Edgefield, South Carolina - History (part 1 of 3)

History

Many might be mentioned by name, and their deeds might be recorded here; but as it is a lovely and adorable trait in woman to shun notoriety, and to modestly and faithfully fill her sphere of usefulness, we will desist. But if all were written that might be truthfully written in her behalf, even in the narrow bounds of this township, it would fill many volumes.

Slaves were introduced into this township at an early period in its history. And cotton, the great staple of the South, was and still is the chief article of cultivation. The climate is mild and genial; the soil is good; the people are religious and industrious; and, notwithstanding the great disadvantages of unjust and unequal legislation and taxation, under which the producers of the wealth of the countrj^ labor, the inhabitants of Norris Township, as a rule, are prosperous and happy.

Rev. Alexander Travis

Rev. Alexander Travis was bom in Edgefield County, S. C. , on August 23rd, 1790. Reared on a farm, he was inured to work and hard service, and in this manner was made better fitted to perform the duties and undergo the labors which awaited him in the latter half of his life. His school education was quite limited, being confined to an imperfect training in the rudiments of English. Being a man of strong mind and retentive memory, he learned much by observation, and soon held a respectable position amongst men, as a man of thought and action. He was tall and dignified, and by the gravity of his manner commanded the respect of all who knew him. He was converted in 1809, and baptized into Addiel Church, in South Carolina. (Where is this church?) In 18 10 he was licensed to preach, and was ordained in 18 13. He became pastor of several churches, and so remained until 181 7, when he removed to Alabama.

He located near Evergreen, in Conecuh County, where he resided until his death. He was devoted to the Master's work, and gathered, as he could, a batch of hearers from Sunday to Sunday, to preach to them the riches of Christ. He did not preach in vain. He soon collected enough of converts, with those who had before been members of Baptist Churches, to form a church near his home. This was done in 18 18. His labors were not confined to this section, but in all directions he worked for the building of -lofher churches. His first was the old Beulah Church between Sparta and Brooklyn. From this as a central point, his labors radiated in all directions. Often he would take long journeys on foot, leaving home frequently on Friday morning in order to meet his appointments at a distance. Often the streams were swollen

History Op Edgefield. I65

SO much that he was compelled to swim across. During the week he was an earnest, persistent student. His library was a plain English Bible, over which he pored by the aid of blazing pine knots, after his day's labors in the field. Through hisexertions, which knew no wavering nor faltering, thriving churches were established in different parts of the county, and some in districts quite remote from others. His zeal ani ability were so great and eminent that he remained in charge of several of these churches as long as he lived. Of the Beulah Church, the one he first organized, he was pastor thirty-five years; of Bellville, thirty-two. Between Burnt corn and Evergreen, in the Higdon settlement, a large and flourishing interest was established by him. By reason of his great parliamentary ability, he was chosen Moderator of the Bethlehem Association for more than twenty sessions in succession, and because of his earnest support of the cause of education, he was made the first Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Evergreen Academy, for many years together. So evenl}' balanced were all his powers, that he was most admirably fitted for the work assigned him by providence in a pioneer region.

Elder Travis died in 1852, at his old home, where he had lived full thirty-five years. His death was a public calamity, and was universally lamented. He was a good man, and in many respects a great one. He was true to his principles and convictions of truth and right, and never shrank from their defence. Yet he was a meek man, as brave and good men alwaj'S are.

At the pulpit end of old Beulah Church may be seen to day by the passer-by, a plain marble shaft, which marks the resting place of this sainted pioneer and hero.

Nicholas Stallworth, Sr

Nicholas Stallworth, Sr., was born in Edgefield District, on April 25th, 1777. He moved from Edgefield to Clarke County, Alabama, in the year 181 7, but remained there only one year. In i8i8, with several others, he removed to the east side of the Alabama River, after the troubles with the Indians had subsided. He made his home four miles southeast of Evergreen, on the Evergreen and Brooklyn public road, where he continued to reside until his death, in 1836.

Mr. Stallworth was well fitted by nature to brave the perils of a pioneer country. With robust frame, determined will, and unlimited energy, combined with business tact and shrewdness, he rapidly accumulated a handsome fortune, and became one of the wealthiest men in the county. He was the ancestor of quite a number of descendants, some of whom attained marked distinction.

Nicholas Stallworth, Jr

Prominent among the first generation of young men reared in Conecuh, was Nicholas Stallworth, Jr. He was born in Edgefield District, February 21st, 1810. When he was only eight years of age he was brought with the remainder of his father's family to Alabama.

He was married to Miss Martha Travis, eldest daughter of Rev. Alexander Travis. The result of this union was seven children, among whom were Robert P. Stallworth and Frank M. Stallworth, of Falls County, Texas; Major Nick Stallworth, late of Hilliard's Legion; and Mrs. Barnett, the wife of Honorable Samuel A. Barnett, of Mobile. Mrs. Barnett is dead.

Reared at a time pnd in a community where few schools existed, Mr. Stallworth had to depend almost entirely upon self-training. ,He lacked none of the virtues of a sterling citizen. Hospitable, liberal, and public spirited, he was quite populaT-. Without himself seeking the position, he was at one time made Circuit Clerk of Conecuh County. When, in 1850, the office of Judge of Probate was made elective, he warmly espoused the candidacy of A. D. Cary. As early as 1838 Mr. Stallworth foresaw the struggle which reached its bloody culmination in i85i. The tendency of existing political issues caused him to predict the dismemberment of the Union, and the probable abolition of slavery. Mr. Stallworth died in 1853, in the prime of manhood. He left descendants, sons, J. A. Stallworth and young Nick Stallworth, who were an honor to their ancestry and to Edgefield.

History Of Kdgefiei.D. 1 65 William Barrett Travis, The Hero Of The Alamo

William Barrett Travis was born in Edgefield District, S. C, August 9th, 1809, within four miles of Red Bank Church. He was the son of Mark Travis, Sr. , who was a brother of Rev. Alexander Travis, already noticed. The family moved to Conecuh in 18 1 8. Young Travis was as well educated as the times and country could aftord. At maturity he studied for the bar at Claiborne, under the Honorable James Dellett. Quite earl}' iu the year 1835 he bade farewell to his quiet home in South Alabama and removed to Texas. The province was then in a state of seething excitement. Santa Anna was Governor, President or Dictator of the Republic of Mexico, of which Texas formed a part, and was doing his utmost to destroy the Federal system and to consolidate all power in the central government at the capitol city. Against this movement the Texans warmly protested. Young and ardent, and just from the United States, Mr. Travis naturally sympathized in feelin^^ with the Texans. Early in the beginning of hostilities we fii.d him a chosen and willing leader. When the war actually began and Santa Anna invaded Texas at the head of four thousand men and marched upon San Antonio in the beginning of 1836, we find Colonel W. B. Travis in command at this point. Santa Anna's advanced columns reached the heights of the Alazan, which overlooked the city of San Antonio, on the 22d of February. Colonel Travis had only one hundred and forty-four men, and with these he retired into the Alamo. As soon as Santa Anna occupied the cit}' he demanded the surrender of the garrison. The demand was responded to by a cannon shot, for Colonel Travis knew too v/ell the treacherous nature of his foe, and he believed that a surrender would be followed by a massacre. There were fourteen cannon in the Fort, but only a small supply of powder.

Immediately after receiving the answer to his summons for surrender, Santa Anna ran up a blood-red flag, proclaiming "No Quarter' ' ! On the 24th of February couriers were sent by Travis to San Felipe and Goliad for assistance. The Mexicans steadily bombarded the fort without effect. Early in the morning of the 25th, the Mexicans brought into play all their available guns. Towards noon Santa Anna left his head- quarters and gave his personal supervision to the aim of the gunners.

At every opportunity, when screened from view, he advanced and planted his guns nearer the fort. On the night of the 25th the Texans made a sally into the town and burned some houses that were near the fort. The next morning there was a brisk skirmish without any decisive result. The number of Mexicans was now increased and Santa Anna made great eflforts to cut off the supply of water from the garrison. Ia"this he completely failed. Again at night Travis' men made another sortie and burnt some houses. Meantime the Mexicans kept up the bombardment for several days together, incessantly, but without any serious result.

