THE ET CETERA CHRONICLES  - VOL. 64

FIRST LOTTERY - Although in modern times, state sponsored lotteries are relatively new, they were common in the 1700s and 1800s as a way of raising funds for infrastructural improvements.  Perhaps the first known Laurens Countians to win a large lottery prize was W. J. Hightower, who drew the winning ticket in last Louisiana State Lottery of 1884.  Highower’s prize of $10,000.00 was equivelant in today’s dollars of approximately $284,000.00.  New Orleans Times-Picayune, December 27, 1884. 

FIRST TRAIN - The first passenger train to enter Laurens County arrived in Lovett, Georgia in the autumn of 1885.  The railroad, originally known as the Dublin & Wrightville, eventually became known as the Wrightsville & Tennille Railroad. Atlanta Constitution, October 9, 1885. 

YUCK!  - Jake Moorman, a leading Republican activist and school teacher, had not been feeling very well for a long time.  One day, while sitting around the fire, Moorman felt an instant and violent urge to throw up.  He leaned forward and emptied the contents of his stomach.  Much to his horror, Moorman saw a seemingly lifeless six-inch-long snake and a bug.  The large bug, disturbed at the disruption of its sanctuary, committed suicide by scampering into the fire.  Moorman, who had been suffering from consumption, was sure that he had more of the crawling creatures in his stomach.  St. Louis Globe Democrat, October 28, 1885.

CARING CHICKEN - M.B. Graham had an unusual pet.  The friend of Graham was a ten-pound Cochina Cock.  When Graham was ill, the bird would flying in through his open bedroom window and alight upon his sickbed to check on how his master was feeling. It was said that the rooster, just to cheer the old man up, would scratch and dance upon Graham’s bed.  Sterling Daily Republican, May 23, 1887. 

CLOSE, BUT NO CIGAR-   Thomas B. Felder, Jr., a Dublin attorney, came close to being only the second Laurens Countian to serve as a member of the Electoral College.  In the 1888 Presidential Election, Republican Grover Cleveland won the most electoral college by 65 votes over Benjamin Harrison, despite losing the popular vote by less than ten thousand votes. Gen. David Blackshear did serve in the Electoral College three occasions, in 1800 when he voted for Thomas Jefferson, in 1828, when he voted for Andrew Jackson and in 1832, when as chairman of the delegation, again voted for  Andrew Jackson as President of the United States.    Indianapolis Journal, December 1, 1888. 

BUILD IT AND THEY WILL COME - In the aftermath of the Civil War, the people of the village of Dublin found it difficult to revive the local economy.  Without a newspaper, telegraph machine, or a railroad along with an overpopulation of rowdy drunkards, Dublin floundered.  By 1880, the population of the county seat stood at roughly 500 people. By the end of the decade and the coming of the railroad, that population doubled four times to more than 2000.  The rapid growth led to the much use phrased in the early 20th Century, that “Dublin is the only town in Georgia, which is doublin’ all the time.” Indianapolis News, February 1, 1889.

FIRST INVENTOR - J. N. Smith, of Dublin, may have been the first Laurens Countian to receive a patent from the United States government.  Smith’s patent for a better skylight was approved in 1889. Blount County News-Dispatch, May 23, 1889.    

HOW MANY HORNS DOES A GOAT HAVE? - Two, right?  In the case of Judge M.H. Mason of Wrightsville, Ga. , he had a goat with proudly carried eighteen on his body - two on his head and four  on each of his four legs.  The one-year-old goat’s foot horns, based on the hooves,  were from 4 to 8 inches long, although the judge’s son, Reuben, had cut them off at their bases four months prior.  Oshkosh Western, February 4, 1882. 

WAS IT IN THE WATER? - C.L. Lord, who lived an hour’s walk outside of Wrightsville, noticed an unusual pattern.  First, one of his sow’s had twin pigs.  Then, one of his heifers had twin calves.  Lord, thought little of the coincidence, until just after Christmas when Mrs. Lord had twins, a boy and a girl.  Franklin County Times, January 28, 1909.