knoll and wrap ourselves in our rain coats to fend of the mosquitos," said Malcom, who was sure with conditions like that, he was going to be sent to the Pacific.

     Malcolm's division was crammed like sardines inside the hull of the Queen Elizabeth bound for Europe.  Under the watchful eyes of their B-26 and blimp escorts, the ship managed to evade the German Wolfpack submarines and made it to Southampton, England.  His regiment was commanded by Col. Thurston, a cross-country walking champion, who wanted to arm himself with a rifle instead of the standard issue .45 caliber pistol.  "I came here to kill Germans, not to scare them," declared the Colonel.  

     Malcom was a tech sergeant in one of Col. Thurston's mortar platoons.  When the requests for laying down fire came in, Thurston's men went into action.  The men called them "Thurston Shoots."  The Germans were enfiladed with synchronized fire of 81mm mortars and artillery.  Dunn quickly learned to let the big guns go first so as to disguise his mortar battery's location from the German 88 mm gunners.   In their zeal to protect their friends in the regular infantry, Dunn's men often "double-loaded" their mortars for maximum efficiency.  When some division officers complained that fighting in the hedgerows was "penny-anny," Malcolm retorted, " Go out there and try it yourself."

     From Paris the 94th was sent to the point where France, Germany, Luxembourg, and Belgium come together at the Saar River.  The fighting was bitter. The weather, even more bitter.  The division was promised support from the armor divisions.  It was slow in coming. Meanwhile, General Patton kept ordering, "attack, attack, attack!"  "I would lie awake at night listening for the clinging of their tracks. I listened so hard that I imagined I heard them when I really didn't," Malcom remembered.  Finally the armor units arrived.  One of them was Sgt. Lester Porter's outfit.  Porter and Dunn found out while talking at the VA Hospital one day that they were in the war together, really together.

     The 94th broke through and raced to the Siegfried Line. A regiment of black engineers superbly repaired a downed bridge. Just as the division approached the river, German artillery units pounded the engineers and the front elements of the division.  A combat patrol neutralized the enemy guns, and the division poured across the bridge.  Then, it was a race to the Rhine River. The Germans continued to fight back and hard.  

     One night a group of truckers came into a town where Dunn and his men were.   "We were completely exhausted, lying on the porches of the houses and buildings.  We were so tired we couldn't hardly talk to each other.  One of the truckers lit a match to take a smoke.  His sergeant came up to him and cussed him out for endangering the men around him. He told him he was at the front lines. He really wasn't.  At the time, it was funny.  We all laughed. I must have laughed for at least 30 minutes. I laughed so hard that my belly hurt.   It was good to laugh. I hadn't laughed in a long time," Malcom fondly remembered.

     Another night, while standing in the chow line, Malcom noticed German soldiers were standing in the line waiting for something to eat.  "They were chilled to the bone and were hungry too," Malcom said.  When the light came, the Germans returned to their guns and fired on their hosts once again.  Eventually the firing stopped and the Germans stacked their arms and offered their support to fight against their most feared enemy, the Russians. 

     As Dunn's regiment approached the street fighting going on in and around the outskirts of Ludwigshafen, the report of a 9mm "burp gun" resounded throughout the town.  Malcom and his squad discovered the shots were coming from the top of a house.  They eased up a narrow staircase.  The first man kicked the door in.  Malcom saw an old man shooting from the window.  His wife was handing clips to him.  "We had to kill them," Malcolm said.

     The division was moved to Czechoslovakia.  "It was kind of like Kansas, but with rolling hills,"   Malcom remembered.  German soldiers came through the lines at night to surrender and were sent back behind the lines only to be returned to the Russians.  Eventually, they quit surrendering.  It was in Czechoslovakia where Sgt. Dunn was offered a battlefield commission as a 2nd lieutenant.  Fearing that he would be sent to the Pacific, where the outcome of the war was still strongly in doubt, Malcom declined the honor, saying that "I am sick of war and I just want to go home, and I have a daughter that I have never seen."

     Sixteen days after he left, Malcom was back home, laying brick for the expansion of the U.S. Naval Hospital in Dublin.  He took a security job there, but eventually made his living in the masonry business, while dabbling a little in raising hogs and livestock.

     Tech Sergeant Malcom Dunn was one of the millions of our veterans who left their homes and families to accomplish a single mission.  The mission was freedom, freedom for you and me.  On this Veteran's Day, let us pause to thank them for their sacrifices and service to preserve the freedoms we have enjoyed and will continue to enjoy for the rest of time.

03-41

CARL VINSON

The Legend of a Legacy

     Six score years ago a legend was born.  None of our county's congressmen, not even the indomitable George M. Troup, nor the incomparable Alexander Hamilton Stephens, have surpassed the lifelong legacy of Congressman Carl Vinson of Milledgeville.  For fifty years and one month, Vinson represented the citizens of the 6th and 10th Congressional Districts of Georgia with unwavering tenacity, dutiful honor, and distinguished patriotism.  His contributions to the people of Laurens County and to the nation as a whole are no less than monumental.

     Carl Vinson, one of seven children of Edward S. Vinson and Annie Morris Vinson, was born on November 18, 1883 in Milledgeville, Georgia.  As a young man, Carl was a good student and a born story teller.   After completing his classes at Middle Georgia Military and Agricultural College during the day, he worked in Culver and Kidd's Drug Store and two other department stores in town.  He once supervised the distribution of an Atlanta Paper throughout the town, for which he earned a paltry $15.00 a week.