On the second of March the garrison received a re-inforcement of thirty-two citizen soldiers, who had fought their way through the ranks of the enemy. These were commanded by Captain John W. Smith, of Gonzales, On the third, Colonel Travis sent a courier with a message to the State Convention then in session at Washington. The message was to the following purport: "I am still here, in fine spirits and well to do. With one hundred and forty-five men I have held this place ten days against a force variously estimated at from 1,500 to 6,000; and I shall continue to hold it until I get relief from my countrymen, or I will perish in its defence. We have had a shower of cannon balls continuously falling among us the whole time, yet none of us have fallen. We have been miraculously preserved. ' '

During that day. Colonel Bonham, who had been sent to Goliad to secure re-inforcements, returned and gave his a.ssistance once more to the defence of the fort. That night the Texans again made a sally but effected nothing. The Mexicans continued heavy firing, but the defenders of the fort fired but seldom, as their ammunition was scarce. The fourth of March wore heavil}' away without change in the situation; but the beseiged knew that, unless some great and miraculous assistance came to them, they were doomed to a speedy and bloody death. Santa Anna grew tired of the seige and urged upon the council of officers, which he had called, the necessity of making a speedy assault. They wanted to wait until the arrival of the heav}-- seige guns. He chafed under the delay and finally his wish prevailed. The fort was stormed. The attack was made from diffefent directions, by four columns under the leadership of his most experienced officers. Each column was provided with every thing necessary; ladders, pickaxes, crow-bars, &c. The attack was ordered for midnight; but delays always occur, and it was not until precisely at four o'clock on the morning of March 6th, the thirteenth day of the seige, that the bugle sounded the advance along the whole Mexican line. The garrison, feeling the movement, leaped to their guns and poured upon their assailants a storm of lead and iron. Before the fire of the Texans the three columns, on the north, west, and east, staggered and swung back. Some confusion was produced, but the solid mass rallied under their officers and renewed the assault. This time they broke through the wall into the yard running round the fort. At about the same time the column from the South made a breach in the wall and took one of the guns. This cannon was commanded by Colonel Travis himself, and it is supposed that he was killed early in the action, as he was found dead near the gun. The Mexicans turned this gun against the last stronghold and dislodged the Texans, who took refuge in the different buildings. Then began a deadly, close conflict. Each building was a separate battle ground. Each Texan knew that his own deathwas certain, and he resolved to have as many as possible of the enemy to bear him company to the shades. The heroic Crockett, knowing that death was inevitable, struck down his enemies until, when his own dead body was found, it was in the centre of a circling heap of dead Mexicans. Colonel Bowie was lying on his bed in the last stage of consumption; but as the enemy rushed into his room, he shot and killed seven of the foe before he, himself, was killed.

The details of the horrid massacre need not be repeated here, even if they could be given. The bodies of the Texans were collected into heaps and burned. A year later Colonel John N. Seguin superintended the collection and proper interment of the bones of these heroes.

As you enter the capitol at Austin, you see a monument bearing this inscription: "Thermopylae had its messenger of defeat. The Alamo had none."

'Neath the boughs of the willows that over them weep! Their arms are unnerved, but their deeds remain bright As the stars in the dark-vaulted heaven at night!

Mark Butler Travis

Mark Butler Travis was not a son, but a grandson of Edgefield, and deserves a place in the history of the count 3^ as he was with the Palmetto Regiment, a member of it, in the war with Mexico. His life was one of chivalrous heroism and devotion to his country. He was born in the neighborhood of Old Town, Alabama, on May 18, 1827. He was very apt in the acquisition oc knowledge. Having read medicine he left home to attend a course of lectures in a distant vState, being at the time only seventeen years of age. While on the way to college he met up with the famous Palmetto Regiment on the way to join General Scott in Mexico. He at once determined to enlist in the Regiment and go with them to Mexico. This he did, and shared with the members of that Regiment the glories of Contreras and Cherubusco. At Cherubusco he received a wound in the head, which prevented his being with the Regiment when they entered the capitol city. He recovered from his wou:d, rejoined his comrades, and served through the remainder of the war. After his return home he was made colonel and then general of militia. He was also elected Clerk of the Court for four successive terms. When the war of Secession came on he was one of the first to respond to the call to arms. He enlisted in the Conecuh Guards; was made second lieutenant and went with the company to Virginia.

At tie battle of Bull Run, or First Manassas, the gallant Colonel Jones of the Fourth Alabama Regiment was killed. To this regiment the Conecuh Guards belonged. At the time of Colonel Jones' death the situation was such that the whole regiment seemed threatened with destruction. Becoming cog- nizant of the fact, a panic seemed inevitable, and the men began to turn their feet and faces towards the rear. Seeing the situation, Lieutenant Travis tried to stop the flight of the regiment, and stood with brandished sword before the retreating columns and begged them not to run. While thus exerting himself he was suddenly confronted by a burly Teuton, whose glaring ej-es, open mouth, and dilated nostrils showed that he was a victim of stupendous fright, and when he saw the efforts of Travis to check the flight, he exclaimed: "O, mine friendt, mj^ life is too schweet!" The Lieutenant, finding his efforts to stay the flight vain, concluded that discretion was the better part of valor, and sought a more secure position. He had on a very heavy pair of boots, so that he could not make very good time, but as he ran somewhat hastily past Dr. Taliaferro, the doctor called out to him: "Lieutenant, you had better look out, or Barnum will have those boots in his museum before night."

Lieutenant Travis was honorably discharged from service on account of failing health and disability to perform the duties of a soldier before the close of the war, and died at his home of pneumonia in 1864. There were combined in his character many elements of true nobility.

Colonel P. D. Bowles

Pinckney Downey Bowles is a native of South Carolina, and was born in Edgefield District, date of birth I do not know, but even at this date, 1891, he is not an old man. He read law with General Sam. McGowan. He received his educational training at the Citadel, in Charleston, and at the University of Virginia. He went to Alabama in 1859, and into the office of Honorable James A. Stallworth, w^hose father also was a native of Edgefield. He remained in Mr. Stallworth's office until the beginning of the war. In i860 he was elected Colonel of the Twenty-eighth Alabama Militia, and Second Lieutenant in the Conecuh Guards. In January, 1861, he went with his company to Pensacola, Florida. When they returned home, upon re-organization, he was elected Captain and went as such with the company to Virginia. He soon became Colonel of the regiment, and was its brave and faithful commander during almost the whole of the war. He led his regiment into nearly all the battles fought in Virginia. They fought at the First Battle of Manassas, under General Bee. They were in the battles of Seven Pines, Cold Harbor, Malvern Hill, Second Manassas, Boonesboro, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, and Suffolk. They were in the invasion of Pennsylvania and in the awful conflict at Gettysburg. They went with Longstreet to reinforce Bragg in North Georgia, returned by Knoxville through East Tennessee, rejoined the army of Virginia, and fought in the battles of the Wilderness and Spottsylvania. Again, they were engaged at Second Cold Harbor, and lay for ten months behind the defences of Petersburg, sharing in all the movements and assaults of that period. At last crippled, broken, depleted by death and wounds and sickness, they, the remnant of the Regiment, Fourth Alabama, surrendered at Appomattox two hundred and two men. Throughout all this period Colonel Bowles was always at the head of his regiment, with only one respite for a little while, in February, 1863, when he went home to be married to Miss Stearns, daughter of Judge Stearns. Towards the close of the war he was acting as Brigadier, having command of five regiments; though, in fact, he never received a commission as Brigadier.

When he returned home he had fifty cents in his pocket, but he imriiediately resumed the practice of the law and did well. In 1866 he was elected County Solicitor for Conecuh County, which position he held for a long time. His home was at Evergreen in 1881. Whether he is now living, 1891, I do not know.

We may as well continue our biographical sketches of the eminent men of Edgefield at this place, but we will study some of the eminent civilians of the county, as the heart grows weary when it dwells too long upon the deeds of fighting heroes and fields of blood. The names of the men of whom we now propose to write will not be taken in exact chronological order; but that will make no difference in detached historical sketches. When we are through with these biographies, the idea then is to make the narrative more continuous until after the close of the War of Secession.

We will take up first on the roll of illustrious civilians the name of Andrew Pickens Butler, who has already been briefly mentioned in a notice of his father, General William Butler. Judge Butler was born on the 19th of November, 1796, and died the 25th of May, 1857. He was educated first in the primary schools in the neighborhood where he was born. He then went to the celebrated Willington School, in Abbeville District, kept by the great teacher, Dr. Waddell. In December, 1S17, he graduated from the South Carolina College. He then read law and was admitted to practice in December, 1818. He first settled in Columbia; but after the death of his brother George, he removed to Edgefield, and there, in partnership first with General Waddy Thompson and afterwards with Nathan L,. Griffin, he had a lucrative practice. He had also a large practice at Orangeburg, Barnwell, and Newberry. In 1824 he became one of the aides of Governor Manning, and as such, was one of the brilliant cortege which attended General Lafayette on his vasit to the State in 1825. From 1824 to the close of 1833, he was in the House of Representatives, or in the Senate, from Edgefield. He was one of the committee in 1827-28 charged to inquire whether Judge James should be removed from the bench. Judge James was an old Revolutionary soldier, and the charge against him was incompetency arising from the excessive use of intoxicating drinks. He was found guilty and removed from the bench; but the Senate and the whole House were in tears when the sentence was pronounced.

In 1833 Butler was elected one of the Circuit Judges, and held his first court in Charleston, in January, 1834. He was made Judge to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of Judge W. D. Martin. He was elected to the United States Senate in 1846, having filled the office of Judge for thirteen years. In the year 1847, on a trip by steamer from Charleston to Wilmington, there came an awful storm, and while it raged with tremendous violence, the vessel became an unmanageable hulk. The captain gave up as lost. This fact was communicated to Judge Butler, when he desired that the passengers and all on board should be called forward. He then stated to them the sad fate which appeared to be the inevitable doom of all, and desired that each and every one should be made known to one another, so that if ever any one reached the land, he, she, or they might state the fate of the others. An elderly negro woman, the stewardess, then said: "Old Marster, this is no time for introductions, you had better pray." He said: "I cannot, but, old lady, if you can pray, doso. " She instantly knelt down and poured out a fervent prayer. Almost as soon as she ceased the lights from the steamer sent out from Wilmington in search of them, as they were twenty-four hours over time, were seen bearing down to the rescue. The boat and all were saved. His sister, Mrs. Thompson, who was a member of the Baptist Church, remarked to the Judge, after he had narrated the circumstances to her: "Brother Pickens, it was that old woman's prayer which saved you. ' '

Judge Butler began his duties as Senator in 1S47, and was continued Senator until the close of the extra session in March, 1857, when he returned home in ill health, lingered until the May following, when he died.

