BLACKSHEAR AND TROUP
There was a very warm attachment existing between Governor Troup and General Blackshear. They mutually respected each other for manly and noble virtues so conspicuous in the characters of both. This respect has mellowed into affection rarely felt by man for his fellow man. It was an adoring and beautiful trait in the characters of these two men, who in life were so dear to the people of Georgia and which is now so gratefully remembered by every one who knew them.
General Blackshear was a member of the state Senate in 1823. It was the legislature of that year that elected Governor Troup, and it was the last election of the governor by the legislature. The contest was a most bitter one, dividing the white people into parties who were in the extreme acrimonious in their feelings toward each other.
When the legislature assembled, its canvas showed a very doubtful majority for either party. The leading men of the state, and of both parties, had assembled at Milledgeville, and every effort that men or party could make was called into requisition by both parties. Still the result remained in doubt to the counting of the last ballot.
The Senate convened in the representative chamber, and to the roll call of its secretary each member arose when his name was announced, and proceeding to the speaker's desk deposited his ballot. In the same order the house voted. During the voting the excitement was intense. The galleries and lobbies were filled to repletion. All were pale, as expectation stood on tip-toe. Thousands of dollars had been wagered on the result, and passion seemed pent up in bursting hearts; and this was hushed into trembling silence. A hat was used to receive the ballots, and the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House were the tellers. The one took from the hat the ballots announced it, then handed it to the other and he placed it in another hat. There were 168 ballots; 85 was a majority and elected. When all but two ballots were counted the poll stood 82-82, and there was a pause in the county. The next ballot was for Troup; the last ballot lay upside down in the hat, and was not visible to the President of the Senate, who was the teller. Seizing the hat by the rim he turned out the ballot upon his desk and exclaimed the voice of Senator "Troup!" The scene that followed this announcement in indescribable. the smothered emotion of the multitude burst forth as the eruption of a volcano. All order and dignity was lost. Shrieks, yells, tears, and laughter all mingled in the wild commotion. Men rushed into each other's arms, desks were kicked over; men rolled upon the carpet, whilst deep and bitter curses came from the opposition. This turmoil defied the power of the speaker, and continued for twenty minutes. When excitement had exhausted itself, and silence and order restored General Blackshear, who had remained silent and standing amidst the turmoil lifted his eyes toward heaven, and stretching forth his hands, said in a loud but trembling voice, "Now Lord, I am ready to die." This was the signal for the renewal of the extravagances of joy in cheers and shouts from all around. The crowd surrounded the venerable general, blessing and caressing him until, overcome with emotion, with tears streaming down his withered cheeks, he sank into his chair, still saying "Yes, I am now ready to die."
George Troup had just finished his first term in the United States Senate after serving four terms in the House of Representatives. Troup began aquiring land along the eastern bank of the Oconee River just above the mouth of Pughes Creek. He established his home on a high hill above the Milledgeville and Darien Road, presently known as the River Road about a half mile north of Interstate 16. The hill has a commanding view of the Oconee River Valley and Dublin, which Troup's brother-in-law, Jonathan Sawyer, had helped to establish in 1811. Troup served as Governor of Georgia from 1823 to 1827 and then returned to the U.S. Senate. He named the home Valdosta. The name is derived from the Italian phrase "Val de Osta", or beautiful valley. The house was not a typical home belonging to man of Troup's stature. It was a log structure built in a three pen style. The house was surrounded by verandas and stone and clay chimneys.
In 1852 Troup added a large reception chamber with 6 by 10 boards intricately dovetailed and fastened with hand made nails. The plastered interior made this room one of the most elegant in Troup's homes. Valdosta was once described as a row of log houses attached to another as necessity required. The rooms were joined by one long piazza running a length of 100 feet. Troup often entertained guests on their travels from the coast to the capital in Milledgeville. Troup also constructed a thick walled log office which doubled as a fort in case of an Indian uprising. Troup died at his Rosemont Plantation in 1856. His body lies inside an elaborate stone wall structure in northwestern Treutlen County.
The lands along the banks of Turkey Creek were highly prized by the early settlers of Laurens County. The county's first seat was at Sumpterville along the eastern banks of Laurens' largest creek. Joseph and Elijah Blackshear, brothers of the famed Gen. David Blackshear, amassed a plantation of nearly 2000 acres along the creek east of Dudley. After Elijah Blackshear died in 1821, Joseph then took possession of the property which he held until his death in 1830. Joseph Blackshear lies buried in the cemetery near his home. Former Governor, George M. Troup, had just finished his final term as a United States Senator when he purchased the property from Samuel and Winford H. Cochran on December 18, 1834. Troup named the place Vallambrosa after a retreat near Florence, Italy. Vallambrosa encompassed 1878 acres stretching from Turkey Creek on the east to Dudley on the west and from just below Highway 80 on the south to above Highway 338 on the north.
Although Troup never moved his home there the old Blackshear two- story home was much more elegant that Troup's Valdosta home. After Troup's death in 1856 the property passed to his daughter Oralie. She was tall and graceful and a favorite on the social scene. She was engaged to marry but her fiancé died before the wedding. Oralie lived there until she married a Dr. John A. Vigal. The wedding was one of the grandest ever held in Laurens County. All of Laurens' wealthiest families came to festivities, which even included an orchestra from Macon.
Oralie fell into a severe state of depression following Dr. Vigal's untimely death. The loss of her husband was too much for Oralie and she was sent to the Insane Hospital in Milledgeville. Oralie was buried in the cemetery of her most favorite place, Valambrossa. The rock spring house built by Oralie eventually fell in. The stone marker which contained her name and the date of construction of the house sits in front of the Dublin-Laurens Museum today.
Control of the plantation passed to Col. Robert Wayne who married a Miss Bryan, a granddaughter of Gov. Troup. Wayne found the place in a serious state of disrepair. Wayne was determined to restore the place to its former grandeur. A visitor to Vallambrosa found it to be a thriving place. Wayne had over 400 tenant farmers living and working on the the place. Col. Wayne's library was considered to one of the best in this part of the state. The house burned to the ground on September 9, 1880 when a fire spread from the kitchen to the main house. Today all that remains is the grave yard and the long oak lined avenue running to the house. The Daughters of the American Revolution marked the entrance with a bronze marker in the 1930's.
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