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)'.jj XBTXEIl RO?I A/.A HAM A, I* Ou1«- • * 1 • . * v* 4 ' ilpw.I .. T* ' • nient.,, I KARDWiCKHfetTOG, Sept. ’81.' ■ townCol.’Chas. Hancock: I notice In 11,1(1 J Ust weeks Recorder an article written one ‘lth.Wedulld those. T. SSI,L.rit-*.coltliCehas iaccoiwrite A me inteT ingfi thin] wror in an thef raise he nlt; mati able one\ cour in th meai will and of Ai ndunostnty.lohnless,•rsesJor-rses,obb,*, J.uto. K.sin-11.00.iblc,HI.3. C.B.C. . M. told, iner, [cl 11-idn-[cln-rienslaw-inty,•otm-fues-linieiglit-‘ii on [»hla,by Mr. M. Speer, purporting to cover the first decade of Americas. As I am one of the oldest citizens of Americas, perhaps, now living, being in my . seventy-first year. I cannot in justice1 p” to myself, as well as others, whoso Jn*ur memory is still very' dear to me by) nomiI the ties of kindred and friendship, let I COI(1^e,ls»! Mr. Speers very erroneous account of Jma J the first settlers of your present thriv-1one c.K. ing city, pass without making a reply. on ; Some points ofliis article are true; with W. those containing a correct statementII have nothing to do, only taking upf. S., such points as I know from personalI experience to be fiilse.B. 1st. Naming of the streets at the , location of the county site, is a grand W. niLstakc, that event not taking place In several years after the town wasorganized.2nd. The old hickory spoken of stood near Granlierry’s comer, and was never the lcst stand in the drive, din (Jim Monian, who was spoken of as lt;UK) exhibiting so much agility on said the hickory, was at that time a deacon in 0.00 a BaptLt Church in Upson county,• the and never came to Americus until 00. I IS4I.Uni. J moved with my brother, tlie late lamented Wright Bradv, to Americus, in 1832. The goods we curried there was purchased from John Chain, of Berry, Houston county, consisting of whisky, sugar, coiree, tobacco, etc., and cslrried there by Benj. Shcani, in an ox wagon, (not a cart observe) we crossed at Travelers rest and went out on what was then called Lit tell \s Trail; reached Liglitwood Knot about sundown, got bogged up, pitched our camp for the night, next morning prized out, reached Americas about ten o’clock, erectcd our tent near two big ml oaks near the dejMit, bought a lot, erected a small log house (the polls were not peeled)and done an honorable business. Wright Brady was born of poor, but honest parentage, not a blemish or stain ever having sjHtted the good name of one of their ancestors. They possessed hut few of this worlds gotxls, but they reared uptbeircliildren in the straight \a\th of duty and honor, and royally was Wright Brady’s youthful training kept by him to old age. His dealings with his fellow men was on thexmiurv and fnmi a |xor lx»y he worked himself up inch by inch (notwithstanding the druggoonx that till this day even try to hold his bright record down) until by hanl toil and manly exertion he achieved a name that few men of the present day dare to aspire to under similar disadvantages, lie was ever a friend to the poor and needy, his heart was oih*ii to the calls of charity, his birth honorable, his career through life unimpeachuble and his death a loss to the community in which he lived, and his memory still fresh and green in the minds of a large circle of relatives and friends. No incubus held him down, he was not tied to the stake only by the low cunning of an envious few, who would still try to nrn*t from the charnel house of memory a name that was ever uniottod from the world. His early training was su|crior to those of the writer in tin* Recorder for his motto ever was, “Let the faults of the dead he buried with them, and their glt;»od dlt;*eds live after thorn.”4th. Muckalec Creek was very high in those da vs, and could not have been waded by men, lot alone ladies. Female in and around Americus at that time with few exceptions, were as modest and refined as any that now adorn Americus society, Their advantages were limited and oppor-tunities few,but they were ladies, nevertheless, and would have scorned the waltz and the giddy dance of the present day, as they then did wading creeks and tout ing shoes,•»th. North (Trolina was outat Alf 1 larding’s, and John Kimmey is the manwho fell through the boanl floor (it was not puncheon), ho was killedin lsJs. * fitli. The elucken pie was cooked by Katie Peterson, outat a placecall-ep Jengard, named by Fisk Brown.\\ right ISrmly was the mail* who got the pipe in his mouth, and after vain , - ench-avors to masticate, remarked r ‘J that his teeth were very good, but not strong enough to eat that chicken gizzard.7th. Mr. Ned Montgomery moved to Americus in ih$», and brought with him Scab Montgomery, then a small boy, and erected the first frame bouse ever built in your city.nth. John Kimmey was living in the county in 1832at thetime 1 iuovclt; to Americus, and Jessie lx»e, hia son was iaisedhere.Mr. M., remarks, “there was no law in the land in those days am every man did that which was righ in hLx own eyes.” I would reminc him that the first settlers were poor illiterate* |»eopIe, deprived of the advantage?