Judge O'Neall, in his "Sketches of the Bench and Bar of South Carolina," 1859, closes his notice of Judge Butler in these words: "In 1850, when Secession burst upon South Carolina, Judge Butler did not favor it - he was for a Southern Congress; and, in 1851 and 1852, he met the issue and South Carolina sustained him."

Judge Butler was married twice. His first wife, Susan Ann Simkins, the second daughter of Colonel Eldred Simkins, in a few months after her marriage, he followed to the tomb. His second wife, Miss Harriet Hayne, the daughter of Wm. Edward Hayne, Esq., of Charleston, he, soon after the birth of their only child, Mrs. Haigood, of Barnwell, saw languish and die. He ever after lived a widower. His mother and sister took charge of his lonely child. At his house was seen the venerable face of his mother as its mistress - her unexampled fortitude and cheerfulness sustained him in the dark hours of sorrow for the loss of wife, brothers, and sister.

But I must pause. You all, my readers, knew Judge Butler. You have often joined in his merry laugh - you all remember his florid face, his head of snow, his dancing eyes, and his manly form. But you do not all know that which distinguished him more than most men, his kind heart. No man was ever more devoted than he was to his mother, his child, his sister, and brothers - no one ever was a truer friend. Distress never sought him in vain. He despised a mean action, and the rod of cruelty and oppression he was ever ready to turn aside. He pitied more than he despised his enemies. He was a just, honest, good man in all the relations of private life. In public life he aimed to do right, and he sustained his purposes by well directed actions and words. He was not what may be called an eloquent man, but he thought right, and he spoke as he thought. Sometimes, and indeed often, he gave utterance to sublime thoughts in impassioned eloquence.

This able servant of the people is no more! He has been away when few were prepared for it. His well spent life will be his epitaph, and entitles him to live in the memories of us all.

"Statesman, yet friend to truth! Of soul sincere; In action faithful, and in honor clear; Who broke no promise, served no private end; Who gained no title, and who lost no friend. Ennobled by himself, by all approved; Praised, wept, and honored by him he loved."

The compiler of this history may here be permitted to say that he sometimes met Judge Butler, and once had the honor to give him the address of welcome at a public dinner prepared in his honor at Mount Enon, a place midway between the birth place of his mo'iher on Saluda, and his own ancestral home on Big Creek. This was in the year 1854. He was then Senator,

John F. Grimke

John F. Grimke was a Revolutionary soldier and officer. He was born December i6th, 1752; died at Long Branch, N. J., August 9th, 18 1 9. Mr. Grimke was made one of the Law Judges, March 20th, 1783. He was a member of the Legislature at the time and Speaker of the House of Representatives from March, 1785, to March, 1786, there being at that time no hindrance, either by law or custom, to a person's holding these two offices at the same time. He was not popular as a Judge, nor, perhaps, as a man, as he was of a stern, unbending, unsocial, uncompromising character.

"In the spring of 18 15 I first attended Edgefield Court. The dockets were enormous. My late friend. Solicitor Starke, presented forty bills of indictment for every grade of offence, from assault and battery to murder. Thirty-nine were found true. Many convictions followed. One of the Edgefield rowdies of the time looking on at the scene, swore it was no place for him. 'For,' said he, 'Starke holds and Grimke skins. ' Upon the issue docket there were more than two hundred cases. In the second week of the term, the late General Glascock proposed to give a dinner to the Judge and Bar. A civil action for assault and battery was to be tried; there were seven speeches to be made, one for the plaintiff and six for the defendant, (for at that time the rule did not exist which limits two speeches to a side). It was well known that if they all spoke as long as they could that the dinner could not be ate. It was therefore proposed and agreed that each of the lawyers for the defendant should speak fifteen minutes by the Judge's watch. It was accordingly laid down, and as each progressed to the limit, the Judge said: 'Your time is out,' and he ceased. At last, Mr. Bacon, who was closing for the defendant, and who was blessed with as fine an elocution as I ever heard, had scarcely finished his exordium, when the Judge said: 'Mr. Bacon, your time is out.' Mr. Bacon, instead of yielding, as good taste would have directed, said: 'I claim the right which every citizen has to be heard by his counsel.' 'Very well,' said the Judge, *we will leave it to the jury.' A stout man rose and said: "May it please your Honor, we have been tired of their clack for this hour.' This ended the contest."

Solicitor Robert Starke, born near Petersburg, Virginia, January loth, 1762, mentioned above, though never residing in Edgefield, yet was Solicitor of the Southern Circuit, of which Edgefield formed a part, from December, 1806, to December, 1820. He was an able lawyer, and in his ofSce, a terror to evil doers.

Judge Richard Gantt

This good man, good lawyer, and merciful and just Judge, once made his home and practiced law at Edgefield Court House. He Avas born in Prince George County, Maryland, August 2nd, 1767, and died October i8th, 1850. He married Miss Sarah Allen in Augusta, Ga., about the year 1794, he having resided in Georgia two or three years previous to the marriage. His estimable wife died November 17th, 1848, a little less than two years before his own death. Few couples are so blest as to live a greater number of years together. He was admitted to practice in Charleston, S. C. , in 1794, and settled at Edgefield the same year. His eldest son, Thomas J., was born at Edgefield in 1795. He was eminently successful as a lawyer. He was elected Clerk of the House of Representatives in 1804, which position he held until 18 18, when he was elected Judge. Generally as Judge he leaned to mercy's side, and was disposed to favor prisoners - except in cases of homicide accompanied with circumstances of cruelty, when his whole nature revolted and carried him against the prisoner. He resigned as Judge in 1841, and the Legislature presented him with a year's salary. Very complimentary resolutions were passed on the occasion, moved by Mr. Albert Rhett, in the House, and agreed to by the Senate.

Judge William D. Martin

William D. Martin, of the Martins of Martintown, was born at Martintown, in Edgefield County, on the 2nd of October, 1789. He received a good academical education and read law at Edgefield witi Mr. Edmund Bacon, by whose assistance he was enabled to attend a course of Law Lectures at Litchfield, Connecticut. He married at Edgefield Court House on the 28th day of May, 1811, Miss Henrietta Williamson, the daughter of Dr. Peter Williamson, a distinguished physician, and who had been a Revolutionary soldier. He was admitted to the Bar the 27th of November following, and became the partner of Mr. Edmund Bacon, and the principal management of a large and lucrative practice fell into his hands. In a few years he removed to Coosawhatchie, and was elected a member of the House of Representatives from St. Luke's Parish, in 181 6. After the death of Benjamin C. Yancey, Chairman of the Judiciary Committee of the House, Mr. Martin, in 1818, was elected Chairman by the committee. He was elected Clerk of the Senate November 23rd, 1818, which office he filled until 1826 - eight years - when he was sent as a Representative to Congress. His wife died July 13th, 1824, leaving four children. After her death he removed to Barnwell. After he was sent to Congress he married the second time, choosing for his companion Miss Dorsey, daughter of Judge Dorsey, of the Supreme Bench of Maryland. In December, 1830, he was elected one of the Circuit Court Law Judges, when he removed to Columbia, in which city he made his home until his death, which occurred on the i6th of November, 1833. On his way home from court at Harry Fall, term of 1833, he retired to rest at Jones' Hotel, in Charleston, and the next morning he was found dead.

He was a good judge of law, and his decisions, many of which were reviewed by the Court of Appeals, generally received the approbation of that court. A larger account of the Martin family will be given before we close.

Judge Ephraim Ramsay

Mr. Ramsay was an eloquent and distinguished lawyer residing at Ninety-Six, when on the 19th of December, 1799, he was elected Judge. He served as Judge something less than two years, dying in 1801. He died at Silver Bluff, in Beech Island, a place afterwards owned by Governor James H. Hammond. This place he had bought in company with his brother-in-law, Major Charles Goodwyn. Mr. Goodwyn and

History Of Edgefield. 1 77

They bought Silver Bluff from Thomas Galphin, son of the celebrated Indian trader, George Galphin, who was so successful in outdreaming an Indian Chief, with whom he had many dealings. Silver Bluff was his great trading station, at which he lived and died. He built there the first brick house ever built in the back country. It was used as a fort during the Revolutionary War, and was sometimes in the hands of one party and sometimes in the hands of the other. Its gables showed for nearly a hundred j^ears, and perhaps show yet, the holes of a cannon ball shot clear through. In this house Judge Ramsay died, but no stone marks his resting place, and the identical spot where he lies cannot be pointed out, though the graveyard itself is still known.

It was at this place that George Galphin, the great Indian trader, was visited by one of the principal Indian Chiefs from beyond the Savannah, when that dreaming match took place, in which the Chief was so badl}' beaten. Next morning after the Chief's arrival on a friendly visit, as he and Mr. Galphin were walking around and looking at the buildings, improvements, and the landscape generally, the Chief suddenly stood still, and looking at Mr. Galphin, said: "Mr, Galphin, me dream last night." "And what did mj^ red brother dream?" "Me dream you give me a fine rifle." "If you dream it, you must have it," and the rifle was handed over at once. Next morning, as they were walking around again, Mr. Galphin suddenly said to the Chief : "I dreamed last night." "What you dream?" "I dreamed \'ou gave me your fine Chickasaw stallion." "If you dream um, you must have um;" and the horse was given to Mr. Galphin. The next morning it was the Chief's turn, and he said: "I dream last night." "And what did my red brother dream last night?" "I dream you gave me the red coat you wear and much calico." "If you dream it, you must have it;" and the coat and calico were handed over to the Chief. Next morning it was Mr. Galphin's turn: "I dreamed last night," he said to the Indian, "a very beautiful and wonderful and most delightful dream; O, it was so happy." "What my white brother dream now?" said the somewhat astonished Chief. "I dreamed 3'ou gave me ten miles around the Ogeechee Old Town." "Wugh!" said the Chief, w'no by this time was becoming very much disgusted with the game of dreaming, as he was decidedly getting the worst of it. "Wugh! if you dream um, you must have um, but I dream with you no more." Poor fellows! they have dreamed all their lands away, and the happy hunting grounds of the West, of which they also once so fondly dreamed, have vanished with their homes in the East.