     At the turn of the 20th Century, young Carl became interested in studying the law.  He read law under the supervision of Baldwin County Court Judge Edward Hines.  He enrolled in law school at Mercer University in 1900 and graduated two years later.  After taking the oath of admission to the bar, Vinson accepted Judge Hines' invitation to form the partnership of Hines and Vinson. With the benefit of Judge Hines' influence, Carl Vinson became Solicitor of the County Court of Baldwin County in 1904. He was reappointed to that position in 1906.

     In 1909, Carl Vinson was first elected to public office as a State Representative from Baldwin County.  At the age of twenty-seven and during only his second term in office, Vinson was elected Speaker Pro Tempore of the House of Representatives, a prestigious honor to anyone of any age.  Rep. Vinson was denied a third term in the House following the reapportionment of Congressional districts following the 1910 Census.  Vinson supported the transfer of Baldwin County to the 6th District and into a district where the major population center was in Augusta.  Voters resented his actions and turned him out of office by a scant five votes.  It was the only election that he would ever lose, but it was one that may have turned his life around forever.  Vinson, not through with politics by any means, accepted an appointment as Judge of Baldwin County Court, in which he had previously served as solicitor.

     Following the death of Augustus O. Bacon, a United States Senator from Georgia, in 1914,  6th District Congressman Thomas Hardwick, of Sandersville, announced his candidacy for the vacant seat.  Vinson, unsatisfied with being a jurist in a inferior court, announced his intention to return to legislative service, this time at a national level.  Vinson easily won the election to fill Hardwick's remaining term and to a full second year term beginning in January 1915.  On November 3, 1914, Judge Vinson took the oath of office and became Congressman Carl Vinson, a position that he would hold for longer than anyone else in history until his retirement.  Cong. Vinson's only serious opposition came in 1918, when he was challenged by Populist leader Thomas E. Watson of McDuffie County.  Vinson won a close election over Watson, who was thought to be politically finished, but  soon won an election to the U.S. Senate. 

     During his second term in Congress, Vinson was appointed to the House Naval Affairs Committee.  The appointment was unusual in the fact that the congressman's district was no where near any large body of water and there were no naval installations within the district either.  During the early days of the country's involvement in World War I, Vinson made an electrifying speech before Congress espousing President Woodrow Wilson's declaration of war.  From the very beginning of his congressional career, Vinson became a proponent of building a bigger and better naval force. He maintained that he would like to see the fruits of his labor in Congress and bases and ships were visible evidence of his work.

     In 1925, President Calvin Coolidge appointed Congressman Vinson to the Morrow Board. The Board was formed following the court martial of Billy Mitchell, who criticized the Defense Department for their lackadaisical attitude for a strong air force program.  By 1923, all of the Democratic members of the Naval Affairs Committee were no longer in office, leaving Vinson as the senior Democratic member.  Acknowledging his expertise and aptitude for military matters, the committee chose Vinson to author many of the board's main recommendations, which included the establishment of an Air Corps and increased funding for building more planes and training more pilots and ground crews.

     The Congressional redistricting following the 1930 Census forced Vinson to return to the 6th Congressional District. When two incumbent Congressmen were placed within his district, one of them being Congressman William W. Larsen of Dublin, Vinson had to take action to avoid a highly contested election for the first time since 1918.  Congressman Larsen retired and the other fellow congressman died before the primary election in the summer of 1932.  

     But then, and apparently out of nowhere, a new candidate emerged. It would become the second most contested election campaign of Vinson's career.  It would also be an election which would have the most impact on Laurens County.  Judge R. Earl Camp of Dublin announced his candidacy to unseat the popular congressman from Milledgeville. In a letter published in Army-Navy Air Force Journal in February 1961, Judge Camp wrote to Cong. Vinson and said, " I am going to give you hell, I mean nothing but merry hell, and I don't mean maybe.  I am going to take the flesh, bone, marrow, hide, and hair off you."  Vinson refused Judge Camp's offers to debate the issues.   Camp was faced with overwhelming challenges. Vinson had become popular in national circles for his work on improving national defense.  He always made sure that members of his district were taken care of with their share of federal programs, a practice that would affect Laurens County in many ways in the decades to come.

     Vinson canvassed the entire district in the hot summer months leading up to the September  Democratic primary, speaking in every town in Laurens County.  Judge Camp struck back with faultfinding criticisms.  He belittled  the very core of Vinson's platform, a powerful U.S. Navy.  The strategy didn't work.   Vinson garnered nearly 65% of the vote in defeating Judge Camp, who managed to carry only four counties out of the district's eighteen, including the judge's home county of Laurens.

Before the 1932 election, Vinson was made chairman of the Naval Affairs Committee. He would serve in that office until 1947 when the committee merged with the Military Affairs Committee to form the House Armed Services Committee.  Under Vinson's leadership in the1930s, the United States naval force was essentially rebuilt.    Congressman Vinson was a workaholic when it came to being a congressman. He was in his office well before 8:00 a.m on most days and spent his nights reading nearly every scrap of newspapers, books and reports as they related to the work of his committee.  In 1938 and again in 1940, Cong. Vinson authored and ushered through Congress the Naval Expansion Acts which helped to prepare the country for the inevitable second World War.  His efforts went somewhat un-applauded until the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

     At the beginning of World War II, Carl Vinson was one of the most powerful men in Georgia and in the nation.  He had served longer in Congress than any other Georgian and had been a member of the House Naval Affairs Committee longer than any other Congressman in the country's history. From his Washington office, Congressman Vinson led the civilian effort to win the war on  two oceans.  He constantly pushed for more ships and more personnel. In the end, Vinson's efforts to build the greatest navy in the world were finally and wholeheartedly endorsed by the Congress and the President.  As the war came to a close, Vinson made it clear that the country should not and must not scrap the country's naval force like it did following World War I.  He was somewhat successful though many ships which were no longer necessary were sold to private companies for conversion into civilian ships and for scrap.