* of an education and op]ur-t unities to enlighten their minds, every one having to view right and wrong from their own standpoint.And 1 would ask him if the deeds enacted there in the first settling of Americas, when those pioneer men were in their rough, uncouth State would not compare favorably with many of the crimes now being enacted after fifty years has passed over Americus giving its citizens every advantage of an enlightened country.Tell me of any crime during the first settlement of Americas that w ill compare with the brutal murder of John J. Hudson. We had no laws in those days to punish offenders, so says Mr.M. What did the law amount to on the side of mercy, when that old man, as gwxl a citizen as Americas contained, was murdered and the murderess to go unwhlp]ied of justice. We had no mysterious murders then— men found with their heads severed from their bodies, as was the case with the poor unfortunate stranger that was so foully dealt with near Amlcr-sonville a few years ago.The first settlers of Americus were |xxr, illiterate, but honest men. and faithful and brave to the core, and per-formed their duty, regardless of whet the consequence* might be.Tlielr tri. s and privations were many, but tlie worked with unwavering minds and unfaltering footsteps to build up tlmt town, and the conduct of its present state, consisted of as pure, innocent amusement, :ts it did ill its first days, the docket would not require so much time to dear from its courts so many names, and the country would be saved a great expense—not having so many or so long sessions of court to punish offenders—who I see in the end go unwhipped of Justice. I think from personal observation during my last visit to my old home two years ago, that Americus with all its progress and refinement, still contains several “North Carolina*” where gay scenes of revelry and bad conduct if pnqxTly dealt with, the church rollswould be marvelously small. Ourreligion was pure and unadulterated.\Ve worshipjH-d God under our own vine and fig tree—without hypocrisy.It’s true we had no iarjetted aisles— no cushioned pews, nor fine edifice to manifest our religious belief in, but into our little rude log church, no luxuries in fine dress or deceit entered.Our religion w as pure and undefiled; we drank our whiskeys in the broad daylight, without fear nor caring for detection—not under the cover ofourHumuein-milv• ando :it-imiilt;‘ moth uni A-ite islams,meri-r Main ter-Tu«*s-•rctty i boutlenly • by a emus .r his: two ashti, ’lends •nths, in ex-Ci M subh subjj man days re mi sion e fi n oi port;fe: enci 10 ft [ wirro i cour hatic wThe)Legimag he ? mort steai wii: it is jets can and thro it w» ias a fine fatii turn they 0. tc ning a Gc larg.JOVibrea and the i I aland laboread the i he 1 hen’ sain is a bed thin that 1areConSOU)honvahsayneadeligensubfulinere are, for eui-re have 'o., theties for hem in uitahle ente in house-I after to eom-manii-iseltoUl• public mes as f. TIm* i Intro-k Peer-J to be irly one *ar; the inven-y.abso-*1 Cake nation-r every Heater, »e new IAMKS me, the* hands »i traits, re been arty ml are,and. all. For eslrc as jeously, itlemanThepersonere and9 goods, reputa-kkU ore ir terms king for to scud Tlieir O.. ai, O.ChknBoycorrfolicItliavCiUuVoveiandcro\ny,and fort thrc lio© com ]{ con C you clou •Sh tlie Inn' of flgli mai of s mai ant notforandrig)in lbyrocetc,for«witis i a in a ik got WI hat yesitefoofortriithebinofarcAIThstnImressteamnolcotashoi*1thegotnot1ctlSincar Octo-ur Cen-Hkxby b Essay-Sclione-for au till Bur-llcmin-8. Lan-pplness, wenger; A ) The roubles d Muin-t;M andur large i» year) rhilelor my one vecklies th postr pubfish-tk %1 pel reiamcdarkness,when one’s thoughts or evil, and bad deeds follow'. Did we haveChour accustomed bottle conveyed to us on Saturday nights in cigar boxes, and drink till “the wee sma’ houre” of morning, and then attend our Sunday’s service as a prominent member? There are but few of us old settlers left but the same principles actuate now as then, tho same bravery characterizes our lives, and we will defend the rights of our old home, and its first settlements as Jong as every low cur attempts to misrepresent it, and us ^ to tikoto old 0MKx.iatea OIAVT.our nforef;itbc*r,--i good «idctill ourlicvirts lutoat Qolsauons \ L:r»nML r, . ^-4 * Li
Newspaper Details
Americus Weekly Sumter Republican
Americus, Georgia, US
Fri, Oct 21, 1881
Page 3
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 13 Feb 2022
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