James J. Caldwell

This very able and excellent man made his home at Edgefield during the year 1819, as teacher and principal of the Edgefield AcademJ^ He was a native of Newberry, and was prepared for the South Carolina College at the celebrated Mount Bethel Academy, then under the care of Mr. Elisha Hammond, father of Governor James H. Hammond. He entered the Junior Class of South Carolina College in December, 1815, and graduated in 1817. After teaching one year at Edgefield he returned to Newberrj^ and read law with Judge O'Neall, who was then in practice at that place. He was admitted to the bar in 1821; in 1830 he was sent to the Legislature; in 1835 he was elected Solicitor, the duties of which ofiice he discharged until 1846, when he was elected Chancellor in place of Chancellor Johnson, who was elected Governor. Some years before he was elected Chancellor he had removed to Columbia, in which city he died in the early part of March, 1850, in the fifty-second year of his age.

This writer never knew Chancellor Caldwell, but he was very highly esteemed by his father, who was a school-mate of his for a time at Mount Bethel; and he, too, completed his academical course of study and also his school life at that academy, in May, 18 15. The present writer has now in his possession, in the handwrite of Mr. Elisha Hammond, the certificate, dated May 6th, 18 15, of the proficiency of John Chapman in surveying, which branch of mathematics he had made a special study, in order to prepare himself for the duties of a surveyor.

History Of Edgefield. 1 79 John S. Jeter, Solicitor

Mr. Jeter was born about seven miles south of Edgefield Court House, on the 20th of June, 1779. Edgefield was then part of the District of Ninety-Six. He was educated at Dr. Waddell's School at Willington, in Abbeville County. He read law with Abram J. Dozier, at Cambridge, and was admitted to practice in Columbia in 1811. He practiced at Edgefield with good success. In 1814 he was married to Miss Sabra Simkins, daughter of John Simkins, Esq. In December, 1824, he was elected Solicitor of the Southern Circuit, and in 1820 he was re-elected. In December, 1828, the State was divided into five instead of six circuits, and Edgefield and Newberry, which were part of the Southern Circuit, were thrown into the Western, of which Mr. Earle w-as. Solicitor, and Mr. Jeter's solicitorship ceased.

He was. a good Solicitor, making no fuss nor parade, but working faithfully for the dispatch of business. He served as a member of the House of Representatives, and was elected Senator in 1838, and again in 184 1. At the next election, in 1846, he was not a candidate, and Nathan I,. Griffin was elected to succeed him.

He died April 14th, 1847. Two daughters survived, one Sarah, wife of Mr. Harris, who removed to Columbia; and Caroline, the wife of Rev. Mr. Walker, a minister in the Episcopal Church.

Edmund Bacon

Edmund Bacon, one of the most brilliant members of the Bar Edgefield ever had. was a native of Georgia, born at Augusta on the i7tli of April, 1776. His father was a Virginian, but he had removed to Georgia sometime before the great struggle between the colonies and the mother country began. He was left an orphan at an early age by the death of his father; but his guardian, General Glascock, who was also his brother-in-law, did not neglect his duty, but placed him at one of the best schools in the State, and aftenvards at the first academy in Augusta. His taste led him to the study ot the ancient classics, to letters and to polite learning, with a del8o HISTORY OF EDGEFIELD.

cided repugnance to the study of a profession. In this he was encouraged, perhaps unwisely, by his guardian, as his fortune was not very large. But a circumstance, altogether unlooked for and unexpected, caused him to choose the profession of the law as his calling for life. Karly in the year 1791 General Washington took his Southern tour, and in May paid a visit to Augusta. All the beauty and chivalry of the city was collected to receive and honor the hero. Mr. Bacon, young as he was, only about fifteen, was chosen by the academy of which he was a member, to give the address of welcome on the occasion. This delicate and honorable task was so well performed that it attracted the special notice and attention of the great man, and induced him to give the youthful orator a handsome present of several law books. This decided his future calling, and with the consent of his guardian he entered the then celebrated Law School of Litchfield, Connecticut, where he industriously applied himself and graduated with honor.

After graduation he settled at Savannah, in which city he was very successful. He was here induced to undertake the management and settlement of the estate of General Greene. This labor he did well; but his health, which had begun to fail before, had b}^ this time failed so much that he thought it prudent to retire, at least for a time, from his profession. To -this end he purchased a plantation on Beech Island, on the Savannah river, in which pleasant spot he hoped to regain his health and pass his time in those literary pursuits, which were most congenial to his tastes. This dream was rudely broken "and dispelled. His house was destroyed by fire; his farming interests were neglected by his overseer, who was the only gainer by his farming investment. He was compelled to resume the practice of the law. This he did at Edgefield Court House. He here built him a handsome dwelling house, into which he moved, but which he did not occupy a great while before it too was consumed by fire. In this fire he lost his whole librar}^ including the books which had been presented to him by Washington. It was also with great diificulty that his infant child was saved from the conflagration. He rebuilt near the same place, resumed the practice of his profession and soon became eminent at the bar.

He was married to Eliza Fox at Augusta, Ga., January 29, 1797. He left at his death four children, John, Edmund, Sarah, and Thomas. Thomas, who was so long Clerk of the Court at Edgefield, is the only one this writer ever knew.

Dr. Laborde once a Professor in the South Carolina College thus writes of Mr. Bacon: "Between the years 1S22 and 1825 I was a law student in the ofiSce of Messrs Simkins and McDuffie; and Mr. Bacon being there in the practice of his profession, it was my fortune to witness tlie happiest efforts which he made during this period at the Bar of Edgefield. '^ -^ His natural endowments were extraordinary. His person was commanding, his face and head uncommonly fine, his voice chorded musical, and of wonderful power. His style of speaking was highly finished, and I think I am justified in saying, that, as a model of graceful and eloquent elocution, the Edgefield Bar cannot present another entitled to equal praise. Let it not be supposed, however, that his merit was that of a mere rhetorician. When the occasion demanded it, no one exhibited a livelier sen.sibility or a deeper feeling; or was more apt to awaken a sympathetic emotion in the bosoms of others.

"I remember when quite a boy that I was much moved by a speech from him in behalf of a man who was on trial for his life. His whole soul seemed melted by compassion - the tears were flowing freely down his face, and he urged the acquital of the unfortunate man, with a natural earnestness and eloquence which touched ever)' heart. His appeals to the sympathies of the jury were those of a man who was pleading for his own life; and when, after sketching most touchingly, the picture of human passion and infirmity, the vsad heritage of the man - he called upon every member of the jury to adopt for himself the sentiment of the Universal Prayer.

John Dunlap

He was admitted to the Bar in Charleston, January 26th, 1795, His home was at Ninety-Six, but he practiced at Edgefield and in all the adjoining counties. His reputation as an advocate was very fine, but his life was short. He married Miss Anne Gedder of Charleston. He died and left no children.

His brother, Major William Dunlap, of Laurens, was one of Colonel Hays' party who were captured by Major William Cunningham in his celebrated bloody raid in October, 1781, when Hays and the most of his party were put to death. William Dunlap was spaced, and when discharged by Cunningham the next morning at Qdell's Mills on Beaver Dam Creek, he was covered with the blood and brains of his slain companions.

Abraham Giles Dozier

Was another of those old-time lawyers whose home was at Ninety-Six, but who practiced at Edgefield and in the adjoining districts. He was admitted to the Bar in 1798. He had a large practice at Edgefield, and was very successful. He died at his home at Ninety-Six of the great epidemic in 1816, which killed so many, at least one-tenth of the whole population of Edgefield, Abbeville, Newberry, and L/aurens. Ninety- Six, as the most of my readers well know, was a place of great importance in the early days of the settlement of the middle and upper country, and was the capital and county seat of a large territory of country previous to the Revolution and down to t'-ie year 1785, when the district was divided. It was the centre of rich farming lands, and men most eminent for intelligence and learning in the upper country, naturally made Ninety-Six a social centre. Hence we find it for a good many years after the Revolution the home of some of the leading men of the State.