     It was during the World War II years that Congressman Vinson's lasting legacy to Laurens County began.  When county farmers lost their work force to the war effort and county leaders were denied an application to establish a prisoner of war camp here, Congressman Vinson stepped in and approved the transfer of some of the German and Italian soldiers incarcerated at Camp Wheeler in Macon to a camp in Dublin in the summer of 1943.  For three summers the prisoners filled the void left by the hundreds of farm workers who were in military service.

     Right in the middle of the war Congressman Vinson wanted to make a lasting contribution to the citizens of the county who had stood behind him for many years. Vinson envisioned the establishment of a naval scarlet fever research hospital on the outskirts of Dublin. Still today some question the location of a naval facility more than 120 miles inland.  The answer is simple.  Dublin needed the economic shot in the arm that a hospital would generate.  As many as one thousand people and a greater number of jobs were generated by the establishment of the hospital here in January 1945.  The facility became part of the Veteran's Affairs Department in 1948.   The hospital was renamed the Carl Vinson VA Medical Center in honor of the man who was responsible for the location of the facility which has a profound impact on Laurens County.

     Ancillary to the location of the naval hospital was the location of an airport to facilitate the transportation of patients and personnel into the hospital. The airport was eventually turned over to the county and has been an important economic tool and recreational facility for more than sixty years.  Obviously important in the location of the two facilities were the vast number of support jobs that were necessary to serve the civilian and military personnel working at the hospital.  New homes were built by the hundreds to house families who were moving here from all parts of the country. Even local citizens built new homes with the security of their new found employment.

     In the post war years, the Chiefs of Staff in the Pentagon began the transition to dissolve the union of the Army and Air Force into two separate branches.  Incumbent in that plan was the necessity to establish a separate military academy for the training of the finest officers and pilots in the country.  One of the finalist communities to house the new Air Force Academy was Laurens County.  Vinson, whose influence extended mainly to naval affairs, wanted to place the facility in Laurens County.  When the naval and military affairs committees merged and Vinson was not elected chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, his plan was averted.  Had he been chosen chairman, it begs the question, "what might have been?"  

     As the Cold War began to heat up, military planners began a massive base construction program to stem the tide of Communism throughout the world.  A plan was made to construct a base on the elevated plateaus of the Buckeye District of northeastern Laurens County and neighboring Johnson County.  Excitement was rampant through out the county.  The government planned to establish an Air Force base to house a pride of the fleet, the legendary long range bomber, the B-52.    The news of a  base electrified some because of the economic jolt it would bring to the local economy.  Others feared that it would bring the county on the fringes of a target in the sight of a Russian "A bomb."  The plans didn't turn out like Congressman Vinson had hoped.  The base was closed even before it was built.  

     In the 1950s,   President Dwight Eisenhower began to resurrect the idea of a national interstate highway system.  The network of roads was designed to allow motorists to travel at high speeds with little impediments along their way.  The roads were also designed to allow the military to move rapidly throughout the country.  Georgia was susceptible to an attack because of her large number of military installations.  Interstate Highway 16 was designed to run from Macon in the center of the state to Savannah at the coast, tying in the air base at Warner Robins with Ft. Stewart near Hinesville.  The original route of the highway was to have run north of Dublin nearer the Central of Georgia Railroad, which ran through McIntyre, Toombsboro, and Tennille.  A subsequent modification brought the highway closer to Dublin.  In 1962, Soperton's Jim Gillis, Chairman of the Georgia Highway Department, and Dudley's R.L. Hogan, businessman and President of the Bank of Dudley, enlisted the aid of Congressman Vinson to move the route even further south.  Gillis, Hogan, and Dale Thompson, county attorney for Laurens County, visited with Congressman Vinson in his office and asked him to move the new highway to benefit more of the citizens of his district.  Vinson took the proposal to President John F. Kennedy.  After a five minute presentation, Cong. Vinson emerged and announced, "Gentlemen, you have your road."  Just like that with a handshake, Interstate 16 became an integral part of our county's infrastructure for centuries to come.  

     When a bitter dispute arose over the issue of a new county courthouse in 1962, Congressman Vinson stepped in and saved the day.  Voters disagreed over whether or not to build a new courthouse on the courthouse square or at another site in town or simply to keep the old courthouse and renovate it.  When a bond issue failed to provide the funds to build a new courthouse, the county commissioners turned to Carl Vinson for help.  Vinson convinced his fellow law makers to appropriate funds from a newly created federal program designed to aid towns and cities with urban renewal projects.  In doing so, the program funding half the cost of the construction of the present Laurens County courthouse.  In the summer of 1964, Congressman Vinson appeared at the dedication of the new courthouse, the first federally funded county courthouse in the United States.