Charles Goodwyn

Was another lawyer of the early times who made his home at Ninety-Six. He was an Englishman, and was admitted to the bar in Charleston, May 28th, 1784. He practiced much in the county courts and was very successful. He married one of the daughters of General Andrew Williamson. Judge

John S. Glascock

Ephraim Ramsay, of Ninety-Six, married General Williamson's other daughter, and he and Mr. Goodwyn together bought Silver Bluff, on Beech Island, an unfortunate speculation, as the debt they made in buying it was too heavy for them to carry. Mr. Goodvv)'n left descendants in Edgefield, and some are still living in the town and county. JOHN S. GLASCOCK

Was born near Augusta, Ga. , April i8th, 1788, of Virginia extraction - read law at Edgefield under Edmund Bacon, and was admitted to practice in 1 8 1 1 . Previous to his admission to practice law he married in 18 10 Miss Eliza Simkins, daughter of John Simkins, Esq. He was a member of the House of Representatives - elected first in 1820 and again in 1822. At the time of his death in 1822, he was State Senator and Major General of the First Division of South Carolina Militia. He was very successful as a lawyer, and was a very genial and popular man. His death was caused by a wound through the hand from the accidental discharge of a gun while hunting game. This produced lockjaw, which resulted in death. He was an ardent lover of field sports and of the fox chase. Dr. Eaborde says of him that "he rode the noblest horse in the upper country, and his large pack of fox dogs would excite the envy of an English nobleman." Dr. Eaborde says he saw him die - "he was dying of lockjaw and his lovely wife was near by in the last stage of consumption. Their weeping little ones were around them, and it was apparent that in a few short daj'S of fleeting hours both parents were to be committed to the tomb and their happy home made desolate. And so it was. They died within the same week, and their bodies were buried in the Baptist Church yard of the village. The house passed into the hands of strangers, the children were distributed among their relations, and he who but a short time before, filled so large a space in the community of that intelligent district, like the whole family of the dead, (with fewest exceptions) soon ceased to be remembered."

Nathan Lipscomb Griffin

Though not a native of Edgefield, yet Mr. Griffin lived at the Court House all his active business life, and was identified with the growth and prosperity of the town and county. He was born in Abbeville County, near White Hall, February 9th, 1803. He began the reading of law in the office of Judge Whitner at Ninety-Six, but in 1823 he removed to Edgefield and completed his studies with A. P. Butler. He was admitted to practice in the fall of 1824, and immediately opened an office at Edgefield. In May, 1825, he was married to Miss Anna Butler, daughter of Stanmore Butler, Esq. In 1826 he became a partner of A. P. Butler, and continued with him until Mr. Butler was elected one of the Law Judges of the State. He soon afterwards formed a partnership with Mr. Armisted Burt, which partnership was discontinued by Mr. Burt's election to the Congress of the United States. This was the last of his partnerships. Ever afterwards he practiced alone, and became an eminently successful lawyer. Never remarkable for eloquence or brilliance of elocution, he was a hardworking, studious, and industrious lawyer. In 1838 he was elected to the House of Representatives. In 1846 he was elected Senator, and in 1850 he was re-elected. He united with the Baptist Church in 1S31; and was an earnest Christian and ardent teetotaller for many years. He was a man of whom it may be truthfully said that he faithfully discharged every duty of life in every sphere to which he was called.

This great man was a native of Georgia. His father was John McDuffie, a poor, hard working man, and a blacksmith by trade and occupation. The date of Mr. McDuffie's birth I am not able to give, but it was about or sometime during the year 1788. He first started in life as a clerk in the store of Mr. James Calhoun, in Augusta, Ga. This gentleman soon noticed that he was a lad of remarkable ability, and he mentioned the fact to his brother, William Calhoun, of Abbeville. Mr. William Calhoun soon afterwards proposed to board and educate him at the then celebrated school at Willington, kept by Dr. Waddell. He accordingly took him into his own family and sent him to the school, in the near neighborhood of which he lived. At this school McDuffie soon went ahead of all competition, and was quickly prepared for college. He entered the Junior Class of the South Carolina College in December, 18 11, and was very soon recognized as the first man in it.

After his graduation he read law from December, 18 13, to May, 1 8 14, when he w'as admitted to practice in both law and equity. A very short course of reading truly; and there is little wonder that he did nothing at Pendleton, at which place he first settled. In December, 18 14, he was a candidate for Solicitor of the Western Circuit, but he was not elected. Soon after this he became a partner of Eldred Simkins, Esq., at Edgefield Court House. Mr. Simkins had a large practice and a good library. By this fortunate connection, McDuffie's rise was rapid, so rapid. as to be without parallel. By Mr. Simkins he was introduced into the best society. In a celebrated case at Abbeville, called the James Land case, he was successful, and in the Court of Appeals he showed that he was able to grasp and understand the most involved intricacies of law. The people of Edgefield elected him to the Legislature in October, 18 18, and in that sphere of action he showed his great abilities, both as an orator and as a man of business. The same year he was elected one of the trustees of the South Carolina College. In October, 1820, the people of Edgefield and Abbeville elected him as their Representative in Congress. Here he showed his great abilities as an orator and debater. During nearly the whole time of his service as a member of Congress the protective tariff w^as the great subject of debate, and convulsed not only the halls of Congress, but the whole country from end to end. Mr. McDufiQe was an ardent nuUifier, and threw himself into the thick of the fight with his whole soul. He favored the Ordinance of Nullification as passed by the Convention of South Carolina. The storm was lulled after awhile by the introduction of Mr. Clay's compromise measures, to which McDuffie gave a reluctant assent.

In December, 1834, he was elected Governor of the State, and while Governor, as President of the Board of Trustees of the South Carolina College, he did much to raise that institution from a languishing to a prosperous condition. At the expiration of his term as Governar he retired to private life, which retirement he was permitted to enjoy for about six years. He was then, in 1842, elected to the Senate of the United States. At this time his health was veryfeeble, but he was still able to do good service as Senator, especially in the advocacy of the annexation of Texas. At the close of the session of 1846 he resigned his seat, feeling that his health was too bad for him to try to serve any longer. He lingered a few years, until the spring of 1851, when he passed away.

Mr. McDuffie married, in 1829, Miss Singleton, who left him a widower with one child, a daughter, in 1830. This daughter afterwards became the wife of Wade Hampton.

About the' year 1820, Mr; McD'uflie unfortunately became involved in a duel with Colonel Gumming, in which he was wounded, and from which wound he never entirely recovered, though he lived for thirty years after it was received.

The protective tariff, for the suppression of which he fought so long and well, still rules the country, in spite of its unconstitutionality; in spite of the fact that it is a great wrong to the cultivators of the soil; and in spite of the fact that it is robbery to tax one industry and make it pay for the support of another. The great American system is one of the strongest evidences possible to be produced of the corrupting and debasing influence of money. The love of money is the root of all evil.

History Op Edgefield. 1 87 Thomas H. Pope

Mr. Pope was born in Edgefield, but passed the latter part of his life and the most active business part in the County of Newberry, though he never entirely deserted Edgefield. He was the eldest son of Sampson Pope and his wife, Sarah Strother, Virginians by family descent, and was born November 1 2th, 1803. He was educated mainly in his native county, but, for a short time, was in Yale Colle.vre. He read law with Judge O'Neall; was admitted to practice in 1825, and first settled at Edgefield Court House. In January, 1830, he was married to Miss Harrington, the second daughter of Young John Harrington, of Newberry, and in 1832 he moved to that place.

He was very successful as a lawyer and had a large and lucrative practice. He never neglected the business interests of a client, but made a client's business his own.

He was elected Commissioner in Equity in 1836. He served until 1840, when he resigned. In 1840 he was elected to the Legislature as Representative - served two years. He was opposed to the Bank of the State; was a warm and earnest friend of the Greenville and Columbia Railroad, the charter of which he did much to secure. His life was very busy, active, and useful. He died of typhoid pneumonia on February 4th, 1851, in his 48th year. He left surviving him several sons and one daughter. Of his sons three are now living - Young John, -^^ an eminent lawyer and Attorney General of the State - Associate Justice, has been State -Senator; Sampson, practicing physician at Newberry and Clerk of the Senate; David Strother, physician at the Penitentiary. The daughter is still living (1891).

It would make this work too large, were I to say all that might be said, and all that I would be glad to say of the many worthy men and women that must be mentioned. Sometimes it is very difiicult to condense, and to give at the same time, a vivid and life-like picture of persons, places, and events. Let the reader, then, accept this apology once for all, for any meagerness he may find in any sketches in this book. Many persons of whom I write and shall write are friends, relatives, and connections. Many, in both Edgefield and Newberry, are relations and connections, and all are friends, I hope.

Eldred Simkins

There are few names that shine with a purer and better lustre; and few more deserving of honor by the people of Edgefield and of the State than that of Simkins.

Arthur Simkins, the father of Eldred, was one of the earliest settlers in. Edgefield District. He came from the Eastern Shore of Virginia and first went to the region of the Santee, but becoming dissatisfied in a short time with that region, he went on to the less frequented forest of the Savannah side of the State. After several years of observation he settled on IvOg Creek. The place he settled was known for a long time, and may be still remembered by some older person as the "Cedar Fields." The writer of this has a feeling that many years ago he heard the place spoken of by that name. It was at the Cedar Fields that Arthur Simkins lived and died. He was County Judge under the old system and was regarded by all who knew him as a man of sterling worth, and as a model of honesty and uprightness.

When the Revolution broke out and the war for Independence began he took the side of Independence, and at an early period of the war the Tories burned his dwelling house, then one of the few large houses in the up-country, besides harrowing and harrassing him in every other way incident to a state of civil war.

After the war he was a member of the General Assembly and of the Convention which had been called to coTisider the adoption of the Constitution of the United States. He voted against the adoption, as did nearly all the delegates from Ninety-Six District. The Act passed by the Eegislature for calling the Convention to consider the adoption of the Constitution of the United States was very nearly defeated. General Sumter and General Pickens were both opposed to the Constitution on the ground that it took too much power from the State and made the General Government too consolidated. Arthur Simkins agreed with them.

Mr. Sirakins remained a member of the General Assembly for many years. He died in 1826, wealthy, honored, and respected, having done his duty as a man and citizen.

Eldred Simkins was the 5^oungest son of Arthur, and was born during the Revolutionary war, August 29th, 1779. It is said that he was sent at an early age to the famous Academy of Dr. Moses Waddell, at Willington in the County or District of Abbeville, where he was thoroughly taught in all the fundamental branches of education and became a proficient in studies of a higher grade, especially Latin; that then he was sent to the I^aw School at lyitchfield, Connecticut, where he remained more than three years; afterwards read law under Chancellor DeSaussure in Charleston, and was admitted to practice law in Charleston, May 7th, 1805. There is surely an error, or errors, in these statements somewhere. The school at Willington was not established until the year 1804. Dr. Waddell had been a teacher for some years, and had acquired a great reputation as a teacher at Appling, in the State of Georgia, and also at Vienna in Abbeville County, before the establishment of the school at Willington, and it must have been at one of these places that Mr. Simkins was his pupil, for that he was the pupil of Dr. Waddell is, I suppose, a well established fact.

Soon after his admission to the Bar he began his professional life at Edgefield. His practice soon became large and valuable, as he prepared his cases with great care and was a thorough practical business man.

In April, 1807, he married Eliza Hannah Smith, daughter of Benijah Smith, and grand-daughter of Elijah Clarke, so celebrated during the Revolutionary war. Colonel Pickens describes her as a "beautiful woman, the sweetest and most intertaining lady I ever saw in any societ3\" Eldred Simkins was more than once sent to the Eegislaiure from Edgefield.

In 1816, when Mr. Calhoun became a member of President Monroe's Cabinet, Mr. Simkins was elected to Congress. Mr. Edmund Bacon and General W^illiam Butler were also candidates for Congress at the same election. Mr. Simkins was in Congress four years; was an active and useful member, and, especially distinguished himself in a speech he made on the Missouri Compromise bill. At the end of four years' service he declined a re-election in. favor of his friend and law partner, George McDuffie. After -the- election . of Mr. .McDaiffie to Congress Mr. Simkins took as his law partner Mr. Ford, who, after a while, abandoned the law, became an Episcopal minister and pastor of a church in Augusta, Ga. In 1830 Mr. Simkins formed a partnership with Colonel F. W. Pickens, from which time he no longer attended closely to the business of his profession. He died in 1832. In 1859 his daughters were all dead, none leaving children except Mrs. Pickens. Three sons were then living, but they, too, have long since passed away. Arthur was for many years the genial and popular editor of the Edgefield Advertiser. Clarke this writer knew for a little while at Mount Enou Academy, as far back as the year 1835, with many other Edgefield youths. John, Lieutenant Colonel of his Regiment, died a heroic death at Battery Wagner, on Morris Island, on the night of July 18th, 1863. At about 9 o'clock he fell, pierced by a minnie ball through the right lung. His name with a brief sketch appears in the Annals of Newberry.

Lieutenant Colonel John C. Simkins

Whose name appears upon the Monument at Newberry, as one of the fallen soldiers of that county, was a son of Honorable Eldred Simkins, and was born at Edgefield Court House on the nth day of March, 1827. He attended school at Edgefield and at Greenwood, S. C. He was not a graduate of any college or university; but, instead of continuing his studies at school, though only about eighteen years of age at the commencement of the Mexican War, he volunteered as a private in Captain Brooks' Company "D," of the Palmetto Regiment. During the campaign he was transferred to the Twelfth United States Regular Infantry, and, as captain in that regiment, distinguished himself at the battle of Churubusco, where he received two wounds. He was recommended to the government for a brevet "for gallant and meritorious conduct." At the close of the Mexican War he returned to civil life, that of a planter. In 1850 he married Rosalie, daughter of Judge Wardlaw, of Abbeville, and continued to live in Edgefield

History Of Edgefield, I9I

Distriet until about a year before the war between the States, when he bought from the Chappells a plantation in Newberry District on the Saluda River, about a mile above Chappells Depot. This plantation is part of what is known as Maxwell's Neck.

As soon as the State seceded and it was known that war was inevitable, he was amongst the first to offer his services to Governor Pickens. He was immediately appointed Captain in the First South Carolina Regular Infantry. His regiment was employed largely as artillery. As commander of Battery Bee, on Sullivan's Island, he did good service in the repulse of the iron-clads in the naval attack on Charleston, April 7th, 1863, when the Keokuk was sunk.

By successive promotions, he became Lieutenant Colonel of his regiment. On the i6th of July, 1863, he, with three companies of the regiment. Captains Haskell, Adams, and Tatum, was ordered to Battery Wagner, our advance post on Morris Island. Here he acted as Chief of Artillery, and he and his devoted little band, without rest or sleep, stood under a terrific bombardment until the night of July i8th, 1863, when the enemy, in overwhelming numbers, landed and assaulted the works. They were repulsed with heavy loss. In that night assault, at about 9 o'clock. Colonel Simkins fell pierced through the right lung by a minnie ball. Captains Haskell and Tatum were also killed during that engagement, and Captain Adams was severely wounded. Colonel Simkins was 36 years old at the time of his death, and left a widow, four sons, and a daughter surviving. His widow died in 1891.

In his official relation. Colonel Simkins was strict, but just. A born soldier, he was devoted to his profession. Although a good disciplinarian, he was respected and beloved by his comrades. He was very modest and retiring, but warm-hearted, frank, and true. His purity of heart was shown in his exceeding fondness for children, whose company he would seek.

Charles Martin Gray

The following instructive biography has been placed in my hands as good material for the history of Edgefield. I do not think any reader will be sorry to find it here. I have been informed that it was written by Joseph Abney, Esq. :

Charles Martin Gray was born at Edgefield Court House, South Carolina, on the 3rd of December, A. D. 1800, and was named after Charles Martin, a chivalrous and distinguished lawyer of his day. He was the son of John Gray, Jr., for many years a merchant at that place, and of Ridley M. Mims, daughter of Drury Mims, who was supposed to be well tinctured with native American blood, his father having been descended from that stock, and his mother from the English. Drury Mims, during the War of the Revolution, was an ardent Whig and a daring soldier. John Gray, Jr., the father of Charles M. Gray, was a Scotchman of full blood, born in Edinburg, but immigrated to this country with his father, John Gray, Sr. , when a small boy. He had a large family by his marriage with Ridley M. Mims, no less than eleven in number, and of those who lived to the years of maturity, only three were boys. All of his daughters had the happiness to contract marriage with industrious, honorable, and thrifty men - one of them, Elizabeth, marrying Dr. Chamberlain H. Goodwin, the son of Charles Goodwin, a lawj'er of eminence at Old Cambridge, and the grandson, on the mother's side, of General Williamson, of Revolutionary fame.

Charles M. Gray was bound out at the age of thirteen years to one Mr. Pugh, of Augusta, Georgia, for seven years, as an apprentice at the trade of Fancy and Windsor Chair-making. But the war having broken out between Great Britain and America about this time, and the }^oung apprentice having the keenest military propensities, and the most ardent thirst for distinction as a soldier, as well as a natural love for the exciting adventures of a soldier's life, while one Captain Musgrove was raising a volunteer company in the city of Augusta to march to the defence of Savannah, bade adieu as he supposed forever to fancy chair-making, attached himself to the command of the gallant captain, and hastened off to rekindle his military zeal and his love for glory, at the grave of Greene, and at the Monument of Pulaski. But avarice in some is stronger than the love of renown, or even the love of countr3^ Mr. Pugh went in pursuit of this strippling warrior, and overtaking him at the Oglethorpe Barracks, reclaimed him as his propert}', and carried him back dejected and crest-fallen to Augusta, where he remained busil}'' plying his trade, until his master, about a year afterwards, having failed in business, he was set at large, and permitted to control his own actions. In obedience to his natural proclivities, he again enlisted in the army, but this time in the regular army, under Major James E. Dinkins. His father hearing of it, hastened to the city, and, by virtue of his parental authority, recognized by the United States, sued out a writ of habeas corpus against Dinkins, and having returned his enlistment bounty, demanded and obtained his truant son, on the ground that he was a minor and under the proper military age. His father then took him home and entered him at school to Mr. Armstrong, famous in his day as a teacher, and then employed as Principal of the Edgefield Male Academy. But all the aspirations of our hero were for the arm}', and the din of nuiskelry was more pleasing to his imagination than the noise and clatter of the school room. His father having become perfectly aware of the bent of his son's mind, on the 24th day of April, A. D. 1819, suffered him to re-enlist under Brevet Major David E. Twiggs, who was then in Augusta on recruiting service. He was assigned to Company A, Seventh Regiment, United States Army, and continued a member, first and last, ten years. The term of second enlistment of five years having expired, he was honorably discharged, and made his way home on foot, which he reached after traveling alone, camping out at night and cooking his own meals, for thirty-four days, in which time he walked a distance of nine hundred miles.