     Carl Vinson's final legacy to Laurens County came later that year. In one of his last beneficial acts in office, Carl Vinson was enlisted by Elizabeth Moore, his old friend and director of the Laurens County Library, to help the citizens of Laurens County to build a modern library to replace the antiquated Carnegie Library building.  Vinson came through again.  With the aid of the same federal program, Vinson was able to secure the necessary funds to complete the project.  

     Carl Vinson died on June 1, 1981.  During his life time of service to our county, district and nation, he was a stalwart for a strong national defense and was a champion for the members of his district.  The next time you pass by the VA Hospital, drive down the interstate, or check out a book at the Laurens County Library, stop and, just for a moment, give thanks to the memory of Carl Vinson.

03-42

COL. CINNCINATUS SAXON GUYTON

The Gentle Warrior

                                   

     The mere mention of his name evokes an aura of distinguished nobility.  He was a son of one of Laurens County's most noble families.  In a time of national calamity, he served  his state and his nation as a noble warrior.  In a time of intra state political upheavals, he served his community with dignity, honor and respect.  This is the story of Col. Cinncinatus Saxon Guyton, the highest ranking native Laurens Countian to serve in the army of the Confederate States of America.

     Cinncinatus Saxon Guyton, "Cince" to his friends, was born on December 2, 1834 in the Buckeye District of Laurens County, Georgia.  "Cince" grew up on Guyton plantation along the old Buckeye/River Road in northern Laurens County.  His father, Charles Saxon Guyton, was one of three brothers who came from a French Hugenot family in South Carolina to settle in Laurens County in the middle of the second decade of the 19th Century.  Charles and his brothers, John and Moses, were leading citizens of the county in their day.   

     Cince's childhood was spent in relative luxury.  The Guytons owned massive plantations and a large number of slaves, They were known to have been kind masters.  Even as a young man, Cince developed a keen interest in preserving and protecting the culture and heritage of the ante bellum South.

     In the winter of 1861, the lives of Cince and his neighbors changed forever.  Guyton's neighbor, Dr. Nathan Tucker, attended a convention in the capital up the road at Milledgeville. Though Dr. Tucker stood firm in his stance against secession, the convention's delegates voted to leave the Union and thus set the wheels in motion for a war between the South and the North. Guyton answered his state's call to arms.  

     At the age of twenty-six, Guyton was elected Captain of Company C, Second Regiment, First Brigade, Georgia State Troops.  The following winter Captain Guyton was promoted to Major of the regiment.  In the Spring of 1862, the Brigade was reorganized.  Guyton's regiment was re designated as the 57th Georgia Voluntary Infantry Regiment.  On May 24, 1862, Cince Guyton was elected Lt. Colonel of the Regiment.

     The 57th was attached to the Army of the Tennessee.  During the first full year of the war, the 57th was assigned to duty in East Tennessee.  On January 31, 1863, the regiment was transferred to Vicksburg, Mississippi.  The 57th worked to fortify the city against the impending attack led by General U.S. Grant.  In an effort to stave off the Union Army, General Pemberton sent out a force to attack the enemy near Jackson.  The forces ran head long into each other at Champion's Hill near Baker's Creek.  The resulting melee was a devastating defeat for the Confederate Army.  The 57th suffered horrendous casualties.  Scores of men were killed.  Scores more were wounded.  The regiment retreated westward back to Vicksburg to wait for an onslaught.  For seven weeks, Guyton and his regiment endured barrage after barrage of Federal artillery attacks.   On July 4, 1863, the Confederate Army surrendered to the  vastly superior Federal Army.  

     To a Confederate regiment, the most important symbol of their existence and purpose was the  regimental flag.  The 57th had adopted the battle flag of the "Dixie Boys," Company A of the regiment.  The flag was sewn by Mattie Seward, daughter of James L. Seward, a former congressman and a native of Dublin.  When it became apparent that the battle flag would be seized by the Yankees, members of the regiment hid the flag under the saddle of Lt. Col. Guyton's horse.  The horses and accouterments of field grade officers were off limits to scavengers and looters, and were left unmolested by Union inspectors.  The battle flag eventually made it back home.  Today it remains intact, preserved by one of Lt. Col. Guyton's collateral descendants.  

     Near the end of August, Lt. Col Guyton and his men were paroled. They headed back to Georgia to prepare for the eminent invasion of their home state.  The 57th was assigned to coastal defense duty around Savannah.  Morale among the soldiers of the 57th sunk very low. Soldiers were leaving in droves returning to their homes.  In an effort to halt the multitude of mutinous absences, the 57th was transferred to Andersonville Prison on April 15, 1864.  When Gen. Sherman's army began its advance on Atlanta, the 57th was pulled out of Andersonville and was sent to North Georgia.  The regiment took part in battles at Lost Mountain and  Kennesaw Mountain. The fighting began to escalate with the Battle of Peachtree Creek on July 20th.  The regiment began  a night long march to the south, one which ended in a hook maneuver and an attack on the flank of the Union left on the morning of July 22nd.  Following the wounding of the brigade commander, Col. William Barkaloo, the regular commander of the 57th, assumed command of the brigade and placed Guyton in command of the regiment.  Near the end of the  day when Col. Barkaloo could no longer continue, Lt. Col. Guyton was placed in command of the brigade, an honor usually reserved for a brigadier general. Guyton remained in command of the regiment until the fighting subsided two days later.  Guyton returned to his position as  second in command of the regiment.  The 57th regiment evacuated Atlanta in September and was assigned to operations in Tennessee.  The regiment surrendered on April 26, 1865  at the Bennett House at Durham Station, North Carolina.  Cince Guyton returned home, vanquished and exhausted, yet still  determined to serve his community.

     Guyton did double duty during the war. In addition to his duties as a lieutenant colonel, he served as Senator from the 16th District in 1863 and during both extra sessions of the legislature in 1864 and 1865.  Guyton's attendance during the legislative sessions in Milledgeville was made possible since the law makers usually met in November and December when both armies usually observed a mutual truce. Of course, this agreement was thrown out the window in the late fall of 1864 when Gen. Sherman continued his push to split the South with his "March to the Sea."  Guyton and his fellow legislators were forced to retreat to Macon to resume their activities. 

     Following the cataclysmic upheaval in state government at the end of the war, Col. Guyton was determined to lead Laurens County from a dozen years of despair. In 1877, he was elected to represent the county in the Georgia legislature.  In 1882 and 1883, Guyton was selected by the voters of the senatorial district to represent them in the Georgia Senate.  

     Cinncinatus Saxon Guyton died on August 14, 1884 at Union Point in Greene County.  The Colonel had long suffered  from the debilitating Bright's disease and had gone to a mineral springs  there for treatment.  He died of a stroke and was buried in the Guyton family cemetery near his home on the old River (Buckeye) Road.  In a funeral conducted by his fellow members of the Anderson Lodge F&A.M. of Wrightsville, Guyton was eulogized as a leader against the forlorn hopes of the vanquished soldier and the demoralized citizens of his county.    Guyton's death and his life had a long lasting impact on our citizens.  Every store in Dublin closed its doors in honor of the memory of a man who was  beloved by nearly all.   

His family erected a handsome monument in his memory.  The thirteen-foot  tall octagon-shaped monument is carved from Scottish granite.  His epitaph reads, "His life was gentile and the elements so mixed in him that nature might stand up, and say to the all the world, 'This was a man!' An honored life, a peaceful end, and Heaven to crown it all."

03-43

LAURENS HILL BAPTIST CHURCH

     They gathered together on a cool Saturday at the home of David Harvard at a place they still call Laurens Hill.  They were seeking to worship the Lord in their own church.  As I held in my hands the tattered written record of their existence, I wondered about the joy they felt as they sang their praises to God.  I wondered about the agony they suffered as they mourned the death of a loved one.  I wondered just what it would be like to attend a worship service in a building where there was nothing but natural light, nothing but the summer's heat, and nothing but the music of their own voices.

     On December 9, 1843, one hundred and sixty years ago today, eight men and nine women assembled in the living room of David Harvard to officially establish a new Baptist Church to be called Laurens Hill Baptist Church.  Harvard had built his palatial home somewhere within the last decade.  His home still stands today and is located south of Interstate Highway 16 on the Cochran Highway, State Route 26.  In the early days it was known as the Uchee Trail or the Blackshear Trail or perhaps even the Rocky Creek Road.  

     Brother Joseph Ross called the conference to order.  The congregation actually was there to confirm what had already began.  On the previous October 8th, nine of the group had subscribed their names as charter members.  They were David Harvard and his wife Mary, Charles Powell and his wife Mary, Robert Higdon, Jr. and his wife Emily, John Higdon and his wife Matilda, and Mary C. Williamson.  Also present, but never before enumerated elsewhere were Anthony and Hannah, colored servants of Robert Higdon, Jr.  They were admitted to membership by virtue of a letter from their prior church affiliation.    One of the main items on the agenda was the admission of new members.  Frances Powell, Wealthy Leonard, Rebecca Jones, Benjamin Powell, and Tabitha Bullock were received by letter.  Dicey, a colored servant of David Harvard, was received by experience.  The congregation elected Joseph Ross as the church's first moderator, or minister.  Robert Higdon, Jr. was chosen to serve as a temporary clerk.

     One of the first orders of business was to locate a proper site and erect a suitable building for the new church.  At the next conference on January 20, 1844, the congregation appointed John Higdon as Deacon and made Robert Higdon, Jr. the permanent clerk.   David Harvard, Robert Higdon, Jr., Charles Powell, Benjamin Powell, and John Higdon were selected to make arrangements for the new building.  The committee deliberated long and hard and on October 18, 1845, announced that they had selected a site near the home of  Mary Hampton's mills.  David Hampton and John Love were appointed to make contact with Mrs. Hampton and to secure a deed from her.  Their mission failed.  David Harvard suggested that the most suitable place for the new church would be on the main road where it crossed Rocky Creek.  Several old timers have told me that the old road actually crossed the creek a little further northwest of where it does today.  The church members weren't the first people to occupy that site.  For hundreds, if not thousands of years, the spot was occupied by Indians who had camped there during the travels along the trail.

     Among the earliest members of Laurens Hill Baptist Church was a host of slaves. While having no leadership role in the church, the slaves were an integral part of the worship services. In 1848, one-third of the membership were slaves.  The original church building contained a gallery just above the front door.  In the years before the end of the Civil War, more than seventy slaves were accepted into membership in the church.  Despite the fact that the war ended in 1865, several freed slaves remained in the church. Many of them left in 1867 and 1868 to join Negro churches.  Harriett, a former slave of Ashley Vickers, and Richard, formerly owned by Dr. W.J. Kurtz, were the last former slaves to remain as members of the church.  On July 3, 1880, they were dismissed by letter to join another church.  Even after the war, free Negroes applied for membership, proving the point that the worship of God has no colors, no boundaries, only faith.  It is interesting to note that no where in the written annals of the church was there ever any reference to the war that was tearing the nation apart.