Long j-ears of service in the army utterly unfitted him for the life of a civilian, and for many years he was too much addicted to indulgence in artificial stimulants to be prosperous. This bad habit too freely indulged during his enlistment, most likely deprived him of all chance of promotion. Man}- amusing instances might be related in illustrating the ingenuity displayed in procuring the desired stimulant, did space permit. But one or two, as related by the old soldier himself, will suffice: "On one occasion Major Twiggs commanded a party of twenty-four men, who were borne in the gallant vessel called the 'Support;' but it happened that myself constituted One of the number. Before starting out on my journey, I had been well schooled by my chum, George Riley, and among other commands was enjoined to procure for my mess a boun- tiful supply of good liquor from John Cosby, the famous sutler of Fort Gadsdeu. But 1 lacked that great desideratum, the money, which was the 'sine qua non' with a soldier of our command, who was to procure supplies and luxuries from the sutler of a different corps. Genius then must supply the place of gold and silver; and George Riley and myself, his hopeful pupil, had no lack of that. The latter was dressed in the ordinary uniform of a soldier, and had an overcoat supplied with several more than the usual number of pockets. In each of these was deposited a trusty 'big bellied bottle'. One of them was filled with water, and another of the exact form and dimensions was entirely empty. When the gallant vessel arrives at Fort Gadsden, I approached the sutler, handed him the empty bottle, and requested him to fill it, which was done in a trice. It is then carefully stowed away in my pocket; but poor soldier as I was, I had no mone}', and beg for a little credit. The hard-hearted sutler, having had many such applications made to him before, peremptorily refused to credit, and demanded the bottle of whiskey to be returned. Without a moment's hesitation, it is done to all appearances, and with an indignant imprecation; but, by an easy slight of hand, the vessel containing the water is handed to the incorrigible John C. , Esq. It is emptied into the cask and returned to me to my apparent disappointment and chagrin. But the trick was too good not to be improved, and the same good bottles were passed again and again to" different members of the detail, who all rejoiced in their own success as often as they tried the experiment, until we had obtained excellent whiskey enough to sustain m}^ mess and colleagues in a royal spree.

"Major Twiggs, who was then opposed to drinking in his command, observing me on my return from the direction of the sutler's, called me to him and ordered me to display my bottle. With an air of innocence I handed him the empty bottle, when he immediately excused me, uttering at the same time the direst imprecations of what he had done, had it contained whiskey.

"Not long after the return of this party from the bay to Fort Scott I approached my commanding officer, Major Twiggs, for permission to purchase of the sutler a bottle of whiskey, without stating the size. The application was granted, and the needful order countersigned. On the faith thereof I hastened to the sutler's with a bottle I had previously obtained from the Surgeon or Apotllecar3^ which, having been used to hold acids and medicines in large quantities, was capable of containing at least one or more gallons of liquor. It was, at any rate, bottle-shaped, and I had so thoroughly studied my superior that I well knew no punishment would result from the kind of prank I w^as about to practice. When I had procured the liquor, therefore, I made no secret of it, but slinging the huge vessel on my shoulder, passed directly by th; quarters of Major Twiggs. When the latter beheld me as he walked to and fro along his little piazza he called me to him and demanded of me the authority I had for purchasing so much whiskey, and received the answer that it was derived directly from him, as could be attested by the wTitten order itself. He then turned to lyieutenant Pierce M. Butler, who was promenading with him and inquired if Edgefield was composed of such men as Charles Martin Gray. R.eceiving an affirmative reply, he good humoredly said that he knew the devil must have his headquarters there, and beckoned me to go on."

Charles M. Graj' was happil}' married to Ann Green on the 3rd of September, 1841. He had previously foresworn his favorite beverage and had become an industrious and temperate citizen. He had as much business as he could attend to as Deputy Sheriff and as constable for one or more Magistrates, and earned not only money enough to subsist his family, but to pay all of his debts. He was elected door-keeper of the House of Representatives, and held the position until the inauguration of negro rule, a period of pbout twelve years.

There was one incident in the married life of the old soldier, which we think proper to allow him to relate: "A great chicken fight was to take place in Augusta - the Edgefield bo5's were pitted against those of Augusta, and I had an invincible disposition to take part in the sport - it suited my mind and temper. I was fond of game chickens and my wife had assisted me in raising a beautiful flock. My better half disapproved of my designs, but seemed to have a promonition that I would not be a gainer, I determined, though, to carry out my own purposes. I had in my pocket one hundred and fifty dollars. 1 went to the cock fight and lost it all. Returning home late at night I found madam discontented indeed, and indisposed even to give me a word of welcome. The old soldier returned in me at once. I had reserved from the wreck three silver dollars. I therefore went to the sideboard and counted these three dollars over and over again, with my back to my spouse until they amounted to the sum of three hundred and fift}^ dollars. Madam hearing all this could not be insensible to the claims of one, who, in the conflicts with fortune, had been so happy as to secure so much for her comfort. She then, for the first time, moved herself in the bed and called out to her dear husband that the old blue hen he had left setting had hatched twelve of the prettiest chickens he beheld. Upon this she rose from her bed and by sunrise procured for me one of the best breakfasts I had ever tasted before."

Charles M. Gray, by his marriage with Ann Green, had four sons and three daughters. One of his sons entered the Confederate Army at the age of 14 years and died of a disease contracted in service. Two others received desperate wounds in sustaining the "Lost Cause." Charles J.I. Gray, Jr., better known as Scout Gray, of Longst/eet's Corps, was wounded seven times in battle, still lives at Edgefield Court House. He bears great resemblance to "Buffalo Bill."

Before we conclude this memoirs it is proper to remark that Charles M. Gray enlisted in the 7th Regiment from South Carolina in the war between the States - was made colorbear^r and bore the Southern Cross throughout the whole of those desperate, bloody, and glorious combats, beginning at Ball Run and culminating at Manassas. But age and imfirmities admonished him that he must quit the service forever and bid farewell to "the drum, the shrill-sounding fife, and all the pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war," and receiving accordingly an honorable discharge, he retired to the bosom of his family.

History Of Kdgefiei.D. War Of 1812 -Seminole

There are other Biographical sketches to be given, and which must be given to make the records co!iiplete, but we will desist for the present and resume the more direct historical narrative for a little while. Histor}' and Biography, however, are so interblended that they cannot be completely separated. The only difference is that in Biography the individual is made prominent and events becorae subordinate: while in history the cases are reversed.

Perhaps enough has already been said, incidentally, of the war of 1812, in the Biographical sketches of prominent men. General William Butler, Samuel Mays, and Colonel George Butler were most prominent. Thornton Coleman, an elder brother of Rev. Jones W. Coleman, held a Captain's connnission in that war. The reader, however, under.stan.ds that though troops were called out, that is the militia, and stationed on the coast, yet they were never actually engaged in battle. John, Joseph, and Jesse Edwards were in that v.-ar, and John Bledsoe, Henry Trotter, William Riley, and Isaac Riley.

Incidentally, too, enough has already been written of the stormy period of nullification and of the prominent actors of that time. Edgefield was a nullifier and was in hearty sympathy with the Act of the Convention nullif^'ing tlie unjust tariff laws of Congress.

To the v.-ar against the Seminole Indians in Florida, three companies of infantry and one of cavalry volunteered from Edgefield. I ma}^ be able to give in the conclusion of this work a list of all the volunteers to Florida, as well as of those who served in the war with Mexico, and also in the late war of Secession, with the casualties incident to each individual. At present I can recall the name of James Edwards, a n:eruber of the company commanded by Captain David Denny, v»-hicli went from the Tenth South Carolina Militia. There was also William Abney, who had vowed to whip, on sight, Charles K. Johnson, who, he supposed had wrongfully treated his son.

Henderson, at Mount Enon School, when he was a pupil of Mr. Johnson. After the threshing Mr. Abney and Mr. Johnson had never met until they met in Florida as soldiers and comrades in the same army. So far from threshing Mr. Johnson, Abney, when he came to know him, fell in love with him and was ever afterwards one of his wa'-mest friends and admirers.

The company from the Seventh Militia Regiment was commanded by Captain James Jones, wdio was after^vards a General in the Militia. Milledge I^. Bonham was Orderly Sergeant in Jones' company. The company from the Ninth Regiment was commanded by Captain Jefferson Hibler. Captain Hibler was afterw^ards Colonel in the Militia. Hibler Township, in the upper part of Edgefield, as I have been informed, was named in his honor. The company of cavalry was commanded by Captain Sibley, who, I think, was of Hamburg, as the members of the company were mostly from Hamburg and vicinity.

The following episode of the Seminole war I condense from an article by Rev. Wm. M. Wood in the Southern Christian Advocate of November 20th, 1890.

Mr. Peurifoy's father was from North Carolina. He moved to Putnam County, Georgia, where Tilman Dixon Peurifoy was born, Januarj' 21st, 1809. At nineteen years of age he was admitted to the Georgia Conference, having been converted at the age of fifteen. He was married when a young man to Miss Louisa Ann Bird, daughter of Captain Daniel Bird, of EdgeHeld, S. C. After a few years he moved to Florida and settled in Jefferson County in 1833. The war with the Seminoles was then going on, but from the place of his settlement the nearest Indians were a hundred miles distant, and no apprehensions of danger were felt by him or by any one in that section. Mr. Peurifoy was frequently absent for a long time attending to his preaching appointments. It was during one of these absences, and he was sixty miles distant attending Quartely Conference, when the attack, so disastrous and terrible, was made upon his home. It was on Sunday, April ist, 1836; Mrs. Peurifoy was lying quietly and happily upon her bed reading that comforting book, "Heavenly Recognition," when the door was suddenly opened almost without noise, and a tall Indian, in feathers and war paint, quietlyentered the room. The house, which was a double log cabin, with a wide passage between, had been surrounded quietly by a party of fifty or sixty Indians. A negro girl about twelve years of age, who was in the room with Mrs. Peurifoy, quickly understood the situation and tried to make her escape. She immediately darted out of the room between the Indian's legs as he stood for a moment in the door. She made her escape, but was fearfully wounded in the effort. She was still living near Augusta at the close of the year 1890, and may be living even now, 1891.