     The earliest ministers of the church included Joseph Ross, L.B. Lee, William Steely, James R. Williamson, Richard Smith, Moses N. McCall, E.B. Barrett, W.D. Horne, Thomas W. Dupree, J.L.D. Miller and J.Z. Bush.   Particularly noteworthy of the earliest ministers was Moses N. McCall.  Rev. McCall, a graduate of Mercer University and a former Confederate calvary captain, was a leading member of the Georgia Baptist Convention and President of Monroe Female College in Forsyth.  Among the earliest clerks were Robert Higdon, C.C. Harvey, David Harvard, John R. Coombs, Quinn L. Harvard, W.C. Harvard, Quinn L. Harvard, John W. Barkwell, and W.F. Harvard.   John Love, Sr., John Love, Jr., Ashley Vickers, Kindred Partain, Joshua Walker, William O'Neal, I.J. Duggan, and J.A. Hogan were early leaders of the church.

     In the dark days following the end of the Civil War, the members rebounded and accumulated the necessary funds and materials to build another church.  This church which stood until nearly a half century ago on Georgia Highway 26 across from the Harvard Family Cemetery on the western side of the highway a little more than a mile from the interstate highway.   In October of 1873, the members met in the new church for the first time.  It was a wooden structure with a Greek style porch, with a triangular facade supported by columns.  By the end of the 19th Century, the porch was removed and the sanctuary was expanded toward the front.   

     In the middle of the last century, folks just quit coming to Laurens Hill Baptist Church. Older members died and younger ones moved away or went to church in Dudley and surrounding communities.   The old church building was razed and the materials used for less solemn purposes.  Before I finished this article I traveled out to the site of Laurens Hill Baptist Church.  It was a cold, clear, windy late December Sunday.  There is no sign of the old church.  An old culvert leading to a thicket is the most likely spot where at one time souls were saved and people cried.  If you close your eyes and listen real hard, perhaps you can still hear the echos of the songs of salvation, or perhaps even the ringing of praises to God as the resonate through the pines.

     Today, little of anything is left to remind us of the once thriving country church.  If you want to reach out and touch the church, you can go by the heritage room of the Laurens County Library and ask to see the minute book of the church, which is a virtual treasure trove of historical and genealogical information.  One final note; there still is a Laurens Hill Baptist Church.  It is located a mile east of the Laurens Hill Cross Roads on Laurens Hill Baptist Church Road.  The congregation of the church was still there past two o'clock on that Sunday afternoon singing, praising, and worshiping proving the old maxim, "The more things change, the more they stay the same."

 

03-44

     

THE REVEREND JOHN JASPER METHVIN

Missionary To The Indian Nation

     John Methvin loved God. He loved to tell the word of God.  His life spanned many of the most remarkable events in human history from the Civil War to World War II. It was his mission on Earth to spread that word among the Indian tribes of Oklahoma in the tumultuous days of the Old West, when Indians were treated as second class citizens.   This is the story of the man who looked beyond the evils of hatred and bigotry, and taught the teachings of God to the Plains Indians.

     John Jasper Methvin was born in the hamlet of Jeffersonville in Twiggs County, Georgia on December 17, 1846.  He was a son of John and Mourning Methvin.  John spent his summers on the family farm and went off to school at the Auburn and Talmadge Institutes.  When John was only fourteen years old, the Civil war broke out. Two of his older brothers, William and Thomas, joined the army in October of 1861.  William was elected Jr. 2nd Lieutenant of Company D of the 57th Georgia Infantry in May, 1863.  Two weeks later, he was captured at Champion's Hill (Baker's Creek) and taken to Johnson's Island, Ohio, where he remained in prison until after the end of the war.    William Methvin became a Methodist minister and served as a Colporteur, or peddler of devotional literature, for the South Georgia Conference.  He died on Feb. 26, 1911 and is buried in Northview Cemetery.  As it became apparent that General Sherman's army would invade Georgia in the spring of 1864, John Methvin, at the age of seventeen, joined the company.  The company, known as the Smith Guards, saw action in the battles at Kennesaw Mountain.  They were heavily engaged in the Battle of Atlanta in July.   Thomas, the company's 2nd Sergeant,  was killed at Jonesboro, Georgia on the last day of August 1864.  With the fall of Jonesboro, so came the fall of Atlanta.  The 57th Georgia retreated to Savannah and then to the Carolinas before surrendering on April 26, 1865.  John Methvin was near his home and surrendered to Union soldiers six days earlier.  

     In the dark days following the war, Methvin returned to school to complete his education.  He became interested in the study of the law and was admitted to the bar in Milledgeville.  After only a short time in the practice of law, John Methvin's interest turned toward religion.  In his day, lawyers and ministers often supplemented their income by teaching in local schools.  For a dozen years, Methvin taught and acted as principal of the Nachoochee and Cleveland Schools in White County.  He also acted as Superintendent of Public Instruction for White County.   

     The Methodist Episcopal Church South  issued John Methvin a license to preach in 1870, and in 1874 Rev. Methvin was ordained as Deacon in the Methodist Church.  While he wasn't standing before a chalk board, Rev. Methvin was standing in the pulpits of the Cleveland Circuit as a Supply Minister.  In 1880, he was transferred to a full time position as minister of Nacoochee Methodist Church.  Later that year, Rev. Methvin was appointed to the presidency of Gainesville College.  In 1883, the Reverend became President of Butler Female College for a two year term. 

     Shortly after his reelecting in 1885, Bishop Robert Hargrove called Rev. Methvin to go to the Territory of Oklahoma to serve as Superintendent of the New Hope Seminary.   The school, under the joint operation of the Methodist Church and the Choctaw Nation, was to educate young Indian girls and teach them the word of God.  While Methvin and his instructors were doing a credible job in teaching the girls and converting them to Methodism, differences arose between the Church and the Indian tribes.  The school closed in 1886.    On weekends, Methvin served as an itinerant minister and elder of the Indian Mission Conference.  Later that year, Bishop Charles Galloway appointed John Methvin as Superintendent of the Seminole Academy.  Methvin was able to convert the 40 students at the school from the Baptist faith to the Methodist faith within a year.  Rev. Methvin traveled throughout the western end of the territory looking for signs of religious activity. He found none. He returned back home and inquired of Bishop Galloway concerning the assignment of missionaries among the western tribes, which included the Arapaho, Comanche, Kiowa, and Cheyenne, you know, the ones you see portrayed in the movies and on television as savages.  

     Methvin, a married father of five young children, was flabbergasted when Bishop Galloway took up Methvin on his suggestion and appointed him Missionary to the Western Tribes, a task Methvin believed should be reserved for an unmarried minister.  The Methvin family endured a perilous journey through the plains to the village of Anadarko.  The family lived for two years in a rickety shack, the donation of a generous trader.  They endured one hardship after another, including a vicious winter and the birth of another child.  Rev. Methvin concentrated on working with the Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache.   After some initial tribulations in getting the Indians to cooperate and to obtain an reliable interpreter, Rev. Methvin was able through serene compassion and resolute patience to get the commitment of the Indian leaders to listen to his message.

     Methvin gathered up a group of volunteers and constructed a modest parsonage with a church annexed to the side.  He continued to meet with the Indians in their homes, but eventually convinced the tribes to come to the church to worship. In grateful appreciation for his efforts, Rev. Methvin was made an honorary citizen of the Indian tribe and was granted a tract of land.  Methvin turned his efforts to construct a small school. With the aid of the Ladies Missionary Society of the Methodist Church, the building was completed in 1890.  In two decades of operation, the school served a large number of students, including many future leaders of the Indian nations. 

     During his five year assignment at Andarko from 1889, Rev. Methvin wrote of his activities among the Indian tribes. In 1900, he published Andele, the Mexican Kiowa Captive, the story of  the history of the Kiowa tribe and, in particular, a Mexican-Indian Andele.  In 1927, Methvin published his Reminiscences of Life Among the Indians.  In his article, he recounts his life among the tribes by saying, " I have seen rugged old Indians who, many a time have been on the warpath and jerked the scalp from many heads, under the preaching of this Gospel come forward and with quivering forms and streaming eyes confess their sins and ask for help, and I have seen them transformed by this power alone and lead new lives. And this has been the power wrought the change in our so-called wild who are no longer wild, and while there is much ahead to be done yet, wonderful has been the change that has taken place since the first missionary work was begun among them years ago."

     In 1897, Rev. Methvin was made President of his own school, the Methvin Institute.  He served in that capacity until he returned to Andarko for a short respite before returning to the Institute until 1905.  He was given his last appointment as a minister at South McAlester in 1904. In 1906, Rev. Methvin was made a Supply minister.  His last assignment came in 1921 when he served the Indian Mission at Lawton, Oklahoma.  On January 17, 1941, the Reverend John Jasper Methvin, at the age of ninety four, passed away.  His body was laid to rest in his adopted home of Andarko.  He was described by his admirers as being poetic, witty, philosophical, and inspirational, just perfect for the mission God created for him.

03-45

UP, UP, AND AWAY!

or What Goes Up, Must Come Down

     Ward Van Orman loved to fly hot air balloons.  He flew above the trees, through low hanging clouds, and all over the countryside of America and Europe.  Van Orman was so good at what he loved to do that he was a three-time champion of the World Championship balloon race way back in the 1920s and 1930s.  In the 1927 Gordon-Bennett Balloon Race, Van Orman and his partner fell less than one hundred miles short of victory. They landed in the town of Adrian and caused quite a commotion. What happened after that was somewhat hilarious, but not to the disappointed duo.

     In 1906, the first Gordon-Bennett race was held to determine the world's best balloonist. The races,  which were held on an irregular annual basis until the 1920s, were won by the balloonist who flew the longest without stopping.  Time in the air was a secondary, but insignificant, factor in determining the winner.  Ward Van Orman, a native of Loraine, Ohio, entered his first Gordon-Bennett race in 1924.  Flying the Goodyear III out of Solbosch, Belgium, Van Orman finished a disappointing 14th in a field of seventeen.  His balloon landed 170 miles away after being in the air for only 35 minutes and 17 seconds.  On his next attempt, Van Orman and his partner Carl Wollam fared much worse.  This time the duo finished in 16th place.  On the second night of the trip, he found his balloon out over the sea.  Van Orman spotted a Dutch ship below.  He managed to lower his craft down to the deck of the ship with the guidance of a hand held flashlight.  Despite the fact that he had accomplished a feat unheard of in balloonist circles, Van Orman was disqualified under the rules, though they never technically touched land. The 1926 race began under miserable conditions in the city of Antwerp.  Van Orman and his new partner Walter T. Morton took off and landed 16 hours and 37 minutes later in Solvesborg, Sweden, a distance of 861 miles away.  The duo captured their first Gordon Bennett cup easily outdistancing their closest competitor by 262 miles.