Before Mrs. Peurifoy swooned away she remembered seeing the savage kill her daughter, Elisabeth. The fate of her little boy she did not know. When she revived and came to herself she found the room full of Indians, and they were hurriedly eating the ham and potatoes and what other food they were able to find. Hoping that she would not be observed she made a great effort to escape. She was able to get out of the house and had reached the ground when she was shot and the bullet pierced her shoulder blade. Almost at the same time another bullet struck her thigh and she fell forward on her face. The savages then surrounded her, stabbed her in the back and cut her person fearfully. They cut her throat, but a shawl or handkerchief about her neck and shoulders saved her from death. They then beat her over the head with a lightwood knot, but unconsciously she raised her right arm to protect her head, and that was terribl}^ bruised and broken. They did not scalp her. She became unconscious, and they left her for dead. When she came to herself again the savages were plundering the house and setting it on fire. She then crawled towards the kitchen, hoping that her cook, who had nursed her when she was a baby, might be able to help her. The cook herself was dying from wounds she had received, and could only spread her handkerchief on the ground for her mistress to lie on, when she quietly passed away.

After this, suffering from intolerable thirst, Mrs. Peurifoy dragged herself to a swamp or pond three quarters of a mile distant, where she was able to get some water to assuage her thirst. Here she lay that night, and until sunset next day, when she was found by the searching parties. Her father, who lived only a few miles distant, was with the searchers; and he, it seems, had a presentiment that she was still living, and would be found alive. The charred remains of the two children, Elisabeth and Lovick Pierce, were found in the ruins of the building. Mr. Peurifoy, on his return from Conference, was within twenty miles of home before he received any intimation of the terrible disaster. Upon sheets Mrs. Peurifoy was carried to her father's, near Monticello, Florida. For many weeks she breathed through several of her wounds, and for months she could onlj' be moved and turned upon .sheets. After these terrible events they removed to Georgia, and in 1849, came to Edgefield Count}' an.' .settled near Butler Church, where Mr. Peurifoy died June 3rd, 1872, and Mrs. Peurifoy, July 5th, 1878.

Three negroes, besides the cook already mentioned were killed in a house which was used for a church. One woman, who fought them to the last, was killed by having her head beaten to pieces with a liglitwood knot. Her bal))' was saved by the door being thrown down in the scuffle and falling over the cradle in which the baby lay. This child was alive in iSyo.

Mr. and Mrs. Peurifoy left .several children; Eliza, who married Mr. Yarbrough, and Hon. D. B. Peurifoy, named after his grandfather. Captain David Bird. D. B. Peurifoy, familiarly called "Dan," by' his friends, has been a member of the Legislature, but declined to be a candidate in 1890.

Thomas Bird, whom I knew at school, and who, I thought was a young man of very* lovel.v character, was, if I mistake not, a son of Captain David Bird, and brother to l^Irs. T. D. Peurifoy.

In making the statement that Pierce M. Butler was a Brigadier General during the Seminole war, I write from the recollection of my readings of histor}-, without having books or any authorities to refer to just at this moment. But, whether he was Brigadier General or not at any time while that war lasted, he was inaugurated Governor of South Carolina, November, 1836, and was Governor two years; and a few years thereafter served with distinction in the war with Mexico, as Colonel of the Palmetto Regiment, and was killed at the battle of Churubusco.

History Of Edgefield. 20I

In that war with Mexico, which was brought about by the annexation of Texas to the United States, Mexico never having acknowledged the independence of that State, but instead, had always claimed it as an integral portion of the territory of itself, the company from Edgefield, known as the Ninety-Six Boys, was commanded by Preston S. Brooks as Captain, having for Lieutenants W. C. Moragne and Joseph Abney; and was Joseph Culbreath also one, or was he First Sergeant? Milledge L,. Bonham was a Colonel in this war, but in another regiment. Joseph Culbreath went as a private in Captain Williams' Company from Newberry - returned as L,ieutenant.

Giles Chapman, the elder brother of the writer, was living in Indiana when the war with Mexico came on, and in that State he volunteered and was a member of the Second Indiana Regiment, under General Zachary Taylor. He was killed in the battle of Buena Vista, where General Taylor gained his great victory which made him President of the United States. In .some movements of that part of the army, the retreat of the Second Regiment from the field, a wounded comrade of ni}^ brother, unable to keep up with his company, had been left behind. The Mexican lancers were .scouring the field, killing all the wounded and .stragglers, though at the time they were at some distance from that part of the field. Giles and another .soldier determined to return and bring oft their wounded comrade, if po.ssible. They were warned against making the attempt, tliat it would be going to meet almost certain death without accomplishing their purpose. Their reply was that they would make the attempt even if they lost their own lives - that they could not see a comrade butchered before their own e3'es without, at lea.st, trying to save him; and if they could not save him, they would die with him. They went; the}- tried to save their friend, but failed, and all three were killed. Giles Chapman was a native of Edgefield. His name does not appear on the roll of the Palmetto Regiment, nor has it ever appeared in the Records of Edgefield County. It appears in the Hi.story of the Mexican War as a member of a regiment of another State, but he was of Edgefield, S. C, and as brave and fearless on the field of battle, and everywhere else, as ever human nature grows to be.

Before this book is closed and finally dismissed from the hands of the writer, it is his purpose to give a list of all the men engaged in these wars, with the ranks, casualties, &c. ; so we will proceed with the general narrative of events as fully as we can, without making the work too large, which I fear will be done.

History Of Edgefield The Tillman Family

We have seen that Captain James Ryan came from Virginia and was one of the earliest settlers of Edgefield; and we might suppose from the name he bears that Benjamin Ryan Tillman, at this time Governor of South Carolina, was a relative or connection of the Ryan family. But such is not the case. The Tillmans came from Maryland or Delaware and settled on the southern side of Edgefield towards Hamburg. The father of the Governor once lived on the road leading from the Pin a House to Hamburg, nine miles from the latter place. Benjamin Ryan was born thirteen miles north of Augusta in Merriwether Township. The name Benjamin Ryan was given to him through the great respect his father had to the Ryan family, and not from any blood relationship or connection with that family.

When George D. Tillman first went to Edgefield Court House to live and to practice law, he made himself very unpopular in the town, whatever he may be now, and had many enemies. What he was, or is, I know not, for my acquaintance with him personall}' is nothing. When the quarrel occurred, that is its date, I do not know, but he once had a serious difficulty with General John R. Wever and gave him a dangerous pistol wound in the side. Some time after that he killed a man named Henry Christian. Pie fled the country and went to Central America, where he joined General W^alker, of Filibuster fame,, was wounded, and taken prisoner, but was released after promising not to meddle any more with the institutions or government of that country. He then returned home, was tried at Edgefield for murder, found guilty of manslaughter, and sentenced to two 3'ears imprisonment in the District Jail, which penalty he suffered. After the War of Secession he was a member of the Constitutional Convention, which met in Columbia in 1865. In a book, "The South Since the War," published in 1866, the writer of that book thus speaks of Mr. Tillman as he appeared in that convention: siderable abilities, genial and offhand, who has lived in South America and California, and now hails from Edgefield District, who has served six j'ears in the State lyCgislature for honor, and two j-ears in the State Penitentiary for manslaughter, (South Carolina had no Penitentiary at that time,) who quotes philosophy from DeTocqueville, and historical maxims from Gibbon - the man who makes friends with everybody, and at whom, the gentlemen, so called, of the low country, affect to sneer, is a genuine Red Republican in his disregard of what is called ancient rights and privileges. Sitting with great bluegray ej'es, that seem always half asleep, he is always alert and wide awake, slouching along with a rolling gait, he is careful and earnest; utterly wanting in the power of oratory or rhetoric, he has made more points than any other member of the Convention, and has carried all of them but one, and that of minor importance. Jie is the leader of the advance line of the up-countr}', delegated, not so much by any election as by the inherent force of necessity, for he fights independent!}', and leaves them no choice but to follow. He is fairly entitled to the honors of the day in the open field fight against the Conner resolution; and has been from the first the restless and untiring and self-possessed and good humored enemy of the parish system, or to use his own phrase, the Chinese conservatism of Charleston. His object has been, and still is, to cripple the power of the low-country in every possible way. He will take no bond of fate, but builds his walls of offence and defence in the constitution itself.

"On the tenth day Tillman smote the routed enemy once more; he called it reaping the 'first fruits of victory.' His blow came in the form of an amendment to the Constitution, providing tliat after i86g no district in the State shall have more than twelve Representatives. This was aimed at the city of Charleston, which now has twent3^ The low country was exhausted and the amendment was adopted after a brief debate by 6i to 43."

Another estimate of Honorable G. D. Tillman, written twenty-five years after the publication of the 'South vSince the War.' This, txio, is the estimate of a Northern man, Amos J. Cumraings. At the time of the writing Mr. Tillman was Chairman of the Committee on Patents, and the writer says of him:

History Of' Edgefield

"He is quaint and honest and makes speeches that touch the marrow. In appearance he somewhat resembles Horace Greeley. But there is a manly ring to his voice, as well as virility in his arguments. Once convinced that he is right, neither persuasion nor force can drive him from his position. He is a brother of the Governor of the Palmetto State, and has all his brother's characteristics. No man uses the Southern dialect more penetratingly. Detecting jobbery in legislation, he flies at it like a bulldog, and there is nothing left of it when he gets through with it.