  

     In 1927, the venue of the race shifted to the United States, home of the previous year's champion.  On Saturday evening on the 10th of September, three Americans and a dozen European balloons alighted from Henry Ford Airport in Detroit, Michigan.  The Americans, led by defending champion Van Orman and Edward J. Hill, began to drift nearly due South toward Georgia.  During the day on Monday the heat of the South became unbearable for the northern balloonists.  There faces were blistered by the September sun.  Flying at a normal altitude of 15,000 feet the crew was in constant radio contact with the ground advising his ground team of his position.  After exactly two days in the air, Hill landed in Baxley, Georgia, 1198 miles from the starting point. A German balloon landed at the same time, but ninety two miles short of Hill's flight.  Van Orman and Morton, flying Goodyear VI, began to descend three and one half hours later.  

     As the nautical twilight was beginning to fade, Van Orman and Morton vainly tried to keep their airship adrift.  Goodyear VI landed in a cotton field on the northwestern edge of Adrian, Georgia at 7:53 p.m. on Monday night.  "It was dark," remembered L.O. Glaze of Adrian, "and they began signaling with a flashlight."  Jack Key was there.  He saw it.   He ran toward it. There was a man in town who had served in the army and recognized the flashes as emergency signals.   He gathered a group of men and boys together and they raced toward the descending balloon.  The balloonists dropped an anchor rope down to the men below.   The balloonists climbed out of their craft and took out their possessions, including two quarts of red whiskey. Five year old Jack Key remembered that Van Orman was broke.  “He had no money to pay for food, so my father gave him five dollars for his flag,” said Key, whose father ran a small restaurant in the middle of town.

     The Adrian boys, in a moment of inattentiveness and awe of the balloonists, let go of the ropes, and the partially inflated balloon, without the ballast of the men and their spirits, lifted into the air once again.   During the night everyone who had heard of the landing looked around the countryside for the lost balloon.  Later the next day, word came from Gillis Springs to the southeast that the balloon had been spotted in the area. After three hours of searching along sandy dirt roads and fields, Van Orman found Goodyear VI near a vacant farm house, caught in a barbed wire fence.  The balloon suffered several gashes, but was otherwise unharmed.

     A large crowd gathered around to watch the air heroes pack the deflated balloon onto a flat bed truck. Van Orman returned to Adrian, where he commented to the press, " We are extremely happy that the American team in this race, including E.J. Hill,  won.  We are satisfied with the effort and have no regrets."  Van Orman and Morton traveled to Dublin, before leaving for Atlanta later that night.  By the way, law enforcement officials let the airmen keep their supply of whiskey, a substance outlawed in the Prohibition days of Johnson County, Georgia.   Though Van Orman finished third in the race in distance, his fifty one and one half hours in the air set a world race record for time in the air.  The record stood until the modern day as the second longest flight and first longest flight by an American crew until the 1990s, when modern technology allowed balloons to stay adrift for three to four days at a time.

     Van Orman and Morton were optimistic about their chances in the 1928 race.  With the aid of better winds, they would have been two-time defending champions of the Gordon Bennett Cup. It was a rainy day in McKeyesport, Pennsylvania on May 31, 1928.  Van Orman, flying the Goodyear VII, was the fifth pilot to ascend into the air.  Two hours later, Van Orman and Morton found themselves in the maelstrom of a spring thunderstorm.  Lightning struck the air ship instantly killing Walter Morton and knocking Van Orman into a state of unconsciousness. The lightning destroyed the lower three quarters of the balloon, which fell nearly three thousand feet to the Earth.  Through only the greatest of miracles, the balloon landed near Greensburg sound enough to allow Van Orman to survive the landing with only a broken ankle.  Following his partner's death from electrocution, Van Orman designed a mechanism to protect the occupants of the balloon from deadly lightning strikes.

     Van Orman overcame the tragedy of the 1928 race and captured the 1929 cup with a one day 549 mile trip from St. Louis to Troy in his home state of Ohio.  It was the fourth year in a row that the cup was won by an American, with Americans finishing first, second, and third in their home country.  In 1930, Van Orman and Alan McCraken, piloting Goodyear VIII, won their second consecutive cup with an 872 mile trip from Cleveland, Ohio to Norfolk, Massachusetts, near Boston in 28 hours.  Van Orman skipped the race for the cup in 1931.  In 1932, Van Orman finished second in Goodyear VIII  to a U.S. Army balloon under the command of lieutenants T.G.W. Settle and E.W. Bushnell.  In his next to last Gordon Bennett Cup race, Van Orman set a personal distance record of 1356 miles from Kleinhuningen, Switzerland to Bagotoji, Poland in a 28 hour 45 minute flight.   In his final race in 1933, Van Orman finished third behind a Polish balloon and a U.S. Navy balloon in a race which began at the World's Fair in Chicago.  With Frank Trotter aboard Goodyear IX, Van Orman ended his racing career with a disappointing 791 mile trip to Canada. More than eight decades later, when men still compete for the Gordon-Bennett Cup,  Ward Van Orman is considered by some historians as the greatest gas powered balloonist. Certainly he was the greatest balloonist of the pre World War II era.      

     

The End